Among the Lions

Beautiful Days

2011-02-25T10:57:00.001-08:00

The weather has been amazing the last few days! It's beautiful here in northeast Florida. As mentioned before, our tree is in full bloom and the sun is warm while the air is crisp.

On days like this I crave bicycle rides and beach trips. I want to go camping or fishing. Kayaking would be even better! It's a shame most of those things are pretty boring by yourself but I am still extremely lucky to even have the option to do them during the week.

Have you hugged your trainer today?

2011-02-25T06:04:00.001-08:00

Have I mentioned how much I love my trainer?

I had to cancel my training appointment today because of a scheduling conflict with work. I sent him a text asking to reschedule and thanked him for everything he has helped me with so far. His response was so cute. :)

(English is his second language in case you couldn't tell. I think the broken English makes it that much sweeter. It's uniquely him. :)

I did a lot of purging yesterday. Spring cleaning in Feb, when it's nice outside and you can open the windows to let in a breeze. About six trash bags later and the guest room, closet, and master closet are all cleaned out and organized. Two more closets to go and some odds and ends and I'll be satisfied.

Lazy day planned for today. Nap after work then spending some time with Leo. He took a fishing trip yesterday with his Dad and his blue eyed blonde haired frame didn't fair too well in the sun. He turns into a big baby when he is sunburnt. :)

Foggy

2011-02-24T18:24:00.001-08:00

Foggy is how I feel lately. I can't quite see the path in front of me but I know I'm on the right road.

Today was a horrible day when it came to staying on track with my strict eating plan. I haven't done great the last two weeks which seems to be the norm for me. Kick ass for one week, fumble through week 2, then give up and fail afterwards. Gym tomorrow with my trainer that I'm not looking forward to. It's getting hard and the results aren't there. I'm sure they would be if I was eating better. Self sabotage I guess.

Happy Birthday Grandma

2011-02-23T14:36:00.000-08:00

Leo's grandmother is the only grandma I've ever had the privilege of knowing. Both my Dad and Mom lost their mothers when they were young. It warms my heart everytime I see Grandma. She has accepted me into their family with open arms. She may not always remember to call me by the right name but I know she loves me and accepts me for who I am.

For her birthday she expressed an interest in going fishing. She used to fish quite a bit when she was younger. Since we no longer have a boat, we made plans to drive out to the lake and have a picnic. We ate fried chicken and she fished with a mock cane pole. I was pretty surprised to see how agile Grandma is at her age as she had no trouble sitting on the bank when she got tired and hopping right back up when she decided she was done.

I got a chance to talk to her in private and we chatted about her childhood, her children, life, and even death. She told me how she was a wild child and a tom boy. She said there wasn't a tree in the entire neighborhood she hadn't climbed - especially the ones they told her not to. The neighborhood kids would start a fire in the abandoned lot next to her house on the weekends and they would roast marshmallows and tell stories. She loves flowers and talked about her gardens and how she regrets that they went uncared for when she started working full time. There were stories about how she felt her husband (Papa, who died shortly before Leo and I started dating) would sometimes discipline their kids too hard. She talked about their house, how they rented it out when they moved to Virginia, and the changes they made to it after they got back.

She talked about how she was positive she was going to die last year because everyone she has loved recently died at the age 78. She was pretty surprised to see herself reach 79. We talked about friends, fishing trips from long ago, the weather, and "is that really a duck?" or not (by the way, I don't think they were ducks but some kind of other bird.)

Leo's Dad enjoyed fishing with his son at his side and his Mom spent most of her time getting some sun in a lounge chair. I didn't fish but a few minutes, instead I spent most of my time laughing as they tried to get soggy bread to stick to the fishing hook. We never caught anything but the memories made that day will last forever.

Alot has changed for Grandma this past year. She made the move from full time assisted living into Leo's parent's house. It's a drastic change since they travel quite a bit but it seems to be doing her well as she looks healthy and seems happy.

Thanks for being my "Grandma" and I hope that the time between now and your next birthday are grand. :)

Update

2011-02-23T14:24:00.001-08:00

It's been awhile since I last posted and unfortunately (and fortunately) there isn't much to report.

Life has continued in a very routine way. Still working at the same place, getting ready to file taxes and pay any additional costs. I turn 31 in a few short weeks and am looking forward to spending some time with friends. I still love my dogs, although my little girl dogchild drives me nuts on a daily basis.

One thing that has changed is my concentration on healthy living in the last month. I started a new diet, and have been going to my trainer 2 to 3 days a week for awhile now. I've lost about 11 pounds but found out today that I gained 1 over last week. The good news is that the gain was muscle and the read out continues to show fat lost. The first week was the best with about 7 pounds gone, followed by 2, then 2.5, then 2, and a gain of 1 this last week as mentioned before. I'll be happy if I can continue the 2 pound loss weekly. I need to be around 120 for my height to achieve a healthy BMI. I am currently 179. Thats 59 pounds to go and with 2 pounds a week around 30 weeks. So in approx 6 months I would be where I want to be.

I'm not focusing on the numbers so much as the changed in my body and the way I feel. I can't honestly say I feel great right now but I think the majority of that comes from the loss of something I hold extremely important. Food has been a good friend for awhile and losing "taste" and the high I got from eating at some of my favorite places has been hard to swallow. The good news is how great I'll feel once I get to wear a bikini and how amazing Ill get to look on my wedding day. No regrets here! feel free to take as many pictures as you want. :)

It's started to warm up outside although we got hit with some chilly weather today. The Japanese Magnolia is in full bloom and it's beautiful. We bought our house in winter and you can be assured we were surprised when it bloomed the first time. I wish the flowers would stick around longer but while they are here, they are amazing.