One More Time #5: Daily Food and Fitness

As usual, I started my day with my normal coffee (with sugar and creamer). Nothing new there. What is new is that I actually made my breakfast. Today I had 2 scrambled eggs with Chorizo, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, topped with Mexican blend shredded cheese and salsa. Unfortunately, I was not able to eat it all. But it was good!!!

My days are note complete with out having sweet iced tea!!!

I changed up my snacks today. No honey roasted almonds. Instead I had 6 unsalted top crackers with tuna salad (very basic, very bland with mayo and boiled eggs). It was a nice change to the sweetness the almonds have.

For dinner, I had a salad with some of the tuna from my snack, cheddar cheese, and Caesar dressing. I added 6 Ritz crackers for crunch value. I forgot how much I enjoy a good salad.

Fitness is the same as the last four days…

25 crunches

25 squats

25 side lunges

25 arm circles

This completes day #5. On to day #6 where donuts will be consumed and there will be an increase in the fitness area!!!!

One More Time #4: Daily Food and Fitness

I came to the brilliant realization that it would be better for me to post my daily One More Time blogs the next morning. By doing that, I do not have to confess my actions from the prior night!!! So, here is yesterday’s food and fitness which include a night time snack from #3.

In addition to what I ate in installment #3, I also had 8 Ritz crackers with peanut butter as a night time snack. So now that day is complete!

Day #4 started with coffee with sugar and creamer. And just to be completely honest, I had a lot of coffee. I needed it because it was a very long morning!

Around 2pm and after not eating for 16 hours, I made myself some yellow squash and onion cooked in butter. After all, everything made is butter is always so much better. Once the squash and onions were cooked, I added some citrus chicken to it. I can promise you, this is a combination I will not be repeating. Ever.

At 5 pm I had my ever so yummy honey roasted almonds. Yummy and addictive.

And for my evening snack, if you will, I had 3 sausage patties and 8 Ritz crackers.

Todays fitness is the same as the first 3 days…

25 crunches

25 squats

25 side lunges

25 arm circles.

And so ends day #4.

One More Time #3: Daily Food & Fitness

Totally honesty about last night. After I published my blog, I went to the kitchen and found my hubby cooking the remainder of the citrus chicken. So, for supper last night, I had a chicken and cheese quesadilla. Probably not your typical quesadilla as mine was made using 2 corn tortillas. And it was wonderful.

This morning started with my usual coffee. My hubby was off work today so he made sausage patties and eggs. My dish consisted for 2 sausage patties and 1 fried egg. And I ate it all!!!

Once it was time for me to start working, I had to have some sweet ice tea to get thru the day! I also had an afternoon snack of my favorite 1 ounce of honey roasted almonds. They really are addictive.

For supper I had a Caesar Salad with some leftover citrus chicken. It definitely hit the spot.

There is a good chance that I might end the night with some Ritz crackers with peanut butter. But then again I might not. Only time will tell!

Today’s fitness:

25 crunches

25 squats

25 side lunges

25 arm circles

My arms are not mad at me today so I must be doing something right!

One More Time #2… Food and Fitness

Today has felt like a very strange day, but I do not know why. I just feel like something is off.

I started my morning off with my normal coffee with sugar and creamer (same as yesterday. But today, I decided on making me something for breakfast. I was not real sure what I wanted but I knew I wanted toast and I knew I wanted eggs. I ended up making myself an open face sandwich and it was real good. All it contained was one piece of white bread toasted, no butter, no jelly, no nothing, two eggs fried with butter and onions, and topped with salsa. It was actually pretty good. The bad girl in me washed it down with 2% milk that I added some Hershey’s syrup to.

I had a late afternoon snack of 1 ounce of honey roasted almonds. Those things are addictive and filling!!!!

This evening, I went to heat up the remainder of the leftover citrus chicken and rice but it was gone. My son ate it. If I start to make something now, it will be even later before I can eat and risk major reflux. So my choices are, cook the remainder of the citrus chicken we didn’t cook on Sunday or I can have an Strawberry Pop-Tart. The Pop-Tart is not the type that has the frosting on it. I really do not like those. Right now, I’m just not sure at this point what I’m going to do. But I will fill you in when I post tomorrows blog.

Today’s exercises:

25 crunches

25 squate

25 side lunges

25 arm circles

My arms are not happy with me. I. Will. Power. On.

Please feel free to leave any suggestions for things I should eat or try. The only thing I cannot have is any and all artificial sweetener including the natural ones like steevia. Everything that isn’t sugar triggers migraines that knock me out for a couple of days.

Diet and Exercise. Starting fresh… again. One more time #1

I know this is a cycle that I have been on. Start a diet, then stop. Start 30-day challenges, then stop half way thru. But this time, I am not putting any pressure on myself to do any more than my body and complicated gastric system can handle. I truly believe low carb will work, but my plan is to incorporate some fruit into the mix. And I will not shy away from sugar. I have learned that the 6 30-day challenges I tried and failed last month were entirely too much for me to handle. I knew there would be pain because you know that they say, no pain, no gain. But the pain I was feeling was beyond sore muscles. I was experiencing cramping to the point that I would double over. So, I stopped.

This time, things will be different. I’m going to limit my carbs. I’m going to drink more water. I’m going to have fresh fruit and vegetables. I’m going to do crunches, squats, lunges, and arm circles every day. And the number I do will increase by 5 every 5 days. I’m not doing this to lose weight although that would be nice. I’m doing this because I know I can and because I WANT TO.

With that being said (or written) let’s get started with today and my new series (???) One More Time #1.

Today, like every day began with coffee. My coffee always has a little sugar and creamer or some sort. This weeks creamer of choice is Nestle Coffeemate in the flavor Creamy Chocolate. I have had this before and I really love the flavor. I will be taking some of this with me when we go on our cruise later this summer. I did not eat anything for breakfast.

Lunch consisted of leftover citrus chicken and rice (about 1 cup) and a glass of sweet ice tea. Leftovers are good as long as I am able to get to it before my husband or son do!!!

Late afternoon I snacked on 4 deviled eggs (2 hard boiled eggs, mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper) and 1 ounce of honey roasted almonds. According to the label, 1 ounce of the almonds totaled 160 calories. This really filled me up so I did not have anything for dinner.

The night ended with some popcorn. Nothing special. Just some microwave popcorn. I miss the days of making popcorn on the stove. But convenience is good.

Now for today’s exercises. I have selected these exercises as they were some that I did in the challenges I tried last month. I’m starting at a level I feel comfortable with but I will watch myself and adjust accordingly. The first 5 days the number of each will be 25. In 5 days, that number will increase by 5.

25 crunches

25 squats

25 side lunges

25 arm circles

And now I’m calling it a night. If you have any suggestions on recipes I can try or exercises I can do, please send me a message. I welcome your suggestions and feedback.

Carnival Dream 2019 – Precruise #4: My Amazon purchases for this cruise.

Amazon Prime can be dangerous and oh so much fun! I’m figuring this out now that our countdown is at 9 weeks. At least I haven’t had to dip into our cruise fund to pay for any purchases!

Since we decided that we want to TRY to do carry-on only, I decided that I would need to make a few LUGGAGE type purchases. In browsing the many options on Amazon, I decided that I wanted to get 2 bags that have a sleeve that goes over standard luggage handles (1 for Jim and 1 for me), 1 rolling duffel bag for myself since I bought one last year for Jim at Costco, a travel toiletry bag for Jim, and packing cubes for both of us. I purchased some last year but I wasn’t thrilled with them over-all. Please excuse the wrinkles in all clothing purchased. I promise they will be wrinkle free when we cruise. Know that I’m just not in the mood to drag out the iron and ironing board at the moment. But I will when we get closer to our travel date.

BAOSHA HB-29 Ladies woven canvas travel weekender in blue dots. Sold by: BAOSHA. Dimensions are 16″ x 12″ x 8″.

Canway 65L Travel duffel bag in Heron Gray. Sold by Crdc. It is waterproof and tear resistant. Dimensions are 26.3″ x 13.7″ x 12.2″. Folded size 10.6″ x 9.4″ x 3.9″.

Olympia luggage 29″ 8 pocket rolling duffel bag in navy. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

Travel toiletry bag with 3 zippered compartments. Sold by IQTRAVELS.

6 Set packing cubes in 3 various sizes. One set is in navy dots, the other set is black. Sold by Bagail. Dimensions are: large – 17.5″ x 13.7″ x 4″, medium – 13.7″ x 9.8″ x 4″, and small – 13.7″ x 5″ x 4″. Obviously our Shih Tzu/Bichon mix knows something is up as he has managed to make his appearance known.

My hope is that we put all of this to use and our plan for carry-on only works!

Another couple of items I was looking for were power strips that did not have a surge protector. I found 2 and since I could decide on which one, I purchased both. Now we will be able to try them both out and see which will work best for us.

Cruise power strip with 3 USB charging ports and 3 outlets. Sold by Surge Pro Source.

Cruise power strip with 3 outlets and 2 USB charging ports. Sold by TROND Official.

I am really looking forward to trying both out. Have no fear, we will definitely review them in our post-cruise blogs.

Something I have never purchased before on Amazon is polo/golf shirts for my hubby. I decided, now would be a good time to see what I could find and get him a few. Well that few turned into 6. He definitely needs new shirts since he wears them daily for work. The new shirts are now set aside for the cruise.

3 Amazon Essentials men’s regular-fit, quick-dry golf polo shirts in size XX-Large. One in aqua, one in deep teal, and one red stripe. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

Dockers men’s short sleeve performance polo in nebula blue, size XX-Large. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

WANNEW polo shirt, short sleeve, regular-fit, size XXL in gray. Sold by WANNEW-USA.

IZOD mens golf clubhouse short sleeve stripe polo, size XX-Large in placid blue. Sold by Amazon.com Services, Inc.

And then I started getting things for me. No doubt I went over-board. But I’m sure there is a reason for my madness!

Two clothing items were purchased, one swimsuit cover-up and one shirt. Not bad, right?

TECREW women’s sleeveless beach dress, size large, in white. Sold by Tecrew.

Sipaya tops for women criss cross short sleeve t-shirt, size large, in navy blue. Sold by Sipaya.

And, of course, I would also need shoes. As you will see, I bought a pair of water shoes. My plan is to wear these while catching rays on deck. Jim and I both have water shoes that we always use when we go to the beach in Cozumel.

Water shoes, quick dry in blue/pink. Sold by SNH_cbinet.

Guilty Shoes Fifi-1 white. Sold by Guilty Shoes.

Guilty Shoes Ruby-61 Tan6. Sold by Guilty Shoes.

And then came the jewelry. Now this is where the method to my madness come into play. My theory is that I do not want to travel with jewelry that is expensive to replace if lost or stolen. I like to find quality costume jewelry pieces that will not break the bank if they are misplaced. With that in mind, these are the pieces I purchased.

Tassel pendant necklace. Sold by Urwomin. This piece was specifically purchased to go with a pair of earrings I purchased from BaubleBar last year.

Espere CZ pear drop lariat necklace. Sold by ESPERE. To be honest, this piece may or may not make the final jewelry cut for this cruise.

OUFO jewelry set crystal rose gold plated necklace and earrings. Sold by OUFO.

COOLSTEELANDBEYONE gold black statement necklace. Sold by COOLSTEELANDBEYOND. I’m looking forward to wearing this on the cruise elegant night.

Viennois cubic zirconia stud earrings with blue crystals. Sold by Viennois Jewelry.

GEMSME necklace/bracelet/earrings/ring set. Sold by GEMSME. Why this? BLING, DUH!!!

Rounding out the Amazon shopping is one purse, one beach bag, and one craft organizer to use as storage for my jewelry while traveling.

Crossbody purse/messenger bag. Dimensions are 10.5″ x 9″ x 0.5″. Sold by SUPON.

Serenita extra large canvas beach bag stripe 3 navy. Dimensions are 23″ x 18″ x 6″. It is foldable, lightweight, has in inner pocket with zipper, and a soft rope shoulder strap. Sold by fasion2100.

Creative Options pro-latch utility organizer, medium. Dimensions are 10.9″ x 7.4″ x 1.8″. Sold by Amazon.com Services Inc.

This should be all of the Amazon shopping I will be doing for this cruise. If you have any questions about any of the items, please let me know.

Please come back for next weeks precruise blog. I will be showing what I am packing for myself and maybe my hubby for our time catching rays on deck or at the beach.

Carnival Dream 2019 – Precruise #3: Our travel binder is ready to go!!!

I have always been afraid of losing my cruise documents. After reading some posts on a popular cruise site that has reviews and other information for every possible cruise line, I realized that there is a better way to keep our documents together. And what I have found works for me, is to use a binder.

I typically use a 1 1/2 to 2 inch binder, page protectors, dividers to separate the items I will be putting in the binder, and a pencil pouch that has 3 holes. I For this cruise, I am using a binder with a zipper closure. It also has a zippered pocket on the front. The inside front cover has two pockets with a Velcro closure on the top and open underneath, and the back cover has one pocket. So it definitely has plenty of storage.

I picked up this pencil pouch at Walmart one day. There are two zippered pockets on the front and one on the back. I use this to put cash in that we will be using for tips and to keep receipts. I might even use it this year to keep some pens in!!!

I purchased the dividers at Office Depot. They are wider than the sheet protectors as they extend beyond them which makes it easy to get from one section to another. The dividers are labeled according to when I will be using/needing them. Typically the sections are for hotel reservations, parking reservations, and stuff like that. But this year, I have adding one for driving directions. Although we have been to Galveston many times, with all the construction on I-45, we might try an alternate route this time. With this in mind, this years cruise dividers are: driving directions, hotel reservation confirmation, cruise parking reservation confirmation, luggage tags, boarding pass, reservation and excursion confirmations, booking summary, and information about our travel insurance and the cruise line legal information.

Since I love to scrapbook our cruises, I will have empty sheet protectors at the back of the binder to keep any daily newsletters and also for any photos we purchase.

So now that are countdown is at 10 weeks, I’m sure the time will fly by.

Please come back for the next installment which will be what I have purchased from Amazon for this cruise.

6, YES 6, 30-day challenges: Day 13, 14, and 15!

I haven’t been feeling my best, but I have been doing challenges. I just wish I knew where these stomach cramps are coming from.

On with the challenges!

Day 13:

Abs: 60 sit ups, 75 crunches, 40 leg raises, and 50 secs planks.

Squat: 75 regular squats.

Arms: 15 wall push ups, 15 floor tricep dips, 15 opposite arm & leg raises, 11 box push ups, and 5 arm circles.

Butt: 15 donkey kicks, 15 goblet squats, 15 sumo squats, 11 back extensions, and 5 side lunges.

Thigh: 15 sumo squats, 15 forward lunges, 11 clock lunges, and 5 side lunges.

Cardio: 1 min running in place, 1 min butt kicks, 1 min high knees, 1 min bear crawls, and 1 min plyo jacks.

Day 14:

Abs: 65 sit ups, 85 crunches, 42 leg raises, 55 secs planks.

Squat: 50 regular squats.

Arms: 15 box push ups, 15 arm circles, 15 floor tricep dips, 12 opposite arm & leg raises, and 6 wall push ups.

Butt: 15 goblet squats, 15 donkey kicks, 15 side lunges, 12 sumo squats, and 6 back extensions.

Thigh: 15 lunge jumps, 15 sumo squats, 12 forward lunges, and 6 side lunges.

Cardio: 1 min 10 secs running in place, 1 min 10 secs butt kicks, 1 min 10 secs high knees, 1 min 10 secs bear crawls, and 1 min 10 secs plyo jacks.

Day 15:

Abs: 70 sit ups, 90 crunches, 42 leg raises, 60 secs planks.

Squat: rest day!!!

Arms: 15 opposite arm & leg raises, 15 floor tricep dips, 15 arm circles, 13 wall push ups, and 7 box push ups.

Butt: 15 side lunges, 15 donkey kicks, 15 back extensions, 13 sumo squats, and 7 goblet squats.

Thighs: 15 lunge jumps, 15 forward lunges, 15 side lunges, 13 sumo squats, and 7 clock lunges.

Cardio: 1 min 15 secs running in place, 1 min 15 secs butt kicks, 1 min 15 secs high knees, 1 min 15 secs bear crawls, 1 min 15 secs plyo jacks.

I’m hoping tomorrow will be a better day!!!

Carnival Dream 2019 – PreCruise #2

14 weeks, 98 days, until our cruise on the Carnival Dream. Today I watched the Galveston webcams to see her sail into port!!! She is such a beautiful ship and I cannot wait to get on her!!!

So, what have I been doing to prepare for this cruise??? I have been doing some shopping on Amazon and Steinmart had a 12-hour sale. And I still have stuff in my Amazon cart I want to get. And I will, a little at a time!

Lets start with Steinmart. Their 12-hour sale is always great plus I had a coupon! I bought one shirt and 1 pair of crop pants. I have the perfect earrings for the shirt that I bought last year from BaubkeBar. The crops were purchased to go with a top I got last year in a Stitch Fix box! I’m looking forward to wearing the shirt this weekend to a dart reunion We are going to!

My Amazon purchases has included:

Tassel Pendant necklace to go with earrings I purchased last year from BaubleBar.

Women’s Sleeveless Beach Dress.

Water shoes but I actually purchased them to wear when exercising around the house.

And 2 pairs of shoes.

An Amazon purchase that is coming this week is an Extra Large beach bag.

And what is yet to come…

Necklace and Earrings sets, one in green and one in neutral colors. My plan is to only get one of them, I’m just not sure which one it will be.

A 22″ rolling duffel bag.

Pink Shorts

Flamingo print shorts

2 Microfiber towels, but this is a maybe. I might not get these as I might just take regular beach towels or I might buy some while we are on the ship or at a port. Yes I know they are not necessary.

Another duffel bag that has a luggage sleeve so it will fit over our carry-on bag.

A duffel tote bag that also has a lubbage sleeve to fit over a carry-on bag.

And lastly a crossbody purse thingy.

I’m hoping that this will be the end of my shopping, but I doubt that it will be.

6, YES 6, 30-day challenges: Day 12

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there!!! I hope you have had a wonderful day. I know I did!!! I love spending time with my family, especially when my grandson is willing to take a picture with me!

Today’s challenges were extremely easy and consisted of:

Abs: rest day

Squat: 40 regular squats

Arms: rest day

Butt: rest day

Thighs: rest day

Cardio: rest day

Like I said, very easy!!!

My morning started with my youngest son bringing me coffee in bed. Followed by my husband making breakfast for me and serving it to me in bed. The breakfast consisted of Migas and potatoes with onions. Unfortunately I was only able to eat a couple of bites, but it was good. No pictures of breakfast.

Every Sunday we have lunch at my mom’s. Today, my husband made instant pot creamy chicken (so very good and probably Keto friendly) served over egg noodles (not Keto appropriate). And I was not able to eat the full serving I made for myself. Hubby also made a homemade chocolate cake and it was so good. Nice and warm served with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream. My mother does not have much to pick from where drinks are concerned so we all drank Coke. I didn’t take pictures of our lunch but I do have pictures of the leftovers!!!

And here I am home alone while my youngest son and hubby have gone to the laundromat to wash clothes. One day we will either get a new washing machine or the one we have will get fixed. But for now, we will make do with the laundromat!!!! And while they are gone, I’m going to have some of the left over instant pot creamy chicken over one piece of bread.

Please come back for tomorrow for the next installment.