Today Is The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

I love that thought, it was one of the first posters I put in my room as a young teen. So in that vein, today I started anew.

As some of you who have been with me for a while know, this has been a rough year. I have focused on the health of my husband and taken the stress of the day out in chocolate. Peanut butter chocolate no bakes to be exact. They just made me feel better and if one was good two would be better and then four started working too!! Needless to say I have put on the weight. I weigh more than I have ever weighed in. my. life!!! And that includes the time when I was pregnant with twins and delivered 6 lbs. 14 oz. EACH twins. Hello.

So today my honey and I started working out. I haven't worked out in a decade. This post may be for the one who is in the same position I am in. I thought I wouldn't be able to do it. I thought my heart wouldn't let me. I didn't think my lungs would be able to handle it. I thought my muscles couldn't go that far. But they did. They all did. The first five minutes on the bicycle were probably the worst. My leg muscle did burn and I felt like I had a hitch in my

git-a-long, but I just stopped and stretched it out and started back again. I ended up riding the bicycle for 10 minutes and walked on the treadmill for thirty.

And you know what? It felt good. I got past, way past, the burn. I felt for the first time in a long time the euphoria of exercising.

I'm tired of not being able to go in my closet and pull out what I want to wear that day and be able to wear it. It's time for me to just look cute. I want my body back and I'm gonna get it.

So today is the first day of the rest of my life.

Stay tuned for further updates in my midlife battle of the bulge.

And thank you for being here.

This Week

I have 100 followers!!!!  Yea!!!  Thank you all so much.  It probably shouldn't mean this much to me but it does, it's like love and it makes me smile.  

I should do some kind of give away.  I have seen them all over the blogs lately ..... although they are from sponsors and I'm not doing that sort of thing.  I kind of like my little page that I can just be kind of random on.  We'll see.  What do you think, should I do a give away?

So this week Lee DeWyze won American Idol.  Kind of strange for me and D to not post.  We had a lively conversation about it, though.  She is a huge Crystal fan and I ended up falling Lee's way.  Honestly, I thought it could go either way and I would be okay with that.  Evidently, not everyone feels the same.  She watched it late Wednesday night and text me not to tell her who won.  Later, after I was in bed asleep, I get this text that even without my glasses on I could tell she was yelling.  I can't repeat it here, it wasn't good.  But the thing is, I think the top three for sure will have careers in the music industry and maybe even the top four.  So be happy.  I'm happy, my guy won!  hahaha.  American Idol is over for the year and maybe forever without Simon, but that's just my take on that.   

Moving on.

I have been working on a project for a couple of weeks now, it is not completely finished but oh it's looking so good.  I can't wait to show you, however I promised I myself I wouldn't post almost finished projects.  Hence I haven't posted anything lately because  I haven't finished anything.  Hello.  I've decided that I am ADHD or maybe ADD.  I don't really think it is ADHA because energy and I are not friends anymore, he dropped me like a hot  potato.  

So back to my unfinished project's, I have the guest bedroom started but not finished, the dinning room started but not finished ... (but a decision made on what to do in there, that's something)   ...   two small tables stacked up to paint.  I ordered some great chunky table legs and had an outdoor table made with them, I am going to stain, paint and glaze the legs and table skirt, that's on for next week.  My young friend Blaze is making the table top, it's going to be rusted metal and it will set in the shade!!!  On the drawing board is painting my bed, buying a chair for my bedroom, carpets for the master bedroom, guest bedroom, dining room and maybe the living room too.  And then, there are the pantries that need reorganizing and the storage room full of Christmas goodies I don't even want to play with any more, that needs organization.  I won't even say re - organization cause there has never been any.  Is that bad, that I don't want to decorate for Christmas anymore?  I'm tired that's why!

This week I cleaned out my garage and relocated my "workshop" in there.   And I finished, that was good, but in doing so, I finally went through the leftover boxes from moving and now I have to find somewhere for that stuff to go.  Hence the reorganization of the pantries.  

Seriously, something is wrong with me.   

Anyhoo, my grand baby Hadley and her momma KP are on their way out to see me.  We need some new pictures of baby H on here.  She is crawling, has two bottom teeth, waves bye-bye, and plays patty-cake.  When her momma was little we called her "prissy Krissy",  that's how this baby crawls.  So funny, I get to see prissy Krissy again.  How good is that.  

I hope everyone has a blessed, safe and fun Memorial Day weekend.  Oh yea about my boy, he is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and this weekend he is going to up-state New York to visit with one of his buddies that he was in Iraq with who is stationed there.  That will be really good for him.  

Okay, I'm out.  See ya.

Beautiful Things

Yesterday afternoon, I took a drive around the ranch.  It was a beautiful day and I drove slowly and listened to the sounds of the wind, the birds and the bees.  I drank in the beauty of God's beautiful creation.

A friend called me and after talking for a while we prayed for her situation.  Immediately after finishing our prayer this is what I saw.  Not that it means anything but I love it when something unique and unexpected happens after praying.  

This gray horse is one of my favorites on the ranch. 
I just think he photographs so well.  He however doesn't really like me and I usually end up photographing the backside of him as he walks away. 
And he doesn't seem to like the dog in the pasture either.
Whether it is cloudy, sunny, rainy or windy, it's all beautiful in it's own way and I praise the God of all creation for what He has made.  This earth just screams out Glory to God in the Highest,  pay attention He loves you and He created you and all the things you see.  Put your trust in Him, get to know Him.  Nothing and no one can comfort you, fulfill you or quiet you except the One who loved you first.

Lee Dewyze - Hallelujah

The one thing I can say about American Idol is I don't know everything.  They have shown me that year after year.  And that's fine, I'm good with that but I began to have this sneaking suspicion that Lee Dewyze could win the whole thing a couple of weeks ago.  I was afraid to say anything because I thought my eldest daughter might have a coronary.  After this week, though,  if it had been the finals Lee would have walked out the winner.  He WANTS it, you can see that.  

My goal here is to share his performance Hallelujah with you.  

He had a big moment with this one.  

I love music.  I can't sing a lick but I love it.

Sarah Kate

In September of this school year, Sarah read a story about a golden retriever.

She started asking her Mom if she could have a puppy.  One thing to know about my daughter, she loves animals.  As a child she had a small parade of animals.  Unfortunately for my baby girl, I didn't have the capacity to take care of animals and children, so only a small parade.

  

A cat, a dog, a bird, and then another bird.  

It has to do with spring cleaning, all the doors in the house being open and the bird being trained to open his own door to his cage.  The cat comes in, I spy yellow feathers and then Danya being lead to believe that her bird flew free that afternoon.  We spent weeks looking in the trees for the little yellow parakeet. 

And then we bought the little blue parakeet.

 

During one of our phone calls, Danya tells me the story of how Sarah wanted a puppy, to my horror I asked, "Your not going to get another dog are you"?  She says well, I don't mind her having her own dog.  So I mentioned telling Sarah to work for it.  Chores, homework, no gripping.  

March rolls around and I asked if I can take Sarah with me on a spring break trip to see the grandmothers, Sarah's great grand mother, Granny-ma and her great-great grand mother and name sake, Mam-ma.  

That's when I found out how serious this puppy thing is with her.  She has done all her chores, kept her grades up, done her homework, even done chores with out being told to, all year long still dreaming of a puppy.  

On our trip she told me she wanted a golden retriever because, "she would swim with her and she would save her when she drowned".  I will never forget looking at this child sitting in the front seat with me.  

Her Mom told me the story of picking her up from school one day.  

Sarah,  "Mom, I've been thinking".   

Mom - "You have, what have you been thinking about"?

Sarah - "I've decided to give my kitty away to Caitlyn (next door neighbor) to make room for my puppy".

She walked in the house, picked up the kitty, loved on it, said her good-byes and walked next door to Caitlyn's house and gave her kitty to her friend and neighbor.

I thought that showed a lot of depth for a little girl.  So with Mom and Dad's blessing, Pap-paw and I gave her a puppy for her birthday.  We felt that she had showed a level of maturity this year and earned the right to have her own puppy.

 

Umm . . . 

Sarah . . . 

I think your puppy is in a bind, you better get her.

She looks up at me with her rich, deep, beautiful, big brown eyes and says, "my puppy chews on her own arm".  

Time to go home and meet the rest of the family.

Daddy, the German Sheppard, Abby, the bull dogs (4 of them??), and the horses and the cat that lives next door and who knows what else will parade through their house and life.  

My first born has a soft spot for animals.

Happy Birthday darling, Pap-paw and Nanoo love you.  

She is growing up too fast.  

Blessings,

 see ya.  :))

Shot of the Day

Taken this afternoon, in between rain showers at sunset.

A New Seat in the House

I've been working on my outdoor projects all week.  Let me just say one thing before we continue ... I hate ( I know that a strong word but!!) I really do hate my concrete pots.  Okay with that said let me just keep saying how much I hate those concrete pots!!!!

I thought that I would love them.  I thought they would be wonderful to have.  I thought wrong.

Wrong!  Wrong!!  Wrong!!!

Yes they last forrevverr (unless you drop one because they are sooooo heavy), yes they age and get their own patina.  Patina shamena.  (that's a new word I just made up, clever?  yes?)  And I must add that I can't really pick them up, I have to have someone come help me get them on a dolly so that they can be moved.  Or, if I am by myself, which is often because ... why?  I live in the country and their are no neighbors - K.  Not bitter, better.  I digress.  So, when that moment arises I roll them and try not to drop them because they crack and break.  Would that really be such a bad thing?  I have failed to mention the expense, so no I do not break them on purpose and I will probably be able to prove that ..... one of these days.

Anyhoo.

Do you see a patina on this one?  Hum?  Really, do you!??  I don't.  I see HEAVY!!!!!!!!!!  

Not to mention the plant, let's don't mention this plant cause it is on it's way out.  I don't want to talk about it, there are two of them.  Just sayin.

Back to the story.

So so heavy.  My back is killing me and it happens twice a year.  Every year!  Did I mention how I feel about these pots yet?  Oh my aching back, I hate them.  

Okay, I'll stop here, if I can.  It's just that you are one of the few people I've been able to rant to and my poor honey just can't take the full wrath of my feelings for these pots.  He just can't. 

So back to the patina.  I didn't like it- so I changed it.

When Sarah was little she use to say, "I don't like it and I don't want it" with attitude.  That became a mantra for me and Mom.  Hey Mom, how are you doing?  

So this is better, no?  That is until you have to move the .... thing.  Again, digress.  I used two colors of a cement stain.  Bronze and dark charcoal and then sealed it.  By the way, that is what our patio is finished with too.  A stamped and stained cement product.  

And then, our furniture came in.  Yippeeee!!!!!!!!!

I can hardly believe it.  I've been planning for this for a year (you can check out an old post here) of my porch dreams.  

 
Ooh, it's so pretty.  I ran around all afternoon and sat on every piece.

So what do you think?  We need to have a get together, cook something.  

Hmm, I should get a grill first ... I still have work to do but wow, what a step forward.  

So tomorrow I want to tell you a story about little miss Sarah Kate.

Okay, bye.