Year 2, Day 1

Hello 2011! I greet you with open arms! And hello again, dear readers. I hope the past few months have been kind to you. Here's a recap and update of what the first year of my weight loss journey accomplished and what life brought to me along the way:

1. I lost 100 pounds since beginning to lose weight, 80 pounds since the beginning of this blog. It took hard work, a daily commitment to keep trying, and the love and support of friends and family. It also took acceptance of the fact that some days I was going to eat things that would not help my weight loss and some days I was not going to work on my fitness, but that it was okay. I learned to make it all about a lifestyle journey and not a diet, so it didn't need to be (and in fact, couldn't be) a daily struggle.

2. I have 50 pounds to go. I will make it. I'm not sure when, but I am continuing the journey, and part of that is continuing this blog.

3. As I started to feel younger and more capable, I decided to look the part. In March of 2010 I started to dye my hair. The combination of significant weight loss and returning to the hair color of a younger me took a good decade off my looks. And that, my friends, spurred me on to even greater changes in my life!

4. Also in March and April, I conquered some major fears and faced some major feats of endurance and strength that I could not have withstood if I had not worked on my weight loss and fitness. My dad faced two months of daily struggling for his life with many trips to the hospital and far too many days and nights of us not knowing if we would have him with us another hour. My sister was unable to help most of the time, and my mother was struggling to understand much of what was happening. So it fell to me to stay strong and take care of Dad and Mom. I thank God every day that they are both here and that I had the privilege to be a part of that and that He had led me to become strong enough to accomplish it. I thank Him, too, for the friends and family who stood with me 24/7 through it all and beyond.

5. Stress does take its toll, however. Between Mom and Dad's health ordeal, my car blowing up, and my being unemployed for a year and a half, my appetite disappeared, I forgot to eat, and my hormones got messed up very badly. Severe depression hit as a result, and if it were not for my sons reaching out in the dark to try to understand what was happening to me and helping as best they could, and eventually a doctor diagnosing the problem, I would not have made it. Seriously. I was far too close to bungee jumping without a cord.

6. In June I began a new job. I'm still there. It's not ideal. I'm not doing what I love. But I've met some awesome people, and I'm employed -- a lot of people can't find a job these days, so I'm not going to complain. Well, maybe I'll complain a little, but I'll save that for my other blog, The Sample Lady Speaks. Check it out at http://sampleladyspeaks.blogspot.com

7. One of those awesome people I met at work turned out to be a gift from God, and now I'm deeply in love with a man who worships the ground I walk on...no matter what size my butt is


And so there you have how 2010 turned out. In a nutshell: Life is hard. And it surely is weird. But I like how dreams really do come true.