Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Day 22 - operation 295

As predicted my plans to succeed over the holidays kinda fell down.  But I have also been investigating a new eating plan!  I love WW, love that I can track cals and eat with a specific idea in mind of when I've had enough.... but recent health issues have come up that I'm struggling with the whole idea.  I've discovered that I need to eat wheat and gluten free... and while that isn't new to plenty of folks, its new to me and quite a challenge and quite a learning curve.  I have room to play, I don't have to be super strict, but I do need to proceed with caution.  So anyway, I'm looking at Eat Clean with a little WW thrown in just so I can track what is going on and what my comparisons are.

So I've got 2 of Tosca Reno's books and am reading through them trying to set things up to work with it.  While balancing the girls on the other side.  And that is where I'm at.  Since I eat next to no fruit or veggies at the moment, I'm going slow and moving it in!   I can do this!

I ate really poorly over the holidays... and gained some.... Weigh in on Sunday will tell me how much.

On the exercise front, I did none over Christmas, but this morning oDD and I went for a 2 mile walk, and despite the cold, I dragged the hubs and other 2 girls out late this afternoon for a fun walk 1.45 mile walk!

Tracking my miles here:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

And I have tomorrow's oatmeal (Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Steel Cut Oats) in the crock ready to be turned on at 4 am! I'm getting ready!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Knitting / Crocheting for Special Olympics

So here is my first scarf for the Special Olympics.  It is the 2012 Colours of Red Heart SOFT -  Really Red (9925) and Navy Marine (4604).

I started it at 4:30-ish pm and finished it around midnight.  Making dinner in between and watching TV!  Hoping to get my kids involved with making some of these!

Day 11, 12, 13 - Operation 295

The eating OP isn't going so good, but we did take in a mile on Friday and another 1.5 miles today (even the littlest walked the whole mile - well she ran half of it! LOL!)

Since I'm not posting regularly it is tough to caculate the miles... but I'm getting in at least 2 a week I think!


Weigh in:


up 0.5 lbs  (boo hiss! but I knew that would happen!)


Last night's Lasagna, left me bloated and overfull - even though I didn't eat all of it.  I think if that hadn't happened I would have stayed the same.  Oh well.  Roll on next week, and better laid and kept plans!

I'm printing my journal for the week and tomorrow morning planning out the menu.  Dh's birthday is this week (so a party!)  plus Christmas Eve, then Christmas and Boxing Day...


To all my weight losing friends good luck.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Day 10 - Operation 295

It is early in the day right now - so exercise hasn't happened yet!  But I got started on this post early and hope to be back to finish it! :)

So after yesterday's slacking post, I really did print my journal for the week, and we really did have lunch, and we really did go for a 2 1/4 mile walk around the block (yes big blocks in the burbs!)

The weather is unseasonably warm, for December in our part of the world.  So we took advantage of it and took that walk and my 6 yr old announced that she'd like to do that everyday - I think I've found a walking partner in crime! LOL!    We hung at the park for a little while, the girls played and I shot photos.  Got some really nice outside photos of the girls for my Project Life book! :)  So pleased.

Thanks for keeping me honest.

Today's Mileage - 2.25  mile (yesterday)
Weekly Mileage - 2.75 mile (Goal 8 miles)
Overall 295 Mileage - 6.25  miles!  (week 2)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Day 7, 8, 9 - Operation 295

Ya, can we say slacking.

This is what happens everytime I embark on a weighty adventure, by the 2nd week I collapse in despair and give up - my whiney innerself complaining that it isn't happening fast enough! While my normally logical mind knows full well that it will take more than 6 months to get rid of the weight!  My whiney innerself also stubbornly refuses to plan out a menu and go shopping.  My whiney self doesn't want to take my 2 yr old shopping knowing full well that she won't sit in the cart.  We look like a 3 ring circus in the grocery store lately and that just gets my ire up!!  Yet my logical brain also knows full well that if I provide dh with a shopping list, he'll get what I need him to get and just what is on the list, this is win win right?!

No walking has happened.  But lots of sleep is happening - no not really a good thing -- I so don't love this season! and when pressed the other day as to why, I really had no answer!

I find myself tucking into comfort foods of high sugar and salty foods and high fat foods too!  I haven't even printed my journal for the week which I should have done, but someone reset my computer and we ended up leaving the house for most of the day on Sunday, and I just never got back to it!!

I've got plenty of excuses, but the buck needs to stop here.  Now printing my journal for the week as I type here.  Then we need to figure out a reasonable lunch.  I think the girls and I will have lunch in a sec and then I'll drag them for a 2 mile walk around the block, it's such a beautiful day!  A short stop at the park on the way home will also be in order.

Thanks for keeping me honest, and giving me a boot in the rump to keep on plodding.  Today will be a better day!

FWIW, I said I'd post back on Sunday if we made it out walking, and I never posted.  We did go out.  Walked about 1/2 mile maybe, with me carrying the sleeping 2 yr old most of the way!


Today's Mileage - 0 mile (so far!)
Weekly Mileage - 0.5 mile (Goal 8 miles)
Overall 295 Mileage - 3.5mile!  

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Day 5 & 6 - Operation 295

So Weigh in Day is Sunday even though it is only the 6th day of my week this week. 

Anyway without further adieu... I'm down 2 lbs

Woohoo!

Week in Review
This week has been any eye opener.  I can see where the little bits sneak in.  Ya I'm eating pretty healthy most of the time, but the times I don't are like benders when everything goes to heck in a handbasket!

Our Monday Burrito routine while fun is detrimental if it happens more than twice a week, at times it has.  When I run out of ideas, it easier to go out and grab something with mega calories than it is to just fix something at home, plus it gives me a change of scenery on days when we don't get out as much as we could.  I have succumbed to the convenience of fast food and restaurants.  I think part of me is also jealous that dh eats out everyday at work - and while his choices are healthier he still eats out a ton!

My love for sweet tea - though lightly reined in is still there and like soda/pop/coke it all catches up at some point.  I'm still weaning here, and this week will be 75 un/25 sw

I managed 3 miles this week.  5 miles short of my goal, but that's okay!  I didn't manage to walk as much as I'd hoped this week or even get in much exercise.  So that is a place I need to pay attention and fix.  I did manage to walk a little over a 1 mile yesterday, carrying 20 lbs, & snapping pictures!

For this week my goals are:

  • Continue to follow the WW plan and  eating better  (portion control and more veg & fr)
  • I'm aiming for 4 fruits and veggies daily!
  • I will make a conscious effort to walk 6-8 miles this week.
  • I will consume my 6 - 8oz glasses of water - daily!
  • I will plan better lunches!


Today's Mileage - 1 mile (yesterday)
Weekly Mileage - 3 mile (Goal 8 miles)
Overall 295 Mileage - 3 mile!  


I will update later this aft.  Hoping to get out and walk with the family!

Friday, December 09, 2011

Day 3 & 4 - Operation 295

2 more days of staying on points.  And still working down those extra points I indulged in on Monday - but they are balancing out!  I'm still trying to get the extra fruit and veggies in, but struggling with that.  Might have to resort to smoothies for breakfast to cover that aspect - which isn't a bad thing, with fresh and frozen fruit, no added sugar!  I have a plan!  I just need to make sure I measure! :)

Exercise is also not coming along this week.  I'm not sure if it is the weather, lack of sugar (ya fellow addict here!) or just the season, but I have been really tired this week, yet getting up at the crack of dawn!  Could be the fact that DH is leaving early too that is doing it... but I don't really know!  A nice early afternoon nap has become the mainstay!  hmmm maybe I should go to bed earlier! LOL!

I did sneak on the scale this morning, and was happy to see 2 lbs gone.  I'm not counting on that as my 5 yr old turns 6 tomorrow!  And has requested the one place where I'm likely to over-indulge for dinner.  I suppose if I plan well, I could bring some home, and not eat too much, plus budget my points the rest of the day.  We'll see what happens!

Thanks for reading!




Today's Mileage - 1 mile
Weekly Mileage - 2 mile (Goal 8 miles)
Overall 295 Mileage - 2 mile!

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Day 2 - Operation 295

So today I managed to stay within my points range better, but I need to save some for Friday for my 5 yr old's birthday.  She has demanded that Daddy go to lunch with us at Moe's, and that we take her out for Steak and Sushi dinner.  Major pointage!  There will be cake (unless oDD can convince her that birthday pie is the way to go! LOL! or maybe Fairy cakes! hmmm!)

It was a dreary, wet and rainy day outside.  We started off with a quick trip to the post office to mail gifts.  Some idiot, bashed his car door into my car while it was moving (worth a bag of M&M's but I let it go sans M&M's - told him he was an idiot, and left it at that!)  Drove to the grocery store to get nutritious food for lunch and few staple items, but the 2 yr old had a major meltdown, turned into a raving lunatic, so we left without further thought.  Dh happily brought us home food for tomorrow's lunch when he brought home dinner fixins!

Being wet and dreary, I decided not to walk outside today - figuring I'd get some time on the treadmill, but the couch sucked me in, deep and cozy, so I took a nap.  Was so tired this morning I couldn't even keep my eyes open while doing math and reading with the middlest!  (sad, I know!)  It's close to migraine time for me... so I wonder if this had something to do with it.... hmmm maybe hormonal, must watch that maybe the sudden vitamin kick changed something!)




We had a crappy lunch, but I planned out my points, and I knew what I was getting into.  I budgeted enough for dinner, and added in a couple of snacks... so life was good!

I know Christmas/Holidays are a really bad time to start a life change, what with all the baking, fun foods and a holiday 100% surrounded by food!  But I've been putting it off, and putting it off, and suddenly I feel that pull and need to succeed, very much inspired by Kara over at 365 days and 100 pounds .  I'm determined to do this!

By the end of the day, I will have met all of my water goals, 1/2 my milk (but I take a supplement), 1/2 my F&V intake.  Not bad considering I haven't been watching these in eons!

Thanks for reading!

Today's Mileage - 0 mile
Weekly Mileage - 1 mile (Goal 8 miles)
Overall 295 Mileage - 1 mile!

Monday, December 05, 2011

Uncultured Book List (updated!)

I'm feeling a little uncultured today so I thought I'd post the 100 Greatests! (yes new word!)

100 Greatest books (according to Nicholas Whyte in 2003 - his take on the BBC Big Read)

legend: black=Read, red = not read, green=on my book shelf!

  1. The Lord Of The Rings, JRR Tolkien
  2. Pride And Prejudice, Jane Austen
  3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman (read 1 of 3)
  4. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Douglas Adams
  5. Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire, JK Rowling
  6. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee
  7. Winnie-the-Pooh, AA Milne
  8. 1984, George Orwell
  9. The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, CS Lewis
  10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
  11. Catch 22, Joseph Heller
  12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
  13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
  14. Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier
  15. The Catcher In The Rye, JD Salinger
  16. The Wind In The Willows, Kenneth Grahame
  17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
  18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
  19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
  20. War And Peace, Leo Tolstoy
  21. Gone With The Wind, Margaret Mitchell
  22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
  23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
  24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling (12/09)
  25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
  26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
  27. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
  28. Middlemarch, George Eliot
  29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
  30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
  31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
  32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
  33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
  34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
  35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
  36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
  37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
  38. Persuasion, Jane Auste
  39. Dune, Frank Herbert (hated this one... tried 3 times)
  40. Emma, Jane Austen
  41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
  42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
  43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
  44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
  45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
  46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
  47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
  48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
  49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
  50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
  51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
  52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
  53. The Stand, Stephen King
  54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
  55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
  56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
  57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
  58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
  59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
  60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
  62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
  63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
  64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
  65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
  66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
  67. The Magus, John Fowles
  68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (loved this one!)
  69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
  70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
  71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
  72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
  73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
  74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
  75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
  76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
  77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
  78. Ulysses, James Joyce
  79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
  80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
  81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
  82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
  83. Holes, Louis Sachar
  84. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
  85. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
  86. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
  87. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
  88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
  89. Magician, Raymond E. Feist
  90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
  91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
  92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
  93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
  94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
  95. Katherine, Anya Seton
  96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer (hated this one .... tried 3 times)
  97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
  98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
  99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
  100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
Woohoo - only 76 books left to read! LOL!  (that means I've added 4)

100 Greatest movies that I haven't seen (stolen from AmyDe in one of her Februarywho stole it from someone else! LOL!)

legend:
black=seen, red = never seen

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
6. Gone With The Wind (1939)
7. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler's List (1993)
9. Vertigo (1958)
10. The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
16. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
17. The Graduate (1967)
18. The General (1927)
19. On The Waterfront (1954)
20. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959)
23. The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
25. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
26. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
34. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
35. Annie Hall (1977)
36. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
37. The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
40. The Sound Of Music (1965)
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001)
51. West Side Story (1961)
52. Taxi Driver (1976)
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. North By Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1975)
57. Rocky (1976)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62. American Graffiti (1973)
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
67. Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
73. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
75. In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
76. Forrest Gump (1994)
77. All The President's Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997)
84. Easy Rider (1969)
85. A Night At The Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie's Choice (1982)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994)
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do The Right Thing (1989)

  • 97. Blade Runner (1982)
    98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
  • 99. Toy Story (1995)
    100. Ben-Hur (1959)

    Woohoo - only 85 movies left to see! LOL!
  • Day 1 - Operation 295

    I'm both happy and sad to admit that today was really a fact finding mission.  An eye opener.  I learned much, but learning about your behaviours is the first step to correcting them right?!  So even though it was half a loss, it was also half a win!

    Every Monday for the last little while, I have been taking the girls out for lunch to the same place, we love Moe's (Welcome to Moe's!)  When we first started going, dh and I had difficulty eating a regular sized Burrito split between us, but eventually I just started chowing down and eating the whole thing.  (ha, yes OINK!  *blush*) By the time you have the burrito, add the chips & salsa, Tea, and cookie you're walking away with a 28 pt lunch (at least!)   OMG, good job I had a light breakfast, drink unsweet tea (yes I have weaned myself off the sugared variety a while ago!) and we walked 1/2 mile there and 1/2 mile back (low intensity 40 min exercise - c'mon I'm walking with a 2 yr old!!)

    The girls don't eat the chips with lunch but have recently taken a liking to the black bean salsa (I prefer the verde variety!)  So we bring home the chips, just in case the girls want a snack later, we often toss them, I don't seem to indulge after lunch (ha too full!)

    This afternoon however, I found myself happily munching on some of those chips, twice I stopped to ask myself if I was hungry and twice I was not, I found I was craving the salt on my tongue, so I put back the heaping handful that I took and stopped eating (yes I recorded it too!)

    In an effort to offset the big burrito lunches we've been having - if the weather is not too hot (heat-stroke variety) and not too cold (for my fatless children!) we've been walking there.  As I said 1/2 mile there and 1/2 mile back, totaling a 40 min low intensity 1 mile walk.

    Today though, being one of the last beautiful days of the year, I decided to rake the leaves.  The girls wanted to play outside, so I set to raking while supervising them and I set a timer for 1 hour on my phone, so that we could finish up some unfinished school work for the day.

    Feeling guilty about the lunch as it was presented in my worksheet, we opted for a lighter lunch of (gluten free - for me) Pasta with tomato sauce.

    I also managed to sneak in a couple fruits for the day.  So while I was about 13 pts over my daily budget today, I'm opting to correct this over the rest of this week.

    To change What I love
    I love the tradition of going out for lunch on Monday's with the girls, they look forward to it each week.  I'm thinking we can still do it, I just need to find a way to reduce the pointage.  I can - without difficulty half my burrito and save some for lunch the next day but that would leave me with 2 high point days no matter how I look at it!  I can look into the salads, with better choice of options (hate salad dressing anyway - so save points there!)  This would give me more veggies and might lighten the fare.  Decisions, decisions!

    I'll keep ya posted, on what I decide!

    Today's Mileage - 1 mile  (+1 hr of moderate raking!)
    Weekly Mileage - 1 mile (Goal 8 miles)
    Overall 295 Mileage - 1 mile!

    Tad Files

    So the Tads are now swimming head down.  According to the literature that means they're happy and adjusted!  They are growing and getting easier to find!

    Funny M pointed out that when Tad arrived - he already had arm buds and was quite large judging by these little guys!

    Sunday, December 04, 2011

    Pledge To Lose

    So here I stand, less than a week before my 2nd youngest child's 6th birthday, weighing more than I did when I was 9 months pregnant with her oldest sister (remember I've had 4.)

    I've gone back and forth for years (8 of them to be precise!) with being comfortable being labelled obese, and being sick of the extra 40 lbs I carry around.  I feel awful.  Simply put, I can actually feel the strain this is putting on  my health both mental and physical.

    In the 11 yrs since I last did weight-watchers, I have learned that I'm allergic enough to dairy that drinking milk is unwise (to say the least!)  I can eat nothing related to a cow.  And now, that I quite simply might be wheat sensitive (allergic, gluten? - I dunno but its in there too!)  My diet sucks, I eat next to no fruit or veggies... and I simply hate food - my palate is very bored.

    Well, ENOUGH is ENOUGH!  Tonight, I'm hatching my plan (just like the darn tadpoles that hatched in Frog-quarium - 2 days ago - but that's another story) to get rid of this weight once and for all, and teach my girls the ideas of proper nutrition and exercise! I am currently walking between 2 miles and 12 miles a week, and my diet sucks!

    But I have goals.
    • Over the next 295 days I will lose 40 lbs. (at least!)
    • Over the next 295 days I will improve my eating with nutritious food!
    • Over the next 295 days I will walk/run/exercise more to aid in my goal of losing this weight!
    For this week my goals are:
    • Follow the WW plan and begin eating better (portion control and more veggies & fruit!)
    • I will walk 8 miles this week.
    • I will consume my 6 - 8oz glasses of water - daily!
    • I will plan better lunches!
    I hope to post my successes and challenges daily, along with other events that are happening in my life... like my Project Life Scrapbook, fun stuff the kids and I do and well about life in general.  So if you're reading this, I hope you'll keep me honest, root for me, and wish me luck! :)  I will be skinnier before I turn 40 (I turn 40 in 296 days from this post! I begin tomorrow!)

    Tad Files

    So in May of 2008, we got a tadpole - from the Grow-a-Frog company! - whom we named Tad - not knowing if it was a boy or a girl! Tad has remained Tad and he is in fact a boy African Clawed Frog.  A short period later, I ordered a habitat for him not knowing that it came with a live froglet.  We named the froglet - Lily, also not knowing if she was a boy or a girl!  Well low and behold she was a girl!

    Fastforward 3.5 yrs, Tad and Lily have mated a couple times, but did not produce offspring.  This past week however was another story.  2 tadpoles survived.  Here is one of them!
    (the little line, slightly off center - a 3 hour old tadpole)
    They are now 2 days old, and not much bigger, but thriving.