Guerilla Warfare

We laughed as we passed this sign along the freeway. Why would people in the heartland of North America name a city Montezuma?

He gets the last laugh, that old Montezuma. He gets his revenge. And I have not even been near the border! Any border!

It's hard to eat the BRAT diet when you can't have bananas or toast, you're tired of rice, and out of applesauce.

No, I did not resort to childhood 7-Up, but I did find some seltzer water and mixed it with a bit of orange juice (the real thing, not a premixed substitute) and had some gluten-free pancakes. That seems to have settled me down.  Take that, you bully!

Driving

I noticed that when I am driving a long distance, I eat more. It helps me stay awake, but I am pretty sure I tacked on quite a few extra calories yesterday. 4 handfuls of nuts, one apple, and a few crackers.  And then my husband shared an orange with me...and I think I had some tropical juice before I took over the wheel...

Ah well, I am home now.  Time to get reorganized, stock up on non-dairy milks and waffle mix, and get on with life. Right after a nap.

New Twist on an Old Soda

At Christmas, one son brought a couple of bottles of soda to share.  One was 7-up, which I grew up thinking was the ultimate cure for an upset stomach.  Grandpa always had some on hand for his whiskey and he would share (the 7-up, not the whiskey!) if we didn't ask too often, so it's always been a favorite of mine.

Now that I know how bad for you it is, I have sworn off of it. Whether sugar or aspartame, no thank you.  Anyway, this soda is pale purple 7-up. I was highly amused at the label proudly declaring "anti-oxidant" all over it. Apparently the addition of the tiny amount of antioxidant added makes it healthy. Thanks anyway; I think I'll go eat some grapes.

Christmas Breakfast--breaking tradition

To anyone who reads this--I hope you had a wonderful and happy Christmas day.

Our family Christmas breakfast tradition is strawberry whipped cream waffles. Then my daughter-in-law entered the family, with a strawberry allergy, so we added the option of raspberries.  Still delicious!

Now comes Momm with all the crazy food limitations. What to do? My son hosted the breakfast this year, and he found blackberries on sale, wonderful sweet berries.

I went to Sunflower Farmer's Market in Murray, Utah, (why oh why doesn't my town have a great health food store like that one?) and picked up a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free pancake and waffle mix and some Rice Dream rice milk.  This actually made delicious waffles! 

I didn't even try to replace the whipped cream; I just used real maple syrup and blackberries. This was wonderful!  I had asked the kids to pick up sugar-free applesauce, another good topping option, but they forgot.  Still, I had a yummy breakfast with only a small break in tradition. They made wassail without the cinnamon, which is still very good.

 I noticed I wasn't the only one to use the maple syrup--it was half gone, and my hosting son gladly claimed the rest of the bottle.  This is very good; it'll keep me from binging on the sweet stuff.

Food Fight!

We stopped at a Taco Bell in Rock Springs, Wyoming.  I figured I could get something with corn instead of wheat, but anything close to a salad, where you can get real food and leave off the cheese without it being dry, had a wheat flour base.

No problem, I thought. I asked for nacho chips instead of a flour tortilla shell.  You would think I was trying to rob the bank, judging by the resistance I got.

They finally gave in, but I am convinced there was flour in those chips, so I asked for an ingredients list.  The clerk kept saying. "She said it was corn."  After asking three times, I still could not get nutrition info beyond the "how many calories" chart.  It was maddening!  Isn't there a law about that?

Today I find this on the internet, from their own website:   *Nacho Chips do not contain wheat proteins; however, they are fried in the same oil with ingredients containing wheat proteins.

Now, why couldn't they just tell me that in the first place and save me all the grief? 
The fiesta salsa also has cilantro in it, another no-no for me, but I figured that out by looking at it and seeing the tiny green leaves.  It also has vinegar, though it doesn't specify which kind, and that usually means plain old cheap white vinegar, another one on my list.

Sadly, no more Taco Bell for me.  I can make an even better taco salad at home when I want it anyway; it's just this whole travel thing that makes it interesting.

Continental Breakfast

I have always liked staying at hotels with free continental breakfast.  We spent two nights at Super 8, one in Lincoln Nebraska, one in Cheyenne Wyoming (not one I care to repeat) and both have reasonable rates and free breakfast.

The first morning I had orange juice and apple juice, two things I could eat out of a lovely array of rolls, toast, waffles, butter, milk, cereal, yogurt, bagels, etc.  My husband had a wonderful breakfast. So did I, after a stop at a great co-op natural foods store in Lincoln,  Open Harvest. They had the best hummus I have ever eaten!  I am going to experiment and see if I can figure out their secret.

The hotel in Cheyenne had a much smaller array, but I had come prepared. I brought a box of cereal, some rice milk, a bit of fruit, and some nuts.  After a wonderful, filling breakfast, we were ready to hit the road again, and off we went to our final destination.

We are now staying at In-Town Suites, a no frills weekly rental hotel.  No continental breakfast, but I am not worried.  I have my leftover box of cereal and milk, plenty of fruit, nuts, dates, etc, and a plan to stop at one of the great health food stores, either Whole Foods or Sunflower Market,  for whatever else I need. I brought my rice cooker, crockpot, and pots and pans so I can cook whole grains for breakfast and lunch.  Yum!

Maybe it wasn't the holiday meal....

or not entirely, at least.

I think it's an overall failure to take care of myself.  Baking cookies out of stuff I can't eat, helping with too many events at church, sleeping late and eating on the run, not having time to read scriptures, ponder, and pray...

I think I just learned a good lesson about taking care of my body and spirit first.  I hope to get some great rest over the holidays, spend some time in meditation while on a road trip, rethink life in general, and hopefully get motivated to do some fitness activities.

Maybe it wasn't such a good meal

The tension and pain set into my neck and shoulders last night, and moved through my whole body overnight. Fibro flare big time! 

Was it the little bit of parsley I ingested?  Was there butter in the green beans?  Maybe it was something on the "safe" cornish hen after all.  This makes me realize how important it is for me to follow the full diet plan, and find out what is in my food.

Holiday Party

Today was the annual faculty party for work.  They catered lunch, with our orders going in ahead of time. 

For appetizers there were several tasty choices that are on my okay foods list. Fresh cut up veggies, tender slices of perfectly cooked beef, in particular.  There was polenta which is probably okay but they put cheese on it.

The main choices were cornish hen or beef with mushrooms, so I chose the hen. It was safe and turned out to be delicious!  The vegetable was herbed green beans, and I'm pretty sure their idea of herbs was parsley, but it's low on my list so the few bites I took are probably okay.

The side dish was a choice of potatoes or wild rice. I had chosen rice, but you could see it swimming in parsley, so I ate the potatoes.  They were a little overdone but I was hungry.

They really didn't do dessert, except that for bonbons and truffles, so that wasn't a problem.  I saved my little bag of truffles for a stocking stuffer.

It was a lovely party!  It was so nice not to have to bring my own food this time.

Shortening

I was making cookies today for a party, which is a dilemma, (I posted about that first) but I got to thinking about shortening.  I bought butter-flavor shortening, and when I read the ingredients I noticed that there is beta-carotene added for color.

This struck me as kind of ironic. Here we have lovely, trans-fat packed grease, plenty to stick to the arteries, but we color it with something "healthy" instead of plain old yellow-lake 5 or whatever the bad stuff is. 

I think the truth is that beta-carotene is fat-soluble, so it colors this pound of fat better than other coloring, but it still made me chuckle.  I think I'll stick to my natural yellow-colored olive oil, with the occasional saffron for frying.

Is it doing a service to make someone cookies?

Okay, here's the latest dilemma.

I was asked to make 50 sandwich cookies from a specific recipe for a special church activity for the teenage girls and families.

Is it a service to do this when I know the sugar and shortening are very bad for you? We wouldn't dream of serving alcohol to these kids, so why do we ply them with sugar?

If I don't do my share, I know the group president is going to do hers and mine both, so I feel guilty if I don't do it.

Besides all the ethical issues here, is it fair for her to ask me to make these when she knows I will not eat them, not only for the sugar but for the gluten?

The work of it is intense; this involves rolling and baking 100 nickel-size balls of greasy slimy cookie dough, making frosting, and sticking them together.  I really don't have time for this, with my student load picking up, a trip to pack for, bills to pay before I go, and a women's meeting to attend the evening before.  But I had already said yes, so I am doing it.

The ingredients were also quite expensive, as I don't ordinarily have cake mix, shortening, cream cheese, or powdered sugar on hand.

I would welcome any suggestions on how to handle this in the future; do I try to educate them, suggest alternative treats, just say no to making sweets, or what? Treats are a big part of American culture, but also of my church culture, so I really stand out. It's kind of like being a vegetarian at a barbecue. 

Home-Made Soda

Today's post is a takeoff on Trudy's latest! I love her blog, My Healthy Eating Challenge.

She wrote about soda, home-made vs. buying bottles of soda.  What are the benefits/costs involved?  Soda is soda, no matter where you get it, and pretty unhealthy stuff at that.

The one benefit she could see was that there is less packaging than there is in buying bottled soda.  There is even less packaging involved in drinking water--unless you drink bottled water.  I do that at work but at home we filter.  I should be more conscientious about using a refillable container and the big bottled water the school provides.  Hmmm...I think Santa might just bring me a large water container that is dishwasher safe this Christmas.  If there is such a thing.  I drank a lot more water when I carried around a 32-ounce Nalgene bottle with a no-spill straw. 

My own version of homemade soda is to take a can of frozen juice, 100% fruit juice of course, and use seltzer water instead of water.  Even that is a rare thing for me because I don't entirely trust the carbonation, and juice itself is not as healthy as eating the fruit.  It does make a festive occasion nice though.

I have quit drinking commercial soda entirely, even when I have a headache, which I am getting less and less now.  If I have a leaky gut, cola surely won't help. I didn't drink much soda besides the occasional cola for headache anyway because aspartame is scary stuff and sugar is out of the question for me. 

This One's for Trudy

My friend Trudy does not eat sweets, more power to her!  She does occasionally have a little maple syrup, so here's a recipe for maple-syrup sweetened whipped cream.

1 cup real whipping cream
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp rum flavoring, or 1 tsp. cinnamon.

Whip together until it holds stiff peaks.

Don't hate me, Trudy.  It is only for a special occasion!  There's so much fat in whipped cream. 

Incidentally, if you are not used to sweets, the cream is almost sweet enough by itself, so you could cut down the syrup or even leave it out.

This is one treat I can't eat right now; sorry, family, probably no strawberry waffles for Christmas this year.  I don't think whipped tofu would quite do it.  mmm...maybe I'll make GF waffles for me!

Saying No

Saying no to treats is so much easier now.  Most people take a simple "no, thank you" but some people push it, saying things like, "They're really good! Try one!"  I guess it hurts their feelings for anyone to say no.  Like, "I made this to share and you won't even taste it."

A secondary comment does the job, especially now that I have a new one.  People don't get "I don't eat sugar" as easily as "Sorry, I'm gluten intolerant."  Now it's not their problem, it's mine, and they say okay and move on.

I love the smell of chocolate. I opened a tube of m&m's for a little boy yesterday, held them to my nose for a long inhale, and said, "Those smell really good!"  He smiled a big smile as I handed them back.  There was no danger of snitching one because I got over that long ago, and there is dairy in milk chocolate;  besides who would snitch even a mini m&m from a 3-year-old? I wasn't born to be the Grinch.

Persimmon Pleasure

When I was a child, my aunt used to bring a few persimmons every year.  I was the only one that liked them, I think, and I would wait anxiously for them to get ripe, then spoon out the soft flesh and enjoy it.

Recently I spotted a persimmon in the grocery store. It was nice and orange, firm and unblemished, so I bought it.

Now, you can't just buy a persimmon and eat it.  The secret is in the waiting. If you eat it too soon it makes your mouth pucker, which may be why so many people don't like persimmons.

I put that persimmon on my kitchen window sill and watched it for days as it slowly turned red.  One side turned much more slowly than the other side, but finally it was entirely red.

At this point, the persimmon is squishy.  It shouldn't be wrinkled, just red and squishy, like it has jello inside.  When mine was perfect, I put it on a plate and cut into it.  I scooped out the jelly and ate it straight.  You don't have to make jelly out of a persimmon; it does it for you.

To persuade my husband to eat it, I put a bit of the jelly on a rice cracker.  The sesame flavor was a bit strong, so I put a bit on a piece of Rice Chex.  That was so good, I continued to eat my persimmon on Rice Chex.  A delicious treat!

I don't think husband liked it very well; he politely ate some and then disappeared to "something I have to do"  and agreed that I could enjoy the rest.

I finished off that persimmon today, taking pleasure in the jelly and the soft, papaya-textured center.  Another successful food adventure, entirely gluten-dairy-sugar free.


My only regret is that I didn't take a picture before I ate it.  If you don't know what a persimmon is, you can Google or Bing or Yahoo or however you like to search.

Sugar and Spice and Manners are Nice!

Every year or so, our church hosts a dinner to teach manners to the youth.  It's good fun, and we were asked to be the "host couple" at one of the tables.

I ate lunch at about 3:00, which was a good thing, but by the time dinner was served at 7:00, I was pretty hungry.  I expected a bit of trouble, though.

Appetizers came out...okay, keep in mind the men were in charge here...mozzarella sticks and rolls with margarine.  Nix on all of those for the dairy and wheat.

Next was a salad; I ate mine plain without the ranch dressing.

The main course was either fettucine alfredo or spaghetti with meatballs. I asked for meatballs and sauce on my plate...taking a chance on the meatballs not having filler...but I never even got to one.  One bite of the sauce made me aware of parmesan cheese in it.  I quietly gave my meatballs to my husband.

Dessert, which I never eat anyway, was brownies topped with ice cream.  I was amused watching the youth try to figure out how to deal with rock hard brownies when they had already given up their knives and forks with their plates. 

I quietly suggested they push off the ice cream and eat the brownie with their fingers; it is a cookie, after all. So one of the girls picked hers up, mashed it into the top of the ice cream, and then bit into it.  Ah well, we did try.

They showed very nice manners throughout the rest of the meal.  I told them about the time we went on a company paid cruise, and ended up sitting at the head table with the vice-president of our very large corporation. It was nice to feel confident with my manners there.

I did not tell them about how all the men started flipping spoons at the end of the meals! I swear the VP started it--who else would have dared?  And--shocking!--picked them up off the floor to do it again!

When it was over, I went home and cooked up a bowl of millet to eat with peaches and did just fine!

Detox

I have heard over and over that detox programs are like drug withdrawal--it gets worse before it gets better.  Well, I've hit the "worse." 

Forewarned is forearmed; I am just trying to get through this as my body adjusts to new foods, and to not being poisoned at every meal.  It's tough, but I'm going to make it. So far I have avoided painkillers and cola, though both of them are helpful at times.

Meanwhile, I am losing weight and enjoying my food. So many delicious flavors and colors are available! I was definitely stuck in a food rut before.

Milestone--and Epic Quinoa Fail!

I hit a milestone--on the way down! I never thought I would be glad to see that particular weight, but for now it's a good thing. I just don't want to see it again!

I thought for breakfast it would be tasty to stir apples and allspice into my quinoa. To simplify, I mixed them together in the rice cooker. I don't know if I didn't put in enough water or what, but when I got out of the shower and dressed, I smelled burning food. Oh no! And by this time I am really getting hungry.

Luckily I had some frozen cooked quinoa, so I popped some into the microwave with another cut up apple and allspice. 

After all that--was it delicious?

It was!  I put on a little coconut milk and ate it just like oatmeal.

Adventures in Eating--Day 4

Today's foods included cucumber, tomato, avocado, and olives, wild rice, and beef, among other things.

Dinner:

Salad: (serves 2-4)
1 large cucumber cut in large chunks
1 tomato cut in large chunks
1 can olives
1 avocado, thinly sliced

Mix the cucumber, tomato, and olives, then lay the avocado slides across the top. Drizzle a favorite vinaigrette over the top, making sure to cover the avocados.

Cover and let stand at room temp or in fridge for a couple of hours. Yum!

I served this with a very tender 100% natural steak and a side of wild rice.  I am full!

Maybe eventually I'll remember to take a picture before I eat!

Adventures in Eating--Peach Cobbler

Okay, it wasn't really peach cobbler...

Hot millet with peaches and a bit of nutmeg stirred in...it was so good!  I think these food restrictions might be the best thing that ever happened to me.

Adventures in Eating--Coconut Sesame Chicken

Part of my food plan is to rotate foods, not eating the same things two or more days in a row. This is to prevent new food sensitivities from developing.

Yesterday's meals included kale, which I've never tried before, and which is slightly bitter until it is cooked.

I cook like Amelia Bedelia, so I don't have an exact recipe, but here's the basic idea:

I chopped up about an eighth of onion and about a third of the bunch of kale and stir-fried it in olive oil just until it was tender.  I added a cut up chicken breast, a handful of coconut, and about a tablespoon of sesame seeds. When it started getting too dry and sticking to the pan, I added a splash of Bragg's liquid amino. 

Since it was quinoa day, I served it over a heaping pile of quinoa.  This was very good, but a bit salty. Apparently I need to dilute the liquid amino. But the flavor was amazing.

Food Challenges!

I had an extensive blood test done for food sensitivities. It showed up some important things.  For the next three or four months at least, I will avoid gluten, any dairy products whatsoever, and several other minor irritants.  Dairy was the big one, not just lactose, but whey and casein.  Not even butter for me! 

The second part of it is to rotate the foods I do eat. They gave me a handy chart with suggestions for rotation, and a booklet of recipes (which mixes up all the foods from different days!)

I think I will follow the rotation strictly for a few days, and then just mix and match and make sure I eat a good variety.

Hopefully I can start feeling better soon. The good news was that my cortisol levels were good (another test) so I don't need adrenaline support.  Hurray for that!

The doctor recommended a kind of supplement to help heal the gastrointestinal system, but it turns out to have ginger in it--one of the things on my "no" list.  I'll have to see what else she would recommend for me.

So, wish me luck! I hope this is not another yellow brick road leading to a non-existent Oz.

That reminds me, Glinda the Good Witch told Dorothy the secret of the shoes, right?  So why didn't she just tell her right away?  First she had to go through all that trouble!  That's bugged me for a while.

T-Bone Steak

Oh, how I was looking forward to that T-bone steak. Juicy meat, cooked just right, fat cut off...

It actually wasn't as good as the "lesser" cut we got a couple of weeks ago, which happened to be all-natural beef from a nearby farm. It's not grass-fed beef, but no added hormones in it.

A friend is eating all-natural and saying how good everything is, and losing weight too. 

It's the cost that worries me, but my health is getting constantly worse. If I increase my grocery budget to take in healthier foods, maybe I can reduce my supplements budget.  Any comments?

Lies

I was only going on the computer to look up my church lesson and print it out.  This is what I told myself. Then I checked Facebook real quick. I was tempted by a game, but I was only going to play one. Then I would stop and exercise, eat breakfast, and take a shower before work.

These are the lies I told myself.

Suddenly there was only time to throw on some clothes and head out the door.  But the bread I thawed needed baking--I had forgotten about it! 

I turned on the oven, stuck in the bread, got dressed, and ate breakfast. As soon as the bread came out I wrapped it in a towel and threw it in a bag with a knife and breadboard.

I was late enough for work to cost me $7.50, though I made up half of it by staying late to help a student.  At least the bread was yummy. Thanks, Rhodes.


Now my afternoon plans have fallen through, so I guess I will still have time to exercise.  I'd rather be at the movie/dinner that I had planned.

Stretch Marks

I'm glad I had already decided it was time to start exercising and eating right again before I saw those new stretch marks on my abdomen.  They are annoying but did not leave me as defeated as they would have a couple of days ago.

TOPS again

I went to TOPS again today, a different group.  They were a smaller group, with a lively, energetic feel.  They were friendly, but I didn't feel overrun.  Maybe I'll go back to this one.  There is a Tuesday group here as well, so maybe I'll go there next week. 

There are evening meetings, but I work three evenings a week, and the other weeknight I am busy as a leader with my church Young Women's group. Besides, I like weighing in the morning.

Considering a New Blog Name--Again

I didn't make it to fit by 50, though I made good progress. Then I was derailed by the move.

Here I am over a year later, starting over (you'd think I'd learn), tired of hurting and being tired all the time and being FAT! 

What should I name my blog?  I am considering Slender Sixty (gives me a little over 9 years to get there)  or Svelte by 60, but I would like something more health-minded.  All the S-words I come up with seem to be more weight related--slim, slender, svelte, skinny, shapely (though that might work)

Maybe "In Shape by Sixty" 

Or maybe just change it to Fit by 55, which is a shorter term and might cause less procrastination.  I wonder...can you change the name of a blog without redoing it?  I think I can if I just change it on the title but not the url.

Any suggestions? 

This is not my artwork.

Our school/employer did a fundraiser event for Especially for You, which provides free mammograms and medical care for women in need in the community.

My husband volunteered for the airbrushed "tattoo," but he was wearing a long-sleeve shirt with a tie, so the only place he could think of was the top of his head.

He let the artist have free rein, and spent the rest of the day looking like this, which amused and impressed his students. I'm so proud of him! I am also proud of our school, ITT-Tech, for being willing to support this event.

Notice the pink tie too. All the staff was asked to wear pink. He had to borrow the tie from our son.



Thinking Errors

I was in the grocery store one day, and I saw a woman who was dressed in a pretty dress, and comfortable but nice shoes.  I was admiring her and thinking, "Maybe I would have more reason to dress up if I was skinnier.  I'm not going to look good, whatever I do, so why bother?"

OUCH!

I thought about it later, and it's a wakeup call.  There was a day when I wouldn't have been caught dead in public looking like I looked that day. Big baggy t-shirt, funky capris. No way!

Recently we went to my husband's graduation ceremony for his master's degree. I took care with my outfit for the ceremonial dinner, wearing black velvet gauchos with a slinky top and glittery cropped jacket.  He looked at me with appreciation and said I looked good.  Mmmmm....made it all worthwhile.

I enjoyed the dinner without feeling underdressed or self-conscious. Others were there in everything from nice pants to evening gowns. My husband wore his suit, and if you don't mind my saying so, we made quite a nice-looking couple.

We did the photo booth afterward, and had fun posing for American Gothic.

The next one is better, but you know, it's a photo booth...you're supposed to be a little silly, right?  The giraffe is Ginger, our family mascot. (Her purpose is to help the grandchildren feel connected to us. She has her own Facebook page now, Ginger's Adventures.)

I'm Spreading My Wings!

GONNA FLY NOW!

A Boatload of Fun

I went out with our young women to go boating/tubing.  Boat tubing is to water skiing what snow tubing is to snow skiing.  All the fun, none of the learning curve!

At first I just wanted to ride in the boat, but finally I agreed to ride on the tube, if he would go "really slow."  Well, apparently we have different ideas of slow.  That turned out the be the most exhilarating thing I have done in a long time!  As expected, my neck and shoulders are pretty sore today, but it was so worth it.  I'd go back out right now if they invited me.

It was also thrilling to see how much the young women enjoyed it. They came out of their shells and had a great time.  The girl who wasn't sure she wanted to go ended up having the most dramatic spill off the tube, and loving every minute of it.  My own eventual spill was pretty mild; I just waited for a calm spot and let go when my arms got too tired. The river was warm and I just floated there lightly treading water (in my lifejacket) until the boat came back around for me.

One of our girls was very immature when I met her in January.  If things upset her, she would sit and cry and pout.  It was so great to see all the changes manifest in her over the last 7 months. She went straight into the water face-first  her first time and then came back up for another try.  She was so thrilled at the whole activity, patiently waited her turn, and encouraged me to try it too.

All of these girls are amazing. I think it's good for them to see their adult leaders participate and enjoy ourselves. I don't want them to grow up thinking there is nothing to look forward to because life is dull as an adult.  Anyway, hey, Johnsons, want to invite me back on your inner tube?  Any time!

Where Am I?

A friend wrote because she was concerned that I have been off blogger all summer. She was right to be concerned.  I'm just trying to get my life together and barely know where to start.

Lest this sound totally depressed, I don't think I am.  I have just been having a low summer healthwise, and getting very little done as a result.  I totally gave up on Slimmer This Summer.  I've gained back what I lost and had no energy to exercise.

I know I need to exercise to have energy, but when I hit wipeout mode I just can't get to it.

I need to do better in so many areas--health, housework, spiritual life, church work, that I feel like if I start in any one area, I am shortchanging the others.

On the plus side, work is going well, and I have taken up knitting which is very relaxing, and I am nearly done with a little-boy sweater for my grandson. Which he will probably hate but I will never know, right?

I realized I am shortchanging all the others anyway, by not doing at least one, so I am trying to decide on priority.  I have almost two weeks off starting on Tuesday, so I need to pick at least one daily goal to focus on.  Besides actually getting out of bed each day.

Sorry for the downer, but that's where I am right now. On the downside, looking up. Just writing this gives me perspective.  Now if I could just find those room-darkening curtains, I'd put them up and try to get a better night's sleep. That may have been the start of the problem...changing bedrooms when an adult child returned for the summer, and never getting the windows darkened.  Hopefully said child will know where they are.

So you see, I am not just wallowing, I am looking for a constructive way out of the pit.  Just so you know.

Daily Challenge Walk & Photos

Yesterday's Daily Challenge was to go for a walk and take at least three pictures with a camera or cellphone.  Here are my pictures:

This rock puzzled me for a while. That house was not built in 1846! 

The whole neighborhood is post-WWII Tract homes. 

I finally figured out it is the house number.

With the telephoto and flash I was able to get a pretty nice view of the lilies. They would look white in the daytime but the darkness brought out the yellow in them.

I like the contrast between the dark tree and the evening sky.

It's kind of hard to see, but the siding on this house is two colors. 

Did they run out of time and money, or do they just like it that way?  

Notice that the side door is blue.

Water, Water, Everywhere

I started this post at about 9 a.m., retaining water, having regained back the 1.4 pounds I lost, putting me at 200 even again.  And how did this happen?

I spent Thursday and Friday at a church conference with some very awesome Mormon youth!  Thursday evening there was a dance. Fun!  

We spent three hours on Friday cleaning up a historical village, pulling weeds, picking up trash, and clearing out dead brush.  We even got on the news! 

After a short lunch, we had an afternoon of games at the park, followed by a luau (dinner/dance) at a different park pavilion. It was a long, hot day on my feet, and my whole body protested by retaining water again!  











Saturday morning was also spent with the youth, and I think Saturday afternoon disappeared in a wave of fatigue.  Sunday I got up too tired to do much, so I skipped church and slept from 10 until about 3.  I had a 4:00 meeting, so I  quickly showered, and on impulse weighed again, finding myself a whopping 2.2 pounds lighter than 6 hours earlier!  So that puts my weight at 197.8.  I'll take it!

The other effect of the fatigue is that I'm a basket case.  My 4:00 meeting was canceled but I didn't know it so I showed up, (dragged myself out of bed, showered, had a quick snack, and drove over there, for nothing) and the whole thing made me cry. How stupid is that? 

So I'm a waterworks. Water, Water, Everywhere.  I think I'll go make some lemonade just for a change!

Weekly Update, Slimmer this Summer

After the swelling from the poor overworked feet went down, I lost 4.2 pounds, for a total of 4.6 for the challenge, if I remember right.  I am excited to be making progress and I am trying hard not to overeat.

I am not remembering my pedometer much; I really need to just stick it with my phone or something. I have not been fairy logging; I just try to pay attention to whether I am really hungry or not.  Sometimes that's hard because the food is just there.

We ran out of bottled water; I wish I at least had a lemon to put in the tap water.  Maybe ice will help.  I don't shop on Sunday but first thing tomorrow we will run to the grocery for a refill.

Happy Independence Day Everyone!   Let's celebrate--and continue--our independence from overeating and the health problems it brings as we pursue our STS challenge! 

Farmer's Market Foray

I decided to walk to the local Farmer's Market. Healthy, fresh produce, locally grown, and it's right down the same street as my house. Then I realized it's actually about 2.5 miles down the street!  So I drove.

I think this particular market is more flea than farmer.  There were about ten craft booths for every one produce booth.  Overall I thought it was too expensive and time-consuming, but it was fun to see.  $7.00 for a loaf of bread? $5.00 for a quart of berries?  I could have had a breakfast burrito for "only" $5.00.  

I had gone with the determination not to spend more than $20, and I stuck with it.  

After spending an hour and fifteen minutes, this is what I got at the Farmer's Market: 

Two splendid tomatoes, $1.00

1 nice cauliflower, $2.00

5 average-looking radishes, $0.50
1 tasty loaf of whole wheat bread, $3.00.
1 smaller loaf of butter bread, $1.50
1 crepe filled with mashed potatoes and a touch of mushroom, which I ate on the spot, $1.00.  It wasn't all that good.





1 yellow squash and 1 cousa squash (something new to try) $1.50.
 1 dollar donation to the Girl Scouts to help the people of Joplin--$1.00.

Free Stuff:
1 tip on a bicycle club for beginners
1 reusable grocery bag with a credit union logo
1 coupon for $7 off the haircut I was planning to get later in the day
Several "taste" samples--cheese, granola, a strawberry, etc.
A very red face from the heat and sun.

1 compliment on my hat! 

1 long wait for a train to move slowly through the middle of the market. Priceless.

I used to wonder how in the world hobos ever got on a moving train, but I was sorely tempted to try it myself--up one side and down the other--just because the wait was so long and the train so slow.

Total Spent: $11.50.

When I went to get the haircut, there was about a 25-minute wait, so I went to the discount grocery next door and spent the rest of my $20 on a cantaloupe, a pint of blueberries, a bunch of bananas, 3 peaches, and a 16-oz. bottle of cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil.

Not bad for a couple hours of shopping. I got in quite a bit of strolling at the farmer's market, plus a 3-block walk each way to my car.

Will I do it again? Maybe. They had some cute bracelets that would make a good gift for someone on my list, or maybe even myself, at a really good price.  It wasn't on my list to buy things like that today.  Over all though, I think I can write it off my list of things I've always wanted to do. It's a shorter walk to go to my local air-conditioned grocery store, and perhaps the gas used offsets the benefits of buying local. Not to mention that I am not too wild about crowds. The picture below is from last year's market.

When I Get Old

When I get old I want to be like the ladies I met today at water aerobics.  There were probably 30 women there, and one man, and not a one of them under 70 years old! Not a dark hair among them, except one obviously dyed lady!

That was the first thing I noticed, and at first it was a bit disappointing. We do tend to socialize with people in our same age/stage of life, don't we?

Then I decided to admire them and learn from them. Some of those old ladies are in better shape than me, that's for sure.  They are not sitting around doing nothing, but are actively taking care of themselves.

The instructor is also old, and she was telling us that a particular stretch was good for our

and there she stopped. She could not think of the word, and no one else seemed to know what it was either. Someone volunteered "circulation" but that didn't seem to be right.  She shrugged and said "I don't seem to have that either."  and on they went.  It was funny and touching at the same time.

The music was a great combination of 70's music, which means that it was probably the music their kids listened to (and they hated) but nobody complained.  I loved it!  "Dance to the Music"  "That's the way, uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it, uh-huh, uh-huh."  It was great fun.

And the workout? Let's just say it really was a full aerobics workout.  I was pretty impressed. I'll go back, but I may just have to put on my purple hat with my red swimsuit.

200.0

I hate to admit that

a) I had gotten back over 200 pounds.

b) I've been weighing almost every day this week.

Now that the swelling is going down, I am gradually losing the weight I worked off last week!  Today was so cool, because the scale said exactly 200.0 

I hope it never does again! 

Qualog

I commented on a blog and the word verification was "qualog."  Sounds like something nasty and fat. A cross between a warthog and a beached whale.  About how I feel about myself.

Google reveals this definition:
Qualitative research has tremendous potential for breaking new ground in gerontological research. QUALOG, a qualitative analysis program using logic programming and computer support, has been developed. This article describes how QUALOG was utilized to analyze data from a qualitative study of older adult learners.

Google images reveals that it means something in Vietnam.

 

Here is my version, and it's what I don't want to be anymore!

Weekly Update, Slimmer this Summer

I went to camp. I didn't take my pedometer but I wished I had. I forgot that part of my commitment.

I walked. and walked. and walked. Over and over again, until finally Thursday night I couldn't walk to the bathrooms one more time.  I got into my car and drove to a nearby campground with a bathroom with a parking lot attached.  Two leaders quickly joined me, and two of the girls didn't mind a ride either.

When I went later (I always take two bathroom stops at night!) one of the girls offered to be my buddy. She thought it was a fun secret that we slipped over to the "flush toilets" in the car.

I found out tonight that our young women's president (an adult in her 60's) was driving over there every night all week!  I also found out she had blisters from Monday on, which I could have been treating for her with my handy moleskin and lidocaine antiseptic wash.

She's not a whiner.  Sometimes it pays to be a whiner.

When it came time to volunteer to go on hikes with the girls--and this was only Tuesday-- we sat and waited for a short hike to be announced. Passed on the three miler, then on the five miler, then another three. We had heard there were one and a half mile hikes for some of the girls. Then they announced that they needed a few leaders to stay back at the shelter and put up a volleyball net. Our hands shot up!  Best of all, a couple of the men stayed back, and they did the net for us!

Note to self: all this walking was a good start. Keep it up.  

Did I mention that I hurt everywhere and my feet were swollen up Friday night and Saturday?  I went to bed every night of camp with incredible pain in my legs, and two nights I gave up and took a muscle relaxant and ibuprofen.  I had to sleep somehow.

Anyway, I wish I knew how far I had walked. 

With all that, I did lose weight. 0.4 lbs.  Maybe it'll be a little better tomorrow. I think I still have a tiny bit of swelling in my feet, and who knows where else. I did not log my food but I should have because I know I ate too much. However I think I also used up all that energy and then some.  I was so tired by the time we went home on Friday that I ran a red light, took a wrong turn, missed a mailbox by inches, and started crying (fortunately after I dropped off all the girls.)

Yoga, anyone?  Right after another nap.

Daily Health Challenge

I signed up for a Daily Health Challenge at meyouhealth.com

It's an awesome way to become aware of little things we can do to promote our healthy lifestyle.  The challenges are easy and fun!  You earn different pictures as you go through the levels. I'm going to show you just a couple for a hint.

If you sign up, or if you already are signed up, please find me and connect with me!  (Lynn F)

YoYo

Um, yeah,  I regained it all, and then some. In one week! 

I've let down with trying to get some other things done but this week should be a turning point. I'm going to camp with teenage girls for 5 days. That's a lot of walking! 

My biggest mistake this week was eating a couple of times when I wasn't really hungry. But food was there and I forced it down.  ugh! 

Onward!

Dental Chair Workout

Unconsciously tense your whole body. Become aware of it. Consciously relax and breathe deeply. Repeat endlessly.

The dentist told me to eat soft foods after getting prepped for two crowns.  What a challenge that can be!  Baby carrots, out. Nuts, out.  Frozen chocolate chips, out.  Bubble gum, out.  Well, that gets rid of two vices.  Salad, croutons, seeds, etc.  All gone.

I can chew but it is tiring to chew all on one side.  Too many soft foods are sweets, like yogurt, pudding, jello, applesauce, canned fruits, etc.  I am thinking of steamed carrots, potato soup, chili, and lots of pureed fruit or smoothies.

Any other helpful ideas?

Raspberry Lemonade

A tasty, nutritious summer drink:

In a 16-18 oz. glass:

3/4 cup frozen raspberries
splash of lemon juice or lime juice
several drops of Stevia extract
Fill with plain water or seltzer water. Stir and enjoy!

Help! Cheeeesy Potatoes!

Saturday I had a party at my house, so we decided to go out to dinner so we wouldn't mess up the kitchen.  We picked Ruby Tuesday, a midwest chain, because we had a coupon there.

I decided on a small steak, but the side choices were cheesy potatoes and broccoli. All I could see was fat fat fat, and I eat broccoli at home all the time. Then the waitress said we could choose any sides we wanted.

I ordered Grilled Zucchini and Tomato with Vinaigrette. Then I traded a couple of slices of tomato for a few of my husband's sugar snap peas. It was beautiful on the plate and tasted pretty good too. I wasn't very hungry, so I saved about half the steak and zucchini.  My husband didn't finish off his rice pilaf so we stuck it in a box with the rest of my food.

This made the perfect balanced lunch for Sunday.

Unfortunately, I think I drank 500 calories of sparkling apple juice at the party!

Here's the recipe for inexpensive sparkling apple juice:
1 can frozen apple juice (12 oz.)
3 cans seltzer water
Makes about 48 oz. sparkling juice.

I guess the other ladies liked it too, because I had three bottles of flavored soda, and they drank about a third of the bottle of strawberry soda, and about 3 quarts of the sparkling juice.

The sparkling juice can be done with club soda, but I cut out extra salt wherever I can and I like the purer flavor of the seltzer water. It's good with cranberry and other juice flavors too.

I only had one small plate of snacks at the party, plus a little extra fruit, not filling up and practically making a second dinner out of it as I have been prone to do.  Yay for me!

Slimmer This Summer: Week 1 in Review

Well, I food-logged, most of the time. Some people call it flogging, but that sounds like punishment. I decided to call it my Fairy Log.  Food + Diary.  That way I am continuing to employ fitness fairies in my behalf!

I lost 0.8 lb. It's a little bit.  The biggest change I made is that I am consciously trying to eat more vegetables.  Last night instead of natural sugar cake (the only sweets I can eat really) I went for a handful of baby carrots with low fat sour cream. 

I am also examining my vitamin routines and trying to make sure I don't miss any doses, after a really tough week. So that may be my main focus next week, besides vegetables.  I need some energy!

Wrong Blog Title

Have you ever met someone sick who is also overweight, and thought, "If they'd lose weight I bet they'd feel better?"

I have to admit, I have been guilty of that, back in my slim days. I have a chronic illness that started about 20 years ago. I've had it when I was slim, and I have had it through the onset of middle age spread.

Yes, I would probably feel better if I lost weight. I wish it was that easy.  It's so hard to stick to goals when I am so exhausted I can barely get out of bed. It's hard to eat right when cooking takes more effort than I can consider.

I stocked up the fridge with salad stuff, vegetables, and fruits yesterday, when I somehow found the energy to go to the grocery store.  Hopefully that will help. I can microwave a bowl of broccoli in five minutes, a piece of salmon in 3 minutes, and peel a cucumber or a banana with little effort. It's still easier to just grab chips, salsa, and sour cream.  But I am trying!

I know people say exercise helps with depression and creating energy, but with chronic fatigue, or fibromyalgia, whichever this is, (and no one really knows) it is sometimes more than I can do in a day.

I did not set out to whine, really.  I think maybe this blog title should be different, because I'm not sure fitness is really a possibility for me any more.  I have never been a quitter, but I have sure become a "slow-downer."  If I pace myself I get very little done. If I feel good and don't pace myself I get a lot done, for a day, and then nothing for several days.

So maybe I should call it "Surviving at 50."  Or Fifty and Fibro.  I just don't want to give up altogether.  Something is broken in me and I don't know how to fix it.  All the vitamins, the sleep apnea treatment, the anti-depressant, the prayer, they help but they don't fix it.

I'm not looking for help or suggestions, I just want to whine.  I am going to talk to my doctor in July about whether there are tests for other glands besides thyroid, like the adrenals etc. and see what we can learn.  Like I said, I'm not a quitter. I'm just discouraged right now. Bear with me. When I come out of this blue funk I'll go for a walk. Or, more likely, even before that.

Day 3

I was determined to get in a workout but running out of time. Anthony and I had agreed to clean the living room and he came in ready to do it just when I was ready to put on the dvd.  What to do?

I worked with him on it until he left for work, then quit and put the dvd on. I thought I would have time for my mile with Leslie and then a quick shower before going to an activity with the girls.

It was later than I thought, and...I forgot that the easier dvd's are longer, and the doorbell rang just as I started to stretch.  Good thing this wasn't a dressy party! 

 And by the way, that's a sugar-free Dilly Bar from Dairy Queen. It tasted a lot like an Eskimo Pie. Remember those?

Photo by my friend Kaydi.

Hold those abs!

I made a pretty new skirt and had T take some pictures. I didn't like the way they looked, so I had him count to three and pulled my abs as tight as possible.  The result, below, is hilarious.  Here's incentive to keep working my goals, anyway!

Slimmer This Summer

I'm joining Angela Pea at Keeping the Faith,  Debbie at Debbie Does Dieting, and many others in the "Slimmer This Summer" challenge. I'm starting late but here goes.

Basic plan:

1. Blog our goals!! 

a) Exercise:  My initial goal is just to walk daily without beating myself up, wear a pedometer and record total miles. 

b) Watch my food intake, recording it daily, and hope to lose at least 5 pounds by the end of 11 1/2 weeks.  

c) Drink the minimum 1/2 gallon of water daily, plus herb teas and limited fruit juice.

d) Measurements? Weight? I'd like to lose at least one dress size, take the elastic in on all my skirts, and lose at least 5 pounds. I know muscle tone makes a big difference to my size and how I look.

2. Tracking and journaling is essential. Besides the daily food track, I will update my progress weekly on  my blog. I'll link it up to the challenge.

3. Don't quit!  No winners or losers. If I have a bad week, I'll get over it and get back on track. That's what I'm here for, to stay on track!   Challengers should have fun with this. 

4. Support other challengers. I'll comment on at least two other blog posts each week. 

Real Age

I took the Real Age quiz and I am 55.5!  Today I feel more like 85.

Seriously, that's gotta change. I have good health habits overall, except for that diet/exercise bit.

But we walked yesterday, twice as far as I did the last time, which still isn't very far. The main thing is to get back into the daily habit and work up from there.

We saw fireflies!  We had to call our 22-year-old son to come out and see because he has never seen them before.  They don't live very far west of the Mississippi, so we didn't have them in Utah.

One landed on the porch while I was watering my flowers and I got to get a close-up look at it. It would lift its wings a tiny bit and glow like crazy.  After a while the light died down, I guess because it was sitting still for a while, and it just looked like any other bug. 

Image from Wikipedia.    In case you want to know more.

Does This Make Me Look Fat?

We were at the fabric store and I found one of those pre-made panels with an elastic waist that you sew into a skirt. This one was really cute, so I wrapped it around me, and asked my sweet husband the terrible question: "Does this make me look fat?"

Of course he was the good husband and said something wonderful  --  not! No, indeed! He was the honest husband and said yes!  So I was surprised, but I laughed and gave him a second chance, saying "Well, of course, everything makes me look fat because I am. But does this make me look fatter?"

So now, he decides to say no! Way not to dig yourself out of a bad comment. I threatened to hit him over the head with the bolt of fabric. Probably would have, but he was in too deep!

Too bad about all that; it was a cute skirt and probably would have looked fine on me but I can't buy it now!  It makes me look fat!

Size Lament

I've been thinking about losing weight, but I've got some cute clothes now and I really don't like shopping, especially more than once in a season. So, I got an idea. I'll sew! I can make some cute, elastic waist skirts. One pattern, several designs and fabrics. Cute, easy, inexpensive. When I lose weight I can just tighten the elastic.   

I found two patterns I really like, and the one above is even on sale! 

 

This one is only $3.99.  There's a fabric store that carries them less than a mile from here. 

So, I clicked on the link to look at a size chart and about went into shock.

Size 22-24?  But I wear an 18! This is not wishful thinking--all my clothes in 16-18 fit me!  So what's up with a 22-24?  

Just to feel better, I went to a local department store website and this is what I found:

Okay, now I wear an 18-20.  That's getting better.

But at a Woman's "plus size store" I found this chart: and I'm 16W.

Now, if I sew can I really follow their size chart?  Or will I end up with a huge skirt?  Oh the frustration!   I don't know what I will do now.  Make one, I guess, and play it by ear from there.

I QUIT!

I quit! I quit exercising, watching my intake, doing much of anything. I basically became a lump on the chair, for most of the winter.

and now I am paying the price. I am just as tired, hurt just as much, if not more, am close to that big 200 on the scale, and sick of myself.

Today I walked to the grocery, less than a mile round-trip, and I was aching by the time I got home. I get short of breath and my heart pounding with a little exertion but I think I have a respiratory infection. My chest feels all clogged. Down deep, down below the throat it feels yucky.

I guess I need to see a doctor--and then start seeing exercise as a medical necessity.  That's what got me out the door to the grocery; I needed to pick up a prescription and some stamps.  Too bad I can't pay for a gym membership with my Health Savings Account. 

When I got there, the Rx wasn't ready, so I get to go again tomorrow.  Another excuse to walk.  Maybe I'll go find a doctor too and see what I can do about this icky cloggy feeling.

I'd Walk a Mile...

You can see how out of shape I've gotten--again! I look fat! But I'm trying again!   Wait--I'm still in denial! Why is it so hard to say "I am fat." ??  I realized I said "I look fat!" 

Saturday we went to one of our city's many park trails. This one is exactly a mile long, with increments of 0.10 miles marked. It has "fitness stations" along the way--a pull-up bar, balance beam, sit-ups ramp, and so forth. Some of them are missing, but I at least tried the ones that are there.

It was a perfect day in the city. 83 degrees, light breeze blowing--who could ask for more. Some people were really pumping it up out there, but most were strolling like us.

Trees are budding, the grass is green, and a pretty little creek/canal runs through the middle of the park.

 

I thought it would be nice to put my feet right there where the soft silt has collected, but then I thought again. The water was likely cold, the creek had litter and who knows what else in it, and it was probably mud not sand.  I just decided to imagine it instead.  I sound like an Aesop's fable of some sort; I just can't remember which one.

First TOPS meeting.

The Shelf

After my shower today I got a sideways view of myself in the bathroom mirror. Note to self: try to avoid that in the future. When did my butt turn into a shelf? I thought it was still "plump" but wow...I could put my jewelry box and half a dozen books back there. I looked up TOPS and rearranged my schedule so I can go to next week's meeting. Meanwhile, maybe I can kick off a few pages of a book in the meantime.

Lunch!

Doesn't it look yummy! What you can't really see is all that healthy cucumber in the tuna, and mixed lettuce under it.

New Shoes

 I got brand new Reeboks yesterday!  I think I tried on at least twenty pairs of shoes before I found one I like.  I found a pretty pink and white pair (a bonus that they are pretty, because how they fit is most important)  and when I tried them on, I had happy feet!  I did all the walking moves from Leslie Sansone's videos, right there in the store, and they felt terrific.  So I got rid of one more excuse and now I am kind of excited to do a workout tomorrow in my brand-new shoes.

Unfortunately, my picky feet liked the most expensive pair I tried on!  However, one of the advantages of being 50 is that we have an AARP membership, and that gets us 25% off at a Reebok/Rockport Outlet.  25%!  My husband got a dressier pair of walking shoes to wear at work so we both have happy feet! 

Suggested Retail:  $99.95  (+$7.00 tax)
Outlet Price: $74.95
With Discount: $56.21       (+ $3.94 tax)

Anthony's Shoes: 
Suggested Retail:$85.00    (+ $5.95 tax)
Outlet Price: $75.00       
On Sale: $39.97
With Discount: $29.98       (+$2.10 tax)

Total Spent:  $92.93
Total Savings  $105.67

Happy Feet, Happy Budget! 

Except that it still practically kills me that we spent nearly $100 on shoes in one afternoon. 

They tried to convince that the "buy one get 50% off" sale would save us the same amount, but I wasn't buying it.  $101.59 vs. $92.93.    Nice try, folks.  Students ask, "Why do we have to know all this math. When will we ever use it?"   Great example.  Word problem right here! But I digress.  Leslie, here I come!  Monday's a great day to start a workout.

40 Pushups

Yesterday I did 40 pushups. Not all at once, but I did 40, with short rests every six or seven.  If I keep this up, I just might get to 100 a day by the end of the month.  That wouldn't meet the challenge of 3000 for the month of March, but it's still quite a goal to achieve.

Fitness Video and Pushups

I promised myself I would work out today--and I did.

First, I put on the fitness video from Netflix, which I've had all week.  I didn't like it. 

I gave up on that and did 18 "girl pushups."  My goal is to be able to do 100 in a day by the end of the month.  It's not so far-fetched; I did 12 more later at work.  The first day, I could barely do 10, and then only by laying down for a few seconds between each one by the time I got to five.

This idea came from a challenge I read about to do 3000 in one month, which works out to 100 a day. I scoffed at that, but the challenge caught my fancy, so I decided to try to work up to that. If I do at least one more before I go to bed, I will beat my previous record of 30.  Maybe they will get rid of the hiccups that suddenly struck me a minute ago. 

One last comment--God gave us such amazing bodies that we can build up strength pretty fast. 

The Work Monster

I love my job! Absolutely love it!  But it takes so much time and energy. What's a workout? I don't think walking up and down in front of the blackboard counts, though it does leave me sore. It's all small movements.

I write with  my write hand and erase with my left so at least I lift that arm once in a while.

I think I need to spend my two-three light/easy weeks between quarters getting re-established in an exercise program.

Notice the word "think."  Where is my commitment?

Just Don't Drink the Water!

Having lived in a place where the water tasted terrible and was so hard that it left a film on the windows. I'm sure there were monsters in that water! In July I moved to Iowa, where I found--you  guessed it--bad-tasting water. I'm renting so I put a faucet filter on. Then we got a new faucet, and the filter, which wasn't terribly effective anyway, didn't fit.

I tried to drink enough water, but I found myself avoiding it, or drinking too much juice, which is full of calories.  Finally, I decided to conquer that monster, so once again, we buy water from the water machine at the grocery.  At work we have bottled filtered water from some delivery company, and I drink two or more liters in eight hours.

Nothing like the taste of pure, clean water.