Hot Chips!

When you were growing up did you call barbecue flavored chips "hot chips"?  I'm just wondering if we were the only family that did and still do.  If my brother asked me to get him some hot chips, I'd come home with barbecue every time.  In this world of every and any flavor you can imagine for potato chips - hot chips are still my favorite.

If you've never heard of a little brand call "Fox Family" chips, please try to find them and check them out.  They are made locally in the area I grew up and sold throughout New England.    They have 3 flavors - plain, salt & pepper, and barbecue.   For some reason, I can't find them anywhere near where I live.  I'm hooked on the barbecue and every time I visit my family, I bring a few bags back. 

These chips give a whole new meaning to "Hot Chips!"  They are spicy and you definitely need something to drink when you eat them.  They burn your lips, tongue, gums and throat...and yet I can't stop eating them.  I figure they are hot enough that they are burning right though me and not stopping to make any fat on the way out.

Sadly, I just ate the last of my hot chips from home and I've got to wait several weeks to get more.

Water vs. Diet Coke

One of my facebook friends started a page to help motivate herself and others.  She is issuing challenges to do with the way you eat, drink, etc.  She just started it 2 days ago and her first challenge for yesterday was to double the amount of water you drink in a day.  Well, swallowing my spit would be doubling the amount since I am not a water drinker.  I love my Diet Coke.  I start drinking it at 8 a.m. on a work day and take a sip before I go to bed.  Water, usually, just doesn't fit into my daily intake, but yesterday I decided to take on the challenge.  I drank water all day at work, topping out at 48 ounces.  That's a lot of water for me and a lot of trips to the ladies room.  Bonus - exercise and water! 

The good news, I was down a pound this morning.  The other good news, I felt better about myself knowing that I could do it, and that it was something good for me.  The bad news - man, did I have a headache by about 3 p.m.  I came home and did have a glass of Diet Coke, and then another with supper.  But that's a lot less then I would have had in a normal day.

Today I have had 24 ounces of water so far.  I even took some with me when I went to town!  Oh my, could there be a lifestyle change on the horizon?  Well, right now I have  a glass of soda sitting in front of me as I type.  So maybe I'm mixing it up - more water, less soda, better for me all around.

I don't think I could or want to give up my Diet Coke, but I do think that more water on a daily basis is something that I'm going to work on.

What I did for ice cream.

If you've read this blog, you know I struggle with me weight and it usually wins.  So, I've been on a kick of trying to record what I eat every day and stay under my calories.  We've been hiking and trying to get some exercise in on the weekends and during the week when we can.  It's helping, I've dropped a few ounces and I do feel better about myself. 

Today was a good day.  I didn't snack on things I shouldn't snack on.  I ate healthy.  But when I put in my food for day, I only had 110 calories left for the day and I wanted a sugar free Klondike Bar for 160 calories.  So....I got on the treadmill and walked enough minutes to burn the 50 calories...then I walked a few extra minutes just in case I hadn't been completely truthful or forgot something during the day.  Yeah, I earned my ice cream, the old fashioned way.

I've shocked myself today.  I had been letting things slide, hadn't been paying attention to what I'd been eating and really hadn't cared if I was over on my calories.  Maybe I've turned over a new leaf.  Maybe I've realized that swimsuit and short weather is right around the corner and I don't want to be as flabby as I am right now.  A little less of me would be nice!

So, I exercised for ice cream.  And I'll probably do it again.

Mother's Day Isn't My Favorite Holiday

First, let me say Happy Mother's Day to all of the Moms, Aunts, Grandmothers, Foster Moms and Friends out there.  If you have a part in a child's life and provide a positive influence - then you deserve a huge thank you!

Mother's Day as a kid, is a chance to treat your mom special, give her a gift, tell and show her how much you love her.  It's really something that should be done every day of the year.  I lost my mom 2 years ago to ovarian cancer, so Mother's Day is reminder of what I had in my live and what I miss every day.  I am so thankful that I had my mom for almost 48 years.  She was simply the best.  My sister and I went and got a sweet little basket of pansies yesterday and put them on her grave.  She would have loved them and talked about their pretty little faces.

B and I were foster parents, hoping to adopt.  That didn't happen and we only spent about 6 months parenting.  All my adult life, I've dreaded mother's day because I wasn't a mom.  But in my heart, I know I would have been a great mother and that I was not less of a person because that didn't happen.    I grew up in a little country church where the moms are honored, brought up front, given gifts.  And every year, I dreaded it.  I never got to stand up front.  I got to set in the pew.  There isn't an Aunts Day or a Mentor Day or a Special Friend Day but there should be.

Today I was heading home from a whirlwind weekend of visiting with family and I stopped to gas up the vehicle and get a soda.  The gentleman behind the counter gave me my change and wished me a Happy Mothers Day.  I smiled and thanked him.  It made me feel good to think that I looked like I could be a mom.  

I'm glad that I got to be part of a special day for the mom's in my life - my mother-in-law, sister and sister-in-law.  They are 3 beautiful women, inside and out.

So, I've made it through another Mother's Day, waiting for Aunts Day!

Hiking, me?

B is recovering from knee surgery and I need to move, so we have decided to do some hiking this spring.  There is a great little state park about 10 minutes from our house and we decided to see what it had to offer.  Fun, history, sweat, crampy feet, hills, mud, 60 minutes of uninterrupted time...those are all things it has had to offer us so far. 

I have a new pair of hiking shoes, supposedly the most fabulous, and decided to try them out tonight.  Probably not so smart to wear new shoes on a 60 minutes hike.  My right foot was not happy.  But, I limped through it and we burned some seriously calories and I'm ready to try it again this weekend. 

It's more challenging then the treadmill and more tranquil then the local high school track.  I am a little weirded out by ticks and have been itchy since we got home (no ticks though).  But so far that seems to be the only downside. 

I'm anxious to see if we can keep this up and keep pushing each other to do more and hike further.  This may just be the exercise push that I need!

Thankful

Everyday there are so many things to be thankful for.  I thought I'd share a few of the things that I've been very thankful for since I last wrote.

• My brother-in-law had emergency gall bladder surgery, and pulled through that fine.  Unfortunately, sometime shortly after the surgery, he had a heart attack (unknown to him), that then caused a blood clot, that then caused a stroke.  I am thankful, that he has pulled through all these things and is getting better.  He had some vision loss and some movement in his arm.  But those are things that can get better.  He's 42, has 2 children and a beautiful wife.  I am so thankful that he is still with us.
• B had knee surgery 11 days ago and is doing great.  He got the ok from the doctor today that he can start riding bike and getting back to normal activities.
• My Dad is going to be 71 tomorrow and he is doing great.  He's a handsome, on-the-go, prankster and I'm so thankful to have him to talk to, get advice from and play cribbage with.
•  My sister is a rock.  I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to help her out a little bit this weekend.  I love her so much.
• I am so thankful that my brother is such a wonderful husband and father.  That he can take a joke as well as he can be the butt of one.
• I am thankful that our God watches over us and protects us.  My heart goes out to the people of Boston, those that lost loved ones, or were hurt, or were the first responders.

There are so many things to be thankful for.   It's a list that we should update daily!

Busy, Busy

We are entering into that season of our yearly life where I can tell you what we are doing almost every weekend from now til September!  And our week days aren't much better.  I'm a planner, not a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kinda gal.  Now B, he just relies on me and he might as well.  There is no since in both of us being uptight about our calendar, hardy har har.

Last weekend we visited my family, a weekend full of hospital visits (to my brother-in-law), pageants, shopping, church and Easter dinner.  This weekend, B is having knee surgery Friday, we have a fantasy baseball draft and breakfast here at our house and I am attending a friend's wedding all on Saturday and we have a birthday party for our youngest nephew to go to on Sunday!! 

Why do we do this to ourselves?  Or maybe it's, why do I do it to us?  It might be the promise of spring, good weather, sunshine and flip flops.  It might be that 7 of our family members have birthdays in the next 6 weeks.   It's mostly that we are blessed with wonderful family and friends.

In the words of my mom....it is what it is...and we will just keep on truckin' (my brother's favorite saying when he was 8!) and try not to forget where we are suppose to be and what we are suppose to be doing!