New Life, New Love (Times Two)

    After nearly three months, I finally have two new little ones in my life. If you've read the other blog posts, you'll know I lost my guinea pig Barney a few months ago.  I have missed him every day.

    I would check in with the local pet store nearly every day on FB to see if they had any for sale and they never did. She was kind of a disappointing business owner. I had this week off from work so I decided to travel to 'the big city' and get a guinea pig from one of their pet stores. I ended up getting two males who were already used to each other so they can keep each other company in their new enclosure.

    They are so much fun to watch when they chase each other and do zoomies. And they aren't afraid to go up to the second floor. Barney would never go up there. 

    Their names are Henry, the black one, and Ezra, the black and white one, named for a couple of my favorite tv show characters. I am so happy to hear their little noises throughout the day.

A New Routine

    Now that I've been on this exercise and weight loss path for a a few months, I need a new routine. This is because I now have a Total Gym. So I'm going to have to figure out which days to use the Total Gym and which days to use the pilates machine. The stationary bike will be used every day.

    I'm still telling myself that I have to do this the rest of my life. It is a must. Maybe this will stick in my brain and I'll soon believe it. One way to stay motivated would be to find out if I've lost any additional weight, but I don't want to get on the scales to find out that I haven't. That would certainly kill the whole mission.

Lightning in a Bottle

    I have been a yo-yo weight loss person for years. Three times in the past I have "captured lightning in a bottle" and stuck with a diet and exercise plan to lose a considerable amount of weight.  It's really hard to capture that lightning.

    What I'm experiencing now may be the fourth time I've captured it. Since January I've cut out added sugar and incorporated stepping in place in my cubicle at work. I've been using my stationary bike every day and just recently I started using my pilates machine. All this produced a 12 pound weight loss in the last 2 to 3 months and my blood sugar number is now under 100.

    I've ordered a new piece of exercise equipment and can't wait to get it. I've been watching workout videos on Youtube to try to keep momentum. And I've been posting a workout report every day on twitter, thinking that people will come to expect it so I'd better keep up with the workouts.

    So, how long does lightning exist in a bottle? I don't know. I need it to exist for the rest of my life. We'll see.

Hands In the Dirt

    I have been work, work, working away getting a garden set up for this year. I set up my raised bed today and have planted green peppers and green beans. The other day I planted cucumber, squash, and watermelon seeds and grape tomato plants. The tomato plants may not make it. They didn't react well to full sun.

    What's funny is that I probably won't eat any of this stuff. Maybe some tomatoes. I'll give everything I grow to my dad. Last year he forgot about the beans I gave him and let them rot. I'll have to remind him this year. 

    Today was a lot of work. I am exhausted and sore. On top of the gardening, I also mowed some of the pasture with my push mower. That was tough. Hopefully dad will one day get the tractor going and mow the pasture properly.

Oh, Really?

 "Thanks, but I was asking my friends...."

So, you're happy to accept my follow to prop up your Followers numbers but suddenly I'm not a friend? 

Fine. 

Unfollowed.

Vacation, Sort Of

    Today is the first day of my week of vacation. It's a staycation. I have a lot of things to do around the house, and I don't like leaving the house anyway. I never understood why people travel away from home looking for fun or relaxation. Shouldn't you make your home into a fun and relaxation zone so you can feel that way all the time?

    Unfortunately, tomorrow I have to log on to the work computer and do some work. Yes, on my vacation. It wasn't my idea. They are releasing some new program and I have to some testing on it before they turn it on. I was understanding about a couple of hours on ONE day of my vacation. But then the boss said we'd have to tweak my time card on Monday to show that I worked on Sunday. So that's TWO days of my vacation interrupted.  

    Next time, I'm not going to tell them it's a vacation. I'll tell them it's a funeral. They wouldn't ask me to work during a funeral.

It Takes Time

    This has been a difficult week because of Barney's passing. I walk by his cage and I still want to talk to him. I still want to hear him rattling his water bottle and wheeking the way guinea pigs do.

    I cleaned his cage yesterday and washed all of his bedding. It's painful to see his empty clean cage. I haven't told myself that I am getting another guinea pig. But I ordered a lot of new guinea pig cage accessories. That's a pretty good indication that I will probably get another little baby. I placed a cardboard box in the car in case I find a guinea pig at the local pet store. 

    But I haven't said that I'm getting another guinea pig.