Hoosier Hysteria...not basketball

Corgis are furry kids. They are short, like cold weather, and enjoy snow days.Only a corgi or a real live kid is happy when it snows. They all like to play, romp and tunnel through it.

If I knew how to knit or crochet, they'd be wearing little booties....maybe bread bags, like my kids wore inside their boots!

It's time to visit Coloradolady's site for more vintage posts as is tradition on Thursdays here in blogland.

Diet and Exercise....it's been around so long, it's even vintage! With today's use of hollow doors in new homes, I wonder if this door exercise could even be done now? I remember doing the Air Force exercises during the early '60's. We had a book that we followed, my Mom and I. It wasn't for wimps!


What is it with women, diets, and their love affair with food? These photos are from the 1950's, but decades, even eons earlier... women were obsessed with obtaining slenderness to boost the image of beauty. Today, I think people are thinking more towards their health, rather than aesthetics.

Dieting fads ran rampant during the 1950's. The first low carb diet was even around then, and had a resurgence in the '70's, and beyond. Clinical trials were run to investigate various diets out there during that time as well. There was a lot of colon cancer during the 1950's in the UK, so maybe people were getting more interested in eating in a more healthy manner.
The chemicals in the food, and DDT sprayed on veggies and fruit was outlandish...but, everyone was pretty uninformed.
At least now, the internet can inform the masses, and we can educate ourselves to discover which plan of attack we want to follow!

These circa 1950 book titles, tell us a little bit about the society at that time.
Today...we're smarter about chemicals, have such a variety of programs, know to drink lots of water, and with the availability of fresh produce all year long, and frozen items at Wally World...our success rate should be higher than our sisters of past decades. All we can do is take one day, one bite, one jumping jack at a time. Just like they did then.

Fractured Thinking today...

So...do you ever wake up, and remain in a fog for the entire day? Do your brain cells feel numb occasionally too? Is there a day, when even coffee can't get your motor going?
Well folks, today, is that darn day for me. I really hate it too. It's a waste of time. My thoughts are fractured, and I keep going around in circles. I got all the bill paying and errand running done, but don't know what to do next. There's plenty to do believe me! Our bedroom needs to be painted; the Christmas decor needs to be gone through and sorted. I need to heartlessly discard items that create clutter. Sigh...instead of gettin' crackin' at those things however, my brain is stuck on thoughts like these:


Does wearing make-up elevate your mood, or is it just one more thing you feel obligated to do each day? Therapy or Drudgery?




Why...is the line to the men's room always so short? Why aren't there more stalls in a ladies room? Whenever we're out and about, I notice this, and it bothers me. Does it you....too?



I just read, in the Farmer's Almanac, that if you have forgotten to put cat litter in the trunk of your car, and get stuck in the white stuff falling from heaven, you can pull out your car mats to give those tires some traction. You southern states may need to remember this, as the next wintry blast is supposed to affect you as well! Something has made Mother Nature extremely moody this winter, and she's in a hissy fit, wreaking havoc in states that she usually leaves alone!

Saw this on a forward sent our way this morning:

Out of my mind...back in five minutes!

and another...

They call it PMS because Mad Cow disease was already taken!

Thanks to Eleanor Roosevelt...I'm going to get busy....she said:

Work is always an antidote to depression.

Another good reason to exercise!

Menopausal thoughts can be a little quirky sometimes.
Husbands just tick us off...sometimes for no apparent reason....



Strange thoughts happen when hormone levels go awry.
Remember the old saying, "it's not nice to fool Mother Nature?"
Well! Men just need to be more sensitive to our natures!

Sometimes it's hard being a woman....
don't they get that?




Sometimes, just a look can set us off...
Evil thoughts jump into our little ol' heads....and sometimes...those thoughts make us smile...

Or... is that just me???

Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, happy people just don't shoot their husbands.

~Elle in Legally Blonde

According to James Pennebaker, a psychologist, "Writing" about our emotional woes at least 15 minutes a day, makes a physical and emotional difference to our health and demeanor.
Bottled up feelings get released, and that relieves our stress.
Journal writing is said to help folks with asthma and arthritis too!
So...let's all pick up our pens, our keyboards, and get busy and write those pesky whines down in print!
For more info like this, and on many various subjects, please take a moment for yourself (it IS therapy, after all...) and visit the Everyday Health site. Lots of good reading for you there, and it's cheap!

Are you counting points?

I find it easier to utilize the Weight Watcher point system, rather than measuring every bite, and counting calories or carbs. I thought I'd give you the point value of some of my favorite things.


Laughing Cow wedge~1 point
Eggbeaters~1 point per 1/4 cup
Fiber One cereal~0 points per 1/4 cup because of the high fiber content. So eat lots!
White Castle Cheeseburger~4 points
Apple Dips from McD's~2 points, that's with the caramel sauce!
Egg McMuffin~7 points

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past..we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes."

~Charles Swindoll

VTT...Childhood Flashbacks

Here it is again, time to post for Vintage Thingie Thursday, sponsored by our dear friend, Coloradolady. Please click her name to see other vintage blog entries. It's interesting what everyone comes up with!

This little sweeper was a dynamo in its day. Mom purchased it at Sears, oh, maybe 1961. She used it to sweep a 3-bedroom ranch for over 25 years. She surely got her money's worth out of that little yellow canister!







It seems back in the mid to late 50's, a family wanted an 8mm camera to catch all those Kodak moments for posterity. Our folks were no exception. One or the other seemed to always have this camera in front of one eye, catching my brothers and I either on a camping trip in the UP, visiting family in Michigan, or opening Christmas, under tinsel trimmed trees. My dad in a flannel robe bending over a train track on Christmas is forever in my head, thanks to that little camera. After my Dad died, my family went through reel after reel of film, and had them made into VHS tapes. Our entire childhood was recorded. Aunts, uncles, dogs, houses, a table covered with Thanksgiving's bounty, and our long deceased father, is forever alive on that tape. The first time we watched, we laughed our heads off, and then... cried our eyes out!

Surprises!

I entered a caption contest on Miss Jean's site, and won for heaven's sake! She has a darlin' doggie, with a wide toothy smile, and wanted a fitting caption. Please go visit this friendly, fun blog. She's a doll, and her little doggie is too! She made a donation to Corgi Aid in my name as well. (I told you she was a great gal!)

This loot is just perfect for the likes of me...tea, scarf, cool mug, and a doggie book. Bring winter on baby cakes, I'm ready for it!
Thanks so much Jean, for your gifts...donation, and for your blog that is so much fun to read. You're in my daily reads now!

This proves that I've lost estrogen!

Your Brain is 67% Female, 33% Male Your brain leans female
You think with your heart, not your head
Sweet and considerate, you are a giver
But you're tough enough not to let anyone take advantage of you!

What Gender Is Your Brain?

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An article from the Farmer's Almanac....

Hail to . . . Your Highness? January 20 – Inauguration Day (U.S.)

It seems impossible to think of the U.S. chief executive as anything but “the President,” but in 1789, John Adams had other ideas. After George Washington was unanimously elected, Congress had to decide on his title. When “the President of the United States” was suggested, Vice President–Elect John Adams disagreed, saying that the title was not dignified enough—after all, he argued, even fire companies and cricket clubs had presidents. Instead, he believed that the leader of the United States needed a grander title and humbly suggested “His Most Benign Highness.” His peers, including George Washington, no doubt thought that Adams’s grandiose suggestion was too reminiscent of the titles of English royalty. They insisted on the more down-to-earth “President of the United States of America.”


Personally, I like how our nation does business. We have a nice, calm way of transferring power. Today was a prime example of graciousness, from both sides.
I was proud of everyone!

Please stop by Chatty Crone's blog today. She has a fantastic 4 minute video that you'll want to see, and Rules from God for 2009 to read over. Both are awe inspiring, and worth the time to peruse. Scoot!


Special hugs go out to Penniwig for her wonderful graphics. I love 'em!

Weakening this week....

I call mine "Junk in the Trunk!"
Ever hear the song, "I like big butts, I cannot lie?"
Now really, who likes a big butt?
One question I have NEVAH, EVAH, asked my husband....
"does this make my butt look big?"
Yep...the truth hurts...I'm not going there!

This week, being snowbound, has been much harder to stay "on program" for my flab fighting. Snow outside, flurries, events cancelled, makes me want to cook, bake, and tickle taste buds. Such activities are NOT diet friendly. Granted, I cooked up cauliflower, added Laughing Cow, chives, Molly McButter, and mashed it all to create something very low cal to eat when the munchies attacked.

Blackberry cobbler had to be made to go along with the crock pot of tasty chili. It would have been scandalous not to! Gee, the zukes are gone, I can't make soup. Oh look, there's cheese...cheese is good...with crackers, right? They were triscuts, that has fiber, but it was 10 o'clock at night when I was scarfing those down. Oh look, strawberry jam, that would be a good butter replacement!

See, what I mean? Once the ball got rolling, things went downhill fast. Last week, nothing tempted me. Why is this week different? Well! I'm thinking it's because I was not able to get my senior coffee on a regular basis all this past week. The Malibu, does not have 4-wheel drive, hence, I was told to stay home, which means, no coffee fix. ( I never make coffee at home, it's just not the same!)
Is this a stretch? Am I grasping at straws? Am I only able to be "good" for one stinkin' week?

Here are some quotes to inspire you, and me!

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. Jim Ryun

The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places. Unknown

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons of the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something that YOU have charge of. Jim Rohn

We have a winner today!

Ringie-dingie....hello?!

We have a winner today for the Winter Blah Giveaway here at Corgi Dog News.

Drum roll please..............it's...................

Lady Jane!

Thank you everyone for signing up for my first giveaway. I'm already gathering stuff for another one, so stay tuned. It's fun doing this!
Lady Jane, I'll need your address; your prize box will be mailed out to you there in Illinois, licketity-split! Congrats.

Middle age crazies...

I found a couple of quotes with attitude, and wanted to share them with you ladies. It's snowy out there, and being housebound makes a woman's brain kink a little bit. (That's my story!)

"I am not menopausal. I just wanted a half an hour alone. Is that too much to ask? A crappy half hour!" ~Janet Evanovich

"Sometimes its good to learn how to be a little bad. It's called getting real." ~Aimee Liu

Avoid any diet that discourages the use of hot fudge!" `Dan Kardong

It's easy now-it's middle-age lady, nobody's looking, nobody notices. I go without lipstick if I feel like it, and I always wear my comfy clothes. It's a life with fewer distractions, but should something beautiful show up, a middle-aged woman is free to stare." ~Abigail Thomas

~~Vintage Thingie Thursday~~

Hello, it's Thursday already? This snow has me all discombobulated...and my days are mixed up. It's cabin fever, is what it is! The Malibu, is being held captive in the garage by drifts of snow. Only the Tracker, with four wheel drive, can make it through. I have to wait until Jim gets home before I can make an escape, go to the store, library, and most importantly...get my senior coffee at McDonald's! It's been days and days since my last fix! Anyway.....the vintage stuff, yeah, yeah....

This little green McCoy pitcher is very old. It has been in our family my entire life, and I'm 57. It's older than I am, no comments please! It was purchased at the Hillsdale County Fair, Hillsdale, Michigan, by a friend of my Grandma B's, who gave it to Gram as a gift. This was most likely in the late 30's or early to mid 40's. How or when it came to my mother, I don't know, and she doesn't remember. This was the official orange juice pitcher. Mom used the smallest container that frozen concentrate comes in, to make up a quart of OJ. Sometimes, this was used for sun tea. Those are the only two uses that I recall for it. I've always loved the color and size of this pitcher. When Mom's household broke up, due to her declining health, it was given to me. I feel honored and lucky to have it. Visit Colorado Lady's site to view more, Vintage Thingies!

A darn good book!

~The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society~
This is an absolutely, wonderful book to read. I read it in two nights. The setting is in 1946, just after WW2, and Europe is trying to pull itself together again. Guernsey, a Channel Island, was occupied by Germans, and had it pretty rough. To ease the ugliness of those awful days, a group of locals created a reading group to brighten their days. Trouble is, they had to do it on the sly. The characters in this story grab you right away. You will miss them when you finish the last page. This, is a moving, captivating story, that makes you laugh out loud, and tear up. The story is told by reading the correspondence between these smart and delightful characters. Treat yourself, and read it. Blizzard? What blizzard?

A Better Me Tuesday...

Well, today was weigh in day with the better me group. If you want to join this online group, feel free to, and click on Joanne's site, and leave her a comment. She'll contact you then.
My first week was fairly easy. I make lots of high fiber veggies ahead, pots of the free veggie soup, and made some high fiber muffins. I limit meats, and fats. One week down, now the struggle begins! Getting exercise is my biggest hurdle as it's winter in Indiana, and my arthritis hates being outside, and me moving!
Losing 5 lbs. was a nice reward, but won't happen every week!

Here's the recipe for the

Hi-Fiber Delish Muffins:
dry ingredients in a bowl: 1 + 1/2 c. ground up oatmeal (it took 2 c. of oatmeal to make this.
I used the old fashioned oats; dash salt, shake of cinnamon,
1 TBL. baking powder, scant 1/4 c. flaxseed,
2 TBL. flour, 2 TBL. brown sugar,
1-2 TBL of nuts.
In the wet bowl, 2 very ripe bananas, 1 egg white, scant 1/4 c. milk, dash vanilla, 1 TBL. canola oil. I put this all in my mini chopper to blend very well.
Now, mix all together dry/wet, put into a 12-muffin tin, sprayed with Pam. Bake at 425 for 14-15 minutes. It will make 9 -12 muffins.

This isn't a very scientific recipe I know...I was experimenting, and this is exactly how I made them. They turned out great. Really delish! Maybe it was just a fluke! I made another batch this afternoon, tweaking the recipe more. That's what you'll have to do. I ended up with 9 instead of six. I threw in a ground up clementine as I only had one banana. Used more oatmeal, less flax, less flour, no nuts. Tweak it baby, tweak it! If you're doing points, count on 2.

Fiber is your friend.

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Sunday Baker's Pantry Challenge...

Want to give Frugality a whirl in 2009? Click on Tanya's name, and sign up on her blog for this kooky, common sense, and winter-stimulating challenge!


Tanya, at Sunday Baker, has thrown down the spatula and issued a challenge. To begin the new year with uncluttered pantries, refrigerators and freezers, full of aging items...she says be frugal, and stop the shopping. We are to take stock of the ingredients on hand, in every area, not restock except for necessary staples (milk, eggs, meat, butter, bread.) We are to become creative as our stash dwindles, by digging out the cook books.

This is my stash, from which I shall become a creative cook!
I imagine that Jim, will be eating out as much as possible~

How simple and frugal a thing is happiness; a glass of wine, a roast chestnut, a wretched little brazier, the sound of the sea. All that is required to feel that here and now happiness is a simple frugal heart. Nikos Kazantzakis

Cabin Fever-Winter Blahs Giveaway!

It's a snowy day here in the Hoosier state this morning. Very pretty.

I want to announce the first, ever, Corgi Dog News Giveaway!

Lucky me, has won three giveaways from blogs that I follow; thanks again to Sunday Baker, Hootin' Annie, and dear Penniwig. Who doesn't like winning a little "sumpthin' something" once in a while?

Here's the deal~It's Winter. Cabin Fever strikes. The blahs set in.

You sign on with a comment to this post to enter. Please enter once. If, you add a link on your blog sharing info about this giveaway, you sign in again, for two entries. Please take the prize photo too for your blog.
Very simple!

The anti-blah kit includes:

A 500 piece puzzle with a snowy barn scene; a new deck of Coca Cola playing cards; a cozy paperback scrapbooking mystery by Laura Childs (with scrapbooking tips and recipes included!) a box of Swiss Miss hot cocoa with marshmallows; plus, just to keep you from feeling sluggish during the winter---a Chocolate Brownie Bar by gnu foods, a high fiber bar, full of flavor! (Visit their website, I've just discovered them and it's fun.)

I hope that you enter, and I hope too, that you'll spread the word. Entries begin, NOW, and will close on Friday, January 16th, at high noon! The winner will be selected by the corgi kids; they don't have thumbs, but are able to do a lot in spite of this ~
You'll be contacted by email, and by an announcement post sometime later that day.
So! Enter, spread word, win, and enjoy these winter pastime helpers!

Hugs, Corgidogmama

Vintage Thingie Thursday is here again!

Hello, and welcome once again to Vintage Thingie Thursday sponsored by Coloradolady. Click on her name to visit many other sites with vintage entries. Remember that old song, "Back in Fifties with You?" That tune has been running in my head since the new year, so, that's what I'm writing about today.

The family kitchen in a 50's house was the hub, and haven of the home. Mom's domain, so to speak. This is where the kids did homework, and family concerns were discussed. Soup based casseroles baked in now vintage pyrex dishes, stuffed peppers, and stew with home made biscuits were served.


The entire family would gather around a black and white television set; it didn't matter what was on. Everyone watched, and it was usually what Dad selected. Kids didn't have much of voice back then. Luckily, most things on in those days was family friendly, and we, weren't so picky, and spoiled by cable.


Remember Tapioca? It was a monthly treat at our house; discovered as we came home from school, cooling in melamine bowls, on the Formica counter, covered with wax paper. I remember the circles of condensation dotting the wax paper, and the smell of vanilla in the kitchen. Tapioca had such an odd consistency, but was tasty!



Mil not...by the name, I'm guessing it wasn't milk. So, what was it? Mom used to whip it up, and put it in her Easter "glorified rice" dish. It just grew and grew it seemed. Ugh. (That's a recipe, I've never made!)

In our childhood home, supper was at 6 pm, sharp! No matter where we were, we had better be sitting at the table, hands washed, as the courthouse counted out the hour; six gongs.My brother would tear home on his Schwinn, skidding on the gravel, and tear through the house to the bathroom to wash up, as my silent Dad would gaze up at the clock. Families ate the main meal together in those days, it was a ritual in 99% of households, I believe.


See this 1950 Ford? I learned to drive in a car like this, in the summer of '66. I loved this car, and always delight when we find one on the road today! On back, country, gravel roads, my very first boyfriend, allowed me to experiment at the wheel.He was patient and kind; two traits needed, believe me! Heck, we didn't park to neck...we just changed drivers!
Life was so simple, so clean, at least it seemed so. The fifties have always intrigued me; maybe because my memories are so happy of that decade.

Happiness...

Is it a God given right, or something we have to work at to attain?
Hmmm, don't really know, but I found several sites that know more on this subject.
Visit the Happiness Project, it's an awesome site, full of deep thoughts on what we all seek during our lifetime...happy, happy, joy, joy!
Another site is full of questionaires that you answer, to develop insights about yourself, called Authentic Happiness. Are you still here...???? SCOOT, go explore!

Watch out...curves ahead!

Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
~Mark Twain

I'm not going to feel bad about gray hair and wrinkles. I've earned them all. However...I'm too dang chubby, and found a group of gals who are fighting the flab together. I signed on, and we'll weigh in each Tuesday. If you'd like to join us, visit My little Cottage in the making, scroll down until you find the pic on the blog, and sign up babycakes!

You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.
~Michael Pritchard

I'm a little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit rounder, but still none the wiser.
~Robert Paul

Resolutions that I HOPE I can keep: take vitamins,
live by portion control, move more, and smile.. dagnabit!

~Hugs, Corgidogmama

Reflect upon your blessings of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.

Charles Dickens