the turkey is now a carcass dedicated for the soup pot. Kids, grandkids, laundry and luggage ( "kits, cats, sacks and wives") have departed. the house is sooo quiet!!!! Thanksgiving 2010 is tucked away. and what a holiday it was:

this is the " Norman Rockwell" pose before taking it back to the kitchen to carve it up!

three tables full ( is that anything like 3 bags full?) with the required kids table:



Attendees: Daughter Reni and husband Abe and their 5
Daughter Patience, husband Matt and their 4
son Caleb with son Max ( age 4)
Sons Zach and Seth
daughter Ashley and husband Scott
my sister Stacey
Seymour's son Marc
and Seymour and me!--that's 23.

notable food in addition to the usual players included a chipotle cream sweet potato casserole that was LOVED by all , and a corn pudding that will NOT be invited back; 7 desserts including a to-die-for chocolate cake made by Ashley. ( yes, of course we had pumpkin pie too--and pecan and two kinds of cheesecake and banana cream too!)

next post: all the other crazy activities of the week end including museums and skating and danceparties and lots of games of Nertz

Thanksgiving 2010

I am oh so very excited for Thanksgiving this year.  Ashley and Scott are coming from D.C,( arriving TOMORROW!!!!!)  Reni and Zach from Utah and Caleb and Max from Cali.-- with Pace and Seth here that makes about 21 for Dinner-- 10 of 'em grand-blessings WHOO HOO!!!!  hope to have lots of pictures to post after the dust settles!

results so far

I've been doing well on the new program.--for example, 
Friday bike ride,
Sat weights plus swimming,
Sunday 1 1/2 hour bike ride with Seymour-
took monday off,
Tuesday:  weights work out plus some leisurely swimming in a bathwater warm pool-(heaven)
Wed:  hours walk through the glorious Fall morning weather.
today: bike ride
and
Friday night contra Dancing!!!!! yeah baby!
I think I'm going to get some in line skates next to add another level of play to the activities list
the 2 guiding principles here are 1: this has to be for the rest of my days--and thus 2:  it better be fun--or I won't be able to keep it up!
The REALLY good news is the scale is down a bit--maybe 2 pounds over a couple of weeks--but my MEASUREMENTS are down as well. 2 whole inches off my hips already! according to the body fat calculators that means I have lost 8 pounds of fat and gained 6 pounds of muscle.  pretty cool.

I should probably also say that I have totally cut out grains and sugar--but I've done that before without seeing much happen--but the combination of that plus the exercise is making the difference I think.  also got a new thyroid prescription and added some herbal adrenal support--so..  the gestalt of it is working well--and I feel fantastic! yippee!!!

so far

I have been doing well --about a week and a half into new exercise program--I have taken Thursdays as my day off and have biked or walked  or lifted ( or DANCED) every day,  not up to time or speed yet but just trying to show up everyday I've promised myself to.   found a great weight room at one of the rec centers that is close by--and they have an super indoor pool as well so--I did my lifting routine and then hung out in the pool for awhile as a treat.  ( two pools actually --an one is a big family pool with a big twisting slide--what a hoot!)

I'm trying to make the routine as FUN as possible.  if I have to do this for the rest of my life, it CANNOT feel like work!  Luckily--I do love to lift--makes me feel like a bad-ass! 

now off to ride my bike in the beautiful fall weather.  and TOMORROW I'm going Dancing!

Exercise

I bought  a bike yesterday!!!!!

I just finished ready a wonderful ( though scary in a way) book called "younger next year, for women" about the need to exercise 6 days a week basically...to keep telling your cells that you are alive and want to stay that way!

 SIX DAYS A WEEK!!!... 4 days of doing something for 45min to an hour ( thats minimum you can go longer if you can and want to)  that makes you sweat ( Zumba would qualify wouldn't it Annie?  I may look for a class here!!!), and 2 days lifting weights.

the four days should mix it up and be something you like--so some days a walk or a hike, some days an aerobics class, or an evening square dancing or....whatever.   hence the bike!

I've always liked the IDEA of bike riding- zooming around in the beauty of nature etc etc but usually hated the real deal--because I was so uncomfortable the whole time.  WELL.. found out yesterday I have never ridden  a bike that FITS me!! (  plus--ridden what they call a "comfort" bike--with the handle bars much HIGHER than the seat so you just sit up straight and don't have to lean over and put pressure on your back and shoulders ( not to mention those oh-so-delicate lady parts)  I am  so not interested in acheiving aerodynamic posture of a racer to gain a half second on one's opponent!!!LOL  I just wanna have fu-un!

I also joined  the rec center...2 miles tops from my house ( so I can bike there!) with a nice weight room and an indoor pool.

of course--I was gonna take my first bike ride this morning and it's cold and threatening rain!  so should I go swim or lift instead? hmmm

one perfect day

to sightly misquote one of my favorite authors*  this day had about it the "patina of a perfect thing"  and I want to remember it always

to start the weather was as glorious as only a fall day in the Colorado Rockies can be.  perfectly clear deep deep blue sky.  temperature in the low 80-'s with a slight breeze.

We drove (top down in the z3 of course)  up to eldorado springs and took a hike on one of the trails in the canyon. lovely trail, npt too strenuous, dappled sun and shade lots of lovely lichen covered boulders to rest on when the need arouse.  aspen trees starting to color in the high country.  gorgeous views. after hiking down we sat by the river and had a lunch--salami and cheese sandwiches, grapes and apples  but with the added savor of appetite and the beauty of a rocky Mountain trout stream --aaahhhhh.  then I took off my shoes to wade a bit ( and quickly put them back on--wet shoes being a smaller  price to pay than bruised feet!!!--or slipping on the rocks and totally falling IN the water) Seymour waded across and then took a nap while I savored the river for a bit

I do so love everything about a rushing stream.  I think it may be that some of my most cherished childhood memories were of a family cabin in the utah rockies--where a rocky rushing stream figured very large. but  I felt  so lovely and spiritual and even joyfully tearful sitting a on a big rock in the middle of a small waterfall with my feet in the water!  something about the sound and the light--I don't know....but I love it.

after leaving Eldorado we took the scenic route home --and I do mean scenic--through golden gate canyon state park--up above 10,000 feet  and the aspens up that high are in glorious full fall color.  just breathtaking.  then down through the little gambling towns of Black Hawk and Central City where we stopped for soda and Ice cream and the woman behind the counter came straight out of central casting for colorful characters--cigarette hanging from her lip, raspy voice and rode hard/put up wet quality to boot--too awesome!!!!

"oh what is so rare as a day in *September*, then, if ever, come perfect days!!!! " and it was.

(we took a camera but took very few pictures--I'll try and add a couple when I get them off Seymour's camera.)

*the quote is from " Hill Towns" by Anne River Siddons and the quote is actually"...that meal has still about is the patina of a perfect thing"   and is referring to a dinner in Rome

"Showtune"

Nice Review on my current show in the Denver Post


http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_16051854

september, ah september

It isn't QUITE Fall here, but the mornings are getting chilly-and a few trees are looking like they are getting ready to turn-- and the kiddos are all back in school so Fall is in the air.  Last night we had an impromptu cookout with Patience, Seth and the Grands--the weather was absolutely perfect--the last hurrah of the summer I guess.  it was a little bit of heaven--the smell of the coals plus grilling burgers, and corn on the cob-- and the sun going down  in a cloudless sky.  lovely.

I'm too busy as usual but things are starting to slow down so I have time to breathe and start planning the Holiday festivities.  I did sort things out better this year so I'm not going to be doing a show during the hols--much more better than last year!!!

the show I AM doing is going well--got over some vocal problems that I was having and am enjoying performing. Once one show closed and I was only having to deal with this one and not both--everything improved a bit!

Got lots of good stuff to look forward to--Ashley and her husband are coming here for Thanksgiving, and Seymour and I are going to her new house in Maryland for Christmas.  and  there's the Halloween party coming up soon too--already looking at creepy food recipes and stocking up on more decorations!

I do LOVE  the Fall!

My gorgeous granddaughters, Seth's girls Paola and Bianca, have been visiting for 2 weeks
 its been so fabulous having them here!   they left Tueday morning and now it's so quiet!!!

they hung out with all the cousins (all being Patiences' four--Calvin, Rigel, Lennon and Bailey  Seymour's grandsons Leo and Noah. Gusti here from Utah with Kira  and even Grampy was here for a few days!!)--They went to the zoo and the butterfly Pavilion,  went swimming and played in the park-and had a final cookout with EVERYONE  here at the Dome















left to right Lennon, Calvin in back, s Paola, Gusti's Kira, Bianca holding Bailey, Rigel in back, and   Leo and  Noah looking cool!

this picture was taken AFTER the S'mores ( hundreds and hundreds of s'mores) so it was hard to get everyone to hold still--and there is a lot of marshmallow goo still happening LOL)

I'll pst more pictures soon!

Summer fun

It's been a really busy summer for me--too busy--not enough summer fun time! and not ONE THING planted in the garden or one weed pulled.  it is astonishing how quickly the wilderness takes over!!!!!!!

Hobby Lobby remains what it is --full time hours are good--I like the bigger paychecks for sure.

the play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" has been a joy.  great audiences, 5 stars reviews, wonderful castmates--it's the highlight of the summer for me.


just got cast in a new show and am already in rehearsal for that--"Showtune"  a musical review of Jerry Herman's musicals ( Mame, Hello Dolly, LaCage aux Folle)   so...everyday but Sunday there is some theatre going on.  I kinda collapse on sundays--good thing Hobby Lobby is closed too!!

not enough time with the grandkids. not enough time at home ( housework? what housework?)

I Have started watercolor painting--this I love! done a few that I'm pretty pleased with--when I find my camera I'll post some pictures or them.

I (honestly) never thought i could do this. tried a tree many years ago and it was a disaster, so I just didn't go there.  but I always wanted to be able to create watercolors--cuase I LIKE them so much!

well-- maybe I learned something in the last 30 years without realizing it!

anyway--I pomise to post a few examples soon!

Hobby Lobby Joy

I am very pleased to report that I received full time status at Hobby Lobby yesterday-this means a raise from $8  to $11 an hour PLUS benefits--like insurance options and paid vacation.  I have a real job for the first time in...maybe..EVER! LOL.
this is awesome news because I have been working my tuchas off  getting the frame shop in good working order and somebody noticed..How often does THAT happen???

The real benefit is that I love my job-- artsy, craftsy, plus power tools!!!!!

had a FANTASTIC Mother's Day WEEKEND this year!!!   on Saturday with Patience: High Tea, then shoe shopping, Then Mimosas and then the Tattered Cover !!!!!!  on Sunday went to a matinee of the Play "The Rainmaker"--wonderful production of a favorite play (starring a friend of mine)--and then Dinner at Texas de Brasil--a Brazilian steakhouse--where servers dressed as gauchos bring around skewers of different kinds of yummy meat and  you eat til you puke!!!  fabulous!

hope all you mother's had good times as well!

Tubing!!!!

Yeasterday Patience and I took her 3 boys snow tubing!!! we had the most bestest time!

sonw tubing has been our CHRISTMAS tradition for about 17 or 18 years and we have missed only about 3 years in that span--due to weather (or the fact that I was in Pennsyvania at grad school)

In the olden days we went on Christmas day--more recently we switched to Christmas eve or thereabouts as married kids have different obligations etc. etc--- THIS year we could not find a suitable day near the holidays at all so we kinda gave it up but Patience's boys did NOT!! they kept asking.....so we finally were able to go during their spring break.


We go up to the Winter Park area to the Frasier Tubing hill and it is just about the best time ever!!!!!! Spring Tubing was different than winter tubing--we went late in the day when the slightly melted snow has a chance to freeze over--by the end of our time the hill was very fast but the air temp was still comfortable and walking through the slushy puddles on the way to the lift were great fun for the youngest, Lennon--who kept falling down on purpose ( in his waterproof snowsuit!)

great times!

since I have absolutely nothing to report, I've been playing with my blog background and colors--finally found one I think I will be able to stand for more than a day!!!!

we have snow!!

we are getting a new roof--sounds like giant squirrels up there!! the new roof is a light grey--much nicer and more nuetral than the former dark brown. I'm gonna like it. plus--all the leaks will be plugged and we can re-do the drywall in the living room BIG WHOOP OF OY since its been about 3 years since it fell off the wall soaking wet!---we could NOT get it to stop leaking, no matter what patching we did so we've been waiting--leaving the wall open bare studs--NICE LOOK!

last weekend for my show--gonna miss it--it's been fun BUT already booked my summer gig--"Picasso at the Lapin Agile" a play I love--playing Einstein's "date". I have another audition this week for a play in between now and "Picasso" .. good times.

And then There Were None Photos

Here are just a couple of pics from the show. Having Lots of Fun with it!
As you can tell I play a repressed/angry/religious fanatic/spinster type person.
We do a "guess who is the murderer" contest every night and I generally get the most votes!!!!

opening night tonight. here is the promo video--aren't I the purtiest?

I had blueberry pancakes made with Almond Butter again this morning ( doncha love days off so you can cook breakfast!!!)

so..I finally got around to posting the recipe on my site here: Almond Butter Pancake
I also posted my crepes recipe. also yummy!

weight loss: down 3 pounds!! that's the two I regained plus one more! in two days!

what did I change? I added 50 mgs of iodine ( in the pill form Iodoral) plus some adrenal support supplements.

keeping my fingers crossed!

Update on the weight loss front. ( and this is really pissing me off second week on no dairy I gained back a pound. what is up with THAT?????

so, maybe that's not it after all. sigh. and SERIOUSLY: I cannot (really) live without cheese. missed it so bad I was dreaming about it. and cream in my morning tea. yummmmmmm!!!!

THIS week I went back to my " normal" low carb way-of-eating with plenty of dairy ( well actually with a few cheats--some french fries one day, and chilli rellenos-[ the batter has wheat in it] at this great mexican restaurant that I love) but no further gain. no clue what is going on. apparently my metabolism just LOVES this belly!!! LOL

technically it isn't belly fat--it isn't the internal fat around the organs that is so unhealthy-- it is a "fat apron"hanging around (and DOWN from) my lower abdomen--all those babies yanno!

I may have to resort to surgery!!!

actually been reading a lot about iodine deficiency and it's relationship to hypothyroidism and some symptoms of that--some of which I have. ( carpal tunnel--pretty bad--did you know that that is a symptom of poorly functioning thyroid!!!) I DO NOT eat enough fish and switched to sea salt ( which is fairly low in iodine compared to artificially iodized salt) so I'm startin gto supplement with Iordoral which is a fairly high potency supplement. I've had it laying around the house for a while but never seriously used it.

It may do nothing for the fat loss issue but if it helps adress the carpal tunnel it is well worth it!!!!

weigh in after first week on no dairy: down 2.4 pounds!!!1 yippee!!

I feel a LITTLE foolish: has the solution really been THAT simple and I've been stuggling so many years ? ah well.

had another outstanding breakfast: almond butter blueberry pancakes with blue berry syrup.

basically just almond butter and eggs, a little bit of salt and some baking powder and bake 'em on a griddle like pancakes, slather with butter and blueberry cooked up with some splenda. delish!!!!!

I'll post the full recipe on my recipe site later today.

On other fronts: started rehearsals on earnest for " and then there were none. its gonna be really fun production--some wonderful talented castmates. here is the poster ( my design as well!)

I finally got the motivation to kick over into weight loss mode--I saw the publicity shots for my play and boy-o-boy do I look big--even my calves looked puffy and fat--blechh. and the boobage ( 34 triple D)--turns out there such a thing as too much of a good thing


Ive had three weeks of clean--but " normal " low carbing-with lots of low carb goodies and LOTS of dairy and lost exactly one pound the first week and have been toatally stabel at that weight (130.8)

so i'm now--third day in--doing a nearly zero carb, all meat, no dairy, limited nuts.

Having my favorite breakfast today: 2 eggs fried in butter over easy served on sliced tomatoes with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice. and bacon lotsa bacon!!!!!!



the reasoning behind all this is that it isn't calorie and it isn't even carbs so much but that some kind of inflamation thingy is going on ( age/menopause/heredity) since inflamation is driven by the eicosonoid balance and THAT is driven by essential fatty acid balance-- i.e omega 6to omegas 3's. Omega 6 fatty acids drive inflamation up and omega's 3's drive it down --too much omega six relative to 3 is a very bad thing--(ideal ratio is 1:1--or as close as possible 3:1 or 4:1 being feasible)or at the and our standard indutrial diet has way too much omega 6--veg oils, grains and grain fed cattle and dairy cows all have an overabundance of omega 6 and unless we supplement we get little to no omega three ( some have suggested that the ratio in the standard american diet is closer to 20:1!!!!!!!)

to acheive that ratio you need to eliminate as many sources of omega 6 as possible and up the 3's so-- we eat grass fed meat,which is also organic hormone free ( and has a much much better fatty acid ratio than grain fed beef) use no veg oil except olive oil--all other fats are butter and ghee, lard or palm oil. and supplement with cod liver oil to up the omega.3's

but I still am having difficulty--retaining water, inability to get to a normal weight etc etc so..

the dairy goes--we don't have a source of affordable organic, raw dairy from pastured, grass fed cows dairy, so there is a lot that could be wrong with the cream and cheese I normally eat ( and goat is absolutly not a possibilty, blech again)

and the nuts will be limited because most nuts are pretty high in omega 6 which i just don't need more of right now and I'm upping my cod liver oil as well.

and I'm going way way down on the carbs--little to no fruit except berries and a few veg with my meat .

I'm down almonst a pound in two days--I'm might be on to something!

Two quotes for the day--( both found in the lastest Oprah Mag)

It's Never too late, You're never too old, never too sick to start over again.

and also in that same vein--to help when you feel stuck...

If you stare at it long enough
the mountain becomes unclimbable
Tally it up. How much time have you spent
waiting for the soup to cool?
Icicles hang from January gutters
only as long as they can.
Fingers pause above piano keys for the chord
That will not form. Slam them down
I say. Make music of what you can.

--Charles Rafferty, from " Against Hesitation"

Christmas/Channukah is finally down and tucked away for another year. (Always a little bittersweet for me--I do love the Holiday season so much. ) but whew!!!--- I don't know how my mom did it--that tree was GONE the day after New Year's every year!

Now I can get on with getting back to proper eating--This year the focus is more Paleo than ever before--instead of just low carb--so no Wheat or gluten grains at all, no sugar, very limited fruit and I'm trying to find better sources for cream and cheeses ( ie grassfed, non pasturized-- since I am never giving up dairy.!!!!!) In order to stay on track I like to read everyday from some of the really fine Paleo/primal blogs out there. It keeps me motivated. My current new favorite is PaNu by Kurt Harris M.D. He really get is right IMHO, writes extremely well and covers a wide varity of topics. its a great site! Others that I read frequently are listed in the blog roll over on the left. The FatHead site is particularly entertaining as well!

Luckily I did NOT gain any this year--even though I ate all the bad/good stuff from Thanksgiving to Christmas. I'm theorizing that my thyroid dosage is finally g correct AND I think my Vitamin D status has improved sith the supplementing I'm doing--Vitamin D is supposed to help with insulin resistance and sensitivity to carbs so maybe that why I didn't gain 20 pounds like I did last year.

I've been supplementing Vitamin D3 gel caps at about 5,000mgs a day since about April of last year.

Here is a really good link to one very cogent article on Vitamin D ( from the above mentioned PaNu site) and how it works. He has a BUNCH of further articles on D3 as well, if one is interested.

On the weight loss front--I still have about 10 pounds ( of the aforementioned twenty that i didn't lose last year ) 10 pounds a years seems to be my maximum so maybe I can get it off THIS year before the Holidays hit again--maybe if I am at my perfect weight I won't feel the command of the evil fudge and cookies so stongly and I won't have to re-dedicate myself to proper living NEXT Jan 1st 'cause I'll already be there!

I really really have be very strict to lose fat. I have the Triple whammy--small stature; HypoThyroid; and Post-Menopausal. The only thing that seems to work is The Drs Eades newest book " The 6 week cure for the middle aged middle" the second phase of their plan is a meat only diet ( nearly anyway; you can have SMALL servings of veg as well ) with no dairy

last year I lost about 5 pounds in 10 days. Then went off the plan and the Hols hit so......I'm easing into it. jsut getting off wheat and sugar while still having nuts and low carb goodies that I love--but I know I wont lose till I cut out the dairy and the nuts. not sure why those things prevent loss--whether it is just a calorie thing--so easy to overeat those things--or whethter there is some inflammation food sensitivity thing going on--but there it is and I (finally ) know what to do--just gearing up to DO it is hard!!!

Happy New Year!