Mottos

I am the third of four children and the only daughter.  I grew up, married, and then gave birth to three daughters.  As such, I redefine irony on a daily basis. 
I spent quite a lot of time with my brothers and extended family over the last three days, brought together for a funeral of the cousin who died rather suddenly.  Before he died last week I had been going through a 'down' time as in lack of energy, a shortage of motivation and a shortfall of direction.  My new running shoes were sitting by the treadmill awaiting the first run.  On the day my cousin died I was raking leaves and my husband was putting up the Christmas lights.  It was two days after Thanksgiving.  One year before, to the day, we celebrated my parents' 50th wedding anniversary during which the entire family was present, my cousin included.  After pictures were taken at this joyous event, I made the comment that the next time we came together would probably be for a funeral.  How prophetic and a little eerie to boot.  When I made that comment he was not on the mental list of candidates.
 I read somewhere that one should have a personal motto, such as Be Present. Most of the time I am present but I am too enthralled with what the future can bring for those words to be my motto. Sometime during the last week while on the roller coaster of emotion I discovered mine.  Make The Effort.  (In my case it means- Don't Be Lazy).  I'll let you know how it works out.

Birthdays

Every Sunday I enjoy waking up and watching the CBS channel and the Sunday morning show.  One of the pieces today was an interview with Tom Petty of the Heartbreaker fame.  He was humorous through self-deprication.  The interviewer commented that he had a big birthday coming up and his reply was- yes he was turning 60 and that it's not a problem because if you're not getting older-you're dead.  So true.  I have never had a problem with the anniversary of the day of my birth.  It's My Day.  I get irked when I find someone who has the same birthday.  I don't want to share it, I want it to be all mine!  And then I remember how old I am. 
My cousin died yesterday.  He was only 64.  (As a teen, that age seems old.  As a 40 year-old you realize retiremet should be right around the corner).  In his youth he had served in the Army.  As an adult, he was a firefighter.  He also smoked.  A lot.  He quit, late in life, but the effects of a lifetime of inhaling tar were too great to overcome. When he should have been enjoying a period of time devoid of stress he couldn't breathe.  He boxed in the Army.  He was in great physical shape when he was a firefighter.  Towards the end of his life he couldn't walk a hundred yards without stopping to catch his breath.  The day after Thanksgiving he finally admitted he didn't feel well and went to the hospital.  He had developed pneumonia and the doctors found his lungs were bleeding, a symptom they could not reverse.  He left behind a wife, a brother, a sister-in-law, an uncle, an aunt,  daughters, couins, a niece, a great-niece, step-children, grandchildren and a great-grandchild who will miss him dearly. 
We all have habits that can ultimately affect the length of our life.  Take stock.  Birthdays will come, until they don't.

New Shoes

I recently bought new running shoes as my old pair started to squeak. I'm not sure why but I imagine the air bubble popped. I don't know why I continue to buy running shoes. I don't run. I think I'm going to pick it up again, someday, and run like I did when I was younger. Running a Marathon is on the Bucket List. The day before the present day I think about when I should exercise, i.e. what time of day is best. I haven't quite figured that one out yet. I receive a daily quote from the webpage that hosts the magazine Real Simple. Today's quote hit home. “It’s not that some people have willpower and some don’t. It’s that some people are ready to change and others are not" by James Gordon. So true.

Laundry Day

In past times when household chores could be accomplished on a regular basis, and during the day, dirty clothes were washed, folded, and put away on Monday.  My laundry day happens to be Tuesday.  I'm not sure why I accomplish this particular chore on Tuesday, which usually carries over to Wednesday, but there it is.  I've tried to schedule all my chores to a certain day and time along with my exercise regime.  The only problem with this process is the reality of partioning of my day doesn't always match with what is on paper.  This dichotomy, I realize, is the root of my problem of exercising regularly.  I jot down that I will exercise at 9 a.m. every morning and in the past when that time would come and go I would too- let it go- that is.  This morning I didn't let it go.  I didn't exercise at the right time, but I did exercise and in the end that is what counts! 

Summer

Summer has come and gone. I did do Weight Watchers for a few weeks and actually lost 13 pounds. Since quitting, again, I don't know if I lost any more weight because I threw my scale away. I do know that the size 20w long dress shorts that I bought to wear to a new job in June are now too big. I can pull them down without unbuttoning or unzipping. I wore them for the last time on Halloween day. I am going to keep them so I can try them on in the spring to see if they are bigger yet (or not!) I went through my closet looking for pants that fit and found some that actually did. The one pair of jeans that fit are size 18. I also have some velour stretchy pants that feel better this cold season that last (hopefully my memory serves correctly). Over the summer I coached a girl's softball team and played slowpitch as well. I have been walking and lately (as in the last week) I found a workout video through Netflix that has ten minute segments-which advocates accomplishing them every other day. I like it because I can do them in small doses and I'm not supposed to do all of them every day! My problem when I would start this process- over and over and over- is that at the beginning I would sprint and at the end I would quit participating because I'm not a sprinter.  I'm an endurance runner and right now I've just started the marathon.

Weight Watchers Afterall

After weeks of inactivity and non-action in the quest to lose weight I joined Weight Watchers. A lack of enthusiasm for vegetables and a craving for anything bread is not a good combination to keeping the weight within a healthy range. I thought I might do it alone through the USDA website containing the food pyramid. I knew I was gaining weight when, each morning after waking up, I would shuffle like an old woman to the bathroom. The decision to join Weight Watchers came after stepping on the scale at my doctor's office during my annual physical. The lab results from my physical came back surprisingly good considering that I am 63 pounds overweight. The enormity of that number did not send me into a depressing spiral, as in the past, but actually was the cause to jumpstart this journey with WW. I've attended two meetings and have lost 7.6 pounds; 2 of which was the sweatshirt I wore in the first meeting but not in the second; 3 of which was probably water flushing out of my system; and 2.6 could have been actual fat. Regardless of the makeup of the weight loss, it remains a loss. Right now the weather is turning nice and fresh vegetables from my dad's garden are on their way. I need to work on embracing those vegetables and cut back on the bread, and I do mean cut back. There would be no way I would ever survive on the Atkins diet. Tata for now.

Motivation

February is over and it is still cold. For some unknown reason when March 1st hits I think it should be warm and springy. And of course it isn't. It never is -- so I don't know from where I get this notion that March 1st should be any different than February 28. Softball season is right around the corner, however, and practice has begun- in a gym. Coaching twelve adolescent girls was not on my "Bucket List", but yet here I am, passing on to the next generation a lifetime of hard earned knowledge of a sport that I love like no other. I do not like practicing indoors, not as a youthful athlete nor as a coach. I loved being outside and active when I was younger. Where did that go? I still like being outside when the weather warms up but the active part of me isn't so much. Where did the motivation go? That is a good question, a very good question. Forty isn't so old. I need to find that motivation.

February

In the past, February has been a very depressing time for me. The entire fall season, my favorite, is long past. The holidays, to include my January birthday, are over. Valentine's Day is something to look forward to, if for nothing else to help the girls write out their Valentine cards. I found a website, http://magicalholidayhome.com/ , that has a number of "countdowns", one of which is for Valentine's Day. Without going into too much detail, the website gave me ideas to keep busy up to that day. This year I think my spousal unit and I will go out to eat and make a special night of it. Elevate the date to an "almost holiday", enough to fool my psyche into getting me half-way through February.

I have talked to others who feel the same as I do about February. One of those persons gave me a great idea as to how to fill in the second half of the month. She takes the entire month and goes through all her closets, organizing and cleaning out the abysses. I now have something to look forward to- to keep me busy, and at the same time will use the discards in my first garage sale of the season.

It's Not Too Late

This morning as I stepped out of the shower I took a rare glance into the mirror and made a startling revelation. A moment of clarity as the "experts" say these days. As I glanced back for a second peek, what was revealed to me was that "it's not too late". Not too late to reverse the last five years of not so healthy eating and irregular exercise. My oldest daughter turns ten and my youngest turns six this year. There is also a middle daughter who turns eight. So I say the last five years since I can no longer claim baby fat as that baby is now in Kindergarten.
During these past years I would go in spurts of ensuring my vegetables made it through the orifice into my digestive system. I would also go months on end, usually during the summer, of exercising on a daily basis. What I would not do is make it years on end. I have finally come to the realization that my tastes have changed and what I loved doing at a younger age is not so enjoyable, physically or mentally, at an older age. The old adage "use it or lose it" does hold true. I see it in my mother who turned 70 on her last birthday. She does what she needs to do, but she can't do all that she wants to do. I also believe she stopped getting out there because she was and is embarrassed of how she looks. And so, now, I know that I just need to keep moving, in some fashion. I'm going to put myself out there, as is, to get it off and to keep it off.

Better Photo

I found this web site, Better Photo, after researching the Internet and found a photographer I knew publishing her pictures. It is an extensive web site with many photographers putting their pictures out there for display. One day last January, after surviving a dull winter's day, I discovered Australia during its summer. One could travel the globe through this web site, from the comfort of a recliner.

On another note-- my calves hurt from painting today. Shoes might have helped if I had thought about that this morning and not now after the fact. My kitchen is being replaced and I painted the walls "Peach Marmalade"--a deep yellow, but yellow nonetheless--my favorite color, much to my husband's dismay.

A more stringent workout program is on the way- it has to be or I'll never be able to enjoy retirement which is fourteen years away.

Change is on the way, I can feel it!

Bonnie Hunt

I have manipulated my blog a bit and added a website. I attempted to add more, but I am still on the upward trudge of the learning curve. Bonnie Hunt has her own talk show and web site. I love watching her show. She is self-deprecating to a fault and modest, at least on television, to no end. If I ever am feeling low I watch her (after recording the show on the dvr) and within minutes am laughing at some comment she has made.
After some thought I also decided to post a "pre" picture. Only my face shows, but it is enough for me to gather momentum toward my goal. The picture is from a vacation, during which when my weight gain had become apparent to me when I could not hike as easily as I once did. Ugghh.

Hopeful

I made a few New Year's Resolutions- not many- but a few. I did not resolve to lose any weight. I did, however, make it a goal. Before I turn forty-one I intend to be at my college weight. More importantly I want to turn around on the path on which I am currently headed. My mother was thirty when she gave birth to me and I was thirty when I gave birth to my first born. I can see my destiny on a daily basis and as of late have realized it will become a reality if I do nothing. I have gone to meetings in the past about weight loss. I realize they have done nothing more for me than make me accountable to another. There are those who do need extensive help in losing weight, they do need contact with others to aid them. I am going to be accountable to myself. I have researched the website http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html and am going to follow its guidelines. With the aid of another website, http://www.my-calorie-counter.com/calorie_counter.asp, I'm going to track most of what I do in this quest. Follow me in this journey. Let's see what happens.

Just a Test

This is my first attempt to blog. I turned 40 a few days ago and with my birthday money bought the movie "13 going on 30". I love Jennifer Garner in this film. What it would feel like again to be 13. Just wondering.

Photos from 13 Going on 30