Tag: photography

healthy

Derailleurs are for WIMPS!

Angela Pea9 Comments
Hey Chickies!  My Birthday Extravaganza got an extension.  Why? 

Because of THIS!

 

Yes.  That’s a PINK bicycle in my living room.
A magnificent suprise from my parents!

The parental units came down for a visit last weekend, and we were talking about exercise.  I was telling my Mom about how I try to get some every day (exercise – get your mind out of the gutter!)  Teen Son#2 then chimed in, “yeahbut, she doesn’t ride with us anymore because the brakes and gears on her bicycle are always broken.”    Then I started yacking about how I’m getting too old for that hard, skinny racing seat; about how it’s too uncomfortable to ride all hunched over any more; blah, blah, blah.  Just general conversation that quickly moved on to other topics.  Fast forward a few days.

I got an email yesterday afternoon directing me to my local WallyWorld for a pickup.  I needed gas in the car anyway, so I headed over there right after work.   I wandered back to the shipping and recieving area and handed the email receipt to the lady behind the counter.  The crate that was hauled out of the storage area was  labeled “Schwinn” and “27” Ladies Bicycle”.  I loaded it in the van and took it home, then recruited all available teens to help me get the crate open.  You should have heard the squeals of delight from Teen Daughter#2 and me when we opened the box and pulled out the packing material to reveal a PINK bicycle frame!!  Yes!! 

She’s a plain, regular cruiser that has no gears, no switches, no pull wires, nothing that can put her out of commission!   She has a wide, squishy seat, and tall handle bars that let me drive sitting straight up.  I got put her together in less than thirty minutes and was off on a ride with my kids before it got completely dark outside.  

I’ve had a silly grin on my face all day.  All I need now is a name for her.
Thanks, Mom and Dad!

EMail Anglea Pea

healthy

Progress Pictures

Angela Pea3 Comments
Ha!  For the conclusion of my birthday extravaganza, I sat on my duff and searched through some old photos to find pictures of me at my heaviest.  Seriously?  There aren’t many.  I avoided cameras like the plague.  Looking at these pictures, I amaze myself with the progress!
May 2005, at my heaviest, 223 pounds.  That poor piano bench!
(That’s Teen Daughter#2)
May 2006 – At this point, I had started working on my health, just a little bit.
Christmas 2006.  I found out earlier this year that I have Type II Diabetes, and had finally gotten very serious about exercising and watching what I ate.
(That’s Mr. Pea with me, not some random stranger I met a the office Christmas Party.)
Now…there’s a long gap in the timeline here without any pictures because a) the camera bit the dust; and b) by the end of the gap, I was fat again!  I worked my way down to 159 pounds by the summer of 2007 and held it there for a little over a year.  By January of 2009, I was up to about 165.  By December of 2009, I was all the way back to 185.  Right after Christmas, spurred on by a well-intentioned but still hurtful comment from Mr. Pea and still reeling from the aftereffects of my stroke, I had a major discussion with myself.
Me:  “Self?  You do know you can’t go on like this, right?”
Self:  “Uh, yeah.  I’m tired of feeling tired.  I’m really tired of looking at you and seeing rolls.”
Me:  “What do you mean your’re tired of seeing rolls!?  You have no right to criticize!”
Self:  “Yeah?  So what are you going to do about this?”
I joined Weight Watchers.  I forced myself to move.  I started running,  then picked up speedwalking.
May 2010, 179 pounds – On my way.  Thank you exercise!  Thank you healthy food choices!
Today.  Yes, I know I’m cutting a cake for crying out loud! 
Not the best example for healthy eating, but it IS my birthday today, and my children made this cake for me, from scratch; they even make those tasty truffles decorating it.
Truth be told?  I only ate a tiny piece.  Teen sons will polish this cake off tomorrow after bike riding and football practice.  They can do that eating cake thing.  I choose not to.

skinnyap

creative

Christmas Tour of Our Home

Angela Pea1 Comment
Just because I’m nosey enough to want to see pictures of other people’s homes all decked out for Christmas, and because at this moment my own home is immaculate presentable from hosting a party for fifty seven teenagers Saturday evening complete with bonfire in the lower field, I’ve dropped my name in the list at Tip Junkie for the Virtual Tour of Homes.

Here’s our Christmas Tree, in all it’s sparkly glory. It’s tall. Very tall, because I foolishly wanted a tree that would touch the ceiling in the living room. It holds thousands of ornaments. Literally. Last count was 1,631 most of them handmade or embellished by me and the kids. Twenty seven years worth of collecting.

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The next to last stocking on the right, the one that looks a little lumpy belongs to Preteen Son#2. It currently contains a handful of hazelnuts, a miniature Bionicle figurine and a Snickers bar pilfered from his older sister, ALL of which I am not supposed to know about.
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The dining room…yes, it really is pink, homage to my friend r.a. in Sandwich. Actually, it was pink before I ever met r.a., but has since been reassigned to credit her, as she is the most fanatic pink fan I’ve ever met!

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Part of my snowman collection! Perhaps there are so many of these cold little friends because I have a bizzare fascination for snow, which we hardly ever see here in Texas?

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I love the cheerful little guy on the left – what joy! I made the tall skinny guys on the right from newel posts.

The Santa below was my very first attempt at ceramics. I poured the slip, did the firing and painted him about 20 years ago. And then promptly broke the top of his staff off the very first Christmas! It’s become a family joke that Santa’s hand gets glued back on every year.

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This little fellow is one of my favorites, presented to me by Teen Son#1 a few years ago. He’s so quirky with his lopsided hat, cock-eyed expression and belly full of styrafoam puffs.

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Merry Christmas!