Meeting Challenges

"Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew."

~Cicely Tyson

I've challenged myself, and am determined to meet my goal. My pancreatitus has improved a little, but I still suffer more than I like. I already know that one of the things that aggravate it is eating too much fat, and have tried to cut down on my intake, but not seriously enough. I LOVE butter, and chocolate, cookies and cake, candy, candy CANDY! All of those things are not good for me, especially considering I have Type 2 Diabetes to boot.

The other day, one of my cousins was raving about a new online program she found that really seemed to be helping her with meeting her weight loss goals. I decided to check it out, too. And you know what? I like it! It's totally free, and you can learn more about it here.

A few of the things that I like about it is it offers a food diary where you enter what you've eaten for the day, and it adds up the calories for you. There's an exercise diary, too, you enter what sort of exercise you've done for the day, and it automatically subtracts the calories from what you've eaten for the day. There's a great support system, too. I've got people I don't even know encouraging me, and that's a great feeling.

For my choice of exercise, I've been taking my ferrets every morning to walk along the St. Joe Walkway. It's located close to the European Village, a sort of mini mall with eclectic shops and restaurants. We walk along the path for 30 minutes then turn around and walk back to the car. It's not a brisk walk, but it is about a mile to a mile and a half, depending on which ferret I have with me.

It's a beautiful path to wander on, too. You never know who you're going to meet or what you're going to see. The squirrels seem fascinated by the ferrets. I had one walk right up to Bubba yesterday and touch noses with him! We also saw a dolphin swimming up the canal, that was sooo very awesome! I thought about bringing my camera, but only after I was already in the car ready to go. I am bound and determined to take it with me tomorrow!

Wendy was acting the diva today. I don't know if she was bothered because I woke her up before she had a chance to have her breakfast or if she thought the weather was too chilly to walk, or what. She dragged her feet most of the walk in. I have to say I am very proud of her when we meet people, even people with dogs. She's so polite, and acts her sweetest. No dolphins today, but we did get to watch a Little Blue Heron search for it's breakfast. And of course, after we had spent 30 minutes arguing over whether we should walk the path or head back to the car, I gave up and announced it was time to go home. Of course, she ran the whole way!

I'm hoping to get out and work a bit on the garden today. We haven't had rain in so very long, and my plants are suffering terribly.

Hope you have a lovely day planned for yourself!