Eight Random Things About Me:
1. I spend more time on the internet at work than I probably should. I believe that if I can get my work done and double and triple check the stuff.. and I have time left over, there is no reason why I can’t check out amazon.com or flip through Craigslist categories.
2. When I get home, what I love the most… is seeing my dog “Bella” get so excited that her “momma” is home that she completely loses all couth and is a rule breaking maniac for a few moments, and then she comes running up to me, sits at my feet and looks at me with her brown eyes, and my days troubles are gone.
3. One of these days I want to become an adoption facilitator. I want to have something to do with adoptions. That is the one thing that I know in my heart that I am meant to do. Whether it is finding my “soul” child through adoption, or helping others bring home their “soul” child. Grace, a child that I had in my class a while ago, was adopted from China. This child amazed me, and she and I developed a bond. It is her story that got me into wanting to have a hand in making sure Children get to where they need to be.
4. I love flowers. But not just any flower. I would rather have a bundle of wild flowers picked from someone’s yard, instead of the ones that were purchased at the store. I’d like to think that someone thought of me when they saw flowers in someone’s yard and thought that I would enjoy them, instead of “Oh crap, I forgot to bring something, I need to run to the store and get some flowers!”.
5. I can be having the crappiest day at work… where nothing goes right, I can’t seem to get the answers that people want and/or need. But the minute that my boss or someone that I’ve helped tells me that I’m doing a good job… That makes it all seem worth while. I love it when a customer finally gets to me (I’m the end of the line) and they are so frustrated, and then they tell me that I’m the brightest person they’ve talked to all day…. That makes my job that much easier to handle.
6. My friends Chris and Jesse have two adorable children that melt my heart. Their son calls me “Auntie Christie”, and when their daughter is old enough to speak, she will call me Auntie Christie as well. I am VERY proud to be their “Auntie”, and it is something that I will cherish forever. I feel so honored to be a part of their lives.
7. I LOVE my Honda accord. It is the greatest little car. I know I will need to get a new car, quite possibly within the next year, but I secretly want to hold on for dear life to my little white Honda accord that has seen me through the craziest challenges of my life. I may not take care of it like I should, aside from the maintenance on it, but my little white Honda accord and I have an understanding. It keeps me safe, and I fill her tank, get her inspected, get her oil changed, get her tires rotated. I mean really… Who can put a price tag on safety???
8. I want a day just for me. I want to be able to take one full day, and not have any obligatory scheduling, not have to go and do anything, but maybe go see a movie, go take the dog to the park, go to a spa and have a massage. I’d LOVE to take a hot bubble bath in a huge Jacuzzi tub and read my book and listen to Enya. I’d love to just “be”.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Stuffed Sausage anyone?
How pathetic of me is it that the one thing that sparks an idea for a Blog post for me is seeing someone that looks like a stuffed sausage in their clothes? I was walking up to get my coffee from the cafeteria and in front of me was walking a girl who just looked SUPER uncomfortable, but was trying to act like she wasn’t uncomfortable. Her pants showed every crease in her legs, and buttocks, and her shirt was the tightest one I’ve seen in quite some time. She was wearing a jean jacket shrug that seemed to have a little room in it, but not by much. She was short, and didn’t appear to be a large girl, but when you stuff yourself in your clothes like that, it makes you look a lot heavier than you are.
I’m not the plus sized fashion guru by any means, however, I do know that when you wear clothes that fit your body as well as your body type, you look and feel slimmer than you really are. I know I have a few outfits that aren’t so flattering on me. I wear them because they are my “clothes of last resort” when my others are in the wash.
I like to think that I dress pretty darn well for being a plus sized woman. I get compliments on my clothing quite frequently, and it’s not because I pay attention to the trends, it’s because I pay attention to my body. I know what looks good on me, and what does not. However, there are some plus sized women that think it is okay to walk out there in the size 12 pants and size medium shirt that do NOT fit their size 20 waist and their size xl top. These would be the same people who where bikinis when they are over a size 16. I’m sorry…. That’s just not appropriate…. Regardless of if you feel sexy in it…. In the house is one thing, in the public, is another. Is that wrong of me to say? Is it horrible for me to criticize my fellow plus sizers out there?
I’ve got a long ways to go before I get to my ideal weight. I know that I don’t want to look like a stuffed sausage in my clothes. With Thanksgiving on Thursday, I’m preparing myself mentally to realize, I can’t gorge myself on Meema’s dressing, and I can’t chow down on that delicious homemade potato salad of hers. I can have it in moderation though. I’m not going to drink sweet tea… Which sounds easy…. But you haven’t tasted my Meema’s sweet tea!!! I will have a glass of unsweetened tea with splenda in it. So it won’t be terrible, but if I get through Thursday… I have a feeling, I’ll be able to get through Christmas as well!
Temptation is definitely not a fun thing to have dancing in front of your face…. As long as I can tell that temptation to shut the *BLEEP* up…. I’m going to survive. :-)
I Know this blog was a little scattered for the time being, but I just don’t want to be the stuffed turkey in my clothes, and I don’t want to look as though I’ve forced my fat butt into something that is four sizes smaller than me.
So if you see me around and I looked like I’ve stuffed myself in clothing that is too tight, please stop me, tell me to go back to the house, and change my clothes and put on something that fits.
“Don’t make a promise when you are in joy. Don’t reply when you are sad. Don’t take decision when you are angry. Think twice, Act Wise!”
I’m not the plus sized fashion guru by any means, however, I do know that when you wear clothes that fit your body as well as your body type, you look and feel slimmer than you really are. I know I have a few outfits that aren’t so flattering on me. I wear them because they are my “clothes of last resort” when my others are in the wash.
I like to think that I dress pretty darn well for being a plus sized woman. I get compliments on my clothing quite frequently, and it’s not because I pay attention to the trends, it’s because I pay attention to my body. I know what looks good on me, and what does not. However, there are some plus sized women that think it is okay to walk out there in the size 12 pants and size medium shirt that do NOT fit their size 20 waist and their size xl top. These would be the same people who where bikinis when they are over a size 16. I’m sorry…. That’s just not appropriate…. Regardless of if you feel sexy in it…. In the house is one thing, in the public, is another. Is that wrong of me to say? Is it horrible for me to criticize my fellow plus sizers out there?
I’ve got a long ways to go before I get to my ideal weight. I know that I don’t want to look like a stuffed sausage in my clothes. With Thanksgiving on Thursday, I’m preparing myself mentally to realize, I can’t gorge myself on Meema’s dressing, and I can’t chow down on that delicious homemade potato salad of hers. I can have it in moderation though. I’m not going to drink sweet tea… Which sounds easy…. But you haven’t tasted my Meema’s sweet tea!!! I will have a glass of unsweetened tea with splenda in it. So it won’t be terrible, but if I get through Thursday… I have a feeling, I’ll be able to get through Christmas as well!
Temptation is definitely not a fun thing to have dancing in front of your face…. As long as I can tell that temptation to shut the *BLEEP* up…. I’m going to survive. :-)
I Know this blog was a little scattered for the time being, but I just don’t want to be the stuffed turkey in my clothes, and I don’t want to look as though I’ve forced my fat butt into something that is four sizes smaller than me.
So if you see me around and I looked like I’ve stuffed myself in clothing that is too tight, please stop me, tell me to go back to the house, and change my clothes and put on something that fits.
“Don’t make a promise when you are in joy. Don’t reply when you are sad. Don’t take decision when you are angry. Think twice, Act Wise!”
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Sweet Reesie....
"People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
I just got an email that had this quote in it and it struck up an idea on a blog. I don’t write much about Reesie. Reesie was the dog I found on Petfinder.com, and knew instantly that she was mine and that I was hers. I adopted two dogs that day, but Reesie and I connected a little differently. I knew she needed me, and I desperately wanted her. The ride home from Camden, SC (about an hour drive) was a long one. I had put them both in a crate, and Reesie ended up getting car sick about half way there, in the middle of nowhere. I had to pull the car over in an abandoned parking lot, and get her out, and clean it up enough to get us home. Reesie lept from my arms, and started to run away. She got about 250 yards away from me, and I was calling after her. I was begging her to at least give me a chance. I was being as gentle and as calm as I could, and coaxed her back, using the name the shelter had given to her (“Butterbean” aka “Butters” and/or “Beans”). She stopped dead in her fast walk, as if to say… “Wait a minute”, and she turned around, and looked at me, and came running back. She chose me! She could have run into the woods and been afraid of me. She didn’t have to stop and turn around. She didn’t have a leash on her. Instead, she came back and allowed me to love her.
The first week I had her home, she slept the majority of the time. I changed her name the same day I adopted her. I had brought the dogs over to my parents house, and Mom and I were sitting in the back yard on the swing. We were going through names, and I said “Well, she has the coloring of a Reeses Peanutbutter cup.” The minute I said Reeses.. her large gorgeous ears perked up, and she came to me. She liked the name Reesie. And there she was named.
Reesie was a peculiar looking dog. She had wired fur, a long snout, a curly q tail, skinny mini legs, and ears larger than her head. Her eyes were dark and beautiful. The wired hair was a shiny black and with a good bath and conditioner, it was beautiful too. The long snout loved to wake me up in the morning, by sticking that snout in my ear and letting out a “Snffh”, I woke up instantly. The minute I would open my eyes, her adorable curly q tail would go around in circles, and she would gently tap my head with her skinny mini legs with the dainty little paw attached to them. Reesie was beautiful! She had so much to offer the world. She loved with every bit that her little body would allow her to. She was so devoted to me, and I to her. She taught me to think of another living being other than myself. (She and Bella both did!) She taught me that great things do come in small packages. She also taught me that no matter how small, confidence will prevail.
Reesie was and is an angel. No matter how tragic her death, that little dog loved with her whole being. I am in no way saying that any of my pets were better than the other… I have always loved my animals very much. I’ve had a different bond with each of them. However, I had a very unique and special bond with Reesie.
So now, Reesie is somewhere over the rainbow bridge and with her brothers before her. She had more important things to accomplish up there, and I know that I will forever be grateful that she allowed me to be her “mom”.
RIP Reesie!!
Adopted 02/19/2005- 04/28/2006
This is the first time I saw her! She knew she was going "Home"!
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure
ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.
Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them
gently.
Be always grateful for each new day.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
That's my STORY and I'm Sticken To It!
I told you all last week that I would tell you the story of my ADD. It has taken me some time to completely understand that having ADD has made me who I am today. I warn you ahead of time, this is long, but well worth it!
Growing up, I was never what one would consider the “Academic” type. I did very poorly and never made the grades that my friends and siblings did. I was the quiet, shy, sweet natured girl who sat in the back of the class to avoid getting called on. It was my way of trying to be inconspicuous. I have never been the “organized” neat freak, and I probably never will be. I was tested for learning disabilities at the recommendation of teachers and administrative officials at my junior high school. I just wasn’t doing well, and because I “Looked” smart, it was expected that I would be brilliant in the world of academia. The psychiatrist who tested me, while, generally sweet, put me in a small testing room; gave me a pencil and a book full of activities to complete. All of the “test” questions seemed to lean on the “creative” side. I have a very creative brain, and was able to come up with creative answers to those test questions. After the series of tests, the psychiatrist called us and wanted to meet with us. I chose not to go, because I didn’t want to know if I would be “LD”. Well, instead, my parents went, and came back with the kiss of death answer. (This is NOT in anyway my parents fault… this was the psychiatrist who didn’t go further into testing) I was completely normal with an “above average” intelligence. My brain leans towards the “creative” thought process (really.. No kidding!!). So the psychiatrist confirmed what the teachers had been telling everyone… That “Christie just didn’t want it bad enough.”, “It’s just being Lazy.”, “She’s a Daydreamer”. Those words haunt me still. The truth is, I did want it bad enough. I mean, really, who in the hell wants to fight with their parents every time a progress report comes out or a report card comes out, and there is a D or an F on there? Why would I put myself through the torture of upsetting my parents like that? I would make A’s and B’s in art classes, English classes, and electives, but only because those are my strong points, they allowed my brain to work to it’s advantage.
Well, High School brought on new challenges, none of them too devastating. My Junior year brought on an opportunity to do a group research paper. Our group selected Attention Deficit Disorder. My section of the paper was to research the symptoms of ADD. I found very little research on this, due to the fact that ADD was just starting to be recognized globally. What I did find, were definitions of what my life was like. It wasn’t just your classic text book symptoms, these symptoms defined me! After the project was completed, I took my knowledge home, and got up the courage to actually ASK my parents to be tested for this. They thought that I had been tested for ADD already, and so they declined it. I kept pushing, and upon my persistence, they agreed to get me tested in the fall of 1996.
I remember the day very clearly. September 29, 1996, it was raining, and my mother and I were called back to the doctors office and asked to sit down in two chairs that faced his desk. My folder sitting there with my name on it opened to a diagnosis sheet. I remember that he started off by talking about recommendations, and frontal lobe differences etc…. I remember specifically asking him to stop, and proceeded to ask him “So you mean, I have this?” and he nodded and said “Indeed you do!”. The moment he said that, this boulder that had been sitting on my shoulders since I entered grade school, began to lift off of me. I wasn’t lazy, I wanted it bad enough, and I wanted to prove to everyone that I was not stupid! I got a euphoric sense of relief the minute the diagnosis was handed to me.
The ride home was somewhat somber, and I looked over at my mom, and she had tears in her eyes. She kept saying she was so sorry, and kept asking the dreaded “What If” questions. “What if you would have been diagnosed earlier?”, “What if we could have changed these learned behaviors to help you?”… I looked at her, and said that this diagnosis was NOT a bad thing, and that they can’t blame themselves! They did what they could to find out what was wrong with me. They never expected the same things from one child to the next. They had individual expectations for all of us, which I think helped me in the long run. They did what they thought best at the time, with the information they had received from various different individuals. I know that was a blow to my parents, however, I’m thankful that we finally had an answer!
I was put on Adderall (this was prior to the XR), and life seemed to fall into place. My senior year in High School was one of my best. I got a main roll in a play, I did very well on my Senior Exit Project, I wrote my own play, and I developed friendships that have lasted me into adulthood, and I scored pretty well on my SAT. Graduation Day, I got my diploma, and when I went to meet my parents after the ceremony, I cried.. I cried hard. No one really understood what that diploma meant to myself and my parents. No one really knew the struggles that I had encountered along the way. That diploma stood for every teacher that told me that I did not want it bad enough! It stood for every teacher that believed in me, and encouraged me along the way.
I decided to go to Community College and do a transfer program. This allowed me to stay on track with things, and allowed me to transition easier into a mainstream college atmosphere. After two years of community college. I was accepted into my dream school. Really, one of the only schools that I really applied to! I was to become a student of Appalachian State University. My first semester there, I did great! I was on a roll, and second semester, I did okay, still not 100%, but better than most! I lived in the dorms, and had a great roommate. The atmosphere of ASU was amazing! I loved it up there! My second year there, I moved into an apartment with three other roommates. I don’t know what caused my downward spiral, but I hit a wall. All of the euphoria of the diagnosis had worn off, and I remember sitting in my room in my apartment, crying. I used to hide away in my room, and just not come out. Everyone wondered why, but I couldn’t tell them, because I didn’t even know why.
That summer, I decided to attend summer school, but even that didn’t do anything for me. I decided to come home and go to community college again, and figure my life out. I failed miserably. The depression hovered over me, and I was MISERABLE! 9/11 occurred, and I felt guilty for being so down, because all of these people had just lost loved ones, and the country had lost so much, and here I was just sitting there feeling sorry for myself. I stopped taking Adderall because I stopped getting the results I saw when I first started taking the meds. January of 2002, I decided to change doctors, and seek out a counselor. I saw the counselor first, and the minute I sat down on the couch, she asked me how I was doing, and the tears just came from somewhere deep inside of me. I allowed myself to be vulnerable in order to heal. That was the best decision I have ever made. I was diagnosed with Depression, and turns out, the original dose of medicine given to me, was far below what I should have had. My new doctor put me on 40 mgs daily of Adderall XR.
I ended up getting a great job at a daycare, and when life felt like it was getting better, I decided to go back to school at ASU. The summer of 2003, I went back to Boone, NC and started taking classes. I did great with my summer classes, which geared me up for the Fall semester. That when it all hit me again… School was not my strong point, and I was too old for the “College” lifestyle, that just about everyone in Boone lives. Somewhere in those 2.5 years I had been gone, I grew up. I learned lessons, and I knew what I wanted and what I didn’t want. So Fall of 2003 was my last semester in Boone, NC. I came home, and found an EXCELLENT job that I am still at, and I love it. I don’t regret not finishing up school. I have so many different classes under my belt, that one of these days, I can go back for 2 years and I could have three degrees. I don’t think I’m to that point yet though.
My story is never ending. For the people who told me that I was lazy, and who told me I didn’t want it bad enough, and that I just wasn’t made for it…. Guess what… I’m thanking you in this post! If it weren’t for you… I don’t know if I would have tried so hard to prove you wrong. I use your words for ammunition whenever I come across something that myself or others think that I can’t do…. I do it! My failures in life have equaled one great Success.. and that, is ME! :-)
The following is a poem that someone sent to me and I thought it compliments this post quite well!
In Trying Times Don’t Quit Trying
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But with a chuckle he replied,
That “maybe it couldn’t” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t do so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done. And he did it.
Somebody scoffed: “Oh you’ll never do that,
At least no one ever has done it.”
But he took off his coat and took off his hat
And the first thing he knew he’d begun it.
With the lift of his chin and a bit of a a grin,
If any doubt rose he forbid it;
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t’ be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you,
But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Then take off your coat and go to it.
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you’ll do it!
-Unknown
Growing up, I was never what one would consider the “Academic” type. I did very poorly and never made the grades that my friends and siblings did. I was the quiet, shy, sweet natured girl who sat in the back of the class to avoid getting called on. It was my way of trying to be inconspicuous. I have never been the “organized” neat freak, and I probably never will be. I was tested for learning disabilities at the recommendation of teachers and administrative officials at my junior high school. I just wasn’t doing well, and because I “Looked” smart, it was expected that I would be brilliant in the world of academia. The psychiatrist who tested me, while, generally sweet, put me in a small testing room; gave me a pencil and a book full of activities to complete. All of the “test” questions seemed to lean on the “creative” side. I have a very creative brain, and was able to come up with creative answers to those test questions. After the series of tests, the psychiatrist called us and wanted to meet with us. I chose not to go, because I didn’t want to know if I would be “LD”. Well, instead, my parents went, and came back with the kiss of death answer. (This is NOT in anyway my parents fault… this was the psychiatrist who didn’t go further into testing) I was completely normal with an “above average” intelligence. My brain leans towards the “creative” thought process (really.. No kidding!!). So the psychiatrist confirmed what the teachers had been telling everyone… That “Christie just didn’t want it bad enough.”, “It’s just being Lazy.”, “She’s a Daydreamer”. Those words haunt me still. The truth is, I did want it bad enough. I mean, really, who in the hell wants to fight with their parents every time a progress report comes out or a report card comes out, and there is a D or an F on there? Why would I put myself through the torture of upsetting my parents like that? I would make A’s and B’s in art classes, English classes, and electives, but only because those are my strong points, they allowed my brain to work to it’s advantage.
Well, High School brought on new challenges, none of them too devastating. My Junior year brought on an opportunity to do a group research paper. Our group selected Attention Deficit Disorder. My section of the paper was to research the symptoms of ADD. I found very little research on this, due to the fact that ADD was just starting to be recognized globally. What I did find, were definitions of what my life was like. It wasn’t just your classic text book symptoms, these symptoms defined me! After the project was completed, I took my knowledge home, and got up the courage to actually ASK my parents to be tested for this. They thought that I had been tested for ADD already, and so they declined it. I kept pushing, and upon my persistence, they agreed to get me tested in the fall of 1996.
I remember the day very clearly. September 29, 1996, it was raining, and my mother and I were called back to the doctors office and asked to sit down in two chairs that faced his desk. My folder sitting there with my name on it opened to a diagnosis sheet. I remember that he started off by talking about recommendations, and frontal lobe differences etc…. I remember specifically asking him to stop, and proceeded to ask him “So you mean, I have this?” and he nodded and said “Indeed you do!”. The moment he said that, this boulder that had been sitting on my shoulders since I entered grade school, began to lift off of me. I wasn’t lazy, I wanted it bad enough, and I wanted to prove to everyone that I was not stupid! I got a euphoric sense of relief the minute the diagnosis was handed to me.
The ride home was somewhat somber, and I looked over at my mom, and she had tears in her eyes. She kept saying she was so sorry, and kept asking the dreaded “What If” questions. “What if you would have been diagnosed earlier?”, “What if we could have changed these learned behaviors to help you?”… I looked at her, and said that this diagnosis was NOT a bad thing, and that they can’t blame themselves! They did what they could to find out what was wrong with me. They never expected the same things from one child to the next. They had individual expectations for all of us, which I think helped me in the long run. They did what they thought best at the time, with the information they had received from various different individuals. I know that was a blow to my parents, however, I’m thankful that we finally had an answer!
I was put on Adderall (this was prior to the XR), and life seemed to fall into place. My senior year in High School was one of my best. I got a main roll in a play, I did very well on my Senior Exit Project, I wrote my own play, and I developed friendships that have lasted me into adulthood, and I scored pretty well on my SAT. Graduation Day, I got my diploma, and when I went to meet my parents after the ceremony, I cried.. I cried hard. No one really understood what that diploma meant to myself and my parents. No one really knew the struggles that I had encountered along the way. That diploma stood for every teacher that told me that I did not want it bad enough! It stood for every teacher that believed in me, and encouraged me along the way.
I decided to go to Community College and do a transfer program. This allowed me to stay on track with things, and allowed me to transition easier into a mainstream college atmosphere. After two years of community college. I was accepted into my dream school. Really, one of the only schools that I really applied to! I was to become a student of Appalachian State University. My first semester there, I did great! I was on a roll, and second semester, I did okay, still not 100%, but better than most! I lived in the dorms, and had a great roommate. The atmosphere of ASU was amazing! I loved it up there! My second year there, I moved into an apartment with three other roommates. I don’t know what caused my downward spiral, but I hit a wall. All of the euphoria of the diagnosis had worn off, and I remember sitting in my room in my apartment, crying. I used to hide away in my room, and just not come out. Everyone wondered why, but I couldn’t tell them, because I didn’t even know why.
That summer, I decided to attend summer school, but even that didn’t do anything for me. I decided to come home and go to community college again, and figure my life out. I failed miserably. The depression hovered over me, and I was MISERABLE! 9/11 occurred, and I felt guilty for being so down, because all of these people had just lost loved ones, and the country had lost so much, and here I was just sitting there feeling sorry for myself. I stopped taking Adderall because I stopped getting the results I saw when I first started taking the meds. January of 2002, I decided to change doctors, and seek out a counselor. I saw the counselor first, and the minute I sat down on the couch, she asked me how I was doing, and the tears just came from somewhere deep inside of me. I allowed myself to be vulnerable in order to heal. That was the best decision I have ever made. I was diagnosed with Depression, and turns out, the original dose of medicine given to me, was far below what I should have had. My new doctor put me on 40 mgs daily of Adderall XR.
I ended up getting a great job at a daycare, and when life felt like it was getting better, I decided to go back to school at ASU. The summer of 2003, I went back to Boone, NC and started taking classes. I did great with my summer classes, which geared me up for the Fall semester. That when it all hit me again… School was not my strong point, and I was too old for the “College” lifestyle, that just about everyone in Boone lives. Somewhere in those 2.5 years I had been gone, I grew up. I learned lessons, and I knew what I wanted and what I didn’t want. So Fall of 2003 was my last semester in Boone, NC. I came home, and found an EXCELLENT job that I am still at, and I love it. I don’t regret not finishing up school. I have so many different classes under my belt, that one of these days, I can go back for 2 years and I could have three degrees. I don’t think I’m to that point yet though.
My story is never ending. For the people who told me that I was lazy, and who told me I didn’t want it bad enough, and that I just wasn’t made for it…. Guess what… I’m thanking you in this post! If it weren’t for you… I don’t know if I would have tried so hard to prove you wrong. I use your words for ammunition whenever I come across something that myself or others think that I can’t do…. I do it! My failures in life have equaled one great Success.. and that, is ME! :-)
The following is a poem that someone sent to me and I thought it compliments this post quite well!
In Trying Times Don’t Quit Trying
Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But with a chuckle he replied,
That “maybe it couldn’t” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t do so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with a trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried, he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done. And he did it.
Somebody scoffed: “Oh you’ll never do that,
At least no one ever has done it.”
But he took off his coat and took off his hat
And the first thing he knew he’d begun it.
With the lift of his chin and a bit of a a grin,
If any doubt rose he forbid it;
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t’ be done, and he did it.
There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you,
But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Then take off your coat and go to it.
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you’ll do it!
-Unknown
Friday, November 2, 2007
CarnEvil 2007
So as promised, I will blog today about Carnevil 2007! Prior to last Saturday, the last time I dressed up, I was a Strawberry Frosted Poptart! Yes, you read correctly, and I hate to admit that no, I do not have pictures of it. (Thank Goodness) That was around 4 years ago. So a great opportunity to raise money for a local children’s hospital came across my path, and of course I had to take it. I started thinking of things that I could be, because I was told by my sister that people go “all out” on their costumes for this thing. She also said that there were going to be flame throwers and strange stuff. I was a little worried about that, but not so much that I would not go.
The hunt for the perfect costume was on….. So I started doing some research and came across the idea of being a “Devil with a Blue Dress on”. I rolled with it. I had a white dress at home that I could dye blue, but I wanted to see what my other resources were. So I searched for the perfect blue dress, but nothing was more perfect than the one I already had, and a bottle of blue dye. I went and got the most RANDOM of all devil wigs with red eyelashes to boot! I of course, also had the pitch fork. :-)
We started our evening off at Jason’s house for a pre party. Susan was dressed as a Flapper, and you could not recognize her at all. She had somehow managed to get her really long thick blonde hair tucked up and flattened into a black short wig. She looked GREAT!!! Robyn was RainbowBrite and Jason was a Gladiator. We were among other great costumes as well.
From there, we drove to Amos Bar in Uptown Charlotte and upon walking in, I knew that it was going to be an eventful night. I saw so many random costumes that it was funny. Not to mention Drag Queens. Susan wasn’t kidding, these people REALLY did go all out for their costume. I’m not talking about the $40 variety, but more along the lines of $1,000 variety. I was shocked! It was a little too freaky for me, but it was fun! I enjoyed getting dressed up in stuff that you would not catch me wearing any other day of the year. For one night, I was not Christie, I was the Devil with a Blue Dress On! I loved it!
So I am adding the pictures down below. If you know me, you know that I am completely not into the “goth” scene and so I do look VERY different in these pictures, but it’s me none the less. :-)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
The hunt for the perfect costume was on….. So I started doing some research and came across the idea of being a “Devil with a Blue Dress on”. I rolled with it. I had a white dress at home that I could dye blue, but I wanted to see what my other resources were. So I searched for the perfect blue dress, but nothing was more perfect than the one I already had, and a bottle of blue dye. I went and got the most RANDOM of all devil wigs with red eyelashes to boot! I of course, also had the pitch fork. :-)
We started our evening off at Jason’s house for a pre party. Susan was dressed as a Flapper, and you could not recognize her at all. She had somehow managed to get her really long thick blonde hair tucked up and flattened into a black short wig. She looked GREAT!!! Robyn was RainbowBrite and Jason was a Gladiator. We were among other great costumes as well.
From there, we drove to Amos Bar in Uptown Charlotte and upon walking in, I knew that it was going to be an eventful night. I saw so many random costumes that it was funny. Not to mention Drag Queens. Susan wasn’t kidding, these people REALLY did go all out for their costume. I’m not talking about the $40 variety, but more along the lines of $1,000 variety. I was shocked! It was a little too freaky for me, but it was fun! I enjoyed getting dressed up in stuff that you would not catch me wearing any other day of the year. For one night, I was not Christie, I was the Devil with a Blue Dress On! I loved it!
So I am adding the pictures down below. If you know me, you know that I am completely not into the “goth” scene and so I do look VERY different in these pictures, but it’s me none the less. :-)
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Someone Stole Halloween!!!
Guess what!!! I passed the “Halloween” test with flying colors!!!! I only got the urge to munch on M&M’s for a few seconds. A couple of M&M’s later, and I’m good. :-) No harm in that, right? I didn’t have the urge to dip my hand into the candy dish to pull out a candy bar that is meant to give to the trick or treating children. I’m so proud of myself!!! GO ME!!!
Speaking of Trick Or Treating… I remember as a child, Halloween and trick or treating was HUGE in our neighborhood. The streets were packed full of parents taking groups of costumed witches, rock stars, and ninja’s through the neighborhood to get gobs of candy that would rot our teeth later on. You would pass numerous groups of kids and parents every Halloween! Every house was lit up by hand carved pumpkins that did not use a pattern, homemade decorations of paper mache pumpkins and ghosts and goblins, instead of the store bought kind. Our costumes were last minute creations of our imaginations, instead of the kind that you spend $40 on at a Halloween store. A white sheet could be anything you wanted it to be.
Somewhere in my busy life of growing up, someone lost Halloween in my parents neighborhood. Yes, the children of yesteryear have all grown up and are no longer living there, but there are now more children in my parents neighborhood than there have been in YEARS!! Somehow, the fun of trick or treating in our safe neighborhood has been lost. We had a grand total of 7.. let me spell that out for you, S-E-V-E-N children, to come knock on our door. Those 7 children came in two different groups. Gone are the days that the mothers would sit at home to hand out candy, and fathers would round up the kids to go out and gather our riches.
Instead of neighborhoods, kids now trick or treat in Malls, Churches, Dorms, etc. What is wrong with a parent taking their child trick or treating in their own neighborhood? I know I am not a parent, but how hard is it to stay with your child as you take them around to trick or treat in a neighborhood? I can understand if you live in a high crime area, however, if you do not… then what is wrong? Why does Halloween have to be so materialistic? What happened the the neighborhood Trick Or Treating??
** Steps down slowly from my soapbox**
Whew.. I feel better having just typed all of that out.
I will blog tomorrow about the adventures of Carnevil 2007 and my genius “Devil With a Blue Dress On” costume. I have to admit, it was freaky freaky freaky, but I think I fit in. haha. So ta ta for now, and till tomorrow…..
Speaking of Trick Or Treating… I remember as a child, Halloween and trick or treating was HUGE in our neighborhood. The streets were packed full of parents taking groups of costumed witches, rock stars, and ninja’s through the neighborhood to get gobs of candy that would rot our teeth later on. You would pass numerous groups of kids and parents every Halloween! Every house was lit up by hand carved pumpkins that did not use a pattern, homemade decorations of paper mache pumpkins and ghosts and goblins, instead of the store bought kind. Our costumes were last minute creations of our imaginations, instead of the kind that you spend $40 on at a Halloween store. A white sheet could be anything you wanted it to be.
Somewhere in my busy life of growing up, someone lost Halloween in my parents neighborhood. Yes, the children of yesteryear have all grown up and are no longer living there, but there are now more children in my parents neighborhood than there have been in YEARS!! Somehow, the fun of trick or treating in our safe neighborhood has been lost. We had a grand total of 7.. let me spell that out for you, S-E-V-E-N children, to come knock on our door. Those 7 children came in two different groups. Gone are the days that the mothers would sit at home to hand out candy, and fathers would round up the kids to go out and gather our riches.
Instead of neighborhoods, kids now trick or treat in Malls, Churches, Dorms, etc. What is wrong with a parent taking their child trick or treating in their own neighborhood? I know I am not a parent, but how hard is it to stay with your child as you take them around to trick or treat in a neighborhood? I can understand if you live in a high crime area, however, if you do not… then what is wrong? Why does Halloween have to be so materialistic? What happened the the neighborhood Trick Or Treating??
** Steps down slowly from my soapbox**
Whew.. I feel better having just typed all of that out.
I will blog tomorrow about the adventures of Carnevil 2007 and my genius “Devil With a Blue Dress On” costume. I have to admit, it was freaky freaky freaky, but I think I fit in. haha. So ta ta for now, and till tomorrow…..
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
ADD and Adulthood DO NOT mix well with each other!
I know the frustrations with the cleaning house and having too much on your plate to really deal with it all. You bite off more than you can chew, but you don’t realize it until you are actually chewing for 10 days straight. It just seems that this year has flown by and there is no time to do anything other than tend to your obligatory items that you've set up.
Laundry is my biggest thing now. If I could just get my laundry done, without staying up till all hours of the night finishing it... I'd be good.. I also know all too well about the forgetting of things... Forgetful is my middle name. I forget where I put my keys down, I forget about things I have to do for work, I forget to call people back (which is NOT a good thing when it comes to work stuff). I forget to write things down so that I won't forget them, and I forget to keep remembering not to forget things.
I am so disorganized with everything I do, that it is amazing that I can actually get up every day and make it to work without forgetting to change out of my pjs. I am beginning to wonder if all of the organizing genes just magically went to my sister, and skipped me completely, and the genes were able to get to my brother although, not as heavily as they did my sister. All I know is that I was blessed with the creativity gene, NOT, the organizing gene. *note to self: don’t forget to google this and see if there are any actual studies on genes that single out organization. Hmmm… Now what was it that I was supposed to remember?
Yes, my medicine does help and I remember what it was like without, and I couldn't even focus long enough to complete a sentence, much less understand one that I was reading or hearing someone speak. Medicine can only help focus on certain things... Small tasks.... But, it doesn't cure it, it doesn't magically take my ADD away and all of a sudden, I'm an average adult without a disability. That couldn't be further from the truth!
I am able to concentrate now, which is WHY I still have my job, and I can focus long enough to get the necessary things done (regarding work, etc...) but I have so many unfinished projects at home, and so many ideas that I want to do something with. I start projects, and then get frustrated, because I want so bad to finish them, but other ideas keep coming to my mind, and I never get anything completed. I know it frustrates the hell out of my parents, because I keep saying.. I'll do that, I’ll get it, I’ll take care of it.. and COMPLETELY forget to do the task that I told them I would get done.
ADD is definitely not conducive to being an adult!!! It's not something that anyone really discusses, and that's the hard part. It’s not like I can go to a coffee shop and overhear a group of people talking about how crazy having ADD as an adult makes you feel. ADD is unspoken about as an adult. Everyone focuses on what it is like for a child to have ADD, but how often to you hear about adults with the Disorder? It’s not like once you hit 18, ADD just disappears and you grow out of it. You have this Disorder for the rest of your life.
I feel like if I mention how my brain feels, people will tell me to just "get it done" and "focus on one thing at a time.." Ummm... HELLO!!!!!! FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME???? That's what people without ADD do... That's what they can do with ease.... They can just "get it done" and not think anything of it.
The way my doctor described Adult ADD to me... Adults with ADD are perfectionists, and when we start something, we try to finish it, and when it isn't finished in the perfect time frame, our brains go on to something different, and the cycle keeps going. He said that it gets to the point that when you want so bad for a room to be clean, so you start cleaning, and of course it looks worse when you first start because you start pulling stuff out of drawers etc... but your mind gets bored, and that task of cleaning that room, turns into an overload, and we never complete that task because it's too overwhelming.
The funny thing is, I can completely organize someone else. I can completely keep all of Bella's records/foods/schedules etc... I can keep those completely in line. When it comes to myself... I can't keep myself organized to save my life. It's so easy for me to organize other people, because I don't have a bond with their stuff. Sit me down in my room, and I'm apt to picking up a sock and go on a search for the other one because it would make a good pair of socks for me to wear to work one day, but during that search, I come across my photo albums, and go through them thinking about old friends etc, so I’ll go email them or call them etc… ......... and the saga continues... side note: I never find the other socks.. Also.. by the time I finish all of the things for work, dinner, dog stuff, I'm too exhausted to care about the other stuff.
People that don't have ADD don't understand what it's like to live in a life where you forget things so easily. Getting Side-tracked doesn't even come remotely close to defining what goes on in the brain when you have ADD. It’s more of a “Detour” that takes you through the mountains and lands you back in a spot that isn’t exactly where you were trying to get to. My life has always been detours, I’ve never taken the straight route to get from point A to point B. More like start at C and maybe go to A, but if B has something cool going on.. I may stop there and forget to go to A.
Point of the matter being....I DO get frustrated so easily with myself. It's so hard to ask for help too. That's my BIGGEST problem, is knowing when to ask for help, because I just don't ask. (I forget). It’s not that I’m trying to avoid asking, I just don’t remember to ask.. I know that for my family, it is incredibly frustrating to live with me. I appear to have all of my ducks in a row, and I often think I do, until someone tells me that one of my middle ducks has gotten out of line. So I do get called out if I missed something.
If you meet me for the first time, no one would ever suspect that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. However, do you ever meet an adult and go up to them and think automatically…. “I bet they have ADD” or “I bet they have OCD”..etc…
I’ll end this here, because I can see that I’m rambling. Adults who have ADD are out there, even though the focus is on children with the disorder. We do struggle, and sometimes feel like we are just kinda hanging out there with no real support, other than a monthly visit for a prescription refill. I know there will never be a 100% cure for this. I do hope for better support systems for adults though.
I will post the story of my ADD a little later on, because I know there needs to be a little bit more background to this post, but I needed this to be on the blog.
Laundry is my biggest thing now. If I could just get my laundry done, without staying up till all hours of the night finishing it... I'd be good.. I also know all too well about the forgetting of things... Forgetful is my middle name. I forget where I put my keys down, I forget about things I have to do for work, I forget to call people back (which is NOT a good thing when it comes to work stuff). I forget to write things down so that I won't forget them, and I forget to keep remembering not to forget things.
I am so disorganized with everything I do, that it is amazing that I can actually get up every day and make it to work without forgetting to change out of my pjs. I am beginning to wonder if all of the organizing genes just magically went to my sister, and skipped me completely, and the genes were able to get to my brother although, not as heavily as they did my sister. All I know is that I was blessed with the creativity gene, NOT, the organizing gene. *note to self: don’t forget to google this and see if there are any actual studies on genes that single out organization. Hmmm… Now what was it that I was supposed to remember?
Yes, my medicine does help and I remember what it was like without, and I couldn't even focus long enough to complete a sentence, much less understand one that I was reading or hearing someone speak. Medicine can only help focus on certain things... Small tasks.... But, it doesn't cure it, it doesn't magically take my ADD away and all of a sudden, I'm an average adult without a disability. That couldn't be further from the truth!
I am able to concentrate now, which is WHY I still have my job, and I can focus long enough to get the necessary things done (regarding work, etc...) but I have so many unfinished projects at home, and so many ideas that I want to do something with. I start projects, and then get frustrated, because I want so bad to finish them, but other ideas keep coming to my mind, and I never get anything completed. I know it frustrates the hell out of my parents, because I keep saying.. I'll do that, I’ll get it, I’ll take care of it.. and COMPLETELY forget to do the task that I told them I would get done.
ADD is definitely not conducive to being an adult!!! It's not something that anyone really discusses, and that's the hard part. It’s not like I can go to a coffee shop and overhear a group of people talking about how crazy having ADD as an adult makes you feel. ADD is unspoken about as an adult. Everyone focuses on what it is like for a child to have ADD, but how often to you hear about adults with the Disorder? It’s not like once you hit 18, ADD just disappears and you grow out of it. You have this Disorder for the rest of your life.
I feel like if I mention how my brain feels, people will tell me to just "get it done" and "focus on one thing at a time.." Ummm... HELLO!!!!!! FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME???? That's what people without ADD do... That's what they can do with ease.... They can just "get it done" and not think anything of it.
The way my doctor described Adult ADD to me... Adults with ADD are perfectionists, and when we start something, we try to finish it, and when it isn't finished in the perfect time frame, our brains go on to something different, and the cycle keeps going. He said that it gets to the point that when you want so bad for a room to be clean, so you start cleaning, and of course it looks worse when you first start because you start pulling stuff out of drawers etc... but your mind gets bored, and that task of cleaning that room, turns into an overload, and we never complete that task because it's too overwhelming.
The funny thing is, I can completely organize someone else. I can completely keep all of Bella's records/foods/schedules etc... I can keep those completely in line. When it comes to myself... I can't keep myself organized to save my life. It's so easy for me to organize other people, because I don't have a bond with their stuff. Sit me down in my room, and I'm apt to picking up a sock and go on a search for the other one because it would make a good pair of socks for me to wear to work one day, but during that search, I come across my photo albums, and go through them thinking about old friends etc, so I’ll go email them or call them etc… ......... and the saga continues... side note: I never find the other socks.. Also.. by the time I finish all of the things for work, dinner, dog stuff, I'm too exhausted to care about the other stuff.
People that don't have ADD don't understand what it's like to live in a life where you forget things so easily. Getting Side-tracked doesn't even come remotely close to defining what goes on in the brain when you have ADD. It’s more of a “Detour” that takes you through the mountains and lands you back in a spot that isn’t exactly where you were trying to get to. My life has always been detours, I’ve never taken the straight route to get from point A to point B. More like start at C and maybe go to A, but if B has something cool going on.. I may stop there and forget to go to A.
Point of the matter being....I DO get frustrated so easily with myself. It's so hard to ask for help too. That's my BIGGEST problem, is knowing when to ask for help, because I just don't ask. (I forget). It’s not that I’m trying to avoid asking, I just don’t remember to ask.. I know that for my family, it is incredibly frustrating to live with me. I appear to have all of my ducks in a row, and I often think I do, until someone tells me that one of my middle ducks has gotten out of line. So I do get called out if I missed something.
If you meet me for the first time, no one would ever suspect that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. However, do you ever meet an adult and go up to them and think automatically…. “I bet they have ADD” or “I bet they have OCD”..etc…
I’ll end this here, because I can see that I’m rambling. Adults who have ADD are out there, even though the focus is on children with the disorder. We do struggle, and sometimes feel like we are just kinda hanging out there with no real support, other than a monthly visit for a prescription refill. I know there will never be a 100% cure for this. I do hope for better support systems for adults though.
I will post the story of my ADD a little later on, because I know there needs to be a little bit more background to this post, but I needed this to be on the blog.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
A year ago in August, I was scared of something that was much larger than I could even comprehend. It woke me up to a new world of fear that I had never known prior in my life’s history. I battled this battle internally before I spoke about it. I feared that I had IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer). For those of you who know me, I’m not one to just come forth with information about my breasts, but I tell you this, because I hope it will spark you to pay attention to your own breast health. In August of 2006, I developed a low grade fever, accompanied by an itchy rash on my right breast. I didn’t think anything of it for a while, and then the rash grew worse, and a pain developed and the skin where the rash was, changed and the rash was hot to the touch. I started doing internet research, and came across a few images that looked like what was going on with my breast. These images were of women who had Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I held my fears in, and finally, told my mother about it, and showed her, and the concern on her face, made me realize that I needed to see a doctor about it ASAP. IBC is an extremely aggressive form of Breast Cancer that usually, when you start showing signs of it, it is generally so far progressed, that it could be too late.
Fortunately for me, it turned out to be an infection of the lining of the blood vessels in the breast tissue. I kept asking the doctor if he was 100% sure! He kept stating yes, and he was proud of me for coming in to get it checked, because a lot of women our age think that they are invincible to breast issues. He said that I had every right to be concerned, and that for an untrained eye, IBC would have been the first thing to think about. He understood my fears, but calmed them by reassuring me that antibiotics should clear it up.
Unfortunately, for a lot of women; their diagnosis is far worse. A diagnosis that antibiotics couldn’t possibly clear up. Breast Cancer!
Did you know that Breast Cancer is the second leading cause of death by cancer in women today? The World Health organization estimates that 1.2 million people will be diagnosed each year with Breast cancer. Early detection is helping the death rates drop, but we all have to do our part in saving our breasts!!
My message for all of you is to DO WHAT’S BEST AND FEEL YOUR BREASTS!!! You know your body far better than anyone else on this planet. Stay in tuned to everything going on! If you have fears, don’t hold off on going to the doctor. I’d rather be known for over reacting on my health, than not. The fear of not knowing was FAR greater than the fear of knowing!!
October may be Breast Cancer Awareness month, but it’s only one month… For your self, Breast Cancer Awareness should be an every month of every year event!
Know your bodies!!!!
October may be Breast Cancer Awareness month, but it’s only one month… For your self, Breast Cancer Awareness should be an every month of every year event!
Know your bodies!!!!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Say it in 5!
I have to admit, I have neglected my blog lately. I also confess that while I stroll through various other blogs on the internet, I feel guilty because that is time I could have spent creating a new blog entry of my own. Instead I live vicariously through the lives of others. It is like Reality TV, without all of the fake dramatic effects. It is real lives of real people. So Blogging is my Reality TV through the information superhighway of course.
First update…. I’m still doing Nutri System. I’m still losing….. I was getting sick of the foods for a while, but I have found that I can add certain veggies to things and it makes the meals a little easier on the palate! So I’m still a loser! :-) GO me!
I have failed to update the happenings during the birthday weekend, as well as neglected to update you on S and S’s wedding weekend in Virginia. To get it all in, and with fear of making short stories long, I have created a list of things I wanted to tell about. I’ve chosen the top 5. :-) Aren’t you proud??
Bella and I met with a dog behaviorist in regards to Bella’s being neurotic (yes, I know it’s me too). Turns out, my dog is nothing but fearful. TO be honest though, I think and feel that Bella puts on an act too. She acts like she’s afraid of things, but, the below video of my dog, would make you believe otherwise. $40 to have someone tell me that, and offer her services.. I’m keeping her name in my book, but Bella seems to have gotten better just from one visit.
After a WONDERFUL weekend out at the lake for my birthday, Mom and Dad accepted an offer on my birthday to sell the lake house. That’s right folks. No more of the Lake days. The lake days may be over, but many memories will be here to stay! We’ve got plenty of pictures and plenty of memories associated with that place. We’ll miss it.
3. My Birthday!!! My birthday was September 24th, and I turned the ripe old age of 28. I can’t say I feel any older. We celebrated my birthday out at the lake (as stated in #2) but on Friday (9/21) I was able to open the BEST gift!!! I FINALLY got a NEW Canon S5 IS camera! I’m in love with this camera! It’s the next step down from a digital SLR, but WOW does it take some AWESOME pictures!!!! I also got some other great gifts from family and friends and I love each of them!!
4. September 29th, I flew up to Washington DC for my friend Stefanie’s wedding. I must have gotten lost about 20 times in that city! I realized upon getting onto the plane in Charlotte, that I managed to remember everything I needed for the wedding…… Minus the shoes.. Those shoes were still sitting downstairs in the den so I wouldn’t forget them, and I walked out and boarded the plane without them. So a. I was lost in a city that I have only visited twice and both times I was under the age of 13. b. I needed to find a shoe store PRONTO or else my sketchers would become my foot attire for the night; and c. Gas station attendants are NO help! I purchased a map, asked the guy at the counter where I was, and got no where! I resulted to sitting in a parking lot of a grocery store and asked the first decent looking lady how to get to where I was going. That lady saved me from an ultimate panic attack! I managed to make it to a huge mall and got a pair of shoes that cost less than $20 (I LOVE payless!!), meet my old roomy Erin and her boyfriend Ernie for lunch and chit chatting. I haven’t seen them in soooo long, that I forgot how much I miss them, and last but not least, I FINALLY made it to my hotel to meet up with Sarah (My other ASU roomy) just in time to get a shower and get dressed to go to the wedding!
First update…. I’m still doing Nutri System. I’m still losing….. I was getting sick of the foods for a while, but I have found that I can add certain veggies to things and it makes the meals a little easier on the palate! So I’m still a loser! :-) GO me!
I have failed to update the happenings during the birthday weekend, as well as neglected to update you on S and S’s wedding weekend in Virginia. To get it all in, and with fear of making short stories long, I have created a list of things I wanted to tell about. I’ve chosen the top 5. :-) Aren’t you proud??
Bella and I met with a dog behaviorist in regards to Bella’s being neurotic (yes, I know it’s me too). Turns out, my dog is nothing but fearful. TO be honest though, I think and feel that Bella puts on an act too. She acts like she’s afraid of things, but, the below video of my dog, would make you believe otherwise. $40 to have someone tell me that, and offer her services.. I’m keeping her name in my book, but Bella seems to have gotten better just from one visit.
After a WONDERFUL weekend out at the lake for my birthday, Mom and Dad accepted an offer on my birthday to sell the lake house. That’s right folks. No more of the Lake days. The lake days may be over, but many memories will be here to stay! We’ve got plenty of pictures and plenty of memories associated with that place. We’ll miss it.
3. My Birthday!!! My birthday was September 24th, and I turned the ripe old age of 28. I can’t say I feel any older. We celebrated my birthday out at the lake (as stated in #2) but on Friday (9/21) I was able to open the BEST gift!!! I FINALLY got a NEW Canon S5 IS camera! I’m in love with this camera! It’s the next step down from a digital SLR, but WOW does it take some AWESOME pictures!!!! I also got some other great gifts from family and friends and I love each of them!!
4. September 29th, I flew up to Washington DC for my friend Stefanie’s wedding. I must have gotten lost about 20 times in that city! I realized upon getting onto the plane in Charlotte, that I managed to remember everything I needed for the wedding…… Minus the shoes.. Those shoes were still sitting downstairs in the den so I wouldn’t forget them, and I walked out and boarded the plane without them. So a. I was lost in a city that I have only visited twice and both times I was under the age of 13. b. I needed to find a shoe store PRONTO or else my sketchers would become my foot attire for the night; and c. Gas station attendants are NO help! I purchased a map, asked the guy at the counter where I was, and got no where! I resulted to sitting in a parking lot of a grocery store and asked the first decent looking lady how to get to where I was going. That lady saved me from an ultimate panic attack! I managed to make it to a huge mall and got a pair of shoes that cost less than $20 (I LOVE payless!!), meet my old roomy Erin and her boyfriend Ernie for lunch and chit chatting. I haven’t seen them in soooo long, that I forgot how much I miss them, and last but not least, I FINALLY made it to my hotel to meet up with Sarah (My other ASU roomy) just in time to get a shower and get dressed to go to the wedding!
Erin and I
Sarah and I
Stef and Shayne’s wedding was BEAUTIFUL!!! It was held at the Thomas Birkby House in Leesburg, Va. Stef is such a beautiful person inside and out, and this wedding fit both of their personalities. We had a great night of dancing, celebrating, and reminiscing on the good ole days. It was wonderful!!!
So that’s my life in a nutshell over the past couple of weeks! I’m trying to remember to post a blog every now and then. Stay tuned for the next time… :-)
Love ya’ll!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Friends are Friends Forever....
I apologize for not updating the blog lately. There has been SO much going on that it’s hard to keep track. I hit a major plateau, which I knew was coming, but I didn’t anticipate it on being as long and drawn out as it has been. I’m finally back on a losing path though. So YAY!!!!
August was a month that tore me apart. One of my close friends, Tina, was murdered by her ex. Tina left behind two children a 4 year old and a 3 year old. She was killed on August 18, 2007. The following is part of a letter that I gave to her parents at her funeral. Tina left behind a family that loved her more than words could ever express. She also left behind friends that loved her unconditionally.
I can’t find words to express how sorry I am that you are going through all of this. Tina was such a dear friend of mine, and even if we did not see each other much or talk much, when we did talk, we picked up where we left off. Not a day or week passes that I don’t think of Tina. Working with her was such a pleasure! It allowed us to develop a friendship that followed even after she left Belk.
She and I used to joke around that we think we were probably meant to be sisters, because we have such similar backgrounds. We both came from very strong Christian backgrounds, and we had “Families that Pray together, Stay Together” as a motto. We both have two sets of parents that still love each other deeply and are still married, which is hard to find in this day in age. We both know how much our parents love us, despite the trials we’ve had in life. We often talked about how similar our parents are in terms of personalities and beliefs. We would laugh at some of the things our parents and grandparents said, because they were often said the same exact way in both families. Her grandfather also said “Great Googelymoogely”, like my granddaddy said.
We both had a love for children. Tina loves both of her children so much! She wanted nothing but the world for them! She was prepared to give that to them. I remember when she had questions or concerns about them, she would call me and I would tell her how I handled situations at the daycare that I worked at. I always told her that if I didn’t have the answer, I would find it for her. We had an outing at Chuck E Cheese with Cameron and Katelyn and I always knew how motherly she was, but seeing her when her children were afraid of some of the sights and sounds, she comforted them and made sure that they understood that these things would not hurt them. She was so proud of her two babies, and she celebrated their accomplishments. She would have done anything and everything to make sure her babies were taken care of.
I also remember, when I had broken my foot two years ago, Tina was so helpful!!! Prior to breaking my foot; Every Morning, she and I would go up and get breakfast and I would get Coffee from the cafeteria here at Belk. When I could not walk without the crutches, or without pain, Tina got my coffee… without asking sometimes, and always put the right amount of sugar, and the right amount of cream in it. She would go out of her way to help me out if I couldn’t do something that required using my foot. She was always like that. She was always willing to help everyone around her, no matter if it meant going out of the way for herself. She was a true, genuine, amazing friend, that I am so lucky to have been blessed to have.
She was so proud to be your daughter, and she was so proud to be her brothers Big Sister! I also have a little brother, and she and I used to joke that our baby brothers were like our Big Brothers because they are always wanting to protect us from being hurt. We laughed because they are our “Big Little Brothers”. She loves her family and cherishes you all so much! She often said that she didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have you all there. She is a blessed woman to have such an amazing family!!
I also have to mention her abounding love of the Lord! Her faith is and always has been what has kept her grounded and strong. I find comfort in the fact that she is up in the Heavens with our Lord and just as she was an angel down here on earth, she earned her wings and is flying high with God. She will forever look after her children and her family and friends.
We will see her again! We may not see her while we’re here on this earth, but I know she will always be with us. Looking out for us, and protecting us because that is what she did best. She loved with her whole heart!
We miss Tina so much. It has been 1 month to the day that we laid her in the ground and said our goodbyes to her. It is never easy to lose a friend, especially when their lives were taken from them at such a young age by someone else’s hand that pulls a trigger. She will NEVER be forgotten!
I have been thinking of ways to memorialize Tina and to raise money for her children. I have started making bracelets to sell either through Ebay or craigslist. I want her children to know how much their mother wanted for them, and I know she wanted them to go to college and get the best education they could. So I want to start a college fund for both of them. I want to make sure that they don’t have to worry about affording college in the future.
I know that was depressing, however, I cannot NOT post a blog about Tina… In other news….
I turn 28 on Monday! YIKES! Susan turned 30 on August 10th! Brian and Lauren moved from Wilmington back to Greenville. Mom and Dad are doing great! Mom’s knees are healing much quicker than anyone had anticipated. We are all so proud of her progress! Bella.. my oh so sweet, yet freakishly crazy dog had a visit with a behaviorist on September 12, 2007. It was determined that the reason she has the reactions that she does is because she is afraid of everything. I have narrowed it down to a few of my life events that never really helped her in the fear area. So… I have committed myself to socializing Bella as if she were a puppy again. I’m going to treat her as if she were a puppy again. Hopefully, she’ll overcome her fearful ways, and we’ll all live happily ever after!
In terms of Nutri System. I have stayed on plan… however, on the weekends.. it is difficult to do so, especially when traveling, going to get togethers, parties..etc… It’s hard to isolate my food choices, and so that could be part of my plateau. After this weekend… I’m back on plan 100% and will continue to update the blog. It is a great support outlet and I should have never stopped blogging. So I will keep it up from here on out.
Oh yeah… One more thing.. The lake house is officially on the market :-( We hate to see it go, but understand Mom and Dad’s reasons for selling it. We all agree that it’s not a bad idea. So… this weekend out at the lake could be our last hoorah out there. :-) What a better way to go out in style than to have my birthday party out there.. :-) WOOHOO!!!
Love to you all!!!!
-Christie
August was a month that tore me apart. One of my close friends, Tina, was murdered by her ex. Tina left behind two children a 4 year old and a 3 year old. She was killed on August 18, 2007. The following is part of a letter that I gave to her parents at her funeral. Tina left behind a family that loved her more than words could ever express. She also left behind friends that loved her unconditionally.
I can’t find words to express how sorry I am that you are going through all of this. Tina was such a dear friend of mine, and even if we did not see each other much or talk much, when we did talk, we picked up where we left off. Not a day or week passes that I don’t think of Tina. Working with her was such a pleasure! It allowed us to develop a friendship that followed even after she left Belk.
She and I used to joke around that we think we were probably meant to be sisters, because we have such similar backgrounds. We both came from very strong Christian backgrounds, and we had “Families that Pray together, Stay Together” as a motto. We both have two sets of parents that still love each other deeply and are still married, which is hard to find in this day in age. We both know how much our parents love us, despite the trials we’ve had in life. We often talked about how similar our parents are in terms of personalities and beliefs. We would laugh at some of the things our parents and grandparents said, because they were often said the same exact way in both families. Her grandfather also said “Great Googelymoogely”, like my granddaddy said.
We both had a love for children. Tina loves both of her children so much! She wanted nothing but the world for them! She was prepared to give that to them. I remember when she had questions or concerns about them, she would call me and I would tell her how I handled situations at the daycare that I worked at. I always told her that if I didn’t have the answer, I would find it for her. We had an outing at Chuck E Cheese with Cameron and Katelyn and I always knew how motherly she was, but seeing her when her children were afraid of some of the sights and sounds, she comforted them and made sure that they understood that these things would not hurt them. She was so proud of her two babies, and she celebrated their accomplishments. She would have done anything and everything to make sure her babies were taken care of.
I also remember, when I had broken my foot two years ago, Tina was so helpful!!! Prior to breaking my foot; Every Morning, she and I would go up and get breakfast and I would get Coffee from the cafeteria here at Belk. When I could not walk without the crutches, or without pain, Tina got my coffee… without asking sometimes, and always put the right amount of sugar, and the right amount of cream in it. She would go out of her way to help me out if I couldn’t do something that required using my foot. She was always like that. She was always willing to help everyone around her, no matter if it meant going out of the way for herself. She was a true, genuine, amazing friend, that I am so lucky to have been blessed to have.
She was so proud to be your daughter, and she was so proud to be her brothers Big Sister! I also have a little brother, and she and I used to joke that our baby brothers were like our Big Brothers because they are always wanting to protect us from being hurt. We laughed because they are our “Big Little Brothers”. She loves her family and cherishes you all so much! She often said that she didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t have you all there. She is a blessed woman to have such an amazing family!!
I also have to mention her abounding love of the Lord! Her faith is and always has been what has kept her grounded and strong. I find comfort in the fact that she is up in the Heavens with our Lord and just as she was an angel down here on earth, she earned her wings and is flying high with God. She will forever look after her children and her family and friends.
We will see her again! We may not see her while we’re here on this earth, but I know she will always be with us. Looking out for us, and protecting us because that is what she did best. She loved with her whole heart!
We miss Tina so much. It has been 1 month to the day that we laid her in the ground and said our goodbyes to her. It is never easy to lose a friend, especially when their lives were taken from them at such a young age by someone else’s hand that pulls a trigger. She will NEVER be forgotten!
I have been thinking of ways to memorialize Tina and to raise money for her children. I have started making bracelets to sell either through Ebay or craigslist. I want her children to know how much their mother wanted for them, and I know she wanted them to go to college and get the best education they could. So I want to start a college fund for both of them. I want to make sure that they don’t have to worry about affording college in the future.
I know that was depressing, however, I cannot NOT post a blog about Tina… In other news….
I turn 28 on Monday! YIKES! Susan turned 30 on August 10th! Brian and Lauren moved from Wilmington back to Greenville. Mom and Dad are doing great! Mom’s knees are healing much quicker than anyone had anticipated. We are all so proud of her progress! Bella.. my oh so sweet, yet freakishly crazy dog had a visit with a behaviorist on September 12, 2007. It was determined that the reason she has the reactions that she does is because she is afraid of everything. I have narrowed it down to a few of my life events that never really helped her in the fear area. So… I have committed myself to socializing Bella as if she were a puppy again. I’m going to treat her as if she were a puppy again. Hopefully, she’ll overcome her fearful ways, and we’ll all live happily ever after!
In terms of Nutri System. I have stayed on plan… however, on the weekends.. it is difficult to do so, especially when traveling, going to get togethers, parties..etc… It’s hard to isolate my food choices, and so that could be part of my plateau. After this weekend… I’m back on plan 100% and will continue to update the blog. It is a great support outlet and I should have never stopped blogging. So I will keep it up from here on out.
Oh yeah… One more thing.. The lake house is officially on the market :-( We hate to see it go, but understand Mom and Dad’s reasons for selling it. We all agree that it’s not a bad idea. So… this weekend out at the lake could be our last hoorah out there. :-) What a better way to go out in style than to have my birthday party out there.. :-) WOOHOO!!!
Love to you all!!!!
-Christie
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Keep Smilin', Keep Shinin' Knowing you can always count on me...
“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”
I don’t think I ever really paid attention to that phrase while reading it in numerous places throughout my lifetime. Until today, I don’t think I was ever compelled by it. For those of you who know me, I smile…. A LOT! That is who I am, and it is genuine. I smile at people passing by because I am pleased to see a new face. I smile when I am paying for a purchase at a retail store, because I am pleased to be finally paying for my purchases.
When I first started working where I work, I used to visit the Cafeteria for lunch on a daily basis. The lady that always made my turkey wrap, always seemed indifferent; as if I was just another person coming through the line that she had to mechanically ask “How can I help you?” to. I always smiled at her and told her what I would like, and always said, “Thank you, Have a good one!” upon receiving my completed order.
I always remembered her, because I encountered this one woman daily for one specific task. She was my “Wrap Maker” to Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi”. I never thought she’d remember me, because she encountered hundreds of people daily while performing the task that these people wanted her to complete for them.
I stopped going to the cafeteria upon realizing that I was spending more money on a wrap that I could get for a few bucks cheaper at a well established yellowed sub shop less than a mile down the road. Eventually, I just stopped eating lunch because I just got too busy to think about it, and then the Nutri System came, so I didn’t have to venture too far away for lunch.
Today I was a little on the sluggish side, and decided to go to the cafeteria and get a cup of hot coffee to wake my mind up. I went to pay for the coffee, and there is my “Wrap Maker” as the cashier. Apparently, they were now cross training everyone so that their jobs would be more fulfilling. However, when I walked up to her, I smiled and said “Good Morning!”; not expecting her to recognize me in the least. Well, to my surprise, she got a HUGE smile on her face and said “MY, MY sweetheart you have LOST weight!! You look GOOD, Lady!!” (caps were used as emphasis on for those words) She said how good it was to see me again, and that she hadn’t seen me in about a year. She kept wondering if I’d gotten another job or something. She said she probably would not have recognized me had it not been for “That pretty smile on your face!”. She told me how she always looked forward to me being in line because of my smile, she said it gave her a break from the complainers, and unpleasantness that comes with her job. I thanked her for the kind comments, and told her that I’d come up there every now and then for a cup of coffee or fruit, but that I couldn’t order any more wraps due to the diet. She smiled back at me and said “Thank You! Have a good one!”. As I walked away I said “Thanks, and You Too!”.
I am now fully aware of what a smile does. I know how it made me feel when someone smiles at me, but I never focused on how my smile would make someone else feel; and now I know.
I know this wasn’t really diet related, however, I felt the need to blog about it, because I was so happy that my “Wrap Maker” remembered who I was. Here I am, thinking that I was just another person in her line. I guess I got proved wrong. :-)
I hope you all have a beautiful rest of the week!! Keep Smiling!!
I don’t think I ever really paid attention to that phrase while reading it in numerous places throughout my lifetime. Until today, I don’t think I was ever compelled by it. For those of you who know me, I smile…. A LOT! That is who I am, and it is genuine. I smile at people passing by because I am pleased to see a new face. I smile when I am paying for a purchase at a retail store, because I am pleased to be finally paying for my purchases.
When I first started working where I work, I used to visit the Cafeteria for lunch on a daily basis. The lady that always made my turkey wrap, always seemed indifferent; as if I was just another person coming through the line that she had to mechanically ask “How can I help you?” to. I always smiled at her and told her what I would like, and always said, “Thank you, Have a good one!” upon receiving my completed order.
I always remembered her, because I encountered this one woman daily for one specific task. She was my “Wrap Maker” to Seinfeld’s “Soup Nazi”. I never thought she’d remember me, because she encountered hundreds of people daily while performing the task that these people wanted her to complete for them.
I stopped going to the cafeteria upon realizing that I was spending more money on a wrap that I could get for a few bucks cheaper at a well established yellowed sub shop less than a mile down the road. Eventually, I just stopped eating lunch because I just got too busy to think about it, and then the Nutri System came, so I didn’t have to venture too far away for lunch.
Today I was a little on the sluggish side, and decided to go to the cafeteria and get a cup of hot coffee to wake my mind up. I went to pay for the coffee, and there is my “Wrap Maker” as the cashier. Apparently, they were now cross training everyone so that their jobs would be more fulfilling. However, when I walked up to her, I smiled and said “Good Morning!”; not expecting her to recognize me in the least. Well, to my surprise, she got a HUGE smile on her face and said “MY, MY sweetheart you have LOST weight!! You look GOOD, Lady!!” (caps were used as emphasis on for those words) She said how good it was to see me again, and that she hadn’t seen me in about a year. She kept wondering if I’d gotten another job or something. She said she probably would not have recognized me had it not been for “That pretty smile on your face!”. She told me how she always looked forward to me being in line because of my smile, she said it gave her a break from the complainers, and unpleasantness that comes with her job. I thanked her for the kind comments, and told her that I’d come up there every now and then for a cup of coffee or fruit, but that I couldn’t order any more wraps due to the diet. She smiled back at me and said “Thank You! Have a good one!”. As I walked away I said “Thanks, and You Too!”.
I am now fully aware of what a smile does. I know how it made me feel when someone smiles at me, but I never focused on how my smile would make someone else feel; and now I know.
I know this wasn’t really diet related, however, I felt the need to blog about it, because I was so happy that my “Wrap Maker” remembered who I was. Here I am, thinking that I was just another person in her line. I guess I got proved wrong. :-)
I hope you all have a beautiful rest of the week!! Keep Smiling!!
Talan's Smile
Susan's Smile
Erin's Smile
Grandmama's Smile
My Smile
Steps on how to smile: published by WikiPedia
1. Practice good hygiene. If you've got bits of food stuck in your brown teeth, people may indeed say you have an infectious smile, but they might be talking about actual infections. It should go without saying, but regularly brushing your teeth and making sure your breath is fresh are prerequisites to a good smile. If your teeth are stained, visit the dentist for a polishing or use a whitening product, and take care of your lips to prevent chapping. When you smile people will inevitably look at your mouth, so following these considerations will help you make a better impression, and, more importantly, a healthy mouth will make you feel more confident about smiling.
2. Get comfortable with smiling. Many people are a little nervous about smiling. They don't think their smile looks good, or they think that smiling makes them look unprofessional or vulnerable. It's true that a smile does show a little vulnerability, but that's part of what makes it so powerful. No matter how professional, intelligent, or in control you think a serious face (or worse, a frown) makes you appear, people almost always respond better to a smile.
Think happy thoughts. The easiest way to a great smile is to be happy. You can't be happy all the time, of course, but you can think happy thoughts. Think about something or someone that you care about, or think about a joke that you just find hilarious. Remarkably, when you're feeling down, smiling can help cheer you up, even if you have to coax a smile out at first.
Smile with your eyes. When we think of smiling, we think of the mouth, but the eyes may actually be more essential to a warm, genuine smile. Smiling with your eyes is difficult to describe--in general your cheekbones lift slightly and your eyebrows dip a little--but when you see it, you know it: it's that look of your eyes "lighting up" or "twinkling." To get a feel for how to make your eyes smile, get in front of a mirror and practice smiling, but concentrate only on your eyes. You may find it helpful to cover the lower part of your face with a piece of paper. Play around with it a bit, and you'll find that you can make your mouth smile when your eyes aren't smiling, and you can also smile only with your eyes. When your eyes do smile, remember how it feels, which muscles are working and how. With practice, you'll be able to smile with your eyes at will.
3. Develop your smile. Don't particularly care for your smile? It's a common complaint, and while it's true that any smile is better than a frown, it's also true that some smiles look better than others. What's your best smile? One way to find out is to look through pictures of yourself. Many people who consider themselves unphotogenic are plagued by bad smiles in front of the camera, but just about everybody has at least one picture in which they just look great, with a perfectly natural, contagious smile. Find that picture and focus on what your face is doing. Then practice in front of a mirror until you get it just right. Keep practicing, and pay attention to how that great smile feels, so that you'll be able to replicate it without looking in a mirror. Soon it will become second nature, and you'll likely find that you'll look more photogenic in your next batch of pictures.
If you want to improve your smile, look at pictures of smiles that you believe are beautiful. Also, think good thoughts and remember that you are beautiful (inside and out). Your smile is bound to look better if you feel good about yourself!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Ohhhh.. I'm a Happy Girl!!!!
Alright… Here is another entry into the life of me as a “Looser”. First and foremost, I want to welcome to the world Little Ms. Dannan Olivia. She is the newest member of my family and the first Great Grand Daughter. Meema already has five great grandsons and is proud of each and everyone of them. Dannan Olivia was born on Sunday July 8, 2007 weighing in at a whopping 7 lbs and is 19 inches long. I think she looks like a good mix between her two older brothers and her parents Jeff and Heather. I think she’s a keeper!! :-) I can’t wait to meet her!!
Next on the topic of weight loss. I hopped on the scale this morning and I’m now down a full and complete 45 lbs. I thought I had lost more than that, just because my pants and everything are becoming TOO big to wear. I was making do with what I had until I could not possibly wear them anymore, and I think I’ve hit that point. I can still wear my stretchy stuff… but for some reason I don’t think I can wear work out attire to the office. I like to consider myself a business professional, and my yoga pants don’t quite cut it in the form of appropriate attire.
I am starting to get a little sick of some of the Nutri-System meals that I’ve been eating. They do tend to become repetitive, however, if it’s making me be a loser, it can be repetitive all it wants to. I feel healthier than I have in a LONG time, I’m not AS exhausted at the end of the day, and I feel more relaxed with myself. I’m a pretty relaxed person and always have been, however, now I have a better “Sense” of myself, I guess is the right word to use.
I’m even singing more now!! I’ve almost convinced myself that I want to do “Give me the Mike Charlotte” next year. I’ll let you know how that pans out. If I stink… I’ll chalk it up to a great experience. I don’t want to regret having never tried it. Susan and I have also thought about getting into martial arts… We both think it would be pretty cool to say we have a black belt in something. *haha* Watch out for the “James Sisters” we’ll be like Charlie’s angels… Or something along those lines.
In other news, Mom continues to do AWESOME!!! She is still in a fair amount of pain, but she is putting on a brave face. We are all seeing such an improvement with her already. I know she is getting frustrated with not being able to go and do as much as she wants to. That will all come with time though. She got her knees to a 90 degree angle so that’s a HUGE improvement over where she was. Each day is better than the previous day.
Well, I wrote this while on my lunch break and now it’s back to work. It has been EXTREMELY busy around here. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to get done what I need to get done at the office. So on that note.. I hope you all enjoyed this week’s blog from the loser. :-)
Love to you all!!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Loserville and Kneetown! :-)
Okay, so I have been pressured to give an update on weight loss, Mom, and everything else.. :-) So I’ll do my best to do a recap without over doing it on the length of this blog. So my weight loss, I received both my 30 lb bear and my 40 lb bear in my shipment last Monday. Things have just been too busy for me to write about them. So yes.. I have officially lost 41 lbs since starting Nutri System! Yes, My clothes are getting MUCH bigger on me! Last week, I wore my Old Navy pants that I purchased about a month ago, and they swamped me… but I didn’t have anything else to wear. When I got to work, I had to resort to using office supplies to keep my pants up! I used BINDER clips!! Hey, it worked! I didn’t moon anyone so that was a good thing. With Mom in the hospital, I haven’t really “tried” at losing weight and being on plan. One, because it’s difficult to find a convenient place to heat food up and to get all the things you need to get in you, just takes too long, and two, My mind really wasn’t with the diet. HOWEVER, I am Back on plan, and Back into the swing of being a loser again! I’ve been back 100% on plan for this week. I haven’t weighed myself this week, but I will probably Monday morning, and I’ll get back to weighing in every day.
Update on Mom…
Let’s see here… She is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! We’ve got her home now, which is more comfortable for Mom and Dad Both! She is using the walker, and is able to sit and stand and walk around a little bit. This morning, she used the walker to get into the kitchen and get her medicines herself. We’re trying to get her to practice standing up straight and getting those knees bent. She had been walking differently for so long, that she is basically learning to walk all over again. I hope she sees how big of an improvement we’ve all seen in just under 2 weeks post op. The incisions are healing very nicely, and every day they look better and better. It is still quite painful for her to get around, but she’s a trooper, and she definitely keeps up with it.
After seeing all that the physical therapist has done with Mom, it’s made me start thinking that it may be something I would want to pursue in the future. It’s working with people to help heal them and get them to a better place in their lives. I’ll probably do research on what it takes to get into a program here in Charlotte. I may even ask the PT what they suggest. I’m just afraid of screwing someone up! *YIKES*
Well, I think that is about all for now. I’m introducing “30 Bear”(light blue) and “40 Bear” (green) in the photos below. Pretty soon, I’m going to need a whole shelf to house these darn beanie bears! :-) I’m so proud of those things though. So I display them at work on my desk top to remind me how far I’ve come! :-)
I’ve got to get back to being a loser so I’m off to loserhood! Love to you all!!!
Update on Mom…
Let’s see here… She is HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!! We’ve got her home now, which is more comfortable for Mom and Dad Both! She is using the walker, and is able to sit and stand and walk around a little bit. This morning, she used the walker to get into the kitchen and get her medicines herself. We’re trying to get her to practice standing up straight and getting those knees bent. She had been walking differently for so long, that she is basically learning to walk all over again. I hope she sees how big of an improvement we’ve all seen in just under 2 weeks post op. The incisions are healing very nicely, and every day they look better and better. It is still quite painful for her to get around, but she’s a trooper, and she definitely keeps up with it.
After seeing all that the physical therapist has done with Mom, it’s made me start thinking that it may be something I would want to pursue in the future. It’s working with people to help heal them and get them to a better place in their lives. I’ll probably do research on what it takes to get into a program here in Charlotte. I may even ask the PT what they suggest. I’m just afraid of screwing someone up! *YIKES*
Well, I think that is about all for now. I’m introducing “30 Bear”(light blue) and “40 Bear” (green) in the photos below. Pretty soon, I’m going to need a whole shelf to house these darn beanie bears! :-) I’m so proud of those things though. So I display them at work on my desk top to remind me how far I’ve come! :-)
I’ve got to get back to being a loser so I’m off to loserhood! Love to you all!!!
Meet the newest Members "30" and "40"!
The Whole Pound Gang
Monday, June 25, 2007
My 10 Yr High School Reunion!
Well… My 10 Year High School Reunion has come and gone, and I am SO glad that I went. I must admit, I was a little hesitant about it, but once I got dressed and once Alex picked me up, I was ready! Alex took me to a WONDERFUL dinner at Capital Grill. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a steak so flavorful as the one I had there. We also enjoyed a wine that was out of this world. For those of you who know me, I’m not the greatest fan of red wines but Barringer Alluvium Meritage is a wonderful blend of grapes that may smell strong, but the taste is not strong. It is hard to describe the taste of it, other than WOW!
So after Diner, Alex and I went to Rock Bottoms and had a beer and saw a few of our classmates there doing the same thing. From there, we went on over to the Levine Museum of the New South, and we were greeted with a wonderful reception. It was great to see everyone that we graduated with. You can’t help but feel nostalgic when you walk into a room full of people you haven’t seen in ten years. The turnout was great for the event! Thank you to the organizers of the reunion! You all did a phenomenal job in orchestrating such a wonderful event! The after party was at the Ally Cat and everyone seemed to have a blast there. We danced, talked, hung out, and with some it felt like time had not passed. Everyone looked great and all the ladies wore beautiful dresses and outfits. It turned out very well.
I just wanted to share with you all some of the photos from the evening. I will post an update on Mom and weight loss at a later date. For now, enjoy the pictures from the PHS 97 ten year class reunion!
So after Diner, Alex and I went to Rock Bottoms and had a beer and saw a few of our classmates there doing the same thing. From there, we went on over to the Levine Museum of the New South, and we were greeted with a wonderful reception. It was great to see everyone that we graduated with. You can’t help but feel nostalgic when you walk into a room full of people you haven’t seen in ten years. The turnout was great for the event! Thank you to the organizers of the reunion! You all did a phenomenal job in orchestrating such a wonderful event! The after party was at the Ally Cat and everyone seemed to have a blast there. We danced, talked, hung out, and with some it felt like time had not passed. Everyone looked great and all the ladies wore beautiful dresses and outfits. It turned out very well.
I just wanted to share with you all some of the photos from the evening. I will post an update on Mom and weight loss at a later date. For now, enjoy the pictures from the PHS 97 ten year class reunion!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
