Fall has arrived

The smells of fall and the sounds of it fill the air now. The leaves are beginning to change and with it we move into another season.

Life is a lot like seasons changing.  We move from one season in our lives to the next.  I just turned 52 and feel like a new season started for me.  I find myself thinking of life changes I have experienced.  I survived Motherhood, the terrible teens years of my 3 kids and becoming a Grandma. Menopause provided many interesting sensations and some not so fun side effects.   

I am ready for this new season of my life.  The season of becoming healthy and happier within my own skin.  I enjoy more things than I did when I was 30 or 40.   I find trying new things is not so scary after all.  I'm taking a new interest in lifting burdens from my life.  Just letting go of old negatives and photos felt so good.  No one wanted them, but here I sat moving them around from home to home over 30 years.  I finally knew I was getting no joy or value from those items.  

Letting go never felt as good as it did last week when I threw away lots of clutter.  Why keep things in my life that don't add value or serve a good purpose?  If I find I need that basket after all,  I can replace it for less than $10.00.  I freed up space for something I do value, my pictures of my Grandbabies!!

Getting rid of that clutter seemed to help me let go of some other clutter in my head.  I no longer think about that pile of magazines I should go thru because they are all GONE!

I thought about that pile EVERY flippin' day.  I saw it when I walked in that room, it silently called to me to say "Hi, hey, how's it going? You wanna just take a peek at me and maybe make a decision about letting me stay here?  I could go sit some other place, maybe across the room on that table?"  Seriously, why did I let that pile of magazines talk to me? I felt guilty for not dealing with it, but couldn't bring myself to just deal with it.  That was a waste of good thinking time. 

Now I think about the new community education class I'm taking next week.  I'm DOING something instead of thinking about it.

All this season changing makes me want to keep making my positive changes.  There is NO going back now.

What do you feel needs to change in your life?  Are you brave enough to throw out the clutter that is holding you back?  Letting go of that mind clutter might just be the peace of mind we all hear so much about!

Lake Minnetonka 9/26/11 Leaves are changing!!

Watch what you say because your words speak volumes

Words....they affect us all in different ways.  We can be hurt by words or comforted by words. We can use words to put down someone or to lift them up.  
What we say out loud can be heard by others as well as ourselves.  The words we say in our heads can be very damaging to our psyche.
When offering words of advice think about the message that may be taken in many ways.
I know the person who offered this to me meant well, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth/mind.
"Nothing tastes as good as thin feels"
I love the taste of CHOCOLATE.  I love the taste of STRAWBERRIES. I love the taste of PIZZA.
Does that mean I shouldn't taste my favorite foods because THIN feels better?
How does the person who can't eat feel when they see other people eating and they can't do it or it would kill them?  Do you tell that person "Oh you get to FEEL THIN so your not missing the TASTE of this chocolate."? What the heck?  I'd deck the person that said that to me.  I mentioned in a previous blog about a woman who had cancer being envied for being thin from having it.   This is the same thing. MESSED UP!
I sure wouldn't say such insensitive words to anyone.  Why is it okay to tell someone who is overweight whatever pops into your mind and out your mouth?
I'm so over this mindset that overweight people just eat too much and they should stop eating too much.  Just think how hard it is for a drug user or alcoholic to stop doing their addiction cold turkey.  We treat them with group therapy or certain medications to ease the withdrawal symptoms.  Overeating is about emotions.  Eating to cover up pain or comfort when stress hits or to celebrate something.
I feel we have been taught to use food for many things in this country.  As a child I was told I had to finish all my food on my plate because some other child didn't have food to eat.  Was that supposed to make me eat it or send it to them?
The movie "Supersize Me" showed how the food industry, mainly fast food, is trying to fatten us up one Smiley Meal at a time.
Portion size is what we should want.  I find I'm satisfied with a taste of the sweet stuff.  YES I'd like to eat the whole dang cake, but a small piece is enough to feed that sweet tooth. 
Learning what a REAL portion is made such a difference to me.  I found out I really didn't know what a half cup of food looked like nor three ounces of meat. 
I'll do a blog about portion sizes if I get feedback stating it is wanted.
My mind is just spinning.
I started watching a show on TLC called Big Sexy http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/big-sexy-videos/
and Supersize vs Superskinnyhttp://www.ovguide.com/tv/supersize_vs_superskinny.htm
Those two shows highlighted what being overweight has done to society and acceptance of larger people.
What do you think?

Granddaughter as a baby tiger and I'm feeling thinner.