Happy New Year - Now It's Time to Start the Year Out Right!

Happy New Year to my friends, near and far. My holiday cards have taken a beating for my overseas friends. My friend Hans in the Netherlands got half a card, but colored what he had beautifully (which makes sense, because he's such a talented artist). He sent that to me at the same time as my mailbox holding the card that he sent to me. My mantle is resplendent with holiday cards from SO many friends. My family stopped sending cards when their kids grew older, so it's really all friends, and many from overseas. I love each and every one of you for your kindness. It's really made my holiday season special. 

I don't know where I'd be or through what darkness 
I would be swimming without all of you to help 
me out of the dark and into the light. Thank You 
is inadequate, but it's all I have. My friends, 
near and far, are my lifelines. 

Today I hit the ground running, so to speak. I need to get to the gym and swim - I'm about two pounds over where I want to be. I also have an 8:00 am appointment at my orthodontist, then I have to go shopping at my co-op (although I might push that off a week because next week's "wellness" sale is a must-do), and a few groceries that I forgot yesterday need to be purchased. Then I'll make a set of eight stuffed peppers for dinners for the next week+, and do laundry, laundry, laundry. 

I'm making a batch of eight stuffed peppers for my 
dinners today. It's one of my favorite winter recipes, 
and even though we've barely gotten any snow (I'm 
VERY happy about that), it's still cold, so they're a 
perfect meal. 

Still, it was delightful to get a few days off. DH finally opened his birthday gifts more than a week after his birthday, and he was generally pretty happy with what he got. So, SCORE! For a change, I was pretty on-point with my gifts. That's a relief. 

I really needed these days off for a reset. Today I'm 
headed back to the swimming pool, and at 8:00 am 
today, I see my orthodontist. I'm hoping I'm still on 
track for getting my braces off for my birthday, but 
I'll have to wait and see what he has to say. 

What I really needed, though, was rest, relaxation and catching up on some sleep. I did go to the shop yesterday (even though we were closed) so that I could pull all of the holiday ornamentation off, and bring the shop back to "normal". I'll text Chickie to remind her to pull the holiday hours signs from the door and windows, but the rest of the store no longer looks like a tinsel explosion hit the factory - LOL. Instead, it looks ready for business. 

So, I put all of the holiday decorations away at the shop 
yesterday. I knew I didn't have any time to do it today, 
and I didn't want to leave it until Thursday. So I went over 
on my "day off" and took care of it. "Dusted and Done". 

I, however, still have to get a load of laundry started before I leave for the gym, so I'll wish all of you a wonderful 3rd of January. It's great to have all of you out there, reading. Your friendship - near and far - really help me through the bad days and into the good. I'm grateful for all of you every day, and send my love and wishes for an exceptional and joy-filled day your direction. Enjoy your Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל.

It's Almost Time For a New Year - Here's Wishing You A Good One

Happy New Year's Eve to all of my readers. We're closed at the shop until Monday, although DH and I will be there for a short time to run our year-end reports and final sales reports for the year. We'll also reset the sales history for next year's sales, then we'll get out of there and not return until Monday. 

My life has been enriched and anchored by all of you, my 
dear on-line friends. Some of you I have known for many 
years, others are new, yet all are treasured. 

Of course, I'm still starting my day out at the swimming pool. It's Friday, so it's a swimming day, and I hate to miss out on a great swim. There are times (like when I'm fighting with breast stroke or get suddenly swamped in a back stroke) when it's a bit of a "What the heck are you doing, girt? Why do you think you enjoy feeling this way?" But in general, I look forward to my swimming days. 

I'm looking at possibly getting one of these - a Wolf 
Professional Grade Blender. I'm using a blender a lot, and
I've already gone through two blenders (and the third isn't 
really happy with me either). I think the design of this 
one will tolerate the hard work I put it through. Although 
I chop up my veggies, there's still nothing easy about 
celery, carrots, jicama, and other fresh veggies that need 
to be pureed. 

Since I didn't get my Wednesday off, today will become my Wednesday with grocery shopping at my neighborhood grocery as well as Whole Foods. I'll return home with bags of groceries and start making my Alkagizer for the next few days. I usually make enough for four days at a time. I'm not sure how long my new/old blender will hang in there, so I'm tabling my thoughts of a new phone for a while and pushing a new industrial strength blender to the top of my "Must Get" list. My old phone (a Google Pixel 2) is still working fine, my blender, even with the new carafe, is something I have no long-term faith in. Both items, the phone and the blender, are essential, and both are expensive. I can only buy one, realistically, right now. So ... time for more in-depth research on blenders. 

WildFit with Eric Edmeades has been life-changing for 
me. DH isn't happy with it - I don't eat the same foods 
and he's very uncomfortable with my food choices now. 
But I bend a little - I actually had three cookies for 
Christmas morning. I didn't bother with any more - no 
real desire. Looking for a great program? I highly 
recommend WildFit to understand how your body works 
with food and which foods trigger your body into 
negative results. 

I'm ending the year down 33 pounds from where I started it. I ascribe this 100% to WildFit and the nutrition and eating regime I learned from the program. I feel healthier than I have in many years. I still have five pounds I would like to release, but I actually am at the top of what I want for weight today, weighing in as 121. I had to fudge my dinner last night - there were no fresh veggies in the house for me to eat. I went overboard on nuts for a snack, and it was a poor decision. Today was actually up 1-1/2 pounds from yesterday, but I know it'll be right back off again once I can get some fresh veggies back into my meals. 

I don't think DH actually bought a Prime Rib, there were 
several excellent cuts of meat on sale and he picked the 
one that looked the best to him. He's much better at choosing 
meat than I am. I'll roast it as if it's a Prime Rib, though. 
They all roast in a similar fashion. It'll be a nice test for the 
new oven. 

We have a roast beast defrosting in the refrigerator. DH wants it tomorrow but I'm not sure it will be defrosted by then. Still, I'll give it a good try. I'll have to check my recipes once again - I don't cook these expensive cuts of meat often - only once or twice a year, and I DON'T want to mess it up. I think DH is going to make a frozen pizza in the oven tonight - more power to him. Hopefully he doesn't mess my oven up with grease and dripped cheese. 

So Happy New Year to friends - old and new. It's been a 
delight sharing this year with all of you, and quite 
frankly, I don't know what I would have done without 
your support during a very difficult year. Be safe, be 
happy, and I'll be back in 2022. 

So have a safe and happy New Year. I'll be on "radio silence" for a few days, but I'll be back on Monday, and I'll try to check in to keep up with your posts during my long weekend. I look forward to being with all of you in 2022. Happy New Year!