hi everyone,

i hope you all had a joyous, fun and happy holiday season. i did! i also did the best i could to eat healthy, but in the end didn't succeed. as I posted the other day, i am fine with it! now it's a new year and a new day and my passion for losing weight and staying healthy is invigorated!

for the most part i intend to go back to the basics and stick with the plan i followed during my most succesful days with ck. i will set myself up for success every day. that means i won't weigh myself constantly, i won't obsess about the scale and i will allow inperfections. as soon as i start to think that 95% accuracy isn't good enough is when i typically run into trouble. i get it into my silly little head that i have to be 100% perfect or nothing. and what happens? soon 95% becomes 90% which begets 80% and before you know it i am at the supermarket buying a pint of ben & jerry's chunky monkey for the chunky monkey i am destined to remain. ah, the vicious cycle we create for ourselves.

this time, instead of aspiring for 100% i will remain satisfied with my best efforts! that way i can not fail and will always find something good in the choices i make. it's my glass half-full attitude for 2008.

my first step to success will be the cleansing of the leftovers in my refrigerater because it is half-full with cookies and treats i don't want to eat right now. ralph will bring everything that's appropriate to his office. not quite like having my own mikey (remember the life cereal kid?), they won't eat just anything. but i can be pretty sure the food won't go to waste.

i will keep myself busy today too. i will begin the task of taking down our christmas decorations. this year i have new bins and want to purge some of the older decorations from our collection - those without real sentimental value. of course, that limits my ability to get rid of anything since i can find a memory in my pinecones. (remember that day in the woods 25 years ago when we collected these?) who cares if they are dry as a bone and better suited for kindling wood? i think i am going to need a bigger attic!! ah, but i try!!! i will make some effort and pledge to get rid of a few things.

my closing words for today:

it's the effort
we make to be our best
that reap the rewards we seek
not perfection
not being number one
it's running the race
not winning

it's the dance
we do
when we are alone
not the samba
on the crowded
ballroom floor
it's the stories
we share with
families and friends
not the novels
that no one
will read

it's the heart
and soul
and the passion
we have for life
and all we do
it's what matters most
and in the end
it's what will make
our dreams come true