I received word recently that a dear friend of mine is entering the world of marital bliss. Her living in another country has made it difficult to receive all the details and mushy engagement story play-by-play's, but in the days that followed her engagement, more and more pieces of this fairytale story came together. I "awwed" and "eeee'd" as any bridesmaid nominee does, until an email arrived that clarified the date of this upcoming wedded celebration... IN 3 MONTHS!
*Insert annoyingly loud and dramatic tire screeching sound*
What?! Me? Dress? Double chin? Flabby arms? What?! WEIGHT! er, WAIT!
Now, obviously my flabby arms and double chin are the least of her worries as she frantically plans a wedding time zones away with a rather large countdown approaching, so dear, lovely, amazing, friend that may read this - you're beautiful and wonderful and this wedding will be beautiful, and do not take my distress as an idicator that I'm not thrilled beyond belief to be standing beside you on the day all your dreams come true......... I will however apologize in advance for my dress size and probably malnourished presence when that lovely day arrives ;) LOL! I love you D!
So yeah, for real! My Barbie looking bestie will look even more ravishing with my tree trunk legs poking out of a dress too large to admit on the world wide web. Ha!
Now, I've never been thin. In fact, many childhood memories include images of sand being thrown at recess and hateful nicknames being muttered out of earshot of teachers. I've always fought to look best in my body despite what genes and life has dealt me. I definitely had phases of acceptance, and satire aside, I had some dangerous methods of acceptance tossed in as well.
Elementary = Emotional Eating
Jr. High = Annorexia
High School = Adopted healthy habits of working out and being cautious of what and how much I ate
College = Learned to look past the size and just wear what fit and looked good
Later in College = Emotional Eating
Adulthood = Hang head in shame often and make excuses for why I've gained the weight that I have and rarely ever get motivated enough to change it
I've attempted some rather reckless diets in the more recent past, and I've prayed for contentment. But the truth is, you'll never change unless you truly want to. Now, this wedding is definitely motivation! Which I'm SOOO thankful for :) I know that this is what I needed to really START caring about my body again. Hopefully this will be the starting point to a whole new phase of healthy living and lifestyle changes that we all really need. Now... my arch nemesis's will be lurking around each corner... Popeyes chicken and Sweet Tea will probably act as my cryptonite! But a few purposeful route changes and fewer coins in my purse should fix those temptations right up.... with an occasional straight jacket and shock therapy I'm sure.
How am I choosing to do this? Well, fear not, I'm doing it the old fashioned way and the safe way: good ole diet and exercise. I've paroozed online for "get thin quick" plans and it's honesly rubbish. I need to activate my body and cut the crap. I'm getting off the couch and cutting fatty foods that I know I shouldnt eat in the first place. And I'm going back to my old rule: if I choose to have desert or something unhealthy I choose to add a mile to my workout. Boo ya. I say this not to brag, but to offer inspiration to lots of people! I'll track my progress on here, and I'm sure it will be entertaining... and probably a bit embarassing! But people. Thats. How. I. Roll.... literally... have I mentioned that I'm round?
94 days to go and plenty of pounds... Bring it on.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Evolution: Darwin & Love
Once upon a time, in a green and perfect land, the very first relationship was born. It started great, lots of pets, but concluded with painful child labor, stubborn land, and started the game of finger-pointing. Adam and Eve were created with no past. Weird huh? Did they have belly buttons? We will never know. But one thing we do know is that they had no previous notions to form their current state of mind. No parents, no traditions, they were the beginning!
My husband and I suit up every time a decision is to be made about chores, food, decor, holidays, discipline, etc. We slap on our shield of "The Way My Parents Did It", strap on a dozen "Well I Always Wanted's" to our belts, and go to war.
What's the solution? We each have a set of traditions and "ways" that we grew up with, and we would just so happen to come from two VERY different families, so of course there are no similarities. So in most cases it's usually a My Way vs. Your Way decison to make. We don't like this though! It's not fair to have to adopt the other person's traditions, so we've decided to evolve and make a hybrid of each.
For example: Birthdays
Oh my. My birthday parties ranged from gallas with DJ's, balloons, trolly's and rentals, to scavenger hunts, hotel stays, and costume parties! Birthdays are big in my family. Always noted, always celebrated, and sometimes even twice! So dinners with singing patrons and blushing cheeks is expected with me...
vs.
Birthdays are just another day. My husband remembers maybe 2 birthday parties he had. For him, birthdays were an opportunity to receive a gift you had wanted for a while. That's it.
How have we chosen to evolve and morph the two?
= We plan a dinner, no singing allowed, with gifts and friends and even a new outfit to wear to the dinner. Normally in addition to the family lunch normally on the day of our birthday. TA DA! Evolution meets marriage.
We have learned to soften our armor a bit and brainstorm ways of evolution instead. We have many more opportunites to flex this new muscle - when kids arrive, Christmas trees go up, and cars are washed - and I'm sure the pains and strains will not make it easy. In fact, I feel that a Marital First Aid Kit of "sorry's" and "you were right's" will be kept handy. With a couple "whatever you want dear's" brought to you Mrs. Always Right Inc. - my favorite :)
Adam and Eve ain't got nothing on Darwin and Love. Let's just hope Jekel and Hyde never find their way in...
My husband and I suit up every time a decision is to be made about chores, food, decor, holidays, discipline, etc. We slap on our shield of "The Way My Parents Did It", strap on a dozen "Well I Always Wanted's" to our belts, and go to war.
What's the solution? We each have a set of traditions and "ways" that we grew up with, and we would just so happen to come from two VERY different families, so of course there are no similarities. So in most cases it's usually a My Way vs. Your Way decison to make. We don't like this though! It's not fair to have to adopt the other person's traditions, so we've decided to evolve and make a hybrid of each.
For example: Birthdays
Oh my. My birthday parties ranged from gallas with DJ's, balloons, trolly's and rentals, to scavenger hunts, hotel stays, and costume parties! Birthdays are big in my family. Always noted, always celebrated, and sometimes even twice! So dinners with singing patrons and blushing cheeks is expected with me...
vs.
Birthdays are just another day. My husband remembers maybe 2 birthday parties he had. For him, birthdays were an opportunity to receive a gift you had wanted for a while. That's it.
How have we chosen to evolve and morph the two?
= We plan a dinner, no singing allowed, with gifts and friends and even a new outfit to wear to the dinner. Normally in addition to the family lunch normally on the day of our birthday. TA DA! Evolution meets marriage.
We have learned to soften our armor a bit and brainstorm ways of evolution instead. We have many more opportunites to flex this new muscle - when kids arrive, Christmas trees go up, and cars are washed - and I'm sure the pains and strains will not make it easy. In fact, I feel that a Marital First Aid Kit of "sorry's" and "you were right's" will be kept handy. With a couple "whatever you want dear's" brought to you Mrs. Always Right Inc. - my favorite :)
Adam and Eve ain't got nothing on Darwin and Love. Let's just hope Jekel and Hyde never find their way in...
Friday, September 2, 2011
Homelessness (3&4 of 4)
If you could plop a shadow into sunshine and bunnies - THAT's what this last leg of our homeless adventure would be summed up as. No joke. So wonderful that we made it a 2 week stay!
Our tour of lumpy beds finished up at another set of parents' spare room. And I am happy to say that it has been the perfect combination of hospitality, "chill", and occupied time that anyone can wish for. The home cooked meals were superior, the baseball games on tv were pleasantly appealing to my chill-searching husband, and the new hobbies that I picked up to occupy my time and actually tolerate the endless baseball games on tv were and still are rays of sunshine. (They're so sunshiney, they soaked the bank account dry, ha ha!)
My Martha Stewart aspirations have approached another profound check mark on the list of womanly "supposed to know how's" and I, Tamatha, am the creator of handmade jewelry. Oh yeah. Be jealous. This newfound craft has taught me 2 things: 1.) I love to model earrings and they never make me look fat & 2.) My headaches from eye-strain will soon outweigh my unwaivering denile of my age and the annoyances that come with it.
So now we embark on the transition leg of our journey that includes the transport and unpacking of mountains of boxes that resemble the livelihood of a rookie hoarder. In our greatest attempts to avoid such lifestyle, the husband has informed me that another purge of un-needed items needs to occur... we're waiting on an agreeable definition before such action is to take place. So as we buckle up for the final turns on this journey, we are truly able to see how blessed we are. As we reflect, we see many lessons learned and prepare for another exciting chapter of our Feasible Fairytale.
Happy hub being officially up-to-date with every single baseball game that has played or thought about playing for the past to weeks = Good Ending.
Happy wife with new hobby, NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR GLASSES, with lots of rest, remarkable jewelry that I mu$t $ale and stop wearing, and wonderful memories made with sweet family = Best Ending I Could Ask For.
Weeks 3& 4 of homelessness: Complete... with bells on my feet.
Our tour of lumpy beds finished up at another set of parents' spare room. And I am happy to say that it has been the perfect combination of hospitality, "chill", and occupied time that anyone can wish for. The home cooked meals were superior, the baseball games on tv were pleasantly appealing to my chill-searching husband, and the new hobbies that I picked up to occupy my time and actually tolerate the endless baseball games on tv were and still are rays of sunshine. (They're so sunshiney, they soaked the bank account dry, ha ha!)
My Martha Stewart aspirations have approached another profound check mark on the list of womanly "supposed to know how's" and I, Tamatha, am the creator of handmade jewelry. Oh yeah. Be jealous. This newfound craft has taught me 2 things: 1.) I love to model earrings and they never make me look fat & 2.) My headaches from eye-strain will soon outweigh my unwaivering denile of my age and the annoyances that come with it.
So now we embark on the transition leg of our journey that includes the transport and unpacking of mountains of boxes that resemble the livelihood of a rookie hoarder. In our greatest attempts to avoid such lifestyle, the husband has informed me that another purge of un-needed items needs to occur... we're waiting on an agreeable definition before such action is to take place. So as we buckle up for the final turns on this journey, we are truly able to see how blessed we are. As we reflect, we see many lessons learned and prepare for another exciting chapter of our Feasible Fairytale.
Happy hub being officially up-to-date with every single baseball game that has played or thought about playing for the past to weeks = Good Ending.
Happy wife with new hobby, NOT OLD ENOUGH FOR GLASSES, with lots of rest, remarkable jewelry that I mu$t $ale and stop wearing, and wonderful memories made with sweet family = Best Ending I Could Ask For.
Weeks 3& 4 of homelessness: Complete... with bells on my feet.
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