Color Carnival

To Play Visit Martha...

Son3 is growing... I had to clean out ALL his shirts til there were just a couple left... So he got some new ones and shorts for summer too...








Happy Journaling...

TMS Show and Tell

As some of you know I cohost a blog called The Motivation Station... We supply challenges for our readers and each other with a lot of motivation and support along the way...
With my 46th birthday being less than four weeks away I'm challenging myself to lose 9lbs, not with the tips I've learned from TMS but with the new found inspiration I share with my cohosts... We all know how to lose weight but until you really desire it or my case wrap your mind around it, you'll never actually do it... and the biggest way to do it, is to make a plan, but a plan that you are able to follow as an individual...
I've been trying to plan exercise into my day to day schedule that I would stick to... however on the days I leave at 8am and don't get home til 6pm, I wasn't finding that 15 minutes to feel motivated so I was giving up on the whole week... til I realized that the work I do outside the home is so physical that I can forgo exercise on those days... Many of us at TMS have got in the habit of wearing pedometers everyday... 10,000 steps a day equal 5 miles... on work days I average 10,000-14,000 steps a day and do a lot of lifting... on my days off I only get in 2000-4000 steps, so those are the days that require scheduled exercise...

For my 40th birthday I bought a weight system with high hopes... however my family as been a little less than supportive... it keeps getting buried in the garage... so that I was discouraged from using it since I had to clear stuff off of it every time... and hubby would clean the garage only to use the weight system as a border for everything...
So in my first step in my plan, son2 has cleaned the garage for me and cleared up and dusted off the weight system once again...
the first three are before pictures....






and after... I just need a little path to get to it...


there it is......


I've also learned from Martha, our Wednesday cohost, about exercise balls... she works from home and is at the computer all day so she uses an exercise ball to sit on instead of a chair... a lot of my reason for not getting a lot of steps in on my days off is because I spend a lot of time on the computer those days... so I have purchased an exercise ball and am sitting on it as I type... and already I have noticed a difference as you have to be aware of your posture so as not to fall off, your feet have to be planted more firmly in front of you so I am already feeling it my legs, hips and butte... plus even though it says not to bounce on it, when the music is playing, it's hard not to...




The main thing though even if I don't get in all the exercise that I have planned is the NOT eating... I am a head,emotional eater... So I am trying very hard to keep all thoughts of food, eating and how I am feeling in the foremost of my thoughts... I am only one person I need to eat for one person, not two or three... So I'm not making a plan of what I should eat but a plan to NOT EAT... this meaning, yes, cut out sodas and desserts but to limit everything to just one and to actually listen to my stomach if it is full or hungry... so this is not a plan to plan out all the healthy things I am going to eat but a plan to cut my eating habits down to size to fit one person...
On days I work oatmeal for breakfast, but only one package not two... my usual lunch of chimichanga and oatmeal... but then dinner would be the hardest... I have been using smaller plates but still getting seconds and eating a bit of everything I cooked instead of just what I wanted... I'm only one person, food is to sustain us for life, not to shovel in til everything is gone...
The hardest part is my days off... There's the kitchen with the tortilla chips and popcorn... yesterday and today are my days off... yesterday for breakfast I had three eggs with toast, why not only one egg... however I did not eat again until my stomach actually grumbled about 2:30pm... I made a sandwich of chicken lunchmeat and cheese on wheat bread... dinner I made a big pot of chicken, rice and veggie soup... I did have a piece of bread and some coleslaw with my soup... so it's not gonna happen all in one day... the four week challenge is not to torture myself but prove to myself that I can try my hardest this time and not succumb to defeat after the first day... today I had a blueberry muffin... and water all day yesterday and so far today...
I also take a multivitamin, a vitamin D and a spoonful of apple vinegar(said to curb appetite)... it may be true as this is also my eating week of the month, so those salty chips and popcorn are really calling loudly...

Exercise Plan:
Sunday~after work: exercise ball if on computer, crunches, stretching and weight system...
Monday~ long day at work
Tuesday~ long day at work or if day off: exercise ball if on computer, crunches, stretching and weight system...
Wednesday~ day off: exercise ball if on computer, crunches, stretching and weight sytem...
Thursday~long day at work
Friday~family night
Saturday~family day: plan family outings that include hiking or walking...

Happy Journaling...

So Sad..........

Newborn Giraffe Dies at Fresno Chaffee Zoo

Reported by: Alicia Coates Email: aliciacoates@cbsfresno.com Last Update: 1:38 pm

Fresno Chaffee Zoo officials announced its newborn giraffe passed away Tuesday morning.

The un-named giraffe was born one week ago and began having health issues on Monday and died around 3:30 a.m.

It’s unknown what caused the newborn to die but officials say it began having seizures Monday afternoon. The Chaffee Zoo staff consulted with local veterinary medical experts and the San Diego Zoo but could not save the animal.

Adrienne Castro with the Fresno Chaffee Zoo said, “…truth is we can’t speculate until we get our necropsy, which is similar to an autopsy for humans, so once we get that we’ll know exactly what happened.”

This was the fifth pregnancy for the mother giraffe and zoo officials allowed her time Tuesday morning to grieve with her newborn.

Zoo director Scott Barton said, “Working with animals is the greatest job in the world but at times like this, it can break your heart.”

Officials announced that there is another pregnant giraffe at the Chaffee Zoo that is expected to deliver sometime in the summer.

Happy Journaling...