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PEDAL-PUSHER's Recent Blog Entries
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
 PA Seasons
I don't know if y'all noticed, but here in Pennsylvania we only have two seasons. The rest of the world has summer, autumn, winter and spring while here in the Keystone state (actually we are a Commonwealth) we have winter and ROAD CONSTRUCTION. RC season usually starts in March or April and lasts through most of October, depending on the weather. Yes, our seasons are ruled by the weather, not the calendar,. You can be driving down the road and see the familiar orange sign, "ROAD WORK AHEAD' and you thinkm 'oh crap, it is RC season! I hope I am not late.' You see the road worker standing there, holding the familiar STOP sign and you wait. And wait. No traffic coming towards you as they decided to work on both sides of the road AT THE SAME TIME! Ya gotta wonder where are the brains of the powers that be! If you are lucky, there is an alternate route to where you are going, and if you are REALLY lucky, you remember to take it tomorrow. It is a bit easier for me now since I am retired, and I have a cell phone that I can call ahead and let them know I got tied up but am on my way. I remember some years back when they were working on the Avon Bridge--I found every other way I could to get to Wal-Mart! And the MONTHS it took them to repair the stretch of 322 through Campbelltown. Five o'clock in the morning and they were out there working. Same thing with the stretch of 422 going through Annville. They had flood lights so bright........I felt like I had escaped from prison while driving home that way after second shift. And the YEARS (it seemed) they spent improving 81 at Lickdale and 30 down near Lancaster! We won't even go there. Plus in this area we deal with the horse and buggies and the farm tractors. I was coming home one day this past summer from my bike date in Colebrook, driving towards Mt Gretna and I an halted by traffic going five miles an hour. There is a line painting truck ahead. H-double-hockey-sticks, he wasn't even painting! Traffic quickly builds up behind me as we approach Gretna. I see all these cars turn back Timber Road.......that leads right back to 117! I exit the parade at Butler Road and buzz home, grumbling to myself about RC season. It's just as bad when I bike, plus I get dirty looks from the motorists and need to dodge the horse poop! But I love being a Pennsylvanian. Yup, a PA (pronounced Pe-yay) girl, born and bred (actually made in Virginia explains why I am such a rebel, but that is another story) . Being a Pennsylvanian is part of who I am. I teasingly trash it because I do love it, but don't you dare say a word against it or you will have a fight on your hands. I may be a Yankee, but there is still some redneck rebel in this girl.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
I have long been a fan of Janice Taylor (Our Lady of Weight Loss) and the newsletter I received yesterday was a Thanksgiving Survival Guedel I am sharing it with all of you. I have adopted her principal of AIFMO (All is Forgiven Move On) and it has allowd me occasional indulgences guilt free.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/ourladyofweigh
tloss/
21 Tips: Thanksgiving Survival Guide
Monday November 23, 2009
Janice Taylor, motivation, Weight Loss Coach
How to make it through the holidaze glaze without falling off the wagon and setting off a 10-year detour!
Today I'd like to share with you my 21 Tips: Thanksgiving Survival Guide. The tips range from food tips to family fun and mental health! Each and every tip is powerful in it of itself, and together - well 'fuhgeddaboudit!' Mind and fat-blowing!!!!
I saved my most powerful tip (#21) till the end. It is the secret to my permanently 'removing' over 50 pounds 8 years ago. However, be forewarned: it carries 21 times the power if you read through the first twenty tips first!
21 Tips: Thanksgiving Survival Guide
1. Manage Your Expectations: For whatever the reason, when it comes to the holidays, our expectations are often over the moon out of whack. We have preconceived notions on how the dinner should be, the conversation should sound, how people should act and how we should feel. Somehow or another, we still hold in our heart that our family gathering - the holidays - will be a Norman Rockwell painting come to life. No problems, just flowing love. If you want to make your holiday celebration easier, then lower and manage your expectations now. The less you are disappointed, the more you are likely to appreciate and enjoy the day.
2. Forget Perfection. The holiday is just like any other day. It will have its ups and downs. There is no perfect day much less perfect holiday.
3. Expect Change. As the years pass, children become young adults; young adults become adults. New people enter the picture and the family composition often changes. And with all these changes, so go the rituals. Be open for new people and new ideas.
4. No One Has Read the Script You've Written for Them. Nor have you read the script they have written for you! If someone says something that irritates you, let it go.
5. Play Nice All Year. Imagine how lovely it would be if we all appreciated each other every day of the year, instead of just one or two!
6. Food Accessories. Trim the Trimmings, Shave the Calories. Just as you wouldn't want to wear a bracelet, necklace, earrings, pins, and a scarf; go easy on your 'food accessories.' There are lots of 'food accessories' that we add to a meal, which in turn add hundreds of calories to each and every meal. Go light on the nuts, cheese, cream sauces, gravy, butter, dressings, and whipped cream.
7. Club Soda In One Hand, A Napkin in the other! If you are holding a drink, preferably water, in one hand, and a napkin in the other, it makes those tastes and nibbles a lot more difficult!
8. Speaking of Nibbles. Appetizers can run anywhere from 50 to 300 calories a pop. Chew on that!
9. Be Discriminating. Eat only what you love. Before you dive into that greasy bowl of whatever, ask yourself, "Is it worth it?"
10. Savor the flavor. Enjoy the sweet, the sour, the salty ... be one with your food.
11. Eat Until Sated. This is not The Last Supper. There's more in the kitchen. Eat until you are sated, not until overly full or stuffed.
12. No Starving Oneself Allowed. Eat! People often make the big mistake of thinking, "I'll skip lunch and save calories for the party I'm going to tonight." This strategy rarely works and it is likely to blow up in your face. If too hungry, you are likely to lose control.
13. Don't Pile It High. Pace Yourself. If you are going to partake in the appetizers, how about taking one on your plate a time.
14. No Closet Eating. Whatever you are going to eat, eat it out in the open! No sneaking. No lies!
15. To Drink or Not to Drink. Limit the booze, baby! Alcohol, a Trigger? Alcoholic drinks are loaded with calories, especially the sweet drinks and the eggnogs! And they are likely to lower your inhibitions and might trigger you to eat more than you really want to.
16. No Elastic Waist Bands Allowed. Go Snug. You really don't want to leave room for expansion, do you? For goodness sake, wear fitted clothing. Studies show you'll eat less and have a more realistic take on what's happening in the 'waist' department.
17. Go Active. Plan activities. The holidays aren't always about food, are they? They are about enjoying each other's company, having fun, laughter! Think outdoor games: sledding, skating, badminton, horseshoes. Indoor fun: bowling, indoor skating rinks, dancing!
18. Games Galore. More play time. How about a spirited game of cards, charades, or even musical chairs! Make a list of your favorite games!
19. Hand Hobbies. Keep your hands and mind busy with crocheting, knitting, needlepoint, or by being a foto-food journalist. Photograph the food - or your family. It's difficult to eat and purl one at the same time.
20. Practice Loving Kindness. Be kind to others and yourself. No name calling (like fat pig). Love, love and love yourself some more!
21. All Is Forgiven. Move On. This time is my time and it can be your time, too, if - when you fall off the wagon - you get up and dust your self off and repeat Our Lady of Weight Loss's most powerful mantra: "All is forgiven. Move on." blog.beliefnet.com/ourladyofweightlo
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Shopping in my Closet
Have you seen the commercial for a cereal--I think it is Special K------in which a girl is wearing her Mom's jeans and Mom eats the cereal to help her fit back into the jeans? I have a little black skirt like that. I had bought it a few years ago when I had lost some weight with WW, and never got to wear it as the pounds returned (and yes, they brought friends). Anyway, February of 2008 I had plans to go to a local dinner theater and I dug out this skirt and hung it on a closet door to inspire me. Now, it is not an ordinary skirt. It is a flirty little thing with gauzy ruffles going diagonally across it. A party skirt. I didn't eat the Special K, but I looked at that skirt every day. The day before the event I tried it on. Rats. Still can't get the zipper up. I hung it back in my closet knowing that the day would come. February this year I had the opportunity to go to an Oscars party and I thought of this skirt-------surely it will fit me now. I tried it on and zipped it up and it slid down well below my waist. It still doesn't fit, but now it is to big. I am pretty handy with a needle and thread, so I grabbed my pins and looked to see where I could take it in. TWO INCHES I took that thing in, hiding the dart in the ruffles. I now find that it needs to be taken in another inch. I love it.
When I first started losing weight I dug out all the things I wore when I was thinner. Funny how I was a;ways in such a hurry to get rid of my 'fat' clothes, but hung on to the smaller sizes! I tried on article after article, a twinkle in my eyes and a grin on my face with every piece that fit. Yes, there were some that didn't and they went into the top of my closet, my MNY pile. Maybe Next Year. I still have a few things in the top of my closet, Not many anymore, and even some of my previous MNY things have been put out for yard sale. I look at the size (I started in size 24, now wear a 14 or 16) and sometimes still cannot believe what I have accomplished. I look in the mirror and see a warrior, proudly wearing every wrinkle, every reminder of the journey she has traveled. It's been a helluva ride.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Bon Voyage
I like to host a party every Saturday. I don't always get to do it, but I sure like to! You see, Saturday is my weigh-in day, and I like to have a little Bon Voyage party for the pounds gone. I step off the scale and in my head I hear corks popping, party favors being tooted and all my muscles cheering those pounds as they slink off into the darkness. Imaginary confetti floats down as I see myself stepping out of the old, heavier body to reveal the new, lighter me. I sometimes feel like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, transformed into a newer, better version of myself. My remaining fat pounds are not happy. They know that next week their number may come up and they, too will be banished fro the body they have made their home for to many years. Some weeks the party is big, and others it is a smaller celebration, but every pound gone gets a proper send-off. Then there are those weeks when I am not the hostess. Some weeks the remaining fat pounds hold a 'welcome back' party as some of their lost companions return. It happens. They need not even unpack their suitcases, for they will soon be gone again, as well as those who welcomed them back. I don't like those parties. I need to guard myself against them, those pounds longing to return. They lurk everywhere. They were in the restraint today as I saw them hiding under the second slice of meatloaf on my plate. They peeked out at me from the bakery counter at the grocery store on Thursday and they called to their friends from the freezer section containing the ice cream. I think they will always be around, those lost pounds. Hovering, just waiting for the right moment to sneak back in. They always make friends on the outside, and bring them along when they return, so I really don't want to see any more 'welcome home' parties. I want to keep on hosting those 'Bon Voyage' parties, My joints, my heart, my lungs, etc..............they all thank me for them, and their gratitude makes all the effort worthwhile.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
 I love a Parade!
My Red Hat Chapter participates in the local parades, both for Memorial Day and the Christmas one. One of our members has a wagon ride business with her husband, and we ride in the wagon, him pulling us with his pickup. Today was the Christmas parade, and I had been planning to walk it instead of riding in the wagon. It was another beautiful day here in the Valley, but I still bundled up as we assembled at 9:00 AM We decorated the wagon decked it out with garlands and wreaths, huge candy canes and bows. We saw others getting into their places, and we were fortunate to be behind a band, so I had a nice beat to keep time with. Our assemble spot was right behind a truck from HershyPark, and there are these huge Milk chocolate bars and Kisses roaming around. It is finally our turn, and we head up the main drag. The sidewalks are lined with people, and I kept walking around the wagon to wave at these people, young and old that had come out to see the floats, balloons and bands on this November morn. I saw cameras being raised as onlookers snapped pictures. The band in front of us did not play through the entire parquet, but when they were silent, they still have a drummer marking cadence. I love to hear a good drum. I hear my name being called, and I look to see a friend; I had talked to her on Thursday and told her I would be walking the parade. I see a to my left a local radio station and a woman with a microphone steps out to speak to me, asking about our chapter and how many are in it. We pass the judges stand, and I hear the announcer inform all within ear shot on our chapter name. The crown cheered us as we went by, and I hear yells of "Go Red Hatters!" I am having the grandest time! We reach the end, and our driver asks if I am riding back. Heck no, it's only 10 blocks. The walk that took 50 minutes in full parade mode is now only 10 minutes as I made my way through the crowd to return to our start. I hear the pipes of a bagpipe group, hear the horns of another band. I see the flapper that talked to us during formation in a Model T I always loved being in parades. This was the first I had walked one since I was a teen, and I thought of the woman I was today compared to the child I was then. The thrill was still there. I didn't have a flag to carry today or a rifle to twirl, but it was still great, seeing the smiling faces of the crowd, hearing the applause and cheers. And I had a great walk as well.
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