Biting My Tongue

You can ask most anyone who really knows me and they will tell you that I am not one to mince words. I tend to speak my mind, sometimes a bit too freely. I at times lack a filter. My main goal this year is to help more people than I hurt. While it sounds simple, I'm sure it won't be. Today I was reading an article by Phil Ware titled "Ohnosecond!" It's about those little seconds in life where you think "Oh No!" We all have them. (Mine normally occur at work when I've entered something incorrectly but I've already hit enter.) He gave some great advice on how to avoid some of those bigger "ohnoseconds" in life. He said, "Remember the importance of your words. Don't be overly quick to say things, render opinions,or pontificate. Words leave a long residue of stain and pain when they are spoken irresponsibly." That hit home for me. You probably remember when we were young we had the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Well, we know that isn't true. Often, words hurt the most. You can't take them back once they are out there. He also said, "Listen to others instead of just riding out their conversation. To be heard, really heard, is about the greatest blessing we can give someone else." Again, very true. So many times we might "hear" what someone is saying but we aren't listening to them. Put away your cell phone, shut off the TV and become actively involved in conversations. Finally, he said, "Rather than trying to fix what we've said and try to ocme up with something clever or something to cover during that ohnosecond, we need to ask for forgiveness. Not effusively, not repeatedly, just simply: 'I'm really sorry. That was stupid (or insensitive) of me. Please forgive me.' For many people, I think this may be the hardest. It's hard to admit we've done wrong. But, we need to take the time to be adults and admit our mistakes. Your heart will feel so much better by not having that weight on it. I'm hoping by remembering these few things I can eliminate some of the ohnoseconds in my life.

Shred is now a bad word in my dictionary of life...

If you follow me on facebook, you've seen me make a couple of posts about "Shred". It is a workout video by the demon Jilian Michaels of "The Biggest Loser". I'd read about it on the Suburban Turmoil blog some time back and it kept creaping into my psyche. Now, if you all know me well, you know I would rather roll around in broken glass then exercise. But, I feel it's a bad sign when you go to the doctor for an ear infection (which really wasn't, but that's neither here nor there) and he gets on you about your weight. Wasn't aware the two were related, but apparently he felt the need to find the correlation. But, it was also what I needed. When we were living in Olathe, I lost a bunch of weight (nearly 40 pounds). In the year and a half since we've been back, I've put most of that back on. I've been trying to ignore the size of my pants or how I used to look all slim and svelte in certain tops and now they hug me a little more than they should. But, it isn't all about vanity, either. High cholesterol runs in my family and it has invaded my life. My cholesterol is almost 100 points higher than it should be. At 32 that is unacceptable. (OK at any age it is unacceptable.) I have four kids and a husband to think about and I'd like to enjoy grandkids someday. So, that's what kicked my butt down the fitness aisle at the store. There it was, staring me in the face. Jilian was looking at me. Taunting me. I could here her whispering that there was no way I could master her video. So, I grabbed it up, threw it in my cart, added some hand weights and headed for the checkout. For a few days the video sat on my dresser. I looked at it, but wasn't quite ready. After all, I had New Year's Eve and Mariah's birthday lunch that I had to get through first. I made Monday THE day. I took the kids to school, came home, changed clothes and popped Jilian into the DVD player. I was thinking positive that I wasn't in THAT bad of shape. I mean, surely level one wouldn't be that bad. WRONG. I was ready to strangle Jilian and her fabulous-looking sidekicks about 3 minutes into the exercise. (Not counting the warm-up) But, I persevered and finished. I was sweaty and out of breath. But, I'd done it. I was proud of myself. I decided to drink my water and treat myself to some computer time before bed. Big mistake. I could barely get out of my chair because my legs were now made of rubber. I hurt everywhere. By the next morning I didn't feel too bad so I attempted day 2. I did a little better, but am now more sore. But, the funny thing is, I feel good. I am doing something to improve my life. I am setting an example for my kids. When I get brave enough I will post pictures of "before" and then throughout the process. As good as I feel though, I'd still give anything to strangle Jilian!