Update 8/11/08

I lost another .4 lbs. this week. (Not four pounds, but four-tenths of a pound.) This is pretty good, considering that on my dad's birthday party day I ate almost nothing but party (junk) food. Then on Friday Bruce's mom took us out for lunch and that same evening we had a party/barbecue at a friend's house. And Sunday we had another party at my brother's house. It was a partying week! And I still went down almost half a pound.
The downward trend continues! :-)

[For a swell visual, check out my progress chart at the bottom of the page each week. Monday is "weigh-day."]

Gratitude List

I've turned my Gratitude List on its head: I've put the most recent date at the top of the list, instead of at the bottom. So now you can see the item of the day without scrolling all the way down. :-)
I have no idea why the font-size changed. Weird!

Birthday Party

Last Sunday was my dad's 80th birthday. I remember when I was about seven years old and I had found out that Mom turned 42 that year. One day while my parents were out I was soooo sad about how old they were; I remember crying because they would probably be dying soon. Now at 80 and 78 they really don't seem all that old to me.

Anyway, my mom wanted to do something really nice for Dad's birthday, so she and Melanie and I planned a big open-house/birthday party. I ran around Dad's neighborhood last week delivering invitations to his friends; it was nice to see that a lot of them remembered me (and I remembered them, too) and that they all thought so highly of my parents. Saturday, Melanie and I went shopping for food and party dishes. Sunday night I put my family to work on some of the food-preparation, and on Monday (party day) Melanie and I finished getting the food done. That was a neat trick! Peter, my brother, is moving back into town so he needed help (which my boys provided); Thomas, Melanie's son had just been diagnosed with pneumonia and needed extra attention; and in the middle of everything I had to stop and take Michael to the orthodontist. So the party preparations were a little chaotic; but it all turned out well—it always does. In the afternoon Melanie got balloons; I made a birthday poster with a picture of Dad (at about age 20) and she decorated Mom's house while I frosted the cake. We were just finishing the last-minute stuff as the first guests arrived. It's always a little hectic trying to throw a big party together, but I really enjoy it. Fun, satisfying work!

The food was a big success (I had lots of requests for the toasted almond spread recipe), and everyone at the party seemed to enjoy themselves. I think Dad and Mom had a good time visiting with friends and family who came to wish Dad a happy birthday. And we all enjoyed visiting with our extended family, too. It was a really nice night.

I went down 3.8 pounds this week!

Solitude

view from my back deck in the early morning

I love being the first one up in the morning, before Bruce or any of my kids wake up. Everything is so still and quiet; there's no kids running around, no TV or computer playing, no one needing me for anything. I get some time to sit by myself and actually think—or not have to think. Over the summer I've been getting up early and reading my scriptures on the back deck. The house is hot, even first thing in the morning, but I can enjoy the cool—and the trees and the new sunshine and sometimes a breeze—outside. If I'm lucky I can be up and alone for as long as an hour before the house wakes up. I love my family, but it's not often I get a quiet minute all to myself.

Bruce and I have started walking together in the morning, so I don't get the time all by myself quite so often. (I'm not willing to get up an hour earlier than I do now.) But I love my walks alone with Bruce too—it's not often we get to just talk, uninterrupted.

Soon school will start and put an end to any early-morning solitudes. Then I will have to find the time while the kids are gone. But for now I do enjoy my mornings.