Tonight I had a bit of a wallowing pity party. We have had it pretty tough lately, and I guess it all hit me at once - the scraping by with money, not having any time to accomplish what I want, not getting to do my hobbies (things I actually want to do), etc. Our situation is not easy right now by any means.

After I had a bit of a sob session while my husband tried to make me feel better, I decided to watch a favorite movie of mine. I hadn’t thought about it when I put the film on, but this is a fantastic film to make you appreciate what you’ve been given. The film stars Julianne Moore as Evelyn Ryan, a 1950s housewife with a drunk husband and 10 children. Her husband is constantly miserable and drowns his sorrows in alcohol which is purchased with the little money he manages to make. The family has to scramble and beg to pay their bills, the pleasant task of which always seems to land on Mrs. Ryan. The only thing that keeps the family afloat is their mothers’ gift when it comes to contesting. Back in the day, large companies would hold contests for their consumers to make up ads, songs, tag lines, and much more and in return they could win fantastic prizes. Luckily for the Ryan family, their mother happens to be one of the best advertising minds of the time and wins large prizes all the time. The items that they need seem to appear just in the nick of time and any other items get sold to help pay their mounting bills.

The culmination of the story truly hits home near the end when Mrs. Ryan learns that her husband has taken a second mortgage out on the house that she paid for with her contest winnings. The family is told they have to pay back $4,000 in a few weeks of their house will be repossessed. Naturally, Mr. Ryan has spent all of the money and can do nothing but rely on his wife that she will have a large contest prize come in soon. Just when the family is packing up the house to leave, Mrs. Ryan receives a phone call telling her that she won a prize that included enough cash and a vacation (that would be cashed in for the money) to pay the mortgage and save their house. 

Now, I know I have money troubles and at times I despair and feel like my problems will never end; but watching this film tonight, even though I’ve seen it many times before, really helped me to put my situation in perspective. I may be stressed, but I still have a roof over my head and all those other things people name off when they are trying to bring you to this realization. 

Anyway, my main point is a very old adage: No matter how bad things seem to be going for you, there is always someone who has it worse. Let’s be grateful for what we have and try to make the best of it while we can :)

Earlier this week, I had a mild epiphany; at least enough of one to invoke a personal change. I stumbles across the book French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guiliano and I started to read. I had heard about this book when it first came out due to all the hullabaloo it created on the bestseller list, but I had never really given it a chance before. Now that I have, it has really sparked a new outlook for me.

The book begins with the author telling her story of coming to America as an exchange student for a year while she was in lycée (high school). She had always remained slender without having to pay attention to it while she lived in France, but on returning home she finally noticed that she had gained 15 pounds. This is mostly attributed to the way we as Americans eat. We follow the traditional 3 large meals a day scenario and we just add in exercise if we want to lose any weight - the French do things differently. They deliberately don’t deny themselves things in their diet and it seems to work well for them.

I honestly don’t know why it hit me the way that it did, but it was suddenly enough for me to change my current habits. I have a story that I’m sure most others share when it comes to my exercise and food regime. Currently, my husband is on unemployment and in the Police Academy while I work, and while unemployment does help, I am without a doubt the main breadwinner. On top of my working as much as possible, I seem to be hard wired as an entrepreneur and spend a lot of my free time at home doing other things to make money (i.e. Etsy, Surveys, Product Reviews, Couponing, etc) - this really leaves me with zero time to fit in a workout. Plus, let’s face it - by the time I get home after working all day (and I work in a retail store, so I stand up most of the time) all I want to do is sit down and relax. 

I’m sure this echos similarities with so many others - we are all so tired that we cannot fathom when we could do anything exercise-wise. This has been my main excuse for a long time. On top of my lack of physical fitness, I also have to rely on meals that are quick to prepare since my husband and I both get home at 7 pm and he has to be in bed by 9 pm. This severely limits what I am able to cook to where it is done and eaten by a reasonable time. I have been pretty good about making meals ahead of time and freezing them, but usually things that are fresh and good for you don’t freeze well.

Anyway, after all my excuse making I just want it to be out there that I will do no more. I have started taking the books’ advice and writing down what I eat and when so I can better determine where I need the most change. Also, since the book encourages walking (and most French people are able to walk everywhere they need to go), I actually went to the gym on my lunch break yesterday and spent my time on the treadmill and stair stepper. That little effort alone is a huge step for me, as I have never brought myself to anything close before. 

I want it written down that I will make my biggest effort to French-ify myself in a manor of speaking. I will move more and eat more balanced meals. Also, I will exercise my restraint muscle in the process by weaning myself off of so much sugar. This time, it will work. I will do what I need to do to organize my life to make these changes possible. I want to be healthy and able to do the activities I want in life and I know I will live longer and feel better with such a big change.

So, French women, look out. You have a new wanna-be joining the ranks. At least it’s one who already speaks the language :)