And So It Begins...

What would I like readers to know about me?

I'm a mid-30-ish lady who comes with one great hubby, one "too smart for his own good"son, two frisky dingo's (dogs) and a small ocean of fish (some of which are full of attitude and a few that are boring as a rock- you know who you are). Mostly I'm a fun person (or at least I amuse myself) with a wickedly-naughty sense of humor and I am a lady on "fire" with the desire to get it all together and live the life of my dreams!

Why did I choose to join this project? (Read as - how did I get sucked into this?!?!)

I have a mouth that processes faster than my brain and I said "Can you co-host a blog?". But really, as Janet began talking about this - I got goosebumps. Hold on for a long winded story with a point - see I got poison ivy this summer and had to take some meds that made me wacky - and I still have not come down off the high. Since then I have been kicking A@* and taking names later. I am on a crazy organization / purge my life from crap mission. (read as - I bought a label maker, I'm labeling cabinet shelves, ebay is my new trash can, and my family is not sure where their real mother/wife has gone to or returned from) Anyway....It may be a bunch of whooey, but I know that my lowest weight points in life have also been my most organized / got it together times. I don't know what has happened - but I woke up surrounded by lbs and "stuff". So I truly believe that by ridding myself of all the clutter and I peeling off the layers that now surround my body and I will soon expose the "real me" to the world. She's making a return- Look Out! You have been warned!

What do I hope to gain from this experience?
I know I have a "ticker". But really - it's not about the numbers for me. I could live with my current number - if there was a solid, non-jiggling body in the mirror. So there is an idea of the body that I would like to rediscover; and when I get there it won't be based on the numbers. But the numbers are a nice guide. So these are my goals.
1. Bring back the joy of shopping.
Currently, shopping is associated with failure and needing a little more room to breathe. But when you loose weight - shopping is about success. It's fun. And by golly - the clothes look GOOD on you.
2. I'd like some nice arms.
Not crazy man-woman arms. Just some definition and enough muscle that when I flex - you can tell.
3. I'd like to loose the speed bump. Aka - flat(ish) tummy.
I had a C-section 9 years ago and it still shows- and ladies what no one wants to say (but all vertical C-section patients know) is that when you have this procedure and you have extra weight - You have a Butt on your Belly! *you can laugh - but I know deep down, you really are trying to cry with me, so I'm not offended*
4. There will be NO soul-selling!
There will be ice cream and cake. There will be chocolate. There will be the permission to indulge. And YES, there will be bread. Life is not worth living without these things. I choose to live with flavor - thank you. I just won't be having it all super-sized. I need a plan that I can live with.

So, what is your plan?
Well, thanks for asking. Right now my plan is to continue my major house purge - it involves a lot of moving, lifting, bending - I think that's exercise. I have been trying to let go of my beautiful bubbly diet drinks (*sob*). I'm not going to lie -I'd like to crack one open right now. (pause for serious consideration of cracking one open - I hear it calling me from the fridge....shh. in a minute, when we can be alone.) I'm going to continue to be a label reading insane shopper - do you know what they put in your food? gasp. And I'm going to pump up the veggies / fruits. My plan will change - but there is room for change in an evolving person's life, right?

Do you promise to share successes and failures?
Okay, I'm not going to lie - it's going to be way easier to brag about what is going well. But I hope your friendly ears will comfort me should I fall flat on my face. And I hope that a few of us can share the path to the "better us".

....and for the record, I opened a bottle of water! Temptation 0, Regina 1!