Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Almost reaching a Goal

Well I did it. I got on the scale. The moms in the locker room were asking me why I would do such a thing....LOL! I should have told them that Heather wanted me to make sure it works.....HA HA HA! Obviously it doesn't get used much.

It has been over two months since I have weighed myself. Not having a regular workout routine is one of the reasons why I waited. Recently putting on clothes that I dared to try on in earlier months, I have noticed that things are either better fitting or just way too big. Of course getting on the scale was not a scary event once I had this realization. I have my goal weight in my head, maybe it is too low, but I am going to see how close I can get. Last time I weighed myself I was 142 lbs. According to my age, height and body structure that is 6 pounds overweight for me. I should fall into the 116-136 range. I had a fitness analysis done a couple of years ago. I am very pleased to announce that the scale (it is the type at the doctors offices) said 133. YEAH! I am 1 pound away from hitting 10 pounds. And, I did this without a regular fitness routine. WHOO HOOO! Good-bye size 12.....good-bye size 10's.....I am a happy size 8 on my way to a size 6.

I will reach this size in no time once Makenna goes to school. I plan on making myself have a steady fitness routine even if I exercise at home for 20 minutes a day. Were you aware that Jennifer Aniston, a person I truly admire, keeps her body the way she does by simply exercising 20 minutes a day? She will run, do yoga, aerobics, weight training.....as long as it is something every day. I can do that! I work part time at a gym...I better be able to do 20 minutes.....LOL!

Right now I am feeling very good about myself. And what is nice is that I do not feel that losing the weight was much work at all. Shawn and I faithfully watch The Biggest Loser because it inspires us so much. Man do those trainers bust their butts! I am so thankful that I didn't have to work as hard as these contestants. When is that coming back on anyway?? Sometimes I feel like I need a Jillian in my life. LOL! She kicks major booty!

One of the things that I have to admit was that the thought of not being able to accomplish my goal with my weight was never an issue. Never once did I feel that I could not do it. It also helps to have support from those around me. The people telling me how good I look, Brad at the gym telling me "Damn girl...you keep going" while making silly poses with his biceps, Heather who will once in a very blue moon ask me to walk to the bank with her during our shift or after work when she comes to pick up Zachary. I do have a huge support team who is not nagging or degrading but very much into helping me achieve the goal I want to achieve.

 I received a fortune cookie the other night that read: Do not offer advice at the time of a crisis, offer assistance. While I do not believe that my weight was ever a crisis but maybe just an unwanted issue I had, my friends did exactly what the fortune cookie said. They offered assistance in any positive way that they caould. And, they continue to do so. All you have to do is tell people what you want and make sure it is the right people. There will be some that have to give their advice...unwanted of course. So make sure that your support team is actually supporting you and what you want rather than what they want for you. I am so grateful that I have this in every aspect of my life. God has surrounded me with wonderful people to be my teammates in life. What is wonderful is that we all help each other achieve our own goals and dreams. We want to see everyone happy and successful and we support them in any way we can.

What I am thankful for today:
my weight
my blog
my support team(s)
The Power
ratepoint.com
my children
my friends
my jeep
money
laughter
God
faith
hope
Shawn
facebook
meetup.com
my customers
my store
creativity
inspiration
chocolate
love

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Love is the highest frequency

While I was scrapbooking today, yes I actually MADE time, I was reflecting on my relationships with people. People from the past, people from the present. Some have come and gone, some have come back into my life and others have stayed away. Thinking about what I have been reading in The Power, I can clearly see why this happens.

Love is the highest frequency a person can be on. When we lose sight of love, we lack love. When we fight with people, complain about people and so on, we lack love. While this is happening we may lose people because we no longer feel love for them....and visa versa. There are people in my life who I absolutely love, always have and always will, whether it is family or friend or Shawn. My relationships with these people work and work well because of the love we feel for each other. Yes we have different opinions, different life styles, different interests..... but we do not allow that to affect the love we feel. And, because of the love we are able to communicate well and accept the differences in each other. We do not allow outside influences to affect our relationships nor do we judge or criticize each other in any way.

I have to brag, mainly because I feel like the luckiest person on earth. How many people do you know have so many amazing friends? How about the relationship with their partner? How about the relationship with their kids? I am truly blessed. My friends are the spice of my life. Jamie, my soul-mate who has always continued to love me no matter what even if she doesn't agree with me. Rachel who kills me with laughter with her dry sense of humor, is ALWAYS there whether we speak once a week or once a month. Melinda is my mouth...the person who taught me to speak up in any situation. Jen R. listens to me when I need an ear and has offered so much help. Erika has shown me that I do have a clone....LOL! How two people who are very much alike can get along so well, I will never know. Ha ha ha ha! Heather is my 'bring me back to reality' friend. She is so logical and so strong. She may not agree but she is. Then there is Jennifer G who makes me laugh and keeps me sane in childcare. Jill who amazes me with her words of wisdom, her patience and her kindness...she gets it from her mom. Diane is the best neighbor anyone could ever ask for. She worries about me more than she needs to but I love her for it. And to think that these are only a few of the wonderful friends I have been blessed with.

Then there is Shawn. Mr. Humble Bumble. The one who makes me feel beautiful when I feel at my worst. He may not say things often to sweep me off my feet but he really doesn't have too. His patience, his kindness, his actions and his love for me make me feel like I am flying. The way he talks to me, so soft spoken, so honest, so caring and understanding, I never thought a man could be that way....at least all of the time. Then his creativity, his imagination, his goals...ahhh...he amazes me every single day. He has a passion for learning and growing in every aspect of life. Yes he gives me backrubs without me asking, he is always holding my hand, he is always complimenting me....and I do the same for him. The man even enjoys cleaning..??? We do have a lot in common but we also have a lot of differences as well. We respect each other and our differences and find a way to compromise without arguing.

One thing I love about Shawn most is that he loves the simple things in life. He loves nature, animals, being outdoors, finding hidden treasures in the woods and in the sand, music, children, other people's creativity...just to name a few. He does not need much to make him happy. And, either do I. It is nice to know that we can be happy with very little material things. What makes it even better is that we feel like we have so much with what little we have. I feel like singing that Beatles song, "Love is all You Need".

The love I have for the wonderful people in my life is what keeps me on the Love Frequency. I focus on how much love I feel for everyone and I feel higher than a kite. "Love is not weak, feeble, or soft. Love is the positive force of life! Love is the cause of everything positive and good." The Power by Rhonda Byrne

What I am thankful for today:
My amazing friends and their everlasting friendships
My relationship with Shawn
My children
My family
Creativity
Imagination
God
The Secret
The Power
My pets
Animals
Music
Flowers
Rainbows
Waterfalls
Magical moments
Time
Peace
Hope
Faith
True Love

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The Power of Love

In reading the new book called The Power I have had some major discoveries on why The Secret doesn't always seem to work in my life....and the lives of others. In The Power, it constantly reminds us that Love is the highest power. Love is the most positive power one can feel. When we are thinking about something or someone we love, we feel amazing, wonderful things happen in our lives and we feel like nothing can take that away from us. So then why do we still have bad days? Why do we still get into negative situations?

The answer is as simple as how fast we change our thoughts. One minute we are feeling love because we are laughing with our friends. In the next minute someone is complaining to you or you are complaining about something. When we are complaining, we are not feeling love. One minute we are hugging our loved ones, the next minute we realize our computer is slower than usual and it makes us frustrated. One minute we are driving without traffic feeling pretty good, then stumble upon a traffic jam and we don't feel too great. Our thoughts change so frequently throughout the day that the feeling of love is just as lacking as it is had. How can we change this? Is it possible to feel love every second of the day? Maybe it is for some people, but I have yet to experience that myself.

In The Power, what we can do when a bad situation happens that makes us lack the feeling of love is to immediately think of what we do love. It could be a picture of something that makes you feel good, or a situation that made you laugh. Maybe it is someone you love. It could be funny movie, getting lost in inspiring music or an inspirational book. It could be a simple phone call to a friend who will make you feel better. It could be day dreaming about the future, an event you have to look forward to. CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS. Stop focusing on the situations where you are lacking love. You must feel love as much as possible to continue good things entering your life. Obviously it will take practice. There is so much negativity that we are all faced with each day from so many different outside influences. If we could consciously remember to fill ourselves up with love each time we feel lack, we would be so much better off. We could live more positively and be more of an inspiration to everyone around us.

I am so thankful that I have my 'support group'. My friends are always there ready to boost up my positivity. It helps when you have others to help you. When I say help, I mean get you out of your funk. Not gripe with you, and add to your already bad mood. Whoever said misery loves company is so right. Too bad we cannot get those miserable people on their own planet....LOL!

What I am thankful for today:
my support group
lack of negativity in my life
my children
my pets
my friends and family
people who choose to talk about positive situations rather than complain about negative ones
back rubs (without even asking)
my health
the health of my loved ones
money
God
food
a roof over my head
my store
my customers
creativity
inspiration
laughter
love
the power of prayer
music
Amy Grant
my jeep
my weight
the colors purple and blue
the sunshine
The Center for Animal Health & Welfare
church
Pastor Tricia
facebook
flowers
Cheryl
my bed
clean laundry
Shawn

Friday, August 13, 2010

Animals vs. People

My fundraiser for The Center for Animal Health and Welfare is tomorrow August 14th. My teachers and my friends all agree that this will be a wonderful successful event. There are so many businesses and people that have offered to help me and who have given donations. I feel so blessed to have so many giving people around me. I used to think that I liked helping animals because they were not as mean as people. They are not judgemental or criticizing and they love us no matter what. Animals allow us to be who we are and allow us to grow and change without advise, opinions, eyes rolling, sighing, gossip, etc. They only alter us in a loving caring way by showing their affection and by changing our moods to be happy, content and peaceful.

After this last year, my feelings have changed. With all the people I have met; customers, teachers, friends, I do see that people can be just as loving and caring as animals. As I lay here in my bed with my Chloe next to me, a very rare moment since she is always outdoors, I am appreciating all of Gods creations. I realize that I will not like everyone but I will appreciate them and love them. For God has a purpose for every person in our lives whether it be a lesson we need to learn or a lesson they need to learn, or someone to help us and make our lives easier. Seriously, if we were not surrounded by evil or things we do not agree with, how would we ever know how we want to be or not be. How would we know 'not to make that same mistake' as that person did? I try so hard to find the good in everyone whether I like them or not.

A couple words I live by:
Give: Give love, give thanks, give hope, give laughter, give compliments, give help, give time, give money.
Appreciate: Everything
Love: Everyone
Faith: have faith that God and the Universe will take care of you, if you
Believe.

What I am thankful for today:
everyone who has donated and offered their time for the Crafting For Paws Fundraiser
the wonderful people who have come into my life this past year
my 'dream team'
animals
people
my children
my pets
my friends
my family
Shawn
foot rubs
compliments
laughter
water
sunshine
butterflies
rainbows
music
The Center for Animal Health & Welfare
sleep
Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventures, Celebrity Ghost Stories
Bridezilla (so funny!)
time
flowers
hope
faith
God
money
church
love