A new season and some new thoughts

It is now May in Phoenix the last of month of our beautiful spring. I have made some small but signifigent changes to our garden.I Added more variation and definition to the backyard and changed out some of the plants that died in the frost this winter. Now all the flowers are blooming and have grown and filled up our yard with lushness and color.I decided to buy my own mower and weedwacker and I am now our full time gardener and landscaper.As part of a money saving and excerise decision I dropped my gym membership and my lawn service and started mowing the lawn and gardening the yard myself. I am very happy with this decision. I enjoy yard work much more than running on a tread mill or eliptical machine and I have more control over how our lawn is manicured and maintained.My hair dresser Celia and sister Janet turned me on to “The power of Attraction” a very inspiring book and philosophy of life.This book has helped reinforce and direct my overall plan to think possitive about myself and my body and to improve my life. I am now over half way along on my weight goal .This is a prossess that is not just about weight but a complete life style change. I am improving my state of mind and my state of health while upgrading my carrier and energy level .The goal is to lift myself into a better happier life.I know that eating correctly and excerise are the keys to feeling better mentally and physically.Even my job has become more interesting and my home a more beautiful sancuary.I know these are both reflections of my decision to think possitive , make healthy choices and improve my life.Today I have finished a painting and taken a walk with Victor.I hope some of these ideas will inspire you.

Recent developments

worked long and hard over the holiday season and although I started it off with high spirits and good motivation an avalache of work, a lack of sleep, and too many chances to over indulge in food and festivities took their toll. That seems to be the paradox of the holiday season.” It is the season to be jolly” but often turns out to be the season of to many excesses and stress. Companies need to make lots money this time of year to stay in business so employees are often worked longer hours. There are always company and family parties with mountains of rich foods and tasty treats everywhere you turn. Stress and over indulgence lead many people to become depressed or sick. My husband and I are not big party goers so luckly we avoided many of these opportunities to overeat. We went hiking on Christmas day then spent a quiet relaxing afternoon at home with our pets. I still let my healthy diet and excerise plan slide away for a few weeks. Then after New Years I was not sure I could get my motivation back.I know myself well enough to know that it is key for me to start any program or commitment with a successful attitude.I must feel capable of success .I need to be able to tell myself “I can do this” and believe it! I always need a trigger to motivate me. Unhappiness provided that motivation. I was stressed out at work and feeling out of sorts and very sluggish. I knew I had to do something to turn the tide and begin again. There were only two options. Let things get worse and feel horrible or take control of my health and get back on track. I started taking my vitamins again and bought healthy foods at the market. Now it is the middle of January and I have lost all the weight I put on over the holiday and I feel so much better. Today for the first time this year Vic and I went hiking and I am motivated again to eat healthy and get down to my target weight. This has been an interesting learning experience I guess I needed to go through.These are some of the changes I am now taking into account on my plan. I must not let myself get too hungry or push to hard to lose weight fast. I realize that for me slow and steady leads to a healthier weight loss that I can sustain.