Photography Club

First of all, SORRY about yesterday. I was totally bummed and you guys got to hear about it! But again, your words of encouragement helped me through yet another day and I´m grateful! 

In order to keep myself busy I´ve been trying to come up with things to do. I was going to sell some interior stuff which I think I mentioned earlier....yeah, that ain´t gonna happen after all. After I got the stuff I was reading through the info and for the amount of selling I was thinking of doing this would have been more costs then profit. So I got some nice things for my house and thanked them for their time. 

However, the Photography club is a perfect idea for me. I´ve wanted to continue learning about this hobby I love and what better way then in the company of other photographers? I´m excited to meet everyone. I won´t be able to attend the photo outing this coming Tuesday as I am working and have my Easylife meeting but hopefully soon I can go on a photo tour with the other photographers in the club! Should be fun! I have a file on the club´s webpages where I can upload my photos. I´ve taken a million photos (I noticed as I was going through everything) but I think these are some of the nicest...what do you think?

I enjoy the feedback from the other photographers. It´s interesting what they see in my photos that I never thought about. I love to hear their feedback, it´s all about learning right?

Have a great Saturday night folks...

Until next time my friends.....

I´m Heartbroken...

Today is NOT a good day. Today is day two of this program I´m on. Two days of disgusting powder meal replacements...basically water with flavor, vitamins and minerals...ugh....I´m heartbroken...I miss my great love....FOOD. Food planning, food buying, food making, FOOD! I never realized how much my life revolves around food. I´m definitely not one of those people who eats only to live. It´s a part of my life, my social me, the way I show I care, how I deal with my feelings...and I´m missing it...terribly....

Look at how beautiful this is....you´d miss it too if you switched out this above for this below..

I keep asking myself, what have I gotten myself into? Me and my big mouth went and did it again....yapping about how amazing this experience would be and this was my big last chance and yada yada yada....as only I can....

And yet, always trying to be the optimist, I´m trying to see the positives. TRYING, is the key word here. I´m not really hungry. I have moments where I feel my stomach rumble but I go get some water and I´m ok. So that part isn´t too bad. But it´s the psychological part of food lover giving up everything close to her heart for some powder vitamin and mineral shakes which is hardest. I find myself wanting to make some of these wonderful recipes I´m finding online and yes, I´m doing that too myself, I´m looking up recipes I want to eventually try and I´m even watching Masterchef Ireland on the Discovery channel and Top Chef!!! Torture I know!!!! Yet I know that for the next six weeks (if I can hold out that long and I´m seriously in doubt but that is the standard minimum for this program when you have as much weight to lose as me) I will be choosing between, chocolate mint, strawberry, chocolate, apple/cinnamon oatmeal, chicken curry soup, and vegetable soup. With the occasional nutrient bar which I´m allowed to eat as one of my meals. It´s so depressing. Six weeks, 7 days a week, 42 days in total with JUST these choices!! 

I was in charge of making food for the kids today at work and it was a simple meal, nothing very exciting but the smell of hot dogs roasting in the oven about killed me and as I reached to taste if the pasta was al´dente I realized I wasn´t allowed to do that...or it would disturb this process of getting my body into Ketosis. So I had to ask the cleaning lady to taste it for me and trust she had an idea what al´dente was...

Tonight my two youngest made their first meal alone...hot dogs. That´s it...nothing else. I have a lot of work to do with them but it´s typical them...they eat to live, not live to eat...if they get food in them, it doesn´t really matter what it is or how it´s presented...of course they love it when I make food for them but when it´s up to them, it´s the quickest and easiest way possible. But I felt so badly because they sat in the kitchen eating their hot dogs and I was in the living room. I couldn´t be around the smell. I missed being with them. The social part of dinner together as a family. I could eat my soup with them but it´s hard. Watching them eat real food makes my soup feel like I´m trying to swallow a rock. It´s better to eat by myself, just drink it fast and get it over with. 

I´m really weak feeling today, sleepy and like I have NO energy. I´m told and promised that this goes over within the first week. I´m hoping and praying they are right but right now this is really hard and it´s making it very hard to stay positive but I´m using all the strength I can. 

I was saying to someone today that for me I don´t think it´s the food part of a new lifestyle that is the hardest for me. I love making food from scratch, so we seldom eat fast food or pre-made here. I also love vegetables and fish and oh heck, I love everything....My problem with food is I love to snack and I have no control over portions. My biggest problem though is with the exercise. I mean, don´t get me wrong...once I´m out the door and going I LOVE it....love love love it...and I think to myself, I really want to do this again. Yet, when I´m sitting here at home, getting my big butt up and out the door is hard and if it´s bad weather...well, just forget it...I have rain clothes but..ugh....so THIS is where I feel I need to work the most. I have several things I need to work with, I need to find that balance between what I put in my mouth and what I burn off. I´m looking at this powder part as simply a jump start. How big of a jump I get will depend on how long I can hold out, but the real challenge of this program comes when you start eating real food again. ANYONE can lose weight drinking just powder...duh....but when you start eating real food again, you have to have the right amounts going in vs the right amount being burned off...and that is where I think the real challenge of this is but I`m ready for it. I´m loving all the links I´m finding to healthy eating websites and the amazing meals I´m seeing which are healthy for you. It makes me wonder why I couldn´t just have been eating these things all along....like this yummy recipe for seafood lasagna which I found...I will DEFINITELY be trying this out when I can and if any of you try it out before me, let me know how it tastes ;-)

I have to tell you that those of you who have sent me encouraging words of support mean the world to me! It´s such a help to have people believe in you, even if they think you´re nuts for drinking powder shakes (Which I would and have thought of people who have drank shakes earlier) instead of eating real food. I´m not in doubt that I will succeed at this lifestyle change, my only doubt right now is how long I can keep at this powder shake part. Healthy food and exercise HAS to be better then the powder....right?? However, I´m going to stick with this as long as I can and I´m doing everything I can to motivate myself and your words mean so much to me, so thanks!!! 

If you have a link to a fabulous healthy meal you think I should try out when I´m able to eat food again, leave the link in the comments section and I´ll go check them out!!! 

Until next time my friends....

The First Step On A Very Long Journey...

Today I began the Easylife program that I´ve mentioned to you all before. To be a little more specific about what the program is about, the first six weeks you will eat only meal replacements in the form of shakes, soups, bars, or oatmeal. Total calories per day will be between 500-600 which is extreme. This is extreme. This is not recommended for everyone. There are ladies in my group who only have like 10kg to lose and I think to myself, why in the world would you do this instead of just cutting back on what you eat and move more? Which is what I wish I could do. Healthy food has never looked better just because it´s real food....

All day today I´ve automatically been thinking, what can I make for dinner and oh tomorrow is Friday I need to make something good for dinner...and then I catch myself and remember this journey I´m on...and that it will be awhile before I can indulge in my love of cooking again. But I am determined that when I am able to eat again, it will be healthier meals like the one above and this one below...

I think actually I do make a lot of meals like this BUT I also make a lot of unhealthy meals and I snack and I love to bake which doesn´t have to be a bad thing but let´s be real...there are tons of yummy temptations out there and when you´re first going to bake and have the choice between something healthy or a yummy carrot cake...yeah....well, you see, I still have a lot of work to do mentally. Because I know the healthy can be just as good. I don´t have a problem with healthy food, I just love all food....and I don´t move enough. So all of these things have to change. I´m looking forward to the challenge of making healthier meals and to keep moving. As those of you who have followed me a long time know, I start strong and then fall apart in my will power. So keeping it stabile and lasting is a challenge I am going to work on. 

I´m checking out healthy meal websites and found this one which is full of great looking recipes which are healthy for you. Cooking Light I am sure even the pickiest eater will find something here they will like and I plan to personally use this website a lot when I´m able to start eating regular food again. 

This isn´t going to be easy. I´ve had some stress/exhaustion headaches this past week and not eating real food isn´t helping but instead of focusing on the negative with this process I´m trying to focus on the positive. I told Thomas while we were out walking this evening that I´m playing games with my mind and pretending I´m stranded on a deserted island and while my vitamin and mineral needs are being met, I´m getting very very few calories and how will my body respond to this? It´s going to be exciting to see...maybe I´ll be the new Castaway. Have you seen that film with Tom Hanks? There was some extreme dieting and that wasn´t for a new lifestyle that was just for a movie!!! I think that has to be a lot harder on the body then when you go down hopefully to stay down for the rest of your life. 

I know there are several challenges ahead of me. The first challenge is this initial period. Then once I am able to start eating real food again the challenge will be to eat the foods that give me most with the least calories and to increase my exercising to help my body use up the extra calories faster. Then once I´m totally back to real meals the challenge will be to keep the healthy eating up, deal with occassions that happen, Christmas, birthdays, etc. and to keep going with the exercise. To really make that a part of my life. 

What do you find to be the biggest challenge in living a relatively healthy lifestyle (for those of you who live a healthy lifestyle...hehehehe) How do you meet those challenges???

Ok my friends, thanks for stopping by, wish me luck and check back in soon. I´ll keep you updated how things are going...this is going to be a long long journey but I´m ready....hope you´ll join me....

Until next time my friends....

I Like.......

Old things....things with a secret story...a history....

 This beautiful lady is my great grandmother...

I like romance....romantic moments...romantic thoughts....romantic gestures...romantic things..

I like the chairs and Norwegian trau (an old fashioned baking "bowl" which wasn´t just used for baking but many different things) I bought at the antique auction I attended yesterday...

I like where I live....

What do you like?

I also like that you took time out of your day to visit my blog. Thanks :-)

Until next time my friends....

Are You Pinning????

Because if you´re not, you should be! Pinning you ask? Well, I´m talking about Pinterest. A brilliant and fun idea for saving links to things you find on the internet that you love and want to visit again. Instead of saving the original webpage, you save the link to the thing, article, product, what have you, that has caught your eye on the webpage. You save this on a board which you compose on your Pinterest wall. You can have as many boards as you´d like and you name the boards. All the links are saved in the form of photos so your boards have as many photos as you have saved links for. Below are some of the photos I´ve saved on my Pinterest...I have a board for adorable animals because I´ve found SO many cute animal pictures and nothing makes you happier then a cute fuzzy little animal right?

Except maybe adorable kids and adorable pets.....

I also have a board for interior inspiration....of course most of the interior inspiration probably costs more then I´ll ever have to spend on interior..but that is the fun of Pinterest, it´s free to dream...

I´m trying to actually put together something like the above kitchen photo for my own kitchen. I´ve got some old chairs that I bought at an auction. I´m looking for a couple wing backed chairs as well and a bench to put some cushions on and then I think I´m going to see if the Captain could make me a chunky table- maybe out of an old door or something? Fantasy is the only limitation and on Pinterest there is no end to the fantasy of people! 

I also adore classic cars and again can pretty much just dream about owning one and I dream a lot on Pinterest....

I also turn to Pinterest for inspirational words and words that make me laugh....Pinterest is full of them!

I also find inspiration for my photography hobby on Pinterest....

What is the bottom photo above? A long exposure firework photo- cool huh? I know!!!!! There are so many cool things on Pinterest, can you tell how excited I am about Pinterest??? Another thing I love to do on Pinterest is find places I´d like to visit someday and I have them pinned under a board I call Travel. Some of these are places I´ve been and others are places I dream of going....what do you think? Wanna come along?

Tree Tunnel In Belgium

Paris <3 font="font">

Beloved Italy 

I´m constantly amazed at the creativity of people and Pinterest is like one giant arts and crafts mall with every thing you can imagine and more to inspire the artist inside you...

Who knew there were so many cute things to do with a wooden pallet? I´m so inspired, what about you?

And yes....there is food....lots and lots and lots and lots....did I mention LOTS of food....healthy food....

And the not so healthy food....

I seriously have to stop looking at stuff like this right before I embark on my 1,303,3059th attempt to lose weight and get healthy...seriously!!! 

If you want to be inspired head over to Pinterest and give it a try. Look me up, Amy Kippernes and follow my boards and whoever else tickles your fancy. I promise you´re gonna get hooked!!! 

Until next time my friends....