Summertime

It's been oh, well, 6 months since my last post. Shame on me! I thought everyone might like a mini update to hear what I've been up to all this time.

Things around here are superb; Derby is such a good girl! We've been doing a lot of training to get her less cautious of people and she's doing marvelously -- she's such a smart dog!

Recently, we entered to win a Collar of the Month subscription from our favorite collar company Lucky Fiona (and if you love handmade fabric collars, Lucky Fiona is an absolute MUST!) The contest was a "makeover my pet" contest, so we whipped up a little movie and we tied with the most darling bloodhound boy named Teddy, who has a very rags-to-riches story. I thought he would win most certainly, but because Lucky Fiona is so awesome, we both were made winners!

Here's the movie we entered :)

We've been planting a lot of flowers and doing some general yard beautification, too. No edible garden this year -- we had some trouble with our deck collapsing (don't ask...) so we decided to focus on the front yard and I'm so happy we did. I promise to post some photos once my salieri daylilies bloom. Here's what they might look like:

We also have yellow daylilies, Easter lilies, azaleas, mums, forsythia, a little white bleeding heart, hostas, a purple flower who's name I can't remember, and 3 hydrangeas (pink, white, and blue). Everything is doing well but for one of the forsythias...for some reason, though planted at the same time as the other, it's a little pale and not looking so good. Not sure what the cause is, but it's a shame. I hope I don't have to replace it!

It's hard to believe it's almost July. Where has the time gone? I have a bunch of great craft projects in the works, so more posts on those later -- sewing some awesome clothing pieces for my sister. I can't wait to show you! Also, I've lost 18 pounds since March. Crazy, right?! I'm on the Take Shape for Life Medifast plan and it WORKS. I've been dedicated and man, oh man. I feel so good. I really should start making some clothes for myself and show off this trimmed up frame ;o) If you want to learn more about the program or have any questions, check out my Health Coach Dan's website at http://ohiodan.tsfl.com/ -- he has lost 119 pounds since last August. Now that, my friends, is outstanding success. He's a great coach and will help you get feeling better. One of these days, I'll share some of my favorite Medifast food hacks recipes with you! I'm 4-5 pounds from hitting my goal weight...I might even share my before/after (though I shudder to think of posting my before pictures on the internet LOL -- but hey. If it could inspire someone else to take the plunge, it's worth public humiliation :o)

That's all for now -- I hope to check in again before the summer's over!