Saturday, February 27, 2016

The Year of the Two Fives

The year I am turning 55 is a year that I realize that I am not a kid anymore. My body is 55 years young and needs to be treated differently. I now cringe when the phone rings after a doctors appointment. "Now, what?" is all I can think of.

This past round of doctor's appointments now has me dealing with the development of cataracts and pre-diabetes. I am trying my darndest to get into a routine of a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week. Some weeks I do well, some weeks, I don't do so well.

I have to lose 14 pounds. Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done.

The funny thing is, I feel better than I have in years. I love my walks outdoors. I tolerate my sessions on the recumbent bike on those days that it is too nasty to get outside. I am enjoying trying new foods and the research involved in learning to eat healthier.

My husband is being very supportive by trying new foods. He is a bit of a picky eater. He wants steak and potatoes every night. He loves processed foods and white pastas. BUT, we are slowly eliminating those things from our diet. It is a slow process but we are getting the hang of it. We realize that we neither want or have to eat like teenagers any longer.

We have learned to eat quinoa and brussel sprouts, wheat pasta and brown rice. We don't order pizza every week, but when we do we go with thin crust or we call the local pizzeria. We have vegetables EVERY night. We've tried some vegetables we like and some that were just - ugh. Honestly, it's almost like the first year of marriage when we were learning to cook our own dinners. It is rather fun.

In fact, the whole process of becoming empty nesters and learning to put ourselves first is just like reliving our first year of marriage all over again. It's rather nice, really. 

Sunday, February 7, 2016

Winter Warmer Weekend

We made our second annual trek to the rescheduled Winter Warmer in Asheville this weekend. It was a much more laid back festival than last year, but still fun.

I am not sure if the festival was because it was rescheduled or if it was just going to be a smaller event anyway. I rather liked the smaller crowd because I got a chance to talk to the brewers and vendors. We even found a couple of new close by breweries that we may go try.

My main concern yesterday was NOT to over do it like I did last year. My big day for this weekend is today! I want to be ready for the Super Bowl this evening. I am just so excited that my beloved Panthers are in the Super Bowl that it trumps eveything...even the winter warmer.

I really keep track of the beers I tasted yesterday. Tossed them out if they did have immediate appeal and drank lots and lots of water. I feel perfectly fine today...just a little tired...nothing that a nap won't fix.

I love going to these festivals with my hubby. I just wish this one hadn't been on Super Bowl weekend.