Have you ever written yourself off as a lost cause?  Given up hope in yourself?  Disappointed yourself one too many times?

I have.  And it hurts.

This quote means a lot to me because I’ve been there and I’ve given up on my dreams before.  Sometimes I gave up on them with a shrug and the muttering of a disappointed “Oh well…”.  Other times it was as a reaction to some unforeseen circumstance becoming an obstacle making my dream too hard to accomplish.  And still other times there were dreams that I readily gave up on because I never thought they were meant for people like me. 

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Read the rest of this entry »

Each weekend I am going to start posting a quote from SparkPeople that I find to be motivational or inspiring.  I will share with you how I relate to the quote or what meaning I take from it.  I would love it if you all would share your thoughts and interpretations as well!  Or if you have a quote, Bible verse, or comment that you find particularly inspiring, please share it!  I’d love to see a potpourri of motivational snippets.  (Using the word potpourri makes me feel so domestic!)

I would like to kick off the first Weekend Wisdom with a quote that I have found to be so completely true and also one of the keys to living a fulfilled life.

 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Have truer words ever been spoken?  This is something that I have always known in my head.  I’ve heard it a million times in many forms and I’ve always believed it to be true.  But knowing something is much different from living something.  For many years of my life, I wasted time spinning my wheels trying to use external things to “complete me” or to bring me peace and contentment inside.  Things that made me feel like my life was fulfilled and that could give me that feeling of just being satisfied.  I chased that feeling hard and it lead me down paths I never would’ve imagined possible.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes things are just good and they don’t need analyzing, explaining, deep-exploration, or extra thought.  Sometimes, life just is.  And I am enjoying that! 

I think I am at a place in my life now where I am actually just happy (gasp!).  No, everything is not perfect.  (But we all know what I discovered about being “perfect”.)  And yes, life is still life.  Laundry still needs to be done.  Dishes still waiting to be washed.  Food journal just waiting to be logged.  And To Do List is still as long as ever.  But…

I’m happy. I’m content. Life is just good.

I’d really love to bottle up this feeling and store it in my pantry for when I eventually feel differently.  But rather than do that (as if it were possible, duh) I am just going to enjoy it and be grateful. 

Grateful that I’ve been feeling this way a lot lately. 

Grateful that I am finally getting to share in my weight loss journey with my hubby now.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is my first meme tag!  Jojo tagged me last week.  I’m not sure what meme actually means so maybe someone could enlighten me?  Anyhoo, here are my answers!   

Four jobs I’ve had:
1. Manager at Dairy Queen (accounts for at least 10% of the weight I need to lose!)
2. Camp Counselor
3. IT Assistant for a Law Firm in CA
4. Order Processor for a Photography Studio

What are four ways you know you are living your life’s purpose?
1. One of my life’s purposes is to be an awesome wife and mom and to strive to build a strong family.
2. To continually work on strengthening my relationship with God.  That’s where all my guidance and direction comes from.
3. To learn how to live a healthy life (mental, spiritual, physical, and emotional) and to give my daughter every opportunity to live a healthy lifestyle herself.
4. Learning how to just be.

Read the rest of this entry »

Lately I’ve had a lot of financial issues on my mind. Maybe it’s because tax day was yesterday and the media was all abuzz. Or maybe it’s because my husband and I are working to improve our own financial situation to begin saving for our daughter’s future. Maybe it’s the continually rising gas prices or the big R word we keep hearing about. Or maybe it’s some of the fantastic articles I’ve read lately about money saving tools and finding financial perspective. It’s likely that all these things have played a role in money being at the fore-front of my mind.

During these frustrating economic times, it can be so helpful just to feel as if you are taking control of your own finances by being proactive. It certainly helps to avoid feeling like a victim of circumstances and like things are beyond our control. It’s taken me a long time to realize that I am solely responsible for my actions and that it’s my choices that have brought me to where I am today… whether that be good, bad, or indifferent.

Read the rest of this entry »

I find it funny how easy it is to assume that once I reach my goal weight, everything will be “perfect”.  It’s truly laughable that there is a part of me that actually believes that!  But then again, is it really that surprising?  I mean look at the way society is set up. 

“Take this pill and feel like a million bucks!”  “Buy this magazine and you can look like her!”  ”Try THIS fad diet and you can be skinny too!” 

 Why is it that we are so desperate to find a way to make ourselves different and so willing to believe that outside things are what will make us happy?  My whole life I have tried to use things or people to find peace and contentment.  I had put my faith in those things only to find myself bitterly disappointed and frustrated over and over again.  I’ve heard it said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. 

Read the rest of this entry »

I want to share something that has truly helped change my life in so many ways. I was a member of Narcotics Anonymous for 6 years and this is something that I learned there.Write on the top of a sheet of paper,

God, please help me to be:

And on the bottom of the paper,

God, thank you for helping me be:

In the middle of the paper, write down your every desire for the person you would like to become. Some examples from my own list are: responsible, helpful, loving, an awesome wife and mother, a better decision maker, etc.

Read the rest of this entry »