Summer has arrived….

Isn’t it awesome when summer arrives? Well for us up here it is. I just love this weather, I love the green, I love the gardening, the mowing, the outdoors and I love that I listened to myself and didn’t stay with a job I hated beyond hate and took one that is just about perfect. Just about is only because it’s part time summer work but that’s the only downer the rest is awesome. Want me to tell you about it? Well I’m going to even if you don’t want to know.
You already know that I work special needs on Fridays, I am a special home health aide for a 92 year old gentleman that oh so wants to go home so he’s working hard at a friends house so he can go . And my best part, I am working at a mini golf course in Deerwood. I can be outside almost as much as I want to be plus for a summer part time job the pay isn’t awful. If you click on the picture it’ll take you to Traditions web page and you’ll get to learn a bit more about it and if you live or visit our area, please stop in…you will be delighted and we’ll be ecstatic to see you.
Life has settled down. My parents are doing pretty good. In fact they came to work to see me. See…..

                                                   

                                                              Scott and Mike too.

Mike is settled at his job and shortly will be off probation (the first 90 day thing) and him and the company are looking forward to being able to use him in other departments like engineering as well as fabrication and shipping and receiving that he already works in. He works for in McGregor. If you click on the Floe you can see what they do and what Mike is apart of. We know it’s not the diesel tech that he went to school for but at least he’s using his minor, welding. And one day a job will roll around that is meant for him as a diesel technician. 
My husband has gone from the …. well not the winner of the husband award to an awesome, understanding, wonderful man. There is no more egg shell walking, there is no more worrying about what I’ve done, said, thought or expressed because it’s not his thoughts. I have fallen back in love with him and it’s marvelous.
Now it’s time to fall back in love with me. I have gained all my weight I lost back (except about 10 lbs) and I could make excuses about how life sucked and how things just didn’t work but I can’t go back and fix things, I can’t bring Cindy back, I can’t change my daddy’s future and I can’t fix things that were broken. But I can move forward and I am. I started last week with watching what I was eating and cutting out the sugar again and I know very well I feel awesome when I do that so I will keep that going this week and today I was up and out of the house as soon as Mike came and ate breakfast and dropped off his dog. I walked 2 miles and saw the most beautiful morning.  
And after my walk and a breakfast of berries and yogurt I went out and tilled the garden. It has been so wet and nasty that I’ve lost over 1/2 my tomato crop, 3/4 my brussel spouts, 1/2 my cucumbers, 1/2 the peas and 1/2 my peppers but the corn, kohlrabi, onions, sunflowers and potatoes are coming along just fine….slow but growing. The weeds are amazing, no matter what the weather is they thrive just fine. So today I finally got in there and took care of them and will have to do it again on Friday but at least I got to get that done.
By 9:30 I already have my steps in for the day and I still have a shift at the golf course which I get lots of walking, bending from weed picking, tree and shrub trimming, picking up balls in the batting cage and lots of arm power skimming ponds. I am a work in progress.
So I am hoping that since life has settled down some that I can stop by and visit you and see what you’ve been up too. I have a few bloggers I get in my in-box but I know I’ve missed out on quite a bit of your lives and hope to be able to stop and see and comment.
Take are my friends. I hope you all are doing awesome. You really are a top notch bunch of wonderful people that I am truly blessed to “know”.

Summer is here….

It has been an awesome summer so far. One camping trip in, garden is in, flowers are growing, 2 new summer jobs – one is at a mini golf course, and it’s sunny and warm and ….. well it’s summer and I am happy.
I hope you all are having an awesome season, no matter what one you’re in. Take care and God Bless!!

My mother’s day gift….

I love my son!!!!

Happy Easter….

Just Deb and I?

Is there anyone out there that would like to take a 14 week challenge with us?  Monday starts our beginning. Deb and I gave the full challenge a shot the past 10 days and I’m going to say doing all the 14 weeks at one time didn’t work for me. I am going to work on this just a week at a time. More manageable and maybe I’ll learn better one at a time. If you want to join us, click here and link up. 

14 Weeks of “Real Food” Mini-Pledges:

• Week 1: Two fruits and/or vegetables per meal – Eat a minimum of two different fruits or vegetables (preferably organic) with every breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal.
• Week 2: “Real” beverages – Beverages will be limited to coffee, tea, water, and milk (only naturally sweetened with a little honey or 100% pure maple syrup). One cup of juice will be allowed throughout the week, and wine (preferably red) will be allowed in moderation (an average of one drink per day).
• Week 3: Meat – All meat consumed this week will be locally raised (within 100-miles of your hometown). Meat consumption will also be limited to 3 – 4 servings this week, and when it is eaten meat will not be presented as the “focal point” of the meal. Instead meat will be treated as a side item or simply used to help flavor a dish.
• Week 4: No fast food or deep-fried foods – No fast food or any foods that have been deep-fried in oil.
• Week 5: Try two new whole foods – Try a minimum of two new whole foods that you’ve never had before.
• Week 6: No low-fat, lite or nonfat food products – Do not eat any food products that are labeled as “low-fat,” “lite,” “light,” “reduced fat,” or “nonfat.”
• Week 7: 100% Whole grain – All grains consumed must be 100% whole-grain.
• Week 8: Stop eating when you feel full – Listen to your internal cues and stop eating when you feel full.
• Week 9: No refined sweeteners – No refined or artificial sweeteners including (but not limited to): white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, sucanat, splenda, stevia, agave, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and cane juice. Foods and beverages can only be sweetened with a moderate amount of honey or maple syrup.
• Week 10: No refined oils – No refined or hydrogenated oils including (but not limited to): vegetable oil, organic vegetable oil, soybean oil, corn oil, canola oil, organic canola oil, margarine, and grape seed oil.
• Week 11: Eat local foods – Eat at least 1 locally grown or raised food at each meal. This includes, but is not limited to: fruits, vegetables, eggs, grains, nuts, meats, and sweeteners like honey.
• Week 12: No sweeteners – Avoid all added sweeteners including, but not limited to: white sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, date sugar, maple sugar, sucanat, splenda, stevia, agave, fruit juice concentrate, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup, and cane juice.
• Week 13: Nothing artificial – Avoid all artificial ingredients including, but not limited to: sweeteners, flavors and colors.
• Week 14: No more than 5-ingredients – Avoid any and all packaged food products that contain more than five ingredients no matter what ingredients

Hope that life is treating you well. Blessings my friends!!!

Change For A Dollar

I been having some issues lately with having to find a second job. I am having to leave things that I really enjoy and don't want to move forward. But life is what it is and I have had to move on. I've been feeling sorry for myself. I been sad, crying and just plain down. Today I stopped by Debs and she posted this on her blog and she's been having her own things going on. But this youtube video puts things so much into perspective. I am lucky that I have found a second job. A job that I know very well that I will be great at. It's something I do and I do well and even though the job I'm letting go I was the best at I have to move forward. This video helped. I am lucky, I need to remember that. Thank you Deb for sharing. I hope this helps someone like it did us.

Bless you my friends!!

My menu for the 10 day real food challenge:

10 day real food challenge menu

Monday

Breakfast: eggs with peppers and slice of cheese and grapefruit

Lunch: 100% ww wrap with steamed chicken, carrots, peppers and shredded lettuce and banana

Supper: quadrilles with veggies and homemade sausage

Tuesday

Breakfast: oatmeal with dried blueberries and craisins

Lunch: 2 hard boiled eggs, apple, string cheese

Supper: Chicken breast grilled, baked potato and salad

Wednesday

Breakfast: homemade pancakes with banana and dried blueberries and real syrup

Lunch: egg salad sandwich in ww wrap, chopped up peppers

Supper: grilled fish with red potato and squash and baked apple

Thursday

Breakfast: rice chex, milk and banana

Lunch: Yogurt, hard boiled egg, string cheese and apple

Supper: taco's and apple sauce (mine)

Friday

Breakfast: Oatmeal with apple and cinnamon

Lunch: Grilled cheese sandwich on ww bread, apple and orange

Supper: Chicken chow mien and noodles, apple sauce

Saturday away from home

Breakfast: fruit smoothie with greens

Lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple, string cheese and nuts

Supper: scrambled eggs with peppers, cheese and orange

Sunday

Breakfast and lunch: one meal out with Jim will do my best

Supper: grilled pork chop, red potatoes with onions and peppers and grilled apples

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will just be a repeat of those days….

So what do you think? Should I figure out the calories before hand or as each day goes by? I’m thinking I’ll just log it in my fitbit and tweak it as needed. I’m doing this for healthy eating but also to lose some weight at a reasonable rate and something I can keep up for a life time. This stupid dieting type stuff just doesn’t work for me, I have to learn to do whatever I’m going to do that will last a life time. How about you, what do you do?

I’m going to look in the healthy section for breads and wraps and tortillas. Otherwise will see what I can find in the normal spots but watch the labels. I tried the no breads but that didn’t work so well so will just see what I can find that will work for me. Still staying away from the sugary wheat cereals but going with corn or rice and oatmeal.

I will find the recipe for my life that works. I WILL!!!

Take 10-Day Pledge

Deb and I have been trying to work together to lose weight. We have a blog together Long distant friends getting fit together that we were working on together but had put it to rest for a little bit, however we are both still texting, emailing and encouraging each other to do what’s right.

Anyways, Deb has asked me to do the 100 days of real food with her. Since I know very well how terrible I am at committing to anything that long I am going to start out with the 10 day challenge. It’s the same as the 100 day challenge but a start that I can handle. Deb is going for the 14 Weeks of “Real Food” Mini-Pledges. After my first 10 days that I’ll start up the 14 weeks.

It’s really not that hard, or at least appears not to be but after looking in my cupboards to get my grocery list ready for tomorrow I am seeing that this could be a lot harder than I expected. It’s not that I can’t do this, it’s just that sometimes groceries are cheaper in the processed isles than the real food isles. My grocery list is going to look like this, this week. I have $20.00 for this week. Milk, bag of peppers, apples, yogurt and a package of fish. I am blessed with all the veggies I put up last year, I have my own chicken, I have my own syrup (from a great friend), and I have a few nuts left over from last years pickings.

I love the number 10, so I’m also going to put 10 in 10,000 steps a day, 10 minutes of stretching and fish flopping exercises a day. I’ve been slack in everything and it is just plain time to kick me in the butt and get this spring started the right way.

It looks like our snow is done for awhile and we’ll be having 50* days for the next few days so I am going to take advantage of them and get out there and move. The less time in the kitchen, the less time to eat. I do have to plan a menu to go with my grocery list and 10 days of real foods.

Want to join Deb and I. There are many options to the 100 days of real food, why don’t you click the link and just take a peek. For some jumping in with two feet and succeeding is awesome, for others a week at a time is wonderful, for me I’m trying the 10 day challenge. I am hoping for awesome and wonderful also.

Take care my friends and do have the best weekend possible.

Blessings!!

Changes …

March 11th my heart broke. Last August Mike, my son, was hired at my bus garage as a diesel mechanic. It seemed to be his calling and he loved his job. He worked well with the bus drivers and the boss. I loved seeing him every single day a couple times a day. He would leave me treats in my bus, he’s leave me drive careful, I love you notes, my bus has never ran or worked better. But life changed, our bus garage couldn’t afford a full time mechanic and he was let go. No warnings, no real reasons just called into the office at noon time, after he worked 1/2 day, told that he was done…pick up your tools, here’s your paycheck. That was it, did done over with. Now my heart broke for me but after a few minutes I had to think about Mike, he loved this job, he thought this was it….his home job, a life time job. His heart was broken, he felt worthless, just felt like crap. Once a decision is made by your place of work it’s made and can’t be undone so Mike was out. Now put yourself in my shoes, I still work there. I have to work there every single day, seeing everyone every single day and explaining that Mike was let go. He was told he was a good mechanic with great potential but still gone. My bosses are awesome people but for right now I love my job but I don’t love my bosses. I’m not going anywhere’s because I do love my job but right now I just go to work and talk to no one and go home. It’s difficult.

3 weeks of job hunting, tons of resume’s sent out, lots of applications filled out. Lots and lots of miles driven, phone calls and lots of patience and no patience. Mike got a phone call today. He has a job. What is so cool about it is it’s from a company Mike worked for a while ago. The company wrote a recommendation when Mike went off to college and it got him great reviews and more but anyways, they heard Mike was available and contacted Mike with a full time job that starts next Monday. He will be welding, driving forklift and in the near future working on their diesel equipment.  And they didn’t need him to fill out any applications, didn’t want his resume and didn’t want an interview, they know Mike and how hard he works and Mike wants them because they are a great company to work for. All in all, YEAH!!!!

And, because I drive bus I have summers off and that means no job and there’s no way I can live without money for the summer. Up until now I’ve always had daycare but they are all the ages of if they come that’s okay, if they stay home that’s fine too. I asked for some kind of commitment from my daycare parents and none have come up with anything. Now I know this is just the beginning of April and who knows that far in advance but they know I didn’t expect anything written in stone, just an idea. But life is moving forward and so must I so that means another new job for me. So for me I can drive anything, it can have wheels or tracks doesn’t matter. It can be 10’ long or 100’ long so I have been looking and inquiring at many different places and today I got hired as a shuttle driver from Brainerd to Minneapolis. It’s mostly for the Minneapolis airport but there are other runs in there too. So I know now during the school year I will have weekend and school vacation employment and a full time job for the summer. I am happy and a bit sad that I have to work all the time and still have time for my family that needs me. I make it work, I fit it all in and my mama watches me and tells me when it’s time to slow down or take a day. She sees things in me that I can’t see or feel right away and though it’s really hard to explain she’s always right about this and I’ve learn to almost always listen. So all in all, another YEAH!!!

So now you know why I haven’t been around much lately, there just hasn’t been time to take to write a decent post. There’s still so much happening with everything else but for now I am going to enjoy the fact that we are all employed and that bills will get paid. The worry of a car going down the road because we didn’t make the payments, or getting those nasty phone calls you forgot to pay this, or driving by the grocery store when you know you need something but there just isn’t enough to stop and get it so you make due. Now I know very well that there isn’t the extra money to just go buy a pair of shoes or go out to eat just because but I can handle that, the necessary's are taken care of and that makes breathing a bit easier.

I have another post to write about …… well health. But for now, for this weekend we’ll bask in the sunlight of two down, a whole bunch to go.

I hope you all have a blessed and awesome weekend. My last Saturday to sleep in and just be so am going to sew a little bit, maybe bead a bit, take a nap and do a bit of planning ahead for next week.

Take care my friends!!!

Snow…..Spring?

Thursday in St. Cloud. I worked special needs this week so that meant driving from Crosby to St. Cloud, staying and than coming home 5 days this week. It was good for a change but I will be so ready to get back into my bus on Monday.


This is today, March 29th. I had to go to our neighbors and read they propane tank gauge and had to trek through 3-4’ of snow. Than I decided to take our goose to my parents. He needed to get out and move around a bit so I made him walk the road with me to their house and than took my daddy for a nice long walk. I figured the goose would wait at their house until I came back. NOPE!!!! He decided he wanted to go back to my house. Of course he knows better than to walk the road alone so he walked the top of the snow drifts to our fence line and than got stuck. The fence line is also the tree line so that means the snow goes from deep to just about grass and he rolled down the snow bank into the trees and couldn’t get back. I could hear him calling for me coming back from my walk. I Couldn’t find him until I followed his foot prints but it was so funny, all I could do was hear him and he me and he’d honk and honk and I finally found him. Got him back on the snow and he waddled home through the gate while I fell through the snow, up past my knees, home. I may of gotten little or no exercise this week driving but I sure got lots of exercise this morning trudging through the snow.
Where’s spring? I think it left us for another place. More snow tomorrow and Monday. Yippie, NOT!!!!
Hope you’re having a great weekend. Sorry I’ve been away for a bit but life has some huge bumps I’m working on and it’s taking all my strength and courage to get through them. I’ll share next week but till than just keep my family in my prayers as I do yours in mine.
Blessings my friends!!!