IT'S HARD TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

I am on a quest.  A life-changing quest.

My daughter announced in October, 2011 that she was expecting.  Yea,  I was beyond happy.  I was 55 years old and had already had four great-nieces from my three older girls (my nieces we helped raise) so my daughter Hope was the baby of the family, the last to have any children.  We were and are excited to welcome this new child into our family.  Thanksgiving came, with lots of joy and food.  Oh my the food,  the parties during Christmas, and the trays of cookies.  I even broke down (Grandma Mode) and made a ton of goodies for the holidays.  Eating, more eating, talking while eating, walking while eating, sampling goodies at the Mall and other stores, eating and eating.  Man life was good.  I knew I was putting on a few pounds, but what the hell it was the holidays. 

One day just before Christmas, a friend and I were sitting down talking about her Grandson and the problems he was having in his life.  I consoled her and we chatted some more.  Then this friend, this awesome women, said something so profound.  "He needs to make better choices,  it's his choice in what happens.  He is just making bad choices in his life."  Well, I nodded my agreement, gave her a hug and she left.  I continued to pick up the house and decided to get a cup of coffee and put my feet up.  When WHAM, out of nowhere came this voice "You need to make better choices in your life, you are overweight, out of shape and have lost complete control of yourself!"   Huh,  "Weigh yourself and you'll see what I'm talking about.  OK, I got up and went to the scale.  HOLY SHIT!!!!  I know I'm overweight but OMG....328 pounds!!!

What now?  What is going on?  I sank down and sat on the stool.  How had I let myself get so out of control.  I started thinking...am I going to be around to see my new grandson?  Maybe not.  At least I won't see him grow up, graduate high school, college, get married and yes maybe even have a great-grandson.  It could happen but not with my health in the shape it was in.  Then I started thinking, Connie was right I had the choice.  I chose to eat junk and sit around on my fat ass and complain about how much pain I was in, yeah I have fibromyalgia, but what the hey, I'm not dead.  Not yet anyway.  

Talk about a life altering moment.  Well to make a long story short.  My niece Kalsy gave me the link to FITDAY.com.  I started that day to track what I ate, my fats, carbs, calories and my activities.  The worst part of all of this was actually putting down in black and white how much I weighed.   Man, was that hard, but now almost 6 weeks later I have lost almost 20 pounds.  Yea!!!  I would love to say it has been easy as pie, but it has been hard.  I crave, mentally, the fattening things I used to eat at a drop of a hat.  But I also am finding that I love veggies and with smart choices (here is that choice word again) and starting to exercise (slowly) I am making changes and better choices in my life.

It all comes down to making  radically different choices in my lifestyle.  I need to be aware of what I put in my mouth and what I don't do daily for exercise.  It is a conscious effort to totally change my lifestyle for the better, for the healthier and for a much happier me.

A bonus of all this is that my hubby, because he is following what I am eating (I cook!!!)  he has lost almost 15 pounds too.  He is a diabetic so this "diet" of mine will benefit both of us.

It will be a long haul trying to control my lifestyle of 55 years, but with God's guidance and my families help, I'll make it.  I will try to post as often as I remember, I want to keep this blog as a diary of my journey.  So until later, read a good book, make love and yes enjoy a small piece of dark chocolate.  Because life  is for the living and chocolate is a part of life, the dark and yummy part.  But only in moderation!!!

The Choice is Yours!!!

Blogging isn't my full time job - Life is.

I have been reading a lot of blogs lately.  Some good, some really bad.  But what I am finding out that some people out there on the Internet think that they have something work changing to write about.  Or at least world changing to them.

I am going to try, however hard it seems to keep a journal of life on this blog.  It may have sporadic entries, or in a burst of  enthusiasm have quite a few in a very short time.  Such is life.

Until later...Love well, live well and eat a lot of chocolate....and also keep reading.

Long Time No Blog

Yeah I know it has been a long time since I have written in this Blog...but seriously, I kinda forgot about it, (you know how busy life gets) until a good friend reminded me how she liked to read my posts.  Well I can't promise I will write every day but I will try for a few times each week.

We all had the flu bug that went around this past month.  As in all, I mean my husband, myself, my daughter, son-in-law, my mother, nieces, great-niece's (no nephews or great-nephews yet), best friends, not so best friends and most all of our acquaintances. You may see a trend here.  It seems that we are are group of loving sharers.  Not just in time, fellowship and material things, but we love to pass germs around. It wouldn't be bad if we would space out the sharing, one person getting sick, then the bug waits a couple of weeks than another person got sick.  But no, we all decided to share this particular germ within the space of a few weeks.  It was miserable. 

We all would cough, hack and croak during phone conversations, sharing whatever home spun, health healing remedies we could.  We detailed each and every doctor visit with each other in the hope that we, our selves, would be spared that fatal visit to the local MD.  But to our sorrow almost all of  us took the dreaded trip to our local clinic where we sat, chilled and drippy nosed, safely enclosed in our facial mask (which were to protect the other patients, who already were as sick as we were....it made no sense at all!!!) waiting on that magical medical being who in his or her infinite wisdom spoke the scared words, "Yep it looks like you got the bug that is going around"  "WELL DUH!!" I knew that...I'm here so you can give me a magic pill to make it better!!!

Usually docs don't give out antibiotics for viruses, but for some reason this bug was causing, pneumonia, bronchitis, strep throat, and sinus and ear infections, so massive doses of antibiotics were dispensed.  In my case, 3 doses were needed to fight my bronchitis, sinus and ear infection.  Holey Moley,  I don't want to see another antibiotic for many more moons...if not forever. 

I am hopeful that nice weather will open windows, get people outside and those nasty germs will be blown away.  In truth they really should be blown away from all of the fierce winds we have been having lately, but that is another story, for another future blog.
As always, read a book, make love and eats lots of chocolate....(if you can keep it down during the bug)

Holiday Feastings

I have figured out why I love the holidays.....It's the food.  I love to eat....hence my overweightness.  No I'm not making excuses for it....I....am....a....FOODIE.  Food is wonderful.   Crunchy, chewy, spicy, savory, salty, sweet....even a little sourness is good, Oh what the heck it's all good.  My next blog I will go in to more detail....until then, read a book, make love and eat chocolate....oh yeah I LOVE Chocolate....what foodie wouldn't.

Still Crafting

I have a feeling that until I get my Christmas presents done, this is what my blogs are going to be like, especially today.  So I'm back to crafting will write more later. 

Until later, read a book (who has time), make love (this I will make time for) and eat chocolate (of course!)

Craft Day

Today is the 3rd of December and I need to finish my homemade Christmas Presents, so this sentence is my blog and I will write more next week....LOL, I really, really, really, really need to get cracking.

So until later read a book, make love and eat chocolate. (and in my case get to work!!!)

Homemade Frenzy

It's my favorite season, Christmas.  I LOVE Christmas, the parties, the music, the great feelings of friendship and OH Yeah, my birthday.  Even though every year I keep getting older, I just can't seem to stop feeling younger.  Oh, not my poor body, but my mind.  My body is not aging well and I have health issues, but my mind keep expanding and my thirst for knowledge is increasing.  I bet that is why all of the great people in history were old when they made their mark. So there is hope for us oldsters to leave some kind of mark in history, instead of just passing time and gas like we tend to do. Yeah, me included.

I try every year to make something for my family and friends as a gift for Christmas.  Since I make jewelry, I have been giving earrings, necklaces and bracelets.  I think some of my gift recipients may have jewelry running out of their ears by now.  So this Christmas I am doing something different I am crocheting hanging kitchen towel for everyone.  They are useful and look nice in a kitchen.  My wonderful friend came over the other night and taught me a shell stitch......I LOVE IT.   So now my towels are a little bit fancier then they would have been.  I am enjoying this, even though my hands do hurt a little at night, my friend told me that this happens to her so I'm taking it, and as everyone knows you have to suffer for your art (or kitchen towels) for it to really be a creative endeavor.

I also am in a baking mood.  I don't know if this Mood will pan out but someone somewhere may or may not get some goodies for Christmas.  Heaven knows I don't need the extra calories......even though I want them.  A friend wrote on their face book page "Food such as cookies, candies, cakes and other assorted goodies eaten between Thanksgiving and New Years do not have any calories because they were eaten in the spirit of friendship and were eaten during the Christmas Holiday."  Gotta love that women. She came up with a "get out of jail free" card for us foodies who love to munch on all of the Christmas goodies.

So off I go today to stitch or bake depending on my mood.  Wish me luck and I promise (kinda) not to sample to many of my treats, even though you know I will.

So until later...read a book, make love and eat chocolate.