Word Clouds

I am often amazed at the stuff on the internet. There's a site that lets you take a string of text and turn it into a "word cloud." The words that are used most in the text are then given larger type. Here's a word cloud from my post on visiting Sedona, buying the little Peruvian dog figure, etc. Just for fun.... I was thinking if you had a poem or story or even a letter from a loved one, anything that really meant a lot to you, you could turn it into a word cloud.

There's no place like home

It's SO unbelievably good to be home. Today's trip was pretty uneventful, which was what I was hoping for.

There were some gorgeous clouds and interesting views from the plane.



Buster was really glad to see me, he hasn't left my side since we got home.

Well, sorry for the short post, I'm tired and it's time for bed. I have to work tomorrow and still need to unpack.

Going Home

Yes! I can't wait to get home. Back to my routine. Back to my DOG!

I'm a bit nervous about the trip itself because Hub is still in a lot of pain when walking, but we will get through it. I'm concerned about the luggage, since he's not allowed to lift anything weighing more than 5 lbs. Mostly I'm concerned that he will TRY to lift some of it, and I'll have to yell at him.

He got out of the hospital on Thursday, and we've taken it easy for the past few days. We did drive to Sedona (about 30 miles away) for lunch yesterday and I did a bit of shopping. Not sure exactly what attracted me to this little guy, but he made me smile and I had to buy him:

"Day of the Dead" Dog
(Peruvian Folk Art)

I'm really looking forward to seeing Buster. We have a friend staying at our house to take care of him. Our friend also has a little dog who gets along great with B, and the three of them have been going to the park 3 or 4 times a day. B has just been in heaven with that because he just lives to go to the park. He'll probably be really sad after our friend leaves since he won't be getting multiple walks a day.

Wish us luck with the trip home!

Greetings from Arizona

Flagstaff, Arizona! So what the heck am I doing here?

My husband has needed to have back surgery for a long time...in fact, since I met him almost 25 years ago. He has kept putting it off, I think because the idea of someone cutting into his back was really scary. His brother, who has the same hereditary back issue, finally went to a neurosurgeon in Flagstaff last year, because he knows him personally but mostly because this guy walks on water, at least as far as neurosurgery goes. And Hub knows him, just a bit, through business connections. So even though we have the best medical care in the Seattle area, he wanted to have the surgery in Flagstaff. So we traveled all this way for back surgery. We flew from Seattle to Phoenix last Sunday and then drove to Flagstaff.

We are staying in a very nice hotel, in a handicapped unit. Well, right now, it's just me, because Hub had the surgery on Tuesday and is still in the hospital. But he's doing really well, and we expect he will get out tomorrow. Then we'll stick around Flagstaff until around next Tuesday, flying home then.

So, what's on my mind?

Can you guess?

Of course you can…my weight!

I've been eating crap for the past two weeks…stressed out is my excuse. Not being in my normal routine is my sub-excuse. Bottom line is I've gained I-don't-know-how-much weight. Maybe 7-8 lbs, who knows, I don't have access to a scale.

All I packed was sweats, shorts, capris, t-shirts. Well, the doc (who as I said we know somewhat aside from his doctoring) invited us to a picnic at his home on Saturday afternoon. I had nothing to wear, so I went shopping today and bought a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and a cute jacket. (I thought it was going to be hot here, but it's been rainy and cool, so I totally packed the wrong things.) Evidence of the weight gain is I'd been in a size 10 jeans all summer but had to buy a size 12.

But you know what?

I'm not freaked out about it! I know that when I get back in my routine, I will get back down to my 10's. That's real progress…the not freaking out, I mean.

Another positive thing is, rather than sitting on my backside all day, I finally worked out at the hotel gym today and felt great afterwards. Food has been pretty good today, and I think I've worked out all my junk food desires because I literally ate nothing but crap the last few days. And eating crap makes you feel like crap. Duh. Like I didn't know that. Yes, I obviously still use food for comfort and to deal with stress, but now I recognize it and accept it as part of my emotional makeup. Eating stuff that is bad for me doesn't make me a bad person.

I'm feeling a new-found desire to start blogging again on a regular basis, and I have been thinking of a new positive approach that has almost nothing to do with my weight. So I'll be keeping in touch.

Time to go visit Hub in the hospital. Take care, everyone!