Love, Joy and Peas

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Sugar Free September: Days 9-17

My Sugar Free September experiment is going very well. Very few cravings now, which is great. The weather has been cooler and I think being outside more helps reduce cravings; although it could just be that eating less sugar in general leads to fewer sugar cravings.

I started a new medicine and my weight has gone up (unfortunately) but I hope once my body adjusts that will be less of an issue (if not I'll ask to switch medicines). Until I started the new medicine I'd had three days in a row with greater than usual energy (a real plus!) and I suspect that was due to the reduced sugar consumption. I used some of that extra energy preparing for my county fair and, God willing, tomorrow's floral Friday post will feature some of my blue ribbon winning flowers. I think flowers are nicer than sugar.

Hearty thanks to all who are encouraging and helping me with this journey towards greater health and less sugar consumption! Kudos and strength to those of you joining me on the journey too! May God bless you and keep you all!

Related posts:
Sugar free post 1: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/sugar-free-september-day-1.html
Sugar free post 2: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/sugar-free-september-days-2-8.html
2013 County Fair Flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/09/county-fair-photos-haikus-and-results.html

Friday, September 11, 2015

Red, White and Blue Flowers and Haiku Poem for 9/11

May God bless America and you too, dear friend.

It's September 11th and I don't feel right with my usual start to my floral Friday/this week in my Maryland garden post. But I do have a little haiku poem and some red, white and blue flower photos to share. Every day, I pray for our country and for God to thwart terrorists' plans. My heart aches for all those who lost loved ones in terrorist attacks. May God heal their hearts, comfort their pains and light their paths.

Haiku Poem for September 11th

Nine one one... somber
day of reflection, mourning,
remembrance, prayer.

As heavy as my heart is, I still love flowers. And I'm thankful to have these red, white and blue ones to share with you.

The red salvia just started blooming this week. Perfect timing.

Someone mentioned how they like these "blue" Mexican bush sage flowers so I thought I'd include them here. Their petals are super soft, like pussy willows. I've loved them for a long time but this is the first year I've grown them.

Whatever is happening in your heart, mind and soul today, I pray that God will give you just what you need and bless you, America, and comfort all those who mourn.

Related posts:
National day of prayer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/05/national-day-of-prayer-haikus-short.html
National Cathedral: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/national-cathedral-photos-and-good.html
Isaiah 40:31 prayer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/04/isaiah-4031-prayer-for-you.html

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Butterflies, Honeybees and Moths Love Agastache Flowers

Happy wild Wednesday! I'm really thrilled with the way the agastache (also known as hyssop) flowers are attracting a nice range of insect wildlife. We put in five plants this spring and I suspect we'll add more next year.

I'm especially happy to see honeybees on the agastache. We get lots of bees but honeybees seem to be in the minority.

If you look closely you can see at least three skipper moths on this hyssop plant.

While not technically a good picture, I like that the moth is coming in for a landing while a honeybee is enjoying another flower. These insects know how to share.

Thank you for visiting. May God bless you!

Related posts:
Big bees: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/busy-bees-on-beautiful-blooms-zinnia.html
Dogs and bees: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/dogs-and-bees-at-us-national-arboretum.html
Bees and flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/neat-flowers-bees-and-sun-effects.html

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Sugar Free September! Days 2-8

Heartfelt thanks to all of you who were kind enough to encourage me on my journey to curb my sugar intake and hopefully lose weight too! There have been many temptations but so far my sugar free eating plan is going well. Eight days in, I've stuck to my plan with only two exceptions and I'm one pound closer to a healthy weight.

The two exceptions were 1) a really bland dinner... I just couldn't stand the flavorlessness and had some watered down orange juice with it. About 1 oz juice to 8 oz water. Haven't worked out the sugar grams there but I'm guessing it was over 5. Lesson learned: I'm making sure we have lemon juice on hand now because sprinkling that on would have done the trick without the sugar. 2) I was super thirsty on the way home from a day trip and had already drank my 3 stainless steel bottles of water and I had 3 sips of my husband's fruity drink. That might have been less than 5 grams of sugar but it definitely wasn't part of my plan. The real issue with this is it led to intense sugar cravings for the rest of that day and all night. Lessons learned: I now know those kinds of drinks are not good for me at all and I'm better off waiting until I can get some water (or even better, bringing a fourth bottle on future trips).

Most of the time, though, advance planning made sticking to my sugar free eating plan much easier. Not having junk food easily accessible, having lots of fresh veggie snacks easy to reach in the refrigerator, bringing healthy snacks on road trips and so on. Basically, I'm trying to make it as easy as possible to eat healthfully and as hard as possible to eat junk.

Starting this second week of September I'm feeling good about this journey and thankful to those of you joining and encouraging me! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Sugar free September post 1: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/09/sugar-free-september-day-1.html
Amazing berry banana smoothie: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/11/amazing-berry-banana-smoothie-recipe.html
Banana cream health smoothie: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2012/03/banana-cream-health-smoothie-recipe.html

Friday, September 4, 2015

Dahlia with Skipper, Unusual Zinnias, Vinca and Dill

Happy floral Friday and welcome to "this week in my Maryland garden!" It's been hot and we've lost some plants but overall the flowers are doing great despite the heat.

I love these puffy, pom pom type zinnias and this pink one is my favorite of the bunch.

We've got a variety of vina flowers but this was the prettiest of the week.

In the naturalized herb garden we have this volunteer dill and I like its cheerful yellow flowers.

And the giant red zinnias are going strong. Some are nearly five feet tall and need staking. But it's worth the effort for their gorgeous flowers.

Thank you for joining me on this week's mini garden tour! May God bless you!

Want to help determine this week's most popular flower? Please share which photo you like best from today's post! I'll be gathering your votes from various sources and posting the results in the comments section of this post next week.

Related posts:
Unusual flower photos: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2015/07/sunrise-zinnia-pink-rose-sunrise-dahlia.html
Pom pom cherry blossoms: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/04/cherry-blossom-pom-pom-flower-photos.html
Late summer flowers: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/08/chrysanthemum-obedient-plant-tithonia.html

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Wild Deer in Quiet Waters Park

Happy wild Wednesday! I was blessed with the sighting of a beautiful deer family while walking in Quiet Waters Park this week. The deer kept an eye on me but didn't seem bothered; just watchful.

The family, as far as I could see, consisted of an adult female (doe) and two fawns (babies). I love the spots on the young deer.

When some other walkers approached the deer's ears went straight up but they didn't run away.

I've only been to Quiet Waters Park a few times but I might start going more often.

Because baby deer are adorable.

Thank you for visiting! May God bless you!

Related posts:
Brave baby deer: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2013/08/brave-little-deer-photos.html
Baby bull and goofy goats: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2014/10/baby-bull-and-goofy-goats-for-wild.html
Deer family video: http://lovejoyandpeas.blogspot.com/2011/12/endearing-deer-family.html

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Sugar Free September! Day 1

Image by Pippalou of http://pippalunacy.com/

Almost five years ago I went sugar free (among other things) and lost 35 lbs. After a few years I started to be more "flexible" with my eating and bit by bit I allowed sugar back into my life and the pounds crept back on. Granted, I had some serious illnesses and injuries during this time too (and they definitely contributed to the weight gain) but I've decided go to back to my sugar free way of eating. Starting today.

I like the sound of "sugar free" but I am not truly going 100% sugar free. I'm allowing whole fruits, a small amount of juice in my morning kale smoothie (a tradition I've kept up since about 2011 although I didn't add juice at first... someone who occasionally makes my smoothies for me added juice and I started adding it too after a while), and on days when I feel I need it, a treat with 5g or less of added natural sugar/maple syrup etc. I'm aiming to reduce the amount of juice in my morning smoothie slowly so I don't miss it and eventually eliminate it, just using whole fruit instead. Really, this is a low sugar diet. But low sugar September isn't as nice sounding as sugar free September, which I already find motivating. "Sugar free September" is more of a mantra for me than an accurate description of my eating plan. My eating plan is a personalized cross between Dr. Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" diet and the Peer Trainer flexitarian plan.

Today I stuck to my plan and feel good about it. I only had one big bout of sugar cravings today and managed to pray my way through them without caving. God is good!

I am ready to return to a healthy weight and hope this experiment brings me closer. I'd love to hear any supportive comments you want to share and if you have successfully lost and kept off a meaningful amount of weight I'd love to hear your success story.

If you want to join me on your own version of a sugar free diet I'd love to hear about your journey.

Thank you in advance for your support and encouragement! May God bless you!