525,600 Minutes

I can not believe I started blogging a year ago already. It has been a great year. My mom and dad are doing well. My husband and kids are healthy and Charlie and Chelsea are thriving in school. My extended family is growing with nieces and nephews getting married and having babies of their own. We are doing well. Thank God. This is what's most important.

I've done so many new things in a year. I ran in Yankee Stadium and Central Park. I ran a 10k and have a 26:35 5k personal record. I experienced 'Sleep No More' at the McKittrick Hotel. I've also met some amazing people this past year. It all started with a Spark People post on Facebook in June of last year. One of their members had lost 125 pounds and posted a video of her journey, set to one of my favorite songs, 'Move Along' by The All-American Rejects. As the video played, I couldn't help but cry. There were pictures of her journey from every ten pounds down. WE may not see the difference when we stare at ourselves in the mirror, but the camera doesn't lie. It tells us the truth, whether we need to lose weight or we have taken it off. I was crying because I could sense her joy; I could feel the pride and sense of accomplishment she felt. I understood where she had been and where she finally had arrived, GOAL!

From that video, there was a link to this woman's blog. You may know her, (who am I kidding, most of you found MY blog through her!), she's Katie at Runs For Cookies. I started reading Katie's blog and I couldn't get enough. She had been blogging for a long time and I had a lot to catch up on. I loved how she discussed the difficulties of weight-loss and maintenance while being a stay-at-home mom, fitting in running and exercise around the boys' schedules, (we're all in the same boat), while weaving funny anecdotes about her life in general into her posts. I would comment on her stories, letting her know I was out there, a loyal follower! From Katie's blog I found other writers who were also on their weight-loss journey, either still working toward their goal or at their final destination, maintenance, like Jen, who lost 100 pounds, at From Fat To Finish Line. Every morning, when I woke up, I would take care of my morning chores, make my coffee, grab a bite to eat and sit down at my computer. First, I'd hit My Fitness Pal and log in breakfast, then I'd check Facebook for notifications and then I would log onto Blogspot and see what Katie or Jen was up to. It was fun hearing about what races they were training for or what their opinions were on nutrition and health products. I could commiserate with them, since no one I know was doing it here with me.

I had been reading for a couple of months when the urge to write my own story down hit me. "I can write a blog. I have thoughts." (What an awesome movie, 'Julie and Julia.' Writing and food. The only thing that could have made it better was if Julia Child was a runner. I'd love to have seen her in a sports bra and some spandex capris!) So, on August 3rd, 2011, I wrote my first entry about my story and how I finally decided once and for all to just do it, put in the hard work and effort and stick to it. The first day of my journey was August 17th, 2009. I can't believe it's almost three years. I hit goal on August 20th, 2011. I had my first child August 2nd, 1996. I guess August has been a really big month for me.

So then, just from reaching out to a woman and letting her know I appreciated her words, Katie learned about me and the things we had in common, our weight loss success and running. In January, Katie e-mailed with an invitation to run a Ragnar Relay with other people who had also lost weight while running. I hemmed and hawed over the decision, but after hearing about Katie's other Ragnar experience and realizing this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I accepted the chance to make those memories for myself.

I am so glad I did because so many unimaginable things are coming from joining this amazing team, Weapons of Mass Reduction. Jen, who has had a successful career working in television production, has a production company with people she has worked with in the past. Media Meld Studios had produced a documentary called Happy On The Ground: 8 Days at Grammy Camp among other projects. She realized that our story can hopefully inspire others to commit to their health and see that what we accomplished can be achieved by them as well. From Fat to Finish line- The Movie was born.

So I'm going to be in a documentary? WHAT?!? I was brought into NYC for two days of incredibly fun things like a crazy workout with WWF wrestler Gene Snisky, a shopping spree with stylist Amy Acton in Macy's Herald Square and a complete hair makeover with Amalia Moscoso and makeup by Julio Rios. HUH?!? If that wasn't enough, I have a really crazy thing next week, but I just can't mention it yet. I'm just not one to say something and then be disappointed if it doesn't work out. Ask my kids. I don't usually tell them anything. They found out they were going to Sesame Street Live! in the parking lot of Nassau Coliseum, just in case we got a flat tire or someone got sick before-hand... I would just hate to tell them we couldn't do something. I also didn't want to field the 1,000 questions you get from little kids who have no concept of time!

Quite a year it's been. I KNOW this next year is only going to be better.