Hump Day Haiku

mama's latest scheme

to lose her pesky belly

plus some cardio

13.1?

✔

How was your Saturday?

And that boy with me?

The one who trained for a half marathon

by running 8 miles in total?

He beat me.

yup

It was magical.

Thank you all for your support!

I hope that we find a cure soon...

For all cancer.

This-n-That Thursday

Randomness from an addled little brain:

• I am lacking "transitional" clothing in my closet. What to wear when it's in the 60's and humid. In November?
• I am hopelessly dependent on my reading glasses.
• Augie and I are running a half marathon on January 7. We are horrifically underprepared as of now.
• Can someone explain Rick Perry to me?
• Can someone explain why anyone would want to be the POTUS?
• The Bird and I went to a beautiful wedding in September, and the resident dog was named POTUS. His humans are both attorneys in DC. Isn't that clever?
• We had a police chase in Westport yesterday. No one was hurt, but a Bentley got clipped. Oh, and they finally caught the guy--a really bad guy.
• Seriously. I have nothing to wear to work today. It's so hot out there. And I am still seeing piles of snow from our little Halloween "dusting."
• Does arthritis pain wake you up at night? My right hip does.
• I cannot get enough ricotta cheese. It really is an odd thing.
• I'm getting my hair done tomorrow. It is way overdue.
• I guess I need to get going. I seriously don't know what I'm gonna wear today.

UPDATE 8:52: I have decided on black pants and a nice gauzy blue tunic that The Baby Bird brought me from Morocco! Now, carry on.....

Friday Defiance

Say what?

Not this ol mama.

Today?

I'm sporting my red cowboy boots.

Why do Go Red For Women and other red dress campaigns target women instead of men and women?

In the past, heart disease and heart attack have been predominantly associated with men. Historically, men have been the subjects of the research done to understand heart disease and stroke, which has been the basis for treatment guidelines and programs. This led to an oversimplified, distorted view of heart disease and risk, which has worked to the detriment of women.

Because women have been largely ignored as a specific group, their awareness of their risk of this often-preventable disease has suffered. Only 55 percent of women realize heart disease is their No. 1 killer and less than half know what are considered healthy levels for cardiovascular risk factors like blood pressure and cholesterol. The Go Red For Women movement works to make sure women know they are at risk so they can take action to protect their health.

Are you going red today?

Hedging my Bets....

Aquarius Horoscope

For The Week Starting October 18, 2010

As other signs are also experiencing; this is a week for changes. If you can not willingly make those changes, then they might be forced upon you by others. Your life and your direction should be altered. It can simply be reformed or transformed, depending on your present attitude. Either way, it will never be the same. The seeds for this change have been sown over the past year so whatever is happening is the end result.

How does your week look?

I decided that this was going to be all good change. And to back it up, I looked at this one:

Aquarius - Oct. 18, 2010

Your physical energy is likely to be high today, Aquarius, so you might not feel like staying indoors. Take care of your body first, and get in a good workout. You may also want to explore, perhaps by driving out of town for the day or going to an amusement park. You may not feel this energetic very often, so it's best to make the most of it when you can.

Yours is here.

So. I need to go find my shoes and get that workout in. Then I'm going to an amusement park? I suppose I'd better get dressed.

Tuesday Text: Parentexting™

Where the mama decides to get fit with some DVD's:

And she resorts to all manner of bribery and whining:

Stay tuned for the new, buff MPM.

Has anybody out there done P90X?

This-n-That Thursday

Wondering...

• If you just keep your hair in a ponytail, does it stop falling out?
• Am I the only person who looks twice at a Toyota in a 4-Way-Stop?
• The hair, that is.
• Do you have to buy organic cucumbers?
• Why are passport pictures shot on a wide angle lens?
• What did all our beautiful grandmothers do without Retin A?
• Is everybody done with tax stuff? I'm not.
• How high do reading glasses go?
• Dear Southern Blisters, does anyone have a good Lemon Icebox pie recipe? The kind without meringue?
• Why do dreams get really weird when the seasons change?
• Has anybody had goat mozzarella?
• The Music City Marathon is in 6 weeks.
• What was I thinking?

Innie or Outie?

I think Kelly Ripa looks amazing.

She obviously works hard on her fitness regime.

But I don't think I've ever noticed her belly button.

And I'm a little weirded out.

What is it doing?

I am seriously not going to do any more crunches if that is going to happen.  I'm just so proactive that way.

No Sirree.

Oh no.  I want mine to stay like it is.

I think I have a somewhat Innie at this point.

But I can't find it haven't looked lately.

You?

picture found here

My Friends at the Gym

Day two thousand and ninety three of my return to health:

And then I go home and do more.

Riiiight.

Seriously, who the hell invented this?

Are you aware that your armpits can get a muscle strain?

My New Diet and Exercise Plan is Working!

And on a serious note,

does that back strap make my butt look big?

Vicarious Exercising...

...I Haz it

The Form

The Style

The Reward

That's it.

Dora says we can sit around the rest of the day.

Happy Saturday.

So I Took Everyone's Advice...

...and I had some wine.

I feel like my blue mood has gone away, and now I have a slight headache.  Not to worry, though, because I must carbo-load today in preparation for tomorrow's Turkey Trot.

Jules, Mimi, Miss K and myself have signed up for another round of Thanksgiving Day Torture: a little 5 mile jog through a New England seaside town.  What a bunch of idiots.

A New England Stroll

A few days ago, I went for a walk with Jules.  I had a hard time dragging myself away from my puppies who have made it to People now, thank you very much.   We try to get our cardio in while the weather is still nice, and are pretending that we are training for the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot--a 5 mile road race on Thanksgiving morning.  We had a beautiful but overcast day on our walk along The Sound.  Here are some shots I took.  This is my favorite time of year.

Happy Saturday Eve.

Things That Crossed my Mind in the Last Five Minutes

Remember back in the day when you had an event to attend on a Saturday?  And on the preceding Monday you decided to lose 5 pounds to look better in your little black dress?  So you cut back on sweets a little, and by Saturday you had lost your 5 pounds?  What happened to those days?

I wish I had appreciated my metabolism more in my 20's.  Hell, even in my 30's.  

Three weeks of being a little kinder to my body has netted me a net loss of about 3 pounds. Not too much to crow about, but it's a start.  And I don't want to be in my 20's again.  Or even my 30's.  I'd just like a little bit of that tautness back.  Is tautness a word?

Do you think you can put too much lemon juice in your water?  I think I may be having some enamel issues.  But am drinking lemony water like crazy.  My skin is happy.

Did y'all read about how Heather Armstrong's doing the 21 day cleanse that Oprah did?  I thought about it for, say, five minutes.  I think I'll just follow along with her.  Kind of a vicarious cleanse.  If you will.

Am I the only person who is intrigued by those Dyson vacuum cleaners?  Or the guy who invented them?  I like his accent, too.

I wish somebody would help poor Ed McMahon pay his mortgage.  You'd think somebody, whose career he and Johnny Carson helped launch, would belly up to the bar and do something. 

When does the weirdness of being both happy and scared that your children are driving end?

Monday Moosings

Dear Reader,

Mental Mama is busy getting her cardio out of the way this morning, so she asked us if we would like to bring you today's news moo's.  Bessie and I have decided to tell you all about this little health kick she's on.  It's for real, and as a result, the whole household is following along as well--whether they want to or not.  Mental Mama doesn't mess around. You can take that to the bank.

Anyway, among the changes that we have made in our diet, probably the biggest for us is that there is no more butter.  Well, there is, but we don't see much of it.  It's all about good oils here. We even dip our bread in olive oil instead of putting butter on it.  And you know what?  It's good!  Mental uses garlic and herbs, and sometimes she even buys flavored oil just for the  bread.  It's much better for our hearts, and we think our waistlines may be shrinking just a bit.

See...this one below is olive oil just for dipping the bread...you should see Augie and The Bird with this stuff.  They love it so much, that we were afraid we wouldn't even get a bite.  But we did.  Mental Mama made them share.  She's so good that way.  Mental Mama is a sweetie-pie. And she's so modest.  If she ever knew we were writing this stuff she would be so embarrassed.
Here is a quick peek in the fridge this morning.  Mental Mama loves to scramble egg whites with tomatoes and basil.  She eats this almost every day.  Also, see that pitcher?  It is filled with water and some lemon juice.  She drinks that stuff all day long.  Those cut veggies are the same story.  Any time someone opens the door, that's what they see, and they tend to eat that instead of junk.  She's pretty clever.  They don't even know what's going on.  
Another big change for us is that they don't eat any white flour in this house.  They even have this whole wheat loaf sometimes with dinner instead of french bread.  This is what we eat when we dip into that heavenly olive oil concoction.  We hate to admit it, but it may even be better than butter.  I cannot believe I am telling you this, but it is that good.
And the no-white-flour business extends to their pasta as well.  They only have whole wheat.  They have been doing this for a long time apparently, because the kids eat it without any kind of sass, and any time Mama makes some changes, those teenagers whine and moan about it. Even if it is good for them. Kids today, I tell ya!  Anyway, Bessie and I have decided that we really like it as well.  It has a lot of fiber and more protein, so we feel full and udderly content for a long time after we eat.  
I hear Mental talking about Dr. Oz all the time, and apparently he is the one who got her motivated and started on this renewed interest in healthy living. I also think she is doing these new things in increments because too much change would make everybody just throw up their hands and go have a big hot fudge sundae.  This way, we all get to feel a little bit better inside and out, and, I swear, Bessie's butt looks a little bit smaller to me.

Love, Fred

Accountability

Okay my friends.  Today is the day.  The day we start treating ourselves a little bit nicer. Mkay? I plan on getting my old self back without a whole lot of deprivation.  Wanna play along?

Here's my deal.  I am fairly tall (5'9"), and have rarely had to watch my weight.  Now there was that minor detour of a twin pregnancy where I may or may not have gained 90 pounds.  But that is all behind us now, and it was well worth it.   

 I think.

Anyway, year 40 was okay, not a big change, but when I quit smoking for good at 42, all bets were off.  I had smoked off and on for 20 years, with about ten years off during that span, but I  really decided that I wanted to stick around.  So I quit.  And if you smoke, you should think about making a serious effort to do the same.  It is bad for you, in case you didn't know.  But I digress.  So when I quit smoking, I started the South Beach Diet the next day.  It was great because my biggest smoking trigger was cocktail hour, and on the first few weeks of South Beach, you don't have cocktail hour.  Well you do have a five o'clock hour, but it is a seltzer, with a lime if you want to jazz it up.

I actually lost several pounds right after I quit smoking on this regime, but at about the age of 45, my metabolism just stopped.  Dead in its tracks.  I am 48 now, and do not want to enter the next phase of my life with sugar, blood pressure or heart issues.  All of which can happen even if you are just 20 pounds heavier than you should be (that would be moi).  At least that's what Dr. Oz tells us, and I think he is just the smartest guy out there.  And he's cute, too! That motivates me.

So, here's what I offer up this week:  No deprivation...unless you want to cut out one vice.  For me, that will be my wine (it's my sugar).  Whine.  I may have a toast for Annie's birthday on Wednesday, but not overindulge.  I sometimes do that.  Overindulge.  So the wine is out for a while.  What I want to focus on is adding more good things.

Here's what I'm adding this week:

• More water (double the intake every day)
• More exercise (at least an hour a day--and you don't have to do it all at once)
• More food in its natural state and nothing prepared (no Triscuits, Wheat Thins...)
• Take my calcium every day (I don't always)

I am purposely not setting too many goals because I want to end this week feeling like I did what I said I was going to do.  You know: Walk The Walk.

I am going to post some of my activities on my Twitter, and you can see it on the right side of this post.  Better yet, get yourself a Twitter account (Free!) and do your own twittering.  It is fun, and slightly addictive at times.  Any way, I think I will update my progress here on Mondays, and hope you will all try to add something good to your day.  I really enjoy your company, and I look forward to growing old and wise with you all!  What will you do?

xoxo, Mental Mama

More Good News...

I'd better figure out how to lose this menopot.  I'm off for my cardio activity of the day.

My receipt from last month.  A Big Mac and a small Diet Coke.  Then, I read this little ditty online... gives me "pause to think."

Bulging belly now could mean dementia later

Carrying a spare tire in your 40s may raise your risk of Alzheimer's

Getty Images stock The risk of dementia nearly doubled in people who are a healthy weight, but had a bulging waist, a study found.

                                 By Steve Mitchell

MSNBC contributor

People with a bulging waistline in mid-life could face a higher risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s in the senior years, a new study shows.

Previous research has shown that having an apple-shaped body increases the risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease, but this is the first time it has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

In the study, which was published Wednesday by the journal Neurology, people who were both obese and had a large belly were three times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia in later years than those of normal weight and belly size. The risk of dementia nearly doubled in those who were a healthy weight but still had a bulging waist, suggesting that fat accumulated around the midline is particularly unhealthy for the brain.

~~~~

After reading this yesterday, I immediately went on Dr. Oz's 9 pounds of fruit and raw vegetable fiber cure.  I think I have fiber-poisoning.  Will be back later.  Maybe.

Another Evening of Bridge

While I will not again bore you kind folks with the details of the calorie consumption during last night's bridge extravaganza, I will say that it is warm enough for me to walk outside today!  I have made a commitment to myself to do an hour of cardio six days per week.  I have discovered with much weeping and gnashing of teeth, that this is the amount of exercise I have to do just to maintain my newly middle-aged form.  I still haven't figured out how to get rid of the excess poundage.  But I digress.

We played at Miss C's house last night.  A beautiful spot, and Martha used to live across the street!  Playing at Miss C's also meant that I got to visit with Dora's fiance, Louie.

And here is Louie with his Mommy, and Dora's future mother-in-law, Miss C.  Thank you Miss C. for entertaining us so beautifully.  Even though I lost.

I am so getting this

Fashion Advice

Ladies, tomorrow is National Wear Red Day. Heart disease is the number one killer of women, and February 1 is the date the American Heart Association has set as the day to schedule your check up. So, go ahead and wear your red finery, and be good to yourself...a lot of people depend on it!