The Audacity of FOLKS

So, President Obama has the great book which we've all heard of entitled The Audacity of Hope full of inspirational anecdotes that inspire us to dream and hope and move towards our destiny, no matter how the odds are stacked against us.

That book is great. Bold, confident, hopeful people are great. Let me tell you about the type of people that aren't so great; the bold, rude, stating the obvious type.

So, I'm at church talking with several of the "elder" women and I mention the fact that I am going to begin a 21 day fast the day after Easter (I'll get to that in the next couple of weeks). But anyway, I'm mentioning the fact that I KNOW I need to flush the toxins out of my body because I KNOW I'm overweight. Key phrase is...I KNOW! Since I KNOW I'm overweight, I don't need ANYONE to state that fact. However, this lovely church "family" member decides to say,

"Yeah, you should do something about your weight. You're bigger than your mother, and a young lady should never be bigger than her mother".

Now, I know what some of you may be thinking (especially small folks). "Well, you are bigger than your mother and you shouldn't be. At least she was being honest and not saying it behind your back".

True as that may be, let me take the liberty of speaking on the behalf of those who are overweight. WE KNOW IT! Most of us feel bad about it, and the ones who've accepted it now have most assuredly felt bad about it at one point or another. Fat people know they're fat. They may or may not accept it; but it's not your responsibility to make them accept it unless you are their personal physician.

So in summary, it's great to be bold and confident and constructive critcism has its place when solicited. However, when it comes to someone's weight, keep your opinions and statements of the obvious to yourself.

Thanks on behalf of the fat girls,

~Tash

When life hands you lemons, make lemonade without white sugar

So, I haven't blogged in over two months. Those of you who would assume, based on that fact, that I haven't been doing so well with my diet and work out plan would be right.

If this whole lifestyle change thing is going to work I have to be transparent and honest with myself and with others. Afterall, the evidence of my success or failure is obvious.

Life has handed my family and me quite a few lemons over the last two years. Though I continue to look towards the Hills and count my blessings, I can't lie; things have been rough. Though I often smile and act as though things are okay, I often secretly retreat into my cave with a movie and a bag of potato chips.

So, consider this blog entry me admitting to my shortcomings and confronting the crap that is my love, financial and physical life head on. Life has handed me quite a few lemons (some of them I picked myself) and I've been making lemonade with way too much sugar in it, literally.

They say the first step to fixing the problem is admitting that there is one. Well, I have a problem, several of them actually. Now it's time to drink the lemonade straight.

Here's to pushing away from the table and getting back in the game.

~Tash