Peaches and Sunflowers

Happy Monday everyone! This is our 2nd to last Monday before the kids head back to school and Summer break is over. 😟 It seems like the last month has flown by. I have tried really hard to be intentional in doing activities with the kids that will make memories as well as get me out of the house as my physical health will allow. On Saturday, I decided to take the kids peach picking at the farm where we usually go apple picking, Legend Hills Orchard. At the last minute, I texted my mom to see if she wanted to go and we ended up meeting up with my mom, my dad and my niece and nephew. 

We had a lot of fun. This is the first year in a long while that they have had a bumper crop of peaches. (Unfortunately it looks like most of their apple crop got damaged by frost earlier in the year.) We have never been peach picking so it was a fun activity for the kids. The peaches are delicious. 

After peach picking, we walked over to their sunflower field. So, in our area there are several farms that have sunflower fields. Most of them charge admission (like $5-$10 per person) to even walk through the fields and it is like $3-$5 per stem if you want to cut your own sunflowers. Well, at Legend Hills, it was FREE to walk through and only $1 a stem to cut your own! The sunflowers were gorgeous and it was so peaceful walking through. We got some good photos of the kids and it was a great experience. 

After, we headed back to my parents house as they live 5 minutes from the farm to grab a quick bite to eat. Then the girls (me, my mom, Rebecca and Lacie) went shopping to get Rebecca some yarn and some new shoes for school. The boys (my dad, Ben, Jacob and Ethan) stayed back and shot bows and arrows and did archery. It was a truly fun Saturday!

Today, I need to clean house, do laundry (as always), send out some emails, and just putter around the house. It is supposed to feel like over 100 degrees today so I will be staying inside and out of the heat. 

What are you up to today? Any fun plans this week? Have you ever picked peaches and/or sunflowers?  

 

Flowers and Butterflies

 Happy Sunday everyone! Hope you are having a beautiful, relaxing day! Today, the kids and I have been to church and are now home relaxing. I am really trying to make my Sundays a day of relaxation as it is good for my mental and physical health. So there isn't too much on my list today except make lunch and dinner, make a peach cobbler using peaches we picked yesterday, and reading some of my book. All of this is inside work with the a/c on as it is supposed to be around 90 degrees today with heat indexes of 100 and very high humidity! 

Today I thought I would post some of the nature photos I took at our local environmental center when we walked on Thursday as I think they are pretty and we can all use some "Pretty" in our world these days! 

I used to post my nature pictures on Sundays when I was out walking a ton. Well, I haven't done that in a while since I haven't been able to get out and walk like I used to. I was able to get a walk in this week on Thursday when it wasn't too hot and humid out. I thought I would take today to share some of the beauty that I saw. Hope you enjoy! 

Have a great Sunday! What are you guys up to today? 

I graduated and Rebecca got a hair cut!

Happy Thursday evening everyone! Hope you had a good day! Thank you for the kind words on my last post. I'm not really sure what was going on last week. I just have to remember that I am still recovering and who knows how long recovery will be. I am a lot farther along in my recovery now than I was even 2 months ago!  

Speaking of recovering, I "graduated" from cardiac rehab on Wednesday! Yahoo! If you remember I started cardiac rehab back in May. Since then I have gone to the hospital to work out 3 times a week, working my way up to the maximum workout levels-- 4 machines at 10 minutes each at high levels and working out with weights. To give you an idea of where I had to exercise, here is a photo of one part of the exercise center....

Anyways, so Wednesday was my last session. After my last session, I was given a certificate and a t-shirt to mark the end of my time there. In the time I was there I lost 10.2 pounds, 0.5 inches off my waist. My blood pressure came down a few points as well. I do feel stronger, although I have to really watch my heart rate when pushing at the higher levels as it doesn't like to come down when I am pushed. My session actually took about 15 minutes longer as my heart rate didn't want to come down below 92. LOL 

So what now? Well, I ordered an exercise bike for here at home. My parents bought me a rowing machine for my birthday. I HAVE to keep up the exercise. Today, I walked 1.56 miles with the kids and Bill. Honestly, the worst thing for me was the heat and humidity. I can't deal with the humidity like I used to. However, I am learning to rest and be give myself grace when I get frustrated because I am exhausted after working out. I've got this. I just have to stay strong and focused. 

Yesterday, after my graduation session, I came home and did a few things at home before taking Rebecca to get her hair cut. A couple weeks ago, she texted me a 2 page google document that she had single-spaced typed that gave me arguments of why I should allow her to get her hair cut super short. I decided to let her as it is only hair. She wasn't asking for a facial tattoo or anything like that. So I asked friends if they had anyone they would recommend and the same name kept coming up. So I made her an appointment and yesterday was the day. Here is the before....

And then the after....

Rebecca LOVES her new hair and I think it turned out super cute! 

Like I said today we took a walk and I took some nature photos which I will share in another post. 

Tomorrow, I think I am taking the kids to the store to get some dress clothes for church. Last week we returned to going to our church and the boys didn't have any church clothes that fit. We don't dress super dressy for church, but the boys wore a Spongebob t-shirt and a WWE t-shirt, so they need some nicer polos and shorts. I think we will hit up Goodwill first to see what we can find. We have 2 more weeks until school starts, so I am also trying to make sure I spend some quality time with the kids so I am also making some plans for this weekend while also trying to take some time for rest. It is a hard balance for sure.   

Well, Ben wants me to go color with him, so I am going to sign off for now. Hope you have a nice night! What's going on in your corner of the world?  

Birthday Week Recap

Happy Monday everyone! How was everyone's weekend? Seems like once a week is about what my blogging is like these days. It is what it is.

Last week was my birthday week. I turned 42 on Wednesday. Quite honestly, last week was kind of rough. I was exhausted everyday and just was super tired. Not really sure what was going on. I do know that I was also dealing with some depression with my health issues. I am extremely frustrated that I am not back to normal after almost 3 months of cardio rehab. (I have 1 more session before I am released.) I still get tired really easily when I have things to do. It takes me 3-5 days to recover when I do something. I wasn't feeling well for several days after we went to Amish country. It is what it is when you are dealing with cardiac issues I guess. 

Ok. I am going to stop complaining. Let's focus on the good stuff from last week. 

I did have a nice birthday. It was a quiet, low-key day. It started off with cardio rehab. 

Then back home and spent time with the kids. My niece made me a chocolate spice cake for my birthday. 

I let the kids have a water day in the sprinklers. They had fun. 

For dinner, we went out to eat at our local Mexican restaurant and I got my favorite meal... quesadilla de fajitas (chicken). It was so yummy! 

Once we were home, I got some gifts--including a new coloring book, an air fryer recipe book, a crocheted water bottle holder from Rebecca. 

It was a nice day overall!

On Saturday, I took the kids school supply shopping. We picked my sister up and headed to Target and Hobby Lobby. It was a nice morning/afternoon spent with my sister. 

On Sunday, the kids and I returned to church. It felt good to be in church again and to receive Communion felt very special. I spent much of the day Sunday reading and relaxing. 

Today, I had cardio and actually didn't feel too bad. I have been puttering around the house doing some cleaning and laundry. I am trying to take some time out each day for relaxation. Today I spent some time coloring in my new coloring book. 

Tonight I watching the Olympics with Bill and the kids and I may color some more. Not sure what this week will bring but hoping it is a good one. 

Have you been watching the Olympics? If so, what is your favorite sport to watch? Hope you have a great week!