Happy Birthday to Mark!

Mark's 60th birthday!  Amidst the quarantine . . .

Fishing

 

If you look closely, you might see Kyle's blue hair :)

And we didn't fish, but Betsy was willing to take a picture with me.  She's got a new fun hair color too :)

State Fair 2019

 Betsy wanted to head to the rides first thing ;)

Betsy, cousin Aleigha, and Mark on something called The Guitar.  Yikes!

We did do a few other things too.  Here Betsy is meeting the butter cow for the first time.

I wouldn't mind getting my face painted one day.  They looked so cute!  Plus we got to sit in an air conditioned building while they had it done! 

And the famous pork chop on a stick :)

July report

 If you click on the picture, you might see Skye and Mark walking over on the other side of the pond.  Our new Canada Garden is still waiting for a fence, so we walk the park several times a day.

 We went to St Louis and Mark got fitted for a backpack!  I'm excited for him to get to hike the Appalachian Trail. 

Rachel and our Betsy girl.  Love love

 And more beautiful wedding pictures

More in May

 We had a happy birthday dinner at Mark's favorite Mexican restaurant. 

and we went to Jacob and Lindsay's beautiful wedding

30 Years

Mark and I just celebrated our thirtieth anniversary.  Here we were all those years ago:

I so remember that day.  Isaac wasn't happy because he didn't get to stay in the chapel during the ceremony.  But he did get the first bite of cake afterwards!  

The tux place sent shoes for Judson that were way too small.  I should have let him wear his tennis shoes. He was so happy to get to take them off afterwards.   Back then I thought it was  important that he wear dress shoes. I was wrong.  Ugh. One of the many mommy moments that I regret. 

And in the blink of an eye, it's been 30 years!  We rode the train up to Chicago to see Hamilton, walked to Navy Pier, and took a boat ride on the river among all the skyscrapers. It was a great weekend!

with Mark, the best husband in the whole wide world :)

Keto Con, A Reunion, & A New Boat

Here's a happy man with his new boat :)

We went to Keto Con in Austin and met so many of our keto peeps!  Here we are with the amazing Carrie Brown who is a pasty-chef-turned-keto-cookbook-author.  She has an incredible story of how keto helped her recover and get her life back too, and now she's helping all of us have success in our keto kitchens. 

We also met a baker who's lost 50 pounds and then founded Fox Hill Kitchens where she bakes bread for us.  Another person's recovery story led to building a wine company Dry Farm Wines that provides keto friendly wine to the world.  Keto Con was one inspiring story after another.   As Robin Roberts said, make your mess your message. 

We ate amazing barbecue at Black's barbeque.  Like every day!

We got to visit with Uncle David, Aunt Fina, and my cousin Denise.  They came to Austin to visit with us from their hometown of San Antonio.  We're already planning to go back to Keto Con next year!

July News

July has flown by! Mark got a new smoker and has made some amazing meats--pork belly, brisket, ribs.  We have chickens to smoke next. 

This is the chicken salad from the recipe posted previously.  It was so good.  Makes me think of Paducah and I get a little homesick for family.

Our G Dog is hanging in there.  He had a little turn for the worse this month, but then he's rallied again.  Too much medicine made him weak, so we cut back and he's better.  We tried the raw diet for the dogs, but it proved to be too much for us right now.  I really wanted to get the carbs out of their diets because it sounds like too many carbs are as poison for our dogs as they are for us.  We found a new brand of dog food that is 40% carbs, which is low for a commercial dog food.  I'd rather have them down around 5%, so there's still room for improvement. Anyway, we're happy to have our G Dog feeling better.  He's 12 now.  I used to call him my big strong brave boy, but now he's my wise old man. 

I wore a dress one day!  That's different!

We're still low carb happy.  Mark has been working out at Fit Club and is building a bunch of muscles.  My little Keto With Kynda group at the church is going strong and I'm so happy that this  many of my friends and their friends have been able to lose weight and drop their blood sugars and blood pressures and feel so much better while eating good food.  It is my dream come true.

Mark's first tomatoes here.  We love the bacon & tomato--I add lots of mayo to mine!--even without the bread.  I hear Betsy & Kyle are going to be here this week, so August is going to start off with a bang!  I am so thankful for these so many blessings. 

February Update

 It's that time of year to take some cuttings from your forsythia shrubs and bring them inside to get a head start on spring.  February usually seems long and drab but we've had really warm temps lately.  Next week is forecasted for more of the same--50's, 60's, even 70!

But as my friend Doug said last night, "it's all a tease".  He's right, we're bound to have cold and snow and ice again before spring is here for sure.  In the meantime, the bulbs and the weeds in the garden are starting to show their green sprouts.

V had a birthday this month.  She's 79 very young years old.  She and Mark are watching videos from when Betsy and Kyle were little.  Those always make us smile :)

And here's our Skye girl.  She's still really into shoes.  She looks like she's saying, "I'm not doing anything bad.  Really, I'm not!"  But believe me, she can't be trusted with a shoe. . .

December Update

I've been busy working on a new website called KetowithKynda.com.  It's taking a while but I'm learning lots.  Also getting another tutorial in that life lesson called patience!

A while back, Mark and I had our pictures taken.  Tabitha took great shots even though I get really nervous in front of a camera.  Mark makes me laugh, so the ones of me with him turned out the best.

  Every single one of Mark was good.  He's a natural ham in front of the camera:)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to Mark, aka the best husband in the whole wide world!  I am so proud of him--this low-carb-high-fat way of life has taken his beloved potatoes and bread away but he's seeing amazing results.  His A1C is down by a third, he's gotten off two long-term meds, and all of his clothes are too big.  YaY Mark!  I love you so much and am so proud of you. 

Merry Christmas 2014

A Good Day Fishing

C'mon Pawpaw!

I'm hurrying as fast as I can!