LaTina

 The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Beers

As an alcoholic in remission… I’m changing this to coffee!  My mom got this email, and I think that it can be adapted to the struggles we are all going through… enjoy! ~tina

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee . 

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. 

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. 

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous ‘yes.’ 

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things—your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. 

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. 

The sand is everything else—the small stuff. ‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.  

‘Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.’  

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’ 

The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a cup of coffee and chat with a friend.’ 

So, I shop the women’s section… but today, I’m AGAIN at the store looking for jeans, and I find a great pair, I take a 16W and a 14W into the dressing room, and just for kicks, put on the 14’s… too BIG, yep, not a typo, too big.  So…………. I go look for a 12W… apparently no such thing, so I ask the attendant what come next after 14W (after some trial (lol, no, just error!) in the Junior’s section) and she says to try Misses.  SO, I sit here blogging in a pair of Misses size 14 jeans!  My first pair of non “women’s” or “plus” jeans since 1994.  AND my LAST pairs of W and P jeans will be worn in 2008!!!  I’m ditching everything too big for New Year’s… starting afresh this coming year, and hopefully will be at goal shortly into 2010!!!

You know how the scale moves up and down a bit before it tells you…?  For the first time in 14 YEARS, my scale had to use the 100’s.  It settled on 202, but just seeing 199.5 was thrilling (seeing 205, not so much).

At my last Drs visit Saturday, I used my waiting time to go through nearly 20 years of notes, and copied every date/weight they had listed.  Before 1994 I was never in (not too near even) the 200’s and since then, never been below…

 I’m so excited to see the 100’s this morning, even if it was for a fleeting moment as my scale settled…. when I started here at 240, I never thought I’d see the 220’s, 210’s, 200’s… so seeing 100 anything (even 199.5) really makes me feel excited and accomplished.

 Hope everyone’s day and weekend go great… maybe I’ll put on my smallest clothes, do my hair and make-up and leave the house tonight!  Maybe not, but it’s a nice thought !

I spent my waiting time leafing through 20 years of my medical file this weekend.  I copied down every date and weight I could find.  One thing that struck me was that I weighed EXACTLY the same thing after my first 3 children despite having VERY different start weights (ranging from 165-210) and baby sizes (from 2#-0oz up to 10#-13oz).  I weighed 181 on the dot at my f/u from each birth…

 Any opinions on the significance or lack of significance of this??

Don’t read if you don’t want to hear about boobs and/or bras, or will be offended by frank discussion about my boobs and/or bras.

 So…………. I finally started losing my boobs.  I liked them alot, except when it was time to buy a bra.  When I was closer to 250, it wasn’t much of a problem, I wore a 40D, but around 225/230 I have to go to a 38DD because a 40 lets those D’s hang.  Long story short VERY few stores (I’ve found ONE) sell a 38DD. 38 goes to D and DD starts at 40.  I tried a 38D, I pushed, shoved, pulled them up, down, left, right, and in the end my bff said that they simply look like 10 pounds of flour in a 5 pound sack.  I’m guessing that wasn’t a good look :P  SOOOOO  I haven’t gone shopping yet, but for the last 3 days my cups have been loose, my daughter said “now you can buy a regular bra”  YAY!  That isn’t the only good news, with less up top, I look thinner all over.  My shirt doesn’t hang off them and leave you to wonder what, if anything, is underneath.  Well, it still does, but you can tell that there is at least less, if anything underneath. So, even though I only dropped my pound this week, I feel like I’ve lost 10, and look like it too… yay!  bye, bye, boobies…

So, I’ve been sick all week, and have fallen asleep in my clothes more than once… So, at some point last night, I woke up to go to the bathroom.  I staggered up the stairs through the darkishness and made my way to the bathroom.  The light was on, but my eyes were still only half open as I struggled to get my pants down… dang, I musta put on some weight… I was slightly more awake by the time I went to pull them up and realized

they were still buttoned and zipped…

 I guess that was my early trick and treat!

So, we were grocery shopping 2 nights ago when my daughter asks if we can make lasagne… with tofu… um, ok.  She said that I always try to make her eat tofu plain, but that it’s supposed to go IN stuff… um, ok.  I assure her that I have not been trying to starve her for the past 5 years, but that she is the only vegetarian I know and I only have a certain repetoire of vegetarian food in my mental cookbook.  Fast forward through the conversation, I asked why she wanted tofu in the lasagne when lasagne is already vegetarian (well, for the last 5 years I don’t add meat to pasta dishes) and she said to see what it tastes like… um, ok.

 So, I put tofu in place of ricotta cheese, add extra seasonings, and proceed as normal.  After finishing his first piece, we told my bf that it was tofu lasagne, hehe, I wish I had a pic of the look on his face.  He still had a second piece.  I asked him if he would have eaten it had he known, and he said no, but since he tried it and it was ok, he’d have seconds.  My son ate it even though he knew… he’s getting use to eating experiments…  I don’t think it made much difference, she’s lacto-ovo, so she eats cheese anyway, but maybe the soy made it healthier… idk, but it made her happier, so

Starting at 240lbs and subtracting 5% for each mini-goal (not counting the first one which I arbitrarily set at 225):

Start: 240  April 28, 2008…. I stumble upon BuddlySlim and started my journey.

Goal #1 228 (225)  I hit 225 on June 27, 2008

Goal #2 217  I hit 217 on August 9, then again on my birthday August 25, but on the way up, then on September 5, I passed it on the way back down, hitting 216.

Goal #3 206  I hit my 3rd goal October 24.

Goal #4 196

Goal #5 186

Goal #6 177

Goal #7 168

Goal #8 160

Goal #9 152

Goal #10 144

Goal #11 137

Goal #12 130

Goal #13 124

I’ve finally hit my 3rd mini-goal.  I changed my ticker this morning to reflect my 4th goal… which will bring me squarely into the 100’s… a scary place I haven’t been since January 1994… so coming up on 15 years that I’ve been between 200 and 250, and now, I’m trying to rock the boat and go into the 100’s?!?!  I’m nervous, scared, and excited all at once!

 How have you guys dealt with going below a longtime low point?  Does it get less scary once you are down there?

I’m having a horrible time staying dressed.  Jeans seem to all be made for someone else.  I have a big booty, and a smaller waist.  Jeans that hug my booty (which is how I like them) gape horribly at the waist in the back, and worse, some cut in in the front and give me a muffin top.  I usually end up trying on about 20 pair of jeans before I buy… or even consider buying one, because I hate how they look at the waist in the back.  Even elastic waisted pants look funny, cuz they go halfway up to my boobs in front, and dip down so far you can see my undies in the back.  HELP!  I’m so frustrated…