My Thoughts

So it’s been a while since I’ve blogged and I made a promise to myself that I would be more diligent. One of things I was planning to do on this blog was to chronicle my weight loss struggles and use this as a form of therapy for myself and any others who may read this and identify with me.

Back in January I blogged about the weight I lost on the Weight Watcher’s program, since that time I am back to square one. I try not to let this set back discourage me. I am disappointed in myself in that I haven’t used the set back to motivate me to do better. I am finding that I am an emotional eater , a sight eater and a heavy snacker.

So as I think back to the past months I can identify some issues I have. One issue is that I see food that I like and I take a little taste and that little taste becomes a bunch of little tastes. I am going to work hard in the upcoming months to not be a taster even a small taster. My next issue is that I am a snacker. Right now as I type this entry, I have been in all day meeting and I have snacked for most of it. So I realized this early on and I have tried to stock my home with healthier more Weight Watcher friendly snacks. I am also a night owl and I snack at night. So I am going to try to drink water or some juice instead grabbing a snack. I have, for my late night snacking, ate more healthier low cal snacks. So that is one step I am taking.

Like any addict I know that the first step is to admit you have a problem. So here goes “Hi my name is Jelli and I am an emotional, snacker and sight eater”. This is step one of my process to change.

Approximately a month ago I made the declaration that I wanted to lose 100 pounds by that same time in 2010. While I’ve been dabbling with Weight Watchers (WW) off and on for about year now, this past Nov. 2008 I decided to get serious about WW. I know deciding to do a weight loss program around the holidays is nuts, I figured that if I could survive the holidays watching what I eat then I could make through the rest of the year. So far it hasn’t been too bad.

For Thanksgiving I ate all that was cooked but only small portions. What my WW counselor did also helped, she had us the draw the outline of the food we were going to eat. Then she had us to write the point values for each of those foods. That exercise helped me to visualize what I was going to eat and this in turn helped me to not eat too much. I lost .6 pounds on my first weigh in after Thanksgiving. Although this may seem like a small amount to you this was a huge accomplishment for me in that I didn’t gain weight but instead lost.

For Christmas we did another exercise at the WW meeting. We talked about our favorite dishes and how we could either reduce the calories or maybe eat less of something else, that way we can have our favorite dish without modifying it. For my after Christmas weigh in I lost a grand total of .8 pounds and again I was happy that I didn’t gain.

I have lost 6 pounds since recommitting to Weight Watchers in November. I will admit that I have stumbled along the way.

So this journey to 100 pound is not an easy one, it one that I am committed too.

Okay so I haven’t blogged in like forever but all this political wrangling and lies will no longer let my keys stay still.

First, we have folks showing up to town hall meetings where the president of the United States is with guns visibly being shown. This behavior is just totally unacceptable. I can’t remember ever seeing folks allowed in close proximity to any president with visible guns so why are this behavior acceptable now?

Second, are the lies that are being thrown out there by those on the right and the right wing media about the proposed healthcare plan? Now is the time for the dems to man up and pass this plan with or without the repubs. The democrats need come out fighting hard. They need to dispel all the rumors that and mistruths that are being thrown about. They need to talk about the folks that are plants at these town hall meetings. They need to talk about how the some of repubs won’t ever want healthcare reform because the major healthcare companies have their hands in the pockets of the politicians. They need to talk about how the republicans are against anything the president does because they want to see him fail. I’ll say it again, THEY NEED TO COME OUT FIGHTING!!!!

Lastly, this whole debate about President Obama’s address to school children, this debate is CRAP! He is the president of the United States of America he should be respected. This is not the first time a president has addressed the students, George H. Bush and Ronald Regan, there was not an option to opt out of these speeches. What do the republicans think President Obama is going to say, this behavior is sending a message that the president is not to be respected or trusted. If the president is not be respected then we are heading to a bad place in this country.

Well President Obama had his first presidental address to the nation. While I didn’t get to see the whole speech, the part that did see was good. But I am sure the conservative talking heads will spin it to all ways but the right way.

PRESIDENT BARAK OBAMA!!!

I believe and you will believe, after you read this blog entry, that I am in a severe dating drought. It has been well over 3+ years since I have dated anyone seriously. Yes that is right more than 3 years and at first I was ok with the drought but now it is more than 3 years and I am at the point of enough is enough. I think I am a cool chick. I like sports, especially basketball and football; I mostly root for and watch the home teams. I drink a beer occasionally, Corona with 2 limes please. I think I have a good pretty sense of humor, I am in tuned to politics and money, Suze Orman and Dave Ramsey are my teachers. I don’t give nor do I like drama, life is way too short for all that. I don’t require a whole of time, I like my space. I have a good job, my own house, my own car and no kids. I think I am decent looking, I aint no Willmina Foo-Foo, I aint no Halley Barry either. I could stand to loose some weight , I aint obese(300+ lbs), but who couldn’t stand to drop a few pounds. So why I ask am I in this dating drought?

I have a few theories as to why I am in this drought, one of which is that I don’t go out much. I am not talking about to clubs; I am talking about the events like: Plays, Sporting Events, and just general Social Gatherings. The reason for this is that most of friends are single parents or married and don’t have the flexibility that they once had. I am not one to do a lot of things by myself.

I need to consider expanding my social circles to include folks with the same or similar situation as myself. I will explore this drought issue more in future posts. For now I am signing off.

•If another Category 2 Hurricane comes to the Galveston Texas Gulf Coast I am leaving. 1 week without power is torture in the Houston humidity and heat. (actually 1 day with out power is torture)
•I will have battery operated Fans, TVs and or Radios for power outages.
•Verizon Wireless is the best I never lost coverage during the whole storm, while ATT’s service was spotty. I love the Network…Can you hear me now> Good!
•I will set turn my fridge settings the coldest setting to try and preserve my food for as long as I can
•I will not leave my car at my house. See picture below
• This storm was the best time I’ve had with my family in a while.

Well it’s back to a life as usual.

Thursday, 09/04/08 marked the opening season of my fantasy football league and this will make my 8th year playing. I still have yet to come in first place I have on a number of occasions come in second. I hope that this year Jelli’s Hammers will prevail.

Patriotism

Main Entry: pa•tri•ot•ism
Pronunciation: \ˈpā-trē-ə-ˌti-zəm, chiefly British ˈpa-\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1726
: Love for or devotion to one’s country.

Lately with the upcoming presidential race I’ve been hearing the word Patriotism a lot. This started me to thinking, ‘what the heck is patriotism?’ Is it running around professing how much you love America at every moment? Is it having an American Flag (which more than likely is made in China) waving outside your home? Is it, in the case of Barak Obama, wearing an American flag lapel pin? Is placing your right hand over your heart when and wherever you hear the American National Anthem being sung? I really don’t know.

As I started to write this blog I thought about what I thought patriotism was and if I was patriotic. While I don’t know if I have a love or devotion for America I can’t really think of another country I would want to live in. I believe the average American isn’t what we would call patriotic. I believe one become patriotic by their status in America meaning if they have had good life. Lately a lot of the conservative talk show folks would have you believe that because Barak doesn’t wear a flag lapel pin or always puts his hand over his heart when the pledge of allegiance is sung, that he his not patriotic or better yet doesn’t have love for America. I would like to challenge their thinking by saying a lapel pin doesn’t equate to love for America. I also would like to add that I don’t believe you have to be patriotic to lead this country. I believe you have to want the best for the people of the country to lead it. As far as the lapel pin I believe this blog captured it best Politcal Blog

Obama-Biden ticket ready to debut
Story Highlights
NEW: ‘Sen. Biden will be a purposeful and dynamic vice president,’ Clinton says

Democrat Obama picks Delaware senator as his running mate

Text message announcing Obama’s selection goes out early Saturday

Biden to appear with Obama at Springfield, Illinois, rally on Saturday

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Thousands of supporters were expected at a Saturday rally in Springfield, Illinois, to see the debut of Sen. Barack Obama and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as a presidential ticket.

Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, announced his selection of Biden as his running mate with a 3 a.m. text message and a statement on his official Web site.

“Barack has chosen Senator Joe Biden to be our VP nominee,” the text message said.

“Joe and I will appear for the first time as running mates this afternoon in Springfield, Illinois — the same place this campaign began more than 19 months ago,” Obama said in an e-mail sent to supporters Saturday morning.

“I’m excited about hitting the campaign trail with Joe, but the two of us can’t do this alone,” he wrote. “We need your help to keep building this movement for change.”

Before the text messages were distributed, multiple Democratic sources confirmed to CNN early Saturday that Obama wanted the Delaware senator as his vice president. Watch Biden and Obama at 3 p.m. ET on CNN.com Live

Rest of the story