Progress Report

It's been a few weeks since I've checked in. For the most part, my life has just been coasting along. I've had a few "falling off the wagon" episodes which has led to a weight-loss stall and a return of some stiffness. One Friday, I gave into the pizza monster; on another occasion, it was the Chinese food demon. AND as if that's not bad enough, I have a co-worker who is making up cookie recipes and I am one of her guinea pigs. I keep thinking, "just step back away from the cookie."
The pool at the gym had heating problems which kept me from swimming for two weeks until I realized I could use the pool at another location. You see, when I joined they said I could only use one location but after two weeks I was about to throttle somebody so I called to seek a waiver. After initially answering NO, she then said "they" probably won't even notice. She was right. I flashed my card and went right in. The good part is I had the pool entirely to myself and it was a few degrees warmer. Anyway, I'm back up on the wagon and dropping weight again.
Concerning my raw diet, this week's lunch treat was veggie roll-ups. I bought a package of Flat-outs (a long tortilla-type of bread) which are low in points (1 for you weight-watchers) and high in fiber (8 grams per flat). I made a zucchini hummus to spread on the flat and then rolled raw asparagus, tomatoes, cucumbers, black olives and onions. Absolutely delicious. Can't get enough to those this week. I also made some dehydrated veggie bread this week in my dehydrator but I haven't even tasted them yet.
I've been volunteering to prepare taxes again this year, so my Saturdays are half-gone before I can return home to experiment with recipes. Bear with me. I promise to do better with this blog and with photographs of my efforts. After all, I now have a hand-me down digital camera and a hand-me-down Mac. All I need now is a little more time.
This spring I plan to build raised vegetable beds in the back yard. I have a small plot but I don't care much for it because it has been difficult to amend the soil (my tiller was broken last year) and it's right up against a fence which makes working/weeding it difficult. By raising the bed I can put in a couple of feet of amended soil and move it away from the fence so I can reach it from all sides. I am excited but I know initially it will be hard work hauling soil and compost to the bed. I've investigated whether to build it from lumber or to use those wall stones. I'm going with the stones. It's a little cheaper and I can just place the stones and be done with the job. Pray for me and volunteer if you like.