Dream Big!

I am currently enrolled in a course to teach me how to go pro with blogging. I love to write, love the computer, enjoy a challenge, and I thought, heck why not make some money at doing what I love? A popular entrepreneur that I have listened to lately once said "Do what you love and never work another day of your life." Sounds awesome, doesn't it?

Anyway, one of the exercises in this course is to write down my ideal average day . . . not the kind of day you dream about having on vacation, but an ordinary day that is picture perfect to you, a day that you can repeat every single day and be extremely happy doing so.

At first, I wasn't sure I really needed to write this down  . . . I mean I kind of knew in my head what I wanted, so what's the point? However, I made a vow to myself at the outset of this course to do every last exercise and assignment to the very best of my ability, so I got my pen and paper out (aka laptop).

I was very surprised at what unfolded as I wrote . . .. the dreams that were lying within my heart! Turns out that what I thought I knew was really more about what I didn't want my life to be about than what I did want it be about. Can anyone relate?

During the coming week when we're all anticipating Valentine's Day, thinking about love, how to express it, etc., I wonder if just loving on ourselves a bit should be included. I don't know about you, but I think its easy to forget how to dream when we are so wrapped up in and overwhelmed by daily life. So, let's let loose a little! Forget about the barriers between your current daily reality and just imagine your IDEAL DAY. And, write it down.  Make it more about what you'd experience than what you'd have, though it can certainly include both.

Even if you are already extremely happy with your daily life, it is always good to be reaching for new goals, finding new amibitions, making progress.  Writing down my ideal average day was a way for me to get back in touch with what I'm really reaching for....it brought some clarity for me, maybe it will do the same for you.

dreaming big!
Cheryl

P.S. How does weight loss figure in to this? For me, I envision all my future days as me being a slimmer, sexier me than I am now . . . so doing this little exercise poured more fuel on the fire to just be consistent with what I'm doing. And, a little shout out for me....I lost 3.6 pounds last week!  Hurray.....time to start thinking about a reward for the 20# mark!

Pants On The Ground ~ Almost

I may do my fair share of complaining about the cold weather here in Minnesota, but yesterday I was one happy chic to live here. And, not because spring arrived early or I have a trip planned to the Bahamas. The reason I was happy, even relieved to live in the land of uneven snow pack in between parked cars and single digit temps is because of my pants.

Here's what happened. The hubs called me from work to say he was coming down with a bad cold, so I ran to the store to pick up stuff to make some homemade chicken noodle soup. And, as I was walking the aisles at my local grocery, I felt it...my pants....they were like baggy saggy around my butt! I even had to hike them up, and you can bet I smiled every time.

Ok, so they weren't as drastic as pants on the ground, but still, they were noticeably saggy. I was a saggy bottom girl and so very proud.

Now, if I lived in Manning, South Carolina I could have been given a $25 ticket for that! That's right, a city ordinance was proposed last year to start handing out tickets for wearing droopy drawers. Seriously! Read all about it here.

So, I celebrated a little, right there in the chicken stock aisle by doing a little dance, just letting the sag wag on. And, I spent my $25 on a yummy dinner for my sick husband with some change to spare. It's great to live in Minnesota.

Celebrating another victory,
Cheryl

Resisting Temptation

On the heels of an amazingly successful week of work, parties, and NOT succumbing to even just a taste of the birthday cakes (yes, there were two), munchies, and left over sweets from Christmas, I was kind of worn out on Saturday morning. The last party of the week broke up just before 11 Friday night and as I laid my head on the pillow next to my happy husband, I felt quite proud of myself for not giving in to all the temptations I had faced.

But, Saturday came and I relaxed . . . didn't do any planning for the day's food. Unfortunately, my trusty fall-back salad was also gone, and wouldn't you know it, I woke up hungry, really hungry.

Thus, the end of a week that was filled with victories started to come undone. Like Big Mac undone. And a mini $100,000 candy bar undone. And, chips and salsa undone.

As I sat thinking about it all, I realized that the Big Mac could have been replaced easily with a Subway sandwich for a fraction of the fat, and the chips that accompanied the healthy salsa could have been what my friend Heidi made, Kale Chips, a recipe I've been really wanting to try. And the candy bar? Just totally not even worth it.

But, I was tired. And feeling a bit of entitlement after resisting so many things all week. After I finished licking my fingers and enjoying the lingering taste of my chosen sins, I decided that while a Big Mac (metaphorically speaking of course) doesn't add much nutrition to my body, maybe the whole faux pas could teach, even inform my 2010 goals of a thing or two.

Seriously? I was skeptical too that a Big Mac would have anything valuable to say. But, here's my takeaway from my drive-thru snafu:

A PLANNED afternoon of indulgence is better than an unplanned one.

Not too deep I know, but what can we really expect from a Big Mac anyway?

What do you guys think? When we have a particularly challenging week and succeed at resisting the temptations, should we schedule a reward?

Talk to me,
Cheryl

P.S. Seriously, guys, I messed up but thankfully all the resisting that I did manage netted me a nice weight loss - down 3.6 pounds this past week! Woo hoo!

PJ Thursday

For some reason, I just didn't seem to be able to get going this morning.  Or this afternoon.  I spent most of the day reading and wondering why I felt so down.  Finally at around 4:30 I scooted myself out the door to the gym where I had a good cardio workout along with some strength training.  That perked me up a little.  But, today was definitely one of those lazy days where jammies-all-day was very tempting.

And, for the first time since I began this, I felt my resolve weaken just a tad.  But as I pondered eating a breaded and deep fried chicken strip, I thought about what I wanted more than that....a thin, healthy body.  So, instead I made myself a really nice, gorgeous salad, kind of like the one we had on New Year's Day.  Mmmmmmmm.  Can't say that the chicken strip wouldn't have tasted good, but what's that saying . . . nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

So, the journey now feels real...and I'm glad that I've experienced the first dip.  Just means that the education of a lifetime has already begun.

As you can see I have already posted a weight loss at the top of the right hand column. I just couldn't wait to see! And, woohoo, I think it was a successful first week!  I'll still get on the scale tomorrow morning and report in, but I'm going to move the official weigh in day to Monday.  So after tomorrow, the next weigh in and report will happen on January 18.

See you tomorrow,
Cheryl

My First Victory of 2010

Besides celebrating a brand new day, week, month, year, decade AND the first day of my 2010 adventure today, tonight I am celebrating my very first victory of 2010!! Woohoo, I am excited about this!!

Ok, here’s what happened. Hubs and I spent the day with Mom Sweeney at her place in Hutchinson, Minnesota, a remote, sweet little country town about 80 miles west of the twin cities. We celebrated a belated Christmas, Mom Sweeney’s 82nd birthday (yesterday!), AND New Year’s, all in one fell swoop. And going to Mom Sweeney’s always involves food.

The meal before us was Stouffer’s Italiano Lasagna, Salad, Olives, Coconut Cream Pie, Cake, Ice Cream. Seriously? Are you freakin’ kidding me? Yeah, no, I’m not. Lasagna, a favorite of mine since high school, served on the very first day of the rest of my life . . . one of those meals that I find it incredibly easy, almost natural if you will, to gorge on.

But, today isn’t like in high school or any other day in my past where it was almost second nature to eat without thinking. No, today is a brand new day and I’ve begun a journey. And, gorging myself on lasagna . . .  well, it is just no longer an option. I decided to look at it as an opportunity to try out a simple strategy for healthy eating.

I recalled a book I read a few months ago about the composition of a healthy meal, you know, ratios. The author suggested we fill our plates ½ full of veggies, ¼ with meat and the other ¼ with starch/carb. So, that’s what I did.

Half the plate was a chopped salad (mmmmm, lettuce, sweet grape tomatoes, carrots, orange bell pepper, cucumber, red onion), ¼ was a small piece of lasagna, and about 10 black olives (I love my olives and they are actually good for me!) sat bopping each other in the other ¼.   I topped my salad with an amazing all-natural dressing I found at the grocery store in Hutchinson – Briannas’ Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing.

Can you see what the sticker above the label says? Yes, “Delicious on Peaches”. Now, that intrigued me! I’ll warn you, this dressing was not cheap, but as I perused the ingredients on the back I decided the cost was worth it. Completely and thoroughly natural. No bad oils, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives. I had to get me this dressing. And, I am telling you, it was worth every penny. Very subtle yet so flavorful, a tiny bit goes a long way. I felt like I was eating a gourmet salad at a fine eating establishment.  And, I will definitely try it on peaches in the summer.

After I finished the food on my plate, I realized I wanted more salad. Pretty amazing for a girl who just isn’t that into salads! So, again, I filled my plate half full with that yummy mixture of fresh veggies and a shy tablespoon of my new dressing. And, two more bites of lasagna.

And, then? I was full. Not stuffed. Pleasantly and comfortably full. And so very proud of myself!

So, victory #1 is under my belt. And I sit here tonight feeling really, really, REALLY good.

Cheers to an AMAZING 2010!
Cheryl

P.S.  I failed to tell you guys about the dessert part (thanks hubby for catching that!) . . . I DID have a very small piece of cake, like 1" x 2", but I passed on both the coconut cream pie and the ice cream.  Another victory. smile. smile. smile. smile.