3/2/10

A cat's life

Of all God's creatures great and small, nothing has life as good as a cat does. Cat's are such interesting animals. For those of you who have never had the love of a cat, you don't know what you are missing.
We adopted K.C. from the pound when she was a few weeks old. Skittish and afraid of her own shadow, we made the decision that she would be an inside cat only. We had her fixed and declawed when she was old enough.
K.C. was not a normal cat. She went through her frisky, playful stage; but was still afraid of any sudden moves. But she had a dream life.
Her days existed of laying in the window or on the back of the couch, letting the sun's warmth lull her to sleep. When I would get up in the morning, she was waiting outside the bedroom door. We would walk down the hall to her cat dish, her between my legs - me trying not to fall.
She would get fresh food and water and then go prepare for another nap. Cat's needs are met at all costs. They are fed on schedule; their litter boxes are kept clean for them. We prepare our laps as a nesting place where they can cuddle.
K.C. would lay beside me on the couch at night as we watched TV. She would snuggle and her warmth and gentle purring would lure me to sleep every time. She would become such a dead weight that I would have to literally pry her off me so I could go to bed.
How many times I wished I could lay down just once without a cat on me. Two summers ago, we lost her to health reasons at the age of 17. Now, there are times when I lay down and it's chilly and I wish I had her back to snuggle with again. She was demanding. She was persnickety. She was stubborn. She was opinionated. But she was mine and she loved me. Unconditionally. Day in and day out.

3/1/10

"Dance As If No One's Watching, Sing As If No One's Listening, And Live Everyday As If It Were Your Last"
Happy March 1st. This is the month for anything Irish. I love St. Patrick's day. Ireland is my dream vacation. I love the rolling hills, the lush green pastures, the music. I have Irish ancestors, the Clonch side of the family. Each of us inherited a touch of auburn in our hair and a wee bit of the temper that goes along with it. My favorite vegetable is potatoes, which I joking say is because of my Irish ancestry. My first grandchild, Garret, was even born on St. Patrick's day. So I love this month. This will be a busy month for me. Duck Duck Goose has their annual spring sale in Knoxville. I have two Pampered Chef parties to attend. My oldest grandchild will be turning 11 so we get to have a grand birthday party. My daughter is going to a concert so I'll be keeping two of the grandkids one night. There will be a wedding shower to attend. Our choir is learning our new Easter program so we'll be practicing every week. My sister is coming for a visit and I can't wait. But most importantly, I will be celebrating my wedding anniversary on the 27th. Allen and I have been married 29 wonderful, exciting years. We met on a blind date, dated two months and 10 days and got married. We went to Virginia to a quaint town called Pearisburg, Virginia. We were married in a Baptist church by the Reverend James O'Rourke. That's right, he was Irish. To each of you I leave this Irish blessing:
May God give you... For every storm, a rainbow, For every tear, a smile, For every care, a promise, And a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, A faithful friend to share, For every sigh, a sweet song, And an answer for each prayer.

2/28/10

Kissing February Good-Bye

For only 28 days, February has sure felt like a long month. February has long been the month of romance. Valentine's Day, flowers & candy, engagement rings, weddings..romance has been in the air.
This has been one of our coldest February. More snow than we've seen in many years. Even though it didn't stick a lot and we didn't have those horrible accumulations the rest of the nation received, I am still glad that February is over. Of course, March may not be much better. We could still have snow, but we will soon see the crocus and Easter lilies pop up. We'll see the dogwoods start to bloom and the tree budding. The robins are already arriving and the sweet chirp of birds will fill the hair.
So we kiss February goodbye and wish it well for another year. Let's open our arms wide to embrace March and welcome it into our lives. Will it come in like a lion and go out like a lamb? After the weather we have been through, I would rather the lion and lamb lie down peacefully together and just let spring get here.

2/27/10

Why do I have to grow old?

I'm tired of getting older. I'm over it. I'm done. I tell people all the time "I don't feel 53". Then I fall asleep at 9:00 at night on the couch. I toss and turn all night with little aches and pains. I used to carry my twins at the same time and walk across 2 blocks to visit my neighbor. Now I get winded carrying a 12 pack of Pepsi from the car to the door. I used to be able to tie my shoes and go for a walk. Now, by the time I FIND my shoes, I feel like I've walked a mile all over the house. And my eyes! I got glasses in 4th grade. As I neared my 40's the dreaded bifocals came into action. Now I'm in trifocals and have to tilt my head up and down to refocus every time I move to look at something different. My ankles swell. My mind goes blank at times and I can't remember what I'm doing. I've got that middle age spread that won't go away. I was starting to feel like I'm really getting old. But today, I called myself an old lady and my grandson said "You're not an old lady." I asked him why not and he said "Because you aren't wrinkled." Now who can argue with a philosophy like that. So forget the eyes, the swollen ankles and the many loss. I guess age is a matter of the mind. If you don't mind, it don't matter.

2/26/10

When did my behind begin to unwind? You've heard it called the middle age spread, people blame it on age or working behind a desk, but whatever the reason, I've put on too much weight. I did not see this coming. Being a size 5 most of my life, when the pounds started inching up, I thought no big deal a 7 is average. A few years and a few bowls of ice cream go by and you think, well, a 9/10 isn't that bad. Then you have to leave the junior department for a Misses 10 and you think, well I am older now and these things happen. But one day you wake up and you are in front of sizes you didn't even know existed back in your 5 days and boom that horrible word we hate pops into your head ---DIET!
Every goal starts with one small step. Can I do it? Who knows. It will take a lot more will power and a lot less chocolate (and cookies, and Pepsi and french fries and pizza.....) I'm not going to give things up, I'm going to cut back. I tried this not too long ago and it worked very well. Then I ran into a small problem - WINTER. I didn't get out as much and it was dreary and cold and a good book with a snack at night was so relaxing. Now spring is around the corner and I need to be able to bend over and work in my flower bed without huffin' and puffin'. Beach vacations are right around the corner. While I really don't care what others think about how I look in a bathing suit, I do care about that "beach bulge". You know, the spare tire around our waist that looks like you stuffed a child's round float in the middle of your suit. Don't laugh. It doesn't matter what size you are, put on a one piece bathing suit and we all have a little bit more in the middle than we want.
I can't do normal diets. I would starve. If you know me well, you know I don't eat anything green except pickles and M & M's. Neither one is condusive to weight loss. I don't like veggies except taters and corn. I don't like enough of the "healthy" stuff to make a difference. If I do away with eating what is supposedly NOT good for me, I would starve. Not to mention it would last about a day or two because I have no willpower when it comes to meal time.
I have decided to implement a new fitness routine. I will eat what I like in moderation. Cut back but not cut out all my "fun" food. I'll limit my snack times, start walking again, drink more water and eat more apples and oranges.
Of course everything has to start out with baby steps or I will freak and pig out and have TWO spare tires by beach time.
So I now officially declare this FITNESS FRIDAY. I will implement something new into my health & wellness plan every Friday and stick with it. Each Friday I will add something new until I have changed my habits and started seeing a difference. I'm going to keep a log (of course in an Excel form) and only weigh myself on Friday (normally I'll jump on any scale I walk by and freak if a 1/2 pound has crept up on me.)
My goal will be to lose 26 pounds by August 1st. I will change 3 things each week. Today's Fitness Friday plan for the next week will be:
Do one exercise every morning Drink 2 extra glasses of water a day Eat real food for breakfast, not junk
I will post a fitness report each Friday to let you know how I'm doing. I will need the help of my friends and family. Email me once in awhile each week to ask about one of the new items I'm doing that week to help keep me motivated. Wish me luck. I'm off to exercise. Hope everybody has a great weekend.

2/25/10

Top 20 Things I like about spring and summer

  1. Going Barefoot in the grass
  2. Flip flops
  3. Children's laughter
  4. Sitting under the weeping willow trees
  5. Watching birds outside my window
  6. Singing along with music on the radio
  7. Driving with the windows down
  8. Yard sales
  9. The beach
  10. Sitting in the sun
  11. Popsicles
  12. Sunglasses
  13. Shorts & Tank tops
  14. Blowing bubbles
  15. Badminton
  16. Vacations
  17. Easter Egg Hunts
  18. Vacation Bible School
  19. Fresh squeezed lemonade
  20. Summer storms

2/24/10

I like Stuff

It's official I'm a "stuff" addict. I love stuff. Every week is dedicated to a single goal....finding more stuff to buy. I like things to sit around the house, shoes, clothes, purses, tote bags, nail polish, jewelry, ink pens, notebooks, flowers, baskets, kitchen utensils, knick-knacks, craft supplies, yarn, material, scrapbook supplies, clothes and toys for grandkids, beach stuff, free catalogs..... need I go on? I just love stuff. And when I get tired of looking at some of my stuff. I love to have yard sales and get rid of my old stuff. The only problem is I like to participate in multi-family yard sales. Then I buy other peoples stuff to replace mine. Then I take the money I make from the yard sale, make a list, go shopping and BUY MORE STUFF. Can anybody see a pattern here? There is nothing that makes me happier than finding a bargain. I love thrift shops, yard sales, consignment shops, etc. I use coupons and ask for discounts, all in the honor of buying more stuff. But this is one addiction I like and I can't see me getting any help for it. I guess I need to go for now. I have a date with E-Bay to look up some more STUFF.