Monday Miscellanea

1. I’m looking forward to the Women Inspired Online Conference this week. The line-up of speakers and topics is impressive and the added bonus is that if the timing isn’t right –it will all be recorded and a ticket gives you access to what you miss or want to hear again.

2. I've been back on Weight Watchers for 2 weeks and I’ve lost ONE pound. I’ve also been faithful to the 30 x 5 challenge. Do you ever want to pout and say “NO FAIR!” ? I do. My hairdresser is about 30 years old and when I was in the other day, she had been on a diet for 10 days and lost 7 pounds. She was planning on another 10 days to lose the other 5 she had left. Was I EVER able to lose 12 pounds in 3 weeks? Probably. Did I appreciate that ability when I had it? Probably not.

3. Last night, one of the weather alerts we’ve become so accustomed to came across the bottom of the TV screen. In the last 10 days, it’s warned of tornado watches, hail and severe winds, flash floods and the like. Last night it said “Freeze Warning”. It was 74 degrees with 97% humidity outside! My husband and I just laughed. The station was a bit ahead of themselves. The freeze warning is supposed to be tonight. Spring weather keeps you on your toes. Our newly sprouted garden and small tomato plants are not going to be happy if Jack Frost pays one last visit. Oh well, they’ll live.

4. One small comfort in these economic times is that I just found out we don’t owe the IRS more money for our 2008 taxes. Please remind me when our incomes are up again that it’s okay to pay more taxes if you have more to spend. I’m so happy that our taxes are completed and will be filed on time. I’ve been known to procrastinate until August and that is excruciating. So can I have a pat on the back? I'd rather have a cookie. ; )

5. The road to the next level is always uphill. ~ John Maxwell

Happy Monday!

It’s Not For Me To Know

I couldn’t find my copy of Og Mandino’s book “The Greatest Salesman in the World” today when I needed to re-read the chapter on persistence. “I Will Persist Until I Succeed” is the scroll I was looking for. I actually have parts of the book somewhat memorized. I remember it says, “It is not for me to know how many steps it will take to complete my journey, or how many strikes of the axe it will take to fell the tree." It’s not for me know. My job is to keep going. (By the way, this book is not for salespeople, it’s for everybody. A classic on success in life.)

I’m a whole week into my weight watcher’s re-commitment and guess how much I lost in my first week? Zip. That’s right. Zero. I followed the plan and have my food tracker as proof. So does this mean the program does not work? Nope. I have experience with this. It seems like a lot of people lose a lot their first week and get really excited. On the other hand, my body seems to put on the brakes and say, “Ok, you want to eat less, then I am going to burn less.” Yes, I exercised 4 out of 7 days. Could be better, I know. The good news is persistence will prevail. I was watching “The Biggest Loser” last week and most of the people had not lost much that week. One woman gained a pound. Nothing was said about the tricks your metabolism plays, plateaus (if you never knew anyone who could plateau right out of the gate, now you do) or the fact that muscle weighs more than fat and this can reflect in your weekly weigh-ins. Granted, I can’t claim that one. It’s a good thing I made a commitment to this plan and told you about it. Otherwise, I could fall back on “It just doesn’t work.” Bah humbug. It’s not for me to know exactly how long it will take. I just need to follow the plan with resolve. Persistence? I’m in.