What's new and different ....

I've had some changes, some planned, others just have happened. And it is all good.

My diet has changed, not as a purposeful thing, but I've been trying to respond to my body's signals. As a result, my diet is what I'm calling "near vegetarian." I wasn't intending to eliminate or even reduce meat intake, but I've just been craving veggies and fruits. As a result, I'm eating probably just six to eight ounces of meat in a week. I am eating cheeses and drinking soy and other sources of protein. I'm feeling very well.

I've also been eating "Breakfast Cookies" every morning. the recipe was on FB, and it sounded good, so I made a batch, added my own touches, and I'm really enjoying them. No sugar is added to the oats, dried fruits, nuts, applesauce, etc., and it makes for a nice start of the day. I hate fixing breakfast during the week, because it is so much trouble to cook and clean up before I leave, so these are a godsend. I don't eat cereal. I'm hungry an hour after eating it. This change seems to be a good thing. I feel really good, and this morning, I got on the scales, something I rarely do, and discovered I've lost a few pounds. Since I don't weigh often, I'm not sure how much but it is somewhere between five and eight pounds.  I'll take it!

Second change is a thoughtful, planned one. I have turned off my satellite TV. That might not sound like a big deal, but we get zero reception in these mountains, so it means I'm without TV now. I thought I was going to miss it, but I'm not, at all! I bought a Roku, so I have access to a lot of entertainment with that. I will later get access to streamed TV shows at a very small cost, so I can watch the five or six shows I actually like, but for now, I'm OK with movie channels and music, all free. I spend a lot of time listening to music on my iPod through the sound system or via Pandora. I haven't tried the other music stations in Roku just yet, but I will soon.

This all came about when I realized that I had the TV on a lot without really watching it. It was just a "filler" for the stillness of living alone. Then I made a list of what I actually watch, and I was startled at how few I have a real interest in. With Roku I can watch those few, waiting 24 hours after they are aired. Heck, half the time I record things and watch them later, anyway, so this is a great solution, I believe. I'm saving a bundle!

One of my worries about shutting off the dish was getting weather information, but I get that from the internet. The "local" stations are out of Albuquerque, three hours away, and their weather is often much different than ours. We are such a small, somewhat isolated community that the details given from those stations was usually less than five to ten seconds in length. No, I'm not kidding. If I hadn't had the DVR to back up and see it again, I would have missed it most of the time. And the content of that few seconds was very poor, not giving us much to go on, even to know how to dress the next day. I haven't watched those sources for more than a year!

Isn't it interesting how we get into habits, eating, TV, whatever, and we don't even think about changing until something jumps up in our faces and says, "Hey you!"

I talked with friends today and learned that several of them have made the move to Roku, too. And all had the same basic story .... got into the habit of whatever was on TV without much thought. And they all agreed that they are interested in just five or six programs. Man, we humans can be sold lots of "stuff," can't we? I had access to  something over 200 channels, but actually attended to less than 5 hours a week!  Crazy! I've had the attitude for a long time that I had to have the full range of programs, in part so guests would be able to have choices. Guess what? My guests have almost never watched TV in my house, but I continued to pay for it! Whew! Nice change!

Soooo .... is there anything new in your life?