Saturday, December 31, 2011

Theme Song for 2012

I don't always post about it, but every year I pick a theme song for the new year. I just saw Beonce perform this and I think its a good one for 2012!

Endings and Beginnings

So it is New Year's Eve and we are counting down to the first moments of 2012. I don't make resolutions really, but I do reflect on the passing year and try come up with some ideas for making the next year a good one.

2011 started pretty good and I had a lot of things in mind that I wanted to do. Some of them I accomplished. I became a Weight Watchers leader which was something I really wanted to do and since then I have found a job working in a gym to further my passion for helping people become healthy. My kids are healthy and happy and I have a lot to be thankful for.

A lot of really crappy stuff happened too however. It really wasn't what I would consider a banner year in my life. Things were pretty tough financially and I've gone through some stuff that I might share in a later post. I'm trying to focus on the good things, and move past the bad.

Today also marked the end of a huge part of my life. For about 29 years I've spent a large portion of my time at a restaurant owned by a man I consider to be my father. This place is like Cheers without the alcohol. Everyone knows you're name and you always have friends there. I went to homecomings and proms from there. I celebrated birthdays and graduations. I brought my babies there right out of the hospital, and celebrated their birthdays. The owner, Jim, walked me down the aisle when I got married. There are endless memories associated with this restaurant and today it closed its door after 34 years. Jim is retiring and deserves it more than anyone I know. I'll still see him regularly, but losing this home away from home has hit me incredibly hard.

So while I am really looking forward to a fresh start in 2012, I am still wondering how this void will be filled.

I hope all of you have a wonderful 2012 filled with peace and happiness!

Simple Christmas Success!

All of my Christmas nerves were for nothing! This was truly one of the best Christmas' we've had in a while. The kids seem really happy with everything that they received and spent the whole day happily building their Lego sets. We had simple homemade pizzas, and ice cream sundaes and laid around in our pajamas all day. One unplanned side effect of the simple Christmas was that we only had one extra bag of trash at the curb this year! In the past I've always felt so guilty about how much trash our celebrations created so this year it felt a lot better.

Overall the day was a total win and we will do it again next year!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Christmas Nerves

Well it is one week until the big day! Christmas day that is and I'm getting nervous. Why would anyone be nervous about Christmas you ask. Well, as I posted a few days ago, this is going to be our first "simple" Christmas. Now I'm sure that for the more seasoned minimalist our Christmas won't look all that simple. But, for us, it is a big change.

The shift happened partially because of my desire to simplify and mostly because of my lack of funds this year. There has been a bit of mental struggle with this situation I can tell you that for sure! I've made the selections for the boys with a lot of thought. I asked them repeatedly for suggestions and listened for the repeats. I feel like the items I've purchased will be things that they really enjoy and things that will get a lot of use. But I can't deny that the pile of gifts is small. Wrapping didn't take very long and I got serious mommy guilt. It doesn't help reading about all the amazing things other people have bought for their kids.

Will they be disappointed? Will I be the one to ruin Christmas? Or will I get to enjoy the holiday a little more because I bought them things they truly enjoy and I don't feel bad when half of it sits around never being played with and feeling guilty about the money I've spent on it all?

I'll let you know!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Support Systems

I've been thinking a lot about support systems lately. I have a few friends going through separations and divorces, and my own schedule has made me wish I had another person here to support me emotionally as well as around the house. But it was an episode of The Biggest Loser that sparked this blog post. I don't know if anyone watches the show but I pick up past episodes on Hulu since I work when it is one. I'm a few episodes behind and last night I saw the episode in which Bob goes to Texas to the home of one of the contestants for a week.

Now Bob is paid to care about these people, but it's pretty evident that not all of that caring comes from this just being his job. He wants the people on the show to do well, to lose weight, and to get healthy. I suspect that is what any trainer wants. That's why he wasn't nearly as excited when one of his girls won the contest to return home to her family for a week. He knew what it meant. It meant going back into an environment full of temptations, stressors, and support issues.

This girls family seemed to really care about her and want to do what they could to help her, but I think the key to the entire episode was in the restaurant they took Bob to. It was a BBQ place with almost nothing on the menu that she could eat (not to mention it was pretty rude to take Bob to a BBQ place when he's a vegan). Bob looked at her family and told them that that type of restaurant would not be a place she could visit very much in the future.

The looks on the faces of her family members said a lot. Until that moment I don't think they had really grasped the seriousness of the issue. They had smiles on their faces about having their loved one home and a celebrity trainer in their midst, but they hadn't really thought about their role in her weight loss.

Can people be successful in a weight loss journey without the support of those around them? Yes, if they are determined and know how important it is to their health. Is it worlds harder than it would be with support? Oh yes! I see people all the time who do not have support and they make great strides, but those who have people in their corner do so much better.

If you're starting out on a plan to get healthy, do everything you can to bring those you love along. Even if they don't need to lose weight, everyone can be healthier than they are right now. Take them to the doctor with you so they can hear how important it is to your health. If you're going to a weight loss program like Weight Watchers, bring them along. If you're seeing a personal trainer have the trainer tell them all the ways they can help you along. Do whatever it takes to show the people around you how much they can help you on your journey.

If you still can't get those people on board, do it without them! Make the changes you need to make. Many times when other people see you doing well, they want to make changes too. But if not, seek out alternatives. Look for friends, support groups, even online forums. There is always someone out there who will be your rock!