Appropriate or Not

Who determines what is appropriate? I'm not talking about what's good verses what is evil-- what is lawful or what is not .... appropriate is a gray line. There are no absolutes here.

For instance, are public displays of affection appropriate? If so, are there times when they are not appropriate? Is it the location that determines the difference ... or the level of affection displayed? or perhaps it is determined by who is involved in the displaying. Is it a matter of whether it's appropriate to "the public" who see the display? This is just a random example.

I started pondering this question as I reflected on recent questions my adult children had asked me. I was asked if ____ (some event or circumstance) was alright with me. Hmmm ... first of all, I wonder why they are asking me if that particular thing is alright. Does that mean that they thought it may NOT be (not be appropriate) to me?

How did I come to the conclusions that I DO have about what is appropriate and what is not? Again, I'm speaking about gray areas that are not specifically spelled out in Scripture. Those that are taught about, I hold as my beliefs ... but those "gray areas" ...

It's funny how many times I would tell my husband that something he was doing was not appropriate, when we were newlyweds. It's a standing joke between us now. I can even laugh about some of them ... but there are still SOME that we differ in opinion about. What may be inappropriate to (or for) me, is appropriate to (or for) him.

Big Step Forward

Hmmm ...I have allowed people to have control over me by using their anger. It's been quite effective for them. Today I decided that, with God's help, I will not be controlled in that way any longer. What needs to be said will be said .... regardless of what I THINK their reaction may be.

The Rest of the Story

Lest you think I was making too big of a deal out of the pizza and buffalo wings ...this past week, I also ate: 5 beef tacos from Julioberto's, 3 tacos from Del Taco, a single burger from Lenny's with fries (although I don't eat the buns), a root beer float AND some chocolate krispies cereal [not in one sitting!]

Now you can see why I was SHOCKED to have lost one pound : )

You've Come A Long Way Baby

It's official ... I have lost 30 pounds! Wish I could say that I was delighted to receive my third blue ribbon (that says "I lost 10 pounds in Weight Watchers") ...but I was still in shock. Oh it was a good feeling ...just not as good as it could have been : /

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk ...shame on me

Lies, lies, lies! That's what I've been telling myself. Not only telling myself, but believing and acting upon.

For the last two weeks I have gone to my Weight Watchers meeting BELIEVING that I had gained weight. I KNEW that I CERTAINLY had not lost any weight.

Imagine my SHOCK when I was congratulated each week. CONGRATULATED?!! Impossible !!
How could I have LOST weight each of these two weeks?

Shock blocks the feeling of happiness. So not only was I SHOCKED, I was also ROBBED of the joy I should have felt!

Tonight I uncovered the key. I assumed that if I ate out (at a restaurant) or if I ate something that I thought was bad then I assumed that I was bad. If I was BAD then it would show up on the scale. I felt "bad" for days AFTER the "incident" of eating out or eating something I considered a "no-n0."

What I didn't take into consideration was the TRUTH that I can indeed eat at a restaurant and I can eat WHATEVER I WANT TO EAT in moderation. My lifestyle has changed!

Yes, I did go out to eat pizza with my family. I did have some buffalo wings, and drank two cups of soda too. Sound like a "no-no"? That's what I thought. I was disappointed in myself. What I didn't focus on was that I had three SMALL pieces of pizza, five buffalo wings and two glasses of diet root beer. Never in my "former life" would I have limited myself to this. I certainly would not be selecting the SMALLEST pieces of pizza, that's for sure !!

There is no "bad" food in Weight Watchers. There are no "bad" people on this Weight Watcher journey. As a matter of fact, I'm all for banning of the word BAD ....that doesn't mean you're bad if you happen to say it. You are still learning. None of us is perfect : )

Possibilities

I was told by one of my mentors that the first step to change is allowing yourself to imagine the possibility of it happening.

January 1, 2010 I sat with my family around the dining room table and we wrote out our personal goals for the new year. There were several categories. One of them was a physical goal. I took a step of faith and wrote down that I wanted to lose 50 pounds this year.

Blame it on the Birthday

The week after my birthday, my friend, Sandee, took me out to lunch. We had a good time and tried to mind our Weight Watcher points : ) I had half a sandwich and a side salad ...dipping my fork in the dressing instead of pouring it on. I drank water ... then we split a yummy berry eclair. Because we both have birthdays in July, it seemed like that was "a good reason."