...get settled in.

We are unpacking and getting settled in. Lucy has been very excited about the new place. There are a lot of things to sniff. She gets to go exploring on her walks. She has already started barking out the back window as runners go by on the trail. There have been a lot of changes for Lucy. I was wondering how quickly she would adjust to the new place...until I saw this:


Lucy made sure she found her spot where the window light hits the stairs.

Lucy is settled in!

...check in.

I believe I may have lost a few pounds. The scale was a bit lower earlier this week. However, eating pizza during our move may do that in. Oh, well. I figure that I'm burning more calories too, so it may balance out. I exercised 3 days of walking and biking. Yesterday and today I am moving tons of boxes around. Does that count? If so, I got my five days in!

...say aloha.

Here's the other lei I finished yesterday.

Now I am back to moving mode. It's time to pack up for our weekend move.

Soon it will be time to say aloha. I'm not saying good-bye to anyone because we are only moving across town!

Shhhhhhhhh! Don't tell them, but I made these for the girls I visit teach. They were inspired by a wonderful Relief Society President and friend who gave my a lei when I left the ward. I miss you, Mary!

...crochet on Sunday.

You may have guessed that I am in moving mode. Most of my time is spent packing and cleaning. So, what do I do on Sunday after church?

I crochet a lei for fun.

I like it.

I think I'll do another...and maybe another!

...move to the other side of "somewhere in CA."

You all know that we reside "somewhere in California." I don't mention exactly where because this is a public blog. Some of you may know exactly where. If you do, consider yourself in on our little secret. Just don't blab in the comments. We don't need stalkers when we become famous. ;)

Well, we are moving to the other side of "somewhere in California." Yep. It's just across town. Why are we moving? Remember that post I did a while back about California being behind in our economic recovery? The owner of our rental house is selling. It's not a foreclosure situation. Whew! However, we do need to leave soon. So, up and out we go.

The plan is to move next weekend. We have been blessed by the kindness of strangers in making this happen. The folks at the base housing office really pulled thru to get us a spot without going on the waiting list for months. I've picked up boxes from folks I met thru craigslist.org and other internet listing sites. We even have some able bodied men willing to help us load our rental truck.

So far, things are working out. This is out of budget, stressful, and unexpected. So, please send your good thoughts our way. I hope to blog again before this all shakes down. If not, I'll be blogging from the other side soon...

...give the weekly report.

Well, the scale may say the same old song, but I have more exercise to report this week. I'm now over my cold. Yea! I worked out 4 days this week...5 if you count walking around the safari park on Monday. So, I feel good. I haven't noticed any change on the scale, but I think it is just too early. I don't want to get discouraged when progress is slow. I think I'll just blog weekly about exercise and weigh in on the first Friday of every month.

...see baby elephants.

We went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park yesterday. It was a beautiful, southern CA day. We got to see the newest baby elephant (born on Dec 27th). He is so cute! He follows his mom all around. We had a good view, but the new mom kept her calf pretty far from us humans. I only had my cell phone on me, so my picture (above) is not so good.




This picture that I took this morning off the elephant web cam might even be better. You can view the web cam yourself or view a great newborn elephant picture of the baby on the elephant blog.

...report.

I'm a day late on my first weight loss report, but I'm doing it. I don't have any loss to report. I don't have a gain either. I was getting over a cold this week. So, my exercise has not been stellar. I can only report 3 exercise sessions instead of the 5 I wanted to get done. I think I've done better on my food. I've also determined that it is hard to tell my true weight. I fluctuate about 3 pounds. So, it may not be easy to see my progress at first. I'm still working on it. That may be all I can report for a month or so. Hopefully in a few weeks I'll have more measurable results...

...own shoes.

This is the favorite part of my closet!


I love shoes! I've had to explain to my husband several times why I have as many shoes as I do. I think he is finally okay with my obsession. Or maybe I have just broken him in over the years...

..."go there" every Friday.

Sometimes Lucy just won't stay out of a picture I'm taking!

Grrrrr! I really don't want to do this. However, I read an article that said people who blog about their weight loss are more successful with it.

*sigh*

I just don't want to bore people with my little struggles. Yes. This blog is supposed to be about the little things in life. It helps me remember that there are tiny moments to treasure from day to day. The fluff lets me get away from the heavy stuff in life.

Ha! Heavy.

I'm not calling myself heavy. I'm just at a place where I want to focus on this instead of ignoring it. I've been ignoring it for a few years now. "It" being the 5 to 10 pounds that I really don't need. I just want to feel better about myself and be more in shape.

So, here's the deal. The plan is to blog about this every Friday until I reach my goal of 5-10 pounds lighter. If you don't care to read about it, skip the Friday posts. (I won't know.)

I hope to meet my weight loss goal by the time May rolls around. I plan to watch my portion size and be mindful of my calories. However, I'm not going to be super strict with myself. I plan to exercise 5 days a week instead of the 2-5 I've been doing. Again, the exercise doesn't need to be intense. A 45 minute, brisk walk or bike ride will do. I want this to be something that I can continue after I reach my goal.

Since I'm starting today, I only have a 45 minute bike ride to report. I'm not listing my starting weight. (Sorry to disappoint. Make something up if you like. Again, I won't know.) I'm just planning on reporting the weight loss.

Wish me luck?!

...band.

Nope. This isn't about rock 'n roll. It's more hooking...AKA crocheting. I made some baby girl headbands for a baby shower last night. I made small, medium, and large sizes using the CDC infant head circumference charts. I'm hoping they are a little big so that she can grow into all three. The flowers are really fun to do. I like them because they are so quick. The project didn't take me too many hours...I'm still a bit slow at this. That's okay. It's fun.

...number my years.

I stole this idea from Bethany. It was too clever not to try for my birthday. Below are some numbers applied to my 36 years. Since this is a public blog, I tried to stay general. This is more of the fun fluff and not an autobiography.

Do we have any numbers in common, folks? Comment so we can compare our numbers.


My 36 Years in Numbers

1 diploma
2 degrees
20 jobs
2 vacations in Hawaii
2 art shows
6 musicals
5 5K races
1 broken bone
1 big wheel
4 bikes
7 cars
1 guinea pig
1 bird
3 dogs
1 husband
0 children
19 nieces and nephews
3 callings in nursery
2 religions
1 missionary call
12 temples
4 houses
1 dorm room
1 duplex
12 apartments

I think there are a lot more numbers I could add to the list, but I'm running out of time. After all, I have 2 loads of laundry, 1 sink of dishes, 3 rooms to vacuum, and 1 baby hat to crochet today! Ha-ha.

...edit.

I've been editing a picture I took of two swans. I love how the ruffly feathers echo the movement in the water. I kept tweaking until it looked strikingly different from the original. I think this one might make a nice note card.

Below is the original snapshot.

I took a lot of liberties here.
Hopefully it's not over editing...