Road Trip Review - 2014 Edition - Month 6

Julie and I are now more than half way through this challenge.

I'm still wavering, but how about we don't re-count all that crap, let's just look at the numbers, the pictures and get on with it.

The Facts:

• First Pit Stop of the journey is Crowley State Park, Arkansas - 1399 km
• Next stop and final destination is Devil's Den State Park, Arkansas - 325 km
• Total of 1724 km
• 5.70 km a day, 40.95 km a week and 172.40 km a month
• We have 10 months to complete the journey, from January 1 - October 31
• Our daily, everyday walking counts, but only up to half of our required distance - 2.85 km
• Each 30 minutes of non-walking/running exercise counts as 0.50 km, up to 3.20 km of our total

The Road So Far:

Month 1 - January

- total walked: 197.53 km

- total eligible: 174.22 km

  ( + 1.82 over)

Month 2 - February

- total walked: 180.13 km
- total eligible: 160.05 km
  (- 12.35 behind)

Month 3 - March

- total walked: 242.54 km
- total eligible: 201.23 km
  (+ 33.22 over )

Month 4 - April

- total walked: 176.30 km
- total eligible: 141.75 km
  (-27.91 behind)

Month 5 - May

- total walked: 204.43 km
- total eligible: 165.64
  (-10.97 behind)

Month 6 - June

- total walked: 182.40 km
- total eligible: 136.42.64
  (-34.58 behind)

GRAND TOTALS:
- total walked: 1183.39 km
- total eligible: 979.31 km
  (-50.77 km behind)

So, I have wound up in the woods, just outside the campus of Vincennes University in Indiana.

And my fabulous wall map?

Garden Update # 2

It's amazing how fast things come along in the garden.  Just a quick little update for tonight.

We are now eating more than just lettuce!

This is our first cucumber and there is another ready for tomorrow.  Hayden is a HUGE cucumber eater and this one lasted about a day.  I did sample it too, pretty good!

As for the carrots, Hayden wanted to pick one to see how they were coming along and about 12 came out together.  I will pick some for dinner tomorrow though.

Rant Time

It's my blog and I'll rant if I want to!

Now that you have been warned, I am going to rant about one of my many pet peeves.

I see this on Facebook quite often and it drives me crazy.  What is it you ask?

It's the term FML

Do you know what that means?  It means F**k my life!  I should add it took me forever to figure it out....it's not a thought process that crosses my mind, nor language I use often.  I had so many other ideas first

Seriously, if someone had told me when I first saw this acronym that it stood for this, I would have believed it!

Anyway, this rant came about because one of my best friends, challenged me to 5 days of gratitude, where I have to post on Facebook 3 things everyday I am thankful for.  It's not the first time I have done an exercise in gratitude and I think everyone should do it at least once in your life.  It's eye opening and humbling.

Anyway, I see people use this a lot and it bugs me.  We are a society of privilege and wealth.  We have food in our bellies, roofs over our heads, free healthcare, etc.  I mean, I get it....they are trying to say they are having a crappy day and things didn't work out like they planned, they don't really mean their whole life has gone in the crapper...but that IS what they are saying.  Your life could always be worse, even if it doesn't  seem like it at the moment.  Your child is sick and you need to take them to the hospital on a weekend?  Lucky you...you can do that!  You don't have to worry about how you are going to pay for that visit or have to decide if they are THAT sick or can wait a couple of more days until you can take them to your own doctor.  A FML moment should be "oh the sweat shop I work in just blew up, now where am I going to work to bring home my $12 a day?"  Even that situation could be worse...you could have died in that incident.

A little extreme of an example perhaps, but you get my point.  Perhaps a more appropriate term would be  FTD (F**k this day)

So, if you are one of the people who uses this term, please re-consider...start your own lesson in gratitude and for the next 5 days, right down 3 things you are thankful for.

Garden Update

I know it hasn't been that long since I did my post about the garden, but it has changed SO much.  A burst of warm weather and rain is what it needed.   Let's have a quick looksi-poo:

Tomato plants....most have flowers now

Better picture of the tomatoes

Green pepper plants...they have flowers now too

Carrots in the front, tomatoes in the back

Romaine Lettuce

Onions

Potatoes are flowering

English cucumbers
 (this was taken Wednesday, they have at least doubled in size by now)

Flowering cantaloupe

Carrots

Lettuce

My helper holding the lettuce we picked for supper

Carrots are coming along nicely!

Non-Scale Victory - # 21

It has been a crazy long time since I have participated in this link up...way back in March actually!

That's roughly the same time I fell off the wagon, got trampled on by the horses pulling it and landing their pile of crap!  That really is the perfect description to sum up the last few months for me.

But, it's a new month....I've picked myself up, found a stream to wash in and jumped on a new ride!  This new wagon has higher sides, so hopefully I won't fall off so easily.

Getting back to it is a victory in of itself.  However, my victory for this week is that I managed to plan and pack a semi-healthy lunch.

Lunch is my nemesis.  I hate it...not the eating it part necessarily, but the making it and planning it.  I am not a typical lunch food kind of person.  I don't care for sandwiches unless they are made fresh and I wouldn't eat anytime of healthy salad to save my life.

Today's was a compromise and I brought out the big lunch dish again.

Today's lunch includes some ham and turkey...red pepper and cucumber, dip, cheese strawberries, cottage cheese, yogurt and 2 marshmallows.  Ever since I was pregnant with my daughter...I find I need something sweet after each meal.  I picked marshmallows because I had them in the cupboard and they are 25 calories each.

Come join the link up and share what you are proud of this week!

The Garden

For the past 3 years or so, instead of flowers in our front flower beds, we have planted veggies and each year we plant a bit more.

It never occurred to me to plant a garden.  We are not much on veggies, plus my parents just live around the corner and have a large garden that they were happy to share.  But let me tell you, there is something nice about going out your front door for fresh produce.

I always planted a tomato plant for myself for a sandwich, but that was about it.

Last year was our biggest year to date...we planted about 6 tomato plants, green peppers, lettuce and potatoes.

This year...we expanded!

Front and centre....Carrots and lettuce

Wispy bit at the far right - garlic
4 green pepper plants

close up of carrots

Lettuce and Onions

Potatoes and the tall plants at the back are sunflowers

plants at the wheel is cucumber

the other side has cantaloupe

View of the garden at the front of the house

smaller garden in the front with cucumber, cantaloupe and more tomato plants
Yes!  We have a cannon

few more tomato plants

In part this post is to show just how well I grow veggies, but my main point is to show you that even if you don't have a large space, you can have a garden.  Do you have lovely flower beds you plant every year?  Swap them out for veggies next year.  Your gardens will still look lush and full, but you will profit off of it later.  I bought all of the veggies (except potatoes) already started and the total cost was $24.00.  That is a HUGE savings, also if you take into account that the tomatoes get turned into spaghetti sauce.    Oh and fresh tastes better....it really really does!  Lot of work you say?  I don't think so.  There is some weeding, but if you stay of top of it, it won't overwhelm you (or you can find a hubby like mine that does the work), and I water mine when I remember.

How does YOUR garden grow?

I'm Ready!

For the past 3 months, I have floundered....bounced around in weight and motivation.  I wound up on the losing scale of things.

My last weight in was 247.00 lbs.  Alone in the past 2 weeks, I gained 6.50 lbs.  I did that because I ate whatever crap passed by and reacquainted myself with the ass marks in the lazy boy.  I kept saying "tomorrow" and then out came the chocolate bunny from Easter or the extra cupcake, etc.

I woke up today, not really remembering I wanted to make a difference.  I was up about an hour before I needed to be and actually told myself I was just going to go back to bed for half an hour.  Then I decided I would use this quiet time at home to write my blog and have a couple of poached eggs for breakfast.

See....I have missed you guys!  I'm sure I've lost a few readers and that is my fault.  I miss blogging too.  I think I do need to re-evaluate the blogs I follow and cut back just to keep it realistic for myself.  I need to do better at commenting on other blogs too.  I have been reading them, but not unlike everything else, say I will come back and comment later...and well....we know how THAT has been working for me!

So, I'm back...back to saying no to ice cream, walking my butt off and counting calories.  Be prepared for an influx of blog posts too, as I catch you up on my life for the past few months!