Forging Ahead?

   Hello, my Firends,  sometimes it seems as if we are trying to make progress in one area of our lives and the longer we look at it, we really aren't sure.   Need some explanation?  I will try to keep this on the brief side, but I have never been very good at the short answer to any question, unless it is a single word.  Anyway,  I am very aware that I am need to lose weight.  My photo from vacation in January was quite obvious.  What wouldn't be looking like a bright sky blue stuffed sausage in a swimsuit?  So, I have been mulling the idea over in my mind for this length of time.  Trying to decide if I have the dedication and determination it will take to put in the effort and make some big changes in my daily diet routine.  A friend of ours completed the P90X fitness/diet plan program and lost 70 lbs. - yes 70!  He looks great.  I know I don't have 70 to lose, but still, to actually lose the now 40 lbs, get fit and eat healthier would be great.  Fred & I looked at the program - pretty intense.  He ordered it, we have it and I am now ready to begin on August 1st.  I went grocery shopping for the menu plan - shouldn't be too bad sans the salts and most of the fats.  Took my 'before' photos last night - boy do I NEED this program to work!  If I am successful, a before and after picture will be posted - at the end of October when I complete the 12 weeks.  There are some limitations to be accepted.  I will not be able to 'bring it' as a younger person and if I can exercise for 1 hour, that will be a miracle.  Endurance has never been a strength.  Fred & I are going to try to work on it together, but we have very different schedules so we'll see.

So, to forging ahead even in the face of possible failure, but the only way to completely fail is not to try in the first place.  If that's the case, then I have already succeeded!

Have a great rest of the weekend and the week ahead!

Love ya,
Bren

A frustrating thing . . .

Our vacation was great and it wasn't too bad getting back into our schedules.  However, when an unauthorized transaction for iTunes hit my bank account I was not happy.  I removed all my banking information from Scott's iTunes account in early June and cancelled my debit card when a transaction hit my account for about $14 or so.  With the new debit card we went on our trip and had no problems at all.  At least until last week when a $103.24 debit hit my account from iTunes.  WHAT!!!!!!  Yup, so much fun.  I called the bank because it was still pending - hoping they could deny it and that would go back to iTunes.  I didn't enter my debit card info into the computer at all and certainly not back into Scott's iTunes account. (iTunes gift cards are the way to go if you have an iTunes account - no worries with those at all!)  Then I looked at where I had used my debit card on the trip.  Only 2 places where the number was out of my control completely.  Jacob Lake Inn for breakfast at the Grand Canyon, they took my card in one of those leather folders, ran the transaction and gave it back to me - then it was not out of the room from where I was and nothing funny appeared to happen.  The other time was in  St. Robert MO where we stayed on the last night traveling home.  We wanted pizza for supper and I didn't want to drive any where, 10 hours was definitely long enough.  So we had it delivered and I gave them my card number over the phone so there wouldn't be a hassle when the pizza arrived.  I'm thinking it was a Dominoes pizza worker.
    I have tried contacting iTunes - good luck trying to talk to anyone at apple.  If they could look it up by card number then they could see who's account got the download.  Seems easy enough, but I am still waiting for an e-mail response.  Don't see that coming anytime soon.  I did get the money back into my account from the bank.  Cancelled the debit card AGAIN and will start over with a new one next week when I get it.

Oh well, what is a person to do other than what I did?  Not much.  I may go to a pre-loaded credit card not attached to any account and use that for online transactions.  Not sure if I could plan far enough ahead to work that out.  The funny thing is, it was only one transaction.  Someone suggested to me that it might be a person who walked by me with a card reader and got the information that way.  I had 5 accessable cards in my wallet - they only used one?  Could they tell which was the debit card?  Would the information be garbled amongst all 5?  Technology is going to leave a lot of us in the dust and soon!  If people could be honest and good, there wouldn't be too much to worry about.  Yes, that is a big IF.

I'm going to work out or something, need to burn off some of this stress.

Have a good rest of the week!  Keep trying to move forward.  I've been told that even a teeny, tiny step in the right direction is still progress. I'm counting on it!  :)

Love Ya,
Bren

Vacation is done & I hit the ground running!

Well, here goes the story of our 4877 miles, 74+ hours driving vacation 6/28/11-7/10/11.  It was long, but oh so worth it!!!

This is us all packed up and ready to go.  That is our new (used) 2008 Saturn Outlook.  A dream to drive, it was great for the trip and fit all the stuff we needed to take out and bring back - comfortably!

This is Wyoming and I-80 that I don't know if it ever has a beginning or an end, it just goes on and on and on. 

We did a detour stop at Martin Cove in Wyoming.  This is one of our church historical sites.  This is the place where the ill-fated Willie and Martin Hand Cart Companies needed to be rescued on their journey west in the days of the pioneers.  Many members of both companies died on their trek west.

This deer/antelope was at the exit of Martin Cove as we left and it paused just long enough for me to take this picture.  It was only about 30 feet from our car!

We made it safely to Bry & Mark's.  This is us visiting Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  It was hot that day, but a wonderful time for us to be there together.

These were in Wyoming, it is awesome to see so many of these wind turbines around the country!

Here is our Bry!!!!  20 weeks in this picture and looking so cute with her 'honey bump'  :)  now she is 22 1/2 weeks - really hoping to make it another 15 1/2 or as close to that as she can get.

Here is a picture from our stop at the Grand Canyon.  That is Scott in the blue shirt with Alexa just behind him.  This is not the place to remember how afraid of heights you are.  I just had to tell the kids they could go out to the lookout points, but without me, and they were to be very careful - no funny stuff.

After the Grand Canyon we headed south through Flagstaff to Phoenix.  This deer sign was just south of Flagstaff and hilarious.  Even in Wisconsin we don't have deer signs like this one.  I know lots of hunters that would just about give their lives to bag a buck like the one picured - isn't that a 30 pointer?!?!

This was a cool cloud/thunderstorm we saw at the sunset point rest stop a ways north of Phoenix.

Now this is Pam (left) and I (right) in her pool.  It was a great way to start our days.  This is actually the morning of the notorious haboob (dust storm) that hit Phoenix.  We didn't notice it too much in the West Valley, just that it got dark much earlier that evening.

Some cool cactus/yucca plants that lined the interstate on our way to Texas.  Yes, I know, the trip isn't done yet.  That was a 14 hour dirve day.  Everything is bigger in Texas, even the miles!!!!!

Gwen & Greg in their apartment complex pool.  We took a swim break in the late afternoon as it was way too hot during the heat of the day.

We saw quite a few dust devils as we traveled from Phoenix to Abilene.  Most weren't good for pictures, but this one was quite close.

Bry taught the kids how to crochet and Meg worked the rest of the trip to finish this one.  She added a button and uses it as a scripture bag for church.  This was finished by the time we stopped in the middle of Missouri on our way home.  Awesome job, Meg!

The St. Louis Arch.  We hadn't planned on going directly to it, but a wrong turn by Mom and we were right at the park.  Which turned out nicely for driving because it was only three or four blocks off the route.  A quick stop and we were back on our way and into Illinois.  No pictures of Illinois - nothing really to see there.

Lots of hours, miles and sights to see.  I am so glad we did it.  It isn't a trip we'll probably ever do again, but it was the only way I could figure we'd be able to see everyone we did.  Now Alexa, Megan and Scott can picture where their sisters live and have seen things you don't see when flying.  They also got re-acquainted with their Aunt Pam & Uncle Dennis, cousins Katie, Jennie, Lynn & her family.  Can't put a price on all of that.

Now that we are home, it was right back into everything and busy as ever.  I have been to 2 scout committee meetings, a Court of Honor, 2 scout nights, volunteered with Scott at the Humane Society, got the girls ready for Young Women Camp this week, worked two full weeks and getting Scott ready for scout camp next week.  My grandmother used to say, "No rest for the weary' or 'No rest for the wicked'.  I'll take the weary.  Some days it's hard to tell.  :)  Fred did miss us and was glad to have us home.  He had dinner ready for us on the 10th.  It was good to be home.

May you have a wonderful weekend, stay cool, and make the effort to plan that once in a lifetime vacation.  We aren't getting any younger.

Love ya,    Bren