Stephanie Lake Mary FL

Today I took 2 walks. The first was early this morning with Tommy. He has started walking with me. I didn't take my camera, because I knew I was going to be taking Douglas to the park this afternoon. So after we finished straightening up the house and putting the last load in the dryer, we headed to the park.

Now for those of you who don't know Douglas, He is 13 with Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Kabuki Makeup Syndrome, and Developmental Disabilities. Douglas is very attached to me, so when I asked him if he wanted to spend the afternoon at the park with Mommy, he became so excited. This bottom college is my "Douglas" college. He truly enjoyed himself. He walks very slow, so we just strolled around the park and by the water for over an hour.

The town must have just planted their fall flower. The colors were so brilliant. And their aroma....AHHH!

The park is right next to the St. John's River. The views were so pretty, eventhough the sun wasn't out too much. The breeze off the river was so refreshing, since it was almost 90 degrees here today.

I think Douglas really enjoyed his day out with Mommy. I know I did.

Stephanie, Lake Mary FL 7:00 - 7:45

Getting Up Early To Walk = Loss of some sleep

Downloading Music To Ipod = $10 for 10 songs

Remembering to Recharge Camera Batteries = ! UGH

Keeping Dog from Barking as I Leave the House = 1 cheewe

Forgetting Water Bottle = Dehydration

Imagining the First Sip of Coffee when Finished = AHHHH!

Realizing That I Am Now 2 Sizes Smaller = PRICELESS!

Thank you Creatively Fit (Cindy and Haley)

I have noticed that some of my clothes are a little larger than they were 2 months ago, so last night I tried on some of the clothes hanging in my closet for the past 2 years and low and behold some fit! I was so excited!

So today I decided to try something a little different today. I walked with hand weights. My upper arms are a little flabby, and a camera is a little light to build up my arms. I left my big camera home and used my phone for my pictures today. They came out pretty good.

The College below is of the different stages of the sunrise that

I experienced this morning. It was cool and very pretty. I am

SO INSPIRED

Yesterday my husband and I took a bike (motorcycle) ride to Mt. Dora. We parked the bikes and walked around quite a bit. What an Awesome place to walk and take photos. Cindy, we will have to go back and walk one day...You will absolutely love it. I will post a few pictures later on.

ARE YOU INSPIRED?

ARE YOU FEELING GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF?

I SURE AM!

Have a great day everyone.

Happy walking!

Stephanie Lake Mary FL 7ish - 7:44

I think fall may have finally landed itself in Lake Mary FL. I hope it is here to stay for a while. I took a picture of the clock and thermometer cause as I stepped outside I couldn't believe how cool it was. Yesterday it felt like I walked into a laundry mat...steamy and hot...My husband took his bike to work last night. You can see my reflection in the chrome. Some of the street lights were still on and the sun was just beginning to rise.

This college above is of all the signs of fall I saw on my walk today...and this one below...I think Mr. Squirrel really want his picture taken today. I think I see him almost every morning. It was like he was posing for me. The Sky looked like snow, and I liked the way the sun reflected on the top half of the large tree. I grew up on Long Island and school always started after Labor day for us. The weather was always starting to get cooler so school busses always remind me of fall.

These are my favorite shots of the day.

I had a very bad dream last night. It was a mothers worst nightmare. Needless to say Douglas got an extra special huge hug and kiss this morning. I had tears in my eyes when I went into his room and he said good morning Mommy! Between that and the crisp air my walk was extra refreshing today. I have been walking every day, but have not brought my camera thinking what new pictures could I possible take fo my neighborhood. Well I am glad I did today. This afternoon is Football, and Tomorrow hubby and I will take a motorcycle ride...hopefully to the coast again.

I hope everyone has a great walk today.

Happy walking,

Stephanie Lake Mary FL 6:30 - 7:30 pm

I couldn't get my walk in until after dinner today, and boy did I need it. My husband asked me where I was going to walk, and I wasn't sure. Well I ended up at Reflection Park. Cindy has walked here, so I hope I don't duplicate any of her photo's. It was a pretty night, still warm, but pretty.

When I got to the park, there were ducks everywhere. They saw me walking close to the water and I think they thought I was going to feed them, cause they all started to swim towards me. The white ones were so pretty.

There is also a dock and a gazebo overlooking the lake. It was starting to get dark, so I headed back toward home.

I was one with nature this evening. The clouds were all different shapes and the sun lit them up. I felt very refreshed when I got home

I hope you had a great walk today!

Stephanie Lake Mary FL 6:20 - 7:00 pm

These gals aren't part of my walk this evening, but I just wanted to share them with you. Chloe found her voice a couple of weeks ago, and Sam is just starting to find hers now. Anytime they hear a bag open or the pantry door open, they get very excited and squeek.

I wasn't able to get out this morning for my walk, so I decided to go after dinner. I took Katrina with me as company. We walked just outside our neighborhood, behind some of the buildings. I am so glad we went behind the buildings, the breeze was blowing gently and the scenery was good for taking photos.

I saw quite a few dead trees, I thought they made great pictures. Katrina seemed to be getting tired, so we didn't walk too far. I had to take a picture of the bumper sticker below. There are several pool companies offices where we were walking.

Happy walking everyone. Tomorrow is Hump day!

Football then the Journey Concert!

Stephanie Lake Mary FL 6:45 - 7:20

Leu Gardens - The Rose and Butterfly Garden

Good Morning Fellow Walkers. Today I headed out early...Have a lot to do today, but really wanted to get a walk in. Yesterday I spent the day gardening, which entailed quite a bit of bending and lifting. I was very tired last night, but felt pretty good. Well when I got out of bed this morning, my legs and hips were very sore. But I pushed through it and went for a walk. The last few blocks of the walk, my legs felt like they weighed 100 lbs each. UGH!... I didn't bring my camera today, because I wanted to finish posting my pictures from my walk with Cindy last week to Leu Gardens. I am really looking forward to going back in December to see the rose garden again. Roses are so beautiful to photograph.

Leu Gardens

Happy walking everyone. I hope y'all have a great Monday. I know Cindy and Chris are! Congratulations! Great things happen to Great People....

Stephanie Lake Mary Fl 7:37 - 8:37

Today I woke up so ready to walk. As I was getting dressed, I was trying to decide where to walk, so this is where I ended up. Pretty close to my house we have an area called Technology Park. It is an area that many businesses have made their home. At the entrance of the park is a pretty lake...I saw a crane, some ducks, and a squirrel. The bird in the top right corner was sitting on my neighbors fence.

The scenery around the lake was so refreshing...Today walk was long...I walked for exactly 1 hour. It was real nice walking, because it was Sunday the businesses were all closed so there was no traffic on the streets. The only other people I saw was 2 men reblacktopping a parking lot. My music was great this morning. Started off with Heaven Must be Missing an Angel. I replayed it 3 times. Cher, Kelly Clarkson, Nickleback, Michael Jackson, Colby Caleigh, Jason Mraz, Zac Brown Band, Brittney Spears, and Jimmy Buffet all played today. It really was a long walk.

Tomorrow will be a hectic day. Have to get food ready for the Boy Scouts Court Of Honor tomorrow nite. So I will be walking real early and staying in the neighborhood. I am hoping Cindy and I can get to walk together this week.

Happy Walking Everyone!

Stephanie Lake Mary FL 8:15 - 8:45

Boy it is still so hot here in Florida. When will it cool off. Today I was a little discombobulated, and forgot a few things. The most important was my camera, and the paper towel to wipe my sweatey head! BUT I did have my phone and managed to snap a few shots of my neighborhood. I have lived in my community for a little over 9 years and in these past 9 years the trees have grown so much. I am sure I have pictures somewhere of these trees when we first moved in.

In Florida we have lots and lots of lizards running around. We have to be careful no to step on them. When we first moved down here I was petrified of them, now they are just part of the ground to me. My son Nicholas loves to pick them up. If you grab them by the tail, the tail breaks off and they grow a new one. UGH!

I saw 2 kitties sitting in someone's driveway, they didn't look like they were the best of friends. Then I passed the small playground we have for the youngins in the neighborhood.

Was a nice walk today. Helped clear my head a bit. My brain is going 100 mph lately, between my boys, school, football, trying to find a job, bills, scouts, and everything else that life has to throw at us, that today's walk was welcomed and enjoyed.

I promise to post more photos from Leu Gardens later on today. Douglas starts horseback riding again today.

Happy walking everyone. Have a beautiful day!

Stephanie Lake Mary, FL

Well Today and Yesterday were crazy with Dr. appts, so I was not able to walk. My husband and I did decide to go on a short Motorcycle ride yesterday, I took a few pictures with my cell phone of where we went. I think this place will by on my list of future places to walk.

Stephanie Lake Mary FL

These pictures are from yesterday's walk. I walked from 9:00 to 10:20 am. I ventured out of the neighborhood and walked 2.2 miles along a path surrounded by lots of foliage. 2 pictures in this college are not from my walk. Before my walk I needed to take Douglas to physical therapy. The receptionist asked Douglas if he wanted to see a woodpecker. We went in the office and there he was pecking on the side of the building. Once he saw us he flew onto a branch and I was able to take a picture. There is a glare from the window, but you can see him in the top right corner. The other photo not from my walk, is the center left photo. I was dropping Douglas off at school and there were the Jurassic Park birds pecking at the ground.

The rest of these pictures are just random photo's from the walk. It was a real nice path, not very colorful, but very peaceful. I saw many walkers and bike riders. The lake had a boat house and lots of lilly pads. I found a large bush with heart shaped leaves, and I thought of you Haley. The path looked never ending but wasn't too bad.

I did go out walking today, but it was very early and was still dark out. I did not bring my camera, cause I still had so much to share from Leu Gardens and yesterday's walk.

Happy walking everyone...

Stephanie Lake Mary, FL 10:00 - 11:30

Leu Gardens, Orlando Florida

Today Cindy and I finally got to walk together. Cindy took me to Leu Gardens and what a beautiful place to walk and talk and escape the everyday craziness that life seems to hand us. I took over 100 pictures today, so I will be posting them throughout the week along with my daily photos. Cindy had been to Leu Gardens before, so I just followed her lead. Everywhere we turned there was more beauty. I have to say, my favorite garden was the Rose Garden. As you can see from the college above, the roses were just beautiful. We chatted with a man, I guess he was an arborist, and filled our ears with information on roses and how they love the cold and are most beautiful in December. He snipped off two roses and gave one to each of us. Very nice man.

These next two colleges are just random shots taken throughout the Gardens...as I said earlier, I will be posting more photos throughout the week.

Thanks Cindy for suggesting we go here today. I just loved every minute of walking and talking, I wish we could have stayed longer. Maybe next time, when we have the entire day free.

Stephanie Lake Mary, FL 7:30 - 8:15

This is my favorite photo of today...I just love the colors!

Today I was trying to beat the rain...and I did. It was very quiet out this morning and almost gloomy. The sun was hiding behind all the clouds and it actually felt a bit cooler today. I did sweat a lot though! The flowers were pretty today. And of course had to get the mushroom picture.

This made me feel as if fall was on it's way. I saw 1 leaf that had turned color on the ground, and the bark peeling off the trees gave the fall effect.

The bird of paradise by the community pool were beautiful today. The spinkler and the water droplets were a real cool effect also.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Happy Walking!