Here we go again!

Happy cold and rainy and just downright yucky Saturday! Starting up my blog. Yes, again! What else to do with all this rain?

Focus on food! Eating healthy and working on the old cholesterol numbers which I have NEVER had a problem with until now. I’ve been focusing on losing those elusive 20 lbs that have crept up in the past 3 years since my life changed drastically and right after the holidays started on a Low carb diet and I’ve realized that’s not the answer! But wow that bacon sure is good 😌 

I recently had my yearly exam with my doctor and she recommended the Mediterranean Dit! So I hopped on over to Amazon and purchased a cookbook and I’m excited that it comes tomorrow! Meanwhile, here is breakfast!

Hold on right with this ride! I promise you will see lots of food pictures!

The Resurrection!

I've been thinking! Thinking about blogging!

I started this blog way back in 2008 and over the span of 4 years, blogged off and on and life got crazy busy. So much has changed, especially with social media taking over the world and I felt like a lot of my thoughts were relayed through that venue. However, I wanted to resurrect my blog, Just Marianne, to reach a smaller, more intimate audience and share my thoughts, feelings and pictures here.

I had worked at Duke for almost 32 years when I retired in April 2012, but I failed that retirement and hopped over to NC State for 6 1/2 years and finally retired for good at the end of 2017.

My youngest son Alex is severely disabled, neurologically, with Wilson's Disease and currently being cared for at The Laurel's in Pittsboro. My husband died early this year and I have downsized and bought a home in New Hill in a new development called Jordan Manors. I love the location and the socialness of the friendly neighbors. I still love the beach and try to visit when I can.

Today as I reflect after cleaning up from Thanksgiving and decorating for Christmas, I have so much to be thankful for. I have so many wonderful people in my life and I am certainly blessed by their friendships. It's been a tough year with so many losses, but the world is slowly coming back together.

Please come along this journey with me!

First Century Dinner!

We got invited to a little dinner party, a different type, but it will be interesting I think. It's a First Century Dinner, using recipes from first century AD, somewhat like the last supper. The hostess sent out the recipes so if we wanted to bring something we could. I chose to make stuffed carmelized dates and pomegranate glazed tilapia!

I looked all over town for the dates and pine nuts and ended up getting them at Sam's Club when I went for the tilapia for 26 people!

I slit open the dates and removed the seed and I saved them (more later on that!) I stuffed them with pine nuts and smoothed them shut, rolling them in a ball and sprinkling with sea salt. Then I fried them in a pan with honey until they were nice and caramelized. I put several in paper muffin cups for individual servings. Of course we had a few left over so we taste tested them.......yummy, just like candy!

The glaze for the tilapia called for pomegranate syrup and of course I couldn't find it and had waited too late to order it so I made my own! 2 cups of pomegranate juice and 4 cups of sugar in a saucepan, brought it to a boil and then simmered for about 15 minutes to reduce it. I let it cool overnight.

I mixed 1/2 cup of the pomegranate syrup with 1 1/4 cups olive oil and 1/4 cup red wine vinegar. Then I minced several (ok 6-8!) cloves of garlic and used the immersion blender to mix it up. The tilapia has been dried and lying in the pan to go over there and meets it's fate with the glaze and the grill! Then I'll garnish it with pomegranate seeds.

The others are bringing lentil soups, fava bean salad, rack of lamb and of course red wine!

I have a feeling this is a non-diet night!!!

Green Smoothies!

I have been on a different mission for food for Alex. He has gained sufficient weight now even without his feeding tube and we are actually concerned that he is gaining too much weight. If he gets too heavy, it will make physical therapy difficult for him and moving him from wheelchair to bed and back more physically demanding for us. So I guess the McDonald's milkshake era has come to an end, except for special treats!

Smoothies have taken over! They are lower in fat and calories and sugar and I try to make them healthier for him by adding spinach and cranberries since they are such good anti-oxidants. Since Wilson's is a liver disease, I am doing all I can to make his diet liver-friendly to repair the damage done by the copper. They are all natural too and he seems to really like them!

1/2 cup 2% milk
1 6 oz container vanilla coconut lowfat yogurt (Light and Lively)
1 scoop Visalus protein powder (not too much copper)
1 big handful fresh spinach leaves
1/2 cup cranberries (ours were frozen)
3/4 cup frozen strawberries

I am sure there are many variations of this that we will try.......I am thinking bananas, mangoes, fresh mint leaves, blueberries, apples...........just keep the spinach and it makes it green and good. My daughter Jenni, makes these for Tipp to sneak in veggies!!

Blend it in the blender!! This is Alex approved!

Dusting Off the Treadmill!

I really don't enjoy running on the treadmill :(

But, I need to do more running and it's cold, it gets dark early and I want to run another half marathon in May! Add to that I am recovering from an ongoing foot/heel injury and just need to work through it.

I ran about 3 miles on the American Tobacco Trail with Jenni yesterday and realized how I have really missed those long runs with her. I couldn't keep up with her and need to get back to my same level of fitness.

So the goal for today is to get it to a place in my house where it can sit without me having to fold it out everytime I use it and then fold it back up. Put it in a place where it is out of the way of everyday life, yet highly accessible. The holidays are over, so I won't be entertaining anytime soon so I think the living room/dining room area fits the bill. If family comes over, they will just have to overlook or step around it.

The goal for next week, 3 nights of run/walking for 30 minutes and I'll do my long runs outside on the weekends and at the beach!

Divas, here I come!

Two Pot Coffee Kind of a Day!

It's Sunday! The first one after New Year's, so we are just having a relaxing weekend doing NOTHING! We brought Alex home for the weekend and he has enjoyed just doing nothing but relaxing at home. After 3 trips to the Emergency Room and 1 surgery later and a trip to Nashville to see the neurologist and a trip to the beach with Christmas jammed in there somewhere, we just all want to chill out.

The weather is even decent with 56 degrees, not bad for January. But I stayed in my jommies til noon and we are on our second pot of coffee!

My Review

Originally submitted at Kiefer Swim Shop

Great product; excellent customer servic

By NCHOKIEMOM from Durham, NC on 11/3/2011

 

5out of 5

Pros: Contains Leaks, Thin and discreet, Tight fit

Cons: I feel these run small

I ordered 2 in a size medium for my son who wears medium pants and they were way too tight. I was disappointed that I couldn't return them as he had already put them on as he HAD to wear them for his pool PT appointment and it was his first one. I emailed the Kiefer and they replaced them for free. That is absolutely THE best customer service!!

(legalese)