First week of summer

This has been my first full week of summer vacation, and I still haven't quite adjusted to the idea that I have the next two months free. I'll look at the clock at night and it'll be, say, 10:30pm and I'll think, "It's getting late, I should probably head to.....oh wait.....I don't have to go bed! I'm off!" and it's such a great feeling. I feel a little guilty about it, all this free time when my poor husband works practically 7 days a week between his regular job and his side gigs servicing aquariums. I will say he's been happy that I've temporarily taken over all the household chores (except mowing the lawn) and he doesn't have to lift a finger when he's home in the evenings. It's no big deal to keep the house picked up and to throw in a load of laundry here and there when I'm here all day.

I saw Marla and baby Carsen yesterday. They're both doing great. I've been over twice in the past two weeks and I usually get to spend an hour or two holding the baby. She's always so good when I'm there; mostly she just sleeps. Yesterday she finally opened her eyes for me, but only for about a minute. She looks far more like Marla than baby Alice did; Alice looked exactly like her father, who is of Asian descent. Carsen has light brown hair and fairer skin, and looks more like a mixture of both her parents. Speaking of her parents, Marla is glowing with good health and happiness, and her husband is already so calm and capable when handling the baby. I'm proud of those two--they're doing a great job so far! They're the sweetest little family.

I've been walking more this week, despite the heat. I'm in the middle of week 7 of my diet and exercise lifestyle change. I've lost 8 pounds so far and I'm feeling better and better, physically. I try to hit a target of 10,000 steps daily and sometimes I can get over 12,000 if I start off the day challenging myself to be mindful of opportunities to move around.

I went to the farmer's market on Tuesday and bought the first watermelon of the season. It's so delicious! I love cold salted watermelon on a hot day. I also bought some zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Eating healthier is so much easier this time of year when fruits and veggies are at their peak of goodness. I plan to make trips to the farmer's market at least once a week this summer. I may even try freezing some things, since we have a small chest freezer that's sitting empty.

Well, off to do my one "extra" chore for the day. I've tried each day to pick one thing to accomplish which takes about an hour and isn't part of the normal daily routine. Today's chore is giving both the dogs a bath. They're going to hate it but it needs to happen. George is always especially dirty. He loves rolling in dirt like a pig! Which is probably exactly what he'll do as soon as I finish giving him his bath today. He's such a punk!

How's your week going?