A Little of This and a Little of That

I just finished watching Canadian Joannie Rochette skate the short program in the Olympics. Talk about a tear jerker, I think even the announcer was crying a little. I know her Mom must be so proud of her. Joannie skated beautifully and the ovation at the end was well deserved. I am not sure I would have the same emotional strength. My heart goes out to her and her father.

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As I was cleaning my house on Saturday, I had a brilliant idea for a post all about my fabulous life. A fabulous Saturday full of cleaning – the dog, the kitchen, the bathroom, the whole house. As you can tell from my lack of posts recently, the writing of that post did not happen. When I finished cleaning the house, I finally took my shower for the day and at 5 pm; I did the hair and makeup as if I were going out for a fabulous evening on the town. No such evening was planned but I needed the pick me up. I did visit a friend so my efforts were not totally wasted.  I almost forgot the "best" part of day - walking into a kitchen chair leg.  I think I may have fractured a toe. Ouch!

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Where I'll be this weekend!

Last Tuesday my brother called to ask me to watch my nephews this Thursday and Friday when he and his wife go to Las Vegas for the NASCAR race. The next evening my friend called to invite me to go with them to Las Vegas for the NASCAR race. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I only felt a twinge of guilt when I called my brother to let him know I wouldn’t be able to help out with the kids.

I leave tomorrow and will not be back until Monday night. My friends are taking their fifth wheel down and we are staying at the track so no cost for a hotel room. We’ve planned all of our meals in advance and will only be eating in a restaurant one night. There are seven of us going – five adults and two teenagers making my portion of the total food cost a mere $27. My youngest brother will be staying at my house with my son which means I don’t need to worry – at least not too much – about my son, the dog, and the house.

I have never been to a race before and can hardly wait for the race on Sunday but I am looking forward to a relaxing vacation just as much. I hate the packing though but I will save that for another post.

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Sometimes it is hard to look at the blessings in life and remember what a blessing children are. My son is the greatest blessing I have in my life. He is an amazing kid. Rarely does he complain – even when I joke about him being my dishwasher. Tonight he fixed dinner and did the dishes – without my asking - so that I could try solving my packing dilemma. He is my biggest cheerleader and when I didn’t want to go to my exercise class last night because of my sore toe, he told me to “Suck it up and go anyway” and practically shoved me out the door. And when I complain that I don’t think all of my hard work in trying to lose weight is paying off, he lies and tells me I look like I am losing weight. When I asked if he was okay with me going on a vacation without him he said, “Mom, you deserve a vacation. Go and have fun.” I hope I do enough to let him know what a wonderful person he is.

Austin goofing off for the camera

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I will end my randomness and leave you until next week. Have a great rest of the week and weekend. I’ll take plenty of pictures and share them when I get home.

Inspiring People - Richard Simmons

I've been trying to update my "Quote of the Week" each Sunday but this week I'm updating it today. Why? Because today when I was getting dressed, I turned on the Dr. Oz show and there in all of his sparkly tank-top glory was Richard Simmons.  You can see him here.

According to the numbers on the show Richard Simmons has helped people lose 3,000,000 pounds since he started his program back in the early 70's.  THREE MILLION!!!! That is a lot of weight and a lot of success for a lot of people. 

I admit I was tearing up as I watched him.  He seems like such a genuine person.  He is funny and he can laugh at himself.   I know we all like to make fun of the afro, the tank-tops, and booty shorts but underneath all of that is a strong desire to help people. He has been there and knows what it is like to be overweight.  He isn't a skinny super model or body builder with a workout video.  He laughs and tries to make working out  fun and accessible to people of all abilities.  Heck, if I had a couple thousand dollars, I would be signed up for his cruise this year.  How fun would that be?

If you get a chance, check out the Richard Simmons website here. You can read his daily message (today's was about crunches and push-ups) and subscribe to his monthly newsletter.

For all of the reasons above (and I am sure there are many more), I am adding Richard Simmons to my list of inspiring people. 

Who inspires you?

Check it out...

I've been wanting to find a place that could help me improve my little spot of ground in the blogging world and have found it at Sneaky Momma Blog Design. Jill has great tips and ideas for bloggers.  Best of all she has tips for all blogger levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.  This is just what I have been looking for because heaven knows the Blogger Help really isn't all that helpful - at least for me it hasn't been. 

Thanks to Jill I have finally figured out how to add a signature.  Isn't it lovely? I'm excited to see what else I can find.  Check it out.

A story about...

A year ago today I joined the blogging world! To help me celebrate, please leave a comment if you happen to stop by.

Now to the story:

When I came home this afternoon from seeing a movie with a girl friend my front door was open. Not wide open, just slightly ajar. I wasn’t too concerned as this has happened before when I haven’t pulled the door tight enough and a breeze kicks up. My friend, however, was not as unconcerned. She didn’t say much, simply “That’s a little scary.”

“That’s a little scary” was all it took to kick my imagination into high gear; visions of a murderer/rapist hiding in a closet waiting patiently for me to settle in before sneaking out to commit damage to my person ran through my head. Is it obvious that I watch too many crime shows? I jokingly told her that I would load my gun and check the house to make sure all was well.

What started as a joke became reality as, upon entering my house, I headed for my bedroom, checked the closet then pulled my gun from its super secret hiding place and quickly loaded it. At this point I began yelling;

“If anyone is hiding in here be warned, I have a loaded .357 and I WILL shoot you!”

At this point I made it to the bathroom, pointed my weapon at the shower curtain and swiftly pulled it aside.

“I’ve been trained by the Department of Corrections and know where to aim for maximum damage.” This is not entirely correct. My dad does work for the DoC and instructs me, whenever we go shooting, where to shoot in order to inflict the most pain and suffering. 

After clearing the bathroom, I head down stairs and do my little imitation of a police officer peering from around the wall at the landing before I take the final few steps.

"I will not hesitate to shoot off your (insert vital organ here)!"

I walk into my son’s bedroom and check the closet as well as under the bed.

“I am accurate at 100 feet so imagine the damage I will inflict on you at three!” Slight exaggeration - I have no idea how accurate I am at 100 feet but I can’t miss at three.

Back in the hallway, I check the utility closet just in case someone is hiding by the furnace and water heater. I check the office and storage area and pronounce the place, “All clear.”

As I am stalking through my house, loaded .357 revolver in hand, I realize how ridiculous  and humorous this is but at the same time am proud of myself for actually looking and confidently warning any intruder that they are about to be blown to kingdom come. Although I hope I never have to put my bravado to the test.

Annie Oakley

Today

Today I checked off another item on my possibilities list.  Today was the last day of my MBA program.  I finished my exam on Saturday (I won't even get into all the reason why I hated it) and today I turned in my last paper.  It will be so nice not to worry about reading a boring textbook or writing a paper on a topic I don't really care for.  Today it is over and I couldn't be happier. 

10 Reasons

For my new start tomorrow, I decided to write a list of ten reasons why I want to lose weight. The first two: feel better and look better cover enough ground on their own but are too general. I want to be specific.

10 Reasons to Lose Weight
1- Feel better
2- Look better
3- Not be out of breath walking in from the parking lot at work.
4- Buy cute jeans
5- Make the outside as beautiful as the inside
6- Look amazing in a swimsuit
7- Be healthy
8- No longer feel self conscious about my weight
9- Shop with my sisters and not feel like the "fat" one
10- Get ready for a date and not worry about whether or not the shirt makes me look big.

Numbers four and nine are related. Last Saturday I went to the mall with my two sisters. When you consider weight alone, both of my sisters could almost fit into one of me. I saw a pair of jeans I love but they only go up to a size 13.

Me: When I am smaller I am going to buy these jeans if they still have them.
Sister 2: If I can't find some jeans at such and such place, I am coming back to get these.

She did go back to get the jeans and wore them at the Superbowl party today. I know this shouldn't bother me but it does just a little. I am really tired of not being able to buy clothes that I think are cute only to see my sister wearing them.

Number ten relates to the clothing drama from my date on Friday. The drama wasn't as bad as usual but it was still a worry for a large part of the day. Instead of looking forward to the date, I was trying to decide which outfit would be the most flattering.

Number five is there because I know that no matter how beautiful a person is on the inside, many, many people don't take the time to look past the exterior. I think who I am inside is a beautiful, loving, and fabulous woman (at least I try to remind myself of this) and although I may never think my outside is as beautiful, feeling confident in how I look will help bring out more of the inner beauty.

All in all, I simply want to feel better in every aspect. This is just one.

Now I promise to try not to post about my weight loss woes all of the time but I do appreciate your reading them and your support. Just by posting this I have to be accountable (even if it is only in my own mind) for what I am doing.

Back to the beginning...

This morning the scale told me something I didn't want to hear.  I am back to the weight I was at the beginning of January.  It is a set back but not a hurdle I can't get over.  I am still exercising but I haven't been as diligent about the other things I need to do.  This is going to change on Monday.  Why Monday? The first reason is I don't want to think about being "good" while I am watching the Superbowl. If I want to eat the delicious food everyone brings to the party, I will eat.  The second reason is that on Monday is my last day of school.  The stress of school will be over and I won't be reaching for the munchies while I do homework - like I do now.

So on Monday I will step on the scale and start over.  Monday I will do what I need to do to reach my weight loss goals. Monday I will begin tracking all those pesky things like how many glasses of water I drink, how much exercise I do, and how many calories I eat.  Until then I will enjoy Sunday.

This cartoon was hanging on the wall above the scale at Curves when I was a member.  I liked it so much I made a copy and posted it on my refrigerator.

I'm Rubber, You're Glue....

Remember these sayings from childhood: "I'm rubber. You're glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you" and "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me?"  The meaning seems pretty simple, "Say what you want about me. Your words can't hurt me."  If only reality were so simple.

In real life a broken bone heals.  A bruise fades.  But words - they stick.  They creep up on us when we are the most vulnerable. When we are at our lowest point.  When we feel like nothing we do has meaning.  When we are being haunted by the mistakes of our past. 

Lately, the words someone said to yelled at me over a year ago have been bothering me.  Causing me to think that maybe he was right.  Even though I KNOW he wasn't.  This person called me a "Worthless Waste of Flesh", accused me of ruining my son, and of having done nothing of value in my life.  I know he was wrong.  I know I have not ruined my son.  Far from it.  But the rest, well, the rest causes me to doubt myself. Especially when I feel like I am blowing in the wind with little or no direction.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about Accepting Myself. I read this post again tonight and should print it out and stick it on my bedroom mirror.  I said it wouldn't be easy, and I suppose trying to get over the words some idiot said is part of it.  Trying not to allow the words anyone says affect me is part of it.

Maybe these childhood sayings  have more to do with not ALLOWING words to hurt us than actually meaning they can't.