Walking again

In September, my dh Chad and I started walking every morning for exercise. For 3 months straight we got up at least 5 out of 7 mornings a week at 5:45 am and would walk 2-3 miles. We did this for two reasons, first because we want to be healthy and second because we are getting older and the weight is getting harder to control. I am by no means fat, and I really don't want to lose more than 5 pounds. Even though I weigh a good 15 pounds more than I used to 5 years ago, I was really too skinny then. I look much healthier now. I just REALLY need to tone up. Having 7 children, with 4 of them weighing in at 9 1/2 to 10 lbs at birth really does a number on your body LOL Anyway, in addition to looking better, we felt GREAT! I didn't realize how sluggish I was, the walking gave me so much more energy, which I desperately need ; ) Well, the holidays rolled around and while we did pretty good through Thanksgiving and into December, we got off track around Christmas. We intended to start back up in January, but kids got sick, we got lazy and here we are the middle of February feeling like crap and looking thick around the middle again.

So, Monday morning we got up at 6:00 am, somehow that extra 15 minutes of sleep made this more doable LOL and started walking again. I can't believe how much better I felt with just that one walk. I am even in a better mood during the day, I can take alot more whining and fighting from the kids before I start yelling :D We even got up this morning with the temps in the upper 30's. I know that is warm to you Northerners, but down here in South Louisiana that is freezing LOL Hopefully we are back on track, I really enjoy Chad's company too, we can talk without any interruptions, which is rare with 7 children. When we get back to the house, the coffee is ready and we sit and drink it together while watching the morning news. A very nice way to start the day before the kids get up, Chad goes off to work, and I prepare for the craziness of homeschooling. Now let's see if we can keep this up in July and August when the morning temps will be around 80 degrees and the humidity 100% LOL The not so great part of living this far down south.

Oh, and here is a pillow I made to go with this home decorating project. This is just the cover because I am waiting on the pillow forms to go on sale. It is 24" by 24", looks bigger than I thought it would, glad I didn't go any bigger. I think I may add some hand embroidery purlsoho style to the brown panels, havn't decided yet. I put a zipper in so that I can take it off and wash it. It is always better if I can wash things, they tend to get dirty in my house for some reason : / I plan on making a couple more pillows in different sizes. The will go on my fireplace and hopefully not the floor.