Friday, April 11, 2014
It's FRIDAY again...
Just gotta get through the day and then it'll be the WEEKEND again.
Sonshine will be having friends over Saturday for the next round of Dungeons & Dragons and I'm looking forward to putzing in the yard some more. My goal is to get the back lawn mown and weed whacked. I don't mind the mowing, but I have never been able to properly wield the weed whacker. I can whack if I really have too, although it's not pretty, and Sonshine's gotta earn his keep somehow, right?
I have the last of the brush pile on the side of the house to dispose of. Last night, I broke out the chain saw to cut the larger branches and limbs into truck-bed lengths. Tonight, I'm going to work on raking up all the leaves that have been smashed down and wedged into the grass and ground so that it can all go to the dump first thing in the morning.
Once all that's done, then I have to start digging up the bush and tree stumps along there. Not a fun or easy task. Thankfully they're not large, not are there very many of them. Not sure what my plan is but it'll probably involve a lot of water and the roto-tiller, though *not* at the same time--churn up the dirt and pull out what I can. Then soak the dirt until it's soup and pull out some more. What do you think?? Any other suggestions?
The goal of all that effort is so that I can put in the flower bed I've been dreaming of for years. I want to plant all bulb flowers, so I definitely have a few months to put in the work. Plus I'm borrowing a page from AWESOME REGINA's book and asking for labor for Mother's Day in lieu of gifts.
And while I'm catching my breath between bouts of manual labor, I'll be proof reading and fixing a friend's website.
What are your exciting plans for the weekend?
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
What's for dinner??
Almost every day, one or the other of my children (sometimes both) ask me what's for dinner. Anyone who works a nine-to-five job knows how hard it is to come home from work and then have to throw together a meal. Depending on the meal, it could be another hour or two before it's time to eat. Unfortunately for me, I'm ready to eat as soon as I walk in the door. Waiting another hour is not usually an option.
Several Sundays ago, maybe a month, I cooked up all my meats. Taco meat, BBQ pork, Fiesta Chicken, etc. I don't remember what I started with, but let me tell you, it was soooo nice to have everything almost ready. Because the meals were already mostly cooked and were things I really enjoyed eating, it wasn't a chore to put dinner together once I got home.
One of our new favorites--Fiesta Chicken--totally easy to prepare using a Crock-Pot! Toss everything in the crock, cook all day, shred the chicken, and serve.
I mostly kept up with it, until weekend before last when I was at my writers conference and I didn't get home until mid-afternoon Sunday. I also didn't grocery shop, since I usually do that early on Sunday mornings, so last week we powered through with whatever was in the house which meant a lot of easy, high-carb meals like grilled cheese and quesadillas. Not good for my waistline.
This past Sunday, I got back on track and it's been so nice to come home and be able to put together a healthy, filling meal without too much time or effort at the end of the day.
Have you ever pre-prepared meals?
Monday, April 7, 2014
Before and After
Last week I mentioned I was going to clean out the flower bed. And I did. It looks one hundred times better!
You sorta got a glimpse of how bad it was in the picture of the Sweet Williams. Remember...
Here's a picture of the whole thing before...
And after about twenty minutes of work, here's how it looks now...
Huge difference, huh? Of course, there's a pile of leaves and weeds just outside this shot. I didn't have any yard bags, otherwise they'd have been bagged while I was out there.
Best of all I discovered that one of the Double Shasta Daisy plants *and* the Gerber Daisy plant that the Brown Eyed Girl gave me are still alive! Look...
The Shasta Daisies.
The Gerber Daisies.
The Gerbers are nothing more than tender green shoots at this point, but I was very excited to see them.
I'm very glad spring has finally arrived. How about you?
Friday, April 4, 2014
It's the little things...
Way back when I started my weight loss journey, the only exercise I performed were three easy-peasy simple little things, what I call waist twisties, side stretches, and cross-body toe touches. My calisthenics. I started with a 12 count of each and eventually worked my up to a 30 count.
That's not to say I did them every single day for the last two years, but that's where I started. In fact, I haven't done them in quite some time. Months and months, probably. And I have been thinking that I should get back to them. Why? Because it's large muscle movement two-to-four times a day. Important for someone who sits at a desk for eight hours a day and then sits some more at home at the end of the day.
So I started on Tuesday. On Wednesday I couldn't figure out why I ached--though it was a different ache from the one I'd been feeling previously. And then it dawned on me--my two rounds of calisthenics had used muscles that normally don't see much action.
It was a pleasant sort of ache that encouraged me to follow through and keep doing it on Wednesday. And Thursday. And today.
It's amazing how just those few minutes of very mild exercise a day has had an impact on quite a few aspects, including my energy level and my hungriness. But once I adjust those, will level out. I hope. I hate feeling hungry.
Any small thing you've found that's made a big difference?
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
Can you believe it...?
Remember last week, I posted about the horrible state of my backyard? And I lamented the condition of both the Chinese wisteria and the azalea??
Well, looky looky here! New growth on the wisteria and blooms on the azalea. I can't tell you how happy that made me.
The sweet William is spreading and I see a ton of buds on it as well.
Yeah, yeah, I need to clean out the leaves...this weekend, I think.
The leaves on the trees are shooting out as well and they'll providing shade in no time.
And just because...
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