What a Fantastic Day!

Now hang on. I did not win a lottery, nor did I complete a manuscript for that book I said I'd have published by the time I was 50... (Silly me!)

Today, I woke a bit late. The sun was up ahead of me for a change. Axie trotted into the bedroom, hopped up onto the bed, via the steps I made him, stood on my chest and gave me a quick lick on the nose. I love when he does that. He's not a slobbery dog and he's rarely demonstrative with his affection (Typical Male in that regard).  I know our day has started off perfectly on the rare occasion that he behaves this way.

After a bit of cuddling, another thing Axie does not usually approve of, we got up and I prepared his breakfast. While he ate, I dressed.  Outdoors by 7:20am  and went for an amazing walk on some paths of the Greenbelt. Back home and time for weigh-in.  This is a schedule I've been following since my weight loss venture began. Walk~Weigh. I have weighed myself EVERY DAY since July 1st. Today something else to make it a Fantastic Day.... loss of 0.8lbs... but something tells me it's all water. Oh well. So much better than gaining 0.8lbs.

I followed that up with MY breakfast while Axie kept nudging me in the calf  with his nose to go play with him. This time I got MY WAY and he had to play with his squeaky toys by himself. By 9:00am, I was nearly knee deep in Peanut Butter!  I baked 21 DOZEN Peanut Butter Cookies today. Tomorrow I will turn these individual cookies into Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies ~ the same recipe I brought to the Hog and Cobb in July.  So much easier to bake in the cooler weather.  Today held only a 17C high but on July 23rd,  it was 29C with the humidex reading of 37C.... What-the-Crispy-Crunch was I thinking??? Today, I actually enjoyed baking.

Did I mention that Axie got bored of me and my baking even though he got to lick out the two 1-kg PB Jars that I emptied while making the cookies?  This is what he was doing....  on the dining room table... aka... my desk.

We stopped around noon as nature called Axie, therefore Moi, outdoors again. We had a short walk and when we came back, I had lunch.  I didn't feel like turning the oven back on even though I still had about 6 dozen cookies to bake so I asked.... yes.... I asked the Axe-Man if he'd like to go to work with me. This is where he gets to run loose on carpet... and man... can the little guy ever fly! He loves going in because everyone dotes on him AND gives me their STRESS BALLS to throw for him.  I packed up his water and a few treats and some cookies (4 dozen) and in we went.

Yup, That's my boy on my messy desk. We've been pretty busy lately... thankfully! Oh.... and note the evidence that once there was a stressball in his vicinity...

He was zonked in about an hour. I thought it would be the perfect time to make a quick trip to the Dollar Store as I'd no containers for 21 dozen cookies! My dog squealed his bloody head off as I walked away from the car and I could hear him as I entered the store.... and that was 50 yards away. He had water, the windows were rolled down slightly and it was only 17C and partly cloudy by then... not too hot but my little monster is spoiled. I never, until now, leave him in the car. Here's me thinking he'd sleep and hardly notice I was gone. Nope. Still squealing when I came out with containers, 10 minutes later.

Well now the cookies are all baked and I'm supposed to be sealing them up until tomorrow, when I'll add the filling.... In case you'd like to know how to dress up YOUR PB cookies,  Whip together: 8 ounces of Cream Cheese, 1/2 Cup PB, and 1/2 Cup Icing Sugar.  That's it... Spread it on back of one cookie, Slap that to the backside of another cookie and you will get rave reviews too!

With all the temptation, I did not waver... Yet LOL.  Twice I found myself cleaning off my index finger by way of my mouth. As soon as I realized what I had in my mouth tasted gloriously sinful, I promptly spat the demon dough into my kitchen sink! SERIOUS!

The weight loss is still on track. I think I should be able to make my goal of 30lbs by September 30th. I've lost 28.6lbs to date.  I've added something into my daily diet that I had banned for the first two months. Each night... if I feel like it... which I ALWAYS do, I enjoy 3 ounces (75 Calories) of Red Wine.  This might sound really bizarre, but to make it last longer, I MIX it with 7 ounces of Canada Dry Club Soda.  Red Wine Spritzer.

One more walk awaits us so I should be going to get part of it in before dark.  I've added a few pics so you can see that a picture really is worth 1000 words, or more where the Axe-Man is concerned!

Hope you are giving yourselves everything you deserve... and that your expectations are within your means.

Sue
(Expecting 2C tomorrow morning Brrrrr!!! Where'd I pack those darn Woolies?)

Where did my Summer Go??!!!

Today is Labour Day and the unofficial last day of Summer. The days are still quite warm but the nights cool off quite quickly. It must have something to do with how early the skies are dark.  I'm back to a night walk with a flashlight to retrieve any possible gifts Axie designates as mine. Forgot it tonight so I'm glad my gift was placed under a streetlight.

I'm not one to enjoy the changing of seasons from Summer to Autumn. As pretty as it can be for photographers, I can't seem to get past the fact that everything is dying and I will soon be waking up to Jack in the mornings to be followed soon after by snow.

I like the little flashlight Axie and I use on our walks though ~ when I remember it ~ It's this really cool one given to me by a friend at work. It has a lanyard and as it hangs around my neck, and I'm stooping to clean, it points directly where I need it to. One hand on Axie's lead, one on the "gift" bag, and light on the situation. The lanyard on it is ingenious. My flashlight's also a pen, (Not sure if I'll be needing that... but glad it's there.), and only weighs about 2 ounces! Anyway, I'm happy that my friend was thinking of Axie and me when he gave me this little treasure.

Speaking of dying and Jack,  I'm a HUGE Corrie Fan.  Bill Tarmey has finally left the show after 31  years. He played Jack Duckworth and was written out as having died comfortably in his sleep. while in his favourite recliner, listening to golden oldies on the record player given to him that day by "family" for his 74th birthday... He quietly slipped out of his Birthday Celebrations at the Rovers Return, to come  home and peacefully go to sleep.  This, only weeks after learning he had terminal cancer. He chose not to undergo treatments to prolong his life. Yes, it was only a character Bill Tarmey played but I thought to myself, as I shed a tear, "That's what I would do too." Short and sweet. No Muss. No Fuss.

As I am a HUGE Coronation Street fan, I'm also wondering where/when I will find the time to watch 5 hours of Corrie each week, starting today. Don't get me wrong. I'm thrilled that CBC is trying to catch up to the Brits. We are 10 months behind over here. As today was a holiday, I was able to watch a whole hour tonight but Sunday Mornings from 7 to 12 on TV... which means all Sunday afternoon for me online... Well atleast I won't have all the commercials to contend with and 1 hour of TV time is  approx. 44 minutes of show time. I will save over an hour there. Whew! And no, I don't need a PVR.  My rabbit ears are still working fine and my digital conversion box and audio/video cables are awesome! All for the price of less than 2 months of Cable!

In closing... the weight loss gig is slowing down. Not exactly a crawl but I can't help but see the exercise light looming brighter than I'd like it to be. I'm all for conserving energy... in lighting and in my body, meaning I'm still fighting the REQUIREMENT to break a sweat.  I'm at 24.6lbs lost... 25.4lbs to go.  I seem to have hit a wall. Still hoping for 30lbs by end September.

  Did I mention I'm taking "Fat Pics"???  None fit to print, I'm afraid and if you saw them, you'd be afraid too....VERY SCAREEEEY!! Yes, every 7th of the month, I stand infront of my mirror and take front/back/side photos that I compare with the month before. Why the 7th?  'Cause I didn't think of it until then... 7 days after starting this venture... and was already 5lbs lighter.  I actually enjoy this part of my weightloss as I can see the progress I'm making.  It gives me a boost and physically SHOWS me that I'm getting closer to my goal.  It also shows me that I'd look even better now if I were to tone up.... but I'm not there just yet. 

Hope you are all doing well with you goals, whatever they may be.

Say "Cheese" for Wednesday (7th)... and maybe eat some too... in small qtys.

Sue