30 Days in the Whole

A few things I learned after one week on Whole30. 

Eating healthy is expensive.  Whole 30 is all about organic, natural, whole foods. Nothing processed means shopping at Whole Foods and Central Market for most of my food. 

Walmart has a ton of organic selections!

Sugar really is an addiction. I smoked when I was young. It was not very hard for me to quit because I just wasn’t that into it even though I smoked for about 6 years.  Quitting sugar is more difficult! I walk around thinking about cookies and muffins, all damn day! 

There is sugar in EVERYTHING. I repeat, EVERYTHING! I have to make my own salad dressing and bbq sauce. They even want you to make your own mayo. Where does the craziness end? If you buy it at the grocery store, chances are it has sugar. 

This diet is almost too much work.  I have to make all my own meals. I didn’t realize what a habit I had of stopping and picking up convenient meals.  I don’t really eat McDonalds or the like but I do stop all the time at Eatsy’s and Central Market where they have pre-made, heat and eat foods. I stop for Chinese, or soup at Panera Bread. I like a bagel once a week for breakfast or an egg white McMuffin.  This is the most difficult habit to break.  I spent all weekend either planning, shopping or preparing meals. My house is a mess! 

Not only do I have to prepare the meals, I have to clean up! I have had dishes in my sink all weekend. I clean, then have to cook and then clean again. 

I am eating things I normally don’t. To keep this from becoming boring I have to mix it up. I bought Epic bars. They are not the normal fruity protein bar. These are meat! Today I had Chicken Sriracha, for breakfast!

I am sick of eggs.

What in the world is coconut aminos? I had to buy it to make bbq sauce. 

It’s making me crabby. Most of you would say, “no, not Colleen. She is never crabby!”

Grief and birthdays.

Grief is a funny thing. I was looking through pictures of Bob since today would have been his birthday and what hit me this time is these are the last pictures of him, ever. There won’t be any more and it makes them just that much more special.  He has been gone three and a half years this month and I have worked through or probably just blew right by the expected “stages” of grief.  I think I am in the “what would have been?”   stage. We had our life planned out and he not being here has changed the course of mine in very surprising and not always pleasant ways.

I think the most challenging aspect has been is trying to figure out who I am by myself.  When you are in a relationship with a person for over 35 years and that relationship ends, you really aren’t the same person anymore. There isn’t anyone who knows that person anymore. So who are you? Who do you want to be? It sort of sucks working all this out and it’s a surprising part of the process that I had no clue would happen.  

 

It is said that everyone grieves differently and I know this is true because I follow a lot of widow websites. They aim to empower and support or just be an ear to listen but what I find is many many women are still grieving after a long time and haven’t moved on. I know one thing; I don’t want to be that kind of person, stuck in my grief and unable to grow. I just hope that when it’s all said and done I will end up being a person that Bob would still be proud of.

 

 

 

 

 

He was a very gentle and quiet man with a subtle sense of humor who loved me warts and all. It was difficult to find a picture of just him, almost all my pictures where of us, with his arms wrapped around me. Happy Birthday to my darling Bud.

Books!

I read about three books a week right now and I get a lot of requests to recommend books. Lately I have been reading a lot of fantasy romance, a little science fiction, contemporary romance and a bunch of urban fantasy.  These aren't main stream books like standard fiction or mystery so I am never sure what to recommend but below is what I have read and liked lately. I am in no way a reviewer so I am copying from Amazon. My reviews are usually  "loved it, read it!"

Radiance - Grace Draven

~THE PRINCE OF NO VALUE~ Brishen Khaskem, prince of the Kai, has lived content as the nonessential spare heir to a throne secured many times over. A trade and political alliance between the human kingdom of Gaur and the Kai kingdom of Bast-Haradis requires that he marry a Gauri woman to seal the treaty. Always a dutiful son, Brishen agrees to the marriage and discovers his bride is as ugly as he expected and more beautiful than he could have imagined. ~THE NOBLEWOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE~ Ildiko, niece of the Gauri king, has always known her only worth to the royal family lay in a strategic marriage. Resigned to her fate, she is horrified to learn that her intended groom isn't just a foreign aristocrat but the younger prince of a people neither familiar nor human. Bound to her new husband, Ildiko will leave behind all she's known to embrace a man shrouded in darkness but with a soul forged by light. Two people brought together by the trappings of duty and politics will discover they are destined for each other, even as the powers of a hostile kingdom scheme to tear them apart.

First off, I don't think the blurb does this justice. This books was very emotional and one of my favorites of the year, well maybe a few years. It gets my vote for best cover too! I just loved this book. 

 Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse, Station Eleven tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of actors roaming the scattered outposts of the Great Lakes region, risking everything for art and humanity.

Spanning decades, moving back and forth in time, and vividly depicting life before and after the pandemic, this suspenseful, elegiac novel is rife with beauty. A novel of art, memory, and ambition, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame, and the beauty of the world as we know it.

I saw this on many many "best books of 2014"lists. After reading the blurb I didn't buy it but then I saw it again on another list so picked it up from the library. This book was one of those that stayed with me long after I finished it. It made me think and then think again and it also made me think I might want to start stock piling food and water!

Dead Heat - Patricia Briggs

Praised as “the perfect blend of action, romance, suspense and paranormal,"* the Alpha and Omega novels transport readers into the realm of the werewolf, where Charles Cornick and Anna Latham embody opposite sides of the shifter personality. Now, a pleasure trip drops the couple into the middle of some bad supernatural business…

For once, mated werewolves Charles and Anna are not traveling because of Charles’s role as his father’s enforcer. This time, their trip to Arizona is purely personal--or at least it starts out that way...
Charles and Anna soon discover that a dangerous Fae being is on the loose, replacing human children with simulacrums. The Fae’s cold war with humanity is about to heat up—and Charles and Anna are in the cross fire.

This is the fourth book in the series and I just love the way Ms. Briggs is moving this series along. Her Mercy Thompson series is an auto-buy for me and this is an off-shoot of that series. Super good.

Here are a few other books I have liked recently, go look them up.

In Your Dreams - Kristan Higgins
Dark Heir - Faith Hunter (super good)
Bound by Flames - Jeanine Frost
Vision in Silver - Ann Bishop
Obsession in Death - JD Robb

Almost April!

I am floored that I haven't posted since New Year's eve! Where in the world does the time go? I used to enjoy thinking about what I was going to post and letting everyone know how I was doing, so what happened?

I stay busy but nothing spectacular. I work and then catch up on the rest of my life on the weekend. I try to go to the gym (haha) and I gave up donuts, again. That's about it. I guess there really isn't a ton of drama in my life right now so I feel like I don't really have anything to post.

I am still exploring Dallas.  My sis and I take the DART train downtown and look around every once in a while.  My friend Sheila and I went to the Irish fest at Fair Park and Nancy and I continue to do quality control of the margaritas at the local watering holes.

Dating you ask? Still not working out for me. I think the issue is dating sites do not feel like a normal way to meet people. It's difficult to see the sparkle in someone eye in a picture. I have talked with a few guys and actually met two but we never got past the first meet up.  It's just so weird. If you know any well-adjusted, normal guys in my area please feel free to let me know!

 

 

Here we go again!

We are staring 2015 in the face and I can barely remember 2014.  It was a whirlwind year of new state, new job, new home. It seems a blur of new and busy. I don't really need to re-cap my year, it's out there on Facebook for anyone to see, so I guess I will look forward to 2015.

I never make resolutions but I do spend the first week of each year setting goals. I also like to clean out my house but that may have to wait.

 Here is the short list:

1. Eat healthier. I don't need to diet but I do need to stop eating donuts and drinking Starbucks. Fair warning, if I do give up Starbucks they will definitely lose income so keep an eye on their stock.

2. Work out. Hahahaha.. no really!  I walk two miles a day but with the aforementioned donuts I need to head back to the gym. I was doing so well and I just got sidetracked by life. Also, the closest gym is packed all the time so I never want to go with the masses. Working out relieves my stress so I need to get my butt to the gym.

3. Get a handle on my budget.  I am not a crazy spender but I would like to tighten up a few things.

4. . Volunteer. I don't think it's the lack of opportunity but I do think my busy life makes me hesitate to commit. I promise myself to find time for this.

5.. Last and probably least, date!  I totally failed Match.com! I didn't get any interest. I am not sure why. I think because I am normal, not needy and can take care of myself. I have a feeling I could be a little picky too. Even though it is super difficult for me, I am going to put myself out there and just start saying yes. I am not looking for another husband but I am looking for someone to do stuff with.


This is the blueprint I am heading into 2015 with. I like to set goals I can reach and then feel good about and not ones that would be epic fail and feel bad all year. I will keep you posted...hey another goal!

Dallas is not my favorite city this week

So, as I said in my last post, we were burglarized. The person in the next unit to our storage unit cut a hole in the wall and took over $40k worth of stuff. Most of it was my sister and her family's  clothes and furniture. It 's a long sad story made worse by the absolute inept way the Dallas police have handled the entire affair.

I have been trying to get a copy of the police report for over a week. The least amount of time I was on the phone, on hold was 25 minutes. Today it was over 35.  I called the detective three times with no call back and I called his sergeant with no help. Finally, finally I got in touch with the detective. He didn't have a clue. I told him I needed to make sure the report was in my name for the insurance. It  is in my sisters name so I asked him if he could correct it. He told me to go downtown to the main police station records and get a copy and see if they could help me. I asked if he could just do an addendum or some kind of update. He told me "if they can't help you downtown, call me back" Trying not to scream at him,  I politely asked him again if he could fix it. His response, "if they can't help you downtown, come to our office and we will re-do the report".

I can't even....

This is going to involve time off of work and my patience being shredded. Wish me luck, I am going in!  If you me on the news please start a Crowd funding account for my bail.

And so it goes

As some of you  may know, my sister and her family have been living with me while she looks for a full-time job. They put all of their belongings in a storage unit except what they thought they would need immediately.  The unit was packed tight by the movers, front to back, top to bottom. When Molly came home from college her stuff was put in the front.

We haven't been to the unit since August but we all needed some cooler weather clothes and I needed my winter shoes/boots for a trip to Chicago. My sister and I headed over there last night only to find out the entire unit was ransacked and robbed.

We won't be able to tell exactly what is missing until we can start pulling things out but it looks like they spent a lot of time in there opening bags of clothes, moving everything around and taking at least one television, some electronics and bags of clothes. I cant' find my winter stuff including my comforter and plastic bin of boots.

 We know, "it's only stuff". No one was hurt, everyone is ok but it's such a violation and my sister has been struggling this past year looking for a job it just feels like one more crappy thing to happen.

Please keep Suzanne, Kevin, Molly and Paige in your thoughts and prayers while they are going through this difficult time.

Time sure does fly

I was amazed when I looked at my blog and realized I haven't posted in over six months! I can't even begin to think what has kept me so busy that I didn't take a few minutes to add something here.  I have been doing a little exploring of the Dallas area and I work pretty hard but jeez...

This has been an interesting summer. My sister and her family moved in with me in June. She has had a terrible time trying to find a full-time job (she works part-time at a store) and they needed some help so now I have three and a half people living with me in my two-bedroom condo. I say half because Molly graduated from college a few weeks ago and she stays with us some time and with her boyfriend some of the time. It's all working out but we all can't wait for them to get their own place.

I went to Seattle in July and had the most relaxing time with my brother's family. The weather was beautiful. I usually go in the winter so this was my first summer trip. I will never go back in the winter again! The kids and my sis in law and I  spent time hanging at the beach and just being lazy. It was exactly what I needed.

Work on the condo hasn't progressed as I had hoped. With so many people living there is just too much going on  to find the time to paint and do the things I want. Winter will be here sooner or later and I hope we can get something done when it cools off. Speaking of heat, I am really getting used to the weather here. I thought it would be worse but it's not bad. My poor dog doesn't tolerate it very well. There are nights we walk at 9:00 pm and it's 90 out. The poor thing just wants to get back in the cool house!

I guess I need to schedule some time to post a little more than every six months.  I have recently started the on-line dating thing so that should make for some interesting reading!

The Search for Sleep

I am on the hunt for sleep. I have never been a good sleeper. I wake up at every little mouse fart. My dog walking around, cars outside, wind...everything wakes me up. As most of you know, I moved to another state, started a new job and bought a new place to live, all within about three months. What you may now know and what I usually don't share is that all these changes gave me anxiety. The anxiety kept me awake and it is a vicious cycle. I can't sleep because I worry I won't sleep.

I don't usually share my most personal details but I have a reason this time. My doctor put me on Xanax. She then had me try Zoloft and when I had an adverse reaction to that switched me to Prozac. I had a reaction to that too.  In the mean time I am going to acupuncture treatments, trying Melatonin, Tumeric tea, and counseling.  None of this seems to be working so I am looking for solutions.  Both my doctor and counselor tell me this is "situational" insomnia and will eventually go a way but I sure don't want to be on drugs any longer.

I am very lucky to have a great manager who understands what I am going through and is very supportive but seriously, it is starting to affect my day-to-day well being.

If you have any ideas, have gone through a long bout of insomnia or just want to share please comment below.

New Digs!

I have been pretty busy and haven't gotten to my blog lately so I thought it was time for an update. This is it. A cute 2 bedroom, 2 bath semi-detached condo.  After living with my sister and her family for four months (!!!) I am very ready to get into my own place.  I close next Friday but won't move in until the following weekend.  It was mostly remodeled for the sale so I don't have anything major to take care of right away. I don't like the granite and tile in the kitchen but I won't be replacing it until I live with it for awhile to see what I really want.  I bought a couch! It was a major purchase for me. Thankfully I have most of the other furniture I need.

The other thing that has been keeping me busy is my new job. I have been here one month and it seems to be going well. They put my name on my door today so I guess they aren't going to fire me! I have been having some stomach upset and missed a few days of work and my new boss is super cool about it so I guess I won't quit. The drive from my sister's is about 1/2 hour in the morning but an hour in the afternoon. The Dallas/Ft.Worth area has over 6 million people and Dallas alone has 1.2 million aaand they are all on the road at 5:00 pm!!  My new place is more centrally located so I am hoping the drive will be better at night.

Lots of changes in a very short time but I am really enjoying it plus I picked the perfect winter move away from Michigan!

Holiday Greetings!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christmas was quiet and fun with Molly home from college. We had a nice dinner and both girls boyfriends came over later.  Not sure what we are up to for New Year's Eve but it may be a movie marathon.

Hm... let's see, what have I been up to lately? As  most of you know I got a job. I start January 6 at UT Southwestern. It is the same type of work that I have been doing for the past 10 years and involves medical resident education. I am looking forward to getting back to work after 3 months of being off. I always thought I would like have a long break but this has been too much time off.

With all the time off I have had I have been looking for a condo to buy.  I looked at about 15 or so. Most condos around here are like apartments. Going from a house to a condo is tough enough without having someone either living below me or above me. I finally found a ranch style condo that I like a lot. It's about 1100 sq ft and has a nice big patio. The problem is that it is a short sale and someone else made an offer at the same time.  The bank has to review both offers and then pick one. Hopefully it will be me!! I should know in the next few days.

I hope the next time I post I will be a homeowner once again!

Stay safe and warm and have a wonderful 2014!

Continuing saga of Texas living....

Life in Texas is going about as you would expect. The weather has been mild until this week when most of the country got hit with cold. Since I have to walk the dog now instead of just letting her out the back door, this is not my favorite kind of weather.   We walk about 1.5 miles a day which averages out to about 10 miles a week, great when it's not rainy and cold. Not so great when it's 34 out!

The job search is moving at (according to me) a snails pace.  I have had three interviews. I have another next Monday and one of the places I interviewed wants me back again next week to meet more people.  All of the applications for every job are now on-line.  You can't apply any other way and you do not get a real person.  It's a lot of sit around and wait to see if someone calls. Well, that makes me nuts so I started looking up people on-line in the jobs I am interested in and emailing them my resume. This is the only way I got the interviews.

When I planned my moved I really thought I would rent an apartment for a year until I got my bearings and knew my way around. I had a change of heart and as soon as I get a job I am going to start looking to buy a condo/townhouse.  Rent for a small apartment is more than what a condo payment would be for me and I just can't help feeling I would be throwing my money way.  I am pretty sure I will be working in downtown Dallas and since I don't want a long drive I will need to live in the city where rent is higher. Plus, I was ready to redecorate my house before I put it on the market so now I have this unfulfilled craving!

Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Texas Living

I am staying with my sister and her family until I get a job and find a place to live. We are in a four bedroom, 2000 sq ft apartment. I don't mind. I have my own space and the apartment is bigger than my house was. No, my issue is Gracie. For her entire 10 years of life she had a backyard to run around in.  I could just let her out and not worry about it. Now, in an apartment, we have to walk...and walk...and walk! In the morning I take her to the field behind the complex. She gets to sniff and run around until she gets tired.  In the afternoon we walk in an almost 1/2 mile circle around the complex and at night we do the same.  While she is getting exercise, I don't think she likes it.

She used to lay on the patio and guard her yard from invading birds, squirrels, rabbits and bugs for most of the afternoon. She would sit in the front window and guard her house against marauding mail men and kids on the sidewalk for the rest of the day. Here she doesn't have as much excitement so I think she is a little depressed. Also, when we got here I noticed she was missing a tooth. This lead to finding a new vet, an extraction of 10 teeth and over $900 in vet bills.  She just doesn't seem like herself.

The cat is doing fine! Ha ha .. I was more worried about her than the dog and she great.

I started looking for a job this week and have applied to about 15 openings.  I have an "at least one application a day" plan.   I haven't had to look for a job in over 10 years and the process has changed. Everything is on-line now. I tried calling a company but they directed me to their website.  If you know me at all you know I am very impatient so all this waiting around makes me want to pull my hair out!  Wish me luck!

Finally, I am on my last aligner with my Invisalign braces and will have to fly back up to Michigan in two weeks to get finished up and get my retainer. My teeth are nice and straight and I am happy with the results. I would post a picture but teeth are gross!

Finally in Texas!

This may be a long post since I haven't written in ages. I have been super busy.  I sold the house for cash so we closed within two weeks. My last day at work was October 4 and the movers came October 7. I had tons of help packing, my mom, my Aunt Rosalie, my niece Krista and her two little girls and my cousin Jackie but it was a huge undertaking. I was trying to pack up my house and finish up my work and train a replacement.  Nuts!

My sister and niece flew up to help with the move and I would not have been able to do this move with out my uber organized sis!! Also, I had wonderful movers, Foster Brothers. They are from Cadillac, MI and I would strongly recommend them to anyone. My mom and I drove my in my car and  I rented a Town & Country van for my sis to drive. We put the dog, cat and all my plants and any clothes I needed in the back of the van and left Michigan early morning, Wed., Oct. 9.

The trip went downhill right away. I had to stop, a lot, to go to the bathroom. By early afternoon I felt so bad I couldn't drive. We stopped in Bloomington, IL and I went to an urgent care. The nurse practitioner said I had a UTI, gave me antibiotics and sent me on my way. We decided to spend the night and get an early start on Thurs. morning. That plan went out the window when I was so sick in the morning I couldn't get out of bed. My sis and niece loaded the dog and cat in the van and took off for Texas. It took them 13 hours but they made it that night. I am very thankful they did because I ended up sleeping until noon that day before I felt well enough to drive again.  Feeling better, my mom and I drove to Rolla, MO and spent the night. I didn't feel great Friday morning but I thought I would make it. No such luck. I drove for about 2 hours, getting worse as we went. By the time we got to Springfield, MO I was looking for an emergency room.

I spent a little less than 2 hours in the ER and had lab work and an IV. They changed my antibiotic and sent me on my way!   My mom and I got in the car and hauled ass to Texas. It took us about 7 and 1/2 hours but we finally made it to Plano around 9:00 pm Friday night.

I didn't feel much better over the weekend and ended up seeing my sister's doctor Monday morning. After testing and a cat scan the conclusion was kidney stones! Not the best way to start the next chapter of my life!

 I am unpacking at my sisters and finding my way around. A job is next on the list. Stay tuned for the next exciting installment!!

Sold, Maybe!

I think I sold the house. After much angst about it not selling I decided to turn my house into a rental. This did not make me happy but the market in my neighborhood is still down and it was looking impossible to sell.  Seriously, I gave up. Last week, Rose, my Realtor,  called with not one but two cash offers! Cash meaning no mortgage. No mortgage means no appraisal. This was amazing news.

Now I wait. The buyers Realtor is young and seems inexperienced. They should have already scheduled the inspection and closing so Rose had to get after them to take care of this.  I think we are back on track, well, I hope so since I am packing!

I am having one last garage sale on the weekend of Sept. 13/14, plan to give my notice for my last day at work to be Oct. 4 and then get the movers the next week.

 "Man plans, God laughs" has been the theme of my life lately so I can't get excited yet... I will...soon....maybe...

The House Saga, cont.

I had three full price offers on the house the first week, all FHA. FHA lenders will only give mortgages if the appraisal is for the full price. This didn't happen. My house appraised for $25,000 less then what I owe! The problem is two-fold. The location and the market.

I am located in a city that is full of foreclosures, bank owned houses and rentals. There was nothing for sale in my price range for comparison. My neighborhood is nice but the surrounding blocks are starting to get run down (one of the reasons I am moving).  If I plucked my house up and moved it to another city in my area I could get $15k-25k more for it.

The other issue is the market here in the Detroit area. According to the Detroit Free Press,

"After a spell of dreary years, the metro Detroit housing market is finally regaining much of the value it lost in the crash. But many real estate agents and home sellers say the market’s comeback could be even stronger if it wasn't for what they consider overly conservative appraisals that lag the prices buyers are now willing to pay. No one is tracking how many deals are falling through because of low appraisals. But for some brokers, close to a quarter of their deals this summer have run into problems because the appraisal came in below the price that the seller and would-be buyer agreed upon, according to multiple agents interviewed by the Free Press.In a more typical “good” market, that figure is around 5% to 10%, they report.“The appraisals are really just killing things right now,” said Jason Matt, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Weir Manuel in Plymouth, who estimates that 30% of the 113 homes his team has sold in 2013 have encountered appraisal problems.Because lending institutions generally don’t write mortgages above the appraised amount, an appraisal below the agreed-to selling price will scuttle a deal, unless the buyer can bring enough cash to cover the difference between the sale price and the appraisal."

So, there you have it. I am stuck in the middle.  My house is back on the market for conventional or cash only. I am giving it until around Labor Day. If I don't get a reasonable offer by then I will turn it into a rental for a few years. This isn't my favorite solution but it may be my only option! 

The On Going Saga

The inspection on the house was last week and went off without a hitch. The appraisal was yesterday and I may not know the amount for up to a week. This is making me crazy. If the appraisal is too low it changes everything. Crazy market here in Michigan means not being able to count on anything.  If for some reason I can't sell this house without losing my shirt I may turn it into a rental.

I really don't have any other news.  My life is on hold!

What a Week!

My house was listed Sunday. I had a showing Sunday afternoon and a full-price offer Monday morning. I had a showing Tuesday afternoon and a full-price offer Tuesday afternoon! I accepted the offer from Tuesday. Now comes the fun part. The person was supposedly pre-approved but my agent is still waiting for confirmation of that. Once this is confirmed an inspection will have to be done within 7 days and then an appraisal.  In the mean time I have a showing tonight! Keeping the house clean and picked up and worrying about the dog being home when the house is being shown is much more nerve wracking then I imagined.  The other issue is the appraisal. Houses are selling like crazy in my area but the appraisals haven't caught up to the market so I worry....

In other news. I am down 5 pounds and chopped off my hair!

Moving Right Along

Wow I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted!

 The house is going on the market tonight.  From what I have heard from realtor's houses are selling but the appraisals have not caught up to the market. I could get an offer soon but the house may not appraise so it's all up in the air.  The basement is cleaned out along with my closets, office and bedrooms. The moving company came last night to give me an estimate and by no fault of my own my work knows I plan on leaving. That in itself if a long story. Everything is on track so now I just need to get rid of the house!

Moving by myself is scary. I moved about 10 times in as many years but always had Bob as support. We thought nothing of just up and moving. Now I worry if I am making the right decisions. Well, the decisions are made so I guess I need to just get on with it.

I am considering giving my Bitsy cat to a good home. She is 12 and I worry about the trauma of moving, in a car, for 2 days, staying in a strange place (my sisters) with 2 dogs and then moving again when I get an apartment.  I am open to suggestions.

Wish me luck! I think I may need it for this crazy journey!

Updates

I have been riding my bike at least 3 times a week around my neighborhood. There is a lot of traffic so it's not easy but I try to go early in the morning on the weekend and later at night during the week. I don't enjoy it for exercise as much as walking but with my crazy foot I can't walk for exercise right now.  I also work out doing strength training for an hour a week and just bought new yoga and pilates dvds. I feel like I am getting in shape but....

...this would have been week 5 of the diet but I quit.  I was super careful about what I ate; measuring everything, exercising and only eating what I supposed to for over four weeks. I only lost a total of 4 lbs and that was during the carb-free portion of the program. I can't  live like this. It is not sustainable for me so I am modifying what I eat and still taking care to only eat "healthy" carbs.  I did blow it big time this week but I will stick to my new plan and let you know how it goes.

I am on track to put my house up for sale the second week in July. My sis is flying in next week to help me tackle a few of the bigger things that I need help with (can anyone say BASEMENT) and then I will call the realtor after 4th of July.  If all goes as planned I am hoping to move in September. I hope the house sells for a reasonable amount in a short time period but not too fast! I am not THAT ready! The biggest problem is my Invisalign braces. I was supposed to be done with them at the end of the month but my teeth are not cooperating. I now have until November!  It's a long story but the orthodontist and I worked it out a plan for after I move.

For those of you with father's or who are father's, enjoy your day!

Oh, the spellcheck button has disappeared! crud...