AUTUMN

Ah, Autumn…or Fall….whatever you want to call this beautiful season… I just LOVE it! It is most definitely my favorite season. There are so many reasons why I LOVE Autumn.

Spring comes in at a close 2nd but falls short because thats when the bees start to come out… Autumn is when the bees start to go away so this season wins!

Autumn is kind of a bittersweet season for me. Its the only season that makes me feel this way. Its SWEET because of all the wonderful things that happen during its run and it’s BITTER because of all the wonderful and warm things we’re loosing from the Summer not to mention the impending snow and ice season of Winter… my least favorite season. I try very hard not to think too much of Winter as Autumn approaches so it doesn’t hamper the sweet mood of Fall. 

The first thing I notice when Autumn approaches is the sweet relief from the hazy, hot and humid days of Summer. The air suddenly changes. It starts to become cooler and crisp and we get to bring our hoodies and sweaters out of hiding. We start to venture out more to enjoy the cooler breeze. The house is allowed once more to be aired out, replacing all the stale air conditioning air of Summer with the cool crispness of Fall’s sweet scent.

The pumpkins seem to appear almost out of thin air. They’re suddenly found hanging on our doors and walls. They’re gathered on our hearths, our porches and our steps. And then the flavor and scent of pumpkin spice seems to invade our coffee, cakes and pies. Breads, donuts, cookies and candles! It’s everywhere! Autumn is one tasty tasty season! Whats not to love?

And can we talk about the color for a moment? What was God thinking? He takes all my favorite colors and sprinkles them all over the trees and the ground! What amazing eye candy Autumn is! I love driving around looking for the perfect views to take pictures. The mountainsides display their Autumn colored rainbow across their ranges and all for our pleasure! God sure does love us!

October is my favorite month of the year for 3 reasons. First, its right smack dab in the middle of Autumn and before it gets too chilly out. Then, its my birthday month so whats not to love about that? And finally, the hight of the awesome and wondrous color of Fall happens mid October when my birthday hits so it’s like a personal present to me from God. Yep, October can never get here quick enough for me!

In my heart, the Autumn months go from September 1st through November with Winter starting December 1st. Remember, this is in my own little head. Each season has 3 solid months to shine. Why start a new season in the 3rd week of a month when the 1st will do? I know, I’m weird.

I enjoy decorating for Autumn. I keep all the decorations in a large orange tote that stays neatly tucked away the rest of the year. If I start early enough I can keep everything up the whole 3 months. Come November I’ll add a few turkeys and cornucopia to the mix to help represent Thanksgiving.

But I’m late with my Autumn decorations this year. This first half of September has been unusually warm and everything outside is still so green. Mind you, Im not complaining. I never want to rush Winter but I haven’t felt any Autumn VIBES yet so I’ve held off decorating for now. Come October it will look like an Autumn festival in here once more.

One special bonus that comes from these decorations is that I don’t really have to decorate for my birthday. I adore the colors of Fall and often use those colors in my birthday party plans.

Birthday party plans you say? Why yes! I love to celebrate birthdays because I think they’re very important. I’ve always felt very strongly about celebrating my birthday. Its MY day! All about Me! My DAY during my favorite MONTH that happens to be right in the middle of my favorite SEASON.. all for ME! Gee, I’m gettin excited!

I already have my birthday meal and cake all planned out. Everything will be home made by me and I can hardly wait to get started makin and bakin! There will be no counting Weight Watchers points on this day because I cant count that high!  LOL…

So, now you know. Now you know how I feel about Autumn and all the wonderful things She brings. I love sharing my thoughts on Autumn and I hope you enjoy reading about them. Most importantly, I hope you have yourself a very fun and special memory filled season!

Be Blessed,

Cheryl

**What are your thoughts on Autumn? How do you decorate for the season? Whats your favorite season and why? I’d love to know! 

School Daze

Its inevitable. We all have to go. We all have to endure (or enjoy if your weird like that) a good 13 years of schooling…including Kindergarten. School was so different when I attended back in the 60’s and 70’s compared to these days. First of all, the school year never began before Labor Day. Kindergarten was always half a day. Elementary school went through sixth grade, middle school was seventh and eighth grade. High school was split into two categories. Junior High included ninth (Freshmen) and tenth grades (Sophmore). Senior High included eleventh (Junior) and twelfth grades (Senior). 

These days, kids go to kindergarten all day long and are expected to learn to read and write. Some schools require children to already know how to write their names and the alphabet before entering Kindergarten. When I went, it was half day and we learned how to share toys and tie our shoes and how to say please and thank you. We learned manners and how to play games nicely with each other. What a big difference!

We moved around a lot when I was growing up. I can remember attending nine different schools and I never did graduate. I got my GED when my children were very young. We never lived in any one place more than two years. My record now that I’m in my 50’s is around 10 years in the same house. I’ve moved twice since then though and I’m not settled yet. There are at least one to two more moves in my near future before I will feel good and settled. Sad but true. Circumstances… life…separation…more life… you know what I mean?

So back to Kindergarden. My Mom made me go. She says I gave her a hard time about leaving me on the first day of Kindergarten. My baby brother had to come with us. Eventually she said she told me she had to take my brother home for his nap and convinced me that she’d be right back to get me. I said ok. Here is a Kindergarten picture.

I remember a few things about my kindergarten room. It had black and white square tile floors. Each week we could purchase either white milk, chocolate milk or orange drink to have for our snack time. I usually had chocolate milk. Both my brothers and I grew up to be chocolate milk junkies. Mmmmm. The third thing I remember is the large play house in the back of the room. We could crawl inside and play around in the kitchen. I remember pretending to wash dishes in the little sink. 

Below is a second grade picture. My Mother made the red, white and blue outfit for me. 

In third grade I was in Mrs. Millers class. She was my favorite teacher. I also took modeling lessons and did a few shows. I can still remember how to walk down the runway and turn around graciously. Todays models aren’t doin it right! They do this weird marching step that’s so not feminine. 

By fifth grade we moved to Philadelphia and I had Mrs Lyons. I did not like her. She yelled at me in front of the whole class and I remember the embarrassment I felt. I also have this weird memory of having a coughing attack in that class during a movie we were watching with the lights out. I kept trying to stifle it but it just wasn’t working. At least Mrs. Lyons didn’t yell at me for it! So weird the things we remember.

Sixth grade was extra weird because my brother and I went to a Catholic school. I think it was called Saint Martin of Tours. My uniform was gray and maroon and classes were taught by nuns. We were not Catholic so when it came time for Wednesday chapel, I was excused from confession and taking communion. I just sat in the pew and waited for the rest of the students to return to their seats.

I very clearly remember my Religion book. I thought it was weird to have a class called Religion. I remember the concrete school yard we played in and the Chinese jump rope we played every chance we had. I loved that game! Any of you remember playing it? I remember..in, out, side by side, on, in out and repeat. There was also a lot of double dutch jump rope that year. I was a champ at that!

My brother Todd used to get in trouble a lot in that school and would get his hands slapped with a ruler from one of the nuns. He was not a trouble making kind of kid. He never got in to trouble before or after that year so I think those people were just a little slap happy. I never got in trouble that year myself…phew! One day on our walk home from school, Todd and I found $30.00 on the sidewalk. A 20 and a 10 dollar bill. I remember giving it to my Mother and how shocked she was. $30.00 was a lot back in 1975. I guess she spent it on bills or groceries. 

Seventh grade found me at a new address and in my first year of middle school. I started middle school the month before my 12 birthday and spent the week before school started with my first period. What a stressful time that was. I remember it well and that it was September first, 1976! School started on the eighth.

When I started ninth grade we were living on the street right next to the High School. There was never any excuse to be late to school that year! Every morning while still in bed I could hear the band practicing in the football field right across the street. Also, right behind us was a bakery. Their scrumptious smells of fresh breads and cinnamon rolls wafted into my bedroom window every single day! Those mornings hold good memories for me. My boyfriend Bob lived next door and his bedroom window was directly across from mine. Sometimes I’d even window to window talk with his Mother! 

A lot of things happened that year or two we lived in that double block. We started going to church and within six months the whole family was saved and our lives would be forever changed and I met the boy who would eventually become my first AND second husband. But thats a story for another blog.

Ninth grade did not end very well. I failed three classes and ended up flunking ninth grade. If I stayed in that school I would have to repeat that grade. Ugh!

So onward to tenth grade! We attended an Assembly of God church that also had a private Christian school . Both my brothers and I attended and my Mother worked there as a monitor. We wore red, white and blue uniforms that we called monkey suits. I thought they were pretty comfortable. Weird looking but comfy.  Here's a picture of me in my monkey suit but I don't recall the year.

Now I forgot to mention a couple things about me and my relationship with school. I hate school. From fifth grade on I could not stand it. I suffered inside daily. Each year only got worse for me. I stopped having good grades and glided by with report cards filled with C’s and D’s. I didn’t care, at least I passed. Until ninth grade of course. 

When I was 17 I had reached a point where I could not bare going another day and I quit because I found out that at 17 I did not need my parents permission to do so. This action caused A LOT of strife in my home and between my Mother and Step Father. They argued over me everyday. I finally gave in and went back to school just to keep the peace in the house. 

Not too long after that I started dating Joey and we became engaged. When we got married I was 18 and had less than a year of school to complete. Joey was in the Marine Corps and we wanted to get on the list for base housing because it was supposed to be a years wait. I moved into my Grandmothers house (paid rent) because she had a spare bedroom and we got along wonderfully.

A week after our wedding Joey headed back to base in NC and I returned to school. Sitting there that first day back was awkward. I was a married woman in a small Christian school and I used this new change in my life as the excuse I needed to quit school.

At the end of the day I walked into the office and told someone that I would not be returning. Was 18, married and did not need anyones permission so I gathered my belonging and walked out the door…never looking back. Thirty five years later and I still have no regrets. My parents and husband were not too happy with my decision but I didn’t care. I was a bit rebellious back then but happy! 

A year later when I was 19 and pregnant with our son I sign up and paid $20 for the GED test but as the date got closer I decided that I could not sit a solid eight hours  because of all the potty breaks I would need and the general discomfort I was going through daily at six months pregnant. So I skipped that test.

When my two children were ages six and three I decided it was time to get my GED. I know its not the same as graduating even though its considered equivalent. Now that my kids were starting their school years I didn’t want to be the drop out Mom. I wanted to have that GED to show them that even though I did not physically graduate, I still finished. This time it was an eight hour test spread out over two days. Where was that option 7 years earlier I ask? Done!

So with a positive attitude toward school throughout my children’s school years I hoped and prayed that I could help them realize how important their education was for their future. My hard work paid off when they both graduated from High School. As adults they now understand what I went through with school and how much I hated it. But I never let them know this during their school years. I faked it good! Was that right? I don’t know. All I know is that both my kids finished school. I started out their school years determined to see them both through graduation. The goal was met and I couldn’t be happier for them.

In my late 30’s I attempted college classes. I took two classes for one semester and quit! Ugh! I passed both classes but I just could not balance college courses, a full time job, a house, a husband, two teenagers, two cats and a dog! I felt like a failure at the time but looking back I can see now that I had set unrealistic goals for myself so I felt I had no other choice but to drop the classes. I made the right decision because the stress of continuing down that busy highway would have caused me to crash! If I had the money I believe I would be taking classes right now, but one at a time. Would be fun actually. 

So, now you know! Heheheheh. I hated school. I quit. Three times! But no way do I endorse or try to encourage others to quit school. Make your Mom proud, stay in school and graduate! 

Be Blessed,

Cheryl

*** Do you have a similar school experience? Maybe you went "all the way”? Care to share this in the comments? Don’t quit on me now! (Pun intended)!  Tell me your thoughts and share this if you think it may help someone.

Starting My YouTube Channel

Last summer I was started watching YouTube videos. Mainly Dollar Tree hauls. I came across them accidentally and had never heard of that type of video before. It didn’t take long to became hooked! I saw that store in a new light and started shopping at it differently and much more frequently.

My Mother and a friend of mine had also never heard of shopping hauls and they were having a hard time understanding the concept so I made a couple mock videos to show them what I was talking about. The videos were both hysterical and pathetic! But I noticed how much I had enjoyed myself making them. So the thought of starting my own YouTube channel was born but would I really have the nerve to pull it off? Time for a little history…

I remember always being a shy girl growing up. Adulthood did not change that part of me by much. But it was gaining all the excess weight after my second pregnancy that made me withdraw even more. I did not ever want to run into anyone I knew when I was younger because I did not want them to see how bad I looked. At one point I had allowed myself to balloon up to 308 pounds. Thats a lot of weight for a 5 foot 1 inch frame. And of course, thats when type 2 diabetes kicked in. By that point I wasn’t living in the same place I went to school and church in. I was a couple hours drive away so I felt pretty secure about not running into anyone from my past. Most of the people I knew from my teen years were Facebook friends of mine so I was always careful not to add recent pictures of myself, atleast not full body shots. I hid as much of me as I could for as long as I could.

So how could I possibly start making videos of myself and put them online for all the world to see? When I turned 50 something inside of me started to change. I started to own up to what I had done to my body and decided almost over night not to care anymore about what people thought. This was me, like it or not. This is who I had become. I decided to allow my desire to do something new and exciting to become stronger than my need to stay in hiding. So I made my first YouTube video. The first one was a simple introduction video explaining what you could expect from my channel and then I did my first Dollar Tree Haul.

Over time I added Wish App Hauls, some product reviews and recipe shares. When I decided to join Weight Watchers I knew I would have to include that on my channel and thats when everything started to change. To my surprise, I discovered a very large Weight Watchers community on YouTube. I had no idea! Now I subscribe to so many wonderful channels and I publish several different types of weight loss videos. My weekly weigh in updates seen to be a favorite for most of my subscribers but I also record what I ate in a day, Freestyle grocery hauls and WW friendly recipe collab videos. It keeps me busy and I still enjoy making these videos.

My favorite part in all of this is interacting with my subscribers. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to reading and replying to the comments! I just love it! Now mind you, my channel is small and my comments are few but I know in time it will grow and grow and I’ll love it even more! 

And what about all those people from my past who haven’t seen me since I was a teen? Well who the heck knows! None of them subscribe to my channel or make comments. At least not under their own names like they’re listed on Facebook. (Even though I post new video notices on FB). So as far as I know, they don’t even know about my YouTube channel or they do and they just don’t care. My point is…why did I care in the first place? Stupid me! It took me many many adult years to finally become mature enough to not concern myself with such thoughts!

Do you struggle with the same thoughts from time to time? Or something similar? Is there some big hurdle you were able to “get over” that you’d like to share with me? Feel free to leave a comment below and we can talk about it. 

Be Blessed,

Cheryl

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things

We all have them. Favorite colors, favorite foods, favorite sports team. You name it, we have a favorite. I have a notebook filled with favorite things.

I must have been bored one day when I decided to start this notebook of favorites but it became an instant hit with my daughter and she started one of her own. 

Wanna start one too? It’s just for fun. I pull mine out of the book case where it lives and look through it every once in awhile. I like to be reminded of some of my favorites and I also like to update it with new favorites. Sometimes I add on to an already existing list and sometimes I get an idea for a new list. Once in a great while I have a change of heart and cross things off a list.

I have a lot of notebooks. I mean, really a lot. Stationary excites me. Back to school sales draw me in. I love the smell of all that paper. Each page holds so many possibilities. I have stories written in many of my tablets. All unfinished. Some just beginning. There’s just something about cracking open that fresh new tablet and starting to write on the second page. Never the first. I like to keep it blank as sort of a privacy page. Weird. 

It’s silly really and why I’m telling you about it is beyond me. I was looking for a lighter topic to discuss after my last, more serious post about tips for staying focused on a weight loss plan. So lets talk favorites!

My notebook is a Disney Princess spiral tablet. The front has Belle, Sleeping Beauty and my favorite, Cinderella. The spiral is a pink plastic. Its one pretty notebook! On the first page I have the title page which reads…Cheryls Tablet of Lists and other Useless Stuff. I know, funny, right? I think so.

On the top of each page is the title of that pages favorite. Girls names, boys names, pet names, last names. Favorite fruits, veggies, family meals, restaurants, tv shows, movies, music, soup, side dishes, desserts. Get the picture? I could go on and on. I have many pages filled with favorites. I just don’t know why. Lol. 

I have other list titles in this notebook as well like every pet I’ve ever had and every school I ever attended. There were many of both. Other titles are: Worst movies. Foods I’ll never eat again. Places I want to travel to. Books I want to read. Famous people I’ve met shares a page with Famous people I would like to meet. Across from that is…Famous people I would not like to meet. You know, like Paris Hilton. SMH.

The very last list I have in this notebook of FUN is a ranking of candy bars. I have four categories written across the top. FABULOUS! YUMMY. MEH. and..NEVER AGAIN. Below each I have the candy listed where I see fit. For example: York Peppermint Patties are definitely Fabulous! Snickers are Yummy. Mounds are Meh and never again will I want a Hersheys Cookies and cream bar. Bleck! Lordy, I’m so weird!

The date on the inside of this tablet says 8-3-07. So I’ve been working on these lists for 11 years. Not sure if this is something I should be proud of (at my age) or something that I should even be sharing with you. But here we are!

I guess I could be doing worse things like wasting countless hours sitting in front of the boob tube watching useless tv shows or venturing into the world wide web and ending up in places I shouldn’t be. It’s an innocent enough hobby that keeps my mind moving and gives me some serious chuckles now and again.

So the next time you find yourself looking for something to do, grab a notebook and get cracking!

Be Blessed,

Cheryl

*** What kind of lists can you come up with? I’m always looking for new lists to start. I still have plenty of pages to fill in my notebook. If you ever do decide to start your own silly notebook I sure would love to hear about it! 

Leave a comment to say hi and share this post with your friends.

My Top 8 Tips That Help Me Stay Focused on My 

Weight Loss Plan

Weight loss is hard work! Its a full time job! The amount of time spent thinking about what kind of healthy foods we can eat, planning meals, shopping for groceries and prepping ahead to make meal time easier is astounding. Some days I think I am constantly thinking about food. Like right now…2 items popped into my head that I need to add to my Walmart grocery pick up list this week and I have to take a moment to write them down before I can continue here…

Done. Moving on. So as I was saying, some days I’m constantly thinking about food and other days, not so much. It’s the days that I have my meals already planned and some of the food already prepped that I get a break from all that food thinking. Those are my easy days and the times I find myself being more successful at healthy eating.

I believe these tips will help anyone on ANY weight loss plan. It doesn’t matter if your following Weight Watchers like I am or if your doing your own thing or any number of plans out there today. These tips and ideas could really help and who doesn’t want a little help now and then?

Before we continue on this subject I fell the need to add a disclaimer at this point. I am not a doctor. I did not go to school to learn how to lose weight or learn how to teach others to lose weight. I am speaking from my heart and from my own life experiences. These are just my ideas and only suggestions for you to consider. Should you decide to incorporate some of these tips into your own weight loss plan I can only hope that they work for you as well as they are working for me. I will mention Weight Watchers often in this post but it is in no way endorsed by Weight Watchers. ( I just really like it!! )  :}

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1. Lets start with a few obvious tips to help keep us on track. The first one is Meal Planning and Food Prep. I combined them into one tip because I believe they go hand in hand. These 2 things are essential to a successful weight loss plan. Knowing what your doing helps keep you ahead of the game. Planning is key to making healthy food choices.

  If you have never tried food planning or prepping and would like to see how others manage this for their home please visit YouTube. Once there search for Weight Watcher meal planning/meal prepping. There are so many channels available for you to view. These women will show you what they eat in a day to loose weight as well as how they choose to meal plan and prep. Some will even show you what they have brought home from the grocery stores. I myself am guilty of offering up a lot of these grocery hauls and What I Ate Today videos. Just visit me here: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ96dqORUccIHgYFL3Vcaog

2. Track your FOOD. If you haven’t already, please get yourself a notebook or journal and start keeping track of everything you put in your mouth. Weight Watchers makes it easy because we use their app to keep track of our daily food intake. So if you don’t have a plan that provides you with a form of tracking please start your own form of keeping track. A perfect example is my friend Beck from Becks Corner on YouTube. She shows you her food journal each day and she has it set up in a way that makes sense for her. You can do the same thing your own way. Be creative too. Make it fun to do and pretty to look at if you want. The stores are filled with planner stickers these days and a lot of them are even weight loss related. Keeping track of your food on a daily basis can help you stay accountable and also show at a glance how well your doing. If your having a bad week you can always look back to a good week and compare. 

3.  Drink your WATER. Drinking water is known to help you loose weight in more ways than one. Water increases your calorie burning by boosting your metabolism. It is also an appetite suppressant. Water helps cleanse your body of waste as well. It can even help you stop retaining water which in turn helps you to loose those extra pesky pounds of water weight. Water is our friend. Drink lots of it daily. When I’m striving to have a good water drinking day I aim for at least half an ounce per pound. So for me, these days, that would be 115 ounces of water a day! Yikes! I’d better get drinking! This is one tip that I struggle with daily. I need to get better at it!

4. VARY your food. It can be very easy to get yourself into a food rut. Getting tired of eating the same low point/low calorie foods every week is one way to quickly turn our attention to foods that may not be in our best interest. Do I love my low point turkey wraps? Why yes, yes I do! Do I want to eat them every single day for the rest of my life? No way! I love them and therefore do not want to get so tired of them that I get sick of them. So I need to rotate my favorite foods around a bit and add new finds in-between. Where do I find new foods to try? The internet is full of ideas! Try searching Weight Watcher foods or low calorie foods on Pinterest. 

Visit various sites that specialize in these types of recipes. EmilyBites.com, drizzlemeskinny.com, skinnytaste.com, theskinnyishdish.com . The sites I just named even list the WW points for their recipes. They provide us with so many food options. If these links don't work please just copy and paste.

YouTube is another great place to look. It has a very large Weight Watchers community and we often share recipes on our channels. Sometimes a bunch of us will get together and do a collaboration. A theme will be chosen and we will all have to have our videos available to view for everyone on the same day. I can’t tell you how many wonderful meal ideas I have found though YouTube. 

Finally, lets not forget about our tried and true cookbooks. We all have them, right? We can scan these books for ideas and forgotten favorites and with a couple changes we can turn just about any recipe into a health one our family will love and our scale will thank us for.

5.  Now on to a few more tips that some of you may not have considered. Review your WHY. I’m about to mention Weight Watchers again here…hope you don’t mind! When you first join WW they ask you to write down your WHY in a little weight tracker booklet. I didn’t have to think too long or hard about what my WHY should be because I already had my reasons for loosing weight before joining. I have a list of very serious WHYs and I keep them handy to review as needed.  Some of mine are reversing type 2 diabetes, getting off meds, reducing joint pain, having a longer, healthier future, refusing to die of diabetic complications… things of that nature.

Im not trying to lose weight to be able to fit in a certain dress by a certain date or become more attractive to men or so I can look forward to wearing pretty clothes ( cuz lets face it, fat people clothes aren’t made near as pretty as regular sized clothes are..TRUTH! ) Those last few things will just be an automatic bonus of loosing weight! I have more important reasons to keep me motivated then just my improved outward appearance so I don’t focus on the obvious rewards where my WHY is concerned. 

Here is something I believe to be true because I’ve seen it in my own life. Don’t get mad at me for what I’m about to say. Instead, let these words sink in and give it some though. Look back at your past weight loss attempts and try to fit this statement in to your own experiences. Are you ready?

Until you are SERIOUS about your WHY, you will not succeed at weight loss. Did you hear me, Should I repeat it? I had to repeat it to myself numerous times until it really sunk in. Until you are SERIOUS about your WHY you will not succeed at weight loss.

Now, when I say ‘succeed at weight loss’ I don’t just mean getting the pounds off. Anyone can starve themselves and exercise all day to lose weight but as you know, the moment they stop all that nonsense the weight will pile back on. Such is true with any plan that suddenly stops and allows for old (bad) eating habits to creep back in. What I'm talking about here is a permanent, life lasting weight loss. This includes maintenance for life. This means that you have decided to stop the madness…get off the fat train of life… make the appropriate changes for your body for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. 

So make your WHY a serious one. Take time to really explain yourself on paper as to WHY you want to loose weight. And when needed, revisit, review and revamp your WHY.  

6. Why don’t you make a PROs and CONs list. PROs for loosing weight and CONs for staying at an unhealthy weight. ( I call that FAT..for staying FAT. I’m not afraid to use that word when describing myself ). Most of the things you come up with on this list may seem too obvious but it doesn’t hurt to write them down anyway. Sometimes we forget these reasons and a quick glance at this list on occasion could help get your minds back on track.

For example, under PRO I might add ABLE TO WALK UP A FLIGHT OF STEPS WITHOUT LOOSING MY BREATH, FITTING IN RESTAURANT BOOTHS, REACHING MY FEET TO CLIP MY OWN TOENAILS AGAIN!

Under CON I could list things like, DIEING OF DIABETIC COMPLICATIONS, NEVER BEING ABLE TO PLAY WITH MY GRANDKIDS, NO MORE ROLLERCOASTERS! 

Don’t skip an idea just because it seems silly either. Your the only one thats going to see this list so make it as long and as descriptive as you can. As time goes by you may even think of other things to add. When we have changes in our life our ideas and needs change. Keep up with these changes on that list and keep this list with your WHY to revisit it often.

Personally, I get all excited when I read my PROs list! So much to look forward to! As I accomplish these things on my PROs list I can cross them off. Same goes with the CONs list. When I no longer have type 2 diabetes I will be crossing off that first one I mentioned! Praise the Lord! Feel free to share some of the things on your list in the comments below. Lets start a discussion!

7. Get enough SLEEP. One of the best things you can do to better your health is to get to bed early and get enough sleep. Did you know our bodies heal while we are sleeping? Sore muscles get to relax and swollen joints get to calm down. Its really amazing what a good nights sleep can do for your well being. And Imagine getting the proper sleep nightly! Wow! 

Seven to eight hours is what seems to be most recommended. I can tell you from my own experience that this is true. Before starting my weight loss plan I had fallen into the terrible, bad habit of staying up til 3am. I would have to get up around 7 or 8 to take care of the dogs then I would go back to bed til 11 or 12. When I finally got up, I was miserable and felt tired for the rest of the day. I slept the wrong hours, had interrupted sleep then slept too long. I was a mess! 

But when I started Weight Watchers I decided to change my sleeping habits and go back to my early to bed -  early to rise kind of life. Now I go to bed between 10:30 and 11:30 at night and I’m up anytime between 7 and 8. I have my appreciation for mornings back. I sit at the table with my coffee and have such a peaceful time having devotions and maintaining my YouTube channel and now this blog. These are the things that take up my morning hours everyday. I really missed being a morning person and I'm so glad I took back this healthy, happy, good habit. It has been one of the best decisions I have made in a long time. It’s all part of my plan to improve my future.

8. It goes without saying...but I'll say it anyway... that I can do no thing and succeed at no thing without the love and help of my Lord and Savior JESUS Christ. With Him all things are possible. It is my best tip of all!

All of these tips play an important part in getting me to that happy, healthy future that I could only dream about before. I had finally come to a place in my life where I could not continue in such an unhealthy way another minute longer. My future was bleak and my hope was waining. This is when my WHY was born. This is when I knew I would succeed without a shadow of a doubt. This is when my hope soured once more. Praise the Lord!

Be Blessed,
Cheryl

*** If you have your own tips that you would like to share please don’t hesitate to add them in a comment below for us read. We could all benefit from hearing what works for you! Also, if you decide to try any of these tips I would love to know how it’s working for you. 

All Aboard!

If you could go anywhere in a vacation where would you go? What would you do? How would you choose to get there? I have been on several vacations since I turned 35 but they have all been the same thing, a cruise. I had never been blessed with the ability to go away like that before I was 35 and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think about or even consider the idea of cruising. Have you ever tried it?

I have since been on several cruises taking me to such places as St Thomas, Jamaica, San Juan, St Martin and Grand Cayman to name a few. And some of them, twice. What a blessing! Such eye candy! Those Islands and surrounding waters are a beautiful thing to see. And those sunsets… God sure is a masterful artist!

Sometime after my first cruise which happened in 1999 I found myself sitting in an English Comp 101 class. We had just been given the assignment to write a story on any subject we choose. I guess the instructor just wanted to find out who had been paying attention in class up to that point. I choose to write about my first cruise. I got an A on the paper and it even had a few smiley faces planted here and there. We found out that those meant we made her smile or laugh at that part. So I thought that was cute…smiley faces on a college class writing assignment. Here is what I wrote:

My First Real Vacation

When I was growing up my family never went on vacation. I do not recall any of my friends families going either. The idea of visiting far away places and sunning oneself on the beach came from nothing more then day dreams and television shows. We just did not have the money to spend on such extravaganzas. You see, rich people get to take real vacations just for the heck of it. Just because they found some new place they want to explore. Families like ours only got to take vacation if we won them on game shows or spent ten years eating TV dinners just to save enough money to drag a car load of kids and peanut butter sandwiches to the Grand Canyon for a week. It is not that we never took the occasional trip to Grandma’s house or visited tourist spots native to our state on boring ’day trips’. Those were alright at the time, I suppose. It was not until I was getting married and planning a honeymoon that I realized I never went on a real vacation before. When we ended up stay! ing in town at a local hotel for a few nights instead of going to some distant and secret romantic spot I did not mind. Maybe it was because I never knew what I was really missing. Perhaps that old saying, ‘Ignorance Is Bliss” could have been applied to me back then.

When I became the mother of two children under the age of three I started learning the importance of needing a vacation. We lived six hundred miles from our hometown and when my husband could take leave we would venture back up north for a week or more. Now I can understand how this would be a vacation for my hard working Marine Corps husband as he got to step away from and forget about the frustrations associated with his daily grind. I, on the other hand, became trapped in a small Plymouth Horizon with two screaming babies in the backseat and a scaredy cat dog who would not lay anywhere but on my lap for the entire twelve hour trip. Upon our arrival I would commence my own daily grind of caring for two babies and that dog who were just torn from their familiar surroundings of home and thrown into the many arms of estranged loved ones. This was surely not a vacation for me. I anxiously awaited the day we would wake up at five AM and cram back into that small car for our twelve hour return trip home, usually regretful that we remembered to retrieve the dog from our family’s back yard. Again I reminded myself that real vacations were for the rich and not those of us stuck in such limited middle-class lives.

Eleven years later I was divorced and living in a small apartment with my now much older children. I was still in need of a real vacation and wondering if I would ever get the opportunity to give my children the family trip I felt they had always deserved. Then one day it suddenly happened. There we were, in the mall, looking for a cheap haircut for my son. I got him signed in at our usual place and told him I would be right next door in the travel shop looking at brochures. About a half hour later he showed up at my side looking all trim and proper once more while I sat there with a travel agent named Karen, my new best friend, signing papers for a week long Western Caribbean cruise. I walked out of there in a daze. I could not even remember the ride home. I just know I drove us there. My son was beside himself with joy and could hardly wait to tell his younger sister what I had just done. I went to the mall for a hair cut and came home with a cruise. And why not? I was thirty-five, vacation less my whole life and working hard at two jobs. We deserved this vacation, right? That new Visa card sure came in handy too. Anyway, what was done was done. There was no turning back from here. In only fifty days we would be flying down to Miami for a one night stay on Biscayne Bay before embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.

That fifty day wait felt more like a hundred as we planned and saved and packed. We shopped for cute sandals and bathing suits and big floppy straw hats. Everyone knows that when you go on a cruise you need a big floppy straw hat. I found the perfect summer read too. I could just see me now, basking in the sun on the Promenade deck in one of those chaise lounges. I am wearing my new hat and reading my new book all the while sipping a tall iced tea that was served to me by a very handsome foreign fellow in cute white shorts and a smile that could melt your heart. Yep, it was going to be great!

The flight down was uneventful. Aside from a little nervous anxiety from my daughter about flying, we got there in one piece. A bus was waiting to take us to the hotel. When we finally got to our room we collapsed in the beds for a brief nap. We planned for a walk around town then dinner downstairs. Afterwards we ventured out back to walk beside the pool and the Bay itself. The side walks were lined with palm trees, my first palm trees. I was so excited to see them. I felt rich, privileged, even blessed. On our walk about the Bay I noticed we were alone. So with no one else in sight I walked up to one of those beautiful, stately trees and put my arms around it. Then I gave another look around to make doubly sure no one was watching and I gave the tree a quick kiss. My children cracked up laughing and we turned around and ran back.

The following afternoon we were safely aboard ship roaming the narrow halls of the Main deck in search of our room. The sight of this massive vessel nearly knocked me off my bus seat as we approached the port and here I was standing in the middle of it all. When it was time to set sail we stood on deck and waved at all the folks on the port. We had no one to see us off but I knew by watching all those Love Boat episodes that this is what we were supposed to do. This ship even made waving good-bye fun.

The days that followed were filled with more fun then I could stand. We busied ourselves by running around the ship just looking for new places to explore. It seemed to me that we spent most of our time either preparing ourselves to dine, finding the specific eatery or eating once we got there. I had no time to lounge around on the deck reading my book. Nor did I have time to show off my big floppy hat or admire all the cute foreign scenery. Besides, the sun was so hot on deck that the three of us avoided it like the plague. Our evenings were spent being entertained in the huge theater that played anything from Broadway-type shows to amateur talent and magic shows. I advise not sitting in the front row for the magic shows however. Seeing all that fishing line can be a real disappointment.

We engaged ourselves in onshore excursions when we docked in Jamaica and Grand Cayman. The slow moving, air conditioned island bus tour of a rum cake factory and turtle farm was nice. We even ate a turtle meat sandwich and have the pictures to prove it. However, the six hundred foot climb up the Dunn River water falls was a bit much for me. Once back in my cabin after that little ditty of a day I passed out before dinner and never moved until breakfast. The best times were when we climbed to the top deck as the sun began to rise to see the approaching islands or at night when we leaned way over the rails to watch the fast black waves rushing past us with their white tips. And when no one is looking you can stretch out your arms and yell, ‘I am king of the world!’ You really can.

One week was just not long enough. There was so much more to see and do. It was hard packing our bags the night before we docked in Miami. No one wanted to leave that ship. I held back tears as I stepped from the ship unto the enclosed plank that lead us through customs. Aside from the best time in my life, I had nothing to claim. We sat silently on the flight home lost in our own thoughts of the past week. ‘When can we do it again‘, they asked. Not soon enough. Who would have ever thought that I might some day be taking such a risk, such an adventure as this? I am counting the days for my next real vacation and I assure you, it will not take another thirty-five years.

Be Blessed,
Cheryl