My Son's First Meal

My son made is first meal using this video...

 

I thought I did not like Asian food, but after eating this delicious Chicken Chow Mein, I realized that I just don't care to go OUT for Asian food. I love this recipe and look forward to experiencing more Asian home cooked meals.

Running with Sally

Gold River Morning Run

My Men Fishing

Taken by my son at the river

New Year's Day Dinner

Writing about my efforts is helping me keep my mouth shut. 🙂 New Year’s Day went really well, and dinner, at 4:30, was delicious. Even so, as the evening wore on, I was tempted a couple of times to eat something more. But, then I kept reminding myself that if I am going to write about it tomorrow, I don’t want to have to say that I messed my second day. 🙄

I ate 6 green olives throughout the afternoon. For dinner, I had delicious prime rib and onions, and salad with mayonnaise and lemon juice. And that’s it. Yay. I made it through the first day of 2020!

Having you all there for me helped keep me strong and on track. Thank you, my darling family, for your support. 🥰

Happy New Year!

New Year's Day 🙂
Yesterday, I was not going to eat until 6:00 but ate at 5:30. I made beef pot pie and fresh bread for the fellas, and just had to taste that pot pie. I made pie crust for Thanksgiving pies and had some left that I froze. Having never used frozen pie crust before, I was not sure how good it was. That’s my excuse. I wanted to know if it was any good, and it was – very good. My tasting added up to a small pie serving, more than it should have been. (I did walk 8 miles – that probably burned about 450 calories. I told myself it all balanced out. 😁) About an hour later, I ate a slice of that hard to pass up homemade bread with mayonnaise and two slices of deli roasted turkey. It was very filling and felt like too much to eat; however, that did not stop me from eating again. Around 8:00, I ate and tangerine, and later, a banana. So much for eating a low carb diet! 🙄 But today IS a new day, a new year. Hopefully my choices will be better today. And there you have it. I am here writing this because 🤭 I am hoping that by having to openly confess all will force me to make the right choices and make a difference, reaching my goal.

I was planning on going to bed at 8:00, but my son showed up, looking for a bit of New Year’s Eve celebration. I had stayed up the night before building a puzzle and only slept three hours.

I thought I should try and stay up for him, but I got comfortable on the couch and fell to sleep around 9:00. I woke around 10:00 and he was gone. Poor guy, not exciting action here. If I had not stayed up the night before, I could have made it to 12:00, but I did not know he was going to come.

This morning, my husband and I ran two miles and walked 4. I won't be able to make my 8 mile goal today because my knee is bothering me a bit. Sad as it is, I think it would be wiser not to push it.  Life happens. However, I do plan to keep busy and that should add extra steps.

And tonight, prime rib is on the menu. I AM having some of that (LCHF plan allows that)! But I will pass on the mashed potatoes and gravy because I am going to be good today.😇

HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all! 😀

Pro LIfe Baby's Voice Buttons

My brother makes these buttons.

If anyone wants one, I will send them one.

~~~♥~~~

Independence Day 2019

Photos from my sons phone

What a perfect day – the weather was pleasant, around 88°F.

Late morning, we headed up the mountain to Pollock Pines, CA 

to watch a small town parade with an old friend.

That evening, we had a traditional 4^th of July dinner celebration.

~~~♥~~~

Corn on the cob

Potato Salad

Chips

Hamburgers on the grill

Watermelon

Ice Cream

(Sorry, No Apple Pie)

~~~♥~~~ 

I fell to sleep watching The Patriot, had to rest up for the late night fireworks.

The show started at 9:45 PM – 19 amazing minutes of fireworks.

It was a wonderful 4^th of July holiday.

 

He Shed, She Shed

~ Our Two Sheds ~

~ This Shed is His ~

~ This Shed is Mine ~

My little studio.
~~~♥~~~

We build his shed.
It came as a "KIT"; we thought that meant that parts of it would be preassembled.
Wrong! Not only were no part of it preassembled. but also the pieces were unmarked.
It took us a week to get it ready for roofing.

The kit did not include foundation materials, paint, or shingles.

Coffee Break

When we bought my shed,

Many parts were preassembled.
Labor was included in the price, as well as the foundation materials and the shingles.
It came prepainted, as well.
It took 3 men 8 hours to build my studio.

We chose to upgrade the solid doors to French doors and had two side windows added.

My son built the deck for me.

You Only Get ONE First 5K

A friend wanted to get in shape for a 5K by spring.

She asked me if I would like to join her, and we began running on December 30 last year.

I had a personal goal for my first 5K...

I read that RUNNING is defined as 6 mph or more.

 All I cared about was finishing under 30 minutes.

My Running Journey Begins

For years, I have wanted to run. (I found that Life Is N-o-t Like a Dream.) Every time I attempted running, I set out at a runners pace - leaving me breathless and sure that I would never be able to run. I finally discovered that all runners start slowly - meaning jogging, tiny steps. I learned that I need to develop distance to strengthen my heart and breathing capacity, and then incrementally increase my pace.

On December 20, I began my running journey. It is one month and we are jogging 4 miles now. I have been jogging with a friend (a two times Boston Marathon runner). We meet at 5:30 a.m. three to four mornings a week. Although we have not had technically freezing weather, many mornings have dipped into the 30s this past month.

A Snowy Mountain Hike - Can you believe it's July!

 ~ Photos~

 Carson Pass Trail Head, Winnemucca Lake

 Marker to Winnemucca Lake, Pausing Near Frog Lake, Wild Flowers

Frog Lake, Dead Tree at Winnemucca Lake

~~~♥~~~

We left the house around 6:40 A.M., and after stopping at McDonald's for breakfast, we began the two hour drive up to Carson Pass for our annual mountain hike.

Usually we see the mountainside covered in wild flowers with a few patches of snow. This year, there was so much snow that most of the way we could not even find the trail. Occasionally, we stumbled upon sections of it, only to lose it again under more snow.

However, all we had to do to reach Winnemucca Lake was to head in the direction of Round Top rising above it.

 ~ Photos ~
Following the Leader

View of Round Top, View of Caples Lake from trail

Snow Covered Hill Below Round Top

Clear Section of Hiking Trail

~~~♥~~~

Winnemucca Lake Elevation: about 8999 ft.

It was a free fishing day, and the fellows had hoped to catch a few fresh mountain trout.

Alas, the banks of Winnemucca Lake were covered in icy snow.

All this snow made for a real adventure, a pleasant change from our regular hike.

~Photos~

Navigating Our Way Back

One for the Album, Winnemucca Lake

Trail with View of Round Top, Lunchtime at Winnemucca Lake

A Great Day for a Mountain Hike

~~~♥~~~

Breakfast Sandwich and Coffee

~ Along the way to Starbucks ~

This month and thru April 10, when we buy a coffee at Starbucks we get a sticker.

Collect five stickers ~ get a breakfast sandwich

~ Double-Smoked Bacon, Cheddar & Egg Sandwich ~

We share the coffee and sandwich.
(They say that two can live a cheaply as one.)

This gives us each a scrumptious breakfast of about 250 calories a piece.

And I mean scrumptious! This croissant bun is so delicious buttery tasting.

Mornings like this make us feel as though we are on vacation.

~ Morning at Starbucks ~

~~~♥~~~

Apple Butter on Toast

 I had a drawer of apples I needed to use up.
So, I made apple butter.
The family likes it!

Click on Recipes, below, to see Apple Butter Recipe.

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{Pinterest}
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Sunday Breakfast of Corned Beef Hash

Corned beef hash, cheesy bagel, and fried egg breakfast

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Celebrating St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is a big holiday in our house.

We enjoy our traditional corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.
A little strawberries and cream cake is good too.

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{Source}
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Budget-friendly Lunches

A simple lunch of tuna fish sandwiched, carrots and olives, and spicy Cheetos.
My boys love tuna fish.
~~~♥~~~

After Breakfast

My three sons, along with my husband, ate breakfast
and headed out to the driving range for a morning of practicing their gold swings.
~~~♥~~~

{Pinterest}
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Mornings in March ~ Marie's Donuts and Coffee

 We LOVE Marie's Donuts.
Maybe we are prejudice, but we think that there are no better donuts than Marie's.

~ 6:40 a.m. at Marie's Donuts in North Highlands on Saturday ~
(before the time change)

I could not find any photos online of the inside of Marie's Donuts shop in North Highlands
(which, by the way, has been here since 1960),
so I decided that I should take along my camera and take some of my own.

~ Happy feet at Marie's Donuts ~
~~~♥~~~

This morning's walk...

 ~ 6:30 a.m. on the American River ~
I have to say that I am saddened by the time change and the later sunrise.
Yes, very, very, very saddened.

I had to take a photo of our coffee shop to show the passing of the seasons
of our walks throughout the year.

~~~♥~~~

The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 

 The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 

All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

~ Psalm 14:8-10 ~ 

~~~♥~~~

Let's Have Some Coffee

One of my Pinterest boards.

I am sitting by my fireside this raining morning, having my morning coffee while pinning.
~~~♥~~~

Taking the San Francisco Bay Ferry from Vallejo

 Mid-January, my brother-in-law from out East visited and wanted to spend the day in San Francisco.
On his suggestion, we took the San Francisco Bay Ferry from Vallejo.
It was a new adventure for us and a thrill watching the scenery from the ferry deck.
However, it is $13.80 per person each way, so I don't imagine that we will be doing it again any time soon.

We spent a lovely afternoon moseying around the piers and enjoyed a delicious meal at Scoma's near Fisherman's Wharf on Pier 45.

Then we caught the 3:10 P.M. ferry from Pier 41 back to Vallejo.

These ferries really move.

That is Alcatraz Island in the background.

~~~♥~~~