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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Saturday in Maine...

We woke up not knowing what we were going to do for the day.  It was supposed to be rain and thunderstorms all day, but by 10am it was dry.  On my 15 yr old daughter's suggestion, we decided to head to the beach and hunt for sea glass.  No gear, no swimsuits, no towels, no cooler, just us and a bucket. Super easy.
 The beach was very foggy and the tide was out. Perfect.  Mason didn't like the wet sand at first, but he soon was having a blast.
 On the far end of the beach is a very large rocky area and on it is the most lovely color of green seaweed.
 It's fun climbing and looking at the many small tidal pools.
 Someone hamming it up for the camera :)
 Big brothers come in handy when you need help on the rocks.
 He was so proud that he made it up there.
 Caught in the act of acting goofy!
 Oh ya, I broke through my plateau, another 2 lbs gone :)
 We saw a family of ducks(sea ducks?) right off the shore. They had 6 babies in all(one is under the water diving in the pic).
 After a small haul from the beach, sea glass was sparse this time(we did have a good two mile walk though), we headed to the strawberry farm and pick 40 lbs worth.  The kids divided it all up for me by how it will be used...syrup, fresh eating, jam, freezer...
 And my favorite shot of the day... hubby and me.
I hope your Saturday was lovely!

Tiff

Friday, June 28, 2013

Finished Pot Holder Quilt...

Remember the pot holder quilt class I took back in February?  Well, I finally finished the quilt at the end of May.  It's 24 blocks but it really needs to be 30 blocks. Someday I will add 6 more, but for now it makes a nice warm throw for the couch in the family room.
 To hurry up and get it done, I cheated and used some let over quilt fabric from the wing back chair that I slipcovered.
 Here is the back, which I like just as much.  I am actually thinking of making a whole bed quilt like this... solid color squares with different color bindings(or maybe even the same color binding throughout).
 Instead of whip stitching each block together by hand, I sewed them flat(side by side) together with a decorative stitch on my machine, easy peasy!
 I love how it turned out :)
It's rainy here today, a good day for cleaning.

Happy thoughts to you,

Tiff

Thursday, June 27, 2013

June Garden and weight update....

Every time I sit down to make a blog post I wonder what I will say to you all. I feel like I am often apologizing here for my lack of posting and certainly my lack of response, and once again I will say I am sorry.  So much has been on my mind, that blogging seems like a chore or I feel like I have nothing fun to share. I do post to keep a record for myself of my family but also because I know many of you are connected to me in some small way. I hope, just maybe, you enjoy seeing my life just as much as I enjoy seeing yours. I also hope that you don't feel neglected  or upset for my lack of communication back and forth. There truly is a profound amount going on right now in my life that I tend to hermitize(I know, not a real word) my mind and not let anymore in than I can handle. Which means that I'm often just a looker in the store window but rarely go into shop and interact. Does that make sense?  Ya, I realize I'm starting to babble, I tend to do that when I'm trying to explain myself and really don't know how to get my view across, but hopefully you can understand a little bit.  I do appreciate each and every one of you who comes here to read and look at the pictures, whether you leave a comment or not, it's my way of staying connected.

Ok, enough of that.  A weight loss update.... I'm down 46 lbs now!!! Wooohoooo!! I'm feeling good and look forward to reaching my goal before the end of the year.  I've been on a plateau for the past week or so, but I think I may have broken through it today. These things happen, I know, but it still is a bit frustrating.  And for those who asked how I'm doing it, here is my answer... first and foremost, I had to be finally ready to be committed to losing it, if you aren't ready, it won't work. Not sleeping at night and my "fat skirt" getting tight are two things that finally pushed me to do it.  Second, I took baby steps in what I cut from my diet.  To begin with I cut the Dr. Pepper(or any soda) along with sweets and most processed foods. Veggies, fruits, lean meats, and small amounts of breads, pasta, rice, and dairy.  After that I finally did away with carbs all together. I'm now starting to eliminate dairy too because it doesn't agree with my stomach.  I don't drink juices or coffee, just water or green tea.  I stick with three meals a day and if I am stomach hungry in between I will eat fruit.
As for exercise, I really hate it, and I hate to sweat even more.  So I've made my own workout plan. Small amounts of exercise several times a day. It seems to be working and I know I have more muscle mass than I did 46 lbs ago. Hubby says I am getting dancer's legs :)
So that is about it. It's really not difficult once you realize what to eat and not to eat, it's really just a matter of of will power(which mine has really grown in the last 3 months).  One last tip, just shop the outside walls of a grocery store...produce, meat, dairy, avoid the processed foods in the middle that you really don't need.  And I know you all have heard this a million times from other people, but if I can do it, you can too!!!

On to my garden in June...actually these were taken about 3 weeks ago, so things are even bigger now.

Our fairy garden wheelbarrow...

 A tub turned garden planter(looks better now that the plants are bigger).
 The lilac bush was in bloom and smelled heavenly.  Look how big the hostas got from just a few posts ago.
 I moved the little bird to this rock and put another one in Nathan's garden.


 The chickadee family has since moved on from this house. They successfully raised three babies here.
 Our little blueberry bush is loving this new spot and is just loaded with blueberries. In another couple weeks we can start picking.
 Nathan's garden with a new bird and a little green bird bath(can you see it on the left there).
We've had heat and rain, so my container garden on the back deck is taking off, can't wait to start harvesting from there.

Until next time my friends,
enjoy your day,

Tiff

Monday, June 10, 2013

2 Down and 5 To Go....

Yep... we have successfully raised another wonderful child and survived her graduation :) 

Yesterday, June 9th, my oldest daughter, Samantha graduated from high school, Magna Cume Laude.  We are so very proud of her and know she has a bright future ahead of her. She still isn't sure exactly what she wants to be, but she will be attending Maine College of Art in the Fall and I'm sure she will find  her niche there.

Here she is with one of her good friends who she chose to be her marching partner for the graduation.  I learned a good lesson yesterday.... LEARN your new camera before taking it to a major event...so many pictures I wanted are just a blurry mess :(

 She is very happy to be done with high school and get on with her life.
 I thought this picture was cute... she was letting people pass by as we were taking pictures. It shows how happy she was.
 The munchkins... minus Cameron. He couldn't get make it out from training in Arizona.
 Family picture.
 My parents and Samantha.
 All of us...
 The little boys...
 And I couldn't resist throwing this one in...
I tend to stress over things, but yesterday morning at church I decided to just let it go and not worry about trying to find parking in downtown Portland during the Old Port Festival, waiting in line for forever, not getting good seats or having to sit way up in the nose bleed balcony section, or if the weather would be nice. It just isn't worth it to stress over the little things and I decided to just go with the flow... so what if we had to walk forever, or if the seats weren't perfect... we were there for a celebration.  Well, guess what... we found parking super close with easy in and out, the wait in line went fast and the weather was absolutely perfect, and we got awesome seats...no worries! It was a great day and Samantha had a wonderful night at Project Graduation(an organized event through the school to keep kids safe on graduation night).

People tell you when they are little how fast they grow, but you don't really listen. Then one day you find yourself with two grown children and you aren't sure where the time has gone...it's all bittersweet but I wouldn't change a thing because we now have two wonderful adult children.

Happy Summer everyone!!

Tiff

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Let's Go Fossil Hunting!! Great GiveAway...

Ginny, over at Small Things, is generously offering a "get started kit" for fossil hunting. Her family loves to hunt for fossils and they would love to share this great hobby with someone else. Head on over and sign up for her giveaway, and check out her sweet blog while you are at it :)

Enjoy the hunt,
Tiff