more exercise... and spring reflections...

I am doing well with my exercise/walking goals... the elliptical machine that we have makes it easy for me to walk in any weather... and as I think I have mentioned before, for me it is also idea because when I hit my limit I can just get off the machine and be finished... I don't have to still get home from a walk that I over estimated my strength for... like I do if I am walking in the neighborhood and my energy runs out... Also, I still can't walk for any long distances on terra firma, because of the stress that puts on my body at the point of repeated impact... I can simply walk for a much longer time on the elliptical, and up to my limit any given day... so it makes sense to exercise on it... I will admit a little wistfully though, that walking outdoors in the lovely spring weather we have been having would be awfully nice...

I have been enjoying the beauty of our spring in other ways... sitting on the porch with MightyDog and watching some distant clouds roll along the far off mountain ranges... sometimes there was even a little lightening gathered in those mountains and I see natural beauty and wonder of those storms... We have had some unusually gentle rainy days during which I could open the windows and listen to the raindrop as I took care of whatever chore I was in the middle of snug inside our home... It has been a really beautiful spring so far... and my allergies have been almost none existent... for me, a huge blessing... (unfortunately hubby has not been so fortunate... his allergies have been terrible this year...)

So here it is on another glorious spring day I am forever grateful for the simple joy of sharing time with family... I have enjoyed many beautiful days throughout my life and recently... with various groups of family around me... sometimes during the last few months the whole family has been able to gather... other times there has just been one or two family members involved in an activity, but each time I spend time with hubby and/or my children I feel so blessed and happy...

I note that May is almost gone... I can hardly countenance all the memories that have gone by in the past year... last year during this week of May, we were actually on a cruise, in Alaska... celebrating 25 wonderful, happy, years of love and marriage... We had been working very hard to repair and renovate our home and had very recently celebrated the second marriage in less than 5 months, of our beautiful daughter...

This year we are spending large chunks of our budget to pay off medical debts, instead of weddings, home improvements and anniversary fun... but the one thing that stays constant in my life is the joy and love of family, the blessing of a wise and loving Heavenly Father, and gratitude for understanding of what is important... once again thinking in the quiet early morning hours that life is quite GRAND...

less ouch... ugh... and bleh...

...even though I am still recouping from last Saturday...

I would not have given up that day for anything in the world, but it sure took a lot out of me... We will be repeating the same general schedule in mid May with the whole immediate family and many extended family members planning on being at the temple together... I hope I continue to get stronger by then, so I can enjoy the day even more... We always love going to the temple together as a family... and that trip will be extra special next month for a few reasons... We are all definitely looking forward to that day...

I hope we can get some more family photos after, that I can share... it might be our last chance to get everyone "snapped" while in nice clothes before Son2 leaves for boot camp in July... and just maybe we can get some new, great couple/single shots of all the kids, that we can use to update the family picture wall in the living room... Most of those are at least a year old...

In other news I am gathering recipes/ideas and planning a birthday dinner for Son2 in early May... and wishing we could all be together for that... But with work and school schedules... well, that is probably a hopeless dream... I have a few ideas that sound like fun, but Son2 gets to pick the food and he hasn't settled on a menu, so I am not sure what we are eating... gotta' zero in on that... the date is fast approaching.

Hubby and I need a new "long weekend get away~marriage renewal" trip (which we actually don't usually do on a true weekend, because hotel pricing/deals are often better during the week...) We are looking at the end of May or early June for that plan of action. We haven't done anything really special since our anniversary last November because of hubby's accident and then my surgery... But it has been our practice to do something special together once a quarter for a few years now... and we are really hoping to manage an inexpensive get away very soon...

We have had some great times in the last few months while being at home, and just spending time together... Since all the kids are grown it is pretty easy to find time alone... But there is something wonderful and magical about going somewhere and seeing something or some place new... Not to mention we have friends in several cities within a few hours of our home that we haven't seen in ages, and would like to... so we are looking at a lot of options for a 3-4 day mid-week trip.

I'm feeling pretty good these days... I have less pain than I have had for a lot of months, now that I am mostly healed... I don't have much stamina, but when I do feel up to doing things I am mostly able to manage doing them without much pain... a major improvement over last fall and winter... so hurray to that!

Life is good... I am a little slow at times, but good... so to those that have asked about why I have been so quiet lately on the updates... I just haven't had much to say, except that I am doing okay... and, how many different ways can you say that??? (Without sounding totally boring???) Life is good, it's just fine and dandy... but there is nothing much to report... So all you worry warts out there can stop worrying about me... honest...

one of the things...

...that is very good about today's economy is that more and more people are looking to make do with what they have, pass on what they don't need to others that are in need and fix things up that they find available... because suddenly no one had as much "disposable income"... It has been my personal experience over the last 25 years or more to refinish furniture and fix things up or make do... I really like doing it... and I think there is more than just one reason to come to the reality of: "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without"... Something most of our parents or grandparents knew very well... I find it interesting the number of forums, blogs and articles you can look at if you do a search.

The truth is that that people are learning in droves, that there is real and lasting satisfaction and joy in being truly creative and frugal with what you already have. I really have enjoyed watching and reading about a whole new generation (one that really didn't seem to be willing to learn some of these lessons on their own...) live more frugally... The waste in our society, and especially young adults has been out of control, for a long time... to me the "entitled attitude" I have been seeing in so many youth and young adults that live today is not only foreign, it is disgustingly selfish and detrimental to their learning and growing abilities...

It appears that the government is not choosing to learn many lessons from the current economic cycle, they continue to make a lot of the same mistakes they have been making for way too many years... but a lot of my family and friends, my loved ones and the people I think the most of... ARE doing a GREAT job at tightening belts and are actually having a good time learning to do with less and enjoying being a lot more creative with what they have, in the bargain... Personally... in my view that is, as I mentioned only ONE of the blessings of the current economic challenges we as a society face... a second advantage that is gained from this frugality is helping one another... I have seen some really fabulous giving and grateful receiving happening around me...

I have learned over the years of dealing with a debilitating disease that we really don't know how much we can do until we are asked to do it, and then are asked to do more, and more, to give even when we think we have nothing left or are stretched beyond what we thought we could manage... We find out who we really are when the biggest challenges come...

I am happy to say that I know a lot of really fine people that are making the most of their challenges, by happily accepting and growing in amazing ways...