Curves International - Home

I signed up for Curves about a month ago. I already feel a lot better just exercising at least 3 times a week (some weeks I went 4 or 5 times). I didn't lose weight (I gained 5 lbs) but I can feel that I've gained muscle. My stomach is certainly tighter! Now I'm starting the curves weight loss program which is their diet plan to go with the exercise. Tomorrow (Monday it's AM already) is the first day. I didn't realize there was so much to it. It isn't just watching what you eat... I have to actually measure and count calories so I can stay at 1200 calories. I only have to stay at 1200 for 1 week but I think it will be difficult! I can do it though.... I have everything for the first part of the day all measured out so it will be quick to fix. We'll see how it goes.

Dummies::Understanding the Principles of Feng Shui

Dummies::Understanding the Principles of Feng Shui: "Understanding the Principles of Feng Shui
Adapted From: Feng Shui For Dummies "

I have been curious about Feng shui for a while now and in searching the internet I have finally found just what I needed.... Feng Shui for dummies! Now maybe I'll get it...... maybe. Now I just have to figure out where I put my chi.

I am currently learning about the Bagua which helps you determine which area of your space to concentrate on. I'm starting with the front/center space where my door is since that represents career and life path. I think that's pretty important.

BLS Career Information Home Page

BLS Career Information Home Page: "Exploring Career Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
"What Interests You?"

Kids who aren't sure what they want to be when they grow up can see what careers they would be good at based on what their interests are. I think this site is great for kids to explore before they really have to make those tough decisions later on. I can't wait to see what my own kids think.

Family Day > Homepage

Family Day > Homepage: "Family Day � A national effort to promote parental engagement as a simple, effective way to reduce youth substance abuse and raise healthier children."

What a great idea. I think we could all use a little extra time with our family. My oldest son and I recently started having tea again (since it's starting to cool down outside). It's wonderful how a little hot water and some tea bags can bring the conversations out. And he thought "nothing" happened at school. Once he gets talking you can't get him to stop. Imagine how much more could be shared around the table for a full meal!

MAKE: Blog: Portable Rotary Phone - pre-review

MAKE: Blog: Portable Rotary Phone - pre-review: "Portable Rotary Phone - pre-review

This is too funny. I would really like the old can and string version....

Poetic stones

I bought a little kit from Magneticpoetry.com called "Poetry Stones deluxe". I used it to make the walkway in my garden a little more unique. All I needed was a few bags of concrete patcher from Home Depot and some time. The kit has 3 lbs of this stuff, three colors of concrete dye and nice press in letters. It also contains several molds to use but I didn't use those (I will though). My husband made a simple wooden frame so I could make more at once and also have more words on each block. The kit has several brick sized molds in different lengths which would trim the edges of my gardens nicely. There is also a nice round stone mold and an adjustable square mold. It is well worth the $50.

I searched all over this town and couldn't find stones I liked for my garden. I'm just not up for the usual cats, birds or bugs that everyone here has. This kit allowed me to use a favorite verse from Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Of course I got a little impatient and moved the stones to early which caused some to crack. I think it gives them character. Next year I'll add some more sayings to my yard. I can't wait for spring already!



"Happiness... not in another place but this place...."





"...not for another hour, but this hour."





Here are some that I did as a birthday present for a friend of mine. She has a nice grotto for them to go with. They are hand painted using regular acrylic paints and then covered in a clear sealant.

LunaNi�a.com | Unconscious Mutterings

This is interesting. You type the first thing that comes to mind for each word and it is supposed to give you a better insight into who you are or why you are the way you are.

Here are my answers. I don't know what it means....



LunaNi�a.com | Unconscious Mutterings: "I say ... and you think ... ?
Related:: Unrelated
Soothing:: Bath
Flashback:: Moon
Turmoil:: News
Immense:: Vast
Guitar:: Red
Nonsense:: useless
Blame:: Blameless
Childlike:: wonder
Duff:: " Homer

Special effects

This picture didn't turn out very well and had a nasty glare from the sun in the background. I played with the special effects in Picasa and now it almost looks like it could be the way into heaven... 

Have you ever seen a gnome from Nome?

Picture 10 

I followed one through these woods but I didn't make it to Nome Alaska.

A Focal point

Picture 9 

In the late afternoons we get bouts of sun lighting up patches here and there. The sun seemed to be illuminating just this one tree and the contrast was breathtaking.

A colorful group

Picture 8 

I just love the contrast of the birch with the spruce trees and these have such a graceful lean in their trunks.

Are Birch really just white?

Picture 5 

This birch looked blue near the base which was intensified by the camera. Near the top there seemed to be shades of mauve and peach like the oil that swirls around in parking lot puddles.

Picture 4 

Getting to the root of it all

Picture 3 

I just love the roots of trees and the way they twist around in elegant frozen poses. Last year I went out and took several pictures of these same trees in the park but this year there is still some green here and there. It got cold enough to bring on the colors of fall but then we were surprised by a beautiful Indian summer.

This is actually two trees grown together and if you look you can see a small hole where some critter probably lives or once lived. Piglet?

A worms eye view

Picture 2 

I love to get down to see what others usually miss. There are such beautiful things down low. Here I found beautiful bright red "Strawberry spinach" growing around the roots of the trees. They love very dry, sandy soils. I tried to move some into my yard one time and they all just died. Stubbon little things.

Fall is.....

A lonely leaf and a gentle breeze
and all the time you need
to think.


Picture 1 

Fall's many colors

Fall 2005 Photo Tour 

It drives me crazy that I can't put all of my pictures into one album on here. I do like Picasa but I was sure there would be a way to put all the pictures together in one post with thumbnails. This is the best it can do as far as I can tell. I will admit this is cool but not quite good enough. I guess they will have to work on that..... in the meantime I'll be looking for another way. It is nice the way you can view the pictures much larger if you click. They do look so much better full sized and with all their pixels.

Fall

Today was a beautiful fall day. The colors are really starting to come out in full force. There are a lot of birch around here and the leaves turn this georgeous golden color that contrasts nicely with the pine trees. Even the tiny little Amur Maple I planted is starting to turn. The leaves are beautiful blends between orange and red. The lowest leaves are pure red. I can't wait until that tree gets bigger.

The leaves were just pouring down from the birch right in front of my house but there was this stupid line of cars parked along the road. Someone must have been having a party. I was dying to take a picture but didn't want a shot with the cars included. I did go walking and got some neat pictures but by the time the last car left it was too dark. Maybe tomorrow...

I have always loved fall. It is such a beautiful time of year. It's a shame it doesn't last longer. As the air gets cooler and the colors glow..... I actually feel warmer. I love to go for long walks with a nice hot cup of coffee and baileys and just clear my mind. Today I didn't bother with the coffee. I just took pictures.

I've always been facinated by the twisted roots of the trees. I took several beautiful pictures last year of the same tress here covered in a carpet of golden leaves. This year I decided to take pictures a little earlier, while there is still some green growing around them. I will post more pictures later.

Animal Totem Butterfly

Animal Totem Butterfly: "Butterfly Totems

Butterfly spends the first part of its life crawling the earth, before metamorphosis leads it to spin a home for stasis (known as a cocoon). After transforming, Butterfly is reborn as various beautiful colored winged creatures of the air.
This insect is extremely sensitive to the Harmony of Earth, and is the first creature to leave a damaged ecology. Butterfly's graceful dancing-like appearance on flowers reminds us to find the joy in nature and make it a part of our life.
Butterfly enters our life as a messenger for change. If it comes to us hurt or ill, Butterfly asks us to stop keeping our joy at bay. It may take some time being alone with ourselves to listen to Butterfly's gentle requests that we allow the natural transformation of things in our lives."

________________________

I'm just bored and surfing but thought this was interesting. I really had a hard time choosing between a butterfly or a wolf. I think both tend to represent a sense of freedom and individuality and both have a wandering, vagabond type of spirit. So do I.

Okay, I'm going to bed... It's nearly 12:30.

Blogthings - Your Blog Should Be Blue

Blogthings - Your Blog Should Be Blue: "Your Blog Should Be Blue


Your blog is a peaceful, calming force in the blogosphere.
You tend to avoid conflict - you're more likely to share than rant.
From your social causes to cute pet photos, your life is a (mostly) open book."

_____________________________
Well "Blue" is in the name..... I think I prefer green athough the rest is true. I just like to write about the things I love.....whether others love it or not. I think it is calm and it's true that I avoid conflict. I don't have any pet pictures though. Maybe I should put some up. My dog's name is Blue.

Jonathon Delacour: China Doll

Jonathon Delacour: China Doll

I have a China Doll plant that I received as a house warming present. Now I've been in my new house for a year and the plant is still growing strong. I've transplanted it into a bigger pot to allow it more room to grow but now it is looking kind of scraggly. I was looking for some info on that particular plant and found this site very interesting (although it wasn't the info I was looking for). I had no idea that my little house plant could be a two story tree if planted in the proper zone. Of course I can't plant mine outdoors in this area and I prefer this little guy stay in fairly small. I just need to crop it a bit and hopefully it will fill out better.

Frost ;O(

Google: "29�F / -1�C
Partly Cloudy
Wind: N at 0 mph
Humidity: 92%"

No, not Robert, Jack!

I woke up to what looked like a lint covered lawn and I forgot to cover up my garden last night. I guess I was too busy celebrating my 14 anniversary. It was an interesting problematic day yesterday. It was my anniversary and also the birthday of two of my co-workers. The older one of the two was really down in the dumps about her age and I bought her a bouquet of flowers arranged in a cute little gift sack with ribbon handles. I put them under her desk where she wouldn't see them until she went to sit down. They were a very pretty bunch and she loved them but when she went to pull them out the corner of the bag snagged on the mat on the floor and ripped the bag and dumped the whole thing. There was water everywhere..... The flowers my husband sent for me didn't arrive. He kept calling me to see if anything was "up". I kept telling him "no, nothing much is up". Finally he got a hold of them and straightened them out and they were to deliver them before 6pm. I had already left for the gym and my friend was going to call me when they arrived. They got there 5 minutes before 6:00. On the way over someone rear ended me!!!!! No damage but the girl was a b*tch! The light just barely turned green when she smacked me. There wasn't even enough time to say "one Mississippi"!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...... or rather in the parking lot of the place I work, my friend was there with my flowers which had this big red heart shaped balloon with the words "I love you". I thought that was very sweet.... I wrestled them into my car and the balloon popped off and went out the sunroof!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ARGH!

What a day..... I decided to just let it go and celebrate that nothing really BAD happened. All the things that happened where all pretty trivial little hitches in my day. When I got home we chilled out with margarita's and watched tv.

The kids just left for school this morning and my husband and I have 4 days off to enjoy. Today we get to enjoy time with out the boys. We are going a nice breakfast in a few minutes. It should be....... PEACEFUL!