Dear Santa or Dr. Phil, for Christmas I'd like a personal trainer (392 days til my 40th birthday)

I had my preview workout with a personal trainer at LA Fitness, the health club I joined, last Thursday.  He was awesome and the session went great.  I couldn't walk for three days after, but I know it was because of the hard work and effort I put forth to give my body what it needs.  The trainers do more than just supervise your workout though.  They are inspirational and motivational.  They push when you want to quit.  They write up detailed workouts for you to follow during the rest of the week, and during your weekly session with them, they discuss with you your success and areas that need improvement.  Monthly they assess your overall achievement and celebrate it with you, then re-evaluate and discuss your goals while helping you take the steps necessary to accomplish them.  However, I learned that to sign up with a trainer, even for just one session per week, is $112 per month.  Twice per week would be $208 per month.  Albeit ideal for my health needs, that is a financial impossibility for me.  I know in my heart that personal training works; I have had proven results in the past.  I know in my wallet, it's not happening.  I am hoping that someone from the Dr. Phil show checks my blog and reads this.  Even if I don't qualify to be on the show, I have the drive and the determination to make permanent changes in my life, so that I am active, healthy and able to be here for years to come to celebrate, serve, and nurture my friends and loved ones.  I just don't have the financial resources it takes at the onset to participate in the training program that will help me get there.  My fingers are crossed that Dr. Phil or Santa will come thru.

I would like to wish everyone an early Happy Thanksgiving.  I am reminding myself daily this season that we should not go through life and this world asking what it or its people will do for us, but we are to look beyond ourselves daily, to serve others and meet their needs. It is through this selflessness, that we ourselves will be blessed. I love you all and am so very thankful for the role that each of you plays in my life.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~Melody Beattie