For the Thousandth Time

...I am going to try to get in shape. Oops, already I have made a critical error. I should have said I AM going to get into shape. Several people, Cesar Millan and Wayne Dyer among them, agree that mindset is everything. Yes, it's time for me to really do this.

Here's the deal: Jackson just shipped himself off to 8 weeks of boot camp at Wellspring Texas. He's hoping to lose 40 pounds in that time. Well, I've needed to do the same thing for FOURTEEN years! Can't blame it on baby weight anymore. I've learned bad habits, and it's time to un-learn them!

In the near future, look for pictures of the beginning of my mission- which is to get back into the athletic shape I used to be in. I thought I was getting too old, but if my brother-in-law (who is my same age) can run a 5:15 mile, surely I can shed 50 pounds and get back to a size12. I don't think that's expecting too much. I had intended to post pictures today, but I am using a refurbished computer, and each time I post to my blog, it rotates the picture 90 degrees. Can't figure that out. So, coming soon are the measurements I took today, as well as a BEFORE picture. Here we go, again...

Who Would Have Thought?

It's unprecedented that we are out 4 days in a row from school. The combination of ice and snow have kept us comfortably secluded in our house, sitting by the fire, reading, playing computer games, doing laundry, baking, and good old fashioned wintry things. It's amazing how your world, so familier and comfortable, can appear so drastically different when under 7 inches of snow. Here are a few pictures I took this morning:

Snow Days!

The day started out like any other, my alarm blaring me from a quiet slumber at an ungodly hour (4:45AM), groggily slapping it silent, stumbling out to the kitchen as I drag on sweatpants, tennis shoes and jacket, readying myself for the morning walk or run, depending on which day of the week it is. Dogs circling me with channeled anticipation, mouths open, grins on their faces. Except there was this noise that I couldn't quite place, so I stop the dogs' antics so I can listen better and what do I hear? The sounds of a SNOW DAY!

The wind is barreling through every nook and cranny of our not-quite-installed new windows and with the frigid temperatures there is freezing sleet pelting the windows. I open the front door, and my German Shepherds bolt past me to frolic in the icy ground cover. This is weather they were born to experience they say with their happy tails, dashes through the snow, the come-and-get-me taunts they throw at one another. Even my old boy Tchico forgets his aging hips for a minute as he chases the young pup Griffin and bites at the icy whiteness on the ground.

I love snow days. They are spontaneous, unplanned little pockets of unexpected pleasure. They are fires in the fireplace, steaming mugs of coffee, good books, and naps! They are staying in your pajamas all day, baking cookies, watching movies and catching up with friends. They are snuggling on the couch, playing with furry companions, and sometimes even the opportunity to do things you've put off (like laundry!).

So, with no immediate plans, I will let the day unfold, I'll enjoy the fire in the fireplace, and take full advantage of this gift.