SO WHAT!?!?! I hit one of those mirrors recently where there’s a mirror behind you and you can see your back. Damn, my hair is pretty. And it got me to thinking . o O ( Can I spend a little more time focusing on what I do like about myself? ) Yes. Yes, I can. It is so important to find a few positive things about yourself and focus on those for a while. Then work on the things you don’t like, if you can. I mean after a nine pound child, can I ever have a perfect, flat, smooth stomach? Nope. Not without the help of surgery. But is there something I can do about it? Sure.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m going to be the Best Woman in a wedding in December. Right now, I’m not focused on losing weight. I already have my dress and it can’t be altered a whole lot. But I am working on being healthier, and that starts with the way I think about myself.

 My hair. It’s kind of awesome. If it weren’t my hair, I’d be pretty jealous ofme. I’m not saying you should think that my hair is amazing, all that really matters is I find something to love about my appearance. My hair is first. I love the natural waves. I love the color. I love the way the layers work with my face.

So that’s a good start, right? Let’s examine a little further. There’s got to be something more than just my hair. Oh duh. I, personally, think my dimples are cute. I inherited those from my dad, so they are also rather sentimental to me. I got what I wanted an awful lot as a child thanks to those dimples! Things might not be so different now.

While we’re staring at my face, and please ignore the shiny skin. This is Keeping it Real, no make-up, nothing. Just me….. how about those eyes? They sure are dark! Not too bad looking. I can be pretty happy with my eyes. I like dark eyes (also from my dad). And I’d never want a nose-job. I have a good nose. Not too small, not too round, not too flat.

My next favorite asset would be my legs. For a girl my size (14-16), I have damn nice legs (I think, and that’s what we’re discussing here.

Okay… Please ignore the background. Please ignore that little dust bunny under my bed. What I see here are pretty muscular and toned legs. Not much for cellulite going on there, no cottage cheese, so to speak. I um.. didn’t take a picture of the unflattering part where my thighs rub together when I walk.. no. I didn’t do that because I’m focusing on what I like. I am not embarrassed to wear shorts in the summer.

Check me out. I have some assets. I’m not fishing for compliments. I already like these things about me. The question is: How about you? I want you to comment on this blog and tell me only something positive that you like about the way you look. I want you to promise me that if you can’t think of anything right now, you’ll spend a little time over the next week finding something to love when you look in the mirror. Promise?

A healthy body starts with a healthy mind. Oohhh I like that.

My schedule at work is Monday and Wednesday with some Fridays (depending on the workload). My employer and I are flexible with each other like that. It’s pretty cool. Works for both of us. Monday and Wednesday, Li’l C has his First Lego League meetings after school. Tuesday and Thursday I usually do the grocery shopping and cleaning, and social visits with my friends. In the evenings Li’l C has his Tae Kwon Do classes. It’s almost getting difficult to remember what day I have to pick him up from school at what time and what’s going on after school. These are reasons I am thrilled to only have a part-time job.

Now how do I keep it all straight? It’s getting easier. Here are some ideas I want to share that have worked for me.

We have a week-over-week calendar on the fridge. It is a magnetic calendar where each week is a separate magnet. Pretty cool. You can get them from Amazon if you like. We have the trash and recycling pick-up schedule on the fridge calendar. Fun things like concerts, holidays, and family gatherings also go on there. This is more for our son to use than anything else.

I also have an Android phone and use my Google Calendar extensively. I even managed to convince my boss to switch over to using a Google Calendar so I can keep track of the work schedule of events, fun things, pack walks, appointments, etc easily. And this is not a joke, I put everything in my calendar. Lunch dates. Visits with family. Every. Single. Appointment. My husband and I share our calendars with each other so we know what is going on from day-to-day. It may seem silly but he has regular outings with his friends and so do I.

Another major problem I that I face is forgetfulness. No kidding? If I didn’t, I wouldn’t need all these tools to help me keep my life straight. But you know you visit mom and she sends food home with you in a container. You gotta get that container back to her. A friend asks if they can borrow something, or you trade kids clothes. You show up.. “crap.. I forgot to bring you that book I borrowed.” I could just add it to the “appointment” on my Google Calendar but I usually just glance at the widget on my home screen and it doesn’t show those kinds of details. So all the back to school supplies have gone on clearance and it hit me. I picked up a dry erase board that I attached to the door from the laundry room to the garage. In big, bold letters I wrote “Don’t Forget” at the top. Now when I’m running around the house and I see something I need to take somewhere, I go put it on the dry erase board. It’s at eye level on my way to the car. There’s no way I can miss it! I feel so clever. I’m sure I’m not the first person to think of this, but I feel good about it. It’s only been about a week and a half, but I haven’t forgotten anything!

Do you have some organizational tips that you would like to share? I’d love to hear them!

That was Saturday. This is now. I don’t feel like that now. I feel fine and normal. My blood was drawn yesterday for my T4 thyroid test. Now I’m waiting to hear back on that to find out if it is my thyroid causing me to feel blah. I guess in a way I kind of hope that it is off so that the doctor can fix it and make me feel better. I don’t want to be blah and I really have no reason to feel that way. So. Make it go away. Now for the waiting game. I can’t wait to find out what my blood says.