Day 1: Reboot, restart, move forward, hopefully lose some weight

Life has been quite crazy for the last 4 years.  Our family has gone through so many changes.  Disappointment, Cancer, Death, travel, a wedding, semi-retirement and through all of that, with my emotions up and down it has not crushed me because my faith in God and that this is all part of His plan.  Oh and my husband is a rock.  He always puts things into proper perspective.

Over the last few years my weight has slowly creeped up.  I'm now at my pregnancy weight.  Thankfully I didn't gain a ton when I was pregnant. None of my clothes fit and I don't want to buy anything new because if something doesn't change I'll be buying clothes again when they don't fit anymore.

So I plan to journal my reboot and restart- which starts today at 150 lbs
     Daily exercise- not killing myself though,
     Eating well- cutting sugar, less carbs,
     More water, a little less coffee
   
I have a birthday in February-  so it would be wonderful if my clothes to fit better and I could lose 10 pounds.  Also sometimes my hip bothers me.  It was hurting sometimes when I fast walked.  I don't know if it was my old running shoes or tightness.  If I can do some yoga, maybe I can stretch it out. I bought a little rebounding trampoline at a restore.  Now I just have to use it.

The weather has turned cold almost overnight.  We lost power yesterday for about 8 hours.  Thankfully not longer than that.  No power here means now lights, no heat, no cooking, and no water.    I don't really like walking outside in the cold, ice and snow.  But it's ok.  The power is back on and all day I've been praising God, thanking JESUS for the electricity that powers things that make life easier for us.  So that was a little reminder not to take things for granted, blessings large and small are all around us everyday.

 Anyway, maybe each day I'll poke at some of the things that have been going on over the last few years... good and bad... maybe.... I don't know.

Times a wasting.... waisting.... where's my hoolahoop.   Sounds like a fun way to start to get moving....

Less Funky

Saturday night... tomorrow is Mother'sDay.... first one without my mom.... weird.... I should have sent cards to my sisters... I meant to and I didn't.... I still haven't sent out my thank you notes... maybe I will get them done tomorrow.

I have a headache tonight so I wasn't very productive tonight. But today,  I did get my Purple Hop Quilt assembled and the binding made.  I also got a package packed to send to Lorna with the backing for EQ2 and the Purple Hop and some fun things for her.... and it is mailed.

It was a lovely day but rain was expected and for the next week!  So we went for a bike ride and it was great.  The thing about the motorcycle is when your out zooming along it's a sensory experience.  Today the lilacs were amazingly fragrant... the wind was blowing us around a bit, but the birds were enjoying the wind.  I enjoyed watching them as they soared high.

The Gardenia I received was struggling.  After repotting it and worrying over the yellow leaves that were appearing, it may be coming out of its funk.  There's a spot on the front porch for it, but the temps are still dipping into the 50s or lower so I've been bringing it in at night.  Hopefully it will pull through.

I woke up early, to sew, to get that stuff in the mail by noon.  Success.  But tonight I'm fading fast.

Hahaha, this was a backwards post... today was a good day. Maybe like the Gardenia, I will soon get out of my funk.  Thankful for my family and hopeful for the changes on the horizon.... expected and unexpected.

Taking it one day at a time

It's so quiet.... the dogs, cat, and guys are asleep.... all is silent....  the clock just chimed but now I hear it ticking.... The bridge is being worked on so the road is closed.... no traffic noise.... a vehicle drives by the house but the main road is not being used.... no trucks, no traffic.... the dog sighs, the furnace kicks on and off.... a distant train whistle... such a quiet night.

Earlier we watched a movie that my daughter worked on called Gone Are The Days.  It was a western, set in the early 1920's.  The story was about an old outlaw and his last days.  How he made things right.... in his way.  It wasn't action packed... I had some questions about it when it was done....    It wasn't unbelievable.  It could have happened.  I liked it....

My son is working on some drywall around the house.  And when he's done I'm looking forward to watching some paint dry.  See, a couple years after my daughter's graduation from college I made her bedroom into a sewing room.  Then my husband said I needed a bigger room so we switched his home office with my "sewing room".  And now I wanted a spare bedroom again so we moved the office stuff downstairs and are remaking a bedroom.  My husband is amazing!

I have been sewing again.  I'm finding my smile again.  My arms don't feel weighted down.  I made cookies the other day.  I have some things on my to do list that I'm still struggling to get done.... maybe in the morning I can tackle some thank you notes.  Lots of folks were very supportive over the last few months.  That meant so much to me.  I miss my mom.  Talking to her.  I think of her every day and often during each day.....

I pray that tomorrow the sun will shine and that the temps will be warm and it will be a beautiful day to walk.   Yesterday, was gorgeous and the trail was packed with women pushing strollers, dog walkers, and some bicyclists.  Funny but as we walked the trail through the park I thought, I should have brought my camera in case we see a woodpecker.  And not 5 minutes later my husband says, "look a pileated woodpecker".  And we watched it pecking and hammering some downed tree branches. The camera on my phone isn't great but my husband got some video of it on his phone.... it was cool.  Hahaha....

Guess I'll just keep plugging along, one day at a time, making the best of things, and remind myself to be thankful for it all.



 

Strength

Last night I covered my peony and clematis and the garden as well.... I had actually left the covers on my garden yesterday because the temps never really warmed up... but the peony and clematis I did uncover. They are in the front yard and with their sheets on- they look like Halloween Ghosts..... So before I went to bed I decided to cover them... I didn't think it was going to be necessary but... I did it.


Well, Last night we had a hard frost...

It is kind of pretty on the leaves of the Mums, and Black-Eyed Susans.  They are hardy plants and can take it better than others. 

My peony looks pretty pitiful.... It looks sad and broken.   


And I thought about us, humans- mankind, and how we too can feel lost, lonely, and broken.  While some of us handle it better than others, we all feel that way sometimes.  


Isaiah 41:10 
Fear thou not; for I am with you:  be not dismayed; for I am thy God:  I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.


Let our strength be in Him and he will renew us... body, mind and spirit...   


As I look out my window I see that my peony is standing tall, reaching for the sky, the sun, and that should be a reminder to me to stand tall, lifted up in praise to the Son. 

Rainy Morning

I awoke to the sound of rain... Got up and did some laundry... And now I am waiting and wondering.... Will we still have baseball?   I welcome the rain... It is a soft and gentle continuous rain.  Watering the lawn and the flowers... cleaning everything, making everything look fresh.

I bought some flowers yesterday and wanted to get them planted before the rain came... but the baseball game prevented me from getting them all planted.... maybe tomorrow.  They are so pretty and I love all the different colors....

The call came... That double header--- canceled!


Oh, What a wonderful day.... I made Biscotti, we had a meeting with Cindy, our AYA Local Coordinator and now the boys are working on homework.  A nice, leisurely morning... And if they can accomplish some homework, we may go bowling tonight... That, I guess, will be up to them!

In the mean time.... I am going to do another load of laundry....  Today I am thankful for the rain!  God's blessings raining down on me.  I still need to finish the church bulletin for tomorrow...  Ahhh, so glad to have those 5 hours back.  God is so Good!

It's Mental

Running

For me it's 99% Mental

Today I went to the gym and hit the treadmill.  Met Carolyn there-  poor thing is nursing a knee injury- I am praying that it improves and she can get back 100%.  She is an amazing encouragement.... inspiration.... She looks great and says that she feels amazing and like me has become addicted to running.

I have a love hate relationship with my treadmill.  It is a nice machine but has a mean streak.... See I think it is out of calibration.  I do not like to run outside when it is cold and so I stay inside on the treadmill.  I like to watch TV... Usually The Biggest Loser on Netflix.... but the speed on the darn thing is killing me... If it says 5.0 that is a 12 min mile... and I am struggling to run one on that darn thing... but when I run outside- boom- I run about an 11.5 min mile.... and today at the gym I was at stinking 6.0  for one song (without feeling like I was going to die).... It makes me crazy... Why does that number bother me so much... I know that it is not quite right... but it messes with my mind... and I focus on it.... and feel unsuccessful during my run.... still feel amazing afterwords though.

So I play this running game.... 

Run for fun.  That really never sounded possible.
I do not like to run.  Never liked to run. 

Running is hard.
Running is painful.
Running is work.
Running is time consuming.
Running is not fun.  

That's what I used to say-

Jay and I started running on the bike path a couple summers ago.... Running was so hard in the beginning... my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest, I couldn't breath, I felt like I was going to cough up a lung after I was done..... it took all the way home to recover..... sad state of health... LOL

Then I noticed that it wasn't taking as long to recover and I was able to increase my duration.... little by little I was making progress.  I absolutely LOVED the way I felt about 40 min after a run... whether is was 1, 2, 3, miles.... 

I lost weight... because here comes more the mental junk.... If I am going to take the time and effort to run for 30 min then there is no way I am going to eat something that will undo that effort.   

I find if I get dressed, find my shoes and headphones and stuff...  that is more than 1/2 the battle.  Then doing it is the easy part... Remember the Nike slogan from the 80's,
"JUST DO IT"

I feel like I accomplished something when my run is over... and now I am ready move forward and to do something else-  

My legs feel super skinny after running... I know that's in my head... but they do feel strong and skinny. 

I also have less back pain and stiffness when I run... so that's worth the effort in itself.  

When I run outside I am so thankful to God for the weather, the ability to run, the beauty around me...When I started I was just thankful to finish and for my husband who encouraged me and gave me tips.  He never teased me about my red faced recovery. 

Today talking to Carolyn I remember encouraging her to start running, now she's encouraging me to get back to it.  So we are both addicted.  It is a good addiction.... Looking around the gym today we looked like the youngsters of the group.... and that made me laugh... I hope my effort pleases, He, who gave me the ability to run- not necessarily to win any races but to share joy with others and be an encouragement to whoever needs it- and an example of  His love.

Maybe I am not supposed to be inside on that treadmill....