L. D. Parker

SO… Umm… (Awkward uncomfortable silence and shuffling of feet) If you’ve been journeying with me for a while, you know that I’ve been on a health/fitness quest. I lost 70 pounds (WOO HOO!)…and I’ve gained back 53 of them… (Pauses for a moment of silence for the loss of my loss…) OK, yes, there is some shame, some sadness, some depression associated with this. There is no question that I feel like I’ve failed…that I let myself down…that I did all that hard work and then blew

Ever find yourself in the midst of a day that had you questioning everything in your life? I hate those days. Today has been one (and the day is barely half through). I have a number of things that are constant stressers in my life, and today in addition to the usual cast of characters, I found myself panicking over a homework assignment, crashing on a deadline, and then having a fight with someone I care a great deal about. Shouldn't be a big deal, and it isn't...yet it is.

Dang it LD, you were doing so good and then… Yeah, yeah, yeah, get off my back. I fell off my game in a large number of areas in my life, but I’m back at it, and here today to talk about one of my (least) favorite topics – image. As you know (probably) I spend a great deal of time battling with my view of myself, in large part because I’ve struggled with my weight almost my entire life. A few years ago I really dedicated myself to fixing this issue – I wanted to get healthy,

My lovelies, I have to tell you, every once in a while I really feel the urge to just check out. No, before you call some 1-800-Stop-Her line, this is not a suicidal cry for help. I adore myself WAY too much to ever even THINK of harming myself. Plus, hello? Pain? Ummmm, not my thing. Those who know me in real life know I’m an eternal smiler. A happy-go-lucky kind of person. What a lot of people don’t realize is sometimes that smile is actually a grimace. I’m awesome

I believe I have just found my arch-nemesis. It has arrived not in the form of an axe-wielding, crazed Lumber Jill. Nor a flesh-starved Zombie after my hooligans. Not even a respectable evil, genius mastermind who’s ultimate goal is to take over the world. Wouldn’t THAT be fun? Nope, my Lex Luther, my Dr. Evil, the Wile E. Coyote to my Road Runner is a plain and simple conversation. But not just ANY conversation. It is very specifically having a conversation with someon

One of the most amazing things about very young children is their incredible sense of who and what they are. A young child doesn’t worry about what others think of him. They don’t primp and polish for the world around them. They are pure Id to go Freudian with it. Purely concerned with what makes them happy—their own needs and wants. Now, in some ways this would be a bad thing for an adult, but at the same time, sometimes a little Id can be a good thing. I have found in

Today I am Anxious. Here’s the interesting part of that word (am I becoming a logophile??)…it has two meanings that are in some ways contrary to one another. They are: Full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried Earnestly desirous; eager OK, that’s odd isn’t it? You can be both fearful and eager in one word. Yet, that is precisely what I am feeling at the moment. I have a trip coming up. Going to New Orleans for the firs

My closest friends (and now all who read this) know that I have battled with Body Image problems my entire life. The reason is simple—I’ve battled with my weight my entire life. I’ve also generally speaking been close friends with really attractive people…as in those who on the scale of 1 – 10 tend to rate 8 – 15. I’m not sure why this is, but the result of it has frequently been to feel not so great about my appearance in comparison to theirs. Understand, this has never