Spring ... Time to Renew Myself

I love springtime.  It's probably my favourite time of year.  The snow melts, the birds come back, twittering away, blessing us with their song.  Plantlife comes back to grace us with their presence.  The sun shines more; the temperature climbs, people are happier.  It just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

So what a perfect time to "renew" myself.  I now have exactly 12 weeks to bikini shopping day.  I think my warped little mind didn't get serious until there was exactly 12 weeks left.  Now it's do or die.  It's amazing what the mind and body can do when there's a tight deadline.  I never used to thrive on that kind of pressure but having a definitive goal helps a lot.  Thanks Celia :)

So I decided to go back to basics.  Body for Life teaches to set goals (no problem, I've done that), to take measurements and weight (yup, did that this morning (urgh!), to take pictures (see below) and to plan your workout, meals and gameplan (yup ... that's done too).  The past couple of months when I've re-set the clock to zero, I was skipping all that.  This time I'm doing it right.

Obviously I'm nowhere NEAR where I want to be.  But I'm heading in the right direction.
This morning I did all of the above, plus I had a really good upper body workout, had my protein shake right after, then had a nutritious brekkie and recorded everything I did.  So I'm off to a great start!

My weekends are often spent outside at this time of year.  There's soooo much to do.  Yesterday I cut back all my ornamental grasses and some other stuff - what a difference to the landscape!  I took a bunch of stuff out of the shed and realized that I need to empty to entire shed, scrub it down, then organize everything inside.  THAT should take an entire day.  Of course ahose would help in that regard.  So off to Canadian Tire for a hose and hose reel (our other ones died last year).  Today we have some shopping to do (the list started with 3 things ... I lost track how many are on there now) then I'll be cutting back material in the north garden.  And then the fun begins....moving a rose bush, which I need to do sooner (now) than later.  That necessitates moving about 7 or 8 other plants.  Oi!  But I love it!  This is what I live for.  Getting outside in the fresh air, working with my hands, enjoying the birds and sun and warmth.

I have made one other resolution this year though.  I decided that this year I was going to enjoy my gardens, not just work in them.  So it's mulch, mulch, mulch this year.  I can't wait to have friends and family over, sit on the deck with a cold bevvie and enjoy the outdoors.  I looked at the BBQ this morning and remembered BBQ'd breakfast (french toast in AMAZING on the BBQ), latte on the deck.  I am so grateful for my life.

So....I have to make the most of it.  And that means getting back into shape (it's been a loooooong time) so I can be the best "me" that I can be, so I can offer my encouragement and my help to those who want it.

Some aspects of my life are about to get very regimented ... especially workouts and nutrition.  But I'm good with that.  I am going to start putting Barry through his paces on a regular basis ... workouts hunny, don't get too excited lol ... but I'll still have time to deal with the house and the gardens.

I just love springtime!