Happy Birthday to Me :-)

Today is the first day in God knows how many years that I've worked on my birthday. Last year my birthday was during the weekend, and anytime that it's not, I take the day off. Alas, I could not do so this year since the office manager is on her yearly trip, and I have to cover for her. Despite my birthday being on a Monday and my having to work, it's been a great day so far :-). I think the birthday gods are smiling down on me because this has been a very mellow work day. I've been shown lots of love today, which I really appreciate. I've realized that as time goes by, I get better with age ;-).

37, but don't look a day over 25, hahaha!!!

So much has changed in my life over the past year. I've done things I never thought I'd have the courage to do, adding some things, getting rid of others. This blog is called The Best Me That I Can Be, and I'm continuing to take steps to live my best life. Along the way, I've met some great people who have enhanced my life.

I'd like to thank everyone who takes the time to read my thoughts on the world around me. I know that what I have to say is not particularly profound, but I always try to speak from my heart.

Goodbye 35

Tomorrow is my 36th birthday. Each year around this time I evaluate my life to see where I am compared to where I want to be. I used to do it because I thought it was helpful with regard to motivating me to meet my goals, but I think it's become more of an albatross around my neck. This self-evaluation may be starting to overshadow my accomplishments. As human beings we spend a lot of time focusing on what we haven't done, without congratulating ourselves on what we have done. Over the past year, I've kept off a significant amount of weight. I haven't lost all that I want to lose (which I had hoped to do by now), but what I've done so far is nothing to sneeze at. I am still gainfully employed despite the fact that the economy is in the toilet and I spent almost five years of my life with one of the most apathetic men in the world. I'd much rather be doing a different job, and had planned on doing a different one by now, but all things in good time.

A while back I renamed this blog The Best Me That I Can Be. The only way I can be the best me is to recognize my accomplishments and appreciate them. I don't need to compare myself to anyone else because we all started our lives with different foundations, and over the years have been given different building blocks. I've tried to build on what I knew was unstable ground in the hopes that one day it might become stable. If it's weak or doesn't hold what I need it to hold without buckling, I should tear everything down and find steady ground. The past year has made me realize that the steadiest ground is within myself.

Results Thursday

So yeah, those cookies and that ice cream stuck with me to the tune of 1.8lbs. I don't even know why I bother with my scale at home. It's correct that I'm up or down, but the numbers are never right. Oh well, that's the way it goes. Yesterday the slate got wiped clean, so we'll see what I can do. Do you think I can lose 18lbs by September 24th? That's my 36th birthday. I'd like to be at my goal by then. I was hoping to be there by my last birthday, but the universe conspired against me. To tell the truth, I conspired against me. Such is life.

When the Universe Does You a Favor

I know that there's a force greater than I can ever comprehend at work around me. I'm a firm believer that what you put out into the universe comes back to you. When I was younger, that concept was hard to grasp, but as the years have gone by, it has been proven time and time again. Recently the universe did me a favor, but at the time I didn't see it as such. All I could see is what I felt I had lost, rather than focusing on what I had gained. I'm someone who tends to internalize anger and sadness, which manifests itself in overeating. If I'm not really careful, it would be easy to undo all of the hard work I've done with Weight Watchers.

We may not always get the things that we want, but the universe will always provide us with the things we need at any given time. If you've been living in a dream world and need to be slapped back to reality (metaphorically speaking), then that's what you're going to get. Believe me, I've been slapped back to reality more than once. If you're someone who's been compromising your morals and values to hold onto to something or someone that you think belongs in your life, then there are going to be all sorts of stumbling blocks placed in front of you because you're not being true to yourself.

Don't get me wrong. Sometimes things happen with no apparent explanation. They may not be a direct result of our actions, but nevertheless they have an effect on us, sometimes bringing about a re-evalution of where we are in our lives and where we want to be. My 35th birthday is coming up and ever since I was 25, I've assessed my life every 5 years to see what has improved and what still needs work. I'm not currently where I had hoped to be at the age of 35, but because the universe did me a favor, I'm closer to it than I may have otherwise been.

Patiently Waiting for My New Stove

It's been a while since I've posted, but I'm hoping to start posting everyday or at least every weekday. Just before the Memorial Day holiday, my oven died. I'm sure there are a lot of 33-year old women out there that probably don't even know how to work an oven unless it's of the microwave variety, but my oven and I are pretty tight. I've been known to bake cakes and cookies, muffins and pies. I also like to broil my meat, instead of frying it. Don't even get me started on pizza!

Initially, we were told by the landlord that we'd have a new stove on the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Tuesday came. No oven. No phone call. On Wednesday he called and said that the oven was on backorder and wouldn't be in until Friday. Yay. Another whole week without my oven. That really sucks!

Since the death of my oven, grocery shopping hasn't been much fun. As soon as I think of something I might like to have for dinner, the thought occurs to me that I'd need the oven in order to cook it. There's only so much you can do with a toaster oven, and the microwave is totally hopeless for some things.

My boyfriend's birthday is coming up on Monday, so I would like to be able to cook him a nice dinner and a cake. Here's hoping that I get the new stove on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed for me!