I did not think this through....

Do you ever have a wonderful idea? You get excited and move forward with your plan. But down the road somewhere, you have one of those moments where you realize you did not think the master plan through very well.

That's what happened with my great idea to put a bird feeder outside my office window. I really enjoy watching the variety of birds that gather there. We have had all colors - red, blue, yellow, browns, blacks. It has been so much fun watching them flit back and forth.

We have had some scarlet finches who are adorable. They are small and have a red head and red breast. Beautiful creatures. But very sociable creatures. They must love to spread the word when they find a great place to eat. We started out with seeing one or two pairs (male and female) showing up at various times throughout the day. Then we got a couple more. Next thing you know, we had 19 of these little cute birds setting on the bird feeder, on the feeder roof, on the top of the pole holding the feeder, on the window sill beside the feeder. Little cute birds everywhere.

It was priceless. Until the feed ran low.

With that many birds coming to dinner, they were flipping seeds out of the feeder tray like crazy and the seeds landed on the window sill. This meant that the cute little birdies would sit right on the window sill to have lunch.

Then when there was no more seed, they would look at me inside at my desk (which is right in front of the window.) They start pecking on the glass and flapping their wings to get my attention. Which wouldn't be too bad except for two major things:

1. There are usually several doing it at one time

2. I saw Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds, when I was about 7 or 8 years old.

Now anybody that saw The Birds will understand that this pecking and flapping of wings can get a little scary.

Had I realized I was laying the ground work for The Birds - The Sequel, I would have had to think a little harder before I put the feeders up.

I have tried to get over my Hitchcock induced fear of birds and for the most part have succeeded. Several years back, I was on a boat in the Gulf heading out to Shell Island. The seagulls were all around us. The Captain said if you held out a Cheeto they would come and take it gently from your hands. Everybody was doing this so I thought, "Here is a good way to overcome my fear of birds." I purchased some Cheetos, opened the bag, held it out to the gulls. About 4 or 5 headed my way in a flurry of feathered wings. As they hastily approached my outstretched hand, I remembered the movie and threw my whole bag of Cheetos at them and withdrew to the interior of the boat. Guess I just thought I could get over the fear.

Probably should have remembered that adventure before putting a bird feeder so close to my window.

Spring forward

Now that we are on the "new" time, does your body adjust as easy as you would like it to. I took a nap yesterday afternoon, supposedly to catch up on the hour of sleep I lost. Then I fell asleep on the couch after I came home from church, because I still felt drained. I got up my normal time yesterday and today. Between the nap and the early night on the couch, I got almost 3 hours extra sleep, but yet I still feel like I'm "missing" an hour somewhere. My daily routine is not changed because of the new time. I still work the same amount of hours and I still have the same work to do. But you wake up on the Monday after time change with a feeling of lagging behind. You feel lethargic and bland. You hate this new time and will fuss about it for awhile. It will take your system time to adjust and you will feel like you are playing catch up all year. But come fall, when you fall back and get to gain that hour you lost, you will still feel like something is out of kilter. I never understood any of it when I was younger and I don't understand it now.

There were baseball games, races and right foot still. There were somersaults, cartwheels and leapfrog. There was badminton and croquet, jumping in leaves, snowball fights and rolling down the hill. Having grown up in the country and not owning a car, we spent most of our youth at the house. We had a great big yard and spent many hours making memories as we romped and played in the yard and on the hills of the old home place. Many things have happened in that old yard. Rachel and me used to drag our dolls and dishes out to play house. Mom would make tents out of old blankets hanging on the clothesline. I can close my eyes and hear Daddy worrying about Jack and Andy wearing out the grass when they played ball. I can still hear Mom holler out the kitchen window, “If that ball goes over the hill one more time, you’re going to have to quit playing.” One time Jack and I were playing kick ball and it kept going over the hill. We could tell Mom was getting tired of us asking to go in the road to get the ball. Needless to say, it went over that “one more time” we’d been warned about. Being kids, with our infinite wisdom, we decided to sneak down without asking. We figured she’d never know, so what was the harm. As we watched it’s journey over the hill. Our mouths fell open in dismay. Oh no! It had landed in the BIG DITCH. Now anyone growing up in that old house knew the big ditch was forbidden territory. There were rumors of snakes and poison ivy, worries of falling in the water and not getting out. It was a deep ditch. But in reality there never was that much water in it, maybe 6-8 inches. So Jack decided to brave its steep bank and go get the ball. I stood guard on the road, watching out in case Mom appeared at the door and caught us in the act. He climbed down, got the ball and was almost to the top. I looked up at the house. Good, no sign of Mom. We’d made it. As he was climbing up the bank, (I can still see it today as though in slow motion), he lost his hold and WHAM! He landed flat on his back in the creek water. Busted. No way to hide that from Mom. I don’t remember our punishment, but I can only guess that it was the usual — one of us on the couch and one of us on the chair. And no getting up until Mom thought we had suffered enough. When you're small, any punishment seems cruel and unusual to you. But now that I’m a mother, I view things differently. I imagine our punishment was a relief to Mom, just a few minutes to do what she needed to do without having to worry about what we were getting into. As we grew older we took our kids back to play in that old yard. On many occasions, I would catch myself threatening dire circumstances if the ball “went over the hill one more time”. Mothers never change.

I have a headache. Or does my headache have me?

It's a lovely Saturday morning. The sun is beginning to peek through the clouds, burning off the morning fog. Everything is glistening from the rains yesterday. The temperature is already in the 40's and it's not even 7:00 yet. That in itself is something to be thankful for. The birds are gently chirping outside the window. And I have a headache.

I do not like headaches at any time, but to have one on a weekend when you are planning on shopping is not good. I do not like to take pills so I hold off until the pain usually has control. By the time I break down and take something for it, the pills take longer to work because the pain has gotten so bad.

It's at that point you have to ask, "Do I have a headache or does the headache have me?" Who is in charge? My body because it feels the pain or my mind because it lets the body win. I refuse to accept that The Headache is in control of my destiny today? Am I going to let it win and decide how my day progresses?

I need to take that pain killer and develop an attitude against the headache. It will not beat me today. I am going to think positive thoughts, focus on the good and push the headache to the back of my mind. I will emerge victorious. I will eat chocolate and fortify myself with caffiene. For in truth, my reduction of chocolate and caffiene in my diet, is probably the reason for the headache in the first place. So my current plan of attack is a Pepsi and a Reese cup. That way, the peanut butter can supply me the much needed iron to give me strength for the day.

Don't you just love the way I justify the junk food? Have a lovely Saturday.

Fitness Friday

I'm happy to say that I got back on track this week with my weight loss program. I was able to walk almost everyday, some days more than others. I didn't actually "walk" today, but I did go to Duck Duck Goose. It is in the old Kmart in Knoxville and I walked back and forth over the entire store for 3 hours. My feet hurt, my legs hurt, my back hurts so I would say that can count as exercise.

They say when you are trying to lose weight to only weigh yourself once a week. I disagree. When I step on the scales and see they have not moved or they have went down 1/2 pound or a pound, it gives me more incentive for the next day. If I wait several days and I feel like I should have lost and nothing moves. I get depressed and want to just eat. But if I stay the same everyday and see it is the same every day, it makes me push myself harder and reminds me daily why I'm doing this. That may not work for everybody, but a daily remind of what my weight is provides EXTREME motivation.

I did get a little out of control with the Junior Mints this week. I need to take the candy dish off my desk. Not only do they add to the weight problem, but they aggravate my acid reflux. However, doctors recommend that dark chocolate is healthy for you in some ways.

I've been cutting down the portions on my meals. This is hard to do when my hubby makes my favorite food, but I have been strong.

I haven't implemented anything new this week. I'm sticking with the "drink more water, eat breakfast, cut down on everything and walking." I'll see how that goes then experiment with something new next week.

Hope everybody has a great weekend.

I'm addicted to bubbles...

I have come to the conclusion that I’m a fanatic about bubbles. I didn’t realize it until last night. I was looking through the “junk food” drawer hoping to find a pack of Bazooka or Dubble Bubble. I may be 53, but I still love my bubble gum. I am an expert at blowing bubbles. I have been since my younger days. Some people try to blow bubbles and simply push the gum out of their mouth and into the floor. Some would prefer chewing gum so they can make it snap and pop. But I love my bubbles. I like to blow them big enough to point to and grunt so others can see how big they are, but small enough that they don’t pop all over my face. I have become an expert at it over the years. My love of bubbles doesn’t stop there. Every time we plan a summer cook out, I buy jars of bubbles for the kids to have. I usually get a bottle for myself, too. I know I won’t be able to resist the urge and I don’t want to take any away from the kids. I like to blow the really big bubbles and try to catch them with the wand after you release them. But I also like to blow a ton of them at once and let the kids chase them. Every evening, I like to take a nice hot soak in a tub of, you guessed it, bubbles. Suave Body Wash in Wild Cherry Blossom. I love the floral smell and the feel of sinking deep into the glistening bubbles. And what person, child or adult, does not love bubble wrap. It is one of those things that’s automatic. You open a box. There’s the bubble wrap and you cannot resist but to pop a few. I love my Pepsi and even though I stick to caffeine free when I can, I still have to have it while it is fresh and bubbly. The carbonation is what makes it work. Otherwise, it’s just flat brown water in a can. So there you have it. I’m addicted to bubbles.

Easter Eggs and Chocolate Bunnies

Why, oh why, did I decide to start losing weight so close to Easter. Easter is just 25 days away and I start worrying about what I eat. This is not good. I am 53 years old and have NEVER experienced Easter without the "Easter Bunny" leaving me an Easter basket. Between my mom and my wonderful husband, they have been able to contact Mr. Bunny every year to make sure I get a basket of goodies. I am still kid enough to enjoy seeing all the chocolate goodies, but I'm adult enough to realize that this is not good. When it comes to chocolate, I have no willpower. Even the out-of-sight out-of-mind routine doesn't work when it comes to chocolate. If it is not where I can see it, it makes me want it more. If it IS where I can see it, it makes me want it EVEN more. I'll just have to drop a note to Mr. Bunny and ask him to go easy on me this year. I would recommend the 100 calories snack sizes. But, I would probably eat two at a time which would make them more calories than a regular candy bar anyway. I'M DOOMED!