BuckStopping

I've just finished with work and am putting off the making of dinner by posting to the blog. I've been working out most days and not having dessert most nights. I hope that is a good way to start the process of becoming more fit. I just wasn't ready to go full-bore into massive calorie reduction and heavy-duty exercise. I don't want to get all worn out on it and I also could feel myself becoming anxious when I thought about giving up pizza, Carls Jr and cake. Ok, Russell, whatever you say, baby. I am struggling with this whole Clippers owner situation. I am disgusted by his remarks, yet I am also disgusted that the man was taped talking to his MISTRESS (which apparently isn't a problem for the NBA, go figure), after doing all kinds of truly racist things for years, like denying people housing on the basis of their color and the thing he's being censured for are his remarks about black people on this particular call. And that it's all based on a private,

I have always struggled with blue moods. I fight it and try to rise above it, but it's always been this threatening little cloud following me around. This came to a head a few years ago after my mom passed away. It was very sad in that I got to her side just after she died. I hadn't seen her in 7 months, and sadly she had told me that she was in remission from her lung cancer, which wasn't true. I think she was addled from all of the different drugs she was on, in addition to the chemo.  I stayed in Indiana for a week to help my dad get things settled a bit, then flew home to find that my part of the state of Colorado was on fire. It was the start of the horribly destructive Waldo Canyon Fire. So, the week after my mom died, I was sitting in a closed up house (because of the heavy smoke) in hundred degree weather, waiting to be evacuated. On top of all that, I had been bitten on the foot by something while in Indiana, and that bite became horribly infected and itched a

So yesterday, with all my morning gumption wasted away, I ate the chocolate almond eggs. They were delicious. And now they aren't tempting me anymore. So. This whole thing has gotten me to thinking about the idea of what is beautiful again. I am a Facebook fanatic, and follow all kinds of fitness people. I see lots of pictures of women of all ages with washboard abs and sleek, tan biceps. It makes me feel inspired sometimes, but it also makes me feel pretty bad about myself, too. Like, if she can do it, why can't I? Is it a woeful lack of will-power, or a genetic predisposition to the enjoyment of starchy carbs and a soft cushy belly? Or something in between? Last summer I lost 18 pounds over the course of a couple of months. I worked out every morning to a killer Jillian Michaels video, took an hour walk most afternoons and counted every calorie. I consumed between 1200-1500 calories a day, and it worked. My belly was on the way out, my biceps were shapely. And it was SO H

First, I hope everyone had a nice Easter. We spent ours with family and it was great. Now on to the main subject. Frustrations can and do arise all the time. From small ones like your pen running out of ink to large ones like the car not starting or a person close to you hurting your feelings. These sorts of frustrations can cause all kinds of problems on our way to health and happiness, like causing us to eat out of stress or go off on someone who doesn't deserve it, causing more issues on top of the original issues. For example, this morning just as I started my workout, I got a call from someone who not only hurt my feelings, but also brought me a level of frustration. My first thought was, "Well, forget it. I'm too upset and stressed out to finish this workout, I'll just go take a shower and go to work." Then I thought, how will doing that help my life right now? Will not working out make me feel better emotionally or physically? Well, of course the answ

It started gloriously raining this afternoon. I love rain with a passion, from growing up in the desert. When it would rain during the monsoon season back when I was a kid, all the adult neighbors would open their garage doors and sit just inside on lawn chairs while us kids went wild running through the flooded gutters and laid in the flooded gutters and just flat out had a ball. We didn't care about the thunder or lightening (it was another time). It wasn't ever too cold, since it happened in the summer. If you were out in the desert,  grogs  frogs would miraculously come up from the ground fully grown. It was a spectacle, I tell ya! The annual average rainfall in the Valley of the Sun is just over 8 inches A YEAR, so you can imagine the joy a big storm engendered in all of us. Nobody complained about the rain, at least if they'd been in Arizona for more than a couple months. This reminds me of a verse: "When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; he makes

This weekend was great! We had warm weather and snow all in two days! We also did something we don't do a whole lot of, and that was to go to a movie, at the theater, with the whole family. We saw: We've been huge fans of Wes Anderson since we saw "The Fantastic Mr. Fox". It's really not just a children's movie. I've probably watched it 5 or 6 times, maybe more. Meryl Streep, George Clooney, and many other great actors. Half the fun is trying to identify the voices. Anyway, back to The Grand Budapest Hotel. It's very Andersonesque, stars Ralph Fiennes, as M. Gustave H, the Concierge at the hotel, and a newcomer named Tony Revolori as Zero, the lobby boy. How can I describe it. It's funny, and sad, and dramatic and as always, whimsical. Here is a bit of dialogue from a part when M. Gustave has been locked up in prison: M. Gustave H.: "Good morning, Pinky" Pinky: "Mendl's again?" M. Gustave H.: "Precisely. No

I found this video in my in-box today, and I loved it, because it definitely has a bearing on the purpose of this blog. All of these women started to perceive themselves as more attractive because they thought they would! Mind over matter, it's so powerful! It was very poignant to me when the woman who looked closer to my age said, "Why can't being older be good?" Why indeed! I wouldn't go back to my 20s for any money. Life is so much better now than then! I think I am going to put on a "pretend patch" and think myself into liking my looks more. Tomorrow is Saturday, which means a new episode of Pioneer Woman. Yay! Annie

Several moths ago, my BFF Susie and I traveled to Denver to meet THE Pioneer Woman , Ree Drummond, and ask her to sign our books. I've been a fan of her for years, and having introduced her to Susie, it was a no-brainer that we would make the trip to meet her. If you haven't been to a book signing for a famous person, it's a pretty cray experience. The way this one worked was: we got there about 3 hours before Ree was supposed to appear. If you brought your own books to be signed, you got a ticket that allowed you to wait behind all the people who bought their books from the bookstore. I was fortunate to have purchased the last " The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations " on the shelf and Susie got it too, so we got to get in line before the outside book buyers, I think we were #311 and #312 or something like that. Yes- 3 hours early and in the three hundreds. As we waited in line for the next se

I am very glad it's Wednesday, half-way done with the work week and on the downhill slide. Thursday always feels a bit exciting, like it's almost Friday! This ecard cracked me up, it's so true! Back when I weighed 130 pounds and wore a size 6, I thought I was pudgy. Sad, sad, sad! So anyway, my small step today is actually from yesterday, but applied to today. Let me explain. last night I ate the frog and went grocery shopping. I was like a tornado, ripping through WalMart, filling my cart with food and other necessities. Since I was so glad to have forced myself to go out shopping after work, I treated myself to a new body wash and new toothpaste. I know, you're thinking, "Slow down, Annie, that kind of extravagance can become addictive!" I'll be careful, I promise. Anyways, today I used my lovely new Aveeno body wash, which smells like peach and ginger, apparently. Whatever it is, it's very nice. I am pleased. It's mild and soothing. The

Today started out kind of hard. I was very tired and didn't get up at the usual time, which put me behind from the start. However, this is one of the joys of working from home the way I do. I don't have to be at the desk at a certain time unless I have a meeting of some kind. So today I was late because I had to do some stuff. Among those stuffs was a call to the insurance company to see if they cover a procedure I am seriously interested in having done. So I called and to my surprise (not), I didn't get the info I wanted. I did get advice to get the "CPT and diagnosis codes" from the doctor and then call back. So that forced me to call the doctor and make an appointment. So I did, and am going in two Fridays to get a diagnosis. I am pretty psyched about that. I've been wishy-washy about this for so long, and it's time. So I took the STEP, which makes me feel pretty good. But I didn't work out. So......... I need to go get groceries very badly. As in

This weekend was busy. We took The Boy on a college visit on Friday, that went pretty well. Then on Saturday we went to a wedding. They had each table at the reception decorated with a different Disney movie theme. It was really cute. Ours was Snow White, we had a red glass apple, a black framed mirror and a basket a red apples surrounded by "jewels". I wish I had taken a photo for you, it was so creative. My daughter did take one of the two of us at the wedding. In the midst of all that we watched 2 and half seasons of The Sopranos on the Xfinity Watchathon. SPOILER ALERT- if you haven't watched the Sopranos, and you want to, read no further! *********SPOILERS************** Ok, so I freaking loved Adriana and I am SO MAD that they killed her, and that it was Sil who did it. I wanted her to get away SO badly and I cried and cried. We probably watched too much, the scene where Johnny Sack dies really got to me. My mom, my grandma and both Grandpas died from l

As part of my self-improvement project, I am going to continue to drink a lovely Chia shake every morning. It really tastes good and has a ton of protein, fiber and is filling, for only about 300 calories. It's also super easy: In a blender or Magic Bullet, combine: 1 cup frozen fruit of your choice (I like tropical fruit blend or pineapple) About 1/4 cup water - depends on how thick/thin you like it 1 tablespoon Stevia 2 tablespoons Chia seeds 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt Blend until smooth. You can get the Chia seeds in a lot of different places. I order them a case at a time from Walmart. It's cheaper than buying them by the bag, and way less than health food stores. I get the Bob's Red Mill . Right now they are $32.85, which is about $5 more than they were a few months ago. We're in the midst of a spring snowstorm, it's beautiful outside, but cold and wet, so Aiko and Frank are being frenemies on the couch together: Annie

So, this is me and my name is Annie. I'm a 45 year old wife and mom. I work from home, so I don't get out much, mostly by personal choice. My husband says I'm a hermit, which is cool with me. This blog is an attempt to change some things, with accountability. I'm not going to tell anyone in particular about it, but if people want to read, that's cool with me, too. As you can see in the picture, I am wearing an old football sweatshirt from when my son played, years ago. I have my hair, which is waist-length and straight, in a ponytail. It's almost always in a ponytail or up in a clip. I used to spend hours on my hair. It was the 80s and I had Big Hair and it was DID UP RIGHT. I also am not wearing makeup and what you can't see is that I am also wearing sweatpants, mens' size medium. This is appalling to my teenage daughter, who wears at least two different outfits everyday, depending on her activities. In a nod to fashion, I have on leopard print fu