60 Something Mom

 I haven't been here for so long.  Now I am a 60 year old mom. I'm still going strong.  Taking care of my 87 year old mother.  She is in pretty good health.  We built a house 3 years ago on 10 acres.  I love it!  We aren't retired yet - still own a small business.  

A Sparkpeople friend brought me here.  Love her blogs - Leanjean6.

I'm enjoying my garden and freezing some vegetables to eat this winter.  Fall is right around the corner.  My daughter has scheduled a family photo setting in November. We haven't taken a family photo professionally since the kids where in middle school - 15 years or so.  

I might be back to blog more.

My Love of Cooking!

My Love of Cooking!

I was just thinking today about where I got my love of cooking from and I finally realized it came from my step-father.  He loved to cook good fresh food.  We lived on a farm and had fresh ingredients to eat and canned all kinds of things.  It was a lot of work in our huge garden, sweet corn patch, and taking care of cows, chickens, ducks, and pigs.  I usually complained about it, but I wish I could go back there now.  I hated taking the canned jars to the cellar because he kept a black snake down there for the mice! 
I have so many lovely recipes from great grandmother (my step-father's family), grandmother (my mother's family), mother and aunts (my mother's and husband's family).  My step-father hardly ever used a recipe and we had a cook-off to see whose cake would be the best without using a recipe!  His cake was delicious!  He "taught" my mother how to cook the foods he liked.  She was divorced raising 3 children on cereal, tuna, boxed mac & cheese, instant potatoes, and spam when they met.  She became an excellent cook.  We usually had mashed potatoes and gravy with the evening meal or fried potatoes.  A nice piece of pork, beef, or chicken and a green vegetable or tomatoes.   Her canning skills were awesome in the pressure canner from my great grandmother.  The holiday meals were wonderful too!
The torch has passed to me to make the homemade noodles for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This is my third year and everyone loves them.  The recipe is from my grandmother and my mother passed it to me with her noodle cutter.  We were buying homemade noodles from the church women and I decided I wanted to make them for our family holidays.  My sister makes the mashed potatoes (she is an awesome cook too). 
My mother tells people that I am gourmet cook!  That cracks me up!  I watch a lot of cooking shows and demos on youtube and I like to try new things.  Cooking relaxes me and I am retired now and have more time to spend in the kitchen.  I made the noodles yesterday and will bake a couple of pumpkin pies tomorrow.  Everything else will be done on Thanksgiving morning. 
My diet is going well.  I have lost 25 pounds and want to lose a few more.  Being able to cook good food has helped me drop some pounds.  It's all about portion control! 
My step-father gave me a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (1980) as a wedding gift and told me this was a great place to start and I refer to it often. I kind of collect cookbooks too!  He was a generous man to many people, loved the Lord, and his family. I think he would be proud of me and I give thanks to him for his love of cooking and passing it on to me! 

Good Week!

I had a good week on SparkPeople!  I enjoyed letting them count my calories for me.  Now that most of my food is entered, the entry goes pretty quickly for each meal. 

I have worked out this week and I lost 5 lbs.  My weigh-in day is Wed.  Saturday is my cheat day each week.   I don't over do it too much, just go up to the upper end of my calories.  However, I had a maragrita tonight.  I will have to see if it was worth it. 

Both of my children are home this weekend.  We have really had a good time.  Not only do the parents like it when the kids are home, but the cat and dog as well!

Diet!  Again? Yes!!!!

Here I go again, starting another diet.  I am counting calories on Spark People.  I have never counted calories before.  I was on Weight Watchers (Lifetime membership- lol ing) and counted points. 

Spark People is a free site and has some cool apps.  I decided to give it a try before enrolling in Weight Watchers online.   I am thinking, in the back of my little mind, that I will only do well on a diet if I have to pay something for it.   I have so many of the WW plans for the 80's, 90's, etc., but have not stuck with it at home. 

Tracking your food daily takes some time.  Once I have my food choices set up, I hope it will go a little faster.  I measured and weighed myself.  Whew! 

I am just going to take it a day at a time and try to stick with it for a month.  I bought a dress for a wedding in a month.  It looks alright, but would look better on me if my middle was a little bit smaller!  Of course, the truth comes out!   I have an event to attend.  At least, it's a start. 

I, also, need to get back in the habit of a work out.  I was sick for 6 weeks and stopped working out and I have a few other excuses if you would like to hear them.  Even tho I am semi-retired, I seem to keep busy.  Most days I work 1/2 day and afternoons are free to clean, do laundry, nap, read or work in our Aunt's old house to get it ready for a sale. 

Well, today has gone well for the eating portion.  I don't seem to be too hungry.  I will keep you posted! 

50 Something Mom

I'm actually a 50 something mom now!  50's are good!  I am more in tune with the limitations of my body.  I enjoy a nap most afternoons as I get up a couple of times a night with our family dog.  She is a 95 lb. Great Pyrenees.  Beautiful beast and lovely personality, but when she is ready to go outside there is no sleeping.  She is very gently and sniffs my face or hand when she is ready to go out, but if you don't get up shortly after the sniff, she will bark and wake my husband up.  Our cat will try to wake us up, as well, if he wants to go out at night or needs a little scratch behind the ear. 

I have gotten older and my mother has gotten older too.  She is 78 and has some heart problems that are creeping in.  I took her to the emergency room recently and she is having a lot of tests run to make sure she doesn't have any blockages.  She may need a pacemaker.  I am very lucky that I get to spend more time with her.  I phone her daily and try to run by her house weekly.  She isn't home a lot as she plays Bridge at least three days a week or more.  She, also, enjoys trips and get togethers with her Sunday School class.

It is very hard for me to realize that my mother does not have a lot of years left with me.  I don't dwell on this thought for very long.  I have to just take every day as a blessing with her and my family. 

My kids are doing great.  My daughter has a decent job, not a lot of money, but getting good experience.  My son has about 1 1/2 years left to complete his college degree.  He was home working at our store for the summer and headed back to college last week.  I miss having him home, but we are enjoying the house to ourselves again. 

This summer has been a very hot and dry one.  I have had to water my bushes, trees and yard.  My water bill wasn't too bad last month, but not sure about the next one.  Our electric bill doubled from June to July.  We have lived in our home for 28 years and have never had an electric bill that high in the summer.  We have never had a gas bill that high in the winter either! 

Now fall is right around the corner and I can't wait! 

Gosh! I haven't been on here for so long. So many things have happened in my life and finally beginning to slow down. Both kids are in college - one just graduated. Very proud of her. We are empty nesters. Having a great time with eachother. I have retired from a job I had for 25 years in education and started working with my husband in our business. My stress level has dropped as well as my blood pressure.

I am loving life! I work half days and have a lot more time for me, things I would like to do, and people I like to keep in touch with. I feel like I am getting my sense of humor back and feel joy from so many things. I haven't missed my old job/life at all.

Merry Christmas to all and a Happy New Year!

Still at it!

Still working hard at several things - just waiting for the cold and snow to go away.