Just Get Rid of It!

"If something's not working in your life – no matter how attractive it seemed when you took it on – get rid of it."

~ Stacey Curnow

Project DO got derailed early on and I haven't posted about it since. Oops. And now we're 58% done with the year! How did that happen? Ok - so it's the end of July. Ok - so I haven't accomplished all that I wanted and don't seem to be headed in the right direction to do so. What should I do? Give up? I think not!

So...what happened, anyway? Well, we spent a couple of months away from home half the time, during which and after I finished five memorial quilts in record time (aren't deadlines great?). Then we went north for a couple weeks. And then I've been working on the book that was supposed to be published in draft and to the beta readers in June. Hmm. I'm not impressing myself here...

So did I accomplish any Project DO tasks? Actually, yes. I've filled and sent several boxes to the thrift store and gotten rid of three (yes, 3) huge garbage bags of 'trash' - I may be the queen of re-purpose most of the time but there are some things even I can't find another use for! Which brings me to the above quote...

Many things I hang on to no longer work in my life and I need to just get rid of them. I think I'll post Stacy's quote in each room so I can keep it firmly in mind. How about you? What isn't working that you can get rid of?

See? I did get something done...

Kapoosh and July Christmas Prep Report

We're only five months away from the big day! How did that happen? Well, things are moving along nicely on the Christmas prep front although I think I'm going to have to pick up the pace come September if I plan to be done with my Christmas shopping by October 31. But it's summer... And the grandkids are coming for a week... Do you suppose my procrastination and excuses is what got me in trouble before?

Anyway...

I've discovered the coolest thing! It's a Kapoosh. Yes, that's really the name. And in case you couldn't tell, it's a counter top knife holder. No more trying to figure out what silly slot to put each knife in. With the Kapoosh, you just stick them anywhere you want. It's got plastic 'Freedom Rods' that separate to allow room for the blades and keep them securely in place. And yes, I tried to find replacement rods or something similar so I could make my own but no luck - so I'll have to buy one already made. And if I can find them on sale, guess what a couple of folks on my list are getting for Christmas?

How to Double Your Success Rate

"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that's where you will find success."

~ Thomas J. Watson

Belly Fat Blues

I just started Nutrition and Physical Activity for Health through Coursera and found that measuring your waist to help screen for possible health risk is NOT the same as measuring for clothing size. Dang! If I measure correctly, I'm teetering on the brink of too fat around the middle. So now I'm signing the belly fat blues.

I've been measuring my waist for close to 50 years. My mom taught me to sew as a kid and my baby doll pajamas even won third place in the adult division at the county fair when I was only 8. I also took sewing in high school (remember Home Ec?) so I learned how to properly take measurements under the watchful eye of Mrs. Giovanetti. Well, from a belly fat measuring perspective, I've been doing it all wrong.

How to measure belly fat

Measuring for clothing is easy. Just wrap the tape around the smallest part of your middle and don't cheat by pulling too tight. That's it. Measuring your waist circumference for health assessment happens in a whole different area - lower, where you have more girth. Yikes! So instead of being a couple inches below the danger zone, I'm right at the limit with no wiggle room.

If you'd like to be depressed, too, just grab your trusty dusty tape measure and raise your shirt...and you'll probably have to lower you pants, as well. Feel around on your hip bones slightly to the front, looking for the highest spot of the bend. Don't cheat by feeling the highest part toward the back or your measurement will be wrong. Once you've found the right spot, measure around with your tape level. NOTE: You'll be measuring below the navel.

How fat is too fat?

Risk of things like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes goes up once your waist exceeds 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. Remember - a larger waist doesn't automatically mean that you'll have health problems, only that you're at higher risk.

So am I too fat around the middle? Yep - probably so. I've always carried weight around my middle and this hasn't improved with age. Now I just hope the class gives me some doable ideas to edge back away from the precipice!

Care to join me?

Interested in Nutrition and Physical Activity for Health? It's not too late to sign up for this 6-week class, and it's free. Hope to see you there!

The Gift of Choice

"Our human capacity to choose how we use each day, however limited our choices, is a gift." 

~Arthur W. Frank, At the Will of the Body

Super Simple Banana Nut Bread

Banana nut bread - yum!

At this rate, I'll be lucky to post a cake a month! Well, my intentions were good but life got in the way. And I tanked on a few pounds (not from eating cake, fyi) so didn't feel like having regular extra desserts. But all excuses aside, we ended up with some overripe bananas, so...

Want a super simple banana nut bread recipe? Well, look no further! Try this delicious treat the next time you have a few overripe bananas. And if you don’t have nuts, or just don’t like them, go ahead and leave them out.

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• ⅓ c melted butter
• ¾ c sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 t baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1½ c flour
• ½ c walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Mix together mashed bananas and melted butter and then stir in sugar, egg and vanilla.
2. Stir baking soda and salt into flour and then stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
3. Fold nuts into batter and spread in a greased loaf pan.
4. Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees F.

This is a favorite at our house and rates about 8 out of 10. (Not sure if that’s because it’s so darn good or if it’s maybe just that much better than eating the overripe bananas!)