Bottom picture – we did it six years later
We are back from our sojourn to Newfoundland and Labrador ready to face the months ahead. Three major projects. I am actually not sure which comes first in this process, sort of a chicken and egg thing. Part One is the purchase of the new house on the first of October. As part of Part One, John and I have to move out of the Canada house and leave it in ready position for our wonderful friends/tenants to come in as we exit. The second big project is to help pack up Katie and Libby in the farmhouse to get them ready to move to the new house on the 15th of October. No easy feat but Katie has done an outstanding job during the time we were away. Lots to do but great headway has been made. Part Three of this project will happen when John and I head to Tennessee and then to our home in South Carolina where we will clean out the clothes and items that we will need for the winter in New Hampshire. When we left in May little did we know that would be the case so we only packed what we thought we needed for the summer. Ha, Ha! We will not stay at the house as we have a lovely tenant there.
Hit the Reset Button
On my return from our trip I had a little chat with myself about the coming months and realized that I needed to do something to get myself back on track. To be perfectly honest, I had let myself go and gained back some of the weight that I had worked so hard to lose many years ago. I had every excuse in the book. Two years ago I was so happy with myself and then poof – something went off the rails. My mother was ill and ultimately died which threw me for a loop to say the least. I was still walking but I was not doing other things like Zumba and Yoga regularly as I had before. I was playing golf but had really reduced that to nine holes from 18. Just too much time sitting around and worrying about stuff.
Out came my RESET BUTTON. A 3-day food reset that I had used a couple of years ago. I knew it was time and I had the perfect opportunity. I was headed immediately to Katie’s to stay with Libby while Katie traveled so I said to myself “just do it”. I went to the store, bought the ingredients, got out my dusty Vitamix and off I went.
Day 1 was fine because I was so busy getting myself ready to go to New Hampshire after just getting in at 9:30 the night before. I drove down to New Hampshire getting there about 6 pm. With a stop at the local grocery store for more provisions and a stop for gas to make sure I had plenty for later, I made my way to the house. I made my Dinner Drink with a lovely ripe avocado and it was delicious. I was fine with the morning drink too but not so keen on the lunch one. Didn’t need to pick up grand daughter til 9:30 but had things to keep me busy. I can do this, I know I can.
Day Two – breakfast was great. I treated myself to a couple of cups of tea in the morniing and drove Libby to school. Then I came home made my smoothie and then the dogs and I went for a 7.5 mile walk on the Rails to Trails path. The day was absolutely perfect, 65 degrees, sunny and just a hint of fall in the air and color in the trees. The dogs were happy because they could run loose without fear of cars or alligators and I was so very happy to just be out there so we walked for almost three hours. They were exhausted when we got home and have slept for most of the afternoon. Yes, I, too, am a little tired.
During the walk/hike I ran into a woman walking towards me. I have to brag here, she stopped to talk to me because she was so impressed with how well behaved my dogs were. Turns out she is involved in the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway (SRKG)which is a volunteer group that manages over 70 miles of trails around here. She also told me about a map of some in-town walks that I might be interested in. Yes, yes I am. Some of them are short ones and others combine with the SRKG trails that surround the area. Of course I immediately went to the bookstore and bought their book and the maps. Oh what fun this will be. Turns out the New London group give out a patch to those who walk all their trails. This is almost as good as a medal and t-shirt from one of the races I did last year and the year before.
Day Three – Sick of Cold Smoothies
I am done with the cold food. So far, the only warm thing I have consumed has been tea in the morning otherwise it has all been cold or in some cases frozen. I am now desperate for hot food and for something to chew. Thank goodness this is only a three (3) day event. Things I have noticed. I am not hungry at all. The program gives you a snack which is yet again another smoothie of your choice of the ones you have already had. I couldn’t find room or the inclination to have a mid-afternoon fourth smoothie. I absolutely do not like almond milk or almond butter so I gave that up after day one and used coconut milk and coconut oil instead. Much more palatable. Love my morning tea but I drank the warm lemon water first as I don’t like lemon in my tea. I feel great actually. The bloated feeling I had after all the fried foods is gone. I have lots more energy and am looking for things to do. My sleep has been much better than usual but that may be because my snoring love is not here. Oh, the other thing that I do love is the hot bath with Epsom salts and lavender at bedtime. With all the walking that I do I sometimes have sore muscles (I don’t stretch enough) and the bath takes care of that. So all in all I believe it was a success and I am looking forward to tomorrow. I would say it was definitely the restart that I needed to get back on track.
I Love Being a Soccer Grandmother
The dogs and I had another great walk but in a different direction along the Rail Trail towards Danbury. I was not as impressed with it as it goes along, albeit away from the road, right next to a busy highway. I could hear the trucks as if they were right behind me and I didn’t like it. Part of what I like about being outside in the country is the quiet. The dogs loved it however and were very curious about everything as they usually are when we take a new route. In the afternoon we all had a treat and went to grand daughter Libby’s first soccer game. The dogs made friends with everyone. Amazing how much people love to interact with pups who are friendly and well-behaved. They even met a fellow golden, an American Golden who was much redder and sleeker than Wyke who turned out to be six days older than Wyke. They loved each other. No surprise there.
Birthday Celebration
I have ended the week in so much better shape than when I started. I feel better, am proud of the commitment I made to get myself back on my healthy track, have walked every day except for one and loved every minute of it. The gorgeous weather certainly helped. Seven straight days of sunshine and perfect temperatures. I’ve met some people who shared more about walking and hiking trails with me and we met a couple of fun dogs. It has been a good week. We are also celebrating Libby’s 14th birthday which is very special. She told me that she is the youngest in her entire freshman class. I guess with a September birthday that was expected. The cut off here is September 30th so she made it by only 9 days when she went into kindergarten.
As a result there is a need for a birthday cake. I don’t usually share recipes for cakes and cookies but I will in honor of Libby’s birthday. Way back when I first started my healthy journey I made a commitment to not eat sugary desserts if I could help it. The exception is this homemade birthday cake that I found through the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. It is an adaptation of a cake that shecalls Epiphany Cake. So I share it with you today and a picture of the lemon version as requested by the birthday girl. Enjoy a treat once in awhile, you will be a happier person for it.
Epiphany Cake, The Pioneer Woman
My version is Lemon Cake with Lemon Icing
Cake
1-1/2 stick 3/4 Cup Butter, Softened
1-3/4 cup Sugar
3 whole Eggs, Room Temperature
2-1/2 cups Cake Flour
2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Vanilla (*I used fresh squeezed lemon juice)
1-1/4 cup Whole Milk
Icing
2 sticks Butter, Softened (I cut the recipe in half)
4 cups Powdered Sugar (cut this in half too)
3/4 cups Cocoa Powder (I used lemon juice)
1/4 teaspoon Salt (I don’t add salt)
1/3 cup Heavy Cream (more To Taste)
INSTRUCTIONS
*Cake recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
*Icing recipe adapted from SavorySweetLife.com
CAKE
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Thoroughly grease/flour a 9 x 13 baking pan (or spray with baking spray.)
*I used two thin round cake pans
**I used a hand mixer and it worked fine
In a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter until it’s soft and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the sugar in batches, about a fourth at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then mix again until totally combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 20 seconds on medium after each addition. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternate adding the flour mixture with the milk with the mixer on medium-low until all the ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and turn the mixer on high for ten seconds.
Allow cake to cool completely before icing.
ICING
In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip the butter until totally soft and smooth. Sift together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt, then add gradually to the mixer, scraping the sides as you go. (When combined, mixture will be very thick/crumbly.) Drizzle in cream and whip on high until smooth, scraping the sides as you go.
Ice the cooled cake in the pan.
