Congrats to... anniversary winners! : )
Thanks so much to everyone for being along on my weight loss and fitness journey these past two years. Tomorrow, April 1st, starts a new chapter for me and I am fully looking forward to rejuvenating and reaching goal weight this summer!
Congratulations to the following ladies who were chosen from comments (and a random number generator!) as the recipients of the gifts celebrating my two year anniversary:
Congrats to "ff12A" for winning The Biggest Loser Dessert Cookbook. Please email me your mailing info!
"Jennifer", you were selected to receive the beautiful Love,Meg Cards and Goals Journal. Please email me your mailing info and congrats!
And... "Danielle", you will receive The Natural Vegan Kitchen cookbook! Please send me your mailing address... this is a wonderful cookbook which I hope will help in your April challenge. I'll get it out to you this weekend if I receive your mailing address on Friday. : )
Congrats to everyone and many thanks to Chris Freytag, Coach's Oats, "Love, Meg Cards", and Rick Diamond of Book Publishing Company for offering these wonderful gifts to the Healthy Loser Gal blog readers!
Here's to our health and happiness!
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan ~ HealthyLoserGal
Two Year Anniversary Giveaway Wrap-Up
Looking for the HealthyLoserGal Two Year Anniversary Giveaways?? Click on the links below for each individual giveaway and enter all or one! : ) Tonight (Thursday, March 31st) after 11pm the winners will be posted here!
Chris Freytag's CHOOSE THIS! Cookbook full of healthy and simple recipes
The Natural Vegan Kitchen cookbook
The Biggest Loser DESSERT Cookbook Cold morning. Warm Coach's Oats. Life Is Good! Anniversary Giveaway #5
I don't know about you and where you live, but we New Englanders have had enough of winter! It is "spring" officially and yet - on Friday - we're in for more snow. Like half a foot of the white stuff. "Snow" has officially become a four-letter word around here. But I have to tell you, one thing I'm not tired of that is new to me this winter, is oatmeal and the benefits of it. I have been a creative fool with the stuff this long, cold winter - in particular, with Coach's Oats!
As the folks at Coach's Oats will tell you themselves, they have reinvented oatmeal! Their oats have steel cut texture and taste without the wait. Coach's Oats cooks in 3 to 5 minutes and for working gals like me, the little packets slip easily into your laptop bag or purse for breakfast at the office! And they're delicious! I mix mine with berries or sometimes just add honey and voila! low-fat-happy-belly goodness... All good! : )Coach's Oats is celebrating my 2nd year anniversary with me and have been so generous in offering the first four people who comment on this blog post and follow them on Facebook free samples of their delcious oats. Simply leave a comment here, follow Coach's Oats on FB, and then send me your email address (my email addy is in the right handed column on Healthy Loser Gal blog)! So easy, huh?
Thanks to Lizzy at Coach's Oats for offering the giveaway! She is an inspiration herself and so much fun on Twitter! :)
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan ~ HealthyLoserGal
Friendship Cards & Dream Journal: Anniversary Giveaway #4
Two years into this journey, there are two things I truly believe have been key to getting me to where I am today: a happier, healthier person who believes in myself! The first is that you have to have concrete GOALS and write them down in order to accomplish great things. I wrote about the differences between a wish and a goal back in November and how goals help you concentrate, plan, envision yourself where you want to be... wishes are 'pie in the sky' dreams that usually don't get concrete attention! 
The second thing is just important... you have to have a grateful heart. Out of gratitude comes positive expression and positive feelings and positive actions and on and on and on. Being grateful is saying to yourself or someone else "That was really good. Thank you." or "I'm so glad to know you." or any simple expression of appreciation and love. Gratitude doesn't need to be flowers sent or jewelry bought or trips given, sometimes the purest form of gratitude can be found in the written word. Written cards and notes, expression of gratitude can be held onto by the recipient, tucked away in a drawer or a book for a moment when they NEED to feel appreciated. They open your card or letter and they feel your gratitude and - in that moment - they experience your gratitude a second time. I'm really hoping you'll take both journaling and note writing to heart - one helps you be the person you want to be and the other expresses gratitude to someone in your life. I've coupled a journal and wonderful hand-made note papers by Love, Meg Cards as the 4th Giveaway for this #hlg2Year anniversary giveaway. Love, Meg Greeting Cards are handcrafted greeting cards, personalized invitations, announcements, scrapbooking and paper craft home decor. The cards that Meg has offered are sooo whimsical and cute - a perfect way to bring a smile to someone's face who receives your note! ; )
The journal is small enough to fit easily in a purse or laptop or iPad bag so when inspiration strikes, you can pull it out and go to town on your goals and aspirations... write them down - that is the power of setting goals! : )
If you'd like to be entered in the Love,Meg Cards and journal giveaway then you will only need to:
1) Follow the HealthyLoserGal blog
2) If you're on Twitter or Facebook, follow me in one or both places (I'm @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and "HealthyLoser Gal" on Facebook)
3) For every giveaway you are entering this week, tweet or post on FB about the #hlg2year giveaways with a link back to healthylosergal.blogspot.com
4) Tell me in the HLG blog comments that you'd like to receive these beautiful cards and the journal and ...Voila! You're entered! :)
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan ~ HealthyLoserGal
Chris Freytag's CHOOSE THIS! Cookbook: Anniversary Giveaway #3
I should be President of the Chris Freytag Fan Club. Truly. She is an inspiration in so many ways to me. First of all - okay - there's the fact that this woman is FIT... have you ever tried to keep up with 10 minutes of this dynamo on ExerciseTV or on one of her DVDs? Good lord - this Mom of teenagers ROCKS it! : )
Her yoga dvds are AMAZING. I do not know how anyone gets into the mind set to do 20 plus minutes of intense (is that wrong to say about yoga... my terminology may be wrong but I hope you know what I mean here...) advanced moves yoga. But Chris does them, and talks through every move, demonstrating them with a smile on her face!
Then there is the fact that she is a healthy eater and knows about being busy and having a family and a career. And now... now she's on QVC often with great tools of the healthy living trade as well as this fabulous cookbook that offers us simple, easy nutritious and DELICIOUS food! CHOOSE THIS! is a great cookbook and I am thrilled that Chris has offered to send one to the lucky giveaway winner! :)  |
| Click to enlarge - delicious SORBET! |
Chris can be found on Twitter and Facebook, too, if you'd like to follow her in either place. She is inspirational, a motivator and a really nice person! :) If you'd like to be entered in the CHOOSE THIS! cookbook giveaway (and who wouldn't?!) then you will need to:
1) Follow the HealthyLoserGal blog
2) If you're on Twitter or Facebook, follow me in one or both places (I'm @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and "HealthyLoser Gal" on Facebook)
3) For every giveaway you are entering this week, tweet or post on FB about the #hlg2year giveaways with a link back to healthylosergal.blogspot.com
4) Tell me in the HLG blog comments why you'd enjoy this cookbook and Voila! You're entered! :)
Good luck, friends... this is an awesome cookbook that I love and I think you will, too! :)
DREAM. BELIEVE. ACHIEVE.
Jan ~ HealthyLoserGal : )
The Natural Vegan Kitchen Cookbook! Anniversary Giveaway #2
When Rick Diamond of Book Publishing Company approached me on Twitter about reviewing vegan books on the blog I thought he may have the wrong gal! "I'm not vegan," I thought to myself, "heck, I'm not even vegetarian!". And then I went to his site... and looked at the amazing books he's offering ... and I realized I'm a LOT more into veggies and healthy eating/cooking than I give myself credit for! :) These simple to follow, fully explained (to the point of a glossary in the back of the book for newbies like me who don't know all the terminology yet!) recipes are all nutritionally broken down and look AMAZING!I've had over a month to delight in the two vegan cookbooks I'll be offering during the HLG anniversary.
The first, The Natural Vegan Kitchen, "weaves wholesome, unprocessed foods into dishes so delectable you won’t believe they’re good for you. From nourishing comfort food to elegant celebration fare, these recipes are easy-to-understand and duplicate." So true!
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| Click on the pic to enlarge |
The Natural Vegan Kitchen author is Christine Waltermyer who runs an East coast Natural Kitchen Cooking School. Her talents are sung in the Foreward by Rory Freedman, author the The Skinny Bitch who freely admits eating at Burger King used to be her style of life. No more with Christine's inspiration! : )
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| Click on the pic to enlarge |
In the past year, especially, I have found myself turning more and more to whole foods, natural foods without preservatives or additives. (Plus, I am a firm believer in the Farm Fresh and Buying Local movements having grown up in rural New York state and knowing small farmers' struggles to stay in business!) I know that this little change in fresh and raw foods has helped my health and vitality. This cookbook will continue me on the journey with inspiring new ways to 'put things together' that I had never thought about and enjoy the delicious, healthy outcomes! I hope it will give you the same inspiration! : ) I'll share the photos here and let you know what recipes I make from the vegan cookbooks, especially on "Meatless Mondays".
Thanks very much to BookPubCo for offering the cookbooks to HealthyLoserGal blog readers during the Anniversary celebration! Rules for all the giveaways this week:
1) Follow HealthyLoserGal blog (and if you're entering the giveaway for The Natural Vegan Kitchen, please follow BookPubCo on Facebook or @Rick_Diamond on Twitter)
2) If you're on Twitter or Facebook, follow me in one or both places (I'm @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and "HealthyLoser Gal" on Facebook, plus have the "Healthy Loser Gal" page there, too!)
3) For every giveaway you are entering, tweet about the #hlg2year giveaways with a link back to healthylosergal.blogspot.com
4) Tell me in the comments why you'd enjoy this cookbook and Voila! You're entered! :)
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| Click the pic to enlarge |
You can enter in all the giveaways this month, but you can only be awarded one. All the separate giveaway winners will be announced on March 31st in a separate post here and it is up to you to get back to me at healthylosergal@yahoo.com by April 6th with your mailing address, etc. : )
Here's to our health & fitness, friends!
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
I'm proud to be a LOSER! Anniversary Giveaway #1
I am really excited to be able to pass along to you guys - readers of the journey I've been on the past two years now - some great ANNIVERSARY GIVEAWAYS this week.
If you follow me on Twitter (thank you to those of you who do!!), then you know on Tuesday nights between 8-10pm EST you can usually find me tweeting away about the current season of The Biggest Loser. I know there are plenty of divergent opinions about the show but I unabashedly like and watch it! Some weeks I'll take 30 minutes aside and do step aerobics on the WiiFit during the show so I don't feel too guilty for sitting on my backside while watching their challenges! :)
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| Click to enlarge for Hollie Self's words of advice :) |
I've been really fortunate to connect with a few of the past contestants and see they're doing amazingly well "off the ranch" and THAT inspires me all the more. Over the years, two women from the show have been "my favorites" and they are Hollie Self from Season 4 and Tara Costa from Season 7. I interviewed Hollie on this blog last May and know that today she was running a race in California! I'm excited to let you know, too, that part of the HLG 2nd Anniversary celebration these next 10 days includes an interview with Tara Costa - who has begun her own foundation to inspire others to live a healthy, active life!
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| Comfort food AND healthy! Brown Rice Pudding! |
So the first giveaway this week is Chef Devin Alexander's wonderful The Biggest Loser Dessert Cookbook. My son gave me my copy for Christmas and inscribed the inside with "For Mom, my favorite loser and great chef!" *grin* I've since made probably six or seven of the desserts and they are 1) easy to make 2) DELICIOUS and 3) low in calories and fat grams. I love cookbooks that tell you the nutritional info on what you're cooking and this one has that, too!
Rules for all the giveaways this week:
1) Follow HealthyLoserGal blog
2) If you're on Twitter or Facebook, follow me in one or both places (I'm @HealthyLoserGal on Twitter and "HealthyLoser Gal" on Facebook, plus have the "Healthy Loser Gal" page there, too!)
3) For every giveaway you are entering, tweet about the #hlg2year giveaways with a link back to healthylosergal.blogspot.com
4) Tell me in the comments why you'd enjoy this cookbook and Voila! You're entered! :)
You can enter in all the giveaways this month, but you can only be awarded one. All the separate giveaway winners will be announced on March 31st in a separate post here and it is up to you to get back to me at healthylosergal@yahoo.com by April 6th with your mailing address, etc. : )
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
Happy 2nd "Dream. Believe. Achieve!" to Me!!! :)
Two years ago, absolutely miserable with who I was, I finally made a COMMITMENT to myself. I couldn't hide the real me beneath any more outward weight, I wouldn't face disappointments with a pizza box on my lap, ready to be consumed with little thought to how it tasted...
Two years ago, I prayed and asked God to help me find the strength to change the path I was on and help me reclaim "me".
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| April 2009 having lost 20 lbs. |
God answered my prayers and now, two years later, I can same "I am BLESSED! Sooo very blessed." Because no matter what other turmoil or drama may encircle me these days, I am solid in knowing I will not turn to food for comfort. Instead, I'll take a deep breath, remember the lessons I've learned these past months about "calories in and calories out", know that I am strong enough to face anything and get through it without placating myself, my anxieties with food.
I have learned now to turn to friends (often you - my blog, Twitter, and Facebook friends!), to toss on my sweats and hit the YMCA, pop in an exercise DVD, tune into ExerciseTV and find Chris Freytag, or to get out of the house for a long walk.
This is what I wrote on March 20th, 2009:
Time to become accountable...
I'm 'doing it' and I know - if I can - you can, too! Since March 2009, I have lost 116 pounds. I've kept 50 pounds off successfully for over one year and I'm not done yet! : ) My goal now is to get to a healthy, maintainable weight of 160 pounds sometime this summer, hopefully by 4th of July weekend. I believe in myself, in what I've learned in the past year on the Vtrim Online program, and in the exercise routines that are no longer frightening but second nature. Who EVER would have thought I would say THAT!? : )
Posted by HealthyLoserGal at Friday, March 20, 2009 comments (0)
"I am worth the effort" I say to myself over and over inside my mind. "I am worth it... I can do this... I *WILL* do this...", I repeat in mantra-like reply.
But I haven't been 'doing this' and I continue to start and then stop... self-sabotaging. I mean, what the heck AM I doing? I am closer to 300 lbs. than 200 lbs. And I should not even be near to 200 lbs. But here I am. That's the reality.
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| Dec 2010 - 115 lbs gone! |
I'm still only a toddler on this weight loss and fitness journey, but I'm finding my legs, wobbly though they may be from time to time, I'm learning!
Giveaways start TOMORROW (Sunday, March 20th!)!!
Don't miss a day between March 20th and 30th to enter the giveaways!
Happy St. Patrick's Day! Also known as... Kiss Me, I'm Irish!!
These are photos I've taken over the years while visiting Ireland. Hope you enjoy the slideshow! ~ Jan / HealthyLoserGal
Reshape Your Health Contest - I'm a FINALIST!
And if I do win the grand prize, I'll win a gym membership for 6 months (!!!), 6 month supply of Laughing Cow and Babybel products (that ALONE will save me so much money!), a $1000 spa package (ohhhhhh please YES!!), fitness and nutritional advice from The Laughing Cow's advisory panelists (I really need this at this point in my weightloss and fitness journey), and a basket of fitness goodies! I could do a little happy dance just thinking about possibly winning.
I posted thee most horrendous photo of myself as my Before photo! I mean ugly-awful. But that was how I did look. And just looking at that photo now makes me well up with tears 'cause I was so very unhealthy and so unhappy and trying so darn hard to pretend otherwise. For heaven's sake, I had like four or five chins in that photo. Never right. : (
I so want to finish my weightloss this year and then begin to maintain. I need the expert advice this contest winning will provide. Would you take the time to vote for me daily between now and next Friday, March 11th? I would truly appreciate your vote. Thank you, friends! : )Here's to our health!
Dream. Believe. Achieve.
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
March Challenge: Think Spring!
So let's get a little SPRING in our steps, shall we, friends? This month's challenge is all about finding your personal groove in fitness and weightloss (if you're trying to lose weight). There are 31 days in the month and bathing suit season is not too far off. Let's commit to concentrating on fitness for 24 of the 31 days. That gives you 7 days of freedom to do nothing at all or unplanned activities.
Get out your calendar or open up your electronic calendar and commit to yourself which of the 24 days of March you're going to exercise for at least 30 minutes by marking it in your calendar. I, personally, plan to get a lot of walking in so I'm concentrating on step aerobics and walking this month to boost my lungs and get ready for the spring. April will be my "core" month!
There is one other - very easy - part to this #hlgSpring challenge: grab a piece of paper or poster board or construction paper and write down one goal you'd like to accomplish this Spring. Don't let negativity creep into your mind as you write it down, don't think "I'd really like to lose 10 lbs but I know I'll never do it"... Instead write down "I'm going to lose 10 lbs by June 20th!" Now, if that were me, I'd write down "I'm losing 10 lbs. by June 20th! WOooHoooo! I ROCK!" *grin* And then I usually find photos to reinforce my goals from magazines and cut those out, too, paste 'em to the Goal Poster and have a mini "dream board".
Whatever you do this month, remember to Think Positive when you're Thinking Spring. Set a Spring Goal and stick to it. Let's start Spring off with a spring in our step... a goal in our mind... and the joy of being true to ourselves in our heart! We are SO worth the effort, friends!
Think SPRING!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
Visiting Biggest Loser 12 Open Casting Call: "Wicked Good!"
Saturday was bitter cold in Boston but that did not deter the 400+ hopefuls who showed up at the Boston Seaport Hotel to try out for the next season of The Biggest Loser! It was so inspiring to me to see so many people, of many shapes and sizes, waiting patiently in line for their chance to change their lives! Young and old, alike, turned out in force to be interviewed by the Biggest Loser Casting Team and given their opportunity to tell their story to one of the three casting directors.
I'm blessed to be able to say that since I've lost over 100 pounds in the past (nearly) two years, I no longer qualify to be a contestant on the show so I wasn't there to audition. I was there, I suppose, to root for those who were and - honestly - to get a 'behind the scenes' glance for all of us who are faithful Biggest Loser lovers! So here we go, my take on Saturday's auditions...
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| Holland Striplan listening to a hopeful contestant's story. (Please note the Mr. Potato Head! lol) |
I first met Jay Kruger - from Season 5 - who with his brother, Mark, were fan favorites. Mark is still being kidded about his crying continually on the show that season! Jay is local to the Boston area, living in New Bedford, Mass.
Jay is a friendly, great guy and told me that he's just begun training for his second Boston Marathon. We chatted about shin splints and his tendinitis and how his body balked at him running back to back marathons last year and the months of recovery it took afterward. Now three years away from his time on the ranch, Jay looks amazingly fit and gained back only a few pounds (I'm guessing muscle, not fat, because he looks great) since he had the final weigh-in for Biggest Loser. I asked him if he looks back at his 'old self' and is amazed at the difference that three years can make? "Everything is so much better. Life is good!" he smiled back in reply to that question!Jay chatted with potential contestants easily in line, taking photos with them and laughing about stories, encouraging every one of the folks to - whether they were chosen for the show or not - continue their goal of being fit and losing the weight. I'm happy to report that he's agreed to guest blog sometime soon here, too!
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| Elizabeth Ruiz, Season 10, chatting with hopefuls... |
Since I have asthma, I was interested to find out from Elizabeth how she is doing now with her exercise since it seemed to be a major impact on her during the show. Elizabeth reports that her asthma is much better and that she is able to control it far better now that she's lost weight and is working out regularly. "I really pay attention to my breathing now," she said, "and when I have a problem, I get my breathing in control and can go on." I understood from personal experience completely what she meant! ; )Elizabeth explained that her time on the ranch was very isolated from the real world... the three months of last summer, from June 1st to August 29th... were spent with no 'real world' worries of paying bills, going to work, dealing with day to day family and real life issues. "We were in a bubble," Elizabeth explained to me, "completely isolated". And coming back into the real world, revisiting old problems, isn't easy for anyone.
But Elizabeth, to me, seems to have come into her own. She explained that she believes that everything happens for a reason and talked about how both Brendan and Frado of Season 10 took on 'big brother' roles once they'd auditioned with her last April in Boston and saw her collapse from an asthma attack while doing step-ups. Having big brothers in her real life, Elizabeth was comfortable in that role with them and their support helped her get into the final contestants of Season 10. And yes, she keeps in touch with them both now, too.
Elizabeth's time on Biggest Loser taught her important life lessons, aside from the weight loss. I asked her what the biggest lesson from the ranch that she came away with was: "It is okay to be selfish sometimes. No one is going to take care of me, but me." And she's right! No one can lose the weight or get your body fit besides ourselves. We have to take responsibility for our own well being, our own goals... whether we have friends acting as big brothers for us or not, in the end - we only can get healthy on our own. As shown on The Biggest Loser, Elizabeth hopes to encourage children in the schools of Lawrence, Mass. how to stay healthy and fit. Her next goal includes getting her personal training certification and helping others at the Sculpture at Strength fitness club in Chelmsford, Mass.
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| A group from late afternoon waiting before meeting casting directors... |
Finally, the people that I met who were auditioning were amazing! I admire them for giving it a shot to get on the show and wait in hours of lines to meet with the casting teams. Here is how I saw what the process worked like:
1) you show up and fill out forms...
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| Bonnie from Brockton was trying out a 2nd time... fingers crossed for her! |
2) You wait (for three or four hours average, it seemed) in different rooms to go onto casting
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| Finally outside of the casting team rooms... what will you say? The guy in the hat was a 'fish monger' and had an incredible story! |
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| Anxious to see what is going on in the casting room, two hopefuls couldn't help but peek! |
3) You then file into the casting rooms and meet the casting team and they explain to you what it is The Biggest Loser is looking for in contestants and that this moment is your chance to tell your story, what makes YOU unique, why they should decide to cast you...
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| Three tables of auditioners telling stories to the casting team |
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| I'm hoping the husband and wife in the red were cast! :) |
4) That's it! After you've spoken with the casting directors and everyone at your table has told their story, you're encouraged to also send in a video to the show if you haven't.
5) That very evening, the decisions were made on who would be called and would wouldn't. By midnight I saw tweets and Facebook posts from Holland Striplan and @BLCastingTeam that they'd finished with calls.
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| Holland Striplan explains the casting process... |
PS: HUGE thanks to Holland Striplan and The Biggest Loser Casting Team for letting me attend on Saturday and listen in on the casting calls and take photos. I had a great time and am so thankful to have been given the opportunity! Thanks, too, to Jay and Elizabeth for their interviews! :)
"Face of Fitness" Cover Contest: Asking for your Votes!
The more times, the merrier! :)
In the last day (since voting started yesterday 2/14) I've moved up from #29 to #11... voting continues everyday this week! :) Here's today's link: http://bit.ly/g8QipR and I'll be posting the new link (hopefully with my position moving up daily) here each day!
Thanks, friends!
Dream. Believe. Achieve!
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
Happy Valentine's Day ~ Love Yourself Wholly
Thanks to my friend, Kat, for posting this on Facebook so I can share with you. This seems perfect for our February Love You for Who You Are NOW challenge & Valentine's Day. Speak the words on the screen aloud as you see them appear and they become powerful personal intentions ~
Happy Valentine's Day!
xo
Jan / HealthyLoserGal
Writing yourself that love letter...
But I sat last night and sat... and sat... and tried to write down reasons I love myself. About five came fairly quickly and then everything else I started to write down seemed silly. But you know what... silly or not, they're valid to me! :)
Now, I realize that "I keep my skin conditioned in the winter..." may seem silly to some people but to ME it is a big deal because for years I never, ever took care of ME! And now I do. So I wrote it down. And then I smiled.
"I write hand-written cards and notes to friends." Again, this isn't worth writing down for some people maybe... but because I love to get hand written notes, I make sure I do it for my close friends. I LOVE handwritten anything in this age of electronic communications.
So my February Love Yourself For Who You are NOW challenge 'love letter to self' is in progress... but I'm liking myself more in the process of that progress! *grin*
Have you started your first letter to yourself of the challenge month? Care to share any of your reasons for loving you in the comments?
Here's to a wonderful weekend ahead for us all! I, by the way, think YOU are way cool for reading the HealthyLoserGal blog... you can add that to your list! : )
Dream. Believe. Achieve! ~
Jan / Healthy Loser Gal
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