Anj

I was reading some of my past blogs this morning and I was pretty floored about how much I have changed.  Six weeks ago THAT girl wrote a blog about teetering off of the wagon.  THAT girl couldn’t resist a breakfast from McDonald’s without getting the hashbrown.  THAT girl thought that food was going to make her bad day better.  THAT girl hid in the back of the room in the dark corner because she was ashamed of how she looked.  THAT girl stood on the sidelines while her socially outgoing husband struck up conversations with total strangers.  I am proud to say that I am not THAT girl any longer.  I don’t know when the change became definite, but it’s there.  I still go to McDonald’s and other fast food resturants (let’s face it, I’m a fast food junkie).  But now I make the better choices without even thinking about them.  And I stand up for those choices.  (Check out yesterday’s blog).  Bye-bye breakfast burrito, hello fruit and walnut salad.  Adios dark corner, Buenos Dias spotlight!  Goodbye old self and warm greetings to new friends.  With all of that being said I have decided to devote this weeks’ quotes to change.

 When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge. ~Tuli Kupferberg

It’s never too late - in fiction or in life - to revise. ~Nancy Thayer

It is not the strongest of species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.  ~Charles Darwin

and my favorite for the week:

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;  it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be acheived.  ~William Jennings Bryan

Have a great weekend buddies!

Actually he said that I forgot my fries, but to me it’s all the same.  Here is the story from the beginning:

I knew yesterday was going to be crazy and I knew that I wouldn’t have time to make supper.  My husband was expected to be out of town for the evening so it was just me and Paige (my seven year old).  What the heck, let’s hit a fast food joint.  So in we go and the place is pretty full, we wait in line forever and I AM HUNGRY!!!  By the time I finally get to place my order I let the pipsqueak behind the counter know that Paige will have a chicken nugget kids meal with a juice.  Not a problem.  Then I tell him I want the grilled chicken combo, no mayo, a bottle of water, and I want a side salad instead of fries.  He tells me that can’t be done.  (By now I’m getting irratible.)   What do you mean it can’t be done?!  Sorry, but we don’t allow substitutes (WHAT?!) if you would like a side salad with your meal I can gladly order one for you, but you will have to pay $2.99.  UGH!  Fine, just give me my combo meal and a side salad…no dressing please!  So we finally pay and wait another 8 minutes for our food…so much for it being fast food…anyway, when they finally call  my number I calmly get our tray, make sure everything is on there and take the fries off of the tray and put them on the counter.  I proceed to walk away.  Don’t you know that the little jerk takes the time away from the long line of people waiting to get their food to come to my table to tell me I forgot my fries!!  This is just a local little resturant and not a chain so I won’t bother with the name of the place.  I just needed to vent a little because I this is the first time I have gone into a place that wasn’t willing to make a healthy substitute for me unless they charged me extra.  Needless to say, the nice little teenager took his fries (which would have gone right to my butt) back behind the counter with him and once I got a chance to speak with the manager they gave me my entire meal free.  I still don’t know if I will be a patron there again…

Hey all,
Since you guys are the best buddies a girl could have I wanted to share the news with you. I just received a call from my brother’s wife to let me know another boy is on the way! Woohoo! Two nephews to spoil rotten! Braden is pictured above…yes we are already training him to ride a motorcycle. The new baby is due the first week of August. My brother wants to name him Max…Heaven help us all!

Hope everyone is having a great day and that we are staying on plan! Gonna go do a happy dance now!

Well, it’s time I put this out on the table.  I think all of you are to blame.  There I said it and I feel much better. 

I blame all of you for keeping me on plan. 

I blame all of you for my 26 pound loss in 7 weeks. 

I blame all of you for making me exercise and for holding me accountable. 

I blame all of you for the increased energy and the lower stess. 

I especially blame all of you for encouraging me and pulling me up when I’m feeling down. 

 I blame all of you for giving me more support that is deserved sometimes. 

I blame all of you for making me want to do this. 

So when people tell me that I’m looking good and asking how I am losing the weight, I blame you!  And now you know how each and every one of you has touched my life, has helped changed that life, and has given me the support to make this lifestyle change work. 

I just had to get that off of my chest.  Now I am going to go drink some more water and tell yet another person how my buddies are to blame for the new me!

Anyone that has read my last two blogs know that I am going through some difficult times with my In Laws and my nieces.  So today I thought about doing some quotes on things kids have said to remind us just how precious these little people are.  Also, I am dedicating today’s blog to www.thebigi105.com  They are doing a radio-thon to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network.  The songs and the stories are enough to break your heart and to make you realize how lucky we are.  If you get a moment to log on and listen I’m sure it would be appreciated.

 Okay, onto today’s quotes:

 Smiles are wondrous things; you can give them out for eternity and always have one left for yourself.  ~Colleen, age 13

You can’t push away your conscience.  ~Christopher, age 12

If you believe in yourself, anything is possible.  ~Meghann, age 13

Today is one of a kind and will only happen once - so make it great!  ~Donna, age 17

You can’t change the past, but you have choices for the future.  ~Jaymin, age 15

Simply saying, “I believe in you” can make someone’s day.  ~Mary, age 16

 And my favorite:

Life is filled with ups and downs but most of the time I’m going sideways.  ~Leslie, age 11

 Don’t forget to hug a child today!

Good Morning to all!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone that responded to yesterdays blog.  It is so nice to know that you can come on here to vent about anything and your buddies are not only weight loss/ diet buddies, but life buddies as well!  You guys are the greatest!

After debating with myself for awhile yesterday I did make the call.  I didn’t call Children and Youth though.  I called the school where the girls go and reported my concerns to the guidance counselor.  I did it anonomously and it felt good.  The counselor said that he has noticed changes with the girls as well, but couldn’t get any of them to open up.  The 16 year old has a 36% (yes that is thirty six percent) in math and in history.  She is in danger of being held back this year.  He was also concerned because she seems to be striking out with her appearance.  (In the past month her parents have let her shave her head into a mohawk, pierce her lip, her nose and her eyebrow.)  He didn’t really say much about the two younger ones, just that he was concerned there as well.  He was relieved that someone called though because he said until he heard legitimate concerns from someone there wasn’t really anything he could do.  Now that I have given him some of the facts of what goes on he is able to call Children and Youth and have them investigate.  Since I didn’t give my name or anything though I probably won’t know what happens except what I hear through the family grapevine.  Please keep these girls in your thoughts.

 As for me, I am doing well.  You all have given me the strength and motivation that I have needed to keep plowing ahead. 

I will have more quotes for you tomorrow to get us through another weekend.  I think I will focus on kids’ quotes this week for the girls’ sake and also because there is a radiothon this weekend that benefits the Children’s Miracle Network.  It runs Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Wanna talk about making you feel grateful for what you have?  That does it right there.  If you are interested in listening on line I will have the site information for you tomorrow!

 Have a wonderful Thursday and I will check in with you all later!

Usually I can come up with some catchy line for my blog title, but I’m not feeling so creative today.  This blog has nothing to do about diet, it has nothing to do about exercise.  It has to do with In-Laws.  Not even all in-laws, just my brother and sister in law.  I just need to vent a little (which usually means alot so this could get kinda long).

My husband’s brother and his wife are driving me crazy and it shouldn’t even be my business, but I’m making it my business because of my neices.  Here is a little history lesson on the family dynamics.  My sister-in-law (we will call her D) and I have been the best of friends since I met my husband 11 years ago.  Last year around this time D found out that her husband (B) was cheating on her.  She confronted him, he lied, you know how that goes.  Anyway, he finally admitted to it and they decided that they were going to work on their marriage.  Now, they have a LONG history of not paying bills or being finacially responsible.  So while they were working on their marriage they decided that they couldn’t keep up with the $1,100 a month mortgage payment.  Abandoned their house and moved out of town.  They only moved about 15 minutes away and were renting a place.  Then on their daughter’s 7th birthday she threw him out of the house because he was acting suspicious again.  He moved in with us and we supported him for about a month.  In amongst all of this he sold his race car and instead of paying us for living there and supporting him, he bought a motorcycle.  I was pissed!  Then they decided that they were going to try again and were going to go to counseling.  He moved back in with her without saying a word to us, no thank you, no nothing.  Whatever, at least they are going to counseling and are going to make their marriage work.  Except they never “got around to going” to a counselor.  They then decided that they didn’t want to rent and wanted their house back that they haven’t been living in for 3 months.  They also haven’t been paying the mortgage on it because they couldn’t afford it.  Somehow they worked with the bank, got back into their house, don’t owe a mortgage payment until March (3 MORE months no mortgage).  Now, at Christmas they said that they didn’t have the money to buy gifts for anyone (not even their neices), but went and bought a new puppy (after they said they couldn’t be bothered with animals and gave up their other ones).  Again, whatever.  But here is the kicker, they have now bought a new car, a new truck, AND bought her a new motorcycle.  All since the New Year.  Whatever they want to do finacially is their business, my problem is that I am now getting certified letters sent to my house because they are bouncing checks and since my address is on B’s checks they are coming to me.  So I know they aren’t being financially responsible.  On top of all of that bullcrap, the checks that they are bouncing are for their 3 daughters school lunches!!  They are so busy showing off everything that they have that the kids don’t take baths for a week at a time because they are never home.  They have been back in their house since December and haven’t cleaned or properly unpacked.  The place is a mess and it’s an embarrassment to go over there.  I feel so bad for my neices (ages 7,10, and 16) that I think their parents should be reported.  My husband and the rest of the In-Laws feel that way too. 

 So my question to you buddies is should I live and let live or should I place an anonomous phone call to make sure that the girls are getting provided for properly?

 Sorry this was so long, I am just so fed up with the whole thing and needed to vent a bit.

Thanks for listening!

Spoken by Paul Newman in the movie Message in a Bottle.

 Here are some more movie quotes to get us through the weekend…

“What I’m talking about is the human spirit.  That’s the challenge, that’s the voyage, that’s the expedition.” ~ Spoken by John Travolta, Phenomenon

“You’re not dead yet so stop living as if you are.”  ~ Bette Midler, Beaches

“If you want to limit yourself, that’s fine.  But don’t let other people do it for you.”  ~Elisabeth Shue, Gracie

“I’ve got to reach for the best that’s in me.”  ~ Robert Redford, The Natural

“You can’t fail if you don’t give up.” ~Tom Wilkinson, The Last Kiss

 Have a great weekend everyone!

We are not so much concerned if you are slow as when you come to a halt.  ~ Chinese Proverb

Eat a live toad in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day. ~Author Unknown

A lost battle is a battle one thinks one has lost. ~ Ferdinand Foch

The male is a domestic animal which, if treated with firmness and kindness, can be trained to do most things. ~Jilly Cooper (sorry to any guys that are reading this…actually no I’m not, LOL!)

And finally…

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. ~Henry Ford

 Have a great weekend!

Eating right + drinking water = Feels good

Completing treadmill goal + completing strength training goal = Feels even better

Having husband lock your keys in your car + letting you to deal with it making you late for work =  Pisses you off

Having a fear of spiders + finding one in your shower when you are still half asleep = instant cardio workout

 Having a friend that is having a rough time + knowing there is nothing you can do about it = discouraging

Watching the numbers on the scale go down + watching the inches fall off = empowering

Having your daughter call to tell  you she saw a rainbow and thought of you + her hugs and kisses = Complete and total contentment

What does your life add up to today?