FIRST HIKE OF THE YEAR

I got a call the other day from my nephew, Jason. He asked me if I wanted to go for a hike with him. I told him I would love to.

So, Sunday, Jason, Nicole (Jason's girlfriend), and Trinity came by early in the morning to pick me up.

We went to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park in Laguna Beach. Yes you read that sign right. There are Mountain Lions, Rattle Snakes, Poison Oak, Poisonous insects, lose rocks and rugged terrain there.

Thankfully we didn't run into any of that except some of the rugged terrain.


Most of the area is beautiful. We did come across tons and tons of nats at one point. I hate those little guys.

This is me, Nicole and Trinity shortly after we started our hike. Trust me, I didn't look like at the end of the hike. I was exhausted.

Trinity and Nicole smiling for the camera at one of our short breaks.

We saw some interesting things along the way. This cave was intriguing to us. We wondered what would be inside. Perhaps the sleeping Mountain Lion or bats? We didn't go up to find out.

There was beautiful green moss growing on the rocks. The color green was lovely with the sun shinning on. This picture just doesn't do the color justice.

Look at that rock. Looks like there is a face in it. See the two eyes and mouth? They were also caves. But there was a fence up so we couldn't go see what was in there.

This is Jason looking under fallen tree branches for snakes and/or lizards. While we did hear things we didn't see anything other then one little lizard that ran and hid right away.

We saw several different kinds of mushrooms growing.

Trinity and I thought Fairies may have been living near by as it looked like a place they would live. In fact, I'm sure we heard them singing and laughing at one point.

Well this rock must not have been moved in awhile. What's that saying? "A rolling stone gathers no moss". Well this one had lots of moss on it. Again, that pretty green that was growing all over it.

I have to admit, about an hour or so into our hike I was getting very very tired. I know I didn't take pictures of the areas that were steep but trust me, they were there. I thought I was going to die at one point!

This old gal isn't used to hiking! Since none of us had been here before we didn't know much further the trails went.

This was my stopping point. I saw the incline ahead of us and since we couldn't see how far or how steep it got I opted to turn around and go back the way we came in.

Trinity, Jason and Nicole were great sports! They didn't mind at all. They all said they were there to help me with my getting healthy program so if I was ready to go back they were fine.

They are all in great shape. They go hiking and bike riding all the time. I was the one who has to start off slow.

So back we went. All in all we hiked for about an hour and a half. Not bad for my first time. But I have to tell you, my legs were KILLING me. I wish I would have taken pictures to show you some of the steep parts but since I was about to pass out in those spots I didn't think about taking pictures then. Maybe next time.

Yes, there will be a next time. I had a blast and I am so happy I went. I had a wonderful time with everyone.

After we left we went down to the beach and ate at a healthy resturant. We sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful day.

So how is everyone else doing on their exercise plan? Don't forget that if you are going to join in the A BETTER ME group to email me tomorrow and let me know how much you lost or if you did your exercise. I want to post on Wed how everyone is doing.

SUCH A BARGAIN FOR ONLY $2.50

Yesterday, I promised to show you what I found at Target that I just couldn't pass up.

These darling aprons! They have both adult and child size ones.

They are so cute with the pink and red polka dots and the red ruffle trim.

They even have pockets.

The best thing is they are only $2.50 each in the bargain bin when you first walk in. But, I must warn you, they were going fast. In fact, I got the last adult one.

They also had some darling heart shaped measuring cups and spoons, cookie cutters, kitchen towels and pot holders. I was thinking a really cute little basket could be put together for a sweet Valentine's gift.

Foolish me, I didn't buy the other items. Just the aprons. But, I may go back tomorrow for the other things. They had lots of the other items.

Even if you don't want to buy Valentine items these cute aprons can be used all year long.

MY AFTER GARAGE SALE FINDS

Sorry for the last post today. I've been gone all day and just got home a little while ago.

I went with my sister, Maureen, to a few thrift stores today but we didn't find one thing that we wanted.

Seems like it's getting to be more and more like that at our thrift stores. Even when we do find something we want the item is often marked much to high to even buy.

We then went over to a friend of ours house. We both had borrowed some items from her for a Victorian Tea outing and we wanted to return them.

Well as luck would have it, she had just had a garage sale and had boxes of stuff still in her living room. So, we both went through everything and I found some great vintage linens.

I found this cute little tablecloth. It's white linen with a green hand cross stitch design on it.

Someone spent hours on this. I couldn't pass this up.

Then I came across this hand made table runner in green and white. I started to see a theme happening here.

I'm not a big green fan. Well, I like the color green but I don't really decorate in green. At least not this color green.

But, then I saw this poking out from under some items.

It needs to be ironed. But it was such nice work and with all the green items I thought about decorating for St. Patrick's Day.

I have several tea cups and saucers with clover designs so I think I'm going to have a St. Patrick's Day tea party this year.

I also found this cute vintage hankie in white with green. Since my pile was so far green and white I couldn't leave this behind. So in the stack it went.

With the tea party on my mind I then came across this sweet embroidered tea theme tablecloth.

There are tea cups, tea pot and a sugar bowl on the corners and little sayings in between.

I love this one.

Then a pretty linen tablecloth with hand embroidery done in blues stood out.

The tablecloths are all small ones so I'll either use them on my small outside table or I will just angle them over a larger tablecloth and use them for the center of the table in the dinning room.

The last tablecloth I got was also a white linen hand done with pretty pink and aqua color flowers.

I need to wash these all up and iron them to make them really pretty. But, I couldn't wait to share them with you.

The tablecloths were only $2.00 each. She threw in the hankie and doily for free.

After we finished shopping we had a cup of tea and Linda offered us cookies. But, being the good girl I am I turned down the cookie.

On the way home I stopped at Target. I'll show you what I got from there tomorrow. It has a Valentine's theme to it. Some of you may want to run out and get the same things.

Seems as if I'm planning my life around holidays. But we all know, you have to get the things early because the good stuff goes fast.

A WALK AT THE BEACH IN THE FOG

Yesterday I started my new life style for 2009. I ate healthy, wrote everything down and then I decided to go for a walk for exercise.

But, I didn't want to walk around the neighborhood. So I picked up my camera, got in my car and drove about 20 minutes to Newport Beach.


I absolutely love going to the beach in the winter. Even more so then in the summer. To some of you that may sound strange.

In the winter the beach has an err of mystery, romance and is even a bit eerie when the fog rolls in.


There were very few people there but there were lots and lots of Sandpipers. They are so fun to watch. They chase the water as it rolls back to the sea. Then they peck down to get dinner.

Once a wave comes towards them they turn and run into shore. They run so fast! They almost look like a cartoon when they run. I had to laugh at them.

The lifeguard stations are all closed up now. The sign reminds you that you are alone out there as it says NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY.

The fog was coming in pretty fast and it was getting colder and colder as the minutes ticked by.

However, the Sea Gulls were still hanging around looking for food.

In the summer time the Sea Gulls fly around searching for left over food that humans may leave behind as they go into the water or have packed up and gone home. In the winter they know they have to hunt for their food as the people are gone.

So out with the Sandpipers they stand waiting for something to grab hold of to munch on.

There were a few brave surfers out there. The waves are always better for them in the winter since there are storms that bring with them dream waves.

There were several fishermen trying to catch a fish or two off the pier. I don't know how they did because I didn't walk on the pier today.

Most were packing up though, as the fog was becoming so thick you could hardly see the end of the end of the pier.

My walk did take me under the pier. I have always thought it looks so much better under the pier then on top.

The Barnacles that attach themselves to the pier were pretty shades of white and greens today.

I managed to get a small collection of shells. Now this may not seem like a big deal, but, most of our beaches here in So. California don't have many shells. We have mostly sand.

In the summer shells are almost impossible to find unless you get there early. Then most of what you do find are broken ones.

Up towards the parking area there is a great place to purchase fresh fish.

Early in the morning the fishermen pull up here and you can purchase whatever the catch of the day may be.

This is the area the fish is sold. I'm not sure if they fill the boats with the fish or what. Since I don't eat fish I've never gotten there early enough to see what goes on.

When I looked up and saw these Pelicans I thought they were fake. It's hard to tell but they were very very BIG! Then I saw them move and I knew they were real.

I thought this little lighthouse was cute. I wonder if it lights up at night.

It finally got to cold and to foggy to stay any longer so I went back to my car. Once inside, I just sat there for awhile. It's so peaceful there. I hated to leave. But, I knew it was just the first of many visits to the beach I will have this year.

I'm already longing to go back.

HAPPY NEW YEARS

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years. I know I did. But, now it's time to look forward to 2009 with much excitement and joy.

While I have many goals for this new year my main one is to lose weight and exercise more. You know, get healthy!

There are so many diets out there and to be honest I think they all work. At least while you are on them. But, I don't want a diet. I don't want something I'm not going to "go off" of. I want to retrain myself to eat correctly and move more.

The only way one can lose weight or even maintain is to burn off more calories then you eat. So, I'm going to just keep track of calories. No diet plan to follow. Just watch everything that I put into my mouth and write it down to track it. That way, nothing is off limits. As long as you track it and count the calories.

Of course doing this means one could eat nothing but candy bars all day. I guess you could still lose weight doing that but you sure wouldn't be healthy.

So with the counting calories I'm going to be making sure I get the right amounts of protein and fruits and veggies. I'll post my plan for you tomorrow.

I also found out my health insurance will pay for me to join a gym. YEAH! I never knew they did that. I'm going to take advantage of that and go to Bally's. It's right down the street from me so I have no excuses to go.

My brother had a major stroke last May and he is still fighting every day to recover from it. He goes to physical therapy three times a week now and hates every minute of it. It's hard. It's painful and he gets tired. But he goes! He has never missed a meeting.

When I don't want to go to the gym I'm going to go in his honor. I'm going to look up to him, my hero, and go. I will be thankful that I'm able to walk in to the gym and work out. I will just think of how hard it is for my brother and if he can do it and not give up I won't either.

Now on to the "rules" of A BETTER ME.

Anyone can join. You can post on your blog whenever you like about how you are doing. Write about your exercise, post recipes, share your joy when you reach a goal or anything you want to talk about.

On Tues I would love if you would email me at jk51958@yahoo.com and let me know how much you lost. You do not have to tell me what you weigh. Then on Wed I will post what our group weight loss is. We can see how we are all doing and by showing our weight loss as a group even a tiny little weight loss that one person may have had will add up to be tons of weight lost.

We can all cheer each other on, learn tips and ideas, try new things and just have fun.

I thought it would be a good idea to link up everyone who is going to be in the A BETTER ME GROUP so I've added Mr. Linky. Just add your name to the list and then everyone can come visit you at your blog to say hi.

It would be great if everyone would post something about what their goal is. Is it to lose weight, learn to eat better, exercise more or what?