Lots of Stuff

Okay - update on the "diet"... Frank has lost 6 pounds and I have lost 3! And, we are losing inches as well. Feel very good at this point.

Caleb had his appendix out on Sunday! He had a horrible stomach ache that morning and finally went into to the emergency room and they did emergency surgery. He went home on Monday and thinks he will start his new job at Jiffy Lube tomorrow! Kids - they sure heal fast.

We went for a wonderful float down the river on Saturday with Theresa and Rich. We put in at the Island Park Dam and floated to Last Chance. It was only about an hour but the perfect day for floating the river! I'm glad we were in a rubber boat though. The water was pretty cold!

We had two people come for a second look on our house this week! The one family loves it but they have to sell their house in Missouri first. They are living in a hotel right now with two teenage boys so I would think they would love just about anything! Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Frank is progressing

It hasn't been bad. We have been eating very healthy and haven't really missed all of the butter, sour cream, bread, etc. Frank has actually enjoyed our healthy meals and it's paying off. He stepped on the scales this morning and has lost 4 pounds! I haven't weighted yet... will wait until Monday. Hopefully I do as well.

I sliced a zucchini and a yellow squash in 1/4 inch slices and laid them on a grill I have for our BBQ. Sprinkled them with onion salt and seasoning salt and then grilled them. Very tasty! Another thing I did this week that Frank loved was made a salad out of tomatoes, red peppers, purple onion, cucumber and cilantro. Frank wasn't sure he could eat it without his ranch dressing but he actually loved it! So, it's all good.

If this bombs, you will be my witness!

Frank and I have decided that it's time for us to get serious about getting into shape. Well, at least to lose some of our poundage! Our goal for right now is to lose 30 pounds each. By writing this goal down and broadcasting it, we are obligated to do it. I remember when I used to say something like, "I think I will make cinnamon rolls today" and then I HAD to do it because Frank and the kids expected it to be done. That's how this is going to be... "I think I will lose 30 pounds this year."

I think everyone needs some kind of catalyst to help them do something like this. We have signed up to try TAIslim and follow that program. I have heard some really good things about this product and the other health products that they have and so that's why we are going to follow it. I will keep everyone informed of our progress weekly.

So, wish us luck..... And if you want to know more about the product, let me know!

Thrift Shops and Service

A couple of Saturdays ago I was looking for a cooking pot and Frank and I were passing a thrift shop and I suggested that we stop in and see if they had what I wanted. We browsed around for a few minutes and the owner of the shop suggested another shop that might have the item. So, we went over there and again no luck so we went to WalMart and bought a new one. I have never really shopped at thrift shops or garage sales and so this was a very different experience for us but walking in those shops took me back to 1963! I was about thirteen years old...

I was taking accordion lessons (don't laugh, they were quite popular back then) and my lessons didn't quite work with my parents work schedule so I often had to wait an hour or so for someone to pick me up. After an hour of lessons I sure didn't want to hang around the studio and listen to other kids murder their songs! There was a little thrift shop next door to the studio and so I would often wander in there looking at their stuff.

After a couple of weeks of going in there, I got to know the ladies that ran the shop. As I remember, it was a fundraiser for a local church. Anyway, I started offering to help sort through the items that were brought in. Some items needed to be cleaned, mended, ironed, folded, etc. I remember one job was to cut off all of the buttons from shirts that weren't good enough to re-sale and then making bags of rags. One week they needed help setting up a new window display and I soon found that I loved arranging items for the window display. I couldn't wait to change the displays each week. It became very important to me to be there for "work" and was a good experience for me.

I enjoyed doing my little volunteer project and helping out. I had been taught by experts to give service - my parents. This was one of my first opportunities to really do something productive to help others. Sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget that giving even an hour or two a week can help others. I think I need to do that again.