Driveway Work and Bonfire Fun

Fascinating machinery courtesy of a friendly neighbor. My father-in-law is the sort who is on speaking terms with most of his neighbors and trades work with quite a few of them. Imagine the joy of the men folk when an acquaintance with this beauty moved in right next door...

I think Brannon came pretty close to greasing his nose while watching the changing of the buckets lol.

Keeping out of the way...

Tending that bonfire is hard work as illustrated by one red-faced, sooty, dusty little boy.

Yesterday I had to forgo my parking spot to piles of gravel. Today it was all finished, just in time for me to park close with a van full of groceries. I was very relieved to not have to carry all those bags quite so far. :)

Our gorgeous sunset this evening.

The opposite side of the sky...

These bonfires, largely fueled by uprooted stumps (courtesy our friendly neighbor), have been cooking along for about three days now.

Sadly I think my greenhouse/all-purpose shed may have to wait until the house is sided to be finished beyond the frame. Not because it needs the siding, Nate wants to side over the edge of the lean-to. I know I'm not describing that right, but, oh well :) But because the siding is more urgent right now. My dear hubby doesn't want to have to re-plastic the house (can't imagine why lol!) and the stuff (which has lasted an amazing amount of time uncovered) is nearing the end of it's endurance. This just means that it will probably not be done in time for me to start seeds this year, which just means I will have to buy someone else's starts. :-)

I guess I should update on the whole weight loss thing. The point of putting it up here was so I could have some kind of accountability and lots of encouragement:) So, I weighed myself "officially" a few days ago. At mom's house, I don't keep a bathroom scale. With my shoes on, cause I was too lazy to take them off... 189.4. I've walked three times so far this week. Probably only averaging five laps. A far cry from the hour of walking we had worked up to, but it was good to be back at it. This has to be the biggest discouragement of all, working up to the same point in exercising and getting knocked back down over and over. But, our health has been steadily improving over the last year and I expect the good stuff to keep coming!!!

As for eating, I'm doing well with my portions except when I have certain problem foods for a meal. Things I probably shouldn't have in the house anyway--like tater tots, and cheese... I liked today, I didn't have time to snack this afternoon cause I slept like a log (worn out from grocery shopping I guess) then walked with Marci, then the boys and I went out to play in the fires, then it was dishes and dinner... It's when I can't get a nap that I want to eat the most. I guess my body thinks it needs food for energy when it's dragging, and my mind wants the comfort of eating something yummy, etc... So pray for our health and for my nap time binges. And for my cortisol level to finally normalize in the middle of the day. If you didn't know, last summer was the first time I have slept through the night consistently (or at all!) in years. When I was tested my cortisol levels were nighttime normal for the first time in nearly two years of testing. This means that I don't wake up every morning feeling like I haven't slept in a week. This is a very good thing. I still panic a little if I go a couple of nights in a row with trouble sleeping. I love my sleep and am so happy to have it back!!! :-) My morning levels of cortisol were normal first thing and other hormones that were crazy high before were almost normal (again, for the first time in almost two years of dieting, supplements, and getting tested) This is very exciting to see real measurable progress at last! I didn't get tested last fall and I want to get tested again in the next couple months. I haven't been able to do all my supplements and stuff because we've been getting the boys some much needed dental work. I've kept up the midday DGL which is to help raise my cortisol, but that's it. I'm still hoping for some good progress:)

So, that's a little bit of how I'm doing. Thanks for listening and praying. Blessings to all you guys. :)