Stop and smell the flowers

This last weekend I planted flowers in the front yard with my hubby. It was a gorgeous day to work in the yard (minus the wind). You know those days where the weather is not too hot but not too cold. Where the sky is a deep blue and the clouds are bright white. Where the air smells like cut grass and flowers. That was Saturday.

I love working in the yard. You wouldn't know it by my black thumb, but I really do. And when I say I have a black thumb I mean it. Ask my husband or family. If you want a plant killed give me a call. Overwater...underwater...doesn't matter I'll finish it off for you. I once killed a cactus plant. Let me tell you that took effort.

My mom is an amazing gardener. Whatever she touches grows, even if it's not supposed to. Her flower garden is always beautiful and full of life. I love her talent. It must kill her to have a daughter that has the touch of death with plants. lol

Luckily I married a man who also loves to work in the yard. And on top of that he's good at keeping plants alive. Wow what a guy!! Even before we were married he was trying to turn my black thumb green. He'd come by and say "Your plants look like they're dying." I'd look out my window and what do you know, they did look a little sad. "When was the last time you watered them?" he'd ask. If I had to think too hard it usually meant it'd been awhile. He'd just shake his head and get the hose out. He's very patient and I love him for that.

So anyway, my yard has beautiful, vibrant flowers in the flower beds and they look great. They're perennials too, so as long as I don't kill them or the deer don't eat them they'll be beautiful year after year. What an amazing thought!

Here I go again...

Isn't that the name of a Whitesnake song? You know the rock band from the 80's?? I think I had their album (yes I said album, I'm just that old).

Anyway, back to the reason for my post. So I'm doing it again. Starting all over. Again. What is it you ask? That dreadful thing that most women complain about their whole lives........Losing Weight.

In your early 20's if you want to lose weight you can stop eating for a few days and lose what you need. At my age it takes a ton of work. It means watching what I eat, how much I eat, when I eat, and making sure I exercise on top of that. By exercising I don't mean a nice walk around the block once a week. I mean getting up early, every day of the week, and sweating like a pig!

I'm not asking to get down to what I was in high school. That's just not realistic. But I do want to be healthy again. My cholesterol is 243. That's not a good number no matter how you look at it. I want to be able to jog a mile without feeling like I'm going to be sick & die after the first few steps. Actually I take that back...at this point I'd just like to be able to jog.


So why is it that I keep gaining the weight back you ask? It's easy; I love food. I think about food all the time. I think today about what I'm going to eat tomorrow. I always have food on my mind. Am I always hungry? Nope. I just love food. It makes me happy. It makes me feel good. I Love Food.

The last few years I've really noticed that my weight effects more than my physical health. It effects my mental health as well. When I'm overweight I have a harder time being happy. When I'm losing weight my moods are better. And when I'm close to the weight I want to be it's terrific! I could be in the best mood and then catch a glance of myself in the mirror and I'm depressed for days. Everything I do, everything I feel is related to how I look and what I weigh. I know it's not healthy and I know people say to love the body you're in no matter what....I just can't.

It's a good thing I don't have daughters! I'd mess them up for life!

So that's my rant. My thoughts for the day. Time to run. If I don't start my exercising now I'll never make it back in time for dessert.