So I worked my butt off yesteday then ran to a meeting from 2:30 to 3:30. I only got to sit in on half of it and promptly at 3:30 I left to come home so I could eat and take a breath before class at 4. I walked in and Jax had made "Happy Valentine's Day" signs and cut out hearts and taped them all over the living room. It was really cute. She also had a very early supper sitting for me on the table, still warm and covered in tin foil. It was a nice piece of BBQ'd chicken, corn, and this pasta salad we all love. So I ate as much of that as I could, sipped on some diet coke and off again I went. I was a few minutes late to class but it was no biggie.

So you are already exhausted, ragged from running from place to place and now you have to sit through a 3 HOUR lecture on Algebra and how to graph equations. Sound like fun? Why no, it's not. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to do anything but be sitting there. But that's what I signed up for. If you are going to accomplish anything in life you have to do the work. So I was there doing the work, tired ragged body and all.

I came home and immediately took off my dress pants and put on flannel pants. I finished my uneaten supper from earlier, turned on "American Idol" and that was pretty much all she wrote. The rest of the night I relaxed and didn't do much. I went to sleep WAY too late last night but at least I got to get up at 5:30 this morning and not 4:30! We're making some progress!

So I didn't have much of a Valentine's Day in the way of celebrating it but it was perfectly okay. I didn't need $100 flowers or a box of chocolates the size of my ass (that's a BIG box folks) to know that there are people who love me. Hallmark thinks you do but screw them. All I needed was a great big hug, a big kiss and a tight squeeze and the words "I love you mommy" and I was good to go. It didn't cost $100 and it was from the heart. So take THAT Hallmark! *flips the bird*

Working out is going great. I missed yesterday but I knew I would. I'll start back in tonight. I don't wanna be the "fat chick" anymore so I'm doing something about that. Yes I will be a fat chick for a while because I can't lose 20 pounds and look amazing. It's an uphill battle and I know that and finally, I'm ready to put in the work for it. So go me!

I look at how busy my life is now with everything going on and I can't believe it. Only a few years ago I was living in a dark world where I thought that nothing would ever change. I'd live in the same house, working the same job, wearing the same flannel pants and pony tail where I would make the same amount of money for the rest of my life. And I came to a place where I had accepted it. I mean I was making decent money, enough for a single mom to get by on and not have to sacrifice everything to make ends meet. And then I thought back to all of those times I did nothing, where I basically laid in bed or sat on the couch and watched TV or sat online 24/7 just to get me from one day to the next and realized how much time I had lost. I had given up. I had decided this would be my life, every miserable minute of it. Pathetic huh? It seems this way now but at the time it was my reality.

Then about 9 months ago with a little help, okay a LOT of help from a friend I decided that what my life had become was not good enough. That I deserved way better than that for myself but the only person who could make that happen was ME. And we all know the rest of the story. So I am living proof you can change your life, work towards accomplishing a life changing goal and succeed. You just have to have alot of creativity, be willing to overstretch yourself and your comfort zone. You have to get by on less sleep and watch less TV. You have to be willing to put in the work. But I guarantee it will be worth it.

Hell I've even cut my diet coke consumption CONSIDERABLY. I mean I only have like 1-2 cans a day. Can you believe that shit? If I can do that I can conquer the world man. College schmollege, I'm almost off the diet coke! Now my brain won't rot and kill me ! I still allow myself one in the morning and maybe one in the aftenoon but that's it. Then it's water for me. I can't even tell you how much better I sleep at night. The quantity of sleep hasn't changed but the quality has. And that makes me happy.

So belated Happy Valentine's Day to everyone out there. Hope your day was filled with love and laughter and everything else to make you happy. If you got overpriced flowers congratulations. But it's all about the hugs and kisses and they are free.

But if you got a huge box of chocolates the size of my ass you are one lucky bitch!