March goes out like a lamb...and weight..and war

Been a busy month:

Ok not by those standards! This is Sam & Hazel watching Old Yeller. Ha ha ok that's just a joke but I posted this pic on facebook and said that. Everardo let them both up on the couch and as we looked for alternate sitting I snapped the pic.

Ok other things that happened in March:

Fields of flowers bloom on the road between Maneadero and Ensenada. I remembered it from last year, and yet was still amazed this year as we drove by. There's several fields in a row and the flowers are so beautiful. And then, in an instant, they're gone. But for a few days when you're driving by it's so pretty, so spring like...makes me think of colored Easter eggs. From here to Ensenada, which I think is about 25 miles all together is agriculture. Fields of asparagus, broccoli, green beans...organic farms that send their produce to the states for Trader Joes and other stores, non organic...there are fruit tress in the hills. The Guadalupe Valley is becoming host to more and more vineyards, I've read articles about it being the "new Napa Valley". That area is not right here, it's north and a little east of Ensenada. But everything grows here. It's funny, the "good looking" product goes to the states and the crappier stuff stays here. The grocery stores carry alot of fruit- apples mostly I think- from the states, but it's the pieces with bad spots on them. You can tell the fruits from the states because they have the little scanner stickers on them. Gotta wash those as well, right?

Ok, another thing happening in this area and up the southern Calif coast is that dead sea lions are washing up on the beaches, more than usual. Also baby seals, and actually this morning as I danced down there on the beach a baby seal came up out of the water. He seemed exhausted. For the baby seals, the news has reported causes including the momma seals having to travel farther to find food for their pups and the pups get lost. Some people blame the warmer waters for less bait type fish, but here at least in this bay, the boats that sweep thru with their huge nets taking all the bait fish and putting in the tuna rings out at the mouth of the bay is raping our waters here and I read it will take at least 50 years for the bay to recover.

So this baby seal seemed tired out. Probably hungry and lost. I stopped dancing and called the marine Veterinarian who works with Profeta (the Gov't group who take care of the marine life along the beaches). She gave us her direct line last summer when we tried to help Bob the Sea Lion. Anyway Everardo was just coming out of the water from a swim with Sam, so I handed him the phone and he told her about the baby seal I saw. A couple who had jogged by had also stopped to see him, and I saw the man walking back towards us. He told me his wife went back to their place to get some of the fish their son had just caught to give to the baby seal. I told him I had called the vet and that she said they were on their way- but this is Mexico- sometimes on the way means just that, and sometimes it means something else. Well the guy said he's wait for them, and we talked and said maybe if the little guy ate some fish he'd take himself back into the water. I'm not sure how it all worked out because I came up to take a shower and make my protein shake, and so an hour later when I went out and looked, everyone (people and seal) were gone. Hopefully the pup ate and swam away, but if the vet cared for him, that's good, too. The guy said they were here for the week, so maybe I'll see him again tomorrow morning and can find out the end of the story. However it ended- it was good.

For the sea lions, I have only seen large adults wash up, and although some of it is those same fishermen, killing them in competition for the bait fish, and sometimes it's being hit by propellers. The same issues with the warmer waters would apply, although where we were down south, the water was always warm and there's lots of types of fish, but do they migrate up here? I don't know. Anyway last week my husband was down on the beach burying a couple of large sea lions because although Profeta tries, they have just had so many this year, and while we wait for them....if days go by, hot days.....well the smell might just kill ya. Everardo said that technically the public is not allowed to bury them....but he waited until late afternoon and did the deed. Our dogs and the puppies next door went down to watch...

Well tax time is coming and we are very lucky to have friends who come down to northern Baja every year, so they brought them down here for us to sign like they did last year. They come with a group Amor Ministries, who build houses for people in need. About 6 or 7 years ago, before we moved here, I came down with them one spring with my younger daughter for a week and we helped build 2 houses. One family was living in a car, the other in basically a cardboard house. We camped nearby and worked for 4 days and built 2 small, 2 room houses. The experience is amazing....much more than you can imagine. I recommend it to anyone, especially kids who have trouble imagining how hard others may have it. It was quite moving for me as well. So when we drove up to Tecate to see them the other day, we stayed a few hours to work with them. For next year we hope to be part of the plan, the team, and work with them the entire week. Here's a couple of pics from that:

Ok the person hugging with the puppy is me. He was sooo tiny- he belonged to the family they were building the house for. I didn't work as hard as Everardo, who helped with the nailing of the chicken wire to the tar paper prior to the stucco application, put in windows, etc, while I did a little hammering, but a lot of chatting with the other team members, a couple of who had been there the year my daughter and I came, and some on their first trip. They asked alot of questions about how it was living in Mexico, and moving around like we did.

Ok so I did not start my part time job....we shall see if it turns into anything, but so funny - I got offered a couple of other part time jobs! Man when it rains it pours! None of it is right this minute, and at least one will probably be on more of a project basis- I actually put together some info on a spreadsheet for someone and made a few pesos...but what's nice is that I have options, all of them good ha ha- all are part time offers which is all I'm looking for.

This has been month 11 of 12 for my healthy lifestyle change. How many months does it take to make a habit? I think I have created good (healthy) habits about exercise & food. Last nite I wanted a snack and the idea of a crisp green apple (granny smith) made my mouth water. Yipee. I am pretty proud of myself for making the commitment to myself, and then keeping it. And tomorrow is the last day of year 1. So tomorrow I make a new commitment. I am going to commit to another year. Another year of exercise and healthy eating. One benefit of this commitment I plan to work towards is losing another 30 lbs. As of last week I was on 50 lbs, and my last official weigh in for the year will be tomorrow. So it may be another pound or two....whatever it is I will accept, be happy, and start again. I wanted to write about it today so that no matter what the scale says tomorrow I will have said I am proud of myself. The truth is I have this fear that I won't be able to lose any more weight, that I will stay as I am now. Yes- I have done good- amazing actually. I accomplished this weight loss, this better shape, able to breathe, to move so much better than a year ago right now, by a steady process of consistent exercise and consistently healthy food choices. Ha ha when I started this I wasn't that good...I exercised a couple of days a week, I made poor food choices on weekends...but somewhere along the line I began to change.

I hurt my foot during the summer- pretty sure I broke my baby toe, but I kept on exercising. I went to visit my sister and brother in law in Sept, but kept up the exercise and food choices. In fact I made up a dance to one song because I was in Upstate New York and it was freezing in the morning! Ha ha! It involves alot of arm swinging...front to back with arms bent which really gets your heart rate going. The fact is I was trying to warm up. So it's a good one for me now as I try to do a workout that goes high intensity, then low, then high...etc. (I've been reading so much about how that's the best way to work out). So it's a great cardio song/dance which I can follow with a rock n roll song or something by Diana Ross & the Supremes...Yes my music is zumba from Mexico mixed with  70's (& earlier) rock n roll- some of which is the "take it easier" songs and some- like Stevie Ray Vaughn keeps the cardio up. But whenever the song from NY comes on I think of my sister and the Bear (that's what we call him)...so I like it alot. Ha ha I'm actually thinking of putting on my New York teeshirt and making a video of me dancing to that song to send to them...hey I could be a utube phenomena! ar ar ar ar...ok maybe now. I gave myself Thanksgiving Day off, but I actually practiced a little restraint. Oh I tried everything...and to stop myself I took a walk after eating. It was cold outside (ok cold for here, which meant I wore a sweater ha ha)...but I walked anyway.

But that damn fear has snuck in. I tried to figure it out, and roughly it's been about 25 years since I've been the weight I am making my new goal. I know I was happy with myself when I hit it- I had this purple skirt that fit just right- yeah purple, right? But not right purple, a darker  shade and I wore some kind of business jacket and nice blouse and looked very professional at work, but I still remember I felt like I had my own little secret about being happy about how I looked. Then I met my ex husband who was/is an amazing cook, got pregnant...well I just never made it back. I have been this weight, where I am right now. And it's not bad...not terrible....but it's not good. Ok truth- I'm wearing size 12. To me that's still pretty huge. Acceptable...but  I know I can do better. However, if I stay at this size, even with eating smart and exercising, then I will re-evaluate. I will be healthy, I will not allow cancer back into my body if there's anything I can do about it. And the number one thing I can do is be healthy. You know I can't believe a year has gone by. And I have changed in this year. Alot.

I believe I am changing for a few reasons. Of course we are always changing, it's the nature of life...learning growing. Hmmm let's see The more I grow the more I realize I don't know. The more I realize I don't know, the more open I am to learn. The more I learn...the more I grow. Yeah- that's it. I think the combination of my continued walk on a spiritual path as a part of AA,  joining the meditation group, and the way I feel as a result of better living (exercise and food) is all part of it. And the whole thing about how exercise creates the endorphins which make you feel better. It's like a never ending cycle..in a good way, I feel better so I keep doing things that make me feel better. I feel so connected to life, so others, to the world, to the earth, the universe..to it all.

I have little patience now for the chaotic insanity I see happening....the US is such a mess...I don't know any more if it can be fixed. The greed for power- which results in continual war, struggling people in a bountiful country...a few super rich and then everyone else. I am still going to vote, but no more voting democrat in the big races because I felt voting  green was giving votes to the republican party. I will vote green because they follow my beliefs. I know what I am about. I know I am against killing, I am against war. Do I know the solutions? No, but I no longer need a solution to identify a problem. It doesn't matter that I don't think we will ever stop killing each other. And I mean this about the whole world. What I like however is that there really are so many people trying to do the right thing, to help each other, to help the world, that there are so many people connecting wanting positive results for us as a people, wanting to save our planet. Will they ever out weigh the greed, the power mongers, the Monsantos, The Cheneys? Sadly maybe not...maybe even probably not. Will we figure out another planet before this one goes belly up? I don't know the answers to any of these questions. I always like the saying: Think globally act locally. But for me, now, it's even closer than that. It's how I behave right now. In this moment. Maybe my creating positive energy helps....just a little. I am happy with the people, the kind of people I have around me now. I feel like I am attracting positive, real people, and that's what I want in my life.

Ok feels like enough. I guess I had alot in my head that needed to get out. Right this minute hubby needs my hands to help with his project of making a screen door for a funny sized, bent out of shape slider opening. So for now: Viva!