D.A.R.E.

No post in a while......

I've been trying not to post until I get over my recent run in with stress, but I think perhaps writing about it will instead be a better method of combating the emotions.

So be warned... Here comes the anger....

Time stops when you take drugs.

I've never taken them myself. But I am unfortunately related to distant people who would rather be living in their parents basement, high and unsociable, than sober/clean and successful.

Perhaps this is a fortunate thing that I am related to such people.... for I have a constant shadow following me, reminding me to keep on the narrow straight pathway.

I don't think I'm a judgmental person in general... but I am extremely prejudiced against people who do drugs. It is an awful trait to have.... but I cannot see any other angle of the argument. Drugs kill people, and I refuse to see it any other way. I don't care if its a 90 year old dude who's smoking marijuana for 'its health benefits' or not.

I try very hard to not have any deadweight like anger inside. But it was absolutely infuriating when people I have seen in recent years ask me the same questions they asked me when they weren't taking the drugs.

Time stopped for them... and all they remember is their last few moments and the surroundings that no longer exist for them before they became high 24-7.

I was very ill for a long period of time, and my family was kept posted about my condition on a regular basis.

I've been well now for, thankyou God, almost 5 years.

The high people, however, still think I'm not well..... and for the past 5 years, they give me the same shocked "OMG" look as I retell the story of how I recovered. The same story I've told them over... and over... and over again.

They may not be physically dead, but their time has stopped. And when you stop moving... you no longer have a purpose...

And you die.

I don't know why I keep running into these people that I try so hard to stay away from.

Maybe its because I need to be reminded why I should fight to never become them.

Maybe its because I need to keep telling them the same thing over and over again...

Or maybe its because it was going to make me angry enough to rant about it here, so that someone out there living this kind of deteriorating wasteful life can see that no matter how much fun you think you're having, others like me have already written you out of their lives and labeled you as living 6 feet under.

Quit the junk. Start moving forward again. Its not impossible to change. It *is* impossible, however, to expect others to change your life for you. That change has to come from within.

So do it already.

Just a quick note to say...

Hello!

FYI -- if you're a fan of Pencil Things, the link has been updated!

Go get all of your pencil needs over at the new link: http://pencilthings.com/blog

That's it for now... :)

The layout has returned

Time to brighten things up around here...

The last post stayed up a little longer than what I had anticipated. Oops

Unexpected out of town affairs called, and I had to leave. I'm back and can put the happy layout back up now.

I had a lot of ranting and raving and whatever to say.... but I'm sleep deprived and actually kinda hungry... soooo.. adios!

Happy Birthday.... wish you were here....

"Necesitado me ecuentro senor
ayudame hoy
yo quiero saber lo que devo hacer
muestra el camino,que devo seguir
senor por mi bien
yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez

Un dia a la vez mi cristo
es lo que pido de ti
dame la fuerza para vivir un dia a la vez
ayer ya paso mi cristo
y manana quisas no vendra
ayudame hoy yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez

Tu ya viviste entre los hombres
tu sabes senor que hoy esta peor
es mucho dolor hay mucho egoismo
y mucha maldad
senor por mi bien yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez

Un dia a la vez mi cristo
es lo que pido de ti
dame la fuerza para vivir un dia a la vez
ayer ya paso mi cristo
y manana quisas no vendra
ayudame hoy yo quiero vivir un dia a la vez"

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: That

The One-Minute Writer: Today's Writing Prompt: That - clarification by jentherose

See the actual prompt here: http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com/2009/03/todays-writing-prompt-that.html

And get more One Minute Writer here: http://oneminutewriter.blogspot.com

OMW

I think I should have specified in my comment for the One Minute Writer entry that I was joking.

I just saw Made of Honor.... couldn't help myself. LOL

Diet Update!

So as far as the crazy diet stuff I'd been trying, here's some of the stuff I've been doing... and it seems to be working!

1. Snacking. LOTS of it. Nothing big, of course. I've been buying lots of bananas - they're the cheapest form of fruit I know of, and I know I don't eat enough fruit as it is. Also, I've been keeping 100 calorie packs of daisy-go-rounds in my desk [not the most nutritious, but its the truth.] As far as the chocolate cravings go, I got a pack of dark chocolate individually wrapped squares... but the catch is this - the serving size! Four pieces = one serving, which = approx. 130 calories. Well I don't need to eat FOUR pieces, I just want something to saitisfy the craving for the day. I haven't done the math, but its a smaller calorie count if I'm just eating one piece.... and if I decide I want a second piece, its not a full serving. Check out those serving sizes people!!

[I find that by snacking, when it comes down to actual meal time, I eat very small portions, which is pretty much more snacking.... and its not quite eating every hour, but its eating at my own pace, I guess?]

2. Eat breakfast. EVERY DAY. Even if its not the 'best' or 'healthiest' breakfast out there. If I eat something moderate or even big in the morning, I eat a lot less during the rest of the day. And its not like I'm starving myself or depriving myself either... I just don't feel hungry at all.

3. Drink lots of water, especially before meals. Hey, they used to do it when we were fighting the world wars so we could send more food to the soldiers, why not do it now? It helps you to eat less. Also, drink green tea between meals. Its all-around good for ya, and it kind of has a bit of an appetite suppressor. And, sometimes you can mistake thirst for hunger, so if you start to feel hungry, drink up... you might surprise yourself and realize that you're just not drinking as much water as your body wants you to.

4. EXERCISE! TV is a great thing.... but its a terrible thing because it encourages you to sit idly and relax, but not completely because your mind is processing what's going on. You may as well be sleeping with your eyes open. This is something that I heard from one of the contestants on 'The Biggest Loser' - Don't say you don't have time to exercise if you have time to watch tv. So if you're going to watch TV, stand up. Do some squats. Lift some weights. Do situps. Learn some simple yoga stuff. Do some core exercises. Get an exercise bike or treadmill and plop it DIRECTLY IN FRONT of the TV, and make it a rule that you can't watch TV unless you're using one of those. Use exercise balls as chairs. You don't have weights? BS! Yes you do - you have cans of something whether it be food or soda, I'm sure. Bottles of water. Apples and oranges. A gallon of milk that can be filled with something once the milk runs out [water, sand, etc]. Weights don't have to be HEAVY, so don't be afraid to improvise.

If you're bored at the gym, assuming you're going to one, SERIOUSLY -- go get an mp3 player! They are soooo cheap! I just saw one for 30 bucks! 2 gigs of music for 30 bucks! Chances are that you wont even work out for the full length of however long 2 gigs of music will run, so who cares if it can only hold X amount of songs. If you really want to shell out big bucks though, get something with video capabilities, and put some tv shows on there. It really changes the entire atmosphere up if you're on a treadmill and you've got a video player propped up in front of you, and you're laughing at something or watching a concert and focusing on something other than the burning and the sweating.

5. Brush your teeth. OFTEN. As gross as this sounds, sudden hunger cravings come 'out of the blue' because you sometimes have a piece of food lodged that finds its way to your stomach after a meal... and confuses you into thinking you want more food when really, you just had some not too long ago.

6. NO TV DURING DINNER! Or any meal for that matter. I've found that you get easily distracted with TV, and then you're not focusing on eating/making sure you're full. You start getting entertained, then you get into movie-theatre mode and start eating without thinking... and soon you ate twice as much as you would have if you had just been by yourself in a quiet room with no windows.

Foods I've been staying away from: Ice Cream, Any kind of soda [but I don't really drink soda to begin with anyway], fried stuff, BEEF, cake & other oven baked pastries, milk.

Things that I've been doing instead: sherbert & sorbet or even a bowl of cereal if I want something cold and junky, iced teas & mineral water if I want something that's got carbonation like a soda, grilled or boiled stuff instead of fried, turkey & chicken instead of beef, 100 calorie packs of stuff and/or low calorie packages of sweet stuff that has a serving size of more than 1 piece, but eat only one piece at a time and not the actual # of pieces required to make a serving. And the milk? Wow.... its been almost a whole year I think that I haven't had milk. I'm not dodging dairy altogether, just the milk. There's this fantastic thing called Almond Milk. I swear it tastes just like regular milk... or at least its how I think regular milk tastes. If anything its closer to lowfat/skim milk, but if you're using it for cereal you're totally not going to notice.

I think the biggest thing in all of this is the exercise, as it plays the biggest role. But as I documented before, even without a gym you can lose weight. [crazy hourly eating.]

The final tip I shall leave you with is for the exercise - stick with it. It doesnt have to be 5 hours a day.... but stay on schedule and keep doing the same thing every day, as long as you're getting at least 5 minutes in. Its better than nothing, and consistency will pay off.

I am happy to report that so far.... I've lost one whole pants size! WOO! I dont know how much weight I've actually lost, but I'm in it for the inches. :D

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Gotta get the car repaired in the morning, and then deal with crazy people at work.

I havent posted a fortune lately. Sorry about that... I'll try to pick a good one for ya:

OWN A CLEVER GOAT BY ALL MEANS, BUT MAKE SURE YOU CAN OUTWIT IT.