Back at it Day 4 - Made the time

Another beautiful day!

The wind is a nice change. It is a little hazy and cooler too.

"There is a muscular energy in sunlight 

corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind."

 ~Annie Dillard

The next step to ultimate health...

THE DENTIST! As a kid it did not seem to phase me, I do remember asking a lot of questions and being very concerned about what they docs were doing but do not remember the anxiety that I feel now.

Uggg, in my adult life I guess I allow myself to get inside my own head when it comes to the dentist. I have a hard time taking my daughter, who is also quiet scared of the venture. While on the outside I am calm and telling her it is going to be alright, I am freaking out on the inside.

It is those lights, machines and the drills that bother me. The noise is NO FUN! That is why I have left this aspect of my health for last. In two weeks I will be going to the dentist for the first time in 18 years, yes, 18 years! Since it has been so long I will be undergoing a full assessment with X-rays and all. I know I have a couple of cavities because I can see them and feel them, but thought an assessment would be a good start. I must also add that I have scheduled and canceled this said appointment twice partially because of funds but mostly due to fear. I have no choice at this point as the cavities are starting to hurt and must be dealt with before they become a bigger problem.

So until the 21st my life will consist of salt water rinses and Ibuprofen. That is what I get for not being responsible and going to the dentist!

I am silently freaking out! But I know that if my daughter can do it then so can I!

I found me!

What I found out was that I do not give into things easily, I am stubborn and I am strong. When I was a kid, these attributes were not very much appreciated, but they are serving me well now, LOL ☠

I have been walking a little here and there and taking pictures everywhere...I think this is my "thing", my "make me happy", my "passion". I feel whole when I am in nature with my camera and dog. 

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  What you'll discover will be wonderful.  What you'll discover is yourself."  ~Alan Alda

Here are the latest pictures from my walks...

The view from my Mom's front yard, she also have a walking trail right outside her house!

 

The view from my Mom's front yard, but on a different day.

Me and Pup enjoying the sun on Summer Solstice ☼

I am pretty sure Pup and I are not supposed to be here, but so glad we are! ☮

Love this shot, this is one of the moments where I feel whole. ☯

Me and the sun, it is a beautiful thing :)

Anyone know what this is? It is a cool plant? It has flowers in the Spring that turn to these sticker things in the Summer.

Well that is all we have for now folks! Thanks for reading, love and light! 

 

Getting back at it and it feels real good!

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, 

change the way you think about it."  ~Mary Engelbreit

The past two weeks have been filled with pure chaos! It has been hard to schedule in our daily walks with all the catch up that has been played after taking that time off to recoup. I am back at it though! At least every other day we are out walking or being active. AND of course I took pictures for proof ;)

The past few weeks I have been pondering why it is so easy for me to get off track with changes that I start in my personal life. I have come to the conclusion that I have a weird relationship with change. As most people do, I fear it yet need it.

I had a boss tell me once that I feared change, I did not agree as the context it was given in was work related and I have always had the attitude of "if it is not broken why fix it". Her statement stuck with me though, for this time in my life when I needed it.

Now, more than ever I need change. In order for me and my family to move forward we need to tweak a few things. Today, change is encouraged. My perception of change has a lot to do with it, too. If I look at our daily walks as a chore or something that has to be done...I do not want to do it (unfortunately, this is a personality trait). If I look at it as a tool to help me change in the other areas I hope to change then it gets done and it is enjoyable. I swear, humans are their own enemy. While free will was gifted for the good in us, we can sure turn it around and use it against ourselves and others.

Here are a couple of quotes I found on change that help, hopefully they help you too! The last one is a reminder that we do not know what life holds for us once we do change but the results are usually for our benefit. Especially with those positive changes we make.

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."  ~Anatole France

"You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler."  ~Denis Waitley

"Change always comes bearing gifts."  ~Price Pritchett

Now for the photography...

We see this waterfall on a trail that we take usually when we are all together...love me some family walks!

Pup, on the trail we usually take

Yep, still seeing hearts...they are not as frequent as before but they are there. All you have to do is look :)

It was a cold morning walk on Litton Trail with my Mama...

We saw this HUGE mushroom. Anyone know what it is?

Always beautiful at the Empire Mine Trails!

A bee, I like to see these!

Nothing but blue skies and Pine Trees...love Empire Mine Trails!

The wildflowers are in full bloom!

I had some company on this day!

Poppy likes it when Alyssa rides her bike...it gives her an excuse to run fast and not listen ;)

Love this goof!

If I was a bird, I would spend a lot of time in this tree.

This makes me think of the past, not sure why...nothing specific, just "the past".

The Great Oaks...as I call them. They are just gorgeous right now!

Love it! Big. bold. Green. Fresh.

This was not taken on a walk...I stopped on Ridge Road one day before my daughter got out of school. This reminds me of my brother, his favorite flower is Lupine.

Love this pic...nothing better then blue skies, wildflower fields and evergreen trees!

So this is what I have captured the past few weeks. The next few coming up I have to work on not allowing distractions and my own perspective get in my way.

Love and light friends...thanks for reading ;)

Wise words, walks and more hearts...oh my!

I missed Friday's walk because of time constraints and work load. I am fine with that because we got a good walk in on the others days. I still feel like I need to step it up a bit and will be fitting in Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout again sometime this coming week.

I have not been on a scale since my last doctors appointment but I can feel my bottom and waist are getting thinner. I have not changed the amount that I eat, just the choices that I make. I will admit that the two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies I bought on Friday are almost gone ;) I can reassure you that on my plate at dinner you now see more salad then meat and barely any bread. Early day meal choices consist of fruit, leftovers, lettuce wraps and Cheerios with local honey added.

I have even better news; seems that my family is following my example. My hubby has been walking a little with his cousin and my daughter has been doing extra exercises in her room after school (crunches, squats, leg lifts, etc). Part of this journey was to make a healthier life for them as well.

Here are some exercise quotes to help get the motivation juices flowing...

“My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the heck she is.” ~ Ellen DeGeneres

 “All truly great thoughts are conceived while walking.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols

“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

And here is one that will get me going today...


“Get comfortable with being uncomfortable!”~ Jillian Michaels

Nobody likes to be taken out of their comfort zone, yet it seems that true growth (personal, mental, physical, spiritual, any growth) happens just outside that area.

Thursday was busy so Pup and I left 20 minutes earlier than we normally would to pick up my daughter from school. On Rough and Ready Highway by Twin Cities Church there is a walking trail and we just walked back and forth on that a few times until we had no time left.

I love exploring new trails, you never know what you might find!

Always nice on Litton Trails!

Of course! It would not be a normal day without seeing at least one heart!

My daughter is starting to see them in objects too. She found one side to a heart, the silly thing is my Mom found the other side the other day and kept it. Now, my daughter has a full heart to share tomorrow at school.

This will be part of a project. My daughters hands and heart are full of love!

Well, today is Sunday. I know that there will be a walk today; when is the real question. I guess it will happen when and where it happens. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! Until next time, I be walking!

Love and light my friends, thanks for reading!

We needed this!

Just me, Pup and woods...nothing but forest ♥

I really pushed myself today. So hard I found my self grunting and moaning and screaming! My dog is such an inspiration for me, I sware!

We took the big hill at the end of the walk today, rather than at the begining. Holy cow, I felt the burn and it felt good ;)

In the beginning of the hill I could not get Pup to slow down and go my pace. She was a consistent 8 feet ahead of me until she reached the top and stopped. I think that she knew I was gonna leash her and have her help me up the hill, smarty pants! Towards the end she decided to come down and leash up. She guided me the rest of the way and made me push myself as I did not want to tug her to hard; hence the screaming at the top of the hill, I thought I was gonna keel over.

When we got home I got caught up on all of the tummy exercises for Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of  Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout. My lower back is popping and tender on some of them, but I am hoping that will all change as weight is lost.

I made an appointment to get the heart monitor put on next week. I am nervous, but hopeful that all I need to do is get healthier and that there is nothing wrong. Time shall tell...

Love and light and thank you so much for reading! I want you to know I appreciate it!

Playing catch up and there is talk of a Giveaway...

OK, I'll admit it, I have been slackin'. Only because of time and responsibilities. All I want and need is a good non rushed, with no interruptions walk. Today, that will become reality.

Saturday - My daughter was chosen to be Star of the Week in her class. She is very excited, so excited that we had to take family photos with pup in order to make her poster complete. Exercise came in the form of my family and I wondering around the forest looking for places to pose. Very low impact physically, spiritually the impact was astronomical!

The Herbert's

Sunday - Superbowl Sunday! It is too bad that the 49ers did not win. I do not watch football until near the end of the season AND I can tell you that the ref made bad calls in the end. I do not know if the Niners would have had a chance anyway due to their rocky start but they sure did make a come back in the second half. Hey, did you know that Beyonce is part of the Illuminati? That the game was fixed along with the power outage? I heard all of that too, whether it is all true or not, only the Universe knows!

I did not walk today. My family went to a Super Bowl Party and I used the quiet time to catch up on some work. I have not done any of Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout, but I am going to pick up where I left off soon.

Monday - In the class with my daughter and her friends today. The kids seemed happy and the boys were all wrapped up in Superbowl talk. So cute!

I took a sunset walk with pup in a new location. This location is a place where I take sunset photos often. My pup is not used to the place and she did not like it. Pup gets very anxious on concrete and around cars; if there is a lot of both she freaks and is a nightmare to handle the whole time. This time it was not that bad since the concrete and cars were minimal but she still pulled me to the dirt/wooded area. Once we got there she calmed down. My pup is a lot like me in that respect; the more trees and dirt, the better! Still slacking on Dr. Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout.

I DID play Just Dance on the Wii with my daughter; I am going to classify that as a workout!

Sunsets amaze me because they change so much and so rapidly during their existence. We started walking and there were many clouds, I thought that there might not be a sunset after all....

...but then the clouds passed...

...changing the sky and created colors that only God could make.

Oh...and if you were wondering if I still saw hearts; yes, I am still seeing hearts. I am still seeing them in nature but now starting to see them in everyday objects; like this $5 bill. This is a bill that I received as change for my daughter's dance tuition. She just started and I have been wondering if we started her at the right studio. After seeing this, I instantly knew this was the place for her ♥

So, today is Tuesday and I am about to leave and take a long walk with my dog...with no interruptions and nothing but us and nature. Perhaps after I will catch up on Oz's 7 Day Belly Workout. I don't, you will have to check back later to find out.

Are you ready for a Giveaway? One might be coming soon...you will have to check back to find that out too ;) Aren't I a stinker?