Mumble Grumble Mumble

Wouldn't it be great if we woke up everyday with a cheerful, positive attitude? Full of energy and creative ideas for the day?? Happy to face anything life throws at us with a smile and a dismissive wave of the hand?

Yea, that is sooooooooooo not me. In fact I've been quite the opposite lately.

Today would have been a great day to lay in bed with a good book, a fan and a glass of ice water to wallow in. Instead, I made my grumpy self get some things done today.... clean the fish tank, clean the frog tank, do the laundry and clean the kitchen, all while tripping over children and a puppy. So far, I'm pretty proud of myself. The next thing I promised myself is that I would sit and blog rather than just read other blogs. Since my high speed- tons of storage- top of the line laptop that houses all of my photos, Photoshop and writings is on death's door, I've no creative photos to share to liven up the page. HOWEVER.... let me paint a mental image for you!

Fresh juicy peaches, cut into bite size chunks, lightly dusted with sugar and a small amount of cream drizzled over the top. I'm enjoying that as I type. What a pretty photo that would make!!!

Well, I can't resist.... thanks to royalty free photos available at http://www.sxc.hu/ I've found some lovely peaches to tempt you with.

Thanks for reading!

Beautiful Drama

Cool farm outside Silverton, Oregon.

This shot is of the Mt. Angel Abbey near Silverton, Oregon.

They sky was already dramatic, but I used a filter on Photoshop to make the sky pop even more.

This is the beauty I see.

Viruses

You have been infected. Love, Dawn

It Figures

Why is it that women have a more difficult time losing weight than men do? My husband came home from a doctor's appointment last week and said he'd lost weight. How? Oh, he cut back on his meal portions. Well, I've cut back as well. And I've added making myself eat during the day so that my metabolism will speed up. Water? I'm drinking lots of it. Exercise? Yep, it's in there. Not to mention all the picking up, playing with and chasing after my grand kids. Maybe one morning I'll wake up and it will have happened overnight... ba-da-bing! thin and healthy!

My sister sent a book to me that will help the two of us keep each other accountable as we try to drop some pounds and become healthier. I think the accountability will help so much. That and the encouragement from each other.

I read an article earlier today that said 1/3 of our daily calories should be consumed before lunch. Maybe I'll start making spaghetti for breakfast and serve everyone cereal at dinnertime!

What the heckfire?

Touring around my local neighborhood with my son yesterday and snapping pictures here and there gave me the opportunity to capture quite a few bizarre shots. These lawn chairs were a couple of miles apart from each other and both caught my eye. I had to pull over and snap a few pictures of them just to prove they were there. What in the WORLD are lawn chairs doing out in the middle of nowhere.... sitting along side the road.... held down by rocks on a large cement pillar? I have no clue what this phenomenon is all about... but I'm sure that it has helped in my intellectual growth if not my physical growth. I could have tried to climb the pillar, sit in chair, climb down and start the process over again. This could become part of my work-out routine, don't you think? If it works, I just might start marketing the idea! Thanks for reading! ~ Dawnee

Positive Attitude!

I find it difficult to follow a diet plan of any kind. Because of that, I'm falling back on the "eat when you are hungry, stop when you are satisfied" method which worked wonders for me after I had my youngest child and needed to drop the extra weight.

A few weeks into eating that way, I'd lost enough weight that my clothes weren't fitting anymore. One morning during worship team practice, I walked down the steps at the front of the church, and my slip fell around my ankles. Everyone stopped and stared, a bit mortified for me, I'm sure. I used my right foot and kicked the slip into the air, grabbed it with my hand and tossed it to the front pew. "I guess my diet plan is working then!" I said to my fellow worship team. That brought forth laughs and eased the tension a bit.

Right now, I weigh more than I did after giving birth to Rachel, my youngest. It's daunting and stressful to have "more" of me than I've ever had in my life! One thing I do know though... my attitude can make or break me as I go through the changes in my life. I'm trying to have a "can do" attitude, and face this task with joy and laughter rather than sorrow and depression. I'm looking forward to the day when my slip falls off again and I get to "downsize" my wardrobe! How fun that will be!!!!

On a different note, I had the pleasure of spending time with my son Jeremy yesterday. We took a couple of hours and drove around the outskirts of Silverton and took some candid shots of the area. Isn't it amazing that you can live in one place for years and years and never once travel down back roads to explore??? Luckily, I had my camera with me. I have a crappy camera. I'd be so excited to have one of the current digital cameras on the market along with special lenses for special shots. I am just happy right now to have a camera to work with. The shot above was taken at my son and daughter's house on their mossy steps. Not so candid, since I added all the goodies resting on the steps. I shall be adding more photos with a less contrived feel, however. For now, I hope you enjoy this shot! Thanks so much for stopping by! ~ Dawnee

My Exercising Vs. My Granddaughter's Exercising

Because my foot is still healing, I am not yet able to participate in my favorite form of exercise - aerobics. While I was working on some muscle toning in lieu of aerobics this afternoon my granddaughter, Baileigh was performing her own body toning.

The Quest for Betterment

(At right, my grandson's hands as he is sleeping)

In my quest to "better" myself, I have decided to read other blogs, books and articles to help lift me up. I do read a lot.... but more for the entertaining value than the enrichment value. I'm very blessed to have grown up in a family of readers who have instilled in me not only the desire to read but to write as well.

In my reading today, I came across a passage in The Best of C.S. Lewis, Macmillan, 1969 that really struck home with me:

Most people, if they have really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want very acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing.

It seems that no matter how great things seem in my life, I always want MORE. I know that there will always be amazing moments in my life, sad moments and hurtful moments as well.... but I was not made for this world. When I get to where I'm going.... I'll be thrilled with exactly who I am.

In the meantime, here in this earthly world I live in, I will do my best to have great moments and participate in giving others great moments as well. Here's to being the best I can be with the time I have left here. Thanks for reading ~ dawnee

The Artist in Me

Look Ma..... I can digitally paint! This is my first attempt at using Photoshop for something other than digital scrapbooking. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. Not sure I'll ever do anything like this again even though I feel like I had more control working digitally than I do painting on paper or canvas.

The Beginning

I probably should have titled this blog "The End" rather than The Beginning. However.... it is the beginning of the end of the old me. We can't fight aging and I'd never want to go back 20 or thirty years ago just to battle the side effects of age. Our bodies are miraculously resilient, I'll just trust in that fact and start from here.

The last couple of years have been harsh on me, physically especially. I'm taking 4 to 8 pills a day for a variety of aging side effects.... high blood pressure.... depression.... heart rate too fast.... can't sleep on my own. So, as I look at 192 lbs of me in the mirror (possibly 10 of that due to the bags under my eyes) I've decided to take the matter into my own hands and start to eat right, exercise, sleep more, find authentic health tips and put them to practice. I'm ready to dig down to the real me. The one I haven't seen for a while. I'll be journaling this adventure for my benefit more than anyone else. I may or may not post these. No pressure on myself to post. Just, push forward!

As I sit here and type, my hair is piled on top of my head with a new foaming dye. I'm gonna wash that gray right out of my hair first! Once the timer goes off, I'll be climbing into the shower to lather, rinse and repeat. I've decided to pamper myself by giving myself a pedicure as well. This could be a challenge, considering I broke my left foot more than a month ago... but I'm darned well gonna try!

Tonight, the facial. I will be sleeping with it on and waking up to a flaky face in the morning that I'll need to clean up. But my skin should be a bit tighter. My next step is to drink 10 glasses of water throughout the day tomorrow.

Along with upgrading my body, I am also working on my creative side. A few months ago I started to teach myself to draw. My sister and I have also started taking a watercolor course as well. My true love is photography and digital art. To watch my creative growth, I'll be sharing pictures of my creations.

My first thought in working on this blog was "who cares, aside from myself?" Maybe no one at all.... or maybe someone else will be encouraged to try as well.

Well, the timer is calling me to the shower. Wish me luck!

Thanks for doing this Dawnee (hugging myself)... and thanks for reading. ~ dawnee