i know some people dont love the whole valentines thing but it is so fun to me i dont care if the greeting card company made it up- any day where i get to be pretty treated with sweetness have a declicious dinner and some romance is right on in my book my room is clean and im knitting with that heres the stuff i eat salad with chicken a different salad with chicken repeat repeat this is the hard thing about it not a ton of delicious options im kind of kidding ive found a few other yummy things too i am determined my problem dear anne is that it is 2009 kids dont like to get all fussied up anymore and i dont think they would go to the trouble of making up stories about lost broaches to be able to go to a silly church picnic in my mind the little girls are wearing spring dresses and holding parasols with their gloved hands while the boys are eating biscuits and drinking homemade rootbeer with their hats and suspenders on but i live in a dreamland where i want everything stylized i know you understand me anne valentines day preparations but the main thing i love about this picture is tree cover you can see in the upper right corner thats how it was all around the block even on really hot days you could find a great place to play in some serious shade everyone had a huge tree or trees somewhere on their property and bushes and ivy and a great variety of things the only reason we had those young trees on the corner was because my mom sold our big palm tree to some palm springs landscapers ha the deal with pcos and carbs but we feel more blessed and amazed than ever at lifes unexpected twists and turns and how happy we are that there is a loving heavenly father that understands the little picture we have in our minds for our lives and gently and lovingly helps us change our vision to a masterpiece i really love life let me explain Buoy dinner i kind of snack or have a lunch type meal again dinner is tricky because i still need to prepare dinner for my family so i do but im not super hungry at night so i just eat whatever broccoli a little of what theyre having or snacky stuff or chicken wings or crispy thin crust pizza but i always end the day with a low carb ice cream bar but i couldnt stop looking at the picture because it shows the place where i played for the first 12 years of my life hard to find only a little ive met some truly kindred spirits in my life so far especially my two nicoles (well coco i not so much met as i was born to the same parents) i love them girls and their cute purses seriously though my closest friends are fun real and honest good entertaining in love with life a little crazy down to earth deep and incapable of bs all day the kids hung out at that corner played on that grass got drinks out of that hose went through the secret passage way in the juniper bushes and only left the area to go around the block over and over again sometimes it was on bikes with banana seats sometimes roller skates sometimes big wheels sometimes walking even occasionally on skateboards with cardboard boxes on them (our cars) she follows me around all day just in case she might be needed for something anything cute little penny is just a wee dog but she feels strongly that part of her duty is to scare the crap out of anyone who gets near our house just so they know no one is going to mess with her family not on her watch she is undeterred by bigger animals and scary men- they all get yelled at to stay away i went to the fabric store tonight in search of prints to make some new spring scarves with some will probably end up in the shop too i just love this look also i love toast (the catalog and the cooked bread) and i cheat like alot well usually i ease up on weekends but i feel so crappy and bloated again that i cant wait to start eating right on monday but i have kind of had to tell myself this is just the new lifestyle and if i want to indulge every now and again im going to cause id rather die than not be able to have some chips and guac or a slice of cake every now and again so if i eat like this 90% of the time then ive noticed that my body or the scale doesnt mind if i wander in my choices a bit the other 10% exercising everyday helps with this too i feel like its a great trade off- feeling great and a regular period for a little self control i thought id live there forever one day when i was 12 my dad quit his job and we moved to lake tahoe it rocked my stable world a conversation today