I know I’ve mentioned her before, but I truly love her blog.  My friend Ellen, over at Fat Girl Wearing Thin has started a new challenge for January called The Hate-Loss Challenge.  I didn’t sign up for it, because life has been so insane that I knew I wouldn’t be able to commit to it.  I have been following her posts and participating on my own and it’s been very helpful.

She posted some interesting questions a week ago, that I wanted to answer “out loud” (these questions were taken directly from her site).

Think about the answers to these esteem-deflating questions.  How often do you carry these thought around with you on a daily basis?

• My life would be so much better if I were only:  more organized, lost weight and was at my goal weight, had things all together (kept up on our house, was up to date on my blog posts, made dinner with a smile, etc…)
• I’d be so much happier if I had a better:  schedule, plan of action, could take on my day feeling organized
• I wish I weighed:  130 (yes, I know it’s a number, but don’t we all have a number in our head?)
• When I look in the mirror, the first thing I criticize about myself is my:  gut, my fat butt, my chubby cheeks (due to extra weight gained).  Oh wait, was I only suppose to put one answer to that?
• The one negative word that I use about myself over and over again is:  lazy (and it’s true…I am lazy…things have to be “all or nothing” or I just don’t move forward with anything…a plan of action is key for me)

Now, answer these questions so that they can be seen by everyone reading your update:

• I often receive the most compliments on my eyes.
• What I admire most about myself when I look at my reflection is my smile.
• I take pride in my parenting, the way my kid looks and acts (yep, I’m vane that way).
• I love the fact that I can be creative and I’m good at it.
• My greatest quality is loyalty.

These questions were helpful to see my negative and positive thinking.  It was very hard to answer the positive ones.  I really didn’t know what to put there for answers and just had to come up with something.  If I were to ask my husband to answer these (and he truly knows me better than I know myself), I’m sure he’d come up with something completely different.

Head on over to Ellen’s blog and follow along.  It has been a great experience for me.

I saw these “diet funnies” last night going through my RSS feed and thought they were funny enough to share (as I’m sure we all have felt this way at one time or another).

T’was the Month after Christmas – Diet Funnies

Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house,
Nothing would fit me,
not even a blouse.

The cookies I’d nibbled,
the chocolate I’d taste
At the holiday parties
had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales
there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber),

I’d remember the marvellous meals I’d prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I’d never said, “No thank you, please.”
As I dressed myself in my husband’s old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt…
I said to myself, as I only can,
“You can’t spend a Summer, disguised as a man!”

So, away with the last of the sour cream dip.
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won’t have a cookie, not even a lick.
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie.
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I’m hungry, I’m lonesome, and life is a bore…
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all, and to all a good diet.

~Author Unknown

Boy do I seem like a broken record.  I’m so sorry I’ve been MIA.  We’ve had a lot going on in our lives over the past few months.  Add Christmas to the mix (cards are just the most time consuming, so husbands be thankful if your wife takes care of this each and every year), birthdays, family visiting, son being tested for autism and other things, volunteering at church, etc…  I’ve been slacking on all three of my blogs.

On top of all that (yep, another excuse coming), I’ve been sick (in week 3 now).  *sigh*  I would start to feel better, then worse, then better, and just this past weekend, I went to an all time worse.  Ugh!  I haven’t slept in days.  I could barely even keep my eyes open this morning.  My doctor is closed in observance for the New Year today and all of the Urgent Cares are packed (hours worth of waiting).  No thank you. I’m waiting it out. I’m hoping to call the Urgent Care tonight around 6:30pm to see what their wait time is then (they take their last patient at 7pm, but are open until 8pm) and if all else fails, I’ll call my doctor first thing in the morning to see if I can get in (surely they’ll be open tomorrow, right?) or go to the Urgent Care when they open at 8am tomorrow.

I’ve heard many people have what I have.  They all say it’s a virus and lasts three weeks and just needs to run its course.  After getting much worse this weekend, I’m starting to wonder if it’s a sinus infection (I usually get one each year), but just know that if I go to the doctor (take the time and spend the money), it’ll be nothing and I’ll be no further off than I am right now.

I do have some fun things planned for this year.  I, of course, want to make it to goal this year.  I’ve been so off track with the holidays and yummy food.

I plan on changing my blog name and the look of my blog (still thinking on the name, but narrowing it down and got a great deal on a web designer creating something simple).  Both will reflect me.  I also want to make this blog more about me and what’s going on in my life.  I love reading the blogs that talk about personal things, not just stick-to-the-point weight loss and that’s it.  You don’t get to know the person that way. I’ve come to love some bloggers because they “let me in” to get to know them better.  I can also identify with them more.  While this blog will still be about weight loss and me reaching my ultimate goal, I’ll also be more personable on it.

One of my favorite blogs, Fat Girl Wearing Thin, is written by my friend Ellen.  She has some great insights on life, weightloss, and is so personable.  I’ve come to know her quite a bit this past year through her blog posts.  She truly has a knack for writing and can engage any reader with what she has to say.  I’m not promising that I’ll be engaging (I certainly don’t have the gift for writing), but I do hope to open up a bit more and let people in.

I hope you’ve all had a great New Year!  So hard to believe it’s 2012. What a way for me to start the year off (sick).  Here’s to the year getting so much better!

Off to take a nap, but I promise to be better about blogging once I’m on the mend.

UPDATE:

Went to Urgent Care tonight (found an AWESOME one about 20 minutes away that basically takes reservations).   I walked right in because I had a “reservation”.  Cool, huh?  I was sent home with three prescriptions.  I just got my son to bed (a bit later than usual) and am off to Walgreens to pick up my prescription so I can be well on my way to recovery.

From our family to yours…

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This whole post is directly copied from NerdFitness.  Something everyone should read! The post title is, “It Will Never Be”

It will never be:

• easy
• perfect
• the right time

Nobody is going to:

• tell you exactly what to do
• drag you out of bed in the morning
• yell at you to eat healthy
• lift weights for you
• run a race for you

There will always be:

• holidays
• sick days
• sleepless nights
• early mornings
• vacations
• bad weather
• long days at the office

It will always be easier to:

• say no
• hit SNOOZE
• do nothing
• settle
• blame others
• make excuses
• give up
• say “I tried my best” when you really didn’t

Life is freaking tough - health, wealth, and happiness certainly don’t come easy.

For those reasons, you don’t need:

• The best equipment
• The best business plan
• The PERFECT workout program (it doesn’t exist)
• A super specific meal plan

And it’s okay to:

• not have all of the answers yet – NOBODY does
• not have your life completely figured out yet – NOBODY does
• get started and figure things out as you go

As Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Do the best you can, with what you have, where you are.”

Take action.  Make changes.

You will make mistakes.   You will fail.  Embrace it.

You know what’s NOT okay?

• to expect instant success and gratification
• to give up immediately when life doesn’t go your way
• to keep doing the same thing while expecting different results
• to coast through life while complaining about it
• to constantly wonder “what if” without ever finding out

Tomorrow never comes. 

Eventually never happens.

Today.

Now.

Shut up and start.

-Steve