Everything looks more beautiful after it has rained.  In the past month, we've finally had a few inchees of rain.   The drought stricken ground has been replaced with a flourish of vibrant colors:  tiniest white daisies I've ever seen, yellow and purple flowers, orange pansie like flowers which stand tall.  I transplanted a few and placed them beneath the cedar trees.

My new garden is brimming full of fledgling greens, onions, potatoes, garlic.  In patio pots I have picante peppers, tomatoes (2 varieties), green and red bell peppers, egg plant, a lemon tree full of flowers, lavendar.  By early June the first greens will be ready to eat.

The little sapling trees are bursting forth with leaves: pecan, red maple, red bud, oak, raintree, weeping willow, hyacinth, hydrangea and a couple of exotics I don't know their namesetc.

I gardened outdoors early this morning - the temperature was probably mid 70s.  It is expected to be 90+ degs today.   With all this rain, the weeds have sprouted too - and I discovered an ant's nest beneath a large rock - so we need to put something down in the ground to kill them.  The ants in Texas are vicious.

The cactus is pretty tasty, I had to cut some down today to pull up a flowering bush I wanted to transplant.  It was being crowded out by the cactus.  One day, I will try pickling it.  I have a jar of pickled cactus in the refrigerator.  It has a slimey quality - sticky and watery but great on crackers with cheese and some hot sauce!

Less than a month of school left.   Hooray!!!!  There are many things I would love to write about school which will have to wait.

My weightloss is not progressing - I will be brave and each week print my weight.  That will embarrass me into action!  I have been so lazy about exercising.  Summer is on its way and it's time to stop thinking about it and doing it.  Gardening outdoors was at least some healthy exercise. I broke out into a sweat about half an hour after being outdoors.  Later I will take a two mile walk. 

My current weight is: 187 - I have been as low as 184 in the past couple of weeks.  But stress just puts it back on again. Being 5ft 7, it  means I have a good 50 lbs to lose.  The number seems huge.  Not that 50 is needed to be healthy. Losing 20 will be good.  My current goal is to get under 180. I will give myself four weeks to get down to 175...it should be achievable (it's about 3lbs a week to lose).  It will be the first time I've been that weight in three years.

Printing it in my blog will keep me focused on actually sticking to my weight loss goal.  My efforts in the past couple of years have been abysmal, in other words hopeless and pathetic.