The adventures of Lucy the wonder dog

That is my Lucy. Part Beagle..part something else. She's so sweet and so onery. That pic is from the other morning when I left her in the backyard for ten minutes. I have to put a barrier up because she can fit through the slats and she'll go across the street and poo. Then I get a letter from the HOA telling me to keep my dog in my yard.

Well, the orange fencing worked. It's not pretty but I have no one next door so who is going to complain?

Then last night we were walking on a leash. She saw a rabbit. Lucy is fast..faster than any dog her size. She pulled so hard that I fell face down and lost the leash. She ran around the corner of the house and I heard a scream..maybe more a squeal. I ran..and she is pooping in the neighbor's front yard. So I'm guessing the handle of the leash swung around and got her which resulted in scaring the poop outta her.

But tonight she's curled up on the bed...and you would think she is always an angel.

Zumba, mosquitoes and the power of Oxyclean

Wow, what a wild few weeks we have had. We lost Farrah and Michael on the same day. Farrah we expected...most did not expect Michael. I did. The last pictures I saw of him were bad. He was frail..his hands were blotchy...he did not look healthy. What did shock me was Billy Mays. He may have had a paunch but he seemed healthy. I was hoping the cause of death was the bump to his head but no..his heart gave out. 50 is way too young.

I can't go outside without a swarm of mosquitoes going after me. I finally got a fan to blow on me when I want to read outside in the hammock. But they still get my back.

Finally, I have to share my new passion - Zumba. It's a mix of salsa, hip hop, etc. It's high impact so I have to modify it...but I'm beat when I'm done. My goal is to look like my instructor (well, 20 years later anyway). I hear people lose tremendous amounts of weight doing it. So tonight I got Nikes that are highly recommended for Zumba. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks JoJo and Grits for posting. I love that people are actually reading my blog.

One last thing (I know I said finally two paragraphs before)...I just want to say Roger Federer (not Federline!) is the best player in the world!!

Oh, and JoJo...they are calling Federline K-Fat now that he is so big...

Federer, weight lifting and summer

I'm still on my quest to get healthy. I'm pretty happy with my progress. No weight loss which does surprise me as I'm eating so well...but I since this is NOT a diet..I'm ok with that.

I'm drinking more water, little to no soda and my coffee is way back. I'm eating more natural..less meat..no fried food. I have more energy (except when my allergies kick in) and today I got back in my weight lifting class. I haven't been in a year and it literally kicked my ass. My arms are jello. My legs were ok but my ankles were burning.

What I do need to do is get back into tennis. I love the game..I love how I really lose myself to the moment when I play. Nothing else gets my full attention. Did y'all see my man, Roger play today? It was kinda sad his opponent really didn't try. I hope Nadal is better for Wimbledon so I can see a real match.

It is hot, muggy and buggy outside. I have some great books including American Lion ( I LOVE presidential biographies) but even when I spray myself with Deep Woods Off the bugs still bite..only they bite my eyelids and other weird places. When I lived in Florida, we went on a turtle walk (my favorite thing) and these weird fly/beetle things were biting everyone even though we were covered in bug spray..they even bit in the ear. And these big blisters would form..it was horrible. I never had that again...no matter when we went to the beach. I remember seeing pics of settlers from the turn of the century and they would bury themselves in sand to their neck at night.

It is hot out there

I just came in from laying in the hammock. I also just finished Jen Lancaster's Pretty in Plaid. I just love her. She completely lets you in on what makes her tick. And I found someone who loves polos and pearls as much as I do. She struggles with her weight same as me. And she loves dogs.

Ok, what else is new. Well, I'm not doing well on the working out. I do need to just start walking. When I was going through my divorce and after..I walked all the time. My neighborhood is not big enough to walk through and the street my subdivision is on attracts sketchy people. But it would help.

Work is fine..a little slow right now but I think the summer will pick up as the government does most of it's purchasing this time of year. I dread the last quarter. The experts keep saying things have bottomed out..but I'm not seeing it.

Well, not much else to say. Got to do some laundry and clean the house now that Amanda has returned to Athens.

Portly, plump, fat

Yep, today I'm starting a new regime. I'm not going to diet because that never works.

I've lived healthy a majority of my life. I've never been slender or slim but I've been extremely healthy. I think that may be why even though I've gained 50 lbs in the last five years my cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar are all smack dab in the normal/healthy range. It freaked my doc out..she just knew she had some health reason to get me to lose. But no..fit as a fiddle.

Except, I have to buy a new size every year..(my closet is bursting at the seams with clothes I no longer can wear..I have a few of every size).

So today, I'm starting again. I used to eat low fat, healthy meals...not because I wanted my weight down..but because I enjoyed eating that way. But since I've moved into this house, cooking or preparing food has not appealed to me. I'm going out for lunch every day (just to get out of there) and that has not helped at all.

So I'm changing. I know what to eat. I know what to do with exercise ...I just need to do it.

Well, I'm not telling you what I weigh. I'll tell you what I lose and maybe when I feel good about me again..I'll tell you what I lost. Hopefully, I'll lose eating healthy and exercising more. If I don't...well, at least I'm trying.

Off to take Lucy for a long walk. It has cooled down by ten degrees and should be quite pleasant and since the dog park is out (worms are going around there) I have to find exercise for my munchking.

Wild Kingdom in Woodstock, GA

The last 48 hours have completely wiped me out. I have:

1. Found a dead chipmunk in my front yard. I'm guessing it is the cute one I see scamper away on my porch. I even thought it might be staying in my grill which did not bother me. I threw (I used a paper towel to pick it up) in the trash and then realized the trash guy wouldn't be here for a week...dumb Idea. So I got the shovel...picked it up with that and went to the wooded area and threw it in the woods.

2. Lucy was sniffing the grill..figured I needed to clean above chipmunk's nest. Bad idea...big rat in grill instead. I threw the lid of the grill back..breaking it and the rat just sat up and sniffed at me. I resented that cheekiness and slammed the side of the grill..yelling get out of here. Lucy chased it threw the yard...I yell "Get the rat Lucy"...I then look up at the McMansion that is right behind my house and a realtor is showing the house. Oh, and I'm in my pajamas.

3. Then today...I was talking to my CSR's and I see something in the trees outside. I look and it's a hawk. It was huge and beautiful. It swooped down and got something small and brown. I'm pretending it was a rat and not a chipmunk. We ooohed and ahhhed and then an hour later he/she was back. This time she went to a robin's nest and ate the babies while momma squawked loudly. I ran outside but I fear it was too late. The hawk flew off with the robin in pursuit (but not too closely).

4. Lucy will not stop whining to go outside to track the rat. I've bleached the grill and I'm replacing anything he/she touched. Yuck.

I've had enough Wild Kingdom. I'm a city kind of gal.

Sangria, Rain and Shawn Mullins

Sorry, I haven't posted in awhile. Work has been emotionally draining lately and the 25 anniversary of my mom's death was May 1st. I just have been doing a lot of nothing.

Anyway...last night I decided my department had enough stress and I took them out for Tex-Mex and drinks at Pappacitos. Good food, good company and the weather was awesome. We sat on the patio and it was sunny, a little breeze and about 78 degrees. I went home and for the first Friday in a long time I was decompressed when I got home. I need to go out more often. Or I need to drink Sangria more..I'm not sure.

Tonight, I am so excited...Shawn Mullins is actually playing about a mile from my house at the town square tonight..for free! However, the weather man is predicting BAD STORMS about that time. You know the ones..tornado sirens, hail, damaging winds..the kind we've had every week this spring. You find your neighbor's roof in your front yard. So while I'm excited I'm being very cautious to keep a lid on it in case it gets canceled.

What is going on in your world?

Edit to say...I got to see an hour of Shawn..then the heavens opened up and the rained poured and the lightening, while beautiful, caused me to hustle and not in a disco manner. Now I know I need to go see him again..preferably indoors.

Here is a video of Shawn singing Cabbagetown :