Page Title

Introduction Text Hello...Sparkies: My personal beliefs: 'Your focus is your reality' and~ 'The truth shall set you free!' I live in the land of perpetual sun..Florida..it's great here most days except during hurricane season...then not so much! I am a jewelry artist and as we all know.. in that field.. presentation is everything. I also love to read and write and have to stop myself from writing a book everytime I communicate! We lost our only child..a son about 10 years ago very traumatically so I now know for sure that every day we have with our family and our friends is a gift. My hubby and I try to support and appreciate all of the lesssons that Josh taught us in his 22 short years! He was our epi-center in this universe and we continue to support his many many young friends who we now look at as our own! Viva Josh! He would be my biggest fan in this weight loss journey. I have been thinking about presentation and just what that means.. (even in our every day life) quite a bit lately, and I've decided presentation applies to us as individuals also. It's a sad fact, and I really hate to admit it, but in this superficial world...it is unfortunately true that people do make assumptions about you as a person based on your appearance. Not me...I've always been much more attracted to brain power but I'm probably in a small percentage. I realize this presentation thing is on target, because now that I have gained a good 60+ lbs over the years people do react differently than they did when I was a petite 115 lbs. back in the day. Actually I don't care so much about people's reactions as I have learned we are not validated by others...only ourselves. I also want to be healthy and be proud of the person I see when I look into a full length mirror. She isn't the same person I see in my mind's eye. In fact I really don't even recognize that portly little image staring back at me with her big brown, somewhat sad eyes. Sooo, it's time to get motivated and not look at this journey as a diet but as a new way of living life! I'm looking forward to it and know that I will gain many new friends to share my journey with along the way! I could write you so much more....but I have to show some restraint! I'm sending you all good wishes and looking forward to sharing the journey with like minded Sparkies...heres to our health and happiness! Update: November 29, 2009 How lucky I am to have found SparkPeople! I've met the most AMAZING like minded friends that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing! You ALL have helped me in some way or another in my weight loss journey. Thanks for your hand holding during some of my more difficult blogs...yes grief is a nasty little emotion to deal with! You have helped me process it and have encouraged and supported me to continue on living life as it was intended to be enjoyed. 34 pounds down the crapper...to date...I'm SO joyeous and so thankful..and you can betcha I plan to keep on losing, blogging, and sharing my goals my world, and my dedication to SparkPeople...you ROCK my world! Whoop da! Borrowed the page of a dear spark friend Sparklingme176 "There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living." I love this! Update: 6/27/15 Another 5% Summer Challenge has started today! A good time for me to start challenging myself to get back on the 'health wagon'...I've lost and gained a good 50 pounds over the 6 years I've been a member of Sparkpeople. One step forward...10 steps backward...BUT the important thing is I REFUSE to give up on myself! I will kick start this challenge by eating RAW which I did very successfully back in 2009. On that program I was literally losing a pound a day...woot..woot! I've been under bone crushing stress for the past almost 8 years fighting so hard to hang onto our house against an illegal foreclosure action. I'll never quit fighting for justice against the lying, cheating, robber baron bank and I pray justice prevails! Stress causes weight gain there is NO denying it. I'll work hard to change the way I react to it through meditation, yoga, pilates and purposeful movement. Let's make this challenge a success my goal is to lose 10 pounds in 8 weeks! It's ON! Thanks so much for your support my sparkling friends it means the world to me! Update 12/19/17 Another huge lifestyle change. We have resigned from the large group of superficial friends we have stayed with for almost 30 some years. I have finally recognized that many of these people are from our past lives when we used to own a large construction biz that put us in that glitzy lifestyle. When we lost our beloved son in 2006 all of that money was worthless and why we continued to hang out with these same 'eye only on the money' people I will never know. In October of 2017 I said good-bye to the fakery of it all and asked myself WHY had it taken me so long. Now I'm on a mission for REAL friends, people that offer themselves to the service and betterment of others not show off their $80,000 Tesla at dinner parties. It's a BIG change for me. I have no family so always looked to this group as a sisterhood. Well...I will find new like minded people. Many of you are right here in Spark land...thanks for your friendship my people! Update: 12.26.18 Another year has flown by. We celebrated the holidays with some wonderful friends after breaking away from the big group we used to associate with. Guess what...life goes on and big changes can bring better changes into your world after all. This year I'm on a mission to eat healthy and clean and drag my hubby right along for the ride. I'm working at making small positive changes that will add up to a healthier lifestyle. I've met SO many inspiring friends here in Sparkland and I love each and every one of you!

I want to aim for a naturally healthy way of life. Choosing food by the health benefits it will give my body rather than just the taste of it. I'm tired of being suckered in by clever advertising or the convenience factor in just throwing fake food down my throat and still being hungry because it offers no nutrients! So there, I've said it and made it public and I hope I inspire you to join and help me on my journey! I need your encouragement especially with exercise...I hate it, but know how important it is to do daily!

6-18-09 Joined SparkPeople Weight loss: 10 lbs. 10-01-09 Start 7 day RAW challenge finished 10-7-09 Weight loss: 8 lbs. WHAT? Yes..8 lbs GONE in 7 days! Add in more cardio at least 30 min. per day Add in strength & Flexibility at least 2 days per week Track in fitness tracker Track in nutrition tracker I AM DETERMINED & ACCOUNTABLE! I WANT THE BEST LIFE I CAN LIVE!! Yay Sparkpeople! Weigh In Record: 12-31-15 202 lb. want to consistently lose 1-2 lbs weekly. This IS a test for a stubborn body that likes to hold onto it's fat reserves..but I'll never give up...NEVER! 12-26-18 200 will work in 10 lb increments to lose weight. Slow and steady wins the race!

I live in sunny south Florida, some may call it the tropics. Have since 1979 so we are official squatters by now. My hubby and I owned a large construction business back in the day and if I do say so myself..were quite successful at it. Problem is...when you have oodles of $ you don't appreciate it, nor do you have the time to enjoy it because you always feel you need more...then you have to live up to the lifestyle and protect it and it goes on and on...it actually can be highly overrated. Now we live a more modest lifestyle and are happier than we have ever been! It's true..love is all you really need!

I am basically a people person, although being a writer I need lots of alone time, it's just the nature of the beast. I've always been slightly type A..but I'm happy to say that as I've gotten older I find many of the manic things I thought important aren't.. where do you work, what's your title, what kind of car do you drive....actually all of that is just an illusion....it should be who have you been kind to today, what did you do to make someone else feel good,?How did you take yourself out of your own little world to make someone else's better...that's what I'm talking about! I love to read..since we've lost our son, right now I can't get enough knowledge on the afterlife. I've always believed the spirit lives on..have since I was a little girl. Some of my friends look at me with that oh, boy...there she goes again look on their faces...but I don't care, they get to be enlightened with my learnings even so...it's all about karma in the end...we are all connected to each other!

Add a Link Member of the AWESOME tremendously terrific Teddy Bear 5% Challenge Team Florida sunshine girl~EST Quotes & thoughts that REALLY resonate with me!!! Your FOCUS IS your REALITY!!! "Always do what you are AFRAID to do" Ralph Waldo Emerson To me...life is an adventure! We humans need to try a few new paths off the beaten trail~if we never take any chances what's the point? I'm all about exciting explorations. My goal is to be healthy enough to keep on t
Save Changes