Never, never, NEVER thought I’d say this. Yesterday I joined a Fitness Club. Me. Yes I did. We have a place here in my town that is like Curves, but this is run by a Christian lady, who has achieved great strides in fitness and weight loss. She must have lost 150 pounds. I went with a friend yesterday, not sure if I would be able to do everything…but, I DID! EVERYTHING! TWO TIMES AROUND! And, I went back today. And did it again…2 times! I am proud of me.

I have made a committment to get healthy. I am dieting. [I have been doing South Beach, but the exercise lady swears by Dr. Gott’s NO SUGAR, NO FLOUR Diet…and she should know!] And I am exercising, and I am taking a health supplement that a lady in our church sells called Mona Vie. It’s full of vitamins and minerals, and anti oxidents, probably some swamp slime and who knows what, but my brother in law says it has changed his life. It has some kind of berry they found in the far reaches of the universe that is supposed to have wonderful healing powers. We’ll see. I am NOT a nut who falls for crazy things, but several people I respect highly have seen a big difference…so, I’ll give it a try. Now if one of these 3 new things in my life kills me, we’ll never know who to blame. Except for myself…for taking so long to get with the program.

Wish me luck!

 

This is one of my classes of 4 year olds. Are these not the most precious souls? Look at those faces! The first week of school, each day was a different color day and they wore clothes that color. When I made this pic I told them to say “Mrs. Owens is silly!” As you can see…they sure believed it!

This is their teacher, Mrs. Wright. I don’t like her much, though…shes a size 2! Only kidding…she’s a sweet, sweet lady.

My friend Lynne tagged me to do this meme…so here goes:

ACCENT: Southern through and through, Ya’ll.

I DON’T DRINK: coffee…smells great, tastes nasty!

CHORE I HATE: Unloading the dishwasher.

PETS: Scooter, a 12 year old wire-haired fox terrier. Love him to death!

ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: Well, I have a new laptop, that I LOVE! I also have a cell
phone, a Palm Pilot that I rely on daily, a Nintendo DS that
is my mind candy when life gets lumpy.

PERFUME: I don’t wear much, but my favorite is a little known kind, called
Niven Morgan Gold. I found it in Destin and have since found it closer to
home. It is a very light fragrance. You can usually find it in speciaty
stores.

GOLD OR SILVER: Well, I have a whole wardrobe of jewelry in yellow gold. But my
tastes changed, and now I wear all white gold in my fine jewelry.
And, I love sterling silver also.

INSOMNIA: I haven’t slept all night in so long, that if I did, I’d probably be 6 ft.
under! My biggest complaint now is NIGHT SWEATS! YUCK!!

JOB TITLE: Well, my preference is QUEEN, :)….but my kids at school call me Mrs.
Owens. My boys call me Mom and my husband calls me all the time!

MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: I asked Alex what he thought this would be, and he immediately
said,”compassion.” Well, I thought he said “Fashion”, and
while that is a fine trait to have, it would make me appear
to be quite shallow. I felt much better when he corrected
me.

KIDS; Adam Ryan is 32, his wife Suzanne is 32, Alex Townsend is 25, and Ian David
is 24.

PHOBIAS: Lightning, spiders (actually any bug), and DENTISTS!!!

RELIGION: I am a Southern Baptist, and active in my church.

SIBLINGS: I have one sister, Joy.

TIME I WAKE UP: Usually I wake up about 5:30 every morning…or earlier if
Scooter’s bladder calls.

UNUSUAL TALENT OR SKILL: Gee, that’s hard. I think the skill that has served me the
most is my ability to stay calm in an emergency and do
what has to be done quickly.
I also love arts and crafts and can figure out on my own
how to do the things that interest me.

VEGETABLE: I like tomatoes, broccoli, and black-eyed peas. Hate beets and
asparagus!

WORST HABIT: I am a pack rat. I just hate to throw things away…I may need them.

X-RAYS: Probably everything I have has been shot at one time or another. The
latest…dental.

FAVORITE MEAL: My Mom’s beef liver in gravy, with her mashed potatoes, and fruit
salad…with sweet tea, of course. And ANYTHING chocolate, for
dessert!

Thanks Lynne, this was fun. If you are reading this, consider yourself TAGGED!

Joy, Mom, Tonja……8-18-07
Originally uploaded by Tonja Owens

Just one more pic to share from the Birthday Bash. I LOVE this pic of us! We are so blessed to live close and get to spend time together whenever we choose. I thank God for my beautiful Mom and my sweet sister…(yes, she’s beautiful too…and don’t we look so much alike?)
I found a picture frame for Joy for her birthday and it had this scripture on it…which I think is so appropriate….

“GOD HAS GIVEN US THESE TIMES OF JOY.” Psalm 81:4

To me it was a reminder that every thing in this life that brings us joy and happiness and contentment is a gift from the Father to us. Each time we smile, we should say, “Thank-you” to Him who is the giver of smiles. I admit that I sometimes take them for granted as if they are somehow ‘owed’ to me. But, they are not and I vow to remeber this and make my thanks known to God for his rich blessings.

BIRTHDAY BASHERS….07
Originally uploaded by Tonja Owens

I have been trying to get these pics since last week. You remember the unfortunate accident with my camera…it is still in intensive care, so I am depending upon the kindness of others to share their pics with me. Thanks Joy and Adam.

Our family has 5 birthdays in the month of August, so we always have a Birthday Bash at some time during the month. This year Mom was hostess and we had a wonderful dinner. A table full of goodies. Our “family” consists of 3 extra loved ones. Bill and Pat are our dear friends and pop’s riding buddy. And Uncle Allison and his family lived next door to us while we were growing up. He had 3 daughters and we all were truly like a family. They were Aunt Katherine and Uncle Allison to Joy and I , and Mom and Pop were Aunt Eloise and Uncle Clyde to their daughters. Aunt Katherine and one of the daughters, Brenda, live with Jesus now, and the other 2 Jolene and Jan , live quite a distance away. So no family gathering is complete without these 3 joining us, too. In the picture above, celebrating birthdays in August are, L-R…my sister Joy, brother in law, Tommy, myself, brother in love, Bill, and my beautiful Mom.