...before you expire.

That phrase was on a reader board at a church between my house and Mom's, so I read it at least once a day for about a month!

Sometimes those things stick.

I ran across this photo last week. It was taken last July just before Annie moved to Brazil.

I immediately thought of the photos I'd taken of Karen and me a couple of weeks ago...

What a difference a year makes!! I think we've lost the equivalent of a 6th grader between us! Inspiring? I think so. It inspires me -- we inspire each other -- to keep going!

So, I've done pretty well, considering all of the hoopla so far this summer -- a big wedding, 4th of July, Annie & her family visiting from afar. I haven't weighed myself in weeks, but feel little difference in my clothes so am confident that overall I'm holding pretty steady. I did start to feel a little icky around the 4th of July, and noticed that my ankles and feet were swelling again -- it felt awful, and it was a big reminder of where I'd been and how far I've come, and I sure don't want to go back!!

I want to keep wearing my cute shoes!!  :)

I really haven't strayed too far from the principles that helped me get here -- which says a lot, actually, about how this style of eating is definitely for me! But there is definitely room for improvement, so it's time to crack the books and get firmly back on track, back to basics. I'll be doing another Whole30 (as close as I get, anyway) in August. It's a great time to do it, with all of the fresh local produce* coming on strong, and perhaps I'll focus on exploring more sauces and things this time.

In addition to the excellent resources linked above, there's always something on sale (or even free) for your Kindle/app on Amazon.

*I plucked the first ripe cherry tomatoes from my own patio garden this morning!