On January 18th I thanked all of you guys who read my blog because I'd reached 40 followers. Holy crap - only 17 days later I've added another 20 followers. That makes me feel good to know that there are other souls out there who (possibly) like what I'm writing and maybe are taking something away from it.
I really do view this blogworld as a community, without whom, I'd have a whole lot less support on this journey.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read my ramblings!
Love and hugs to all of you!!
Friday, February 4, 2011
30 Days of Pictures - Day 21
Day 21 - "A picture of something you wish you could forget."
I know this is called "30 Days of Pictures" but the one thing in my life that I wish I could forget is something I don't have a picture of. So, I guess you'll just have to bear with me.
On September 2, 2001, I watched and listened to my father take his last breath. That sound has haunted me these past 9 years....not because I thought it was frightening but because in one instant it represented two very important roads in my life: The end of my father's life and the beginning of my life without him.
He lived a long time, did my father. He was 77 years old when he died, and not in the best of health. But even still. Even though we KNEW he was going to pass, the shock of hearing him take his last breath almost broke me. I felt a panic deep inside me like I've never felt before. In that instant I hoped he knew how much I adored him, how much I would miss him, and how I would think of him every day after that.
On the two happiest days of my life - when my daughters were born, I mourned my father as well because I knew my girls would never know him - that he would just be an idea to them, a mystery called "Grandpa Lou."
Today, over 9 years later, I still hear that breath. I can remember that sound with more clarity than his voice. But I celebrate him and his life, too. I'm less sad about his death now, and more thankful that I got so many good years with him. He truly was an outstanding man who would have spoiled my daughters rotten (which would have been lovely to see).
Still to come....because I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation:
22. A picture of something you wish you were better at
23. A picture of your favorite book
24. A picture of something you wish you could change
25. A picture of your day
26. A picture of something that means a lot to you
27. A picture of yourself and a family member
28. A picture of something your afraid of
29. A picture that can always make you smile
30. A picture of someone you miss
I know this is called "30 Days of Pictures" but the one thing in my life that I wish I could forget is something I don't have a picture of. So, I guess you'll just have to bear with me.
On September 2, 2001, I watched and listened to my father take his last breath. That sound has haunted me these past 9 years....not because I thought it was frightening but because in one instant it represented two very important roads in my life: The end of my father's life and the beginning of my life without him.
He lived a long time, did my father. He was 77 years old when he died, and not in the best of health. But even still. Even though we KNEW he was going to pass, the shock of hearing him take his last breath almost broke me. I felt a panic deep inside me like I've never felt before. In that instant I hoped he knew how much I adored him, how much I would miss him, and how I would think of him every day after that.
On the two happiest days of my life - when my daughters were born, I mourned my father as well because I knew my girls would never know him - that he would just be an idea to them, a mystery called "Grandpa Lou."
Today, over 9 years later, I still hear that breath. I can remember that sound with more clarity than his voice. But I celebrate him and his life, too. I'm less sad about his death now, and more thankful that I got so many good years with him. He truly was an outstanding man who would have spoiled my daughters rotten (which would have been lovely to see).
Still to come....because I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation:
22. A picture of something you wish you were better at
23. A picture of your favorite book
24. A picture of something you wish you could change
25. A picture of your day
26. A picture of something that means a lot to you
27. A picture of yourself and a family member
28. A picture of something your afraid of
29. A picture that can always make you smile
30. A picture of someone you miss
Thursday, February 3, 2011
30 Days of Pictures - Day 20
Day 20 - "A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel."
When my husband and I were first starting to talk seriously about marriage, we wanted to honeymoon in Ireland. We thought it would be just perfect (and it would have been) but little did our daydreaming minds know how much it costs to travel that far. So we said we'd "do it later."
Then 6 years later it hadn't happened and our first daughter came along. Traveling to Ireland is kind of out of the plans (it was for us anyway) when you have a baby. Then 4 years later, another daughter. You see the trend here? We we've never gotten to Ireland, but that doesn't mean we've given up.
We took a nice family cruise in 2009 and we'll be taking another one this year. Next year we're thinking of the possibility of Disney as our vacation (we'll have a a 4 year old and 8 year old girl - perfect ages for them to BOTH enjoy Disney without one being too old for it and one being too young for it.). In the foreseeable, future, though - we really are planning a trip to Europe, but for all 4 of us. We just can't fathom the thought of leaving our kids for a week or 2 so we can vacation. It's just not who we are. We'd rather enjoy the experience with our children. These vacations are such a fantastic learning opportunity for both of them!!
So look out, Ireland - At some point in the next 6 years we'll be seeing you!!
Still to come....because I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation:
21. A picture of something you wish you could forget
22. A picture of something you wish you were better at
23. A picture of your favorite book
24. A picture of something you wish you could change
25. A picture of your day
26. A picture of something that means a lot to you
27. A picture of yourself and a family member
28. A picture of something your afraid of
29. A picture that can always make you smile
30. A picture of someone you miss
I am going to earn my #7daychip !
I'll bet you're wondering what the heck is a #7daychip. Well, it's really a 7 Day Chip, but in the Twitter universe (which I'm becoming more and more familiar with), it's a group started by @BradGansberg (who writes the blog Brad Gansberg's Thoughts On:)
What you do is commit to controlled eating for 7 days. When you've done that, you let Brad know and you're acknowledged on his blog for earning your 7 Day Chip. It sounds simple, and it is, really. But the support you get from the group is INCREDIBLE. When you tweet about how your week is going while trying to earn your 7 Day Chip, all you do is add the designation #7daychip at the end of your tweet. That's it. Then you can click on that designation to see all tweets related to the group. It's a great way to help and be helped along this path.
If you stumble and have a uncontrolled eating day, you start over in earning your 7 Day Chip. You can earn several of these. When you're ready, you can even earn one (or hopefully many many more) #30daychip s. It's all very exciting and incredibly helpful.
Join us on Twitter. Follow me (@AdiosFatGirl) and follow the discussion. I think you'll be glad you did.
To view Brad's explination of the group, go here: What is a #7daychip?
What you do is commit to controlled eating for 7 days. When you've done that, you let Brad know and you're acknowledged on his blog for earning your 7 Day Chip. It sounds simple, and it is, really. But the support you get from the group is INCREDIBLE. When you tweet about how your week is going while trying to earn your 7 Day Chip, all you do is add the designation #7daychip at the end of your tweet. That's it. Then you can click on that designation to see all tweets related to the group. It's a great way to help and be helped along this path.
If you stumble and have a uncontrolled eating day, you start over in earning your 7 Day Chip. You can earn several of these. When you're ready, you can even earn one (or hopefully many many more) #30daychip s. It's all very exciting and incredibly helpful.
Join us on Twitter. Follow me (@AdiosFatGirl) and follow the discussion. I think you'll be glad you did.
To view Brad's explination of the group, go here: What is a #7daychip?
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
30 Days of Pictures - Day 19
Day 19 "A picture of you when you were little"Technically, I've never been really "little" since I was an infant. You can see the chunk starting to form around my waist in this picture. I'm estimating this picture to be me at around 5 years old or so. God, I hated when my mother did my hair like that. That's my sister Karen's hand on my shoulder, by the way. And my brother's arm in front of me. Close-knit group, weren't we?
I don't remember a lot about my relationship with food at that age because honestly I don't remember a ton of things from my childhood. I remember some specific things. Some very funny things. But by and large, as a whole, it's pretty sketchy in my memory. My husband would tell you he's not surprised about that. My horrible memory is a long running joke with us.
Life is a lot simpler as a child, fitness-wise. Well depending on some variables, I guess. When you're a kid, you don't have a lot of say in what you get to eat. When you're little you can't just whip up a batch of cookies and eat the whole thing. You get what you get, I suppose. Which can be good or bad.
As far as exercise goes, kids don't view exercise as "work." They think of it as "fun." I know my daughters do, anyway. Running is FUN to them, not something to be dreaded or conditioned to do. I want that to last in them for the balance of their lives. I want them to LOVE being active, which is one of the reasons this is so important for me....this getting fit stuff, I mean.
If I can make sure they get exposed to nutritious alternatives in their diets, and continue to make activity fun, I think they'll be set up for a life free of having to constantly worry, "Are they all staring at my fat ass?"
Still to come....because I know you're on the edge of your seat with anticipation:
20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel
21. A picture of something you wish you could forget
22. A picture of something you wish you were better at
23. A picture of your favorite book
24. A picture of something you wish you could change
25. A picture of your day
26. A picture of something that means a lot to you
27. A picture of yourself and a family member
28. A picture of something your afraid of
29. A picture that can always make you smile
30. A picture of someone you miss
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
I won!
I am so excited that I won the blog re-design from April Showers! I can't even begin to thank all of you for voting for me! What a wonderful community we have here!
In other news, it's rumored we'll have ANOTHER snow/ice day tomorrow and I will most likely have no daycare children here tomorrow, so blogging is a top priority.
Question: I'm getting some guest bloggers lined up to spice things up and inspire the holy crap out of us. What kind of topics would you like to see covered?
Love to all of you!!!
In other news, it's rumored we'll have ANOTHER snow/ice day tomorrow and I will most likely have no daycare children here tomorrow, so blogging is a top priority.
Question: I'm getting some guest bloggers lined up to spice things up and inspire the holy crap out of us. What kind of topics would you like to see covered?
Love to all of you!!!
Proof That Jack is Right
At some point in the past few weeks, I was reading a blog post by Jack at Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit. He said that when you step on the scale to weigh-in, you usually "get what you deserve." That is so true. I know that when I'm really honest with my efforts at weight loss, when I'm truly doing the things I need to do to lose this weight (and we all know how, don't we?), I see a loss when I weigh in. And it's not surprise.
But at times like yesterday when I weigh in and see a gain (of 0.4 pounds), that's not much of a surprise either. The entire month of January I was accountable (even if it wasn't pretty) and TRACKED EVERYTHING that I ate. This past weekend I had 2 days where I didn't track what I ate and I guess my mind said, "F it. You're not tracking so you can eat what you want. If you don't write it, you didn't bite it." Guess what, mind? You're horribly wrong.
And so my flippant attitude and laziness got me a small gain this week. However, rather than wallowing in self-pity (which, really, is the easiest thing to do), I'm making it my mission not to let that happen again. I'm tracking everything (even when it's not convenient to do so) and I'm HONESTLY making an effort to get all my water in.
That being said, I ended the month of January with a total loss of 9 pounds. I'll take it and use that as a motivator for February.
But at times like yesterday when I weigh in and see a gain (of 0.4 pounds), that's not much of a surprise either. The entire month of January I was accountable (even if it wasn't pretty) and TRACKED EVERYTHING that I ate. This past weekend I had 2 days where I didn't track what I ate and I guess my mind said, "F it. You're not tracking so you can eat what you want. If you don't write it, you didn't bite it." Guess what, mind? You're horribly wrong.
And so my flippant attitude and laziness got me a small gain this week. However, rather than wallowing in self-pity (which, really, is the easiest thing to do), I'm making it my mission not to let that happen again. I'm tracking everything (even when it's not convenient to do so) and I'm HONESTLY making an effort to get all my water in.
That being said, I ended the month of January with a total loss of 9 pounds. I'll take it and use that as a motivator for February.
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