I don't want to go...

to Zumba tonight!  Please don't make me.  I will learn to live with this spare tire around my middle..I mean it's been there for a long time, sometimes bigger, sometimes a bit smaller.  Yes, my pants are a bit snug again because I thought I should buy the smallest possible size I could fit in, not thinking that I might gain a few pounds at the holidays.   But I can live with the snug pants for a little bit longer.  At least until it gets a bit warmer outside.

It's cold.  No, I mean it's COLD.  Cold as in it will probably be under 10 and hopefully above 0 during my Zumba class.  And I'm going to sweat and then it's going to freeze when I go to my car and I'm going to turn into an icicle. 

B has been working nights all weekend, and tonight he's home and now I have to go to Zumba.  Darn it, why do I have to burn calories tonight?    I could be spending quality time bickering with my hubby!

I started this whining at work today at 8 a.m.  My Zumba partner-in-crime, who works across the hall, promised to not let me talk us out of going tonight.  At 3:30 p.m. when I headed home she reminded me of this while I was trying every excuse in the book to get out of going.  She's making me drive and pick her up.  She claims she hasn't done any exercising since our last class and really needs this.   She's pretty crafty, how can I let her down?

Truth is, I know I'll be glad I went when it's all done.  And I've thawed out from being an icicle.

Family Weekend & Monday Holidays

My sweet sister and her fabulous family visited this weekend.  We shopped, ate, watched Here Comes, Honey Boo Boo and played games on our phones.  There is never enough time together on these weekends and we try to squeeze as much in them as we can.  B is working nights so he got up early to visit yesterday, and in time to say good bye today.  When they are here, they spread themselves out through the house and we have to make numerous trips through every room to make sure they have everything.  So far, we have found 1 sock.  That is it, and that is amazing, usually its a bag of things.  I wish we lived closer, but at least its only a drive and not a plane ride away!

Since it is a holiday,  I didn't have anything planned today after they left.  B hasn't gone back to bed, even though I think he should for his night shift.  He doesn't listen to me....I think he tunes me out, ha ha.  So, we are watching Criminal Minds reruns and enjoying the downtime.

I'm so blessed to have a wonderful family and supportive husband.  

Race Pools versus Swimming Pools

We run a race pool and it is a labor of love.  I would love to have a swimming pool.  Do you see the difference?  The race pool is a lot of work, but so is a swimming pool.  The race pool had 280 teams in it last year.  I don't think we could fit 280 people in a swimming pool.  The race pool pays out money at the end of the season.  A swimming pool has to be closed at the end of the season and cost you money.   I don't miss doing the race pool when the race season is over.  I think I would miss a swimming pool during the winter.  The race pool work starts in January and ends in November.  We could only use a swimming pool from May to September at the most.  I think B is going to make me keep the race pool.  I don't think B will let me have a swimming pool.  I want a swimming pool.....

How do you know?

So, B bought boneless chicken breasts back in December and when I got them packaged up to freeze (back in December just in case you are wondering if they've been in the fridge since then) they looked funny.  They smelled fine - or as fine as raw chicken can smell.  And my mom was all about smelling stuff to tell whether it was still ok or not.  To this day, I still smell the milk every time I open it.  Anyway, the chicken looked like maybe it had freezer burn?  I don't know.  I decided to freeze it and hope for the best.

Well, tonight is the night.  We are going to find out if the chicken was good, or whether B and I are going to be happy that we have 2 bathrooms.  It's cooking right now and seriously, it still smells fine.  Just like raw chicken, semi cooked should smell. 

I'm thinking of making chicken salad sandwiches and baked fries for my sweet hubby.  I hope if I put enough mayo on it, with salt and pepper, it's going to be delicious and delightful.  Just in case, I'm going to go stock both bathrooms with extra Charmin!

A New Year's Resolution Update

I made a few New Year's resolutions and I'm happy to say, that a week into 2013, I'm on track.  Yes, for seven days I haven't failed.  Just 357 more days to go (or is it 358 - I'm not that great at math).  What are those New Year's resolutions?  I know I mentioned in an earlier post about how I wanted to be a new me in 2013.  And that's still the main goal - but I did set a couple of little side-goals, too.

• Floss every day.  Do you have a dental hygienist that lectures you every time you go for a cleaning?  I do.  She's nice enough...just really all about the flossing.  I'm not a good flosser.  I -tart about 2 weeks before my cleaning appointment, and so I'm usually still in that gum's-are- still-bleeding stage and she knows exactly what I've done.  After I get my lecture, I'm usually good for another 2 weeks of flossing before I get out of the habit.  Well, I've decided that I'm going to shoot for 365 days of flossing in 2013.  Hopefully, the lectures will turn to praise and there won't be any blood on the floss at my next dental cleaning.
• Exercise 3 times a week.  Yeah!  Week one down and I walked on the treadmill 3 times.  Tomorrow night is Zumba, then it will be back to the treadmill for the rest of the week.  It would be nice to make this exercise thing a priority and not fail at this resolution.   If I look at my track record - it's not great.  I get all jazzed up about getting healthy and then one bad week throws me off for the rest of the year.  Hoping that there aren't any bad weeks this year.
• Eating healthier.  B and I have been eating healthier for almost 2 years, but the holidays really threw me off.  Him not so much, but he's a robot when it comes to eating healthy, exercising and counting calories.  It's the only explanation I can come up with, because he just doesn't seem to make many missteps.  I, on the other hand, get distracted easily from my fruits and veggies by bags of chips and Hershey kisses.  So far, in one week I've eaten about a bushel of healthy vegetables and fruits, and not so much of the bad stuff.  I'm counting it as a week one victory.

Hopefully as this year progresses, these 3 little things will add up to big changes for me.  I've just got to allow myself to make mistakes and not let them throw me too far off track!

Mature Skin

Today has been a difficult day.  It started out full of promise and joy.  B and I headed to a town larger than ours with cooler stores.  I decided today was the day that I was saying good bye to my old friend Mary Kay and trying a new make up.  One of those cool stores in this larger town sells all kinds of make up and I had B drop me off there and told him I'd text him later, after I had spent a ton on make up.  I entered the store with my one goal in mind and headed to the Bare Essentials section.   Now, keep in mind that every time I've visited this store in the past, it has been mobbed with ladies getting their make up done and I've had to wait to get any help.  Today I was the only one in the makeup section.  A "salesman" approached quickly and asked if I needed any help.  Um, well, I really didn't think I wanted to have a dude help me with my new make up, so I politely told him I was "just looking.".  Ten seconds later, I was approached again by a "salesgirl" who might have been 18, but she was saving me from the sales dude so I quickly took her up on her offer to help me.

Here is where my day started on its down hill path.  She asked me what type of foundation I was looking for, and then proceeded to explain that there were 2 different kinds and that the pressed compact was for mature skin and would I like to try that.

Whoa, wait a minute.  I have mature skin?  When did that happen?  Sure, I consider my hair mature since I have to cover the gray every 6 weeks, but no one had ever mentioned that my skin was old.

I asked if I could try both kinds, the mature skin kind and evidently the younger skin kind.  Well, I have to admit the mature skin with its moisturizer and full coverage looked good.  But, so did the younger, less coverage, no moisturizer kind.  And as my young salesgirl explained, it wasn't like I had anything to cover like breakouts.  Well my mature skin does get a breakout every now and then, and I probably could use all the coverage I can get, but this 49 year old wasn't going to let this young whippersnapper of a salesgirl define her.

So...Guess what I bought?  If you guessed, the non-mature, no moisturizer kind, well you guessed right!   My skin might be mature, but I'm not.... So there!

New Year...new me, maybe!

It's the beginning of a new year and I've got plans.  Plans to lose weight, exercise, get my relationship with God back on track, keep my house cleaner, travel, be a nicer, kinder person and well, you get the drift.  I'm thinking 2013 might be the year that I try to be a new me. 

Don't get me wrong, I like the old me - most of the time.  But there are several (million) things I'd love to change.  I have no illusions that I'm going to be able to change everything, but I'm definitely going to try to be a bit better in certain areas.  And if I'm trying to make a change, then I think that's a step in the right direction.

So, what have I done so far in 2013?  I've walked on the treadmill.  We've done our laundry and I'm going to get it all put away tonight.  I ate healthy all day long.  And I tried to be a patient, kind, caring wife all day.   I think I've done pretty good for day 1! 

Not sure how I'll make out on day 2 - my first day of work in 2013.  Hopefully I can keep the kinder, gentler Andrea going.  I'll keep you posted!