Energy Bank Account in the Red?

In case you're wondering what the heck is up with me posting daily, well it's because I'm posting daily!

Actually I'm trying to complete a 30 day writing lab. Every day there is a new writing prompt to stimulate my brain and help me get back into the swing of posting on a more regular basis.

Today's writing prompt is "If you think of energy like a bank account, how do you spend the vast majority of your daily energy?"

Thinking of my real bank account, the one with actual money it, I probably spend 75% of the money just paying bills. Bills that help me and my loved ones just get through life. You know the drill; house and house insurance payment, car and car insurance payment, life insurance payment, food, gas, clothing, electricity, gas, water, garbage, cell phone, Internet, cable, medications, all those "must-haves" in life. 75%! That's a lot don't you think?

And it's not like the other 25% I just spend willy-nilly on my own entertainment, nope...some of that money goes into savings, some into those little emergencies that come up like needing new tires, new glasses, water heater breaks down. Incidental things that pop up that you have to be prepared for. And there is the occasional "must-have" happy hour and dinner out with the girls!

But...I never stopped to think of my energy bank account and how I use it.

Here's my Energy Bank Account - Hours in a Week are 168 so I have 168 bankable hours to spend.

Right off the bat you can deduct my 40 hour work week, 5 hours for a one hour daily commute, 5 hours for a one hour lunch period, 5 hours for the hour I spend getting ready to come to work each day. I was going to figure out the percentages and do a nice little pie chart for you, but see...here's the thing. I hate math! I hate Excel, I hate spreadsheets, so I'll just post this nice little picture of a slice of a delicious low-carb Pumpkin Pie I made at Thanksgiving!

That's close to 70%. So I spend 70% of my energy and life to have enough money to spend 75% on BILLS!!! Isn't that crazy?? And I don't even want to think how much of that money goes straight to taxes, although I will know soon enough as I have an appointment this afternoon with my accountant to do my taxes! It's just mind-boggling!

That is why we have to do more things with that time we have left than just sit there vegging out on the couch! Get out there and have fun, do things, join friends for adventure, play games with family members, anything! You don't want your headstone to say "SHE WAS A GOOD EMPLOYEE AND PROVIDER"  do you?

    

Why Does Time Fly As You Get Older...or Does It?

There is a really great blogger that I have followed for years who has also faithfully comments on almost all my blog posts with thoughtful, uplifting messages. She is the great DUTA of Places with Character. Her blog is amazing and I have learned so much about places I will probably never travel too, and people I will probably never meet. I don't know what she does for a living but she should be a tour guide or a teacher, she never ceases to teach and inspire me!

Yesterday DUTA commented on a post In Like a Lion and Out Like A Lamb. You can read that post HERE. DUTA mentioned that she liked the title phrase of my post and she went on to say that she also has accumulated materials with intentions of making them part of some project, but as she advances in age she while she still prepares for projects she quickly loses interest. She's now more realistic about projects she takes on.

I responded that as we get older time seems to go by faster. I used to read more and embroider and crochet and sew and refinish furniture and now it seems that I barely have time to pull together a good healthy meal! So what changed? Is it that I'm older? Where did my energy balance go off kilter? Why are things to tumultuous right now, how can I calm them down?

I wish I had the answers!!! But it did make me stop to think, what has changed?

Photo Credit - Jar Of Quotes

I have come to the conclusion that it's my energy level/balance. I still want to change the world, I still want to become President, I still want to be all that I can be...but most of the time I just want to be still, I want to just take a moment each evening for myself to watch a favorite TV program or read a few pages of a book. I want to be able to do my job without feeling like I am letting everyone down because there are not enough hours in the day and I only have two hands!

I guess as we get older we get to choose what we want to use our energy on. When I don't make time to do the things I love and want to do I feel cheated, I feel stressed, I feel out of control and off balance.

We should be able to choose what we use our energy on, especially since the quote above in the image is pretty spot on, we're all running out of time so choose what you want to spend that time on. For some that may be projects, for some reading, for some blogging...it's all a matter of choice and it's nice that as we get older we can make choices just based on what we want.

How do you feel about your life? Do you feel like it's out of control and out of balance? And if it's in balance what do you do to keep it that way?

       

In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb

The month of March has always been described this way, In Like a Lion and Out Like a Lamb. That's because March usually comes roaring in with cold weather, rain, snow and by the end of March, Spring is on it's way and it's starting to get nicer with longer, warmer, sunnier days.

I often describe myself the same way when it comes to home improvement or do it yourself projects. I come roaring in like a lion ready to get the stuff done and then either I lose interest or I realize the project is too big or too hard for me and I give up on it.

So you tend to look at projects that way too?

Just as an example; one day I saw this photo...

Photo Credit - Rust and Sunshine Blog

Isn't that gorgeous? So simple and elegant. I loved it and right away ran out to Michael's Craft Store to purchase tissue paper and little vases. After all, I had the tutorial from Rust & Sunshine to follow and I remember making these for my wedding.

I bought a big pack of tissue paper in every color of the rainbow. It's sat in my drawer for years and every once in a while when I am wrapping a gift in a gift bag I go and take out a couple of sheets and stuff them in the gift bag.

Then another time I was sitting at the kitchen table having coffee with my mom and sister and I was staring at my living room which all of a sudden seemed different shades of blah! So brown and beige and colorless. I decided that what I needed was some ribbons that I could attach to the curtains to add some color, something like this...

Photo Credit - DIY Window Treatments

So I packed mom and my sister into the car and we drove into town and went to a fabric store and I bought yards and yards of ribbons in different colors, widths and lengths. But the time we had lunch and got back home I was too tired to mess with them and set them aside still in the bag for years. Just a few months ago I packed the bag up with some other things I was taking to Goodwill to donate.

Yep, in like a lion and out like a lamb! That's so me! Welcome March!

 

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Oh...You Did Yard Work? But Did You Die?

A few weeks ago it was a 3-day weekend for me because of President's Day. And while others were taking advantage of the time to take off to the beach or catching up on their sleep, I decided it was time for me to get my yard under control.

 Because of the drought and not watering my backyard the previous summer, most of the good grass had died out and then we had El Nino hit and it made those weeds grow like crazy! Seriously crazy, just look! These weeds were almost as tall as I am!

If only weeds were flowers my backyard would have been gorgeous. I also cleaned out my flower pots and they are all ready for some pretty flowers. Normally my back yard is relatively clean but it was just out of control, again because of El Nino.

And my own El Nino, my son James has been working super long shifts and hasn't had the time to keep up with it, so it was up to me!

Luckily those weeds were all super easy to just pull our, roots and all. But there was a butt-load of them! I worked about four hours on Saturday and on Sunday my wonderful sister Lisa came over to help me for a couple of hours and I did about another four hours that day. That night the soreness finally hit and by Monday morning (President's Day) I could barely move!

I almost died! Serious pain! I couldn't do any yard work that day at all and spent most of it taking my mom to do lab work and that required getting in and out of my car and the pain was excruciating!

I'm not big on taking any kind of pills but I did finally take an Aleve which helped just a small bit.

Tuesday at work I was miserable! I knew that if I was going to make it through the day I was going to have to take a pain pill, so I did.

Tuesday was also the first day back from a three day weekend, it was super busy and my mind was not the clearest, but I got through it...or so I thought!

The next day I received a phone call from one of my clients who said she had been worried about me because I didn't respond to her email the day before. She said she told her son "Something must be wrong with Alicia because she always take care of anything we ask her to do within minutes!"

I apologized and rather than make excuses, I just told her the truth. I told her that I was in such pain from simple yard work that I had taken a pain pill and had been just a bit foggy the day her email came in. She laughed and laughed and then apologized for laughing and then laughed some more.

She said that she had gotten up that morning and it had been such a nice day that she took a bike ride out in the almond orchards and she could already feel that she wasn't going to be able to move the next day! She was glad that I was back to normal and advised me to get a gardener!

But no, I'm going to continue to do my own yard work because it makes me feel so damn good...well after I get through the initial pain and agony of the next day. I feel very accomplished when I do my own yard work! And you know what? Yard work can be hard, but does it kill you? Did I die? Nope!

So this past Sunday I did more yard work and while I was a bit sore on Monday it wasn't bad. Soon I hope to share pictures of pretty spring flowers. I'm even thinking of planting Roses this year. Wish me luck!

Super Bowl 50!

Super Bowl Sunday! I love Super Bowl Sundays! And even though I don't have a dog in this race I can still be excited about it because of the commercials and the food! But don't get me wrong, even though I am a Dallas Cowboy fan I do have a puppy in this race...Peyton Manning! I think he's pretty great and I hope that he has a great game today and most importantly I hope he wins!

So the commercials? Those are always fun. I remember many, many years ago when the movie The Exorcist came out. The hype for that movie was just crazy! It was supposed to be the scariest movie ever! So I went into the theater with expectations beyond what any movie could deliver and I was disappointed. I kept waiting for my heart to stop with fear and it just didn't happen.

My All-Time Favorite - Budweiser Frogs!

I think the same thing has happened to the Super Bowl commercials. When they first started doing outrageous commercials it was AMAZING! Something to talk about with friends and family for days! "Did you see when..." or "My favorite one was..."! But it's hard to keep the momentum going year after year and to keep topping the previous year.

But I still always enjoy them and look forward to them and give props to the marketing and promotion people that have to keep coming up with them!

I hear tell that Lady Gaga will be singing the National Anthem. Good, I know she will do a good job but I'm glad she's not the half time show, I am not a fan of Lady Gaga!

But the food...the food is probably my favorite part of the Super Bowl! We did our shopping for snacks and yummies yesterday. I myself will stick to my low carb/high fat (WOE) Way of Eating.

My son requested Dorito Chicken Casserole from The Blog Chef. I don't make this often because I'm sure the sodium level is sky high, but it is a special day and a special request, so getting ready to make this in a few minutes. (It is super delicous!)

Photo Credit - The Blog Chef

Luckily my daughter requested something that is actually low carb/high fat which I can eat. She wanted Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs. She will eat hers with a hot dog bun, but of course I will just omit the bun and it will be perfect for my WOE. Not the prettiest picture I've ever taken though!

I'm also planning some Jalapeno Poppers.

Some Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries.

And something new that has been popping up on all the boards of the low carb groups I follow on Facebook....sugar free, zero carb gummies! I love gummy bears, worms, sweet gummies, sour gummies, all matter of gummies! I'm so happy to have found a recipe that works so I can have these little bits of deliciousness again!

I made these yesterday. The first batch I made I used an icecube tray that makes those mini little round cubes. They turned out great! And they taste so yummy! They are made with sugar-free Jell-o so they taste just like Jello!

After making these I decided I wanted to make some pretty ones in special molds for Super Bowl. I couldn't find any football molds at Michaels but I did find some seashell, flower and star molds.

Aren't they lovely? I can't wait to buy other flavors/colors of Sugar-Free Jell-o! They are so easy too!

1 - 3 ounce box of Sugar-Free Jell-0
1 Box Knox Gelatin - 4 pack
1/2 cup of cold water

Mix and mix and mix that all together, then I microwaved it for about 20 seconds and mixed and mixed some more then poured into molds and put in the fridge for about 20 minutes and they popped right out (after a little urging) of the molds!

Everyone in my low carb group on Facebook has been buying this Gummy Candy Maker, which is pretty cool and you can buy it on Amazon, but it is $28.66 plus shipping and just another gadget I have to find a place to store in my kitchen. So I think I will just continue making them the way I did it.

Amazon.com - Gummy Candy Maker

So that's it. I'm off to finish getting snacks and food ready and watch pre-game stuff with the talking heads. Happy Super Bowl and here's to Peyton Manning winning Super Bowl 50!


 

Good Deeds - Do you keep them to yourself or tell others?

I've always followed this bible verse when it comes to doing good deeds...

Pretty simple right? Don't sing your own praises. Don't look for your reward for your good deeds right now and here on earth, wait and your reward will come from your Father in Heaven.

But, the other day I saw a post on Facebook of a man, Bear Taliferro Jr., who was in a Wal-mart paying and he heard a woman in the next checkout line, telling her daughter that they couldn't afford to eat that night. More on that story and the photo posted HERE. He told the mother to grab what she wanted and he would pay for it.

He posted a picture of himself with the mother and child in the background. He earned much praise for being a good man even though he said he didn't post the picture to get "likes" on his post but to say, "GOD puts you where he needs you to be WHEN he needs you to be there."

Many people criticized him for various reasons such as posting a picture of the woman and child and including himself in the picture and some for what the bible verse above says, for singing his own praises for his good deed. Yet he did it to bring awareness to us all that we are where we are for a reason, try to find something good in being there.

I at times do good deeds, small things, things that just happen, times that I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I always kept it to myself because of the bible verse above.

However, Bear's message has given me thought. Should good deeds be kept to yourself or shared with others to inspire others to also do good deeds? Or shared with others to bring attention to certain causes?

It's something that I will have to ponder and I'm interested in knowing what you think?

 

The Smart One vs. The Instigator

Ya'll know how I've been following my new Way of Eating (WOE) faithfully right?

I've been eating low carb/high fat since July 7, 2015 and I've lost 28 pounds and dropped three dress sizes...YAY me!

It's not been easy but I can be my own best Dominatrix when I want to be!

The reason it's not always easy is that there are two parts to me when it comes to food. The Smart One and The Instigator. Let me give you an example of how these two parts of me work.

I love Cashews! Love, love, love them! And while they are not the lowest carb of the various nuts out there, they are still not terribly high in carbs and they have very healthy fats, not to mention that they are packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They are naturally cholesterol free and help to reduce blood pressure. They protect against cataracts and can help to prevent diabetes.

So the dominatrix in me allows me to have them once in a while. I usually buy those small 1.5 ounce bags and I know that buying them in bulk in larger cans would be cheaper, but I also know that if I have a can of cashews I will eat that whole can in one evening watching TV. You know the old Lay's Potato Chip commercial that said, "bet you can't eat just one"? Well I can't eat just one cashew, or even a handful...nope I have to devour the whole thing! And I know this about myself.

 The other day, I was stopped at a red light on a corner near my office and I spy a CVS Store across the street. CVS sells these cans of the jumbo cashews, like the ones in the picture above. They are so delicious! Meaty and crunchy and so buttery tasting...Yum!

So I think to myself, I'm going to stop and buy a can so I have something to snack on while I watch American Idol. That's when Smart One steps in and says, "Girl! You can't be buying a whole can of Cashews, you know you're going to eat them all in one sitting!"

Then the instigator comes in and says, "Don't listen to her, you can do it. Just stop, buy the can, eat 7 or 8 on the drive home and then when you're watching American Idol count out 8 more and put the can away and just do this until you finish the can."

Smart One pipes up again saying, "No, you know that you have the best intentions, but you can't do it. You can't just stop! Cashews are your kryptonite! Just drive on little lady, just drive on!"

Instigator chimes in, "But if you don't have any cashews, what are you going to snack on? You might be tempted to eat something you shouldn't just because you listened to Smart One and didn't stop to buy cashews!"

So Smart One again says, "Remember last time? Remember how you ate that whole can watching football? Remember how it upset your tummy and you swore that you would never buy a whole can of cashews again? Remember? Do you remember that?

And I remembered, and the light turned green and I headed home and didn't buy the cashews, because after all that is why the Smart One is the Smart One!

           

Conquering my Fears

This Saturday I conquered a fear that I have had for several years. It's a weird one, so brace yourself...my fear of escalators!

You didn't know about my fear of escalators? Well it exists and actually it's more a fear of the down escalator...I can handle the up one. I even invented a whole beautiful story about Princess Sciatica and her Castle of Escalators, you can read that HERE, pretty cute story even if I do say so myself!

See, I am Princess Sciatica and several years ago I got Sciatica pretty bad! I have to say that it's the worse pain I have ever been in. Sciatica is a pain that affects the back, hip and outer side of the leg and is caused by a compression of a spinal nerve root in the lower back. Sciatica causes the affected leg (in me it's my left leg) to feel numb and weak. It was this weakness in my left leg that scared me when it came to taking the down escalator. I just felt that it would give way and I would tumble down the escalator to my death!

Well this Saturday I returned to the scene of the crime...the Macy's Story in the Mall. Once again we had to travel beyond the first floor. Using the up escalator was no problem and I knew that there was an elevator and a service elevator so I wouldn't be trapped. We shopped and tried on dresses and then it was time to head down and we started towards the elevators, passing right by the down escalator.

I don't know what hit me, but all of a sudden I knew that I could do it! I knew that I could kick the down escalators butt! So I told Lisa I would meet her and mom down stairs and then I just did it! Lisa stood there staring at me in amazement and I turned around and stuck my tongue out at her...like a BOSS! I was so proud of myself!

I know that the reason I was able to do it is that I have been exercising and I can feel that I've strengthened my left leg (my right too but that one wasn't the problem). I've strengthened my core and my sense of balance as well and that all made it possible for me to go down the down escalator!

Today I was emailing back and forth with my sister when she mentioned how I had conquered my fear of the down escalator and it made me think of other fears I have. I don't like to have fears. I could only thing of three things:

1. The Down Escalator ...Conquered!

2. Eating Alone in a Restaurant

3. Driving on the Coronado Bridge in San Diego

I've always hated to eat alone, but I think with the love that we Americans have with our cell phones that no one would even notice if I were alone in a restaurant. In fact most of them would probably be alone themselves and on their phones! So that's an easy one conquer...but the Coronado Bridge?

Have you seen the Coronado Bridge?

Yeah, that is something that just scares me to death. I just know that the second I drive on to that bridge I am going to get vertigo and drive right off to my death! Just like I knew that Sciatica was going to make me fall all the way down the down escalator to my death!

But no matter how strong my core gets, or my legs or whatever...I know that I can't drive on that bridge and it kills me because like I said before, I hate to fear anything! I don't want to be a sissy-la-la that can't even drive on a little old bridge.

But maybe I'll try eating alone before I tackle the Coronado Bridge...don't you think?

What fears do you have? What fears have you overcome? What fears do you know are your "Coronado Bridge"?
        

George Stella's 4 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies

This George Stella recipe has been floating around Facebook for months now. My co-worker made them but I had never tried baking them myself, but today I was feeling motivated and really craving something sweet, which is weird for me because I'm not a big sweets person.

But these peanut buttery, crispy cookies hit the spot. They are so rich tasting that just one did the trick and they are only 2 carbs per cookie!

I'll definitely be making these often, so easy and so delicious!

The Recipe:

OLD-FASHIONED PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES 
Flourless, Gluten Free, and Guilt Free 

Recipe from “The Complete Low-Carb Cookbook” 2014
By George Stella

Prep Time 10 min / Cook Time 12 min / Serves 8; 2 cookies each

SHOPPING LIST 
1 cup all-natural smooth peanut butter 
1 cup sugar substitute 
1 large egg, slightly beaten 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350° and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing well to create the cookie dough. 

3. Use a tablespoon to drop the spoonfuls of the dough 2 inches apart on the lined pan. Then use a fork to press the dough down, creating a criss-cross pattern on each cookie. 

4. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. 

HELPFUL TIPS 
It is important to let cool completely before removing from the pan and also be careful not to overcook as these cookies are inherently "crumbly".

These are almost 100% peanut butter, and that’s a very good thing!

The recipe above says you can make 16 but I actually got 17 cookies out of the recipe and they are good size cookies with a nice thickness as you can see above. Loving the Low Carb/High Fat lifestyle!