Distractions

I have never understood the fascination with video games. They just haven't really interested me.... until now. My daughter got a nintendo DS this week with her Christmas money and now, we are fighting over time on HER DS. It is simply embarrassing that I am so hooked on this.

On of my intentions this year is to re-learn my Chinese characters. When we went back to China last summer my oral language came right back just about 100%, but not my reading of Chinese characters. It was frustrating not to be able to read street signs in characters or Billboard. Menus I was still fine at reading, but I had forgotten so many of the characters I had learned.

Knowing the Allison was going to get a DS most likely. Just before Christmas, I found a game called "Your Chinese Coach" for about $15 at Target on clearance. I thought this might be good and I had just purchased some character work books that I have been using to brush up on my Chinese. Well the game that I play is all character recognition and I am up to lesson 53 in 3 days- I tested into lesson 11. My word recognition is now over 500 and it is fun and great review for me. There are 1000 lessons in all for over about 10,000 words.

I wanted to re-learn the top 1000 this year for recognition of the top 91% of characters found in common use and work up to 3000 by 2013 to get me to 98-99%. With this program, at the rate I am going it could happen in 6-12 months assuming Allison shares her toy. I have been distracted by the game and not very focused on a few other things the past couple of days, but I feel that it is OK because it is educational and I am working on my language skill. The lesson for me is to enjoy the distraction but keep aware of what my priorities are and not to lose focus. Good thing for all of us that we limit screen time to 2 hours per day.

The Butterfly Effect

What we do effects every body,even galaxies light years away. That is the butterfly effect. The good and the bad we do has ripple effects. I forget this. We are powerful beyond our wildest dreams and we should not forget it.

I get anesthetized to the world, my place in it and my impact on it. I am trying to be better. And I will start with my family and know that my mood and how I show up directly impacts them. I have been on this weight loss and spiritual journey the past year and now I can stop navel gazing and help them get healthy too. It is very exciting.

Think about all the people you touch, how you can show up better and if we all do this, the world and universe will be a better place.

Let it Be

I tell my daughter when they were giving out patience I was too impatient to wait and went to a different line. I find myself at this late-ish date praying for patience and humility. Two large short comings in my virtues. It must go along with not wanting to give up control of my life and to surrender. I can now say "let go and let God," and mean it, and believe it a little. This is a huge step for me in the past year. I never used the the G word before our new minister came.

The first step to making anything better is to want it to be better. I think that I would have more peace in my life if I had more patience and humility. It is related to why I have, in the past, over-eaten to stuff down the feelings of frustration or not being valued fully. What does humility feel like? I do not need to make myself be too important because I am at peace with myself and my place in the world? See vanity discussion from yesterday below- but humility is the lack of self pride. If I am more connected to God do I really need self pride? I don't think so.

Where as patience is about surrender to others, to god and to my short comings. I try to believe it will all be as it will. What will be will be. It just hit me "Let it be" is about surrender and patience. My very favorite Beatles song, after my dad signing "I Wanna Hold Your hand" is "Let it Be" and I just now got the lesson.

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.
And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

And when the broken hearted people living in the world agree,
there will be an answer, let it be.
For though they may be parted there is still a chance that they will see,
there will be an answer. let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be.
I wake up to the sound of music, mother Mary comes to me,
speaking words of wisdom, let it be.

Let it be, let it be, .....

Vanity

A big motivator for me is vanity. I want to be a size 10 by my 25th that is and has been the weight loss big, long term goal. The secret is that people who are vain are actually insecure, and covering up for it by being vain. Trying to prove to themselves and the world that they are attractive.

We are all just doing our best going on day to day on this planet. Every one has insecurities and vanities to cover them up. Vanity is like the make up I use to cover my dark circles under my eyes. It doesn't take away the circles but I don't have to look at them, and I don't want to show them to the world. Same with our insecurities. So I think about my reunion and I am trying to cover up my insecurities by losing 65 pounds. That is a lot of cover up, but it doesn't take away the insecurities. I wonder what takes them away. An intention for me was to get rid of my fat self image and it is proving hard to shake.

I saw Oprah makes overs yesterday- look good at any age. Where they took women from frumpy to glam in a few moments. The women didn't recognize themselves. Can we all go glam in a few moments with shorter skirts and tighter tops, eye liner and lip gloss? Maybe. Perhaps the better answer is to accept ourselves where we are on this path, actually love ourselves inside and out, warts and all. Make peace with our tummys and bottoms, arms and legs, chins and cheeks. Then we won't have to be vain we can just be confident.

Cabin Fever

I am still not quite 100%. Lucky for me I work form home and have only had client scheduled phone calls, not face to face meetings this week so far. I have been very busy but not very effective due to being a bit sick.

I have only left the house this week to get my daughter to and from the bus. I am over 15,000 steps on the pedometer so far today mainly from walking laps in my house while on the phone with a dear friend.

I am going stir crazy being locked up and not out in the world. Back in Minnesota in the dead of winter when it is too cold to do anything we called it cabin fever. I am coming down with it here in North Carolina for the first time in a decade.

Tomorrow I will walk OUTSIDE at the Poet's Walk and can't wait. I am going to the brand new Hillsborough library and to get some organic meat at Weaver St Coop. My throat is still sore and I haven't gotten my appetite back but tomorrow I go back into the world.

Weather and Under the Weather

The weather is too cold and I am sick with a really bad sore throat. I would love to just complain and tell you about how I can't swallow and that is has been bitter cold. It was so cold that walking outside last week I got sick. I walked Terry Road and came down with a wicked sore throat the next day. Before I got sick I walked laps around my down stairs. So I won't just complain, I will share a few lessons with you.

My lessons this weeks:

If I am going to exercise indoors- which I hate- I will do it here, not at the Sportsplex. I get on the phone and walk laps through the living room, study, bathroom to the entry way back to the living room.

If I am sick, lie on the couch and let my body heal. Don't push it and don't eat over it. I haven't been very hungry while sick and I have been unable to swallow. The result is that the holiday weight is coming off, to the tune of 2.5 pounds in 3 days.

Seafood Watch

Last night we had wild caught Alaskan salmon (from frozen fish section at Super Target, half salmon fillet serves 6 for 6.99) We had gotten away from eating fish, but is now our intention to eat fish once per week. There are a lot of concerns about fish-among them mercury levels and environmental impact. I found Seafood Watch recommendations and that is where we will start.

Seafood choices, that we like, from Seafood Watch (Monterey Bay Aquarium) recommendations: US/ Canadian shrimp, Bay or wild sea scallops, farm raised catfish, wild caught Alaskan salmon, US snapper, Pacific halibut, Pacific wild flounder/ sole, whiting and Pacific Cod.

Our food supply is so much more complicated than it was generations ago. It is important to make good choices and to be well informed about what we are eating and feeding our families. Your health depends on it.

Sabbath

A sabbath is a break or a day of rest. The term "Sabbath" derives from the Hebrew shabbat (שבת), "to cease". As a family we have a ritual or tradition that has fallen by the wayside and that we are picking up again. Observing the Sabbath as UUs not Jews and taking a break from the busy world and focusing on our family. For us that means having our Friday meal together, lighting a candle(chalice)and sharing our joys and concerns from the week. I got this from a good friend, who is Jewish. They share 3 good things and one bad from the week. I have adapted this to joys and concerns similar to what we share at our church.

Our rule (from my friend) is you must share 3 joys at a minimum and only 1 concern. This allows all of us to stay focused on the positive. Last night we shared our joys and concerns, mainly joys about the holidays and seeing friends and family over break; concerns about flu, speeding ticket and how a friend is being teased.

This has become a spiritual practice for us as a family. I was writing the joys and concerns down for a while. I think I will start that up again. I just love the beginning of a new year when we can start fresh on all fronts. Focus on the positive and acknowledge the joys in your life.

Another new practice for the new year, to keep me on track to being a size 10 by my 25th reunion in June, will be to post my weight loss results weekly. Week 45-189- loss of 40 pounds since program started 3/3/09 (or total weght loss since 9/1/08 of 45) versus goal of 60 (65) pounds by week 67. I am up 5 pounds since my lowest point before the holidays. ;( Perhap reporting my results will keep me on track. :)

Get Healthy: The Family Plan

I have made some healthy changes in the past year. My family, however, has not made any changes. An intention for 2010 is make family changes in diet and exercise for the following reasons: 1) to get them more healthy and 2) to support my changes and 3) to further improve my diet.

So what should we do? We had a family meeting last night to discuss.
Exercise: We each need to exercise more. We will have a family walk in the woods on the weekends, or a family bike ride in conjunction with a trip to the farmers market- Saturday one hour and Sunday one hour. As a family we will build a path together in our woods and walk that path. Allison and I can walk in the field for half an hour after school when I get her from the bus. This can be her walking the dog time which she needs to do for her allowance. Art will start biking 3 days a week in April and add going to the Sportsplex in June. We will look into a vacation at the Virginia Creeper trail with camping, much different from the time share resorts we frequent, where we watch a lot of TV.

Diet: Improve the quality food and no manger's specials. Make homemade bread and quick bread and cookies for desserts. We will have a small garden this year to grow our own healthy food. Shop more at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Weaver Street. Saturdays make a stop at the Farmers Market, either Hillsborough, Durham or Carborro/Chapel Hill if we are at church for choir practice. We will get a portion CSA from Brinkley farms this summer.

Breakfast- Options for Allison- Hot cereal, toast, eggs, yogurt, fruit
Lunch- Allison- hot leftovers, peanut butter, cheese, hot soup each one day plus veg, fruit, starch and dessert. School lunch one day per week.
Dinner- Daily salad for everyone in a bowl with out dressing plus Main course, veg and starch. I will make more interesting salads with more variety: lettuce, cuke, carrot, celery, green pepper, onion, croutons, pomegranate, citrus, nuts, eggs, beets, olives, cheese.

Meal rotations: Seafood, pork/eggs, pasta/ Italian, Chinese, Mexican, bean soup and Chicken. No more rotisserie chicken very very limited beef in the house.

Natural meat and dairy- no hormones or antibiotics

Lifestyle: Limit screen time (computer and TV not including news or music) to 2 hours per day for each of us plus 2 movies a week preferably family movie time. We are already very green but I will stop buying new clothes, we will turn off lights when not in the room and turn off the computer at night. No more plastic grocery bags.

Calorie Math

Weight loss is simple math. Calories in and calories out. From the Step Up program I have more information than most on the number of calories I burn per day. For the every 6 month assessments, they have me wear an arm band that measures my metabolic rate.

My initial rate was about 2500 calories per day with 8,243 steps per day general lifestyle with little exercise, six months later it was about 2600 after losing 35 pounds with walking over 14,700 steps per day on average including about 3.5 miles per day for exercise.

If I get in my exercise of 3500 calories per week and eat 1500 calories per day here's what happens:
Let's assume my basic metabolic burn rate is -2000* + eat 1500- exercise 500 equals a daily deficit of -1000 equals a loss of 2 pounds per week.
(* It may be more but according to the tables,at my age, height and weight it should be a lot less- 1600. 2000 is an educated conservative guess given the arm band info. As an aside, I think this is the reason that women have such a hard time losing weight in menopause-the metabolic rate must just plummet.)

If I eat 2000 calories per day then the deficit is 500 calories per day and that is 1 pound per week.

If I only burn half of goal or 250 calories and eat 1500 calories, the daily deficit is -750 or 1.5 pounds per week.

The biggest influence on how much I lose is how much I put in my mouth. The calorie math is just that simple. This is why counting and being aware of every calorie is critical to my success.

Exercise and Weight Loss

My experience is that I can't lose weight without exercise. The research shows that you can but it is harder; you can't lose weight with exercise alone and people that exercise are more sucessful at keeping the weight off.

I have made some progress in my exercise in the past 6 months. I have gone from dreading the exercise, to looking forward to my daily walks in nature, yoga and even spin classes. I am not at the point where I get a rush from exercise, but I do enjoy it now. I am not just doing it because I know I have to for my body. I would rather go for a walk than lie on the coach.

From my December Step Up meeting I learned this is a natural process. We move from Beginner- doing it because we have to, to get the benefits, to the Maintainer where we enjoy it. I do feel that it is spiritual now for me, and it feeds my soul. My new mantra, I came up with, is: My body is the temple where my soul lives; the food I eat and the exercise, the offerings. I believe at my core that the exercise honors my soul.

Since this is the snickers diet I will equate my exercise with snickers. I need to walk 52-59 minutes, (depending on my weight 200 and 175) to burn a snickers (280 calories)at a 20 minute mile or moderate pace. In my 45 minute spin class I burn about 2 snickers- 611 calories and yoga/pilates is about 340 calories for 45 minutes at my weight and age.

My plan is to burn .5 to 1 pound of weight per week. Goal burn of 3500 calories with a minimum of 1750 per week. Here's how that works for my goal of 3500:
2 yoga/ pilates classes- 340 calories
2 spin classes- 1222 calories
Swimming once per week 30 minutes- 317 calories
balance 1621 calories- walking 324 minutes per week- that is, on average 46 minutes per day every day or 65 minutes, 5 days a week. When I am focused and motivated I can do that.

I have been getting my walks in this week, but have missed spin and yoga as my daughter has the flu and I can't get to the sportsplex. I will meet my minimum with just walking. This is my busy time of the year with my practice because my clients all need year end review meetings and new clients are motivated to get a financial plan. But I can do it all, and do it well if I stay focused and MOTIVATED. I hope this blog motivates you and that you learn something. It really helps to keep me focused, accountable and motivated. Thank you for reading this.

Change That Lasts

Our brains are set up for us not to want to change. That is why we break our resolutions every year. Parade had a good article this past Sunday. (See: Make Changes That Last, by Dan and Chip Heath, page 6) I learned that the emotional side they call the elephant is fighting with the rational side they call the rider. Guess who wins?? That is why we don't change. The only hope for lasting change is to get the elephant to want to do what the rider wants. But how??

Here are tips to make lasting change. Keep it small and simple.

*Cleaning a problem? Set a timer and clean like crazy for 5 minutes. Then stop. Commit to only doing five minutes.
*Procrastination your issue? Commit to getting only 80% done. then go back to it later to get 80% of what needs to get done. By the 3rd time it should be close enough to done for most things or it easy to finish off.
*Cant exercise regularly? just try 10 minutes a day. Park farther. Go to the mall and walk end to end. When at the airport walk up and down the concourse. Waiting for someone? pace the halls or the parking lot.
*Also for exercise: Get a pedometer (they have them at the dollar store) and just start keeping track of steps and you will walk more, then email and compete with a buddy. What is measured improves, or more precisely: "That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially." Pearson's Law.
*Be specific and SMART about your goal: I have my goal size 10 jeans hanging on my closet door that I want to wear in June. I see them every day. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time bound =SMART goals.
*Celebrate little victories. Reward yourself.
*Make your environment support your goals. Get rid of food that isn't a part of your plan or move the TV if is stopping you from your exercise. Our only TV is in kitchen, where I have to stand and can either cook or clean. No place to sit and veg out.

"Change isnt an event; it is a process" (Chip and Dan Heath)

Intenions for 2010 and Beyond

My intentions for 2010
Explore and define my faith, live in the Now
Be patient with myself and family
Size 10 by 25th reunion
Healthy food and exercise for the family
No yelling or swearing
Have more parties
Add 10 new great clients
Drink more tea and water, drink less coffee and pop
No more plastic grocery bags
Stop buying products with transfat, saturated fat, white sugar, white flour or HFCS

In 2013 I will...
Be size 10 (still)
Have the house done the way we want it
(new beds, lamps, compressor, flat screen tv with lap top hook up, house painted outside,shelves in the down bathroom)
Have 50 clients (10m 100k)
No caffine, diet pop or artifical sweetener
No transfat, saturated fat, white sugar, white flour or HFCS in the house.

New Years Reflection Sermon

Morning Has Broken, together we just sang about the dawning of a new day. Today is a new day, in a new year. I feel really good about the last one, over all, and have the thrill of anticipation for the new one beginning. It was 10 years ago that we passed into the new millennium. Let us now shift from the past and consider the year future, the new year 2010.

Talking about the future is easy for me, I am not, however, very good at living in the present. I am getting better with help from my family, and from reading Eckhart Tolle’s books like, The Power of Now and A New Earth, but I am not quite there yet. At my core I am a planner; I love to make lists and set goals. Even as a child I lived in the future, planning my way out of a world that was unpredictable. I don’t remember this, but I am told by my step-mother, Marly, that as a six year old, I couldn’t sleep one night because I was worried that by the time I got to grad school, all the good dissertation topics would be taken. I never actually went to grad school to get a doctorate, instead, I went to business school, much to the disappointment of my Maoist father.

When it comes to planning, we are not all alike. Not everyone loves to live in the future and make lists like I do. My husband, for instance, says “ you plan a picnic, … not a life.” When we got married, I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to map out our future together. I think that it was just after the honeymoon, I said, “ lets sit down and do our five year plan”. I had books, forms and templates, everything we needed to fill in. Art’s response, “Ask me in five years, and I’ll tell you what I did.” Opposites must attract because we should have just about completed 3- five-year plans by now. And no, we have never done one together. That doesn’t mean we don’t have one, I just do them. He does provide input, vetos some of my ideas and always has the right to approve or modify the plans. This must work for us as our 15th anniversary will be this July.

Art does have a point. There are things in life that we can’t plan, among them, when we will fall in love, when we will have children and who our children will be. I believe that our partners, children and others are sent to us to teach us the lessons we need in this life. I had planned to marry and have 2 children on a certain time line, and assumed the children would be just like me. It took me a long time to get pregnant with medication and Allison was born 2 months early with complications and challenges I never anticipated. All was not according to my specific plan, but ALL was, and IS perfect. The lesson is: the Divine may have a plan for us that is far greater than anything we, collectively or individually, can ever imagine.

As someone who likes to think she is in control, planning works for me, so well that it is my job description- I am a Financial Planner. The most rewarding part of my job is helping people define their dreams and goals, get them on the right path, and then act as a coach.

A written blueprint helps keep us on track, accountable and focused. Daily choices become easier. Writing things down makes me feel better about managing day-to-day life and long-term goals. It took me most of my life, so far, to figure out that this works with weight management too, and in the past year I have lost over 40 pounds. I did it by setting a goal, figuring out how to get there and usually making good choices. When I stay on my program, I weigh daily, plan my food, schedule my exercise and write down everything I eat. I count every calorie, - yes I mean everything, even the free samples at the grocery store and the cookie and coffee after the service. I have monthly meetings, a blog, and friends as support. I don’t eat unconsciously anymore. Weight loss has been a spiritual journey for me, the exercise and things I need to do, I now see as spiritual practices.

Last year, I gave up resolutions and went to intentions instead. There is a subtle but powerful difference between the two. In the past I made resolutions, broke them after short period of time, then I gave up. Each time a resolution was broken, I’d figure, why bother anymore? An intention is more flexible. It allows for: the fallibility of humans, things beyond our control and divine intervention. One of my intentions last year was to loose weight. I wasn’t perfect, there were ups and downs, but overall I got results. Life and intentions are not about a straight line to get to a destination. They are about knowing where you are going – the general direction- and being really clear about the choices you make but not beating yourself up when you slip.

I invite you now to think about what you want in your future. Close your eyes and imagine that we are 3 years from now, in the year 2013, and you are completely satisfied with your life. Look back over the last three years. What exactly happened during those three years to get you to this point?

Erich will play for a few minutes, take this time reflect on how you want to live in the coming year and beyond. Think about those things you hope to deepen, or open up to in the future. In your Order of Service is a folded piece of paper—green, the color of growth. It is titled “A Note to Myself.” Open it and there is space for you write down your intentions for 2010 on one side, and on the other side what you want to have in your life in 2013.

This little green note is yours to keep, to place in your purse or pocket, and when you arrive home, perhaps to put someplace where you will come across it from time to time. I will ring the chime as a one-minute warning. [5 minutes of MUSIC, with sounding of the chime after 4 minutes]

This part of the service is the easiest for me. I love to plan and live in the future. Now after some lessons from the Universe, my lifelong belief in the power of goal setting and envisioning is tempered a bit by the acute awareness that we don’t get to live in the future. We can set goals and plan for the future, but we only get to live in the present. My prayer for each of us is that we live in the present moment mindfully, that we listen to each other deeply, and that we hold each other in compassion and in love.

Now, Bob will light a candle for all of us, to symbolize the intentions we have written down for the future. As we watch it’s flickering light during the remainder of this service, may it also serve as a reminder to all of us that if we want to live in a certain way—with more compassion, for example—that it is best to do so today. For in the present is our only life. Happy New Year!

“The Paradox of Time,” is from Eckhardt Tolle’s The New Earth. Time is seen as the endless succession of moments, some “good,” some “bad.” Yet, if you look more closely, that is to say, through your own immediate experience, you find that there are not many moments at all. You discover that there is only ever this moment. Life is always now. Your entire life unfolds in this constant Now. Even past or future moments only exist when you remember or anticipate them, and you do so by thinking about them in the only moment there is: this one. Everything seems to be subject to time, yet it all happens Now. That is the paradox. There is no time, Now is all there ever is.

Year in Review 2009

I used to write an annual Christmas letter, then I had a miscarriage the week of Sept 11, 2001, then one year Art got cancer and then another cancer a few years later. It just didn't seem fitting to write a Christmas letter wishing everyone a great holiday and sharing our personal tragedies. So I stopped. This is the first year I actually thought I would write one again, when it seems again that each year keeps getting better than the last. I didn't get it written and emailed out to all my friends and family- so I though I would write it here.

So here's the update: '09 began with continuing to adjust to a new elementary school for Allison and a new minister for our church big changes from Fall of '08 that have been great. My business is Andrade Wealth Management, working from home, a change that took place in May of '08. I have the the greatest boss and a wonderful work environment especially since we put in a small pond for a great view. Queenie, our pit bull boxer is my assistant. She adopted us a few years ago, showed up in the driveway and decided to stay.

I joined a weight loss study in January. The same day I signed up early January of 09, Art signed us up for the sportsplex to start working out. I have been a regular at yoga, pilates and spin classes, he hasn't grace the door since signing us up.

I cried tears of joy at inauguration driving back from a long weekend in Myrtle Beach with Allison through a snow storm, making it just in time to see President Obama take the oath. Allison and I went on ski vacation in Feb to Sapphire, NC and I realized that I can ski OK, but don't need the thrill any more. Allison wasn't as excited about it as she was the previous year in Colorado at Wolf Creek. Skiing is no longer in the vacation plans for us. For Spring break Allison and I went to visit Shirley and Terry in Rancho Mirage, CA. We had a wonderful time and for the first time in my life I lost weight on vacation! They were great about helping me keep on my plan. We went to Las Vegas- my first time. It is really something. Everything is over done and over the top. (Odd that Allison and I go on with out Art, but he doesn't like to travel as much as I do and has less vacation time and flexibility.)

We have a new grandbaby Lucia Anna Andrade was born in June and we were there for 3 weeks to help before, during and after and I was able take the twins and Allison to Pagosa Springs to let Matt and Brooke have alone time with Luci. Art was there for the middle week.

In July Dad came out for my Birthday, we ate, walked, golfed and Dad taught Art and Allison to play guitar. They had quite the band for the week. Dad was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and lost 5 pounds while here. We ate well but were very healthy about it. He has since lost about 50 pounds and has reversed his diabetes.

After Dad left we went to China for two and a half weeks, a week each in Shanghai and Beijing plus a couple of days in Beidaihe, where the Great Wall meets the ocean. It was wonderful to be back in China and to see old friends and the plant that I had proposed was built and operational in Tianjin. Shanghai was unbearably hot and the most modern city I have ever been to. I fell in love all over again with Beijing and left ready to move back. A month or so later when the spell wore off I came to senses. My diet was quite successful until Beijing. We ate such wonderful food that I couldn't resist.

Art started the school year teaching 2nd grade for the first time, after teaching 4th for 7 years. It has been no fun for him this year and he may transition to an assistant or sub next school year.

Once Art and Allison were back in school and the vacations were over, I got right back on my program and ended up at my lowest point losing over 50 pounds since Sept 1 '08. I am not at that point right now, but am back on track. I got rid of 5 large garbage bags of clothes in size 20-22 and have replaced my whole wardrobe in size 10-12. I need to keep the weight off or I will have no clothes to wear.

We went to Ohio for Thanksgiving- meeting Matt and family at Art's first wife's family (Matt's aunts etc). I was able to get to Columbus to see Chris and Joe and had a great day with them. The weight loss has been a big challenge since coming back. Marly and Mihai came down for Christmas and we had a wonderful time- again eating too much. Mihai is the best cook we know. The day they left we went to Williamsburg for 3 days including a day trip to DC. Getting back with a few days to prepare for a new years' open house. The fridge is full of lucky leftover and I am back on my plan ready for a great 2010 and planning to be a size 10 for my 25th Carleton reunion.

Happy New Year

A new year is here and I feel really good about how the last one went over all and have the thrill of anticipation for the new one beginning. I have been off my program including not blogging. (A sure sign that my weight is not going down) So I sit here full from the wonderful food from New Year's - all the lucky food and my plan is to start with an extra long walk tomorrow. Get back up on that horse even after it threw you to the ground. Well that's the way I feel- like I threw myself on the ground, to the wolves, under the train- what ever--it was self sabotage over the holidays.

No beating myself up for slips- a new intention. My other intentions for the new year are to define my faith and to be more patient with my self and others, especially my family.

Patience means being mindful, slowing down and giving others the benefit of the doubt. The result I am looking for is more calm, peace and love, no losing my temper and no swearing out of frustration.

As for the faith. I believe we have lessons to learn and I believe that the divine is in all. This is where my faith journey begins. 2010 looks to be a great year hopefully one of (spiritual) growth and (weight) loss.