Friday Follies, follow-up, and fill in the blank

This week has been full of a lot of stuff and a lot of nothing. Life is nothing if not a series of learning experiences.




This week I'm learning that spending a day standing on a concrete floor in a freezing stadium wears me out a lot more than I would expect. I've made it to the gym twice this week, and both workouts left me feeling more 'meh' than I would have liked. And the one day on my feet left my body a wreck. I'm sooo happy I have a patient and able chiropractor who's willing to put my hubby & I back together again when we're silly.




I've also learned that taking an active 'easy week' is me still being active - it needs to be a week of extra rest days instead... Last week I tried to dial it down a few notches in intensity... apparently not enough.




This week I'm also starting to get more of a grip on what the heck I'm really doing in terms of my health/fitness goals and subsequently my life... because you do realize that your health and fitness are _part_ of your life, right? And you do realize that YOU are responsible for your actions.




This 'epiphany' hit me as I was looking at a recipe for a super nummy looking cake/cup cake recipe. I was toying with making it - it is, after all Valentine's weekend and Mardi Gras is coming up too... but I kept coming back to: Why? There's been pie and brownies already the last 2 weeks, do I need to add that to the mix?




No. No I don't.




It comes down to this: am I really committed to living a 90-95% healthy, sustainable lifestyle that enjoys a treat on /special/ occasion?




If I am, then I need to acknowledge that a weekend doesn't qualify as a special occasion.




It's not that the cupcakes are OMG so evil and other things we say to demonize food to try to avoid it. It's that right now, it's not going to do anything to help me get to where I want to go. It's not that I don't trust myself in the presence of baked goods. It's not that I've been deprived of 'treats', I haven't stuck /so/ close to my eating plan for any length of time that I feel I am entitled to it. It boiled down to the fact that it was the weekend, I wanted to do something that I don't have time during the week to do... and it sounded good.




And that's not good enough of a reason for me to do it right now.




Doing laundry, getting stuff together for a trip to good will, and cleaning the cat boxes - THAT is a better way to spend my time.




As for an exciting follow-up announcement: I bought a new pair of jeans!!! Ok, I ordered them, but still, it's a baby step in the right direction.




After my hubby pointed out that every pair of pants I own is hanging off me and exceeds my own rule (of being able to take them off without undoing them)... and HIS pants meet the same criteria [I put on a pair of his jeans inadvertently... they were on my side of the closet!] And 90% of my tops are way too big as well. It Was Time.




I decided to take the plunge and ordered a pair of jeans from the myshape.com site.




This wasn't an easy decision, but I was getting the ClueX4 to the head and it was time to make that stop. See, it's not that I don't love or accept myself. It's not that I don't have the money (ok, I don't really, but I have some, so it takes away a bit of the excuse). It's not that I don't have the time or resources [aka stores].




It's that I think it's frivolous to spend money on clothes for me to decorate my body in a flattering way.




There, I said it.




This realization came after watching an episode of What Not To Wear (See, I listened to my peeps! I am trying to become a good student! :) One of the ladies was very proud of the fact that she never spent more than $20 on a piece of clothing in her closet... and most were under $10.




It showed. Low quality material, bad fit, not so flattering colors/styles, etc. Even *I* could see that... but then I looked at my own closet. I've spent a bit more on my clothes, but really, I hate to part with money for clothes. And having made clothes, I can recognize shoddy construction... but that happens when you look for clothes at Target instead of Nordstroms.




Yeah, so it was time for me to put those Big Girl Panties on and spend some quality cash on quality clothes. I wear the heck out of clothes, so I need something to stand up to that kind of abuse.




So I just spent ::gulp:: $55 on a pair of jeans.




In reality, if I am able to wear these jeans for the next year, it will be money well spent. More than that it will be double bonus!




I am also looking for a person to do alterations on my dress pants. I've only had those 3 months and don't want to buy a new pair. That way I have money to buy a few new tops to last me a little longer.




One "Ah-ha" moment I had was while watching WNTW... they gave the ladies poloroids of the outfits to refer to... I had the /brilliant/ idea to print off a few of the suggested outfits from MyShape, and use that as 'inspiration' of what to look for. That way it's less aimless wandering, it's more 'search and destroy'. LOL!




One other thing that I've been putting off - I finally registered for the Race for the Cure 5K! YAY!!! I am not seeking out donations, but if you are so inclined, I will post a link to my page when I can.




I have also set up a team: Fights Like A Girl if you would like to join in the fun... I love that they have a 'sleep in' option for the race - pay the fee, but don't have to do it. ;)




To add to the excitement, while I'm generally an antisocial/solitary exerciser, I got a notice that they're starting a training group in a couple of weeks that seems like a great idea to meet new people and pump up my endurance a little in the process.




Finally, the Fill-in-the blank section... of the different themes swirling around me this week, this one has stuck out. You know the rules (no wrong answer, keep it clean, answer as many times as you like)...




Fill in this blank:




Healthy is _____________