Thursday, June 30

In Living Color...


This is the picture that Jia made for me.


Because Jia is starting out at almost the same size I was- pound for pound, inch for inch.

When I look at this picture, it's hard for me to grasp the changes I see. Not only the physical elements, but the emotional ones as well.

There is a relief I see on my face now. Is my life any easier than when I started? Not really. But do I look at life differently now?

HOLY CRAPBALLS, YES I DO!!!!

There are chances I want to take. Items on my "Things to do before you turn 80" list I want to check off.


But most of all, I never want to live my life in the Black and White and Greys again.


See, the girl in the grey didn't take chances. She lived by playing it safe. She shut herself up in her house, limited her exposure to the outside world (can we say agoraphobia?) and lived happily in the comfort of her couch's butt-dent. She thought that failing was the worst thing that could ever happen to her.


But the girl in the color pictures?


She knows that failure isn't the worst thing that can happen.


The worst thing that could ever happen is sitting on her couch wondering "WHAT IF I HAD TRIED MY BEST?"


Failing at anything isn't such a bad thing. We take lessons away from our failures. We grow. We change our strategy. And most of all, we know what not to do next time.


For me, the growth I have encountered during my failures has been remarkable.


I didn't always lose weight every week.
...and I learned patience.

I didn't always succeed on particular diet plans.
...and I learned to listen closely to my body.

I didn't always like an exercise.
...and I learned to build character by returning until I liked it.

I didn't always fit into my goal clothes.
...and I learned to look back on the clothes that I shrunk out of instead.

I didn't always like the scale.
...and I learned to like the changes I saw in measurements and how I felt.


It's ok for us to be uncomfortable. It's ok to hurt. It's ok to feel hungry sometimes. It's ok to be dissapointed. But I wouldn't have known all those things unless I had failed in some way.

The girl who is grey in those pictures was afraid to try ANYTHING.

But the girl with the trashy bleached blonde hair is ready for adventure. She's ready to open up her life for something more than what she ever thought possible.

She's got living color.

Do you?

Monday, June 27

TAKE IT BACK

Wednesday, June 22

You're a GRAND OLD FLAG

Thursday, June 16

I NEED MY VAN BACK!!!

Here's the deal.

We got the total bill for "Big Blue," our new mini-van that tanked out on me while I was driving to the airport to get to Fitbloggin. And it's $700.

We honestly don't have that. Not without taking another month to save up for it. And I'm getting desperate to get back Big Blue. Especially after I forgot to go pick up Matt at work yesterday afternoon, and left him sitting in his office for 30 minutes wondering where I was. (I was at home, painting the girls' toenails)

I started thinking of all the things I could do to raise the money. Sell a kidney, donate plasma, sell my treadmill (aka- the dreadmill) for a steal...

But even doing all of those things wouldn't get me close to the $700 mark. Well, perhaps selling a kidney would, but that's also illegal. So it's not going to happen.

Then I realized something. I wrote a book. A book I have been sitting on for over 3 years that I've never done anything with.

My Thinking Cap Ran Out of Batteries.

It's about motherhood and faith. And how to learn valuable lessons from the stunts your kids pull. It's really good. (But I'm biased. However, my mom, Margaret the Saint thinks it's good too! Wait, she's biased too...)

With the popularity of ebooks these days, there's really not much of a reason to kill a bunch of trees so I can be published on paper. And frankly, did I mention I'm getting desperate to get my van back?

SO...

I'm asking if you will buy my book.
(Purty Please?)

It's not even expensive. Only $9.99!


Here's the thing. I have set up a paypal merchant button on the top left hand of the blog, under the header. You will see where it says "Buy Now." If you click it, you can use pay pal or a major credit card to make your purchase. Make sure you list your email address in "notes to seller." Then, I will email you a copy of my book.

Here's the disclaimer. I don't have it available for devices like Nooks and Kindles. YET. But any money that I make over what I need to get the van back, I promise I will invest into making that happen. What you will get for the low low price of $9.99 is a document mailed to you in Word format. (I'm making chicken soup out of chicken poop, folks. It's what I've got.) If you have an issue with the format you get, just shoot me an email and I'll send you the kind you need.

Want to try before you buy? I posted a sample chapter of Thinking Cap a while back. This is Chapter 4, called TORNADO, and feel free to go back and read it before you decide. :) It is a Christian book, but it's funny and heartwarming and touching too. I grew a lot as a mother writing this book. So you might like it. It's about 100 pages long, so if you are thinking about printing it out, I want to give you fair warning.

HERE'S THE BEST PART.
I only need to sell 70 copies to get Big Blue back. THAT'S IT!!! I know I've asked you readers for lots of support emotionally, but this feels different. If I didn't think the book was good, I wouldn't do this. But I know this book means a lot to me. And since you are here, you know I don't suck so bad as a writer.

Maybe maybe maybe, could you pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top give me and my book a chance?

It just might bolstier my confidence enough to start working on "The Ultimate Fatgirl's Guide to Losing Weight and Not Hating it Too Much..." obviously that's the working title!

Much love,
Van-less Charlie

Wednesday, June 8

The Welcome Matt

Thursday, June 2

The Weigh things have CHANGED...

 
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