February is nearly here

This winter started a month early, heavy snows that built up with each week or two of freezing temperatures and icy packed down roads, trees laden and bowing. It was gorgeous but a little sooner than we expected it so I hoped, but couldn't bank on, the spring coming just as early. We had one single melt-off of any significance before now, but we actually have DIRT under the trees and on the roads now. It's a bit of a shock after so many unrelieved weeks of white or blue or gray. Silence has given way to the noises of life again, birds and squirrels and dogs so far. The smell of ice and snow is replaced by the scent of soft earth and sunshine again. I love winter and I love spring so I feel the loss of one and the joy of the other being on it's way, though I can't help but think that we are going to have at least one more heavy snow or hard freeze.
My dad is coming to stay for a couple of weeks, we're supposed to go get him in a week and I am really looking forward to it, snow or not. I think he'll enjoy being here and will like the area.
I blogged about my goals for the month of January and while I did try, I failed at least one of them. I managed only time 1-2 days a week to work out. That's not to say I had no time, but getting ready, setting aside time and privacy and then cooling off and shower after took so much more than the 10 minute workouts I hoped for so I ended up avoiding them. I think the goal of working out every day was too much for me and I sabotaged myself. However, I have been pretty good about curtailing my calories from drinks and eating healthier, fresher food with more veggies and no fast food. None!! As a reward I have lost two pounds. I was hoping for 4-8, but this is pretty good for doing so little. I was hoping to do a cleanse and detox, but I have always been pregnant, nursing, or sick and couldn't. Til now. So I refreshed my memory by reading through the Master Cleanse and told my friends and husband I was doing it. Then a friend mentioned that lemons can be hard on teeth.. and I have had thousands of dollars worth of work done in the last two years. Allrighty, that's out.
So I ordered samples of a colon cleanse pill and an acai berry mix to try out. "Sample" my aunty. They charged me for the samples I ordered (under $5 total) and then, being from the same company, made two extra charges. The total was more like $200 after that. Our entire grocery budget. Thankfully family helped us out with food til we got our refund and I called every number I could find on the paperwork and website to make CERTAIN I was canceled or removed from every membership or re-orders. One customer service rep actually argued with me that I could get a refund of even use paypal to buy it at all. LOL.
Now I have the pills and my refund. Win win. I don't feel bad though I normally would because they tried to rip me off. Me losing money would be something I would simply accept and learn from, but taking the food off my kids's plates makes me seethe. That company can kiss my grits, I'm keeping the samples. Since I have them and can't do the Master Cleanse, I might as well try the Acai berry instead, so I'll be blogging weekly or more often if I feel like it while I take the pills. I am actually looking forward to it and while I'm hopeful that it will also help me lose weight, I am mostly looking for a less toxic body. At the best I'll lose more weight and be healthier, at the worst I'll have no change at all and I'll still lose a couple more pounds from simply living the changes I've made. Either way, I'm recording it all, hope you follow along!