Sweet Home Alabama

I'm off to Alabama for the week! Our family is going to Gulf Shores and I'm super stoked....it's been a stressful few weeks trying to get everything in line for the house, so I'm pretty pumped for a vacay right now. :-)

And I CLOSE on my house tomorrow!!! Lots of exciting stuff. Pics to come soon!

Hope you have a fabulous week! :-)

Baby Got Back

I will never forget one day when my sister and I were watching "Full House." I was in the 3rd grade and my sister was in the 5th grade. Stephanie (the middle sister on the show) was always big into dancing, and one episode she was wearing tights or leotards. Stephanie turned sideways and my sister said, "Look, Holly, her butt sticks out like yours!"

Now, I know my sister didn't mean this in a bad way. I mean, we were 9 and 11. But it's funny how, in all of my years growing up, this has always stuck with me. I've always had more junk in my trunk - apparently even in the 3rd grade.

We all have things that we don't like about our bodies, and they are all different. The funny thing is, now I've grown to like the extra junk in my trunk. (accidentally typed "truck"...hahahaha) Same thing about my hair. Growing up, I absolutely hated having curly, thick hair. I wanted stick straight really THIN hair. Now that I'm older, though, that is one thing that I like about myself.

Sure, there are certain types of clothes that I can't wear because I don't feel comfortable in them. And I hate bathing suit shopping (I know...who LIKES it?) because I'm always trying to camouflage my derriere. But then I think about when I "lost" my booty when I was too skinny...and I remember missing it!

I guess that is one great thing about growing up and becoming more comfortable in our bodies. We either accept what we have, or (hopefully) we learn to love what makes us different.

Does anyone else have things that they didn't like about themselves growing up, but have learned to love?

So I've Been Thinking....

3 weeks from tomorrow, I will be officially moving into my house!

My best friend, D, will be moving in with me. D and I have been best friends since High School. He has been with me through some very tough times, and I'm extremely grateful to him for all of his support. He makes me laugh in the times I need it most, and builds me up (buttercup!) when I've beaten myself up for something I've done. Oh, and he's gay, too - so what more could a girl ask for? :-) I will be the Grace to his Will. Minus the awesome red hair.

I will have to admit, though, as our move-in day approaches, I'm getting more and more nervous about this whole transition. D has a VERY strong personality - he's never met a stranger, and he is not at all afraid to tell it like it is. I'm extremely non-confrontational and am a big fan of sugar coating things. I'm always terrified of upsetting or angering other people, so I try to approach my problems with others in a very cautious manner. In short, I'm worried that if I approach him about a problem that I have, he'll get mad at me and shut me out. (Which of course I will take personally and think it is my fault).

When I've had roommate problems before, my eating/exercising has always been the first thing to go out of wack. I'm hoping that this will not be the case. 95% of the time when I worry about something, it doesn't always happen. Hopefully this will be the case!

One GOOD thing we have going for us is that we are BIG on open communication. It's hard for me to be 100% honest with people for fear of hurting their feelings, but with him it's much easier. I hope this will be our saving grace.

Any tips on how to deal with any problems we might have? I've already considered "couples therapy." (Kind of kinding....kind of not). :-)

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Why does it seem whenever we are starting to get back "on track" with things in our lives, there are always little timely temptations?

I work at the headquarters for a local grocery store chain....so, yes, there is always food around the office. But in my previous job as a teacher, you better believe sweets were bountiful in the teacher's lounge. Most days it's easy for me to pass up the sweets....some days, not so much.

I was, however, very proud that I passed up the MONSTEROUS bowl of M&M's in the break room yesterday (okay....I had 6), the free cake, the muffins....I could go on. Unfortunately, I'm not the gal who can have "just one cookie" and call it quits. I'm the gal who has one cookie, beats herself up for it, then buys a 10-pack on the way home from work. :-) Maybe one day I will be the "just one cookie" gal. A girl can dream....

The whole idea of sweets and cake at the office ALWAYS reminds me of one of my favorite comedians, Jim Gaffigan. He's a fellow Indiana native, so of course I love him for that, but he's also quite funny. I love what he has to say on the subject of cake. So true!

Back in Business

So I've been a little MIA for various reasons....I kind of fell off the wagon here recently, and I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer on here. I'm TRYING to focus on the positive. :-) LSS (long story short), my hip/thigh has been bothering me again, so I got a little bummed about it and my eating went wacko!

On a good and exciting note, I went swimming for the first time (well...since high school gym class when it was required and we were all forced to wear the awkward 1930's style one-pieces), and my hip/thigh wasn't any worse the next day! And this is SO cheesy to say, but Michael Phelps has really inspired me. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm jealous the guy consumes a bizillion calories at day. Nope, not jealous at all about that. :-) But really, I'd forgotten how INTENSE a swim workout can be. With running, even when running 15 miles, you find a constant...a steady pace (I never claimed to be a sprinter!). But with swimming, even when you're going "slow" you can still feel your heart pounding! I <3 it!

Oh...and another little reason I've been stressed? I bought a house!! It's empty now, so I've just included a few pics. I close in 3 weeks!!!!! Not excited at all, can'tcha tell? ;-)