today I am smarter

1.  so.  today I am officially down 10.8 pounds.  my jeans should be looser.  as much as I don't really feel a big difference, I feel a big difference.  I have more energy and I just think having 10 less pounds stuck to my ass is a really good thing.  that is equivalent to 10 pounds of butter.  or bananas. or a REALLY large baby.  there was a girl at the meeting today - down 102 pounds.  for real.  stories like that are the reason I keep going.  although I still have 16 pounds until I reach where I was the spring/summer of 2007, I feel more in control of myself than I did then.  I trust myself more.  

2.  I got to meet erwin mcmanus yesterday.  I went to his session on leadership and a few things stuck with me.  everything I do should be to bring out the best in the people around me.  the best in humanity.  christ did that.  churches should be doing it.  I want to value people for their uniqueness.  I want to help people in my life dream big and be the best they can be.  I am reading his new book.  I'll let you know how I like it!

3.  I've been going weekly to the mac [computers, not makeup] store for my one-to-one training [thanks to my brother for the gift card!].  today I learned how to create a podcast.  hehehe.  and then I learned how to do a video podcast and add it to my website [which is seriously under construction, because I hit a snag!].  I love my mac.  I love knowing how to be smarter with it.  now I just need to bang it around a bit and get my camera working again.  I don't love the green screen that is photobooth!

4.  I took third place in the poker game last night.  won my money back.  trust me, this is a big deal.  I am AWFUL at poker.

5.  I did a note-tag-thingy on facebook.  I don't usually do them, but enjoyed it!  more so, I enjoy reading everyone else's!  I *heart* facebook.

a few things...

I cannot take the credit for some of these - the owl card is Elsa, the sheep is Felice, the glitter/pink is Colinda and the coffee cup is Annette.  the rest are mine, however I am reluctant to take full credit for those either, since everything I do is a shmozzle of ideas from all sorts of sources!

enjoy!  oh, and most of the supplies are SU! [just incase you're wondering!]

cool beans

so I got to cross something off my list tonight.  I got to meet LGen. Romeo Dallaire.  and hear him speak.  and he autographed my copy of his book.  okay, so I wasn't alone.  there were a couple of hundred of people in the room and I had to stand in line to get my book autographed, but still, I was with paul and audra and we were in the front row.  it was all good.  and he said that I had a nice name [and before you all say it, I know, he probably says that to everyone].  regardless, although having coffee with him is on my list of things I'd like to do before I get to old to put two words together [which somedays feels like today], I was happy to have met him and enjoy an hour or so of his session.

I am half way through his book - Shake Hands with the Devil.  it's a difficult book to read and the message tonight was equally as difficult.  what makes me more or less human than anyone else that lives on this planet?  it kinda goes back to my word of 2009.  am I a person that breathes life or sucks life.  gives life or takes it.  are some humans more human than others?  questions to ponder as I sit in the kitchen in my very comfortable country, my canada.  my voice must be heard.  the life I can give must be given.  the hope I can bring must be my mission.  I refuse to sit and do nothing.

there is a scripture in micah 6:8 that is my motto for this phase of my life:  He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.  act justly.  love mercy.  walk humbly.  this is what is required of me.

down 8.8

you heard it.  -8.8 in 7 weeks.  I am feeling pretty proud of myself right now.  I had a feeling that this week was going to be big [-3.4 this week], but I really didn't want to get my hopes up.  but there was something about how my jeans were fitting last night that felt more baggy then 2 days post-wash-shrinking-jeans-thing.  ANYWAYS, I know darn well it's not just about my eating and the work I am doing daily ['cause MAN, it's hard some days - like when there are 3 cakes in the bloody staff room for staff meeting], but a big difference this time is about the support I am getting from all the people who are surrounding me with this.  THANK YOU!!!  seriously, I didn't have babies that were 8.8lbs, so it's like I was carrying a large-ish baby and now it's gone.

and, in other news...my house is clean, I made some cards, I am off to make some beds and fold more laundry, then head to the mac [apple, not makeup] store for some one-to-one with evan.  a good weekend.  I'll take some pics of my creations, I promise and I will post them as soon as I can!

the word

so susan did a thing on her blog where she picked a word for 2009.  I saw this and spent some time thinking about it before choosing my 2009  word.

as I sit here writing this, I just noticed that it's in the title of my blog!  in fact, the sermon that dean preached today was pretty much on this topic and in fact, inspired my word.  freaky strange.  okay, only to me.

life.

that's my word.  life [there's 36 definitions - I just chose a couple!]:  the course of existence or sum of experiences and actions that constitute a person's existence. animation; liveliness; spirit.  resilience.  a person or thing that enlivens.  effervescence or sparkle.

I guess the whole purpose of this is the why.  why does this matter?  well, I feel that I don't always choose life.  I don't always choose life with my words or with my actions.  I yell at my kids, I am sarcastic, I swear.  I choose death with my mouth.  I know that above all, I don't choose life for myself.  I don't care for my spirit.  or my body.  I choose death every time I overeat.  every time I decide to be so busy.  every time I stay up too late.  every time I binge on chocolate.  some of you may think that I am being hard on myself.  I know that this is not always the case, there are lots of times that I choose life [more so as of late!]; but I do know the condition of my heart and it is naturally sinful.  so, from this moment on, I choose life.  I choose to live in a way that breaths life into the people around me.  I choose to breathe life into my children.  into my students.  into my husband.  into my friends.  into myself.

oh, and on another note - I currently owe yvonne $54 for my clothing fund!

-4 in 5

so I think I said it before here, but I've been going to weight watchers for the last while. today marks the end of my fifth week [I think!]. two weeks ago I thought I was crazy to do this during christmas, turns out it was probably the best thing ever. the first week, I lost 1.4, the second and third week canceled each other out with a -.8 and a +.8, last week I lost .2 and this week, I was down 2.4 for a total of 4 lbs down in total. although I am not totally at my goal of -1 per week, I figure I can cut myself a wee bit of slack because I did this all over the christmas break. yeah me! it was really quite devastating the fist week when I stepped on the scale and saw a number that I have never seen before. but, I am committing a full year to this program in the hopes of losing a pound a week [so, 52 lbs!] and gaining some "never seen in my life since I was 15" thinness, and more importantly gaining some healthy lifestyle changes that will carry me into my 40s. along side of this, since clothing seems to be my hugest shopping thing, and hey, I really like some of my clothes, I am going to put aside $10 for every pound I lose so that when I get to my goal weight, I will be able to makeover my wardrobe with some lucky brand jeans and a pair of leather boots.  okay, well maybe not the exact ones I linked to, but you get the idea.

so, saturday is weigh in day - I will continue to share with you my journey and I hope you will continue to support me as you all do!!

xoxo

new catty, new catty, new catty

a sneak peek...
I am LOVING the accessories...crocheted flowers, corduroy buttons, BEAUTIFUL paper, orange ric-rak. mmmmm. yum-o! my order is going in on Jan 19th. happy, happy!

potty training

so today is the day. tyrone calvin fraser needs to start using the toilet. today. it is out of pure stubbornness that he doesn't. he knows how, he does it occasionally, but really he wants to have a pull-up on. he's lazy and stubborn. so much like his mother. grrr. so this morning, conveniently, we were out of pull-ups so I pulled out some new spiderman underwear and started the whole process. well, he refuses to wear the underwear, put his pj bottoms back on - commando style. that's my kid. john is heading to the 7-11 to get bribe material - round, colourful gum...the candy of choice for my wee ty. it's going to be a LONNNNNGGGG day!

I spent yesterday in my pj's. the whole day. no shower, no nothing. by 10:00 last night I looked and smelled GROSS!! however, my day of nothingness has meant that I've kicked the cold to the curb. I feel MUCH better. much more human. in my "loungingness" yesterday, I watched 2 movies. the first was a movie called "Once" - an irish musical-ish story. not great. not awful. the previews in it, however, lead to movie number two: "the Namesake". WOW. this was a great movie. the guy in house, who was also in Harold & Kumar was in it - and very good.



definitely worth watching. I was desperate, and in my pj's, so I just rented it from itunes. a good $5 spent on my lazy, pajama day! this is kinda my last day of Christmas vacation, if you don't count the weekend. I am feeling like I got nothing done and my plan to go into school for a day, kinda got derailed by illness. I do need to go in, we'll see how the day leads!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

well, in and out without much flair. my kind of new years eve.

is it a bad thing [in a symbolic way] to have baileys in my coffee this morning? I don't think so, but it did occur to me that it may be an odd way to start the year. I didn't drink at all last night [cold meds would have messed that up big time!], so I am feeling a slight sense of entitlement! so, raise your coffee cup with me and toast the new year! CHEERS! [hard to make eye contact over a computer, but you get the idea!]

I am making french toast for breakfast - and have some photos to show for it! okay, so not pictures of the actual french toast, but of my kids doing what they do best: