I’m still and will always be, a stair taker. I even recently trucked up 14 flights at a conference I was attending. Boy THAT was a workout!

Anyway, when I saw this quote it made me chuckle.

“A man’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time – pills or stairs.”
Joan Welsh

Are you a stair taker?

This quote sums it up perfectly. . .

Getting momentum going is the most difficult part of the job, and often taking the first step is enough to prompt you to make the best of your day.
-Robert J. McKain

I have a bunch of things I’d love to blog about but honestly, it’s time for bed. I’m really making an effort to get more sleep. I think it’s helping my overall outlook as well. :)

Here’s the day’s food journal. . .

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator. Follow my food jounral live @RonisFood

A time comes in your life when you finally get it…when, in the midst of all your fears and insanity, you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out…ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying and blaming and struggling to hold on. Then, like a child quieting down after a tantrum, you blink back your tears and begin to look at the world through new eyes.

This is your awakening.

You realize it’s time to stop hoping and waiting for something to change, or for happiness, safety and security to magically appear over the next horizon.

You realize that in the real world there aren’t always fairy tale endings, and that any guarantee of “happily ever after” must begin with you…and in the process a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.

You awaken to the fact that you are not perfect and that not everyone will always love, appreciate or approve of who or what you are…and that’s OK. They are entitled to their own views and opinions.

You learn the importance of loving and championing yourself…and in the process a sense of new found confidence is born of self-approval.

Your stop complaining and blaming other people for the things they did to you – or didn’t do for you – and you learn that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected.

You learn that people don’t always say what they mean or mean what they say and that not everyone will always be there for you and everything isn’t always about you.

So, you learn to stand on your own and to take care of yourself…and in the process a sense of safety and security is born of self-reliance.

You stop judging and pointing fingers and you begin to accept people as they are and to overlook their shortcomings and human frailties…and in the process a sense of peace and contentment is born of forgiveness.

You learn to open up to new worlds and different points of view. You begin reassessing and redefining who you are and what you really stand for.

You learn the difference between wanting and needing and you begin to discard the doctrines and values you’ve outgrown, or should never have bought into to begin with.

You learn that there is power and glory in creating and contributing and you stop maneuvering through life merely as a “consumer” looking for you next fix.

You learn that principles such as honesty and integrity are not the outdated ideals of a bygone era, but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build a life.

You learn that you don’t know everything, it’s not you job to save the world and that you can’t teach a pig to sing. You learn the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that martyrs get burned at the stake.

Then you learn about love. You learn to look at relationships as they really are and not as you would have them be. You learn that alone does not mean lonely.

You stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn to distinguish between guilt and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to say NO.

You also stop working so hard at putting your feelings aside, smoothing things over and ignoring your needs.

You learn that your body really is your temple. You begin to care for it and treat it with respect. You begin to eat a balanced diet, drinking more water, and take more time to exercise.

You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you deserve, and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You learn that no one can do it all alone, and that it’s OK to risk asking for help.

You learn the only thing you must truly fear is fear itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.

You learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.

You learn that life isn’t always fair, you don’t always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people…and you learn not to always take it personally.

You learn that nobody’s punishing you and everything isn’t always somebody’s fault. It’s just life happening. You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Then, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than you heart’s desire.

You make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

You hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind.

Finally, with courage in you heart, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.

This weekend I’ve been reflecting.

I am happy. I am calm. I am grateful. I feel… completely… content.

Comfortable in my skin.

me.

I peak in the kid’s room and see this…

I get out of the shower and see this..

I smile.

It took me a long time not to judge myself through someone else’s eyes.

Sally Field said that and I can relate. It’s taken me a long time to get to this place. This place of peace. This place of happiness. This place where I know I am good enough no matter my weight or pants size, regardless of what people have told me.

I hope you all have a wonderful WONDERFUL Saturday. Tonight’s poker. Tomorrow the gym. Weekends are the bomb! :)

Today was a GREAT day… family fun… old friends… new neighbors… and way too much chocolate. Yes I said it… TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE. I mean it IS Halloween! What would halloween be without chocolate?

Could I have eaten a little less or none at all? sure. But guess what…

IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL! A few pieces of chocolate are no big deal. Heck.. even a WHOLE bunch of chocolate doesn’t matter. What does matter is day in and day out consistency. You can choose right now to to allow todays decisions to effect tomorrow or as Ralph Waldo Emerson said…

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense."

I’m choosing to begin tomorrow with a run. I have done nothing for myself since the marathon and I miss my time. I’ve procrastinated long enough.

Hope you had a WONDERFUL Halloween. I plan on enjoying the last few hours watching cheesy horror movies on TV. :)

Then this morning, as I was trying to muster up enough energy to start the day, I caught @angiealltheway’s awesome picture on Twitter. It totally gave me a boost!

I truly believe feelings are contagious. Think about the last time you were around a depressed person. Didn’t you feel drained? Afraid to talk about anything? Don’t you start to withdraw as well? I know I do.

So when I saw this message I was reminded how important it is to me to not only be positive but to help others be positive as well.

It’s not easy but sometimes making a decision to be happy is the first step to actually getting there. Sometimes you really have to fake it till you make it! :)

side note: More about my crazy weekend tomorrow. Today I made some progress on the kitchen and my bedroom. I’m getting there!

When I got home from work, I just couldn’t deal. I felt so overwhelmed. I know part of it, most of it, is my own doing. I’m famous for biting off more then I can chew. I know this and I’m working on it. But there’s just so many darn things I want to accomplish!

My biggest problem right now is really having so much to do I just don’t know where to start. So tonight, I didn’t. Instead, the husband and I took a walk, picked up the toddler and went out to dinner. Then we came home and finished unpacking 2 rooms. That little bit of progress was just what I needed to feel better.

Sometimes I think we all focus on our long term goals or the big picture too much. If we’d just slow down and work on something small everyday we not only get closer to our goals but build confidence in the process. This is true in everything from weight loss to unpacking a house.

I love this quote…

Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow.
Doug Firebaugh

Just think if every day we did do one thing to make tomorrow better. Such a simple concept with the possibility of profound results.

so I tried it – and I did it!

Here’s her entire note. This is what keeps me doing what I’m doing…

Hi Roni,
I don’t have a question for you. This is a note to tell you how much your blog has influenced my life. I found your blog while I was on the Weight Watchers message boards about 2 years ago, and have been a dedicated follower ever since. In 2007 I lost 40 pounds by following the WW program. I had lost weight in the past, but I was never able to keep it off. I was always either “on a diet” or gaining weight. I could never maintain a healthy balance. After I had my second daughter, I was the heaviest I’d ever been, and decided to try again at WW. I lost 40 pounds in 9 months – that was the easy part. The hard part was keeping it off. Reading your blog motivates me. I’ve made many of your recipes from Greenlitebites – Chili, Beer Can Chiken, mashed potatoes, Salisbury steak … and the list goes on. It’s so nice to have new and different ideas – it’s so easy to get in a rut. I’ve learned to balance the “healthy” with the “junk”. In the past, when I lost weight, I always went back to eating junk. This time I’ve been able to balance it. I eat a healthy diet during the week, and give myself a break on the weekend. This way I don’t feel like there are things I can’t eat. I can fries and chips, but only on the weekend – not every night, like in the past. It helps me to read about how you struggle with the same things – and how you manage to get over them.

When I lost the weight this time I did it strictly by counting points. I didn’t start any type of exercise program. Exercise has never been my thing. I’ve never enjoyed it. So, I only concentrated on the food, and it worked. But after reading about your experiences with exercise, I started to feel motivated. I was finding it harder and harder to maintain my weight loss with only counting points. I heard you mention the Couch to 5K program, and decided to look into it. I was literally starting “from the couch”. I wasn’t doing any kind of exercise at the time. I’d always thought that I could never be a runner. But this program seemed doable – I knew I could jog for 60 seconds – but that’s about all I could do. I started the program in June and I finished it today! I can run for 30 minutes now! I’m so thrilled that I can actually do it. You motivated me to start. I saw that when you started exercising, you were in the same place as me. I saw that someone like me could actually do it – so I tried it – and I did it! Thank you! Now I see how far you’ve come – running a marathon! You are such an inspiration to me! Now that I finished the Couch to 5K program, I’m planning to keep up with running. I rewarded myself with a Nike+. I can’t wait to try it out. I’m also starting the 200 sit-ups challenge. I’m 36 years old, and I’m in the best shape of my life, and you helped me to achieve that.

I just wanted to let you know that I could not have come this far in my maintenance without your blog. Thank you so much for everything that you share. It really made a difference in my life.

Stacey

“The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what? After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it.” – John Maxwell

I needed it as I prepare for a nice long run tomorrow morning. I have less then 8 weeks until the marathon… the FULL marathon. I’m freaking out a teensy weensy bit but I’m also looking forward to it. I just need to get out and DO IT. :)

If you have made mistakes, there is always another chance for you. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down. -Mary Pickford

I needed to find this quote after my day of cookies, candy, milk shakes, fries and chicken fingers. I feel… bleh,

I know one day is one day, now. But I also remember a time when I would consider a day like today a "failure. The difference between the me now and the me then is now I refuse to "stay down".