the sweet feeling of success

Well, it isn't really THAT much larger than life, but todays weigh in sure felt good! Stepped on the scale this morning and weighed 152.5 lbs, down 12.5 lbs from where I started. Even better news, I tried on a pair of shorts that were too tight last summer (and resided in the bottom of my drawer until yesterday) and they were loose! As are the ones I'm wearing as I write this! RPM is quite impressed - (told me I'm getting my shape back!) and has even gotten into the spirit by asking if I'm on a shake day or not.

We have resumed our long after dinner walks, and I'm feeling good. Even better is that I'm feeling refreshed waking up in the morning so I'm sleeping better. I have gotten into a routine that allows me to have my morning and lunch shakes, eat my snacks and not feel like I'm starving right before dinner. Dinner has been consisting of grilled chicken, fish or the occasional steak, salad and a 1/2 cup of veggies - asparagus is in season around here so I've been taking advantage of its availability.

I've been working in my garden - flowers, not vegetables. The rose to the right of the page is called "Harison's Yellow Rose". It is a cutting from rootstock dating to about 1860 - it was a volunteer at my parent's home and when they moved, I dug out several shoots and this was the one that took. Harison's Yellow Rose is most often seen in the area from the Ohio Valley to New Mexico. It was one of the first rose cultivars in the US and is a cross between a shrub rose and a Scottish Thistle Rose. (and it has some really nasty stickers, I might add!). It has a spreading habit and sends out runners. I put it on a trellis to attempt to manage it, and still it is on the verge of eating my patio!

This rose went west with the pioneers and was often planted at the back door. You can tell where houses once stood by the presence of this rose. It isn't fussy and seems to thrive on neglect - I live at the northern edge of its habitat and I'm convinced that the reason it has done so well is that I have it on a southern exposure and it is sheltered from the north wind. It is really a Zone 5 plant rather than Zone 4. End of horticulture lesson!