In the Key of Awesome

The title of this post was inspired by my friend Jody, you should check out her blog.

So it seems that the pain and suffering I went through with my wisdom teeth actually had some benefits.

1. My mouth doesn't hurt anymore. My gums were always in pain before, I could constantly feel my wisdom teeth growing. It was not fun.
2. My face looks a little thinner now, with my back wisdom gone. I know it's just that the inflammation they caused in my everyday life is gone, but I feel it made a huge difference.
3. I lost weight.
   

Yep, #3 is the most important part, I think. When I had to brush my teeth/rinse out my mouth after I ate, I seriously considered the merit of each snack before eating it (or not). It turns out that being too lazy to get up off the sofa and brushing your teeth seriously diminished the calories you consume in a day. It also trained me not to snack as much: I fell out of the habit. With this weight loss, I'm starting to fit in clothes I never thought I'd fit in again. You know all those old clothes at the back of your closet that you can't bring yourself to give away? Well, I'm starting to fit into them again. Dresses, shirts, jackets... I doubt I'll ever fit into my size 5 jeans again, (seen here, on the right), but I'll be happy if get into my size 12 suit jacket.

Man, look at me in that picture. I was 16, and I had just died my hair strawberry blond to cover up hot pink streaks that I had gotten to celebrate my sweet 16. On the left there, that's me with pink hair. And skinnier. And pretty hot, might I add. It's too bad I didn't know how hot I was back then, I could have been one hell of a heart-breaker.

Either way, I'm glad I'm losing weight. Woo!

My goals

My (short term) goals are as follows:

1. I want my room to be perfectly clean.
2. I want to lose enough weight that I feel comfortable in a bikini.
3. I want to write (and publish) a book.
4. I want to go to Hong Kong to do my final field experience.

Let's look at these one by one, starting with... well... the first one.

1. I want my room to be perfectly clean.
Okay, for my room to be perfectly clean, I have to clean it, right? Well, I'm trying. I really am. I'm up to what, part six of my room cleaning saga? This is a goal I can control, and I am controlling it. I'm setting some time aside as often as possible to clean as much as I can. As I clean, instead of just moving things from one side of the room to the other, I'm actually packing it in boxes and reusable bags. This way, I can easily stack, store, and (later) find my books and DVDs (which seem to be the stuff of which I have too much). This way, everything has it's place and it's place isn't randomly strewn around my room. This is a goal that I am in control of. I can (and will) achieve.

2. I want to lose enough weight that I feel comfortable in a bikini.
Ahh, this old thing. Yep, the weight thing. So, I'm fat. I'm not delusional about this, it's a fact and I'm okay with it. Well.. not really, if I want to lose weight, right? This is a health thing, not a vanity thing. I'm out of breath all this time, my knees hurt, my heart beats so freaken quickly... I'm too young to have all these problems. Also, I have an awesome tattoo that NO ONE SEES because I'm too ashamed of my fat belly to show it off. So I'm eating better, not dieting. Dieting is a deprivation of certain foods. I'm not ready to (nor do I think I have to) cut out whole items from my daily menus. Instead, I'm eating less bad stuff and more good stuff and making better choices in my day to day life. I'm also exercising more. I'm not going to the gym because a) I'm poor and b) I don't think I need to go to the gym right now. Gyms are great for those with time and money and I have neither at the moment. We have an elliptical at home and if I use it more and walk the dog more, then I think that'll be enough for now! This is a goal that I am in control of. I can (and will) achieve.

3. I want to write (and publish) a book.
I think this may be the easiest of the goals to accomplish. Now a days, anyone can write and then self publish a book. The thing is, I don't want to be a self-published author. I want to be a real author. A good author. I want to write something that people who are not my family and friends will buy, read, and love. My mom says all I need to do is get an idea and run with it, but that's a lot easier said than done. I mean, if it were easy, I'd have already done it. My mother raised a good point by asking my what kind of book I want to write. Well, I have no idea. Whatsoever. Not a clue. But, if I persevere, I might actually succeed. This is a goal that I am in (somewhat) control of. I can achieve it, if I try.

4. I want to go to Hong Kong to do my final field experience.
Seriously, this is a possibility. It would be a DREAM COME TRUE in more ways than one. I'd be teaching in Asia. This could open up a whole new bunch of possibilities: I'd have my foot in the door of a teaching job in Asia. Also, I'd be going to Asia on my school's dime, which really isn't that terrible of thing, is it? Hong Kong is a beautiful city. I really want to be chosen for this... That's right. Chosen. This is NOT a goal that I am in control of. I've written my letter of intent and all I can do is hope that it gets me an interview. After that, I can just pray that I've impressed them enough to pick me as one of the lucky 8 people from TESL to go. I hope I can achieve it.