My Journey Through Life

Seems like it has been a long week. I guess it is cause I spent three days working in restaurants with a new General Manager. Thursday I got up at 5am, drove 2 hours, spent 3 hours there, then drove back 2 hours and was on my feet till 6pm. I was beat. Today I slept later, but was on my feet from 8am till 4pm...tiring! Have the weekend off, so I can recover. I will have to work out longer tomorrow cause I skipped today, my legs were just too tired and overworked. Been doing well with my eating and exercise. I am proud of myself!

I am very frustrated! I ate less all week and worked out every day and there is no change in my weight! I am thinking it may be my sodium intake that is holding me back. I will work to cut that back, plus this is the week of portion control. I do weigh most of what I eat, but still snack on some 100 calorie packs that I don't need. Snacks this week are fruits and veggies, not salty and sweet.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I don't really know what to think. I know I have done well, exercised every day and cut back on eating. I still need to cut my sodium intake, but that is hard when eating fast food several days a week. Need to think of something delicious and nutritious to make for dinner tomorrow night. I will be working from home all day so I can make something while I am working. Just found a cookbook that I forgot that I had with healthy recipes, think I will take a look at that and try to get an idea. It is very cold here, it looks sunny but it is only in the 20's so I don't even want to go outside. I do have a few things to get from the store, maybe I better take a shower and get moving!!

I realized this morning that I am even sleeping better!!! For a long time, I was waking up several times through the night for no apparent reason. The last two nights, I have only awakened when I had to go to the bathroom and this morning, that was only 15 minutes before the alarm was going to go off! I guess the better diet and exercise has many benefits. I heard a commercial for some weight-loss product last night...they said the most obvious thing making it sound like it was some startling new revelation: "Excess body fat accumulates due to poor diet and lack of exercise" Wow, they must be rocket scientists!! Do they think we don't know that? I wonder how many people sat up and said "oh, wow, you mean if I get up off my butt and move and don't eat a dozen donuts every day I will lose weight?!" Oh well, I guess if it motivated one person it was good.

This is me (obviously in the blue dress) last summer...I gained a couple more pounds after this, can't believe I let myself gain all that weight back. I've been thinking a lot lately about my renewed desire to eat right and exercise. I tried so hard for so long to get back on track and just couldn't do it for more than a couple days. I made every excuse to eat more, and not workout. Suddenly, as if I awaking from a bad dream, I have the desire and determination to do this. I did it before, I will do it again. I keep reminding myself that I am going to take baby steps. I am not going to change my plan if someone else challenges me to do so. I am going to stick with my plan and my goals. It is for me and my health. I will continue to be happy with small wins, or, I should say, losses. My goal weight is based on past performance, not any weight chart. When I get to that weight, I will work to maintain it...if I lose more, great, if I don't, I will be happy with where I a...

I am working at home today, doing administrative work, so the challenge will be to not eat constantly. Pretty much think that my big loss last week will keep me motivated, so wish me luck. Walked with Leslie Sansone this morning...off to a good start. Time for breakfast, a shower and then time to work! I have an appointment today, but I am going to call and try to change it to tomorrow so I don't have to take the time away from work that I must get done. My dh is working outside today...poor thing, the high is only supposed to be 25! God Bless him and keep him safe and warm. Happy Tuesday!

I decided that I had to stop making excuses for getting up an exercising, so I set my rooster alarm clock for 6am. The warmth of my blankets held me back a little, but I decided I would get warm while I was exericsing. First thing first...jump on the scale, it is Monday morning, after all. I expected to see a loss of a half pound or so, I exercised a couple of days, but didn't eat as well as I should have. Imagine my surprise when the scale showed a 2.5 pound loss since last Monday!!!! Well, that was enough to get me going. I walked with Leslie Sansone for 30 minutes, then had a bowl of Honey Nut Cherrios and took a shower. Kept my calorie intake low all day, I feel good!!! I feel like I can do this...really, really do it!! I will lose this weight. Total pounds to lose as of January 1, 2009: 55.5 Pounds lost as of January 19: 3.5 Maybe when I have lost most of the weight I will divulge what my starting weight was! Stay tuned!

My sister-in-law sent me an email with this on it...it is interesting...check it out... http://www.businesswriting.com/tests/commonmisspelled.html Getting ready to watch the Eagles game. I made some chili, thought it would be a good thing to have to eat on a cold day while watching football. I don't do a lot of cooking, but my dh said the chili was good, especially after he added his XXX sauce to it. I don't think I can stand that much heat! Good luck Eagles!

It is so cold here! 7.6 degrees at 8pm! I have the weekend off, dinner planned with a friend tomorrow night and I am not going to feel like going out. DH mentioned the other day that Tuesday shouldn't be too bad 'cause it will be up in the 40's ! BRRRRRRR! I was challenged at work today. A decision that I made was questioned and there was a back and forth with two co-workers. We ended up with a good compromise, but it is very frustrating when there are two people who you want to trust and you know that one of them has to be lying. It's done and it is always a learning experience for me. I am going to set quarterly goals for myself cause I have been in this job for almost two years and I want to be better at it than I am!!! My mantra this year...stick to my guns!! When I make a decision and feel in my heart that it is the right one, I am not budging unless someone has a valid argument for why it should be different, then I will listen and we can work something out. My c...

It was raining, but that wasn’t abnormal these days, August had been a very wet month, it seemed like it rained every day. Roy’s friend, Luther had driven to pick up his sister and her daughter and they would be stopping by any time now. Roy was glad that they were coming to visit. Over the past year, his thoughts had often turned to Ellen. He wanted an excuse to go back to Luther’s home so he could see Ellen and her sweet little daughter, Leah. Finally, he didn’t need any excuse, they were coming here! He heard a car pull up, but was disappointed to find it was just a customer pulling up for gas. His sister Peggy headed out to the pumps, but Roy stopped her. “I’ll get it,” he said, “You don’t need to go out there and get soaked.” As the day wore on, he began to think that they weren’t going to show up. “Maybe it would be tomorrow,” he thought. “You look like your waiting for someone, Roy, what’s going on?” his mother, Jane asked. “It’s just that Luther and his sister should be getting...

Today was a pretty good day at work. I conducted a meeting and it went well. I have been told, and I can tell that my level of confidence in myself has improved. I am learning to be more assertive and stand up for what I believe is the right decision. I will improve by leaps and bounds this year. I am planning quarterly goals to keep myself on track and move ahead in small steps. This will be a great year!

I feel pretty good today! I weighed myself and I have lost a whole pound...might not seem like much, but the longest journey and all that...it has been a long time since I have seen the number on the scale go down! I guess it inspired me, or maybe I just found the trick. I made an egg beater and turkey sausage sandwich and ate it on my way to work this morning. I took a salad along for lunch and was only hungry enough to eat half of it. I didn't have anything else to eat till I was on my way home...an apple at about 4:30. My stomach has been bothering me a lot lately, indegestion...I don't know what it is caused by since I can't narrow it down to any particular food. I had a string cheese when I got home since I was waiting for DH to arrive so we could have dinner. I am thinking the protein for breakfast today helped keep me full longer so I didn't want as much to eat for lunch. That may seem like a no-brainer to some people, but it never really helped me in the pa...

August 1951 Ellen was scrubbing the kitchen floor when the phone ran. She was happy to have a reason to take a break from the job, and even happier when she heard her brother’s voice on the line. “Ellen”, Luther started, “I am going to be off work for a while, would you and Leah like to visit?” “Of course, that would be wonderful!” Ellen said, almost jumping up and down. The first thought that came to her head was: ‘I’ll get to see Roy again’. One year had passed, but Ellen hadn’t forgotten about Roy. She thought of him often and longed to see him again. She had practically been praying that they would meet again. Luther made the three hour trip to pick up Ellen and Leah and bring them back to the quiet little town he had settled in. “Do you think Roy will remember me…us?” Ellen asked on the way. She didn’t want to seem over anxious, but she couldn’t help herself. “He has asked about you, so I am sure he will.” Luther answered with a smile. When they arrived in town, their first st...

Last week I noticed that my brakes were making an awful noise, so I took it to the dealer where I bought the car, they do all my service. It is walking distance from the house, so very convenient. I took it to them on Friday, January 1. They called back to tell me it needed a caliper, brake line and pads and rotors...for a total of $555.00. I didn't really have a choice, so I told them to fix it. They said the parts wouldn't be in till Monday. I asked if they had a loaner car and they said sure, come over and pick it up! Several years ago, I thought of getting a Buick LeSabre, but that didn't mean that I wanted to drive a 1995 one as my loaner car!! Beggars can't be choosers so since it was free...just make sure it is full of gas when you bring it back...I didn't complain. It didn't look that bad from the outside, except for a mark along the door where it looked like some decorative strip had been ripped off. When I sat in the car, I realized what I had been tak...

Ellen awoke early the next morning, dressed, did her hair (for Roy) and went to work baking an angel food cake, all before the boys woke up. They slept late since they were tired from their long trip the day before. After breakfast, Roy and Luther took Leah outside. Roy had a camera and was taking pictures of the Leah. Ellen watched them out the window, as she prepared icing for the cake. Leah was having such a good time, it made Ellen smile to see her little girl so happy! She was so distracted that she burned the icing, but decided to use it anyway; it couldn’t be all that bad. Ellen prepared dinner and when the time came to gather around the table, Roy was seated next to her. She was glad to be so close to him. As they ate the angel food cake for dessert, she made mention of the burned icing. Roy was so nice; he told her that it tasted good. Ellen felt like hugging and kissing him for the compliment. They spent the afternoon sitting on the porch. Ellen sat with Leah on the swin...

I wonder if I am the only person who has such a hard time driving sometimes...I don't know how many times I have missed a turn,them tried to turn around, and miss another turn or end up on a stupid one way street...I could see the hotel I was trying to get to but couldn't get there!!! I finally made it! At least the hotel is nice...the restaurant was good and the wait staff was very friendly. Now I just want to relax and not do anything! Oh I almost forgot, the battery went dead in the loaner car I have...thank God I was somewhere that someone had jumper cables!!! Glad the roads weren't icey...it is still raining tho! Time to sit and relax while I study materials for my meeting tomorrow!

Ellen awoke to the crowing of the rooster. The sun was just peeking through the bedroom window, and her cat, Sammy was lying on the bedspread, stretching to wake up. Ellen sat up and stretched herself. She looked across the room to see that Leah was still asleep in her crib. After pulling on a pair of old work pants and a faded button-down top, she put her hair up in curlers and covered them with a red bandanna. By the time she was done with her hair, Leah was awake and standing in her crib. “I want waffles for breakfast, please.” Leah asked, still sounding sleepy. “Waffles it is, then,” Ellen said as she picked the girl up and carried her downstairs. Once breakfast was over, Suzanne volunteered to take Leah outside to play while John and Ellen got to work on the floor. An hour of work passed before John broke the silence. “Your mother tells me that you have been complaining about Luther bringing his friend Roy home to visit. Why are you being so disagreeable?” “I don’t mean to be, ...

It's funny how things strike you when you aren't expecting it. I was baking in preparation for brunch tomorrow, and I was looking for a pan to bake my coffee cake in. I found a pan that was my mother's. Just a round blue pan that she used to make shortcake in. I wanted to cry, it was incredible the flood of memories that accompanied that little pan. My coffee cake is baking and I think it will be good, but it won't taste as good as the memory of mom's strawberry shortcake.

Step-son and his family will be coming tomorrow to have our Christmas with them. I am making a brunch...they will be here around 11 am. I have the menu planned out, just have to go shopping to get the food. I don't like grocery shopping, my husband does the bulk of the grocery shopping. He is so good with figuring what is the best buy and knowing where to buy different items. He will probably be sleeping, after working all night, so I will be on my own in the grocery store. The house cleaning is almost done, I want to finish it before getting a shower and going to the store. I plan on making some of the things ahead of time today, so it isn't as much work tomorrow morning. Better get to work..I hear my coffee beeping in the microwave!

Second day of the year...had an odd phone call this morning that my ex husband had given my phone number on a credit card. Of course, my OCD kicked in and I had to call the CC company to find out what was going on. Turned out he probably didn't give them the number, it came up in a skip trace. Now, I read Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels, so I know what that is...I think. Well, I guess it makes sense since he was arrested for selling drugs last month... Anyway, didn't make anything to eat till 11:30 am, so that was good. Breakfast and lunch in one small meal and I am not hungry. Took my car to have the brakes looked at...I fear it will not be good news. Had a great time doing Karaoke with my friend at her house last night. Playstation is great, we can sing and make fools of ourselves without having to go out in public. Was just thinking about this cool website my dh found...if you like music, check it out: http://www.jango.com/

Some of the movies listed here are my all time favorites, and some are movies that I have seen recently that I thought were good. A couple are movies that I never heard of till I watched them and they were surprisingly good. Check them out.

I wrote this story based on my parent's meeting and subsequent 57 year marriage The story is based on a love letter that my mother wrote to my dad after they were married (we think). The letter told of their meeting and how she felt about him. I suppose you could call it fact-based-fiction.

August 1950 Ellen sat at the kitchen table peeling an apple, the goal, as always, was to peel it in one continuous strip. She was the champion apple-peeler in the family, but today she was off her game. Her sisters, Elaine and Maria were doing a better job today. “I can’t believe Luther is bringing some total stranger here for dinner!” Ellen finally said, no longer able to contain her annoyance with her brother. “He’s not a stranger to Luther,” Elaine stated, smiling at the long curl of apple peel she had just completed. “Well he is to the rest of us! I really resent being expected to bake a pie for someone I don’t know, and probably won’t even like.” The girl’s mother, Suzanne, walked into the kitchen just in time to hear Ellen’s grumbling. “Now, now, Ellen, you’re far too old to be acting so childish, a friend of your brother’s is a friend to us all. We taught you better than that, where’s your Christian charity?” Ellen rolled her eyes, but kept a still tongue. Even though she was...

Went to see my dh at work last night, was there with him to see the ball drop, not the most exciting night, but we were together and that is all that matters to me. Got home and took a hot bath, I guess staying on my feet for a full 10 hour shift is more than my fat little legs can take! Didn't go to sleep till after 2:30, so I slept late. We are going to a late lunch today for pork and sauerkraut. I should do something productive, but so far today haven't done anything but play on Facebook! It is such a great way of staying in touch with my family. Not too much excitement here today, will wake up dh later and then go to dinner. I have to get motivated to clean the house. Here are my resolutions: Eat right Exercise Keep the house clean Be proactive at work and do the best job I can Call my mom at least once a week All do-able, right? Okay, time to get started, I have to get the house clean before I can work to keep it clean!