She is.....spunky, fun, smart, and beautiful!

I went to visit my brother and his family today and my niece agreed to do a photo shoot with me.  She was so much fun!  She loved it and was quite the little model.  I hardly had to do any work at all.  She came up with most of the poses and had so much fun doing it. 

Check out some of these photos:  Kaitlin's Photo Shoot 

I love this one below of my brother and his girlfriend, Holly and the next of my brother's two girls, Kayla & Kaitlin.  They are both so beautiful and such fun, awesome girls.  Kaitlin agreed to do more photo shoots with me so I can practice a bit more with my SLR camera.  She's such a great kid.  Thanks Kaitlin!

 

Too many decisions!

Did you know that the average person makes over 250 decisions about food each day?!!  Seriously studies show that the average person makes over 250 food decisions each day and very few of them have anything at all to do with true hunger.  WOW!  That's a lot of decisions to make regarding food.  Now you're probably thinking that you don't make that many decisions about food each day, but stop and think about that.  First thing in the morning you make a decision whether or not you're having coffee upon waking right?  Decision 1!  Once that decision has been made, then you have to decide cream or not?  Decision 2.  Then do you want something with that coffee?   Yes or no?  Decision 3.  Then do you eat what you want with the coffee or do you hold off to have your breakfast a bit later?  Decision 4.  Oh and every time you pick up the coffee mug to take a sip?  Yup you got it - another decision you've made about food.  All of these decisions within probably your first half hour upon waking.  See where I'm going?  It is quite possible that we do make over 250 decisions a day about food.

I pulled this little fact from an article I read in this month's Weight Watcher magazine and at first was astounded at that number.  I seriously thought it had to be a typo.  Seriously - 250 decisions every day regarding food?   Do I eat breakfast or not today?  Do I pack a lunch or not?  What's for lunch?  Do I bring leftovers from last night or a fresh new lunch?  Do I start something in the crock pot for dinner before leaving for work or not? Once at work, do I want a coffee or not when I get there?  Cream or no?  Do I eat my yogurt plain or toss in some granola?  When do I eat that yogurt?  As soon as I get to work or do I hold off a bit and have it around 9?  Lunch?  When's lunch?  Do I eat before the meeting or after?  Do I stop to actually eat my lunch paying attention to what I'm doing or do I work through lunch and get through some emails?  Snack time - do I eat the fruit I brought with me or a handful of nuts I have stashed in my cube locker?  Do I want an afternoon coffee?  Yes or no?  What flavor?  Cream or not?  The afternoon is dragging and I'm thinking about making sure I have a good dinner.  Do I have stuff at home for dinner or do I need to make a stop at the market on the way home?  What do I buy?  Just stuff for tonight's dinner or do I need anything else for later in the week?  Once I get home - do I start dinner right away or not?  Do I have what I had planned on my menu or do I deviate?  Salad with dinner or not?  After dinner - do I stick with the snack I had planned or do I go for something else?  Do I go to the kitchen for that second "goodie" while watching TV?  Do I really want that second snack?  Do I really need it or am I just bored?  Then if I do give in, I question myself for the rest of the evening.  Why did I give in?  Will I kick myself tomorrow because I didn't follow my plan?  Why do I eat sometimes without thinking?  Why can't I have willpower at night sometimes when I'm watching TV?  Should I not watch Food Network at night?  Does that tempt me?  Time for bed and sometimes all I can think about is if I have everything I need in the kitchen for my breakfast and lunch tomorrow.  Can't go to work without a lunch because, oh ya, then I'd have to make a decision on where to go for lunch!

OMG!  Do you see?  Decisions, decisions, all day regarding food.  No wonder why my head feels like it's going to explode sometimes!   I just hope I'm making the right decisions!

Beating the Demon

I’m sitting here watching a DVR’d repeat Oprah show that was
on earlier this year discussing the book Women, Food and God (by Geneen Roth).  In the segment right before the show
starts Oprah shares little snippets of women discussing their battles with food
and one woman says “It’s a losing battle and I’m never going to win it”.   How that used to ring so true for me and how
I felt about my battle with weight.  I have
ALWAYS, since as long as I can remember, struggled with my weight and have
struggled with feelings of inadequacies because of my weight.   But
recently something clicked for me woke me up and made me realize that
only I could conquer this demon, that I need to put myself first, and so that is the journey I began a couple of
months ago.   Just this morning as I was
ironing clothes for work, a pair of slacks a size smaller than what I had worn
just a few weeks ago, and I digress – but I got them on clearance at Fashion
Bug for only $3.49! - I remember thinking to myself that I “got it” this time;
that I KNOW that I am going to
conquer this demon.  I could see in my
head just what I would feel like and look like a year from now and it felt damn
GOOD!  Visualization works well for me
and I find myself falling back on that more and more as I continue down this
road of being healthier.  I found it so
ironic that the woman’s comment today on the taped Oprah show was exactly how I
used to feel and that just today I had realized that I do not feel that way
anymore.  Isn’t it just crazy how this
universe works?   

It’s not an easy journey and I have had more than my “slip
ups” this past week.  But I just have to
remember that each day is a new day that I can be successful.  I cannot beat myself up about slipping and
maybe eating something I shouldn’t have eaten. 
It’s all about moderation and making lifestyle changes and if
occasionally I slip up – well that’s life – I just have to remember to start
the next day with more determination and remember one of my favorite quotes – “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the
quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.” -
Mary Anne Radmacher

Now I need to get back to the show and watch the rest of
it.  If it’s any good, I may just pop on
over to Amazon and purchase the book.  It
might be good to read it to gain some additional motivation.   Chow for now – I need to go get my
motivation to carry me through the rest of the week.

On my way back.

What a couple of weeks it has been!  A trip to the ER, stitches, a sling, multiple trips to urgent care (one of which was not for the finger), prescriptions - LOVE the vicodin, bandages, 4 days of missed work and no more sick time for this year left, etc.  Just a crazy couple of weeks.  The finger is well on the mend and I can't wait to get back to scrapbooking, photography, and blogging.  Been a little hard to type with only 4 fingers on the right hand.  But the stitches came out tonight and although it still is very tender and sensitive to use it to type, I'm trying.  Look for a weekend post sometime tomorrow or Sunday.  For now - a few photos from my hard drive.  Can't show you a new photo of my on-the-mend finger because now my camera is broken and I haven't felt like figuring out what the heck is wrong with it.   But don't ever use one of these things without a guard....NOT a good idea or you could end up...............

 

like this:

 

and this below.  One has got to take care of their fingers.....they come in handy sometimes!

 

Off to start my weekend!  Hope everyone has a great weekend!