Sarah: 2, Cheetos: 0

Today started out nut-so.  Everyone in the house has been sick, and I am the lone survivor... thus far.  To try to keep this status, I have been sleeping in the guest room, so I can avoid the cloud of germs and tissues that abound. (Sorry, sweetheart.  I love you, but you are gross when you are sick.  Blech.)

Well, for some reason my alarm did not go off this morning.  ARGH!  Result?  Mad dash to get myself, and my daughter ready for school.  Hubby-kins is no help.  *sigh*  Made it through, although I was late for work, and I HATE that.  Never a good way to start the day.

I have been feeling sore in my sides all day.  It is a good feeling.

So, on to today's accomplishments.  I did not have a milkshake, even though I wanted one.  I did not eat Cheetos. I did not have the delicious butter pecan ice cream that is in the freezer.  I will save that for a reward!  :)

I walked 1 1/2 miles, did jumping jacks & push-ups.  Noticed that it took 3/4 of a mile before the sharp pain between my shoulders went away, but it did go away, so that is a positive thing.

New month. Let's do this!

So, September is here, and I think that I am finally ready to start.  I don't really want to, but if I wait for the want, it will never be here.

I didn't have money to buy a new pair of shoes, so... that will have to wait.  I did get out and walk though!  HA!  Take that bag of Cheetos!  I beat you today!!  =0P

I walked for 1 mile, did some jumping jacks and some wall push-ups.  Felt good, and now I am ready for bed, kinda.  I am going to veg on the couch for a bit and watch the Awesomes.

Oh... and here are my starting point pics.  Ugh.  I am trying to love me for who I am. So...  I will say 3 nice things about me to try to erase all the yucky things I really want to say.

 1- I look surprisingly alert for 9:30 at night, after a workout, and making a school lunch for the next day.  Go me!

2- My tiny ponytails look cute.

3- I have always liked my hands.  I have really pretty, long, slender fingers.

The first step is always the hardest. Especially when you are taking that first step, again.

Everyone has to start somewhere

Cue the heavenly choir of angels!
I have a halo!

A crazy notion that won't go away

Here's the deal.  I am not afraid of who I am.  I am a smart woman.  I am caring.  I am a good mother, and an adequate wife. (Still working on that one, honey.)  I am resourceful.  I am thoughtful and caring.  I am busy.  I am a working mom, who also volunteers for her church and my children's school.  I am also going back to school for the first time in 15 years to earn my degree.  I am a pretty OK person.

I am also fat.  That's right.  I said it.  FAT.

I have been overweight since puberty hit, and I got big boobs overnight.  OK, maybe not overnight, but it sure seemed fast to me! That rocked my world.  I lost any confidence I may have had, which at the time wasn't much.  I turned to food for comfort, and haven't looked back since.

I have tried several times to lose weight.  I have even had success, losing 50-60 lbs.  But then... well, you know the story.  Life kicks in, and I lose focus, and it all comes back, plus some.

That is where I am now.  I had started losing again, and then I got super busy, and suddenly I had SO many excuses! So, the pounds are creeping back on.

I need a challenge.  I have tried training for a 5k.  I have tried competing with friends.  I have tried the buddy system.  All these seem to fall short for me.

So I have had this idea, rolling around in my head for some time.  What about something, a picture, that I can post daily, and overtime see the actual results appear before my eyes.  Sounds simple enough, right?

However... I don't think I want to take a picture of myself everyday.  I am not in any mode of confidence for that.  And I am afraid that the changes will be too subtle to see if I take a daily photo.  So I need a proxy.  Something that will mark my progress, but will change quicker than my own body shape.

That is when the idea of shoes came to me.  I mean, who doesn't love a new pair of shoes. And according to www.runnersworld.com, runners should replace their shoes every 300-500 miles.  That means running shoes can wear out from use pretty quickly.  Maybe I can track my own changes, and meet my own daily goal, vicariously through my shoes! I may be able to do that!

So, here is my plan:
1- go and buy a good quality pair of running shoes.
2- take a picture of me, with my new, pretty shoes. This will be our (my new shoes and mine) before pictures.
3- Take a walk/jog, hopefully working up to a run, EVERY DAY for 100 days.
4- Post a picture of my shoes, post workout everyday, with a brief journal of that day.
5- When the 100 days is up, I will post another picture of me, with my worn out (I hope) shoes.  This will be our after photos.

What do you think?  Does that sound just crazy??  Am I up in the night with this idea?  Would ANYONE care?  Does it matter if they don't?  (ooh... not sure if I am ready to go there, yet  sounds a bit deep and scary.)