Gwennaford's Journal

[Ginny M.]

You GO GIRL!    We're with you! 


Ginny

[Gwennaford]

From Coding Queen:  

You don't by any chance work for the Clearwater/Pinellas Suncoast Welcome Center. If not, they need to hire you.  

LOL -- CQ, Thank you.  I worked for the City of Clearwater as a legislative aide in City Hall.  A big part of my job was writing grant requests and drafting letters and position papers on behalf of the mayor and council members to the state & federal legislators to lobby for appropriations for Clearwater projects.  Every week one of my letters appeared in the newspapers with an elected official's signature on it!

Former Florida Sen. Jack Latvala and U.S. Congressman. CW (Bill) Young are VERY good friends of the city and it was my job to make sure they were happy when they came to town.  Unfortunately, office politics created a toxic workplace environment in my particular department.  I can't prove it, but I believe the stress was responsible for the onset of the arthritis that forced my departure.  You CAN fight City Hall -- you just can't win!  

All that aside, I just love Florida.  It is easy to write and speak enthusiastically about something that you really love.  Convincing people to lay down their cash or change their lifestyle is another story.   Just ask Roger Troy!

What I need to do now is find another job totally unrelated to anything I did for the City of Clearwater so I won't lose my small disability pension!    It's not enough to live on, but it's 20% more than I'm allowed to make to qualify for Medicaid.   If I gave it up for a full-time job, I would essentially be working for free for two weeks out of every month.  I'm not sure I'm physically able to work full time, so I need to find a part time NON desk job.  Michelle said, with my outgoing personality, I should be a greeter at Walmart.  Shopping cart, Ma'am?

[Gwennaford]

Lovely rainy Spring day.  Rain started last night and continued all day, gentle and steady, refreshing our parched sandy earth.  It hasn't rained for a long time.  It was cold, windy and blustery LONG past the time it usually starts getting warm.  We all became weary of the cold, but all that wind and shaking was good for cleaning the dead leaves and moss from the tree branches, making room for the buds to bloom.  Now they are getting their hair washed to settle all the pollen that has been plaguing allergy sufferers.  Soon it will be too hot & muggy to keep the windows open, & the a/c will have to be cranked up.  But I'm going to resist as long as possible.  The fragrance coming from the citrus blossoms in the back yard is heavenly!  The neighbor DIDN'T cut down the grapefruit tree on the property line, so maybe I will still have grapefruits next Christmas.  Maybe not.

I've been resting, reading and watching TV.  Eating better, gaining strength, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.  I need a plan.  Or maybe not.  They say a sure way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans.    Whatever happens I don't want to fall back into the habit of just eating, sleeping, and neglecting stuff that needs my attention.  My house is still a wreck, for the most part.  There are piles of stuff that are still sitting where they landed during the funeral week.  I have been sporadically working on clearing up little piles, not really making the clean sweep that is needed. 

I REALLY need to buy some thank-you cards and get them sent.  People have been so good to me.  I know they must think I don't care about them because I never call or write.  I hope they understand I'm just kind of in a holding pattern.  I'm praying to get motivated to take care of business.  Maybe it will help to make a priority list. 

My tummy's still full from that big lunch today.   I feel so sleepy.  I hate to lie down with a full stomach, but my eyes are rolling around in my head and I really should elevate my legs for a while.  That's something good I'm trying to remember to do for myself more frequently.  Also stretching and isometric leg exercises to increase blood flow. 

Yesterday I had a fill-in on my nails and spent a few hours trying on clothes.  It was marginally depressing, but was really good for motivating me to eat well today!  I was happy to be in off-the-rack sizes.  Granted it was at the Avenue, but still there were things that were falling off of me. 

OK - I'm sleepy and thinking about eating to stay awake  Not good.  Going to do some leg exercises and nap for a little while.

[MsHeirloom]

Yeah!  Gwen!!!  An even hundred pounds (for now).  Way to go girl!  Pam

[Sneaky Snoopy]

I love the Avenue.  Nice little shop.

[Gwennaford]

Thanks for stopping in, ladies!

I have done a good job of managing with a very tiny refrigerator & an ice chest.  Shopping & cooking in smaller quantities, eating up one thing before cooking another, & rotating the fresh food produce to plan appealing meals with what needs to be eaten first are new challenges for me.  I'm practicing being Parisienne!

Guess who likes raw zucchini?>  My little dog, Sandy!  She's such a treat hog, but she gets an upset tummy so I have to be careful what I give her.  Grapes were her fave until I learned they are harmful for dogs.  Now I have to fight her for my strawberries, bananas and cantaloupe.  She still doesn't like oranges, apples mushrooms or black olives.  

LOL  Nobody cares about this but me.  It's like Tweeting.  Why the heck should I care when someone got home, or watched TV, or took a shower?  I don't get it.  I also can't figure out the appeal of Facebook.  Neil's boss made a Facebook page for him that was instantly deluged with everyone's gardening and hearts and other people's conversations.  It was really just a way to post information about his condition without violating the City's privacy rules about personal use of City email, but people were offended when he didn't accept their friend requests.  He never even SAW the thing!  I posted messages & photos on his behalf a couple of times, and people thought it was him writing, I guess.

That said, how do I find the Let's Do Lunch Facebook page?  

[bludaffodil]

Here's the link I have for LDL Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lets-Do-L ... ref=search


Hope it works for you,
Kathy

[Gwennaford]

Oh my gosh, Kathy -- Thank you so much for the link.  I bookmarked it.  I was SO wanting to see the 700 Club interview.  I didn't know it was there, too.  I watched it twice I love Roger Troy and Anita so much!

Is there a direct link to the video too?

[bludaffodil]

Here ya go Gwen.....direct link to Roger Troy's CBN video:

http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.a ... _102809_WS



Have a great day,
Kathy

[Gwennaford]

YAY YAY YAY ! ! !  THANK YOU, Bludaffodil -- Ize so happy to get the links.  I've bookmarked them both, so now I'm closer to being up to speed on all the gread things that transpired while I was away. 


Today I took care of a task that's been hanging over my head for more than two years and it felt TERRIFIC!  I got some fantastic news out of my efforts, and it has just proven (as if I NEEDED any more proof) that the Lord provides from His bounty, as long as we are faithful and sow seed into good ground. 

I'm going to go eat as much as I can of the cold watermelon I bought this evening.  Still trusting the Lord for a new refrigerator and washing machine.

[Gwennaford]

I was talking to Linda RN about my background in them Oklahoma Hills and it made me reflect back about my life so far.

I have battled my weight all my life.  I was born big and I always LOVED to eat.  I stayed fat all the way through school.  My classmates tortured me.  Since I didn't have any friends, I became a good student.  As a teenager, I lost a bunch in the 70's, so my year-and-a-half of college was fun because nobody knew I had been fat.  Gained it back, lost it again in the 80's and looked pretty good.  Didn't really gain a  LOT with my two pregnancies because the doctors were so fat-phobic they intimidated me into not gaining.  Then I was so unhappy in my job in the 90's I gained up to 400 lbs.  I lost 150 pounds of it in the late 90's, then gained it all back when I became bed bound with arthritis in 2001.

Roger Troy's story really resonated with me because I had been on every kind of diet my whole life.  I was in extreme pain for several years to the point that I didn't want to live anymore.  I started stuffing food to comfort myself until I got up to 410 pounds.  

With various ups and downs, I basically averaged weight gains of 10 pounds a year for 25 years.  But I would ignore it until it became so out of control I got sick to death of feeling so miserable and forced myself to start dieting again.  

So the moral of this story is -- DON'T IGNORE A WEIGHT GAIN.  Jump on it while it's little, before it gets out of control.

It was good for me to look back over how far I have come and realize I have been blessed with another chance for a happy, healthy life.  Thank you for the inspiration, Linda!  

--------------

Yesterday I wore my skinny black jeans comfortably again.  I WAS wearing them last Fall, but they became too tight over the last four-five months.  Was glad to get back into them. 

[MsHeirloom]

Yeah for the skinny black jeans victory, Gwen !!!  Pam

[Joyful Friend]

Gwen, interesting story.  Glad you have  a healthy, satisfying way of eating to get back into jeans and other things.  JF

[cameron]

I am so happy for you too Gwenn, getting into the jeans again. I was able to get into a size smaller today too, feels great, dosen't it. By the way, I was looking at some photos the other day, there was one, I think it was of you when you were younger( in the white top) . all I can say is Wow!!!! Well, we can't look that young ever again, but we WILL be that size again. 

[Gwennaford]

Thank you ladies!  It feels SOOOO good to be back on track again.

Cameron, if you are talking about the top with the red flowers on it, yep that's me.  That's the one Neil always carried in his wallet, so that's why it is all speckled looking.  He bought me the dress in Tarpon Springs when we first started dating and begged me to have a picture made wearing it, so it was always his favorite. 

FYI to everyone -- If you click on the thumbnails in the gallery, you can see larger versions of the pics with the person's name, photo captions and comments. 

[Gwennaford]

I made Little Mary's Scumptious Salmon Patties recipe that's been going around this week  

with the following variations:  

After grinding the dry popcorn, I pulverized the bones with the eggs and spices in the food processor for extra calcium.  

I don't use fresh onions much anymore because I have a gigantor tub of dried onions from Sam's, so I used 1/4 cup of the dried, and rehydrated them with the juice from the can.  There was only about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of juice and it was all soaked up.

I tried an experiment by coating the patties with popcorn crumbs before frying.  Crumbs were seasoned with additional salt & fresh ground black pepper and a pinch of herbes de province.

I served these hot on top of fresh arugula salad and I thought I was at a fancy bistro!

I enjoyed the leftover patties today with fresh corn on the cob.  SOO satisfying.  Summer is here!

[Gwennaford]

Tuesday I made a great meal from a grocery store menu/demo.  Using the stores frozen fish fillets, pre-cut fruit and bagged lettuce is a little more expensive, but is a real life saver when you are starved after shopping.

Pan Grilled Mahi and Tropical Fruit Salsa; Balsamic Bitter Greens Salad w/Grape Tomatoes -- Serves 4

Grilled Fish and Tropical Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lb. Snapper, Mahi, Tilapia or Basa fillets.  If using frozen, thaw packages under cold running water while preparing fruit.
• 2 lbs. (about 4 cups) Tropical Fruit Salad (any combination of Pineapple, Strawberries, Kiwi, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Mango, Grapes, etc.)
• 1/2 pint Grape Tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp. fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tsp. Seasoned Pepper Blend (or your favorite salt-free grill seasoning)
• Cooking spray

Prep:

• Cut fruit into 1/2-inch dice; Cut tomatoes into halves or quarters
• Chop Cilantro; Check fish for bones

Steps:

• Combine fruit tomatoes, cilantro, and balsamic vinegar for salsa.
• Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2-3 minutes.  Season both sides of fish with seasoned pepper, wash hands. Remove pan from heat; coat with cooking spray. Place fish in hot pat, return to heat and cook 2-3 minutes on each side or until fish is opaque and separates easily.  Serve with 1/4 of the salsa

Balsamic Bitter Greens Salad w/Grape Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 clove fresh garlic, finely minced or put through garlic press
• 2 Tbsp. EVOO
• 2 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 8-10 oz.  bag Romaine Salad Blend
• 1/2 8 oz. bag Arugula or Watercress
• 1/2 pint Grape Tomatoes
• 1/4 cup diced Red Onions
• 1 Avocado (optional(

Steps:

• Combine garlic, oil, vinegar; add salt & pepper to taste; whisk until well blended
• Combine salad blend, arugula, tomatoes and onions. If using, cut avocado into bite-size pieces. Add to salad, pour over dressing, toss to blend.  Serve.

[Gwennaford]

Officially kicked off grill season today by dragging the gas grill out of the shed and scrubbing it down with wire brushes and grill cleaner.  All those leftover medical supplies came in handy.  I gowned up, double gloved, masked, even put on safety goggles over my glasses.    Even though it was 60 degrees this morning, by the time the grill was clean and the racks were oiled, my clothes were dripping wet under that full-length plastic gown.  I briefly considered weighing my clothes before & after washing them to see how much water weight they contained.  ROFL!  Sad, but true statement. I didn't do it, primarily because I had spent two hours trying to find a way to make a flame to light the grill to see if it still works and if the gas was any good.  I wasn't about the make the same mistake I made with the mini-fridge (spending two hours cleaning it before plugging it in to see if it worked -- it didn't)!  Thankfully the grill worked great, because I was SOOOO HUNGRY for some fresh food grilled outdoors.

Took grilled veggies & grapes to my friend Kris' house for lunch.  She is handicapped too, and although she is ambulatory, she suffers a lot of pain from a broken back that happened more than 20 years ago.  I met her through Red Hats a year ago, and she has adopted me.  She is a dynamo and doesn't let anything slow her down, despite her pain.  She met me in the driveway and wanted to help me into the house, but I wanted to show off how well I'm getting around.  I put the big box if stuff I brought into the seat of my folding wheelchair and pushed the whole rig unto the house while I walked along behind it.  She has two small steps separated by a short landing and I was able to climb both the steps while maneuvering the chair ahead of me without a problem!  YAY!!!  She kept saying, "Let me help you, let me carry that, here, take this walker..."  I have learned to tell people, "Let me show you what I can do, and if I get tired I'll yell for help, okay?"  Then they understand that I really am okay doing it myself.  I confess my leg muscles were on fire by the time I got in the house, removed the box and plopped into the wheelchair seat.  When I looked up into her face, she was beaming with joy and said, "You are AMAZING!"  How cool is that?!?!  I felt like a million bucks.  

Kris is such a good friend.  I asked her for ice in my drink and jokingly told her my lack of refrigerator/freezer tale.  We talked and played with her artwork and her two huge, adorable basset hounds all afternoon.  They are such clowns they provided most of the entertainment for the day.  At one point during lunch the dogs were begging and being a little pesky.  She surprised me by whirling around in her chair and hitting the lever for the ice maker, letting dozens of ice cubes spill all over the floor.  The dogs flew into that ice, acting like she had thrown steak on the floor!  

At the end of the day she got serious and told me she wanted to loan me the money for a new refrigerator so I won't have to wait until I can afford one.  AWW!  I didn't accept, but I'm crying just thinking about it.  I went home all hairy, smelly, and dog-slobbery, glowing with gratitude, peace and well-being.  She is a true angel sent by God to love and support me through this time.  She and her husband were so sweet and loving during and after the funeral time.  
I am so blessed to have friends like her in my life.  

[LovinLDL]

Gwen,

I agree with your friend YOU ARE AMAZING! 

Love the story....love basset hounds. 

Blessings and Thanks,
Julie (who came to Gwen's journal for a smile today)

[Joyful Friend]

What a lovely friend you have!!!  Gwen, are Boxchoy(Sp) and Chinese cabbage  the same?  Our Walmart is in the midst of being remolded, so it's hard to find things.  They had one bunch of Boxchoy(sp) that was wilted.  I want to make the Chinese soup.  and  Joyful Friend