Weight-ing for Thin, Part II

So, I am most likely not going to make my goal. However, I have leveled out. I have not really lost much weight since July, about 3 pounds, but I have been pretty busy.

My new goal is to make it to the gym 2 or 3 days a week, which I have been doing pretty well at keeping up with. When I am at home, I also have new equipment to work out with.

The holidays make it difficult to maintain this goal, but thus far I have done pretty well. If I could just lose another 15 pounds or so by my birthday, that would be ok. I am trying to be as realistic as possible, because I know any let downs are more likely to be setbacks.

I am still trying to be just more active in general, but this is very difficult in the colder months.

The good news is that my healthier lifestyle has been making a huge difference with my health issues and has made my life much easier. I have gotten to the point that I crave excercise.

Right now I am out of town and nowhere near my gym and my body feel all cramped up because I have not worked out since last Thursday. I bought hand weights to do some resistance here, but it is just not the same. I am going home tomorrow, and I will be at the gym!

Making Choices for Yourself

There is something freeing to saying you are no longer going to do things you don't want to, and that you are doing to do what you like even if others don't approve.

The concept is simple, but you might be surprised how often you fall into this trap. Life is too short to spend it worrying what other people may or may not think about you. As soon as you stop seeking approval, you free yourself to enjoy life.

My husband did not approve of a particular outfit I bought. I mentioned it in my previous post, black striped sweater dress with magenta tights. He said it didn't match and thought others would see me as silly for wearing it. I still wore it, because when I had it on with my winter boots, I felt like a rockstar. When I got home from school he asked me if anyone else said anything about my clothes, and I said no, but it didn't matter. When I was walking around campus, I felt like queen of self-esteem and that radiated off of me.

Confidence is your best accessory. Yes, that sounds cheesy, but that doesn't make it any less true.

Another example is regarding Anne Rice novels. For years I got these novels to read because people always told me they loved them. I read one and hated it, but I kept trying to make myself like them because I thought that if I didn't, obviously something was wrong with me. Finally, I let go of it. Now I get the books I like, which is often teeny bopper faerie novels, but it doesn't matter, because that is what I like.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to appreciate what you really enjoy! When you force yourself to be something you don't really feel deep inside, then you are lying to yourself and will be nothing but miserable. Don't apologize for being who you are. If your friends can't appreciate you for the real you, trust me, you can find new friends who will! I did!

Diva Mom

There is something to be said for feeling like queen of your domain. For me, all it takes is a cute outfit, sunshine, and good tunes. On a normal day, my most common accessory is applesauce or snot on my tshirt or sweatpants. Today, however, I am rocking boots, magenta tights, and a striped sweater dress. I hate winter, but the clothes are okay.

Being a diva mom is tough. Some days I don't even get a shower until bedtime, if at all. I don't know how my husband puts up with it, but perhaps he just knows I clean up well.

There are days I make it only as far as the the mail box, but I'm donning makeup. My neighbors probably think I am crazy, but sometimes all it takes is mascara to make my day better.

Why put forth the effort? My sanity, for one thing. Pre baby, house, marriage, and all that comes with it all, my nails were done every two weeks, my hair was professionally colored and styled monthly, and my local Torrid knew me by name. Now, my nails haven't been touched in months, and my hair is colored from a box and gets cut once every few months or so. And Torrid? I don't even know who works there anymore.

Does any of this bother me? Sort of. Like when my husband surprises me with a hot date and my nails are bit down to the quick and my roots are beyond showing, but it really is okay because every time Mo smiles at me, all that melts away.

I have never claimed to be anything less than a diva. Growing up, I didn't have a lot of nice things. I was okay with it, but now I have a taste for the finer things in life. Blame my husband, he spoiled me in the beginning of our relationship.

I will say that I am very good at finding the best deal on the nice things for myself, and others. Sometimes people try to bring me down for liking to look good and have fun tech toys, but I think that as long as I can afford them, it is nobody's business.

I spent a chunk of my life trying to please other people, and that got me nowhere except for miserable. As soon as I decided to take of my husband and son first, me second, and everybody else last, my happiness has skyrocketed.