Easter Sunday

 

Easter - a hope of things to come, of new beginnings, of hope for an eternal future.

Thank you God, for loving me and this day that changes my life every day.

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The Good Stuff From This Day:  Easter with the family

Saturday At The Mall

First, m'lady must have her requested ride - and only the double-decker would do.

The payoff - 50 cents upon return of the fire truck!!

Somewhere in between, we shopped at the Disney Store, played on the playground, mulled over and eventually ate cheese and drank milk at the food court, and Moo managed to locate the missing sunglasses that might have caused an international incident on the car ride home.

Needles to say, everyone needed a nap this afternoon!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Mall time with Molly and Lindley; Everley time; Mathieu bringing baked goodies from Farmer's Market; facetime between Lindley and her parents

Forecast for My Weekend

Did I mention Lindley was spending the weekend with me?

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; flight planning with Molly; Mathieu bringing Calypso for dinner; Molly bringing drinks; Steve's safe travel to Dizzle's and easy car repair; Dizzle getting out of hospital

She's At It Again ...

Little Debbie, that is.  She wasn't content to stick with her wretched Christmas tree cakes, but now she is attacking on all fronts.  She's even trying to capitalize on the recent Twinkie tragedy with her cloud cakes.  Has that little witch no shame?

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The Good Stuff From Today:  safe travel home for Steve, Maribeth, Mathieu, and Everley; good reports from GDiz and Ms. Wilson

We're All Equal When It Comes To Love

As usual, fb is all atwitter over the symbol to your left.  Like the election, some people have a definite opinion to this symbol that supports marriage rights to all (okay, so maybe there's more to it, but I like things simple).  And yes, I support marriage rights between two consenting adults, no matter their gender.

When I got married eighty bazillion years ago, I was underage (a few days away from being 20 - in other words, 19) as was my future husband.  Our parents had to sign for us to get married (this was in Mississippi, which contrary to popular belief, does care if you're a young-un' or planning to marry your sister/brother).  Anyhow, even though I was a college graduate, my husband was a Co-Op college student, and we were in no way related, we still needed permission to get married (which we were granted by our fathers - our mothers were not as thrilled - and no, we were not in the situation of "having" to get married).  Anyhow, my point is that we were in love and wanted to get married and I cannot imagine our distress had we not been able to do so.

I realize that some people think that same-sex marriage is against God's plan, and will willingly quote chapter and verse from the Bible telling me so.  But there are a great many things that the Bible speaks against, many and most of which are committed daily by heterosexual couples.  So I have to wonder why so many heterosexual couples think they are the only biblical way for couples to get together?  I also wonder, if a same-sex couple did not have sex, would that make it okay for them to be together?  I mean, what exactly is the issue?  Procreation?  Well, talk to a heterosexual couple who can't have children - how does that play in to this whole marriage thing?

I know in the beginning God created Adam and Eve.  But I also know He didn't intend for sin to enter the world.  I also know that God is all about love, as is His son, Jesus.  I know that Jesus said, "Judge not, lest you are judged."  Jesus also said, "Love your neighbor as yourself."  In fact, most of what Jesus said was about love - not judgement of someone else.  And in this season when the ultimate act of love was shown, when Jesus died willingly so that we might live, then shouldn't we all follow His example and just love?

This is probably about as controversial as I will ever get, and no doubt will offend some whom I think of as friends.  But in the end, I do believe that if two people truly love each other and want to be legally responsible for each other and enjoy the same rights that my husband of 35 years and I do, then those couples should be allowed that opportunity. Because in the end, marriage should be about love - the same love that God gives to us every day and hopes that we can give to each other.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Red Lobster lunch with Molly; mailing packages

Many Hours Of TV Watching Later ...

After much hoopla about "Downton Abbey" (and realizing that it was Downton and Downtown), I finally got around to sitting down and watching it.  Since I had seen none of the episodes (although I had read a spoiler for this season's final episode, again to much hoopla), I had to start from the beginning.  The first time I started Season 1 Episode 1, I was busy, so I couldn't get attached and turned it off.  I tried again the next day, and I can say now that after three days and thanks to Comcast, I have now watched every minute of it.  And yes, I am hooked.

I like it because it's well written without any gratuitous anything - violence, sex, drama, yelling, screaming, etc.  Sure, it's got drama, but it's all very subdued (because that's the English way).  There are heroes and villains and birth and death and snobbery and sweetness and rich and poor and failure and success and happiness and sadness and war and peace - but none of the throwing of tables or cursing that seems to be popular these days.

Sure, call me an old fuddy-duddy, but maybe that's why I got hooked.  There was no reason to hide my eyes for any squeamish moments or cover my ears for angry words that I would need to look up in an urban dictionary.  There was just good old family interactions and a chance to live vicariously through the life of a family, wondering if I would be in the upstairs or downstairs (okay, downstairs would be my life).

So when does Season Four start??

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The Good Stuff From Today:  airport run for Steve; safe road trip for Mathieu, Maribeth, and Everley; Udderly Pink ebay items sold and mailed

Yeah, It's Sorta Been That Kind Of Monday ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  getting hooked on "Downton Abbey"; going through my clothes and culling; Everley time

Promise of Things To Come

March is such a lovely month.  There is the promise of budding beauty as new sprouts begin popping out on flowering plants and trees.  Of course, in Nashville one has to hang on to the promise, as the weather here goes from one extreme to the other.  In other words, just about the time you think spring is going to burst forth with flowers flowers everywhere, it turns cold and you get snow flurries.  Like those forecast for tomorrow.

But there will be flowers - you just have to have faith and wait.  Which is a pretty good mantra for everything in life!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Four miles and Bongo breakfast with KB; Sonic and Target with Molly; Charity time; Lindley and Everley time; Chili night at the Doik with the family

Friends Don't Tempt Friends With Fine-Looking Food

It seems that lately that my friends on facebook have been posting pictures of delicious-looking food which also has the recipe attached.  Of course none of the food is from WW, nor do the recipes list how many year's worth of points a single bite may be.  Most of them seem to have a lot of cheese and bread and ingredients that go with cheese and bread.

The one thing that saves me from point-laden danger is the fact that I don't like to (and rarely do) cook new things.  In fact, I don't even bother reading these recipes, because I figure they involve more than five ingredients, which is about three ingredients over my ingredient limit.  So one would think I would be safe from my well-meaning fb friends who tempt me with these savory food pictures.

As usual, one would be wrong.  Because (a) I don't have the pictured food, (b) I don't intend to cook the offending food, and (c) I still want the offending food, I usually go in search of something to placate myself for the food deprivation that I believe I am experiencing.  Tonight I had a Nutty Buddy in place of preparing/consuming Tater Tot Crock Pot Casserole (okay, so maybe it looked better than it might have tasted).  Anyhow, that's what happened.

So in the end I was still influenced by my friends, the pretty-food-pushers.  It's just funny how I am not influenced by those friends posting about exercising and the like!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; Steve's safe travel back home; laundry done and put away; May travel changes complete via Steve; Sam picking up burritos for lunch

Things I Need To Do

Really?  You really thought I would have a list here?  It's pretty easy - think of everything you need to do, and I'm sure it's on (or should be on) my list.  Then make another list of things that you did yesterday, and add it to the first list - I'm sure I haven't done that, either.  Now, you have my list of things to do.

But don't worry - I won't be getting any of it done - mine or yours!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Two therapy miles with KB; Lindley and Everley time; Mathieu picking up dinner from CPK

A Change in the Sidebar

Okay, so listing my daily food intake has not been the success that I had hoped.  For one thing, sometimes by the time I listed what I had eaten for the day, it was time to start listing for the next day.  And I won't even get into the dilemma of posting a day late and trying to figure out which foods I should be listing.  Which leads to the even bigger dilemma of truly listing on some days what I really was eating (I don't know how to list "chocolate chips smothered in peanut butter" - okay so maybe I do, but you expect me to 'fess up about that?).  So, I have taken that off the side of this blog and replaced it with my handy-dandy craft project of my weight loss jugs (as in glass jars).

As you can see, there are very few pebbles in the "inspiration" jar.  But I'll update the picture every Monday, and hope that slowly but surely we'll all see that jar gain as the other jar (and I) lose.  Perhaps that will provide me (and anyone else who needs a bit of jar inspiration) with a little encouragement.

And maybe I can somehow figure the pebble value of all those peanut butter covered chocolate chips ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Visit from Maribeth and Everley; watching "Argo" in bed; completing a project or two; stop at Molly's to see yard clean-up; two miles in the cold 'hood

Happy Spring!

So today was the first day of spring.  It was pretty much a typical spring day in Nashville - started out cool, then warmed up, then cooled down quickly with maybe a snowflake or two - all in the expanse of the daylight hours.

I like spring.  I like the new spurts of growth and the buds and blooms on the plants and trees (even though my sinuses are not as excited).  I like the sunny, cold days.  I like the idea of rebirth after the winter when things are dormant and tucked away.  I especially like the idea that there's still time to get myself in gear before swimsuit season.

I'm glad it's spring, even though I can hardly believe that winter's over.  Time just keeps clipping along at a pace that sometimes seems too quick.  Spring - what a great time to learn to really stop and smell the flowers along the way!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Micaela joining the Udderly Pink team as a medical crew member; Udderly Pink donations; babysitting Everley; Mathieu bring lunch; Molly's trees trimmed; lawn dudes cleaning up flower beds and trimming shrubs; safe travel for Sam, Lindley, and Steve to GDiz's

Hope

Some people I know have had some bad health news lately. One has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is currently recovering from surgery and beginning chemotherapy and radiation.  Another one will be going for tests to see if her leukemia has come back after being in remission.  It's been quite sobering and sad for me as I read their health reports.

But the amazing thing is that even as they ask for prayers, their spirits and words are upbeat and positive.  Each one is thankful to God and is optimistic in her outlook for her future.  It's not that they are not cognizant of their individual prognoses - it's the fact that while they are aware of what's ahead of them, they rest and are confident in the knowledge that God loves them and is in control of all that they will face.  In a world that is scary and uncertain, they can look ahead with hope because of the love of their Creator that surrounds them.

So when I find myself sad and depressed about their plight, I have to stop and consider the source.  I have to think about those at the center of my sadness and realize that if they're looking ahead with hope, then so should I.  I will pray and send good thoughts their way, because they show me truly what life is all about - belief in the love of God who truly only wants the best for His children.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  meeting lawn dudes; progress on Mathieu's garage; babysitting Lindley at her house

Yumminess On A Monday

No, I didn't cook this.  But if you know what it is, and especially if you are going to have the chance to taste this soon (and I'm not naming names), maybe this will get you through whatever Monday you might be having.

Oh, and it's especially for my blog-friend Denise, who is having a birthday today!  One day, Denise, we're going to enjoy this together, at the same time, in the same you-know-where place!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  rainy Monday to get things accomplished; successful Udderly Pink ebay sales; Steve arranging travel from airport to port and back for April trip with Lucy and Marilyn

What I Did On March 17

I wore a green headband.  It was the only green thing I have in my already limited wardrobe.

I made green macaroni and cheese.  The green came from spinach put in the blender with the milk, and broccoli and peas mixed in with the macaroni.  It wasn't my finest hour, but it was green.  Next year I'm going with green icing on a cake.

I looked up St. Patrick on Wikipedia.  It seemed the St. Patrick-y thing to do.

Oh, and I found my leprechaun name.    It's Warty McMuffin.  And a Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Walking with KB to Jackson's for brunch with Molly; Lindley and Everley time; dinner with most of the family

Scenes From Saturday Morning ...

 Yeah, we did 3.1 miles today.  We wogged around the Opryland Hotel.  Never mind how long it took us or how it was a really effective wake-up call that we are not working out as we should.  Yeah, we are #73 and #74.  Never mind what number we were at the finish.  We did our miles and got new toothbrushes at the finish!!  And perhaps a resolve to get our butts out the door on a more regular basis ...

My proofreader.  Sometimes she's better than other times.  Judging by her ears, she is not too enthusiastic about what she sees on the screen.  Shocker - most of the time she's not too enthusiastic about anything except eating, sleeping, and clawing the sides of my new couch ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  5K and Cracker Barrel with KB; beautiful spring day

A Tale of Two Kathys

Today must be Kathy Happy Day.  Otherwise why would I have been blessed with two packages in one day?  Let me explain ...

Once upon a time, I grew up in a small town in Mississippi.  Our family went to the First Baptist Church, which is where I first met Kathy A.  She was older than I, and one of those older church girls that your mother wanted you to be.  At least mine did.  Kathy A was beautiful, kind, sweet, sang like an angel, and played the piano like nobody's business.  In my eyes, and pretty much everybody else's, she was the ideal.  Our real relationship came into play when I was in high school.  I had taken piano lessons since I was in the third grade from Mrs. P, a kindly old lady of about 107 (or so it seemed to me).  To put it kindly, our relationship deteriorated over all those years of piano lessons, and by the time I reached high school, it had gotten to the point where I'm not sure which of us dreaded that hour the most.  My mother, adamant that I not quit piano lessons, was determined that I would continue this musical endeavor.  Somehow she convinced Kathy A to get me through those last few years (I secretly also think she was hoping at least some of Kathy A would rub off on me so I would become the Southern lady Kathy A was - it didn't).  Luckily for everyone, I decided to graduate high school a year early, thus possibly saving Kathy A many years of therapy.

Anyhow, fast forward a whole bunch of years, and Kathy A and I reconnected on Facebook.  We caught up on each other's lives (her musical career continued - mine, not so much).  I found out that she sold Scentsy, which is an amazing lighted warming scented thing, which of course, I had to get several.  And then several more because I kept giving mine away.  Today I got a package from her of some Scentsy scents, plus some lotions from her Spa for Life products (this probably sounds like a commercial, but it isn't - I just wanted to emphasize that this is really good stuff, not something that she swiped from a hotel).  She also enclosed a very sweet note which made the whole package such a wonderful, sweet surprise - as if one would expect anything else from her!  So, that was Kathy Blessing #1.

In the same mail drop, there was a package from Kathy D, whom I met cyber-spatially a few years ago.  Basically, I had read some of her writings on Sam's Cool People Care website and knew that she was from Florida and liked Disney (and some other things, but Disney was enough to deem her a pretty cool person).  Anyhow, at some point I had a girls trip planned for Disney World and ended up with an extra room that we weren't going to use.  So, I thought of Kathy and her family.  So through Sam, I connected with her to see if they might want the room for the weekend.  I mean, that wasn't weird, right?  Saying, "Hey, got an extra room, stranger.  Want to come stay there for the weekend?"  Well, I guess we Disney people consider ourselves family, so she took me up on the offer and brought her husband and two little girls (who were very little at the time).  She also brought me a beautiful Mickey Mouse quilt that she had made, because she's like that.

Which leads me to her package which contained two quilts, two embroidered towels, and two bags, all for our  Udderly Pink silent auction.  She made all but one of the bags, which she donated for the cause. Kathy D is an honorary member of Udderly Pink, which means she won't be walking, but apparently is making up for all those walking hours by quilting and making awesome things, which is natural, since she is pretty awesome herself.  So that was Kathy Blessing #2.

So I decided today must be Kathy Happy Day because two Kathys that are in my life made me very happy today.  But the really neat thing is that it's really not that they send me such awesome packages - it the blessing that I have of knowing both of these extremely kind, beautiful, and amazingly talented women.    Come to think of it, I didn't create Kathy Happy Day, God did.  How else would this wonderful day and these wonderful women have happened to me!!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Kathy packages; Factory dinner with the girls; picking up Lindley at school; GDiz's continued health improvement

Wonder If It Comes in King-Size

(It's Thursday - blog topics are a little hard to formulate today ..)

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley time; airport trips to take Steve and pickup Mathieu; visit with Molly and Micaela; getting packages mailed

Why I Like Disney Races

Everybody is so happy!

It's fun to do the "happy" sign!

You always have someone to push you forward!

Kick-lining it to the finish!!

Anyone and everyone can be a princess!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; Steve's safe travel home

Lists

So yesterday I made of list of things I needed to do.  As of tonight, I have accomplished four tasks out of the sixteen.  While that is progress, it's not quite the progress I had hoped.

But it's good to have the list - at least all the undone stuff is written down right there, reminding me to do it.  Or maybe the eventual smell of the laundry in the washer will remind me.  And the overflowing trash can.  And the last three sheets of toilet paper.

Come to think of it, maybe I don't need that list after all ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Everley time; completing a few errands; Gdiz feeling better

Today's Project ...

But I think this is the easy part ...

And don't even try to calculate how many beads are in the jar ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Airport drop-off with Mathieu; checking in on Molly's bathroom reno

Daylight Savings Time

Last night I apparently lost an hour of sleep.  Since at my age I need all the sleep I can get, losing an hour involuntarily does not suit me.  However, in the long run of things, maybe just an hour isn't such a big deal.  For example ...

• Lindley turned three in January, which is weird since it seems she was just born yesterday.  I remember it well because I was at boot camp when Sam tried to call me and tell me the news.
• Everley will be one in a few weeks, which is weird since it seems she was also just born yesterday.  I remember it well because I was at breakfast with KB when I got the text that Maribeth was in labor.
• My eldest, Sam, will be 33 this year, which is weird because I only feel like I should be in my forties, which makes it sort of hard to have such an old child.  How did he get to be nearly as old as I think I should be?
• I went on my first Disney cruise in 2000, which seems like just a little while ago.  But it's been 13 years ago, and I've taken a few more Disney cruises since then, although we really needn't get into how many cruises there have been.  Since 2000 doesn't seem so long ago, I don't see how I could have been on so many cruises in that short period of time.
• This year I will have been married 36 years, which is a long time for someone who thinks she's as young as I think I should be.

So, you can see why this whole daylights savings time has me a bit bumfuzzled.  Apparently all those hours lost have added up into quite a few years of  speeded-up lost years.  And what's really amazing is that it has happened to me - at my young age!!

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The Good News for Today: beautiful day for safe road trip back home; Udderly Pink meeting; superb 3-Day video by Sharon; happy news from the North

Just The Basics. Please!!

In my recent travels, I have done my fair share of eatin'.  Some of my eatin' has been pretty fancy.  Possibly even eatin' on a fancy eatin' table (if you understand that reference, then you are my peeps).  However, I would be remiss if I didn't express my recent dissatisfaction with the desecration of what I consider to be a favorite of mine - shrimp and grits.

Basically, I like grits, especially cheese grits.  And I like shrimp, just about any Forrest Gump way you would like to prepare them for me.  And I consider it fine dining if you would combine both into one dish and serve it up to me.  But please - keep it simple.  In fact, just use three ingredients - grits, cheese, and cooked shrimp.  I say this because in my very recent forays into shrimpandgritsdom, I have found that one person's shrimp and grits are not everyone's shrimp and grits.

In Jacksonville, this is what my ordered shrimp and grits looked like.  Fried grit patties - good.  Shrimp - good.  Glopped together with a rich thick white sauce - not so good.  And before you ask, yes - I ate it nearly all gone.  Being as cultured and as refined as I am, I thought that perhaps I needed the experience of somebody else's slant on this delicacy.  In retrospect, I didn't.

This weekend in Columbus, I again noticed that shrimp and grits were on the menu at the local eating establishment we were visiting.  Being back in the South where grits and shrimp go together like peas and carrots, I decided to give it another whirl.  Out came the plate with the fish and grits - somewhere buried underneath the spicy reddish-colored sauce.  Did I eat it?  Why yes, yes I did.  I also drank 17 pitchers of iced tea because I don't do spicy.  Was it good?  It was fine - it just wasn't what I really wanted.  So why did I eat it?  Well, the answer to that would take so many session of therapy that  would be impossible to transcribe here, so just make up your own reason why and move on.

I'm not sure what my lack of appreciation for the finer variations of shrimp and grits says about me as a gourmand.  Maybe it would help my status if I told you that I know what a pot passer and a meat stabber  is?

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The Good Stuff From Today:  getting some writing accomplished; decluttering some kitchen stuff; dinner with Steve, Gdizzle, and Anne

It's A Small World After All ... In North Alabama

Today Steve and I headed off to Mississippi to spend the weekend with his dad.  As we were on our usual route through North Alabama, our conversation went like this:

Steve:  (pointing to a facility that used to be a motel)  "I had Andy (a guy in his office) look at that facility for our company.  The owner has two grandsons who play baseball for Samford and Mississippi State."

Me:  (as the neurons in my pea-brain started surging and connecting and remembering some posts I had read on facebook)  "Um, his last name wouldn't be Irby, would it?"


Steve:  "It might be - let me text Andy and ask him."

Me:  "Well, it might not be, but it would be a wild coincidence if there were two people from North Alabama who have sons who play at Samford and Mississippi State."

Steve:  "Well, the one at Mississippi State doesn't play there yet."

Me:  "I know - he just signed a few months ago."

Anyhow, Andy texted back, and sure enough, it was Irby, in fact Ken Irby's dad who owns the facility, and Ken Irby's sons who play baseball.  And who is Ken Irby?  Somebody I went to high school with back in the Dark Ages, who I probably haven't spoken to in a billion years, who I just happen to be fb friends with and have read his posts about his sons.

So, what was the chances of my going with Steve this weekend, him mentioning the facility and the owner's grandsons, my remembering some facebook posts, and the whole thing circling back to growing up in Starkville, Mississippi?  Pretty good, if you believe that God puts things in motion, sometimes just to delight us and help us realize that He is in control of this world.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  beautiful day for a drive; safe travel to GDizzle's; dinner with GDizzle, Steve, and Ann

The Ups and Downs of Daily Blogging

Some days I have brilliant ideas (okay no comments - just because you believe you've never read any of those and you read every day).  Some days I have an idea, period.  And some days I have no ideas.  And yet I still blog.  Or at least type in some words.

Anyhoo, I wonder sometimes what would happen if I decided to be controversial.  You know, like saying pink is the new black, or wearing red means you're a floosie, or that the only kind of correct marriage is marrying somebody with the same initials as yours.   But that's not me.  I do not like controversy.  While I have my opinions and might not even mind sharing them, I do not wish to hear anyone fuss at me because my opinion is not his/her opinion and therefore my opinion is a wrong opinion.  I got enough of that during election season, just reading the comments fly back and forth on facebook.

So, what shall I blog about today?  Piano lessons.  I took them, as did my siblings.  My first child took them, only because by the time the second and third came along piano-lesson-wise, we had moved and it was too much trouble to find a new piano teacher.

Anyhow, my point is that even though I took piano lessons, I do not consider myself a pianist.  I could probably still play a bit, maybe even so listeners could pick out the tune I was plunking out on the keyboard.  But does even just a little ability make you something even though your ability is small?

I wog races - does that make me an athlete (we won't even discuss being a runner).  I can operate a sewing machine - does that make me a seamstress?  I somehow manage to eventually get words on this blog on a daily (or late-daily) basis - does that make me a writer?  I guess I wonder in a world of labels, how do we label ourselves?

Yeah, I don't know either.  And that's about as controversial as it gets here ...

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The Good Stuff From Today:  spaghetti dinner with most of the family; Lindley and Everley time

Wednesday

Yup, it's been another one of those days.  No blog ideas, but lots of vacation planning ideas.  Yup, some for me and some for other people.  And some for other people that I have to go on, also.

Happy Wednesday ...  For other people AND me!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Disney plans for family trips; lunch with Sam; Everley time; bathroom progress at Molly's; signed Mickey card from KB; Jo's generous donation to the 3-Day

Motivation - I Need It

Okay, so today wasn't such a stellar day, as far as my personal goals of exercise and weight loss.  In fact, based on tonight's feast of fried foods (cheese, mushrooms, and shrimp), I should probably be punished.  I just can't seem to get it together (shocker, I know).

Last night I watched "The Biggest Loser."  In this episode, they were given their makeovers and then sent home to show off their makeovers and stay home for two weeks.  They were challenged to lose a certain percentage of their body weight in order to stay on the show another week.  We saw them examine their home refrigerators/pantries and go out to eat with their families and friends.  They were faced with all the delicious, good-but-bad foods they ate before participating in the show.  You could see how conflicted they were, and how they wondered if just one meal or one bit would really make a difference.

And yet somehow they knew it would.  They all chose to eat the right things, even to go as far as instructing the weight staff on how they wanted their foods prepared.  At their homes, they discussed with family members about what things should be in their kitchens and what shouldn't.  And they worked out every day, without the help of their trainers on the ranch. At the weigh-in, they had all lost the requisite amount of weight to stay on another week.

I couldn't help but be impressed by their resolve.  Somehow they have gotten it into their heads that this way of eating is now their lifelong way of eating.  And as I was chowing down on my fried feast, I couldn't help but wish that I could get whatever it is that changed them and ingest it so I could be like them.

Oh, I know it may not last for them.  I know there's more to it than just this one incidence.  I know how hard it is to keep it up, as evidenced by my own personal ups and downs with Weight Watchers.  I know how you lose the weight, think that somehow you've been miraculously cured, and then go right back to the atrocious food habits that got you in trouble in the first place. But I want this time to be different.  I want that change that will be lifelong.  I know that part of it is admitting that I just can't eat the way I used to (just like there are more and more things that I can't do the way I used to).

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately written by women who are making strides in their weight loss battle.  One thing I've noticed on several is the theory of "30 seconds."  These women talk about how they lose weight - 30 seconds at a time.  I think it's worth doing - waiting 30 seconds to eat that candy bar because maybe in that 30 seconds, my brain will kick in and overrule that candy bar eating thought.  Maybe by waiting 30 seconds I can make wise food decisions or decisions about exercising.  Maybe 30 seconds is the number to focus on instead of the number of pounds I want to lose. 

Another great idea I've seen is this one, where you have two jars - one with the amount of weight you want to lose and one with the amount of weight you've lost.  Maybe a good visual, maybe even that much needed motivation in a jar? 

Stay tuned - we'll see how these new ideas work out!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Kathy A's generous donation to the 3-Day; Everley time at her house; brief visit from Molly and Micaela

A Nashville Spring Day

 I can't say that I was totally onboard for this morning's walk.  Having not done any kind of real training/workouts/exercise in such a long time, I was thinking about all the reasons I could put it off another day.  But somehow I managed to get my rear out the door.  All I really wanted to do was start - just get out the door and do two miles.  Just.  Get.  Started.

And I did.  I didn't try to jog any of it.  I just put one foot in front of the other and kept going.  It was slow going, but it got done.  It was a little chilly, but it was a beautiful day.  Along with meeting my goal of getting in two miles, I was rewarded with a few extra treats.  It was if God was telling me how much I miss by not doing that which I know I need to do.

The ducks were out enjoying the water.

The daffodils were out waiting for the sun.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  two miles in the 'hood with the daffodils and the ducks; completing a few errands; Mary becoming an Honorary Member of Udderly Pink; Lindley and Everley time; pizza with Maribeth, Mathieu, and Lynnette; Steve's safe travel home

My Non-Fundraising Letter Blog Post

I have walked in four previous Breast Cancer Komen 3-Day events.  The first time in 2001, I thought would be a "one and done" event.  My friend Emily went with me to Atlanta and worked on the medical team.  It was an awesome experience - truly a "once in a lifetime" experience.  Or so I thought.

Six years later in 2007, I was going to turn 50 and noticed that a walk was scheduled on my birthday, so I participated in that one.  My daughter-in-law Lynnette said that she would do it with me, so we headed to the Twin Cities and did our 60 miles.  And I said that would be my last one.  Sometimes "once in a lifetime" happens twice.

Two years later in 2009 my sister Marilyn said she wanted to do one.  So we chose the last scheduled walk for that year which was in San Diego.  Certainly three "once in a lifetimes" was all that would be scheduled for my lifetime.

Until last year, when my daughter Molly and my friends Karen B, Karen P, Jo, and Sharon said they wanted to do one.  Since they were all newbies, how could I not agree?  I wish that everyone could experience those amazing three days on the road during the day and in the tents at night.  So we headed to the hills of San Francisco, which I thought would be a beautiful final chapter for my Komen 3-Day experiences.

And then last summer my sister found out she had breast cancer.  During her recovery, she said that she wanted to do another one.  And Molly said she would do it again.  And Karen B said she would do it again.  And Sharon said she would do it again, and brought along Bruce.  And now we're headed to Washington, D.C. this October to cover 60 more miles to raise funds for breast cancer research and support.

For each of the four events, I've sent out fundraising letters.  My friends and family have been generous in their donations and support.  I've even met new friends who were friends of friends and donated to the event.  But this year, my fifth walk, I'm not sending out a fundraising letter.  I guess I feel a little guilty asking for a fifth time.  I'm going to come up with ideas to raise money - maybe another book or washing cars, along with our team yard sale and bingo night.

If you're reading this and want to donate, here's the link.  Just click on it and donate whatever you wish.  If you would like for me to walk in honor or memory of someone, please let me know via email or comment - I would be so honored to do so.  If you want to be a part of our team and walk with us, we would love to have you join us. I just won't be bothering you this year with a donation letter.

I wish that these walks weren't necessary.  I wish that there was a cure for breast cancer and that this disease didn't rob families of time every single day.  I hope that one day pink ribbons will be just a past memory of a cured disease.  But until then, I will keep walking, because these "once in a lifetime" experiences will help fund research for that cure that will insure families have all the time they want to create memories. 

Everyone deserves a lifetime - thanks for your help to cure breast cancer in our lifetime.

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The Good Stuff From Today:  Lindley and Everley time; beautiful cold day

Happy Senior Moment Day!!

Incident #1:  I went to Target and happened to find a parking spot close to the door.  As I walked away from my car, I clicked the key fob thingy to lock the car doors.  Then, as I was walking in the automatic opening doors at Target, I clicked the fob thingy again - somewhere in my senior brain it seemed to make sense that it was necessary to do so in order for the doors to open ...

Incident #2:  I was driving in my still-newish car when I heard a "ding."  Not knowing exactly what it was, I thought perhaps it was the satellite radio telling me my favorite music was on another station (it does this in Steve's car when 50 Cent or $1.25 or somebody is on another station).  I kept looking around the gauges on the car in an effort to find what the ding meant when I saw it - according to the gas mileage calculator, I had 3 miles to go before I ran out of gas!  THREE MILES!!  Thank goodness I was within walking distance (if needed) to a gas station.

Not that I would have remembered why I was at the gas station once I had walked there ...

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The Good Stuff from Today:  Lindley and Everley time; Sonic breakfast with Molly; burritos with Lynnette and Molly; snow-ish day

March Madness

I do not understand how March got here.  I mean, just because I've done three half-marathons and two cruises so far in 2013, does not mean that it should already be March.  Maybe if I'd lost the bazillion pounds that I had planned to lose by today, then I could deal with the fact that it's March 1.  But since I haven't, then today's date is a little startling.

The good news is that it is March 1 and maybe I can get started (again) on all those good habits that I intend to develop in 2013.  I'd better, or otherwise tomorrow when I wake up it's going to be June 1!!

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The Good Stuff From Today:  pedicure that helped my toenails look human again; picking up Lindley at school; Lindley and Everley time; Mathieu picking up dinner from Calypso