Our Journey Through LIFE!: The Simple Woman's Daybook ~ June

Looking out my window...everything is looking good!

Added more crystals to the grand's rainbow maker. We claim it's better than "Pollyanna's!" The rainbows can last longer by moving the rod up or down as the sun sets.

I am thinking...this summer is going to be a HOT one!

With a cooler and a most pleasant May over, June arrived with us still able to leave the doors open with the cooler temperatures than normal for this time of year. That was until this week! We will be seeing the temp rise from the 105 yesterday to 110 today, to 114 on Wednesday, and back down to 104 come Saturday.

Yesterday's forecast has even lower temps lasting longer if you consider 101 cooler temps! We do around here, though, and will take them as often as possible till the fall when the heat breaks!

I am so thankful...for the advocates in my life. Not just my case manager or the many nurses, but mainly my daughter who absorbs the frustrations we deal with and handles them with the grace she does. Our boys have the same talent, as I see them deal with things in their lives the same way. I think about when their days are like what our days were when we were their age, only there wasn't all this social media stuff, and cell phones were becoming more available, but we had to help the parents with things, too, with the same love driving us. I love the adults they've come to be. I love watching them, parent.

I am wearing...levis and a red, white, and blue paisley blouse.

I am creating...more and more notes on the pages of my books notebook. Once this medical path we are on has been resolved, I hope to put those note to practice and see them come to life. It's always is the first thing I set aside during detours. After all, God knows more than I how all this works out.

I am also creating more photo quotes. I really enjoy finding the perfect Bible verse or quote to enhance one of my many photos. Using the Five-Minute-Friday has been fun, too. As I share them, I hope they will encourage someone who might be going through some bumps along their road.

Oh, and I joined another club...Anna's Block of the Month Club!

Which means I will be creating this beautiful afghan of the next year. I will utilize the hours we'll be driving to Phoenix over the weeks ahead, as I refresh my aged brain on some stitches I have forgotten how to do. The results should also produce a few others as well.

I've been watching...a couple new things, Northern Exposure and Designated Survivor on NetFlix, to name just two. On my down days, I tend to binge watch somethings, like Grace & Frankie, who makes me laugh! We get a kick out of the Bachelorette! Of course, we rarely miss NASCAR.

I am learning...that things can grow in containers, just don't forget to water them. Almost lost the cantaloupe and watermelon because I didn't water them the evening before or the morning and the heat showed up, drained them, and they looked very droopy that evening. By morning, they had perked back except for few leaves. They both are vining out producing lots of flowers, so we should have some fruit. The pumpkins are getting big and should start vining at any time.

In the garden...hubby is repairing the water pump that delivers the water to its storage tank. Though it's late to do anything out there this season, we should be ready for our fall planting. In the meantime, and when our temperatures allow it, there is some clean up that still needs to be done. We would like to lay down the pavers and rocks that create a path between the raised planting beds. Plus the gazebo needs its new canopy put up.

From the kitchen...we are changing it up even more! From the way we shop, to what we purchase, to how we prepare it, it's all part of our new healthier eating campaign we started. Hubby has done very well on his low carb/no carb diet but still has 25 pounds to go to his ideal surgery weight, while I now top in at a whopping 225 pounds. It's like what he lost, I found! I hate typing that, but it's my reality right now. With my thyroid finally under control, it's time I do something to get rid of the 80 pounds it and potato chips left behind. (see the photos at the end. In the first one, you can see them! I came home from that wonderful day and decided it was time to do something about them, it was time to lose those Lays potato chips you can't eat just one of!)

I am not happy with who I see in the mirror.

So I decided to join Noom for help with a plan, along with the accountability, encouragement, suggestions, and support. I used an app similar to this when I stopped smoking. So I know I can do it!

I thought last year when 15lbs came off so quickly after my fall, the therapy would have shown more results besides mobility. Though my steps were increasing, my calorie counts didn't decrease. It won't happen if each side keeps fighting with the other. Something had to kick it into gear!

ACCOUNTABILITY!!!

As I did when I quit smoking, if I don't buy them I won't smoke them, if I don't buy the snacks, I won't eat them. Using the app Smoke Free - Quit Smoking Now for that habit was such a big help, I'm giving Noom the same dedication.

For the most part, our dinner meals tend to be healthy, we rarely eat out, except for when we're traveling. It's the lunches at those fun, fast food places that help make the calorie counts go up. Of course, chips are a big part too!

With Noom, my goal is to retrain my brain, do the steps each day, and in 8 months, I should be at my target weight, the goal I set for myself to just not be ready for a cruise next fall, but for next summer as well.

How I felt Friday is changing as of Sunday!

Hopefully, after hubby's knee replacement in November, he'll join me on my walks, too. With everything that is going on medically for hubby and I, changing how and what we eat will be a big help all the way around. I already see some other changes, and I'm already impressed!

One of my favorite things...is watching the grand's having fun, sliding, splashing, and floating at the annual Summer Splash at our local waterpark. Its put on by our local contractor association group and supported by us and other local business in town. It's always a great day for all!