:)

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Well, well, well......

Well, here it is a year and ten days later and my after picture is much the same as my before picture.  I fell far short of my goal.  Of the 365 hours that I had planned to log in "Me Time", I only logged 80.  And out of the 365 Exercise hours I'd planned, I only logged 91.  I feel certain that had I come through, I'd have a much different picture to show you today.  That's the bad news, but there is a bit of good news to report.  First of all, I learned something.  I learned that I need to set a more attainable goal  for myself.  I found that 2 hours a day were much harder to come by than I thought they were going to be.  I had myself rather overwhelmed by the end of the first week.  I think I'd have been better off had I set a goal of 1 hour of exercise 3 days a week, or of 15 minutes every day.   Had I been more consistant in my hour per day I'd be better off today.  For instance, had I not just exercised 1 hour every day for several days and then nothing for weeks, but rather spread it out evenly I'd be more fit today.  So what do I do now?  Throw in the towel and count myself beaten?  I think not!  I believe it's time to switch it up a bit.  The good news is that I did manage to exercise 91 hours which averages out to be 14.958 minutes per day.  Other good news......I'm participating in a "Biggest Loser" challenge with my sister, my brother-in-law and some of their friends.  And guess what.... I've been losing weight!  Look for more about that in a future post.  Also, Bountiful Baskets ( http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ ) is helping me to eat healthier.  More about BB in a future post as well.  And one more thing, we have been fortunate enough to aquire a plot in the neighborhood community garden.  That equals more exercise and healthy eats.  Watch for updates.

As for the "Me Time", there's good news there as well.  I have started painting again and I'm loving it.  I'm slowly working on starting an ETSY shop to sell some of my creations.  I'll let you know when I have it up and running.  I've also been attending the temple about twice a month which makes for some very rejuvinating me time.  And since my old camera had been dropped about a hundred too many times, Mark gave me a fun new camera for my birthday.  I'm having a blast with it, and it makes for some good bird watching as my little Lazuli Buntings have returned.  Oh, and I've been teaching Heather to sew.  Great mother daughter time!

Well, I must be about other business now.  There's a pile of work waiting for me in the lab.  You can expect a post in the very near future with my goals and plan of attack for the coming year.  I think I've made some good modifications which will lead to better results.  I'm out of time for now, but here are few pics taken with my new camera and I promise to post a current photo of myself with the next post.  I'd do it now, but I'm enjoying a frump day today.  Like I said before, I look much the same as I did a year ago.

See why I love these cute little birds?

Atop the Boise temple

A very strange bird at the feeder.  (Courtesy of Toby's camerajacking.)

Heather putting the finishing touches on her very cute skirt.

Mark turning the dirt with Sarah overseeing the work.

View from the garden. (photo courtesy of Sarah)

A Little Me Time

I decided to try my hand at painting with acrylics.  They have their good points, but my first love is still oils.  Here's what I came up with.  The colors didn't scan quite true. The blues are more purple,but they're close.

In January, I finished a painting of the newlyweds(more about them and the whole wedding business in a future post). I painted it with my beloved oils,

As soon as I get my nerve up, I'll be finishing another oil painting that for the moment is intimidating me.  When finished, it will hopefully hold a likeness of one of my favorite heros.

That's it for now.  I'm off to hit the eliptical. :) I believe it's a little lonely. :(

I'm Baaaaaack

Well, my birthday is just three months from today and obviously, I haven't come close to staying on track.  I've recorded just 80 hours of exercise for the past nine months.  I have neglected to record some hours, but I have still fallen far short of my goal.  I could vow to reach that 365 hour mark by my birthday, but I'm afraid that's just not realistic.  So my goal for now is to simply get back on track.  So that's my plan. TTFN

Pics From My Walks

Here are a few pics from last week's walks. This is the 13-year old huskey I rescued.  He'd been missing from his home for 4 days.  I'm guessing all the snow made it hard for him to find his way back.  Luckily for him, I ventured out for a walk and found paw prints in the snow leading to the backyard.  I found him sleeping under the trompoline.  I called the animal sheltor and they were able to hook me up with the owners.  Boy, were they delighted to have Sulu back. 

Bare pavement! Need I say more?  Today, I believe I'll be able to get a shot of dry pavement.  Woohoo.

And look at this cutie patootie I found one day.  As I was heading out, she was heading home from the Mallory's.

I owe you a few more photos, but I wimped out some days(just didn't care for the icy sidewalks) and stayed indoors on the eliptical.  Guess I'll have to take some pics of the family room for you.  :)  Just so you don't feel too cheated, here's a pic of the countdown chain that the lovebirds made.  And no, it's not counting down to Christmas.  As of today, it has 31 links left on it.

Snow Day Fun!!!!!!

We couldn't pass up a yard full of "snowman" snow.  Let me introduce Pig In Idaho and Oleksandr(named after our waiter on the Royal Caribbean).

Be sure to look closely at our noses in the pictures with the snowpig. :)

This Overhaul is Bordering on Crisis

My year is over half over and I'm seriously behind on my hours.  I've been working on recommitting myself.  I had planned to up my excercise to 2 hours a day in order to catch up.  Great idea, right?

Ha! Not gonna happen just now. It happens that my lovely daughter, Heather, got engaged to a fine young man, David.  As you might guess, we're delighted.  They're great kids and they're crazy about each other.  In spite of the fact that we're delighted, we're in a bit of a panic.  Why?  They got engaged the night before Thanksgiving and will be married on January 8.  That's 38 days away!!!!!!!

  We're scrambling to pull it together. We've scheduled the temple, scheduled the church, bought a dress, made mints and made tons of plans in just one short week.  It's been pretty hectic, but it will all be worth it when it's all said and done.  Meanwhile, I'm committing myself to at least a short walk outdoors every day for the next 38 days.  I figure it will help me keep my sanity.  The 2 hours per day will have to wait until after the wedding. To prove that I've actually been out walking in this winter wonderland, I'll be taking at least one picture of my walk every day.  I may not post it daily, but I will post one from each day when I get the chance.

I didn't have to venture very far to find some worthy sights today.  We have just recieved the largest snow storm Boise has seen in years.  These pics were taken in my yard. It's absolutely gorgeous out their. 

I should probably refill the feeder.