DAY 243 -- When I was young...and thin.

Tonight I went through some old photos of when Kurt and I were newly married.  Looking at my young self, I started to get caught up in thoughts such as... I sure wish I was that thin again.  I sure wish I hadn't gained so much weight.  Look how slender I was in that picture!

I had to stop my thoughts from trekking down that path...to the pity party waiting to happen. Sure, I might not ever be as thin as I was when I married, but if I continue to eat healthy and exercise, I will hopefully never be as fat as I was ten years ago. I've come a long way, baby.

DAY 242 -- The Anger Diet.

I know.  The title confused me at first too.  My husband downloaded a book on his Kindle titled: The Anger Diet (by Brenda Shoshanna, Ph.D.)  When he told me about it, I thought, Huh?  A diet for angry people?  Do angry people need certain foods?  He explained that the book helps people eliminate the anger in their lives.

The full title of the book is The Anger Diet: Thirty Days to Stress-Free Living, and it contains helpful exercises to do, daily, to rid oneself of anger in a month's time.

The author lists 24 forms of anger.  The number surprised me.  I thought anger was, well...anger.  As he read the list to me, I realized that some of the forms of anger can affect our eating habits, such as...

• Self-Sabotage
• Low Self-Esteem
• Compulsions 
• Obsessions
• Addictions

Yep, all of those are forms of anger!  The book was enlightening; I learned a lot about anger, and feelings I never associated with anger before.  It really would be healthy to go on an "Anger Diet."

DAY 241 -- Hey baby, what's cookin'?

Tonight my husband needed me to run an errand with him as soon as he got home from work, so he pulled up to the condo and I hurried down to meet him.  As I got in the car, he said, "Mmm.  You smell good!"  I was rather pleased since I don't wear fragrances; I just assumed he liked my natural scent.

Then he continued, "You smell like chicken!"

Who needs perfume to attract a man?  I just need to smell like dinner!  

DAY 240 -- Habits and traditions.

A friend told me she was going to a movie on Saturday, the third movie she'd attended in a week's time.  "That's a lot of popcorn!" she said.

I smiled, because I remember the days when certain events or traditions called for certain foods.  I too used to buy popcorn every time I went to the movies, especially if I went to the "cheap theater" since I knew the only way the theater made a profit was through concession sales.  I wanted them to stay in business!  Now, however, I strive to eat popcorn at the movies only when I purposely plan for it.

When I began recovery for my sugarholism, I realized I could not partake of sweets just because it was a birthday, or a holiday.  I had to break those habits.  It was a little tricky trying to figure out what to put in my Christmas stocking that first year.  (I chose nuts and dried fruit.)

However, "old habits die hard," as the saying goes, so there are still times I find myself caught up in habitual eating triggers... like the urge to eat while watching television; wanting snacks while driving; and fighting the urge to graze when I'm tired, upset, or bored.

And I fall into traditional eating too... I want a corn dog at a fair; corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's day; hamburgers (and hot dogs) at a picnic; I want to gorge at Thanksgiving; and love party mix with sparking cider for New Year's Eve.

What habits or traditions (involving food) do you deal with?

DAY 239 -- I'll take that as a compliment!

Last night when I attended the "schmooze" for local filmmakers, I met a man who produces short films. He said he is starting a project dealing with obesity, but the film is actually about being honest with ourselves.  As he talked about the film, he mentioned having a hard time finding overweight actors to cast. I asked him if I could audition, but he responded that I am not heavy enough.

YAY for me!  I'll take that as a compliment!

This morning I sent him an email and explained that I used to be obese and know all too well the mindset of compulsive overeating.  I asked if I could help on the project (work on the set, or consult), but I haven't heard back yet.  I would love to read the script and see if it gives a realistic, accurate, feel to food addiction.

AND... for the record... I did fine last night with attending two social functions.  Posting about the dilemma beforehand helped me, since I felt like I needed to report back on my success.  Thanks!

DAY 238 -- Social functions.

Wish me luck.  I have two social functions to attend tonight -- a company picnic (for my husband's work) -- and a social gathering (with appetizers) for local filmmakers.  

"I will not overeat."
"I will not overeat."
"I will not overeat."

DAY 237 -- Waste not?

I don't like to waste food.  Just ask my husband.  I cringe when I see too much "meat" of the fruit left on the rind.  I use a spatula to scrape a container as I empty it, to get every drop.  As I mentioned in an earlier post (Last Bites Mulligan Stew), I even save the last bites of my meal when I get full.

However, when it comes to tasteless or awful tasting foods, I usually have no problem tossing. For instance, last weekend I purchased a watermelon from a local grocery store, not the market we normally frequent.  I followed my method of selecting the melon that always works for me... looking for a large yellow bottom indicating its time on the ground to ripen, and thumping for hollowness.  But, in spite of my efforts, the melon was tasteless.  Even salt did nothing to enhance the flavor.  It was very juicy, and real red, but flavor?  None.

So yesterday we bought a watermelon from Sunflower Market and when we got home, we tossed the other melon into the garbage.  I hope I don't end up in "the bad place" for wasting yucky food.  (Too bad we don't have a garden...we could have used it for compost.)

I did feel a bit bad about the money wasted on the tasteless melon, but I didn't feel like eating something I didn't enjoy.  When eating healthy, and eating only when hungry and stopping when full, who wants to use that precious meal for something that does not satisfy?  Not me.

DAY 236 -- "The kitty loves the fishy!"

We went to Sunflower market today, and since my husband's favorite fish--swordfish--was on sale, we purchased some and I fixed it for supper.  I've tasted swordfish a few times (usually small bites, at a seafood restaurant) and although it tasted "okay," it was not tasty enough for me to want a serving of it.  So, usually when I've purchased swordfish for him, I've gotten another fish for myself (like Ahi Tuna).  Today, we purchased only the swordfish and I decided to be brave.


Well, think of Madagascar when they fed Alex the Lion some fish and he loved it!  Skipper the Penguin announced, "The kitty loves the fishy."  That was me when I ate the swordfish tonight. Apparently I make it even tastier than the restaurant.  No wonder Kurt is always thrilled when I make it for him.


Here's how I prepared it... I placed it on the broiler pan and brushed it with equal parts melted butter mixed with lemon juice (for a real large swordfish steak, I use about 2 TBS butter and 2 TBS lemon juice).  I brushed the top side with the butter mixture, then sprinkled it with lemon-pepper and sea salt then broiled it for 6-7 minutes (if extra thick, then 10 minutes).  Then I turned it over and brushed it with the remaining butter/lemon mix, and sprinkled again with lemon-pepper and salt, then broiled it for another 6-7 minutes (or 10 if extra thick.)


I took one bite and went, "Mmmmm  mmm mmm."  And Kurt announced, "The kitty loves the fishy!"

DAY 235 -- Making a menu plan.

I am a list person.  I have to-do lists, master packing lists, birthday lists, wish lists, and even a bucket list (although I prefer to call it a life goals list).  So when I make my grocery list, I usually start with a list of meals I plan to make for the week, or a menu plan.

I've been a menu planner for years, but recently I read that planning menus was an inefficient way to cook because if you have a set plan, you have to buy certain ingredients which might cause a trip to more than one grocery store trying to find said items, or it might cause added expense to the grocery budget when the needed items are not on sale.  The article claimed that it was best to go to the pantry, see what was on hand, and make something with those ingredients.

Like a silly head, I bought into that theory and gave it a try... for a few weeks... then went back to my tried and true method.

I re-learned something about myself: when it's meal time, if I don't have a plan and go rummaging around in the cupboards, I can never figure out what sounds good and end up wasting so much time trying to decide what to cook that I get overly hungry which leads to snacking while I continue to forage for a meal and eventually just ask my husband to bring something home after work.  Definitely not efficient or cost saving!

Maybe I need to start another list titled: What Was I Thinking?

DAY 234 -- Hot day, hot meal.

Okay, my outside thermometer in the shade reads nearly 100 degrees, but my cell phone tells me it is only 92.  So what to fix for supper?  Chili.  Yep.  Chili.

Call me nutsy, but here's the conversation I had with myself:

I need to use these fresh tomatoes, they're about to go bad.
Why don't you make chili?
Chili?  Are you nuts?  We don't eat chili in the summer!
Why?
Because it's too hot!
Well, you eat other hot meals in the summer.
Yeah, temperature hot, but chili is spicy hot.
You had spicy Mongolian BBQ the other night and didn't complain that it was summer outside.
True.  
Let's have chili.
Okay.

And that's how I came to the decision to make "Busy Mom Chili" which uses canned kidney beans so I didn't need to heat up the house with a pot of beans cooking all day.  (I try to use natural or fresh products with My Healthy Eating Challenge, but when I use canned beans, for instance, I use organic with no added sugars.)  (Have you ever noticed that typical canned kidney beans have corn syrup added?)

Plus I used my fresh organic tomatoes instead of the canned diced tomatoes the recipe called for.

So laugh at me if you will, but "we" (me, myself, and I) had a hot bowl of chili for supper tonight, and my husband (who is working late) can listen to his own voices in his head to determine whether he takes leftover chili in his lunch tomorrow.

(Click here for the recipe.)

DAY 233 -- Yikes!

Yikes!  I forgot to post a blog entry yesterday!  Chalk it up to one very busy week and one very forgetful woman.

DAY 232 -- Binge Blues

Today was my husband's birthday, and in our family the birthday person selects the restaurant where the family goes to eat.  He chose a Mongolian BBQ restaurant.

I love Mongolian BBQ but had not been to one in years.  Then in July, I went to one in the Boise area and did pretty good as far as controlling my portions and appetite.  But tonight... fail.

The bowls provided for selecting the vegetables, rice, and noodles, were not very big (it seemed) but after they stir fried the items and brought it to the table, it arrived on a large plate and appeared to be double in size.  Gulp.  Yet that didn't stop me from eating two plates full of the delicious food.

Once again I have to shake it off and tell myself: tomorrow is a new day.

DAY 231 -- Runny nose mystery.

My nose seems to run during almost every meal.  This has been a problem for years.  I have to keep tissue with me, or nearby.  It doesn't matter what I'm eating, whether hot or cold, bland or spicy. I used to think maybe the act of chewing loosened my sinuses, but last summer when I stayed in Italy for 5 weeks, my nose stopped running.  It was wonderful!

I thought when I began My Healthy Eating Challenge, (eating mostly fresh and natural foods similar to the way I ate in Italy), that my nose would stop dripping, but that hasn't been the case.  It's a mystery to me.

DAY 230 -- Organic foods.

I try to buy organic as much as possible.  By shopping sales, I find organic produce for less than regular produce -- or at least the same price.

Along with my shopping list, I carry a list of items the "experts" suggest should be a priority in getting organic.

Apples
Bell peppers
Celery
Cherries
Imported grapes
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red Raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries 

So, if the market does not have organic, say, watermelon, but they do have regular ones on sale, then I don't feel too badly about purchasing it.

(The organic priority list varies from website to website, but this is the particular list I keep with me.)

DAY 229 -- Pleasant summertime salad.

With my mind on delicious cantaloupe, I decided to share a recipe for Tuna-Cantaloupe Salad from Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1986).  It's such a refreshing salad, especially on a warm day when you want a cool meal.

1 package (6 ounces) frozen Chinese pea pods
2 cans (6 1/2 ounces each) tuna, drained
3 cups cooked rice
1/3 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 teaspoon instant chicken bouillon
1/4 teaspoon round ginger
3 small cantaloupes
1/3 cup cashew nuts or salted peanuts, coarsely chopped

Rinse frozen pea pods under running cold water to separate; drain.  Mix pea pods, tuna, rice, mayonnaise, bouillon (dry) and ginger.  Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Cut cantaloupes crosswise into halves; scoop out seeds.  (For decorative edge on shells, cut a saw-toothed or scalloped design.)  Cut thin slice from bottom of each half to prevent tipping if necessary.  Spoon about 1 cup tuna mixture into each half; sprinkle with cashew nuts.

6 servings; 465 calories per serving.  (I don't count calories, but I included that information for those who might be interested.)

DAY 228 -- The last melon.

Sunflower market had organic cantaloupes on sale this week.  We went there, only to discover they were sold out.  I asked for a rain check on the melons at the register, and the cashier reached under her work area and pulled out a cantaloupe. Apparently someone picked up an organic one by mistake, and didn't want it when checking out.


At first I was tempted to turn up my nose to the melon she handed me.  It was kind of bumpy with some soft spots, and had I been selecting a melon from the produce section, I would not have selected that one.  I might have considered it a reject.  But, hey, it was the laaaaaast melon (think Ice Age), so I bought it.


SO GLAD!!  What a yummy cantaloupe! Probably the best one we've had this summer.  Just goes to show you cannot judge a melon by it's cover.

DAY 227 -- Pulled muscle, followed by Zumba.

Last week I pulled a muscle while doing the stairs for exercise.  Seems so stupid.  I do stairs every day.  I live in a third floor condo with no elevator.  I carry groceries up the flights of stairs to our unit.  Inside, our unit  has yet another level, with the master bedroom upstairs. Stairs, stairs, everywhere, and I walk them every day.  But last week I decided to do stair walking/running for exercise.  I alternated between going up one step at a time (normal), then going up two at a time (which I do on occasion), and then running up (which I also do often.) None of those actions are unusual for me.  Yet... I still pulled a muscle.  Go figure.

In spite of the injury, I went to a Zumba class tonight for the first time.  My daughter goes regularly and told me how much she enjoys it.  She invited me to join her, and since I've been curious about Zumba, I agreed to go.

I had so much fun!  I loved it!  Hopefully my daughter does not regret taking me.  With all the shimmying, gyrating, thrusting, it seemed like moves no daughter should witness her mother doing.  She might need therapy now.  

I'm excited about the new-to-me exercise and hope I can find a class closer to home. Tomorrow I will probably pay the price for overdoing it with my pulled muscle, but for tonight I feel exhilarated...and doped up on Ibuprofen.

DAY 226 -- Italian Herb Bread

I tried a new bread recipe in the bread machine today.  Italian Herb Bread.  I got the recipe from the owner's manual for the Oster machine.  The aroma drifted throughout the house for nearly 4 hours!!  Torture.  But oh so delicious.  I posted the recipe on my recipe page.

A bonus for using the bread machine: it doesn't heat up the house like an oven does.  Too bad it can't make muffins!

DAY 225 -- Holding strong.

Tonight as we prepared to get a few groceries I admitted to Kurt that I was craving dry roasted peanuts.  He admitted that he was craving Ruffles potato chips.  But we both held strong.  We went to the store and got only the items on the list.  Whew!

I'm thankful my husband is with me on this endeavor... it would be so easy to succumb to temptations if he was buying and eating junk food.

In real life, his head is in proportion to his body!

DAY 224 -- Tasting...1, 2, 3...

Tonight I prepared something that I don't have a recipe for, which means I had to do a lot of "taste-testing" to get the flavor the way we like it.  Tasting once.  Then tasting again.  And again. By the time I had the right taste, I was half way full!

How do chefs do that without gaining 500 pounds?

DAY 223 -- Kale, another leafy green.

When I make tossed salads, I like to mix 2-3 leafy greens, such as leafy green lettuce, romaine lettuce, and spinach.  Upon the recommendation of my niece (the health guru I've mentioned in previous posts), now I've started adding kale to my salads.  

Image from Wikipedia Commons

Kale has a bit of a strong flavor, so at first (after cutting away the hard spine) I tore the leaf  and put it in my herb mill, chopping the kale up real fine, and sprinkling it over the salad like an herb.  But now I have moved on to just cutting it up small before adding it.  I put about 1/3 of a large leaf in one serving of salad.  


Curious about the new salad addition, I looked it up on Wikipedia and learned that kale belongs to the cabbage family, and that it is considered "the most nutritious vegetable in the world."  It has "extremely powerful antioxidant" and "potent anti-cancer" properties.  (To learn more, click here.)


Wow!  Good stuff!  I will continue to use it, maybe even more abundantly on my salads.  (I also learned that it tastes sweeter after freezing, so I might try that.) 


So here's to adding kale for good health!  Or, to play on some puns, how about, "It's good for what kales ya." Or... "What doesn't kale us makes us stronger."  


Okay, I'm done.

DAY 222 -- Dressed for success.

(Felt like the title should read "Room 222" -- remember that television series?  I know...I'm dating myself.)

My husband and I have season tickets at a live performance theater in Salt Lake City.  Because of the location, and the time my husband gets off work, he does not have time to come home between work and the show, so I meet him there, and we go to dinner at a restaurant near the theater.

Since I struggled with eating in restaurants while traveling, I was determined to take control of my eating in this situation.  I had a plan.  First, we decided earlier in the day which restaurant we wanted.  Then I decided what I wanted to eat before going. Next, I asked the waitress to bring a to-go box from the get go, so I could put half the meal away before I even started eating.  (And brought a cooler with ice to put the leftovers in.)

All of those factors helped immensely.  But... I also dressed for success.  I wore a pair of slacks that for three years were too small for me.  I was so excited when I tried those pants on a few weeks ago and realized they fit again!  They fit just right.  They are not too tight, and not too baggy.  To complete the outfit, I wore a form fitting top.  The reason I tell you all this? Because the outfit gave me the added incentive to eat carefully.  I felt thin and I wanted to eat thin.  There was no way I wanted to feel bloated since any stomach bulge would have distracted from my clothes fitting nicely!

Hey.  We need every tool we can use at times, right?  The way I dressed help me have success.

DAY 221 -- Comments, and an observation.

First of all, I want to thank those who leave comments on my posts.  I'm grateful for your insights and encouragement!  I usually respond to the comments but I have no way to let you know that I did (and if someone knows how to make that happen on Blogger, please let me know) so I hope you check back on posts where you left comments to read my responses.


Now... I want to share another observation made during our trip... remember what I've mentioned before, about my being a reading pig (click here)?  Well, we made a discovery...


When we travel, I love to drive and my husband loves to read.  He brought his Kindle along and sometimes he read aloud to me while I drove.   At first he read non-fiction stuff, but then he started reading a novel aloud.  


The following day, he pointed out that he had expected me to beg to finish the book that evening after we checked into our hotel.  He wondered, "Why is it when you are physically reading a book you have to keep reading until you finish the story... yet when you were read to, you didn't feel compelled to complete the book?"


It was astonishing to me.  I hadn't given it a second thought!  He figured maybe I wasn't really interested in the story, but I assured him I was thoroughly enjoying it and that I wanted him to continue reading the book to me.  The same thing happened after each day of his reading fiction to me... I was able to go to bed and sleep without feeling compelled to finish the story.


Apparently I am only a reading pig when I am the one reading, not when someone reads for me.  So it stands to reason... if I want to stop being an eating pig, I need someone to eat for me.  ;-)

DAY 220 -- Overeating while traveling.

My husband was supposed to go on a fishing/hiking trip this past week, but it got canceled. In its place, we decided to do a last minute road trip, and traveled around for five days, spending four nights in hotels (a different hotel and different town each night). During this journey, I discovered yet another trap I need to deal with when trying to eat healthy.  Usually my concern is whether healthy choices will be offered where I am staying (with friends, or with family) but on this road trip, eating out and staying in hotels, my overeating was a far greater problem.

When dining at local restaurants at home, it is easier for me to quit eating when I am full, for a couple reasons: 1) I can take the leftovers home to enjoy later, and 2) I can return to that restaurant another time and order my favorite entree.  But restaurant dining was more difficult to handle during this trip.  Taking leftovers with me was not an option since we only had a small cooler, plus when passing through a town for maybe the one and only time, I couldn't tell myself I would return there and eat again.

Maybe part of the problem was that we were determined to dine at non-franchised eateries unique to the towns we visited.  A delicious choice, by the way, but it fed the inner desire to overeat!  "I better eat all this deliciousness now while I have the chance... it's not something I can order at home... who knows if I will pass this way again."  

Perhaps I could avoid the problem by eating at the typical places we see in nearly every town, but that sounds so boring!   I need a plan of attack to keep from overeating at non-franchised restaurants when traveling.

DAY 219 -- Road weary.

I just returned from a long road trip.  My brains are mush, and I feel like I'm walking around in a state of zombie-ness.  During our trip, I learned some things concerning my eating habits, which I want to share... later... when my mind can focus better.

Now I'm dragging my carcass off to bed.

DAY 218 -- A healthy dose of vitamin B-12??

This morning my husband (a health-care provider) saw a commercial for Splenda with vitamin B-12. They advertised that since coffee has no vitamins, Splenda can help make breakfast healthier by adding vitamin B-12 to your morning cup of Joe.  He was exercising on a stationary bike when he saw the commercial, and told me it was a good thing he didn't have water in his mouth at the time, or he would have spewed. I wish you could have seen him trying to describe the commercial while we ate breakfast.  He laughed so hard, "Let's forget that Splenda is a carcinogenic (cancer causing), and that coffee is not healthy, let's add a leeeeetle bit of vitamin B-12, and now you have a healthier breakfast!"

We are certainly not perfect in eating healthy.  There are some health gurus who would look at what my husband and I consider healthy foods and shake their heads, but Splenda with B-12 seemed insane... and insanely funny to him, and the way he described it gave me a healthy belly laugh.

DAY 217 -- Water

I remember watching a Star Trek episode where an alien referred to humans as "ugly bags of mostly water." I beg to differ Mr. Alien ...  humans are beautiful bags of mostly water!

As a "bag" of water, I need the clear refreshing liquid inside and out.  Water is vital for a healthy diet, so I strive to drink plenty, but I also need water for my mental health.

You might recall an earlier post titled "The Think Tank."  (click here)  Soaking in a tub of water helps me think, sort things out, get ideas.

When traveling, nothing seems to refresh my road weary self as much as checking into a hotel with a swim pool, hot tub, a shower with stinging water pressure...and a tub with a slanted back.  Any, or all, of those water sources revive me.

Large bodies of water are almost a requirement when I vacation.  A beach.  A lake.  A river.


Yep, water is the elixir of life.  I want it near me as well as in me.

So call me a bag of mostly water, Mr. Alien, but don't call me ugly.

DAY 216 -- The Candy Drawer

In my dad's pickup, there was a special drawer.  Some people might call it an "ashtray" but my dad called it his "candy drawer," and used it to hold assorted candies.  I'm not sure, financially, how he could afford to keep it stocked since all of us kids, and all of our friends, raided it whenever we had a chance.

In later years, dad bought mom a china cabinet.  It didn't take long for one of the drawers to become the "candy drawer" where he stashed miniature chocolate bars, and leftover holiday candies.  Of course, all of the grandkids knew about the special drawer and looked forward to the treasures it contained.

I inherited the china cabinet during my "sugar daze" and promised the grandchildren (my nieces and nephews) that I would continue the tradition with the candy drawer and keep it stocked so that any time they visited me, they could find a treat.  

A year after inheriting the cabinet, I gave up sweets.  I tried to keep candy in there, but it turned bad after a while.  Chocolate bars turned white, lollipops turned sticky.  If I knew company was coming, I quickly placed fresh candy in the drawer, but unexpected company usually found mints.  

Now I have my own grandchildren, and when they arrive at our house, they beeline for the candy drawer. They are too young to understand there should be "candy" in there, thankfully, so they are not disappointed when they find little boxes of raisins, or 100% fruit leather.  However, I'm still a grandma with a soft spot and I rotate other treats in there too, like individually packaged animal crackers, teddy grahams, and Lorna Doone cookies.  

Sometimes I feel guilty, like I'm living a double standard.  I don't eat sugar, but I give it to the grandkids, and I wonder if I'm feeding future sugar addicts.  

But a promise is a promise and I feel bound to keep it.  As long as I am living, the drawer my dad used for stashing chocolate bars will remain dedicated for treats, and when the china cabinet passes to the next generation, it will come with instructions to continue the tradition and history of the "candy drawer."

DAY 215 -- So true.

I came across this quote and realized it is so true.

Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us.  ~Peter De Vries

DAY 214 -- Reflecting on poem.

I put a copy of the poem "Growth" on my fridge (see previous post) and as I've read it daily, I've reflected on the phrase, "time is wasted by being fat, my aliveness is wasted and I don't want that."  As I pondered on the poem, I realized that particular phrase can be misleading.  Thinness is not the goal for me.  Rather, I am seeking good health and fitness.  Sure, if I end up thin in the long run that would be fantastic and I certainly would not turn my nose up to it!  BUT, it is not necessarily fat that causes a person to be less alive or to waste time.  For me, eating the wrong foods, or too much food, does that.  Eating processed foods turn me into a slug, as does overeating.


So, I have the poem on my fridge to remind me that I can leave food. I don't need to eat it all. It's wasted if I eat it (beyond full) because I feel lousy and sluggish afterwards.


It's about health, not svelte.

DAY 213 -- Exercise, and a bread making question.

This morning I realized I was way behind on entering my exercises on the "exercise" page.  It's a good thing I am consistent with logging my workouts on The President's Challenge.  By referring to my activities log on that website, I got my exercise page for the blog up-to-date.  Whew.  Glad I didn't have to rely on memory!


Anyone out there experienced with making raisin bread in a bread machine?  Yesterday I made a loaf of raisin bread and the raisins did not mix in properly. I used the bread machine, and followed the directions for adding raisins, and even though I added them at the stage indicated, and even though I added only a few at a time, the loaf still turned out with the raisins mainly in the lower half of the loaf.  I was excited to use the recipe since it had very little sugar (just 3 tablespoons for the 2 lb. loaf), and the flavor of the bread is just right for me, but I don't know how to make the raisins distribute more evenly throughout the loaf the next time.  Any suggestions?