Wake up, it's Tomorrow!!

That's right. It IS tomorrow. You know how they say tomorrow never comes? Well, I'm not sure who the collective "they" is, but "they" are wrong. Tomorrow does come. It comes when you decide to do what you've been putting off til then. And for me, that is today.

Thus, my first blog entry. I've been saying forever that I'm going to start a blog. And in my mind, I'd think "I'll just do it tomorrow." I have a habit of saying that a lot. I've also sworn to start my diet tomorrow, clean the house tomorrow, start my workout plan tomorrow, get organized tomorrow, blah, blah, blah. But this time I mean it. And actually, I mean it about all those things. But first, the writing. After getting my degree in writing from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas (the best little private college ON EARTH!), I swore I was going to write all the time. Get published. Write really, really "smart" things. But, turns out, when you graduate from St. Edward's with a degree in writing, you pretty much write non-stop until you graduate. To say I was tired of writing by graduation day would have been an understatement. So I thought perhaps I would take a short break and at least read some great literary books. But, nope, didn't do that either. Instead I OD'd on mindless magazines like People and Us. Now don't get me wrong, I love celebrity gossip as much as the next girl and maybe even more. However, I wasn't really sinking my teeth into anything meaty. I worked my way up to Chick Lit, and it earned a little place in my heart which will always be there. (Chick lit, not my heart. although I always hope my heart is there too.)

I'm happy to say though, that 5 years after graduating, I'm actually following through on my promise to write. And to read some good literary books. As a matter of fact, I'm going to start a book club with my dear friend Terri, who by the way, is one of the coolest chicks ever. Right now it's just the two of us, so either that means we are very intimidating, or nobody likes us. I like to look on the bright side and think that hey, at least we get to pick all the books we read!! And speaking of books, I found this cool website about 1001 books you should read before you die. I can't wait to dig into the list. And for anyone who wants to join me and discuss, you can check out the list here: htttp://www.1001bestbooks.com/

And just to add a little more to my writing plate, I'm also going to write a novel in 30 days. Yes, you read that write (pun intended). 30 days. Am I crazy?? Yes. Am I still going to do it? Yes. It's all part of a fabulous website called National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo for short. You can read more about that here: www.nanowrimo.org. If you've got any great plot ideas you'd like to see turned into a novel, I'm taking suggestions. :)

God Has a Sense of Humor
Yes he does, and I can prove it. So like I said, I have a problem with putting for today what I can do tomorrow. That includes losing weight and exercising. That is until a person who is very important in my life and whose opinion I care about greatly, finally pointed out the obvious. And that is that I have a weight problem, whatever I'm doing isn't working, and I need to take action now before I suffer some dire consequences. Ouch. I'll admit it stung a little. It's not as if I walked around believing I was a svelte size 4 or anything, but I like to think I'm sort of "incognito." How I can think that, I have no idea. I also suffer from the opposite of body dysmorphic syndrome in that I think I'm way skinnier than I really am. Thus I hang out with all kinds of beautiful, thin people and think I fit in. How sobering it is, then, when I can't fit into a booth, bend over to tie my shoes, walk around the block without being able to catch my breath, and all the other indignities that come with being overweight. Actually, a LOT overweight. But, my dear friend's words finally hit something deep inside me, and I decided it was time to act. On a promise to her that I would join Weight Watchers, I actually did just that the very next day. There is one close to where I work and they offer it during lunch time. I've been to it before, and figured I could just walk there. Clearly, I have a bad memory, since I didn't realize it was going to take me half my lunch hour just to walk there, uphill. In bad shoes. Really bad shoes. By the time I arrived for my first weigh-in, I had shin splints and I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. Yay me!! But I did make it, joined, stayed for the class, and then realized I had to make the trip back. More shin splints, in even hotter weather, but fortunately downhill. Sadly, by the time I got back to work, my hair was sticking to my neck and I felt like I had run a marathon. The good news? I got over 40 minutes of exercise in on my first day - all before lunch!! So yes, God has a sense of humor. I kept saying I was going to work out and he made sure I stayed true to my word! Stay tuned for more updates on how my weight loss journey progresses. And please pray for me. I'm going to need it.