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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Dietbetting for Charity! Gulp!

Normally, if there's a diet bet going on, this girl will be one of the first ones out. I may as well just hand over the money and order a pizza. I have a pretty extensive vocabulary but can't get a grasp on the word "willpower". And, I'll be the first to admit it! (Who is this Will Power of whom you speak? Was he on the television in the 1970's?)

However, Joanna Soh of www.JoannaSoh.com has invited her YouTube viewers (http://youtu.be/mEEoMjsByxo)  and blog readers to join in an activity I'm pretty sure I can't fail in trying. That sounds lousy. It's an activity I KNOW I can do. It's all in the mind, People, and a lot on the backside. But...that's another topic. Hah! Butt.

Where was I?

She is a fitness trainer that has many videos posted showing everything from exercises to nutritious recipes and tips. Joanna's easygoing attitude is one I can tolerate better than the "Drop and give me 20!" trainers. I really don't want to punch her in the face! She speaks pleasantly but firmly and is able to offer quite a few good recipes (that's the foodie in me!) and is realistic about the exercises being challenging, yet encourages you to do as you are able. In fact, she addresses every body shape and fitness status in a few of the videos.

So, in trusting her trust in me, I've decided to take on the DietBet challenge and invite anyone else who'd like to jump in, to do so at http://www.dietbet.com/JoannaSoh.

The challenge begins October 13th and ends on November 9th. Now, we can do anything as long as we know for how long we have to do it, right? Right?? Right! You add to the kitty to begin and if you lose 4% of your body weight, you win! Basically, 4 weeks to lose 4%. That sounds *do-able to me. Did I just say I had a good vocabulary? *Private conversation with 'self'. There is no word as 'do-able'.

Anyway, the people who actually meet the goal get to split the 'pot' between them.  If too many hit it, there's a "No Lose Guarantee". The company will kick in the difference to make sure you at least get back what you put in. That's only one reason I agreed. It sounds like they don't expect people to succeed. How dare them! See? I only need the right motivation.

It's amazing that one can go through life and lack motivation to do something for yourself, just for yourself, without an external motivator. I'll be honest, nothing works for me. If I had to cut off my right arm for my family member or hitchhike across the country to help a friend, I'm in. When it comes to something as simple as caring for myself, it gets lost in translation.

You would think being accountable to others would make me want to do better but I'm neither competitive or overly concerned of what others think of me. There goes friendly non-monetary wagers!

I'm blessed to have what I need and don't 'want' expensive things, so money is not a motivator, either. I've wasted hundreds of dollars paying for gyms I rarely visited and diet centers I figured out were too corny and/or cultish to attend. I just stopped going.

My attention span seems to be a bit of a problem, as well.  I join or start, make dynamic progress and then promptly lose interest! I'm shocked I've been able to keep up this blog for as long as I have!

There is one thing and one thing only that will get me going. I think you all know what's coming.

When I win (and I WILL win), our Church's Food Pantry will benefit as I've designated them as my charity.

Every day I have a thought that makes me ashamed that we have so very much and so many have so very little. We waste. We sit. We don't repair the broken. We eat at restaurants. We get fatter! Then there are ones who are getting healthier spending so much on 'healthier' expensive foods and constantly talking about food. Meanwhile, others are wondering when they'll eat again.

This is why I love organizations like www.NoKidHungry.org (+No Kid Hungry) who are bringing attention to this dreadful situation of children without enough to eat. This just shouldn't be!

I suppose I do have a second motivator. One of my pet peeves is when someone tells me I can't do something. It makes me want to do it more than ever! It's not like a child bent on having her way. It is more of an insult to tell me what you think I'm capable of doing. I'm still working on the whole 'humility' thing. The idea that the Dietbetter company is willing to chip in 'just in case' everyone makes the goal, tells me they don't expect everyone to make their goals! It's good financial sense to make that statement as more will join knowing they can't lose their money, only weight. They don't know me, though, and I will get that money back, and more, for the Food Pantry. So there!

Bottom line, I've found motivation. Now, if I could just find that guy, Will Power.

Wish me blessings, luck, and success to do this little bit from this little section of the Earth I inhabit. Thanks!


 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

It's Not the End but What is It?

There's a darkness settling in.

No matter how bright the sunrise or how beautiful the sunset, people are becoming more and more mean to one another. This is my recent observation and not inclusive of areas of the world where humans are behaving well toward one another, if there are any.

Is anyone else getting to the point when they feel they don't want to read anything on websites, especially comments, watch the news on television, or read a rare newspaper?

It's enough to make you question if you really heard or read what you just did? It isn't that the world has always been perfect until now. It isn't that it's just become bad in the last few months or years. I think I'm just noticing it with new eyes these days. Everyone has a 'chip' on their shoulder. Everyone seems to want to have someone 'lesser' than them in order to feel better about their lives. They aren't afraid to show it, either. Mostly, they show it from behind the anonymity of a keyboard on the Internet. Here in the States, they show it outright, upfront, and smack in the face of justice, fairness, kindness, and consideration of humanity. Oh, yeah. It's the same almost everywhere, now.

Tonight, I read the following comments about a college football player's television interview. First question is, how many people who are not professional speakers could get in front of cameras and, not nervously, express themselves at their best? Second, he has no more of an 'accent' than many of the Southern U.S. citizens do. Finally, this is a young man that is apologizing for poor behavior, not criminal, just poor judgment for which he is being appropriately punished by his university. Why the 'cruel' behavior? Why the direct insult of him AND every student entering college on a scholarship....on an athletic scholarship?

The comments were as follows:

Tom G X How is winston passing his classes lol

D.j. XXX
 
 
Troy XXXX What an illiterate ass hole he can barely speak English lol

D.j. XXX unfortunately thats 75% of college and NFL the only way these guys get into college is bc of their athletic ability not reading ability smh

Tom G XXX But only 1% of college quarterbacks 1% off the top 100 teams that is.
(This statement is incomprehensible without punctuation or context.)

Samantha XXX I couldn't help but yell at the tv while watching this....absolute idiot! Lol


Now, I'm not the designated Facebook Grammar Police and not taking on the role, permanently. But, if you look at the postings, which I included exactly as written, there seems to be a problem with grammar, punctuation, and writing skills that a child could point out.

As a line on Friends went, "Hello, Kettle, this is Pot. You're black.".

Another would be known as throwing rocks in your glass house.

Another would be pointing out the splinter in someone's eye while ignoring the plank in your own.

Another would be every time you point a finger at someone, three more are pointing right back at you.

I joke. I have a sense of humor. I'm guilty of having a sarcastic nature (which I'm working on!). I'm no angel. I do feel anger at insults and criticisms aimed at those who are not there to defend themselves. It is mean, harmful and shameful.

People don't like to discuss shame, though. We want to keep it inside and locked up. We ignore it like it doesn't exist but it's there and will pop-up when we least expect it.We all have experienced it and it's uncomfortable. It's very uncomfortable. Acknowledging our wrongs feels bad. It can feel worse than the shame, itself. However, it is a sign of growth and maturity to admit to it and to ask forgiveness. It's something to strive for, not ignore. It's what we need to teach our children. It makes us stronger, kinder people. It makes us see what we need from ourselves AND others. Forgiveness. And that brings Peace.

While we are all living on this planet, with technology that allows us to do and say whatever we want without regard to feelings of others, without accuracy or politeness, surely, we can be honest about who and what we are and what we think. Every thought that comes into our heads does not have to be put on the Internet. It doesn't have to be yelled in traffic. It doesn't have to be on our face to the person who 'looks' different or is dressed differently than we are. If it's unkind, then as it's said, keep it to yourself. I would say no one's interested but, apparently, that's not true as evidenced by the added comments above and in every Yahoo News story that comes out daily.

We may not all believe the same, live the same, or have the same experiences, but we can respect one another, still. Can't we?

 

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Will Your Boaz See You?



I'm going to let someone else do the talking for this particular blog. Hope you don't mind.


 
 
 
I'm actually not sure there is more to say than what...and how, this lovely lady expresses it. Dephne Madyara (www.DephneMadyara.com) has taken it upon herself to do a series of video logs on YouTube based on a Book of the Bible and study and discuss it for the month of September. It's not a ploy to purchase anything, gain subscribers, or push ideas into anyone's head that they can't hear and understand.

I started watching her videos surfing for vain reasons regarding hair, beauty, and health. She has gorgeous hair, exudes beauty and is in good health. She spoke with common sense and knowledge, and, mostly Faith, which I appreciated. I became a subscriber.

I should explain that she is referring to the Book of Ruth from the Old Testament. Ruth, you see, was a non-Israelite woman married about 10 years into an Israelite family. Her father-in-law, husband, and brother-in-law all died, leaving no one to care for her and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Rather than be anywhere else or with anyone else, she chose to go with her mother-in-law to Naomi's former home of Bethlehem. She had accepted Naomi's God of Israel and provided for them both by working in the fields. I was blessed with a darling of a mother-in-law, so I can see this happening.

Ruth is working when Boaz, who turns out to be one of Naomi's relatives, notices her and inquires about her status as a damsel in the fields. One like her, you did not see in the fields, but married, or having a good time while waiting for marriage.You see, as this young woman, Dephne, explains in her video, Ruth had experienced her share of heartache, stresses, troubles, challenges, but it did not show. Her face was one of peace, not a reflection of the darkness and storms, she'd survived.

It is a true statement of how your face can reveal your life to others. We don't need to reveal every hardship on our faces to prove we have or had them, any more than while fasting we have to wear worn clothing, cover ourselves in ashes, and look pitiful! We walk around, at times, with anger or sadness, clearly written on our faces. Will your Boaz notice you like that and want to be around you? Most people will walk right by that! It's when one notices your Joy that people stop and wonder.

I used to hate it when people (men!) would tell me to not to look so mad, when I was just walking innocently down a street. It wasn't that I was angry. I just wasn't smiling at the time, maybe lost in a thought. Now, I find lots of reasons inside me and outward to smile, despite what may be happening in my life, and it's attractive to those who want to know WHY. I'm always willing to tell them why if they are willing to hear it. Most people I encounter already know it. God bless them! There is no insincerity about it and it is not fake in any manner. I choose peace and joy because I feel it. If I'm not feeling it, if I'm losing it for some reason, then I can usually find it again in a short time. Prayer definitely works! I like to think that although I have some horror stories that would put you under the blankets of your bed for days, it isn't visible. Want to know why? It's been left behind me. It is a gift of grace that enables this and I would love to see everyone experience it.

So, long story short (too late!), this 'mixed' marriage of Ruth's takes place after a series of issues are settled, and Ruth gave birth to Obed, father of Jesse, father of King David. Dephne will get to that later in the series, I'm sure. I encourage everyone to subscribe and see what other contemporary thoughts she has from such ancient inspired writings!

That's enough from me. Seriously, please listen to what Dephne says here as she makes wonderful points that many women (and a lot of men!) need to hear.

I did start off saying someone else was going to speak, didn't I? Oops!

Have a blessed week, All!