iwant2beaskinnybitch

My nine year Sari old loves balloons.  She always has.  We fill her room with balloons on the eve of her birthday while she sleeps so when she wakes up she is greeted by them.  It is her favorite part of the day.  Sari also loves marine life and sea creatures.  Turtles in particular as we have one named Joey.  We rescued him from Grandma and Grandpa’s lake as a baby only weeks after we adopted Sarah and her brother, Drew.  Joey and balloons have been a big part of our family traditions and bonding.  Who knew the two would one day cause such a commotion at my brother’s fiance’s bridal shower?

Actually, who knew I would ever have a brother?  3 of them to be exact.  I was an only child until I was 30.  Never say “never, “  right?  So now I’m married and 40 with 2 kids, 3 brothers, 2 sisters in law, 3 nieces, a nephew, and a future sister in law.  Busy decade.

This past weekend I cohosted a bridal shower for the sis to be.  When the shower was over we had a bunch of balloons left and my daughter wanted to take some home, as did my nieces and nephews.  Unfortunately there wasn’t enough room in the cars for all the balloons and Grandma had a wonderful idea to make a celebration out of letting the balloons go and make wishes.  The kids who were previously having fits because they could not take the balloons home were thrilled with Granny’s idea.

It took my daughter a minute to realize what was happening because she was playing her Gameboy ds.  When she saw what was happening she started screaming and crying, “No! No! You can’t let them go!  You don’t understand!  The turtles!  The turtles!”

Granny got her calm enough to explain that balloon releases kill marine animals. Did you know that?  The latex and mylar balloons can easily float for miles and land in water somewhere where they are mistaken by animals for jellyfish and other prey.  The balloons caluse intestinal blockage when the animals eat them, causing emaciation, starvation, dehydration, and death.  Some animals also get tangled up in the strings and die.    My daughter is passionate about all animals, and especially turtles because they are all Joey’s relatives.   Her tears and cries were so desperate. Grandma of course apologized for not knowing and canceled the balloon release.

My daughter was relieved but the other kids were ticked!  Sari is the only tree hugger in the group and her efforts are often not really appreciated.   I appreciate them though.  And I admire her conviction to stick with it even when it makes her unpopular among her peers.  I was just like her, with passion and causes when I was a kid, but she’s stronger than I was.  I buckled under the pressure and occasionally still do in order to keep the peace.  She’s a fighter though, and I hope she manages to hold onto that spirit into adulthood when she’s less likely to lose it.

I have participated in balloon releases on many occasions and never realized that an animal could suffer because of it.  I am glad to now know about the delicate relationship between balloons and turtles because they are two of my favorite things.

by fredo, guest writer

I’m starting to realize, it is not just corporate greed & disgusting
mismanagement that is hurting us common folk.  It is also government
greed and disgusting mismanagement that is killing us and the failure of
the media to acknowledge this.

In this article at Associated Press, the author just reports what is told
to him/her, literally, like being told to jump off a bridge.  All it
took me was five (5) minutes to check out the financial info on the usps
website to find out the true BS.

The USPS revenues for the past 4 years:

2005     69,000,000,000 BILLION in revenue
2006     72,000,000,000 BILLION in revenue
2007     74,000,000,000 BILLION in revenue
2008     75,000,000,000 BILLION in revenue

That is 290 Billion in revenue in a 4 year span!!!!!

How can a company fail to realize profits and actually report LOSSES
with that much revenue coming in????

In the past 10 years, when the USPS constantly announced higher rates,
did we ever hear the media inform us of what the actual sales of the
USPS??!!??

We have to realize the USPS is a slightly different breed of business,
in that, they constantly have MILLIONS in revenue coming in every day,
slow times are rare, and busy times (xmas, holidays, taxes, etc.) are
frequent…. do i dare say the USPS is recession proof!??!!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I understand the incredibly difficult & expensive
job of the usps, but how many years have they had to “run the mail” and
get the expensive kinks out of the system AND as any business mgr/owner
knows, when u have an incredible amount of financial volume coming in,
expenses CAN be overcome.

So, with all these years of practice and this incredible amount of
income coming in, they still can’t figure out how to make a profit
??????

BULLSHIT!!!

Obviously, there is (as in the coporate world) disgusting greed and
mismanagement going on in the USPS!  HOW SAD!

And the media & the powers that be are doing nothing about it!!!!!!

http://www.usps.com/financials/ar/welcome.htm

What the french?

It occurrred to me today that I spend a good deal of my time nagging my family about what to eat, how much, and when.  They don’t really listen, especially my Son.  Which got me thinking…

My Son is 13.  He eats bologna, mac and cheese, Chef Boyardee, pizza and giant bagels.  He hates milk and only eats vegetables when I catch him trying to toss them in the trash.  He sleeps in.  He plays video games. He watches movies and sits down to play Chess with his phantom chess board or builds Magnetix.  He sneaks and stashes candy and chips in his top bunk.

Why is this interesting?  Because he is thin and lean with a ripped stomach and non stop energy.   How can this be?

He not only eats MORE than me in quantity, but he eats things higher in calories and fat that I eat.  AND he doesn’t loathe himself everyday until he does his Turbo Jam workout.  The most exercise he gets during the day is starting up the Jeep and sweeping the snow off all the windows in the morning before school.

So I’m thinking about mirroring his diet for a spell.  I’m hoping to be able to fit into my 7th grade jeans by summer.

Although I appreciate the beauty of ice and bling, it is not at the top of my “must have” list.  And it makes no difference to me whether it is real or fake as long as it is pretty.  On second thought, I would rather it be fake.

My husband has been begging me to watch BLOOD DIAMOND with him for months.  I am a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio and really did want to see it, but I have a hard time with violence and torture.  Once those images enter my mind I have a hard time shaking them.  In the end Hubs won out by accusing me of turning my back on some of the world’s ugly secrets.  Damn him.

The movie was fantastic, have you seen it?  We were actually spared a lot of the gore but it was done in such a way that the imagination filled in the blanks colorfully enough.  Leo was amazing as usual.  I wonder does he choose his roles based on his political and planetary passion and awareness?  Or does he become so affected by his roles that it feeds his humanitarian flame?  I feel good when I watch him.  Hopeful.

I admit I was lost a couple of times during the movie but it boils down to the diamonds being used to fund a civil war in Africa.  Young boys were stolen from their families and their families were murdered.  The boys were brainwashed by war lords and made to do terrible things.  Villages and towns were burned, people were murdered, tortured, raped, and mutilated.  Very sad, disturbing, outrageous.

Another layer of the story is that in addition to the bloodbaths involved in mining the diamonds, the diamonds are smuggled, identified, and traded illegally.

On top of that, the biggest diamond buyers in the West are buying up all those diamonds and locking them away to preserve the illusion that there is a shortage of diamonds and that rarity is the reason for high market prices.

I am told that only a tiny portion of the diamond industry is corrupt and that we can ask for “conflict free” diamonds which come from conflict free areas and mining situations.  They have certificates and everything.  Woohoo!  Considering that the diamonds that financed the war in Africa were certified as being from some place else I am not so confident that all of a sudden everyone involved is legitimate and peace loving.

I am also told that there is now peace in Liberia where there once was corruption and bloodshed, but I don’t know if I’m buying that either.

On the flipside are the claims that there are legitimate diamond mines in Africa supplying Africans fair wages and medical assistance.  If the diamond industry didn’t exist, neither would these opportunities.

So on the one hand we have an industry plagued by violence and corruption, that on the other hand puts food and medicine on the tables of families who desperately need it.  What’s a concerned person to do?

My mind goes back to the Western diamond industry.  Do you believe it was an isolated incident that one single company was turning a blind eye to the horrific activities in Africa, then hording the diamonds at home in order to drive up diamond prices?  I do not.  I believe the temptation is too great and the wrong doings are too far away making it easy to ignore.  If there is not anyone exploiting the situation now, there will surely be someone to do it again once we have all forgotten our “shock” and moved on.

I believe that the diamond industry in a sham.  We buy them because it has become our custom.  We have been told, by the diamond industry, that the rule of thumb for cost is 2 months salary.  How can we, smart people, accept that as a truth? The diamond industry has manipulated the business and named its price.  And we keep buying it all, the diamonds and the bullshit.

Sadly, I am sure America will eventually forget all about how “upset” they were when they first became aware of the high price Africa has paid to supply our brides with their fairy tale weddings.  We cannot be too hard on the diamond buyers for mastering “see no evil” in order to plump up their business.  We are all masters at turning a blind eye when it comes to obtaining things we really want, aren’t we?  Go ahead, demand that wedding ring to inspire awe among your friends, the rare and luxurious fur, or that tender juicy cut of meat.  The atrocoties are committed so far away it’s easy to justify, rationalize, and forget.  After all, you are entitled to it, right?

I am not a big fan of my neighborhood.  It is snooty and antisocial. But even though I do not care for the people, I consider myself a good neighbor. Or at least I did. Today, I change my tune. I turn over a new leaf. I give people a taste of their own medicine.

Hubs and I have lived here since 1996 when the subdivision was brand new and there were very few houses. It has built up significantly over the years but you wouldn’t know it by the comaradarie around here.

Even so, I smile at everyone as they pass by.  I buy SOMEthing from every kid that wanders to my door. I keep an eye on the neighborhood kids when they wander near our house.  I stick the sprinkler under the trampoline for the kids to jump and I take out popsicles and chips on hot days when the kids are having long spells of fun.

I should clarify, I am being neighborly, not trying to build relationships.  I love watching my kids have fun and I enjoy (some of) the neighborhood kids.  I have already determined I don’t have anything in common with the folks around me.  I am not nosy and don’t wish to know what is going on behind closed fences.  But I would like to be on smiling/helpful terms.

Anyway.  Here is what is gnawing at me today.  When big snow hits, my hubby snow blows as many houses around us as he can get to.  Even the ones who keep their heads down to avoid contact with others.  He starts with the old folks and the ones he knows do not have snow blowers and works his way around.  He doesn’t wait for acknowledgement. He just takes care of business and moves on.

My Husband has been gone for ten days now.  We are on our third big snow and not a person has been by to see if I need help.  Although not neighborly, my neighbors are nosy so there is no question that they have noticed his truck missing for over a week.  They have no trouble noticing every time he is laid off and cannot wait to come find out the latest news of the Big Three Automakers.  You can actually see their excitement die away when he informs them that it is just a temporary lay off and that he’ll be back making trucks in a few weeks time.  So I’m certain they know he’s gone.

My Father in Law came over to snow blow on Monday, thank goodness. I would do it myself but there is something broken on the snow blower and Hubs says it will get away from me. After I pick up the kids today I think we will all be shoveling.

I don’t mean to be princess-ish.  My point is not a complaint that I have to shovel.  And I’m not keeping score between me and my neighbors.  But for all the cookies, candles, and Boyscout peanuts I have bought over the years, the help my Hubby has given the neighbors with their snow and lawn care, and the child care-like facility that is my back yard in the summer on my days off, we have received very little.  My Daughter will put on her Brownie vest and trounce the whole neighborhood for about 3 cookie orders. My Son will be sent home from the neighbors for a drink of water if he is thirsty.  And when I get home from work tonight it will be difficult to tell the driveway from the lawn thanks to the snow accumulation.

Princess-ish NO.  Bad attitude yes.  But it’s temporary.  It’s really not in me to be UN neighborly but I do intend to alter my ways.  Next summer I am handing out GENERIC Doritos to the kids who come over and play.  Hmph!

I have never been overly interested in Eva Longoria. I LIKE her. I love Desperate Housewives and have always considered Gabby a fun character, but have never been able to identify with her until now.

Saddling Gabby with weight gain and frumpiness this season did not automatically warm me up to her.  In fact I was sometimes frustrated that she didn’t seem to be evolving despite the humbling kicks she had been taking. Good for her that losing her glamour and money did not take away all her moxie, but she just continued to do mean and stupid things.  I wanted to see her grow.

Well she did grow. She was growing all along, we just didn’t always see it.  The last episode I watched, where Carlos got his sight back, broke my heart. Watching it that night I WAS Gabby. I even got choked up recounting the episode to my husband the next day.

Like Eva Longoria’s character, I have gained weight over the last few years. It is common for that to happen to women after they have children and become housewives. Or is it a stereotype?  I am sure there are many beautiful and fit moms out there so I don’t mean to support a stereotype but since I am one of them, I assume it’s common.

Anyway!  The knee jerk thought is that when the weight starts packing on it is a reaction to the woman’s focus being removed from herself and onto her children, family, and household. Having lost the time and energy to exercise and changing her once healthy diet to grazing mac and cheese and bologna sandwiches, the new mom puts on weight.  It’s not always that simple, though, as Gabby reminded us.

Since the loss of Carlo’s big money career as well as his sight, Gabby has had more on her plate than just child care and macaroni and cheese. She had a household to maintain and a husband to protect. She lied and sacrificed to protect her family. For a moment we are irritated at her old tricks of selling a prized possession of her husband’s. But then we see that she has also sold all her jewelry, shoes, and clothes to make house repairs and pay the bills. Stress and worry can pack on weight just as quickly as bad food and bad habits.

Who among us can identify with those fibs of good intention, sacrifice, and worry?  I know I can.  And watching it happen to Gabby brought on realizations of my own, the most important of which being that MY happiness is just as valuable as everyone else’s and that putting it on the back burner is not the way to provide for and protect my family.

So this year my list of New Years Resolutions was influenced in part by Eva Longoria’s character, Gabrielle, on Desperate Housewives.  In addition to that, I learned that an actual resolution of Eva’s is to give up meat this year. Who knew we had so much in common?!

So far so good on round two of Isagenix cleanse .  I’m getting to that “zen” place that I talked about before.  Or maybe I’m just exhausted tonight.  I’ll know more tomorrow.  What I can tell you for sure is that I don’t like being told what I can and cannot have.Prior to the cleanse it is recommended that you do a “pre-cleanse” which consists of two days of Isalean shakes and sensible meals. It is mandatory for newbies.  I actually did three days because I was doing a lot of heavy lifting and moving in my basement and I needed the extra energy.  It is actually good I planned it that way, too, because day one of the pre-cleanse I was an absolute brat.

On that first day I ate about seven bite sized candy bars.  Bite sized, not minis.  The super tiny ones.  Why I feel the need to explain that, I don’t know.  It really is hard to explain oneself out of making the decision seven times to cheat on your program and eat candy.

Here’s the interesting part.  That was seven minis in one day.  Do you know how many I have had total since Halloween?  MAYBE four.  I just don’t desire them.  I am a chips and cheese type, not a sweet lover.  (except chocolate chip cookies.  I don’t buy them, cannot resist them, period. No sense in even going there.)

I simply ate the candy because I couldn’t.  On day two of the pre-cleanse I told myself that a pre-cleanse is not even required for me and that I could eat any way I wanted until Sunday when the real cleanse is scheduled to begin.  Guess what.  I didn’t eat any candy that day.  It didn’t even occur to me.

So I’m holding onto that “nonchalance” and trying to remember that it really is my choice what I am going to eat and that there is no reason to have an attitude about it.  I had a realization similar to this on my first Isagenix cleanse but I had forgotten.  That is why journals are such a good idea.  You learn so much about yourself and the way you deal with food when you’re involved in a program, it is worth it to jot some notes and review them from time to time.

I have done great on my first juice day today.  I prefer the juice days to the shake days because I like how my body feels and not having to think about what to eat. I have to go into the office at ChangingStreets.com tomorrow so I packed prepared and packed my four juice servings so I have no excuses for anything but success!

I love that picture! I found it here.

There was a conversation at the Today Forum about blogging the bare minimum just to get paid . I realized that I don’t even qualify for that! What can I do to improve that?  I already have so many goals right now and I haven’t even begun my list of New Year’s Resolutions yet!

Maybe I should try and identfy the why.

I do most of my blogging in the morning and often find myself saying, “I’ll do Skinny Bitch later.  That’s an evening blog.” Why do I say that?  Because of the nature of the blog I think it makes more sense to write at the end of the day when I can report the day’s events and progress.

What actually happens?

I get tired at night and cannot form the thoughts to type.  Or I just don’t even try because the day gets away from me and I go to bed.  Even on my full of energy late nights I often forget, consumed by some project or another, look at the clock and say,
“11:45!  I have 15 minutes to get my post in for the day.”  At least on those occasions, even though I don’t make it by midnight, my post is done for the next day.

This seems like an easy fix.

POST IN THE MORNING!  I am so energized in the morning and full of good ideas, why in the world would I suppress them until “later”.  Especially when I know full well that “later” never comes?  So what if I can’t post about the day because the day has happened yet. Hello!  Talk about yesterday and project about the day ahead.

That’s what I am doing today.  I have something on my mind and I am getting it out there.  I have high hopes that this will result in a better& fatter blog, a healthier&skinnier me, and a better&frequenter paypal deposit

As for the “bare minimum” discussion at the forum, it didn’t really apply to me.  The conversation was regarding folks who post every day at minimum word count to guarantee payment for that day .  I am neither guilty of posting as little as 100 words, nor posting every day.  Slacker, yes. Motivated and driven by the dollar, unfortunately not.

I can’t do it.  It’s too hard and I feel like I am going backward.  Time for another change.

My Goal here.

• Lose 50 lbs.
• Get fit.
• Adopt vegan lifestyle.

The Problem

• Making the time to eat right and exercise is challenging with 2 jobs and a wonderful yet caveman-ish husband.
• It is much easier for me to manage simple and healthy meals which include turkey and eggs.  I did it for 25 years.  It’s my comfort zone.

The Solution

• Take care of me first, then focus on the animals and ethics.
• Lose weight how I know I can, get healthy, rediscover those old good habits.
• Once I’m in a groove of good food choices and and regular exercise, start the conversion to veganism.

What’s Next?

• One nutritional cleansing per month.  I prefer the 9 day Isagenix .

I have made some baby steps in the form of looser pants, eliminating snacks, and giving my family the tools to take some responsibility for themselves so that I can take some time for me.  So although I have not lost as much weight as I would have liked since August, I have made good healthy changes.  My spirit and disposition in life in general have changed immensely.

Mood, spirit, positivity, negativity, confidence, health, and happiness are connected.  I assumed that when I lost some weight it would open the door to the positive, the spirit, and confidence, but it looks like the spirit and positive needed to emerge first!

Thanks to Avery for the flickr pic!

We all voted for change, though, didn’t we? We just have different ideas about how to get there.  These months have been so grueling, so exhausting and stressful.  We’ve had passionate debates, spirited conversations, and even some fun at our candidates expense.  I am so excited today and have been so glued to the television that all I want to do is tune in to CNN and watch.  So far I have managed to keep the television off produce at about 60% of a usual day.  I’m calling that a success.  Especially since the kids and hubby are home from school and work today which is always good for at least a 15% drop in productivity anyway!

Someone was grilling me the other day about where Obama gets all his campaign funds.  I don’t have a list of his incoming money and expenditures so I couldn’t really answer the question satisfactorily.  But I can offer access to the “We are the Ones” project.

I am so proud to be associated with “Momocrats”, “We are the Ones” and all the grassroots organizations working hard for our country and the change it needs,  and drawn together by the common belief that along WITH Senator Obama we can make that change happen.  Take a look at the video below, directed by Will.i.am of the Blackeyed Peas,  for a glimpse of the unity he has inspired among people.

There has been talk and speculation about where Barack Obama has gotten the “unprecedented”  money for his campaign. One only need to be aware of the “unprecedented” individual and grassroots support of the Obama campaign to get an idea how strong Obama’s resources are.  People making phone calls, sending emails, HANDWRITING postcards, buying buttons, and donating and much much more.  As individuals we may not have a lot of money, but in the large numbers of those contributing, that all adds up.

Even if you are not an Obama supporter you will appreciate the spirit and dedication of the ordinary folks who are being highlighted here, who have been working hard to carve out their path to change.