Month: January 2013


Jan
2013

The Hardest Post I’ve Ever Written

categories: health, weight

Today’s 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge was to revamp the ‘About’ page of our blog. I am going to do that, but not today.

I have been struggling internally with a post for some time now, going back and forth on should I or shouldn’t I. During our #bloglikecrazy challenge in November, one of the tasks was to write a risky post. At the time I couldn’t think of anything that important to me that wasn’t already out there – I’m a pretty open person. Well, I finally figured it out. While I did write about my body issues that day, I didn’t divulge my actual weight. I know as soon as my dad reads this he’s going to call me up and talk to me 1) about my weight and b) putting it out there. He loves me to pieces but has no idea. I’m doing this for myself. If I’m seriously going to work on my weight loss goal, there has to be accountability to myself and to my readers, many of who are dear friends that help and coach me. There are about 3 people on the planet who know my weight and my doctor is one of them. Daniel is another. I’ve realized, the more I blog and put myself out there and the more I talk with other Janes about their insecurities, that it’s not nearly as big a deal as it is in my head. I actually told a friend my weight recently – she had just caught me coming from Iron Tribe and I told her one of my goals was to lose 100 pounds this year – and she balked at me both when she heard I wanted to lose 100 pounds and then at my current weight. She had no idea I weighed that much and was kind enough to tell me I carry it well. I appreciate those words more than she knows, but I still need to lose it for my health. So, in the footsteps of some incredibly inspiring friends before me – Jen West, Stephen Vinson, Jennifer Dome – I’m pledging to weigh in weekly on Wednesdays starting this week. Just to kick things off and give everyone a chance to shoot milk out of their nose, I currently weigh 287.5 lbs. There you have it, folks. I’ve lost my mind. And dad, I love you more than anything, but please don’t call me about this post. It was hard enough to write it…I don’t want to talk about it. lol! I love you.

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


Jan
2013

Mission Impossible

categories: Birmingham

Today’s 31 Days to Better Blogging challenge from our fearless See Jane Write leader, Javacia Harris Bowser, was to write a mission statement for our blog. This has been mentioned before by Javacia and I’ve struggled with it ever since. We recently had to look inside ourselves to figure out the purpose of our blog – what did we want to accomplish with it? I didn’t state that outright in an entry, but I realized the direction I want to move in was something encompassing Birmingham. I am utterly, unconditionally, unfailingly in love with this city. I couldn’t tell you when it happened or how exactly, but I breathe it. I grew up in the church and the way we are supposed to spread the word and goodness of God is also how I feel about Birmingham. I want to tell everyone about this city and bring them from all corners of the earth. It’s not that she’s better than your city, but she is beautiful. She is cultured. She is kind. She is environmentally friendly. She is loving. She is growing in herself all the time. She is learning. She is courageous. She is intellectual. She is inventive. She is educated. In short, she is darn close to the perfect woman. She has her flaws – every woman does – but she is learning from her mistakes through the years and will continue to make strides. She can’t do it alone..no one woman can. I am her biggest cheerleader and have decided, for as long as she’ll have me, my blog will be dedicated in great part to her. Therefore:

Yougotrossed is a blog about the great loves of  my life with the main focus on Birmingham, Alabama. It will be used primarily to educate readers about the city and promote Birmingham’s various offerings including geographical, cultural, historical, and current events. This will be a space for fostering community involvement. It will also encompass the other loves of my life including fitness, feminism, writing, self-improvement, and volunteering.

There you have it, Birmingham. I’m all yours.

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


Jan
2013

Anything Is Possible

categories: See Jane Write

I’ve seen many posts in the new year about change…changing one’s inside, outsides, surroundings. I, too, have decided to make some changes with myself, but my surroundings are not to be touched. Tonight was a perfect example of the inspiration, talent, and power that I am surrounded by each time I get together with ladies of See Jane Write.
I haven’t been a member of the group for very long, but I feel as if I’ve known them for years. From day one our fearless leader, Javacia Bowser, warmly welcomed me to the fold. She introduced me online to the group and that was the start of something amazing inside me. These women have all come together to write, support and mentor one another, and share their stories. I have learned so much about myself from them and their experiences and tonight was no exception. The more we share – the athletes, the techies, the teachers, the writers, the mothers, the business owners – the more we find ourselves in our comrades. I listened to bits and pieces of the many conversations around the table tonight simply in awe of the knowledge and life lessons sitting right there at the table. And that was just a smattering of us. Imagine what a whole room of Janes can do! We can do anything we want and I’m reminded of that each time I’m fortunate enough to spend time with them. If you want a taste of the power in this group, join us for the See Jane Write event next week. When you come, be sure to ask me about the donkey from tonight’s gathering..you’re sure to get a chuckle from it.

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.

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Jan
2013

Under Pressure

categories: 2013, Life

I’m a very different person than I was at 20 and even 30. I love how we constantly evolve and change through the years. I’ve been “tightly wound” for most of my life. I don’t know if it was due to pressure going through school to do my best or being an only child and pretty selfish, but I have kept things in their respective boxes – and only in their respective boxes – for years. The last few years I have started to let go of a little of that anal retentiveness and tried to learn to let go. Daniel has been monumental in those exercises. He is most definitely the ying to my yang and meeting him is one of those pivotal moments where positive change started to happen. He is an easy going, laid back, all around funny guy while I am a detail oriented, neurotic, crazy-at-home, all around funny gal. It always makes me laugh to see people’s faces when I tell them what a monster I am at home. Or was. I want things picked up, clean (mostly), back in their original places (do NOT move my toothpaste), and wherever you found them. Daniel has a nickname for me – “CSI Sherri” – because I can walk into a room in our house and immediately tell if something is amiss or different. I used to go bonkers if something was not the way I left it or in the same place or if there were things of his sitting on the table or a coat not hung up. In the year+ that we’ve been together I have learned, the hard way, that those things aren’t worth fighting about and aren’t important in the grand scheme of things and life. My stress level, just from learning this behavior change, has dramatically reduced. Couple that with working out and I’m *almost* as relaxed as a normal person. (Actually, are normal people relaxed? I don’t know that I know any. Lol) All that to say this: coming from a self-diagnosed neurotic, OCD love bunny – Don’t sweat the small stuff. In the end, worrying does no good, doesn’t change anything, and can affect your health. It comes down to picking your battles and lemme tell ya, toothpaste ain’t worth fighting over. 🙂

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.


Jan
2013

Climbing Everest – How Far I’ve Come (2012) and What Lies Ahead (2013)

categories: 2013, goals

“Canon in D” just came on my Pandora radio station. I absolutely love this song and not just because it makes me think of weddings. I love the song for the melody, the crescendos, and the lulls. It is, quite possibly, the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard. I can listen to it over and over, getting lost in thoughts of love and hope. It was fitting that it came on as I was starting this post. I’ve been pretty reflective the past few months and that culminated in a great discussion with my fiance about our futures – together as a couple and for each of us personally. I spent the better part of today in complete silence, not doing much of anything besides staring into space thinking about the past year and my future. I have never been one to list personal highlights of the previous year or goals for the new one, but it feels like the right time to start. Not to toot my own horn, but a few of the things that brought me great joy last year were:

  • Starting Birmingham Dance Walk
  • Joining together with friends to start a very tasty and intellectual Supper Club
  • Supporting, donating to, and volunteering with more charities and non-profits than I ever have before – most of them local to Birmingham
  • Building a remarkable relationship with Daniel Walters
  • Getting my first freelance writing assignment (Artwalk article for Magic City Post)
  • Starting some fitness regimen again, first with G57 Training and Fitness and now with Iron Tribe Fitness
  • Joining See Jane Write – possibly the most exceptional group of women I have ever met.
  • Hearing First Lady Michelle Obama speak in person
  • Completing 2 5Ks – the Color Run and the Race for the Cure
  • Fundraising with free hugs for the Crisis Center of Birmingham at Naked Art – truly one of the best nights of my life
  • Rescuing a pup and finding her a home
  • Developing some of the most meaningful and empowering female friendships I have ever had. We are doing GREAT things in 2013!
  • Learning more about myself this year than any previous year. And it helped me realize my biggest passion along with focusing on the direction I want to take with it.

My friend Jen West recently wrote about a new iOS app called Everest – where you can live your dreams by setting personal goals and then breaking them down into smaller steps to help you achieve them. I downloaded the app today and spent most of the morning thinking about what dreams I have for the years ahead. Here are the dreams I came up with and posted in the app, along with the rough time frame that I set for them. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I have never been one to set goals, but this seems like a great (and fitting) year to start. Here we go (in no particular order):

  1. Volunteer with children. I’ve thought about this a lot the past year, off and on, and I really want to pursue this dream. Children light up my life and I would like to give some of that back if possible. I thought about McWane Science Center, but am leaning more toward Big Brothers & Big Sisters or something akin to that locally. By When: 3 months
  2. Create 365 blog posts. Yup, I’m going to do my BEST to blog every day for a year about something. Fingers crossed on this one! By When: 1 year
  3. Ride a bike again. I know the saying, but I’m telling you – I’m scared to death to get my big ‘ole butt on that tiny seat. My knees aren’t good and I can see me falling right over. But I have to start somewhere..even if it’s going to Cahaba Cycle and baby wheeling it around the show room floor for a few. I would like to get a bike and ride around Birmingham. By When: 6 months
  4. Meditate. I did this for a Chopra Center challenge earlier this year for the first time and loved it. I would like to make it a part of my daily life. When: Ongoing
  5. Work out at least 3 times per week. Enough said! When: Ongoing
  6. Read 1 book per month. By When: 1 year
  7. Run a 5k. I HATE running. Let’s rephrase that..I can’t run. Not for more than about 200 meters currently. I get too winded to keep going without passing out. And I hate it. So, I walked the 5ks that I did this past year. I would like to run one and I know I can do it. It just takes practice. Running practice. Lots of running practice. Ick. Blech. Whatever. By When: 9 months
  8. Lose 100 lbs. I originally had 50 on there, but I changed it to 100. Fifty is more realistic, but let’s go for gold and see what happens. #GetAfterIt By When: 1 year
  9. Get 100 people to participate in Birmingham Dance Walk. We can make this happen, but I will need your help. 🙂 By When: 1 year
  10. Give back to Birmingham; figure out the who, how, and why. I recently talked about starting a non-profit to help the sponsors of Birmingham Dance Walk make tax-deductible contributions while also sharing with other non-profits in the area that need help. I still like that idea and want to do that, but I’ve thought about my original intention some more and realized that a) I am most passionate about Birmingham and all she has to offer and b) I love doing things for other people. So I plan on figuring out exactly how to put those two together and what that means for me…how I can give back to Birmingham, exactly who I can help, and definitively state why I want to help. HOW, WHO, and WHY will be my 3 words for 2013. This will also help with today’s 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge item: Create the blog you want to read. By When: 1 year

There you have it. My 10 goals for 2013. Here goes nothing!

Love yourself.
Find peace inside.
Share happiness.