Well, nothing too exciting tonight. Had an interesting day - I managed to short myself a Jenny day, so I ended up eating on my own today. I didn't do badly, but I could have done better in that I know I underate - I WI tomorrow, so I was afraid of eating on my own. I had 2 scrambled eggs, a piece of toast and 1/2 a grapefruit for breakfast - I had a nap for lunch lol - and for dinner, I had 3/4 plate (salad plate) of steamed mixed veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, & carrots) and a small skinless chicken thigh. For "dessert" I had a cup of vanilla nf yogurt with 1 cup of mixed berries (strawberries, blueberries, rasberries and blackberries). It was weird though. I realized it was a lot scarier to try to figure this out on my own than I thought. I don't think it would be so bad if I weren't weighing tomorrow, and TOM weren't looming. My back is a wreck as a result, and I haven't done anything other than bellydance this week. :( Next week (which starts tomorrow) I'm going to do some serious workout planning. No more excuses - there's no reason I can't get in 20 minutes of walking; rain or not. Because I have a dvd where I can do it inside! lol.
So my friends, not much else to tell tonight, but I'll check in tomorrow after my JC visit. Here's hoping to see 212 on their scale.......... :)
Wow! I got up this morning, and checked out the scale... I haven't weighed in a couple days.. and blown away to see I was down to 212!!!! That's down from 215, and I still have today, and Sat before I weigh in on Sun!!!! I want to cry... I can't believe it. And something else... I looked in the mirror, and looked at my "middriff". Now, in the past, my "middriff" has been much more like a top, middle, and low "driff" if you know what I mean. lol. But I looked - and for the first time since having babies, infact before having them, my middle looked almost normal!!! It's completely shrunk overnight it seems.. the rolls are gone... the "dimples" are gone... omg.. I could actually see my own belly button again!!! And I have a waist!!!! A real waist!!! who knew??!!! I could see a very faint outline, if I sucked it in, lol, of where my ribs end... and I got a preview of the fact it WILL look smoothe when I lose a few more pounds!!! And ok, I really need help below the bellybutton, but the middle is looking almost able to wear a real belly dance outfit!!!! Is it time for the ever elusive piercing???? No... not yet, because I think that once I'm below 200, it will look that much better, and so I'm going to wait - that is my big milestone, getting into onderland, so that is going to be my big reward for that. Crazy? Yes.. but also, to me, it will be a reminder... to never lose sight of my newly jeweled belly button again!!! I want to get the kind where it looks like my belly button has been replaced by a jewel. We'll see... understand, it's not so I can "show off" my stomach.. it's for me alone. I am so motivated now that I could actually see what it will look like... that it makes me want to do a trillion sit ups and shimmies so I can get there faster! But above all, it shows me that it can go back to it's old shape... or almost anyway. When I started, I thought the only way I could get that back, would have to be some kind of surgury - something I can't afford in the first place, and second, there's no way I want any kind of surgury!!! This proves to me anyway, that yes, diet and excersize can flatten that area!!! There's hope people!!! The one thing I am worried about, is that area that some new moms (and older moms!) call the "baby apron". But that has really shrunk too, and I still have a long ways to go - so if it looks ok now, wait till I get to goal!!! So maybe it is possible to get rid of it after all?? (the "apron" that is)
So I ask... has anyone ever been able to get rid of their baby apron without surgury??? Is it possible? And what kind of excersizes are best for that?? I'm really thinking the belly dance is making a huge difference there. And contrary to popular belief, no- there isn't any hanging "skin" anywhere. What I've been told with that, is that that happens when you lose weight too fast. I'm losing at a pretty steady and fairly fast clip, but I think they're talking 10 pounds the first week, and 5 pounds a week after that, that causes it. And yes, that weight loss is possible, if you are starting very heavy - I've seen it at Jenny in the past, but the people have been upwards of 375, or excersizing like mad - or starving themselves for their weight. At least on Jenny, and at first - I've found the heavier you start, the faster you lose for the first few weeks. But they will "slow" you down, if you continue to lose too much too fast, because you're tapping into muscle, and that's not good.
Something else I've noticed, and I think it's odd. For as heavy as I got, I really didn't have much if any cellulite. Which seems odd to me, because I've seen very thin women who have cellulite on their legs. So I wonder if it's a heredity thing. My legs have none, and the only place I've noticed it is my stomach - now that's going away, so maybe it's not cellulite. Or, they're wrong about not being able to get rid of it!!!! I'm guessing the first! So this is probably a weird set of thoughts today - body talk. But I'm so encouraged, and more determined than ever to get rid of this stuff!!! The other place that will be tricky, is the underarm. I have to say, that I seem to have developed a little chicken wing action there! So what I've been doing is snake arms... and circles.. and also you can hold the arm straight up, and bend your arm so you touch your shoulders - the top of your hand faces behind you - and you use soup cans, or a bottle of water, or even a liter of full soda, as a weight! (If you don't have those little 2 pound weights!) and you do reps that way, and it will help the underarm area. So I'm going to start doing those faithfully starting today, and see what kind of results I get. You want to use fairly light weights, and LOTS of reps. To build muscle, it's the opposite - heavy weight, and you do about 12 reps - the last couple should be really tough, to the point it exhausts you to do those last two reps - and that's how you know that you've got enough weight. But I digress... also, this is a rumour my lady friends - that if you use heavy weight, you'll "bulk" up. Unless you are a body builder, (or you induldge in steriods) you really aren't going to get those kind of results. You'll just have a nice toned arm. :) So don't be afraid of weights. It's actually very difficult to bulk up muscle wise for a woman. So if you've shied away from weights because you're worried you'll turn into Hulk Hogan, don't be!!!! And to further alleviate the fear, remember, light weights - LOTS of reps!!!
Ha. That's my soapbox for today!!!! And no... I don't know if the seagull is still there! lol. I was thinking we should come up with a name for him - but then I thought, if I name him, I'll have to feed him. Then I'll have to care for him and pat him on the head, and become far too attached lol. Still, he looks like a "Bart" or a "Marvin" lol.....But yes, all kidding aside, I am still thinking about the little guy, and hope he's not there tonight when I go back. And wow, thanks for your tips on that - I wasn't even thinking about the possible bird disease link - I'm glad I didn't try to catch him the first night, because I would have just tried to grab him with my bare hands! So thanks for the reminders about that! Well, off to do some kind of excersize! Have a great day!!!
PS... and yes... what are your "best" excersizes for that "apron" area???? Underarms??? Inquiring minds want to know! lol!
Well, not really much of an update. I didn't need to pick anyone up tonight, so I didn't go back to where the seagull was... so I don't know if he's still there or not. I know I'll be going tomorrow, and I'm hoping he is gone - that maybe he was like I think Ducky said, possibly feigning injury and flew off. Tho he really didn't seem to be trying to escape from anything, just kind of walking around. Not much I can really do I guess, I'm "kissing the little guy up to God" and hoping he'll be long gone, that maybe someone else helped him if he was still there today. Funny how something like that can just bug you. But yes - if I ever were to try to help any kind of injured animal, I would wear gloves, and they suggested using a "blanket" to throw over him if I were crazy enough to try to catch him. Great food day today - quiet calm day and that was nice. I made a spinach salad today, but decided to try something "exotic". So I put red pear in it and used the rasberry viniagarette dressing. It was really good - the pear was just sweet enough, and went well with the tangy sweet rasberry dressing. The only thing I wished I'd had were some blue cheese "sprinkles". That would have been very interesting!
So again, great day. I haven't weighed for a couple days, so we'll see tomorrow - which is really rare for me, but I've just been rushed in the morning, and haven't really worried about what the scale is going to say - and I have been pretty good so I'm not worried about it. Especially since my 18's are too loose now, and my rings are spinning, I'm thinkin it will be ok! lol.
So, I'm at the park and ride waiting to pick up my son last night, and I notice a seagull walking around the parking lot. Not out of the ordinary, there are lots of fast food places there to keep him happy lol. However, I noticed something wasn't right - when I looked again, I noticed he had what appears to be a pretty bad broken wing. Now these guys, at least this one, is a pretty big bird. I pointed him out to my son, and he was like, Mom, what can you do? It's a SEAGULL. lol. But it bugged me all the way home - what. I'm going to catch the darn thing? He could still probably outrun me, broken wing at all with a pack of french fries in his beak lol. But it just wouldn't quit naggine me. So I got on the internet, and starting calling everyone I could find that might be able to help - fish and wildlife (yeah, good luck there) humane society, etc... well, finally someone from the PAWS wildlife rehab called me back, and just that the called me made me feel like I wasn't crazy wanting to help this little bugger. Of course, the solution? Catch the bird and bring it in. Yeah. Right. lol. Can't you just see it? Me trying to bribe the gull with my Jenny Craig fish and chips, and chasing it around a very busy bus infested parking lot! So I don't know. If I see him there again today, I might actually try - it would be a long drive to the rehab, so I don't know how I'd get him there.. and it's not like he's going to sit in the passengers seat with a seatbelt on quietly so I can take advantage of the carpool lanes! At the same time, even with all the fast food places there, if the wing is severely broken, and it might be the way he's dragging it (yet he didn't act like he was in that much pain?) the alternative, is a slow death. Very slow, because he eventually will succumb to the pain, or get an infection if he was hit by a car/bus - and they told me once they do that, they stop trying to find food (limited anyway, because he can only hobble around the parking lot, not fly) - so they say it's even better to have him humanely euthanized, which there are vets around that are willing to do that... but I hate that idea too, he just looked too healthy and young. I don't know - I think I'll call one of the local animal hospitals, these guys are great, and see if they can help at all. I'm guessing no........ so what do I do? If he's there, do I actually try to accost him? LOL! I'll keep you posted on that one. If it were an owl or an eagle, they'd be "flocking" to the parking lot without need of me to rescue him in a heartbeat. I guess, being a gull, he's a little higher up than if I were calling about a crow lol.. am I just being silly? Probably. This diet has finally made me lose my mind!
Yesterday was rotten. The gull incident actually was the one good thing - because it completely took my mind off my bad day and gave me something else to think about. After all, I could be walking around a busy park and ride with a broken wing - in other words, things could be worse! But I was just frustrated almost to tears. Ding Ding Ding... you got it,. I think TOM and PMS are on me. So I just have to remember that today, and watch for mood swings. It didn't help me much last night tho - DH made spaghetti with hot dogs in it, and darn it if I didn't give in to picking at it while I was waiting for the oven to preheat for my Jenny dinner. Mid-week, too.. not a great night to go on a "binge". And my excersize has been terrible.. zero. Nada. Nothing. I have time this morning, so I think I need to do some bellydancing - that always makes me happy as well as gives me a workout. I also think my mood yesterday was a bit of "fallout" from actually realizing I missed radio. But I LOVE what I do now, I love the people, it's a great place to be, so I have nothing to complain about. It was just one of those crazy out of control feeling days. Every time I tried to do something there was some kind of interuption; which happens normally, but for some reason yesterday I just had a tough time with interuptions! lol!
I need to make a new plan for when I have to wait to pick up my son at the bus. What's happening now is that I end up postponing dinner until after picking him up. So from 5 until after 8 sometimes, I'm not eating, and that gets sticky. Especially when DH cooks something I like - and I have to wait additional time for something to cook in the oven. (certain JC dinners are just better in the oven, and worth waiting). But I have just not wanted salad, or veggies again - and I know that would help, maybe eat my salad during that time. I wait because I don't want to get a call just as I sit down, and find I have to rush out the door to pick up DS. So I know what to do... but if you have ideas to help reinforce me on this, it would probably help me stick to planning for that stretch of time. Maybe eat my snack, a piece of fruit, something so that I'm not starving by the time I get to eat. I could eat earlier, but I never know if he's going to come home early, or stay and workout. It's frustrating, and he won't give me a solid timeline, because he sort of plans on the fly - I should just tell him, no time, no ride - but I'm too much of a softy for that. Maybe workout during that time too. But I'm usually so tired by then, and hungry, that I have zero energy. Looking back, I should have worked out last night - then maybe I'd have the strength to catch that seagull lol.
Talk to you soon - and I'll let you know what happens with the saga of the gull! lol
My head hurts!!! This dumb cottonwood floating around is killin me!!! So I got off work, drove to the big city and did my voice work - it was a blast!! I got to see a few old friends, and it was great. Sounds like I might get to do this a little more often, so it was well worth the drive! And thankfully, my voice cleared up long enough to sing my thing - it's amazing how that always seems to work out!!
Food wise... um,... yeah. Well, not bad really, but I know the headache is actually from waiting far too long to eat. I did plan ahead, but best laid plans sometimes... it was crazy busy at work, and I didn't get time to micro my chicken sandwich - so it was jump in the car and hope for the best. Thankfully no fast food places jumped out at me! ha! So I just had dinner, and called it good once I got home. It was nice to know I haven't lost my touch with the voicework - we got the job done in about an hour, which is pretty decent. I only had to do one "take" on much of it, and we really weren't even sure what I was going to do! lol. He says, here's the music I've picked out - here's some words I've written, so just make something up lol. But he knows I've done this before, and thankfully trusts me lol. And he's an amazing producer, which makes it easy, because he makes you feel at ease. I think this commercial is going to be pretty darn cool, and when it's all done, I'll let you all in on it. ;) Until then... shhh. It's a secret! lol!
Here's to Wednesday, and a great rest of the week!!!
Boy it was rough pulling my behind out of bed this morning! This cloudy, rainy, blechy weather is draining!!! Where's Spring? Wait .. we're past that! Where's Summer??!!! But I did get up, and I'm feeling much better today. What a weird thing - hit me low and hard, coughing like crazy, and the first day it was a realy dry cough - by the second day it was all in my lungs, all wheezy. That's the point I'm at right now; but finally I'm not coughing uncontrollably. Good thing, since I have to go do some voice work tomorrow.
Missy asked about what "voice work" was - well, I'm going to be doing a commercial for radio - possibly a national one, so you might hear it!!!! I'll let you know more after I do it, I really don't know that much about it. I do know who it's for, but don't know if I should say anything; don't want to "jinx" it lol. I have a feeling they want me to sing something, usually that's when they'll call me in. I've done several commercials for radio; that was sort of a "perk" of working for that radio station as a traffic reporter. I love voice work, and have done a lot of "backing" on other singers things.. but have also done my share of "demo" work, where the artist is trying to sell his songs to Nashville artists, and they use me as someone to sing the song so they can hear what it sounds like. You just never know what can come of it, and it's exciting, and one of my favorite things to do. I will say this - the ad is for a very big company... so we'll see what happens. I'm hoping this is a National spot - that would be very cool!
Today was good foodwise - I still have a tough time getting everything in, especially when I'm running all over the place. Because I'll be leaving directly after work to get to the studio (about an hour away) I am planning ahead, and getting my breakfast and lunch ready to bring with me so that I don't miss it, and get so hungry that I cave in at a fast food joint. I'm proud to be able to say that I haven't done that yet... but I'm human, and I am always keeping watch for that window; and trying to be prepared so I won't give in.
Really, it feels so much better when I pack everything and bring it with me.. I'm fortunate to have a fridge/freezer and a microwave at work, so that makes it "no excuse" lol. The only problem is I really don't get a lunch - I have to eat at my desk, but it still works out and I try to eat every 2-3 hours. That is the only thing that has been able to get my metabolism moving again. I can attest from personal experience, that starving yourself does NOT work! It pretty much ruined my metabolism - and I wasn't doing it on purpose, I just didn't make time for myself. That's why I'm such an advocate for making time for yourself. That is probably one of the most important things - changes I could have made in this journey. I go back to that thing, where as mom's, wives, career women, that we are so busy doing for everyone else, that we put our own needs on the back burner. By the time we get around to what we need; even something as simple as eating - we're exhausted, and for me, I would end up saying, oh well, I'll do it tomorrow. But tomorrow, may not come - over the years, continuing to do that, made me cranky and bitter. And it really doesn't take that long to make a little space for us. I had to start small... for me, just making time to make myself something healthy for dinner instead of stopping at McDonalds... sure it takes a little prep time, but pretty soon I was doing other things for myself and started feeling so much happier for it. I do have fears that once I'm at half way, and doing 2 days completely on my own for the rest of the weight loss, that I may slip back into those old habits of just skipping meals because I'm too tired to prep something healthy. But I think I've learned enough, and have been applying it long enough that I will be able to keep going when I get to that point. Getting the family on board is a tremendous help. Since I've started Jenny, when my husband does cook, he's trying to cook healthier. I've noticed that he doesn't automatically reach for the hamburger helper. lol. (Good lord, do you know how many calories one little serving of that has?!!! It was devestating to find that one out! lol!) So I have something I didn't have before at this point - support.
Being sick, I've been really tired, so I apologize for not checking your blogs more often and offering my support! But I'm on the mend, so I'll stop by tonight and say "hi"!!! Which, I think I'll do right now!!!!
Have a great week! And remember to plan ahead this week!!!!
Well, today was a good day. Managed to pass up the "taco bar" at church today, lol, - it wasn't that tough, but it did smell pretty good! I lived through singing, but ended up switching my solo to "Imagine" (lower key) instead; thankfully it all went pretty seamlessly!
Sounds like I'm going to go do some voice work tomorrow - that will be exciting. Haven't done any for a while, so I'll have to let you know how it goes.
My weight is holding steady - I did lose a pound this week, so was ok with that, but again, I know it should have been more if I'd gotten a little more sleep. But a pound is a pound, and a pound is great! So I guess it will be next week when I hit that 30 pound mark. So this is supposed to be Desperate Housewives night - and nothing good is on! So I guess it's going to be hit the hay early, so I can run myself crazy tomorrow. It will be interesting going back to the "radio station" tomorrow - not sure what to think about that, but it will be nice to do some voicework. Hopefully, no one will recognize me lol....... Actually, it will be pretty great to see some old friends.
Have a great night, and a fantastic new week! Here's to making those short term goals this week! Mine is to excersize 3 days, and to "crush" that 30 pound mark. With only a pound to go, I should be able to do that!!!!
Ok..... so yesterday I was at a record low weight... my scale said 214.8.... this morning it's back up to 217.8... I'm furious! I was PERFECT yesterday - well, other than waking up at 4:30pm and sleeping all day and not eating... so I ate my "breakfast" at 4:30pm.... ate dinner around 7:30... ate my snack, and one of my anytime bars a little later. I didn't eat my "dinner" it was just too late... and I didn't want to botch things up by sleeping on a too full tummy.
But here's the rub. DH, bless his heart, SNORED all night. ALL night. Everytime I tried to get him to roll on his side, he'd say he did it, but nope. He's still laying on his back snoring the house down. The problem, is that as a result, I didn't sleep. And what happens when I don't sleep? My weight goes back up!!! ALWAYS!!! So I'm sitting here having a fit, because I have to go weigh in - I didn't sleep, I'm cranky, my friend wants to practice our songs for tomorrow again... and the last thing I want to do is anything because I feel like crap.
Then, DH decides he's going to get up at 6am, and start cleaning the house! Now normally, that would be a good thing. But once again, I'd had no sleep. I finally went to the couch to get away from the snoring, and fell asleep around 5am... so at 6am he comes out here and kicks me off the couch - (waking me up in the process of course) and then, I can't sleep because he has to start cleaning MY things - he can't start with his junk!!! Which means all these breakable glassware things that are highly fragile, are subject to Mr DH, ie, "bull in a china closet".. so I had to get up and monitor that he wasn't going to break things in his zest. Why is it always 'my way or the highway" with him!!! I could scream right now lol. And he can't move things - take 5 seconds to actually consider where a good place would be to put them - no. Instead, he moves the hutch I got from my mom, smack in front of and blocking the piano. Which I happen to need for rehearsing today.... and he took everything that I'm wanting to unpack, and put it in the garage... which, once it goes in the garage, it's like the bermuda triangle, and I'll never see it again!!!!
Ok. So that's my lovely morning so far. Why can't he just sleep in like a normal person? Why do they always have to start with OUR stuff, if they're going to clean? He has plenty of his stuff that needs to be put away, but no, he has to start with my things that are in exactly the places I need them to be so I can unpack them. ......... I digress. We moved some things over here from my mom's... very fragile glasware and things for the kitchen, and today I was going to sort them all out and put them away. But it's almost like he does this on purpose, to torture me. So anyway... enough complaining... I'm hoping my weight will be down by WI... but I've already had 2 cups of coffee just to wake up and pull myself out of this stupor from not sleeping.
Thanks for letting me vent...........I know everything wil work out the way it's supposed to. But it just chaps my hide a bit!!! lol. :) And yes, I'm blaming him if my weight is up!!! Unbelievable!!!
Hope you're all doing well. It's been a pretty decent week foodwise, and I did get 2 days of serious walking in. Wow - I walked outside for the first time in a while, with DH, and did over a mile both times. Now let me say, it's a lot different than what I do walking to my little walking DVD in the house! Good grief!!! It wasn't so bad after the first walk... but after the second walk? I had sore muslces in places it should be illegal lol. But. At least I can say I have muscles, right? ! lol. It was good, but so much harder than the DVD I have been using. Funny; it's the same distance.. why so much harder outside? Probably because DH's legs are two feet longer than mine, and I practically had to run to keep up to his "walk". lol.
I have been really sick the past couple days - not good, considering I have to sing this Sunday. As a result, I wasted the entire day - I slept until almost 5pm!!! I must have really needed it, I never do that!!! I'm just a little bummed, that I ended up eating "breakfast" at 5pm... now I'm not sure how to progress with the rest of the menu for today. I don't want to eat the entire day before going to bed... what do I do? I'll probably just have the chicken sandwich for my dinner, and call it good. I was at the lowest weight I've ever been (well, in like 20 years) when I weighed today - I was below 215!!! So I hope that holds for tomorrow morning's weigh in. I know it might not, because of not eating all day today. We'll see. :)
Welcome back to Missy!!! Woo-hoo! She got her phone fixed, so Missy, I hope you're feeling much better now!!!!
Not much else to talk about tonight... so we'll post again after WI tomorrow. It looks like it might be a big drop this week - keep your fingers crossed!!!!
I was reading one of your blogs today, and her story was incredible - if you get a chance check out Rach-H-S and read her blog...
Some of you know that I'm a singer - a performer. I was blessed at a very young age with musical ability to sing and play, and I have always loved it. Infact, I was determined that one day I'd be famous. I never got there.. but I have done many things that I never would have gotten the chance to do, if I hadn't pursued.
I realize, and I've known for some time, that I have been a self-sabatour. Not just in my weight, but in many areas of my life. However, this directly affected my weight. Infact, I now know, that one of the reasons that I've allowed this weight to stay with me, is that it was a protection. It was also an excuse - an excuse to allow me to fail without it being my fault. I'm the kind of person, that will shrink myself, that will snuff out my own "light", if I feel someone for some reason feels threatened by that. It was a sick way of thinking it allowed others to shine without extra interference. But really, it doesn't matter, and we don't have to do that. Thing is, the brighter we shine - the more we illumine ourselves, the more it allows others to do the same. It does no one a favor if we shrink ourselves and hold back our gifts and talents - because then we're enabling others to do the same. All of us here, right now, we're learning things about ourselves and discovering things that maybe we've pushed back and hid away... some of us have used our weight, unknowingly as a protection - for me, someone once told me.. "Face it Trish, no one wants to see a 200 pound singer onstage". They were right. And for me, it was safe - because it wasn't my fault - it was my body's fault. This meant I couldn't possibly fail because of my voice - good way to save your pride right? So what did I do - instead, I allowed my body to take over, and ruined my health - ruined my confidence... ruined my chances to "make it". It's funny how we think we've planned things out - and then God finds out our plan, and that's when he laughs. Looking back, I learned that even overweight, it didn't stop me from finding my own little corner of "fame". It might not have been exactly the way I dreamt it, but I still accomplished it. Through this process this time - I can finally let go of the weight. I don't need it anymore to protect me - and it didn't work anyway! I realize that I'm talking like I planned it this way... but it was my subconcious that planned it that way, and I am finally at a point where I can look back and see that now.
I stopped trying to "hide" a long time ago, but now that I'm losing the weight I'm learning new things and have come much farther in "not hiding" anymore. I'm not sure what my point is here....... but there's a saying, that sort of says it all for me. I hope that it will speak to you too.. Even as wonderful as losing this weight is, I know it can be a painful experience for some as well, because you start discovering things about yourself that maybe you wish you didn't have to acknowledge. For me, it was that I wasted so much time trying to play small. So for anyone out there who has done that in the past........ I hope this will mean something for you too......
"Our deepest fear is not that we're inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we're powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, talented, gorgeous, fabulous? Actually, who are we not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
So my hope for all of you........... Shine On. Be proud of who you are. You are a miracle and a shining beacon of hope. :) You never know who's life you might touch - and you never know how your talents, your personality, or just your beautiful self might inspire someone else. So hold your head high, stand tall, and never be afraid to be exactly who you are. Because who you are, is exactly who I needed to meet, and you've all helped me on this journey. You just never know who is out there, needing to hear exactly what you have to say. So pick up your candle, and go light your world :)
