Its Friday

Well, it's the weekend, weekends always seem to come with their own sets of challenges. First, weekends don't have a set schedule like the rest of the week has. You can plan the rest of the week, but the weekends there are things to do and things that come up at the last minute and are harder to plan for when it comes to exercise and eating. For me this weekend we are having a Holiday Open House to show off our Holiday line with Arbonne. So tonight and tomorrow morning I will be busy. Then there is always trying to catch up on cleaning, laundry, spending time with my husband, and of course some "me" time to relax. I can never seems to figure out is more harmful, a full weekend where you are more likely to grab something to eat on the run, or a relaxing weekend where you (at least I do) tend to overeat out of boredom? If I'm too busy, I can find myself skipping meals, but vegging out with a weekend full of old movies (chick flicks and musicals) can ruin my diet for sure.
Which is harder for you?

When you don't feel well

Sitting here today trying to think about what I'm going to write and my head is pounding so hard, that I'm wondering how to put together two sentences, much less an entire blog.  But I am committed to doing this everyday, so go or bad, long or short, you will hear from me everyday.  Yesterday was a good day as far as eating goes, because I felt sick all day, so food did not look that appetizing to me.  in fact the only reason I ate at all yesterday, was to see if I could somehow get rid of this migraine.  Even had a coke on my way home to see if the caffeine would help.  I try to stay away from sodas but I made an exception yesterday.  So here I am at work this morning wondering if I should be here or in bed.  Not wanting to eat anything, and wanting to just go back to bed and pull the covers over my head.  I know this isn't a lot about dieting or choices, not even sure if it makes since, but I guess no matter what you are trying to change, improve or do in your life, there will be days that you just don't feel like it.  And some days it is best not to worry with it, as long as days like this are not everyday and you are right back into moving toward your goals as soon as you can, then give yourself and your body a break on days like this, and allow time to heal.  

Scale Friend or Foe????

So I got on the scale today and I am down 2 1/2 pounds.  This makes me feel good, but my question is, is the scale a friend or a foe?  Me, I'm an everyday weigher, I get on the scale every morning before I get dressed or have breakfast to see where I am.  I use this as a way to keep track of where I am, and how things are going.  And yes, I have heard all the reasons why you shouldn't weigh everyday, and how the scale fluctuates and this should not be the only determining factor, and I understand all of that.  But I believe each of us has to look at our relationship with the scale and how we feel after we step on the scale, no matter what it says, and what we do with the way that we feel.  I am one of those, that if the scale is down, I feel good and want to do well that day to keep up the good work, but also, if the scale is up a little I make adjustments for the day, cut back a little, step up the exercise a little more, so you see to me the scale is a motivator no matter what it says. 
So I don't believe in what's right and what's wrong, as far as the scale is concern, I believe in what works.  So find that balance in your life and do what is going to help you the most in reaching your goals. 
Today is a good day on the scale, I am motivated to keep doing what I am doing.

If you write it they will read: Perfection, is it worth it?

If you write it they will read: Perfection, is it worth it?: Yesterday was ok, but was it perfect, NO. Did well for breakfast (usually my easiest meal) then my morning snack was right on. And then came...

Perfection, is it worth it?

Yesterday was ok, but was it perfect, NO. Did well for breakfast (usually my easiest meal) then my morning snack was right on. And then came lunch, and instead of eating what I had brought to work, I wanted to go out with my husband, so there I was as Jack in the Box having a burger and fries. So what should I do if I make a bad choice, and is it really a bad choice or is it a choice that doesn't move toward my goal. What if I change my thought process, and instead of beating myself up when I eat something that doesn't move me toward my goal and just make a better choice with my next meal. That is what I chose yesterday, instead of telling myself that I blew it and just give up and eat like crazy the rest of the day, I ended the day on a positive note and made better choices for the rest of the day. So at the end of the day, I could truly feel good about my day. It's ok not to be perfect, that's life, none of us are perfect. But it's what we do with our imperfections that determines the kind of person that we are and the kind of person that we are becoming. I am becoming a person that can take control of my actions and make good choices, and will strive to be a better person each day.

Is knowledge Power?

"Knowledge is power"???? Is it really, if that is the case then I should have all the power in the world. Ask me what it takes to lose weight and I can tell you first hand, for you see, I have lost weight, over and over again. I know how to do it, even when I'm making wrong choices it is not because of lack of knowledge. So what is it, is it lack of will power? Are you kidding me, I have been on so many different diets that will power is not the problem. What I need is to stop dieting, stop trying to work so hard at losing weight, but sit back and ask myself, what is truly important to me, what are my priorities, my desires? WHAT DO I WANT? I want to feel good, not just physically, but emotionally, I want to feel good when I get dressed in the morning, I want to look in the mirror and say "Wow!!!" and then smile and go on with my day. I want to have the energy to play with my new grandson. I want to live a life that has meaning and purpose and not a life of just existing. But you can't do those things if you can't move your body, if you get winded just from walking stairs. So today, "knowledge is not power", "KNOWLEDGE WITH ACTION" is power, today I choose to act, to make the changes necessary to obtain those things that are truly important to me. Please come along with me on this journey and together "who knows" where are power will lead us.

Women of Faith Over The Top Conference Anaheim, CA

Last weekend I was blessed to go to the Women of Faith Over the Top Conference at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. It was truly a blessing in so many ways. First I was blessed to get tickets as a blogger to blog about the event, in fact I received two tickets, so the second blessing was being able to take my younger sister along with me. God blessed in that also, because she had been very sick and in bed for weeks up until this conference and wasn't sure she could make the conference even up until the day of the event. But somehow she was able to get out of bed and come. (She never knew until later that I had people praying for her). Then on top of taking my younger sister to the event, my older sister and my aunt already had tickets so it was great to be with both my sisters and my aunt and be able to share in this event.

Now the event itself was wonderful. Within the last six months I have read three books by Andy Andrews, who up until that time I had know idea who he was, and now he is without a doubt one of my favorite authors, so you can image my delight to see that Andy Andrews was one of the speakers at this year's event. What a pleasure to hear him share, in his quirky southern way, how everything we do matters. That weather we know it or not what we do right now today, will effect generations to come, and how one person could change another's life in a profound way by just doing one small thing. His insight, his stories, and his wisdom are so amazing that had he been the only speaker last weekend it would have been worth it.

But the weekend wasn't about just one speaker there was what in movies or TV they would call an ensemble. And when each speaker got up to speak your were sure that "this" was the message that God wanted you to take home from the weekend, that somehow it was this speaker for whom God had you there to hear. I heard this from more than one person over the weekend, so let's go through some of the other speakers that were there.

There was Pasty Clairmont, she is just a bundle of energy and oh so funny. Through her we learned that sometimes "Change can be good" we laughed with her and cried with her as she told of the illness and almost death of her son. And now when I try to fight God in some change that He wants to make in my life, her words "change can be good" will come up over my from the back of my head to the front of my head reminding me to trust God with not only my life but the lives of my loved ones.

We also had Marilyn Meberg, I had never heard of Marilyn before the weekend, but her wisdom and humor showed us how to have a better relationship with God.

Lisa Whelchel, I remember watching her on The Facts of Life and loving her then, but now God is using her in a new way. Lisa showed how to find and how to be a true friend. If you remember "Blair" you might think that like "Blair", Lisa must have it all together. How could someone who was on a show for so many years that centered around the friendship of four girls have trouble finding true friends as an adult? It was refreshing to hear Lisa share her story, because finding true friends as an adult has been difficult for me. It seems that all my friends are what I would call seasonal or event friends and as soon as that season or event was over these so called friends were no where to be found. I always felt that having friends was easy for women and more than once wondered what was wrong with me that I did not have the kind of friend that would be there no matter what, that I could be real with, that I could tell anything to and trust them that would now judge me, but hold me accountable when needed, let me cry when needed, laugh when needed or just let me vent.

Besides the speakers we also had great music, from ladies that not only used the gift of their voice to bless us, but used their life and their struggles to bless us. We heard from Mandisa, what a voice, Sandi Patty, no one can belt it out like Sandi, and Amy Grant, saw her concert years ago in San Diego, now seeing her again reminds me how remarkable she is.

The best thing, to me, about the weekend is that I never got the feeling, like wow these women are super Christian Women, I wish someday I could be like them. In stead I was reassured that we all as women struggle with the same things, whether it's weight, friendship, children, our relationship with God, we are all going through this stuff together. I am so glad that each speaker choose to just be real and not pretend to have it all together. It was a great weekend and I can not wait until the next one.