Sharing flowers

I've really missed blogging the last few weeks. Just too busy and exhausted to think what to write. I finally passed my 5% goal in WW!! Two weeks ago I lost 3 lbs and reached a total of 15 lbs lost!!! I was totally thrilled!! This past Wed. I was exactly the same (at least no gain)! I'm trying harder this week.

I thought I would share some photos of my flowers.

I love these old-fashioned flowers. I don't know the name of them-they're a type of lamb's ear, but not the broad leaf variety. As a child I called my grandmother's "velvet flowers" and it stuck

in our family. These are decendents from her plants. I love flowers that come back and don't need any help from me-just to love them!

Oh how sweet the smell! Magnolia grandiflora!! Southern sweetness at its best! Another of my most favorite flowers. I got married in May because these would be blooming! Our 24th anniversary is this Monday, May 18th. Like the magnolia, my Alan is sweetness at its best!

Love you sweetie!

Weight Watcher update

It's a crazy week!! Can't wait until FRIDAY this week (and it's not the kids this week)!
Just taking a moment to let everyone know that I didn't meet my 5% goal this week at WW. I stayed exactly the same-at least no extra weight to have to re-lose! I'm glad I didn't have a gain after splurging some while on vacation. I did get some extra walking in-so thought I might've lost some. Today starts a new WW week though! Hope everyone else gets good news tomorrow night!
Living for a beautiful weekend to get back in my yard and plant, plant, plant flowers!!!

Vacation Recap

Those of us fortunate enough to have a week off for Easter break are headed back to reality tomorrow morning-UGH! But, it's the countdown to June 9th and SUMMER! Actually, I did start to miss my students this weekend (crazy huh?). I should be cured by 8:30 tomorrow!

I really enjoyed the break though. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to by any means, but we got some things accomplished and I relaxed! Alan & I worked in the yard Monday moving hosta & creating some new beds. I planned what annuals & the colors I want in which beds, etc. After Monday's workout, Tuesday both of us were wiped out. We just enjoyed being home, sitting on the back porch (patio), watching & listening to the birds, and playing with Major.

Thursday we went to visit my relatives on my dad's side of the family in Supply, NC (between Wilmington & Myrtle Beach). We had a great short visit. We did some shopping. I spent some time at an antique store that's operated by a close family friend, & bought a milkglass cake stand. I always have to walk through like three times to see everything and see the neat way she's displayed stuff. She's really talented in that respect and she loves to reuse/repurpose stuff in different ways like I do. I always get tons of ideas from her.

We did make it to the beach for a little while Fri. afternoon, but the wind was so cold!!! My eyes were watering so much I could barely see. We walked for about 20 minutes and just had to leave. We had to come home yesterday, of course it was much warmer and not as windy, but that's the way it goes. Hopefully we'll get to spend more time down there this summer.

Well, it's getting late and I have to get up early and get my brain (and everything else) back in gear! So, goodnight! Hope everyone has a great week!

Little by Little...

I'm excited to blog that I passed the 10 lb marker! I had lost 2.2 lbs this week for a total of 11.6 lbs. Hopefully this coming Wed. I will reach my 5% goal! I know it is small amounts, but I haven't seen these numbers on the scales in YEARS! I hardly knew they were there as the needle blurred by! Thanks for all the support and encouragement from my family, friends (online and offline)! Gotta go, going walking on the beach in a little while-when it warms up a bit! Oh yeah, activity points!!! Everyone have a good day and hope everyone else had a loosing week!

Major is (will be) 1 yr. old!

Tomorrow our puppy Major will be 1 year old! He's registered name is Major Jakie Bear. The "Jakie" is after Alan's Dad, whose is often called Jake by his family. Our first collie was named Prissie after Alan's Mom (if you know Geraldine, you'll understand!), so it was only fair to name Major after J.P., and he owns Major's parents. BTW-he has a couple of new collie pups ready to go to new homes!!

It doesn't seem like it was a year ago Major was so tiny...(Minor?)

He's about 2 wks old in the photo above.

This photo was taken on April 4th.

He's not so tiny now! Now you know why the "Bear" part of his name! He still wants to be a lapdog some days, though. He loves to play with his rope. He slings it, chews it, and chases it. He's pretty good at fetching and bringing it back for us to toss again. He's got his people trained well. His other favorite toy is a plastic flower pot! He will carry it all over the yard, retrieve it when we throw it, and chew it. Then we get a new one so he won't get cut or eat the plastic pieces. He has brought lots of joy & laughter to our lives.

Here is Major with his first flower pot when we brought him home last May!

It took us a couple of years to get another collie after Prissie had to be put to sleep. She was with us for 13 years and was so much company for Alan, especially after he had to stop work due to his back problems. She followed him everywhere around the yard and shop. Major is following in her footsteps in that regard. If he would just stop barking so much!! Prissie only barked if something was wrong or someone came around. Major barks at the birds at the feeder, when he wants to play, while he's playing, when someone or some animal comes into the yard and sometimes just for the heck of it, I think. Hopefully he will soon mature enough not to bark so much. We love the noisy ole boy though!

Happy Birthday Major!

Hi, I'm Sue...

It's been so long since I've blogged, I thought I may need to re-introduce myself.

I haven't really had anything to blog about, and haven't really felt like it. Still coughing and battling sinus issues. Week before last, I had a rheumatoid (sp) arthritis (RA) flare up in my hip & leg and couldn't walk for 2 days. It's frustrating, but I'm so fortunate that the medicine usually keeps it in check. Anyway, I'm much better now. There are so many people with so many more & worse problems than mine.

This week was all about making it until Thurs. at 1:30 when we got out for Spring Break!!! I worked until 4:45 though-nice and quiet-actually got some stuff accomplished.

I was thankful Wed. night at Weight Watchers for a 1 lb loss! (I must be following Kelly's idea of 1 lb/wk). That's a total of 9.4 in two months. Hopefully with losing so slowly it will stay away forever! Hoping for 1-2 lbs loss next Wed. at least to get to 10 lb loss! Due to the RA flare up, I didn't get any extra walking in. I'm working on those Activity Points this week! I did the trim mowing with the push mower today. Hopefully I'll get to do some walking on the beach sometime this week when we visit my dad's side of the family in the Shallotte area. (But my uncle's cooking will push my daily points too! We call him "Emeril").

I was feeling a bit mischievous (imagine that,LOL) yesterday afternoon. My mom can't stand Easter egg trees, so I tease her every year about it. For years I've wanted to decorate one of her trees when she was gone, but haven't been able to work it out. Well, they went to the Maundy Thursday service at their church in Roanoke Rapids last night and I had my eggs ready. I didn't have many, and I wanted to make sure she saw it when they drove up, so I hung them on her gardenia bush at the end of the driveway (forgot the camera). Dad called on their way home and I told him to make sure the headlights hit the bush. We're always doing something to aggravate her. Well, when they drove up, Dad said at first she didn't say anything, then she said "Look at that! That mean daughter of yours has put eggs on my bush!!" 'Course she was laughing. So she called and said she was gonna get my britches when she saw me. I responded as usuall with "My Diddy won't let you!" Well, this morning I rode with Alan to get the trailer & lawnmowers (stored at their house). While he was loading up I went inside to see her. Of course she didn't get me-we had a good laugh. Later, when we took the lawnmowers back, I snuck around and got the eggs off the bush and hung them on her Norfolk Island pine in the back porch. Later she called saying she had found that and I was gonna get it for weighting down her NI pine. Well, I asked it she laughed, of course she had. I told her see I knew she needed a laugh, and was only doing it for her stress relief. She needed a laugh-she had just dumped a lemon chess pie upside down on the oven door as she took it out of the oven! Some days are like that! Anyway, I get my mean streak from her, so she can't say much about it.
Hope everyone has a great Easter!

Catching Up!

Hey everyone! I've been sick since March 12th with the sinus infection CRUD going around. (I haven't seen Shari in weeks, so she didn't get hers from me!). I haven't even been on the computer until today since the 15th. I was too sick to go on our trip to Raleigh on the 13th-Alan went alone and I stayed in the bed or recliner all weekend. We haven't had a chance to even do anything special for my birthday yet. I did go back to work this week, but some days I thought 3:00 would NEVER come. I'm still coughing & taking antibiotics.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes on the 15th! I enjoyed your blogs & photos from Blogger Blast. It sounds like you really had a great time.

I missed Weight Watchers last week, but had lost 2 more lbs last night. That's a total of 8.4 lbs in 7 wks! Not amazing, but let's hope "slow & steady wins the race"! I wasn't sure how I would do this week since while I was sick some days I hardly ate anything, and when I felt like eating, I didn't think much about points. It's kinda good to be back tracking again this week-that feels normal now.

Hope everyone has a great Friday!