Dear Real Simple Magazine:

Feel free to get out of my head any time now.
XOXO,
Bex

I've been intermittently perusing my September RS mag for a couple of days now (life has gotten in the way a smidge).  Practically every third article is speaking to something I've been thinking of or doing lately.  It's a little creepy.  I feel like Truman.  I wish Ed Harris were here.  Minus the beret.

ANYway.

The thing that jumped at me the most was a little article about exercising to lift your mood "Mood-Boosting Workouts" for anyone interested in exact details - and no, it's not online yet; it looks like those crafty folks over there wait a month to put articles from the magazine up.  Clever girl... (eleventy points for that movie reference!  hint:  said in an Australian accent, after placing hat on fallen tree)  As per usj (ummm...shortened version of "usual"), I've gotten off track.  Twice now.

In a nutshell:  the article is about the benefits of certain exercises outside of the obvious.  Here's where it gets all in my brain.  There's one section about cycling, and how it has been shown to increase energy.  For those of you who haven't been keeping up with the Not Kardashians, I've recently rediscovered my lurve of biking. I can tell you that there was a DEFINITE increase in my energy in the days after my two bike rides.  Perhaps it was euphoria at having not keeled over at some point in the ride.  Perhaps it was just as the article explained and there were positive electrical charges happening all over my brain.  Either way, I liked the feeling.  I'm going to try to keep it up.

Other entries in the article:
How to sleep better:  Pilates.
To achieve clarity:  weight lifting.

I'll let you buy the mag (or read the article if you already get it!) to discover the secrets of the rest of the thing, but I loved these bits.  I'm definitely going to try weight lifting for mental clarity.  I could really use the help getting my multi-tasking and planning under control.  As a Project Manager, I'm supposed to be good at these things.  While I don't suck as much as, say, a dog does at these tasks, my more free nature has a hard time with living by a schedule (just ask my friends - there are more than a few out there who despise the fact that I do not make plans until the night of an event...I just don't want to).  I'm going to be all over the weights.  According to the article, all I need is "a chair and some three- to five-pound weights."  I've got sixers.  But I'm sure they'll be fine.  Perhaps they'll bring me the ability to NOT be constantly pissed at MS Project STAT.

Oh, and in case you wondered, here are some of the other articles that were all in my medulla oblongata:

• FALL FASHIONS!
• 33 Low-calorie snack ideas
• "6 Numbers for Financial Success"
• a little ditty about how Mary Jane shoes have grown up (LOVE MJs)
• the "It" color this month is teal, and they pair it with a couple of interesting other colors.  I love "It" colors, and I love teal and (as they call it) saffron together - which was one of the pairings.
• and a big 'ol beef lover's guide.  I'm anti-chicken right now.  I go back and forth several times a year, and chicken is currently out.  Gimme Bessie.  In my belly.

That's it for now.

Keep on keepin' on - the skinny train is a'movin'.


(oh, and in case you wondered, NO, RS did not pay me or whatever to post this post.  I just love the shit out of that magazine.  Go buy it.  Buy a subscription to it, as a matter of fact.  Go on.  I'll wait...)

Say whaaaaat???

It appears I got the concept wrong.

The container of raspberries ISN'T for use as a plate for the gooiest, most delicious brownie to ever come out of Davanni's?  Whoops.

PS - according to myfitnesspal.com, that brownie is under 200 calories.  WHAT????  Yum, that's what.  I feel perfectly happy having eaten one.  But slightly sad that I didn't go for two.  :)

Gratitude post!

Monday, Monday, Monday!  :)

This one's going to be short and sweet, cause it's late and I'm tired.  Work, working out, and dinner has me up later than I want to be, and I'm ready for bed...

• Being on the 3rd floor!  We changed floors at work, and I love having to go up two flights of stairs every morning again.  I can't wait until there is absolutely no huffing at all when I get to my desk.  It's not so bad just yet, but it can definitely be better.  I can't wait till that happens!
• Exclamation points.  Sheesh.  Lay off the adreneline...
• Beautiful days.  We've been spending a lot of time on our deck lately.  Tonight, when I got back from walking the dog, I lounged on the deck.  LOVE IT.  We spent a lot of time out there this past weekend too.  I want to have a deck party out there (once we've given it the reinforcements it needs...).  It's also gorgeous enough to walk the dog for a little longer than we would be able to when it gets really hot.  It's also nice and light out well past when I finally come staggering home from work lately.  LOVE summer.  *sigh*  I'm already depressed thinking about the end of summer
• Magazines.  I love them.  I love going through them when they're some 6+ months old and pulling out all the articles and recipes and little snippets that grab me.  I'd like to use my SUBSTANTIAL collection of pull-outs to create a great mood board or pin board with all the collections.
• Not to get too down-ish, but I'm grateful to have a job.  I know the economy still isn't doing well, so I think that it's important to take a sec to be grateful for having a job.  It may be frustrating at times or hard or irritating, but I'm still grateful for every day I pull up to that beautiful building and start another day.
• On that same type of note, I'm grateful to be married to the Hubbs.  We just celebrated five years, and it makes me think even more how lucky I am to be married to a person that I not only love, but actually like too.  Knowing that 50% of marriages end in divorce, it just makes me more determined to make sure we end up in the good part of that percentage.  I still don't believe that marriage is hard work, but I'm willing to make sure that I always try to show how much I love him as much as I want him to show me how much he loves me.  I'm just lucky to have the fella that makes me so happy every day.  He's a good kid, and I'm happy to hold onto him.

I think that, with that, I'll stop.  I'm ready for bed!!

Major bummer, dude!

I watched "Parenthood" Thursday night, and I've had Keanu on my brain since then.  Naturally, I turned to Ted (or was it Bill?) when I learned something that made me sad.

Remember when I was raving about my Clothes Mentor jeans a couple of weeks back?  Well, we jaunted on over to Sears yesterday (it was our anniversary - what a romantic way to spend the day, eh?) to see if I could find some more.  I wandered about for a while (side note:  they sell French Connection and Land's End clothes at Sears.  What the???), but couldn't find the jeans.  So, I asked one of the sales chicks.  She joined me in the jeans rave, saying that not only were they a Sears brand (SCORE!), but they were her favorite jeans too!  We kind of wandered a little, looking for them before she said that she wasn't sure where they were moved to on the floor and asked someone who actually worked in the women's clothing department.

This is the point at which Bill (or was it Ted?) would have said "No way!" (or is that Spicoli??)  The sweet lady in women's clothing told me that THEY WERE NO LONGER CARRYING THESE JEANS!!!!  Crushed.  The lady I was working with suddenly got the bright idea that they could still have some in the clearance section.  Brilliant!  I found a few pair in too-small sizes.  Bummer.  Then, lo and behold, I found a pair a size smaller than the ones I currently have.  The only hitch in this giddyup is that they were skinny jeans.

I'm leery of anything that says "skinny."  Mostly because I'm NOT.  It's daunting to think that something should have a slimmer fit.  I have too many lumps to wear fitted clothing.  It makes me nervous.  I sucked it up, though, and bought them.  $11 on clearance just got me.  I tried them on, and holy cats - they FIT.  As in, they fit on the waist.  As in THIS IS THE SIZE THAT I WOULD WEAR!!!  And, the skinny doesn't even look horrendous.  I'm lucky enough that I don't have a giant booty or hips, and generally thinner legs, so it turns out that the skinny jeans don't look like total ass on me.  I like that this brand seems to run a little big. Major sigh for them going away.  Mr. Peavs is not impressed with the fact that they're skinny on the bottom too (he's not a fan of the tapered-leg jeans.  I can't argue with a man that hates Mom jeans!), but he said that they look "pretty good, in general."  I appreciate that he can be honest but still at least a little flattering.  Good boy.

HOWEVER, the also-bummed chick I was talking with did tell me that they will often drop a brand, and it'll come back in a few months under a new name - same company making them, using the same manufacturers.  (that sounds kind of tax-evasion-y to me, but I'm no IRS agent...)  It's my plan to check back at Sears for a new brand of great-fitting jeans.  Maybe I'll get lucky and find this chick again.  Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Synopsis!

Or, maybe it should be Review!
I've made it through most of my fitness magazine, and promised that I would comment on how I like it back in this post.

I know it's a little early to commit to something, but I'm in serious like with this magazine.  One part of it that I really like is this section where they give you ways to shave calories off your meals.  A lot of them are kind of obvious, but I dig the obvious.  The obvious gives you easy-to-follow clues and helps make it a snap to be good and be conscious of your moves.  It helps you make sure that the food you're eating is going help, rather than hinder your bottom (line).

Here are a couple of little hints from the article.

• When ordering eggs, order them dry - it'll save you up to 250 calories.  The article says "Chefs often overpour the oil or butter."  That's ridiculous to me.  Lack of precision in restaurant-cooked meals can be crazy.  Meals that were already risky calorie-wise can be easily pushed into the "yikes" category.  Going dry whenever you can is always a good thing.
• Dipping veggies into your guac instead of chips will save you round abouts 220 calories.  And, YUM.  I love me some chips and guac as much as the next guy, but this is a great plan.  When I get the Unwich, I get the Beach Club with the guac.  Veggies with guac = delish.  I'm in.  ESPECIALLY if it saves me over 200 calories.  Holla!
• I'm quoting this one because it's just nuts.  "Order any of Taco Bell's Fresco tacos or burritos instead of a salad.  Save:  510 to 760 calories." Say whaaaaa?!  Okay, I know that they're talking about the mega-salads one can get somewhere like this place I used to work at that has a hot pepper in its slogan.  But still.  The idea that I can stuff my face with TB and it'll be fewer calories than a salad is nutty.  I like it.
• Here's one that I LOVE.  Having a BK cheeseburger instead of a BK veggie burger will save you 110 calories!!  Interesting that what is supposed to be a healthy choice ends up being more of a gut-buster.  I can't help but wonder why, though.  I wonder if it's because the veg is Whopper size and the cheeseburger is small?  Either way, I'm in.  I don't like most veggie burgers anyway, and definitely don't need something Whopper-sized.
• This one caught my eye just because it's interesting, and I'm willing to try it.  The article suggests boiling rice with a tea bag to add extra flavor to it, rather than putting in olive oil (wait - oil instead of butter??  WTF??  ha.).  It suggests jasmine and green tea.  I'm going to try it the next time I make me some rice!  Oh, it apparently saves at least 100 calories.
• One that I'm DEFINITELY going to try:  using a cup of pureed white beans to thicken a soup rather than cream.  It'll save you more than 500 calories a CUP.  I'm so there.  I dig this idea mostly because it means I can eat more soup, and I love that.  :)
• And finally, it suggests re-portioning your plate.  It says that just making sure that you're eating half a plate of veggies could save you 250 to 300 calories at the meal.  That's something that's just crazy easy to be conscious of!  And, something that I'm not really great at, so it's totally something to strive to achieve.

That ended up being a lot more than I was planning on writing about this one little section of the mag!  I guess it had at least a little impact on me, huh?

Some other articles I liked included one that laid out three different circuits to kick calories to the curb fast.  I wouldn't mind bringing that one to work next week when I meet up with the trainer we have and asking him to show me what "hard" and "moderate" etc *actually* mean.  I think it would be really helpful to show that I'm really doing the work correctly.  Again with the obvious.

There's also a pic of the hair that I'm DESPERATE for.  Beach waves, down to the middle of the back, streaky blonde.  LOVE.  Funny that I'm probably going to put that on the fridge instead of a pic of a hot body.  ha.

So, the conclusion is that I'm happy with the mag.  Really happy.  It's pretty great.  I'd recommend it.

Also, I'm attempting to write back to comments, but I'm having trouble - I don't know why blogger won't let me comment any way but as "anonymous."  So, I'm not ignoring y'all, I'm just not able to post.  I'm working on it though!

Gratitudes

Another week down, ladies and gentlemen!  Do you ever just feel like time just keeps rolling faster and faster???  Because I sure do.  It could be the 10-hour days I've been pulling lately.
Things I'm grateful for this week:

• Seeing family.  My parents are busy folk.  It's planting season right now - both on the farm and for gardeners (just in case someone actually reads this blog that I don't know - my parents own a farm and my mom is a co-owner of a couple of garden stores/flower shops), so that means that their hours are whack.  I went home this weekend to see them and my girl Lau.  I got to see them for a few minutes.  :)  Even though it wasn't hours on end with them, it was still nice to see them.  I wish they lived closer (you too siblings!!).

• Irony.  Like I mentioned up top, I'm ridiculously busy right now at work.  10-hour days that are just full of  frenetic energy.  Energy-sucking frenetic energy.  In the midst of all that, we're going to be moving desks.  I have probably 15 10-inch boxes full of what I'm doing at work.  That's on top of the "normal" everyday stuff that's in my cube.  Oh, the joy.  Naturally, this move would happen when we're the busiest!  At least it'll give me a chance to organize some of it, right?

• The ability to snap back into being 22 if I need to.  This weekend not only involved hanging at the shop with mi madre, it also involved copious amounts of the drink (YES, I realize that's "against the rules" or whatever.  Get over it.  ha).  And dancing.  And making friends with weirdos.  And a slice (only a slice!!!) of charred bar pizza.  It was nice to reminisce on all the fun we had back in the day (listen to me say that like I'm 50. ha.), and to do it all again.

• Air conditioning!  Man.  For a kid who grew up without A/C until I was probably 21, I love the hell out of it now.  Mom and Dad hadn't turned theirs on at home yet (neither had we, for the record!), and it was a smidge scorchy on Friday.  It was really nice to sit under the fan with a beer though.

• Lounging days!  On Saturday, I woke up late, had a little breakfast burrito, and proceeded to spend the rest of the morning/early afternoon hanging out in the driveway, getting some sun and reading to my little heart's content.  A bowl of pistachios and a glass of water completed the package.  As did the sunburn I managed.  That's three, for those of you counting at home.  It *might* be time to get and use some sunscreen.  You should see what a bronzed goddess I am though!

• Watching my dog attempt to murder the sprinklers.  It's hilarious.  Seriously.  He went after our neighbor's tonight - they have the tractor ones.   He hates the heads that pop up on our in-ground system, but the tractors are now worse.  Probably because the whirley arms clobbered him in the face.  ha.  Stupid dog.

• I maybe have mentioned it before, but I love Chobani Greek yogurts.  I don't know if saying I'm grateful for it is the right thing to say, but it makes me really, really happy and is delicious, and my day feels kinda crap when I don't start it with a cuppa.  I even debated picking some up at my grocery store here for the weekend because I didn't think there would be any at the grocery store at home.  That's love.

Um, that's it for this week.  Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives is on.  Dedication...

I love NPR. This post has practically nothing to do with this.

I was listening to it on my way from from another successful Clothes Mentor trip (brought home a black and white skirt and white sweater thingy.  Because I knew you were dying to know), and caught the tail end of a bit about how different countries set up their food pyramids.  Specifically, the part I heard was speaking to how the Swiss set up their pyramid.
Our pyramid has sweets and candy and whatnot at the top of the thing, with a label that says "eat sparingly."  What the guest speaker was saying is that it's interesting how the American pyramid tells us to refrain from eating foods, rather than to enjoy in moderation or something of the like.

According to the NPR show, in Switzerland, they have the delicious things like Toblerone at the top, in the "eat sparingly" spot.  But instead of telling you to keep your mitts off, they say "Consume carefully, but with great pleasure."

That is a great way of thinking, if you ask me.  Matter of fact, I think I might have to make it a little motto of mine.  I'm going to apply it to items like Doritos.  Beergaritas.  Reese's Peanut Butter eggs.  Emilio Estevez movies.
It just makes so much sense to me.  I think one of the biggest things that I've learned so far is that this whole weight-loss thing isn't about restricting - not calories, not ice cream.  It's about learning to live while being knowlegible.  Back in the day, I used to just pop things in my mouth without actually considering the impact of it.  It just never really clicked that the average American cheeseburger is twice the size it should be.  Add in the giant bun...and you just have a mess on your hands.  Of course, you have to think about the french fries too.  Yikes.

Now that I know or can somewhat figure out a rough guess of the gut rocking that many foods can cause, it makes it that much easier to try and pay attention to what I'm eating.

I think that's why I like that little phrase.  "Consume carefully, but with great pleasure."  I am now much more careful, and do try to take pleasure in the things that fit into that little tip of the triangle.

Now, on to "Young Guns."

Grateful for stuff!

Hiya, kids!

Welcome to the final Grateful post for May.  Side note:  I can't believe it's June tomorrow!  Where the H did this month go?!  I'm fairly certain that it got blown away with all this bloody wind.  I thought it was May, not March, man!

• I'll start with crossing a little something off my bucket list.  That little something being going to Gasthof's!!!!  I've wanted to go there since, you know, I was 21.  I've just never gone.  Thinking about it now, that's friggin' ridiculous.  I decided that I wanted to pitch a tent right then and there and live there.  Some day, I need to live in Bavaria, baby.
• Next, I'll give props to Mr. Sunshine.  Not the junky show starring my favorite Friend, but the warming ball of gas in the sky.  The last couple of weeks have tottered between being junk and being glorious.  Much like today.  It was beautiful for a while there, and now it's total ass out there.  Back to the sunshine.  I love that I've gotten not only my first but my SECOND sunburn of the year this weekend!!!!!  Bring on the melanoma!  (sidenote:  JOKE)  There's just something I adore about that sun kids.  Maybe I'll check out the Vitamin D like my friend Megs did.  Maybe my obsession with the sun and warmth in the warm months, and my moody blues in the colder months have something to do with that?  Who knows.  For now though, I'm going to just going to try to soak up as much of it as I can.  Also, I'll start using sunblock, I promise.  Burns are dumb.
• Gardening!  HELL of a workout.  I'm still a sore mutha from Saturday and Monday's gardening shenanigans.  (sidenote:  TOTALLY worth it!  My babies are all planted!).
• Related:  The crazy stuff you can find at garden stores!  I went to one out here in the boonies, and I found some awesome stuff!  From an 8-foot, $700 metal giraffe to a 6" banana plant to about 20 kinds of tomatoes.  My current favorite thing that I found at said garden store is a CURRY PLANT!!!  I'm so freaking stoked.  I was poking around in the herbs, looking for rosemary (found it!) and grabbed what I thought was rosemary.  NOPE.  It was stinkin' curry!  I love herbs because you just rub those leaves and you can smell it for hours.  I was salivating for Indian for the rest of the day - despite all the dirt and soap from gardening and washing it off.  I could smell that curry all afternoon, and I loved it.
• The Amazon MP3 store.  I love using one of those song "hearing" apps and then finding it on the Amazon store.  It's soooo convenient.  Which my little bank account is saying "PUMP THE BRAKES" to, but meh.  I love music, and I love that I can download it from the application to my phone.  Read also:  all the way to my computer.  Woo!
• My cooky hubby.  That guy just knows what he's doing with food.  Oh, PS - that's "cook-y" as in, he likes to cook.  Not a typo of "kooky."  ha.  He has totally pulled off smoking lately - he's a kick ass dude.  However, all that delicious meat isn't so good for the waistline, you know?  His amazing food is helping me practice portion control like very few things before it has.  :)  Yet another thing about that guy that's pretty cool.

Okie dokie!  That's what I've got for this week.

Oh, also?  I'm .4 lbs away from emerging on the other side of another "10."  WHAT UPPPPPPP!?

Number two:  I CANNOT find a swim suit!!!!  I need something that's not a halter, and isn't a million dollars.  I've tried roughly 15, and I just can't find a single one that I like.  UGH.

Grateful!

Oh yeah.

I'm grateful for plenty of things this week.

• Garden stores are my #1 this week.  Last week I blabbed about getting two types of Heirloom tomatoes.  Guess what, suckas?  I got FOUR types - plus good 'ol Early Girls and a cherry.  STOKED.  Brandywine, Black, Striped German, Yellow Pear (which I suspect is NOT heirloom - Mom?).  I'm so ready to be in tomato heaven.  Next up:  prepping the beds and planting.  I can't wait for the weekend!

• TREES!  This is playing off #1, but I'll take it.  We bought a crabapple tree!  I'm so very exited.  It looks kind of cold and forelorn out there in the front yard.  I kind of want to make sure it's gonna make it before I continue with my "island garden" plan.  I'll probably take this year just to look at and love that little tree (and pray my ass off that it lives!!!) and plan what else I want to go around it (perennials, I'm lookin' at you!) for next year.  We also pulled our poor little apple out of the hole it was in.  The dummies that we bought the house from apparently thought it was a great idea to plant the little bugger almost a foot in the ground.  Ummmm...what???  In non-draining clay?  Friggin' geniuses.  At any rate, we pulled that baby out.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that the two little trees will cross-pollinate and we'll have some apples next year!

• The Mountain pose.  I'm not even kidding when I say I've pulled this pose a couple of times in the bathroom this last week.  There's just something about standing there, thinking about how I'm breathing, to calm me down and make me get back to workin' it.

• Next:  LISTS.  I'm relying on these more and more lately.  Maybe I should rely on my DS Brain Age a little more.  HA.  Seriously though - I love, love, LOVE lists lately.  Every morning, I make a new list.  Every afternoon, I assess said list and see where things are at.  Then, I make another list.  I love lists.  I have lists for stuff that needs to happen at home too.

• Better Homes and Gardens.  From magazines to cookbooks, to gardening bibles.  I adore that publication.  Right now, I have two BHG mags, the aforementioned bible, and a cookbook sitting near me.  Sticky notes and bookmarks in all of them.

• My Dyson.  That little powerhorse kicks some serious ass.  We've put it through the ringer this week, and it's still taking it.  But, I suppose that's what it's supposed to do, right?  Per the commercials and all.

• In the spirit of the Badger Herald, I'll give an Anti-Shout Out (or ASO, for those in the know...) to the weather lately.  WTF, man.  As if it's not bad enough that my poor little yard is clay-ful and doesn't properly drain from just a little downpour, I also have to deal with constant rain this spring.  I'd like to plant my garden sometime soon.  That would be great.

Well, that's about it, kids.  Have another great week!

Grateful. Or, Lateful...

The grateful list!

I’m getting really bad at actually posting these on Mondays.  I was busy working out yesterday though, so I’m giving myself a pass on this one.  ha.

Things I’m grateful for:

• IT’S 80 FRICKIN’ DEGREES OUT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!  The second this is posted, I’m going outside and frying in the sun.  Not exactly as weight-loss-inducing as, say, going for a run, but DANG if it isn’t something I’m looking forward to.

• The proprietor of the blog “Bower Power.”  She’s got a new post about Pottery Barn’s design books.  Maybe I should put this into a category called “DANG YOU!”  I am in lust for these books.  So, if you feel like getting me a “hey, congrats on squeezing it into those smaller jeans” gift, feel free to get me one of these.  Any of them.  All of them.  There are a ton of them!  WANT.

• NOT my cats.  Someone decided to dig in the garden seedlings yesterday.  Beans and baby lettuces EVERYWHERE.  Jackasses.  However, since this is a post about being grateful or whatever, I’m grateful for the water bottle.  Dig in that, turds.

• My parents!!  Thanks for the lawnmower, kids.  Mr. Peavs loves it already.  I love it too, as I believe it will mean that we WON’T be the WT neighbors without the mowed lawn.  Ha.  In addition, a special shout-out to Daddy-o for A) packing it into his truck and B) letting us borrow said truck.  It came in handy with the gathering of the materials to finish making our bed and the materials to build the raised garden beds.  For those of you playing along at home, that’s two tasks closer to being able to fully check a couple of items off our lists.  WHAT UP!?

• To a certain unnamed faster-food chain.  My lunch yesterday made me feel like ass.  It inspired me to workout harder (and with the window open for added sweat-inducing heat!) and to eat a much better dinner.  I’m not saying I’m going to use you as a catalyst for being healthy more often, I’m just saying it worked this one time.

• The baby geese at work.  SO STINKIN’ CUTE!!!  They make me all kinds of happy.  I just wanna squeeze ‘em.  And kiss their little beaks.  I like little baby animals.

• Sunroofs.  Sunrooves?  Either way, I love you.  You make the drive home so glorious.  Keeping you open keeps me from having to have an actual conversation with Hubs on the way home from work.  I KID!  Sort of.  Plus, I feel like I’m getting super cheap highlights when the sun hits the top of my head.  I love sun-warmed hair.

Ummm…that’s enough.  I wanna get out and bask in the glory of the sun…  :D  GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY IT YOURSELF!

Some stuff I wrote recently.

Recently, I was chatting with a bestie about the struggles we’re both going through to try to lose weight.  She and I were commiserating on what a serious pain in the ass it is, and how much it sucks and hurts to have “let ourselves go” as much as we have.  I blame married life.  HA!  I kid.

During the course of our conversation, I wrote the following words.  She appreciated them, so I thought I’d plop them on the ‘ol blog to share with my gynormous audience.

Note:  I’ve doctored them up a smidge because some of it is non-applicable here.  Also, it can get a little angsty at times.  Bear with me.  J

Without further ado:

Dude, you’re preaching to the choir.  I get so mad that I have to struggle to lose two pounds when my sister and brother are both thin and fit, and can easily control their weight.  I despise looking at myself, and have taken up being the photographer rather than being in any pictures because it’s disgusting to me.  So, I know exactly where you’re coming from, trust me.  I mean, without the part about how you used to be so skinny.  I never had that.  I’ve always been fat.
Despite that, though, I realize that I absolutely can’t compare myself to anyone else.  What I’ve got and what everyone else in the world has are different.  It’s just how it is.  I would have loved to have been born a Hilton or a Winchester, but it didn’t work that way.  I would have loved to have hit puberty and shed all my baby fat and magically grown pretty.  It didn’t happen.  The sooner you can stop comparing yourself to everyone else OR to the girl of the past, the better.  You need to accept that you gained a bunch of weight, and that you now have to work to lose it.  If you can’t accept it, you’ll never lose it.  It’ll never get better, and you’ll never be happy.  This is what you have to deal with now.  OVERCOME IT.  You can’t use the excuse that you used to be able to eat whatever you want and still be skinny.  It’s not how things are anymore.  You need to learn to eat clementines instead of jelly beans and carrots instead of chips.  Once you get over how shitty it is to have to eat healthier, it turns out that it’s better – it’s delicious.  I love the way that my little Jimmy John’s lettuce wrap crunches and I don’t miss the bread scraping the roof of my mouth.  Now that I realize that I can’t taste the cheese on my Subway anyway, the 100+ calories that I save seems easy and stupid to waste.  Sure, I love the SHIT out of BBQ pork sandwiches and enchiladas, but I eat them as a treat, and only a small amount.  Even as I dole out advice though, I need to say that I DEFINITELY need to cut down on the pizza.  J  Once a week is way more than enough.  ha.
Like I said, you need to accept that this is your new reality, and work to make it change.  You’ll probably have to keep your eating in check and make sure you work out consistently for the rest of your life.  Big deal.  Someday, when people comment on how fit you look, you can take pride in knowing that you spend time exercising and maintaining yourself, rather than just stuffing your face full of sour cream and onion Lay’s and going for an occasional run.  I adore when someone asks me if I’ve lost weight.  Even A asked me about it when I saw him a couple of weeks ago.  Sure, I’ve only just started the (very slow!) climb up Kilimanjaro, but when I hit the summit, I’ll be able to look back and say “DAMN.”

I mean it all, by the way.  Every word.  We all need to stop comparing ourselves to other people and focus on our own strengths and greatness, and look at the things about ourselves that we love.  I’ll start.  I really love my knees.  I know that they’re cute under that extra fluff, and I look forward to meeting them again, and having them meet the world.  J  AFTER I’ve gotten them a little bonzed, that is.  ha!  I love my toes.  I think they’re cute.  Even those weird little toes.  I love my muscle-y legs.  They’re getting so nice again!  I also dig my face in general.  It’s already shed some of its chunk, and I’m recalling how it’s rather pretty when it’s slimmer.

PS - I tried on a bunch of pairs of pants (that I own!) last night, and found that many of the ones that have lived in my closet for YEARS actually fit!  Happy day!!!!  I have a pair of wide-legged, white pants that I’m waiting for Memorial Day to break out.  1) because you shouldn’t wear white before Memorial Day! and 2) because the gut-region is still slightly smaller than I want.  I’m hoping that a few more pounds down over the next few weeks will help with that.  I can’t wait!  I’m envisioning a new pair of navy blue espadrilles and my gray-and-white stripped Paris top to go with it.  Seriously.  It’s kind of sick how I can’t wait.

Whoopsie. Here's my gratitude!

Soooooo…

I might have forgotten to be grateful yesterday.  My bad.  In my defense, I think I posted a couple of other posts.  Or was that Sunday??  I can’t remember all the time.  I’m fairly certain I’m sleep-deprived lately – I’ve been having really weird dreams that wake me up, and I have a hard time getting back to sleep.  Maybe I should pay attention to what I’m eating before bed on those nights!

At any rate.  Here’s the weekly List de Gratefulness.  It’s Spanglish.

·    My favorite little niecey Kendall.  Here’s a pic of her chubby little baby legs (side note:  how stinkin' cute are those leggings?!!?).  She was getting hosed off after decorating her pretty little head with frosting from her first birthday party.  Those legs are carrying her across rooms now, by the way.  *Sniffle*

·    SUNSHINE.  Man, does it feel good!  We’ve had a dreary week up here in the Northwoods, so it feels DANG nice to have some sunshine.  Even if serious wind comes with it.  I’ll take what I get.  Even the pets were basking in the glory.  I didn’t hear any noise for a couple of minutes this morning, so I peeked out into the living room to see who was dead – and all four of them were just hanging in the sun beams like real animals.  It was adorable.  And no.  I DIDN’T remember to take a pic.  Fool!

·    Just barely over four weeks until my bestie Jess is in the contiguous for good!  Or, at least, until she’s got her PhD all done.  Ha!  Only a 5-hour-ish drive from me.  WOO!  I think I’ve said it before, but that’s far better than two plane rides and a chicken bus!!

·    On that note, just over 6 weeks until my other girl Jenn is back!  She’s just around for six (??) weeks, then back to teaching in ‘Nam, but we’ve got a couple of weekends (and a WEEK!!!  SQUEAL!) planned out already.  She’d better bring me some sweet knock-offs.  I need an awesome summer purse, friend.  Think hobo.  Perhaps a long cross-body.  In a fun color or pattern.  GO.  I kid!  Sort of.

·    Exclamation points.  They’ve served me well in this post.  I should consider cutting down on the coffee.

·    President Obama.  I KNOW.  Politics.  Ish.  But, a job that was a long time coming was done.  I’d chant “USA! USA!” but I’m cautious at this point still.  Optimistically cautious, but I don’t want to start any snark offs on a topic that’s completely irrelevant to my blog.  J  So, zip your face if you’re going to get politically-charged.

·    Kohl’s.  They have some serious deals.  Got the super cute shirt I’m wearing today for $4.80.  Holla!  I love a good deal, baby.

That pretty much sums it up for me, folks.  Now, get out there and enjoy the day!