leaves

Back in November, looking at my lawn I thought to myself, "hmm, guess we won't have much to rake this year".  But I always forget our annual spring break (yes, SPRING break) tradition: raking the leaves.  

We're all taught that in the fall the leaves change color and eventually fall to the ground and then you rake them before the snow comes.  That doesn't work here.  In fact, most of our leaves fall after the new ones grow in.  It's like the trees play mind games on you.  You look out and see new green leaves growing and don't ever think about, "hey, what happened to all the dead leaves?" (and of course, our leaves only go from green to brown).

So, today I started to rake.  I thought I'd get a week head start so all Nathan will have to do next week is pick them up (plus, it's about the only exercise I've had in I don't know how long).  I got about halfway through the backyard.  It's nice to see the green grass underneath.  Here, you can see half of the yard with all its little leaf piles, and the other half still leaf-covered:

  

Here you can see half and half:

Here are the trees in our backyard.  A shot to the left, center and right sides:

    

You know, one of the reasons we bought this house was because of all the beautiful trees in the yard.  Of course, we bought in the fall, before all the leaves fell.

love program

Today, the preschool (2yr-4yr) kids at B's school had their annual Love Program.  Bethany was the pledge announcer and also did a great job singing with her class.  The videos are too big to post on blogger, so I'll work on getting them up on our website so you can all see!

a few notes

I did not realize how long it had been since I last posted.  Goodness.  There has been a lot going on around here.  

The latest, happiest news is that I no longer have a 6mm kidney stone trying to push its way out of my body.  Last Tuesday I had it removed.  My doctor said he tried just pulling it out but it would not fit through the opening into my bladder.  So he had to cut it in half first.  He then went out to show it to Nathan who said it was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen.  I didn't even get to see it!  They sent it off for analysis and I should find out exactly what type it was when I go for my follow-up next week.

Bethany has her very first dentist appointment in the morning.  She's a little excited about it.  I hope that it does not turn into a scary thing for her.

I hope to get back on the weight-loss wagon soon.  When I was dealing with that stone, I would just eat anything that didn't make me nauseous.  Thus, I've gained a few pounds.  I also quit exercising.  I was walking at night after putting Penny to bed.  But then the time changed and now it's dark out by 6:30.  I'm not sure what to do.  I have tried at-home video workouts.  I'm not very good about doing them.  For some reason it just seems weird to me to get dressed in workout clothes to stand in front of my TV.  Plus, we don't really have great space for it.  We can't afford the "Y" and even though I could work-out for free at Stetson since we're alums and employees, that seems weird, too.  I've always had a thing about people "looking" at me at the gym and going to Stetson where there would be mostly 20-year-olds (some of whom work under me) would be worse.  

Anyway, I'll get there someday, I guess.  Right now the weather is pretty good so maybe I can get out and at least walk around the neighborhood with Penny during the day.

Wish me luck!