January 5, 2008 - Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2008! We will lose the weight in 2008 ~ We can do this! This is my year to getting back to Goal and feeling good again.
Guess what today is? It's my 10 year anniversary! Guess what for? It was 10 years ago today (January 5, 1998) when I walked through the doors of Weight Watchers. 10 years! Can you believe it? That year I made lifetime and created DWLZ on September 20th of the same year, 1998. It was a stellar year for sure. I've never been sorry I started this Journey of a Lifetime. It's brought me better health, self-esteem and all of you, my friends.
It's been a very rough month of December with some good and bad moments. I am dealing with some personal issues that are very close to my heart and when I'm ready I will share them. Al and I had his Mom up here with us for the month of December and we had so much fun seeing all the Christmas lights and celebrations. Al and I have realized also during Moms stay that her short term memory is fading fast so there was some heartache during the visit too. We are working on a care plan that would make her happy and us sure she is safe. This is all so new to us so we are trying to learn all we can before moving forward. Mom is now back at home with her friends and church where she is most comfortable.
I'm hanging in there on my Journey but have not taken the time for me that is needed to be successful. I've been up a pound or two during this time but overall I've maintained most of the time. I know this is what happens when I ignore the most important person, ME. That is about to change.
I'm not back to the gym on a regular basis but hope to be soon. I walked with Al on Friday and hope to get more of that in again too. I've listened to my Enjoying Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs a couple of times but a couple of times doesn't cut it. I have found that if I don’t work out or listen to my Enjoying Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs on a regular basis, my whole program is off. So, my goal is to get those two things going again on a regular basis. I have not done well on drinking my water - too much diet pop and Starbucks have been available - so that is a must also. Wish me luck on getting back on my routine because we all know what works for us (for me it's the Enjoying Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs, water, my Weight Watcher meetings and all of you who I know are here on the same Journey with me.
I wrote this back on October 7th, right after my 51st birthday. I need to listen to myself, don't you think?
I've worked out a schedule that takes care of many aspects of my Journey. Some of the things I wanted to work into my healthy lifestyle were:
1. Sleep. I want to get at least 6-7 hours of sleep a night.
2. Exercise. I want a regular exercise routine, 4 times a week.
3. Go to my Weight Watcher meeting every Wednesday at 9:15 am.
4. I want to listen to Dr. Roberta's Enjoying Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs 4 times a week.
We made a surprise trip up to Spokane, WA for Christmas this year. Tammy & the girls were so surprised to see us (we told Jim & LeRoy). What a great Christmas with the family, including Al's Mom & Tammy's Dad and all the grandkids. Oh my! We even got a White Christmas which was the icing on the cake. Als Mom finally got to meet our family in Spokane who we've been talking about over the years.
Here are a few photos I'd like to share with you...
How would I rate my last couple of weeks? My last couple of weeks have been just
there if you know what I mean. I've continued to be conscious of my Program
but not making the extra effort needed to be successful on Program.
How would I rate my confidence level? Moderate but getting better
as I slowly get back into my routine. I will reach my GOAL!
I cannot relive yesterday and tomorrow isn't here yet,
so I will just deal with today.
ø¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°Wishing You Success°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸ø
January 20, 2008 - We will lose the weight in 2008 ~ We can do this! This is my year to getting back to Goal and feeling good again. Yes, that is what I said in my last newsletter. What happened to that great resolve?
I've had a very rough couple of weeks. For some reason I just haven't done what I know I'm supposed to do. Why? I want this healthy lifestyle; I've never stopped wanting it. So, why does this happen? I do know that when I don't listen to my Enjoying Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs it is much easier for me to fall off Program. I'm not as strong in my resolve to stay on Program. I have not been listening to my Enjoying Weight Loss Hypnosis CDs. That explains some of it. Stress is also playing a big part (I must take my own advice above). I am hurting most of the time lately (from my rheumatoid arthritis) and that makes it hard for me to even think about exercise. Not taking time for ME is also a factor lately. It seems the minute I stop taking care of ME, it's so hard to get back to taking care of ME. So, now you have the excuses or how I like to think about it, reasons - as to why I fell off program.
Now, what am I going to do about it? I'm going to get right back on the right road of my Journey. I'm going to do the best I can day by day, hour by hour. I'm going to take One Day at a Time, with No Guilt and Move On when I'm struggling. Wish me luck!
How would I rate my last couple of weeks? I've continued to be concious of
Program but not making the effort I need to be successful.
How would I rate my confidence level? My confidence level is not good but
talking about my Journey helps a lot. I'm hoping for it to be a lot higher by next update.
I cannot relive yesterday and tomorrow isn't here yet,
so I will just deal with today.
ø¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°Wishing You Success°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸ø
March 31, 2008 - I'm going to shamelessly post what I wrote in my March 20th newsletter as it pretty much sums up where I am at and how I'm feeling.
How many times have you thought to yourself, "I'm tired of this Journey; I'm tired of watching everything I eat, and I'm tired of always thinking about food"? I know I have lots of times throughout my Journey. In fact, I can almost guarantee that those thoughts will enter my mind again sometime in the future. I'm human. Gosh, did I say I was human? I wonder. Can the human factor be the culprit in my falling off Program? How about in just not wanting to do Program? Why, when we know what to do and how to do it, can we not follow Program right to Goal with no side adventures?
In January of 1998 I walked through the doors of Weight Watchers knowing what I wanted - GOAL! I was so set in my mind in achieving GOAL that nothing could of gotten in my way - NOTHING! Guess what? I marched right to goal in about 8 months and kept the weight off with little to no effort for 3 years. I got my 'Masters degree,' learning everything I could about this new healthy lifestyle and putting it to work in my Journey. I did it! I was so proud of myself and so convinced at that time that I would not gain the weight back or have the need to go on this particular Journey to Goal again.
I'm sure many of you are asking, "What happened?" So am I. I forgot that I was human and not perfect. I forgot that I still have to live my life with all the twists and turns it throws at us. Some of it was complacency. I was comfortable at my new weight and I was maintaining it with little to no effort. Some of it was over-confidence that I was in control so there was no need to make sure backup plans were in place should I wander off the path. Why should I? I was making good food choices and making sure I got my activity or workouts done for the week. I was drinking all my water. I was doing what was necessary to maintain this healthy lifestyle and new weight. I was in the zone and it truly was my new healthy lifestyle.
Let's back up to May 2002 when I quit smoking almost 3 packs of cigarettes a day. It was easy for me to quit smoking. I accomplished it by going to a group hypnosis session. The hard part came after. The mindless eating began and I couldn't control it. I never started smoking again but I never regained that non-thinking-about-it healthy lifestyle at my goal weight again. My concentration is still, to this day, not as good as it was. My whole metabolism is different. These are normal things that happen after you've quit smoking, especially as much as I was smoking. I've had some people ask me why I don't start smoking again to get my weight back down to goal. My answer to them was, "I was at my heaviest, 245 lbs, while smoking 3 packs a day which put me at double the risk for a heart attack - 100+ pounds overweight plus smoking 3 packs a day. Why would I want to smoke again?" Smoking is NOT the answer to achieving goal.
Soon after quitting smoking there were several deaths in the family, including my father-in-law, my Mother, my best friends Mom (and Mom to me) and a very dear, close friend who was like a second mother to me. Life was out-of-control, which meant Program was out the door and it showed. I gained a lot of my weight back. I don't know about you but when there are family issues going on I'm right there trying to make it easier on everyone and in the process I forget about taking care of me. Let's face it. We are caregivers. I'm truly at my best and happiest when I'm helping someone or just giving of myself.
What was so magical about that time in 1998 when I walked right down to goal relatively easily? How did I get so determined to make goal that I would have turned down a million dollars rather than go off program? Gosh, I really wish I knew because I would bottle it and we'd all be at our GOAL weight.
I've given this subject a lot of thought. I want GOAL again so badly but I can't seem to muster up the strength to continue doing what I know I need to do to achieve my GOAL. I am almost 10 years older today than I was in 1998, when I was moving straight to goal. I am dealing with medical issues that I wasn't dealing with then, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromylagia, Osteo-Arthritis, menopause and severe Restless Leg Syndrome. So what! That should not keep me from achieving my goal weight. Is it the depression that accompanies some of these conditions stopping me dead in my tracks? I know when I stop doing what I need to do on Program it's very hard to get back in the groove. Of course, the tiredness doesn't help. But... these are really just excuses. I need to find some solutions. Most of all, I need to accept the fact that this Journey back to Goal is not going to be the same one I did in 1998. It's different and I need to learn to adjust to the differences.
What are some of the things I can do to help me stay focused on Program?
* Well, number one, for me, is help on focusing on my program and doing the right things! I know when I listen to the Enjoying Weight Loss CDs I focus. Hypnosis works well for me when I actually use it. So, this has to be on top of my list of things to do to reach goal.
* Secondly, I need to slow down and take time for ME, which I am not doing. I do well for a bit, and then it's go, go, go, with no time for ME. My Program goes right out the window when I don't take the time to take care of ME. We all know that when we take care of ourselves we gain control over so much more in our lives, including our Program for a healthy lifestyle. Everyone around me is happier when I take care of ME because I'm happy. Ever heard the old saying, "If Mama ain't happy, no one is happy"? So true!
* Thirdly, I must make sure I drink plenty of water during the day. That truly is one of the keys to success on Program. You feel better, you're not as hungry all the time and it cleanses your system.
* Last, but not least, I need to surround myself with others on this Journey. When I'm struggling I need to soak up their energy and enthusiasm for Program. When I'm not struggling I need to offer up my energy and enthusiasm to others struggling, for when you help others you truly are helping yourself.
So, all that being said, when will I get back to goal? Your guess is as good as mine but I can tell you I will not quit trying. You are never a failure as long as you keep getting up every time you fall. You are never a failure as long as you do the best you can. I will be at Goal again. I know it. I just need to remember that I'm not the same person I was 10 years ago. I need to remember that every Journey is different and to accept that. I need to remember that I have all of you out there supporting me and wishing me the very best, as I am you. I need to remember that I'm Dotti, I'm human and I'm not perfect.
I'm not sure if our little visit today has helped any of you but I want you to know it has helped me tremendously to talk about it. I hope all of you realize that you are not alone on this Journey and most likely what you are feeling, others have felt the same way. Together we will walk on down to Goal.
Let's all keep on keeping on the Journey. The alternative is far worse. I would quickly be back up to 245 lbs again—plus adding on more weight—if I ever gave up this Journey. I will NEVER give up. It is not an option. EVER.
How would I rate my last month? I've continued to be concious of
Program but still not giving Program 100% which I need to be successful.
How would I rate my confidence level? My confidence level is getting
better every day. I'm working hard on building it back up.
I cannot relive yesterday and tomorrow isn't here yet,
so I will just deal with today.
ø¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°Wishing You Success°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸ø
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May 7, 2008 -
Kathy (aka Chatty on
our Message Boards)
and her wonderful
husband, Jim, stopped
by for a visit while on
their travels around
the USA. We had a
lovely dinner and
some great chit-chat.
Al really was there -
he was taking the
pictures.
Don't they look
awesome?
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May 31 - June 3, 2008 -
Joan (aka Joan on our
Message Boards) came
out for a short but
fun visit. We stayed up
late, laughed a lot and
caught up with each other.
We spent a wonderful day
at the Oregon Zoo, taking pictures and just
enjoying the day.
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June 13 - 16, 2008 -
Sharon (aka harmony), Dave (aka Frenzy)
and their son Brian came outfor a visit. Dave
and Brian climbed Mt. Hood (amazing) and
Sharon and I got to getting some 'girl time'.
We had so much fun catching up.
After the men climbed Mt. Hood
(in Oregon), we all met for a very nice
dinner at Newport Bay. It was so awesome
getting to know their son, Brian,
and reconnecting with both
Dave & Sharon. |
Dave and Brianare CELEBRITIES!
They climbed Mt. Hood!
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June 27 - July 7, 2008 - We spent July 4th vacation up in Spokane, WA with our son, LeRoy and our bestest friends, Jim & Tammy. It was one of the hottest times we have ever spent there. I couldn't believe how hot it was. I handle the heat well, being from New York but Al has a horrible time when it's extremely hot. Our little Hunter had a blast in his pool outside so he stayed cool! It is always nice spending time with our son, LeRoy (who unfortunately had to work most of the time) and our bestest friends, Jim and Tammy and their families. Here are a few pics of our precious Hunter James, who will be 3 in November!
July 11, 2008 - We have a new addition to our family thanks to my looking into a cardboard box held by a nice lady and her two little girls. Yep, they were standing in front of Walmart with this beautiful little kitten that needed a home. The lady brought the kitty home from work (gotten him from a co-worker) and he just did not work out well with their two dogs. So, she was trying to find him a home. I couldn't resist. Al was sitting in the car waiting for me so I gave him a call to come see and he did. The rest is history! He has been such a joy to have around and I do believe our stress level is a lot less with him here with us. Meet Frostbyte.
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Frostbyte loves to help me check in with all
of you on our Message boards. He's been
known to type a word or two!
On the left is Frostbyte at the time we
brought him home; about 6 weeks old. |
I turned around to get some bananas for the bowl
and look who made himself all comfy.
Frostbyte on 9/8/08 -
posing so cute next to my drink. |
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July 17, 2008 - Al and I had the pleasure of finally meeting Karen (aka KCalla on our message boards) and her family. We met for a wonderful OP dinner at Newport Bay. She has an awesome husband, Rick and beautiful daughter, Katie, who was down here looking at colleges. What a great time we had getting to know each other and collected real hugs.
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July 22 - August 8, 2008 - On July 22nd, Al and I headed to the airport to pick up our oldest son, Glenn and our grandson, Kai. The last time we saw them was in 2006. They live in Japan. Glenn is a Chief in the U.S. Navy. We were so happy to hear they would be spending their vacation with us this year. We had a blast spending some quality time with them, wild water rafting, miniature golf, science museum, zoo, basketball and much more. While they were here we took the opportunity to have our family pictures taken at Sears. Our other son LeRoy, flew down from Spokane to spend a couple of days with us too so it was the perfect time to get the photos taken. Al has almost finished a beautiful photo page of all of our adventures while they were here with us.
August 23 - 31, 2008 - Happy Birthday Al! Vikki (aka purplenorsemen on our message board) arrived on today and we had a blast for the next 8 days. My little brother Rip, Vikki, Al and I went hiking the Eagle Creek Trail to celebrate Als birthday. We came back to the house and Vikki and I made Al's favorite dinner, Instant Tacos and a great strawberry dessert. He loved it. We spent the day on the Oregon Coast at Seaside and Astoria, visiting museums and shops. We spent another day at The Dalles, OR visiting a cool Fort there and huge museum. While I was at the gym Vikki got all the addresses of the local thrift stores and put them in my magellan. We spent the rest of the day visiting them and looking for all sorts of bargains. The highlight of the visit was a wonderful night out to see the play, "Phantom of the Opera". What a wonderful show it was!
Welcoming Vikki to Portland, OR at the airport. ~ Vikki & I at the Oregon Zoo
September 12, 2008 - First I'd like to say "thank you" to all who have emailed me asking how I'm doing. It's been a long time since I've updated my Journey back to Goal. I'm usually not very good at talking about myself but I'll try and keep this up to date. I will be doing a monthly page, like this one, every month. Under my accountability chart I'll post messages and personal notes about my Journey and my life.
On June 16th of this year I started back on my Journey back to Goal. Unfortunately, my head wasn't fully in the game, if you know what I mean. I wasn't back to journaling every day and I was sorely lacking in the water department. I still managed to lose a couple pounds. On August 7th, I started my bi-weekly, one-hour training sessions with a trainer at my gym. It was the best thing I ever did! Along with the training sessions, I do 30 minutes on the elliptical and 1 hour of water aerobics. I am finally in a great gym routine and I have to say, I'm feeling great.
Along with my gym routine, I am journaling every day, staying OP, getting all my water in most days and I have more energy than I have had in a very long time. I am strong on Program.
I will try and catch you all up on what's been going on in my life. I was in a car accident on Wednesday, Sept 10th. I thought it better to let Al describe the accident since I was kind of out of it at the time.
Dotti had a car accident and we spent 4.5 hours in the ER to finally get her seen. (She is okay!) She may have separated some ribs, or maybe it is only a strain of something on her ribcage. (That injury was caused by her seatbelt! If she had not been wearing it, I would bet she would have been up into, if not through the windshield!) She also knocked her right knee pretty good on the dashboard. The car was hauled away by an AAA tow truck and we have no idea how badly the car is damaged. I was only interested in getting Dotti seen to. Tomorrow we will be doing the insurance stuff and getting together with the dealership to see if the car is fixable or not.
You never saw someone move so quickly as I did when I got the call from Dotti this morning, with her frantically telling me she was in an accident and to get down there as quick as I could.
When I first arrived, this is what I saw. Police cars and two ambulances. Dotti was still in the car and the other driver had on a neck brace and the medics were attending to her.
Dotti was in a state of shock when I arrived, and I was not far behind after seeing all the mess around the accident. She had not yet gotten out of the car, and I was afraid she was pinned, but she was just waiting for me before beginning her self-check on how badly she was hurt. I got in the passenger side and spoke with her and tried to assess the damage to her. The car I didn't care about right then, I just wanted to make sure Dotti was okay.
Dotti seemed to be doing fairly well, so we both agreed that she would try and get out of the car, with my assistance, and make sure she could stand and walk. She did well with that, but found she had rapped her knee on the dashboard and the safety belt had really done a number on her ribs, and also bruised her across her upper chest.
I don’t know about the lady who was the other driver, and who was cited for failing to yield the right of way and was hauled away in an ambulance. I think she was okay, but it was hard to tell for sure. I asked the policeman if she was okay, and he said he didn't know.
The other driver didn’t think or look or something when she turned, but she just made a left turn in front of Dotti and all Dotti could do was slam on her breaks. But that did next to nothing because she was still going 35 or 40 when the collision happened.
Our car struck the other and the points of initial contact were the middle of our bumper (and grill, and hood, and radiator, at least from what I could see) and the corner of the front passenger side of the other car.
When Dotti hit, she of course was going straight. She had a green light and was merely passing through the intersection. The other car had not quite gotten to the fully perpendicular orientation to our car when contact was made. She was well into the left turn, but not heading quite straight into the crossing road, when the nose of the car blocked Dotti’s path. Dotti’s car just quickly came to a halt, not moved left or right or turned in any way by the contact. The other car was knocked around and came to rest almost parallel to Dotti’s car. The final configuration had the front of our car almost dead center in the middle of the intersection fore to aft, and running centered in the right hand lane of a four lane road (2 lanes in each direction), and the other car was at about a 30° angle to ours, with its right front tire just in front of our bumper and (apparently undamaged!) left headlight.
This is the position that the two cars ended up in. Notice how our car is only damaged dead center, with both headlights still intact. The other car had to hit with its corner right in the center of our car to do that. And then it was spun around by the impact as you see it.
If you just looked at where the cars came to rest in the end, you would have thought they had both been going the same way and the other driver had been leading Dotti’s car by only a few feet and then merely tried to change lanes, from the left lane into Dotti’s right lane, and just ran into Dotti. But the damage tells the real story; they were originally going in opposite directions and the other driver, while making a left turn, crossed one whole lane, before obstructing Dotti’s path in the second lane of traffic going in Dotti’s direction. She just barely got into Dotti’s path before being struck.
Since Dotti had a green light, and she was going the speed limit, she was taken completely by surprise by this illegal maneuver. I have no idea what the other driver was thinking. Perhaps she saw that she had a green light and thought she had a free ride to make a left turn. But she obviously didn’t even look, or she would have seen Dotti two lanes over coming along spritely.
Our car mounted on the tow truck. Our license plate had fallen on the ground, and so the policeman picked it up and put it inside our car, so it wouldn't be lost.
Sorry for rambling so much but I am still worked up about it, and it has been 11 hours since the accident. Mainly I feel relief that Dotti is okay. Cars can be replaced, Dotti is irreplaceable. It could have been much worse. I am content. ~~Al
I cannot relive yesterday and tomorrow isn't here yet,
so I will just deal with today.
ø¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°Wishing You Success°º¤ø,¸¸¸,ø¤º°`°º¤ø,¸¸ø
