Danielle Skodak

I’ve watched every single episode to date :)

I have changed significantly over the last year, I care about myself, I am far more positive in my actions and outlook, I have lost 30 of the 100 pounds I intended to lose, I ask for the things I need in my relationships, I go to social events regularly and I am taking my education more seriously.

There is still a lot of progress to be made. I would like to have a positive outlook at least 75% of the time. I want to increase my level of exercise so the weight comes off more easily. I want to INSIST upon getting the things I need out of my relationships, as opposed to just asking for them. I want my education to be meaningful to me.

Magick operates on the same principles as anything else in life and in the Universe…belief. If you believe you have successfully cast a spell on someone (light or dark) you will begin to see signs of that spell working. It would be easier to remove the rituals and trappings of Wicca/Paganism/Etc and focus instead on your own determination and spiritual guidance.

It takes no time at all to set up bills for autopay online, but if you miss even one payment it can cause bank fees and the company might not allow you to make online payments in the future. I have only run into the second problem with one company so far, but it was incredibly inconvenient. I would only recommend setting every bill up this way if you are 99% certain you will have the money in the account each month.

Bills came up that were truly not optional and I had to use the card to pay them. I love running water and electricity :/

It turns out another apartment is what had to happen this time around. This is my 24th move and I am beginning to get pissed off at even the sight of cardboard boxes. It is a much bigger apartment and we can stop paying $200 a month for a storage unit now. This has actually been helpful, because my husband is in the military, this is the first whole year we’re going to be able to live together 24/7. I am thinking an apartment is probably a good test. If it can’t happen here, there’s no use making a 5-30 year commitment on a house.

I can see all the wonderful possibilities in my life and I’m so ready for this. It seems I get distracted by the smaller problems, like how do I pay this and why did this happen. Those things are not the important part. If you want the change bad enough, if you envision it clearly the how will take care of itself. Why is a question that usually leaves me stuck in the past instead of focused on the present.

I’ve lost 25 pounds since getting serious about this and I haven’t resorted to extreme pills or restrictive diets or even anything that would normally fit into what people call a ‘diet’. If I notice I’m getting overboard on ‘fat kid’ food (frozen pizza, taco bell, heavy starches) I back off. I also do not keep sugary stuff in the house. If I really want ice cream, I have to find the motivation to go out of the house to get it, and when I do, I go to an ice cream place and get two scoops. It’s a lot harder to find the motivation to get dressed, drive to the place, wait in line and pay more for it.

I’ve realized that there are some foods I enjoy a lot and can’t completely deprive myself of, or I will be tempted to go out just to eat a lot of that food. Potato chips are one of those. Now I get the kind that have only potatoes, salt and oil. Not sure if the preservative thing is BS or not, but those kind usually have less calories than the fully loaded kind and I prefer plain chips anyway.

I’ve made gradual changes in what I buy. Instead of regular shredded cheese, I buy the 2% or fat free varieties. Instead of white bread I get the 45 calorie bread. Instead of regular pork sausage, I get turkey sausage. Instead of regular sour cream, I get fat free. I honestly do not notice a change in taste with a lot of these products.

This has not been difficult this time around. Magical HCG spray left me feeling like shit every single day, just tired and drained and generally upset. The green tea/hoodia/etc pills didn’t do anything for me either. It feels better to be doing this correctly.

I have a lot of worthy responsibilities at the moment and the time and energy I would need to dedicate to this is just not available

Instead of trying to save hundreds of dollars at a time to pay in big chunks, I’ve decided on 50 or 100 a month consistently. Not the best for avoiding interest, but that is all I can do in my current financial situation

I’ve been able to decide on what responsibilities I CAN handle instead of trying to take on everything at once, this was a big problem in my old life. I am doing better in school and have even gotten my photography into a gallery. There are still things to be worked on but overall this has been encouraging

Stress is a major trigger for me, when I’m stressed out and/or ‘too busy’ to cook I tend to go to fast food and selectively forget that those places have salads and healthier options, same with restaurants. Ordering pizza is one that HAS to go. I have lost 10 pounds successfully by using fatsecret.com to track my food intake and some of the exercise, just standing more often instead of sitting helps a lot. Being almost 300 lbs makes standing and walking more difficult than you would think.

Original Weight- 293
weight now-283

small goal- 250

goal weight-190

It has taken awhile but I let go of the negative associations I has about finding a job like ” I NEED to find this job or life will fall apart”. I realized that my husband and I had enough for rent, food and most other bills and that we weren’t going to starve to death if I didn’t have a job right this very moment. I ran into the manager of an Aaron Brothers while framing my work for a gallery, she says she needs someone and will be hiring in 2 weeks, this is a very positive lead.

All in all it’s crowded, filled with the dangerous homeless people (not just guitar playing hippies), and if you’re not paying attention you’ll get robbed. I saw one of those guitar playing hippy types pickpocket a guy that was leaving a restaurant. If it was once filled with peace and love it’s now touristy, crowded and overpriced

It’s pretty cool in the passenger seat actually

I was getting pretty good at playing the clarinet after 4 years, but then marching band become mandatory ..and marching in formation while playing an instrument in front of thousands of people was not my forte. Time to get back into it and possibly join an orchestra.

I’m tired of apartment living, tired of not enough space and tired of paying rent that is higher than a mortgage would be. My husband and I are grown ups and should live in a grown up place XD

I want to start a non profit that fixes things in my home country (the US) first. There are plenty of homeless, jobless, hungry and unsatisfied people here where I live that need help. We can worry about Africa when we have the resources to lead by example instead of just throwing money at some AIDS benefit. I am giving myself 10 years to do this, I am only 23..I have a lot of schooling and life to live and funding to gain.

The past continues to hold me down, in relationships, in personal goals, in school, in finding a job. It just has to stop. Time to look forward.

I’ve been laid off since February, it’s totally time to find that job. I’ve been looking since, well, the day I got laid off. There has to be something out there that will work with my school schedule.