Donuts and Pastries

Since I'm depriving myself of my favorite things in the world at this time, I thought it would be an appropriate post since I can at least look at them and drool. I truly have not eaten any sweets in about 5-6 weeks now. I'm not really feeling a strong desire as the diet is first and foremost on my mind. 

My favorite things are pastries in the sweets department. I absolutely love coconut cream pie, apple pie, chocolate silk pie, chocolate covered donuts, cinnamon-sugar donuts, coconut donuts, cinnamon buns, pecan buns and glazed donuts. I could live on them, actually. But I'm being noble and good at the moment. I'll see tomorrow how much weight I've lost so far.

When I was pregnant with my daughter many years ago, we lived in Oceanside, California, in a small motel studio apartment for a month. I sat there watching television and walking to the local Von's store for donuts. I'd get a coconut, chocolate, and a cinnamon donut and walk back to the motel and eat them all. Next day, same thing. I was so bored until we finally got our USMC base housing but I've always loved those 3 donuts above all else. The love is still there but I don't indulge very often anymore at my age. ;-) Enjoy the visuals, girls!

Yummmmm......

Double yummmmm....

These look yummy also.

I think coconut ones are my favorite.

I've had cinnamon rolls made by a woman that were so sweet and gooey they actually gave me terrible heartburn and had to stop eating her rolls.

Apple and cherry pastries are high on my list.

The best glazed donuts I've ever eaten at Krispy Kreme, but only the glazed. The others are horrid by my standards and I won't buy them, just the glazed.

Yummmm...

Another yummmm....

I could also go for these in a big way.

And these little cookie bites.

I saw this on Google and thought how moist it looked, kind of caramel looking but I'd sure love to taste it.

The donut shop that did this one sure knows how to top chocolate on it!

These cinnamon rolls look great also

And these little mini-pastries look like they'd be wonderful.

~*~

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A Confession

 Just to remind you again of all the images I've put on my Pinterest. I now have over 11,200 of them, with over 8,000 followers. So you know the images are gorgeous. I can add them faster to Pinterest than show you here. So go there and view them. I know you won't be disappointed. Can you just trust me on this?!
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Okay, confession time and this is very difficult for me to admit.

I've put on more weight than I need over the past 3 years. I've tried to get it off but my heart was not in it. After the fall in the park four years ago with all the physical therapy that entailed and then foot surgery 2 years ago and then some "female" surgery last year, I sank to an all-time low for me. I'd take off a few pounds and put it back on. I won't admit to what the weight was now, but when it's all off I'll divulge it—and maybe some photos if I'm brave enough.

So June 29th I saw my doctor and asked how she had taken off 25 pounds recently. I had seen a sign about a medically-supervised diet in her office. She told me to come in for an introduction to this weight-loss program in a few days after the visit and I did. Hubby and a friend went along.

It is medically-supervised and it's a challenge. It's a high protein diet with drinking/eating their foods three times a day and eating dinner on my own. It's very restrictive and more meat per day than I've ever eaten in my life. Eight ounces is required at dinner. I lost 8.9 pounds the first week, but let me tell you that it wasn't a joy being around me. They told me the first week would be bad. Now, I can't say I was hungry; in fact, I told them there was no way I could eat 8 ounces of meat in one meal and really had a hard time consuming it all in one day. They said to keep it at least 6 ounces and I'm trying, but I have to spread it out over the entire day. So as of 8/16 I've lost 16.5 pounds in those three weeks. The second week wasn't as bad and the third week has been easy. I expect it to be easier as the weight drops off. But it is not cheap, trust me. But my loving hubby of 52 years said it was just fine with him. He is absolutely 100% on my side with whatever I need to do to get healthy. Ooooh, and we are not allowed to exercise as that affects muscle and they don't want the dieters to build up or lose muscle but fat.(Medical study statistics are provided in videos sent to me each day.) I pretty much sit and read, go to lunch with friends every couple of weeks and grocery shopping. That's my life right now. (Oh, I did go to Macy's and treat myself to some fabulous Lancome Absolute makeup and it's incredible. That was my treat for being so diligent.)

The makeup artist said I had beautiful skin. I said, "No, I don't." She argued with me and said we are our own worst critic and I agree with that, but trust me, someone in their seventies doesn't have gorgeous skin. Nice skin, perhaps, but not gorgeous. But that challenged me to appraise my face. It's pretty wrinkle free as you can see from my photo on my sidebar taken in 2009, but there are concerns. So, I'm now doing facial yoga exercises twice a day. I need to tighten up my neck, jawline, a few smile lines and puffy eye bags. Before the diet began I had blue under my eyes the past few years and couldn't figure out what was going on there and no amount of concealer or makeup would correct it. I thought I was doomed! Well, with the vitamin regimen I take every day that blueness has gone away. People tell me my eyes are now different, but the exercises are taking away the puffiness also, and the puffiness wasn't bad really, just a concern for me. This is the large picture from which I took the small sidebar picture and under my eyes there isn't the blue color at that point, plus my eyes are really more an emerald-green color than in this photo (And it's taken me every single year of these 70 years to like the color of my eyes.) :

But that's the long and short of it. I'll be on a diet for awhile and don't even ask how much I have to lose. It will all be revealed in a post in the months to come. And I pray each morning to get through just that day, so prayers are always welcome if you pray. ;-)
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What an adorable tiny office carved out of a corner in a room. I think it's ingenious what the homeowner did here.

A sweet cottage with a curved brick walkway.

A simply gorgeous hydrangea. I'd love for mine to color like this but mine are lavender and blue.

Sitting her now I'm so hungry for a cake I could scream!

This is the most gorgeous wreath I've ever seen.

A to-die-for kitchen. Love the off-white cabinets but I'd paint the walls pink.

I've seen this patio set at K-Mart and would like it but not sure we'd use it much in this desert.

I've always liked banquettes like this. It reminds me of some restaurants we've visited in San Francisco. I think it's very sensuous to eat in one of these. Reminds me of the old 40s nightclubs.

To me, this is the most gorgeous photo every produced for a perfume! Simply magnificent.

Lovin' th' red chair!

Imagine having this nursery for your baby. Just beautiful.

One way to cover your jams for gift giving.

I'm very partial to old tablecloths and I can see a lot of Wilendur cloths in there.

Such a cute way to decorate wall sconces or even chandeliers.

Lovely farmhouse dining room.

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Tidbit:

Some lions mate more than 50 times a day.

Spotted skunks do handstands before they spray.
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No Story, Just Photos Today

Truthfully, I don't much feel like telling a story today, just feeling blah from the heat. I already have a post for Thursday and that will explain a bit more. I think you'll be interested in what I have to say and what's going on in my life. :-)

A beautiful setting for a bath.

I'll never not have roses somewhere in my home or my life.

A different kind of bedroom but beautiful.

I absolutely love peonies.

I wear an invisible crown all the time! I am the queen of this house and don't doubt me for a minute. ;-)

A beautifully-made bag.

Posting eye candy and have it be real candy is my favorite thing to do.

Love the canister set.

A delicate butterfly for a handle on a cup.

Do I need to say how much I love this kitchen style? Caaauuuute!

Beautiful table settings always stir my heart.

Another beautiful but simple pillow.

A queen's cupcakes.

To have pink and purple cookies would be my great-granddaughters' wish. Their rooms are purple and pink with a contrasting wall in each one with a mural by their talented father.

Rose-smelling candles. Yummmm!

~*~

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I'm Not a Wimp.

Just a reminder: 
For those of you who don't know or realize it, I have a Pinterest page with well over 11,100 images. All "eye candy" you would love to see. I post daily or at least very often there. Go visit it. With over 7,700 followers in just about 6 months, you know there are some gorgeous images there. I doubt you'll be disappointed. Enjoy them!
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Several women I know are just starting to go through menopause. I'm about 20 - 35 years older than some of the women I hang out and go to lunch with a few times a month. I hear such horrid stories of hot flashes and mood swings. I can't relate to that as mine was very easy—no hot flashes, no mood swings (Tell that to hubby and he'll laugh, but it's true. I've always been a nag!), nothing close to what I've heard or been told by other women. I was lucky. I never took a hormone pill except for one day and no HRT either. I took the one pill after prescribed by my doctor and didn't like the feeling it gave me so didn't go beyond the first pill.

Some are even considering hysterectomies and I have to tell you mine was the easiest operation ever. I went in on a Monday, had it on a Tuesday, asked if I could go home on Thursday and after astonished looks and a chat with my doctor, he said I could if I felt that great. He said I was the only patient he ever had that wanted to leave so fast after surgery. I told him I had worlds to conquer and better things to do than lay around all day in a bed. The following Monday I was back in Jazzercise class but told the instructor that I'd had surgery the past week in case things got a bit weird. I never had a problem at all and continued Jazzercizing the whole week. That's how fast I recuperate. Loved Jazzercise.
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An absolutely gorgeous bedroom and look how the homeowner did the side tables.

Love this checkered chair.

White with lavender is so soothing.

Lucky the woman who has that little shelf to use for decorating with flowers from her garden. Sigh.

I have absolutely no reason why but this home reminds me of Africa. South Africa to be precise. I don't know why.

A lovely vignette in a store. Who would have thought that discarded vintage bed springs would become so popular in shabby chic decorating. Watch out for the dumpster divers! :-)

I absolutely love old radiators like these in these in this room. They really do give the most even heat in a room and I think are rather pretty in a room. I'd have them if I could. Great even heat throughout a room without gusts of warmth on your face.

A very colorful and beautiful home entry.

A favorite craft of mine is making these roses. Very relaxing, easy, fast and wonderful for decorating jackets, blouses and coats.

What a terrific room for 4 kids! I think it'd be fun to share a room with siblings under these circumstances. Everyone has a privacy curtain and a light.

A nice example of shabby chic decorating.

This looks like it could be a pin storage container. Whatever it is, it's gorgeous.

I just cannot get enough of embroidered roses today. I have to make some shoes like this for a new mother in our ward. She'll be surprised, I'm sure.

What a way to store our jellies and jams you've made. Cute!!!

While this is somewhat Victorian and I'm not fond of Victorian as it is strictly applied, but this room is lovely.

~*~

Tidbit:

The Swedish pop group Abba once turned down an offer of $1,000,000,000 (billion!) to reunite. Now that takes courage and character in my book.
~*~

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