No more...

Yesterday's post lead into today's lightning revelation.

Yesterday, I stood in the self-check out at the grocery store. A young woman walked by in a classy business suit, skirt and jacket, and black heels. I glanced up and saw myself in the video feed, and all I could think was "Dumpy." I looked dumpy. I was wearing a cute denim jumper and sweater. Worse to me was that I'd thought of wearing something nicer and talked myself out of it. Why do I do this to myself? And yet, I have to celebrate as well. I had a coupon for the bakery. I thought about buying myself a donut or two or a bagel. I looked at them, breathed deep, and bought bread for my lunch. I am still proud of myself for making a healthier choice that will also last longer. On the way home, in the car, this came on K-Love, and I knew it was for me. I've posted the song before, but God gave this gift to me, when I needed it most. May God bless MikesChair and all those who share their faith to inspire and lift others. They inspired and lifted me.

MikesChair Someone Worth Dying For http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF5CjtrIl_c&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Lyrics:

You might be the wife,
Waiting up at night
You might be the man,
Struggling to provide
Feeling like it's hopeless

Maybe you're the son,
Who chose a broken road
Maybe you're the girl,
Thinking you'll end up alone
Praying God can you hear me?
Oh God are you listening?

(Chorus)
Am I more than flesh and bone?
Am I really something beautiful?
Yeah, I wanna believe, I wanna believe that
I'm not just some wandering soul
That you don't see and you don't know
Yeah I wanna believe, Jesus help me believe that I
Am someone worth dying for

I know you've heard the truth that God has set you free
But you think you're the one that grace could never reach
So you just keep asking, what everybody's asking

Chorus

You're worth it, you can't earn it
Yeah the Cross has proven
That you're sacred and blameless
Your life has purpose

And you are more than flesh and bone
Can't you see you're something beautiful
Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe
He wants you to see, He wants you to see
That you're not just some wandering soul
That can't be seen and can't be known
Yeah you gotta believe, you gotta believe that you
Are someone worth dying for

You're someone worth dying for
You're someone worth dying for

Cute and heartwarming....

FB is a love/hate relationship. Some things are horrid, and some things are fantastic. I found this posted there, and wanted it someplace more permanent than FB.





My thanks to all those incredibly creative people, who take something ordinary and make it extraordinary.

Carpe diem... finally...

With any luck, I will finish trimming back the blackberry bushes. What a tangle they'd become. Those vicious thorns don't make it an easy task, not by any stretch of the imagination. The worst is done. Now it's a matter of neatening up what's left. It will help everything be healthier.

Laundry, as always, needs to be done... maybe... that will be my flexible job. If it's done, great; if not, that's okay, too. It can always be done another day.

I'd like to make bread, but it depends on the trimming. That being said, fresh bread would be really yummy...

There are projects that need completing, and I have every intention of following through on those.

Hopefully, I also find some time to read. My TBR pile is growing again, because I haven't had time to read!

PBS has changed its lineup. I could complain that the new schedule doesn't suit me. Or I'll rejoice because it means I'll watch less television, and I simply don't have time for it now, anyway.

Follow up: Done but for the bread. The buttermilk was still frozen, so I'll try again tomorrow. LOL!

Thank Goodness It's Sunday #85

~Thanks, Molly, for sharing Wherever You Are http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hR6O7VxKaQ

~New opportunities and those wonderful, amazing people that are so supportive in the midst of it all.

~Unexpected opportunities.

~Figuring out what confuses me.

~Learning to ask for what I need, and discovering it isn't as hard as I thought... it isn't as hard as it used to be, because I'm discovering my worth.

My Heroes... Miss Rees...

Jessica Joy Rees was 12 years old, with cancer. For the whole story, this is the link at Yahoo:

http://news.yahoo.com/12-old-girl-blogged-cancer-fight-died-233503455.html

God help me to have such courage, and bless those who battle on.

This was in my Success Poster widget:





Sometimes the opportunity is not what we think it will be. It takes incredible bravery to see beyond the obvious.

Contests at other blogs....

Many of the writing blogs I frequent sponsor contests. If you comment, you're entered to win a prize, usually a book, sometimes a gift card or bookmarks or character cards. Yes, it requires a bit of trust to turn over your address to someone you don't know. That being said, It can be fun.

SOS Aloha gives away books every day, announcing the winners at the end of the week.

Lucy Monroe has regular contests.

Happily Ever After Thoughts, like many of the blogs recently had a contest related to the new year.

Risky Regencies usually has a book to give away every Sunday.

Several authors I know have monthly contests or out of the blue free books, like Diane Gaston and Kris Tualla.

My sister reminded me of the Nikon Sniper drawing, for those who love photography.

Sharron mentioned a pitching opportunity (pitch your story) here.

If you have a favorite author, check their website, they may have something fun going on there. If you like autographed books or simply enjoy playing in contests, author and book review sites use contests to bring in more readers. If you want to try a new author but aren't sure if you want to pay for them, see if there's contest out there offering one of their books. No guarantees of winning, of course, but you might find a blog you enjoy following for fun.

Yes, I'm realizing that I will find myself doing this, somewhere down the road. So this blog was for me, to help accustom me to some of the changes coming in my life. What an adventure.

Week Twenty-Eight of REAL...

The 30th: weigh in: 237.4 lb. Not really surprised by that number. I tossed some of my non-healthy foods, yesterday, so today has no choice but to be healthier. I'm stepping back into my old routines for the day. Headache. Squirrel! Stuffy head, probably allergies. Wait, what? Keeping my mind on one thing for more than a minute... ooooo shiny. Yea. It feels like that.

The 31st: weigh in: 237 lb. Going down. One SEAL puppy rep. One-mile walk with my sister. It was slow, so about 45 minutes. One hour of yard work, trimming wild chilis out of the blackberries. One more SEAL puppy rep.

January 2012

The 1st: weigh in: 237.4 lb. No surprise after all the Pirate Booty I ate last night in a fit of nervousness. What I did toward meeting my new Christmas Gifts: I read the opening of Natural Beauty at Home by Janice Cox. I learned that those with oily skin need more water, whole those with dry skin need more oil. I'm using up my Burt's Bees products while I learn about products I could make at home. This is fun. Walked a half mile with the nieces. They walk fast. It's good for me. Ten minutes. Total 55 minutes.

The 2nd: weigh in: 236.2 lb. One SEAL puppy rep. Two-mile walk, 45 minutes, total 100 minutes. One more SEAL puppy rep. One hour of trimming blackberry bushes. Has to count for something. Took a half-mile walk in the evening. I used to love walking my dog in the evening. 15 minute for a total of 115 min.

The 3rd: weigh in 236 lb. One SEAL puppy rep. Half-mile walk, 15 minutes, total 130 min. And another half-mile walk in the evening, 15 minutes, total 145 minutes.

The 4th: weigh in: 236 lb. One SEAL puppy rep. Two-mile walk, 40 minutes, total 170 min. One more SEAL puppy rep.

The 5th: weigh in: 236.6 lb. Waist circumference: 40". Sigh. I stressed, last night, over formatting. It isn't my favorite thing to do, but necessary, I know. The frustration lay in the fact that I misread the directions and "corrected" punctuation that was already correct, and couldn't undo it. The new "correction" couldn't be found, until I figured out what I'd changed in my Find and Replace feature, and change it back... Okay, I'm also avoiding the truth: I have a dentist appointment this morning. I had horrible experiences with the dentist, as a child. It's a pity, really. My current dentist and hygienist are great, and do a good job. We've made the experience bearable, but the stress still inches up there. One-mile walk, at an easy pace, coupled with feeding bread to the ducks. Good times! 30 minutes for a total of 200 minutes. I survived another dentist visit. In truth, it isn't bad anymore. Crest Pro-Health has made my visits so much easier. What a blessing. Thanks to my hygienist for suggesting it.

Couple of posts....

Yesterday, I found a couple of posts I enjoyed and thought I'd share them here.

Upsi (no surprise) had a great post yesterday discussing the concept of forgiveness. She made some great points, and had some great comments.

Anne Gracie, one of my favorite writers, posted at the Lower North Shore blog about writing, titled "Just Start." She has some great suggestions for those who say that they want to write, addressing the excuses that tend to pop to mind.

Better yet, one of my birthday presents showed up, today. Anne Gracie's latest book, Bride By Mistake. Next on my To-Do list, READ!

I'm keeping a pretty good schedule, for now. So far so good.

Sharing an email...

This was posted at Lucy Monroe's blog. (I hope she doesn't mind me stealing it and passing it a long.)

Do you get lots of emails telling you not to eat this or spend your money on that? I received the following in an email from a friend...I thought it was hysterical! Hope you can relate.....

Thank you for the educational emails.

I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.

AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face.. Disfiguring me for life.

I no longer go to the movies because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down

I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or Fed Ex since they are actually Al Qaeda agents in disguise.

And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore , and Uzbekistan

I no longer buy cookies from Neiman-Marcus since I now have their recipe.

THANKS TO YOU I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE I can’t ever pick up $2.00 coin dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.

I no longer drive my car because buying gas from some companies supports Al Qaeda, and buying gas from all the others supports South American dictators.

I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.

If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor’s ex-mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s beautician . . .

Oh, by the way.....
A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mail with their hand on the mouse. Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.

PS: I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet.

Carpe diem... no more waiting...

Today's activities will include working on my author material, like my bio, including reading through the author bios at Desert Breeze Publishing.

I'll also be taking myself for a walk.

I want to watch the Rose Bowl Parade because my sister is there watching in person! So exciting.

There's some trimming that still needs doing in the yard.

Editing needs to start, and today is as good a day as any to start. I'm giving myself two weeks, but hope I'm done in less time than that. This is the first time, so I'll need to see how it works.

Yesterday was a day for reflecting and planning. Today, the plans go into effect. As my favorite romances say, "One must start as one means to go on." I mean to be healthy, and today is going to be healthy.




Done.

Thank Goodness It's Sunday #84

~MercyMe Bring The Rain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8HgAVenbUU&NR=1

~A New Year, with new possibilities.

~Seal of My Dreams, an anthology of short romance stories with SEALs at the heroes. "All proceeds pledged to the Veterans Research Corporation, a non-profit foundation supporting veterans medical research." Seal of My Dreams website.

~Mistletoe Kisses, a Regency Christmas romance anthology by Elizabeth Rolls, Deborah Hale, and Diane Gaston.

~Friends who lift me up, when I'm too weary and too addled to see my way.