Welcome to the Twilight Zone...

This happened about two weeks ago and I've been trying to remember to post about it ever since! So, let me entertain you with a tale of my little trip into the twilight zone. I try to leave my house in the morning with enough time so that I have time to get to the break room for my work-which is located in a different part of the mall than the store I work in so I can drop off my lunch and various items. It doesn't always work out with enough time(the snooze alarm is NOT your friend!!), but on this particular day the timing (and traffic) was good. I usually park on the fourth level and make my way down to the 2nd level in various different ways. This particular day I decided to walk down a short flight of stairs to the third level of the mall (where the food court and all is) and take the elevator down to the second. I hit the button a few times, but it was taking forever to come. I could see from the reflection across the way that they were all just sitting on the second level, but not moving, no matter how many times I hit the button. Seeing as I had enough time I decided to just make my way around to the escalator instead. As I walk around to it, I look over to the bank of elevators and as I step on to the escalator I realize that not only are they all on the second floor, but that they seem to have a few people stuck in the middle one. This is where the twilight zone kicks in...there are two people stuck in the elevator and one of them looked SO much like me from 8 months ago that I literally was dumbstruck. The girl had short hair, was wearing a red fleece type shirt (like our store's holiday colors), and jeans...and was about the size I was about 8 months ago. I couldn't stop looking at her. I really feel like I was looking into some sort of time vortex mirror from what I used to look like. I was so distracted that I had reached the bottom of the escalator and almost fell, but just ended up making my foot come out of the heel of my shoe. Anybody watching me probably would have laughed. Anyways. I really don't know what all this means, if anything...by the time I got back around from going to the break room the elevator was working again and she was long gone, so I never got a fantastic look at her. But seriously, from afar-it was me. Overall the incident has given me extra incentive to keep going down the weight loss track that I have started on. It seems to be taking SO long sometimes, and then at other times-it's just flown by. Most of all I'm just trying to stay motivated, keep making good choices, and keep putting myself and my health first. It was weird, but it made me think..and appreciate the work I've done so far.

Happy New Year..and deep thoughts...and mucus...

I find myself waxing philosophical these days. That tends to happen when I'm not feeling well and man have I NOT been feeling well. I got a pretty bad cold towards the middle of doing Jekyll and Hyde, in fact it developed into bronchitis and laryngitis (the singer's worst nightmare) but my doctor put me on the z-pak and it cleared it right up. Fast forward about a month later and on January 2nd I sneezed at 8:13am EST..and it all started up again! (and I'm only slightly dramatic). That one sneeze opened up the doorway to a full blown sinus infection/fever/cold/plague that sent me home early on Tuesday and out of work on Wednesday and to the doctor..again. I used to be a hypochondriac as a child so I really try not to go to the doctor anymore. It really burns me up that I have had to go twice in the last two months! Good thing I have good insurance. He put me on amoxicillin and suggested decongestants as well. It's really miserable not being able to breathe through both nostrils at the same time.

Anyways, while laying around yesterday feeling sorry for myself I started to think about life..and love. Almost four years ago now I took a class on the life and works of C.S. Lewis. I got to travel to England and walk where he walked and study his words in detail. I, being my typical self, procrastinated reading the material of course, and had to read a lot of it on the plane ride over..and I find now that I want to re-read it and really appreciate it. He wrote in "The Four Loves": “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.” I really appreciate this and wanted to share it with you. Something to think about as we start a new year..don't let yourself be locked away, holding your love to yourself. You have to step out there...be vulnerable..be willing to share. It's the only way to truly live...in my opinion at least.