Weight Loss

I want to share my weight loss journey with everyone, but I don't want to start a new blog for it.  So I'll just check in here.  This is my before picture.  It will be a long while before I"ll be able to post a decent after body shot.

However, I did notice my face is smaller.  I started this journey on August 9th, so far I've lost 12 lbs.

This is July 4, 2014

This is August 28, 2014

I have been trying to walk between 5 and 7 miles every day.  I also plan to start  DDP Yoga when it arrives.  My starting weight was 215 lbs, my goal weight is 150 lbs.  Over time of course.  Stay tuned.

August

Summer is coming to an end.  I had all of August to read whatever I want (and no school assigned books).  Here is what I read (and their place in my book count for the year):

61. Mambo in Chinatown by Jean Kwok 8/5/14 ✰✰✰
62. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith 8/5/14 ✰✰✰✰
63. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 8/6/14 ✰✰✰✰
64. Writers and Their Notebooks by Diana M. Raab 8/12/14 ✰✰✰
65. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot 8/13/14 ✰✰✰✰
66. The Care and Management of Lies by Jacqueline Winspear 8/15/14 ✰✰✰✰
67. Cavewomen Don't Get Fat: The Paleo Chic Diet ... by Esther Blum 8/19/14 ✰✰✰✰
68. Brutal Youth by Anthony Breznican 8/26/14 ✰✰✰
69. Perfect Peace by Daniel Black 8/27/14 ✰✰✰✰✰

Although August isn't done, I think that this will be it.  I'll try to finish one book I'm working on, but this is the holiday weekend, lots to do.

* * *

I have started the Paleo Diet.  I started on August 9, 2014.  It has been 20 days, and a short vacation in between.  I've lost 10 lbs.  With very little exercise and I'm not hungry.   I need to lose between 35 and 50 lbs. It is a big spread I know, but I'm not sure where my normal weight is these days.  So if I don't get to the 50lbs.  I will know that my base weight is higher than it had been when I was in my 30s.  I have no time frame, but I hope by next summer, I'll be there (or close).

* * *

My sister-in-law (former) got married this weekend.  We traveled down to North & South Carolina for it.  People in South Carolina are so nice and slow.  I'm not used to that.  Here is my post about it on Facebook:

My impressions of South Carolina: I couldn't live here, why? The people are too nice, it is unsettling. I am a New Yorker to the core. Don't talk to me, don't wave to say hi, keep it moving. I realized I should be thrilled there are nice people in the world with manners, but I am a product of my environment. The people are lovely, I am not. Now I understand why people think NYers are rude. It is the culture. We are not rude, we are just living in a different reality!

I truly believe it.  They were very sweet people, helpful, waved hello everywhere, good mornings all around.  But I'm from New York.  You keep your head in your book/newspaper/phone.  You don't speak to people you don't know.  You NEVER offer anyone a lift.  You don't escort them around JC Penney to make sure they can find what they need!!

What the Store workers think they are doing:

What New Yorkers feel like the Store workers are doing:

Every day in the South, people are friendly.  The acknowledge your existence:

No! I'm not used to that.  Every day in New York, people invade your space and don't acknowledge you are there:

I'm not complaining about New York.  For my entire life, this is what I know.
But it was an experience.  One I wouldn't like to experience daily, but nevertheless, it was one for the books.

Paul Muni Day on TCM - Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895 – August 25, 1967) was an Austrian-born American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. 


6:00 am   The World Changes (1933)

7:45 am   Hi, Nelli (1934)

9:00 am   Bordertown (1935)

11:00 am  The Good Earth (1937) *

1:30 pm   Juarez (1939)

4:00 pm   Angel on my Shoulder (1946)

6:00 pm   The Last Angry Man (1959)

8:00 pm   I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) *

9:30 pm   Scarface (1932) *

11:15 pm  Black Fury (1935)

1:00 am   Dr. Socrates (1935)

2:30 am  The Story of Luis Pasteur (1936) *

4:00 am   The Life of Emilie Zola (1937)

I haven't seen all of these and I am very glad that they are showing them all in one day.  The four of these I've seen (*) were very very good. I recommend them.

Ulysses by James Joyce

I understand what Joyce was attempting here. I got all the refrences to the Odyssey and Hamlet and all that. I just didn't care for it. Didn't enjoy the stream of consciousness, didn't enjoy the artistic approach at all. I believe I'm the type of person who likes books that are less experimental. 

To be honest, if my professor wasn't so adept at teaching I wouldn't have gotten nearly as much out of it. If I read this on my own, it would have been abandoned. I'm glad I read other things, because this is the type of book that would turn me off of reading for good.

I know there are those who rave about this and its unique quality. It just wasn't for me. For anyone who hasn't read Joyce and wants to, go for Dubliners or A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man , and leave this one alone.

My professor is going to kill me if he reads this, but it is nothing on him. I'm glad I had the opportunity to read it and make my own decision

I utilized 3 formats in order to get through this book.  Paperback, ebook and audiobook.

★ out of ★★★★★

Angel Dreams by Doreen Virtue & Melissa Virtue - Book Review

Rating:  ✰✰✰✰

Angel Dreams: Healing and Guidance From Your Dreams by Doreen Virtue & Melissa Virtue is a short book that is packed with tons of targeted information.

I have been interested in dream interpretation for over 20 years, and I've come across many books that delve into how to interpret them.  This book gets right to the heart of the matter.  Although our dreams are different, there are a lot of symbolism that is universal.  This book gives the basic dream symbols as well as their interpretation.

As with all dreams, we must decipher them ourselves; however, this book leads in the right direction.

I was particularly interested in Angels appearing to us in dreams and I am glad that this book talks about this aspect of our dream life.

There are several dreams from others featured in this book. I found them interesting and enlightening.  I have read several books by Doreen Virtue, this is one I will reference in the future.

*FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from Hay House Publishing for this review. The opinion in this review is unbiased and reflects my honest judgment of the product.

July 13 2014 - A Day in Photos

One Photo Every Hour (or so).

8:07 am:  My first task after rolling out of bed is taking care of some airline ticket issue.

9:15 am:  Shopping.  I love looking at the gluten free frozen food section.  Although it doesn't change much. But at least it is well stocked today.

10:21 am:  Time for church.

11:31 am:  Church let out.  These pretty flowers are all around the church.

12:09 pm:  Took a walk.  A nearby courtyard from the inside.

1:05 pm:  Relaxing and watching TV.

2:07 pm:  Afternoon snack to cool off and Robocop on the TV.

3:06 pm:  Nap Time.

4:23 pm:   Just woke up from my nap.  It is kind of iffy outside.

5:13 pm:  Taking a shower...no peeking!

This is where I stopped.  9 hours is a pretty good run.  I will try this again, but on a day I know I will be out of the house more.  The weather was just so iffy.  I managed to get some good shots between the rain drops.  Sunday's are a pretty low-key day for me anyway. 

A Day in The Life

I have not taken many pictures this year. School really takes up a lot of my time. I have decided to do a photo challenge. One picture an hour (or so) all day. I will only do it in my waking hours, I will not wake up to do it in the middle of the night.

I have no plans tomorrow, and my daughter will not be home for most of the day, so she probably won't be in any of them. In order to make this easy, I will use the same camera for all the pictures, and it will be my P&S one, not my Canon. I will post these on flicker, I don't want to muck up my blogger with all of them, there could be 12 or more. However, I may post some of the more interesting ones, I haven't decided yet.

Here is the exersise:   Click it up a Notch