“Fit for Life” Finale

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I lost those pesky five pounds.  Took three weeks and I’ve already admitted that I couldn’t stick to the “Fit for Life” diet plan.  But I did pull some of the suggestions into my daily life and am going to try to continue using them. (No promises, though)

One tablespoon of ground flaxseed every day.  Something Dr. Fuhrman, the author of this diet, doesn’t mention is that ground flaxseed goes bad.  Even in the refrigerator.  I buy whole flaxseed and grind a little in the blender once a week and store it in the fridge for use in smoothies.  Maggie gets a little in her dog food, too.

Dates are actually good and a natural sweetener.  I have always hated dates but that’s because I’ve associated them with fruit cake and other cookies with those yucky candied fruits in them.  Dates are naturally sweet and “Fit to Life” used them to sweeten smoothies.  Now I can tolerate dates–at least until the package I bought is gone.

I can actually eat less cheese and be happy.  And if I eat beans in my salad for lunch, I won’t be hungry until dinner.  I can survive without sugar or artificial sweeteners.

While I lost the weight, there’s not much of a chance for Maggie.  Between ear infections and being itchy, Maggie is on prednisone, a steroid which turns her into an eating machine.  Poor little thing.  I’ve limited her snacks and dry dog food and she gets plenty of exercise but she’s still chunky monkey.  Gotta love her the way she is!

Who’s a chunky monkey?

 

 

Old Homosassa Fireworks

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Old Homosassa is a little town but it likes to party big and extend the party as long as possible!  We start celebrating Independence day with fireworks the weekend before the holiday and just continue the festivities for the rest of the summer!

Here’s a few photos to start out your holiday week.

 

A Bear for Courtney

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What do you do when you have a 9-year old visiting for a few days and a tropical storm whirling outside your window?  Make a bear, of course.

I already made bears for both of her sisters and one for the smallest grandchild, Piper. I never made one for Riley, Courtney or Justin because I figured they were too cool for a homemade stuffed animal.  Courtney and Justin both already have quite the collection of “Build a Bears” which are much more sophisticated than my bears made out of scraps.  But Courtney has been bugging me to make her a bear for months so I finally gave in.  After going through my leftover fabric, she decided that she wanted to pick out her own material so off to Jo-Ann’s we went before the big storm hit.

Courtney wanted a monogram on one of the soles so no one else could claim her bear.(With the fun colors she picked out, I seriously doubt that would be an issue.)  I hadn’t used the monogram feature on the sewing machine before but after a little practice Courtney was pleased.

I used a Simplicity Pattern that I’ve had for years.

Courtney told me exactly what colors she wanted for each bear part.

Courtney was thrilled with her new bear and immediately got on the iPad to skype the rest of the family.  Now her little sisters want new bears, too. (not happening)

While the bears do make rides to the kids’ house, they live in Perfect.  (Except for Piper’s bear since she lives in North Dakota.)

So here are the sister bears.  They might be joined by a few brother bears the next time it rains for five or six days in a row.