update

i have been doing really well with food this week. i think the thing that works for me best is writing things down, so i have a little journal that i write everything i eat in. my daily calorie goal is 1600, which is not crazy, and i am eating 5-6 times per day. my goal per meal is:
breakfast 300-350
lunch 350-400
dinner 400-450
snacks 450-500 (spread throughout the day)

i got these numbers from a book called calorie queens which talks about eucalorics and how many calories you should eat each day to maintain your goal body weight. i think the equation is the weight x 12 = calories. they go into a lot more detail in the book , but that is the basic formula.

i am trying to cook more, eat out less, and eat at least one salad each day. salad greens (lettuce, spring mix, spinach) are really the only green vegatables i like, so i try to get one in each day. cooking sometimes seems like too much trouble, but i did buy a bunch of different kinds of food at the grocery the last couple of weeks to mix things up, so maybe it will be easier.

drinking water is not hard for me...i like water, sometimes i just decide i like cokes or tea better, but i've been doing really well with that. i try to keep track of how much i drink, but i forget a lot! all i know is that i have been going to the bathroom non-stop!!

i also wanted to start moving more, and in an effort to do that i ordered this:
and started the work out this morning. it is a set of 2 dvd's with alternating workouts that you do for 6 days then rest for 1 day and start all over. it came with this cool tracking calendar that i have posted up in my living room. i'm going to get up every morning and do the 40 minute workout and see what happens! this morning was alright - i am terribly out of shape and could not keep up the whole time, but i did keep moving, and went at my own pace. there were not many moves that were terribly complicated, but there were several that i just couldn't do...but i will get there!

flowers on my fence

i saw this project in a diy magazine a couple of weeks ago and loved it! i have a very small back "yard" and since i live in a condo there's not really much i can do back there, so i loved the thought of decorating the fence. i got these pots from my dad's house (the previous owner left them) and cleaned them up and spray painted them this morning. then mom and i went to lowe's and she helped my pick out the plants. i love the bright colors and the fact that all of these should hang over the pots in a while. i put the hangers up and mom and i potted the plants, and voila! i LOVE how this turned out...i can't wait until the rain stops and i'm able to sit out there and enjoy them!!

mother's day and getting it in gear

i love mother's day. why? first because i love my mother, and i love spending the day with her, doing what we do. second, i love my grandmother and spending time with her. these two ladies make me laugh, make me think, make me mad, make me strong, make me smarter, make me better, and make me who i am. God has given me who i need to have. my mom is a smart, independant woman, and some days i wonder how she puts up with me. my mema is amazing to me. she has lived a long life, and continues to live by herself, keep a garden, go to church every sunday, and excercises every single day. she is a very straight forward woman who says what she thinks (even when we don't always agree), she has survived some pretty bad stuff and is all the better for it. i lived with her for about 8 months a few years back and i swear i learned more in those 8 months than i have since =)

every year for mother's day we take a picture of the three of us, but we usually forget to do it until we already have our "play clothes" on, but this year i remembered to do it right after we got home from church...

then i took several pics of mema's new cat, who doesn't have a tail. she says that's the sign of a good hunter...i don't know. his name is "bobbit", i kid you not....i don't think it has any connection to john bobbit, but she's a shard lady, so it very well could!!

after lunch my uncle and aunt (larry and judy) came down and judy and i went a cut some of mema's peonies...they are so beautiful and smell so nice in my house!! i forgot to take pictures =(

speaking of my house, i am starting to get that in gear...i am having a party in june and my goal is to have the house good and clean and do a few projects before then. i am working on the cleaning this week, and this weekend hope to get busy on two of my projects.

first i am putting some flower pots on the fence in the back of my house...i got some from my dad's house that were left when they moved in, so i am going to clean them up and paint them, then i'll hang them with these things. I ordered them yesterday and I can't wait to see how this turns out!! i am also going to re-paint the patio table and chairs i painted last year to match the chairs i bought from walmart last week.

second i am painting two dressers and the vanity in my bedroom. i have been "gonna do this" since i moved in, and it is just time!!

third, i am re-doing my craft room. this area has been a hodge podge of leftover furniture and things, and i am just ready for it to me usable and cute!! i have a plan, i just have to get in there and get everything organized and cleaned out.

well...

i think i'm going to do this. yes...i am. i am putting this out there for all (2 or 3 folks who read this) to see.

for more years than i care to think about I have needed and wanted to lose weight. i have done most every diet program or pill you could name. some of them have worked for me. and some of them didn't. i'm sure that most of them work for if you work them, but for whatever reason (probably my lack of dedication at the point i tried them) the haven't worked for me. i have read book after book (although most not all the way through) and the ones that really hit home with me are the straight to the point ones that say if you eat less and move more you will lose weight. so that's what i am aimig for.

don't get me wrong, i do not want to lose weight to be happy...i know that i can be happy at any size and unhappy at any size, and i don't want to lose weight because nobody likes me...i think i have the best friends and family in the world, at this point in my life i NEED to lose weight. i NEED to be healthier. i wake up most mornings with hurting feet, i wake up every morning with hurting knees and lately with a very painful back. It is time!!

i am putting all this out there to help motivate me. i am walking some, and hope to do that more consistantly. i am working on cooking more and eating out less. i got a bunch of cooking for 2 magazines and am looking through those to get some ideas. it's just hard sometimes to cook for just me, but i guess i need to look at it like i am doing something for myself. but if you'd like to come over for dinner anytime, just let me know!!

so ask me how i'm doing, ask me if i'm walking, and i will update here, too.