You know I just don't buy vanity as a sin. In fact I think it is good for the soul. There is nothing wrong about taking pride in how you look and admiring yourself. Now yes it can be over done and anything done in excess can be bad for you. Growing up I was not taught to worry about what I looked like. My father believed that wearing make up was not something good girls did. Of course my thoughts on this was he was too old fashion and just a bit weird about the whole thing. I personally don't think I look put together without my make up. However that didn't stop me from not wearing any for a very long time. In fact till recently I was missing my own vanity. Depression can do that to you. But I have found that I feel so much better when I take the time to do my makeup, fix my hair and work on picking out what to wear. Good thing...think my co-workers might have signed me up to spend some time with Stacy and Clinton at some point.

So lately I have spent more money on makeup, hair products and especially jewelry. I love wearing nice stuff. I like how I look and that is very important to me. It's no wonder that I now feel like I can actually start to take this weight off again. It's all in how we feel and believe in ourselves.

Growing up poor I never got to buy new clothes. I had hand me downs all the time. Always very out of fashion. And even though some of the lessons it taught me were good ones, there are also bad things that I have to work to over come. Like not spending money on myself for nice things. It's been something I have had to work hard to get over. Like not buying the cheapest clothes I can find even though they don't look good on me. It's no wonder I hated shopping so much most of my life. It's not like I am spending huge amounts for clothes and stuff now. I am not rich by a long shot, however I can afford to get nice looking stuff when I find it on sale or just being a little picky and getting stuff that is a few dollars higher. My problem for a long time was realizing I am worth it. It's the same thing with loosing the weight. I have had to realize I am worth it. Watching portions and calories is worth it. Exercising it very much worth it for how it makes me feel. It's all about taking care of myself in all the ways that I can.

Today I have my gym bag packed so I can work out at Curves. I got to get those steps up on the pedometer you know. And when i look in the mirror I smile because I like who I am and I am very much worth all the effort.