GOTTA LOVE MID-WESTERN SEASONS

When my folks wanna know why I don't want to move to FL one of my reasons is SEASONS.
I love the seasons of the mid-west (especially FALL). Normally, we have 4 seasons that are equally, fairly consistently, spread out during a calendar year.

This past week we have pretty much run the gamut of the seasons within 7 days. We have had temps in the high sixties, mid week, and slightly blizzardish late last evening. Fortunately we have not been effected by these extreme changes in terms of illnesses. My poor sister-in-law has not been so fortunate. I went over to watch my baby cakes boy for a couple of hours today while T&C went on one of their Terre Haute House adventures. Cole was having quite a bit of trouble talking. It was more like a quiet, squeak.

This has been a wonderful weekend to be wrapped up in a flannel blanket with woolly socks. I did manage to be a bit productive--cleaned house. Woohoo! I even rearranged furniture. Poor Casey, our hundred pound dumb-dumb lab, is rejoicing. He normally stays in one of the bedrooms b/c there is no carpeting in the living room. He doesn't usually hang out with us much b/c he would rather lay on the carpeting in the bedrooms. Once I got the living room cleaned and rearranged I layed down a beautiful 5X7 Berber area rug that I purchased from Linens & Things. Casey is thrilled to be part of the fam again. He doesn't have slip and slide on the hardwood anymore.

When I wasn't cleaning or rearranging I spent much time curled up working on my beading projects or reading a new book SEVENTY TIMES SE7EN by Brandt Dobson. He is a new Christian fiction author that I have discovered. His books are a really easy read. The cool thing is that the Colton Parker series takes place in Indianapolis, IN. Having lived in the Circle City for several years I am very familiar with a lot of the sites and streets he mentions. In fact, in this book, he makes reference of Terre Haute several times.

Speaking of beading--my friend Jen has started a "sub" blog to Jens Journey. It features some of her beading designs. You can see the wonderful French, Dutch, Spiral, Twistee (lol) bracelet that she made me for Christmas. (We laugh b/c I can never remember its proper name).

As far as training goes--I suck! I am too much of a wimp to get out in the cold temps.

Going w/o sugar and sweets isn't so much torture anymore; however, I have been overcompensating with of carbs. I have been eating much more bread than normal. Yesterday, I was completely insatiable. I actually broke down and ate my Sugar Free PEEPS. Nate was with a friend all weekend so I kept telling myself, "Just go to Baeslers...frosted cake donuts, ice cream, hot chocolate, who would know?" Fortunately I made it through yesterday. I probably should look at it as a triumph. In the past I would have told myself to go ahead and do it. "You know that you are too weak and you are going to end up giving in anyway. Why not sooner than later?" Now that I think about it, I think that is the only time that I have stood up to the voice in my head. Once it says, "You know you are going to do it anyway" I am on my way to doing whatever I shouldn't be doing. But not yesterday. I guess I have been so busy beating myself up for all the times I thought about sweets that I didn't take the time to see that I hadn't actually caved in.

It kinda reminds me of when I have dreams about smoking. I have been smoke-free for 12 years now. Every once in a while I will have a dream where I have started smoking again. I beat myself up in my dreams for being so weak. AND if I am really fortunate, I will continue to beat myself up for the rest of the day (while I am awake!) Hellllllooooooo! it was just a dream. I did not relapse. But my funky brain makes me think I have! Good grief!