weight loss vlog#10- status of the fitbit challenge and hello plateau

weight loss vlog #9- the race is on with fitbit

avsongbird vlog #27- just being candid, talking about writing and where...

weight loss vlog #8 - Guess what! great news!

Halloween Q & A challenge

weight loss vlog #7- it isn't always easy being so open about all of this

weight loss vlog #6 - misbehaving (and no regrets about it)

avsongbird vlog #25- really had to get this off my chest

weight loss vlog #5 - long distance badge and hubby calls in

vlog #24 an invitation to my friends, viewers, readers, followers, and ...

vlog #23 - jury summons and my lil unintentional vanishing act

vlog #22 - a late night ramble

avsongbird vlog #21 challenging myself and upcoming events

avsongbird vlog #20- the state of things in the songbird nest

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHb1jopbRqY

Had a really rough day today but I didn't forget about you guys

Got some hard news this afternoon, and it's gonna a couple of days for me to process. I didn't want you guys to think I forgot about posting today, but I wanted to be honest with you about what happened, and where my head was. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLMjkYxXIcQ&feature=youtu.be

For those of you who want to write or vlog

            I'm not going to lie and say it's easy to record and post some of the things I post, especially the one vlog where I broke down and cried-- that one was especially hard. It was hard to film, hard to play back and even harder to post it, knowing others might see it. But I knew I had to do it, no matter how hard it was for me to do so at the time. I wanted people to see me as a human being, and to know how much it means to me that they allow me to share my work with them. I love the people I'm meeting who are getting back to me. It's the most incredible experience I've ever had. And human emotions aren't always safe, they aren't always bright and shiny and sparkly and politically correct. But they're real, they're normal, they're healthy.

If you want to write, you should. I still go back to pen and paper sometimes because I love the feeling of the pen in my hand, and when I need to keep up with my head, I go to the computer. And sometimes it's just typing whatever comes into your mind that kicks your brain into gear. Give it a shot! Because trust me, you never know what you're capable of coming up with until you do it! And you don't have to do it for anyone but you. Writing is the most amazing therapy, it really is. Even if no one else ever reads it, do it for your sake first! Make yourself laugh, make yourself cry, and rage. Let yourself vent. Let yourself FEEL. You'll feel much better afterwards, after you get through the drained part after going through the storm that comes along with it. Trust me, I've been through the wringer sometimes for the sake of a good story. And if you ever need support with it, you know where to find me :-)

avsongbird vlog #19 a very busy life, odd jobs, and lets play plans

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ndmgoXAOUY&feature=youtu.be

Thank you!

I wanted to take a moment to thank you guys, all of you who drop in to read my blogs, and those of you who are signing up to follow me on wordpress or by email, and those of you who are following the vlogs on my youtube. Not because I think I’m a big shot, but because you inspire me. The feedback and the interaction I’m getting from all of you inspires me in my writing and in the work I’m doing with the blogs and the youtube. Every day I find myself more and more driven to keep pushing myself to the next level, to keep improving the stories I share with you, and the videos I put out for you. I’m grateful for the fact that each and every one of you takes the time to stop by and to see what I’m working on. So sorry guys, no poem for today, no story, just a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for your time. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lwW4pcaiqY&feature=youtu.be

Picking up steam

           It feels really good to see the way everything is starting to fall into place in my life, now that I’m making a few changes in my habits and to my lifestyle in general. I stepped onto the scale this morning and found I’d dropped two more pounds over the course of the last week, bringing my weight loss over the course of the last month or so up to around 15 lbs, so, even with my sore legs, I’m excited to know I’m making progress with that.

            I woke up in a panic this morning, almost falling out of bed as I reached for my phone to check the time, and my husband watched me with bleary, “oh so not awake” eyes as I dashed for the bathroom, to shower.

            I had friends waiting on me. They’d seen the video I shared on my youtube the day before, of me running around being “oh so noob” at minecraft, and they’d invited me to play with them. And there I was, tripping over myself and muttering in my still-half asleep way that this was going to be one of those days where the coffee could never be strong enough.

            And I was already over an hour late.

            I hate to be late for anything. I always have. Growing up, my mother looked at being late as being one of the cardinal sins in life, so even the thought of being late for anything was pretty much understood to be out of the question.

So I texted off a quick “sorryshowercoffeeillbethere” to my friends, and I fell/stepped into the shower.

 The meeting went fine. Any nervous feeling I had dissipated quickly as the three of us ran around for an hour or so and had a blast just talking, laughing, running around killing monsters and just having a good time together.

I sat back for a moment when it was all over, staring at my screen and just thinking to myself, how a few months ago, if I hadn’t started my youtube— then further back still, that if I hadn’t started my blog, that led to me being asked to start a youtube—days like today, running around with my new friends and having so much fun wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t taken that one step.

A year ago, I never would have imagined I’d be sitting here now, juggling a youtube and a blog and vlogs, and well underway into my running training, racing towards that goal of getting back down to my ideal weight. It’s so many changes oh so quickly, and even the thought of how much has changed over the course of the last few months is enough to almost make my head spin.

It’s getting easier as time passes to juggle everything as I come to learn more about making videos and how to improve my content on my youtube and in my blogs, and with my running, every pound I lose means that much less weight I have to carry on those ten miles I go every day. And every day that passes, as I find myself shedding the skin I’d sunk into over the course of the last few years, I feel myself sinking back into myself again, becoming more and more myself again, and with each day, I feel more and more at peace with myself, with the world around me.

I can’t get over how good it all feels, making it happen and then sitting back to watch it all starting to come to bear. It’s a really good feeling. And sitting here now, a couple of months in and looking back, I know I’d never go back to the way things were before, when I was pretty much shut away from everything, where I hid myself and my work and the person I am away from the world in the belief that I couldn’t make a difference, and that people wouldn’t care or notice whether I was there or not.

It’s a really good feeling to know that your presence and your absence matters to people—to know that the things you do and the things you say make a difference to people. And I’m starting to realize that there are people in my life who do value me, even when I have nothing to offer them but myself.

And I have to admit—it’s a damned good feeling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYSwFm2pq90&feature=youtu.be

avsongbird vlog#18- the big project