Toddy Coffee

I've decided that I am going to enter the world of stretch pants and just make my life a whole lot easier. I know, I know...don't judge me. I wish I could find black stretchy pants just like my pj bottoms. They are so cute and I look good in them. Do they look like pj bottoms? I don't think so. They are thick enough to pass as a pant. Instead of putting a lot of time into shopping for a look-alike pair, I may just wear what I have. If I can pull it off - I'm doing it!

I can now understand why the overweight crowd seems to fancy this attire. My thought in the past was, when I would see someone clearly overweight with "stretchies" on, why on earth are you wearing something that accentuates the your burgeoning booty and thighs...as I try to look away.

Well, now I know. It was just a few months ago I had lost 10 or so pounds, but much to my chagrin, I've gained it right back. (And maybe a few pounds more, ugh!) I put on a pair of pants that I've had for a few years. They've always been a casual favorite; roomy and so cute. Yesterday, I found that they were quite snug at the waist which gave me a muffin top. I hate that. I won't do it. I was just going to be working around the house so I kept them on but when I would bend over the snap at the waistband would pop open. That has never happened with these pants before. As many times as I would bend over, pop...pop...pop...pop. Oh how discouraging. I just eventually tucked it down into the pants but it was the confirmation that, yes, it's once again time to diet.

I believe my love of coffee is one of the main culprits in my gain. Even though I drink my coffee with a sugar free creamer, it's adding too many calories to my daily intake. I have on an average 3-8 oz. cups of coffee every morning. To that I add the sugar free creamer and a Splenda. I estimate that I use about a half cup of creamer per morning which I found to be about 10 Tablespoons. At 15 calories per tablespoon, that's 150 calories a day.

If I remove the creamer and just have a Toddy every morning, then I'll be getting the milk (calcium)in my diet, that's really so important, and cutting the creamer calories. (The creamer has no nutritional value) I usually have a Toddy every evening. I think I'll move that to mornings and then just have a diet soda in the evening. (I do love those sweet treats - and that's what they are to me. I look forward to them.)

If you are a coffee lover, and you don't know what a Toddy coffee maker is, you are really missing out! It's a cold brew coffee maker that is very similar to making sun-tea, only it's coffee. I bought my Toddy maker through Amazon.com for about thirty dollars. It comes with a carafe, a plastic holding container, a filter and cork. You follow the directions adding water and good Arabica coffee, coarsely ground, alternately, and let it steep for 12 hours. (It calls for 16 oz. of coffee. Funny thing is, you can't buy coffee in 16 oz. packages. It's usually sold in 12 -14 oz. increments, which I find works just as well. If you think it's not strong enough, you can add less water. Try it first. Anyway, a pound of coffee to 9 cups of water is what's recommended. I usually do it at night before I go to bed and in the morning pull the plug, setting the holding container on the carafe and within a few minutes, this wonderful concentrated coffee is ready to drink. The fabulous and amazing thing about the Toddy brew is that it lasts in your frig. up to 4 weeks without it's wonderful flavor being diminished. You can drink it hot or cold. I usually use a 8-12 oz. glass, add about an inch of Toddy and fill it up with skim milk and a Splenda. It's wonderful! I'll bet that since I've purchased my Toddy maker about two years ago, I don't think it's ever been in rest mode. There is always Toddy coffee in my frig. I've turned a lot of people on to it. Some months ago I had friends visiting from Michigan and they tried Toddy for the first time. When they went home, they sent word back that Toddy was taking over Detroit. One couple even took a jar of it along with them on their cruise.

So cheers to all my Toddy loving compadres and may we all find the happy medium between fit and feeling good, while yet still drinking and eating all the wonderful things that we enjoy; the battle of indulgence and moderation.

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What I've Gleaned Today

I suppose one could write about anything. The possibilities are endless. I told my blogging buddy that my mind was flooded with so many thoughts I felt like Russell Crow in The Beautiful Mind. Honestly, I’m a scribbler and often throughout the day I find myself looking for scraps of paper to jot down anything from a quote, to a handy tip, “How to” instructions or a myriad of advice on a plethora of subjects. The gleaned information is haphazardly tucked away as not to be lost. (Ha) It can be found anywhere; in pockets, drawers, tablets, between the pages of books, in the console of the car or in a stash of paper at the bottom of my purse.


Honestly though, I love that stuff!

You might wonder if I’ve found anything worthy of squirreling away today. Well yes, as a matter of fact, I have. But I have to tell you that my impulse to collect things does not stop at information. For me, garage sales are a favorite weekend activity. (Funny, I’m visiting my daughter this past weekend and she has the same system of scouring the paper for these neighborhood sales, cutting them out and taping them to a sheet of paper in a very systematic way. I find this out on Saturday morning when at 8:45 our eyes meet, we grab our bags and sunglasses and scramble out the door and as soon as I’m in the car she hands me the ads from a local paper that look as though I’ve prepared it myself. I buckle in and we’re off.) Sort of like storm chasers, this is very serious business. I know one lady who won’t take anyone with her because she has to move from house to house with lightening speed and doesn’t have the patience to drag anyone along. I know how she feels, you really have to have the right partner for this kind of calculated fun; fast with an eye for the good stuff. Sometimes the not-so-good stuff may be scooped up in a flurry to get in and out so quickly; making snap decisions as what to take and what should stay behind. You’ve seen the Wizard of Oz, right? The house, the cow, the witch on the bicycle, swoosh, all scooped up and gone in a matter of minutes. (We’re not storm chasers, we are the tornado. Ahhh! Just talking about it makes we wish that it were Saturday morning again)

We began by hitting a few garage sales. As we come upon the first house I immediately notice a table where a variety of books are stacked. One in particular looked somewhat aged, its title screaming out to me, “How to Torture Your Mind.” I smiled and thought ‘I already know, I’m married, aren’t I.’ Anyway, after leafing through the pages, nothing really grabs me and when I see a mathematical equation I realize the real torture for me would be having to read it. (I’m really looking for books with little bits of wisdom, poems and inspirational quotes; old religious books, etc.) I put the book down deciding not to take it home; not having met the criteria, I pass on mind torture for now. However, we go on to find a clear strawberry paperweight, a mini hummingbird feeder and a hanging potpourri bulb with a cork in the bottom that some potter took time and careful attention to make. Three small items that are headed for their own special place at my house, re-homed and appreciated. (I feel happy when I look at them; the only criteria for a garage sale purchase) I can imagine the hummingbirds enjoying their new feeder on the shady side of the house; my favorite little nook where I often lay in my hammock under a peach tree. Ahh…what bliss!

Back to the subject of gleaning words, thoughts and quotes, I don’t look for them, they find me. This uncontrollable urge to collect the aforementioned may have spawned from hearing the verse and quip my grandfather often recited. We never knew where the expressions or rhymes came from but they delighted the entire family. His recitations were always greeted with smiles. I have tried to collect all of his sayings posthumously, but I admit, that when recited today, not one person in the family can produce the sound or delight that came forth when my grandfather spoke.

My father has a fantastic memory and is known as one who is able to quote much. It just spills out in his sermons effortlessly. I know there was never a deliberate effort to memorize on his part. I suppose it was just his love of words, in essence, that has captured so many wonderful things to be retold at will. (And here I am with that same love, I suppose, yet can remember little, hence the need to record everything. It reminds me of two gentlemen in our church. They were both great men, learned in the scripture and wonderful speakers. A wife of one of the men was heard to say, ‘Wil had it in the head, but (her husband) Furnier had it in the bag.’ (She was speaking of their knowledge) Everyone laughed. She said, ‘Don’t laugh, some people don’t even have it in the bag.’ (That’s me and my blogging buddy. She has it in the head and I have it in the bag…or, I’m trying to get it in the bag. Hey, where’s the bag?)

Back to the subject at hand - it’s not always in a sermon, little bits of wisdom or an inspiring story can be heard anywhere from almost anyone. (Another quote: Learn from everyone you meet.) After returning home, it just so happens that the house was vacant and PBS was airing an inspiring special on the life of Pete Seeger: singer/songwriter. His wife said of him, “His idea was to get the world singing – not to be the singer.” Amazingly, he affected people and they, indeed, did sing with him, "We Shall Overcome," "This Land Is Your Land" and "Turn, Turn, Turn" to name a few.

It makes one pause to wonder what it might be like to possess a clear and defined gift or ability that touches so many people in a positive way. Wouldn’t it be wonderful? I am relegated to the fact that I am me and I must work with my own talents and abilities. “By small means the Lord can bring about great things.” – I Nephi 16:29

Quote: Don’t wait for opportunities to do great things, but do the little things in a great way.
Who knows when our deeds or actions may affect one or more people in a great way… or even in a small way, yet positively unforgettable.

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