Cherry Juice

My mom heard wonderful things about the benefits of Cherry Juice and debated trying it because it pricey. About $20 a quart. You only use 2 tbsp a day mixed with 8 ox of water though.
She finally bit the bullet and tried it.

She has been drinking her cherry juice now for 6 days (mixing 2 tbsp in 8oz orange juice).
She called me yesterday morning practically screaming that she could walk.
She said she got out of bed, walked to the bathroom and stopped dead in her tracks realizing she wasn't in pain.
It almost scared her. She said every morning she gets out of bed and the first couple steps almost kill her. She's had so much pain in her ankles, and other joints, it's been like that for years. She usually waddles around like a penguin for half hour trying not to bend her ankles, but there was no pain. Same thing this morning, no pain. It said it could take up to 2 weeks for the antioxidants to build up and start working, but it's been a lot sooner for her. I hope it keeps working for her.

Info I found online:

MAIN HEALTH BENEFITS Drinking CHERRYJUICE tart cherry juice daily may help:

• Bring pain-relief to those who suffer from arthritis.
• Bring pain-relief to those who suffer from gout.
• Prevent certain cancers.
• Protect against heart disease.
• Prevent heart attacks or stroke.
• Prevent varicose veins.
• Fight and prevent diseases.
• Possibly slow the aging process.
• Prevent cataracts.

And may help prevent many other chronic diseases.

Anti-inflammatory Health Benefits

Research shows Tart cherry juice is 10 times more effective than aspirin in reducing pain caused by inflammation, arthritis or gout.

Drinking CHERRYJUICE tart cherry juice daily may help:

• Prevent as well as treat many kinds of pain.
• Provide some relief for joint discomfort.
• Provide some degree of free movement in arthritis affected knees, shoulders, hips, fingers, hands, elbows, wrists, ankles, back or any other joints without the usual adverse side effects of aspirin or ibuprofen on the stomach and the kidney.
• Reduce inflammation of joints.
• Improve mobility.
• Reduce headache.

Antioxidant Health Benefits

Antioxidants reduce damage done by oxygen and other free radical substances to the cells in our bodies. If left unchecked, these damages (cell death) may cause hardening of our arteries that may result in heart attack, impotence or other chronic diseases.

The ruby-red color of tart cherry gives it the potent antioxidant properties more superior to vitamin C and E.

Drinking CHERRYJUICE tart cherry juice daily may help:

Fight and prevent diseases.

Protect artery walls from damage that lead to plaque build up and heart disease. Daily consumption could cut the risk of heart attack by 30%.

Prevent varicose veins by strengthening blood vessel walls. The stronger they are the less likely it is that varicose veins will develop.

Provide high concentration of melatonin (higher than other plant products). Melatonin destroys free radicals that damage our cells and cause cancer.

Flush cancer-causing substances out of the body and stunt the growth of cancerous cells. The perillyl alcohol in tart cherry juice can slash the incidence of all types of cancer as much as 50 percent.

MORE HEALTH BENEFITS

Drinking Tart Cherry Juice daily may help you control pain, fight and prevent some chronic diseases. It may help any health conscious people looking for the possibility of improved health and pain-free living. Tart Cherry Juice is not a "cure", but provides pain relief and increased mobility to those suffering from inflammatory conditions such as arthritis and gout, without the complications traditionally induced by the use of over the counter anti-inflammatory drugs.

There are two main health benefits of drinking the juice daily:

Anti-inflammatory health benefits - help you reduce inflammation/joint swelling caused by arthritis or gout and
Antioxidant health benefits - help you fight and prevent diseases.

I'm alive. I'm just too lazy to post.

Rolling Down Hill

Well, tomorrow's the big day.
I'm turning 41.... officially "over" the hill.
Last year was bad enough when I finally reached the top of the hill.
I teetered there all year.
Now this year, I go over the top and start rolling downhill.
I think I was pushed!
I just don't know what to think.
My husband cracks jokes all the time about me being an old lady.
It drives me nuts.
It's not the turning 41 that's so bad, it's all the crap that goes with it,
like the stupid jokes. (Tim, enough's enough. Knock it off!)

At least on the positive side, I'm getting healthier.
I'm almost at my 50 pound weight loss goal.
4 pounds to go.
My joints don't get as sore.
No more back pain from sleeping.
My acid reflux is gone.
I have more energy.
My clothes are all to big. That's an expensive side affect though. LOL

Ok, I may be getting old, but I guess I'm getting better!

Bobby Pins and Vacuums

Bobby pins and vacuum cleans don't mix.
I just spent a very irritated hour trying to figure out why my vacuum wouldn't suck.
I took off all the filters, tried it, still wouldn't suck.
Took the bottom off, cut all the hair and string off from around the brushes (nasty),
still didn't suck.
Stuck a wire coat hanger into the tube, still not.

Took apart the flexible hose for attachments, Ah ha!!! It was plugged.
Couldn't blow it out, hanger not long enough to stick through it.
Searched around, found a curtain rod, shoved that through,
it got hung up on what I thought was a linty hair ball, nope...
out through the side of the hose, pops a bobby pin. Damn it!

Kelsey leaves that kind of stuff all over.
It took me forever to work the pin out and unplug it.
Now there's a hole in it, that I can't find again.
She's the reason our last vacuum was broke.
I sucked up some stones that were under her bed that I didn't see.
They broke the fins on the motor.

Yeah, the ding-a-ling used to just pick up stones and rocks and bring them home.
I can't tell you how many stones I found in my washing machine when she was younger.

I'm officially a size 16!

I'm officially a size 16!
A misses size 16, not a 16W in plus sizes.
In January I was needing to be in a 20W (jeans)but was still forcing my big butt into an 18W.
Well since Friday, I've bought 2 pair of straight 16's.
I'm so excited.

Still wearing an 22W in tops though.
I have wide shoulders and fat arms that need the bigger size, hopefully that'll go too.
This is so great! About 4 years ago, I was excited to get a size 22W jeans on. Before that all I wore was stretchy knit pants.

Today's weigh in brought me down another 2 pounds.
I've lost 33 pounds all together now.
I actually weigh less than Tim now. LOL

Thank you SparkPeople and all you girls that help keep me focused!

Happy Easter

Wishing all my friends
and their families
a very
"Happy Easter"

A Woman's Poem

A Woman's Poem

He didn't like the casserole,
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard...
Not like his mother used to make.

I didn't perk the coffee right,
He didn't like the stew.
I didn't mend his socks,
The way his mother used to do.

I pondered for an answer,
I was looking for a clue.
Then I turned around and smacked the shit out of him...
Like his mother used to do.

Freen

That means "friend" in Doric.
And I know that because my friend Jay, from all the way over in Scotland
sent me a Doric dictionary.
It is the language of North East of Scotland where she grew up and still lives.
She also sent a book about the MacIntyre Clan, The Origins Of The Clan MacIntyre.

I got home from work yesterday and check the mail and found a brown paper
wrapped package. It had a shipping label like I have never seen. Of course, I've never received mail from overseas before. I flipped it over and seen her name.
Yay!!! I was "kittelt up" (excited).
I barely made it through the door before I started to open it.

If you're reading this Jay, I just have to say thank you again.
You are the sweetest person!!!
I'm so glad that we are friends.

The Slap...

We have a full length mirror on our bathroom door facing into the hallway.
I was in the middle of saying, "I wish we had a full length mirror in the
bathroom so I can see my fat butt..." and my daughter slapped me really hard
on the arm and said every time she hears me say I'm fat,
or put myself down she's gonna smack me.

I was in shock, kinda mad, kinda laughing, very surprised!
I told her she can't slap me like that all the time, she said I can't put myself
down all the time because it hurts her knowing I'm upset.

I guess maybe I do need a good smack.

Hair Removal

I got this e-mail today.
It was so LMAO funny I just had to post it.

All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises
of easy, painless removal - the Epilate, scissors, razors, Nair and now... the wax.
Read on.

My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner, and play with the kids.
I then had the thought that would ring painfully in my mind for the next few hours:

"Maybe I should pull the waxing kit out of the medicine cabinet."
So I headed to the site of my demise: the bathroom.

It was one of those 'cold wax" kits. No melting a clump of hot wax,
you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and
you peel them apart and press them to your leg (or wherever else)
and you pull the hair right off.

No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I'm not a genius,
but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out.
(YA THINK!?!)

So I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each other
stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together,
my genius kicks in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to
1000 degrees. (Cold wax, yeah. Right!)
I lay the strip across my thigh.
Hold the skin around it tight and pull. IT WORKS!

Ok, so it wasn't the best feeling, but it wasn't too bad. I can do this!
Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah,
fighter of all wayward bodyhair and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.

With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids,
I sneak back into the bathroom,
for the ultimate hair fighting championship. I drop my panties and
place one foot on the toilet. Using the same procedure, I apply the
wax strip across the right side of my bikini line,
covering the right half of my hoo-ha and stretching down the inside of my butt cheek
(it *was* a long strip) I inhale deeply and brace myself.....
RRRRRRIIIIIIPPPPPP!

I'm blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!!.....OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!!!

Vision returning, I notice that I've only managed to pull off half the strip.
CRAP! Another deep breath and RIPP! Everything is spinning and spotted. I think I may pass out...must stay conscious... must stay conscious.

Do I hear crashing drums???? Breathe, breathe .OK, back to normal.
I want to see my trophy - a wax covered strip, the one that has caused me so much pain,
with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in the glory that is my triumph over body hair.
I hold up the strip. There ' s no hair on it. Where is the hair???
WHERE IS THE WAX????

Slyly I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I see the hair.
The hair that should be on the strip. It's not!! I touch I am touching wax.

I run my fingers over the most sensitive part of my body,
which is now covered in cold wax and matted hair.
Then I make the next BIG mistake... remember my foot is still propped upon the toilet?
I know I need to do something. So I put my foot down.

Sealed shut! My butt is sealed shut. Sealed shut!

I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out what to do next and think to myself, 'Please, don't let me get the urge to poop. My head may pop off!"
What can I do to melt the wax?

Hot water!! Hot water melts wax!!!! I'll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub,
get in, immerse the wax-covered bits and the wax should melt and I can gently wipe it off, right???? *WRONG!!!!!!!*

I get in the tub - the water is slightly hotter than that used to torture 20 prisoners of war
or sterilize surgical equipment - I sit.

Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued together,
is having them glued together and then glued to the bottom of the tub...
in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn't melt cold wax.

So, now I'm stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had cemented
myself to the porcelain!!! God bless the man who had convinced me a few
months ago to have a phone put in the bathroom!!!!!

I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and have some secret
of how to get me undone. It's a very good conversation starter,
"So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!"

There is a slight pause. She doesn't know any secret tricks for removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know exactly where the wax is located,
"are we talking cheeks or hole or hoo-ha?"

She's laughing out loud by now... I can hear her. I give her the rundown
and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.

YEAH!!!! RIGHT!!!! I should be the joke of someone else's night.

While we go through the various solutions, I resort to trying to scrape the wax off with a razor. Nothing feels better than having your girlie goodies covered in hot wax, glued shut,
stuck to the tub in super hot water and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!!!

By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike and I'm
pretty sure I'm going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for this event.

My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving grace...the lotion they give you
to remove the excess wax. What do I really have to lose at this point?
I rub some on and OH MY GAWD!!!!!!!!

The scream probably woke the kids and scared the dickens out of my friend.
Its sooo painful, but I really don't care. "IT WORKS!!!! It works!!!!"


I get a hearty congratulation from my friend and she hangs up.
I successfully remove the remainder of the wax and then notice to
my grief and despair. THE HAIR IS STILL THERE..ALL OF IT!

So I recklessly shave it off. Heck, I'm numb by now. Nothing hurts I
could have amputated my own leg at this point.

Next week I'm going to try hair color!

Finally... A New Suit

I finally found a swimsuit!!!! Yay Me!
This is the first new swimsuit I've had in probably 5 years.
I love how this one pulls me in in all the right places.
The sides have shirring, to make little fabric gathers across the front
which hides all the bumps and bulges.
And it's fitted! It's not just a loose hanging dress type thing.
It hugs me perfectly. :)






The bottom is skirted, but it's attached low enough that it
won't float up in the water and show my whole stomach.

I just love it.
I'm so excited that I finally have a new swimsuit.

And the best part... it was only $33 at Walmart.

Diet update:
As of Monday, I'm down 26 pounds.
That's over half way to my goal.

This Chic's Hilarious

I love reading this blog:
What's On My Mind...

She cracks me up!!!
Check it out.

Validation

Free Kashi Entree

Be sure to go get you frozen entree coupon
from Kashi.
"Click here for coupon"

Just Bored...

I'm just sitting here bored,
not really wanting to do anything.

I did mt Wii Fit workout this morning and got all sweaty.
Took a shower trying not to get my hair wet.
No, I do NOT wash my hair everyday, and that is NOT gross.
My hair is really dry and I just colored it, so I want it to stay nice.

I did have to reflat iron it this morning a bit though.
Flat irons are had to use on the back of your head,
I'm too afraid of getting burned I guess.

Anyway, I still have my bathrobe on, waiting to get dressed to go to work.
Not looking forward to work. It's cold and the snow is blowing.
Not fun on an open playground.

We got about 6" of snow yesterday after the freezing rain stopped.
Hopefully we won't have to deal with this weather much longer.

We're going out for a fish fry tonight.
Yay!!! We're getting out. LOL

Tomorrow I'm going on a shopping trip with my mom.
Which means we'll be the care going 45-50mph
on the highway while everyone passes us going 65-70mph.
I can't say anything, or in her best I'm the mom shut your mouth voice,
I'll get the "I've had my license over 40 years,
I think I know how to drive a car!"
Always a fun trip, NOT!

Oh well, life goes one.

One Of Me Favorite New Recipes

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

20 Minutes to Prepare and Cook

Ingredients

Brown Sugar, 4 tsp unpacked Chicken Breast, no skin, 12 ounces (I used 2 Chicken Breast Tenderloins for each serving) Garlic, 3 cloves Butter, salted, 2 tbsp Salt, 1 tsp Pepper, black, 1 dash

Directions

This makes four servings, 3 oz per person
1. Melt the butter in a frying pan
2. Brown the garlic in the butter
3. Add chicken breasts to garlic and butter and cook thoroughly,
adding salt and pepper as you like it.
4. When chicken is fully cooked add brown sugar on top of each breast
5. Allow the brown sugar to melt into the chicken (about 5 minutes)
6. Serve with your favorite carb, and veggie or salad.
We usually have rice or noodles and carrots or green beans.

Number of Servings: 4

This only has 156 calories per serving
and 6.8 grams of fat.

21 Gone and A New Look

As of this morning, I've lost 21 pounds.
Yay me!!!!

I decided to treat myself to a haircut.
I just love it.
It's not as puffy as my old hair.
The stylist used a straightening iron on it.
I'll have to practice that with my daughters iron.
Anyway, here are the pictures...

Here's the old me, puffy hair and 21 or more extra pounds...

Stuck at 17

That's how I feel, like I'm stuck at 17 pounds lost.
I'm shooting for 50, but have only lost 17 pounds so far.
I feel like the first 15 came off so easy,
now things have really slowed way down.

I'm eating good, staying in my calorie range,
but really slacking off when it comes to workouts.

I love my Wii Fit, but almost hate to do it when anyone's home.
The minute I want to get it out,
then everyone else wants to play or sit and watch.

"Sorry, my fat ass shaking up and down is not entertainment!"
"I'm not trying to put on a show!"
"Just give me 20 minutes alone, at least 20 minutes!"

So tonight I bought 2 workout DVD's, this way when I drag out Wii
and the whining starts, I can hand over the remote and still go workout.
I'll put the disk in my computer and workout.
Unlike my living room,
the computer room door has a lock.

Facebook

Well, I finally signed up for Facebook,
but I'm total frickin lost over there,
I can't figure out how to do anything.
And it just looks so blah!
Aaggghhhhhhh!

I Love My Wii Fit

My husband bought a Nintendo Wii gaming system a week ago.
I just love it!!!

I have to tell you, we have not had this much fun together in a long time.
We laugh, we talk, we encourage each other, we jump around
and get goofy. It's a blast.

But the best part is Wii Fit.
We installed it yesterday and I've been on it non-stop.
Hula hoops, step aerobics, jogging, yoga and games are the only things
I've done and there's so much more.
It definitely raises my heart rate and gets me breathing hard.
My legs feel like jello right now from my jog.

The best part is that I was able to add it as my strength training
and cardio tracker at Spark People.
(And I've lost to more pounds for a total of 14)

Mario Go-Karts is loads of fun too.
All three of us pull out our steering wheels and race.
I'm usually in last place, but I don't care,
it's fun and we're all playing together.
And how great is that?
At least during the winter when we're all cooped up inside.

12 Pounds Gone

In the past 3 weeks I've lost 12 pounds.
Yay me!

I can't really see the loss yet, but I a coworker asked
last week if I've lost weight. She said my face looks thinner

I've been tracking all my calories and nutrition at Spark People.
I love that place. It's totally free, the nutrition tracker is awesome
and the support in great.

Hopefully my Wii Fit will be here soon
so I can get my butt moving and sweat off more pounds.

I'm shooting for 50 pounds by June 30.
After I reach that, I want to lose 30 more.
Hopefully that will put me into a size 10.
Wish me luck.

I Just Feel Depressed

That's it! And my family doesn't get it.
Well they get it, but they think I'm silly
because it's over the internet and board issues.
Like internet friends aren't real friends.
And I value every friend I have, internet or not.

I've been to the point of tears the last few days because
an online friend I cherish left a board I'm on because of
drama that happened there.
Another left also that I was becoming close to,
that was a neat connection because she's from a town close to me.

Now other decisions are being made there that I also don't agree with.
I've done so much there that I almost feel like this board belongs to me.
But I need to pull myself back and remember it's not my board,
I just help run it.

I feel depressed every time I click into there to check on things.
I feel like people are being manipulated into doing what others want.
I feel like I'm being left out.
I feel like I really don't want to post.
I feel like an idiot feeling like this.
I feel like I don't fit there anymore.
I feel like I'll lose some great friends if I stop going there.
I feel like I'll explode and tell someone off if I stay.
I feel like crying again.
I feel like nobody gives a shit.
I feel like that board "is" a huge part of my life.
I feel like that board "was" a huge part of my life.
I feel like crawling in bed and never getting up.
I feel like I hate everything right now.
I feel tears running down my cheeks.
I feel like such a loser.

Not Really An Update

I've been telling myself over and over,
"you need to update your blog, you need to update your blog".
Well, this is it.
But only to say I have a terrible migraine.
It's hard to concentrate on anything,
so I'm going to bed.