Birthday month- so far so good!

July has been a good month in an excellent summer (which I have somewhat discussed in my previous post) and I just want to examine that for a moment or two.

The last 2 summers since I began my blog, I have partied hearty during the month of July.  Making sure that I went out for lunch as much as possible, had a lot of little shopping trips and I just generally carried on quite a bit both online and in person.  

So why have I been quieter on my blog this July?

Well, mostly because I have been living a lot of life!  When you start your day by 5 or 5:30, head out for a morning walk 6/7 days, get in a gym workout, gardening, art work, house upkeep, shopping and errands and all the things that you have to do in day to day life (especially prepping all those veggies for meals) has kept me busy!  My best time for writing is early morning, and also later evening, and my computer time has been limited.

I will say that my entire summer has been quite enjoyable.  I began with a trip to Minneapolis to hang out with my seester, Rose and then, a few weeks later,  headed to Janesville to spend a bit of time with my kiddos and of course see and even babysit my baby grandgirlie, Ella.  On to Chicago to meet new/old friends and later visit my mom and brother and see a ball game......  whew!

I've been able to get in some shopping and have some really great food.  I've gone to a dog show, berry picking up in Bayfield, my first trip to Madeline Island and lots and lots of photographs were taken.  Closer to home I have gotten in some canoeing, lots of gym and road time, and even a stint in a juror's box.  I managed to get some cement work finished and have watched the progress of my awesome garden shed, and later this summer my house will be completely resided and that gives me so much joy I can't begin to tell you about it.

So, it has been eventful for sure!

This has been a very different summer for me psychologically and emotionally- it is the first summer that I am not striving to lose weight ever in my life.  I guess accurately, on loseit, I am trying to lose more, but that was something that I did when I was still in maintenance transition.  I think I am going to end that goal.  I have now maintained at this weight- right at 150 - 153 for about 3 months now.  I think my body likes it here.  And other than a little tummy staring me in the face, I am pretty happy.  

So as I look at my life at the almost age of 55, I for the first time in my life am sort of happy with my self.  Somehow that seems tragic and sad, yet I am not sad about it at all.  I absolutely wish I hadn't had to wait until now to be ok with my physical appearance, but actually I am kind of ok with it.  It is what it is!  I can do so much now, I rarely get tired, I can keep going through my day and not really need a lot of rest.  This has added a fantastic dimension to my summer.  And to keep my from killing myself doing stuff, I have developed a touch of arthritis in my knuckle on my hand....  which is the way my body is limiting my time doing one thing for too long.  An hour weeding is all I can do at one time, then  I have to have 2 - 3 days of rest from weight lifting in a row to keep my hand and arms from being numb.  I can mosaic for a few hours and I can canoe about that same length of time.  But I can do ALL of them on one day, so variety is the name of the game.  Of course I am fighting the joint issue with supplements and massage and good old "Vitamin I", but still.  Whatever!

Fitness wise, I am thrilled to be able to zip through 5 - 6 miles with no problem, I am no longer concerned that my knees don't want me to be a runner, and so excited that I can bench press 150 lb,  deadlift 135, and keep up with my ultra-fit friends at the gym.  I plan to keep this going- I'd love to be able to bench MORE than my weight and to do another compound lift, like the clean or clean and press.  I am going to work on that soon.  

So, this summer I am learning about balance.  Balance in my eating habits, and for heavens sakes letting go of all my own personal rules and regulations regarding eating and exercise and the like.  Of course, I do log my food, just to keep an eye on my calorie intake, because that can get out of hand in a heart beat.  But I am attempting to let myself enjoy food, and eat small amounts and mostly just not focus on losing weight every minute.  Balance in my activities and actually balance between being busy and being lazy.  I like being lazy- a LOT!

So, my birthday month is going awesomely, swimmingly well.  I am having a great one, in spite of the fact that I haven't had the time to tell you about it.  I am going to try to sneak in some shorter posts as I get closer to my birthday.  I'll wedge that time in somewhere.  AND if you are one of those people I usually have lunch with, for goodness sakes CALL ME!  You know I will clear my schedule (or at least rearrange it) to include some quality time with my friends.  Mean while, I'm walking, or at the gym, or in the garden, or doing some cement work....... or pining to see my kiddos or my grandgirl.... or hanging out with the MA at the local garden shed in progress....

And I will definitely be searching out some more Birthday Month Joy!