They say that it takes 28 days to make or break a habit.


I'm here to tell you that it's true.


I'm here to TESTIFY!!!!!



For as long as I can remember, I've had a sweet tooth.

My little brother and I used to save our lunch money (sorry mom, it's true) and buy candy at Ed's Mini Mart on the way home from the bus stop every day--my earliest memories are in that tiny candy shop, buying the bite-size Laffy Taffy candies and Jolly Ranchers for 5 cents each.  (No, I did not grow up in the 1950s, this was back in the 80s, when a regular size Snickers bar wasn't $1.29).  We'd go home and play Mega Man III and eat our candy while trying to beat Snake Man.  Ah, those were the days...good ole original NES.

Unfortunately, sweets were not reserved for a special occasion, they were a part of everyday life.  I have the cavities and the overweight pictures to prove it.  I ate way too much sweets...candy, cookies, anything I could get my hands on.  It certainly tasted better than vegetables!

Then, in the latter half of high school, I discovered that I could control my weight directly with the amount of food I ate--kind of like how people shrivel up on Survivor, except by choice.  This was not a great time in my life...it was the ultimate control-freak rearing its ugly head.  I made a lot of people miserable during that time with my neurotic desire to be in control of my weight.   It was only compounded by the fact that I was working my first official job at a local bakery, and spent the summer there 8 hours a day surrounded by sugar, sugar, cookies, sugar, donuts, and more sugar.  OH, and I was allowed to eat whatever I wanted while I was there.  Holy cow, that was a rough year.  I'm pretty sure my mom cried through half of it...(sorry, mom!)

I was pretty healthy in college, and I exercised a lot...yay.  I still ate sweets, but I ran a lot, so it seemed to even out.  Plus, I was young...oh, so young and spry.  During my swimming class, we measured or BMI (body mass index).  At the end of my freshman year of college I was at 6% body fat--I think olympians are about 3%...yeah, I was hot and I didn't even know it.  I was so young and naive.


Then after moving to San Diego, I started indulging those sweet-tooth cravings again and with the birth of children and a full-time job to which I was compelled to be wholly committed, exercise and health took a back seat. 

Fast forward ten years (goodness, I did not mean for this to turn in to my life story...) and desserts are still a big part of life.  Day in and day out, after most every meal, I craved dessert.  I was definitely addicted.

It wasn't until what I like to call "The Great Candy Gorge of Easter, Aught-Nine" that I realized that I HAD to make a life change.


So I stopped.


I just...STOPPED.

No dessert for four weeks straight.  Not one bite...not one nibble..cause that's how I have to do it, folks.  All or nothing.  The years of "trying" for moderation are over.  For addictions, there is no such place to be found. 

And after a month of being without, I didn't want it anymore.  It's true--28 days and the habit was GONE.  Even after years, and years, and years, of being addicted to sugar--all it took was 28 days of being dessert-free to break the habit.


If you're counting, Easter was a lot longer than 28 days ago...and I've kept up the no-dessert habit since.  I've had dessert once or twice on special occasions, but nothing regular.  99% of the time, I'm dessert-free.

And you know what?  It feels great.  I've never had more consistant energy or stamina than before now.  I don't have blood-sugar spikes and crashes...nooooo sirrrreeee.  My body feels great and I feel healthier than I have in a long time!


So...
All this to say...

You can do it.

Whatever lifestyle change you want to make for yourself, just GO.  Don't wait for the motivation, just do it and stick to it for 28 days.  You'll kick the habit.  It works. 


Can I get a witness?

I'm sure you've heard by now that Michael Jackson died yesterday of cardiac arrest.

In fact, I'm fairly certain you know already, because a good portion of the world knew within 30 minutes of the event.  Christy and I had a cup of coffee and checked our Twitter and Facebook accounts right around 3:30pm, and the world was a BUZZING about it all. By the time I tweeted and facebooked it, I had already read it from dozens of my FB friends. 

Amazing.

We're talking about mere MINUTES after he died (he was pronounced dead at 3:15pm PST, I think)--the whole world knew--well, at least those connected to the most popular social networking sites.

But let's not forget the network news stations...oh wait...we can...because most of them didn't cover the story until a couple of hours after the fact--at least on the west coast (which was an eternity later).  And although we all were watching the 5 o'clock news to hear more of the story, by then it was old news. The world is just moving faster than that.
Hopefully you're jumping on board, if you haven't already.


OK--enough of that...onto MJ.


Hmm...

Unfortunately, for folks around my age or younger, the only thing we really can remember about Michael Jackson is his reputation in the 90's, which wasn't great. 

I'm hanging around with some older folks this weekend (heeheehee) who are all fans of MJ because they are old enough to remember the MJ of the 80's--the HUGE pop star he was during that time...the time of BAD, and BEAT IT, and THRILLER, and BILLY JEAN, and so on, and so forth...

But not me. I only know of MJ from the 90's...the strange era of his life.  The child molestation accusations, the trials, the weird plastic surgery allogations...you know, the "Whacko Jacko" era. 

Sadly, I understand the loss of the King of Pop for what it is, but it is not as emotional for me.  I appreciate the event for its global magnitude, and I understand the fact that he was one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but I'm not devastated by it.  I guess I was just born a little too late for this one...


...or maybe my heart is just an emotional meat locker.







Next on Daniel's blog..."The Proposal".

...equals a cluttered mind?

My current computer desktop...

...but I'm sure you've already heard alllll about it, dear readers (all seven of you).


BUT THEN I SAW THIS:




Heaven help us.


And a snake in your crotch, Adam? Really?!

REALLY?!?!





I wish Danny Gokey would have won (or, at least come in second).






Well, back to the iPhone. I'm not getting a new one because for me it would cost $399.00 to upgrade (like all other current iPhone 3G owners) and I'll be able to download the 3.0 update like everyone else in the world, so I have no reason to upgrade right now.  Not to mention, I don't have an extra 400 smackers just lying around that I need to burn...hardly.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!?!?!

GO GET IT!

Saw a few movies this weekend. Here's the scoop:


Night at the Museum 2: Battle for the Smithsonian



I like it a lot. There were some fantastically funny parts, and it is a GREAT family movie. Maybe I liked it more because my 7 year-old was sitting next to me laughing his heart out, or maybe it was just funny. I don't know--but I LIKED it. Hank Azaria stole the show as the Pharaoh-bad-guy-Kamunrah or whatever. He is hilarious!! I highly recommend it...good for all ages.




Terminator: Salvation



I'm trying to figure this one out all the way...but this movie kinda stunk. It has all the special effects you need (plus some more) and a great franchise behind it, but what do we need, people? What MUST be good for a movie to be a winner?? PLOT, PLOT, PLOT!! If the script stinks, the movie stinks. No amount of special effects or great actors can pull you out of a poorly written script.
Bummer, cause I liked the first 3 movies A LOT.





Then Mike came over and we watched TAKEN on DVD.


A complete surprise.  This movie came out of NOWHERE and earned somewhere around $145 million at the box office...and has received stellar reviews.
And you know what?
IT'S AWESOME.

It's PG-13, so it doesn't have the gore of an R rating...and all the ingredients are there for a fantastic "Bourne Identity"-type thriller/action movie.  And Liam Neeson brought all the KickButtJackBauerness that was necessary for this secret-agent-dad-on-a-manhunt role.  In fact, if Keifer is arrested (again) and thrown into the slammer, Liam should replace him at CTU...hmmmm...

I loved it. 



Coming soon?
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