Ellen has announced the Beauty of Hope Carnival on her site. I’m speechless, as I read through these entries. So much to love about these fellow bloggers! I’m feeling full of hope today, at least right now, though that might change in about 20 minutes. (Because I’m moody!)

If you love great quotes about writing, Sally at All About Children’s Books has collected some wonders. More inspiration for you.

On my homefront, a small victory in the world of us who are secretly wearing our “pep-o-meters.” I walked 8500 steps yesterday, on a rainy day. I wrote this in my comments that I walked back and forth in a flat spot in our backyard, much to the chagrin of our puppy (who hurt his paw on something and had to be carried inside, yipping with wet fur.)

I briefly considered making up the difference on my treadmill. Briefly.

Oh! One more thing I must record for all of posterity…the ice cream incident. I did not eat some ice cream yesterday that I normally would have — all because of my new weight loss goal. I ACCIDENTALLY put chocolate syrup on someone’s ice cream who ABSOLUTELY did not want chocolate syrup — and so that ice cream could not be eaten. If I’d been in my usual mode of let’s not waste food — if it’s not eaten by one of the kids, then I better eat it mode, I would have devoured it. But I’d worked too hard trying to walk my 10,000 steps to eat ice cream that I didn’t really want.

Slowly, I’m trying to overcome my habit of grazing…eating leftover food that I don’t want to throw away. I have this mental habit of eating for two…that’s why I weigh an extra two sacks of potatoes. (Got that?)

So, losing weight is not some big, huge task that you tackle all at once. It’s making decisions like I made — I will not eat that ice cream — over and over again.

Maybe one day I’ll actually be drinking water and munching on celery sticks for pure pleasure. I’m not there yet. Chocolate syrup on ice cream sounds pretty good to me. Back to my step-counting.