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Sprague Lake - Rocky Mountain National Park

Estes Park, Colorado - June 5, 2011

Thought I'd borrow an idea from BlogFriend, Betsy From Tennessee, and post a picture from last year's summer adventure in the hopes that a sparkling alpine lake with snow-capped mountains in the background might drop the sweltering temps a few degrees.   Sorry, Betsy, it didn't work when you did it and it isn't working today!!  Guess we'll all just have to be patient - fall is coming.

Moving on to "cooler" things.............

I'm hoping to hear a collective rendition of Happy Birthday from all parts of the country when I just casually mention that today is the day.   Yep, I become 57 years young at approximately 10:54 a.m.  I was born on a Sunday morning, and my mother always laughingly told me that since we were good Baptists, I was born between Sunday School and Worship Service!!  

But the news is much bigger than the fact that it's my birthday.   A few weeks ago, when I realized I wasn't going to quite make it to goal weight by my birthday, I set a smaller goal to have lost 57 total pounds by my 57th birthday.   I didn't say anything about it because truthfully, I am so close to goal, it didn't matter, but when I realized the numbers jived, it sounded like fun.   And yes, this morning (actually, yesterday morning), the scales rewarded me with that elusive 57th pound.

Now, I want to hear that collective rendition of YOU GO, GIRL from all corners of the earth!  I am so proud of myself and it feels so good.  What FEELS different this time is that I believe I am in control.   I am not approaching maintenance with fear because I am content with the way I am eating and don't intend for that to change.  The last time I was at this point (in 2007), I was already scheming about things I was going to eat and restaurants I was going to visit.  Of course, I was going to keep it all under control and thought I had it all together.   And for awhile, I did!   I stayed at goal weight for more than a year before I got lazy, picked back up some bad habits  and well, we all know what happens!   This time, I'm not scheming.   There's nowhere I want to go, nothing I want to eat or any plans I'm making that are different from the way I've been living for the past eight months.  And that's a good feeling.

What am I doing to celebrate?   Why hiking, of course!   By the time you read this, I will be well on my way up the mountain for another great day on the trail.  Bill's summer class has finished, but he needs to be at school one more day then he'll be out until August 15th.   We have a couple of fun things planned for this week to celebrate my birthday and then several days next week at a cabin in western North Carolina with friends from our college days.   It's our last few days to celebrate summer before he returns to school for fall semester.  And we plan to enjoy every moment!

I'm having a virtual birthday party!

What gift of wisdom will you bring?