Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Wow! It has been a great couple of weeks. Though I still have no job I feel as though the wheel is starting to turn. All the networking I have been doing has been great. It is awesome to connect with people who have the same thoughts, feelings, and obstacles as you. It is always good to hear their updates and share success stories with each other! IT has really kept me positive in this journey in my life. So often it is so easy to get down and have a negative attitude but then I tell myself that this isn't permanent and that it is just a phase. I do have an interview on Wednesday (tomorrow) with a growing company. It is a position they are creating so hopefully I can help them in discovering exactly what it is that they want :)

I want to share a story with everyone that really touched me. Yesterday while driving home from the gym I got lost in my thoughts. I really began to miss my dad (yesterday would have been his 65th bday). So while I was driving along thinking about him I started to just talk to him and tell him how much I miss him. I was sitting at a stop light when the most amazing thing happened. "I can only Imagine" by Mercyme came on the radio. Now to get the full emotion of this story I bring you back to the day of my dad's funeral. It was there as they wheeled out my dad's casket Steve Quinn (a friend of my dad that I grew up hearing sing in our church) sang this song and it fit my dad to a T! So, as sit at the stop light talking to my dad his song came on! I was overwhelmed with joy, sadness, tears, and a sense of peace knowing that Daddy was still looking out for his little girl. I really believe that this was his way of telling me that everything will be ok and that he still walks with me every day of my life. I miss you so much Big Papa but I know you are living an eternal life of peace and happiness with your father and our Lord and Savior! I also want to thank you dad for teaching me to be the best person that I can be and love unconditionally. I truly miss you everyday!

With that said I am really excited for my week coming up. My sister and her family are coming down to visit! I can't wait to hug those little girls and spend time with them going to the zoo, the beach, playing in the yard, and just being with my family. It is always great to see my sister!

On a short note about my weight loss journey.....As I said before the scale and I broke up. I am very proud of myself for making the right choices in foods and exercising almost everyday. I am noticing a small difference but I am hoping that will turn into a big difference soon. I want to thank everyone for their encouraging words. YOu truly inspire me to do better and if there is ever anything I can do for you please let me know....I love you all!!! (I am posting the lyrics to the song "I can Only Imagine" below :)

3/22/2011
weight: unknown
job status: interview tomrrow

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk
By your side

I can only imagine
What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus:]
Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

I can only imagine
When that day comes
When I find myself
Standing in the Son

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever
Forever worship You
I can only imagine

I can only imagine

[Chorus]

I can only imagine [x2]

I can only imagine
When all I will do
Is forever, forever worship you

I can only imagine

Cleaning out the closet!

I want to start off saying that I attended a wonderful networking meeting on Monday! I met a lot of great people who gave me tons of encouragement. I am going to continue to go to this every Monday along with my current networking group on Thursday! I really am trying to get out there and meet people and land a job. I met a gal on Saturday night at a local establishment here and gave her my card. She emailed me today and asked for my resume to send along to HR. Hopefully that goes well. I really am starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel as far as employment goes.

Now on to my weight loss journey. I reported last time that I was down five pounds which was encouraging. Well on the contrary this time I have gained 2 lbs. It is frustrating to keep yo-yo'ing up and down this way. On Sunday night before my big networking meeting I was going through my closet to find something to wear and to my amazement I have out grown ALOT of my clothes. I REFUSE to go shopping and buy bigger sizes. So what did I do......

I broke up with my scale (in the words of my friend Niki) and started cleaning out my closet. Now I will let you know I did not give any clothes away or sell any of them. I simply have moved them into another closet. My theory behind this is that when I start dropping more pounds I will be able to go shopping in that closet and have some of my old clothes back. I am putting my scale away until March 27th. This is one day before my sister comes to visit me and I have set forth a goal to meet in that time. My goal is to lose 10lbs by then.

I have noticed with having the scale right by my shower I am weighing myself upwards of 4-5 times a DAY! That's right I am becoming a little obsessed with the scale. This is not healthy. I need to start focusing on how I feel and not so much what the scale is saying. I will not weight myself until the day before my sister arrives. I figure if I do that I will not focus so much on the weight aspect of things. Lets hope my theory works.

I started really getting back into weight watchers this week and am strictly counting my points. I had so much success in the past that the only thing that can fail on this is ME!

For those of you who have not heard we have set a date for our wedding. 4/21/12!!!

"Don't ever, ever quit. Recognize that stopping now, regrouping to try a new approach isn't quitting. If you quit you'll regret it forever."
~ Rudy Ruettiger