Honey, I Shrunk the Mom: Random Acts of Kindness

Honey, I Shrunk the Mom: Random Acts of Kindness: Random acts of kindness are something that I try to do on a regular basis. Not because I want something in return, but because it just feels...


Please read this and consider what you can do in honor of the little children that were taken from us too soon.

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Following the Golden Road to Happiness in 10 Steps: Part 1 of 5

This week , I want to take you on a journey.  An interactive journey to find your happiness.  People who are happy are more likely to naturally take the actions to meet their goals.  What I mean by finding your happiness is to choose to surround yourself with the things that make you happy every day.  

First, you start by focusing on your journey.  I don't mean that day of the journey when you meet your ultimate goal.  I mean the steps it takes to get there.  What good is the end result if you aren't enjoying the ride? I remember the first time I took the stairs at work by choice after surgery and how freeing it was to know that I had already come so far.  Every step I took, I smiled a little brighter and the top step didn't make me any happier than the first.  Every time I made a healthy food choice in the cafeteria I smiled because I knew it was getting me one step closer to my goals.  Every time I joined a friend in the gym at work and walked on the treadmill for 10 minutes or 30 minutes, I smiled because I knew I was getting stronger and it meant future play dates with my kids.  Every time I stood with my family in line at the amusement park this summer, I smiled because this was where I wanted to take them when I reached "my goal" and I had just begun the journey.

Second, I learned to find something that makes a tingle in my heart every day.  When you make a conscious effort every day to find a celebration, your mind will start to do it automatically.  Before you know it, you'll be your own cheerleader of your journey.  I can tell you that every ride I fit into, I celebrated.  I celebrate getting up in the morning and having life. My children's school programs, volunteering at their school, helping at a food bank, going out with friends, date night with my hubby, walking down the pier at Lake Michigan, family dinners, playing in the yard and even cleaning my bathroom. I celebrate it all.  All of those things fill my heart with happiness. All of those things are important to me in order to have a fulfilled life.

Today's journey and every day after: 

1.  List out the things that made you smile in your journey today. How many can you find? 
2.  What did you celebrate today? 

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A Deliberate Life: How in the h*ll did I get here..and How do I get out?

A Deliberate Life: How in the h*ll did I get here..and How do I get out?

Powerful and Spot on.

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The Day After the Gumball Dropped

I really enjoyed my last day of vacation with my family today. 

For breakfast, hubby made a full course.  I enjoyed a 1/2 piece of toast with about a teaspoon of peanut butter, 1 turkey sausage patty, 1 scrambled egg (with catsup) and about a tablespoon of hash browns.  All for 245 calories and 18 grams of protein.  The sausage patties were new to our house and they were pretty good.  I would have preferred a little spicier but nothing a dash of Red Hot won't fix.  

8 grams of Protein per Patty

 

 My four year old, "K", helped me make dinner today and she turned her nose up at every turn.  Especially at the mushrooms I covered the main course with.  She exclaimed she was not going to eat that and I explained to her that sometimes we have to eat things that are better for us in order to eat the other things we really like to eat.  She wasn't buying that so I reminded her that yesterday she got to pick Chicken nuggets for dinner and tonight it was my turn to pick.  She seemed to accept that a little easier.  

She was obsessed with the ball dropping last night or the "gumball" as she referred to it.  She was out like a light within 20 minutes after the stroke of midnight.  Bless her heart, she was a trooper.  She spent a good deal of the day wanting to play "Happy New Year" all over again.  

My hubby went to the store and picked me up some new Greek yogurt I haven't tried.  I'll let you know how it pans out.  I'm not a big fan of Greek yogurt but I sacrifice for the protein punch it gives me.  One day, I too, shall find one I like or resort to throwing in a 1/2 scoop of unflavored protein into a low-fat one.  

Tomorrow, on the blog,  I am starting a series of "Following the Golden Road to Happiness.  There will be five posts throughout the week.  I'm excited for you to join me on the journey!  It's inter-active, so I'm excited to see your responses.  

I'm going to wind down the rest of my evening watching some television with my family and visiting some other blogs.  TLC is re-running My 600 Pound Life if you haven't seen it, it's amazing.  

With that, I leave you a picture of Poochy, part of the inspiration that created this blog. 

Poochy

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Weekly Weigh In

Today is the last day of my vacation before returning to work.  Having the last nine days off have been nice spending time with family.  I'm excited to get back to the grind with a new refreshed mind and attitude. I'm excited to have a blog up and running again.  I can already tell a difference with my mind-set and staying focused.  My blog makes me happy.

I weighed in at 278.6 pounds today.  That's a loss of 152.6 since October, 2011.
This also marks 20.6 pounds away from being the weight I was when I married my first husband in 1990, 70.6 pounds away from when I graduated high school in 1987, and 78.7 pounds away from Onederland.  I am so close I can't stand it!

My son and I dropped the dog off at the groomer's yesterday and then went and had our own hair cuts.  Later, I went to the mall and took back the blouse that I had originally intended on wearing to the company Christmas party with token black pants. When the cashier asked me the reason for my return, without thinking, I said, "Well I found this little cute dress." And I stopped for a moment in my head and thought, "Oh my, I said that about me.".  I'm still a work in progress but I'm polishing up quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

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Poochy Pointers: Get your Food Choices on Target

Have you seen this page?  This Food Target was created by Chris Johnson of On Target Living. The idea is to select your food choices by getting as near to the center of the target as possible.  I've printed this and keep one copy at home and one at work.

This shows you that even by making little changes like moving from white potatoes to red-skinned potatoes or to purple potatoes, you're making better choices and making progress.

So tell me, how many food choices do you make a day are at the center of the target? 
How many food choices are at the center of the target you've never tried? 
Can I get you try 1 new food you've never tried at the center of the target for 1 meal? How about eat an entire day from only the center of the target? 
If you do post about it on your blog and leave me a comment so I can tell you what good choices you're making! 

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