Putting It Out There….The purpose of this blog since the very inception in December 2008 has been to help all of us (myself included) to step back and gain a little perspective on life, raise our spirits, share ideas and thoughts with a few laughs and sometimes a few tears. It’s amazing to me that I’ve been writing this for 15 months and it’s also very eye opening because I can follow how I have changed and how my own journey continues to unfold in surprising ways. I feel like for the most part this blog does serve the purpose for which I created it. I write from my heart with honesty. Ask my close friends and family and they will certainly confirm that! More times than I care to mention their conversations with me have started with “Now this isn’t going to end up on your blog is it???”. Hey, I appreciate the trials and success of real life so much that I like to share them…SORRY…but I try to recognize the “line” and not cross too often! Referring to my 13 year old son Cole as “Coley”, (as I always have) in a blog that gets over 4,000 hits a month was probably not the best call on my part! Especially in the modern day era of Facebook! Sorry, COLE, it was an honest mistake made in the heat of banging out a story with my thumbs on my Blackberry! If they are your real friends they make fun of what your Mom calls you anyway. (Yeah, right!).—Anyway, all that being said, today’s blog is about my more private side. It’s only fair to fess up that I have found this winter to be the most challenging thus far on weight maintenance. I’d love to blame it on the economy, but my home sales are going well and I’m BLESSED with great clients with which to work. My husband would be my next target for blame, but I kid you not when I write that I have officially found the most patient, loving man in the world. No matter how wacky, moody, obsessive, compulsive, bossy, or down right bitchy I behave, he won’t budge and fight with me! Are you kidding me? I can’t imagine myself ever having that much control! So he is off the hook as my culprit.——Then finally there are those boys. The ones who drink all the milk and put the empty container back in the fridge for good ‘ole Mom to throw away. The ones who get mad at ME when I have to go to work and am not available to wait on them hand and foot! Sometimes I actually make them switch their own laundry from the washer to the dryer ALL BY THEMSELVES. Yes, Cole and Chase do their fair share of driving me up a wall, but what can I say? It’s their job as children to give a little grief as they grow up. The key word is little. Overall and when it comes to the important things in life, I couldn’t ask for better boys. They are the first thing I thank God for every night before I fall asleep.—-So geez-“Life is Good” (as the t-shirts say) what can I blame my weight struggles on? It’s even worse to be struggling with your weight when you have no one or nothing to blame it on!!!!! Ahhhhh. If you are reading through all this wondering when I’m going to unveil the magical answer I’ve found, I apologize because I have mislead you!! I have no idea why at times it’s harder for us to stay on track than others!!! No idea! I just know that since Christmas I have felt less like exercising and more like eating than I have in years. A lethal combo when you work for a company who requires monthly weigh-ins as part of your employment agreement!! Again, being honest, thank goodness I have had to get on that scale in front of my co-workers once a month and submit it to my manager because if that had not been the case, I could easily have gotten really off track!So where to go from here? Well, just like we talk about every week at our meetings, I’ve gotten out my calendar and set a short term goal within a reasonable and measurable time frame. That small step alone makes me feel better. I love a plan! So after the “what” comes the how. Step by little, baby step I’ve outlined what behaviors have to be re-introduced and what behaviors must stop. Of course I’ve done it all in brightly colored sharpie markers with lots of little swirls and dots because that is how I respond best! If I had Strawberry Shortcake stationary (the doll, not the dessert!) I would probably be even more successful! Whatever works!The second thing I’ve done is reconnected with a dear friend who shares common weight control goals. She, too, has lost a significant amount of weight several years ago and we just connect well. We have committed to helping each other stay on track via email. We would love to meet for Starbucks or lunch or talk on the phone but it isn’t realistic for either of us because our lives are busy. Nevertheless, we both agreed we could most definitely make time for a quick email to check in on each other’s progress daily. This step is key for me because from connecting with others, I gain the energy and strength that sometimes I feel I lack.——–My third and final step was to determine a reward. I connected my reward to my short term goal. Darin and I have planned a trip with friends to Nashville, Tennessee to run the Rock and Roll Country Music Half Marathon at the end of April. We are not big country music fans but we have run this race before and it’s a blast! There is live music every mile and by the end of April the weather down there is usually pretty nice. A grown-up weekend away with good friends, and warm weather (warmER, at least) that revolves around a healthy activity is a great reward and motivator for me to look forward to. And really, who’s kidding who………one of the biggest motivators for me is shopping for clothes and this trip gives me an good excuse to do so!!——-So there it is……..I’ve put it out there and I am on my way into yet another chapter on my journey. Often times people who rejoin WWs describe the feeling as “relief” to be back and I have to agree. No one can be 100 percent, 24/7 and sometimes it’s the little detours that allow us to come back stronger and wiser than ever before. The quote I’m using for the meetings this week is “To fly you must have resistance.” and I think that applies to lots of areas of life and it isn’t a bad thing.——- I’ve planned my work and I’m committed to working my plan. Hope you will join me on your journey as well!