Weekend of hiking was great!

My feet are sore by my heart is happy. I got to get two good hikes in this weekend. On Saturday I hiked the Elfin Forest trail with Monie and then on Monday,(Memorial Day) Honey (pictured here) and I did the Iron Mt trail. Both hikes where in the early morning to avoid the hot sun and crowds. And boy did the crowds appear at Iron Mt on Memorial Day. We got there at around 8 in the morning and the parking was already getting full on both sides of 67.

It has been great doing these trails. I can remember earlier this year, huffing and puffing up the trail, now they are a breeze, WhooHoo I'm getting in shape! I'm still loosing inches as well as pounds, I can even feel the difference in the weight of my body, my steps feel lighter. I know my waist is getting smaller, I've had to get rid of a bunch of pants, they just fall down! Yeah! It is hard to believe that I let myself get so out of shape. It feels so good to be in shape and feel strong.

Blessings to you all!

Morning Fog is beautiful!

Sunday morning I hiked up Highland Trail before going to church. I wanted to beat the heat of the day, but got something even better. The low foggy clouds where hanging along the mountain, you couldn't see the top. I'm always a bit nervous hiking that trail alone, not many people hike it and it is very steep, if I should slip and hurt myself, it might be a while before another hiker comes by,(I do carry my cell phone with me). I also don't want to run into any large wildlife that is hungry! Yikes! I wasin luck, a group of hikers where preparing to go up just as I arrived, so I took off just before them and then knew I had people on the trail with me! ;-D
Anyway it was cool, damp and beautiful going up the Mt. The foggy was so thick you couldn't see very far, but it made it really quiet. Up near the top, it was misting and all the spider webs where making beautiful designs. I stopped and looked at them, each one had it's own pattern, so beautiful.

Anyone that wants to walk with me, CALL ME!

Spring Hiking is Awesome!

Picture- Hope hiking through the mustard plants on Bernardo Mt. I love spring!


Oh! to be strong! I love feeling as strong as I do. I know I can be stronger, but I know I'm so very much stronger than I was this time last year. Yesterday Steve and I hiked the Highland Trail, it is about 1 1/3 mile straight up with a 800 ft elevation. While going up, I didn't feel weak, couple of times Steve wanted to stop and enjoy the view (rest), but I just wanted to keep going. When we got near the top, I was hoping to get to the gate in a certain amount of time, so I took off running, now I never ever could have done that before. It feels so good!

I'm bummed that my bone spur on my shoulder is only getting worse. I'm loosing upper body strength just as fast as I'm gaining lower body. I went yesterday and had a Cortisone shot, hoping to get the pain under some management. I want to get through this summer with Hope, enjoy myself and then think about surgery next fall. My doctor gave me some exercises to try to strengthen my arms, I hope they work, cause I starting to feel like a weakling in the arm area. Pretty funny, I start out saying how strong I feel and then go into the weak stuff. weirdo!

I'm thinking of joining a woman's soccer team this summer, it would help keep me in shape. I've been running down at the Lake some mornings and trying to get anyone that will go with me on hikes up any hills or mountains around. Monie and Steve both did ones with me last week. Any takers??? I promise I won't run up the hills!! ;-D

As far as my weight goes, I got sort of slack there for a while, eating to much and not getting enough exercise. My weight went up a few pounds but I've taken it back off. I now would like to drop 5 pounds by June 1, might not be to realistic, but ya' got to have a goal!

Been to busy to post lately

Sorry for not posting lately. This whole senior year and college prep is way more involved than I anticipated. I am so glad that I started this road to better health at the beginning of the year, rather than waiting to do it after Hope went off to college. I do not think I could have functioned at the level I have been, if I'd been eating and lack of exercise like I had been.

Since I last posted I haven't been getting the great hikes, a few here and there, I miss it terribly. Miss you Dev! But I'm still trying to get in what I can. It is hard to get out and do strong hill type hikes, most of them are in more remote areas and I do not feel comfortable hiking alone in these areas. We have a great hike just across the street from me, but it is remote and I worry about either falling or coming to some sort of mishap while out alone. Rattlesnakes are starting to show up, so now I have to be extra careful with Nari. I think she is rattlesnake safe, last one we came across, she literally jumped from the snake and kept her distants, even with out the rattle of the snake.
But you just never know if she just stepped on one by accident...or me for that matter. I almost did that one day, it was in the street I was walking, just sunning it's self, I was talking with a friend and didn't even notice it, until my friend grabbed me and yanked me out of the way. Close call! But don't let my snake stories scare you off from calling me and asking me to go for a walk with you... I'll keep my eyes out!
So as far as my weight and measurements go... I've stayed at the same weight for the past month, but have lost a few 1/2 inches in a few spots. I haven't been following my eating plan as well as I'd like, I just have to get back in to the good habits. I still watch my portion sizes, try to limit the sweets and carbs but don't do it to the extreme it takes to loose weight. Really like to get at least 5 more lbs off this summer.

Anyone up for some early morn hikes? Late afternoon or early evening hikes, (it's stays light till 7:30)???

Still out there in the hills, when possible

Hope and Lee joined me on Friday for a hike into Blue Sky Reserve. The wild flowers are there, but not as spectacular as last year after the fire. We went half way up to the Ramona Dam, but none of where up to going the whole way. I have been sick for 2 and a half weeks, some sort of cold that just won't let go. I'm dying to get out and do some good hikes, my body just doesn't want to do it. Sunday evening LaVonne and I did a nice 4 and 1/2 mile hike up at Daly Ranch, probably would not have done as long and hard a hike, except we sort of got lost. It was all good, luckily we ran into a ranger that pointed us in the right direction.

For those of you wondering, my weight has sort of stabilized at the 20 lbs off. I still want to loose some more, but having been sick sort of slowed the process. Even though I'm not loosing weight, I'm still seeing my size getting smaller, I have gone down 4 sizes in my pant size. I even had to go out and buy new undies, they where to big. How cool is that! Hope and I went to the thrift store the other day and I stocked up on some shorts and work out pants.

Today's Eats
Breakfast- 1/2 cup granola with strawberries and blueberries and soy milk
Lunch - Fiesta Salad at Rubio's
Snack - 2 large chocolate chip cookies (and me bad-1 bag of peanut M&Ms)
Dinner- 1 chicken thigh and a slice of zucchini pie

Well I'm off to bed, but before I go, to make up for the M&Ms, I'm going to do 40 more sit-ups!!

Hit my 20 Lbs. mark today!

Can't believe it, I finally saw my scale hit 144, I didn't think it would happen this week. I've been busy and not getting as much exercise as I'd have liked and ate way to much chocolate this past week. I'm still watching my portions but not being as careful of the stuff I eat.

It was nice today at church 3 people noticed that I looked a lot thinner. It really helps when others notice, some times you start to wonder if you look any different. I know I'm loosing inches even if my weight isn't dropping, I did another measurement yesterday and I have lost 15.75 inches total. Just in my tummy area I've lost 4.75 inches and my waist is down 3 inches. I know I lost inches, cause most of my pants now are way to big for me. I'm still going to wait to go shopping for anything new, I am setting a new goal of losing 6 more lbs.

Yesterday Devonay and I hiked Gooden Ranch, east of Poway, it was an easy hike,about 4.5 miles. Not much for the hill climbing, so we just walked fast! Today Steve and I hike to the top of Bernardo Mt, harder hike, but Steve kept stopping to take pictures so I didn't feel like I was pushing myself. It was beautiful up there. Tons of flowers every where and big puffy clouds in the blue sky, nothing better!

Time to get serious again!

Okay, been sitting at this weight for over two weeks. I'm going to start tomorrow posting what I'm eating and exercising regularly again. It really helps to write down what I'm eating and doing, it is to easy to just let a few chips, M&M's or ice cream to just pass my lips. If I have to be accountable to this blog then that's what I'm going to do. I have set a new goal of 139, just getting myself into the 130's will be a challenge, I haven't seen those numbers for over 15 years.

Please pray that my body stays in shape, I've been dealing with a weak back and wobbly knees. I think I will start doing my core work too. I have to remember that!! Ask me next time you see me or e-mail and ask, please!

Yesterday Devonay and I hike Ellie Lane, up on Iron Mt. We didn't get to go as far as we'd like, I had to get back for a event for school. We did a 2 1/2 hour hike, saw all kinds of pretty flowers and there was water still in some of the small stream beds. We where able to look for some geocaches, I'm glad we did it, they usually always take you to an interesting spot. One of them took us to a site that said to look next to a bath, what? But sure enough, just off the trail, unnoticed by us, was a slow weeping water sourse that feed a spot that looked just like a bath tub. It was so cool, I just love little surprises like that.