Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Oprah

I was sitting on the couch yesterday with the baby sleeping on me, surfing the internet when Oprah came on the tv. I love Oprah. I love her even more after watching yesterday's episode, which kicked off her "Live Your Best Life" week. Much of the show consisted of her sitting in front of a camera and talking about her struggles with her weight and her body image. She showed how the last year's O Magazine covers all showed her from the shoulders up (my preferred photography option, also) because she is so uncomfortable with her body and the weight she has gained. I love Oprah because she is a celebrity, yet she isn't afraid or ashamed to let herself be seen as a normal person with normal struggles. And I find that really inspiring, in this age of supermodels and celebrities who believe a size 8 is "plus-sized".

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Putting yourself back on your list

You know, as the weeks go by I'm starting to realize that this journey isn't just about weight loss. It's about finding myself, and learning to love what I find. While watching Oprah today (which I'm going to talk about more in tomorrow's post), she said something that really hit home for me. She said how important it is to put yourself back on your list. So that's my tip for today. Put yourself back on your list. Make time for yourself. Make yourself and your well-being a priority. Realize that you're worth a time investment. How many of us make time for our spouse, our children, our family, our careers... but don't make time for ourselves? If I can make it a priority to ensure that my children are eating healthy, balanced meals, why can't I do the same for myself? The answer is I Can, but I just don't make the time to do so, and that needs to stop being acceptable to me.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Monday Check-In

It's another Monday. Another week into this crazy ride. It's been a stressful week, but I woke up this morning feeling energized and ready to face the new day. I went out over the weekend and got a new haircut. It's shorter than I've ever had it cut before, and I'm still getting used to it, but I think I like it. It's much cooler for the summer, at least. Today while the baby was napping, I decided to colour it and put in some highlights, too. I usually just colour it close to my natural light brown, but this time around decided to lighten it up a bit for the summer months. Then, since my hair was looking all "gorgeois", as Mia from So You Think You Can Dance would say, I decided to put on some makeup. Now, putting on makeup isn't something I usually find the time to do unless I have plans to go out somewhere (and no, running to the grocery store doesn't usually count). But you know, maybe I should make more of an effort. Just because the kids are the only ones who are going to see me, doesn't mean I shouldn't look good, right?

So then, since I was all made up, I figured today was as good a day as any to set up my lights and try and get a new self-portrait for my photography site and new business cards. And then, since I was taking photos anyway, I invited the kids to jump in and get a few photos with mom. That is something I certainly don't do enough. Being a photographer, it's bad enough that I tend to always be the one behind the camera... but I'm guilty of avoiding being photographed because I don't like the way I look. Really, though, my kids don't care what I look like. They love me regardless, and I would hate for them to look back on their childhood and not have any photos to remind them of how much I loved them.

So, you can see the self-portrait I chose over there on my profile info, and here's me and my boys. That's all for today. Later!



Saturday, July 4, 2009

Just popping in

This past week has been crazy, man. Busy, stressful, tiring. This past week has tried my patience and threatened to steal my sanity, but I managed to make it to the weekend. At one point this week, when my kids were driving me batty, I called my husband and whined about how I've been praying for God to give me patience. His reply? "God doesn't give you patience, he makes you work for it" *sigh* So true, but not what I wanted to hear LOL

That said, I'm taking the weekend off to chill and relax and de-stress, so I'm ready to jump back into life on Monday morning. Hope all my fellow Canucks enjoyed Canada Day on Wednesday, and Happy 4th to all of my Americal Friends!