Walking with Walker Lady (and Abby)

It is a busy time of year here. Soon school will be out though, and we will change the way we do things. Of note, my 12 year old and I will be free to ride bikes or go to the local swimming pool. I must say, I am looking forward to both. We are also gearing up for a performance soon. We actually combined riding bikes and practicing music for the show. On Monday we rode a little over four miles to a little park where we sat around a picnic table and played some of our tunes for the birds and squirrels. Much to our surprise, when we finished the last song, we heard clapping behind us! This was so fun that we plan to do it again this summer. In other areas of life, it is just going along pretty slow and quiet. I don't have any earth shattering things to talk about. I am up and down on the scale. I am currently not smoking. I think about how ugly my legs and belly look with all the loose skin and fat hanging. I will be making mad dashes from the pool side to the water so most peopl

We just got back from our first family bike ride. We were out for about an hour and went about 8 miles.  Oh my goodness the bike trails they have here, are awesome! We went across the Big Dam Bridge to the Two Rivers Bridge through a pine forest stand to a rest stop that had a full bike repair station and restrooms...even a solar dumpster.  It was 80 degrees out but we had a breeze and a great workout. I am surprised how well biking has been for us! Now for brunch and then yard work. Busy Sunday at our house! :) Don't you just love that tie-dyed tee-shirt I am wearing? The fanny pack does wonders for my silhouette ... NOT!!! We had a great time though and plan to do it again, packing a picnic lunch and taking our instruments along to play. I can't believe how much I actually have enjoyed this new form of exercise! Till next time, Walk-On!

We recently switched from *skim milk to 2% milk, and now to **almond milk in our house. I have been using Silk's 30 calorie unsweetened almond milk: I was surprised that my usually fussy 12 year old son, liked the almond milk on his cereal in the morning. I tried it in my coffee and did not like it. I've tried it in Kraft Mac n Cheese and both the son and fussier husband said it was just fine! I've used it in mashed potatoes too, with positive results. Today I made oatmeal with it. I like steel cut oats and usually make eight batches at a time in my crock pot, using water. So today I made a single serving on the stove top, using almond milk instead of water. I didn't want to waste a bunch of steel cut oats in the crock pot in case I didn't like the taste. OMG!!! I did not need to worry about that! The cooked oats in almond milk not only tasted good, it tasted decadent! I always have a sliced banana, 2% Greek yogurt, and cinnamon in the bowl too. The results

We often define ourselves by our jobs, achievements, talents, money, or other such markers of success. In the case of weight loss, we define ourselves by how much weight we have lost, how much exercise we do (or don't do), and by what we eat...whether it is good or bad food! But what really makes one good enough ? I am a quilter. I see a project and start it. Sometimes things go wrong and I have to pick out a bunch of stitching to redo it better. Quilting is a process where you make the top and then sandwich some fluffy type batting in the middle and usually have a solid pieced backing. The top is where the work is most intense. Some are pieced with geometric shapes. Some have fabrics cut in specific shapes and then they are sewn down onto a background fabric. Below is a sample of each. This is appliqué. All the shapes are cut out and sewn down to the background fabric. In this example the edges of each piece are folded under before hand stitching them in place. It is VERY l