“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things are passed away; behold, new things have come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

Well, it’s week 5 already!

I’ve still been eating less and exercising more.

Good news…it’s working!

Bad news….it’s SLOW!

But six pounds so far isn’t too bad.

My kids and I are working on our veggie garden for the next few weeks.  All that extra activity should help.

The most important thing:  I’ve stuck to it.

And THAT is a big deal.

(Let’s keep encouraging each other! Head over to Giving Up On Perfect to see who’s joined in.)

Here are some fun projects to do!

photo by Denise

Denise from Living Life Creatively has a tutorial showing how to make these birds.

Cassi at The Crafty Crow told how Molly at The Purl Bee made these adorable sheep pillows.

photo by Karen

Karen from the Graphics Fairy shows how to make your own decorative sticker tape.

Things have been continuing on like last week. I’m still not overeating and I’m actually feeling full faster! (Which is a big deal!)

I did add in exercise and have done something every day.

Note: The “experts” that say you shouldn’t exercise before bed (because of the energy it gives you) are RIGHT! I realized one night that I hadn’t done any exercise all day, so did a few arm exercises.  I went to bed satisfied with the knowledge that I had met my goal.

So, I went to bed at 9:30, but didn’t get to sleep until after 12:30!  I couldn’t get sleepy…which is very unusual for me. So I got a lot of thinking done that night.

How have your habits changed?

Have you been more aware of what you’re eating…of exercising?

(Want to join in on the fun? Go to Giving Up On Perfect to get the details!)

Due to some other yard/landscape projects, my raised bed garden will have to wait until next year.

But, that’s okay because I have an area even larger than last year to work with.

As I’m planning my garden I’ll leave you with this very true quote….

“Gardening requires lots of water – most of it in the form of perspiration.  ~Lou Erickson”

My Mother, my daughter and I went to the Nashville Lawn And Garden Show last weekend. It was lovely! My birthday is on March 1st, so we make this a birthday tradition. All the girls in my family who can, come to see the beautiful flowers. It’s always the perfect remedy for spring fever!

I thought you all would enjoy a few pictures of what we saw…

(I’m sorry these photos are so blurry, it was hard to get good results in these buildings.)

This was such a unique fountain. Just a large rock over a mesh screen with a pump attached. The water would bubble up through a hole drilled into the rock and then cascade down. The screen was covered with stones and then the larger stones surrounding it were planted with moss, ferns and other shade loving plants. The result was so charming!

One of the things I look forward to every year are the orchids. They are one of my favorite flowers!  There were so many kinds in this booth.

These are the kind of orchids that I grow…Phalaenopsis, also called the Moth Orchid. If you have a window facing East or West you can grow them too. The blooms last for months! You can find them at Kroger and Lowes…usually for under $12. If you take care of them, they will re-bloom year after year.

(They are also very forgiving. I get busy and forget to water mine…sometimes for months! Yet, the still bloom…maybe they think they are dying and are trying to send out their last flowers. Ha!)

Are there things you look forward to doing every Spring?

Well here we are at week three. My how time does fly….if only the pounds would go as quickly.

I have lost 3 pounds, so I guess that’s okay.

But, honestly, I haven’t been giving this my full effort.

Spring cleaning hit me early this year and I’ve been organizing and cleaning like wild!

Great, huh?

The problem is this….when I’m tired from cleaning all day…guess what happens about food. Yep. You guessed it..whatever is easy.

In our house that may mean frozen pizza {gasp} or more bread/rice/pasta then is good for my waistline.

The one victory (and it’s a big one) is that my “your full” signal is working again. Years of overeating had broken it. I couldn’t tell I was full until it was too late…hence all the extra padding I’m hauling around.

Now the first time I feel anything in my stomach then I stop eating. Right. Then. No. More. Bites. Period.

So, what’s the plan for next week? Cause it’s time to get serious!

* Step up the exercise

* Continue to stop eating when I first feel full, no matter how good the food tastes!

* Drink more water

* Stay away from grains

* Add in more fruits and veggies

What are some things that help you to loose weight and stay fit?

Gussy is featuring Susan who is the artist behind Middleburg. You can head over to Gussy’s to enter for the giveaway!

photo by Middleburg

She does such lovely work!

photo by Middleburg

So charming!

photo by Middleburg

Lovely birds.

photo by Middleburg

Bunnies and…

photo by Middleburg

…chicks. Perfect for Spring!

There are some great things happening behind the scenes here.  Thanks to Blissdom, I’m refining my blogging time.

So, keep looking for some exciting announcements in the next few days….you won’t want to miss them!

Meanwhile…I’ve been doing lots of this:

And this:

Washing lots of these:

Getting rid of lots of these:

So my house won’t look like this:

No household items were harmed in the making of this post.

No photos of our real home have been shown to protect the not-so-innocent.

Thank you.