One Fab Fit Mom - Weight Loss Success!

Morning!

Well! Tuesday saw me at the hospital with my husband, in preparation for all the thingees in the yellow circles about my femur removed.

In a nutshell, the surgery went text-book perfect. I could have probably found a more-local doctor than whom I ultimately chose, but I wanted a surgeon for whom bone tumor removal was routine. And I found him - James Wittig at Mt. Sinai in NYC. Not only does he have a superb bedside manner, but he and his team are extraordinarily skilled. He’s even dealt with my condition before (multiple hereditary exostoses) and quite frankly, I cannot say enough good things about him.

I opted to have a spinal anethesia, so I could be awake and listening to everything going on. As is my nature, I was cracking jokes all the time up until the actual surgery - I had promised the doctor I’d be quiet so he could concentrate. The surgery took about 70 minutes or so, and then I was in the recovery room for 3 hours (the epidural didn’t want to wear off). That whole day was spent resting in bed.

The next day I saw physical therapy, and let me tell you, getting on crutches after that kind of surgery was quite an outer body experience. I kept repeating to myself, I can DO this…even though my right leg started laughing at me. But I kept at it and was eventually able to hobble my way down the hallway. I’m so grateful to my current karate knowledge - I had that to rely upon when trying to walk (it was quite an emotional challenge, actually).

Today I’m doing rather decently, all things considered…I’ve promised my husband I’d take it easily and even (gasp!) not go to karate and (even more gasps) let myself heal. So we’ll see.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - need good canes? Lookie here!

OLD folk art carved cane or walking stick BEAUTIFULLY carved figure

GENUINE ORANGE SPECIAL DRESS CODE WALKING STICK CARVED CANE

Ornate Brass Head Spiral Carved Cane Walking Stick 36″

1947 HAND CARVED CANE-MARKED BLIND WILLE-MACON, GA. 1947

GERMAN FOLK ART CARVED CANE~Snake Goat​ Towns~ENGLBURG​ FURSTENSTEIN S​ALDENBURG

Antique Highly Carved Cane Seat Oak Chair

Neat Vintage Folk Art Carved Cane Relief carved bark

HAND-CARVED CANE WITH MAN’S HEAD

Pine Carved Cane Settee Bench Burnished Antique

Antique Carved Cane Side Chair

Abraham Lincoln Bust Hand-Carved Cane

Set 6 Antique Victorian Eastlake Carved Cane Seat Dining Room Kitchen Chairs VG+

Carved Cane

Ornate Brass Head Spiral Carved Cane Walking Stick 36″

Morning,

One of the most difficult things to instill within regarding dieting and weight loss is a constant, never-say-die motivation. After all, it’s the motivation that keeps you on the straight and narrow path towards getting healthy and losing weight….and it’s the motivation that stops you from inhaling 3 donuts when Krispy Kreme comes calling at your office.

So! Where do you go for motivation? I wrote a post about that here.

Motivation is what helps you keep on going, even when your little voice says, give it up you idjut, it just ain’t a’gonna work!!

Motivation always works differently for each person; what might make me stay the steady path might cause others to leap off the bandwagon. So you need to ask yourself, what kinds of motivation would work best for you?

Is it keeping sexy clothing around (like sleeveless karate uniforms)?

Is it going to the gym and realizing you can now handle far more workouts than when you started?

Is it having your friends cheer you on?…..MORE….

Everyone is motivated by different things. And I did find some super resources for you:

• RD Diet Weight Loss Motivation and Goals - includes

5 Great Reasons to Get Moving 11 Ways to Sneak Exercise Into Your Day 50 Ways to Beat Exercise Boredom Beating the Urge to Eat Can You Outwit Your Weight?

• Mini Goals
• About.com Weight Loss Motivation

As you can see, there’s lots of places online where motivation can be conjured up! It’s up to you to uncover what will work the best.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - more motivational things are:

Sum 41 - Motivation [Maxi Single] [Limited] (CD, Mar-2002, Island)

Reshaping It All: Motivation for Physical and Spiritual

Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Self-Motivation by Richard Flaste and…

Don’t Quit!: Motivation and Exercise to Bring Out the Winner in You-One Day…

MAGIC MOTIVATION ENERGY RING! GET IT DONE! 3 CITRINE CHARGING POUCH SPELLHAUNTED

“Entrepreneurs do it anyway” Funny motivation posters

“Make it so” Motivation pictures Inspirational arts New

Self-Selected Reading Teach Build Intrinsic Motivation

1 GREEN ZEBRA JASPER Healing Stone MOTIVATION

The Ultimate Motivation Handbook eBook or CD

book Chicken Soup for the Ocean Lover’s Soul motivation

books Chicken Soup for the Soul Motivation literature

books Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul 2 motivation

Motivation of Rural Population in a Deve by Sinha, Durg

Well, in less than 24 hours, I will be at the hospital, being sliced and diced for the condition on my right femur. And let me tell you, it cannot come a moment too soon!

I’ve managed to arrange everything while gone. I picked up a pair of 35 pound dumbbells so I can workout without going the gym, I made arrangements with the school, I finished everything in regards to launching the I can DO this diet!…I’m ready to give myself permission to get into recovery and rest.

I’ll greatly miss my karate and other things, but I know that recovery will take time and patience. I’ll spend most of it overseeing the book sales and memorizing my beloved sword demos. And sooner or later, I will return….better than ever, I might add.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - there are lots of diet books around, have you ever seen:

Richard Simmons NEVER SAY DIET BOOK Signed Hb Copy

The beautiful people’s diet book

Vintage Carbohydrate Cravers Diet Book Great Diet!

The Anti-Diet Book : Learn How to Eat Strategically, Perform on Demand, & Train

THE HIGH SCHOOL REUNION DIET BOOK DIET & WEIGHT LOSS COLBERT IN​SPIRING!!

PLEASURE DIET - Book

The Step Diet Book by Bonnie T. Jortberg, James Hill, James O. Hill, John C….

The Irritable Bowel Diet Book (Overcoming common probl

Morning,

Well! I might have mentioned a few days ago how I was going to play hooky and escape from the daily Mom demands. My husband was taking care of the kids, and I decided to watch Beowulf in 3d. And I lasted a whole! 8! minutes!

My gosh! The gore! The violence! The undeniable ickyness! While I’m sure it must appeal to the gamer audiences, for me….it was just too disgusting. Give me Transformers any time! I walked out after 8 minutes, came home and did my circle walk. At least I got something good out of that evening!

And during the weekend, I took my kids to see Enchanted. Now THAT was a super feel-good movie - the whole family enjoyed it thoroughly.

I will confess - I have zero desire to see any blood/guts/gratuitous violence movie and am rather proud that I’m raising my family the same way. When you see such things again and again, I believe you get inured to them…and violence becomes the expected way of dealing with problems.

“Blah!” is all I have to say regarding that.

“Enchanted” is a super family film - I highly recommend it.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - some enchanted goodies!

2 DVD SET RHAPSODY OF FIRE VISION FROM ENCHANTED LANDS

ENCHANTED ~ Cross Stitch Chart C349

4″40 Enchanted Garden Quilting Fabric Squares Blocks Patchwork Charms Kit Stash

Enchanted Dreams 2012 Wall Calendar

Bath & Body Works SHOWER GEL body wash Seasonal and Signature scent choice

HARUMIKA STYLE IMAGINATION FASHION SHOW & GO ENCHANTED

HEARST CASTLE ~ WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST ~ SCREEN SAVER CD THE ENCHANTED HILL ~

The Enchanted Island of Yew NEW by Layman Frank Baum

belle disneys beauty and the beast the enchanted christmas 1998

VTG GLOBE, DOME, HEART SHAPE MUSICAL BUTTERFLY SOME ENCHANTED EVENING, BLUE ROSE

The Enchanted Island of Yew NEW by L. Frank Baum

Snow Princess Barbie- Enchanted Seasons Collection Limited Edition 1994

John Renbourn Group The Enchanted Garden US 1980 LP

Maywood Studios Enchanted Rain Forest Butterlies Purple Orange Cotton Fabric

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST - THE ENCHANTED CHRISTMAS - NEW DVD

Morning,

I just came across the following from Maggie West. It’s terrific!!

….It’s rather difficult for me to ignore anything that is written with life’s obvious “I could of [have] had a V8″ implication in the message.

In keeping with the “giving thanks” topic for this week, I have chosen this “little” insight to post. As an ardent fan of coffee, I savor each and every drop as often as I can.

I am thankful for being able to enjoy “the coffee,” regardless of its presentation — no matter what day it is.

Hopefully, all who read the following blurb will apply some of its wisdom into their daily routines as well.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit the conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in their work and lives.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the alumni had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

“Notice that all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups…. and then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life. The type of cup one has does not define, nor change the quality of life a person lives. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. And enjoy your coffee.

~ Presented by Toma [The Old One]

How true, how true.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - as you know, coffee is indeed life:

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Today is Thanksgiving!

I just returned from bundling the kids and husband into the van and visiting my folks up north. We had planned on going to the local Chinese buffet but imagine our surprise when we discovered it had the audacity to be closed! Thus, instead we droveto the local Korean restaurant and had turkey-from-the-sea (shrimp), turkey-that-goes-moo (beef), and turkey-that-looks-like-kimchee (kimchee)…..utterly yummy beyond belief. I’ll have to work out later on today and work it off. No dishes to wash, yay!

As always, however, I was moved to think on that for which I am thankful this year. And you know something? It’s a heck of a lot, including:

1.) My husband, my soulmate. We’re so nutty we’re perfect together.

2.) My kids. “Astonishing” doesn’t even begin to describe them.

3.) My family. My parents, my brothers, my nephews and neice. How my parents survived my childhood is one of the great mysteries of life.

4.) My weight loss success. 11+ months ago I was 170+; now I’m 132 and in the best shape of my life.

5.) My handicap. Being forced to confront my own insecurities has made me stronger by far.

6.) My karate dojo and senseis. I have learned so much about my own abilities and courage that it’s kinda sorta impossible to believe. Never would I have thought years ago that the wimp I was back then could be the magnificent mom and warrior I am today.

7.) My friends. They been with me thru thick and thin and have really been there when needed.

8.) My technical abilities. The requirements to launch an ebook involve:

• Writing the ebook
• PDFing it in a marketing format
• Designing the book cover
• Designing the software box cover
• Setting up the affiliate backend
• Writing the affiliate tutorial
• Setting up the 7 day autoresponder
• Writing the ezine
• Writing the customer care followup AR
• Designing the helpdesk

I was able to do ALL of the above…by myself. No assistance needed.

9.) My attitude. No matter what happens to me nowadays, instead of panicking or feeling despondent, I react by thinking, okay, what am I supposed to learn from this today? Such a mindset makes all the difference in the world.

In short, I have a pretty blessed life…and I’m grateful to the universe for putting in my path all of the challenges and joys that I’ve encountered and dealt with. Or as my mom would say, my guardian angel works overtime.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - ‘course, smart moms would also be grateful for:

HT-1650 Human Touch Massage Chair BODY SCAN TECHNOLOGY

HT-7450 Human Touch Massage Chair BODY SCAN TECHNOLOGY

Panasonic EP1080K Massage Chair Lounger Leather EP1080 Black Chiro Mode

IB Wellness Inner Balance MC730 Massage Chair in Black

Human Touch HT-125 Leather Robotic Massage Chair Recliner HT125 6 Month Warranty

Health Mark Travel Portable Massage Chair w Carry Case

Omega Brown Gravity Skyline Massage Chair W Heat

Human Touch Electronic Massage Chair-Help Wounded Warriors

2012 NEW MD-E05 Massage Chair Massager Black Leather et

NEW HUMAN TOUCH CREAM LEATHER Leg & Foot Massage Chair

NEW Amazing Recliner Massage Chair (Foot,Calf Massager)

Fujita SMK8800 Massage Chair Leatherett Recliner - Opne Box

New Fujita KN7005 Zero Gravity Massage Chair Leatherett Recliner - Dark Grey

AOSOM Brown Genuine Leather heated Vibrating Massage Chair with remote control

Morning,

Well! 5 days and counting until the slicing and dicing. And it just can’t come a moment too soon!

But in other good news, today is a positive day for me leg-wise; I woke up feeling rather refreshed and capable. After designing my FabFitMom affiliate tutorial, I went off on my beloved circle walk. It wasn’t too cold but you could tell rain was in the air with lots of gusting wind that buffeted my body while walking.

Oh, it was glorious! It so reminded me of those days in college when I’d sneak out during any rainstorms or hurricanes or what have you and experience the elements. And I realized….this morning was the Gift of a Day for me. In 5 days, I’ll be on crutches and not able to walk for the foreseeable future; I’m extremely grateful to the universe for having experienced this one adventure before I go to the hospital.

Life is never stagnant! Just because you might today possess the body shape of an overgrown eggplant and have the flexibility of a chuck of concrete…that doesn’t mean tomorrow will see you the same way.

The future is yours and what you choose to make of it. So honor yourself…and make it well.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Barbara

ps - want Thanksgiving goodies? Consider:

Thanksgiving Turkey Fabric F391 (1 yd, 27″)

Autographed 8×10 Greg Landry Detroit Lions 1970 Thanksgiving Day Game

HALLMARK 1991 MERRY MINIATURE THANKSGIVING MOTHER FOX SLICE PUMPKIN PIE FIGURE

Autumn Foliage Thanksgiving Guest Napkins 16ct.

THANKSGIVING FALL AUTUMN HOLIDAY XL WREATH DOOR DECORATION - “WELCOME” SIGN NEW

Disney Cast Exclusive Tinker Bell Thanksgiving pin

Thanksgiving Fall Autumn Silk Table Runner Embroidered Collectible

Christopher Radko Rare Harvest Tumble Christmas Ornament Cornucopia Thanksgiving

2 Vintage Papier Mache Thanksgiving TURKEY Candy Containers Container

Disney Pin DLR Mickey Minnie Happy Thanksgiving LE

Marc Colombo Dallas Cowboys RARE game issued Thanksgiving day AUTHENTIC jersey

AMERICAN WEEKLY - Nov 19, 1950 - art by J. C. LEYENDECKER - Thanksgiving

Morning,

Well! 6 more days and I shall be sliced and diced and hopefully have my leg problem resolved.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that I’m fast running on empty with regards to all of this. I find myself besieged with emotional roller coasters…and sometimes just want to give myself permission to give up and be despondent.

Idiot me, however, can’t even manage that!! Walking-wise, my legs were quite lousy today, so I opted to miss (only for the second time I can imagine) my karate classes (even my beloved kendo). I figured I’d stay in bed and watch TV, but oh no! I had to idly glance down at my legs and think, gee, I wonder how difficult balancing on my left foot (the one with the 1/2″ shortened fibula) really has to be?

I never learn (or…I simply continue to grow). I spent several minutes trying to keep myself balanced and amazingly, was able to achieve more than 3 seconds (something I’ve never done before). But not only that - I can bend my knee a fraction of an inch more, thus helping my balance improve.

But wait! That was supposed to be impossible to achieve…I always thought my physical condition was WHAT IT WAS and it would never change. And one thought led to another which led to me thinking, gee, I wonder how hard a split would be to do?

Answer - quite difficult, I cannot achieve it. But…just because I cannot now, doesn’t mean I cannot in the future.

All these years I’ve been limiting myself by what I thought were my boundaries…and not giving myself permission to actually see if they’re rock-honest facts, or merely another challenge I can overcome.

I’m humbled by this knowledge. It’s really kinda sorta priceless….the idea that sometimes, it’s your own mind’s blindness that keeps you stationary and unmoving.

6 days and counting,

Barbara

ps - I’ve heard that yoga is great for splits:

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Morning,

Yesterday I had my last class in women’s self-defense, and let me tell you, it was utterly eye-opening to the extreme.

I’d like to urge everyone reading (men and women alike!) to take a self-defense class (mine was given by our local police); the common-sense taught on how NOT to become a victim in the first place is worth its weight in gold. And the striking techniques are also extremely useful as well, in that they show you you ARE capable of hitting strongly and with focus. ‘course, in a real life situation, things will be starkly different…but at least you’ll have a glimpse of what options are out there.

My last class had our two instructors take us one by one in a darkened room and attack us for what seemed like 5 minutes. I did decently until the last minute; when one of the guys grabbed me to trip me up, I hung on…and then was neatly flung to the ground and pinned. Talk about astonishment - this guy weighed 200 pounds and I simply could not move whatsoever. I was neutralized in the blink of an eye.

In hindsight, it happened so quickly I didn’t have the chance to react. But that can’t be right either - I had the chance alright, but I didn’t recognize that fact and make use of it! Afterwards, I thanked the instructor - it was really an eyeopening experience. I need to get better with my techniques.

Thus, I’ve been researching lots of self-defense sites online, and have come across the following great resources:

• No Nonsense Self Defense - Reliable information for dangerous situations
• Women’s Self-Defense
• SafetyForWomen | Self Defense Tips & Tricks for Women

Do yourself a favor and check them out - what you learn today could be the difference between survival and not tomorrow.

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - here are some more self-defense goodies:

PHX-900 7.8 Million Volt Stun Gun Self Defense LED Flashlight Rechargeable

Financial Self Defense by Charles J. Givens (1990, H…

(2) Little Demon™ PHX-900™ 7.8 Million Volt Self Defense Stun Guns Wholesale Lot

Self Defense Device Hidden Camera Digital Video & Audio

Picture explain Japanese Self Defense Force Destroyer

Black Belt World’s Leading magazine of Self-Defense Feb

Titanium Ti Kubotan Kubatan Kubaton Key Ring Self Defense

Little Demon™ PHX-900™ 7.8 Million Volt Self Defense Stun Gun Wholesale Lot

PHX-800 7.8 Million Volt Self Defense Mini Stun Gun LED Flashlight Rechargeable

ParaCord Monkey’s Fist KeyChain Self Defense Weapon

1982 Press Photo Self Defense Instructor Demonstrating

1:400 Japan Air Self Defense Force YS-11A-218 12-1160

Tonfa: Karate Weapon of Self-Defense (Literary links to the Orient)

Tactical Police Self Defense Ink Pen Crown 5456 zix

Self-Defense NEW by Ed “Strangler” Lewis

Morning,

I first came across this poem back in 1986 - enjoy!

Life is a four letter word……..
I think you spell it L-O-V-E

It’s really as simple as that……

No, I don’t really think that I can totally describe love
but I do know some things about it.

Seems to me that in order to be in love, you have to be
able to be weak. Sure, certain aspects of love take
a real strength. But, it is true that in order to
experience love at its best, you have to be able to
be weak, vulnerable and accept the possibility that
you might get hurt. If you are too tough to let
yourself be so open for attack, then I am afraid you
can never feel love to its fullest.

Is it worth it to take such a risk. I don’t know the answer to
that….but I do know that even though I have gotten
hurt occasionally, I would do it all over again. The
Joys were more memorable than the pain.

Actually, most of the times that I ended up hurt were not because
I left myself vulnerable, but rather that my stupidity tricked
me into arming myself against “the one I loved”, so that she
couldn’t hurt me. Once I let myself take the defensive,
I usually ended up causing more problems than I solved.

What should a person do: Should a person be tougher and more
protective of themselves even though they take away from
the full effect of love….Or should you be more vulnerable
and weak and open to possible attack….

I am WEAK! Not because I choose to be this way….but rather because
in all honesty, I know no other way.

I am weak….I sometimes get hurt….but I have felt love….

-JT

Enjoy,

Barbara

ps - want more poems? Consider:

BARBARA FRITCHIE-MULTI VIEW-LINEN-POEM​-(#1649-96)

Ross Children ROSE CARNATION & POEM 1939 Art Matted

Ross Flower Children ALYSSUM & POEM 1939 Art Matted

Princess Diana TY Beanie Baby, Tag and poem attached. Great Condition!

Ross Flower Children RAGGED ROBIN & POEM 1939 Art Matte

Victorian Girl and Dog Wait For Him w Nice Poem 1874

Woman opens window in orig 1896 ad poem for Pears Soap –flip fgp Quaker Oats

Old Postcard-Bon Voyage Poem-Trip Across Ocean-New York

Antique FRAMED Masonic What is a Mason? poem art print ring F&AM Art Freemasons

0.7mm Nib Poem Print Piston Filler Blk Gold Tone Signature Fountain Pen

Nursing Poem MUST TO SEE!!! Lanyard ID Badge holder with Reel

Antique Bronze Poem Key Cross Retro Necklace R112