This kind of dancing is contagious...

What's that you say? Why am I so happy and dancing like a fool? Well...I stepped on the scale today. Usually doing so doesn't elicit anything other than a sad shake of the head and a small pep talk BUT today it was all happy dance for the scale read 342. Do you see that number?  For those that are counting, that's a loss of 36 lbs! Take a moment and happy dance with me!!

That felt good right? Added bonus...celebratory dancing counts as cardio, ya know.

I'm also jazzed by the fact that today I'm able to wear a sweatshirt that I have never been able to wear. A couple of years ago I bought this kick-ass sweatshirt. I had wanted to buy it in my size but the store didn't have any available (in truth I don't think they carry them at all but what else is new?!). The lack of availability didn't stop me tho. I bought the next size and set it with the others.

What others you ask?

Oh come on! I can't be the only person that buys clothes that they want to fit into...ya know "GOAL CLOTHES". Hmmm maybe I am the only one that does it. My husband certainly thinks so & questions it at least once a year.

Anywho, after stepping on the scale I dared to go into my closet. Losing weight is one thing, but being able to fit into clothes that you have never been able to fit into before...well that just feels awesome. Typically I wear a pair of jeans and a dark grey shirt, but I have so many cute girly clothes that I want to wear. This is going to be the year that I get to take the tags off the clothes and wear them!!

Who Do You See?

When you look at pictures of yourself, what do you see? How about in the mirror? What about in the eyes of your family and friends?  Self-perception has such a big affect on how we live our lives, what we think we deserve, and the way we love ourselves.

I've been giving my self-perception a lot of thought over the last few days, and have come to the conclusion that I have let the words of others influence the way I see myself for far too long.  As an adult, I am still letting the horrible words said to me as a child color my thoughts…despite the fact that I now know they were said to hide their own insecurities and pain.

So I've come to a decision!  The words of the past will not affect how I see myself any longer!  I'm better than that and deserve better.  We all do!

From now on I will remember and believe that I am and have always been

…a good daughter

…sassy

…a dork

...cute

… goofy

…a great wife

…smart

…a valued friend 

...a loving mom

...an artist

…and one hell of a cook!

I get that others might not see me the way I see myself...and thats ok!  They can see what they want to see, but isn't it time that we all start seeing for ourselves who we are?

<3 -Cat