If at first you don't succeed try, try again. And again. And again, and again, and again.

So I'm really, really hesitant to post this, but I feel it may give me some motivation and make me more accountable when it comes to the goals I set for myself.  Ugh.  

New Year's comes once a year and every year I have made the same (whether it be half-hearted or genuinely sincere) goal to *cough* lose weight or *cough, cough* get in shape.  Which probably comes as no surprise to anyone.  Nor does the fact that my attempts to accomplish said goal have been, well, not as fruitful as I'd like.  Actually, you might say the very opposite was achieved.  The past 5 years have grown steadily worse.  My already slow metabolism has all but ceased to function!  Or so it seems.  There are those who would say that one's fitness is solely dependent on one's willpower, but let's face it!  The task is a difficult one for some and not so difficult for others.  There are a lot of emotional, psychological, and (obviously) physical factors to consider.  So kindly humor me as I illustrate my latest venture to not only lose some pesky pounds that seem intent on haunting me forever, but to also get healthy.  And just in time to combat the holidays, too!

About 9 years ago I signed up for a 10-week program with the American Heart Association.  We had weekly meetings, kept a food journal, and had *shudder* weekly weigh-ins.  In that atmosphere you were completely responsible for your own success.   Everyone was there for the same reason and the focus of the program wasn't necessarily to lose weight but to make healthy habits for ourselves and replace the bad ones to facilitate weight loss.  Genius!  They no longer offer the program, but they do have an online option called BetterU.  It's part of the Go Red for Women campaign.  12 weeks, each week with a specific goal, and a weekly journal to track your progress.  So I'm doing it. Tomorrow is day one.  And I'll be chronicling my experiences here as well so you can share in all the blissful frustration!  

Roll your eyes, scoff and scorn, do your worst, but I'm-a gonna do this!  I've let the dreaded and accursed weight inhibit so many other aspects of my life and made countless excuses for myself, but no more.  Now let's just hope I can see it through!  Anyone interested in joining me should check out the link above!

Wish me luck everyone!


BetterMe Coaching Tool

"Dear little house that I have lived in, there is happiness you have seen, even before I was born. In you is my life, and all the people I have loved are a part of you, so to go out of you, and leave you, is to leave myself." Richard Llewellyn

On Sunday night I signed my first ever lease agreement.  I am officially...a tenant.  How do I best describe how this makes me feel?  How do I explain the spectrum of emotions that have been coursing through my body during this past week?

Lately, I've been overcome with bouts of creative rapture, my inner interior decorator (redundant?) taking over as I pore over IKEA catalogs and stalk neighborhood yard sales.  However, I have also been feeling a lot of anxiety.  I will be packing up my life and putting it somewhere else, somewhere that will hopefully eventually become a kind of "home" for the next 8 months or so.  The house I live in now has been home to my family for over 50 years.  My mom has never ever lived anywhere else in her entire life!  I have always loved being here, living in the same rooms that once housed my aunts and grandparents, taking comfort in knowing it was once "home" to all of them.   I have a wonderful family history here. I would go through old family photo albums just to see how our little house and the people in it had evolved over the years.  There are memories I don't even have a memory of, but they are still here.

As for my new "home," it seemed to fall right out of the sky!  My friend and I had been looking for a place all summer and things had kind of slowed down--we were feeling very frustrated with the process.  Apartment hunting was just another form of rejection for me.  You "meet" an apartment and fall in love, daydreaming about all the wonderful possibilities... Then someone else swoops in and snatches it up.  After all the applications, credit checks, and the WAITING it proved to be an exhausting experience.  Would no one take a chance on two lovely and fabulous ladies looking to make their way in the world?

Just when it seemed we'd have to wait out the holiday season before our hunt started again, we stumbled upon a little spot near downtown.  The price was right, the place itself was cute and clean, we both had a really good feeling about the landlord, and the landlord had a good feeling about us.  So we had to make a decision.  And we had 24 hours to make it.  I knew I would be nervous about this choice whether I moved out in two weeks or in two years, so I simply decided to decide.  It had been a long time coming and the conditions were perfect.  My answer: YES.

As it turns out, yes must have been the right answer.  When we notified our landlord, he said he'd decided to decrease the rent and give us a week free to get moved in.  Aw yeah!  Once the decision had been made it was easier to feel excited and optimistic.  But there was still that nagging anxiety of leaving home for the first time.  I won't be far away... And I'm sure to see my family about as often as I do now...  But there it is.  As excited as I am to take this step, I'm sad to be leaving home.

Monday comes the same time every week, and yet...

Monday.  I hate you.  So I am going to re-live my weekend.

It all started on Thursday...I went to a lovely wedding dinner for my dear friend Stephie.  It was so fun to see old friends and to eat one of the best dinner's I've had in a while!  Those potatoes...yum. Good friends and good food are 2 of my favorite combinations.  I have known these girls since Jr. High (some since elementary school!) and though we don't see each other very often nowadays, we always manage to pick up where we left off. 

Friday was Stephie's wedding day!  She looked gorgeous-- I even heard members of the other wedding parties down at Temple Square commenting on how great she looked and how beautiful her dress was.  Her reception was later that evening and my gal pals and I hit the dance floor like a bunch of giddy high school Spice Girl wannabes... I loved it.  Congrats, Stephie! 

Following the reception I went to a friend's and watched the last 2 installments of Hornblower.  Yes, it's all over.  I drowned my sorrows in a cup of Dippin' Dots mint chocolate ice cream as I watched the final scenes.  Goodbye, Horatio!

Saturday!  Busy, busy.  I woke up feeling a little cranky, but then I watched Amazing Grace whilst making a princess birthday card for my little cousin's birthday party.  Then I went to the aforementioned birthday party and perked right up!  A princess themed party will do that to you.  I got a healthy dose of glitter, cupcakes, and my very own fairy princess wand.  And no, you may not hold it.

Later that evening I participated in a date night that some gals in my ward put together.  We went to a park with a lovely pond and had soup in bread bowls for dinner (another combination I happen to lurv).  Then...(this is the best part)... we headed to a corn maze in Syracuse!  I hadn't been to a corn maze in ages.  And this fall weather has been so cooperative lately!  All the elements combined in my favor.  There was a huge wheat chute slide that I liked a lot and then there was the maze itself.  There isn't a whole lot to a corn maze, really.  And yet, it brings me much joy.  I came out of that thing feeling very accomplished and very dew-y.  The air was very damp and cold...and it didn't help that we cut through the corn in some spots...much to the chagrin of the Corn Cops.  We were rebels.  Follow that up with some hot chocolate and you've got yourself one perfect autumn evening.

So that brings us to Sunday.  Church?  Great.  Heidi Swinton fireside?  Mah-velous.  Lasagna?  Tasty.   Muppets from Space? Hysterical.  "I'm going to spank you...I'm going to spank you like a bad, bad donkey, okaaay?"

And now that I have taken the time to re-live my weekend, it is now officially Tuesday!  Happy Tuesday!  We made it!

Talking to Myself and Other Inanimate Objects

Yesterday at work I addressed a letter to an individual who had written us regarding a particular company.  But alas, we could not assist him due to said company's termination with our agency.  I was given the task of responding to this man's inquiry.  I informed him of the circumstances and provided him with some information as to where he should send all future correspondence with regard to the company in question.  NOT important.  What is important is that this individual (we'll call him "George") had written his letter, typed on 8x12" paper, from the U.K.  Specifically, my beloved England.  So as I addressed my reply, my mind began to wander and I was swept away in a fit of a nostalgia.  And then I started to lose my mind.  You see, I started talking to this "George" in my head...Bonkers.  It went a little something like this:

"Dear George... enclosed you will find a response to your inquiry.  I have also included a little piece of my heart that has been homesick for your lovely countryside, charming accents, splendid gardens, diverse culture, and bustling metropolis.  Handle with care!"

The actual letter was much less fantastic and romantical.  It was rather boring, really.   But I did feel a certain sense of satisfaction as I dropped that letter in the mail slot...Sigh!  Someday.