We have an October Challenge coming up. I’m resurrecting the “Monthly Marathon” blog that’s been dormant for over two years. Here’s the link to read about it. I hope you’ll join the fun.

It’s not October quite yet, but I started today with my exercise. I’ve been on Weight Watchers for nine weeks now. I’ve stuck to the points systems, and I’ve lost 15 pounds - which is good, but I would like to do better. I haven’t really done great with exercising. I’m stressing to myself that I’m changing my lifestyle - NOT going on a diet. I’m working to learn how to respond to challenges and everyday life positively and not by over-eating. And I’m trying to be more active in general rather than going on a major exercise routine. I’m avoiding all the things I’ve done in the past that ended in failure.

And I THINK it’s working. I’m into the tenth week of this, and I’m not sure I’ve ever stuck to a plan such as this for this long before. I deliberately made a long-term goal. I’ve made a commitment to reach my goal weight by the end of this school year - the end of May 2009. I made a long-term goal so that I won’t be so discouraged by weekly fluctuations on the scale.

Anyway - anyone is welcome to join the October Challenge. Just click the link above and join in!

The season premiere of “The Biggest Loser: Families” was tonight. Read about the new teams - four husband/wife teams and four parent/child - and read a recap of the season premier and see a video here.

“The Biggest Loser” is one of my favorite shows, and I’m excited that the new season has started. Although RT makes fun of how the contestants cry all the time, I think the show is inspirational.

Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels, the professional trainers of “The Biggest Loser,” are ready to torture into shape a new set of contestants for the show’s premier on September 16th. This season has eight teams of two family members each - four husband/wife teams and four parent/child teams. Bob Harper is the trainer for the husband/wife teams, and Jillian Michaels will take on the parent/child teams. It’s “blood” vs. “true love” or “born into it” vs. “sworn into it.”

Alison Sweeney is the host again. I don’t know what Caroline Rhea is up to these days, but she’s been gone from “The Biggest Loser” for awhile now. The show has a new gym - a much larger one that is split down the middle with Bob having one side and Jillian the other.

I’m not the only one who loves the show. “The Biggest Loser” series is now produced in 25 countries now - and airs in over 90 countries. There are five “The Biggest Loser” books currently listed on the New York Times best-selling books. It is one of NBC’s top ranked shows.

First we’ll look at the married couples - Bob’s Group.

Vicky and Brady (the brown team) are from Houma, Louisiana and have two children. Their four-year old daughter is already weighs 63 pounds - outweighing her 7-year old brother. Vicky and Brady came in last in the first challenge and received a two pound penalty. So they were the last to weigh-in after the first week. They must have lost more than 31 pounds altogether to stay “above the yellow line.” Vicky started off at 246, and Brady started off at 341. Vicky lost 19 pounds and Brady lost 28 pounds. Their total percentage of weight loss was 7.67. So - even with the two pound penalty - they came in first place for the week.

Philip and Amy (the red team) are from Greenville, S.C. They have an autistic son. They’re real estate agents who work together. Amy gained her excess weight after her son was born. Taking care of him took up so much energy that she would just sit and eat in the evenings. Amy started off on “The Biggest Loser” at 229 pounds, and Phil started at 331 pounds. The first weigh-in Amy lost 16 pounds and Phil lost 23 pounds for a total of 39 pounds - and a percentage of 6.96.

Ed and Heba (the orange team) are newlyweds who hope to have children in a few years and don’t want to have them when they’re so overweight. Ed is a chef who runs a catering business - and ends up eating all day long. They started out with Heba weighing 294 and Ed weighing 335. First week, Heba lost 12 pounds and Ed lost 17 pounds - for a 4.61 percentage weight loss.

Adam and Stacey (the green team) are from Washington, D.C. and have been overweight their entire lives. They work together. They started off a little cocky on the show, though - sure that they’d win and acting a little dismissive of some of the other contestants. Adam: “We are stronger than any of the other teams. One of us WILL win. I can promise you that!” Stacey started off at 221 pounds, and Adam at 340 pounds. First weigh-in, Stacey lost 9 pounds and Adam lost 19 pounds for a total percentage weight loss of 4.99.

Now let’s look at the parent/child teams - Jillian Michael’s group:

Tom and LT (Little Tom) (the gray team) form a father/son team that came in as the heaviest team. They’re from Boston, Massachusetts, and they’re both cab drivers. Their entire family is overweight - father, mother, sister, brother, uncles - anywhere from 350 to 550 pounds. LT started off at 357 pounds, and Tom started off at 314 pounds. First weigh-in, LT lost 18 pounds, and Tom lost 24 pounds, for a total percentage loss of 6.26. That’s 42 pounds lost altogether in one week.

Amy and Shellay (the purple team) are a mother-daughter team. from Detroit, Michigan. Amy, the daughter, started off at 239 pounds, and Shellay, the mother, started off at 216 pounds. Amy lost 17 pounds for the first weigh-in, and Shellay lost 12 pounds for a total percentage of 6.37.

Michelle and Renee (the pink team) are mother and daughter from Dallas, Texas, and they’ve been estranged for six years. Renee is divorced from Michelle’s father, and the divorce left some scars for Michelle. When Renee left, she took Michelle’s sisters, but Michelle stayed with her dad. She said she ate to cover up the pain of her feelings of rejection. They are hoping to become closer through “The Biggest Loser” experience. Michelle started off at 242 lbs. and Renee started at 267. First weigh-in, Michelle lost 17 pounds, and Renee lost 14 pounds for a total percentage of 6.09.

Jerry and Colleen (the yellow team) is a father-daughter team from Cleveland, Ohio. Jerry is a police sergeant who has trouble even doing his job because of his weight. The team started out at a disadvantage because Jerry has so many physical problems that he can only exercise for 30 minutes each day. So on the first challenge Colleen had to run up a mountain by herself. However, she’s a go-getter, and she won the challenge which guaranteed them immunity for the first weigh-in. Starting weight: Collen - 218, Jerry - 380. At the first weigh-in Colleen lost 10 pounds and Jerrry lost 17 pounds

So the teams go through the first week’s weigh-in and the results put two teams “below the yellow line” - two married couples. Ed and Heba (the orange team) - Adam and Stacey (the green team). Adam and Stacey should go home because of their attitude. And they do. They were laughing at the “last chance workout” and gloating about how they felt they had it in the bag. Guess they didn’t. Buh-bye, Adam and Stacey.

At the end, they showed Adam and Stacey today. Today Stacey weighs 175 pounds, and Adam weighs 286 pounds. They both looked great in their “after” photos and talked about their goals for the finale in a few months.

All in all, a good premier. The biggest problem with “The Biggest Loser” is how long they draw out the weigh-ins. It must work for them, though, considering the success of the show. Come back each week for a recap of that week’s show.

See a video of “The Biggest Loser: Families” below.

Gianna Jessen was on Hannity and Colmes tonight. Gianna Jessen is the real thing. I actually have a connection with her, and I’ve met her in person. She has been in the news before on the abortion issue. I’ve got three videos for you. The first two are of a speech that she gave in Australia just a week ago. The third is of her appearance on Hannity and Colmes tonight. Is it just me, or was Colmes really obnoxious to her?

Gianna Jessen’s story comes down to the fact that it isn’t about a woman’s “right to choose.” When a woman “chooses” to have an abortion, there is no consideration for the baby’s choice. It is the killing of an innocent life. It is documented to be painful for the baby. Out of sight - out of mind. It’s not a women’s issue. Watch and listen to the video. The business of abortion is a major money maker. Making it part of the so-called women’s movement just masks what is really going on.

Sometimes I feel badly for people who are so indoctrinated with the leftist talking points that they can’t see the absolute moral corruption of their political beliefs. They talk about how horrible abortion is and how it’s such a difficult decision to make and how they want to make it so that there aren’t so many abortions - but then they say that it must be a personal decision, and they can’t legislate a woman’s personal choice. That’s simply bullshit. Apparently, however, that’s the only way they can try to justify to themselves supporting such an immoral practice.

The irrationality of the “pro-choice” folks always amuses me - especially vapid celebrities like Pamela Anderson. To them, since they can’t “see” unborn babies, the babies are only “fetuses.” They lack the ability to visualize the living, formed baby just a few inches beneath the surface.

Thanks for Darleen for this cartoon that perfectly depicts what an idiot Pamela Anderson is.

I saw the SNL skit on the news this morning, and so I went looking for the entire thing. Of course, it has to get in some jabs at Sarah Palin, but all in all, I think it’s pretty funny. It gets in a couple of good jabs at Hillary Clinton, too. Tina Fey portrays Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler portrays Hillary Clinton.

Last night I went to bed only to realize soon afterwards that I was sick. I spent most of the next few hours in and out of the bathroom going through one of the more unpleasant experiences known to mankind. I finally was able to go back to sleep and slept till five this morning. When I awoke, I still felt bad. So I decided it was a day to stay home from work.

Staying home from work is not a simple thing. After numerous emails and phone calls, I THINK I’ve got everything covered so that now - almost 8:00 A.M., I can finally go back to bed knowing that all my obligations for the day have been rescheduled, postponed or otherwise handled. Sigh! It really IS more work to not go to work than to be there - and if I felt I could make it through the day, I’d be there.

I think the illness is, in part, because of what a difficult and exhausting week it has been. I had to move from a large classroom into a tiny office. Although I have known for a month that this was likely and I had whittled down my belongings, when it came time to actually move, I realized I still had way too many materials to fit in my new room. Again, I had to give away and throw away enormous amount of “stuff.” Although the school system paid workers to come move the heavy stuff, the workers just stacked things up in my office. After they left, I had to unpack and then rearrange furniture to make the space workable. Just the physical work of moving heavy furniture around and picking up boxes was overwhelming.

In my office now I have my desk and a kidney-shaped table. There’s a bookshelf along one wall and two file cabinets along another wall. Right now I have two office chairs - one at my desk and one at the table. I’m going to get rid of one of the chairs, though, because they’re back to back. I can work at my desk and then when kids come for a reading group, I can just swing the chair around and move less than two feet and be ready to work with them at the table. That’ll be one less piece of furniture in there.

The saddest part of the move is that there is no window in the office. It is a little room off the library and there is no window. I mentioned having no window already, didn’t I? Sigh. My cell phone won’t work in there either - although I have a land line phone there, and the work order has been placed for a line for my computer and printer to be put in there . . . someday. Meanwhile, I go into the library to do any computer work I need to do.

So, I’m off to bed - to hopefully sleep undisturbed for a few hours.

Update: I slept till almost one P.M. Five additional hours of sleep. I’d say that being tired definitely had something to do with my feeling sick. I’m feeling better and will go to work tomorrow.

Update 9/10/08: It was announced today that Elizabeth Smart would appear on the Oprah show to talk about her kidnapping experience.

Originally posted on 6/12/08: I was at the grocery store awhile ago, and the current People magazine caught my eye. On the cover was a photo of Elizabeth Smart I don’t buy magazines off the stand very often, but I bought that magazine. Later, as I read the story, I was struck first by how mature and poised she is, and then by how beautiful she is.

Some quotes from Elizabeth Smart:

“I always knew that no matter what, I’d still be part of my family. They could change my name, change the way I look, starve me to death. But they couldn’t change that I am Ed and Lois Smart’s daughter. That was a very powerful thing to me.”

“It’s just not worth holding on to that kind of hate. It can ruin your life. Nine months of my life had been taken from me, and I wasn’t going to give them any more of my time.”

“Before, I was just your average Mormon girl. And since everything I’ve gone through, there’s been a lot of learning and growing. I’ve learned to listen and not jump to conclusions. I’m not sorry this happened to me anymore, because it made me grow up.”

“It is important to remember that just because something bad happens to you, it doesn’t mean you are bad. You are still entitled to every possible happiness in life.”

What impressed me most about Elizabeth Smart is that she has refused to be a “victim.” The first night she was home after her abduction, she insisted on sleeping in her own bed - the bed from which she had been abducted nine months earlier. She proved to others - and herself - that she would still be there in the morning. Many people would let that horrific experience scar them for life. They might move to get away from the bad memories and associations. Instead, Elizabeth has learned from it and resolved to make her life better. She has taken charge of her own life and has refused to let that experience define who she is. She is a brave and impressive young woman.

I just got off the phone from talking with my daughter. She had a funny story to tell me. This evening Sweet Stuff was talking about the presidential campaign - something they had discussed at school today in second grade. Apparently, they only had time to tallk about the Democratic side of the campaign today at school. I’m sure they will talk about the Republican side tomorrow. Anyway, my daughter asked Sweet Stuff which candidate she liked the best, and the answer was “Barack Obama.”

My daughter said that she and her husband both were floored, but wanted to be fair. So they calmly discussed the election and what Sweet Stuff knew about the candidates - they asked her what she thought about McCain. Sweet Stuff replied that Obama was the only one she knew what he looked like. She didn’t know anything about McCain.

So her mom and dad immediately got on the computer and showed her pictures of McCain - and Biden - and Palin. Sweet Stuff was intrigued with Track Palin - because he was going to serve in Iraq like her cousin Josh. To be fair, my daughter told her that Biden’s son was also going to serve in Iraq. Sweet Stuff - being 7-yeaers-old - wanted to know about the children in the families. Trig Palin won the day. Sweet Stuff has a friend who has special needs, and when she learned that Trig also had special needs, she immediately felt an affinity for him. Now she’s a McCain girl. Which only goes to show that more you know about the candidates, the more likely you’ll be for McCain-Palin.

To be on the safe side - we’ll keep lots of photos of McCain around.

All I can say is “WOW!” John McCain and Sarah Palin are in this to win! When John McCain finished his speech tonight, RT and I actually applauded. Here in our home by ourselves. “STAND UP!”

Here’s a brief excerpt from McCain’s speech:

Cindy McCain could very well be the next First Lady of the United States. See photos, her brief biography and a video of Cindy McCain below.

Cindy McCain

As I watched Cindy McCain speak at the Republican National Convention, I was impressed with her sincerity, her depth of character and her spirit of adventure. Her father started from scratch and was able to live the American dream and make his daughter a very wealthy woman. Rather than sit back and live the life of luxury, Cindy McCain has dedicated her life to doing what she can to ease life for people around the world who are struggling with overwhelming challenges.

Cindy McCain holding Trig Palin at the RNC

Cindy Lou Hensley was born on May 20, 1954, in Phoenix, Arizona to James and Marguerite “Smitty” Hensley. In 1955 James and Smitty sold all they had and scraped together $10,000 to start a beer distributororship which became the largest Anheuser-Busch beer distributorship in the United States.

John and Cindy McCain with daughter, Bridget

Today Cindy McCain is a businessperson and a philanthropist. She founded and ran the American Voluntary Medical Team from 1988 to 1995. The American Voluntary Medical Team organizes trips by doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to third-world areas around the world that are struck by disasters or war. Even as she is busy on the campaign trail, she still is active as a philanathropist and continues to serve on the boards of several charitable organizations.

Cindy McCain received a Bachelor of Arts in Education and a Masters degree in special education from the University of Southern California. While there, she participated in a movement therapy pilot program that paved the way for treatment for children with severe disabilities.

At first she declined working in the family business, and instead she began teaching - working with children with Down Syndrome and other disabilities.

Cindy McCain is a woman who has used her resources - both physical and monetary - to help people of all races and religions. She is the real deal.