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.