Reorganizing

The other day, I was searching for a past post on the Blog and realized that almost everything had been dumped into the "My Reality" category.

Talk about frustrating! Even more so when I realized that the post I was looking for wasn't even in the "My Reality" section! :)

So, I spent some time reorganizing a bit tonight. If you click on a category sections now (UPDATE: you can find the categories at the end of every post - listed after "Rambling About"), you will actually get a list of posts that are related. Imagine that!

Namaste.

Love - Hate Relationship. . .

Yes, I have one - with food! I love it. It loves my hips. I hate my hips.
Doesn't work too well in the long run.

I think I mentioned previously that I am back in another weight-loss competition.
Yes, I'm crazy - I never claimed anything different! My ever muscular cheerleader, Sadillac, put together a meal plan for me. It's pretty clear: 4 oz of this here, 1/2 c of that there, so much of this, so little of that. . .
I USED to like him!

So, I was getting a little aggravated measuring out my portions at every meal. I was cranky because I remembered that I only had 1 cup of something when I really wanted 2 cups! Most of the time, I ended up "estimating" or "adding a bit more" because I was so hungry.
Ooops. . . . . .

So in an effort to save time (mainly in the morning), I pre-measured enough food for a few days. I had my measuring cups out and everything! I fired up the mini-George Forman and cooked up all of the lean beef and the lean turkey that I had. . .Hmmm, three days worth of meals and I only have to clean the Foreman once?
Sweet!
Yes, Sadillac better be proud!

I came to a realization tonight. . .
I'm eating less.
I'm satisfied.
I'm not near as cranky at meal-time.

Yes, I admit it - there is enough food on my plate (even though it doesn't look like it) to make my tummy full for awhile, but not stuffed. About two hours later, I am hungry again (I believe this was Sadillac's plan). . .but I just keep busy and after another hour, I get to eat again!

Wow. . .
By the time I get to my maintenance mode, I think the smaller portions will look normal.
If not, I will continue to pre-measure food when I'm not hungry!

Namaste.

Are They On To Something?

All of you beer lovers out there may have been a bit happier on May 2, 2007. . .
Why you ask?

There is now another reason why beer should be produced in mass quantities.
And I know you would agree that it would be a shame to let a drop of that beer go to waste!

I foresee an increase in Happy Hour potential. . .

http://www.happynews.com/news/592007/clean-energy-beer-making.htm

I know someone who may be very happy if Miller Lite got into this predicament. :)

Namaste.

My Puzzle Pieces. . .

People make plans. They have goals, deadlines, career paths. Then fate steps in.
Some call it destiny. Some call it karma. I call it divine order.

Deep down, I know that only one person on this Earth can make me happy - Me, Myself and I (wait, is that three people?). MommyMarie gave me life. Luke guided me as I experienced some big life lessons. Egypt has traveled so many of my paths with me. N2 keeps me grounded in my truth. SassyMarie takes all of the responsibility for this life.

At some point in the future, my life will change - I am not sure how or when, but that is not for me to worry about right now. I need to focus on the puzzle pieces that I have in front of me - where they fit, who they belong to, when they should be moved around or let go. . .Knowing that there are still many more pieces to be received. Will some of them be from you?

It has been a few years since I visualized this journey - I think it is time to make a new Treasure Map. Will have to make that a priority in the upcoming weeks: To let spirit know my desires. . .

Namaste.

"Thank God for Dreamers and Children
Reminding us the stars are worth the reach. . .
They cast away all doubt,
Knowing it will all turn out. . .
It's not make-believe,
It's possibilities. . ." - Cliff Ruban (song lyrics)

Thank God. . .

I had a pretty rough week! I can't really come up with a reason why it was so rough or why I wasn't able to snap myself out of it, it just was! It was bad enough that I posted a bulletin on myspace asking for jokes and pick-me-ups. Yes, it was really that bad.

Thank God I have some great friends. Someone, who shall remain name-less because I haven't come up with a nick-name for them yet (you know who you are!), gave up their Friday night without a thought to cheer me up.
Were they successful? Yep.
Do I owe them big time? Yep.
Should they get a sweetheart of the year award? ABSOLUTELY (working on that one)

So now, I'm off to try to eliminate some of the dirt that has made itself at home in my condo.
Wish me luck!

Namaste.

UPDATE #1 (2:25pm):
It took 1.5 hours, a few wrestling matches, a scraped knuckle and much more knowledge about my cleaning appliances than I ever wanted to have - but I now have a working vacuum cleaner!
*SIGH* Now, I guess it's time to clean...
UPDATE#2 (10:15pm):
OK. . .You are getting another update because that was the only reason I kept cleaning! *SIGH*
Done: Full Bath, Half Bath (I should get credit since I HATE TO CLEAN TOILETS!), Bedroom (ok, I still need to change the sheets - but I'm the only one sleeping in the bed, so I don't think that counts!), Living Room, Front flower beds (cleaned out and ready for flowers!) :D
For Another Day: The Entire 2nd floor (I worked on all 3 rooms, they just aren't done) :P
May Never Get Done: Office (Have you seen that room?? It is the computer / paperwork pile / scrapbook / sewing / catch-all room. I didn't touch it!!!) :O

Interesting

Since I returned from my weekend away, all I have wanted to do it sleep.

I am back to eating healthy and exercising a lot. That may play into the fact that I am so tired and run-down. On average, I normally get about 5 to 6 hours of sleep a night. Since the retreat, I am hitting about 9 hours a night. Very unusual for me - but my body must need it, so I will continue on that path.

The good news is that I have successfully taken off all of the weight that I put on last week. . .
You know, all of those "gifts" that you give yourself when you know you are about to take it all away?
I had to have ice cream. . .
I had to go to my favorite lunch spot. . .
I had. . .
I had. . .
I had to gain lots of pounds last week with all of my "gifts".

So, now I am back to where I was when I decided to enter into this latest weight loss competition. *SIGH* A long week worth of work and still so far from my goal!

But - I am now in the groove that I need to be in to hit that final goal. . .
The final goal before I have the body fat checked, that is.

Namaste.

I Was Hoping. . .

I was hoping to create a fabulous blog post for all of you to comment about (I haven't been too successful at this in the past). . .

But I finally conceded that I am in need of some shut-eye. . .
And it was the first day back with my "healthy lifestyle", so I am dragging just a bit. . .

So, I'll just say "HELLO!" and leave it at that.

Namaste.

Refreshing Weekend

Ever been in the place where anxiety is the norm? Where everything just keeps rushing by you and you can barely get anything crossed off of your "To Do List" let alone find any time for yourself?

That was my reality! I needed to get away for some renewal, some reflection time.
I am happy to say that I did that this weekend at a Women's Retreat: "When I Dream. . ."

I saw some old friends, met some new ones.
I allowed my body to sleep.
I read a book that a friend loaned to me (I thought it would be a nice break from the work I had to do this weekend, but in the end the book became a part of my processing).
I did some soul searching.
I thought about where my life is going and where I want to be.

Just some quick notes that I wrote down throughout the weekend:
> In eight hours of sleep, most people have five dreams
> There are over 700 references to dreams in the bible
> Some think that everything in a dream has something to do with you symbolically
> Dreams are today's answers for tomorrow's questions
> We can have anything we want when we CO-operate with Spirit
> When you have an inspired thought: don't ignore it - act on it!


Here is the Prism Of Powerful Intention that I created (started as a triangle with rope connecting the sides).

The picture doesn't do it justice - the is a lot of flowing purple and cream ribbon that I was just captivated by! I have no idea why I put anything where I put it or why I used the colors that I did, etc etc etc.

I am sure (as happened in the past with my spirit dolls) that in a few months, I will understand why this beautiful creation was made.



As I left the retreat to return home, I made the following intention:
I am going to finish what I started and listen to my intuition again: I am going to complete my physical transformation goal! Starting tomorrow, I will be back at the gym 5x a week and remove the last of the weight from my body.

Off I go to figure out a very short dream I had this weekend:
There was a Diet Pepsi vending machine in my retreat bedroom (instead of my roommate's bed) that a friend (who wasn't at the retreat) came in to use while I was laying down napping.

Namaste.

"Whether you think you can or you can't. . .You are right." - Henry Ford

I Was Desperate!

I really needed some motivation to finish the major part of my self-imposed make-over.
Yes, I'm talking about the weight reduction.

There was a two pound range that I had made myself at home. I didn't really want take up residency there, but I couldn't seem to find the gumshin (is that a word?) to move out.

BUT. . .Now I have reasons!!!

Have I mentioned that I'm going to Vegas in June? If not: I'M GOING TO VEGAS IN JUNE! Yep, reserved the plane tickets today (geez, I hope my boss approves the vacation since the tickets are non-refundable!!!).

So, Vegas in June = High Temps (dry heat, but still. . .) = Minimal Clothing = Gotta Lose the Last of the Weight = WEIGHT LOSS COMPETITION!

Yes, I was desperate - I created another weight loss competition.

I have 5 weeks to loose 5% of my body weight. It starts on Monday and I will be doing everything possible to achieve this goal.

This will be the fourth weight loss competition that I have been involved.
This is the first time that Sadilac looked at me with concern and a "Are you sure??".

Oh My God - I am worried. And yes, I was desperate!
Prayers are welcomed. . .

Namaste.

Thought of the day:
If you say you are going to do something, shouldn't you do it?

Lists - Paper or Mental?

I don't really like pieces of paper with lists on them. . .
They are very controlling. . .
They feel very restrictive to my daily life. . .

I was making up a list in my head - you guessed it, of things to blog about.
As I added the last item to my list, I remember thinking "It's going to take me weeks to cover all of these topics!"

Why am I blogging about lists tonight?
Because I don't remember one thing that was on that mental list!

So, I will continue to make lots of list on paper. . .
I will gets lots of stuff done. . .
I will be organized and have time to do whatever in my spare time. . .

Gonna find a small notebook to carry around with me so that I can recreate the "To Blog About" list.

Namaste.

Thought of the day:
I found what I want. Then, I realized that it currently belongs to someone else. . .