The Fourth of Freedom

It's way too easy to push back in the recliner, read a little, watch the tennis tournament and drink a bit of wine this weekend and forget what it's all about.

Unless you actually know someone in the military, we take them too much for granted. And even then, it's too easy to mistake a year in Afghanistan as... say a "few weeks out of town". Don't live near Fayetteville, North Carolina? easy to forget the thousands deployed from there who have left behind wives, children and small businesses that are struggling without the income from the normal population.

As a rule we are pretty uninvolved in the lives of those military men and women who are working in so many places around the world to protect the freedoms we celebrate tomorrow.

In two weeks Mitchell and I will help to celebrate the marriage of Megan and Andy. Three weeks later he will leave for three months in Qutar. He's an Air Force pilot and, altho they have spent a lot of time separated already, she will soon need to learn the new role of military wife in a city she has only visited.

Today, Allison will start the day with only 300 or so wake ups left before her Neil comes home from Afghanistan. If you don't have any friends in the military, you might want to check out her blog - 400 Wake-ups. She talks frankly about what it's like to be left behind and how the day-to-day craziness in Washington affects real, live, flesh and blood soldiers and their families. She's also all about fun, so it's a good read.

The main thing is that we all need to stop every day and remember there are real people all over the world to whom we owe our thanks and our concern. We need to pay more attention to military families and to the soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who are recovering from their wounds and trying to put their lives (and bodies) back together.

It's too easy to remember for one day each summer as we picnic, listen to the band and shoot off a bottle rocket or two.

We need to do it every day. well ... not the bottle rocket thing!

Flowers in the House!

Two lovely warm - not hot! - days in the yard. Mostly sitting and enjoying [yes, with a bit of wine!] but time to cut a few poseys for the house.

Hydrangeas, of course. Some of everything in bloom: 'Bailmer', 'Taube', 'Glowing Embers', and 'Nigra'. Only 'Lady in Red' has not yet started blooming. I think she needs more water.



And then a handful of everything: shasta daisies, 'Bailmer' hydrangea, gerbera daisy, monarda 'Raspberry Wine', cat mint, pink yarrow, lavender, and heliotrope.


And, one more hydrangea for the kitchen.

What more could a girl ask? Can't wait to see what everyone else has! If you're not a "regular" to Monday Flowers in the House, follow me over there and see who's playing this week!

Mr. Mouse is Not my Friend...

A big graphics project at work. Lots of work on my plant database [someday I will write about that.] A bit of blogging. Way too much solitaire... = repetitive stress injury! And a lovely wrist brace. And limited mobility. And all the Aleve I need.

So, for a couple of weeks it will be only a picture here and there and as many words as I can type left-handed.

All is well. I can still read.

10-10-10 Update

Occasionally one needs to pay the piper, or at least acknowledge his presence.

To quickly recap, I decided that October 10, 2010 (10-10-10) seemed like a good day for new beginnings, so I decided that it was a good time to seriously work on losing a bit of weight. I found a good website - MyFitnessPal.com - for logging both exercise and calories and set some goals for myself. It helped that Mitchell felt similarly motivated, so we could be supportive of each other - especially in the kitchen and when eating out.


Since then - just over seven months - I have lost 20 pounds. Hoorah!

There have been lots of little successes. I'm down one pants size and on the verge of moving down one more. [Still wondering if the post-menopausal belly will ever really shrink?] People are noticing my smaller size and making nice, supportive comments. I have become known as a regular at Jazzercise, and I have finally found a form of exercise that I not only enjoy, but also look forward to - that's a big change. And, I have gotten comfortable with smaller portions and saying "no" to lots of snacks that I used to eat mindlessly.

About a six weeks ago, however, I fell into the big trap that all of us need to avoid with any behavior change - complacency. My computer was in the shop for a few days and quickly as that I lost the habit of daily journaling. No big deal, I thought. I've been doing this long enough that I can do it without writing everything down. Wrong! I also stopped noting any progress on my blog. Ah... there wasn't any. [Denial, anyone?]

My weight loss stopped. Up a pound, down a pound, up a pound, down a pound. I took care of that by just not weighing for several weeks! [Did anyone see that ostrich?] I was lucky because I was controlling things pretty well without journaling, but I really stopped making progress.

If I were at my goal weight it would be ok to hang in there on a plateau, but I ain't there yet!

So, it's time to take stock and make a new commitment. Daily journaling is a must. The fun has long since gone out of that, but I need to do it.

The bottom line is: If something is important enough, you will do the work. If you are not willing to do the work, especially when it starts to get difficult, then maybe you don't really want it badly enough. This is true in life as well as weight loss!

I want this and I will do the work.