Oh, the greatness!

I am so very happy, even though I am still sick with a terrible cold, isn't that wonderful that I can still be happy even under those circumstances? The reason is, I have been recieving countless benefits in so many forms in the last few months. Let me share a little about the biggest and most important ones to me.

So, I've been working for an absolutely FANTASTIC company for almost 4 years, my anniversary of four years falls on April 2nd, 2012 (coming up soon). Well, the company has had tremendous growth and this is the first year they will be offering PROFIT SHARING. What that means is that every employee who is full time and not still working through a temp agency will receive a "bonus", and we've all been excited in anticipation on it for awhile, but it's coming this friday!! I am so excited! Even if it's 10 bucks - it's not even the money that's important - it's being able to share in such a HUGE victory with my employer - the amazing success it has seen over the last few years (and its still a relatively young company, founded in 2004). I feel like there is no greater joy than knowing I helped contribute to the success, growth, and good fortune of how well we have all done there and we all continue to increase the yearly revenues with our diligent hard work and dedication. I feel SO amazingly lucky to be able to be a part of this huge success. It makes me proud and gives me tingly's.... just the most magical, wonderful, amazing feeling in the world. And I can't wait to see the company grow even MORE. We are doing so well!!!!!

Also, it's almost tax return time - I get to pay off my credit cards (or at least most of them)! I am so happy to know that within a year, my credit is going to be turned completely around - from the 540 I was sitting at about 5 years ago.... to hopefully the mid 700's! The reason this is so important to me is because there are things I will want to do in my near future that involve having a good score - such as buying a house. I still have to save the down payment, but having good credit is a first step toward that (first things first).

I've been keeping my account active on SparkPeople and it is helping me out a million. Tracking all my calories is making a world of difference - even if I go way over, at least I can learn and see the effects of how that makes me feel, etc. It's pretty different to consume 3,000 calories in a day and see it there on the screen like WOW i ate way too much! than it is to consume 3000 calories and not even realize it had gotten that high. I will continue to keep myself accountable on there. Also a great friend Chihaya and I are going to keep each other accountable every day by checking in with eachother about calorie intake and fitness minutes we've spent exercising. Everything is looking UP!

Reflections

Reflections.........

1 - that the above photo triggers in me a very emotional response.. in a good way! I love the sparkling water. which reminds me, maybe I should go and get a cup of water to drink... or 3 or 8...
2 - losing weight will not equal a problem free life for me - I should not be so hyper-focused on weight loss alone, but also the real causes for the anxiety that makes me feel like shoveling an entire aisle of food in my mouth.
3 - I don't have to look at where everyone else is at in their life and compare where I'm at in my life to theirs. It will only distract me from doing what it is that I'm on a mission to do.  I can, however, learn a great deal from others' experiences.
4 - I'm very talented and very capable!
5 - Sometimes, I'm overly sensitive. I shouldn't take everything to heart the way I tend to all the time. I would like to have better control over my emotions.

In other news...

Fitness goals aside, I managed to FINALLY set up an appointment to get my one year old kitten spayed (Rosie, the calico). She has been peeing on the couch, only one ONE section of it though.. the section we like to sit on the most. Then she pooped on my bedroom carpeting a few times in the last week, as well, and we've smelled cat pee on some of our clothes. Not only that, but also yowling and meowing non-stop all night and day, and putting her butt in the air. It's obvious she's in heat, and she's been in and out of heat for at least 6 months now, but we haven't been able to afford to get her spayed. I did some research and found out the peeing on furniture and clothing (any fabric, for that matter) is very common for female cats who are in heat, and it's some kind of way for them to release their frustration about being in pain. It makes total sense! I feel terrible for Rosie, so I am excited to bring her to Lyndale Animal Hospital in Uptown on Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. to get her spayed.

 The black kitty in the picture here is not Rosie, but it's an example to show what cats do while in heat. I think their butt hurts so they can get relief by sticking it up in the air! And the picture below (comic cartoon) is more of just something funny to lighten the mood a bit :)

She cannot eat food past 10pm the night before, which means my other cat, Hasu, will have to go on a one-nighter diet, too, since they share food and there is no way for me to hide the food from just Rosie alone. I'll be able to pick her back up in the same day sometime before 6pm.. We are very excited! She'll finally stop peeing (that's the hope!) and stop crying all hours of the day and driving us crazy. FINALLY!

Also! I just created a SparkPeople page. This is another tool I can use to help me track my weight loss progress. You can check out what I've done so far,  and also other people may want to create a profile on there as well! It has so many resources! I was blown away.

Happy New Year!

I'm sort of late - but thought it might still be appropriate to say Happy New Year, because it's only Jan. 2nd. :) I had a wonderful day at my mom and Kal's farm. We had a fire in the fireplace, lit a menorah, Molly and Kal sang a song in Hebrew (wish I could remember the name).  I've always loved the sounds of it when they sing that particular song, because Hebrew is such a beautiful language. My mom took some photos. Here's a picture of Noah and I:

You can clearly see the double chin I have, and believe me, it's terribly humiliating. But, that's why I've started this blog, and created a YouTube channel dedicated to updating my weight loss and fitness.

Molly dressed up SO cute for New Years Eve! Here she is: (my sister who's two years younger) -

So, overall, it was a blast. I'd post pictures of my mom and Kal, but I don't have their permission to do that - I'm sure it wouldn't be a huge problem, but for safetys' sake, ya know.

Anyways, I've been going to the gym pretty much every day. I don't think I've missed a single day for like 5 days straight now. I'm still following Jamie Easons' program, and in phase one (the first 6-8 weeks, something like that), I haven't really lost any weight but I am feeling way stronger, sturdy, muscles are feeling rock solid in my thighs and forearms in particular, and overall, I'm just healthier. I'll be doubling my weight lifting time in phase II, so this REALLY is just the beginning!!!!