busy poster...going to have to go back and take the time to read all of them, home from work....battle with seasonal allergies...the pollen won...lol

Bread dough is rising, laundry is started, Dad came over for lunch, and Hubby is home early! I did 30min of kettlebells and 50 min of yoga this morning.

PP-do you have a dvd for the kettleballs or do you just do a routine?

Hi everyone! The pics I posted are from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Reguge in SW Oklahoma. There is also a place there called The Holy City of The Wichitas, a place where they put on an outdoor production of the Passion Play, we just toured the grounds there. Also nearby is the tiny town of Medicine Park which has some neat shops and restaurants.

Cortison injection seems to have really helped my knee...thank GOD!!

Ashley-I've had knee issues for a long time. Severe arthritis and have had two surgeries for torn cartilage, etc. I knew in the back of my mind it would only get worse, just not ready for any drastic treatment right now. Glad to hear you are able to get outside and move!!

Jules, I have DVD's to follow, but kettlebells are pretty easy to just do by themselves; find a list of exercises and go. Doing the exercises correctly if very important, so that's why I follow DVD's, also I'm nor very motivated to exercise on my own. Today's was Art of Strength: Firepower, http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/category-s/178.htm. Anthony is very good but the DVD's are a little boring. This set is expensive but features Anthony and some actress who gives him a softer edge. http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/THE-.../799%20800.htm Angie Millers http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/KETT...CAMP-p/540.htm and Brooke Benten's are more fun but are more cardio/strength .http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/KETT...NTEN-p/184.htm I've heard good things about this one but haven't tried it yet. http://www.totalfitnessdvds.com/Paul...-DVD-p/375.htm Most of these DVD have detailed instructions on how to do each move, plus a seperate workout/s.

Annie, glad the knee feels better.

okay ladies I have a comment/thought - so people who have weight loss surgery eat very small amounts of food and for the most part lose their weight. I know many gain it back but apparently mostly because their mind did not change even though thier body did and thier mind still wanted to eat. So anyways if we do not have the surgery and eat small amounts of food and our body is satisfied with what we are giving eat why would it matter if our calories are lower? I am not having surgery or anything this just occurred to me today and I thought it might be interesting to hear what some of us 'ahem' more mature ladies thought seeing as we have had more years of experience with our bodies and weightloss. I already know the 'if you starve your body it will go into starvation mode and you will gain the weight back' mentality. I am not talking about starving, I am talking about feeding your body and being physically satisfied with the food you are eating. Any thoughts??? Whe does the world say it is okay to have the surgury and eat tiny amounts of food so you are satisfied but if you dont have the surgery and eat small amounts it seems to be not okay.

Hubby and I went on an hour-long hike today. Some pictures.

Me and Hubby on Mother's Day http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/j...10-2011020.jpg

Wold River from today's hike http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/j...10-2011006.jpg {note the brown water. The tree in the foreground shows how high the flooded water was, the base is brown then suddednly leaves appear. }

Necklace I made for Mom. http://i554.photobucket.com/albums/j...10-2011013.jpg

Ashley, I think the 'smaller' amounts' they eat are weaning them back to 'normal' portion sizes. Since I'm following the 'hunger' plan there are days I'm just not hungry so I don't eat. I feel like I"m doing something 'wrong' by not eating, but I'm actually 'listening to my body'. I find myself having to do the same thing, wean myself off the larger portions I had become used to, and change my behavior and my mindset. I'm not sure this answers you question or even makes sense, LOL.

PP--there were some kettleballs at tjmaxx pretty cheap but I didnt know what I would do with them...very nice pics...the necklace is beautiful

Ashley--I need to recondition my mind and appetite...trade my unhealthy grazing habots for better ones...with the graden and yeard work keeping me busy this time of the year maybe I can make it happen

Annie--the pics are awesome! I have a bad knee..hubby just got a cortisone shot for the first time due to bursitis in the elbow..he said it really helped.

Ashley- I understand what your saying, I never thought about that. I think you should eat the amount of food you are satisfied with, who cares what other people think, right?? It's your body.

Thanks to all of you regarding Kristen's test results, Dr. decided not to do an MRI right now. He thinks it's more of a depression, stress problem. I agree, Kristen's very mad cause the Dr. wants her to go to a counselor to talk. Kristen has been acting sad and distant for the past 3 yrs. She wants nothing to do with me, rarely even speaks to me, i feel like she hates me. Well today it was time to get some answers from her. I probed and provoked her to the point of her saying she doesn't like me cause I'm a bit**! I'm never a ***** to her, actually I try to do everything i can for her, maybe a little too much. I guess I'm just trying to make her happy again and gain her love back. I think she's seeing the way I treat her dad sometimes, i have my reasons for that, he owes me big time for 26yrs. of mostly unhappiness. We never fight, but i used to keep all my feelings in and not say what bothered me, now I speak my mind and she thinks I'm a bit**. Sorry I had to vent, but I have nobody to talk to. The fight ended with me saying she is cold hearted & her slamming the door in my face. what a nice day I had

fl--(((HUGS))))..my son gave us a terrible time when he was in his teens...it turned around once he moved out. I too gave my Mom a lot of trouble cause I was mad that she didnt get back with Dad after he got sober...years later I was SOOOOO glad she didnt and asked her to forgive me...

jules- Thanks, I had a terrible time with my son also. We kicked him out when he was 25, had no job ever & we never got along & other issues that anyone else wouldn't have put up with for so long. It's been a year now and he hasn't spoken to me since.

I'm just afraid the relationship my daughter and I have will end up the same way as my son eventually. Then I'll have two kids that hate me and never speak to me. Was I a horrible parent? Am I a terrible person? It makes me wonder what I ever did to deserve this.

Fl--aww sweetie, sorry you are going through this...wish i had answers for you...

Good morning.

Yesterday I decided that all I had to do was decide to eat right for one day; I would worry about tomorrow's decision tomorrow. It helped, a lot. So, today, all I have to worry about is making the right decisions today. Let's see if I can extend that to getting my exercise done, too.

FL--Sorry to hear about your woes. There's a book, The Dance of Anger, that talks about why people get mad at us when we try to change (like you not bottling everything up anymore), even when the change is better for us.

I hope everyone has a good Wednesday.

Both my parents are coming for lunch today. They bring sandwiches so I don't have to fix anything special. On other news, Hubby found a tick on his leg last night. Guess who got to pull it off?! He had sprayed with bug stuff but only his arms. New rule! spray everywhere!

Kitteh, great way to just focus on the present!

FL, I wish I had some good advice . No children, but I can tell you Mom and I didn't always see eye to eye but we have a much better relationship now. I think right now Kristin can only see things from her perspective. It will take expericence and 'growing up' for her to see your side.

Jules, I think those kettlebells come packaged with a DVD. Gin Miller's? You might check to be sure.

FL - I am sorry about the issues with your daughter. I know kids get mad and take it out on their moms cause it is the easiest thing to do. You did the right thing with your son for sure even if he isnt talking to you. I think kids are smarter then we understand sometimes, your son for sure knows being a bum is wrong is is probably just pissed off that you called him on it and wont let him live his lifestyle anymore. For whatever its worth i kicked my daughter out wehn she was doing meth now that she is older and clean for almost 8 years i get feedback saying they knew I was always doing what was right and they were the ones in the wrong. I never thought a day would come when I would here that, my son has said the same thing as well. Being a mother is so hard cause we have to make choices for our kids even when it means they may go awal for a bit, but i believe kids really do know when they are doing the wrong thing.

kitteh - i love your thinking 'all i have to do is eat right for today' i have tried to adopt that every day and it really helps.

Thanks for all the input on my comments of portion etc. It is good to see what others think.

today I will eat write and have a good mindset toward food. There is a appreciation time at lunch today for my faculty, they are serving cake, I am not going!!!! I would rather go for a walk anyways.