The only way I know to start is to jump right in

Hi everyone,

I have probably blogged more than my fair share of times about eating better, getting in shape, being healthier, etc. But I am happy to report that I have officially taken a significant first step to doing all of that: I joined Weight Watchers. I started tracking my food on Saturday, but won't be going to my first meeting until today after work. I will add an update after the meeting of my starting stats and the goals I've set for myself.

Also on Saturday, I kicked off this whole getting healthier thing by doing a 5k with Jennings. It was the Mayor's 5k Run/Walk to help support the Tuscaloosa Pre-K Initiative. Here are some of our fellow runners from his work:

Overall it was a good experience. It is the second 5k I have done, but I didn't "train" or "prepare" for either one of them. My only expectations for both of these races was to just do them and run the parts that I felt I could, which is what I did. I think that if I set some goals for myself, then maybe the next 5k I do will have an even better outcome.

The reason I am blogging about all of this is that I have followed several blogs in the last year of people I know (and those that I don't know in person) who have lost weight on various diet and exercise plans. All of them were successful and part of that is because their blogging made them more accountable for their whole process. I am hoping to do that here. Going to Weight Watchers meetings and putting myself out there is a really big thing for me, but I know I have to try something different if I really want this to be a success.

So I guess above will be my "before" picture, and we'll see what happens to the "after..."

*UPDATE*
Official weigh-in: 162 pounds
Goal weight: 120 pounds
Pounds to lose: 42
Tentative weight loss goal deadline: 21 weeks (September 24)

So i'm totally freaked out that I put this on here, all out in the internet and all, but there it is. I may even investigate one of those tracker thingies....

Thoughts on the day...

...that changed everything.

One year ago today an EF-5 tornado burst through Tuscaloosa. I have very mixed emotions about dredging up the past, but I felt obligated to mark this day somehow. So many things have happened in a year, and yet in some ways not enough has happened.

So I decided to take a trip to my old neighborhood, Forest Lake, and do a one year later video of where Jennings and I used to live.


At this point, I am really trying to focus on the future and on the positive things. For one, if the tornado never came, we never would have found our cat, Penny, who we love very much. For two, Jennings and everyone we know is safe and ok. That's all we could ask for.

Alabama Immigration law

I had to go to the DMV today to get my license renewed, and fortunately it was a much more pleasant experience than when I had to get my vehicle tags renewed. At the time, the state has just begin to enforce the new immigration law that requires anyone who applies for a license of any kind to provide proof of citizenship via approved documents or social security number. Everyone in line was freaking out because it was taking too much time to process. I even had to call and get Jennings' social security number because his name is listed on my vehicle title. Everyone was griping and complaining, and in that moment, I looked at those people and thought, "Well this is what you wanted."

Well it has been a few months since the law was enacted, and as per usual, proponents of the law and critics of the law are doing battle on what the impact of the law will really be, especially in terms of economics. Recently the Center for Business and Economic Research at UA published a cost-benefit analysis for the law, and all the supporters of the bill are not having any of it.

One of the main findings of the study is a very general and practical point, "Economies are demand-driven and so any policy, regulation, law, or action that reduces demand will shrink the economy no matter how well-intentioned."

But, of course, this is what the legislators have to say about it:


"That's baloney," state Rep. Micky Hammon, R-Decatur, immigration bill cosponsor, told the Huntsville Times. "It's clear the study overestimates the negative and underestimates the positive to skew the result toward an agenda," Hammon said. "If 40,000 illegal workers leave the state, they free up jobs that homegrown Alabamians are happy to have."

Do they not think these folks get paid big bucks to do this all the time? Why would their conclusions be erroneous, simply because you think the law is such a great idea?

It just irritates me that things like this are the predominant images of Alabama. People around the country stereotype us as low country, down home, good old boys who are racist, sexist, and poor. In some ways, I can see why they would think that, when so many of the decisions that our state government makes end up looking so backward-thinking.

This American Life did a great piece on this topic. Even Gerald Dial, one of the senators who helped passed the law, said he regretted passing such a widely-reaching law. But he only means that for foreign companies who are looking to invest in the state.

I am the kind of person who believes in the little guy, and in this case, the little guy is the Latino person who lives next to you or goes to your school or you see in the store. All of them, even the legal ones, are being targeted in this law, and I think that is the wrong way to deal with this issue.

::steps off soapbox::

James Spann made me cry

So for those of you who live in Alabama, the name James Spann needs no explanation. Although he is merely a weather man, he has emerged in the last several years to be a celebrity of sorts. In part, it has to do with his demeanor and his enthusiasm for meteorology. But for another part, it has to do with how he has become synonymous with severe weather. He is a trusted source for the weather in our state, and I haven't met s single person who doesn't think of him as a trustworthy beacon of knowledge on the topic. In fact, the man is so popular that he actually has more Facebook friends AND Twitter followers than Diane Sawyer. But with all glowing remarks aside, James Spann is actually a person, and today, he made me cry.

I went to a monthly luncheon of my professional organization for my job, PRCA, and he was the guest speaker. Since he is from the Tuscaloosa area and since the April 27 tornado was such a big part of this community, most of his remarks were naturally about that day and his part in it. He talked about the warning systems and how he spent hours on end trying to answer tweets and Facebook posts, because he knew that not everyone watches the TV, or has access to TV, and he felt as though if he could reach out to as many people as possible, perhaps those people who didn't know could be warned and taken to a safe place. Still and all, there ended up being 252 deaths - 41 of them in my city alone. And that is too many. He talked about how the antiquated tornado siren system does not work, and that everyone needs to rethink how they get weather alerts.

But then he also talked about the damage itself. He showed clips from the live broadcast of that day. Our power went out right at when they showed the trunk of the storm over Central High School. Today was the first time I actually saw where the tornado hit my house. In many ways, I have avoided seeing that footage. It almost as if I didn't see it, then it didn't really happen. It didn't really do all the horrible things that it did. But I know that I can't run away from that experience. When he switched to the aerial shots of Forest Lake from the next day, and I saw my old house crumpled in a pile of other houses that were indistinguishable from piles of lumber, I started to tear up.

It has been a while since I have really thought about the tornado. In fact, when someone mentioned we were nearing a one-year anniversary in just three months, I was taken aback. I cannot believe so much time has passed, and yet in some places in Tuscaloosa, it looks as though it happened yesterday. Fortunately, my family has been able to relocate and start over, but I know there are many that still have not be able to. And that makes me sad.


I guess I cried out of sadness.
I guess I cried out of anger.
I guess I cried because I didn't know how else to feel.


That storm changed so many things. And as much as I'd like to admit that I am over it, I think that it will still come back and get me like it did today.

But this is what I have learned.

People are important above any material thing.
Relationships require healing, just like physical wounds.
Life is a fragile and strange thing.
You think you have it figured out, and then all of a sudden you feel like you don't know a thing in the world.

New Year....Same Me?

So here it is again, another new year. I am usually bitten by the "new year's resolution bug," but for some reason this year's transition from 2011 to 2012 was a little anticlimactic and I am still feeling the way I did before the holidays.

The only thing I can say about 2011 is that it was a tough year for me, and in many ways I am glad to close that chapter. I lost my grandfather to cancer, I lost a house in a tornado, and had many set-backs in between. But...ever the optimist, I am trying to see the good things in life. So here is a Top 10 of sorts of GOOD things from 2011 (in no particular order):

1. I started a new job as communications specialist in the Dean's Office for the College of Arts and Sciences at UA.
2. We adopted our cat Penny, who is my very own fur baby bundle of lovey-ness.
3. I went to the Hangout Fest in Gulf Shores and had a blast!
4. I got to reconnect with my aunts and cousins at the beach - I've really missed them in my life.
5. Got to enjoy an annual girls weekend with two of my favorite friends (Can't wait for the next one!)
6. Moved into a bigger, nicer house that I have really enjoyed so far.
7. Celebrated 9 years of being in a relationship with Jennings, and 4 years of marriage.
8. I got to go to not one, but TWO Auburn football games - War Eagle!
9. Completed my first ever 5k race.
10. Moved up to the rank of green belt in karate

 Here's to hoping that 2012 holds more positives than negatives!

December already? LORDY

Needless to say, life has been a little hectic. Work has kept me pretty busy, and now we are all scrambling to get things finished before the end of the year. Some good news to report:


Penny, our cat, is doing great! She has become a big part of our lives. She is also very cuddly:

In October, Jennings and I did our third year with Pink Box Burlesque's Rocky Horror Picture Show Masquerade Ball, and had a blast. We got special "Head Transylvanian" badges because we're so cool. It's been more than a month since the show, and I still find myself getting the songs and callbacks stuck in my head! Also, if you want to learn more about PBB and what they do, go here. They are a fun and talented group!

In November, my sister got engaged. You can read all about it in her fancy blog - which is actually a scrapbooking blog, so you should check it out for that kind of fancy information also. Later in the month we had a fun surprise and got to go to the Iron Bowl, courtesy of our awesome friends the Cosgroves. And although my team did not come out as the victor, it was still a great experience:

So now here we are, and it is December. Who knows what the last few weeks of the year will hold for us!

The "American" Way

Those of you who know me, know that I shy away from speaking my views about politically sensitive issues because I am often unable to get my viewpoint across without appearing too emotional or weak. Perhaps it is time that I become someone with a louder voice, because today I am saddened at the swift and sudden change in our state.


An Alabama federal judge upheld many of the provisions in HB-56, the state bill on immigration that was modeled after the infamous Arizona immigration law. The Arizona law was later blocked by their state supreme court. In Alabama, the new law went into effect this week.

I was already opposed to many parts of the law, but the one that struck me as the most evasive was the provision about requiring schools to report the immigration status of their students to the state. The law is written in such a way that legally, there can be no action taken by the state based on this information. But, true to form, people were not waiting around to find out what would really happen:

AP - Hispanic Students vanish from Alabama schools

I am most saddened that America is becoming a culture of fear. Instead of looking for a solution to the immigration "problem" all people want to do is pass the buck. Hasn't history shown that education is a means to getting people out of poverty, increasing the skilled workforce, and ultimately creating better communities? I do not pretend to have an answer for how to solve the immigration issue. But I do think it is ironic that a nation of immigrants (except for those American Indians in my audience) is now turning its back on immigrants who would become U.S. citizens if they were only given the chance. They come here to work, to support their families, and to have a good life, just like so many people have done throughout our history. I have even poll numbers that say immigrants would be willing to pay taxes even if they weren't considered citizens. So why are we doing this? Like I said, it is all about fear. And as for immigration itself, I think most people are misinformed about what it does to our economy:




So I don't know what I am really trying to say, except that I am tired of my state leading the way in ignorance.