November -- New Month, New Goals, New Me

Today is my brother, Kenneth's, birthday -- I was the first to call him today and that hardly ever happens as two of my other siblings live in the same city with him! We shared life's details and had a few good laughs! This was the photo from TRUNK OR TREAT at Haunting on the Hill -- so very happy to say that my daughter won First Place for her design -- so very, very happy for her!!! Today I am starting, in earnest, my weight loss journey -- going to post photos once a week as I progress! Have to find a suitable outfit that will allow for the actual changes to show and yet not gross out anyone who might happen upon my blog LOL Will be spending these first few days of the month getting the groceries in the house corrected for me to not be sabotaged! Today I begin my annual Thankful dedications: 1 November, I am thankful I can worship a mighty God without fear of harm. On that same vein, thankful that I can be a servant in his garden! Hoping to create one thing every day this month.

Officially RETIRED

I have finally hung up my Government employee hat .... still getting used to the idea but I think I am going to like it. With that said, I intend to be spending more time with my blog and sharing projects, travels, and great food! These are my passions! So, first things first -- we have moved to Clearfield UT and we are loving it. My daughter and her husband are stationed at Hill AFB, just a short 10 minutes from me; Mike's daughter, husband and granddaughter live in Tooele, just a short 40 minutes from us! It is so nice to have family dinners! Getting ready to get my bake on for the day ... watch for pictures later!

My God-Sized Dream Buddies

I have chosen Cathy Dunlap, my cousin, and Shelly Matautia, a BFF, to be my God-sized Dream Buddies! Cathy was chosen because her walk with the Lord is so faithful and she inspires me daily to have a stronger walk. Shelly was chosen because she has been my rock along my ride the last 9 years -- we met as Girl Scout volunteers in Seoul, South Korea. I can truly say without these two ladies in my life, I would definitely be floundering in the fish bowl!

My God-Sized Dream

I would like to spend my retirement working tirelessly rescuing young women and girls from trafficking. I have already begun supporting several NPOs involved in this goal but would like to put hands and feet on this dream.

Happy New Year 2013

Here we are on the 1st day of a brand new year .... I have so much to be thankful for! God saved my life, yet again, when he allowed me to not succumb to an acute myochardial infarction on 21 December and I am so grateful! So, I am making a commitment to lose at least 1 lb per week, exercise at least 30 minutes 5 times per week, and continue to find healthy alternatives to the unhealthy lifestyle I had been living prior to 2009. The doctor said it could have been much worse had we not made changes since then. Here is my first picture of the year:

I will be posting this same photo on a monthly basis .... you will see the changes as they take place this coming year as will I. Here is the side view:

We were so lucky to spend time with both our daughters on this New Years Day ... I am so thankful that the both of them are living within one hour of each other now. Michael and I will be retiring in May of this year. We have purchased a 34' Alpenlite travel trailer and looking forward to spending some time on the road each year visiting family, friends, and seeing new parts of our United States.