The Arrival Of Autumn

We had a 'guest' at our doorstep this morning. We haven't seen any chipmunks all summer long, but then this one appeared. I opened the garage doors as we planned to clean out the garage today & saw this little guy run up our Maple tree. Then he ran back down & went underneath Jim's car & then onto our porch. He just sat there, as still as can be, like he was waiting me to make the first move. Jim ran inside the house to get the camera so I could capture this shot of him. Right after I snapped it, he ran away, but forgot to take his crabapple with him. By the looks of things, he was really enjoying that little apple until I disturbed him :)

We did manage to get the garage cleaned out as well as doing some organizing in the basement, which is where I ended up finding these:

I had completely forgotten about them! I bought them last year at Hobby Lobby on clearance for under a buck each. Aren't they cute? :) We're going to get our first glimpse of Autumn this week as temps are only supposed to be in the 50's for highs starting on Tuesday......BRRRR!!!

I went back to my OB/GYN on Thursday & it seems I have indeed started perimenopause :( He prescribed Premarin for me, but after doing some research on it, I'm not too sure I want to take it! I have a LOT to learn about this topic & plan to research it even further. Right now, I'm taking Andrew Lessmans Women's Wellness & they seem to be working pretty good for my hot flashes, so I'll probably just stick with them for now. If anyone has any experience, suggestions, advice, etc., I would truly appreciate it....feel free to email me. This is all new to me & also a little scary. One of the symptoms to perimenopause is weight gain :( I guess that could explain why I'm having a harder time losing weight lately. But I will NOT give up! Nope, no way, no how!!! I'm going to fight this fat till the end! And I WILL WIN :)

Not much else new has been going on. Got a busy week ahead of me.....tomorrow, our landlord is having someone come over to fix the one garage door. Then on Tuesday, I'll probably be working (they called me already asking me if I could fill in for someone) & then I have bowling Tuesday night, bowling on Wednesday, our Biggest Loser meeting on Thursday, work on Friday & working out in between all of that. Speaking of the gym, tonight I did 3.80 miles in 60 minutes on the treadmill! That's a new record for me :)

Well, I'm off to bed. Hope you have a wonderful week!

Benita

My Best Friend's Girl

Dane Cook has outdone himself yet again! We went to see his newest movie, My Best Friend's Girl on Sunday & we didn't stop laughing the whole time! And boy, does he has a nice butt! ;) But I won't go into any details other than that. You'll have to go see the movie to see for yourself, lol. Yes, it has some crude humor in it, but that's part of what makes Dane.....Dane :) I'm giving it 2 thumbs up & can't wait until it comes out on DVD!

Toni posted this on her blog, so I thought I'd do it on mine as well. Play along if you'd like.....it's a lot of fun:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7:30....started my new job :)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, a girl's best friend.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? "My Best Friend's Girl" on Sunday which was hilarious (see review above).
4. What is your favorite TV show? The Biggest Loser!
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Either 2 Eggos or a nutritional shake.
6. What is your middle name? Lynn
7. What food do you dislike? Anything Green!
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Any of Godsmacks....I have them all on my Ipod.
9. What kind of car do you drive? 2006 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T
10.Favorite sandwich? Grilled Cheese & Bacon.
11.What characteristic do you despise? People that hurt other people, either physically or with words!
12.Favorite item of clothing? Work-out clothes :)
13.If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Australia
14.Favorite brand of clothing? Anything, as long as it's not from Lane Bryant anymore ;)
15.Where would you retire to? Up in the beautiful mountains of Tennessee.
16.What was your most recent memorable birthday? September 2004, although it's not a happy memory :( I lost my sister & brother-in-law a week before my birthday & my dog Shelby 3 days before :(
17.Favorite sport to watch? Nascar BABY!!!
18.Farthermost place you are sending this? On the WWW.
19.Person you expect to send it back first? Anyone that wants to play along.
20.When is your birthday? Just celebrated it a few weeks ago on September 5th.
21.Are you a morning person or a night person? A little bit of both.....I stay up way too late at night, but I don't like sleeping in too late either.
22.What is your shoe size? Depends on the shoe/brand.....usually an 11.
23.Pets? 2 Mutts - Onyx & Reeses.
24.Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? I started my new job today at the gym & so far, I love it!
25.What did you want to be when you were little? Don't laugh, but it was always my dream to be a model! Okay, I hear you laughing :)
26.How are you today? Tired as I'm not used to getting up early anymore, sore from working out yesterday with free weights, excited about my job.
27.What is your favorite candy? I don't really have an absolute favorite, but I like a lot of candy that I don't eat anymore.....Reese's, M&M's & Sno-Caps...just to name a few that I gave up :)
28.What is your favorite flower? Roses & Lilacs
29.What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Today :)
30.What are you listening to right now? The lawn mower as Jim's cutting the grass.
31.What was the last thing you ate? Popcorn at the movies yesterday :(
32.Do you wish on stars? Sometimes.
33.If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Purple.
34.How is the weather right now? Sunny & beautiful, in the low 70's.
35.The first person you spoke to on the phone today? My dh.
36.Favorite soft drink? None.....I only drink water.
37.Favorite restaurant? Alibi & Kalloways.
38.Real hair color? Medium brown with gray just starting to show :(
39.What was your favorite toy as a child? A pool table that Santa brought one year.
40.Summer or winter? Summer! Have you been in Michigan in the Winter??? Enough said!
41.Hugs or kisses? Both!
42.Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate :)
43.Coffee or tea? Neither.....see above post about favorite soft drink.
44.Do you want your friends to email you back? Not sure that this question applies here.
45.When was the last time you cried? Anytime I think about Karen & Jimmy.
46.What is under your bed? Probably dog hair.
47.What did you do last night? Went to the movies & then to the gym to work off the popcorn I ate.
48.What are you afraid of? Tornados, thunderstorms, lightning, spiders, snakes.
49.Salty or sweet? Both :)
50.How many keys on your key ring? Too many.....10!
51.How many years at your current job? None yet.....just started today.
52.Favorite day of the week? Monday because it's a new week & Friday because it's the start of the weekend.
53.How many towns have you lived in? 9 that I can think of.
54.Do you make friends easily? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.....I'm pretty shy until you get to know me :)

The job went really good today. I only worked for 4 hours & learned a LOT.....now let's see how much of it I remember by the time I work again on Friday. Tonight I'll be heading back to the gym to exercise. Now I just hope that working there doesn't burn me out from wanting to go there to work-out. Right now, I'll only be working 2 days a week & then I'll pick up an extra day from October till December, so I think that I'll be okay. The job seems like it'll be a lot of fun & pretty easy, once I get everything down.....more of a mental job than anything. It just feels really good to be doing something out in the public again. And the discounts aren't bad, either :) Thanks for all the congrats on my job & weight loss.....I truly appreciate it.

Have a great week!
Benita

Exciting News!

No pictures to post today......just some exciting news to share :) I GOT A JOB!!! I went for an interview yesterday at our gym & just got a phone call this morning that they want me to come in on Monday to start training. The funny thing is, I forgot to ask them how much I'm making an hour.....I was just too excited to even care! I'll be working the counter, checking people in as they come to work-out, etc. As of right now, it's only a couple of days a week, but there's always the opportunity to pick up more hours. Plus, the best benefit, I get my gym membership for free & my dh gets a discount on his membership. I will also get discounts on personal training sessions, in the cafe, the spa & for tanning, although I haven't used the tanning there.....yet :)

I also updated our weight loss blog today with more exciting news, but I need to share it here as well :) I am now officially 36 pounds lighter! And Jim is down 34 pounds, so between the 2 of us, we've lost 70 pounds! 70!!! Wow.....that really puts a new perspective on it! Jim's trying his hardest to catch me, but I'm not going to let him ;) I posted a picture of me from a 'virtual belly flattener' that I did on the weight loss blog. Be sure to check it out over there --->

The rain did finally let up & luckily, our neighbor's pool didn't overflow afterall. It's been gorgeous out all week & supposed to continue to be that way throughout next week as well. We may get a little rain on Sunday, but nothing compared to what we had last weekend.

Bowling has been going okay. On Tuesday, I bowled a 458 series & then on Wednesday, I did much better. My games were 199, 136 & 211 for a 546 series :) I've been using my old 15 pound ball & so far, so good. Losing weight really does affect a lot of things.....for one, my knees no longer hurt after bowling & Jim said that his don't, either :)

That's all for now.....I've got a lot of stuff to do around the house plus I'm working on a layout that I will share once it's done.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Benita

Really Wet Weekend

It's been raining almost non-stop since Friday afternoon & we're currently under a flood warning until Monday. Right now, we're getting the remnants of Ike, but luckily not very many thunderstorms & no tornados. Above is a picture of our neighbor's pool which I took about 4 hours ago & here it is now:
(click on each image to enlarge). As you can see, it's about to overflow any minute now. I just hope the side doesn't collapse on it & I'm sure they're hoping the same! We did have a little break in the rain this morning, but now it's coming down in bucketfulls (as my Mom used to say) & starting to get windy. One good thing....our grass is the greenest it's been all summer long :) According to the calendar, first day of fall is still a week & a day away so as far as I'm concerned, it's still summer!
Here's a pic of my Asters that are in pots by our front door. They're blooming like crazy & we put them near the edge of the porch so they could soak up some of this rain.

Yesterday at the gym, I set a new record for myself :) I did 60 minutes on the treadmill & went 3.64 miles! Plus, I got the incline up to 8.0 for 6 minutes & then 10.0 for 4 minutes. WOOHOO!!! I talked to an instructor the other day & she told me that since my weightloss has slowed down a little bit, that I should concentrate on trying to do at least 45 minutes on the treadmill, walking at a fast pace, but not to worry about trying to run on it just yet. The past week or so, I have been running on it a little here & there at 1-2 minute intervals. Yep....me....running. The person that HATES running! Despises running! Thinks running is stupid! LOL But now I'm going to do what she suggested & see if that breaks me out of what seems to be a plateau. I'm still losing, a little, but not like I was :(

Continuing prayers for the victims of Ike,
Benita

Happy Birthday, Karen

Today, Karen would have been celebrating her 56th birthday. We both always thought it was neat that we were 10 years minus 1 week apart in age. I guess maybe that's what made us so close to each other. Or maybe it was the fact that my Mom said that Karen always watched over me when I was a baby. Or maybe it's just the fact that we truly loved & cared for each other. Anytime I went to Pennsylvania to visit, she would always drive 2 hours to visit me just as she did when this picture was taken.....July 21, 2003.....the last time I saw her alive :(

Cas & I went home for her 13th birthday as I took her to see Linkin Park in concert on her actual birthday in Washington, DC. While we were there, Karen & Jimmy came down to visit & these are the last pictures I have of them.
And here are Karen & Jimmy together:

Donny & Mikey gave me this shirt that Karen has on. I've been debating about turning it into one of those memory bears.....just not sure I want to have it cut up, though.

My doctor's appointment yesterday went pretty good, I think. Hopefully, I'll find out if I am going through menopause in 2 weeks as I have to go back to see him & then we'll go from there regarding treatments & such if needed. I'm not really sure that I want to go on hormone replacement therapy.....I've just heard too many bad things about it, but need to do some more research on it. My doctor thinks I'm still too young to be at this point in my life, so that made me feel good when he said that :) Yep, I love my OB/GYN!

Got a busy weekend ahead.....the usual laundry, go grocery shopping, hitting the gym & tomorrow night, we were invited to a friend's house to play cards. I guess there's going to be about 10-12 of us there, so that should be lots of fun.

Have a wonderful weekend & if you're in Ike's path, stay safe!

Benita

Wonderful Weekend

First, I just want to say thank-you for all the birthday wishes you left me :) I had a really nice birthday & weekend. Friday night, we went to my favorite restaurant, Kalloways & I ended up eating way too much! Afterwards, we went to play cards with some friends & had a great time. Val, my bowling partner & really good friend, gave me this cedar owl box (pictured above) along with this:
It reads: May this bowling angel guide your feet upon the floor and keep your aim so steady that you bowl a perfect score. Hmmm......think she's trying to tell me something? ;) I'll definitely be wearing it to bowling tonight & hope it helps after last week's fiasco! We also went practice bowling this weekend & I decided to give my 15 lb. ball a try again. Jim said that I'm throwing it a lot better now since losing weight, so I'm going to try using it tonight instead of my 14 lb. one.
Saturday, the 4 of us went to Arts & Apples, a really nice craft show in Rochester. I found this gorgeous angel picture at one of the booths & love the saying:
"Sisters"

'when tears fall...you are there...holding my hand...when danger is near...you stand before me...I love you so...'

Absolutely perfect!

The weather has truly been beautiful & there's already a touch of fall in the air. Yesterday afternoon, it rained until late in the evening, but we really needed it....our grass needed it! Today, the sun is back out, but it may not even reach 70. I found a bag of old (and I mean OLD!) jeans in the basement & I'm so glad that I kept them because my jeans from last year are literally falling off of me :) I wore a pair on Sunday & they were so baggy in the legs & butt.....boy, does that feel good! Plus I can actually bend over to tie my shoes now without gasping for air! That is the absolute best feeling in the world!

I've got a really busy week ahead.....hitting the gym this afternoon & bowling tonight, bowling tomorrow afternoon & then grocery shopping, dance class Thursday morning & then a doctor's appointment with my OB/GYN for my annual 'check-up' which I haven't had done in a long time (I know, bad me!). My doctor is also going to run tests to see if I'm possibly starting that "M" word :( For the past month or so, I've been waking up in the middle of the night with sweats....I throw all the blankets off of me, then I wake up freezing, then sweating again.....it's a vicious circle! I guess I shouldn't be too surprised if I am, being 46 now. I just hope it doesn't put a damper on my weight loss efforts!

That's all for now.....got a lot to do & little time to do it in. Have a wonderful week!

Benita

Happy Birthday.....

.....to me. My dh surprised me with this Willow Tree set called Sisters By Heart this morning. It's perfect! I saw it in a Hallmark store a few months ago & mentioned that I thought it was pretty back then, but I didn't think my husband would have even remembered me showing it to him, much less getting it for me for my 46th birthday.

I also received a card in the mail from my Dad & I just got to talk to my Mom on the phone :) That really made my birthday special! Especially when the first thing she said to me was "Happy Birthday"! She felt bad because she couldn't get me a card, but I assured her that it was okay. We talked for about 20 minutes & it was so good to hear her voice! The perfect present!

Jim took off from work today to spend my birthday with me, but we ended up sleeping in way too late, so now I need to get my butt in gear. Gotta go renew my license plate & then we'll just be going out to dinner tonight.

Have a great weekend!

Benita

Therapeutic

Thank-you for all the comments & hugs that you left on my last blog post. You have no idea how much that meant to me! And I took hpoormon's advice & scrapped a layout in memory of Karen & Jimmy (although it took me about 4 days to complete in between tears!). It truly was therapeutic to do a layout as I haven't added any new ones to their album in quite a while. I wrote the journaling on vellum & attached it overtop the photo of Karen & Jimmy on their motorcycle. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, even though I still hate my handwriting!

I tried to keep myself very busy over the holiday weekend & besides scrapbooking, we made sure to get our workouts in & we also got a lot of stuff accomplished around the house. On Sunday, Jim & I went with some friends to the Peach Festival & afterwards, we went out to dinner & then to the Motown Review concert at Pine Knob (aka DTE) as our friends were given some tickets along with VIP parking for free. It was a lot of fun, hearing old songs from the Temptations & the Contours & dancing in the aisles. Monday, we just stayed home, relaxed & had a cook-out.

Friday is my birthday (yippee).....just another day to me. I don't even feel like celebrating it anymore. Jim & I will probably just go out to dinner, nothing special. Just another year older & another reminder that I'm getting old!

Last night, I started bowling (if you can call it that) on a women's league with Val, her Mom & two other women. I really didn't want to go back to bowling at this particular bowling center again, but Val twisted my arm ;) Let's just say that I bowled like crap & now I know why I don't like bowling there! I'm afraid it's going to be a very long 33 weeks! But like Val said, it'll be fun......I'm trusting her on that, lol.

Till next time,

Benita