Fitbit Floors

I had tried various things to get my fitbit to agree that I was going upstairs.  The only time it thought I was going upstairs was when I walked uphill dragging a water hose. 
I read about it and it has an altimeter in it and you have to actually go up, not one step up and one step down because up and then down isn't changing altitudes.  That was interesting.  I'd gotten "floors" by accident, but I couldn't get them on purpose.  So if I could find a flight of stairs, going up and down it would only count once.  I guess I might locate a skyscraper and climb several flights.  Not.

Fitbit Sleep

It took a while to find the "help" tab on my computer when I went to my fitbit account.  I guess it took so long because I didn't realize I needed to look there.  Their articles are more like sentences...no wordy writers.
But last night was the first time I'd activated the sleep function.  The wrist band was very comfortable and easy to ignore.  Turning on the sleep function involved holding down the tiny button on the device until it started a function that looked like a stopwatch. 
When I logged in on my computer this morning, it said I was in the bed 3 minutes before going to sleep, I woke up 6 times (and it showed when) and had 97% sleep efficiency.  It said I slept 6 hours and 53 minutes.  I think maybe it thought I woke up when I moved or turned over.  I am not aware of any of that.  But that might be what the sleep apnea clinics record more tediously.
So if a person has a fitbit and it shows poor sleep efficiency, it might be a good idea to check with a sleep clinic because sleep apnea can cause strokes and even death.

Fitbit

I am enjoying my toys.  I've used my Wii more since I'm trying to get more steps in.  I've connected myfitnesspal to my fitbit on my computer.  So with the Wii I can get more steps in (inside, air conditioned, no tricky footing), I can put my food in with myfitnesspal, and record weight, blood pressure, glucose, heart rate on the fitbit, and the clip-on gadget records my exercise.  Oh, and I listen to music with my ipod while I'm using the Wii.  Today it was Toby Keith.  Yesterday it was Billy Joel.
Yes, I realize all that is pretty obsessive.  Do I care?  I guess not.
There aren't many things I do well on the Wii.  Sitting perfectly still is one, and walking is one.  I'm kind of ok with some of the yoga.  The balance things aren't great and agility is really awful.  It thinks I'm not good with balance, but I haven't fallen off yet, so I guess I have really low standards for physical things.

Stir-Fry

I have a standard stir-fry that I like to have at least once a month.  I've put various things in it depending on what I have available.  But it never tasted all that good to me.  I've tried seasonings, etc.  But this time I used soy sauce.  It really improved the flavor.  I ate it because it was easy, filling, and on my low-carb diet.  But I'm eating this one because in addition to those things, it is also tasty.  I was looking for Worcestershire sauce but found the soy sauce...lucky accident.

Connected

I think I just connected my fitbit and myfitnesspal:)

Crepes - Reflection

Moderation isn't my strong point.
I made crepes for the first time last night.  The first few were ragged.  A spatula didn't flip as well as the silicon batter scraper.  The substitution of low carb pancake mix for flour was successful.
The problem was, I ate two crepes piled high with my apple filling and topped with whipped cream.  And I ate them pretty late.
My weight didn't suffer from my overindulgence, but my blood sugar was 130 this morning.  I'm trying to keep it closer to 100 and under sometimes.
Theoretically, that treat was "on my diet" if eaten in moderation.  That's what I'll do next time...just eat one and eat it earlier in the day when I have some hope of moving next!

Crepes

As I may have mentioned, I don't like to move and I do like to eat.  I thought the fitbit would help me be aware of just how little I do move and maybe encourage me to move a little more.  Maybe it is; it is too soon to tell.
But my other thing is eating.  I saw a chef preparing crepes on my vacation.  I didn't eat them even though the cherries and whipped cream looked really good and the crepes smelled good...
So I've been thinking about crepes.  I decided I wanted crepes with strawberries and whipped cream.  Plan B would be apples simmered in butter with splenda and cinnamon as filling for my crepes.
I'm going to have to use Plan B (apples) because the strawberries looked pretty bad.  I just went and picked apples off our tree so they should be all right.
I'm going to make the crepes with low-carb pancake mix instead of flour. 

Keep Your Feet Hydrated

The podiatrist said to keep my feet hydrated.
  I told him I can't make water go to my feet.
He said he meant moisturized.
So I was spraying my feet with the mister of rose water I'd made.  I decided a sprayer would work better.  I couldn't find the rose essential oil I'd used yesterday so I used cinnamon.  I just eyeballed the measurements.  Yuck.  Sticky mess.
1 to 4 glycerin to water.

Once Upon a Time

At one point in my life my skin was all right.  But after a while, it wasn't.  I broke out; I itched all the time somewhere, my feet itched, cracked, and bled to the point where walking was painful.
I thought I had awful skin and ugly feet.  Well, that was true.
I went to the doctor for my feet.  He said I needed to stop going barefoot.  Oh.
I went to a podiatrist.  I had pedicures. My feet suffered through her care, his care (I tried more than one).  I learned how to take care of my feet so I didn't have to keep going to a podiatrist.  I learned to take care of my toenails so I didn't have ingrown toenails.  I don't know why I didn't instinctively know that this stuff was important.
But here are some of the things I learned:
I have eczema not athlete's foot. 
Dry between my toes.
Don't wear the same shoes every day.  They need to dry out.
Don't wear hose.
Wear socks to prevent excessive rubbing on my sensitive skin.
Just because my feet don't show very often, use moisturizer anyway.
Yesterday I made a moisturizer I can spray on my feet and legs.  I found a recipe that called for 1 part glycerin, 4 parts distilled water, and several drops of essential oil (optional).  I used rose essential oil.  I found glycerin at WalMart with the peroxide.  I looked for the site where I found the recipe so I could give a link here, and couldn't find it.  Most of the recipes had more stuff than just the three items I named here. 
This morning I gave myself a little foot care and now I smell like roses and my feet are smooth.

Hope Springs

Hope Springs was a sad movie.  I guess Meryl Streep did a good job on her character; but her character was a timid idiot.  Why would it take a couple's therapist to dig it out of her that she didn't want appliances for gifts?
She was depressed at the loss of intimacy in their marriage.  Awww.  It was embarrassing to see her going through steps such as masturbation.  Yes, I understood that was portraying that she was lonely and her husband was sleeping in another room. 
I think Better Late than Never would have been a better title.  If you think somebody else can solve your problems, I guess this would be a decent movie.  If you think after 31 years of marriage it is reasonable that there is anything under the sun you haven't told your spouse, you may not be as uncomfortable in this movie as I was.

Heavy Glasses

I have been on a diet for a while.  I take a break sometimes where I try to maintain my weight, keep my blood sugar down, and eat plenty of fiber.  But I have been trying to lose again and it has been very slow.
Last night when I weighed, I had dropped about 5 pounds.  I was elated and fully expected to be even lighter this morning.  I was about four pounds heavier.  All I could think of was I had misread my scales since I wasn't wearing my glasses.
My daughter suggested that the glasses are just really heavy! 

Fitbit Third Day

I'm a little disappointed so far with my Fitbit.
I wanted it to be available for data input with my Kindle Fire.  It isn't.
When it synchronized the first time, it didn't automatically set the time like a phone does, although it does send information from it to my computer.  Evidently not the other way.  So the first day and a half I was on Somalia time or something and my information was spread across two days instead of on the right day.
It does not have any tabs so I can indicate which diet I'm on.  MyFitnessPal doesn't, either, but MyFitnessPal was a free download; I paid for the Fitbit and would have appreciated the ability to individualize it for myself.
When I tried to enter foods, I did not find the low-carb choices that I wanted (and MyFitnessPal has).
It doesn't communicate with my Wii.  I realize there was no reason to expect it to, but I don't want to purchase another scale because my Wii has one sitting on the floor in my sunroom and the bathroom has a very nice scale in it already.
So, for a little gadget that attaches firmly (good job there) and counts my steps...yes.  It says it counts stairs but evidently I haven't climbed any.  It claims to count calories burned, but I'm not positive it's right.  I'm not positive that everybody burns the same number of calories per step.  Wouldn't speed count?  Enthusiasm?

Fitbit Arrived

My Fitbit arrived and I have it plugged into its charger.  I have downloaded the software.  I wonder if it works with my Kindle Fire. 
I had intended to make low-carb creme brulee today but I the store I went to didn't have heavy cream in anything except tiny containers and my recipe calls for two cups of it.  Maybe tomorrow.
My blood sugar was 82 this morning:)

No Internet

I wasn't able to connect to the internet with my air card until just now.  We had rain today, which was good.  But I wish we could have had rain and internet:)
My liquid splenda arrived today.  It doesn't taste quite the same and the granulated splenda but I think it is going to be all right. It is lower-carb than the granulated due to lack of filler.  I found a recipe for a low-carb creme brulee and have been waiting for the liquid splenda to arrive before trying it. I found the banana flavoring so I'm ready to try it now:)
I've ordered a fitbit which was supposed to arrive Wednesday of last week and hasn't gotten here yet. 

Vegging Out

Some people veg out in front of the television.  I use light reading.  I read informational literature, but basically I really like junk for relaxing. 

Life's Hard When You're Stupid...but....

Life's hard when you're stupid, but it's not a bed of roses when you're a klutz.  When you're both, at the same time, that is a hard day.
I believe everybody is stupid some of the time, it's just a matter of percentages; we try to keep the percentage down.
But today I cut myself when trying to cut peppers for the freezer and burned a hole in the bottle of water I was drinking from...stupid or klutz?  I'm not smart enough to decide today.  My percentages are up.  I think I'll take a nap and try to stay out of trouble.

Two Parts to a Diet

The first part of a diet is the exciting part.  You realize you can stay on it, you see results, you have new clothes in a smaller size.
The second part of a diet is the boring part.  This is the part that is different for different people, depending on why you lost weight in the first place. 
After my third child was born, I wanted to lose weight because I didn't even recognize myself when I saw my reflection in a store window while shopping.  When I realized that fat woman was me, I was crushed.  I lost about fifty pounds and a year later I lost another 20 pounds.  That weight stayed off for seventeen years.  After a while, I didn't have to pay attention to what I ate, my weight just stayed the same.
This time when I went on a diet, it was for weight loss and to control my blood sugar.  I don't want dialysis, or amputation, or medication.  Realizing I was going to be on a diet forever wasn't an immediate thought.  I thought, "I'll lose down to what one normal human weighs, then my organs will be able to handle a normal diet with cinnamon rolls and doughnuts."
So day after day, week after week, blah blah...I'm on a low-carb, high fiber diet.  That is boring.  That's why I am so pleased when I discover recipes that take the boredom out of my diet.  I can eat out low carb, but that is boring after a while...meat and something green.  Cooking my stuff and controlling what goes in it is more appetizing with more variety. 
I'd read about changing how we eat for all time as being the answer to now gaining the weight back.  I just put off accepting it as long as I could.

Really Good Blood Pressure

I went to the doctor today for one of those yearly checks.  She said my blood pressure is really good.  I asked what it was.  She said 101 over 64.
 I asked if it is possible to have blood pressure that is too low.  I asked that because sometimes it is lower and I looked it up to see if I felt ok but was actually about to die.  My blood pressure (I think it was 90 over 60) was in the children's and athletes' category...neither of which is close to reality.
She said pretty much anything under 100 for the top number was low. 
So, I guess I should eat more fried foods, more salt, more caffeine, and smoke more.  She did not suggest that, by the way.
She asked about alcohol consumption.  I said, "Not nearly as much as I'd like.  I've pretty much given up empty calories."

Less is NOT More

I took out the yellow flowers to the right of the pot and stuck in the fake flowers I'd bought for my Autumn arrangement.  Not as easy as it sounds.  I stuck the white things back in to disguise holes.

It still has holes.  I need some of that florists' wire so I can bend the things; then maybe I wouldn't have holes.

Store Brands

I'm not a big fan of store brands.  I like the brands I like.  But I got Kroger cream cheese the last time I shopped.  I didn't really see that there would be a difference in taste or texture and decided to try it.  Well.
Philadelphia Cream Cheese has less than one carb per serving and Kroger brand has two carbs per serving!

Knockout Roses, Crepe Myrtle and a Frog

I have double pink knockout roses that have done extremely well.  I have pink crepe myrtles that have also done well.  I keep trying to fix flower beds that aren't so high maintenance. 

 This crepe myrtle is the one that I like the color of the best.

 I rooted this one, but I didn't want this color alternating with my double-pink knockout roses.

 The two pink things are knockouts.

 This picture shows two knockout roses blooming.  The pink thing in the center is a crepe myrtle I rooted, transplanted, and it is already blooming.  There are a couple of plants that bloom prolifically and reseed liberally.  So having them in a flower bed is mostly a case of pulling up the ones I don't want:)  Also in the bed are irises, daylilies, peppers and a few annuals that I grew from seed.  As the bed becomes more established (I only started it last year), I will phase out the annuals because there will be plenty of overlapping colors to enjoy.

 This little guy is down in the center of a pineapple plant.  Larry likes to buy pineapples, eat the fruit (yes, he shares), and plant the top.  It grows and makes more fruit.  That top can be planted after the fruit is harvested.  The pineapples aren't very big, but somebody else said theirs grow to regular size...we evidently weren't giving them enough water and fertilizer.  That would be my fault because I thought it was in the bromeliad family and was just giving it a tiny bit of water in the center...not in the dirt.

It makes a very distinguished plant but is difficult to winter over inside because of the long, pointed leaves.

Smudgy Colors

Today I plan to do a flower arrangement.  I am not good at it.  So I have a plan.
I bought a pot when we were at an open air market in Mostar.  I took it to the florist to have them put an arrangement in it.  My plan is to have a different arrangement using fake flowers for different seasons and different holidays.  That plan has been on hold.
But the last time I was at Hobby Lobby I bought some replacement flowers.  I intend to pull one flower out and replace it with one.  When I finish, maybe it will look half decent.  But the colors are nice.

 This is the arrangement I got at the florist.  Most of the pot isn't visible, but it goes with all the brown that I like.

These are the flowers I got at Hobby Lobby.  I think they will look good for fall.  I considered some rust and gold.  If this turns out ok, I will consider those colors for Thanksgiving.  If I'm going to do this on a regular basis, I need to find a cheaper source...like maybe sales!

I Am Selective

I am selective; I just select a lot of different things.  The seventh grade was the first year I attended a school with a library.  Before that, I had access to the classroom library and typically read everything they had.  But in the seventh grade, we had a school library:) 
I started with the A's and read everything I got to, one shelf at a time.  So I had a wide selection of fiction.
I still like everything.
I took a class once about inferring a country's culture by examining its literature.  I found it to be an extremely interesting course.
Thomas Jefferson, I think, said that an educated person was one who could talk to anybody. If a person listens to the other person, it is possible to relate more strongly to that person, even on a temporary basis.  Reading gives access to other points of view.
So I am selective, I just tend to select a lot of different things.  I realize that is sort of like being a gourmand rather that a gourmet, but I can live with that.
Having said all that, I want to say how much I enjoy the free books for Kindle.  I have a lot of books on it that I haven't read yet.  I collect certain authors, but it is difficult to find new authors.  The free ones allow me to read an author and decide if I want to buy the rest of what the author has available.  That doesn't happen all that often, but it has happened a couple of times.

Crustless Quiche

My post that was titled Good Link has some very useful information.  I made this crustless quiche today.  It is a ham and spinach one, but I plan to try others, too.  They freeze, too.  My husband liked it, too.
I also found several recipes for creme brulee.  I love creme brulee.  I was looking at the nutrition information for several different ones when I noticed there were two different numbers for carbs...one was a little less than half as much as the other.  The smaller number was if liquid splenda was used.  The note said the granulated splenda has more carbs than the liquid because of the fillers.
I have looked for the liquid splenda in three stores and didn't find it.  Today I ordered some from Amazon.  When I see the packaging, I may recognize it on the shelf.  I thought it would be in a bottle.  But evidently the bottle is inside a box.  So it may be available locally.

Dark Knight Rising

I went to see the Batman movie, Dark Knight Rising.  I guess I was expecting "Pow!" and "Bang!"  It was nothing like Batman when I was younger.  Comic book characters were "flat."  This character was well-developed.  Catwoman was a sympathetic character, Robin was there, but different...I enjoyed the movie.  It was long, but not boring.

Good Link

I have really enjoyed this site.  She listed her menus as she lost weight.  So the menus and recipes are listed.  I have made two of her recipes this week and liked both of them.  Plus, they were on the induction phase (or phase 1 for the most weight loss).
http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/

I'm Not an Apprentice

My husband wanted me to help him this morning and I said I would.  Before I'd started on my second cup of coffee, he called me on the phone and asked, "How hot do you want it to be when we start?"
I put up with short, brusque directions from him.  I said I thought he treated people he was paying nicer than he treated me.  He said he expected me to look at what is going on and decide what comes next and be ready.  Yes, I understand he wants that.  We've been married over forty years, what makes him think I am going to start paying attention.  I agreed to help him because he couldn't accomplish what he wanted to without my help not because I wanted a good reference for a carpenter's job. 
He asked if I wanted him to pay me.  I said I wanted him to speak nicely to me. He said, "We both know that's not going to happen."
We both were light-headed, woozy, and irate.  My blood pressure was 78 over 47.  His was better, but still low.  The low blood pressure meant I was less willing to put up with his attitude, the radio, and the air compressor's noise.  Working together with your spouse is overrated.