As of lately...

News from the home front:

Lauren is home from her two week stay in Charlotte. Taking a much needed couple of days of R and R before starting to work on Thursday.

Andrew had a golf filled weekend in Myrtle Beach and is home with a little sunburn and sore from all the golfing.

Megan did a wonderful job on the church Mother's Day photo's. She was thrilled this week to discover that her camera wasn't actually missing the mirrored lens after all. So we didn't have to send it off for repair. She is happily snapping photo's again with her own camera. She is also watching for the Fed Ex truck everyday for the last couple of days looking for her birthday present. She is getting an iPhone. She is very excited about that!

Noah and I have have been doing some planting and working in our little garden.

We have been having lots of rain the last few days. And according to the weather reports looks like more is on the way throughout the week.

For some of you who have read my facebook page you know I have been on a search for some time to find some Lady Pea seeds to plant in the garden. Sometimes they are called Lady Cream Peas. We use to grow them when I was young. My granny use to buy the seeds in DeRidder and give some to us to grow. They are a small pea, with a delicate flavor. Mixed with cornbread, they were Divine. So recently I have become obsessed with finding some. I searched the Internet when I was unable to find them locally. Apparently they are a regional crop, not grown or known of except in the far south; such as Louisiana, East Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi. The rest of the world just doesn't know what they are missing out on as far as I am concerned.

Finally I found some on eBay. Someone in Texas was selling them. I jumped on it immediately. When a couple of weeks went by and I still had not received my peas, I contacted the seller. To make a long story short, although I had changed my primary shipping address on my eBay account, my old address was still on the account somewhere, and that is the address that the seller chose to send my peas. Well, after several emails back and forth, he told me I would have to take up the matter with eBay. So I did. At first they ruled against me and decided not to refund me for the purchase. I chose to appeal the decision and after a little sarcasm on my part, they changed the ruling and refunded the full amount of the purchase. I was thrilled, although it was only six dollars and some change, for me it was the principle of the matter.

With my refund in my pay pal account, I set out to find more lady peas. Much to my chagrin, no one else seemed to have any. Well in the meantime, a wonderful friend of mine in Louisiana took it upon herself to hunt down these illusive peas. She checked several places in the DeRidder area, and although many of the "ole timers" knew what she was talking about, no one had them. She finally visited the Mennonite Nursery and there she found them! I think she was a thrilled as I was to have scored them. Yesterday I received a 1/2 pound of Elite Cream Lady Pea seeds. I am so excited. I can't wait for this rain to pass so we can get another bed made for the peas. If all grows well, I am going to get those wonderful peas of my childhood and my kids are going to get to experience the thrill of sitting around and shelling peas. So everyone wins in the deal! I don't know that my children would agree, but one day they will look back on it and be glad for the experience, I am sure of it...Thanks Dana, I owe you!

In other gardening news:

As of now, we have two and a half raised beds built and mostly planted. I have one bed designated for later season crops. Right now it has Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes in it. I have two rows left to fill with something. Maybe some beans of some sort. If I can find some speckled butter beans, I think I will plant those there.

The other bed is filled with tomatoes of different varieties. Mostly Roma since we use those more often. Several types of peppers, zucchini and yellow squash, eggplant, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach and basil. I still have some room for a few other items, maybe okra and broccoli. This bed is already showing quite well. I have been pinching blooms from my tomatoes everyday in order for the plants to get established and put more energy into the roots and growth before they start to put on fruit. Apparently I wasn't as diligent as I thought, some managed to get by me. I now have several tiny little tomatoes growing underneath and tucked away behind leaves on the underside where they escaped my sight. I also have beautiful squash blooms that open so graciously every morning. I have discovered a couple of finger sized zucchini growing as well. I have already harvested and dried some basil, so this bed seems to be doing quite well.

The third, or half bed is filled with leeks, carrots, and green onion. I have space in the middle of the bed to plant more herbs like chives, cilantro, oregano and thyme.

The final bed will be filled with those wonderful Lady peas.

I do have garden photo's to post, I just haven't managed to get them downloaded onto the computer yet. I will have them posted soon.

On Books:
I just got this book in the mail yesterday. I can't wait to get started on it.

I have a couple more on order that I want to read. Other than online research and magazine reading, I haven't been doing much reading lately. I do have to say that since I got my iPhone last week, I am really enjoying the KJV Bible app. It is so convenient to read your bible anywhere you are with that.

Exercise and fitness:
It has been four weeks today since I injured my ankle. I have done very little in the way of exercising during that four week period. I did try to continue with strength training, but not as regularly as before the injury. I just got a bit discouraged that I couldn't do more. Starting today, I can begin slowly to work my way back into my routine. I have been watching what I have been eating and have stuck to my eating goals for the most part. I haven't weighed lately because I just didn't want to know I suppose. I suspect I have stayed right at the same weight through it all. Next month will be my one year mark with Curves and I had hoped to be at or near my original weight loss goal by then. With this set back and the fact that my weight loss just stopped several months ago, I don't think I will be there by that time. As of the last time I weighed, I was sixteen pounds away from my original goal. With the set back of the ankle and four weeks until the one year mark, I don't think there is any way I will get more than maybe five pounds off between now and then. If I can manage that much.

My running plan is to slowly work my way back to where I was before the injury. By doing mostly walking and very little running in the beginning. I have to admit that I am a little nervous getting back to the cardio exercise that I was doing, I am fearful of re injuring my ankle. I didn't enjoy being injured, as I am sure most people feel the same way. It was more the feeling of limitation than the actual pain. I don't like feeling that I am limited by anything other than my own desires. I think that is what this journey is about for me. Taking away the limits that I have allowed to control me for so many years. Taking back the power of choice. I understand there are limits with everything...there are things that are beyond our control and ability, but many things are in our hands to either make happen or keep from happening. So as I approach a turning point in my life, I don't want my physical body or my mind to put limits on the things I can do anymore. I want to be able to enjoy a much better life without physical limitations of illness as I get older. I know again, that things will happen, but if I do my part I am hoping to lessen the probabilities of certain preventable illnesses.

I have decided however, through this time of injury to celebrate the progress that I have made. Not to just focus on the goal but to also enjoy where I am today and realize that this is a journey, not just a goal out there to reach and then be satisfied. This is something that will continue on and on. I have allowed myself to be happy with what I have accomplished. To look at myself and be happy with now and what I have done up to this point. Before I was just so focused on the goal that I couldn't allow myself any reward for how far I have already come. But now, I am able to see my sucesses and be glad in them. No, I am not where I want to be, but neither am I where I was, physically or mentally. I am stronger, wiser and more determined to make this happen, to make the necessary lifestyle changes to be the person I want to become.

So as the saying goes; it is time to get back on the horse and continue on this journey.

Today's Quotes

Serendipity: Look for something; find something else, and realize that what you've found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for

~Lawrence Block~

Desire is the starting point of all achievment, not a hope, not a wish, but a keen pulsating desire which transcends everything

~Napoleon Hill~

Burning desire to be or do something gives us staying power- a reason to get up every morning or to pick ourselves back up and start in again after a disappointment

~Marsha Sinetar~