The Journey down.....

Several of you....o.k. one person.....have asked how I have been losing weight, so I thought I'd share my journey. I call it my journey down to myself.


Weight was never a problem for me growing up.  I weighed 95 pounds on my wedding day.  After my first child, the weight just fell off.  After my second, not so fast but it did mostly go away.  Fast forward to the 40's.....that age where everything from your eyesight to your mood swings to your weight changes.  Ah, I managed to keep the weight in check until after I was married to the superhero and then the pounds started creeping up on me.....literally on me!  I got up to 135 and seriously thought I was obese.   


My younger sister has always been the thin one and the most fit one because she, unlike me, exercises regularly.  Below, we were all pretty thin, but I just like this picture of the three of us frolicking in the Gulf.  L to R ....oldest, Cathy, youngest Debbie and me.

When I got to 151 pounds, I KNEW I was officially overweight!  


So, when I was turning fifty, I decided I wanted to be fit by fifty and that didn't happen as you can see below.

I wasn't huge, but I wasn't where I needed to be so the next year I joined Weight Watchers and lost 31 pounds.  Oh, happy day!  All my bigger clothes were either taken up or given away because I was NEVER going to gain that weight back.  Have you ever said that???  That weight came creeping back on and in a few short years I had even exceeded my own personal highest weight!  I was disgusted at myself and my muffin top!  But never motivated to lose the weight even though I knew how.


Fast forward again and I realized that sixty was coming whether I was ready or not and I once again thought I don't want to keep this weight and I want to be sexy slim at sixty!


So.......and this is my huge secret.....I know you've all been waiting for this tip.....


I stopped eating like I was getting paid and was doing my part to get a raise.  Honestly, that's it in a nutshell.  I had been eating everything that couldn't get away and especially snacking constantly after 10 p.m. at night which we all know is a mistake.

 I started making better choices in the things I was eating and putting more protein in my diet.  If I get really hungry and feel myself caving, I get a spoonful of peanut butter. I'm eating a lot more fruit and salads and I'm happy to report I've lost 20 pounds.

So there's your weight loss advice and hope with me that I don't put it all back on.......just in case, I'm packing up my big girl clothes.


So if you want to join me in this journey down to a healthy weight, I promise to be supportive!

It's Friday again!

I can't be the only one who sees Friday's coming faster and faster!  The weeks are clicking by and suddenly it's Friday again!  AND on Friday's I link up with Mrs. 4444 for Friday Fragments!

A little recap of things we didn't talk about during the week.....


Soon, very soon, I will be having two very special visitors and I can't wait to show you the latest photos of them!  I'll just leave you hanging on that one!


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Is it curious to anyone else that as we age we spend more time in doctor's offices?  Seems as if that has become my new social life.  


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My daddy, my brothers and my husband all own small busineses and our youngest works in a small business.  Small businesses employ people and cause the economy to grow.  As much as possible, buy from small businesses.  This month we are supporting this business.  This is not paid advertising....in fact I just thought of adding that here.  


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Speaking of stress and socializing..........we were weren't we...... I went to the dentist two days this week.  Not because I enjoy their company although I do in a different setting , but because I wear a bite plate (some people call it a splint or night guard) and I grind my teeth so badly at night that I have to have it adjusted.....often.  I clench during the day, but I can't wear that thing twenty four hours a day....I do have to eat you know!  If it is out of adjustment, I wake with my jaw and head aching.  Ouch!


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So you won't think that I NEVER have any interaction with my peers, I met with a blog friend this week and then had lunch with a good friend.  Yesterday, I met my cousin and her husband, my sister and my brother for lunch.  We ate at another local small business.......you may begin to see a thread in this post......a Mexican restaurant that is beyond good. Which makes it difficult to keep to a diet.  But, I have learned over these past few months to just eat a portion of a meal and take the rest home.  So last night the Superhero had one of his favorites for supper, thanks to my sister and me watching our weight!  
Speaking of which.....much to my delight I've lost nineteen pounds as of today!  


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Please remember to be careful if you're driving on this Memorial Day!  Also stop and say thanks to our veterans and our active forces.  I'm very thankful for my son who is a Navy veteran.  
God bless America and God bless you this weekend.  


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That's all folks,  for another Friday, I'm all fragged out!

Aren't they the greatest?

Grandkids?  Yes, as a matter of fact they are!  We had the fun privilege of spending Mother's Day weekend with one of our sweet grandsons and his parents.  Well, of course we actually stayed in the RV but my MIL stayed in the house with them......am I jealous?  NO, I'm just not that kind of girl.  Maybe just a little.  

We had a really good time and below are a few pictures.  I'll bet that's a surprise huh?

Charley is saying he's really glad they got this house with a pool, cause he loves swimming!

And he loves his Pappy!

Mema and Nana aren't too shabby either

But he really, really loves Pappy

Looks totally innocent

It was nice for Tommy and dad to have some time to talk

This is such a cute chair

Jack and Mikey stayed mostly at the RV, but Charley had a little visit

It was really such a nice weekend!  We can't wait to see them all again soon!

Seven Things.....

The marvelous, maniacal Melynda has given me an award and even though I don't even know that there are seven interesting things about myself, that's what I'm supposed to write here.

When I first started blogging, everyone had 100 things about me sections on their blogs.  I thought then.....100 things?????  No way!  So let us see if I can come up with seven.

O.K. well......

1.  I've been married three times.  That's right, you are not having triple vision, three times.  Now two of them were to the same person before you start gasping.  Or maybe you are gasping because I married the same man twice.  

2.  I wanted to be a cheerleader in elementary school, I also wanted to be a night club singer.....or gospel singer....none of which happened in real life.

3.  I'm terribly claustrophobic.....terribly.....


4.  Heights.....deathly afraid of heights.  Unreasonably afraid of heights.  The Grand Canyon is scary to me.


5.  Love movies, but hardly ever go to a theater....I have a lot of DVD's.


6.  The only other country I've been in in Mexico.  


7.  I speak fluent pig latin and used it a lot when my children and grandchildren were young.....unfortunately there were only a few people who understood what I was saying.   It's my second language.  


See???  I mean you don't know how hard that was to think of seven things.  I guess I'll never do the 100 things.  That's o.k. you really don't want to be bored with all that!


So thanks, Melynda, my friend!  Go on over and visit her.  She actually has a book out and another on the way, with two behind that!  


Now I'm supposed to tag seven of you to do this.  Instead, feel free to do it and link back so I'll know.....I'm sure all of you have lots of stuff to tell about yourselves!

Friday.....the end of my rope and I'm hanging on!

Whew!  It's Friday and I'm linking up with Mrs. 4444 for Friday Fragments.  

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AND.....it's official.......stress kills!  All my test came back negative, except for the one they were waiting on that I discovered they never ordered.  So after visiting three different doctors, one in a different town, the general consensus is I need to de-stress.  There is only one itsy bitsy, teeny problem with that,  I'd have to kill some people that I love to get rid of my stress.  So, my other option, is learn to live with stress, pray more and grab the end of life's rope and hang on for dear life!  


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In more pleasant news, the Superhero was talking to his mom on the phone the other night and was trying to tell her to come by his office after a luncheon group and he said "Just come after Pitty Pat"......I'm sure she was scratching her head as I was rolling on the floor laughing and trying to get out Petit Point......He was glad to give me a laugh!


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You may or may not know that we traveled to see our son, DIL and grandson Charley last weekend.  I promise that post is coming.  The further south we went, the more love bugs spattered on our windshield!  In case you don't know what love bugs are go here.  I've never seen as many as there were there, we couldn't open the doors without several flying right into the RV and their house.  We had a discussion on the way home wondering how in the world they keep producing new generations when so many crash land on windshields. 


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It was a nice Mother's Day......the Superhero, his mom and I went to church and had a great time.  Later in the day, Tommy and the Superhero grilled steaks and all the fixings for us and we little women folk didn't have to lift a finger!   

And.........this was waiting for me on the table in the RV on Mother's Day morning.  Now the Superhero isn't very romantic, but this meant the world to me!

The front just said Happy Mother's Day.  He got points for his sweet words and his ingenious card making skills!  Click to enlarge and read.  

A few days before Mother's day, I got this big surprise delivered to my front door!!!!!

Beautiful roses and chocolates!  
You may ask why they are in the bathroom???  Well, we have a cat who loves to eat flowers.  We put them where he can't get to them.




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The change in eating habits is yielding good results.....I am now in a smaller size clothing and thankfully had saved a few of my favorite things from several years ago so I have a few things I can wear.  I'm packing up the bigger sizes and storing them because I know how quickly I can gain it all back!  


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And it's a wrap because as usual......I'm all fragged out!

Mama

Once upon a time another mother said she wanted her son to spend the night at our house because they didn't have any games or "interesting" things to do at their house and she didn't know what to do to entertain the boys.  I immediately thought about my own mama.  We surely didn't have any kind of exciting games to play.....unless you count Monopoly and the sort (I'm not a game player).....and she certainly didn't entertain us.  Although I was glad for the boy to stay at our house, I said to the other mother.....I don't think they want to be entertained, I think they just want you to be there.

I'm not sure she knew what I meant by just being there.  At the time, I don't think I even bothered to explain.....but as I write this about my own mama, I'll tell you what I meant.  My mama was there.

My mama was a beautiful young woman when she married my daddy way back when.  

Here she is with her own parents.

When my daddy asked my mama to marry him, He gave her an engagement ring with three little rubies on either side of the diamond.  Daddy said he wanted to have six children, three boys and three girls.  I'm pretty sure when my youngest brother was born, he said.....Margaret, I was just kidding!!!

But Mama aimed to please and sure enough had three boys and three girls.

Mama with her first three children, My brother, Tommy, my sister, Cathy and me!  

Until I married, I only lived in two houses in my life.....these pictures are in the first one, which I don't remember because we moved when I was fifteen months old.

One more of Mama with her first three

Many, many years later with all six....sure enough! Three boys and three girls!  From L to R, brother Michael, sister Debbie, brother Steve, sister Cathy, me and brother Tommy and Mama in front!

Mama was many things, wife, mama, chief cook and bottle washer.  Once my oldest brother was born, mama didn't work outside the home until we were all gone and she worked one or two days a week at my daddy's office.  

She was there.  She was always there when we got home ......after walking 20 miles uphill through the snow.......  from school.  She was there waiting to hear the click of the door closing when we came home after a date.  

She was there when she had four children the youngest only a year old and one got really sick and was homebound for a year, in a hospital bed.

She was there when the many things life brings brought us to a place of need.

She was there for her own mother when she could no longer live alone.  

She was there for so many who needed her, always there.  

She was there to pick up the pieces when we were older and needed help!

She was there when her oldest grandchild had surgery for cancer and my brother and his wife were expecting their second child.

She was there when my sister and family were in a catastrophic wreck and needed her to come stay for a time.

She was there for me when I was going through a painful divorce.

She was there for my younger sister when she was going through fertility treatments and joyful when little sister had her son.

She was there when my younger brother was going through a personal crisis and needed her.

She was there when her baby boy was in a painful divorce and custody battle .

She was there.  We knew we could always count on her.  We knew she prayed for us daily and still does I'm sure.

She was there for every grandchild and their children, recording their every moment on video.

She was and is funny!  She gave us her incredible sense of humor which enabled her (and us) to get through many a hard moment or ten.  

Here she is with her younger sister at the beach.  Mama found those little captions and loved putting them on photographs!

But actually, they were pretty hot stuff.  Mama and her three sisters were known as beautiful girls around our county.  They all became beautiful women, wives and mothers.


You could just about tell mama anything!  As the years wore on, nothing much shocked her and she would listen to whatever was going on in our lives.


Mama doesn't talk so much anymore, but she sometimes comes out with something so funny!  A week or so ago, while I was visiting, she wouldn't say anything....not a word!  I stood over her and said in a very distressed voice,  "mama, I'm worried, say something".....she looked up at me and said "something!"  


She loved my daddy.

And her family.....

I'm of the mind that children need to know their mamas are there.


So on this Mother's day I just want to say thank you mama for always being there.  I love you.

Road Trip!

We missed our usual vacation after tax season, but tomorrow we're traveling down the state to visit one of our sons and his family.  It's been a while since we've seen them so needless to say we're a bit excited.

Of course, I'm supposed to be loading the RV but instead am blogging.  I am the ultimate procrastinator!  I call it working better under pressure.  The Superhero....well let's just say he calls it something else and gets frustrated when I am running around like a chicken with it's head cut off at the last minute!  

On trips, I get my internet access through my phone and I just never know how it will work or if it will work so I'll say Happy Mother's day now to all the sweet mothers I know.  I know some have lost mothers and it is a sad day for them.   Whatever your situation, have a nice Sunday.

I have actually scheduled a Mother's Day blog to be published on ....well Mother's Day.  This is highly unusual for me as I usually write and post at the same time.  See?  I'm not a procrastinator all the time......I'll just march back and inform the Superhero about how smart I am to be ahead of the game.  

But in the meantime.....while I'm packing and such....enjoy this oldie of my own mother.  This is so typical of her with her grandchildren!

AND by the way!  I just noticed I have 100 followers!  I never would have thought.  So thanks friends!  And yes, I count all of you as friends.....really good friends!

And the weeks roll on......

Ah, it's Friday which means we get to clean out the corners of our minds and dump the left overs here.  I'm linking up with Mrs. 4444 for Friday Fragments.

This has been a much better week than last week much to my relief!  So I have some stuff to unload today.


We are part of a mission group called Mercy Uganda which ministers to the women and children of Uganda.  I think one of the main thing I love about this group is that Mercy Uganda goes in and forms relationships with the people, teaching them how to care for themselves.  When a building is built, the volunteers who go teach the men carpentry skills.....the women are taught to sew on peddle sewing machines sent over by loving people and they are able to start businesses to support their families......pigs and chickens are provided for that same reason..... a medical team often goes along and conducts clinics.....all the while, the Gospel is being shared.  Our friends in Uganda see that the Gospel is not just words, but actions.


At our Ladies Night Out this week at church we tied the fringe on blankets to take to the children and below are a few pictures.


This sweet lady bought all the incredibly soft fabric and cut the blankets and fringe.  You can tell by the brace on her wrist that it was a lot of cutting!

You can see the fringe in this picture....we tied knots in each piece of fringe so that it doesn't unravel.

In August the blankets will go to Uganda with Laura.


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A group of about six girls rang our doorbell the other night.  They were all dressed in costumes and I had to look at the calendar to make sure it wasn't Halloween.  I was hesitant to open the door because I've watched a few too many episodes of CSI.  Turns out they were on a scavenger hunt!  For an eighteenth birthday party.  One of the items on the list was dryer lint and since I just happened to have our blanket in the dryer they were in luck!  They were the sweetest girls and I was so refreshingly happy to see a group of girls that age doing something so wholesome!  


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The weight loss is going great.  Because I'm so impatient, it seemed very slow at first.  But finally, my clothes are feeling better and my muffin top is going down!  Whew!  It's not easy, but I've cut out all sweets.


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This week I had an appointment with a doctor in a neighboring city due to some blood work that was abnormal....stop laughing, we all know I'm abnormal in general!  You know the drill at a doctor's office, the first thing they make you do is get on the scale.  I groaned but was pleasantly surprised to find that their scales were five pounds lighter than mine!  I asked the doctor to please not tell me that my symptoms are caused by stress, a word I've come to despise!  We went over lots of stuff and what it may or may not be and more tests were ordered.  At the very end, he calmly told me that some of my symptoms may be caused by that word I didn't want him to use.  That's how HE said it!  I had to laugh.


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This week we marked the sixteenth year since our daddy died.  All of us miss him and are so thankful to know we will see him again!


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Now, dear friends, it's off to the weekend because as usual I'm all fragged out!