I DID IT!

Hi Everyone! I'm here to tell you today how much I love my job and how filled with gratitude I am that my health has returned!

Yesterday I decided to try my oldest Goodwill find on....When I purchased these jeans, I'd noticed they had no give, no stretch fabric in them. Just good old fashioned denim. I remember thinking, "when you get into these pants, it will be the real size, it will take a while to get there Val."

Well, yesterday I got them over my hips! I thought, "NO WAY!" When I was a size 24+ I never thought I could lose this much weight. Now at nearly 70 lbs lost, I lay on my bed, buttoned those jeans and swiftly zipped them up! WOW! I did it! In about a week they will fit just perfect! Holy Cow! Is this even possible?

The best part of losing the weight is that I'm not in pain anymore. My joints aren't screaming for relief! I can take stairs two at a time. The most significant thing is, my edema is all but gone and my liver doesn't pain me in the middle of the night when I roll over any more. Just the memory of that pain keeps me moving forward. I pray each time I eat that I can continue to lose and get to my goal and be healthy. I ask for Fathers help in this, because I know I can't do this without his help.

I also pray that I can continue to help others do the same thing I"m doing. I'm sincere in my efforts to help them and I can't tell you what a blessing it is to be there for them.

Life is such a blessing these days. I used to do my best to help others. Now, I can physically help myself and my family. No more being an invalid. I've gotten a second chance at life and I"m embracing it with all my heart and spirit.

How am I doing this? Well, I'm a practitioner for Doc Stimulus Drops--homeopathic HCG drops! I help others do what I am doing. I help men and women lose weight every day with the aid of the drops and a low calorie diet. I know how it's done first hand. I feel what you're feeling each day. I love cheering others onto their personal goals. Send me a note if this is something you're ready for and I'll help you too! Invest in your health and in your future. The main thing is to be kind to yourself and continue to have hope and belief in that silver lining! I'll be there every stop of the way helping whenever I"m needed.

Look for my new website. It's being built and I'll post here when the grand unveiling will be. I'm so excited! Have a fantastic day everyone!

PS....Earn a free bottle of HCG by coming up with a new website name for me! here are some insight: It will be a place of healing, natural medicine and supplements, recipe's , inspirational creative writing , nutrition information, tips for staying on and being successful on a HCG diet, Tools for success and wellness, organic gardening and more.

Hope you all have a wonderful day. Never give up on your dreams and your goals--there is always a way. You can do hard things too. We all can!

Happy "Fat Loss" Dance!

I just have a minute to write something real quick! I am doing the happy "fat loss" dance this morning! I stepped on the scale and realized that I'd lost 10 lbs since starting the HCG protocol! How in the world is this working? It's amazing! It hasn't been easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it has certainly been worth it!

I have so much more to go. At some point I'll have to come clean about how much I weighed before I started. It's hard to even imagine it myself. I have always had such a good self image despite the weight, so I don't think of myself as weighing that much. When I see photo's of myself, I'm shocked--because I don't think of myself that way. Does that make sense? Oh boy! I'm sharing a lot today.

I think that by being grateful to be alive and living life the best I could when I was so ill, made me focus on my spirit more. I know that our Savior loves me and is mindful of my struggles. How I love Him!

I've had to reach outside this big shell and find joy in my life despite my pain and suffering. It has been something I strive for daily. I've tried to learn from these experiences so I can help others. It's hard and sometimes lonely. But, every season in life brings such blessings.

I'm looking forward to spreading my wings and soaring! After just 10 lbs lost, I feel so much better! So much healthier! I am ready to keep going now! I won't give up!

Pardon me while I go and eat my half a cup of Cheerios and half a cup of milk for breakfast! YUM!

For all of you on the HCG diet, keep going! You can do it if I can do it too!

I start walking today! Yeah, if you live in my neck of the woods and you see a fluffy red faced red headed woman struggling to get up that hill, please cheer her on!

Polished Marble of the Highest Grade....

This week is one of the most informative times in my life. I have been to so many specialists and have had my eyes opened about my previous medical care. It has been a successful week. I now have the care I've needed for years, and doctors who don't give up until they have answers! This week I get a proper diagnosis--one I have waited for 15 years to hear. I am full of gratitude to both my Savior and intelligent men and women who are both compassionate and good listeners. I have never found all of these things in a doctor. Now I have.

Anyway, it was nice to spend so much time with my husband too. We spent three days together. Which with him working two jobs would have been an impossible feat. He really is a great guy and my very best friend. When I told him that I could have a friend go with me, he said, "Your well being is my responsibility and I need answers as much as you do Val." Often I'm reminded why I fell in love with him in the first place. This was one of those weeks.

I was amazed at the feeling we both shared as we walked into the Mayo Clinic. The entrance was polished marble of the finest grade. The ceilings were so high and as I looked around feeling overwhelmed a greeter came up to me and asked if it was my first visit to the Mayo Clinic. She was an older woman with soft white curls that framed her face and bright blue eyes that creased at the corners. Those eyes were filled with compassion as I told her that it was my first time as a patient. She grabbed me by the arm and led me gently to the front of the line and to a special desk for new patients.

I was greeted again by a younger woman who asked for my information and welcomed me. I was handed a packet of pages. Each page was filled with appointments for the next four days...

I turned the booklet over and there were several pages of explanations of tests I would be having. It was more information than I'd ever been given before to date. I had to smile to myself. I knew in those minutes that I was at the right place at the right time. I was going to see the right doc....finally!

When I arrived at my appointment, my doctor realized before I did that my family doctor had sent me to the wrong doctor! It was a kick in the gut to say the least. I almost panicked! But the kindly doctor with the Polish accent patted my hand and told me that I have beautiful veins and that I looked so much younger than I really was! Ha! He made my day! He also said that he was going to make sure that I received the care I needed that week and he would continue to be my head doctor and his assistant would organize every appointment personally. I trusted him immediately. It was a blessing indeed.

My whole stay at the Mayo last week was amazing and very revealing. The spirit of the place was a comfort and healing to both my body and my spirit.

Tomorrow I get my diagnosis for whatever ails me. Stay tuned for my good news! Bless you all for your prayers and good thoughts. I'm finally allowing myself to get excited about being well again. It's a great feeling!

Gratitude Inspires Happiness

I'll never forget hearing a talk given by a very well spoken three year old. She was a tiny little thing with big brown eyes. She stood on a stool in sacrament meeting, with her mom at her side and told us the true meaning of gratitude. As she pronounced the word, the consonant-- letter T was emphasized. It was not only an adorable talk, but it was memorable due to the content. It was also not just a memorized speech, you could feel the spirit with each sentence this precious little girl spoke. Her eye contact was penetrating and her voice filled with conviction. By the end of the talk, all of us felt gratitude in our hearts for our Savior, Jesus Christ and our loved ones. It was an amazing moment in time for our congregation.

Bonnie D. Parkin, once said, "When we communicate gratitude, we can be filled with the Spirit and connected to those around us and the Lord. Gratitude inspires happiness and carries divine
influence." I have found these words to be so true in my own life. I have often been inspired to be kinder, gentler and more appreciative as I show gratitude towards those around me. The spirit fills me many times over as I put this into action. Just by being grateful I change not only my demeanor, but the people who surround me begin to communicate better and pass on what they have learned as well.

Now, as I hear the word gratitude I'm filled with familiar spiritual feelings. I have become spiritually aware due to the influence of the spirit I had once so many years ago.

I've found that gratitude is a spirit-filled word. Once aware of this your heart fills quickly with the knowledge of its blessings. I can now find Gods love in the smallest things.

Today as I was fishing with my son, I watched the lake who's surface was covered with two feet of ice a month ago--now had given way to a late spring thaw. The fish were eager to bite our bait and we enjoyed the blessings of nature and spending time as mother and son.

I saw a musk rat swim back and forth gathering nesting materials for his new family home. Red winged black birds, were doing their mating dance oblivious to all who watched. The far edge of the lake shimmered with ice crystals as the seagulls swept in to pick up dead fish littering the surf. Life was happening all around us as we felt the gentle cast of a worm and heard the subsequent plop of a bobber hitting the surface. The ripples multiplied tenfold on the glassy surface--then all was still.

If we can all cause ripples to flow out from ourselves in positive ways-- filled with gratitude for our blessings, those ripples will be long lasting in many peoples lives.

I'm so grateful for the rich blessings in my own personal life. I know that each of you must feel some amount of gratitude for your own blessings or for people in your lives whom you love. Try telling them how grateful you are for them today. I bet your words will mean so much to them as they think about what meant the most to them about their day.

If a brown eyed three year old standing on a stool, can speak to a single congregation and make a difference, you can share your gratitude and inspire happiness in other peoples lives too.