Midweek pretty!

I have taken some pretty nice pix again lately, so want to put a few up this morning.  It has been so busy at school, I haven't had too much of a chance to get to blogging.  So here is a nice dose of color!

The rare oak tree leaf- at least near my house it's rare

Lovely maple stand on Wagner road

Old truck -waiting

Autumn splendor

Perennial grass in the sun

Top of the hill on Wagner Road

 I love this view! Taken from the end of my Runkeeper map on this particular walk.  It actually shows the size of the hills- sort of!  

Peaceful sunset

On the Tuscobia trail

Another peaceful sunset

Looking forward to continue finding some joy through the camera viewfinder.  Hope it offers you some too!

Multi-tasking

I went for a whole two-hour walk today!!  I was pretty tired when I finished, but it was a really great walk....  and I got some more PICTURES!!!!  I bet you are shocked and amazed, right??

Frost on the River Birch leaves, beginning to melt

Ladies Mantle

Frosted daisies

Frozen water in the horse's bucket

Red perfection

Our road

Frosted foliage on the roadside

Glowing foliage

Frosty morning

So short lived

Woods road

Perfect day

Stand of birch

Sitting in the sun

New surprises pop up everyday!!  What a joy to find them.

Little kid art

We have been busy, busy, busy at the Elementary school, and I have found a few minutes to put up art from all the grade levels in the hall.  I wanted to share some of the projects we have done so far.  Not all of them, but a good representation.

First up:
4th grade collects insects for science and we do a line lesson making up Imaginary insects.

Lol, one kid named his insect Dave

 Next up are 1st and second grades:

Here are some line designs using their names, from second graders (markers, and yarn). This helps me establish their names in my mind!
 Below are Monet-style flowers and vases by the first graders.

 5th grade started the year with line designs called Zentangles.  These are all displayed together on black tag board.

 Back to first grade and leaf printing with glowing fluorescent paint and chalk

 Kindergarten is up next:

These are their clowns that are made with primary colors and shapes......  I fondly call these "Clowns on Crack"  I love these faces.  Lol!!!!

 More 2nd grade work

I know that the 3rd grade is missing, but will update soon.  We have some awesome paintings that are in the drying rack as I speak.  They will be up soon!!

Until next time, enjoy these wonderful examples of student art!!

What a weigh to end September

I am occasionally throwing in a post here about my journey to health and fitness.  It isn't as fun as my photos and all, but I feel the need to update.  I have just recently lost enough weight to be traveling into territory not seen by my scale since college!  This is an amazing thing to me- I can't believe that I have lost 43.6 pounds so far.

I have done most of it by adjusting the amount and to a smaller degree the type of food that I eat and my activity level has gone way way up.  I exercise a minimum of 1 hour on most days.  I have a record of lots of it on my Runkeeper account- which is an app on my iPhone that measures the distance and route that I take for my walks, and also the cardio machines at the gym.  I have recently added weight lifting to my routine, to prepare for the inevitable winter slowdown.

You may or may not know that I am using a website and app called loseit- located at loseit.com as well as on android and iPhone platforms.  It is an awesome site, I recommend it highly.  And make sure you get friends there, because they are the best!!!  I could NEVER have done this without my friends.

Here I am in a plain old "L" cool pink Packer jersey and a size 12 jeans!!!!!  SCORE!!!!!

I've come a long way, baby!

I will say that I have not completely given up on foods that used to be a problem for me- cake and cookies are my weakness- and yesterday I had not only cake, but an apple pie bar, too.  It was delicious.  And I felt sort of guilty about it for a few minutes- but I have learned that guilt does you no good whatsoever.  I really wanted that cake and for that matter the apple thing, so I ate it, enjoyed it and went for a walk to help counteract the effects of it.  I was under my calorie limit for the day, so it's all good.  Guilt is my biggest enemy, as it leads to comfort eating.  And we all know that is a slippery slope!

So, get joy out of little things- eat your cake and then burn it off with a great walk, or bike ride, or whatever you enjoy doing.  It will all be worth it in the end.

More fall photos

It was a beautiful, dramatic night for picture taking last night!!!  The clouds and sun and all were perfect for nice colorful shots.  It really messed up my calorie burn, but I have today to continue that!

I had someone ask about where I go to get all of these great pictures, and I have to confess that I am almost never more than a few miles away from my house. I take the occasional photo taking journey, but usually this occurs on my daily walks.  I do feel the urge for an adventure, soon, though.

Don't forget, you can click on any pix to enlarge it.

Glowing birch

Jewels in the yard

Grandma Weinberger's barn

Blaze

Favorite tree- backlighting

Cloud bank

Favorite tree- on the way back

Peek into the distance

Birch stand

Dramatic clouds and lighting

Clouds over the gravel pit

Finding hidden color

Sunset begins

Hills and trees

Sunset continues

I can't wait to get out there again today!!
Until next time, be a joy giver!