October Reads (9)

One star:             did not like it at all

Two stars:           eh, it was okay

Three stars:        liked it

Four stars:          really, really liked it

Five stars:            absolutely loved it

1-Star (1)

*This is Home (Fiction, L. Duffy)

This is probably going to sound harsh, but I feel how I feel.  The premise of this book is about a woman whose husband leaves her after returning from Iraq.  He has severe PTSD.  He is portrayed as a violent drunk.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m sure a lot of veterans with PTSD ARE violent drunks as a result of their horrific experiences.  That actually is not my issue with this book, although it pains me to think that that’s how PTSD veterans are so commonly portrayed (The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is another example, although I loved that book).  My issue with this book is the main character, Quinn.  Actually…scratch that.  My issue is with the author.  Had I read the acknowledgements first, I probably wouldn’t have read the book.  Note to self:  READ THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FIRST.  As I was reading, I kept thinking to myself ‘there is NO WAY this author is the wife of a veteran’.  I was right.  In the acknowledgements, the author lists 4 or 5 different sergeants in the military (all men) who helped her with some of the details.  She doesn’t say if they are veterans or not.

Now….if you’re an author writing a book about the wife of a PTSD vet, WHY wouldn’t you actually get the opinions and help from an ACTUAL WIFE OF A PTSD VET???  I had zero connection at all with Quinn, therefore I just didn’t care what happened to her.  My favorite character in the book was Sally, who had like 3 lines in the book and trained dogs to be service dogs for vets.  She says something like ‘I don’t lose sleep over the vets.  I lose sleep over their wives, the ones that are fighting a war they never asked for’.  I wish Sally would have been in the book more.

I found Quinn to be weak, needy, and pathetic.  She jumps into bed with one of her husband’s buddies approximately 3-5 months after her husband leaves her.  And that timeline is correct.  How do I know?  Because she’s pregnant with her husband’s baby.  The husband who left her.  Sigh.  She claims to be just reeling and recovering from so much trauma and can’t get close to other people and so on and so on and so on.  And 3 months later she’s best friends with a 16 year old and sleeping with the 16-year-olds father.  What? 

I cannot speak for everyone’s experience with this.  I realize everyone is different and I know that everyone has their own issues and handles their pain in different ways.  This book was not for me.

2-Star (1)

**Save Me the Plums (Non-Fiction, R. Reichl)

Brag brag brag brag brag I hang out with rich people brag brag brag brag I can tell you exactly what’s in a fancy chocolate cake with one bite including the type of chocolate used brag brag brag brag brag.  Soooooo pretentious.  Gak.

3-Star (2)

***This Tender Land (Fiction, W. Krueger)

This is a really good story about 4 orphans who escape an abusive ‘school’ to look for a new home.  They travel in a canoe down the Mississippi River and eventually end up in St. Louis, but they make multiple stops along the way and meet all kind of people.  It was too long in my opinion.

***Demelza, (#2 Poldark) (Fiction, W. Graham)

This was good, but it felt VERY long.  But again…I’m used to the TV series which moves very quickly.

4-Star (2)

****Ross Poldark, #1 (Fiction, W. Graham)

TV series or books, tv series or books, tv series or books?  It’s too early to tell.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Poldark series on PBS.  If you haven’t watched it, GO WATCH IT.  It’s on Amazon Prime.  It’s incredibly good.  Book one of this series is great.  I look forward to the next!

****A Share In Death, #1 (Fiction, D. Crombie)

A solid start to the 1^st book in the Duncan Kincaid mystery series.

5-Star (3)

*****Big Dreams Daily Joys (Non-Fiction, E. Cripe)

Probably one of the best books on productivity and time management that I’ve ever read.  It’s a super quick read as well.

*****The Lager Queen of Minnesota (Fiction, J. Stradal)

This one started off very slowly, but it picked up and just soared from there.  Full of loveable characters and you’ll learn more about beer than you ever wanted too ha ha.

*****The Mother-in-Law (Fiction, S. Hepworth)

After I finished this I immediately added all of this other authors books to my TBR list.  I listened to the audio, which was amazing.

Total Books Read: 9 (7 Fiction, 2 Non-Fiction)

Health Check-In 10.28.19

08/2019 loss:  11.2             (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss:   9.1              (TOTAL -20.3)

Sunday, 10/6/19   -2.6         (TOTAL -22.9)

Monday, 10/14/19 -1.0         (TOTAL -23.9)

Monday, 10/21/19   -1.2       (TOTAL - 25.1)

Monday, 10/28/19  -2.0        (TOTAL -27.1)

Woo hoo!  

Here are the treats I enjoyed this week and still had a weight loss:

1 margarita
2 glasses of wine
1 donut
chips & queso
BBQ pulled pork
2 pieces of banana bread
grilled cheese & fries

Health Check-In 10.21.19

08/2019 loss:  11.2             (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss:   9.1              (TOTAL -20.3)

Sunday, 10/6/19   -2.6         (TOTAL -22.9)

Monday, 10/14/19 -1.0         (TOTAL -23.9)

Monday, 10/21/19   -1.2       (TOTAL - 25.1)

25 pounds gone forever!  Here are some thoughts:

*25 pounds in 11 weeks = 2.3 pounds per week.  I was initially shocked by this because it certainly hasn’t felt like 2.3 pounds per week.  However, I look back to when I first started and I had a few big loss weeks which resulted in this average.  I am very pleased with this.

*I weigh slightly less now than what I weighed when I got married almost 10 years ago. 

*I still have a long way to go.  I have a ‘goal’ number in my head, but I don’t know if that number is attainable.  I would like to lose at least 30 more pounds.  I try not to think about that number, because knowing that I’m not even halfway there yet can be a little depressing.  However…it hasn’t even been 3 full months yet. And losing 30 more pounds is definitely attainable. 

*This is the most weight I’ve lost in one ‘go’.  When I went off of sugar a few years ago I lost about 20 pounds, but I also started off at a lower weight.  This time, I started from my highest weight ever.

*I wore size 10 jeans last night.  I haven’t been able to fit into size 10 jeans in quite some time. 

*I’ve started a pile of clothes in my closet that no longer fit.

*I am not going to be one of those people that says ‘oh it was so easy and the pounds just melted off!’.  I WILL say that it hasn’t been incredibly hard or a huge struggle.  But easy?  Is it ever EASY to lose weight?  No.  But WW REALLY makes it less of a struggle.  Nothing is off limits.  I am going to start keeping track of the ‘non-healthy’ food that I’ve been eating while losing weight.  Just to prove that it CAN be done without totally depriving yourself.  But it’s not EASY.  Last night for example, we went to dinner at a fancy restaurant with another couple.  And they brought out the bread basket, with this delicious soft garlicy type bread, served with soft butter and jam.  I’ve been to this restaurant before and eaten that bread and it’s delicious.  But before we drove to the restaurant, I ate a few pieces of chopped grilled chicken.  So I wasn’t starving when we got there.  When they brought out the bread basket it wasn’t difficult to say no.  Was it EASY?  No.  But was it super difficult?  No.  It was just a choice. 

And then the drinks.  First off, I was the designated driver (we all rode in one car).  I still could have had one drink, but drinking at restaurants is a rarity for me unless we are on vacation or it’s a special occasion.  I’ve always preferred to eat my calories ha ha (even at my highest weight).  So when the 3 others ordered drinks, it wasn’t difficult to not order one.

And because of those two choices (no bread, no drinks), I enjoyed the heck out of my entrée and ate every single bite and the scale still showed a loss this morning.  I had cheese ravioli with an asparagus/artichoke green cream sauce….it was delicious and made my pasta-loving heart sing.

*It is ALL ABOUT THE FOOD.  People that think they can lose weight JUST by exercising….well, it’s not gonna happen.  I gained weight while regularly exercising, because I did not change my diet.  Exercise is incredibly important.  It is important for your heart, your bones, and your brain.  But weight loss?  Nope. 

*If you want to lose weight, start eating in a way that you can eat for the rest of your life.  I’ve known people that go off sugar completely and the pounds come right back on the minute they eat a piece of bread.  Same with keto.  And paleo.  And shakes.  And supplements.  If it’s not something you can do forever, the pounds won’t stay off.

*Besides eating healthier, the two most important things in my opinion are water and sleep.  Water flushes everything out.  It is SO important.  And sleep.  There’s a reason why they say to weigh yourself first thing in the morning and not at night.  Weight loss happens while you sleep.  Meaning the fat cells are actually physically shrinking while you sleep.  If you aren’t getting at least 7 hours of sleep at night, your weight loss will slow down.

I am not an expert at ALL.  These are just my thoughts about the last 11 weeks.  Onto the next 25!

Health Check-In 10.14.19

I'm consolidating this a bit:

08/2019 loss:  11.2             (TOTAL -11.2)

09/2019 loss:   9.1              (TOTAL -20.3)

Sunday, 10/6/19   -2.6         (TOTAL -22.9)

Monday, 10/14/19 -1.0        (TOTAL -23.9)

This is good, but I could have done MUCH better this week ha ha.  I didn't really count as diligently as I should have and a 'guesstimated' on a LOT of meals.  But still a loss! I'm *almost* to the point where I need to buy new jeans and work pants.  As in....I'm using belts to keep my jeans up and I've never had to do that before.  Yay!

Health Check-In 10.06.19

Friday, 8/2/19   Start Date

Sunday, 8/4/19     -2.3        (TOTAL -2.3)

Sunday, 8/11/19   -4.7        (TOTAL -7)

Sunday, 8/18/19   -2.9        (TOTAL -9.9)

Sunday, 8/25/19   -1.3        (TOTAL -11.2)

Sunday, 9/1/19     -1.0        (TOTAL -12.2)

Sunday, 9/8/19    -3.8         (TOTAL -16.0)

Sunday, 9/15/19  -2.4         (TOTAL -18.4)

Sunday, 9/22/19  -1.3         (TOTAL -19.7)

Sunday, 9/27/19   -.6          (TOTAL -20.3)

Sunday, 10/4/19   -2.6        (TOTAL -22.9)

A good week.  :)  FYI....next week I'm changing my weigh in day to Mondays.  I just realized that on my app I my weekly points reset on Monday, so to me it just makes sense to weigh in on Mondays.  So my next check-in will be Monday, 10/14.