Wednesday Weigh-In

Cue the shark music. Dunh, dunh, dunh, dunh. Step on the scale. Deep sigh of relief. Down another for a total of 8 lbs.

I didn't think I was going to lose this week. Had a downfall on Saturday. I didn't bother the bag of Hershey Kisses in the pantry. I thought that would be a huge trigger, but it wasn't. Chocolate cupcakes abound this week. I had one for my birthday celebration and one on my actual birthday. There are still a dozen and a half cupcakes left, and they haven't been calling my name. So what was the temptation? There was a box of Big Cheez-Its in the pantry. I couldn't stop thinking about that box. Snacking on carrot sticks wasn't going to cut it. Decided it would be best to give in and took the portion size, 9 crackers. Was I happy? Yes. Did it satisfy me and stop me from going back for another handful and then another and another? No. Guess there are some things I just can't have in the house.

What about you? Are there things you can't keep in the house because you can't control yourself? How do you handle the cravings?

Boot Hill

The girls found the perfect addition to the garden so dragged Himself to haul it home. The Eldest picked out the star gazer lily. I don't think she understands the significance, but I love it. Guess I got me my own tombstone.

Seven

I love movies especially old movies. There are some movies I can watch over and over again. No matter how many times I've seen them, I still enjoy them. So, today's seven: Seven Movies I Can Watch Over and Over Again And Never Get Tired of Watching

1. The Day The Earth Stood Still, classic sci-fi starrring Michael Rennie and Patricia O'Neal. This is my all time number one movie. Fifty-six years later the message is still as fresh as the first time I saw this film when I was six or seven. Not to mention I have always dreamed of having my own Gort to vaporize to oblivion people that tick me off.

2. How Green Was My Valley, Roddy McDowell's screen debut. A charming story of growing up in a family of Welsh coal miners. A good cry.

3. The Quiet Man, my favorite John Wayne where he isn't a cowboy or a soldier. Sparks fly between Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. The sexiest scene ever filmed has to be the rainstorm in the church yard. Wayne's wet, white silk, Arrow shirt. THUD

4. Kiss of Death, Richard Widmark's screen debut. His performance as gangster, Tommy Udo, is electric.

5. Broken Lance, Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark and a very young Robert Wagner in a classic story of parental control and sibling rivalry.

6. The Long Ships, my favorite Viking movie teams Richard Widmark with his best friend, Sidney Poitier in a quest to find and possess "the mother of voices", a great golden bell made of solid gold.

7. Down to the Sea in Ships, Richard Widmark, Lionel Barrymore and little Dean Stockwell in a coming of age story.

There are many more movies I could add to this list, but seven is enough. Do you have any favorite movies you never tire of watching?

Blueberry Freezer Jam

My friend, Lambie, is an Earth Mother. Everything she cooks or bakes is made from scratch. I used to be an Earth Mother when my babies were little. Baked my own bread without a breadmachine, made my own baby food. Though I couldn't claim to be in the same league as Lambie. Then the girls got bigger and somehow we became busier with Brownies, soccer, karate, school functions. I traded in my Earth Mother apron and became a suma cum laude graduate of the Jane Jetson Culinary School. You know, push a few buttons, ding! Supper's ready.

This summer, Lambie is the 4H Farm Kitchen Camp Director. She's been busy with her campers picking veggies, making salads, churning butter and making pancakes to put the butter on. Last week she told me she was making Freezer Jam with them.

Well, Freezer Jam, who woulda thunk? No cooking the fruit. No boiling Mason Jars. No sealing jelly with parafin and capping in a water bath. Freezer Jam was a process worthy of a Jane Jetson culinary school graduate. Lambie said you mash up fruit, add sugar, add pectin, put into containers and voila, jam. Lambie told me I could find the pectin at Wallyworld in the kitchen area and inside were directions for making Freezer Jam as well as the traditional cooked stuff.

A trip to Wallyworld where the Young One and I found the pectin, plastic Mason jars that would go in the freezer, and 2 pints of blueberries, The Young One's favorite fruit of choice.

The process isn't difficult, but you need to follow the directions exactly. We mashed, stirred, mixed, and ended up with 5 cups (just like the package said) of blueberry jam. The Young One was disappointed when I told her the jam wouldn't be ready for 24 hours. Hopefully it will set and then we can see if the proof is in the jam.

You can find the recipe for Certo Blueberry Jam by following the link. Other fruit jam recipes are also there if blueberries don't float your boat.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Another week to weigh in. I was a little nervous about stepping on the scale this week. I had jumped on the scale on Sunday and was elated to be down two pounds. Then I jumped on the scale on Monday and I was up two. Another run at the scale on Tuesday and I was down one. I told Erica, and she had excellent advice: Stay off the scale! Watching the scale bounce up and down as the body adjusts is frustrating. Once a week weigh in is enough. So this morning, I weighed myself and I lost two more pounds for a total of 7 lbs.

It's not enough of a drop to make a noticeable difference, yet. I don't know where I have lost the weight. Maybe my ears are smaller.

I've also started an art journal about the journey. The journal is entitled Goddess: A Weight Loss Journey. The front cover has Raphael's Venus stepping out of the clamshell decoupaged on it. The picture is a self-portrait and one of the reasons I decided to try to lose weight. I was teaching at the museum and I wore my favorite stripe shirt, a dark blue and kelly green polo shirt. On my way to the education office, I caught my reflection in the large, glass windows that look out into a courtyard. My lord, who was that fat woman?! I looked like a beach ball with legs. So I hope to document my journey from beach ball to goddess.

If you're on a weight loss journey, how do you handle the ups and downs? I've found it helpful to have someone who has gone through the journey or is going through the journey to talk to. Misery loves company. What strategies work for you? Do you have a buddy? Do you have a journal?

Seven

This is a slightly different take on Erica's Friday Five, Five Favorite Musicals and Kaye's Fun Friday spotlighting State Fair

I'm not a big fan of musicals. I almost feel anti-American in light of those who chimed in how much they loved musicals. There are a few I enjoy: The King and I, Pippin, the Music Man. Muppet's Christmas Carol, Wizard of Oz. There are some I'll even admit to liking: Oliver, Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof But for the most part, I don't like musicals. So today, seven reason's why I don't like musicals:

1. Singing detracts from the drama. I gotta wash that man right outta my hair. For heaven sake's don't sing about it, pull up your big girl panties and give that man the brush!

2. Real cowboys don't sing. Real cowboys sing Git along little dogie and sing badly. Just listen to Charlton Heston in Will Penny singing Git along little dogie. He sings and sings badly. Real cowboys don't sing junk about a surrey with fringe on top. Yeah, I know there was a whole group of singing cowboy's. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry. Don't care much for them either. You don't hear the Duke singing Outta My Way, Pilgrim.

3. It's embarrassing to watch Clint Eastwood paint his wagon. I'm glad he learned his lesson and went on to do the man with no name movies without singing his lines. Real cowboys just don't sing.

3. Lumberjacks don't sing either. Otherwise, it sounds like I'm a lumberjack and I'm ok. I want to wear a bra just like my dear papa.

4. Soldiers lustily singing We'll follow the Old Man wherever he wants to go ain't goin' my way. Soldiers sing cadence. I heard 'em when I was a kid visiting my brother who was in basic training at Fort Dix, NJ. Your eyes are straight. Your pants are tight. Your er...boys are swinging from left to right. Sound off! One, two. Sound off! Three four. Bring it on down. One, two, three, four. One two. Three four.

5. The heroines seem so ditzy when they sing.

6. Heroes too.

7. I saved the best reason for last. Cats. What was the point? Two thumbs pointing way down to the litter box.

Anyone else out there dislike musicals?

New Toy

I like working in the sunroom, but sometimes it's a hassle bringing tools and toys up from the studio. I was reading The Decorated Page, a how to book about keeping an art journal. The book had a suggestion about keeping a set of items so if you wanted to journal on the go, you could without hunting up the items you needed. With this in mind, I went on a trip to Michael's to buy some items like watercolor pencils and markers. While there, I found this wonderful tote. On sale! It has tons of pockets to hold pens, pencils,paints, inks, etc. It has large inside pockets to hold a book, a cutting mat, and my current WIP. I'm working on a journal to document my weight loss journey. Now I can sit in the sunroom and work to my heart's content. If I'm arting, I'm not eating!

Now if only I could organize the studio space as efficiently!

Do you have a vocation or avocation that you like to be portable? How do you tote the supplies you need?