Creative dry spells and random ramblings.

Have you ever just sat there and could not think of anything to write about, despite having a list of awesome ideas in the back of your head? Or you have this awesome idea, but cannot articulate yourself for the life of you?

That is me right now. If you only knew all of the awesome things floating in ye olde noggin right now...but I just don't have the energy/stamina/thought process to take the idea and expand it beyond a few sentences.

I could write about my idea half-assed. Or I could just save them until later. Which I will do because nothing is worse than a great idea posted blandly. But here are some random stuff anyways just to tantilize my fellow 4 readers with the possibility of something exciting down the pipe.

1) *inside joke moment that only two other's will get* : I think that Pantless Jones and Shirtless Jones needs to have a long lost African-American cousin/brother(played by that hot guy that is dating the chick from The View). He can be "Wet T-Shirt Jones". Junior...this is a huge plot twist idea that you could totally work into the story. Maybe he is the "mysterious man"....

2) The Biggest Loser is having their finale this week. I will blog more about this later (as I have so many things to say since my last post, and I am already sad about the idea of a few months without Bob Harper)....but needless to say, I am stoked. I so want either Tara or Mike to win. It is on Tuesday and I can't wait to see all the transformations.

3) Speaking of weightloss, I have a bet with my friend on who can loose the most weight in a 10 week period. Since there is cash on the line, I have to get my ass in gear and get serious now!!!

4) I'm becoming a Lector at my church. I am very excited as they are coming out with the new readings at the end of Pentecost. I hope I sound as good as I think I do. LOL.

5) Speakin of church....ashamed to admit this...but a certain Deacon's son is very hot. Like smoking hot. I'm going to hell for impure thoughts about the Deacon's son. LOLZ.

6) I need a new bra. But why do bra's for big chested woman come in the form of a military issued underwire? They can poke eyes out!\

7) So far, my book tally is nilch. But I still love being Canadian and I want to post more about this soon!

Cheers all!

Shoot the Shit Saturday's: Things that made Dani go squee!

Hello friends! So it's almost midnight and I'm finally getting around to blogging. I had to admit that today was just one of those lazy days that I did not feel like doing much. I slept in, had breakfast, had a nice spa bath, watched a bit of t.v. and surfed the net for a bit. This change of pace allowed me to discover, or rediscover as the case may be, some awesome stuff that made me go squee. So here is a list of random squeeness worthy things that just made me happy.

1) Unexpected viewings of Bob Harper. Today, while surfing the tube, I came across and unexpected episode of The Biggest Loser. So of course, any chance to see Bob Haper, or his tattoos, or the chance of a possible *glimpse* of his abs is enough to make me go squee.

2) Junior's blog.. Junior posted what I thought to be the funniest thing I have read in a long time. I'm sitting here giggling thinking about it. John Cena brings out a whole different side of Junior. And kudos to Joanne for adding the insightful idea of adding Robert Patrick as the wise Police of Cheif. And the idea that I would be worth to spray the sweat on John Cena is enough to make me squeee.

3) The song Thunderdome by Tina Turner. Belt it with me folks...*All the children say...We don't need another hero. We don't need another way home. All we want is something something, Thunderdome.* *squee*.

4) The Godfather opening theme song. "Dahhh da da da do dah dah. Dooo do do do do dah do dah dooooooo" *squee*.

5) Peach Tea with honey. Nothing soothes the soul like peach tea with honey. (well, if you don't count pints of roasted marshmallow icecream). *squee*.

6) Slippers. Oh how my tender tootsies were cold. But they found their way into nice warm snuggly slippers. *squee*.

7) The Family Stone. I love this movie. It's one of the greatest movies that fly's under the radar of recognition. Sarah Jessica Parker and Luke Wilson were superb, as was Diane Keaton. And oh, oh, do I cry at the end. Every stinkin' time. *squee*.

8)Talking to my mama. I love my mom. She's the best mom. I can just call her and talk and talk and talk. And we will talk about anything and everything. And it doesn't matter what topic, she will be interested in speaking about it, even if it requires some explanation. I'm a little concerned about her short term memory, and it hit's me more and more each day that she is getting a little bit older. But in conclusion: I love my mom. *squee*.

9) Bella's Lullaby from the Twilight soundtrack. I haven't yet run out and buy the Twilight DVD (because I am lazy), but I do own the soundtrack, and I listened on repeat the instrumental to Bella's Lullaby as I had a nap. *Squee*.

Squee moments totally make it worth getting up everyday and working like a slave, don't you agree?

Do it today: Motivation and the Journey forward.

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

It's never too late to try

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

You could be so many people

If you make that break for freedom

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

We need a change

Do it today

I can feel my spirit rising

We need a change

So do it today

Cause I can see a clear horizon

What have you done today to make you feel proud?

**********

"If you really take care of yourself, your body will take care of you". ~Bob Harper.

What steps do we take to make our weight loss goals a reality? In yesterday's blog, I spoke about the pitfalls of relying solely on motivation, specifically from others. But today, I wanted to focus on how we can use motivation as a source of strength.

In thinking of what to write today, I was going to come up with ideas. But when I started writing, I realized I was about to fall in the same trap that inspired this post in the first place. I realized that I cannot tell or force my ideas on others. That the things that might motivate me, may not work for others. And if I argue that our role is to inspire our friends instead of motivate our friends, then I bloody well couldn't just sit here and tell people how to motivate themselves.

So what do I write about then? How do I take the idea of motivation and move forward?

Then it hit me. Like someone going to McGyver to fix them out of a jam, I need to go to my McGyver. My person that can explain things in a way that makes sense to me. So who is my McGyver? Well, it all comes back to Bob..... Bob Harper that is.

It's not exactly a state secret that I LOVE BOB HARPER. And who better to talk about motivation then Bob Harper. View this and I will continue on.



What can we learn from Bob?

• Don't just sit back and wonder, get out and inquire
• Give it a try, and allow yourself to take part in the journey.
• Success is often found when you least expect it, but never found if you don't at least try.
• There is nothing wrong with travelling down a different road on your journey, whether it be by choice or by circumstance. If we keep taking the interstate, we end up missing the sights along the way.
• Even if you find success, that doesn't mean you have to settle for just that. Always seek your calling or allow yourself to have your calling seek you.
• Are you ready? Yes you are. The next step is to just do.

By the way, the song at the top is an excerpt from the song Proud, which is the theme song of the Biggest Loser. No better words to get you started, eh?

~Dani.

*Tomorrow I will unveil "Shoot the Shit Saturday", my post of random, light hearted stuff to end the week*

Weight Loss Wednesdays: What have you done today to make you feel proud?

*Because I belive the hardest journey I have been on so far is the weight loss journey, all my Wednesday's posts will be about that journey. That, and it also happens to be the day after an episode of the Biggest Loser. Hello convenient!

I was am your typical weight loss addict. I am like the scrapbook queen (hi mom!) who buys the supplys and doesn't make the book; or the budding mechanic who has the tools but still takes the car to the garage for a tune up. I am that girl that tries every diet (Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers (a repeat offender), whatever Oprah is hawking to the public). I am that girl who goes and buys various books with good intention, and the books sits on the shelf while she reads smutty harlequins. I am that girl who makes weight loss shows appointment t.v., but then sits and eats a PINT of roasted marshmallow ice cream while watching the show. (Yes, I just discovered roasted marshmallow icecream. Did you also know they make chocolate cheeze? But I digress...)

So my intention is there, but I get immediately overwhelmed. After much soul searching, I believe that it is because I overwhelm myself with too much imformation that I ultimately fail- well that and because I eat pints of icecream while watching t.v....but I digress.

Mom always says that a clean house is a clean mind. So with that in mind, I have decided to pick ONE diet program that I have tried that I know works. Jenny Craig? Too expensive. Weigh Watchers? After trying time and time again, I decided it's just doesn't provide me with enough practical knowledge. Yes, Miso Soup is 0 points...but it also has 10000 mg of sodium. And we wonder why we are fat and dying of heart disease?

The only program that I have tried with any considerable, measurable success is The Biggest Loser. The Biggest Loser started many years ago on NBC, and since then has spun off into a franchise with books and everything. I watch the shows, and the repeats, religiously. It also provided me with my a-ha moment in season 5 (back in 2007).

Just over mid-way through the season, the contestants were in Australia, climibing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Ali Vincent, the contestant who eventually went on to win, was speaking afterwards and said something I will never forget. She said (I am paraphrasing) that she realized that if she was still at her highest weight, that there was no way she would be able to do that challenge because she would not even be able to climb the stairs.

It was at that moment when I realized just how much being overweight hinders your life. It is not just the stairs, but the restaurant booths, and the plane seats, and pretty much at every conceivable part of your life, being overweight is awful. There is no other way to say it.

The premise of The Biggest Loser is this: Your body has so many calories it must eat (your weight x 7) just to maintain basic functioning. If you eat more calories, you gain weight. If you exercise and eat your daily requirements, you lose. You follow a basic food pyramid like we were taught in school. Your goal is to balance your diet by eating 3 meals and 2-3 snacks, with foods from each food group. You want to also factor in fat, sodium etc just to keep things in balance. You want to put the best food possible in your mouth that is healthy and balanced. You do a variety of exercizes. And you also work on your inside you.

So gone are the 6 million books. Gone are the endless tv shows. It is one show. One series of books. I am going to kickstart with the 30 day program they have recently published, just to get some structure. I have worked on almost every other part of my life. It is now time that I deal with the hardest part.

***Plus, I also have the very yummy Bob Harper as my inspiration. I heart him.