WEIGH IN 7-13-20

165/172/135

Well, I managed to gain while Bob was home. Went back up to 175. I've lost three pounds since he left on Friday. 

I've gone back to lean meats (I've only eaten beef once) and lots of veggies.

As a result my sugar (which had gotten dangerously high) was also down. I knew getting the weight in check would make that number better as well - mostly because of what I eat when I'm not cooking for Bob.

I'm pretty sure I've said before, Bob does not like vegetables. He will eat canned peas (ewww!), green beens and french style green beans with cheese sauce. 

Me, I eat just about any vegetable except parsnips/ rutebega. There are a couple of others. I only eat brussel sprouts the way my daughter fixes them. I've tried fixing them her way and they just don't turn out the same.

I'm happy with peppers/ onions/ broccoli/ rice cauliflower and the other veggies Bob will eat, though I prefer my green peas fresh or frozen. 

With him gone, I'm back in the office full-time. My wrist is telling me about it this  morning as I've written 9 blog posts. Tomorrow I'll see if I can knock out the rest for the week.

For now, a recliner and my kindle call my name. I have a book review due on Wednesday. 

Post will become more regular as I've mapped out the entire quarter. Cross your fingers nothing jumps in front of my productive train!

Whatever you're up to, remember to...

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 6-1-20

165/171/135

Bob has been gone two weeks (this Wednesday). When we did our weigh in, I was at 175. So technically, I am down four pounds! yowsers

I know a lot has to do with eating more vegetables. I get away from my stir-fry meals when he is home. He does not eat vegies unless it's green beans, canned peas or french style green beans with cheese sauce.  However, he does like chinese mixed vegetables. With that in mind, I'm going to include stir-fry as a dinner at least once a week when he is home.

Bob's challenge is portion control. He just has no concept, regardless as many times as I try to show him. 

My plan for this week is to get a handle on what we have in the two freezers and plan meals for when Bob comes home. I've decided instead of fixing meals and we filling our plates, I'm going to prepare meals according to  our plates. Maybe that will help Bob. We'll see.

Quick recap on last week. I've discovered I was one of thousands in MO that got that 'denied unemployment letter' Apparently, there was an issue in Unemployment database. That said, I still don't now all the details. I spent three hours on hold each of the four work-days last week without getting through. In fact, I would be kicked off exactly at the 3-hour mark.

I'm getting work out of the way then I'll focus on security while still trying to get through to them. 

Do you use LIfelock or something similar? If so, I'd love to hear your opinion/ recommendation.

How are you doing through this whole mess?

Whatever crosses your path, find something positive and as always...

Enjoy the Journey

~Kelly

WEIGH IN - 5-4-20

165/171/135

Good morning, Everyone!

While the office isn't anywhere near done (I'll explain in a moment), I am back to work this week.

I'm not going full-force this week as things are still a bit of a jumble here. 

Bob came home on Thursday and we just sort of chilled. Then his best friend since grade school arrived on Friday. We're not sure how long he is staying but that's okay. Kevin helped us move in almost 13 years ago and this is the first time he's been back. So most of my time has been spent cooking & doing dishes.. (okay, and doing a lot of nothing LOL)

Speaking of eating, remember Bob didn't think he'd lose any weight - in fact he thought he'd gain.

We each lost two pounds so we're splitting the $100 LOL $50 is better than nothing, right?

I have a few photos on my phone for Recipe Wednesday blogposts. Not promising they'll get pulled for this week, but next week for sure. I need to try and focus on putting the office back together. For the time being we've been eating at the table either in the gazebo or the table on the front deck. Should the inclement weather continue, we will need the dining room table. That's my first focus for today.

Bob is awake and ready for coffee.

I'll try to get this on track this week but don't expect miracles as I work really hard to move stuff back into the office.

Be safe as you venture out.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 4-20-20

169-171-135

After two days of stomach issues I left coffee off my morning routine for a couple of days. Tasted good on Saturday but I still only drank a half of a cup.

Is eliminating the coffee part of the reason for my loss? Who knows. I do know I'm going to try and avoid coffee through the week whenever possible and just enjoy the 'treat' on the weekends. I'm not saying that is going to happen.. jsut that I'm going to try. :-)

I ventured out on Friday to pay some bills and pick up a few things. While I was out I thought I'd swing by my favorite coffee hang-out to see if they were doing take-out orders. To my huge disappointment, I found them CLOSED... not just for the shut-down but 'number disconnected, boxes full of stuff around the room' closed! Oh no!!!

I know this shut-down is affecting a lot of small businesses. I never thought Higher Grounds in West Plains would be one of them. 

Felicia has always had a good flow through there. She has carried my books in her cafe. My first book, Somewhere Down the Line, was written in her establishment when it was Heroe's Coffee. I'd hoped to offer her hard copies of that book later this summer when I get my rights back. 

I know Felicia works with the Boys & Girls Club so when this whole #SIP is over with, I can track her down and find out what's what. 

Now, I've lied to Fox News.

A few weeks ago they posted on twitter what did we want to do when this whol thing was lifted. I posted I wanted to spend an entire day in my favorite coffee house and work on my book. 

Hmmmm Sorry FoxNews... guess you can add me to the rest of the #FakeNews

I hope you are all safe and getting through this with a level head. 

Enjoy the Journey - this part can't last forever.

WEIGH IN 3-9

165/171/135

I do love that number! While I still have a long way to go, I'm getting closer to where I started last fall. 

Bob is giving me a run for my  money... literally. Because he isn't hungry when he first gets up at night, he's been taking a protein shake up to the wheel house with him to drink before he has his coffee. He has his eye on that $100.  Well, so do I. :-)

This week will be a challenge but I'm going to try and stay on course.

My sister is coming up on Wednesday. We're going to spend four full days crafting and eating. LOL 

I have a menu plan and we're only eating out one day. The rest of the time we're all about crafting. I'm doing simple meals we can pick at and her only 'sweet' request is a sour cream raisin pie. something we both dearly love but seldom eat. I'm going to try making a partial recipe and do individual pies. I have the cutest little ceramic pie pans just perfect for this. 

I worked yesterday to get posts set up for the week so I wouldn't drop a day this week. I don't want to do anything but spend time with my sister and craft.  But if I do miss a day, know time with her is more important but that I will be back. 

Whatever you are doing...

Enjooy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 3-2-20

165/172/135

I have to say, losing that pound was not a fun journey. A bit of background

Image courtesy of Pixabay

To an extent I am lactose intolerant, but they come in flare-ups. 

When I was a teenager we received state commodoties. We were given #5 blocks of American cheese, large boxes of powdered milk among other things. I loved milk and went through a period about then when I drank A LOT.. sometimes consuming almost a gallon a day myself. As a result, I wound up in the hospital with what they termed a 'milk induced ulcer'. This was in the late 1970s. From that point on I had to regulate how much milk I drank. I limited myself to milk with my cereal and one carton at school. Slowly, the symptoms subsided.

Over the years, I'd have flare-ups. These came primarily with attempting to eat yogurt, when the yogurt/ health food craze began in the late 80s and early 90s. 

Image courtesy of Pixabay

Milkshakes were something I rarely drank.  Then came my fluffy coffee.

I did fine for a very long time - years before flare-ups returned. The most recents began about three years ago. I recognized the symptoms but credited them to lactose intolerance. 

Here's the difference. Lactose intolerance doesn't cause burning of the stomach (as far as I've been able to find). That's the ulcer.

I haven't had issues in over a year, after giving up dairy for the most part.

Then this week I got hit in a big way. My stomach burned and became hard as a rock. Twice I went to bed with my herbal heat pack and a body pillow, begging the cat not to lay on top of me. What did I find?  

That if I left the dairy alone, I'm fine. yesterday was a mild case - because I'd eaten spinach quiche. I hate throwing out food and I thought I'd eat the piece I'd thawed out. I thought with the milk being cooked, I'd be okay. Not such a good idea.

These attacks really limit my productivity. I can't afford to have down time. I'm not stressed about what I need to get done (well, maybe with the book deadline hanging over my head). I can handle everything else. I take them one bite at a time. 

Yesterday I began a no-dairy policy. I'm eating stirfry meals as well as any protein that doesn't moo, cluck or oink. 

Thankfully, I can still have my fluffy. The mix is made with non-dairy creamer. I just can't add any Butter Pecan Boost, French Vanilla Creamer or Whipped topping. I'm okay with that as long as I'm able to get stuff done.

Sorry, I missed Air Fryer Friday last week. I had pictures on my phone. I was just focused on getting back into routine after Bob having left on Tuesday that I just spaced them until it was later in the day. If you'll check the panel to the right you'll see I'm going to be alternating weeks with some posts. Air Fryer Friday will alternate with somethng else.  This gives me time to build up a rotation of the air fryer recipes.

Is there anything you love that you've had to eliminate from your diet? Share your story.  Let's 

Enjoy the Journey -

together!

WEIGH IN 2-17-2020

162/ 171/135

In spite of spending three days in the city and eating copius amounts of crab legs, I managed to drop 2 pounds!

I will admit to being a pig when it comes to crab legs. I LOVE them. Crab legs are probably  my #1 go to food... lobster and shrimp follow closs in line. 

Whenever we take the opportunity to go to the city, we try to arrange to be overnight on a Thursday so we can go to Hemmingways.

Hemmingways Blue Water Cafe is on the 4th floor of Bass Pro in Springfield, MO. They have a really good buffet dinner during the week, lunch/ dinner on the weekends and a great  menu to order from as well. My night is Thursdays. For about $15 above the price of the buffet (so about $38) you get a bottomless bucket of crab legs. If you have a really good waitress, she'll put a refill in order about the time you're pulling the last leg rack from your bucket and the fresh legs arrive in quick minutes. The shells are not soft. They crack easily and removing full lengths of meat from the shell is an easy task... especially if you go prepared as I do. 

Those crab crackers they provide are useless, in my opinion. I take a cloth pencil case that holds a pair of kitchen sheers (that have claw crackers in the handle) and a seafood fork (4-pack @ $Tree)

We won't discuss how many I ate, but let's just say I didn't eat anything off the regular buffet. Serious? I can eat that stuff any time but crab legs only come around on Thursdays!

My question for this week... 

When it comes to food, what is your guilty pleasure?

Enjoy the Journey

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 1-27-20

162/172/135

Quick post this morning

Another pound down!  Now if I can just drop 1 more before Bob and I weigh in on the 13th :-) I'd rather have 2 but you know.. I'll take the 1.

My sugar numbers are reflecting the weight loss. I know if the weight went down so would the glucose. 

But here's something odd. Carbs don't seem to be affecting my morning number. doesn't matter if I have cinnaon raisin toast or a bowl of coco wheats, my numbers will be lower in the morning. I am trying to make sure I eat late so that the carbs continue to burn through the night.

Today is all about my favorite Chinese buffet and I'm really craving a cheese burger.

Speaking of, I tried the no meat burgers from Burger King. They're pretty good but I'm going to research what they are acutally made of before I eat another one. I'll try to remember to post those results on Wednesday.

How are you doing on your path? comment below and let us 

Enjoy the Journey... together!

~Kelly

WEIGH IN 11-4-19

162-172-135

YAY!!!

Do you know what I think was the key?  Well, two things.

I stopped drinking my cup of fluffy during the week. I did have one on Thursday for Halloween.

The other thing was making sure I was adding dark vegetables.

If I went to Chinese, I focused on sea food and the Mongolian stir-fry with fresh vegeatbles such as broccoli, onion, green peppers.

At home, I did a lot of my own stir fry.  I love them! They're quick, easy to prepare and very filling.

My numbers are a bit elevated this morning but I'm working on them.

One thing I'm focusing on this week is to pay attention to what foods may trigger spikes. 

I have gotten away from keeping my food journal. I kept one the first 6 months and things went really well. I got away from that when the girls were here so I need to get back on that train.

Since I need to grocery shop tomorrow, I'm going to look at what I have on hand then fill in gaps. 

What are you plans for the week? Do you have a spot that gives you issues? Something you just can't seem to get on the motivational train? If I can help, give me a shout. I'll do the leg work and pass on the information.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 2-25-19

165/160/135

Can you see the big smile on my face? I have FINALLY dropped off a plateau of  back and forth numbers.  

On the other side of that smile is the fact that Bob came home yesterday. At first, he didn't think the weight loss challenge was fair anymore because I've had to change my eating habits. Well... guess who won the $100

He lost SEVEN pounds! 

He was a very surprised and happy man. Apparently, the alternate pilot/ captain on the boat buys stuff for actual meals as opposed to the quick fix stuff (high in calorie/ salt/ fat) that Bob normally buys. Though with Calvin there is usually at least 1 trip to Popeyes a week. LOL

Bob told me to cook the way I have been. I'll just have to adjust the vegetable thing for him and watch the carbs for him. He also doesn't do well with buffets (he has not control at buffets. .. that 'gotta get my money's worth' mind set).  I do well at buffets because I do have control but like being able to pick and choose the healthier options rather than paying for things on a meal that I can't eat. 

Aside from the weight-loss, I am noticing other positives. The muscles in my biceps don't hurt like they were. I still have problems fully extending my left arm as well as reaching behind me (like to find a sleeve in a jacket) with my right. I'm hoping these issues will continue to improve.  

I've also been really racking up steps. I crossed the 12,000 steps two days this week as well as 13,000 one day. Proof that crafting does NOT have to be a sedentary lifestyle. 

Find something you love and MOVE! Your body will thank you.

Whatever you choose to do...

Enjoy the Journey! 

WEIGH IN 2-18-19

165/162/135

Yay! I'm eating enough green stuff to qualify for Cadbury Bunny tryouts! But I'm enjoying the food variety, eating foods I used to love but stopped eating to prevent from cooking two meals. 

Bob does not eat vegetables. Well, green beans/ french style green beans with cheese sauce/ canned sweet peas. He doesn't eat corn much any more because as we get older, that becomes harder on our colon since corn does not break down. That used to be the only vegetable he would eat when we first met. He's getting better.

I wore my stepper almost every day last week. I averaged around 6,000 steps with one day topping the 11,000 step mark! Organizing/ cleaning is fabulous for racking up the steps. Today should be another of those days. 

Here's to a fabulous week, Enjoying the Journey!

WEIGH IN 8-27-18

175/ 166/ 135

Thursday morning when Bob and I did our weigh in, I was 167... had been the entire month he was home. This morning I was pleased to see a pound gone already. Now if I could just lose at least one more per week the entire time he's gone, I'd be looking at 162!  That would be just short of amazing.

The scale is reflecting that I'm back on my eating schedule. No full course meals. Mostly proteins. I want to add in more fish. (those raw jumbo shrimp in the freezer are calling my name!) But I'm thinking mackerel patties. I haven't had those in ages. Bob doesn't care for them. He's not big on fish in general. So maybe after I get past the spaghetti tomorrow, that will be next on the menu.

I've also been lax in taking my vitamins so I plan to re-integrate those tomorrow. Still too hot to do  much outside so probably not a lot of steps in my future after tomorrow. I did get in 11,000 steps last Wednesday. Can you tell I did laundry that day? LOL

So here's to a fresh, full week, alone to do my own thing and see if I can drop another pound.

What's on your plate for this week? Whatever you have planned, Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN - 7-16-18

175/166/135

Do you see that middle number? YaYaYa! Finally off that shelf. Now if I can just drop one more before Bob comes home sometime next week (if not this weekend). 

It's been a really long week. I didn't make it to the Gazelle because I was putting in so many steps elsewhere that most nights I went to bed with my legs screaming at me. This week is probably going to be a repeat but I am going to try and pace myself so the legs are not quite as vocal when I go to bed. I really do prefer sleep.

Speaking of.. I turned out the light last night at 10 p.m. Well actually, at 9 because I was dozing off during my recording of the British Baking Competition. As soon as I turned out the light, I was awake so I turned the TV back on and finished watching the show. There are some amazing talents on there. The challenges they provide are very hard, and get increasingly difficult with each week. Though I found it hard to believe last night that so many of them fought with pastry. Pastry is not difficult to make yet only one member managed to meet the technical challenge - barely. 

I miss my days of baking competitions at county fairs. For several years I participated in up to five different fairs per season. I earned decent prize money which paid for my trips to the Ozark Creative Writers conference. I've looked over the local fair book and may enter next year. We'll see.

Later this week, I'm going to be talking about a big box store, their route to invasion of privacy and my attempt to not step foot in their store again. We'll see how that will work out. 

In the mean time, I encourage you to do what you love and Enjoy the Journey!

TEMPORARY HIATUS!

THIS WEEK ONLY!

Every time I tried to work this week something has gone wrong - and it's only Tuesday!

Seems like every time I sit down to dive in the deep end and get stuff caught up, 

Life Happens!

I try to keep this consistent but this isn't my paying job.

I blog here because I want to share my struggle with weight loss, various health issues and just every day life.

With things already getting in the way

~like a power outage yesterday and unexpected computer updates today ~

I'm not going to stress about getting stuff up at all this week.

I have some ideas for posts.

Rather than stressing about getting them up on time - daily

Instead, I'm going to lay the ground work for scheduled posts NEXT WEEK.

Then next week I can get the posts up for the week after that... and so on.

I can tell you I weighed in at 166 Monday morning. 

That's down 1 pound from last week!

Bob won't be home at least until June 8th - as we know right now

So I'm going to work hard getting as many posts written and scheduled as possible.

In the mean time, check out this video.

I've not watched it but the title looked like something you might be able to use while I'm off!

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 5-14-18

175/167/135

I'm pleased to say I'm down a pound. Now if I can just keep it going! I'm hoping I'm at the point where this roller coaster takes a steady downward glide. I don't want the 'whoosh' of a fast drop weight loss. Quick doesn't allow time for your body to adjust to the extra room. Thus the reason you see so much sagging skin on those weight-loss shows. 

Our skin has an elasticity quality that once we stretch it out, we have to allow time for our body to recover from the abuse of indulgence.

Stretching exercises are a good way to help this along. Though I have to admit, at this point stretching in some directions are tough for me as I struggle with the ability to lift my left arm past a certain height. 

But that doesn't prevent me from working the waistline, which is my goal for this week. 

As I type this, I'm looking at the Gazelle sitting unused. That, too, will change this week. Bob left last Wednesday and I'm ready to kick this week off with my own schedule. I'm hoping for a routine with elements I can keep in place even after Bob comes home.

I did miss tracking steps last week. The battery died in my CopperFit band. I bought a replacement on Tuesday but wasn't until yesterday that I actually swapped out the old one. Before the battery died, I did have a day where I exceeded 10,000 steps. I've also discovered I'm moving more around the house than I imagined. Days when we're out shopping, I don't rack up near the  steps I do when I'm here at home doing every day activities.

The first couple of days after Bob leaves I'm pretty much useless. For the first couple of days I spend my time getting back on my sleep schedule. Wednesday night didn't help when my youngest cat has developed allergies. The pollen count here is through the stratosphere and she was coated in the yellowish substance. when she came into bed she took her bedtime bath, licking and inhaling the pollen. She spent the rest of the night coughing, sneezing, and breathing oddly. Needless to say, not a lot of sleep for this fur-mommy. Friday night I was in bed by 5:30 p.m and slept straight through for 12 hours. 

I think I'm caught up. I got up at my usual time this morning and feel like I can accomplish something without needing a nap half-way through.

I have some recipes I've been working on and a new topic for FlyLady coming up soon. I look forward to sharing my journey with you... as I hope you will Enjoy yours!

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 3-26-18

179/166/135

Wheeeeeee!  

That is the sound of the roller coaster once again. Yes, I'm down two pounds from last week but I am actually down two pounds from YESTERDAY!

Normally, I weigh on Sundays so I can get this blog post ready - 168. I never got to writing the post so I decided to step on the scales this morning - 166

So.. there's how my week is starting out. I'd love to see 165 next week. This week I start getting on the Gazelle. I'm going to start with two days a week. This week, just general walking while I build my coordination. Unlike the Cloudwalker I used to own where I only had to hold on and walk, the Gazelle requires arm/ leg coordination. I'm so in trouble! LOL

Thursday, I'll show you my work-out video and let you know how I'm doing in my first week. 

This week is all about serious house cleaning. I'm supposed to be in the basement this week but I didn't get the blanket thing done last week. Since a part of them are in tubs in the basement, I'm going to count that. I'm just not sure I can move those tubs until Bob gets home. I've been having issues with my left bicep for several months so I try not to strain the muscles any more than daily activity requires.

That's my week laid out. What's on your agenda? I hope you'll share your roller coaster ride with the rest of us.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN - 2-26-18

179/166/135

I'm finally down a pound this week. I know the culprit has been soda. Even switching to the 100 calorie cans doesn't help much if you drink two a day. I try to limit myself to one but there are days when I just need the carbonation. I hear you thinking seltzer water. Ewww!

I have a couple of those acrylic mugs that when you turn them upside down in the freezer, the stuff between the walls freezes and will keep your drink cold longer. Using one of these, I can make my own frozen coke. So for the past two days I've been sipping on one of these. I pour a large coke into the glass and let it set up in the freezer to slush point then after a couple of drink, I top it off with a mini coke. I put this in the refrigerator and just pulled it out when I needed a bit of carbonation. I'd take a couple of sips through the straw then put it back and switch back to drinking water, which sits in my Ozark Trail glass on my work-table or desk. 

I keep saying everything in moderation and this is how I plan to moderate my soda in-take from now on. I also seldom order soda when we go out to eat (which we have done a lot less of in recent weeks). Most always water or unsweet tea. I know.. I moved to the south and I don't drink 'Sweet Tea' LOL.

Speaking of moderation, I've been hearing a lot of comments about the 'FreeStyle' program from Weight Watchers. Some people don't feel it's working for them. If you are freestyling, I'd love to hear your take. You can share with me here or on my Instagram account - kellyscountry. Just look for the cowboy boot/ hat logo.

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH-IN 1-29-18

179/161/135

Considering I'm just coming off the holidays and Bob has been home a full week, I'm thrilled with the 7-pound loss since the beginning of the month. I'd gone back up to 170 but then back to the 167 in time for Bob to come home and for me to win our challenge. An extra $100 in the account does not hurt a bit.

For now, my goal is to be at 155 by mid-May. I'm wanting to make a trip back home to CO and I know after being away for so long, the altitude is going to be a big adjustment... but easier if I'm a few pounds lighter. 

While hiking the mountains isn't necessarily on my agenda, I do want to enjoy time with family, doing some book research and meeting up with musicians like Ragged Union, whom I promote. If you like bluegrass music, you need to check this group out. They are awesome. I've reviewed their albums on my music blog - KellysCountry

So... with a new year, there are a couple of changes I want to make here. I'm still going to be focusing on FlyLady. I need to get my planner out and get that back in working order.

I also want to try more Pinterest recipes and Bob got me the new Pioneer Woman cookbook for Christmas. I spent yesterday morning flagging multiple recipes. Bob said the book looks more like a porcupine with all the tabs sticking out. There are some goodies in there and most are, or can be adjusted, for healthy options and use items I already have on hand. This week I'll talk about what she considers the 'staples' to have on hand then next week we'll move into recipes.

For now, I'm off to get the rest of the blogs caught up. 

Enjoy the Journey!

WEIGH IN 9-25-17

185/167/135

A bit of a loss.Mostly due to being home most of the time. I did go into town on Friday but no matter what I ate, the bottom plate did not want to stay in place so most of the places I ate, I didn't eat much of anything. 

I didn't get on the Gazelle last week. I spent most of my time either in the recliner with the laptop trying to get stuff caught up for my boss or deep-cleaning the house. Most of the time has been spent on the publisher stuff so the pictures I'll have to show you on Wednesday will not be pretty. What I have done though is gone through the entire house and taken 'before' pictures of the areas I still need to work in. Mostly my office/ studio. I got work mostly caught up yesterday. Will finish tomorrow (I'm writing this post on Sunday) to a  point that I can coast a bit this week and work on the office. I only have just shy of two weeks to get that room finished. The project will take a couple days of intense focus. I just need the days where I am not multi-tasking throughout the house. 

Short post today if I'm to get my To Do list accomplished. Tomorrow is my birthday (and my daughter's - Happy Birthday Ninja!) and I have a shopping trip on my agenda. And at this point, I'm not even thinking food unless it's protein. I have my eye on a  purse ;-) 

Here's to a great week and Enjoy the Journey!

Kelly

WEIGH IN - 7-3-17

185/171/135

Whooo Hoooo... I lost that sneaky little pound!

Don't ask me how. I've not changed how I eat, I'm really not any more active than normal - even with the girls here. The weather has either been too wet or too hot to be outside much. 

The days are heating up as they begin to shorten towards fall. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing.

This week is pretty normal. We had our 4th of July yesterday. Subway sandwiches (of which I only ate 1/2 of a 6") and fireworks that were pretty awesome for a town of less than 500 people!

The highlight of the day was seeing friends of ours perform.  The Baker Family Bluegrass. We've known these kids since the multi-award winning fiddle champion, Trustin was 5. He is now 18. Does not seem possible. The vocalist, Carina, turns 16 on Wednesday. They are super talented all the way around. They will be on America's Got Talent either tomorrow night or next Tuesday. That whole confidentiality thing, they can't tell us much but I'm watching and I'll be voting when the time comes because I KNOW in my heart they'll be in the live rounds. If not, someone really needs to clean their ears!

Please watch AGT on Tuesday nights and give this family your support. This is a big thing for a family from small town Birch Tree MO (650 people) and they've earned every accolade they receive!