I am so sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of weeks. I've been super busy with work and enjoying the heck out of my Christmas present. It's nice to have Netflix again. But that's a bit off topic from my blog. So let's get back on track.

"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world." - Helen Keller


I will admit, one of the reasons I've lacked any blog posts recently was because I've had complete writer's block on what to talk about. I don't want to bore you all with minute by minute updates on what I am personally doing, because I don't want it to seem like I am conceited. I am proud of my progress. I haven't looked or felt prettier in a very long time. Just last week I went and exchanged a top my mom got me for Christmas. It ended up being too big from the get go and I got a super cute top, and it makes me feel like I could jump out of my skin and sing "I Feel Pretty."

It's funny that I mention that, because a coworker of mine has said to me that a girl should always feel that way when she wears clothes... Like she can dance around and sing like Maria. But until recently I never really felt like that. Now that I know how it feels I wish that every girl could feel that way too. I am sure plenty do, but I am not naive enough to think that I was the only one that did.

I am not big on inspiration. I wish I were. The best I can do is reach out to as many people as I can on this blog and hope that I can reach out to one person out there who has felt as I have, and still do sometimes. If I can help inspire one person, it would mean the world to me. If I could do to one person what all of you are doing for me, I would feel like I could conquer the world.

The other night at work, it was rather quiet and I was finished with my recovery and was quite bored.. so as I shuffled around looking busy.. I started to imagine something in my head. I know in my last blog post I wrote about my dreams, and how I come up with heroic stories. Well this idea was a bit simpler, but inspiring. It may take me a while to reach this dream, but I'm going to do it. I'm thinking of writing a children's book. I have a great idea and I want to go with it.

Anywho, I am rambling. So perhaps I know of more than one way to reach people and inspire them. I'm not just stuck trying on a blog. If all goes as I hope it does I may have a book sitting on the shelves of my work...Now wouldn't that be amazing?

Thank you all for the love and support you give me and for waiting so patiently for an updated post. I'm going to try my best to get at least 3 of these up a week, as a daily thing may become a hassle as I do close a lot at work. But I'll try. Thank you all again.

Dreams

"People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of." -Paulo Coelho


I am a huge fan of this quote. I believe I mentioned in my first post how I always thought that I would always be the way I was. Overweight, unhappy and stuck. That's not to say that I didn't have big dreams for myself.

I love to write. Ever since I was a little girl I had a big imagination and I would always come up with some crazy idea's for stories. Every story had a beautiful, strong and brave heroine. Needless to say that I always dreamed I was that girl. The one fighting off pirates, or wielding a bow and arrow like a female Robin Hood. Or just ending up with the hero, falling in love and living happily ever after.

But reality always hit me and it was never a pretty thing, until recently. I finally realized, that while I may never fight pirates, mostly because the pirates I fantasized about were more along the lines of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" pirates, or use a bow and arrow like Robin Hood, I could still be that pretty girl who always filled my dreams and ideas with adventure. And I could also end up with the hero, falling in love with him and riding off into the sunset. I finally realized my dreams could be a reality and that I had full control over how I made it happen.

That's what brings me here, to this blog and to my present journey. It may not be as fantastical as the crazy stories I've come up with over the years, but it's my story. I am the beautiful heroine who is fighting off the evil "dragons" and "demons" to get to that final goal, and I think we all know what that goal is.

I love you guys so much, and I appreciate everything I read. I find so much strength and courage from your kind words. Thank you all so much.

The Joys of Losing Weight!

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

I have found a new great feeling! The feeling of your pants getting baggier and baggier as I lose more weight. I've noticed for the last few days that some of the pants I own are getting baggier. It's an amazing feeling to feel how loose they are!

But it's kind of a bitter sweet moment. Baggy pants mean that eventually they will have to be taken in. Thankfully I have an amazing grandma for that. But we can't keep bringing in the same pants.. so eventually it means having to buy new pants. Hopefully I won't have to buy too many "in between" pairs before I reach my goal weight.

Keeping on the same note of clothes... I am super excited for the day that I do reach my goal weight. Because I am going to overhaul my entire wardrobe with some of the cutest clothes! I can't wait to wear things that I never thought I could wear, ever!

Now, I've been getting a lot of amazing support and love from my family and friends, as well as some of my mothers friends! There are so many of you who are supporting me and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You are such amazing people and I truly appreciate everything I've read from all of you. Knowing that I have such a super support team behind me keeps me focused on all of my goals! Thank you all again! Lots of Love! <3

Why, Jillian Michaels? Why???

"To succeed, you need to take that gut feeling in what you believe and act on it with all of your heart." - Christy Borgeld.

So, today I figured out that I am not the biggest fan of Jillian Michaels. Well, not really. She's a fantastic lady and I am sure a very nice person. But when you are new to her workout, you can't help but hate her. Or maybe that's just me? Oh well.

Today was the first day that I actually finished her workout. I attempted it the other day but the hand weights I had were killing me. I didn't actually take the time to look at the weight on them. They ended up being 7 pounds each. Oh boy was I a little ambitious there? Yeah.

All in all this working out thing is a lot of fun. I think the best part is work the next day. Recovery at work requires me to get down into squats and after doing so many of them the night before my legs have a nice little burn to them. Does it make me odd that I actually enjoy the feeling of that burn?

On a non workout note, I found out that my good friend got a Premium pass to Disneyland.. which means we can both go whenever we want! And believe me, I plan on utilizing my pass at least once a week if I can. In fact, we are planning on going this week! I truly enjoy Disneyland, especially now that I feel comfortable going, Jenny Craig and all! I always bring lots of snacks with me, to tide me over so I don't crave a churro, and for meals I try my best to choose the healthiest options. Typically it's a salad, but this week we plan on hitting up the new restaurant, "Jolly Holiday" and from the looks of their menu, there are plenty of healthy options.

I will have more details on my Disneyland endeavors after we visit this week, because I have plenty of fun things to do while you are there and tips and tricks to make your visit fun and healthy at the same time. For now, I will sign off with a big thank you to all of my supporters. I appreciate you all!

Dancing away the pounds!

"I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure." - John D. Rockefeller

So yesterdays post was dedicated to my past. Who I was and why I decided to do what I am doing now. From now on all my posts are going to be dedicated to now, what I am doing and what I plan on achieving. I will do my best to put a post up each day, and to help me remember to do this, I bought a mini calendar with a new positive quote each day. Hence the Rockefeller quote!

It's a new year and I'm going to be a new me. To help me be a new "Me" I went a little crazy with my bank account and got some new gear for working out. I've already put it into good use as well and let the dancing pro's of Dancing with the Stars teach me how to do the Cha-Cha... and let me tell you... Oooowww!

I know I will get better with time. But today was such a pain. I am much weaker than I thought and wasn't as quick as I had hoped. But with practice and lots of stretching, I know I will get there soon. So watch out! This girl plans on dancing her butt off.... Literally!

I also bought some hand weights that I plan to utilize with the Jillian Michaels "30 day shred" as well as to take with me on my walks to add more of a challenge. The only thing I lack to make my walks even better are some upbeat tunes, that aren't "Glee", and headphones! So I am happily taking any suggestions on music to keep me moving, as well as any idea's on songs that I can use as my own personal theme.

A wonderful family friend of mine, Sharon Meagher, posted a video on my Facebook wall with a song that I absolutely LOVE. But I don't know if I necessarily want to copy that guys idea to have "Fix You" be my theme... I may end up just adopting it anyways because it's beautiful.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you for your support and love. You have no idea how much I appreciate everything I've been reading, here on this blog as well as on my Facebook and my mothers as well. You are all so amazing and I am proud to let you into a little part of my life, to share the struggles I am going through as well as the hurdles I'm jumping. Thank you all again and I hope that this post didn't disappoint!

The Caterpillar

Hello, my name is Marcia, and I am a "Caterpillar". 

What is a "Caterpillar" you may ask? Well there are plenty of definitions of a caterpillar, but my definition is ... well, me, as I am right now. I am 22 years old and obese. But that doesn't mean I have to be this way forever. However, up until a few months ago, I thought it meant that exactly.

I have always struggled with my weight, since before I could remember. I was bullied in middle school for it, and while I wasn't bullied in high school, I know my weight kept me from doing a lot of things I wanted to do. But I never thought I could do anything about it. So I continued to struggle through it, doing diets here and there with my mother and grandmother. The downside of these diets is that I was never mentally in the right place to lose weight.. so I continually failed. 

So a terrible pattern began to arise. I'd diet for a bit.. lose weight.. then fall off the wagon. Because of the failure I'd eat my emotions and gain all the weight back. I finally came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to do anything about and for years, I ate whatever I wanted and did whatever I wanted.

Then, one day, I randomly decided to do something about it. It's like a switched was turned on in my mind that told me I don't need to be the way I was forever. 

It's been 2 months since I joined Jenny Craig and I've lost almost 20 pounds and I'm still going strong. I've had a few weak moments and I'm still struggling with a few things. But I've got my eye on the prize and I'm giving myself as many goals as possible. Goals that are easy to reach. Every 10 pounds I am getting myself a nice little treat, something to remind myself of what I am doing. I want to make a pattern of each of these treats having something to do with a Butterfly, which I want to use as my mascot. 

Well I want to wrap up this first post by thanking all of you for reading this and for your support. I will do my best to update this as often as possible. Hopefully if you are following this for inspiration, I'm gonna do my best to put as much inspiring thoughts and ideas in here. I am not the best writer in the world.. but hopefully you can read this without pulling your hair out. 

Thank you all again!