Hi everyone! Snow again today in Wisconsin and more coming for Monday. Ugh. I am sooo ready for spring.I can't wait to plant our garden. We have a huge garden and in the fall I can carrots, green beans, salsa, spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, pickled beets, dill and sweet pickles, relish, banana peppers and strawberry jam. I've also froze broccoli, corn, acorn squash, green peppers and apple pie filling. And of course potatoes. I would like to start a small herb garden this year. Two years ago we planted 3 blueberry plants but they are growing slow. We have 2 apple trees and there were tons of blossoms on them last spring but unfortunately we got a cold snap and the blossoms fell off. My husband and son bring home the venison at deer hunting time and we process and package our own roasts and grind hamburger. In the winter we love to ice fish and my husband cans the northern they catch tip-up fishing. Right now our freezer is full of crappies, perch and bluegill. We try to eat fish a couple times a week. It makes us feel good to know that much of what we eat we have processed ourselves. It's a lot of work caring for the garden and canning but seeing it all when it's done is so rewarding.

Decreasing my soda intake is going great. I went several days without any Pepsi. The last couple days I've had one each day. I make sure I drink water first thing in the morning and at least 6-8 glasses of water a day. The scale is heading in the right direction! Now to just get outside and get active! I was reading about the benefits of not drinking soda and one of them is lowering your blood pressure. I am on medication for that and it would be great if maybe someday I wouldn't have to take anything.
Have a good night everyone!

Good morning everyone. All is good here. I have gone 2 days without soda now. I thought I would have some caffeine withdrawals by now but so far I'm ok. My energy level is good. I feel less bloated nd the scale is looking good! I'm not saying I won't drink any soda ever again but if I could keep it to occasionally I would be happy. Here is an interesting article I found on soda consumption- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/soda-health_b_1627335.html
I have an appointment made for the 28th with a podiatrist. Hopefully after that I can start walking again. I'd like to start with the minimum of 3-5x/week for 30 minutes. I have been using ice on my foot and the golf ball technique along with stretching my foot as I learned the first time around in therapy. Because of the pain I walk differently and now I notice it is affecting my lower back. I can't wait to be walking without pain again. Bye for now...

My goal this week is to limit my soda intake to 2 a day. I like  water but sometimes I crave that carbonation. I drank diet for years than switched to regular after reading many negative articles on diet soda. I have lost a few pounds since implementing that.
Exercise choices are limited for me seeing as I have plantar fasciitis. I have a recumbent bike I am using and would like to give yoga a shot. I would love to walk/jog. We live in the country and its a popular route for people in the summer.
Spring is near and with that comes strawberries! I like to make strawberry smoothies and my kids just love them. It's a quick breakfast when I am working or for a snack.

1 cup strawberries
1/2 banana, cut into chunks
1/4 c orange juice
1/2 c ice
Blend 1st 3 ingredients. Add ice and blend to desired consistency. Enjoy!