Song of the day

Today I went off and talked to my favorite farmers collecting about 15 yellow tomatoes for a Honeyed-Yellow Tomato Butter. Yeah I am not sure what it is either but it is in my handy canning recipe book and tomatoes are in season so I say, "Why not." I should bring Becky the farmer some if it is any good. I also picked up my super fresh eggs. Now you may be thinking I would pick a farming song and well you would be mostly right as of this very moment.

I know you are tapping your knee as you tap your foot. Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin' is the life for me.

The true is I really wanted a different song to be the song of the day so if you would kindly stand up. Trust me your going to want to

I saw him dancin' there by the record machine
I knew he must a been about seventeen
The beat was goin' strong
Playin' my favorite song
An' I could tell it wouldn't be long
Till he was with me, yeah me
And I could tell it wouldn't be long
Till he was with me, yeah me, singin'

I love rock n' roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby
I love rock n' roll
So come and take your time and dance with me

Ow!

You know I am singing along. Be glad that you can't hear me.

I hope you are having a rockin day filled with love and laughter. Be well Friends.

Oh me, oh my.

Do you ever have a moment when you realize that your child is taking after you in all the wrong ways? If you haven't yet had the pleasure I am sure it is coming soon. At least I hope so because the other option here is that I am totally crazy. Which is mostly true looking at the facts alone. Today I asked Damian to copy four sentences from his latin book explain etc. Which as you know is et cetera which is a Latin expression meaning "and other things" or "and so on". He started crying and yelling and ranting and raving. Me I am standing at the counter reading a recipe on making ricotta cheese. I look up at him and see myself when he says, "I am going to be a dried up old prune by the time this is finished and it is going to be all your fault." I swallowed hard and smiled at the absurdity of it all. This is my child acting like me. Not that I have ever said those words in that way before but I have been known to yell crazy things when I get upset including, "Oh all hail the King of the House for he has spoken and so it will be down!" or "Don't tell me that my argument makes no sense, it makes plenty of sense, I know your thinking it so stop thinking it right now. I make total sense and just because you are currently thinking I am crazy does not in fact make me crazy. No you are not right stop thinking that too. I am going to pull out of my hair trying to tell you that I am right not you." Maybe this last argument was a lacking in content but I was totally right at the time I knew I what I was talking about. Plus I get mad and I don't want to be hurtful so I yell, "Your lucky I love you right now!" I don't know if it is just me but it feels good to just yell something anything. Here is the thing my husband lets me talk crazy until I calm down. He sits there and smiles at how absurd I am saying next to nothing. Believe me we had an argument over fig vinegar and that just got completely out of hand on the crazy meter. Even he could not believe the crazy things coming from his mouth. Sometimes the crazy spreads.

Anyway as I was saying I realized that my sweet boy was taking after his nutty mother instead of his usually calm quiet father. I am so sorry that he is taking after me. I feel like maybe I am the wrong parent to take after most of the time.

There is a bright side of this crazy train when we are happy we sing about daily life. If you watch How I Met Your Mother you have seen Marshal sing about paying bills, doing laundry, walking, cooking, drinking, etc. That is me and the boys. I sing about driving the car, traffic, cooking, chopping, walking, folding laundry doing dishes, reading, playing, lunch, so on and on. It is weird and wonderful to make up little songs that fill you up with happiness. I only hope that when my children grow up they find a partner to balance them out. I hope I haven't ruined them.

I have no idea how the universe aligned to allow for Rob and I to find each other in this crazy world but it did. I have to believe That God brought us together because he knew we needed each other to fully grow into the people we were meant to be. Not to sound totally dependant on my husband but even the flowers need to be watered in order to grow.

I hope that your children take after the right parent and that your day is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Harvest from the heart

Today I went to wonder around the garden and found that I could do the most rewarding activity. My first real harvest because I needed a basket and I didn't eat everything I picked right away. I am super bad about picking and eating the ripe fruits without sharing. Especially tomitillos yum. In fact it is so bad that yesterday my husband was telling me that the tomitillos were not doing well and he might have to take them out soon. My response was, "Well think of how many tomitillos we have gotten." He smiled at me then asked, "How many would that be because I have only had one." No response from me because I know that he knows that I have eaten a few every morning for a month. Only sharing if I have company in the garden. Listen before you judge my greediness I did full tell everyone I was going to the garden. Just because they did not want to come see what was ready with me means they missed out. Besides that my sweet husband eats as he goes too. Don't be fooled by his sweet loving smile. We all have our weaknesses.  I want to show you what I harvested this morning

Yellow boy tomatoes. Hello boys!

We ate this one. It was sweet and just a little tart and totally perfect.

Onions! I pulled the rest of the yellow onions as they were completely ready. Sadly I found two that were over ripe and went in the compost bin instead of the table.

I know that these babies are small but it turns out that onions don't grow that big on their own.

At least here in good old hot Texas.

This is how you store onions. Braid the top and hang them up. They will last a long time.

This is my first harvest.

I even saved about a dozen tomitillos

I totally did a happy dance when I found these green beans.

Banana Peppers

Jalapenos, bell peppers, and tomatoes.

I picked some of the tomatoes before they were ripe because they will ripen on the counter. If we let them get ripe all the way the bugs and birds are more then happy to help harvest before we can. I am so happy that we are finally getting meal sized harvests. I have tons of swiss chard I need to find a recipe to use them in. Maybe I could do swiss chard rolls. I need to look up some recipes.

I hope you have a happy day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Slinky on the edge

Today I watched a video of a slinky...

It is memorizing will it fall off? Look at that incredible save. Then I start singing

Oops. I think I am showing my true colors.

So did you watch all three minutes of the slinky video? It is crazy, I forgot how much fun slinky are. Then I remember the self destructive Slinky's that I had as a child. They always got tangled and twisted and laughed that evil laugh when I tried to save it from itself. Not cool evil slinky! I should get a slinky for the kids but every time I see one looking innocent on the store self I remember that horrible laugh. It is haunting. What if we get the evil slinky terrible cousin with pretty red hair? I am scared.

I hope that you have a lovely day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Macaroni Salad

We are having a BBQ later today with some friends. As you know I planned to make Macaroni Salad mostly because I can only stand potato salad like twice a year. I get a little burnt out on staple dishes. Potato salad was my job for about five years for every occasion with our very close friends because he was allergic to mayo so I made my own dressing experimenting until it was perfect. I made it a lot then we moved away from them and I stopped making it except when I am asked to bring it along or help out in the kitchen. Well if you know me I probably weaseled my way into the kitchen and took over under the guise of getting a glass of wine. That is right I will lie to you so that I can get my hands in to the meal preparation. Wait how did I get on potato salad? Moving to the original theme of this long winded story I have never made macaroni salad before and I have to say I really like this American classic.  I don't know if you already have a recipe but just in case here is my version.

First I want to show the printout I got for Macaroni salad. I added a few things...

 

I am in love with this yummy bowl of macaroni

Will you be my, won't you be my neighbor?

Here is the original recipe's link www.sixsistersstuff.com/2011/08/traditional-american-macaroni-salad

Ingredients



 2 cups dry macaroni, cooked, rinsed, and drained (I used the whole bag of macaroni)
1/3 cup diced celery (I used two stalks)
1/4 cup minced red onion (I used a small one from my garden and diced it)
1/2 cup diced vine ripened tomatoes (I used a lot of pink lady cherry tomatoes and cut them in half)
1 tablespoon minced parsley  (check)
1 can of olives cut into quarters (I added this to the recipe)
3 small bell peppers of different colors (I had a red, purple, and green in the garden. They were small so used you judgement and personal taste to how much you might like in it)
1 cucumber peeled and diced (addition I love)
a small bunch of Dill minced (Believe it or not dill adds a great fresh taste to the whole salad)

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise (I use light miracle whip because I like it so if you have a favorite mayo use it)
3/4 teaspoon dry mustard (check)
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar (check)
1 1/2 tablespoon cider vinegar (I used half a tablespoon of cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the new fig balsamic vinegar I got from a local place. You can mix up your favorite vinegars. Balsamic is a fail safe. It is never wrong)
3 tablespoons sour cream (I used greek yogurt because it is awesome!)
dash of cayenne pepper (It evens out the sweetness of the sauce)
a dash of olive oil (I used lemon olive oil. I think you could leave this out if you wanted)
Salt
pepper

Directions

In a large bowl mix the vegetables and macaroni noodles together. In a small whisk together the remaining ingredients to make the dressing. Then combine the two bowls. I did not use all of the dressing I made because I don't like my food drowning. I recommend that you add and mix a little at a time until you find the constancy that you like best. If you like it saucy add it all in.

I hope you enjoyed today's recipe.

Happy Memorial weekend! I hope it is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

New thoughts on old ideas

I am sure you noticed that I stopped doing the photo of the day. I ran out of steam on day 23 which was technology, day 24 something new and so on. I just did not find the creativity in these days plus I miss updating about my garden, crafts, cooking and schooling. The picture of the day is fun but it gets to be a little overwhelming towards the end. So I think I will lay off trying to be so consistent  on one single topic. This month I have found my love all thing homemade including ketchup, and crackers. I have made two sets of matching hats and scarves with at least one more coming in the next week. I starting making a log cabin quilt for a dear friend's children (one is still cooking. So I am waiting to get the news on where to add pink or add monsters). Honestly I want to try and focus on me, me, me. Well on the things that I am interested in. I want to be able to give you new ideas to try out or just share my new ideas. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed taking pictures and I had some fun working on the picture of the day. I just feel like it is time to move on. I hope you will continue to read along on this crazy jumble of words and thoughts that I call life. I enjoy sharing the pieces of me with you friends.

Today I am planing a BBQ to celebrate Memorial Day hamburgers, macaroni salad / pasta salad, baked beans, grilled corn salad, and a blackberry cobbler. I am just waiting on some replies to my guests. I found some flavored water that sounds yummy, and just now I want a lemon drop martini in a mason jar. Summer is coming which is always exciting but now that I live near the sun (I mean south Texas) summer takes on a whole new meaning of heat. Fortunately for us the pool is finally open so we all will be getting more exercise by way of walking to and from the pool in the mornings.

Here are a couple of summer songs to get you in the mood.

What is better then John Travolta? Well as long as you don't read the tabloids . . .

Hello Kieth Urban. "We should be together. . . Singing along with the radio."

You know you love to slow down for a minute and slow dance with your partner or child.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend filled with love, laughter, and music. Be well my friends.

By The Dashboard Light

Everyday I have been posting for the photo challenge but I wanted to do something different. If you don't mind taking a little ride straight down the rabbit hole with me here are my song choices for you.

The truth is that this video made me laugh and the crazier it got I was happy to dance until I was hungry. . .

It's Meat Loaf y'all! I love the '70's in fact I am thinking of teasing and feathering my hair. I know I will look like Farrah or Meat loaf or some weird combination.

Baby you can drive my car, but I get to pick the radio station. Beep beep beep Yeah! It could be a fun trip to no where.

You know I would turn the music up and sing along. You may try to tune me out but I am perstint and soon you'll be screaming along with me "Juke Box Hero with stars in eyes." Sing out, you know you want to dance and bang your head. It looks cooler then what it feels like. . .

I know you thought I would throw Hot blooded in here on the road trip. Sometimes I just want to slow it down after all of that wild screaming.

I swear this is the last Foriegner song. Well today. Ever feel like you are in the wrong decade? " It's you and me baby. Head games"

I don't know how we got here but I am having fun in the 70's flash back. Lean back friend and let the music take you away.You know I never knew how long this song was. You can totally live a whole life in this one crazy song...

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair...

We are getting close to our destantion. I know it's tempting to throw me out of the car so you can listen to the sounds of silence but I am holding on and you know I have no shame. It is a gift.

I know this how your feeling right about now.

Sometimes you have to speak up and tell me to stop.

This one is for you. Cause I love you. You are free to go.

I hope you have a sweet day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

22. pink

Photo of the day for the month of May.

Day 22. Pink

I have a small confession. Last night the boys wanted to sleep with us and I always say there is always room in the bed. I love it when they want to be near us it is becoming a rare occasion with Damian. We have a queen sized bed so that we are forced to be next to each other no matter what. Mostly we can't stay mad at each other if we want to stay in the bed and so far we have only slept in separate rooms when the husband is out of town. Last night I realized how big both of my babies are. I would fall asleep and then wake up to hot, crowded, or just plain uncomfortable. I took my pillow out to the couch but I was to lazy to go to the other side of the house in the early morning hours to grab a blanket. So I would get cold, and go back to my bed and the cycle would begin all over. No room in the bed for mom. So it is safe to say that I got next to no sleep. It turns out I was not the only one who slept badly. The boys woke up cranky. Damian went back to bed and slept for another two hours. Me, well I have a lot to do so I have to skip the nap. Tonight is the last cub scout meeting and I need to make a dessert. I still have no idea what to make and the clock is ticking, ticking, and my eyes are so heavy. So when I went to take pictures of something pink I picked something really easy.

Here is the photos of the day:

With a house full of boys I had to go outside to find some pink.

This rose is called peppermint splash.

I hope that you take the time to smell some roses today and that your day is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

21. where you stand

Photo of the Day for the Month of May
Day 21 Where you stand.

All morning I have been thinking about taking a picture of my feet somewhere. Then something amazing happened my baby, sorry I mean my big boy, started swinging by himself.

This is where I am standing, on the sideline of my kids life.

I know that I am still coaching but some days it is getting real.

This boy is learning how to fly.

I will be left standing while both of them leave the nest.

I love being their mom. I love that they are best friends. That they love each other.

Today I am standing still hope that they will grow a little slower, but I know they won't. I know that even though I want to hold on to these little people I also want to let them grow into adult men. I also know that I am going to need God's help to guide them down the road. I am praying that they know I am doing the best I can and that they will turn out happy adjusted people.

I hope that you are having a swinging day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

20. something you can't live without

Photo of the day for the month of May.

Day 20 something you can't live with out

This is not my picture but I thought it was funny.

I decided that I can not live without a work toilet! No way, no how, not ever! I would rather explode then use an outhouse! Seriously those things stink to HELL, covered in hungry flys, and you never know what creepy thing is down there. Personally I am too afraid to look for fear of losing last weeks lunch. I remember some gross guy in the news last year or so that kept going in one of those port a potties so he can watch people do their business. My skin is crawling at the idea. What if there is a snake in that pile of stink, or a monster. I have see X-Files it could happen! Not just the out house that you have to hover over while trying not to touch anything with any part of your body or clothes while holding your breath. Have you ever had to pee behind a bush? Also not fun to have to keep watch, hover, and pray. So I can not live with out my toilet.

I hope you are haveing a wonderful day filled with love, and laughter. Be well my friends.

19. a favourite place

Photo of the Day for the month of May
Day 19 is a favorite place.


What is my favorite place? I don't know. Here is why I am from a small town in Oregon and every time we go back home that is my favorite place. I love visiting Carter Lake. The Oregon coast, the cascade mountain range, the pine trees (which I used to think were nothing more than weeds), the smell of juniper, the horizon everything about Oregon is home to me. When I lived in England there was this road lined with trees that my husband and I would go out of our way to drive down at least once a month. England is a beautiful rainy country that I loved being able to explore and live. Paris France is one of my all time favorite cities. I still dream of the mussels and chocolate that I ate in Brugges Belgium. Panama City Florida is green and lovely on a river, creek, or spring. The white sandy beaches, the palm trees dancing in the wind, and the ocean filled with life, hope, understanding. The Rocky Mountain National park is one of the most scenic places I have ever had the pleasure to see. While you are standing on top of a mountain it is easy to know that God made that place. I love my house here in Texas, and my backyard. The truth is all of these places are shared with my husband, and my children. I think that without them these places lose the magic. So today I am staying close to home.

I love this place. Sometimes the kids and I pile on this couch and watch a movie for nap time, at the end of the night my husband and I cuddle up and watch a show together. Sometimes we have a family movie night with popcorn and everyone here together.

My kids art work. I let them tape it up and display their creations here.

For whatever reason Damian has started a Dinosaur wall.

He is getting pretty good at drawing these dinos. I love that he put random facts below each of the dinosaurs. We can all learn together.

I hope you get to spend some time today in your favorite place today and that it is filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Warning Bikini Body

Um, well not really a bikini body at all. I warned you. The other day I was reading a blog about the beginning of a weight loss journey. Really I felt like it was more about the pre bought meal plan, you know the ones that send you all of your food. I am sure that they are great plans that work but isn't anyone worried about the over processed food? Where is it that you learn to prepare healthy food? Or where is it you learn about the actual food? These plans are made so that you lose weight with out thinking about it as long as you only eat what they give you to eat. Honestly the only reason I have never tried one of them is because I do not want to spend the money and now I know to much about where food comes from to want to eat any kind of processed food. I am getting off on a tangent believe it or not I was not planning that. The point is in all of the start up posts people are willing to say I have X amount weight to lose and I am going to follow Y diet. Maybe I have been guilty of doing this in the past.

Moving on I struggle with where I think my weight needs to be. If you have been reading for long you know that I suck at dieting or at least following diets. I want to be totally honest and open with you. It is brutal and I am stalling. Today I am going to show you where I am and tell you why I think I need to be some where else.

What I totally warned you about this Bikini Bod.

The side view awesome.

You know side views are kind of hard to do in a small bathroom with a self timer.

Front again. I want to cry. So if you don't have anything nice to say please don'

t say it to me. Oh, yeah. White is beautiful.

Last but the least favorite my weight. 1 6 4 . 2

Part of the reason I decide to post these is so that I have before picture to measure myself by. The other reason is most of the time I hide my weight well in clothes. So I have been told I don't need to lose weight. The cold hard truth is right now I am not healthy. I have been totally defeated by that scale and slowly as the weight didn't come off , or it did but then came back I have gotten lax, lazy. Lazy on choices (um homemade marshmallows, twix bars, peanut butter bars, cookies, should I continue or just assume that to be the worst offenders. . . I got lost in the battle of the numbers, and the more I tried the less I saw the scale move down. I quit. That is right I am a quitter. I weighted until my pants don't fit, I am tired all of the time, and eating eating eating.

The good news in this mess is. . .

Today is a new day and I am not going to follow a diet. I am not going to weigh myself more then once a month. My plan is a five part plan, or a two part plan. Okay so my plan is to be flexible and change slowly. I am not going all out hard because I get burnt out fast.

Part 1. Admit that I have a problem. Check
Part 2. Couch to 5K http://www.c25k.com/c25k_treadmill.html

 

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:00: Run 6:00-7:30: Walk 7:30-8:30: Run 8:30-10:00: Walk 10:00-11:00: Run 11:00-12:30: Walk 12:30-13:30: Run 13:30-15:00: Walk 15:00-16:00: Run 16:00-17:30: Walk 17:30-18:30: Run 18:30-20:00: Walk 20:00-21:00: Run 21:00-22:30: Walk 22:30-23:30: Run 23:30-25:00: Walk 25:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:00: Run 6:00-7:30: Walk 7:30-8:30: Run 8:30-10:00: Walk 10:00-11:00: Run 11:00-12:30: Walk 12:30-13:30: Run 13:30-15:00: Walk 15:00-16:00: Run 16:00-17:30: Walk 17:30-18:30: Run 18:30-20:00: Walk 20:00-21:00: Run 21:00-22:30: Walk 22:30-23:30: Run 23:30-25:00: Walk 25:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:00: Run 6:00-7:30: Walk 7:30-8:30: Run 8:30-10:00: Walk 10:00-11:00: Run 11:00-12:30: Walk 12:30-13:30: Run 13:30-15:00: Walk 15:00-16:00: Run 16:00-17:30: Walk 17:30-18:30: Run 18:30-20:00: Walk 20:00-21:00: Run 21:00-22:30: Walk 22:30-23:30: Run 23:30-25:00: Walk 25:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk
2	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:30: Run 6:30-8:30: Walk 8:30-10:00: Run 10:00-12:00: Walk 12:00-13:30: Run 13:30-15:30: Walk 15:30-17:00: Run 17:00-19:00: Walk 19:00-20:30: Run 20:30-22:30: Walk 22:30-24:00: Run 24:00-26:00: Walk 26:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:30: Run 6:30-8:30: Walk 8:30-10:00: Run 10:00-12:00: Walk 12:00-13:30: Run 13:30-15:30: Walk 15:30-17:00: Run 17:00-19:00: Walk 19:00-20:30: Run 20:30-22:30: Walk 22:30-24:00: Run 24:00-26:00: Walk 26:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:30: Run 6:30-8:30: Walk 8:30-10:00: Run 10:00-12:00: Walk 12:00-13:30: Run 13:30-15:30: Walk 15:30-17:00: Run 17:00-19:00: Walk 19:00-20:30: Run 20:30-22:30: Walk 22:30-24:00: Run 24:00-26:00: Walk 26:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk
3	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:30: Run 6:30-8:00: Walk 8:00-11:00: Run 11:00-14:00: Walk 14:00-15:30: Run 15:30-17:00: Walk 17:00-20:00: Run 20:00-23:00: Walk 23:00-28:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:30: Run 6:30-8:00: Walk 8:00-11:00: Run 11:00-14:00: Walk 14:00-15:30: Run 15:30-17:00: Walk 17:00-20:00: Run 20:00-23:00: Walk 23:00-28:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-6:30: Run 6:30-8:00: Walk 8:00-11:00: Run 11:00-14:00: Walk 14:00-15:30: Run 15:30-17:00: Walk 17:00-20:00: Run 20:00-23:00: Walk 23:00-28:00: Cooldown Walk
4	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-8:00: Run 8:00-9:30: Walk 9:30-14:30: Run 14:30-17:00: Walk 17:00-20:00: Run 20:00-21:30: Walk 21:30-26:30: Run 26:30-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-8:00: Run 8:00-9:30: Walk 9:30-14:30: Run 14:30-17:00: Walk 17:00-20:00: Run 20:00-21:30: Walk 21:30-26:30: Run 26:30-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-8:00: Run 8:00-9:30: Walk 9:30-14:30: Run 14:30-17:00: Walk 17:00-20:00: Run 20:00-21:30: Walk 21:30-26:30: Run 26:30-30:00: Cooldown Walk
5	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-10:00: Run 10:00-13:00: Walk 13:00-18:00: Run 18:00-21:00: Walk 21:00-26:00: Run 26:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-13:00: Run 13:00-18:00: Walk 18:00-26:00: Run 26:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-25:00: Run 25:00-30:00: Cooldown Walk
6	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-10:00: Run 10:00-13:00: Walk 13:00-21:00: Run 21:00-24:00: Walk 24:00-29:00: Run 29:00-34:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-15:00: Run 15:00-18:00: Walk 18:00-28:00: Run 28:00-33:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-30:00: Run 30:00-35:00: Cooldown Walk
7	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-30:00: Run 30:00-35:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-30:00: Run 30:00-35:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-30:00: Run 30:00-35:00: Cooldown Walk
8	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-33:00: Run 33:00-38:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-33:00: Run 33:00-38:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-33:00: Run 33:00-38:00: Cooldown Walk
9	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-35:00: Run 35:00-40:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-35:00: Run 35:00-40:00: Cooldown Walk	00:00-5:00: Warmup walk 5:00-35:00: Run 35:00-40:00: Cooldown Walk

As you can see this part is a nine week process. If I can run three miles, three times a week I think I will be doing good. So I am not going to change my eating or add any other pressure to myself other then this straight forward plan. I am going to walk at a 3 and run at a 5. Starting Monday. Why Monday well because I am going to do a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule.

Part 3. Check in with new updated pictures on the 18 of June. Hopefully we will see a difference in all areas.

Part 4. Change diet around. Notice that this part take place in the second month. So I am not going to worry about it until then.

Part 5. To be determined. Flexible.

So I right now I am 164.2 pounds which puts my BMI is 25.71 which means I am overweight. The normal weight range for a healthy BMI is 18.5- 24.99. So my goal weight should be between 118-158. Now before we get started on goal weight ideas I want to tell you something about me. When I was 18 I was eating maybe once a day and walk 5-10 miles everyday and I weighed in at 135. As I am no longer 18, wish to starve myself, or going to walk that much again it is safe to say that 118 is underweight for my body type. I am not a doctor but I am going out on a limb here when I say 135 is also not a good goal for me. Come on I had two giant children naturally my hips have widened and I am not going back. So Where does that leave me with a goal weight? 145-155. Now 145 might be stretching my limits but I think it is good to have two goals one maybe I can do and one that I know I can reach.

As for goals I think a size 8-10 is a good place for me to be. Right now I am rocking 10-12 hard, and I have the evil red marks to prove it. The truth is I am not looking to look like I did years ago, or even some random celebrity, first of all I think it is unrealistic to think that i could look like anyone of them. I simply do not have the money or drive to. I read some where that Jennifer Aniston spends more then 45,000 dollars on her looks. I am just saying unrealistic. . .

So I want to feel strong and confident. I hope you don't mind my random updates on the matter. Hopefully my bikini body will be trimmer next month. So here is another thing if you want to start somewhere and need support. I am ready and willing. Do not be afraid of who you are of who you want to be. You can start anywhere. There is no shame in where you are because it is about where you are going. One little choice at a time. I know people who start with giving up sugar, or soda, or just that one thing. There is no time limit and we all have to start somewhere. Maybe you want to start with exercise. Walking is great and it is free. Find something you can do and go for it. I believe in you, in us, and in me. We are strong and will only get stronger.

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.