Gma’sPhoto | ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #24

March 22, 2024 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Gma’sPhoto | ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #24

Hi, welcome to Gma’sPhoto ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #24!

Gma’sPhoto ge•ner•ic Party spotlight is on:

Walking Around St. George | Adventures in Weseland
Shout out- Patrick’s post was the highest visited from last week’s ge•ner•ic Linkup Party. Congratulations, Patrick!

A Love Letter From God | Sweet Tea & Friends

This Party’s Theme is Generic.

Each Friday a new ge•ner•ic Linkup Party will open and end the following Thursday. Link up any family friendly post, health, diy, recipes, home decor, parenting, wordless, crafts, sewing, you get the idea.

Important things to know:

-You may add up to three family friendly blog post links, linked to specific blog posts.
-Please say hi & add your link post number when commenting below.
-Those leaving post entry numbers are eligible to be featured at the next party!
-Be sure to visit other links and leave a kind comment for each link you post.
-Party opens Friday and ends Thursday.
-Thank you for participating. Have fun!

By linking to Gma’sPhoto Party LinkUp, you give permission to share your post and images on Gma’sPhoto blog and social media. Proper credit with a photo and link back will be provided.

Let’s begin the fun at Gma’sPhoto ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #24!

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Calves Part 2

March 17, 2024 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Calves Part 2 | My Sunday Snapshot

Hi, welcome to My Sunday Snapshot #5!

A couple weeks ago I visited the calves for the first time since they were weened from their momma. They would not let me get close to them. This visit was much different. I had to be quiet and move slow. Just standing at the gate, I held out my hand. The little brown calve came right up to me and licked my hand!

Then this bigger calve (much bigger) gained interest. He was at the back of the group and made his way to the front. I was a bit frightened. These cows can get big. And these calves are fed well to gain weight.

Once I was able to calm my inner feelings, I held out my hand to the big guy. Slowly he approached.

Have a wonderful week!

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Pictures can produce so many different emotions and feelings. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words! Share your fun and interesting image from the past week.

Calves Part 2 | My Sunday Snapshot 5

March | What to Wear

March 6, 2024 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

March | What to Wear

What to Wear will feature different palettes providing ideas when you plan the wardrobe for individual pictures or your family images during the holiday gatherings.

March | What to Wear features ideas for all family members: mom; dad; big brother; big sister and little brother and little sister. Have fun preparing your stylish look for family pictures!

It is not necessary to purchase new clothing for better images. When planning the wardrobe, do wash and dry the clothing. Immediately after drying, hang the clothes on a hanger. Or iron, if you like. The main goal is wrinkle free clothing.

Shoes do not need to be new either. New shoe laces is an inexpensive purchase to spruce up the look. Polishing leather or washing canvas shoes is another solution to brighten their appearance.

Have the socks match either the pants or shoes. This is important for anyone who may be sitting or squatting in the group. Imagine if the pants are navy blue, shoes white and you see bright green socks. Very distracting. Your eyes will go straight to the green socks and not the person’s face! However, if the socks were either white (matching shoes) or navy blue (matching pants), your eyes will flow over the person and land on the face/eyes of the person in the picture.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

January | What to Wear

January 3, 2024 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

January | What to Wear

What to Wear will feature different palettes providing ideas when you plan the wardrobe for individual pictures or your family images during the holiday gatherings.

January | What to Wear features ideas for all family members: mom; dad; big brother; big sister and little brother and little sister. Have fun preparing your stylish look for family pictures!

Shoes do not need to be new either. New shoe laces is an inexpensive purchase to spruce up the look. Polishing leather or washing canvas shoes is another solution to brighten their appearance.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Labor Day…..did you know?

September 4, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Labor Day, did you know?

In fashion, Labor Day is considered the last day when it is acceptable to wear white.

WW Update:
Since Start Date; -6lbs

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

My Journey Update

August 28, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

My Journey Update

Hi, I have been visiting other blogs and see many recipes. Many of those recipes look and sound very delicious, however- I do not cook. My husband and I have different eating schedules. For me this will be a post on what works for me while on the Weight Watchers program.

During the week, I have 30 minutes for lunch break. Now my husband is retired and he is on his own schedule. I require quick and simple. The Healthy Choice dinners are very Weight Watcher (WW) friendly, either 5 or 6 points. Plus, the ones I have tried (see the above collage) are pretty tasty!

I am not limited to eating the frozen dinners. That is what I like most about the WW program. Nothing is off limits. The question is, ‘How do I want to eat my points?’.

What I discovered, is the individual portion sizes. This is perfect and very simple. The portion size has already been measured and points assigned. I have a healthy choice meal with a snack. Several snacks I found are pictured in the collage above. No need to measure or weigh. Fruits and vegetables are free, no point value.

The weekends are the challenge. This is the time my husband and I will eat our meals together. Those times are generally at a restaurant. Which is not easy to calculate point values. The WW app does have a list of the more popular restaurant menus and point values. However, Kevin’s favorite places to eat are the mom and pop locations. I stick with the vegetables, limiting bread. For protein, either egg, chicken, turkey or beans, my go-to’s.

Weight Watchers will acknowledge and reward my milestones. I am working on my 20lb charm! 🙂

I enjoy stopping by my folks house for a visit after my Saturday WW meetings. Being a photographer, taking pictures with my family is important. Especially now that my parents are in their upper 70’s. Side note, I recommend getting family pictures, at minimum, every 5 years. Families with young children, every other year.

Weight Watchers does not pay me to write about their program. Simply, it is working for me. Anyone who has a question about the program, I will gladly share my opinion and what works for me. It is in my opinion, loosing weight in a healthy manner will most definitely make you feel better. And as a person who takes her ‘happy pills’, this is important!

My Journey
Follow Up

WW Update:
Since Start Date; -16lbs

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Feel Real Good

August 21, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Feel Real Good

Hi, have you ever had a day where you just feel real good? Today was such a day for me. Nothing spectacular happened, just several nice things. First was my Weight Watchers meeting. I am truly enjoying this more with each passing week. Meeting new people. Now that I am working from home, I miss the socialization I once had. WW has given me a much needed outlet.

My blog has also been a blessing. While creating mine, I have found new blogging friends. One such friend is Dee with GrammysGrid.com. I say she is a friend because she has been a tremendous resource. She just makes me feel good by making me feel important, always answering any questions I may have about my website, software and such. Not to mention her prompt replies to the comments I add to her posts, that in itself makes me feel important.

As I have mentioned in prior posts, I had taken many senior portraits, family session, engagement pictures and weddings for 20 some years. I have since slowed down, only doing an occasional shoot here and there. This weekend was one of those here and there’s.

What lead up to this weekend was when I was on Facebook and saw a high school friend had just gotten engaged to another high school friend (Cris and Todd). Well, one of my 101 in 1001 goals (#99) is to be a wedding crasher. No bashfulness, I asked them when and where they were getting married. Does inviting yourself count as a wedding crasher? 🙂 I was flattered when they asked me if I would take their wedding pictures. Of course I said yes! We took a few engagement pictures this weekend.

Then I met my son, we filled his medicine pillbox, had lunch and then did grocery shopping. Our usual Saturday stuff. Always have a nice time with him. Then I drove home. As I was getting close to home, I had to pull the car over and take this picture.

feel real good home — “Home is not a place….it’s a feeling.”

Standing on the gravel road, looking at my husband’s and my home, I felt good. Still do when I look at this picture. My whole day was a feel good day. Driving down the road and seeing this, just made my day even better.

I have so much to be grateful for, and by the Grace of God, I can enjoy this for many more years with my husband. Amen!

May you enjoy a feel good day!

WW Update:
Since Start Date; -14lbs

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

My Journey

June 27, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

My Journey

Hi, I am just beginning to comprehend my weight loss will be a journey, a long journey. I never really thought about Weight Watchers. As I mentioned in the previous post it was a friend who returned to the program and that is what prompted me to join. Saturday I went to my meeting. The meetings are for support. And I have come to understand I need this support.

The first person I met at my meetings is sitting behind me in the bottom right picture, Patty. She has lost 85 pounds since she began the program. That was a year ago. At these meetings I was advised that during my journey I will loose some weight and there will be times I will gain. This past Saturday was a week I gained 1.4lbs. My all time weight tally to date, -3lbs.

my journey

Knowing my personality, this will need to be kept real simple. Measuring out my foods is not simple. I have been giving this some thought. Rather lots of thoughts. Here are a few ways I found to help me with measuring.

measuring

The jars are 8oz. I will be using this jar for all drinks, water will be the exception. Simple to measure, if only 4oz I can eyeball that pretty close! The clear cups are 2oz. This will be for food items like salad dressings and cheese. I am sure I will be able to use with other foods as well. When I order my deli meat, once sliced I request the clerk to show me how many slices is 4oz.

I was discouraged to say the least with my gain. With the encouragements from fellow members, I will continue to track my food, stay within my points. My journey is a work in progress.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Looking My Best

June 19, 2023 by GmasPhoto Leave a comment

Looking My Best

Hi, I took the plunge and joined Weight Watchers. For the past year I have tried cutting back on calories and walking. Not much success. A friend, Linda, returned to the program. She had fabulous results and then waivered from the program. It was during one of our virtual walks she had mentioned her return.

Saturday I went to my first meeting and signed up with Weight Watchers. With Linda doing the program and our virtual walking, I feel like I have the needed support and accountability to be successful. I do want to mention that I am not being compensated, endorsed for this post. I am merely explaining what I am trying to do to meet a few of my 101 in 1001 goals, #’s 66, 68 and 69.

Counting calories wasn’t working. One day using the tracking method with weight watchers I discovered is more convenient. The Weight Watchers app is very user friendly. The foods I thought I was eating that were ‘good’ was not. For example, I would eat yogurt with granola for breakfast (and still be hungry) for a calorie count of 300. On a 2000 calorie diet this isn’t bad. But that’s 8 points with Weight Watchers. My daily point count is 29. Even with tracking calories, the point method brings more light on weight loss. Most of what I was eating were high points. As long as I can stick with my daily points, I should see 1-2 pounds loss each week.

One thing I will need to do more of, drink water. I do not like the taste of water. Kind of funny, does water have a taste? 🙂
I do have a plan to conquer my dislike of water taste. flavor water

After my first Weight Watcher’s meeting, I did my grocery shopping. Kevin went with me and he did not complain about the time it was taking me to scan each item I placed into the cart. And I did, scan each item. Quite a few items I used to get, I had to choose an alternative. I expressed my concerns about the water with Kevin. We went to the water isle and it was here that Kevin pointed out the flavors. Some of the guys Kevin works with uses flavors in their water. I thought I’d give it a try. Water is 0 points and the flavor is 0 too! I selected the berry flavor this time.

One of my main concerns is how my diet for Crohn’s will work within my 29 daily points. I remember telling my doctor I could not be diabetic. All I can eat is potatoes, pasta and meat! I’ll give an update on what I discover for meals that work for me.

I’m embarrassed with my current weight. So I will not share. But, what I will share is my weight progress with you here. Another accountability measure to help keep me on track.

Take Care. Best wishes, Debra

Author: GmasPhoto

Gma’sPhoto | ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #24

Gma’sPhoto | ge•ner•ic Linkup Party #24