Wednesday's Garden Interlude

I went out to check on my Tomatillos today. I'm trying to decide if they are ready to pick. I don't have much experience with Tomatillos, you can't even buy them at the store around here. A couple years ago I noticed the seeds in my Vesey's Catalog, so decided to give them a shot. The were grown in a pot on the deck that year.



This is my second time growing them. What I remember from last time is that they are ready when the fruit grows large enough to fil out the husk. I think we're close, but a little more time on the plants would be good. Since the weather seems to be staying warm and sunny for the moment, I will leave them for now.

It really was a beautiful day. A shame I spent most of it sitting in an office. I think that is a benefit of having the garden; it gets me outside more because I have something to do.





I'm quite disappointed with my pepper plants this year. I have grown peppers before in pots on my deck. They usually did quite well. I wouldn't get huge peppers from the plants, but I would get a few off of each plant. This year it looks like I won't be getting much at all.

This is a Gypsy Pepper; it's a sweet pepper, in a pale yellow-green colour. I've got 3 or 4 tiny little peppers on my two plants. Plants which are not nearly as big and bushy as they should be.



And my one little Jalapeno.



There is a second one on the plant, but something has been chewing on it.



I have grown these varieties before with no problem, not sure why they didn't work this year. I also planted some Tequila Peppers, which are a purple pepper; another variety that I have grown in pots previous years, and I don't think I'm going to get anything on them this year. I had tried a new variety, called Carmen, but they died soon after they were transplanted.

Ah well. I will try again next year. If it ends up not working out again, I suppose I can go back to pots!

And as usual, I had company.





Gardening. Quality time with the Fabulous Felines. Just finished my workout for the day. Think it's time to head off to bed.

Coriander Flowers

Though I have grown herbs in previous years, I don't remember ever looking all that closely at their blossoms, until this year.

The first ones that actually caught my attention were these Coriander flowers. Or Cilantro, if you prefer - I always refer to the plant as Cilantro, but the spice (from the seeds) as Coriander, and somehow Coriander flower just seems to sound better to me.



The petals are so delicate, and faintly pink which I had never realized.



The are so tiny though, that it is easy to miss...



Especially when your first concern is to keep your herbs from going to seed because you want to keep harvesting them.

I actually took these photos almost a month ago, and it has been in my mind ever since that I wanted to post them. So I decided today would be the day.

On the weight loss front
I did indeed take last night off from exercise. Being sore from workouts is one thing, but in this case I was concerned that I had overdone it and I didn't want to end up with an injury. Back at it today though, with the next phase of Charlotte's Kettlebell Experiment and then a lower intensity cardio workout - still felt I should take it slow, just in case.

Still keeping up with my Beck reading, and eating has been going well this week.

I think the garden is winding down...

I was hoping for a warm, sunny September so my garden would keep going a bit longer, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I'll be sad when it's finished for the year, but I admit I'm already thinking about what I will do with it come next spring.

But it's not quite done yet, so here are a few photos from this week that I hadn't got around to posting...

Another basket of tomatoes, not as full as the last one.


Cayenne Peppers


Was going for a picture of George sitting in the garden, but of course as soon as he realized my attention was on him, he headed straight for me.


Fred was in hiding, so this was the best I could do.


Picked the three red cayenne peppers today and added them to a batch of salsa



On Getting Some Perspective
I want you all to know that I did read and consider the comments that were left on my last two [whiny] posts. A few final thoughts:

1. I absolutely agree that life is for living and we need to allow ourselves to enjoy it.

2. Sometimes I have it in my head that things are going to go a certain way - I have a plan - and when things don't go according to my plan, I don't handle it well. Not always. But sometimes I definitely lose it. Just a little bit.

3. More salsa is always a good plan!

Speaking of enjoying life...
I've had quite a good weekend. We didn't go anywhere, or do anything special. Just relaxed at home. Well. My version of relaxing, which involves good workouts both yesterday and today. Great meals - healthy and tasty - prepared and enjoyed. And another batch of salsa put away for winter (if we don't eat it all before the snow flies).

I do my share of complaining sometimes, but when it comes right down to it, life is good!

Speaking of Salsa...

I also made a small batch of tomato salsa on Sunday, the first of many for this fall I am sure...



Today after work I went out to the garden with my little basket and I found some Cinnamon Basil needing to be trimmed. Love the smell of this stuff!



I also picked some sugar snap peas, green beans and tomatoes. Unfortunately, the peas and beans are on the bottom, so you can't see them...



But here is a shot after I washed everything and put the peas and beans on top.



And the tomato & mozzarella salad we had with our supper tonight, with the Cinnamon Basil sprinkled on top of course. This was Husband's idea, though the execution was mine (he would have thrown it all on paper plates, I like to make it look pretty).

Are you tired of Sunflowers yet?

Great thing about the Dwarf Sunflowers, they get more than one bloom. And back behind this row of sunflowers, you'll notice my tomatoes are looking lovely and colourful.



The first of my tall sunflowers is blooming also, unfortunately facing the wrong way.



Still catching up on my Beck Diet reading. The third week so far seems to be all about staying motivated, not getting discouraged, recognizing sabotaging thoughs. Very good stuff that I can see myself reviewing. Unfortunately my brain is still kind of scattered at the moment. Not feeling so great today nothing serious, but tired and headache-y.

Eating was good today and I have done my weight workout - doing the kettlebell moves with dumbbells. So far, so good.

The Fear

Things are going well with the Beck Diet. I am finding that just having to read each day's exercise in the book keeps me on track. It keeps me thinking about my goals, how I feel being at this weight and what I need to do to change things.

Technically, this has been the first week of actual dieting. It's been going well. But that's not unusual. It seems that there is always a bit of a honeymoon phase when just starting out, where it seems easy to stick to my menu plans.

Thing is, I've been down this road before. And I have come to the conclusion that in order for me to actually lose fat, I am going to have to be very strict. I am going to have to make more drastic changes than I have tried in the past. To be honest, I am still at a tiny bit of a loss as to how to do this. So far, I have cut out the snack that I normally have during the afternoon. I'm trying to be careful with my other meals as well, and not eat in the evenings after dinner, but none of that is new. So I'm questioning whether this is enough. What other changes will I need to make?

I'm feeling The Fear that I won't see the pounds coming off and I will get discouraged and start letting extra calories creep in.

Of course, that's the point of the Beck Solution - to keep you from sabotaging yourself. I am supposed to be learning how to stick to a diet, even when it's tough.

But there is still The Fear. Still that question in my mind: What if it's not enough?

Day 21, fittingly is about preparing for the first Weigh In. It gives some good advice about having the right attitude when it comes to stepping on the scale. If I have followed my diet, I should see a loss. If not, this is a signal to reflect on whether I have stuck to my diet. Did I follow my food plan and get in my workouts? If I have been doing everything I should do, this could just be a normal weight fluctuation. Or it could be a signal that I need to change what I am doing. Whatever the reason, if I don't see the number I want, that is not an excuse to stop trying or to go on a binge.

It's really quite a good section, one that I will refer to again when it comes to stepping on the scale.

And with that, I am off. I'm gone for the weekend. I will try to update my weight tomorrow morning if I can, but if not I'll get to it by the end of the weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Tomato

I went out to my little garden today and spent some time contemplating The Tomato. This is the tomato that I have been watching. The very first little green tomato to appear, the first tomato to show signs of ripening. I have been keeping a close eye on The Tomato, wondering when it would be ready.



I have to admit, I spent some time debating it, but in the end I decided that today was the day. When I showed Husband he said "That's one big tomato." So far it is the largest to show up on the Scotia Tomato plants, the rest of them are all smaller, but starting to get ripe. I can only speculate that it is so large because it was the earliest to start forming. Off topic: notice the row of dwarf sunflowers in the background...What did I tell you?



I also snipped some Lime Basil, as one of my plants was starting to flower. When I had the sprig of basil in my hand, I noticed the the flowers were actually quite pretty.



Following the precedent I set with my first green beans, I couldn't bring myself to just slice this tomato up and throw it on the burgers we were barbecuing for supper. So I made us a little appetizer, using the basil along with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I have to say, it's quite fun to bring things in from the garden and think about how best to showcase them; really makes me appreciate what I am eating.





That being said, I have to say that this particular tomato was somewhat disappointing. It was good, but not as good as I know tomatoes can be. It remains to be seen, as the rest of them get ripe, whether it was just this tomato or perhaps this is a variety that is not as flavourful. I'll have to wait and see.

I went out after supper to water my Tomatillo and Cupid tomatoes; it was a hot sunny day and I noticed they were looking wilt-y. While I was out there I spotted this little guy:



As I stood there, inside my enclosure, camera lens pointed through a hole in the mesh, it occurred to me that it was a little like being at a zoo, except that I was the one on the inside of the fence.



Beck Diet
Day 20 - Get Back on Track.
Dealing with those occasions where you do go off your plan and eat something you ought not. This could lead to the defeatist attitude where one decides they've gone and blown their diet, so they might as well just going ahead and eat more.

The thing is, eating one thing off your plan is not going to do much damage. But if you go all out of control with your eating for the rest of the day, that could do quite a bit of damage. Not to mention making you feel awful.

Exercise of the day - create a response card for this situation, to remind myself that if I do go off track with one unplanned food item, I can immediately get back on track for the rest of the day.

Also, going to take a bit of time here to Give Myself Credit. My eating has been perfect so far this week. We will be away for the weekend, leaving on Friday morning so I have been hoping to get in 4 workouts (Mon - Thur), since I very likely won't have time for exercise on the weekend. Monday & Tuesday went great. Tonight I was on my way to talking myself out of it...I've been trying to get things done to get ready for the weekend, and was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed...So I've decided on some yoga before bedtime. I'm giving myself credit for switching to a different workout than what I had planned, rather than just skipping it altogether.

First Sunflower

I've got sunshine



on a cloudy day.



When it's cold outside



I've got the month of....

Well. August. Since that's when my sunflowers are in bloom.

Specifically, this would be the first of my Dwarf Sunflowers to bloom. The photos were taken 3 days in a row - Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Most of the others look to be not far behind; soon I should have a row of sunshine!

In Other News
Heading home to the valley next weekend, for a wedding. So on Saturday I was trying to figure out what I was going to wear. Tried on a couple of outfits and took pictures. My camera is not forgiving.

Then this morning I get a facebook email saying I have been tagged in a photo. So I go have a look. It's a photo from a few weeks ago at a friend's house. She was walking around snapping pictures while people weren't paying attention. Her camera? Also not forgiving.

Perhaps this is what I need for motivation. Take pictures of myself on a weekly basis to remind myself of how I look at this weight.

As much as I tell myself that I want to lose weight to be healthy - which I do - I'd also like to be able to see photos of myself and not cringe.


Beck Diet
Day 17 - End Overeating
The exercise is to put more food on my plate than I plan to eat, so that I can practice leaving food on my plate. I read this at the end of the day (Sunday) with all my meals behind me, however I already know that I can do this. Husband and I went out to dinner on Friday night. I had fajitas. I knew it was going to be too much food, but I also knew I wouldn't eat it all. I ate half, then had the rest of the meal packed up to take home. So I am going to count this exercise as completed.

Day 18 - Change Your Definition of Fullness
Basically to learn when to stop eating. The suggested guage is: After your meal, could you take a moderately brisk walk? Finding that kind of funny, since that's what I've been doing in the evenings for the past month or so; finish supper, go for a walk.

I actually don't enjoy the sensation of being overly full. I don't tend to eat a large amount at one time. My problem is I like to eat often.

Who loves a sunny Saturday?

I do! I do!
This week didn't start off great, weather wise, but since Wednesday it has been absolutely beautiful. Today I mostly puttered around home, which was nice.

And look at this...



Excited!

Aside from the veggie garden, things are pretty much winding down garden-wise. Next year I really need to think about finding some autumn blooming plants. There is not a whole lot left at the moment.

These things have amazed me though:



These plants are called Fan Dancer. I had one last year growing in the flower bed by the driveway and I thought it was pretty, so this year I picked up 3 of them. I ran out of room in the bed by the driveway, so brought them inside the fence area and they have grown like crazy. I guess last year they were getting periodically 'trimmed' by the deer. Inside the fence they can just grow.



The Lobelia and Lavender are still providing some colour.



The Holly berries are turning red.



And I still have one variety of sedum left to bloom.



Often on my evening walks I see things that make me wish I was carrying my camera. So this week I've been taking it with me, and tonight I saw this little fella.









I know that most people would consider them to be pests, but I think they are so cute. This guy went about halfway down the rock wall, took a headfirst dive and disappeared. He must have an entrance to his burrow in the rock wall. I have seen him there before. Hopefully, with his entrance being in the rocks and not someone's lawn, he is not bothering anyone and will be left in peace.

Beck Diet
Day 15 - Monitor Your Eating.
Dieting officially starts on Day 15 and the exercise is to monitor your eating. There should be a plan - written out - for what I will eat every day. Then, at each meal/snack, I make note of it - check off planned items, note any unplanned items.

I have bought a smaller notebook, that can fit in my purse, for this purpose. The weekend is a hard time to be starting this, as weekends are generally unscheduled and spontaneous. But for that reason, it may also be a good time to start. I do plan during the week, but I think weekends are often where I lose control. Obviously that needs to change.

Day 16 - Prevent Unplanned Eating.
I really liked this section. The gist: Often when we are restricting our eating to lose pounds, and we want to eat something that we shouldn't, we argue with ourselves about it. This creates tension. The tension disappears as soon as we make a decision. So if we decide to go ahead and eat whatever it is, the tension is gone and we feel better - before we even eat the food item in question. If we just automatically tell ourselves that we are not going to eat this, because it is not on our plan & not in line with our goals, we will be eliminating the tension.

Now, I'm thinking this is one of those things that is easier said than done, but I think it could get easier with practice...And it is a strategy that should work well with planning daily menus ahead of time. You plan your menu, something is offered that is not on the plan, you don't give yourself a choice because the decision is already made.

The past few days - menu planning, monitoring (journalling) your eating and preventing unplanned eating seem to be common sense, important ideas that should make dieting easier...but at the same time I can see difficulties. It's not always possible to avoid a change in plans. Sometimes we have to be spontaneous and/or flexible. How we react to unexpected events is important. But hopefully these lessons, which should keep me focused, will also help when the unexpected arises.

Okay, I was having a hard time putting my thoughts into words there, but hopefully that made some sort of sense.

Beck Diet - Day 13

Day 13 on the Beck plan deals with cravings - learning to resist them.

Dr. Beck points out that if we actually resist our cravings for a period of time, they will diminish. I agree with this because I have experienced it. The trick being that you must have the will power to resist those cravings in the beginning, in order to get to the point where the cravings are not such a big deal. So you need strategies to build up your "resistance muscle."

This chapter contains exercises and suggestions to be put to use; the next time I experience a craving I need to Measure it. How long did the craving last? How much discomfort did it cause me? What techniques did I try to fight off the craving and how did they work? It also list some suggestions for distracting yourself from cravings.

So that is an exercise for the next time I am hit by a killer craving.

On another topic, there was an interesting discussion over at Our Wicked Weighs about a proposed Fast Food Ban in Southern LA. It led to an interesting discussion in the comments about whether or not eating a healthy diet is too expensive. I have my own thoughts on that, but I wanted to throw it out there for any other takers...What do you think?

And lastly, today's photos inspired by the dill growing in my garden.

I am actually surprised that the plants are not bigger than they are. Not sure if it is because they were planted late? Or because there was not enough rain early in the season?



But I don't need a lot, only small bunches at a time to be tossed in salads.



The dill went into my salad bowl, on top of: Romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, cucumber, red onion and Minneola tangerine.



I do love a colourful salad! Isn't it pretty?



The salad was finished off with some feta & Kalamata olives, lemon juice, olive oil and a bit of salt & pepper. We had it with BBQ'd chicken.








---------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Record
---------------------------------------------------------------
Weight: 144.2

BF: Muffin, coffee
Lunch: Salad, 1/2 cup yogurt with 2 peaches & 1/4 cup Alpen cereal
Supper: Salad, BBQ chicken
Dessert: small serving of ice cream