Last evening was one of those times when our family had a chance to do something together that we all enjoy. We went to a local blueberry farm where you pick your own berries, which may not sound like a lot of fun, but if you've ever done it before you understand what I mean.

Have you ever wondered what you will look like many years from now? I guess I never really thought too much about that before - until yesterday when my oldest daughter brought it up.

For those of you who have decided to start focusing on your weight loss goals this week, I want to first say, "Congratulations!" It isn't always as simple as it sounds, and I know that. It's one thing to want to do it, and another thing to actually implement it.

As I take a quick look at the calendar this morning, I realize that we are only a few days away from the first day of August. Can you believe it? It doesn't feel like the kids have been out of school for two months already and that they only have one more month left until it starts up again. At least I can say that they've enjoyed most of the things that they look forward to each summer, well, except for visiting a water park. But I know they'll be making plans to do that soon.

Don't you just love it when you can feel great about something you've personally accomplished? I know I do, especially when I originally set one goal for myself and then later find that I not ONLY achieved that but I'm also benefiting from this goal in many other ways!

This summer has been a busy one for me. Believe me, I'm not complaining about it at all! In fact, I enjoy having many activities to attend because it gives me a reason to visit areas of Michigan that I've never seen before. My children often enjoy these activities with me, which gives us an opportunity to spend some wonderful quality time together. They always seem to have a great time even though there is one thing that they would change if they could...

"I don't know where to begin." That is the thought that went through my mind every single day - continuously - when I weighed close to 300 lbs. I had tried thousands of diets in the past and knew that each one only caused me to gain weight in the end. I knew that I didn't want to go on yet another diet, one that would cause me to focus on all the foods that I loved and wouldn't be allowed to enjoy. Been there, done that too many times before and I was tired of all those unsuccessful diet attempts.

"Are you still walking everyday?" That's a question that I was just asked yesterday. And one that I have answered often to individuals who knew me when I was overweight and then witnessed my weight "melt away" as I took my daily 1.5 mile walk. Obviously I answer: "Yes, I still walk every day." Which usually leads to a look of surprise and then another question...

Amazing how quickly the weekend goes by isn't it? Welcome to another Monday and a brand new week - one that I hope goes just the way you want it to! My youngest daughter is very happy that this particular week is finally here, as she will be turning 14 years old in a few days.

"I know I should exercise, but..." and an excuse follows. How many times have you heard this statement in your lifetime? How often are YOU the one giving it?

Yesterday evening while taking my after-dinner walk, I took a different route so I could enjoy some new scenery. Normally I'm not concerned about how many steps I've taken or how far I've walked but for some reason, yesterday I just happened to be curious about the distance and wished I would have worn my pedometer.

Today is the day of the week that many of my friends get together to visit and enjoy a little sunshine as the kids play in the pool, and I must admit I look forward to it a lot! When our children were younger we seemed to get together much more often, usually taking them to the local beach so they could build a sand castle, climb the dunes, run up and down the shoreline, or play football in the sand which always resulted in a swim in the lake to cool off. It was fun but often stressful.

As many of you know, I travel often to different areas of Michigan to tell my weight loss success story, stressing that walking works! I truly enjoy listening to those who are willing to share their weight loss issues with me in hopes that we can solve any problems they have encountered during past diet attempts. Sometimes I worry that I sound like a broken record when I stress that diets don't work, often because they have an "end date" - a day on the calendar that they feel they must hit their goal weight.

Welcome to yet another Monday! I hope you had a tremendous weekend as you enjoyed some wonderful summertime activities. My weekend was pretty full as it included some fun at the National Cherry Festival and also my son's 17th birthday celebration. It was a couple days full of walking, and yes, some good food too. And for those of you who wonder if I enjoy a piece of birthday cake and ice cream at these birthday events, the answer is "yes."

As my children get older and become busier with their summer jobs, I find it's almost impossible for them to schedule their walk time with mine. This bothers me because I don't get the chance to "walk and talk" with them as often, but yesterday it worked out great.

I've been thinking about something I heard the other day while in a parking lot. A child was not behaving the way his mother wanted him to so she told him that if he did behave she would take him to get an ice cream cone.

Do you ever take a moment in the morning for yourself, simply stepping outside to enjoy the outdoors? Today was one of those days for me as I woke up extra early and decided to pour myself a cup of fresh coffee and step outside my front door.

Well, looks like we may be getting some rain and thunderstorms today. But I'm not complaining since we had absolutely perfect weather for the past holiday weekend. Plus, it's nice to know that I not only walked much more than I normally do, but I also had an opportunity to walk with some friends and family members that I normally don't get the chance to walk with. In fact, some of these individuals were under the age of ten which made our journey much more fun-only because our destination was a playground!

I hope that each of you enjoyed the long holiday weekend! I definitely did since I was able to spend some time with numerous family members during the past few days. We had a great time watching fireworks over the lake Friday night after we enjoyed a summer backyard barbeque dinner, followed up by an evening stroll to the beach. We kept ourselves busy the entire weekend and made sure to enjoy every minute of sunshine that we could! As we know, summer flies by very quickly and I focus on making the most of it.

As we know, tomorrow all of us will be celebrating a wonderful holiday-Independence Day. Please take a moment to appreciate our freedom and this great nation that we live in! This Fourth of July weekend will include many fun festivities and allow most of us to spend extra time with family and friends, which I'm personally looking forward to!

I hope you had a chance to walk outside yesterday, wasn't the weather just perfect? And for those of you who happened to remember the song that was included in yesterday's blog, "Sunshine Day," from a well-known Brady Bunch episode, please tell me it made your day just a little bit better? I surely hope so as that is what it was intended to do!

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new month and maybe for some of you, a day to start a new, healthy habit! I realize it's not a Monday but it is the first day of July and I consider it a great time to incorporate more physical activity into your lifestyle and maybe some healthier eating habits, don't you agree?