i'm supposed to be writing an article....

....but instead I decided to blog. It's been awhile! Since I've started seriously writing articles, I've been spending less time fooling around on the computer. And that includes blogging.

But now, here I sit at Panera, trying to make myself concentrate on activities and attractions in Lisbon, Portugal. I'm having trouble concentrating! I've been procrastinating on my articles lately and I really need to buckle down and get these done!

Three days from right now I'll be with the Baby B! I'm headed out to Kansas City to visit Brad, Kari, and Braden. I can't wait! Braden will be 1 year old on May 11. I can't even believe it! Don't worry, I'll post lots of pics when I get back.

Today marks a month of my serious commitment to better health. I've been briskly walking between 2.2 and 2.8 miles every day except Sundays. Seriously. I haven't missed a day. I'm very tan!! :-) (well, for me, anyway - I guess it's really mostly freckles!) I've completely cut salt and sugar (!) out of my diet and have only had dessert once in the past month - on Easter Sunday. I've been eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, and lowfat dairy products, with a few nuts thrown in here and there to increase the fat intake, and I feel GREAT. I don't know that I've ever felt this good in my life! I probably have, but not in several years. And what's really interesting is that I'm doing this for health reasons, not for weight loss reasons. I suspect that I'll lose some weight too, but that's not my motivation, for the first time! But, I can tell that some of my shorts and pants are fitting a little better, so that makes me excited!

We've got some yard work that needs to be done. I want to plant flowers in the front and transplant some of the plants that are in the front to the back. That will entail digging a bed in the back. I also want to plant at least one more palm tree. And I could just kick myself for waiting so long to do it - it gets to 90 degrees almost every day now! And it's just gonna keep getting hotter!!!! And I want to get it done before fall, because the longer we leave those shrubs in, the harder they're going to be to pull up. I haven't told Brian yet. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed at the thought of a weekend of yard work in 90-degree weather!! Not!

Idol tomorrow! I thought last week's show was great. Except that I hate Rod Stewart. I forwarded through his performance on Wednesday. Oh, I also forwarded through most of Chris' performance on Tuesday. I know that saying this is going to make a lot of you mad if you're fans of Chris', but that performance just bored me to tears. In case you don't remember, he sang "What a Wonderful World" and I don't like that song, either. Double whammy for Chris.

My top three were Taylor, Elliott, and Katharine. My bottom three were Kellie, Chris, and Ace. I got it mostly right. I couldn't believe Kellie was in the top 4. Seriously - she needs to go next. But she probably won't, because she's blonde, pretty, and ditzy - and apparently America likes that!

I need to thank my fab friend Alicia for telling me about this game called Brain Age for Nintendo DS. We got it the other day and I just love it! It's supposed to help keep your brain young. It also has Sudoku! Yay! Anyway, I don't think that the brain age test is accurate, since the first time I took it my brain was 40. I took it 3 more times that same day, and my brain was 39, 21, and 23!! 20 is the best possible age. ANYWAY! It's still lots of fun and you should all go get it. I know some people who need it! LOL

All right, back to writing articles. But first, I wanna give a shout-out to the folks at Brushy Creek Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, where my wonderful father-in-law is the music pastor. Hi, everybody! Hope you're having a great day!