How does time fly so fast?

 Since my last post, it has been 10 long years. I am still here; alive and kicking. No nearer to being in shape or happy with my physical body but I am still trying. Life has changed a lot in the last 10 years. My Jalyssa is married to Kade Kerby from Arizona and  Denver is married to Bethany Cousineau from Wisconson. They are very happy with their chosen spouses and thriving in their marriages. They all live within 3 miles of us and I love having them around. 

Kade and Jalyssa have bought a home in Magna and have been settling in quite nicely. We love having them so near. They have 2 rambunctios pups who keep them busy. Still working on the human kind. 

 Denver and Bethany are going on 2 years of marriage and are so cute and fun to have around. They make everyone happy around them. 

 One day soon they hope to expand their family as well. With Kelly and I the age of Grandparents, we too can't wait for this to happen; for any of our children. My youngest Daughter, Mariah is my joy and my hang out buddy since she is not married yet and still living at home. We do stuff together all the time together and I love every minute of it. We do clash occasionally, but we are quick to forgive. We are too much alike sometimes. 

We take trips and go kayaking and enjoy quality time together. So last but definitely not least is my amazing husband. He is my rock, my love, my everything.

The NEVER ending cycle of trying to lose weight...

 Here I am once again, wanting to lose weight, it truly is a never ending cycle. I have lost weight before and felt so good about myself, then alas I sabotage myself and gain it back and then rinse and repeat. 

This was me at one of my heaviest times, you can really see it in my face. I hate looking like that!! Why do I do that to myself? I have made some improvements over time, but am still not where I want to be. I have many changes that need to be made. 

We are going to Hot Yoga and that is really helping with my stretching and moving abilities and we love it. Who'd have thunk it? I am also trying to eat better. Some days I do really well and others I cave in to cravings. I think it is an addiction to food, because I really crave it. Yet when I am eating better and starting to notice I love that feeling even more. Here is another picture of when I thought I looked good. Still doing my favorite hobby of eating, of course. 

I am hoping to beat the cycle and make some positive changes to my life and to my body. My mental health needs work too, to fix the addiction to food and find other ways to reward myself for things. It will be hard, but worth it in the end. 

I want to be able to enjoy my later years without all the aches and pains that come with getting older. I want to be healthy and happy with myself. So putting it in writing might help it happen. Wish me luck!!

 The year is 2022 and so much of life is flying by. Is life the same as it ever was, that is impossible. Life is forever changing and will continue to do so. It has been just a bit; like almost 9 years since I have even thought about this blog. I loved writing it and loved telling about my favorite things, so why haven't I touched it in so long? After my Mom passed in 2010, it was too hard to write things down. I did a couple of posts, but I had no passion for it to continue. I feel like no one sees or reads it anyway, it is just a way for me to preserve my thoughts and feelings and share some things I love. Most importantly my family and friends. I think that Facebook has replaced a lot of blogs, that is where we tend to put things now days, so blogs get forgotten, at least in my case. 

I am still married to my incredible Husband, we are going on over 35 years now and couldn't be happier together. Over the last 13 years, many things have been great and some things have been tough, but together we get through it all. He is my rock, my friend, my counselor and my life coach. He wants nothing but the best for me and vice versa. We make it work as team. I want to update about my children, maybe I will do that in individual posts for each of them. I am so very blessed and happy. Could things improve? 100% yes, but I am content and that is all that matters!!

Too long....

Holy smokes, it has been over a year since my last addition to this blog, that's crazy!! My last time was in August 2018.

 I really should be more attentive to an easy place to have an outlet. I love looking back and see what I have posted, so silly me; why not post more often??  I WILL DO IT!!
I love reading other people's blogs, doing a little blog stocking. I have found so many wonderful ideas and activities on blogs, it is one of my favorite things to do. So I suppose this should make me want to update my own. It should be a reflection of me and the things I like to do.


So wish me luck. It is easy to blog at work, but to include pictures I have to do it at home. So that is what I will try to do... Hey? I wonder if I can do it on my phone? I will have to look in to that...

This picture shows my life, I love to eat. I plan my day around what I am going to eat, I think about what I am going to eat ahead of time and always want to be eating. Sadly this picture was at a time that I had lost some weight, sadly I am not there anymore. I have gained 50+ pounds back. I feel horrible all time and my knees are suffering for it. My clothes aren't fitting and I really need to make some changes.

I have started today with a Biggest Loser Challenge with some friends. It costs $20 to join and they charge $1.00 a llb, if you gain. We have to weigh in each week by sending a picture of us on the scale to document our weight loss. So I am going to do my very best. I really need to lose some weight before I dare go to a Dr. to talk about having my knees done. So wish me luck!!

Been a while.....

It sure has been a while, I am not sure I even remember how to do this. I guess I will give it my best shot and see how it goes. Life has been good and life has been crazy, but isn't that how it works. We make plans and God laughs. I have heard that life is what happens while you are making plans. I suppose that is how it really is.
I have a blessed life, an incredible family, a sexy Husband who I adore and so many good friends I don't deserve. How can I complain. I can't so I won't!! The year is 2018 and time has flown by at such an alarming rate it hardly seems possible.
My children have grown in to responsible contributing adults, who have my respect and friendship. They are some of the very best, and I am lucky to be their Mother. I will catch you up a bit on my next post, if I get this one to work. Wish me luck!

Chit Chat

I came across this post on a blog-stalking morning, and I loved every word of it. I try to be this kind of person, and I have tried to teach my kids to be these kind of people. I have tried to teach my kids that you can find something nice to say about anyone, and make them feel noticed and special. It should become second nature to you and something you do without even thinking. I love the way this lady was described and how she treated everyone. I strive to be this kind of person everyday, and you should too..... Enjoy!! Chit-chat. That's what I grew up calling it. You know, when you go somewhere and people are just making small talk with one another? Chit-chat. It sounds like such a simple thing-small talk. It isn't though. Maybe it used to be, but we have grown so cold and hardened that even something as simple as small talk feels like a burden. It really seems like a dying art. I confess that it is something EXTREMELY hard for me to do. Just the thought of carrying on a conversation with someone I don't know is enough to put me in a cold sweat. Seriously. However, when I have done it, it has been very rewarding. Today I saw a lady who had mastered the art of chit chat. She was AMAZING!! She was a checker-outer-person at the grocery store (I never know what those people are called...). EVERY SINGLE PERSON who went through her lane responded and opened up to her friendly chatter! I KID YOU NOT!! You could see some that were reticent at first, but no one stood a chance. She was that good. I actually switched lanes so that I could go through her line. haha! She chatted about her kids, other people's children, an item being purchased, a hat someone was wearing, a woman's hair-do and one guy's choice of cigarettes. She didn't grin foolishly or inappropriately. She wasn't laughing like an idiot. She was just happy and pleasant. On the way home I tried to figure out WHY she was so successful at chatting it up with complete strangers. I think I stumbled on to at least one way to do this successfully. PAY ATTENTION. Whatever conversation she started with someone was always pertinent to them. She noticed a detail and used that as an opener. It's a well known fact that most people are overly eager to discuss themselves. Why not use this? She did. It does a couple of things. The first thing it does is make you aware of someone other than yourself (and can't we ALL use a little bit more of that?!). The second thing it does is crack the other person's shell. They were NOTICED!! What a lovely thing to be! I think these elements are key in unlocking the art of chit--chat. Perhaps there are other ways to converse with strangers successfully. I haven't seen any that I can recall, but I bet they do those two things. Something to think about anyway. Maybe this week we could all try a little chit-chat with someone we don't know. It will not only brighten your day and heart to make that small connection, but it will DEFINITELY bring a small bit of joy to another's heart. Go ahead, try it more than once! Charlotte Mason (who is one of my heroes) said, ""The thought which defiles a man behaves in precisely the same way as that which purifies: the one, as the other, develops, matures, and increases after its kind." BASICALLY it means that whichever thoughts we choose to allow will grow and multiply more like it. So, if we want to be warm and caring individuals, start THINKING warm and caring thoughts. Soon these thoughts will grow and multiply (much like a living organism) and won't have to try so hard. Just imagine how wonderful that would be! A world with more caring and kind people!!! Just lovely.

It Sucks to Be Broke!!

As my heading says.... It sucks to be broke!! Now don't misunderstand me, it's not us that is broke. For once in our lives we are on top of the game and have a little savings and enough money for our bills and things we need. I am so grateful to my husband for working REALLY hard to get us to this point. It has been a really long time coming and he helps keep my spending under control. But.... a lot of people I know are really struggling and still learning how to manage their money. I know personally it is not easy in any way.
It is hard to see your children struggle and learn these lessons the hard way.
It seems that young marrieds these days have an expectation of wanting everything we as parents have worked and struggled for. They want it all now, and don't understand why they can't have it. We worked hard for the things we have. We earned them and deserve them. In my opinion, they don't!! Not yet anyway, one day it will be their turn. Jobs will come and go, money will come and go too. It is a challenge for everyone to go through. Just expressing a few little thoughts... Take it as you will....