Loving the Atkins lifestyle!

I have done great with the Atkins lifestyle so far.  I have not felt hungry and have not even wanted to cheat.  They had a party at work for a co-worker that was leaving and I had on trouble avoiding all the high carb goodies that everyone brought and a few days later a friend at work brought a birthday cake for a coworker - Triple Chocolate Delight - and I did not even have a struggle turning it down while I snacked on my pork rinds and ice water, this is a change for me because I have been a life long dieter and diet cheater.  I have had a steady weight loss each day.  So for this has been my progress

8/1    303.4
8/3    297.2
8/4    296.0
8/5    295.2
8/6    294.2
8/7    292.2
8/8    290.2
8/9    289.6
8/10  289.2
8/11  288.9
8/12  288.4

12 days done and 16 pounds gone.  I still have a long long way to go but I am thrilled with this start.  I actually am looking forward to stepping on the scales everyday and believe me that is not an experience that I normally have, LOL.
  

Atkins Lollapalooza Day 1

Let the party begin....

I am starting day 1 of Atkins induction today.  I have done Atkins before with success but I was lured back to my overeating carb loving ways by a parade of breads and starches.  I am vowing to stick with it this time and make a life style change.  I have my husband on board with me this time so that will make it easier.  He actually did all the grocery shopping (with a list provided by me of course :) ) .  I have a bad hip and it has been a real pain (pun intended, LOL) lately so I was not up to all the walking of grocery shopping so being the prince that he is-he volunteered to go.  He is is excited about it too.  I will be a day ahead of him since I let him oversleep this morning and he did not have time for either of us to get his lunch together so he will be starting tonight with his steak and salad for supper.  I had scrambled eggs with bacon pieces and cheddar cheese for breakfast.  I will have another egg with a piece of hard cheddar for lunch and for my supper tonight I am taking leftover steak with grilled onions and I am trying to choke down a small salad (I hate veggies) with some ranch dressing.  I am working tonight so supper will be around midnight tonight.  I love working nights, but it does make regulating meal times interesting.

I have about 160 pounds to lose so I will be documenting here as I undertake this journey.  I hope it will help keep me accountable.  I just weighed myself for the first time in months and I am so disappointed in myself.  I knew I had gained weight but I had no idea how huge I have gotten.  I weighed in at 303.8.  That is the biggest I have ever been.  Wow, that was a wake up call, I am absolutely going to be successful at this.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day!

Another day of living on the surface of the sun....

Well, we are in for another day of this horrid heat.  It was 85º this morning at 7:30 am with highs forcasted to be 107º with heat indexes of 110º or greater.  I heard a tapping on the door this morning and looked out to find a flock of birds on the porch with a sign "Will sing for air conditioning" .    My poor dogs are house dogs and they are not dealing well with the heat at all. They have become champions in the art of the "speed potty" .  The hotter it is the quicker they get their business done and are back at the door to be let in.

Have you ever noticed how you can sit down and start reading a few of your favorite blogs and then you see one that they follow that looks interesting and so you click and go to take a peek and then of course you love it too so you look to see who they follow or recommend and you click to take an look and the cycle begins again....  I sat down yesterday morning and was taking a "quick look"  at some of my favorites and so it began...hours-yes I mean literally mean hours- later I was still reading blogs.  It was soooo much fun and I found some great new blogs to follow.  There are such neat ladies out there sharing their lives, families, crafts and opinions.  I appreciate each and every one of you.

Have a great day and try to stay cool on this hot summer day.  Think Popsicle thoughts and snowcone dreams.

How could they?!?!?!?!

I am in such shock and disgust that the jury found Casey Anthony not guilty on all counts regarding murdering her precious baby.  I try not to be judgmental but no mother fails to report her child missing for 31 days and during those 31 days parties, gets a tattoo, sleeps around and gives not a moments thought to her beautiful precious daughter.  Even if the jury saw no other evidence they knew that she did not report her missing for 31 days, that should have gave some red flags to someone.  I bet that she walks out of jail on Thursday after the sentencing, I think that they will give her "time served" for the lying to police charges.  She will be out partying on Thursday night. Another disgusting thing that will come out of this is that she will make a fortune giving television interviews, magazine interviews, writing a book and probably even a movie deal. She murders her baby and makes money from it, so very very wrong.

The jury...I wonder how their family and friends will feel about the verdict and how will the jury feel when they find out all the information that they were never allowed to know during the trial.  I wonder if they will feel guilty or remorseful about letting a baby killer off scott free?  I found it odd that none of them wanted to give a press interview but I sure bet that they will also be making some money by giving interviews with the press now that the trial is over.

Rest in peace sweet baby girl.  Sleep in the arms of Jesus where you will not experience any more pain or heartache.

Crocheting and sweet tea

I am so enjoying my vacation. I have not done a single productive thing at home in days. Today I spent the day crocheting and drinking sweet tea and watching television. It was pretty good...:)

I am not a very good crocheter but I sure do enjoy it. It is so much fun to take some yarn and a hook and make something that is either pretty or useful. Ok, mine aren't usually all that pretty, like I said I am not that great at it but they are useful. I have been making dishclothes lately. I love them for cleaning and wiping countertops.  These are a few of the ones I have made lately.

Do you crochet or knit?  What are your favorite things to make?

Well Hello Vacation....

I started my vacation err my staycation yesterday. It is so nice to have a little time off from work. I have been horribly lazy and just watched television, read and napped for 2 days. It has been wonderful :) . Hopefully tomorrow I will be more motivated to be a little more productive and get some housework done. I have a PhD from the school of Procrastination so I think that the chances are not all that high for the housework.

I have been watching The Voice on NBC and it has been so good. I have really enjoyed it. I am a big fan of Blake Shelton and he has been a hoot on it and seeing him perform has been a great too. He dueted with Brad Paisley tonight and wow-what a fun performance. I really like all the finalist, it is hard to pick who I want to win. They are all so diverse and talented I will happy to see any of them win. I love reality shows, they are my guilty pleasure. I am looking forward to Big Brother starting next week, now that is truly a guilty pleasure, it is a show without a single redeeming value but darn I love to watch it. LOL

I hope everyone's week is going great!

Those crazy Anthonys

Wow, what a day of bombshells in the Casey Anthony murder trial. I am so disappointed in Cindy Anthony. I really felt sorry for her during the prosecution's side of the trial but now I am seeing a different side of her. I think that she absolutely told her attorney that she thought Casey was guilty but she never ever thought that it would be made public. It seems like now that that information was out, she is trying to come up with a defense on her own to save her daughter. I don't believe for a minute that she made any of the google searches that she is claiming she did. Now the brother is on the stand talking about how no one in the family talked about Casey's pregnancy until a few days before the birth and he did not go the hospital when Caylee was born. That is all very strange....

On a more pleasant note...only 3 more work days until my vacation! WooHoo! I am not going anywhere, it will be a staycation but it will be nice not to have to work for almost 2 weeks. We are having a July 4th, well actually a July 3rd :) party, we have one every year and we cook out and the kids shoot off fireworks but this year we are in such a horrible drought that all the counties in our area have outlawed fireworks, both selling and shooting them so we will not be having fireworks but hopefully we will come up with something else for the kids to do. We are incorporating a 1st birthday party for our grandson, Spencer AKA Pookie :) so that will be fun.

Well, we are having another 100 degree + day here. I think this is the 19th one this month, this may be a record breaker. I sure feel sorry for those who are having to work out in the heat. Ugh...

I hope that it is cooler and nicer where you are today.

Hello Blog, it's been a while.....

Wow, 2 1/2 years since I blogged. I debated about whether to just delete this blog and start over but since it is already set up and running I took the easy way out and will just continue on. Hopefully I will manage to post a little more often than once every 2 years, LOL.

I have been sucked into the Casey Anthony trial on television like a moth to fire. I come home from work each morning and sit glued to the television watching forensic experts detailing everything from trash to botany. I have already decided that she killed her poor baby and am watching and hoping that the jury sees that also. I heard a report this morning that her parents have acknowledged that they don't think that she is innocent but that they don't want her to get the death penalty. I think it is pretty telling for her own parents to admit that they think that she did it. I do hope that she gets the death penalty. If she manages to get herself put on the witness stand, I am sure that she can talk herself into a trip to the "chamber" . The prosecution will have a field day with her. What do you think about the case?

Mermaids in the Basement

Michael Lee West

This is the story of a woman's return to her childhood home to find some family secrets. I loved the main characters in this book, they are strong southern women who all have an opinion on everything and they are all more than happy to share it with everyone. My only complaint about the book was that she added so many minor characters and they all had something to say or add and it made it hard to keep track of what or who was doing what. I read this book in one sitting starting in the morning and finishing that evening so it was not a big problem but I think that if I had read it in increments of time that it would have been hard to remember who was who. I do love the southern style that Michael Lee West writes with, her novels feel like a trip back to an old family home and leave me feeling like I have just sat on the veranda with a glass of cool lemonade.

Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

This is book has become one of my all time favorite books. It was so beautifully written and was impossible for me to put down once I started it. I read it in a 2 day time span, it was memorizing. The author's depiction of the depression era circus life enabled me to connect to and really care about Jacob. I absolutely love this book and am going to recommend it to all of me friends that are also avid readers. I would definitely give it a 5 star rating on a scale of 1 to 5 stars.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons

Lorna Landvik

Holy guacamole, this book was wonderful. It was my favorite book of the year. It is the story of 5 women who become friends while living on the same street and the book club that they form. The novel covers from the 1960s to current time and tells of their friendships, their feuds, their joys and tragedies. It was so heartwarming that the characters are still vivid in my mind and I feel like they are 5 old friends who I could just pick up the phone and ring up to chat with. If you like novels of friendships and families then this is the book for you. It reminded me a lot of the Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. I give it 5 stars.

Book Review ~ Table for Five by Susan Wiggs

This was a great quick read. It is the story Lily Robinson, an elementary school teacher whose best friend is killed along with her ex husband leaving three young children. Lily thinks that she will be appointed guardian to the children because her friend had told her that she wanted her to take the children if something happened to her, unfortunately, she dies before she discusses it with her ex husband and no official papers are ever filed. Sean MacGuire, the brother of the children's father is given custody of the children. He is a bachelor who has never had children but is willing to put his career as a PGA golfer on hold in order to concentrate on raising the children. Lily and Sean are drawn to each other through the tragedy and by the fact that each wants what is best for the children. Over the course of a summer vacation spent together, they find that they have grown to love and respect each other and that they are truly a family in need of a table for five.

I give this story a 3.5 star rating.

Why I love living in the country

This was the view out of my front door one evening last week. It was right at dusk and the beautiful full moon was peeking it's way up to light the night. I love living in the country where I can sit on the porch in the evenings with a cup of coffee or glass of iced tea and read a good book while the coyotes are howling in the far pasture and cottontails are running around the pasture in front of our home. I love watching them and they have all figured out that our dogs are in no way a threat to them since they are both on the other side of the fence so they will run around while the dogs are out chasing grasshoppers in the front yard. These are the kinds of things that make me appreciate my home and to not mind the 25 miles I have to drive to go work or to just about any kind of civilization.

2008 Fall into Reading Challenge

I am so excited to be starting my first reading challenge. Thanks Katrina for giving us such a great challenge!

My lists of TBRs for fall are

1. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett Completed *** stars

2. The Navigator by Clive Cussler

3. Nighttime Is My Time by Mary Higgins Clark Completed ****

4. Body Double by Tess Gerritsen

5. Life Support by Tess Gerritsen

6. Deep Storm by Lincoln Child Completed ****

7. The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards Completed ***

8. Map of Bones by James Rollins

9. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian Completed ***

10. The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve

11. Table For Five by Susan Wiggs Completed ***

Book Review~ Edgewise by Graham Masterton

I liked this book. It is in the horror genre and while it did not make me want to sleep with the lights on, it was creepy.

It is the story of Lily Blake who is a real estate agent and single mother. She awakens one night to a sound from the downstairs area of her home. She goes downstairs to investigate and is attacked by 2 crazed lunatics from a father's rights group, they try to burn her alive and then kidnap her 2 children. She amazingly survives the fire with little damage to her body or her home, unfortunately she is unable to locate her children even with the help of the FBI. She learns of an American Indian tracker who may be able to help her locate them but he requires a heavy price that she agrees to but is unable to deliver. In return for the price of a small piece of land that he wants he calls the Wendingo, an Indian forest spirit who tracks down those who were involved in harming her and kidnapping her children. They die in a gruesome and violent way, this is one of the horror aspects of the book. Her children are returned to her and she has to admit to the tracker that she is unable to meet his price. He is not happy about that and in turn sends the Wendingo to kill those close to her in the hopes that she will come through with the deed to the land. It is a suspenseful ending to a thrill ride of a book. I will not give the ending away her but I will recommend this book to those who like a good scare and a quick read.

I give this book a solid 4 stars out of 5.