Wordless Wednesday (captions only)

Baby tomatoes!

Old, sweet dog.

Young, rascal dog.

Lovely ears.

Squirrels beware!

Happy Wednesday!

Music and a Treat

I wrote a post yesterday and then deleted it. If you happened to read it, then you probably know why I got rid of it. I couldn't stand to read it myself. Somedays the gloomies take over but they never stay long.

I'm listening to an artist who is new to me, Allison Moorer. I just discovered her after buying her latest CD, Crows. My fav song on it right now is "Should I Be Concerned." If you go to her myspace page you can hear all of the songs on this cd. I love the mellow softness of her voice. And the words have meaning to me. I tried to get the song to play on my blog but couldn't figure out how to do it, darn it.

New treat I discovered - Luna protein Chocolate Cherry Almond. De-licious. Tastes just like chocolate covered cherries (my weakness) and they have 12 grams of protein with 3 grams of fiber. Not the best for low carb (21g) but still better than a candy bar if you need a sweet fix.

I rode my bike today and my mind cleared of the negative nonsense that had crawled in and taken up space. All better now. I just have to keep repeating that to myself.

Cool Weather

Went for a nice bike ride today. We are having such nice, cool weather. It's hard to sit in the office all day. Work should be canceled due to great weather!

Yesterday, I had insulation installed in our attic. I think the original stuff was all that was up there - from '57. I hope it helps keep us cooler this summer. The a/c guy was here today for the seasonal check. It looks good so when the heat wave hits...we're ready.

I cooked last night and tonight. *gasp* I can cook, I just don't get the chance very often. My mom likes to cook but she's been sick for about a week now but is beginning to feel better. I made pan roasted brussel sprouts Monday night and tonight I cooked eggplant. I like just about anything fresh. She likes frozen veggies in a cheese sauce. I don't like the fake cheese sauce that comes in those frozen veggies, plain frozen is okay. I think veggies taste best with just a little olive oil and seasonings. But, to each his own. For now, it's veggies my way. Mom has issues with germs and she never thinks anyone is as clean as her. I just try to ignore her issues - they are not my problem, but they do create some anxiety sometimes.

Have a great day today and don't forget to drink your water.

Technology Slow Lane

There's only one thing I hate more than slow weight loss - a slow computer. Mine has been slower than slow for a couple of weeks and my patience with it is done. A few weeks ago I downloaded Skype to help my  mom figure out how to use it, and when I logged out and turned off my web cam the BIG BLUE SCREEN appeared...Gasp...Never a good thing as any Windows user knows. I tried everything - reboot, defrag, cleaned out temp files, scan, reboot, etc. Nothing made a difference. I'm using my mom's computer right now and today mine is going to the Geeks for a tune-up. I love technology, but the faster things get the more I have no patience with anything slow. It just sends me over the edge to have to sit and wait for two minutes for a page to load. I feel like I'm back to the old dial-up internet of the old days, lol.

While in Dallas the week before last, we had fantastic weather. A little cool and a little windy and I wished I could run off from my real reason for being there and visit fellow bloggers that are around that area. They all have bikes and it would be a hoot to someday go riding together - Roxie (I didn't even know you got a bike), Anne, and Shelley .

I've managed to lose 2 lbs in two weeks and this week was the only week that I really tried. In Dallas, as usual, when I'm away from home I eat poorly and too many carbs. But, I did better than I have in the past so I guess that's something.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to drink your water.

ETA:  Back from the computer clinic and all is well. No virus, but waaaayyyy too many programs running in the background...sneaky little devils.

Going to Dallas

I'll be in Dallas Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for an independent school arts festival. We are taking some of our students up to perform in choir, theatre, dance, and piano. Every year we participate and I'm the coordinator. At first I got the hebbie-gebbies at the very thought of planning a trip for 40+ students and 7 faculty (some years it more like 60+ students and 12 faculty), but this is my third year to plan it and I'm beginning to look forward to it. It's held at a different school every year and next year I'm very excited that it will be in Albuquerque, NM!! Can't wait!

Anyway, I've been mentally zapped so I haven't blogged for days. I have been trying to keep up with all of you. I hope things slow down at work soon, but it looks like I'll be crazy busy until the end of May.

Food has been decent. But when I ride my bike I'm so tired that after about 6 miles I just lose steam and head home. Of course, lack of sleep (my look at the time, it's close to midnight) probably keeps my energy level pretty low, too. I have always been against sleep :) but when I need it, I like it. A love-hate thing, I guess.

Have a great weekend. Pray for a safe trip (if you are the praying kind). And drink your water.

Attitude Adjustment - Check.

I got some really great advice from some wonderful bloggers on my last post about dealing with my lack of confidence in my abilities. 1) Believe in myself. 2) Parent myself with the confidence I instilled in my son. 3) Take it one day at a time. I read those comments over and over and let the wisdom sink in. It's going to take some time, but I feel better already, so I thank you with all my heart.

I'm focusing on doing my best at work. I have faith that God is in control of my days and so I will tell myself that each morning - and let Him be in charge. That's a hard one.

Food this week has been excellent. I've cut back on my portions, cut out sugar (except for the 1/2 c. of low-fat frozen yogurt with sunflower sprinkles that I get at school at lunch), and enjoying lots of fruit and veggies. Yes, I'm enjoying them. It's amazing how good fruit tastes whent you cut out refined sugar ;)

I've been riding this week in this gorgeous Spring weather and taking Sydney for walks. She loves to go for walks, although, she'd like it if we ran! Here's some pictures of our walk today. I love tall grass and clover and Syd does, too.

Field of Clover

Sydney in the sun.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend. Don't forget to drink your water.

Talk is Cheap

I talk a good game in this diet war. I know all the right foods to eat. All the right moves to make. When I'm focused on the "prize" I can get there - well, almost there anyway. I can talk it UP about dieting. So, why do I let myself fall short of the goal? I'm sure the answer is some deep-seated, lack-o-confidence due to real life adventures of the adult kind.

All I know is, I'm looking for confidence. I only hope I can find it.

Today I ate well, took Sydney for a walk, and rode my bike for a couple of miles. My back is still hurting and limiting my movements but I'm determined to work it out.

At work I feel a change might be coming. It's that time of year for contract renewal and some people are leaving the school for greener pastures. That's all fine and good for them, but it may mean more duties for me. They seem to have a lot of confidence in my abilities. But for some reason I feel like I'm faking it everyday and one day they'll see that I'm really not as good at my job as they thought.

By the way, are you drinking your water?

Spring Break - Update

Thanks to all for wishing me well with my back problem. I am better after two and half days of laying around and taking pain meds. Not how I wanted to spend my time off, but these things happen. Now the front of my house will just look naked until I can get back to it. In my mind, I don't feel out of shape ;) But my body is good at reminding me.

To add insult to injury, I have not made the best choices for eating. My pity party included cookies and ice cream. I don't even have anything positive to say right now. Why can't I stick to eating right?

Not now...

The city's big truck came yesterday and picked up all the tree limbs in the neighborhood. While I'm thankful they do that, they always leave behind some broken pieces and dig up some of the grass. So, this morning I got up and went out to pick up all the debris. My back was hurting a little, but I'm stubborn and just kept working. When you're out of shape you really should listen to what your body is telling you. I felt a shift way down low in my back and it's like the wind got knocked out of me. Now is not the time for my back to go out!! All day today I've been trying to get relief. First I laid around (which is hard for me to do even when I don't have things I want to get done), then I walked around outside with Sydney in the backyard. Lots of moaning and groaning whenever I tried to sit down and then get up again. I have a pretty high pain threshhold, but this Hurts!

Needless to say, I'm really irritated. I have too many projects left that I want to get done this week. I'm hoping that if I rest today, tomorrow it will be better. Today was so pretty and sunny, too. Sigh.

Diet? Well, I'm still eating okay, sorta. Not dieting really, but mindful of what I'm putting on my plate.

Hope the sun is shining your way today!

Spring Break Project #1 - Yard Work

I've made a list of all the things I want to get done while on break this week. I may not get all of them done, but at least I'll get a jump on things. When my mom was living in Montgomery a couple of years ago, I spent most of my time going to her house on the weekends and my house went untouched. It's time to devote some TLC to my little corner of the world. I love this old house. We rented it for almost 10 years then the owner decided to sell it to me a few years ago. The previous owner never did a thing to the property but I love it, warts and all. I'm a DIY kinda girl so I love doing stuff, just don't always have the time or the cash.

Spring Break To Do List (not in any particular order of importance):

• Have shrubs removed from front of house, flower beds cleaned, oak tree trimmed, fallen tree in the back chopped up and all debri placed at curb for city pickup.
• Remove caulking from bathtub, bathroom sink, and kitchen sink and replace
• Plant something (?) and make a pathway in front of house
• Work in garage (the never ending battle)

Anyway, here are the before and after pics of the yardwork I had done yesterday. It looks rather naked right now, but I'll fill it in as my budget allows ;)

Front - Before and After

Side of House - Before and After

Front Window Hedge - Before and After

Today, I'm off to get some plants and run a few errands. Then since it's raining today, I'll work on the caulking. It's nice to off work, even if I'm working like a dog!

Have a great day, and don't forget to drink your water!