In Living Color

I have decided that spring is God's reward to us for surviving the winter! For months the trees have been bare, the grass has been brown and nature has been asleep. Yesterday I was riding my bike, yes it was warm enough to go bike riding, and just had to marvel at the beautiful colors all around me. It is like the city has just taken a deep breath and burst into life.

Spring was always beautiful in Georgia with the dogwoods, azaleas, daffodils and forsythia, and Texas had beautiful azaleas in spring too. But it still wasn't the stark contrast from winter that it is up here. After months of brutal freezing weather and dreary days the beginning of spring is even more of a contrast. You just can't believe how amazing it is to drive around and see the yellow forsythia stand out like a bright light all around. It really is like God's reward for surviving the winter. "You made it and now you get to revel in all these splendid colors!" Bring it on!

Enjoy life, in living color!

Weighing In

Did you know that people lose weight the same way in the U.S. and Canada? I do. I work for "a popular weight loss program" and have worked for that company is the U.S. and in Canada. One thing that is consistent in my life is that fact that when I go into the meeting room, it's all the same.

I like my job. I get to meet a lot of different people who are all struggling with the same thing. These people are usually at the point where they are ready to change. It is often inspiring to see people go on this journey and to share in their success. I take very little responsibility for their success, they have done the hard part. I was just there to "weigh them in" and talk to, inform and motivate them, my favorite part!

Lately, I have witnessed many successes. Success is contagious. I have had many members lose over 25 lbs. in a 12 or 20 week session and go on to reach their ultimate goals. I love seeing their commitment and their confidence grow as they become the person they used to be or the person they always wanted to be but never thought they could be as far as weight is concerned. This does something to their attitude too. When you get control of how and what you eat you also get control of other things in your life. Anyway, it is nice to be surrounded by good positive people who are committed to losing weight. Plus, we sure do have fun at our meetings!

A fun positive environment, celebrations every week, looking and feeling better every week and we all have a common goal and want to be there. What more could you ask for?

Pedestrians

It is supposed to go up to 20C tomorrow! Spring is definitely in the air, which means the pedestrians are out! During my recent trip to Houston I made a few observations. The weather was perfect and if it were that temperature around here the sidewalks would be full of pedestrians. In Houston the only people out walking were heading to their cars. No one walks in Houston if they don't have to, my friend Valerie said everyone would think they were homeless if they walked somewhere. So true.

Well, people walk here. I am always shocked to see the number of pedestrians out even on cold snowy days. People just walk here. Now that the weather is getting nicer there are even more people outside and walking. I haven't really decided if people walk more up here because they are just happy to have nice weather and really appreciate it or if they walk because they want to. I am leaning towards the want to because they walk even when it is freezing. Mass transit helps too, you can take the bus or the train and then have to walk to your final destination. But then again, I see people walking everywhere! I must say, I missed seeing people outside walking when I was in Houston, I have gotten very used to seeing people out and about.

One more thing about the pedestrians. I have actually gotten used to watching out for people crossing the street in crosswalks while I am driving. When we first came here I was so used to not having to wait to turn or to even look to see if someone was crossing the street. Those poor people I have almost run over....I am now much more conscious of the crosswalks. They actually get used here....and sometimes even by me! I love it!

Hello Grammy

Daniel turned a year old on Sunday! Apparently he loves phones (I'm sure this is due to the fact that his mother also loves the phone and is on it often) so Rachel said he got 3 phones for gifts. Here he is calling someone, I can only hope it is me! How cute! We will be spending Easter with them and it will be fun to see Daniel walking and playing in person and not on video on the internet. The last time we saw him was at Christmas and he has changed so much since then.

Looking forward to Easter, seeing family and the promise of spring. Really, it is going to get here eventually.....as I look out at what I hope is the LAST snow of this season!