Thank you!

Rae, over at Diminishing Returns, awarded me the Happy 101 blogger award! Thank you, Rae!

The Rules:

1. Post who gave you this award

Thank you again, Rae. Your comments are always supportive. Your encouragement means so much! :) Love your recipes, too! YUM!

2. State 10 things you like

1) sending and receiving handwritten letters
2) The college I attended and supporting the football team there
3) my morning going exactly as planned
4) Diet Coke
5) pedicures / massages
6) books
7) a calm lake and the swing in my yard thanking God for my blessings
8) a day at home just chillin
9) laying in bed on Saturday morning talking with my husband
10) My kids' smiles...man, I dig those girls!


3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

1.  My Journey to Healthy Living 
2. Shoes to Lose
3. :Deliciously Healthy
4. Getting Healthy
5. Live, Smile, Run
6. It's My Time...
7. Lucy's Journey
8. Losing Ethel
9. Good Time Van
10. My New Ending

Thanks again, Rae!

My choices today:
Breakfast: strawberry, yogurt, skim milk smoothie
Snack: sharp cheddar cheese (5 cubes)
Lunch: tuna, salad with lowfat ranch, banana
Snack: snack size Milky Way bar (oops!)
Dinner: ham sandwich on wheat (hubby playing softball tonight...no cooking!)

2 diet cokes, coffee at work, WATER

Hanging in there but hungry today...
J

Hip, hip, hooray!

Guess who had a small victory today? Yep, me!

I got up this morning, had a healthy breakfast...feeling good about my week. Last night, I spent at least 3 hours (not kidding) grading papers. I was all caught up for this week. I'm heading into a LONG weekend (no school on Labor Day). Had a fabulous morning and then, the stress HIT. I had meetings after school, a student who can't stop crying for no reasons, and blah blah blah.

Well, my own kids have  a snack every day in my room after school. The Little Bit broke out her Fritos, the Elder had Cool Ranch Doritos. I, being overwhelmed in the moment, starting planning my snack in my head. Yep, it involved a drive through. My closet eater (I didn't want to eat in front of my teammates b/c I've told them I'm trying to make better choices) came out! Oh, I was excited. I could practically taste the salty fries...

Then, on the way home...something miraculous happened. I talked myself out of the binge. Yes. I. Sure. Did.

Can you believe that? AND...get ready for it...I came on home and worked out for 45 minutes on the treadmill and with hand weights. Yes, I know. I'm patting myself on the back. But, this is big time for me. I showed some resistance. Will power. Whatever you want to call it. I did not eat the bad stuff! Hip, hip, hooray!

My choices today:
Breakfast: yogurt/fruit smoothie with skim milk, coffee at work no sugar
Snack: cheese and grapes
Lunch: hamburger patty, broccoli, and salad
EXERCISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dinner: Chef Salad

Lots of water, one diet coke so far :)

Resist,
J

By the way, I am doing Syl's challenge for 30 days. You can read about it here. We are committing to do the Shred for 30 days. OR just exercise for 30 days. Join us if you dare! Just thinking about it has made me sore!

I Chose THIS???

Missa over at Losing Ethel inspired this post with her comment in yesterday's post.

I wrote that my mom always said, "You're as happy as you want to be." I said I agreed with that *most* of the time. Missa wrote..."So by that logic, are we as fat as we want to be? Maybe so!!"

Well, that got me to thinking. I think I am as fat as I want to be. I mean, I am changing now, but when I slip in my eats, don't exercise, blah, blah, blah...I am choosing to stay fat. I choose to drink Diet Coke instead of water even though I know I need the water. I chose to eat waffles with butter and syrup this morning even though I KNOW it will not help me reach my goal. I choose to take bites of cake, candy, etc. even though I know it is the last thing I need to do.

But, I can choose the other way too. I will choose the fruits, veggies, water, exercise. I am choosing to work toward my goal. Now, that's a good choice.

Thanks, Missa!

What do you think about this logic?  You're as happy as you want to be. You're as thin/fat as you want to be. I want to hear what you think.


Choosing Wisely,
J

Menu today:
2 waffles with syrup and butter
1 grilled porkchop with brown rice
1 string cheese
1 hamburger with bun, lettuce, tomato, cheese, ketchup, mustard

45 minutes on treadmill (run/walk)
10 strength band training
one hour swimming (not too strenuous though)

lots water, 2 diet cokes

Ssssssssssssss...

There was a little boy who was always out in the woods. He loved the woods because they made him happy; however, he was scared to death of snakes. It seemed as if he always found at least one or two snakes when he was trying to enjoy the woods. He asked his mother, "How come I find so many snakes?" She answered, "Because you are always looking for them."

This story was part of our Sunday School lesson last week. You will find what you are always looking for...good or bad. If you start your day in a foul mood, looking for what is wrong in your life, well...you are probably going to have a rotten day. BUT, never fear. The opposite is true, too. If you are looking for your blessings and the happy things in life, guess what you will find! Positive things...and feel more blessed because of it.

My mother says...You are as happy as you want to be. To a certain extent, I believe this to be true. There are always exceptions to every rule, though, right?

Everyone has a bad day every now and then. I want to stop focusing on big thighs, jiggly triceps, and an x-large behind (etc) and being so busy (a.k.a.  tired). I am so blessed. I know it. I need to live it every day!

You are among my blessings. Thank you for your support and encouragement.

Don't look for snakes!
J

Derailed

Well...today, was not so hot with the eats! Oops... I did fine for breakfast and lunch. Kept myself in control and feeling so proud of me. Then, my in-laws (yes, them again) show up and get my girls from school...uh, oh! Yes, they have surprised me and taken my kids and they have decided to STAY FOR DINNER!

Okay, well...I should be grateful they are taking the kids. I can work for an hour or two by myself....Instead, I feed the anxiety. I work for one hour. Get in my car to run kid-free errands...end up at Dairy Queen...yep! Chicken fingers AND gravy.  I was in a panic (why, I am not sure) about dinner. I was torn between telling my wonderful husband his parents are driving me crazy and I need a break OR being grateful for their help and loving my kids.

I had pork chops in the crock pot...not enough for them though. So, I came home and packed those babies up for tomorrow night. Then, I ordered a pizza! Ate only one slice, but can I really be proud of that? I had 4 chicken fingers earlier!

Then, we are all roasting in my house. I look at the thermostat, and MIL has set it on 79! It's August in the south! It is like 100 degrees here. We keep the air between 70 and 73. And, she is straightening up everything around me. Thank goodness the housekeeper came today...I'm not sure what MIL was doing. The house looked great to me (it usually takes my kids about 20 minutes to destroy it, but today was better).

They left finally. AND I ate an oatmeal cream pie!

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH ME?

Why am I letting this relationship dictate how I treat myself? I am really going to work on this ...and try very hard to stop letting her make me feel insecure. Or should I say stop letting myself feel insecure around her. She may not even know what she is doing... hmmm.

*sigh*  Tomorrow, I will be back on track. Just derailed for a minute.

Hold on,
J

Breakfast: protein shake, apple
Snack: almonds
Lunch: soup and salad

You know the rest...

3 diet cokes and water, too....

No way!

Do you ever win something (big or small) and you just can't believe something good happened to you???
I won a free t-shirt yesterday, and I was so excited. You would have thought I won $1000. (First and only time I have played.) I just couldn't believe I won something for FREE! A couple of years ago, a friend gave me a lottery ticket for my birthday. She couldn't get a "real gift" (those were her words), and I'm sure neither one of us thought it would be a winner. Well, I won $500. I felt guilty so I gave her half. My best friend says I act like that because I don't feel I deserve good things. Hmmmm....do I believe that?

I'm not sure. Overall, I feel I'm a good person. I do the right thing (mostly). I treat others how I want to be treated (mostly). I'm cheerful, I help others, etc....do I feel that I don't deserve good things to happen to me?

I know that I have trouble accepting compliments. If someone says that I am pretty or have on a nice outfit, I ALWAYS feel the need to put myself down because of my weight. Is that NORMAL????

Also, if anyone does something special for me. I have a *need* to repay the favor. Of course, I say thank you, but I'll look for ways to pay back. Even if they don't expect/want it. We had a Sunday School lesson on this a while back...we should all learn to just say thank you and accept someone did something for us without expecting anything in return. Say Thank You and move on. I still have trouble with it....

Is this my way of putting ME down???

Do you have trouble accepting good things when they happen to you?

Have a great night!
J

Menu:
Breakfast: Yogurt
Snack: about 5 almonds...ran out of time :)
Lunch: rice, beans, and chicken soup
Dinner: 2 small slices of veggie pizza

Get ready for this...ONLY one diet Coke today! LOTS of water, and 1 coffee

Get off of me!

Have you ever felt like someone was sitting on your chest and you couldn't breathe? That's how I felt all weekend. My MIL came to stay with us. I have posted about her in the past. It feels like she sucks all the air out of the room I am in. I feel stress/tension constantly. I can't blame her for the overeating, those were my choices, but I just wish she would lighten up a bit.

I'm reading a great book called Get Out of that Pit. I bought it in hopes that I could help my sister who is going through a yucky divorce....well, cocky me. Lo and behold, I'm learning a few things, too. Food is my pit! (Surprise, huh!). It is helping me recognize I only hurt me and my goals for myself when I choose bad food and to skip exercise. Duh.... Beth Moore is the author, and she says it way better than I do. Anyway, this book is really speaking to me. I need to live my best life. I can do this...

For REAL!
J

Menu today (so proud of me)
Breakfast: Protein Shake w/ Banana
Snack: Banana (had bananas I had to eat before they went bad :))
Lunch: homemade chicken / vegetable soup :), broccoli, banana
Snack: cranberries and nuts, cheese string
Dinner: turkey sandwich

Water and 2 diet cokes