Sunday Six

I've decided to list three things I accomplished last week, followed by three things I'd like to accomplish this coming week. It's not everything on my lists, but it adds up to six!

Posting goals for the following week should help hold me accountable and make me actually do something. At this point, I don't know whether or not I'll make this a regular Sunday topic.

Last week

1. Put up new posts at four of my blogs, including this one. The topics included writing contests, animal welfare, and personal goals.

2. Finished reading Wheat Belly. It had taken a while because once I got to the recipes, I pretty much lost interest. I finally decided to read them and actually saw a couple I might have to try.

3. Reorganized the freezer. Older items were getting shoved to the back when new ones arrived, causing me to forget what we had, so it was past time to deal with the situation.

This week

1. Finish reading another book. Even though I finished one last week, I'm in the middle of two others.

2. Write at least one book review to post at Goodreads. I don't expect to write a long review, but I'd like at least a few sentences.

3. Revive another one of my blogs. I have six but let them all go for too long. Now that I'm posting at four of them again, I'd like to revive another one.

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Does posting your goals help you, or do you tend to let them go?

Better Health

Image by Ingvar-fed. Public domain.

In December, I wrote an article detailing five things I would do this year to improve my health. It was an assignment I decided to claim as a little experiment and personal challenge.

Now that 2012 is about halfway over, I'm preparing a post about how well I did with my resolutions. The article is background for the update, which I'll be posting soon.

[The following was originally published as a Display Only (D.O.) article on Yahoo! Voices, December 15, 2011.]

Five Ways to Better Health in the New Year

Every December, I write down some generic New Year's resolutions, such as "get more exercise" or "eat better." This is a good starting point, but it doesn't hold me as accountable as I'd like. As someone with more than one health problem, I know that there are several things I can do to help myself. That's why I've begun to take a more active role in my health. In addition to getting more exercise and changing my diet in general, I've come up with some specific ways to improve my situation. I have five health resolutions for 2012, along with details on how to follow through.

1. Drink more water. Although I drink water almost exclusively, I still don't drink enough. In 2012, I would like to drink eight glasses every day. This is something I'm working up to slowly. Over the last month, I've increased my daily water intake to six glasses. The many benefits include its ability to curb my hunger and keep me from grabbing a high-calorie snack. If eight glasses proves too much for me, I'll back off until I find out what works best for my body.

2. Consume more calcium. I don't get enough calcium in my diet. Unfortunately, increasing my calcium intake is no longer merely an option; it became a necessity after a bone density scan revealed that I have osteopenia, a possible precursor to osteoporosis. On the advice of my doctor, I plan to take a calcium citrate supplement in addition to eating foods rich in calcium.

3. Eat less wheat. Wheat is my downfall, whether it's in the form of bread, cake, pasta, or something else. Although I do have self-control--I can stop after a bite or two--I like it far too much. With that in mind, I've resolved to do without wheat at least three days a week in 2012. I've already experimented by having an occasional wheat-free day, and I can do it as long as I have a variety of the right foods available.

4. Get more vitamin D. After learning that I have a serious vitamin D deficiency, my doctor advised me to start taking a supplement. I did that for a while but slacked off, and now it's time to renew my commitment to taking this essential hormone.

5. Track my lab reports. My doctor typically doesn't say much about my test results, other than to indicate that everything is fine or that a particular result is slightly outside the normal range. From now on, I'm going to ask for copies of my lab reports. Once I start getting my own copies, I can track my progress all year and be prepared with any questions I may have.

I'm determined to follow through with these health resolutions in 2012. After all, the benefits will far outweigh the inconvenience.

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Did you make any health resolutions for this year?

One Lovely Blog and Kreativ Blogger Awards

This was a nice surprise! Lisa at Diary of a Square Toothed Girl honored me with two blogging awards: One Lovely Blog and Kreativ Blogger. Thanks, Lisa! I wholeheartedly recommend following her blog if you haven't yet.

As a condition of accepting these awards, I just need to answer a few questions, provide ten facts about myself, and pass the awards along to seven more blogs. Let's start with the questions and answers.

What is your favorite song?

Favorite song? Are you kidding? That probably changes every time anybody asks me. Instead, how about I tell you which one is in my head right now? It's "Little Talks," by Of Monsters and Men. If you haven't seen the video, I recommend checking it out; it's fantastic.

What is your favorite dessert?

Are you trying to trip me up? All I can say for sure is that chocolate has to be involved--well, unless it's fresh peach or blueberry pie. I prefer fresh peach and blueberry pies to their baked counterparts.

When you are upset, what do you do?

That depends on how upset I am and why. If I can pull it off, the best thing for me to do is just take a nap. I'm usually calmer when I wake up.

What was my favorite pet?

Favorite pet? I can't possibly choose. They've all been special.

What do you prefer to wear, black or white?

Probably black. White clothes get ruined too easily when you tend to spill things.

What is your biggest fear?

I don't even like to type the word, but it's those eight-legged creepy crawlies.

What is your attitude mostly?

I'm pretty realistic most of the time, but I do get my occasional bouts of pessimism.

What is perfection to you?

I guess it would be when everything goes the way I think it should.

What is your guilty pleasure?

All I can think of is when I finally eat something that contains wheat after going a few days without any wheat at all.

Now, for ten random facts about me:

1. I used to be a voracious reader but slacked off considerably, so I recently signed up at Goodreads as an incentive to read more.

2. I'm a listmaker from way back. I even make lists of lists to make!

3. I'm pretty forgetful, so it's a good thing I make all those lists.

4. It really bothers me when I'm watching something and the sound and picture aren't in synch.

5. I'm always surprised when one of my favorite shows gets renewed for another season. Most of my favorites throughout the years didn't last long.

6. I'm never surprised when one of my favorite products gets discontinued or "improved" in a way that makes me hate it.

7. Black plums are probably my favorite fruit, and I'd never even tried one until a few years ago.

8. Broccoli is by far my favorite green veggie. I don't like it raw, though.

9. I like those peanut butter kisses that are only available around Halloween. You know--the chewy peanut butter candies wrapped in wax paper. Some have orange wrappers and some have black ones.

10. I drink more water more than anything else.

Last but certainly not least, I'd like to pass these awards along to the following terrific bloggers:

Becca at Lost in Thought
Betsy at My Five Men
Dana at The Daily Dose
Kate at The Suddenly Kate Show
Janna at Pastry and Poetry
notes4neta at Rabbit Trails
Sherri at Sherri's Graphomania

Holidays

Pinterest is a fantastic source for holiday ideas. Users love to pin images of holiday food, decorations, traditions, and more.

Ainakea has several "Holiday Helpers" boards, including boards for Christmas, Valentine's Day, and birthdays and other special days.

Halloween boards include Crystal Daniel's Halloweeeen!, Julie Telken's Halloween! Ghosts, Goblins and Candy, and Keri Manning's Halloween/Día de los Muertos Food and Crafts.

These are just a few of the holiday pinboards on Pinterest. Many users dedicate boards to specific holidays, while others have one holiday-themed board where they put all relevant images. The best way to find users and boards to follow is to use the search function on Pinterest.

Cakes

Photos of cakes are among the most common images I see on Pinterest. Many of them link back to the recipe or decorating instructions, while others are simply beautiful images that can be used as decorating inspiration--or a good reason to rush out to the bakery.

Cake decorators are incredibly talented. On Pinterest alone, I've seen cakes made to look like such things as asparagus, castles, and Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. I've also seen cakes with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Nightmare Before Christmas, steampunk, and zombie themes, to name just a few. This is in addition to the many photos of gorgeous wedding cakes with more traditional themes. I shouldn't leave out the cupcakes: teacups, babies, owls, and so much more!

For beautiful images of cakes, I recommend following Lenita's cakes pinboard and Stacie Vaughan's Yummy Desserts board. I've been pinning cakes and other baked goods on Cool Creations.

Ten on Tuesday 11/1/11

I just found out about Ten on Tuesday, so I'm going to give it a try. It's sponsored by Chelsea at Roots and Rings.

1. What is your favorite month?
Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's October; the air feels great, it gets dark earlier, and the leaves are gorgeous. Halloween, complete with spooky music, scary movies, and candy, is a bonus.

2. What is the best candy to get while trick or treating?
The important thing is for the candy to be small instead of full-size bars. That way, I can have two or three small pieces of different kinds.

3. What kind of pen do you use?
I like Pilot pens.

4. You go to a new Italian restaurant, what is your go-to order?
That depends on what I'm in the mood for. It would be either fettucine alfredo or some type of pasta with diced tomato, basil, and garlic.

5. If you could choose to have any celebrity’s hair, who’s would you choose?
I don't pay much attention to celebrity hair unless I think it looks awful.

6. What’s your favorite board game?
It's been a long time since I've played a board game. I'm not sure I actually have a favorite at this point.

7. Do you know how to play poker?
Nope.

8. What do you think about Old Navy commercials?
I'm not crazy about them.

9. What hurts worse- a stubbed toe or a paper cut?
Normally, I'd say a paper cut is more painful. However, I stubbed my toe a few weeks ago, and when it still hurt two weeks later, I finally had to concede that I'd managed to break it.

10. What’s your favorite kind of pie?
Are you kidding me? I can't pick just one. Some of my favorites are chocolate cream, fresh peach, fresh blueberry, and deep-dish peach.

Wednesday Hodgepodge 10/26/11

This is my first entry in the Wednesday Hodgepodge, hosted by Joyce From This Side of the Pond. Joyce provides the questions, and I provide the answers. Let's see how it goes, and when you leave this post, please check out the Wednesday Hodgepodge posts from other bloggers and consider joining in the fun.

1. What gives you goosebumps?

It's rare, but sometimes I hear a beautiful song performed in a way that gives me chills or goosebumps.

2. Halloween-are you a lover or a hater? Okay, that sounds harsh...Halloween-yay or nay?

I've always liked Halloween. It comes around at the perfect time of year, when the air is crisp and cool. There are also plenty of fun things associated with it, such as bats, spooky music, scary movies, costumes, and candy.

3. Can you respect someone you do not trust, and can you trust someone you do not respect?

Probably not.

4. Apples or oranges? Yes, you have to choose.

Apples are much more versatile, but oranges win the prize for taste and smell. I hate to peel them, and they have to be juicy and seedless, but if I have to choose, oranges win.

5. What is something you wish was in your town? (shop, restaurant, attraction, etc)

Ooh, that's a great question. Our Don Pablo's restaurant closed down a few years ago, and I really wish we could get it back.

6. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer?

There's a bottle of fish oil supplements in the refrigerator. They probably expired long ago; I should check on that.

7. Are you at all superstitious?

Not really. I might eventually think of something I'm superstitious about, but I'm definitely not so superstitious that it affects me very much.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I think One Life to Live's Victor should have changed his name when he found out who he really was. Yes, I know he did what the writers had him do, so the writers should have had him change his name. Just about anything would have been better than being named after Victor Lord. I'm just saying.

Turkey

I like turkey and eat it pretty much all year. I like roast turkey with mashed potatoes, gravy, and cornbread dressing, but I also like to get turkey from the deli counter.

Even though I like deli turkey, I'm picky about it. It can't look all chopped and formed, and it should be smoked or flavored with honey or maple. I've cut back on it somewhat because of the nitrites and sodium but haven't given it up completely.

Deli turkey is the basis for some great sandwiches. There are many different combinations, but grilled smoked turkey and cheddar is one of my favorites.

If I roast a turkey, I might make a sandwich or two out of it, but mostly, I prefer to have it on my plate with all the trimmings.

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This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

Restraint

Restraint is a good thing. It's not always easy, and it can be downright hard at times. For example, I have a hard time using restraint when it comes to certain foods.

Sure, I can eat two potato chips or two mini candies. No problem. After all, the idea is to have something that will put a nice taste in my mouth, and more than two would be unnecessary. Why waste them when they could come in handy later?

The problem is using restraint when adding black pepper to food. It's funny, because I didn't even like pepper until I was well into adulthood. I could eat it if it was already in something, but I probably didn't add it to anything on my plate before I hit my thirties. My tastes changed, and I started using it.

I don't use pepper on everything, but I do like it. So does my husband, which is why I was surprised when his eyes widened one day as he watched me shake pepper onto my food.

I finally found out what his deal was. I had switched from buying regular fine black pepper to coarse ground pepper, and it's much stronger. I understand that it's possible to get too much, but I wasn't even close during the aforementioned incident. Now I have to be careful and use restraint when cooking, since I don't want to ruin his meal by overdoing the pepper.

Things sure have changed over the years. He used to marvel about how much salt I added to my food. Well, I cut back drastically on salt long ago. I guess it's pepper's turn now.

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This post is part of Alphabe-Thursday.

What Food Looks Like Dirty Socks?

Tyson has a new commercial out now for their chicken nuggets. Like its predecessor, it shows several "picky" kids talking about foods they don't like. My favorite is the little guy who says, "They just look like dirty socks."

What food looks like dirty socks? I've thought about this and haven't been able to come up with any answers. Maybe I'm not meant to; maybe there is no answer. It's always possible that the line was just supposed to be funny, and it certainly is. Who would want to eat something that looks like dirty socks? In any case, the little boy's delivery is priceless.

If you haven't seen the commercial yet, you can check it out here or watch for it on your TV screen.

Wheat: It's What's for Dinner

Years ago, the beef industry ran an ad campaign that said, "Beef: it's what's for dinner." I was recently going over my diet (and by "diet," I'm referring to the things I eat) and realized how much wheat I consume on a regular basis.

A lot of people believe that humans weren't meant to eat any grains whatsoever. I'm not going to get into that here, although I've begun reading The Primal Blueprint to see what it's about. In any case, I've suspected for a while that I'm sensitive to wheat, which makes my normal consumption appalling.

I like bread. I like pasta. I like cake, pie, brownies, and other baked goods. When I have eggs or meat, I like to make a sandwich. Even some cereals that aren't primarily wheat-based still contain wheat flour. It isn't easy to avoid, but I'm determined to cut back and see whether it makes a difference.

I just have no idea when that will be.