DAY 44 The Happy Blogger Club is Born!

Day 44 of ReStart,  Tuesday Sept 22, 09

Good Morning Journal,

Guess what?! There is a new club in the Blogosphereinterwebs...it is called the 

HAPPY BLOGGER CLUB!

I don't claim to be always be "happy"...I am human. But my goal is to create a place where I can come to read that IS happy and encouraging, upbeat, hopeful and positive. So when I am done reading, I go away enriched, not depleted. Ready to WIN, not  go hide under my bed and pout. Honesty, yes of course. But it will not help me reach my goals to STAY unhappy, to hold on to negativity. I need to get it out, get it dealt with, healed, let it go, and get ON with this journey...because I plan to enjoy the journey as I go, as much as is humanly possible!

Click HERE for the "rest of the story"...of what inspired this club to come into being.

If anyone wanders in out of the cold and reads this journal, and would like to join the HAPPY BLOGGER CLUB, I would be DELIGHTED to have you join me!!!!

I must admit that I love color (gee, you can't tell by my blog). And last night I stayed up til...well, too late, playing at making the banner design for the club (have I mentioned I am an artist?). It really was so much fun! I stole one of MyGuy's photos and had a blast dinking around with it.

If you would like a banner for your blog, just click on the color you like and save the image to your computer, just like any other pic from the web...then use it on your blog wherever you like. If you don't find the color you need, shoot me an email (my addy is on my Blogger profile page) and I'll see what I can do. :-) 


Just add it to your sidebar as a Gadget, and if you like, link it back to this page so others can get one, too. Oh, and I would LOVE to know if you joined the Happy Blogger Club!

Here are the ones all ready to go...spread the word...let's infect the whole blogosphere with a healthy dose of "happy"!!

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PS: Please do not ask me who the blogger was that inspired this whole train of thought...I will never tell. It is possible I totally misunderstood him...and, I actually respect his accomplishments. So I would never want to cause hurt to him by revealing his name. Thank you for understanding.

From Dr Phil's book: "The past is over. The future hasn't happened yet. The only time is now."

My verse for today: "A merry heart does good like a medicine."

My quote for today: " When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."--Helen Keller

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 43 Why I Write What I Write

Hello Journal!

I was put on my first diet at age 10... taken to the doctor and given "horse urine" shots. It didn't work. But it DID cause me to become aware that I was different.... fat... or as they called it back then, Chubby.

I learned over the years to compensate for my appearance by trying harder to get along, to be nice, to smile. 

My sister is probably falling off her chair laughing at that....because she knows the "real" me. Not the "public" me that puts on the nice person mask, but the sister she grew up with...who steamrolled over her to get my own way. The grumpy, feisty, selfish one she had to share a bedroom with for toooo many years.

But my "public" face was different. I learned how to get along, if they would only give me a chance. Many did NOT, however, and as anyone who grew up fat knows, "they" can be cruel.

All that to say this: I recently read a weight loss blog, and even though I disagreed with it, I wanted to "play nice", smile, wear my mask and not rock the boat. I was being phoney out of a lifetime of habit.

My sister was also the one who told me when I started this: BE HONEST. Okay, I will.

In a nutshell, that blog sounded sort of cynical towards weight loss bloggers whose writings sounded happyhappy/positive/cheerleading and motivational. And they seemed to think the "happy" bloggers were doing it for the pats on the back and awards, etc.

Giving this writer the benefit of the doubt, perhaps this blogger has been around long enough to see so many people come and go, who SAID all the right things, but did not DO them.

I think one reason I felt defensive was because that used to be ME.  But I don't look at that as wasted experiences...I believe we can learn, grow and change.

For years I have read all sorts of motivational material...kind of like planting seeds into my mind...cultivating an optimistic mindset, hoping to counter my history of failure.

Now I am creating a NEW HISTORY for myself. Success breeds success, and every time I do it right, I am adding to that new history of the New Me.

Bottomline: I write what I need to read!! I write to motivate ME, to help ME focus, to kick MYSELF in the tush, to cheer ME on to victory!! If anyone else happens to read any of it and is helped, I am delighted by that. If they read it and do NOT like it...then isn't it wonderful that there are MILLIONS of blogs out there to choose from...and there is the exit, and don't let the door hit you on the way out....ha ha ha ..okay, maybe that's a little extreme...a little...maybe...

But seriously, attitudes are contagious. And I talk to MYSELF more than anyone else all day long, all of my life. I NEED TO HEAR POSITIVE STUFF!!! I need to fill my mind with thoughts and information that will propel me to SUCCESS, not drag me down with doubts, fears, self-pity, woe as me, who-do-you-think-you-are thinking.

Who do I think I am??  I was once asked that question by a large, very angry adult man, right before he threw a large, heavy glass ashtray at me (I ducked, it missed).  I was young and impressionable, and it has taken me a lot of years to finally develop the belief in myself to answer that question:

I am Loretta. I am here. I will succeed... and no one, nothing, will take this from me. Not cynicism, not criticism, not skepticism, not doubt or fear, or even my own past history of failure. 

I am creating a New Me. I do not care one bit, not ONE BIT, if someone else rolls their eyes at my pom-pom waving. They simply do not understand...they do not know ME, and what I have had to overcome to arrive at this time, this place, where I can say:

 IT IS MY TURN, 
IT IS MY TIME.

I will gratefully and freely share with others along the way the things that motivate and encourage me....freely I have received, and freely I give. But make no mistake: I am writing to ME. Even now, I felt the need to stand up and be counted, not to smile and "get along", but to have the self-respect to be honest and tell it like it is. I did this for me.

So, break out the pom poms...can you give me an N...E...W...M...E.. Yaaaaaay, New Me!

Here is today's motivational pep talk to myself, in picture form:

(Click pic to enlarge)

Oh, and I can't forget today's weigh-in: 372, for a weekly loss of 3 lbs. Yippee!

From Dr Phil's book: "Whatever the situation, you can choose your reaction."

My verse for today: "Give thanks in all circumstances."

My quote for today: "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."--Les Brown, motivational speaker

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 42 Day of Rest & Favorite Photo

Day 42 of ReStart, Sunday  Sept 20, 09

Hello Journal, 

MyGuy took this photograph during one of his camping trips in the Redwoods National Park, in Northern California. In person, there is nothing quite like them.

When I look at them, I think of words like majestic, grand, powerful, permanent, ageless. And of course, beautiful.

(Click pic to enlarge)

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

"Happy Birthday, Momma"

DAY 41 A Can Opener for the Mind

Hello Journal!

I have been thinking all afternoon about a comment that was left on my blog this morning. The Lady (who shall remain nameless out of respect for her privacy, since her name icon is on privacy setting) said something very thought-provoking:

"Imagine if those

 with the hardest thing to overcome

 were actually the most blessed."

I re-read that a few times...doing a mental double-take. I admit that I do NOT have that perspective, yet the more I think on it, I realize it might be a healthy attitude to have!

To have that perspective BEFORE I got to goal, I would have to include things like:

• Gratitude, for all I am learning along the way
• Hope, for a positive outcome
• Trust, that it will work out for my ultimate benefit
• Determination, to reach that goal in spite of obstacles
• Imagination, to see into the future a victorious outcome
• Courage, to plunge ahead into an unknown future, but knowing it    contains rewards for my efforts

If it had come easy, would I treasure it as much??

If it had taken no great effort, would I have built up much inner strength??

If I had not struggled, would I never have developed compassion for others in their own struggles??

If I hadn't overcome a thing that seemed--in the beginning--to be impossible, would I have missed out on the feeling that now I could do anything??

Since I am not at the end of my journey yet, I can only guess at how I will feel then...so just for the fun of it, I will project myself into the future...zooom....and make a list of WHY I AM MOST BLESSED...and later, when I am really there, I will look back at this list and see how close I came!

1. Now I have the inner strength that I always wanted, having been forced to develop it in order to complete this goal.

2. Now I have some humility to realize that without the encouragement of others, this Lone Wolf would never have made it.

3. Now I am busy truly LIVING my life, instead of just dreaming and planning for it.

4. Now I have the courage to do things that I have never done before, to stick my neck out there, and take risks, freeing me to have Adventures.

5. Now I treasure every moment, because I came so close to losing it all, by waiting so long to get healthy. 

I am sure there will be more, much more. But my head is swimming with just this much, so I will revisit this list when I get there, and have fun updating it!

Like I said, The Lady really got me to thinking...like taking a can opener to my mind, opening up new thoughts. Thank you, Lady.

From Dr Phil's book: "Our filters powerfully influence the interpretation we give to the events in our lives. Those interpretations, in turn, determined how we will respond to life."

My verse for today: "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future."

My quote for today: "The future is made of the same stuff as the present."--Simone Weil

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=

DAY 40 The Biggest One

Good Evening Journal,

For many years, I have been "the biggest one." 

-I once went to a weight loss group...I was the biggest one there.

-My doctor admitted to me recently that I was his biggest patient.

-I have always been the biggest one at my church.

-I am the biggest one in my family.

It seems that it has been that way all my life...growing up, in school, at work, at church, family...

So when I saw the new Biggest Loser show this week, and saw the struggles of the gal named Shay, my heart went out to her. She was "the biggest one." She weighed in at 476 lbs, setting a record as the largest person ever on the show. She was mortified. I could read the pain on her face and identified with it, having experienced it so often in my own life.

What I have been thinking about all week was what Jillian, one of the trainers on the show, said to Shay as she was struggling to do intense exercise on her very first day at the "ranch"...remember, Shay is 476 pounds.

Not word for word, but here was the essence of what Jillian told her:

-Everyone has a story...I won't buy into yours, and let you be a victim

-Change your mind

-It's a choice

-Make a different choice

-If you don't, no one can help you

It reminds me of something someone said to me years ago. I was trying my hand at selling some products, and my "upline" sponsor was showing me around the product room. She was encouraging me to use all the products myself, in order to promote them. When we got to the line of nail polish, she showed me her hands. Each fingernail was a different color!

I smiled at that, but said I didn't wear colored fingernail polish, just mainly clear. She asked why? I answered that I didn't really like it. Her response has stuck with me ever since...she said: "THEN CHANGE YOUR MIND!"

By the end of the Biggest Loser season, unless she is voted off very early, Shay will be much smaller, and might not be "the biggest one" any longer.

 And that is my goal, too...someday I will no longer be "the biggest one."

From Dr Phil's book:  "By changing the way you think, you can change the way you feel and act."

My verse for today:  "We love because he first loved us."

My quote for today:  "The future is not some place we are going, but one we create. The paths are not found, but made, and the activity of making them changes both the maker and the destination."--John Schaar

Enjoy the Journey,

Loretta

=^..^=