Summer fun

I have been enjoying summer so much already!! I've been spending time at the lakes by the university every chance I can when it is sunny to get in a walk. It is a total of 4 miles around the lake.



One of the veiws along my walk.



One of the roads along my walk that is bordered by large trees providing plenty of shade!



I've spent so much time outside so far that I have actually been asked if I've been going to the tanning bed because I actually look tan!! That made me laugh. I am so white I glow in the dark!!

I was thinking this morning, as I was walking around the lake, how I had so far managed to stay on my two feet. See, I have been known to trip over air. I thought it and it happened. Tripped over air!! Or my own 2 feet, depending on how you view it. I was lucky. Nothing, once again, was hurt. Just bruising. Even managed to not bust open my knees! But it hurt!!

It was a steamy hot weekend! I did go to the pool on Saturday. It was so hot that my knees were sweating!!

My sister sent me this the other day. Normally it is so right on but I have to admit now that Jo-Ann's is open I have an alternative place to shop on Sundays!!

I have finished another page on Dragon Knot. I contemplated taking another progress picture but decided to wait til it is done as I only have less than a page to complete! I am very excited to complete this project!

I can't wait for the next 4 days to pass!! In 4 days, barring any hurricanes, I will be on a plane headed to see my family! I've already started to pack. I'm already overwhelmed with the packing! I haven't taken a vacation for more than a weekend in a long time!! Not sure what to pack! I'm sure I'll overpack!

Turning that frown upside down

Wasn't feeling particularly up beat the last few days and took it out on my hair on Saturday. I chopped it to above my shoulders. Although it'll be much easier to take care of, I'm feeling a little naked!

Did a little shopping, which I typically can not stand to do. But this time, it gave me a thrill. Everything I bought was one dress size smaller!!! I was so happy!! I've been working on this weight loss for just over 5 months now. 25 pounds, one dress size down.

Hung out with one of my favorite people, Jenny, and her family at Bass Pro. It was family fun day so we rode the carousel, painted a snake and went fishing. Somehow I pulled fishing duty. Jenny didn't want to be near the grubs they were using as bait plus she said it smelled. :/



Carousel at Bass Pro





Teaching them young to shoot! Little marines in training!



No pool time. Busy busy busy. Plus the rain factor. Getting a little bit tired of all the rain. The only good thing from the rain is I haven't had to water the plants.

Cooked a broccoli cheese quiche over the weekend. It had a brown rice crust. It was yummy!! It was my first time making it so of course I would add some things to spice it up. But for a first attempt, 2 thumbs up!!

Got to talk to my big brother this weekend. It has been over 6 months. We had a falling out but are now making our way back to each other. It made my entire weekend.

I started this post this past weekend.  It really was a good weekend.  Unfortunately the week has not been so kind to me.  Unexpectedly last night my Aunt Vera passed away.  Well, unexpected to me as I wasn't aware of the severity of her condition.  She had surgery over a week ago and had ben in ICU.  I was told that her recovery was just going slow.  But her condition rapidly deterioated yesterday.  My mother and father are home with the family to support them in this sad time.  I unfortunately will not be able to make the funeral that is scheduled for this Friday as I already had a vacation scheduled to start next Thursday.  But I'll be there soon enough with my family. 

A Weekend at Home

Well, this was a first in a very  long time! I had no plans.  No activities.  No visits from friends.  No visits with friends.  It was kind of nice.  :)

My original plans for the weekend were to hang out at the lakes and the pool.  Well, I only got to go to the lakes on Saturday morning before the rain came through.  I managed to get in a 5 mile walk on Saturday morning around the lakes.  The rest of the day was all rainy. 

The rest of the weekend was also rainy.  But it allowed me to get a few things done around the house and a few movies watched.  Although a good part of this weekend has been spent under a geat amount of anxiety!

What is causing me this great anxiety? The LSU Tigers are playing in the Super Regional.  We won the first game.  Lost the second game.  And the 3rd game is just starting now.  I can only hope that they win tonight and move on to Omaha!!!  I guess we'll see if they do in the next 3 hours!

When I wasn't watching the baseball games, I was able to clean out my bathroom closet.  It was so needed it.  I didn't really throw anything away but I pulled everything out and put it in its rightful place.  What a huge difference that can make! Now I know what I have and what I don't have.  Novel idea, right?  lol

Watched a few movies this weekend.  Two were on HBO.  One was Jane Eyre, based upon the novel.  It was pretty true to the story.  Then I watched the Hangover 2.  Nope, hadn't watched it yet.  I have to be honest, it was a great way to spend the evening stitching while it played in the background.  I enjoyed it but didn't love it. 

The last movie I saw this weekend was Snow White and the Huntsman.  Now, to be honest, I haven't heard very good reviews on this movie but I've been wanting to see it.  And with it being rainy, that was a perfect time to see it without feeling guilty that I was wasting a sunny day!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was dark.  All the things that everyone was complaining about, the darkness, the lack of dialogue, were all the things that I really enjoyed about it.  I will have to add it to my dvd collection when it comes out.  Charlze Theron of course was an amazing evil queen.

This weekend I managed to finish another page of Dragon Knot!  I've moved on to the last full page.  So that leaves me with the one full page and a 1/4 page left to do.  After over 5 years of working on this project, I am so close to getting it done!  I cannot wait so I can go and get it framed. 

I am back to a normal work schedule this week.  I cannot wait!!!  Maybe I can get some things accomplished. I have only 18 more days until my vacation and I plan on leaving as clean of a desk as I possibly can!  This week I will also get back to a normal work out and diet schedule.  The past two weeks have been very disruptive to that process! I've already made my salad for lunch this week.  Have my yogurts ready for breakfast.  Dinner will be probably grilled chicken most nights.  I also hope to get out to the lakes at least twice this week to walk.  But it seems that the summertime pattern of raining in the afternoons/evenings has begun!!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Another one done!

Another convention over!  Yay!  No more conventions until late September.  Now a whole summer to catch up on work and lots of fun stuff!

I spent the last 3 days in Lafayette for a convention.  It went well.  Or at least that is what I was told.  It seems that the boss man was going around to the board members asking them about my work.  How did I find out?  Several of them came up to tell me how well run the convention was and that they told my boss that when he asked them.  Hmmm, I know he wasn't fishing for anyting in particular about me.  There has been issues with some other workers in the office and I am sure that he is feeling out of touch with some of our clients.  In fact, at the end of the convention, he told me how well I had done and that the Board was quite satisfied.  He and I tend to butt heads a LOT on issues but there's one thing he can't say about me, I get my work done!

Good news about Duke.  While I was in Lafayette, he was boarded at the vet and getting his annual exam done.  While he is not any better, the heart murmur has not gotten any worse and the tumor on his heart has not grown any bigger!  He does have cataracts in both eyes (knew that already).  His knees are shot (been like that since he was a puppy).  So no change is good news to me! The vet said he could go a couple of more years this way, possibly.  Yay!  Although my baby is really an old man as he is 12 years old already.  He will be 13 in December. 

I am out of the office 3 days this week due to training of a new software and I have so much to do!!  I thought my overtime would end with this conventon but I think I may have one more week of it!!  Which is great because I have a vacation and a concert to pay for!!!

I am heading for a whole week to see family 4th of July week!  I cannot wait.  I have my little countdown app on my phone already going! Only 25 more days till I get on the plane!  I am very excited!

Then we got tickets to the Brothers of the Sun tour, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw, in August in New Orleans.  That is going to be so much fun! I'm going to have to get me a cowboy hat!!

Following that, the weekend of September 1st, if all works out, my cousin Jessica is going to come visit.  I'm trying to get tickets to the opening game of LSU football and I would love to take her!  I can't wait for her to visit.  It has been ages since I've seen her!

And that is only the things I know at this moment for the summer.  I am sure there is so much more to come!

Happy Dance!!!  I finished another page on Dragon Knot!!!  That leaves only 1 full page and 2 partial pages left to go.   I just might finish this one this year!  I hope so because I haven't gotten anything else done!  And I have pictures I need to do for my nieces and nephews!!

I'm continuing on with the exercise and weight loss!  I am currently down almost 23 pounds.  I can't believe it!  This morning, before it got too hot, I went to the lakes for a walk.  I walked 4.2 miles.  I never imagine that I would be doing that or could do that!  It is so exciting.  And even better is that I want to keep doing it!!!

I hope everyone has a great week!