Three years ago on a crisp, fall day, I was feeling on top of my game in every area of life and as I pushed my daughter in her stroller and power walked the seawall, I practically dared anyone to tell me otherwise. “Cheryl Butler, is that you?” came a familiar sing song voice from behind me.  I turned in all my glory and what I heard next nearly knocked me off my high horse and straight into the ocean.  “Wow, I can’t believe you’re a grandmother already!” Awkward!  There’s always one killjoy in the crowd, isn’t there?  I’m not sure who felt more uncomfortable, me or her.  I sucked my stomach …

Did any of you hear the huge THUD two weeks ago all across South County lines?  In case you were worried that it was a mini earthquake or a revolting explosion, worry not - It was just yours truly hitting the ground with a 154 pound CLUNK! Only three days after Halloween, I did the unthinkable. I fell off the Weight Watcher’s wagon and landed plump on my head! SIGH! I’ve learned so much in the eight weeks I’ve been a faithful prophet of Weight Watchers — basically, thou is human, setbacks are going to happen. When a person joins forces with a plan to lose weight, the first few weeks are …

There’s a lot to be said about losing weight in a public venue — believe me when I tell you it took a lot of courage to post that “before” photo I shared with our seaside community two weeks ago. Or so I was told by many, many well-wishers! But I did it for a darn good reason — accountability! If you’ve ever tried to get rid of a few pounds yourself, you already know it’s much more than simply laying off the tootsie rolls. It’s laying off the emotions that cause you to eat them in the first place. Oprah (sorry, I promise I’ll only mention her just this once!) was the first personality that …

I snatched a handful of the Buffalo cheese fries that were lying unattended on my mother-in-law’s kitchen island, and quickly ate them before any of my kids would see me.  Thankfully, I had a full goblet of wine to wash them down with, otherwise I might have choked.   Knowing what was lying ahead for me the next day made it all that easier to grab five Hershey bars (the mini ones, of course!) and eat them quietly in the privacy of the bathroom, so I could then skirt back into the kitchen where a fresh baked batch of chocolate chip cookies beckoned to me. Aw, what the heck — tomorrow I was …