It's Fabulous Friday!!!

*The weekend is finally here.
*Today is the long awaited art show held at our school.
*Everything is hung and ready before opening time of 5:00 p.m.
*I submitted an essay to my weight loss center this week.
*I won first prize!
*That means I AM A WINNER!
*Check out what I won!





I received all this for winning the essay contest! My essay follows. Please do not feel obligated to read it all. Some of it, I have covered before!

Why I Love LA
I have come out of the dark. I am on a journey and I am not alone. I have been so alone for so long, and not doing well going solo. I have tried, failed, quit, got up day after day resolving to do better today, failing by midmorning...giving up became my only option. I was a failure. I was overweight. I was tired, sluggish, old, and alone. I had a major surgery which took me down for a while, my husband had a heart attack, we were having some family problems, I was told I was going to be a Grandma, our son was in his senior year of high school. He was injured in football. My mom was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and while caring for her, we found out that one grandchild would be 2. I helped make everything for the wedding, and 2 weeks after the wedding, our daughter in law went into preterm labor. I really fell apart at that news. I really didn't know how to lose my mom and my grandchildren at the same time. I sat with my mom and my daughter in law for 2 weeks. I month after the wedding, I became a grandma to two amazing boys, weighing 2 lbs. 3 oz. and 2 lbs. 15 oz. They were tottering on the edge of life and death on the very far distant end of the spectrum as my mom. I sat with mom or I sat with the twins for months, continued to teach school, took care of my house and family as best as I could, tried to get to all the football games and volleyball games and soccer games, washed clothes in the middle of the night, gave up sleeping for a while, scrapbooked every memory I could find, working most of the night on Mom's scrapbook or the twins' scrapbook, ate whenever and whatever I could, sat at bedsides between mom and the twins, didn't move very much, and I simply did not have the time to take care of myself. I lost my best friend when my mother passed away. She always believed in me. I was simply too tired to believe in myself.

Then I found LA Weight Loss. Those ads on TV would not stop speaking to me. Maybe I could do it if I had some help. I hated to think that I had to pay someone to tell me what to eat and how to eat and when to eat. I thought of myself as an educated woman....I should be able to figure this out on my own. The day I stopped in, I was told, "This is your last stop" and it was....

I now have a spark. I have energy. My smile has returned. My laughter has returned. I may have taken some extra time to get where I am, but I am arriving. My friends say, “You’re back!”
I know my Mom would be so proud of me. She IS proud of me!

I am worth the cost. I am worth the 35 mile drive. I am worth the shopping and reading labels and taking care of myself. LA made me believe in myself.

What I love about LA is the encouragement. The connection I have made with some of the girls has kept me going during some of the rough times. I can see their faces telling me I am worth it. I am doing ok. I can do this. I enjoy going to LA each week and giving hugs to all. They tell me I look great. They say my enthusiasm is contagious. I am filled with so much appreciation and thankfulness at the support and love I receive from them.

I am not alone.
I have an awesome team on my side.
I CAN make good choices.
I CAN eat.
I NEED to eat.
Starving, overeating, failing, restarting and struggling more does not work.
The cycle of trying and failing is over.
I love how I feel and I love life, thanks in great part to the friends I have made at LA.

I am younger.
I know I look better.
I have gotten off my blood pressure medications.
My bloodwork shows remarkable changes.
30 pounds ago, I was tested for diabetes and Cushings Disease.
There are no signs of those diseases now.
Thank you LA for your support, and thank you Lord for my healing.

Life has begun again at 50!!!!