Mom's Birthday

My Mom...She made it to 72!!  She is not sure she is so glad about that but it is better than not being here at all.   She got some nice phone calls and gifts and was properly honored for this milestone.  Does this kind of thing seem to solidify goals for you? It seems to make my goals more tangible. 
She is now beginning to see her grandchildren present us with children and it is her pleasure to hear of each new addition on the way!  It does not make my goals of seeing my grandchildren's grandchildren seem so far fetched...
Seeing other people meet goals often helps me keep pressing on toward my own... When teaching I stressed setting goals and meeting them is such a big part of any progress.  Even tiny goals are progress!!  I have to sometimes be my own cheerleader but it does help to meet even the tiny ones...
Every project every goal is made up of many small steps and sometimes I have to celebrate each tiny step on the way to a BIG goal or project...

1. celebrating each 10lbs instead of looking at the 180 or so to go!!!
2. gaining control of the front yard instead of looking at the whole 6 acres!!
3. sewing one new dress instead of the whole summer wardrobe

What are your goals? What are your first tiny steps to reach them?
Remember to count your blessings along the way!! :)

inspiration...

Where do we find the inspiration we need to become something more than we are at this time? Often mine is found in my family.  I am beginning to embark on a journey to restore my health.  It will take at least the next year and include several surgeries.  I need to concentrate on the results... not the challenges that I face.  Break it into manageable goals that will result in final goals being met.  It has been such a blessing to finally find a med(savella) that is controlling the fibromylagia pain after 20+years! Blessings abound with the addition of water therapy (started in April) and physical therapy (started in June) and the cortisone shots(first in June) as a stop gap until the surgery on my joints can be done.  Now to be stepping into the process for bariatric surgery(http://www.tylerbariatrics.com/ ) is an adventure with mixed emotions...but I am glad that it is available to me.  I crave the support of my family and dear friends... to be surrounded with prayers and positive thoughts and words of encouragement will be part of the secret of my success... I thank all who will join me.

fall beginning...

fall is beginning...

or so they say...

I am not through with summer yet! I had a wonderful summer playing with babies... at the beach, playground, river, and even in the living room...

I know the snow is on it's way and my bones will not tolerate it... so I will have to escape to Texas "south for the winter" snowbirds... How do I survive and even breathe so far from my sons and grandbabies... Sometimes it is more than I can do... But I intend to haunt these pics and hang on tight to memories to get me through to the next time I can see those wonderful faces and feel those young arms wrapped around me once more...

birthday #53

ok... I have lived through another Birthday... now to be middle aged I will have to live to be 106! This is doable...right?
To take inventory...
1. still weigh too much, 2. grey is increasing, 3. wrinkles are increasing, 4. seeking simplicity and seem to be gaining on it...hence the grey increasing (no more dye), 5. children are grown up men now, 6. grandbabies growing...3yr old informed me she is NOT a baby! another one starting school in fall...
Goals?
1. Andy's independence increase
2. Increase my health earmarks
    a. blood pressure continue to be normal
    b. stamina continue to increase with Victoza
    c. cholestrol continue to decrease
3. continue simplification of homestead
4. develop stream of income
5. not dwell on weight loss but on health increasing...

laxy saturday

starting out to be a lazy day... mom asleep alot... james feeling down and staying dizzy... dad gone to visit his brother... i am finally over my toothache but now do not want to go get it pulled now that the anitbiotic has worked! I just want to get in the car and head north to the cooler climate and my grandbabies giggles are calling me... To hell with dr appointments and such just let me outta here! This being a grown up stinks... so how is your day...

a new joy filled year?

A new year and what will it hold... lots of hugs and grandbaby kisses... laughter and prayer... looking for joy where it can be found... I know sometimes we have to search for these simple things... some days they are harder to find than others... the world here is covered in snow and much is hidden just like the joy is sometimes hidden in our life... it takes determination sometimes to find it... a choice to seek the joy in our little lives... the taste of a strawberry, the breeze on a hot day, the snore of the one you love beside you, giggle of a child on the phone, "I love you" long distance from someone who means it... tiny things in this HUGE world but all can bring joy into my little life... I will search for these things and FIND them this year...

perfect rest? yes, if my mind is set on GOD...

sister's love...pure perfection... decisions...decisions...decisions...

Setting priorities is a ways a challenge...

When my boys were little it was easy... They were first even when they didn't think so...they were... Now there are grandbabies and parent needs that are a part of the mix... I want to be helpful and available for them all... only kink is they are 1100 miles apart!!! So now I am working out logistics to be there for them all... I have a partner in all this. He is quite strong and knowledgeable, and available anytime I need a shoulder to cry on or a new idea or just to know someone is in this situation with me... no it is not my sweetheart (his is all those things as well). It is my GOD... He is always there and can watch over all my little family here and afar and keep all them tucked under his wing of protection. He is always ready with a new idea or plan if I will take the time to let him whisper it into my ear... I just have to remember that he is willing if I am ready. He can protect them all and lead them when I am not right there...he is... I often wonder how others do it all without his support...it must be so hard... well I will go get busy.

you be blessed today...

oatmeal, walnuts, honey

chad and his turkey leg

chad & zoe happy meals

chad and raisin bread

Just wondering how would I go about simplifying my diet? There is so much written about what we eat. What would a simple diet consist of. Some say it would be maybe vegetarian. Some only what you make from scratch. Does it mean simple to prepare or simple to eat. Simple to eat might be drop by the window and place my order...not the best for my health. So what do you think a simple diet would be?

• fruit
• veggies
• grain
• protein
• water

how simple do you make it and not get bored... does it matter if it bores us... are we eating for entertainment? "eat to live or live to eat?" is a comment heard in a diet group or two over the years... just wondering... be blessed today...

lost son...found...*:) shavin with grandpa in '76

lost son found...at the beach in'76

son lost in cleveland... search mapquest... son found in cleveland...

going for his second appointment to have the stomach surg in January...

he is braver than I am...

ain't these puters wonderful...

puttering around the house and looking to stay out of trouble...

will go get grandbabies and play at the beach this evening...

or that is the plan anyway...

be blessed today

july 09 grandma's job

the water was chasing her...

she will pose for this one...

sharing the great lake with grandpa

going for a trip with grandma...

moving is by nature complicated... so how do you simplify it?

plan, plan, plan... I am tired of planning...

I just want to be taking action!

I am ready to take action even if it is the wrong one...

just quit planning and move!

I guess that is why I am blessed to have my sweetheart here... he is the calm, slow, and steady type that keeps my impulsiveness in check... he is a good choice...

Today we start the taxi for taking the #1 grandson to band practice M, T & W night. Has to be there by 6. It is good that his dad is on days and can pick him up this week. Last week it was over there by 6 and pick him up at 9... of course if we picked up a baby grandchild for 3 hours it made the time fun...exhausting but fun...

Here I go to do more planning... you all be blessed today.

still mowing

grandbaby #6 chad and grandma resting in outdoor swing (bed mode)

Today my sweetie put a running board on our old van "bertha" (name provided by my son). Now I can get in from both sides!! While he was doing that I took on the mowing chore... (he made this suggestion...he is trying to keep me moving) I did it all without taking a break... (mind you we live in a trailer park...not much lawn) I am 43lbs lighter than my last mowing blog was written... I did work up a sweat (or glistened) but I did not have to go sit for a while to rest before I finished... I am getting stronger... I still have MILES to go before I reach optimum health but I am making progress... in a book I wrote years ago it said over and over...Progress not perfection... I need to practice what I preached... this pic is from our most recent visit with Chad... we were resting after he took grandma for a walk... he grabs my hand and pulls me all the way...to see every animal, leaf, and especially any worms that my cross our path... *:)

song stuck in my head...

this is one of my blessings...grandbaby # 8 miss zoe

old song...
"i am blessed"
"i am blessed"
"every day that i live i am blessed"
"when i wake up in the morning"
"when i lay my head to rest"
"i am blessed"
"i am blessed"
i guess this is one that is easier to sing sometimes than others...
i know if i can get this one stuck in my head my day always goes better...
what song is stuck in your head today?

pass it on...

This is my grandson Chad and his worms. We were learning about biology this day. I have heard it said you need to learn something new every day... I am trying to figure if you are doing all this learning when do you do your practicing. There comes a time to apply all that knowledge or at least take the time to pass it along... There are so many younger people (always someone younger) who need to know something that you know... If you have a skill or a trick of the trade or just a neat idea take the time to share it and don't let it die with you! Share your knowledge even if is just reading to someone or teaching someone how to do some little thing that will make their life a bit easier... Reach out and help someone else learn something new everyday...TODAY!