Ronda's Birthday Celebration

R is for real. Ronda is real, what you see is what you get. Nothin' phony about this girl.

O is for organized. Oh how she likes to organize, be organized and teach some of the rest of us slackers how to be organized.

N is for nice. Plain and simple - you are all that and more.

D is for deserving. Ronda is deserving of many things. Most of all I wish her health and happiness.

A is for appreciative. I appreciate Ronda and I'm so happy to call her my friend.


Never a dull moment when a group of us gets together. Ronda celebrated her birthday this month and so we met at GP to share some fun and laughs.




Goofing off and not always posing (or maybe we were) for the picture is just a part of us

Good times, good memories. So glad I could be a part of the fun.

Thanks Ronda for turning another year older so we could have an excuse to get together.

Disappointing

I'm going to keep this short. I gained 4 pounds this week. I didn't even want to weigh in today, but I promised myself good or bad I would weigh in. Then I made another stupid rule about posting my progress on my blog, good or bad. It was bad, now I'm moving on.

Biggest Loser

OK so it wasn't until last night when I sat down to watch a little TV that I realized that the Biggest Loser season is really over. What am I going to do? That's my TV inspiration. Oh no, what's going to replace it? How will I survive? Can't we start the next season NOW?

I didn't realize how much I relied on that show for inspiration. Last night was a let down, I wanted to see them all weigh-in, I don't want them to be done.....after all I'm still weighing-in! So after 30 minutes or so passed, I decided I'm going to have to find something to replace it and then it hit me. I went downstairs and got on the exercise bike. I'm going to replace the TV minutes with EXERCISE minutes. It's going to take me a couple of weeks (months) to get worked up to a full two hour workout and really I think it might be beneficial (ok so I know it will be beneficial) for me to workout more than one day a week.

So, here I go again mixing it up, trying something new. OK, well exercise isn't new, but tell my lungs, legs and buttocks that when I'm a huffing and puffing because I'm so out of shape. And yes the bike seat gave my buttocks a real workout last night.

So,until I look like the girl on the left in the picture above, I guess I keep on keepin' on!

Asparagus Galore!

'Tis the Season for ASPARAGUS!

I bought 50 pounds of asparagus this past week so I could make pickled asparagus. I love canning. The asparagus was really fresh so it should make for some great pickles - now I have to wait. The more patient I am the better the pickles.



It takes a lot of water and a lot of different kettles, but since moving to Oregon pickled asparagus has become a favorite for me to can.



This is the bottom of the jar before I start packing it with asparagus. This year I added a slice of onion to each jar. I'm always trying something new, you just never know when you might find that prize winning combination!



I leave the asparagus in cold water after I have cleaned it. It helps to plump the spears and make them nice and firm for packing.



I like to get my jars packed tight because as I water bath the jars, the asparagus shrinks down a little. Isn't that a pretty jar?



Water bathed and now cooling. I love hearing the sound of the snap as the lid sucks down and you know you have a good seal!



There they are. All sealed and ready to be put on the shelf so they can pickle to perfection or at least I hope so. I got 18 quarts out of my 2 boxes. Had to leave a little for eating fresh - it's just so yummy!

Seeing Results

I was digging around in a pile of clothes to find a pair of shorts to wear. I was looking for that favorite pair, you know the ones... they are comfortable, loose and have a drawstring in the waistband. So after about 20 minutes I found them. I pulled them on and WOW - the waistband was too big. In the picture above I measured from the knot that was in the drawstring from last summer to my waist - it was 4 inches on each side. I guess seeing is believing for me. Oh, by the way, I tightened the drawstring, went and looked in the mirror and then promptly went to find something else to wear. I'm thinking they looked bad last summer and it didn't get any better with weight loss. P.S. - it kinda tricky to take a picture with one hand while the other is holding a ruler and a drawstring, all the while trying to avoid getting too much of your belly in the shot! OK - I guess a little giggle would be ok.

Oh yeah, last week's weigh-in was successful - I lost 2.4 pounds! Yippee!

Stinkin' Thinkin'

Looking back at my weight loss there seems to be a definite pattern. On average I have one pretty good week with a pound or more weight loss and then the next week there will be a decimal point in front of the number. This past week was one of those decimal point weeks. I lost .2! I can't really attribute it to anything. In the beginning I would get a little bit frustrated, but finally had to tell myself that any weight lost is good. So now I'm looking at my 2 week averages to help my brain with positive thinking only.

On my way to work today I heard something that reminded me of my struggle to stay positive. One of the DJs was talking about how her mother would tell her to "get rid of that stinkin' thinkin'" The other two DJs were making fun of the phrase until she explained that every time she was thinking negative her mother would throw this phrase out at her. So for now, I'm going to try to throw away the stinkin' thinkin' and stay focused on the positive.

The above picture was pulled from Google images and while I couldn't find exactly who to give credit to, wanted to make sure that you all knew that is was not something I created for this post.

My motorcycle friends!

Don and Karen Kendall recently purchased a new motorcycle. Neither one wanted their picture taken today, but I told them I was going to get at least one shot, since I didn't have a camera with me the first time I saw the bike. Besides I know their daughters will appreciate this post! Don offered to give me a ride, but I told him I would have to wait until summer when it was a little bit warmer. I'll probably chicken out then too!

Buddy got new Toys!

So, I couldn't resist! Auntie Gwen got Buddy three new toys yesterday and one was this big orange bone. I had to see if Buddy would balance it on his nose......and he did.

I hurried to take the picture before he dropped it, so the angle of the shot makes it look fake, but he really did balance the thing on his nose.

New Chairs Too

As promised, here are my new dining room chairs. The table isn't new, but I did fool a few people because they've never seen the top of it cleared off.

I'm really enjoying my newly painted living/dining room. It has a nice warm feeling to it.

Food vs Weight Loss

I've been pretty lazy with my weight loss posts. Last week my family was here and I just didn't get around to posting my .2 weight loss. Today I weighed and I've lost another 3.4 pounds. Hooray!

I'm now 15 pounds from my 100 pound weight loss goal. It feels great and I feel great. I'm getting excited about getting so close to this major milestone. I'm trying on new-old clothes and digging out new clothes that have never had the tags off. I'm excited to be so close to such an awesome goal. My one year mark is also coming up - May 1st! While it would be nice to have lost 100 in 1 year, I'm going to be happy regardless. Besides I'll have a reason to celebrate both my 1 year anniversary and my 100 pound weight loss if they don't happen at the same time.

I've noticed that even though I've been successful so far with my weight loss challenge, I still could make better food choices. Now that spring is arriving (not counting last weekend's cold spell) I'm getting hungry for all those wonderful fresh vegetables and well maybe some fruit too. It's amazing what a little sunshine will do for a person. It changes their whole outlook and it energizes a person. I forgot how the sun makes me feel until spring comes back around.

I have exactly 4 weeks..... Keep coming back and checking my progress and once again thank you everyone for your support. You just don't know how much it means to me!!!!

Buddy Dog

Can you say, "One tired dog!" After his surgery on Wednesday, Buddy crashed on the sofa. My family came that same day and then for the week we had everything that is familiar to Buddy moved, covered or impossible to get to - including the dog toys and bed. He did well with his surgery, but this is our first day back at the office and he is sleeping like he hasn't rested in weeks. Probably good that he is getting back into his usual routine.

New color, new inspiration!

So, I decided that if I was going to have a newly painted living room, that maybe I could update my living room decor. On Sunday, my family and I went to an Arts and Craft Fair in the Tri-Cities. I immediately fell in love with all the things in one of the booths. So looked at it carefully and then I walked away, telling myself that I really didn't need it. However, the entire time I was walking through the other booths I kept thinking about how nice that window frame would look in my house. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to go back and I bought the window with two accent pieces. I LOVE IT VERY MUCH!

Here's the finished product!

I'm still trying to decide what will go on the "accent" wall. I don't really have anything in mind, but Renee and Ronda tell me that I don't have to be in a hurry to hang something on the wall. They forget that it might be another 8 years if I wait too long. Oh well!

It's hard to see the other color, but it's a very light brown, almost cream color. I love it and it makes my living room so warm and cozy!


I also got new dining room chairs, but I haven't taken a picture yet. Maybe tomorrow.

New Living Room

My Mom and Dad and Aunt Dorothy arrived on Wednesday evening and left today. Time sure does fly by quickly. Of course my Dad likes to work when he comes to visit, so I decided that we would paint my living room. Here are a few pictures. I took all my pictures a safe distance from the paint can and promptly put the camera back in the bedroom, far away from any wet paint! Dad, Mom, Aunt Dot and I painted the room and hallway. With that many hands we made quick work.
Dad stopped long enough for a picture, but then told me to put that camera down and get back to work. Hummmmmm, I think he just didn't want his picture taken.
Buddy Dog got in on the painting too. He conveniently sat in the middle of the floor until I went down to the basement. Then he followed and brushed up against the wet paint. Good thing he matched the paint!

Aunt Dot was willing to help too.

Thanks to my family for working so hard during their visit. My place feels so nice and clean and room is so much warmer looking with the new color. I LOVE IT!