Teresa's Ponderings

  I basically tried to sabotage myself this week. I had ice cream, junk food, and very little exercise. But, I was also sick part of the week, so there's that. I managed to only gain .2 parts of a pound. 😁 I continue to fit into clothing I haven't been able to wear and I'm back on track and making better food choices.  It's all about the trend.  Next week begins my 46 Climbs hikes. 46 Climbs is dedicated to suicide prevention. This is a topic near to my heart for many reasons, but being part of the hiking community has really raised my awareness of suicide. Every year, thousands of people hike the Appalachian Trail. Many, many of those hikers do so for their mental health. Every year there are a couple thru hikers that go on to commit suicide. It is heartbreaking. The money raised from 46 Climbs goes to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. AFSP's Mission is to "save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide." You can help by donating to

Sometimes life can throw you a curve ball. That may not necessarily be a bad thing, especially if you know how to hit one.  I went into today's meeting knowing I had not been very faithful to my "new" lifestyle choices. In fact, this week I gorged on foods that I haven't touched in a very long time. I truly didn't care. I was in a funk and stuffing my face with nastiness felt justified. I knew I was sabotaging myself. I located my chocolate stash from around the house and enjoyed every single secret bite I had.  Then I cried. I'm pretty sure my hormones are out of whack and probably should get them checked. 🤷‍♀️ My unhealthy choices aren't limited to this week. Last week I traveled to Illinois. I didn't have a single healthy meal or snack the entire time I was gone. I haven't run in 2 weeks and my body hasn't done a workout program for over a month.  I knew this weigh in would be bad. I decided to view it as a starting point and I put on my bi

 This is the first time I've been overnight in the Boundary Waters since our 2019 trip with the kids and our subsequent move to Ely. It's shocking how I can live so close and yet an overnight in the B-Dub seems so hard to achieve. We woke up at 5, showered, got Silas to his second family, and were driving up the Echo Trail by 6:45. The parking lot wasn't too crowded and we were able to park in the second spot in the lot.  There were a couple other families heading in at the same time; one a mom and dad with two teenage sons and the other a husband and wife. The husband and wife were staying on Fourtown and the couple with kids were heading towards the Crooked Lake area.  It didn't take us very long to get our things unloaded and portaged down to the landing. We were able to establish who would carry what quickly. The water was fairly shallow and we walked the canoes a fair ways.  This is the first time I am in the stern. The "littles" aren't anymore and we