One Lucky Woman

In the past three months, I've broken both my tailbone and my nose. My car has recently broken down. My former landlord has essentially refused to refund my security deposit. I've had a misunderstanding with a friend. Both my nephew and my grandpa have been hospitalized in serious condition and my cousin was killed in a tragic accident. Someone recently told me that if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. It may seem like that on the outside, but I've gotta say -- I disagree. I believe that I'm one lucky woman.

Why do I think I'm so lucky?

I have a mother who loves me unconditionally. My grandfather, one of the most important people in my life, still is alive and seems to be doing better. My nephew, even at 10 years old, an age when most boys start to think that aunts are dumb, still thinks I hung the moon. I have a boyfriend who is, in a word, amazing -- he's always there for me and believes in me. I've got the best friends in the world -- from those who have been around since elementary school, high school, and college, to those who I've just met in the past few years, or even months, I have wonderful friends. I also have one of the coolest dogs on the planet. These are the important things -- the things that make me lucky -- my loved ones.

I've got a cozy home. Sure, I don't own it and it's currently very disorganized and still in boxes, but it's mine. I have a car in the driveway (now, granted, it's not running at this very moment, but still) and a good job. I have clothes, shoes, and food to put in my belly.

So, yes, I'm a very lucky woman. I've got life and I've got love. To me, that's all it takes.

The Journey of 100 Steps

As of Thursday, I have embarked on a new journey in life. It's one I've tried before, and one where I've been semi-successful, but this time, I plan to make the journey, succeed in my journey, and maintain my destination. So, what's my journey? I'm going to lose 100 pounds. That's right. One hundred pounds.

Two years ago, I made, what I believed to be, a lifestyle change. I lost about 70 pounds and was feeling pretty good about myself, even though I still had more to lose. Well, as always, life intervened, I strayed from my diet and quit caring, and now, I've now gained back a good amount of that weight.

As of Thursday, I've set a new goal -- 100 pounds in one year. That's a lot of weight, but it's weight that I need to lose. Ultimately, I'd like to lose it within the next ten months -- ten pounds a months -- but I know that I have to be cautious and realisic.

So, how am I going to do it? By eating healthily (but neither starving nor depriving myself) and exercising. I'm giving myself a couple of weeks to get started with the diet (mostly because I'm getting ready to leave for a week again) and then will kick the exercising into gear. I'm looking into taking some martial arts lessons. If the weather will cooperate, I'm thinking about starting to run again. I'm going to continue to play disc golf. I'm just going to try to be more active.

Is this going to be easy? Absolutely not. I've got to remember that I can take the weight off the same way that I put it on -- one pound at a time. They say that a journey begins with a single step, so let the journey begin!

I Believe In...

There's an old song named I Believe in You by an artist named Don Williams. I heard this song periodically as I was growing up, but this past Christmas, I rediscovered it when I hopped in my mom's car and it was playing...on a CD. As a child, I liked the beat and the music; as an adult, not only do I like the beat, the music, and his voice, but I also LOVE the lyrics.

The song has a pretty simple premise -- the writer (I *believe* it was Don Williams himself, but am not totally sure) discusses things he believes in...ending in with, "I believe in you." He also talks about things the things he either no longer believes in or never did believe.

Part of the reason that I like this song is that it makes me think long and hard about what *I* believe in...and about what I don't believe. The other reason I like it is because, while it's a song from the 70s (?), it is very applicable today. Lyrics like "I don't believe...that black is black and white is white...that gasoline's in short supply...the rising cost of getting by..." were written during a time when these were issues facing society. In a way, I think it's pretty sad that, some 20 years later, we're still facing these issues -- and that people haven't changed much.

Wow...this post has taken a different direction than I was planning. I was going to discuss the things in which I believe. I guess I'll save that for another time. For now, I'm going to listen to a little Don Williams while finishing my laundry and head to bed shortly.

Help Buddy Find a Home!

I received an email this morning from a friend. She has a friend who found a stray male Beagle mix several weeks ago. She's apparently been looking for his home this entire time, but has been unable to find his parents. So, she's on a mission to find him a new home (apparently her dogs don't really care for him).

His name is Buddy and he's the adorable puppy dog in the photos below. He's approximately three years old, has been neutered, is up-to-date on his shots, and is described as mellow, friendly, and extremely loving. He's house trained, and prefers to spend his days outside, but wants to sleep beside your bed at night.

If you're a good person and can give Buddy a home, please let me know. I'll put you in touch with his temporary mother. Please help Buddy find a forever home!

Leave Them Alone!

For the past couple of years, basically since the beginning, I've loosely followed the TLC show Jon and Kate Plus 8. At first, it was due to a strange fascination with the family, but it slowly morphed into a slight habit.

Essentially, I've always wondered if I'd actually like Jon and Kate in real life, and sadly, although I think they love their children, I don't think they'd be my favorite people. She seems overwhelmingly controlling and he seems to be underwhelmingly able to think for himself. That's really neither here nor there, though, for the purpose of this post.

Since the beginning of the year, Jon and Kate's relationship problems have been broadcast for the world to see. Sure, some would say that they brought this on themselves, what with their show and all, but I don't really agree. I truly doubt that, when they signed a contract, they planned to have marital issues and have them shown to everyone.

For the most part, I've just listened to the edge of the publicity...until today. Apparently, as of today, in addition to being investigated for possible violations of child labor laws, they now are being investigated on charges of animal abuse -- because of a comment that one of them made about their children roughhousing with their dogs.

I am sorry. This is just RIDICULOUS! Leave these poor people alone! Let them work out their marital problems alone. And, Jon and Kate? Put your show on hiatus. Work on your life. Get out of the spotlight. I have a hunch that you'll be glad you did.

Passing Up a Good Deal

This evening, after running several errands, I decided that I wanted a sugar-free sno cone to soothe my irritated throat. After finding all three sno cone places closed for some reason, I got frustrated and headed home.

I was happily driving along (after nearly getting hit by an ambulance who decided to flip on their lights and sirens and flip a u-turn in the middle of the street) when I approached a massive line of traffic. I wasn't sure why there was a traffic jam in Midwest City -- I mean, really, this isn't exactly the most happening place in the world.

Suddenly, it hit me...Sonic is giving away free root beer floats tonight. There was a line of traffic approximately three blocks long (to the north), waiting to turn in to Sonic. I bypassed it, shaking my head, and was nearly hit by a car that was determined that I wasn't going to beat them in the driveway. Trust me...there was no way in hell I was entering that fray! Incidentally, the line stretched about two and a half blocks to the south, too.

Everyone knows that I'm a sucker for a good deal. Seriously, I'm the one who can ferret out a Dillard's sale ($7 leather purses and $23 Born boots, anyone?) at ten paces, and I also love free things, but there's no way I would risk my life going to Sonic tonight for a free small root beer float. I'd rather dig through my couch cushions, find two bucks in change, and buy one when the crazies are not out in full force!

Legal vs. Illegal

Controversial Wichita physician, Dr. George Tiller, was shot to death while serving as an usher at his church yesterday morning. Dr. Tiller was a prominent figure in the medical field for providing women's health services, particularly, abortions.

More details are coming to light on Dr. Tiller's death, including that the suspect is an anti-government, anti-choice, pretty much anti-everything nut job who believes that killing a living, breathing human is justifiable, just because he doesn't like what he did for a living. Thankfully, he's been apprehended and is in custody, awaiting charges.

I'm not going to turn this into a pro-choice/pro-life post, because, here's the deal: abortion currently is legal. Whether it's right for you or wrong for you, if you're ever in a situation that could call for an abortion, only you can decide. Bottom line? It's legal.

The other part of the equation is that murdering a living human is illegal. No matter how you slice it, Dr. Tiller was gunned down and murdered in a place that's supposed to be a place of peace. A haven. Safe. Bottom line here? Murder is illegal.

If you're so completely pro-life because you believe that abortions are murder, then how can you justify murdering someone yourself? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

All I know is that, while I might not agree with everything he did, Dr. Tiller was a husband, father, grandfather, friend, and so much more -- he was more than his profession, as are we all. Today, his family and friends are mourning because of someone who apparently has a skewed sense of right and wrong. And, to me, that's just sad.