Trouble with the Curvy

I want to start this entry out by talking about how much I love my Momma. I am about to give the impression she scarred me for life and this couldn't be further from the truth so to eradicate any concerns that I have Mommy issues I want you to know that my mother means the world to me and without her and her strength and sense of humor, I'm not sure where my life would be. So much of who I am I learned from her including my "people person" skills, my work ethic, and my quick whit. I am so proud to be her daughter and I wouldn't trade her for the world. I know I have mentioned before that she also obsessively cleaned our house all the time. There was rarely a time when you could walk into our house and find it anything but spotless. She was meticulous and her standards were high. Along with this came a certain set of "rules" that, for most of my life, I just thought were common sense. Rules like "before you do anything fun, your 'chores' ne...

My favorite teacher in High School was my English teacher Sophomore year. Back then Lucien Holmes was an eccentric, charismatic, thirty-something that played the banjo, wrote poetry, and had a way of engaging every student... even the ones that hated school and made it their mission to make teachers lives hell. I sort of idolized him and couldn't wait to have adventures of my own that he would tell us about. It's been about 12 years since he was a consistent presence in my life and I miss him and what he was able to coax out of me in terms of creativity. I wish we could meet for coffee and just talk about writing, music, and life the way that people who appreciate "deep" ideas and thoughts do. He lives clear across the world now though so unless Skype comes up with a coffee shop I don't think I'll get the chance anytime soon. I've been thinking a lot lately about that time in my life. As part of his class we had to do a lot of writing and he left the t...

In the past week I have walked at least 21 miles. I think it might be more than that but 21 is all I can really be sure of. Someone said to me today "How are you doing? You just seem like you don't have as much enthusiasm the last few weeks." While this is a nice sentiment I feel like the person was really saying "I used to get more out of you and now I am just not feeling like I get enough so could you go back to when I owned you?"  This person was right. My "enthusiasm" level probably isn't up to where it used to be when I didn't have a dog, grad school, and exercise routines and a huge work load to keep up with. I'm finding that enthusiasm is really only the byproduct of being fueled by life and right now I'm running on fumes.... like all the time. It also hasn't been good for me to not write a daily blog post. While it is definitely just something else I have to check off a to do list, it is really the only thing on those list...

I genuinely have no idea how many, if any, men read this blog. If you have a penis and you're reading this. Thank you! You're amazing. However, much like the shark week post where I go into the perils of being a woman, I feel you deserve a warning before continuing through the rest of this post. If you have lovely lady lumps and a beloved (albeit completely inconvenient) vajayjay then I think you'll relate to what you are about to read and don't worry, this one won't be nearly as graphic... I don't think... While having hormones raging through your body isn't exclusively a female experience, have estrogen as the main hormone pulsing through your body is a special kind of torture. When you perceive yourself to be a strong, independent woman, that is tougher than a boiled owl and then you cry at the most inopportune time, the reality is hard to face. Sometimes I can't control my emotions and I'm pretty terrible at managing my moods. I tend to inter...

I've been trying really hard not to be overwhelmed lately but it hasn't worked even a little bit. It has been more than two weeks since I've written a post and everything Pre-Brutus is different. My friend Kim once told me that when you have kids that you just get used to the new routine and you rise to the occasion. I still don't know how she does it and I have only a tenth of the experience of being responsible for another living thing.  I have to be very clear that I don't regret my decision to adopt a dog. This is something I've wanted for at least the last decade and I waited until I was in a position to do it and do it right. I knew it was going to be a lot of work and I knew it would change my whole life but I still don't think I was prepared. I'm not sure any first-time puppy people can ever be prepared for what it does to your life. Ben and I are used to be calm chill people and just about everything we do is pretty low key. I knew we'd h...

Today is Miracle Treat Day! One day every summer Dairy Queen donates $1 of every Blizzard sale to the Children's Miracle Network. I've been waiting all summer to have a S'more blizzard and today was the day! I think this is so awesome that every year I take a big group order from work and it is always such a big hit. This year the kindness got spread a little further because Day's Jewelers is raising $100,000 for Jewelers for Children and we are doing a "100 Acts of Kindness" campaign. So this year, I told everyone who ordered that I would donate a dollar to the JFC campaign and if they wanted to beef up the donation they could donate the change from their Blizzard. I ended up raising $29 for the CMN and $50  for JFC! It is such a good day and I had Ice cream for lunch. I probably shouldn't admit that in a "fitness" blog but dear readers, you know me and you know this is barely a fitness blog. ALSO yesterday was a big day for me! Yesterday ...

The last time that Discovery Channel's Shark Week hit the airwaves, I weighed 200lbs. In the past year the world has seen the addition of Sharknado 2- The Second One, a puppy, and the return of Snuffy. What is maybe more important, it also saw the loss of almost 30lbs from the chub bucket. Back then I talked about making great meals and giving up french fries and also about the bloody process that is ladyhood once per month. Whatever changes I made back then have really made a difference. I could still cut back on some fries because I average having them about once per week. Once per month would be way better. That is a good goal to have going forward. I also am just as crazy when ladyhood shark week rolls around. What's funny this year is that they are overlapping... that's got to mean something right? I am down to 173lbs and I have Brutus to thank for my progress as of late. Unfortunately he is also an additional stressor when on top of riding the crimson wave, taking ...