Back In The Saddle!! No Horse . . . Ha Ha!

So life is good. No I still can't walk except for two small steps to my wheelchair but I'm alive. I think this evening I'm going to try to get up on my scale and see if I can stand long enough by myself to weigh meh! Of course I'll be with my walker and my daughter will be there with me so I don't fall. Oh yes when I fall I can't get up. It took 4 firemen to get me onto the stretcher when I fell this time cuz my danged legs paralyzed due to the renal failure. But yes on to better subjects. I am really curious how much weight I have lost. I downloaded Open Office Wordprocessor since my Microsoft Word decided to so into its own void somewhere in the universe. I'm learning the ropes of the program and will be able to continue with my newest book about the civil war.
Thank you Shelly for your kind words. Mary Fran thank you also and I'm praying for your neice. Deborah I've missed you too. Oh and my daughter put up a hummingbird feeder right outside of my window. I got that idea from you *smiles*. So far there have only been one or two a day but I read that the females are now busy feeding their young but when the young learn to fly they will be around more. Oh and she put up a bird feeder too that the danged Racoons knocked down two nights in a row and robbed the seed. My husband went out and pouned it firmly into the ground. So no more problem with the coons but acrobat squirell has discovered the seed. Funny little guy he drops the seed and the chipmunks come running! Lol a plethora of wild life outside of my window.

So I haven't eaten yet today and it's 4:00 pm. Guess I need to get my daughters rear in gear to get me something healthy. I have to watch my Potassium intake so I eat more fruit and veggies that are low in Potassium. I eat a lot of chicken and fish and have to limit a lot. Can't wait to see if I can get on that danged scale tonight.

Blessing to ya'll and have a beautiful day. Much Love. I've missed you all and am still catching up on posts.

Till next time. . .
Mother Hubbard

I'm Baaak... *smiles*

Hi ya'll. Well I first off want to say how much I missed everyone's blogs and I have a poopload of reading to do. I was hospitalized for a long time. I suffered from Renal Failure. and thanks to the good Lord and the hospital staff they all brought me back from deaths door an, I am now recovering. I am confined majorly to my wheelchair and bed and can barely walk where as before I could walk with my walker. I now have physical therapy and can do some necessary exercises thanks to my daughter who takes care of me here at home. I have lost a lot of weight but not sure how much because I can't stand on a scale yet but I know I have lost in inches. I guess this time it was a wake up call to keep up the weight loss because that is the only thing that will help me to be able to walk a little better in the future along with healing these wounds I have from the venious stasis I have had for 5 years. Somehow while I was in the hospital my Microsoft Word program completely disappeared from my computer so I have to save a little $$ to buy a new program. Thus, I can't continue with my newest book but I do write down a little here and there on a notepad. I barely eat anything these days and haven't much of an appetite but I manage and they tell me it is important to get proteint. I have to watch my potassium intake also so I'm really limited to the veggies and fruits but I manage a good salad everyday and I am eating taboullah which my kidney specialist said was ok a few times a week. Oh and how did this thing with my kidneys happen? Well I had paid in my lower legs from the wounds caused by the venous stasis and I took lots of Motrin for pain. BIG NO NO. It has potassium in it and as now I am 60 and considered elderly *frowns* it isn't good to take too much.
Sooo now I am really careful and the doctor has given me something mild to manage the pain plus I try to ignore it the best I can. So that about wraps it up as to where I've been. I can't wait to read all about your adventures and your climb up the ladder to weight loss. Tain't easy McGee and I understand this but keep on keeping on. Much love to you all and God Bless. More soon. . .

The Hoobagoobis . . .

I know you probably wonder what the HOOBAGOBIS is. Well it's when you're not quite sure what you have but you know you have it. I've had gastritis for the past 6 days. Sick as a dog and tummy in an uproar. I ate a diet peanut butter cup a few days before I got sick an was sure I had contracted salmonella. After all I DO live in Georgia where the dun dun....horrible peanut plant is. But after a visit to the emergency room I was told it is gastritis. It's calming down now but oh my tummy. Thank the lord for 7-up and chicken stock; it's all I've been able to stomach. So because of all this I've lost 4 lbs. , but not due to dieting. My granddaughter will be here tomorrow with her sweetie to visit me for a week. She's the one who is going to make me a great granma. She's moving here for 6 months because her honey's job brings him here but she is leaving in July to have the baby back in Florida. So it will be nice to be around her. They will be looking for an apartment close to where we live. Diet wise I can't even give it a thought until I feel stronger. This really hit me hard but as I said I'm on the upswing now I think. . . I hope at least. Ya'll have a blessed day and be safe out there in all that inclement weather. Much Love.

Mother Hubbard

I BELIEVE..I THINK I CAN... I KNOW I CAN...

Gets up on her reinforced soap box and holds up a book Ahem….*clears throat* Hear ye, Hear ye, Hear ye… *Holds up the Volumetrics Diet book* This here danged book is awesome and is helping me more than I ever thought a book would. I’m here cuz I lurve to eat. *nods sagely* I have looked at all the pictures and read this book over very carefully and it seems to me that if I can eat more and loose weight it’s what I want to do. Now, not to sound too preachyish (is that a word?) I’ve been following this diet for only two days. Actually it’s NOT a diet just an awesome way of changing one’s eating habits and yet getting a more filling helping of food. (Ya’ll know FOOD that danged four letter word that can mean demon to some if not taken in properly!) Anywhoodle, if you don’t want to buy the book then I suggest checking it out at the library it’s awesome and omg… great recipes that you can use or redo as you wish. There is also a website. I know, I know I’ve preached this sermon before but just at least consider using some of the analogy. *hops down from her reinforced soapbox with the help of her walker and lands upright in her wheelchair* Whew!

EXAMPLE

Both of these meals contain 500 calories ~ the same number of calories!! The top photo gives you only small portions of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cheesy broccoli. The large meal at the bottom photo is based on the principles of Volumetrics. This volumetric meal is reduced in fat, high in fruits and veggies and full of flavor. All of these recipes are in the book and the bottom meal contains Creamy Cucumber and Dill Salad, Chicken Parmesan, Smashed Potatoes, Roasted Asparagus, and a Ruby-Red Poached Pears with Raspberry Sauce. Which meal would you find to be more satisfying. Read Volumetrics and learn the secret

Ok I was watching Martha Stewart today and there was a segment on working out. Mary Horn, a nutritionist. was on and they were hopping in and out of a rope ladder so I went to the site and this is what I found:

Ladder Drill: Ladder drills (using a rope ladder) bring up your heart rate, help burn calories, and are an excellent way to improve foot speed, agility, coordination, and overall quickness. Simply take 2 steps in, 2 steps out, then repeat and go faster, lifting your knees a little higher for more intensity.

For warm up they hop-ran through each rung of the ladder first for a bit. But this sounds and looks like something that would be a really good and inexpensive exercise tool. I mean who would have thunk it..a rope ladder. Also another thing they demonstrated was the old Step- Master. My daughter uses this as an alternative exercise to her treadmill. She found one at Walmart for around $25.00 give or take a dollar. Good exercise and there are still DVD’s you can buy to work with them. Another inexpensive way eh? OH did I tell you they laid out the rope ladder on the floor…ha ha kinda hard to jump through the rungs if it’s hanging from the ceiling..tee hee hee. Ok lovies have a blessed day.

I'M GONNA BE A .......

Great Grandma!!! blinks . . . !! My oldest granddaughter called me today and told me. Further more she and her honey are moving up here for his work for 6 months. I'm excited and happy. I got back on track yesterday too with my menu. I was so hesitant to get on the scale because I just knew I would have gained all my weight and then some but I didn't. I guess the exercise may have paid off. When I finally added up all the calories I took in on Ms. Piggy day it was about 2,500. Not as bad as I imagined but bad enough ;P . Today I am back on track and at least down one pound which I always look at as four sticks of butter. Thank you for your encouragement and I know I got down on myself but I still have the fortitude to pick myself up by the pants and go forward, regardless of how winding the road is. This is short today as I'm in pain. Sorry but that's my life and today is one day I can't move around a lot. I'll be so happy to loose these pounds and hopefully start feeling better. I want these venous wounds to heal or at least get better. Ya'll are my inspiration and I thank you for that. Cold here today but Friday it's going up into the upper 50's. YAY!! I have to go out that day. Stay warm to those of you going through Ms. Frost's frigid winter breath and keep on keeping on. I will too. Have a blessed day.

MY BAD!!

So I started the day off fairly decent. I was up all night helping my daughter fix her computer. The video card fried and she had been messing with it without telling me so I didn't know it was bad until she got a black screen and started hollering for me to do something. blinks That was about 1 a.m. when I was getting ready to sleep. Anywho, we finally got it fixed about 6:30 a.m. She then fixed us some bean soup which I had leftover from Sunday. I ate 1 cup plus 1 cup of Almond Breeze, vanilla. All was well but then I fell asleep.

Sooo like a dummy I woke up around noon and was hungry after about 30 minutes. I knew she was going to sleep till who knows when so I picked up my phone and ordered Chinese. Dun Dun!! I have NO freaking will power. I ordered Thai coconut soup, sweet and sour chicken lunch which included a scoop of rice, one egg roll and one chicken wing. I ordered for her too and woke her up. I oinked out. I'm so lousy right now with laziness it's not even funny and its umtifrump hours later. I'm sucking on ice water and silently cussin' myself out because I failed so miserably today. I mean what makes a person do that. I KNOW better yet I just stuffed it all in like I'd never eaten in my life. I just think I should starve myself for three days till I shibitz it all out. I'm not giving up but damnit what's wrong with me. I am a bit stressed about my book and a few other things but to OINK out like that is uncalled for. le sigh.

In case you are wondering why I didn't just get up and go to the kitchen well for about three days I've been in a lot of pain with my legs and it's been a chore to get to the bathroom. I do my exercises from the side of my bed which is in the living room. Our living room looks like a dormitory now. I have my bed in there and my daughter has her bed in there as she is somewhat my caretaker. Yeah it's that bad sometimes but I do mostly what I can for myself unless I'm in this position with swollen, leaky legs, yuk. So there it is. Stupid Monday and Stupid me. I'm just a big ol' southern Pig. Oink... :-(

Have a blessed day and don't follow me down the "pity party I ate too much damnit" road. Oh and by the way my daughter didn't Oink out. She ate a little soup, two bites of her broccoli beef two bites of rice and was done with it. Aaand I did get a lecture... "MOM!!" etc...

Ms. Piggy

I ARE BETTER!!

So there must be something magical in the vat of chicken shell soup my daughter made for me the other day because today I feel so much better. Yesterday after Rhett's floor waffle situation I came back to my bed and worked on the ever present query letter rather than blog. *mutter mutter mutter* It really bothered me about the waffles...I mean he not only washed the frozen waffles off but dried them off with a paper towel then toasted them and put them BACK in the freezer. I had to make sure they were wrapped seperate from the others as I DO NOT...eat floor waffles. Later I wondered at this but my husband is Greek from the island of Cyprus. He grew up with a family of 10 in a small one room house where the kitchen was another little building outside of the sleeping/living area. They were poor farmers and food to them was sacred, especially with all the kids to feed and clothe. So he is conservative in odd little ways. Actually sometimes it is kind of funny but it's ok I just nod and fume a bit then relax. He's really a nice man. I always call us Jack Sprat and his wife as he has always been thin and me fat well heavy but now I'm a fatty. Weird how he was the one to have the heart attack but when they were little kids they ate lard on toasted bread because they didn't have butter. And they ate a lot of pig..erm pork products along with fried food. So his whole family has a history with cholesterol problems and mine doesn't. Sooo after his quadruple coronary bypass he changed his way of eating drastically and now so have I and our youngest daughter who still lives with us. I jus wanned to splain all dat Lucy in case you tawt mah hasband was a nutty boi!! LOL.

Anyway, her soup made me feel so much better by the end of the day I managed to do 45 minutes of exercise!! Yay. I also made out my weekly "I think I'm going to eat this on these days...maybe" list. I don't always follow it but I have been substituting other good things in case I'm not in the mood to eat that particular food. Did that make sense? Today I feel relatively good too and am planning on exercising a bit later in the day. I ate some soup for breakfast and a small glass of Almond Breeze vanilla. I'm full. I'm also going to work on that danged query letter. I wish I would stop beating myself up about it but I just want an agent to like the letter because it really tells something about the book...eh...good luck to me. I hope all of you who have been feeling poorly are feeling much better and I can see that by some of the posts I've read. Keep up the good work as I see many of you have set goals for yourselves and are following what you have set for yourselves. If you've cheated DON'T beat yourselves up. Just pick up and start over...but then you know that. Ok I'm rambling. Have a blessed day y'all!

It's cold...Brrrrr...and I'm sick...sniffle, cough hack...

I haven't written because Im cold and under the weather literally. Feeling a bit better today. It's cloudy and supposed to snrainett...snow/rain/sleet. Last night it went down to 10 here where I live. We live outside, north of Atlanta so it was colder here than there. Been talking to my daughter and she wants to go up to Nashville in the spring. This is not the time to talk about Nashville. I hate the trip going the short way. It's up I-75 and over Mount Eagle with all the 17 wheelers. No way ever again. I can't fly so I need to figure out a way to go so we won't have to go upppppp and uppppp mountainous hiways with a bunch of trucks. Anyway I guess we will go through Alabama. I'm skeered of heights like that.

I've maintained my diet because I've barely eaten. Just some homemade chicken soup and water is all I've wanted. I've been... not a couch potato because I don't sit on a couch but just watching tv off and on and reading here and there. Anyway a few days and I'll feel better. Rhett just came home from work (his real name isn't Rhett lol...but my husband) and he's grumpy. He opened the freezer and spilled 6 eggo waffles on the floor. He is now washing them and wanting to place them back in the freezer so I must go because thats just NOT right. We have 5 cats running around and I don't want anyone here to eat floor waffles just because he is trying to save a dollar. Will write later...must go take care of a stupid situation. Have a blessed afternoon.

RESEARCH AND WRITING!

Better late than never. Eyes her Weight Chart with a smile. Lookie what I did. Lol Surprised myself I did. sqeeeeeeel Today I’ve been busy trying to compose a good query letter and synopsis of my finished novel. I’ve done this before but I’m not happy with what I wrote so I’m trying to make it more interesting. It’s not an easy task summing up 100,000 words in one paragraph for an opening to a query letter that agents like to see. I’ll get there though…hopefully. I’ve only sent it out to 8 agents all rejected so I have a long way to go.

Now with that all aside I was reading on different blogs and comments about Biggest Loser. I did a little research and found they exercise anywhere from 4 to 8 hours a day rigorously and they eat a strictly regimented 1200 calorie diet. Gawd why aren’t they dead? I couldn’t nor would I do that I don’t care how much money you paid me. LOL. And to top it all off I found out they do this in 6 months!! Sorry lovelies but I just think that is really cutting it too short. I have read that many have kept the weight off but the first winner has gained back all his weight. I just am not going to watch it. American Idol is on at the same time or was and I’m keeping track of that. I have enough problems with weight to keep track of all the yelling and dramatics that seems to go on in that show. Yes I watched some of the BL episodes on Youtube. So nuff said for me. I jus dun like it. nods like Mammy Yoakum

Now what I also did between my query writing and Big Loser research is find a site that talked about Eat This Not That. I may buy the book(s), there are more than one. I was surprised to read what I did about the foods that we think of as a bit healthy and how they size up next to something else. Here is the site Health Foods That Arent and it also shows about the Eat This Not That books that are available though I would buy them from Amazon.com. Another book I bought recently is the Volumetrics Diet I like this one. It has some good recipes and a sort of eat this not this outlook. Check it out. Oh and one more thing. I joined My Calorie Counter for free. I like it. I also like the word FREE it’s the best four-letter word invented next to LOVE of course. If I can’t find the calories there then I go to Calorie King or daily plate. But it does have a place where I can enter the calories of any food that is not there or a meal. I like it. I quit the Weight Watchers. I liked WW but those little numbers just didn’t register and I really feel the need for myself to see the actual calories. Plus $16.05 a month for my daughter and I to only log on a journal is just too much for my pocketbook. Hope these help.

So now that it’s almost midnightish…I should stop writing and save some things to write about tomorrow. I’m going to drink a small glass of Almond Breeze vanilla (oh yuuuuum) and nod off to la la land. Have a blessed night and know you are cared about.

Hello lovelies. First off I want to thank Oct for bringing it to my attention that my word verification isn’t working *grumbles* and I just don’t have the time nor whereforewith to fix it. So I just deleted having to do a word verification for the meantime. Also MaryFran I can’t access your profile or am I missing something? When I try it says it’s private? Let me know and also thank you for the kind words it means a lot to me. I’ve spent this morning being a bad girl. I woke up at 7 a.m. a good thing then realized I was in real pain in my right leg so I took some Motrin. Wrong move. I mean good for pain but it made me sleepy and I slept until noon. Not natural for me. So when I finally got my lazy arse up I decided to take it easy and work on the last chapter of my book rewrite, which always makes me Emo!! (It’s a happily sad chapter) My daughter thought I needed a breakfast and before I knew it she had two pieces of wheat bread with margarine and marmalade plus two pieces of microwaved turkey bacon and a cheddar and egg only frittata about the size of two pieces of pie set before me. I just gaped at her, mouth open. “I can’t eat all this, I mean I CAN but I can’t.” I told her. She just looked really sort of miffed so I picked up my fork and took a bite of the frittata thinger. Ok so I ate one piece of toast, one piece of turkey bacon and about three bites of frittata and drank some coffee laced with fat free (whew) half & half and raw sugar. For some reason she is averse to using Splenda because since she read that book Skinny Bitches she swears Splenda has formaldehyde in it and other things that are not good for us. OH BOY!! So I told her “Look I’m 60 just give me a little formaldehyde maybe it will preserve me.” She didn’t find that very funny. (evil laugh here) So that has been what I’ve eaten so far. I get on the scale Thursday and hope at least one measly pound has dropped. Later today I’m going to do my exercises and that should work off those three bites of frittata. JoAnna (my daughter) works on her dreadmill and I in turn do my Chair Dancing exercises. Oh Deborah you can send me a comment now too. I can’t wait to hear from u and hope you find a good Treadmill. We had ours delivered by Old Dominion Trucking Co. We bought it from HSN (Home shopping) because it had free shipping and handling. YaY!! It's a
ProForm Performance Treadmill with 16 iFit® Workouts. My daughter and husband love it. I in turn have said before I barely can make it to the bathroom and back without my walker. Geez when I talk about my wheelchair and walker it makes me feel ancient though truthfully I don’t feel 60 just FAT!! Lol. I’m just so anxious to loose at least 50 lbs to see how it will affect these wounds on my legs caused by my Venous Stasis. That is what gives me pain otherwise I’m fine. Ok nuff said. I feel that I haven’t given any support today but please no matter how you backslide or become Emo or for whatever reason have an eating binge or even are harassed for your weight just remember YOU CAN DO IT! Don’t belittle yourself or think you are any less of a human being because you’re NOT. If you just didn’t care would you have a blog or be here to cheer others on or share your experiences with one another? No of course not. I mean just putting yourself, your feelings, your life experiences out here on the internet for people you don’t even Know to read is brave. I mean look at us all. We are not only in the same boat with our weight but sharing, caring and supportive of one another. How wonderful is that? And THAT is what makes you a great human with a caring heart. Ok nuff said right now. It’s almost time to exercise and I need to get off here and get to it. Know you are all cared about and that no matter what, I’m behind you 100%. You all make my heart sing with joy when I read your blogs. We’re NOT alone. Now go out there and have a blessed and beautiful day. Much Love. Mother Hubbard.

Today has been a reflective day. I awoke and ate some homemade meatball soup ~ calories 350 ~ and a cup of coffee with half n' half and Splenda. I came to the blog and read through the blogs and even received a comment. I’m tired today for some reason. I don’t know if it was all the worry of messing with the comment section until late last night or just a combination of a busy weekend. Today was quiet and I worked on the rewrite of my first novel, For The Love of Cyprus. I’ve been working on this book for what seems forever and I finally think I have gotten it right. Yes I’ve submitted it to agents but I think I might suck at writing a good query letter. Either that or they just aren’t interested in a love story that revolves around murder and war. I’m also working on two other novels. One I call Look Away Sweet Dixie, which evolves around a true story that happened over in Roswell, Georgia during the Civil War where 400 female and child mill operatives were deported by General Sherman up north and most never heard from again. The research on this book has been so informative and thought provoking for me. The other book revolves around a true story of my father before he died. He lived in a condominium down in Florida where there were a lot of single, elderly men who would get together weekly and knit!! Yes knit. I call the novel The Gentlemen’s Knitting Club. The story revolves around a grandfather and his teen-aged grandson who can’t for the life of him understand why his grandfather would take on the hobby of a woman. Through the stories and actions the boy observes he begins to gain a new insight to the elderly and a respect for the fact of what calms a woman may also be calming to a man. Grandpa’s not a loon after all. Sometimes the realization comes to late though. And then there is one more I call I Love You Online about six women of different ethnicity who all play online games and portray younger women only to all find themselves the target of an online loon who is a serial killer. It has a twist as many mysteries like this do and I’m enjoying writing it. I got the idea from a story I read online about a man who met a woman and fell in love with her. He went to meet her on the beach and when they met…it was none other than his mother. Ohh Boy!! So that’s what I’m up to all the time. Working on these different novels depending on my mood, and trying to write a good query for the novel that is finished. Yes I have submitted it to about 11 agents but though they have had good things to say they are not looking for those kinds of stories. Bleh..Never say Die eh? So for lunch I ate a salad with some chicken breast and a half a glass of orange juice ~ calories 250 ~. I then took a power nap while my daughter worked out on her dreadmill. I haven’t done any exercise yet because even though I took the nap I am sooooo tired and don’t know why. I think I will at least do the 20 minute tone up. I know it’s not much but I’ve exercised this weekend so it’s not like I haven’t moved. Well I will write more tomorrow OH wait…I’m going to include the recipe for that salad dressing I was telling you about. So here it is:

¼ cup Canola Oil or Olive.
6 Tablespoons Seasoned Rice Vinegar (I use the seasoned with Roasted Garlic)
2 teaspoons Sweet Hot Mustard
2 large cloves garlic – pounded and diced.
1 Tablespoon Splenda (you can use more or lees to your taste) or one packed Equal

This is good over cold salad or to marinate chicken, tuna, salmon, etc. Good over spinach salad and also in coleslaw for a different taste.

Hope you enjoy.

Have a blessed day and remember beyond all love yourself. Much Love.
Mother Hubbard

OMG OMG OMG YAY!!! Never say Die....LOL!! I fixed it. Don't ask me how. I just couldn't sleep till I fixed it. You can now comment away and that makes me so happy. I burned the midnight candle (really it was a Hallmark Midnight Jasmine candle lol) And went through the html with a fine tooth eyeball...redrimed but fine tuned. So now that that is settled I can now receive comments. Suddenly I'm sleepy...snoooore...Good night my lovlies swee dreams to all. Have a blessed rest. Much Love ~ Mother Hubbard.

Grrr grrr Mutter mutter mutter..... All day long off and on of course I've been trying to fix the comment issue with my blog. I've checked the HTML and gone through everything within the Help screens and forums and still.....no luck. *le sigh* I'm not sure why it will not accept comments but I'm bound and determined to find out why!!Thank you Debbie for bringing it to my attention. I feel like a deaf ear of sorts becuse I can't fix this. I guess I'm going to have to write to the 'fixer of broken thingers' around here to see what I did wrong. *sings* Biiiiig Girrrls Doooont Cry.... bulldonkey they do too... Anyway I can't wait to be able to receive comments. Sooo today was a good day other than tweeking mah geeker... Lol. I ate one eggo waffle for breakfast with fresh strawberries and some splenda made syrup ( I make it with splenda brown sugar yum!) and a cup of coffee. Lunch was a salad with white chicken meat and my homemade non-diabetic salad dressing (recipe to follow) and I haven't had time to eat dinner yet but I think I'll eat some homemade meatball soup. I usually have 3 meatballs (small frozen ones but good) some bok-choy, 1/4 cup of shells and all in chicken broth. And I'll probably have some lemon flavored San Pelligrino. I'm not that hungry though. No I didn't work out today but tomorrow is another day right Rhett? *grins* Oh and I found out something that hit me like a brick later after I thought about it. I'm going to be a GREAT grandmother. *blinks* Am I ready...is she ready to be a mommy? *breaks into song again* Where is the little girl I carried ... she's carrying one of her own...noooow... *grins* It's ok I just never thought about being a GREAT anything but big fatso LOL! I'm cool with it and excieted along with everyone else well except maybe my 81 year old mother who now is a GREAT GREAT *grins again* Muahaha!! Baby is due around the beginning of September my birthday. I hope all goes well for her. I guess I really need to get on the ball if I'm going to Florida in the Fall. Tomorrow I'm planning on resuming my exercise. Tonight as I write this I'm also watching the Health Channel on cable. A program called Addicted to Food is on along with some other obesity shows. I know lot's of people find them gross but not me. It truly gives me insight and encouragement. No I don't want nor will attempt any kind of surgery but still loosing weight CAN be done. All you lovelies out there are proof of the pudding as they say. I'm so happy I found this blogger site and I cheer you all on from this wheelchair as WE ALL do what we can to be more healthy and fit. I'm gonna close for now but will be back tomorrow. Pray for my comments to return or come back or plant their arses where they belong or what ever it takes to get them working. Makes me feel sad to not have them. Meanwhile back at the ranch remember Keep on Keeping on and Have a beautiful day tomorrow. Much Love ~ Mother Hubbard.

Ah me what a day!! I placed my food order with Sam's Club before 5 p.m. yesterday. This morning I awoke at 9 a.m. to see if the order filled confirmation e-mail was in my box but it wasn't. Since I stayed up with my daughter last night and watched Movies, "Babylon A.D."~boo~ good beginning bad plot and "The Adventures of Priscilla" ~fell asleep in the middle around 3 a.m.~ Soooo I woke up about 8:45 a.m. then fell back asleep after taking some Motrin for a bad headache and pain in my leg and slept until 2 p.m. !!!! I NEVER sleep that later EVER. Anywho I checked and the order was ready so I ate a salad and got ready. My husband, who usually stays home when we go shop, decided he wanted to go along with us. Uh oh!! He likes to lead the parade sometimes and we knew we were in for an afternoon of whining and complaining about prices, parking and any other thing he could think of to bytch about. Soooo we got through the Sam's ordeal, then went to Walmart for some health and beauty items. Welll, the Walmart close to our house is real weird about those mobility scooters they have. I on the other hand can't get into a store without one. Since it was pouring down rain my daughter had to drive up as close as she could get to the door and get me a scooter then come back out and help me into it. This is what we do unless the weather is nice and she brings it to the car parking spot. Soooo the man at the door was nice this time. We went in with no problem did our little bit of shopping towing husband behind us muttering and complaining as usual *grins* torturing him with all our gee we need this and that's when we really didn't. We paid for our million dollar items (total $15.35) and headed for the door. Oh but the man at the door was staring at me with big eyes through his 3 inch thick glasses. "Excuse me do you need that?" He pointed at the scooter and asked as I rolled toward the front door. I stopped then turned around and smiled. "Yes, isn't that obvious by me still being seated in it?" "Can you walk?" He asked, then without stopping he added "Cause you cain't take that thar thing out in the rain I'll loose my job and you'll get 'lectroocuted." I blink. "Excuse me sir! I can't walk far." He shakes his head. "Well ah cain't let ya take that out!" All this time my husband is standing there watching this quietly. "Ok sir then would you like to carry me out to my car?" He blinked. I waited and there was a moment of silence before I realized there now was a crowd of about 15 people standing around watching us. "Ah cain't carry ya out mam." I smiled sweetly and asked, "But sir forever why not? Do you want to loose your job? I can't take out this scooter to my car and if you don't carry me I'm gonna take this here 'thinger' to my car and get in with my daughters help!! He just kept looking at me and little by little I inched the mobility cart toward the door as my daughter had gone to get the car. He stepped forward as if he was going to stop me. That's when Mr. Bytcher stepped between us and calmly said, "Muxxxxtha...explicit language here.... Take one more step and Im gonna wrap my wife's cane around your fat throat. Got it. Is this how Walmart treats their disabled by harassing them because of a little rain?" The employee stopped wide eyed. I felt like Scarlett with Rhett protecting her against some idiot something or other. The man quietly turned and went back to his post and there was applause from the observers. OMG I quietly chuckled and joined my daughter at the open door. She helped me get up and walk the three steps to the car door so I could seat myself. All this time my husband was our sentinel. He then took the mobility scooter back in and parked it in front of the man, stood up and started at him in a defiant expression then calmly walked out of the store. YAY!! Lol for as long as that Walmart has been there and I've been going there I've had trouble with the door people about those carts. I don't think I'll go back to that one though there isn't another one for 15 miles. I just wanted to share that. OH and did I mention that the door man was around 6'4" and about as wide and my husband is about 5'8" and 144lbs. LOL! Anywho so much for my outing. I came home and ate another salad and a piece of baked chicken. Drank some almond milk to calm my tummy then came to my bed to rest and write this blog and check out others. I didn't really exercise today ~ bad me ~ but isn't tomorrow another day? *grins* Have a blessed evening and a great weekend.
Mother Hubbard

So I'm such a noob at this. My blog doesn't appear on Google yet and I'm not sure I have it set right so this evening I'm going to study up on a few things. So today I did pretty well. I ate one cup of Pad Thai and drank ice water all day. I haven't eaten yet this evening and am still not hungry. I think I will have some fruit. Yes I'm sort of off track a little but tomorrow my daughter is taking me out to pick up my food order from Sam's Club. It's convenient for me because I can order my frozen veggies, chicken and fish online then pick them up the next day. I'm also going to Whole Foods to get some Almond Milk and a few little other things I need to get this diet going. I did 45 minutes of Chair Dancing this morning and 20 minutes of Chair Toning. I like it and it works for me. I won't weight till Monday. I keep track of what I eat through Weight Watchers though I really don't follow their program religiously though I DO follow the points assigned to me and have been trying to stay under them along with my daughter. So wish me luck as I wish you and stay positive regardless. Into every cloudy day some sun must shine even if it's in our hearts and minds. Have a blessed day.

I suppose just about everyone starts their blog with a “where do I begin” type of question in their mind. If I did that then I would probably write another novel and of course it would be a comedy of life. But I would rather start back 5 years ago to the summer of 2004 when the real honest to god truth struck me with regards to my fatness. I call it fatness rather than weight because weight rhymes with wait and I don’t want to…though I must. I was sitting in my office chair at the computer working on a book when two cats got into a fight under my legs. I got them apart but not before one of them scratched the hell out of my right leg. The wound just wouldn’t heal and it grew bigger and bigger even though the doctor had given me antibiotics and some cream to rub on it. After three months the wound was leaking water and just well gross. Meanwhile I seemed to feel a bit weaker and more tired and I chalked it up to the fact that I would soon be pushing 60 years old though I didn’t feel like it. In September I did nothing but fall asleep and sit. All I did was eat to comfort myself when I was awake. Barbeque, Biscuits with butter, Fried Chicken and lots of V8 juice. September 5th I woke up and my legs would barely move. My arms felt weird when I tried to move them too. I made it to the bathroom and back and thought oh this will go away I can still walk. After sitting on the couch for about 10 hours things got worse. I finally called my doctor and he said to get to the hospital. It took 7 strong firemen to get my fat ass down two flights of stairs to the ambulance. When I got to the hospital I was informed that I was in the throws of Renal Failure. In other words my kidneys had stopped functioning. So after 3 days in the ICU they transferred me to a rehab hospital. I could not walk for the life of me and had to be tugged on and carted on special gurneys. I had to have a special bariatric bed in the hospital. They used a small lift that hurt like hell to get me up and sit me in a chair. Oh my legs and arms moved now and the kidneys were better but I could not walk. I was diagnosed with something they call Venous Stasis. It is a direct result of non-activity and obesity. They weighed me on the special bariatric bed and I weighed a wonderful whopping 425 pounds. Now in the hospital I could not stand the food. I don’t know if it was the antibiotics or what but I just could barely eat. So here I was 425 pounds and suddenly diagnosed also as malnutritioned which I found rather funny. I was in that hospital for 35 days. When I got out I could walk but only with a walker. The rest of the time I had to be in a wheelchair. To this day it’s still the same. I did loose down to 350 pounds by 2005 and stayed that way until February of 2006. Still with the Venous Stasis I still had wounds and wrapped legs and was trying to find a way to help myself along with the doctor. He kept saying loose weight. I just nodded and was like yeah right. Anyway the wounds were a bit better. In January of 2005 my youngest daughter’s fiancé of three years left her and ran away with her best friend up to Michigan. She was devastated. We were all close and this just stunned us. She lives with us so she and I spent a lot of time consoling one another by…you guessed it…eating. Two weeks later in February my skinny Minnie husband of 33 years had a massive heart attack. He underwent a quadruple bypass surgery and it took him 6 months to recover. During this time though he ate correctly and maintained a good healthy weight what did I do…? Eat. Of course it’s what I do best. So I thought oh well I’m 350 pounds and have been this weight for a while. I had no high cholesterol, no high blood pressure, and no diabetes. I thought I was doing ok regardless. Well my legs began to look like a war zone. New wounds and more bandages and lots of pain. I finally bought a Weight Watchers Scale in 2008 and discovered that I now weighed 374 pounds. I was on my way up again. I thought damn how am I to loose weight and exercise in a wheelchair with a walker? I tried to join several gyms and they just blew me off. Too old..too heavy..we don’t deal with the disabled…and on and on. Sooo I bought a treadmill. Not for me but for my now overweight daughter and my skinny health conscious husband. I could not walk on it regardless. Sooo I began to research. I found one of the greatest DVD’s called “Chair Dancing” by Jodi Stolove. So I found a way to exercise. Now I just did this a week ago and before that I joined Weight Watchers online to track my food intake. I’m doing something wrong because I haven’t lost a pound. Oh wait I lost 4 pounds but Christmas and New Years came and I’m back to 374.2 pounds. So thus this blog to help me keep on track and also to help me know there are others out there who are having much of the same issues regardless of how much they have to loose. I can’t afford a motorized scooter but someday. I want to be able to go to a mall again just to look in the windows and go to the top of Stone Mountain to look out upon the horizon or to the Zoo even or many places I can’t go right now because my wheelchair is too cumbersome plus it’s not easy to push about a 374 pound woman nor can I manage to get myself far as my arms want to fall off. So here I am. Determined and ready with the right tools and a positive attitude. Here’s to 2009 and the coming weight loss that I know will be a long road but I’m willing. Happy New Year and good luck to all.