Wendy, way to go on the run. Beautiful pictures in your log. I need you to come and teach me how to cook the foods you cook. (But, I'd also need you to teach my family how to eat that many vegetables . . . )
subscribe away! I love my paradise, and I love to share it! we live on 8 acres of old florida forest that backs up to a tidal creek--we can kayak from our backyard to the intracoastal if we go left and to an old molasses/sugar mill from the 1820's if we go right. we have wild boar, deer, hawks, and of course, gators. tons of different birds. and the ocean is just 2 miles the other way. our house is a little 2 bedroom 2 bath florida cracker house, two story. no garage. 1400 sq feet, so we have to keep clutter to a minimum, which is a good thing. but no room for sexy squat racks, unfortunately.
within a year or so, we will be building a greenhouse for fresh veggies, fruits and spices yearround.
we have lived here two years, and I am so much healthier. walking to the mailbox is almost 4/10 of a mile round trip, lol.
someday, we will build a very cool treefort too. and landscape the front to include some running paths.
I try my best, but sometimes they detect them anyway. I am considering the cookbooks that sneak them in children's foods, but I want them to just love vegetables and appreciate them the way I do. Is that too much to ask, LOL ?
Oh, how very cool!! We bought our 23 acres 4 years ago in the foothills/mountains of southeastern Oklahoma. There was a crappy old trailer on it that we lived in for a couple of years while we started building our house. Just us building it, bit by bit. All concrete and steel, earth-bermed. Hubby built me a greenhouse down at the old trailer when we were still there -- you'll absolutely LOVE having one! We can't start building one up here at the new place yet until we get more of the house done. We've only got 1/4 of it done right now and are living in that part -- 1000 square feet for the 7 of us. Paying out of pocket, both for time and money, makes things go very slowly. LOL Anyway, yeah, I feel your pain in scrunched living and your joy in living on such a breathtakingly beautiful property! (I need to do some technical updating on my blog since I moved hosts but will put a link to it in my sig when I do.)
karen, my favorite trick is the blender, my niece and nephew never knew the the stuff I put into things!
diane, definitely link me to it when you can--we interviewed in elk city ok, (west) years ago--that part of OK was very hilly and pretty. the eastern part is probably different--maybe greener??. 1400 sq ft is plenty for ed and I. we don't have kids. so the only thing we will do is a garage and a pool, but not until we can pay cash for it. I am done with debt of all kinds--part of losing weight, was living more simply and getting out of debt!!! we are debt free, except the mortgage, and we will be out of that in a few years too.
thanks greg! the food porn will be more detailed once the greenhouse is built, lol.
Wendy, that sounds great. Here's what I'm thinking is the biggest draw of your pics right now--there's no snow. I am in western MT and we have more than a foot of snow. Sometimes it melts and then it snows some more, but it will be another month at least until there is less than a foot. A pool and trails and a garage just sound heavenly. We are finishing the last room in our house right now (been building 2 years, with 2 kids and 3500 sq. ft.) and doing the rest of the landscaping (5 acres) this summer. The garage will have to come later as we are not adding debt either. You'd think that it'd be easy to stay fit when there's so much to do all the time, but sadly that's not the case.
As for the blender, I have tried that and food processor, especially with spinach and carrots. It's okay with them as long as I don't cross the line into too much of a good thing, LOL.
karen, I know how lucky we are to not have snow, but people who grew up in the snow miss it when they live here! I am a native floridian, so I don't know what I am missing. but when snow people talk about their snow sports, they light up! I am especially intriqued by cross country skiing.
Hi Wendy ~ I finally had a chance to catch up on your journal! Wow...you've been busy cooking, running, and throwing some serious weight around the gym! I know what you mean about the carbfest the day following a long run...mmmm...food. I am living vicariously through your running right now because I am finishing up 8 weeks of non-running due to a stress fracture in my left tibia. That's okay though because winter is practically over in my neck of the woods and I didn't have to get up and run in the dark and the cold! Enjoy your wonderful meals.
thanks rachel. good for you to allow your body to heal. I took off 8 weeks from running due to and IT band injury, and now I am back! you are smart to rest.
cooking good food is the only way I could stand to eat for the long term. diet food is yukky!
Wendy, I love the pictures of your compound. Kayaking is great exercise and you lucky devils get to do it year 'round. The State of PA tore down a hundred year old dam on a creek which runs close to my home. With the dam removal went the couple of miles of kayakable waterway. Now I keep my kayak at my Dad's place, at a lake about two hours north of here. I love to get out early in the morning while everything is calm and the deer are eating the neighbors bushes. Unfortunately, we can only get there every other weekend in the late spring and summer.
By the way, your not missing a damn thing by not having snow.
__________________ 'I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day. ' ~Frank Sinatra
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher,
smarter, faster and better looking than most people.
Hey Wendy!
I am loving your new avatar pic! I don't read your log as often as I want, because I always leave hungry! J/K
Great job on the workouts and your place is gorgeous. I want to move there. Sick of the cold. For sure.
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
thanks bill--this is a fun place to be, by the way, some kayaking is always better than no kayaking! and lake kayaking is fun--my brother and his family live on a lake, and we often take the kayaks there--it is fun to be in water that is not tide dependent. we have wicked mosquitos in the summer, so wine kayaking at dusk in the summertime always inolves lots of deet! florida does have its drawbacks, but I consider them a small price to pay to be able to play year round.
so karen, jane and ginny will be headed to the warm climates for retirement==
rachel, I love tuscon. have been to canyon ranch twice. great climate--I love the desert.
ginny, I will have to be more cautious with my food porn, lol. oh and the avatar was an impulsive shot that I took of us by reversing the camera. I had just finished taking some shots of this huge spanish moss--didn't put that one up on the blog. ed's expression reminds me of these kilroy things I used to draw as a kid. this picture makes me laugh. it seems to capture our relationship---we have been together for more than 20 years, and silly fun is one of the things we do well!
so I decided not to spin this morning. saving myself for my track workout tonight, and then dinner with my running buddies at tijuana flats, a yummy mexican restaurant. they will do their burritos "power lite" with low fat cheese and sour cream.
wow, so my mom has an abnormal stress test and is getting a cardiac cath on friday. she is obese, diabetic, hypertensive. this would have been my future had I not found exercise and clean eating. wish she would get healthy, she and my dad are both candidates for bariatric surgery they are so obese. glad genetics is only one aspect of it. feeling pretty bummed about it all. maybe this will be her wake up call. mine was when my doctor put me on a blood pressure pill at 32 years old. and at the time, I had just walked the disney marathon weighing 208 pounds (down from my high of 228). I though I was fit, and could do well in life being fat, but fit. the blood pressure pill was my wake up call. being overweight is a risk for disease and shortened life. period. no question.
Wendy, hope all goes well for your mom. I agree with you on being glad genetics isn't the only determining factor for most things. My dad had a massive heart attack and five bypasses at age 54. That's what I'm trying to avoid.
thanks tom and karen. tom, she lives in a different town, but when I visit, we do walk the park. she is pretty good about walking and exercise. it is the eating and diabetes. my dad is a total sweets addict and he refuses to give them up--their house is full of junk food. my mom does much better when the food is not right there in front of her. but my dad is pretty controlling, and typically sets the tone for everything they do for the past 40 plus years. tough stuff.
thanks tom and karen. tom, she lives in a different town, but when I visit, we do walk the park. she is pretty good about walking and exercise. it is the eating and diabetes. my dad is a total sweets addict and he refuses to give them up--their house is full of junk food. my mom does much better when the food is not right there in front of her. but my dad is pretty controlling, and typically sets the tone for everything they do for the past 40 plus years. tough stuff.
Tough call there indeed. Past her strengthening her resolve I'm not sure what else could be done to help the situation if your dad won't change.
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Tom
No "happy hours" makes for a lot of miserable days. - Mahler
It's scary how somethings are a true wake-up call. My grandpa died at 56 of a massive heart attack and was, from what I hear, a very heavy man (he died the yr I was born... I didn't get to know him) And my uncle on the same side of the family just passed away in September from a heart attack at 51... he was overweight but not obese, but he did smoke and eat very poorly. Needless to say my mom and other uncle (same side) saw a few cardiologists the following week.
I'm very sorry your mom is going through such an ordeal... but keep trying to convince her to eat better and exercise more... you don't want to lose her too early.
thanks everyone. the hospital is a really good one that does a lot of heart stuff, and her cardiologist is a board certified interventional cardiologist, so she is in good hands.
on the positive side, I did the special workout a with as many reps as possible
squats 35 @ 115
22 pushups
30 reps of 70lbs on the row
30 step ups with 8 lb dumbells
21 prone jacknives
and just for fun, I benched the bar like 25 times, then did 65 a bunch of times, and 95 for 4 or 5 reps. didn't have a spotter, so was afraid to get tired out. I am going to try for 115 when my husband can spot me.