AUGUST ... NEW BEGINNINGS... SNIPPETS...

 I love the month of August ... anniversaries... birthdays and awesome reasons to celebrate .... In another 4 days I will also celebrate my 5 years 6 months anniversary of my surgery date ... I will celebrate being married to the awesome man I was blessed with second time around and also the birthday of my awesome DD ... 

I will celebrate life each and every day ... every awakening is a miracle ... some less fortunate did not wake up this morning ...I will be forever grateful ...

These are snippets from my journey away from morbid obesity  ... one day at a time... one choice at a time ... I have captured it all in my empowerment/digital journal that I called A Picture a Day Keeps the Pounds and the Inches Away...

Last night I revisited another canvas that I had started and had tossed aside ...because it was not as pretty as I wanted it to be ...  it was a *****allenging because I am not a painter of animals but of people ... with the challenge I tossed it ... and I realized I did not WORK IT! to my best potential ... just like I work my journey ... I will not give up on my weight loss/maintenance journey however I did not hesitate to toss that canvas (and several others) in a corner .... just like the heap of half-sewn or cut dresses that I started and then halfway decided I did not like either style or fabric or both or let's face it I screwed up and did not want to pick out ... 

I realized that in tossing the canvas I had given up and decided then and there to give it another try ... a new beginning ... after all it is a work in progress ... pretty much like we all are.... each day...  

Last night and this morning I had awesome fun working on this piece that is still A ROUGH DRAFT .... but I did not give up on it ... and I am glad I could just get back on track and start over ... 

I took my brush and my palette and my artist's acrylics and I painted...
 

in the end I had a ROUGH DRAFT that I could work with ... and will continue to do so with more washes when this is dry by the time I get home tonight...
 

then I took a picture for my digital journal .... wearing a two piece XS ensemble today ... I left for work dressed like this and still sporting my jacked up bangs thanks to my dearest son LOL...
 

WLS has been the best gift I gave myself.  203 pounds lost from my highest recorded weight and maintaining for 5 years and 6 months on 8/5/2012 .... I love living with health and mobility ... with 5 co-morbidities in full remission my 50's are feeling better than my 30's....

Thanks for allowing me to share another goofy thread....

 Marty,

You are such a GREAT artist!  I love the swan canvas!  

You are such an inspiration to me and others!  Keep posting!  I love seeing your threads!

I woke up this morning, body aching once again (not like before I had wls, but I actually creeeek when I get up out of bed lol) as I was recently diagnosed with neuropathy and a pretty severe lower back pain with the sciatic nerve pinched.  Lyrica is helping (thank the good Lord!) but when I get up in the a.m. its out of my system.  Nevertheless I love waking up.  I love myself now, more than ever before.  I am going through a lot of personal and legal things (we had a good win yesterday at court!!! yippee!!!) but life is GOOD!  I have to remind myself of that every time I get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and walk down my stairs to get my day started!!!!  I FINALLY LOVE MYSELF!  and I'm letting go of a lot of past pain and abuse that has occurred in my life.  I have the most wonderful man in my life who has stuck around when most would have fled.  He is my knight in shinning armor, my soul mate, my BEST friend, my lover, and my confidante.  (AND MY FIANCEE!  Still can't get used to that awesomeness!)

So today, Marty and everyone *****ads this, take a moment, look at yourself in the mirror, wrap your arms around your heart, and say 'I love you!"  Because if you don't love yourself, no one else can either.  

Today, we are going to have a nice beach day!  Its gorgeous outside and we are going to soak up some rays, hold hands, kiss and make out like teenagers on the beach!  Have a great day no matter what you do, even if its nothing at all!

Mallisa

 Thank you Mal... hope you feel better and get some relief from your neuropathy discomfort.... how awesome you get to go to the beach .. it is a great day for it ... I ran 6 miles from home to the beach from one end to the next and back this morning .... and every other morning ... I LOVE IT!!!!

I know that swan!!!  I love your artwork, it is amazing, I used to paint years ago but stopped because I really didn't enjoy it, same with sewing.  It wasn't until I picked up the camera that I felt truly at home.  I adore photography and I let someone hurt my feelings about it make me stop.  But **** them, it doesn't matter if I never make a penny I love it too much to ever really stop.

You look beautiful as ever!

I found the pic...

I am soooooooooo glad you recognized it ... WOOT! The title of that canvas is Heidi's Swan (2) by Martitalinda ... so there.... LOL ... Yup ... that is the one I told you on that thread that day a few months back that I would paint on of your awesome photographs of swans for you...

"I adore photography and I let someone hurt my feelings about it make me stop.  But **** them, it doesn't matter if I never make a penny I love it too much to ever really stop. "
SISTA DON'T YOU EVER ... HEAR ME NOW .. .DON'T YOU EVER LET ANYONE'S WORDS OR ACTIONS QUENCH YOUR SPIRIT WHETHER IT IS YOUR WILL OR YOUR WANTING TO DO SOMETHING ... RISE ABOVE IT! REBUKE IT! PICK UP YOUR CAMERA AND GET THEE OUT THERE AND DO YOUR THING AND YOU'LL SEE ... YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY WILL BE BETTER THAN EVER ... BECAUSE YOU ROSE ABOVE THE NEGATIVITY FROM THE MOUTH OF MISERY.... DON'T YOU ALLOW MISERY TO STUNT YOUR GROWTH NOR YOUR PASSION ... RISE ABOVE ... EMBRACE JOY AND JUST LET IT HAPPEN TO YOU .... THERE IS JOY IN PHOTOGRAPHY... IN NATURE ... IN HOLDING A CHILD'S HAND .. IN READING A BOOK TO A SENIOR AT THE NURSING HOME ... IN WAKING UP AND JUST SMILING ....WE ARE SURROUNDED WITH JOY AND WITH MISERY ... IT IS UP TO US WHICH ONE WE LET INTO OUR HEARTS...

GIRL ... I WILL PAINT UNTIL THE DAY I DIE ... AND IF I TOLD YOU HOW MANY OUT THERE HAVE LAUGHED AT MY WORK YOU'D CRINGE ... BUT I LAUGH RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM ... BECAUSE IT PROMPTS ME TO PICK UP MY BRUSH AND MY PALETTE AND PAINT YET A BETTER PICTURE ... WIN. WIN. .... 

Well I have had a few things upset me about my photography, when my swan family broke up I began following a new family and then all of a sudden the swans were gone.  Then I got really sick at a 4th of July parade due to low sodium level so I was a little scared to go out when it was really hot and walk down the railroad tracks and on top of that my company (which publishes newspapers, magazines, websites) is starting a new project and I was hoping to do some freelance photography and I showed the editor a couple of my photography books and she gave them back and never said another word to me about it again.  That really hurt my feelings especially since all of the professional photographers who work for my company have complimented my work, so to have an editor not even acknowledge it really made me feel bad.  I didn't even realize this until recently when my bf asked why I wasn't going out to take pictures.  It really dawned on me that it was because my feelings were hurt and I felt like something that brought me so much pleasure had been taken from me.  But like I said in the last post, I don't care, it isn't for anyone but me.  I actually went and took some pictures this past weekend in the rain, they aren't great but atleast I got myself back out there.

 SUNFLOWERS!!! you just made my day ... I love sunflowers!!! I am so glad to know that you are back to your photography and will be posting your awesome pictures again.  Don't worry about that editor that did not pay attention to your work ... trust you will capture the eyes of someone better than her ... shame of her! To think she could have at least acknowledged you and make suggestions or just say something ... later for the likes of her.... 

Marti,

Beauty flows within, yours is flowing outwards splashing waves on all of us who share the world with you...Beautiful as always...Thank you for sharing yourself...

 Thank YOU beautiful!!!