Pictures!

I have two things to offer today: First, I get to finally see Josh tonight!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Second, because I am too excited to write, and I'm literally getting ready to walk out the door, I decided to upload some pics. A small journey if you will. Basically, a picture of me when I started Thinterventioning, and a series of pictures leading up to what I currently look like. I've only lost 34 pounds, and I really didn't think it was showing that much, but when I started pulling up old pictures I was acutally surprised to see what I DID look like verses what I DO look like! My apologies for the poor quality - they were all snapped by me using my cell phone. And honestly, the only reason half of them were taken was for this purpose - so that I could look back and attempt to see progress! Enjoy. :)

Peace, Love, and Groban,

Micha

Josh and Harry

Club crackers and black tea with lemon = breakfast of champions. Okay, well, not really but still. Wow - that was just not a sentence at all. "Okay, well, not really but still." I remember when I started my master's degree my first writing professor told me I wrote too "folksy" and need to lean towards writing more "academic". I'm thinking if he read this blog he would straight up die. Thats right. Not just die. Straight up die.

Anyway, lots to write today kids so sit back, relax, and grab a (lite) beer. Lets start with all things Thintervention related. I've managed to eat good this week, have been to Zumba every day, and am tracking my calories. Its funny because I tend to have more "cheat days" now, but I also tend to have little to no trouble getting back to regular days. Mama's growing up kids.

A few pictures for your delight. The first is my dinner from....Tuesday? Sure, Tuesday. I had some lovely tri-color pasta with a dose of light shredded cheese and it was delish. And yes, I measured everything!

The second is my current breakfast of club crackers. Eight of them to be exact, for 140 calories. Whatevs. I'm too tired to care. Again, my cellphone pictures aren't going to win any awards, but I feel the need every now and then to add color to the blog.

Yesterday I ate well during the day....I think? What did I have for lunch?? Hold on........oh yeah! A turkey sandwich and chips. Good grief I'm sad. I went to my sister's house yesterday and the purpose was to weigh-in. I generally weigh-in on Wednesdays. No reason other than my friend Lindsay has Weigh-in Wednesday in her blog and I think that title is delightfully fun. So I weighed-in and it would appear that I have lost another 2 pounds this week, bringing my total to 34 pounds! So yay! I still wish I would get on one week and be down like 6 pounds, Biggest Loser style. However, I have zero intention of working out 9 hours a day, eating only 1,000 calories, and showing my ass wearing only a sports bra on national television. So two pounds it is!On a brighter note, I am only 16 pounds away from having lost 50 pounds. This seems simultaneously impossible and totally achievable. I think "omg 16 pounds.......that SO much!" and then I think "OMG 16 pounds?! Totally can do that! I've already lost twice that much!" You don't want to play in my schizo head. Trust me.

Last night I worked late, and after work Ethan and I went to Raising Cane's. I had never been there before, but several of us were discussing it yesterday and everyone kept saying how great their special sauce was. So we went last night and um - YES. That sauce was SO good. Its a ranchy-barbecuey-worchestershirey-chipotley-yummy goodness sauce. And they had crinkle fries! Win. And garlic bread that was soooo good all dipped in that fattening sauce. I had more than enough calories left for the day so I was able to eat my entire meal and feel totally okay with that. And lets be honest - even if I didn't have the calories left I was gonna eat it because it was just that damn good! Mmmm sauce....

In some non-Thintervention news: Tomorrow, yes tomorrow, I have sixth row seats to see Josh Groban!!!!! I bought the tickets in freaking March so I never thought this day would come. I am OMJ excited! (Thats oh my Josh for all you non-fans). Speaking of non-fans, I just don't get why people hate on him. So many of my college friends take issue with Josh. Calling him "popera boy" and whatnot. But my arguments are this: First of all, he doesn't sing opera. He doesn't even try to sing opera. To the random mcperson walking down the street, I know that anything in a foreign language or that is non-Britney Spears is pretty much opera. This I cannot fight. But to my musically trained friends - he doesn't sing opera! Secondly, I highly doubt the haters have ever really listened to his music. "You Raise Me Up" SO does not count. That is actually my least favorite Josh song. He of course has some cheesy ballads. Hell, Madonna has some cheesy ballads. But overall, his music is great. I own all the CD's, this is my sixth time seeing him in concert, and I heart him. And lastly, for all those music friends who hate him - um, he's a multi-platinum award winning artist who is on a world tour. I think he gets the last laugh here.

Sorry about that. Felt the need to love me some Josh! My friend Becky is coming down this weekend to go to the concert with me, then we're going to see the new Harry Potter film. I need to re-watch Part I of the 7th film before I see Part II though. I also want to re-read all the books. It has literally been 10 years since I read the first book. It is such genious writing, and the movies totally take that away. Granted, the movies are entertaining and all but nothing can get something across like a book can.

Alright, gotta go. Its so early in the day. But my hair looks good.

Did ya'll know that Neville Longbottom is hot now!?
Micha

1,000 Degrees

Well hey kids! How goes it? Anybody else ready to cut a bitch because of this heatwave?! I mean, FOR REAL. Yesterday it was like 112 degrees with the heat index. And the thing about Kentucky is that it can never just be hot. No, no. It has to be hot AND humid. I swear the humidity must be at like 90% right now. When I got in my car yesterday it was so hot I couldn't breathe. I had to open all four windows and pray I didn't die before my air conditioner kicked in.

Of all things I decided to go to Zumba last night. I would like to tell the story of me being awesome: My sister called because her air wasn't working and she was dying of heatstroke, so she wanted me to go swimming with her. And at first I said yes, and was internally deciding to forget all previous Zumba intentions. But, after a few minutes of thought I realized that I simply couldn't peace out on exercise for another day. SO, I totally went to Zumba instead! And that is the story of me being awesome. (My apologies if you thought I had something interesting to share...).

Now, I did immediately go to the pool as soon as Zumba ended. It was soooooooo hot last night that it was almost unbearable. Kelly kept giving us extra water breaks, and I went through my bottle of water, then refilled it on my way out and drank it again, and then got home and filled up and drank my huge 32 oz water bottle. And I probably still could have drank another gallon! Woof. The good side is, I'm thinking I probably burned twice as many calories because I sweat sooooo much. And I also worked my tail off because I skipped Zumba all three days last week (for shame), so I felt the need to kick my own ass last night. Success! That badonka-donk girl was back but I was standing safely one row back and four people over, so fortunately she was taking other people out, but I was safe and sound!

Anyway, I just finished eating lunch. It was quite delightful. I had a new Lean Pocket - Chipotle Chicken or something like that. It was totally yummy. Red and green peppers, chicken, corn, onions, all in a chipotle sauce. Yummm. I drank a Diet Dr Pepper with lunch, and I know I should have had water but it just tasted so good!

I think I may weigh-in tomorrow if I can remember to. I'm not sure that I've actually lost weight this week, but maintaining would be nice. We shall see what the results are!

In other news: I am loving me some Matthew Perryman Jones and some Brooke Fraser right now. May I suggest "Last Falling Star" by Matthew, and "Something in the Water" by Brooke. Actually, may I just suggest the entire album by Brooke called "Flags". Ya'll know how I get obsessed! I've recently been listening to Sara Bareilles like its my job, and Brooke is seriously in equal contention now for new favorite person ever. Very similar styles/lyrics/sounds.

Okay. Its too hot to go any further. My lovely long straight hair is now in a ponytail with a headband. Here's hoping I have little to no social interaction until Zumba.

Woof.
Micha

Curls and Scales

Dude. Seriously. What is my body? lol  I went ahead with my quasi-weekly weigh-in today, mostly to remind myself that I had a hellrat weekend and today was going to be my quantitative punishment. But no, no. I somehow managed to lose a pound this week. Last week I lost the three pounds I had gained on vacation, so that plus the one pound weight loss this week brings me to 32 lbs.  Dunno how that happened, but I'm not trying to argue! Still slow as molasseses.....molasses.....molasess....syrup. Slow as syrup, but the number is going down, not up. Again, that is really my main goal at this point.

I'd like to go to Zumba tomorrow night. However, it is that-time-of-month and I seem to have small demons chewing on my uterus as recreational activity. I just ate Pamprin like it was a bag of skittles. I reeeeeeaaaaalllllllyyyyyy need to exercise though. And I totally do want to. When I lose weight, even if only a pound, it always serves as a fresh motivator to go make myself do something in the gym. However, the demons and I are gonna have to have a little talk first. Dear Demons: Ima need ya'll to not eat a hole through my uterus during the next 24 hours so that I may continue on with my life and be able to enjoy activities such as Zumba. And walking. And moving. And not crying when I stand, sit, bend, or lie like a statue. Deal? (Ladies, I know ya'll feel me on this one, right?)

So anyway, I suppose that about covers it for today. It is raining outside, which is apparently God's way of telling me to stop blow-drying and straightening my hair in the mornings. I've achieved this task twice this week, and let me tell ya that is amazing. During the summer, you have a better chance of getting a marriage proposal from Brad Pitt than you do of seeing me with straight luscious flowing hair. I have insanely naturally curly hair. It's strange because the older I get the more curly it becomes. In high school it was a little wavy and I could talk it into curls with a little love. In college I was able to wear it curly so long as I didn't touch it or anger it, and the curls would just sort of do their thing. Now, as an adult (because I do not consider myself having been an "adult" in college), my hair is all kinds of curly. Big, thick southern-belle locks, like "Gone With The Wind" style. And I do nothing. I literally step out of the shower, get dressed, and leave. I don't use product, I don't brush it, I don't style it. It just curls. Which is lovely during the summer because its too damn hot to dry my hair anyway. And my hair is thick like a horse, so all of ya'll with thin straight hair who just flip your head over and dry it in five minutes can bite me. Drying my hair requires that I use straightening shampoo, then straightening conditioner, then a leave-in smoothing milk, then blow dry it for 20 minutes with a metal round brush, and then straighten it section by section with a straightening iron, and then pray. And still, generally after about 3-4 hours it starts to flip and wave anyway. I love my long straight hair, but alas the pretty days are few and far between.

Okay, well I have zero idea why I felt the need to share any of that, but kudos to ya'll for sticking with me.

Hells yeah 1 pound,
Micha

Diet Disasters

I like the way my friend Lindsay worded her July 4th weekend as an all-encompassing diet disaster, so I'm totes stealing that. Thanks Linds!! By the way, I just caught myself up on her blog and can we all giver her a standing ovation? She has lost over 50 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the what? GO LINDSAY!! WOO WOO! I would comment on her blog and tell her how wonderful she is, but alas the blogspot-o-sphere is being evil lately and it seems that making a comment on someone's blog is the equivalent to solving world peace. It simply cannot be done.

Anyway, today's blog will be long for two reasons: 1. I have not written an entry since sometime last week, and a lot of Thintervention disasters have since happened. 2. I am a hot damn mess right now over non-Thintervention items and I feel the need to vent, even if only a little. Or maybe a lot.

First thing's first: July 4th weekend + Thintervention = recipe for disaster. Actually, it started well before the weekend. I spent at least two nights last week over at a friend's house just hanging out. And involved in that hanging out was wine, beer, vodka - you name it. We had fruity drinks, not-so-fruity drinks, etc. And then that of course ended with a 1AM run to McDonald's. Have I learned nothing? Yup. Appears to be the case.

Then this weekend comes. I did great Friday night in the sense that I did not go out. However, that did not matter because instead I ordered a pizza from Pizza Hut. Epic fail. Then Saturday my sister and I decided to waste the day away lounging poolside at my apartment. All well and good....except for two things. 1. Wine comes in mini-plastic bottles. Did ya'll know that? It practically demanded us to sit and drink wine all day. and 2. Pizza Hut is indeed willing to deliver straight to the pool if you don't want to get out, dry off, and walk back to your apartment. So I had Pizza Hut - AGAIN!! I mean, he brought it to our deck chairs at the POOL. Something just came over me.

Then comes Sunday. Did I repent for my hellish ways? Did I exercise and burn a zillion calories and make up for the last four days? Um, no. Went to my sister's house. Made a pitcher of Sangria, laid on the deck ALL day - for seriously 8 hours - and let the sprinkler keep us cool. We drank the entire pitcher of Sangria (and by we I mostly mean me), ate chips and salsa, junk food, and MADE FREAKING S'MORES. Thats right people. Sangria and s'mores. Then my awesome cousin Jason hand-delivered us dinner that night. He had slow-roasted/grilled some meat for the 4th of July and was kind enough to offer curbside delivery. And by curbside, I mean our asses were too lazy to get out of our chairs so he brought it out on the deck.

And finally yesterday. The end to my trainwreck. I didn't leave my apartment yesterday. Not once. But what did I do? Ordered pizza. I was already so lethargic from the weekend and had had some form of pizza, chocolate and/or alcohol every day for 5 days straight so at that point I just said screw it and called in for delivery.

So Lindsday - if you're reading this, feel better my friend. Your weekend was an ad for Weight Watchers compared to my hell-rat spree. If anything good came out of it all it is that I have zero desire to eat or drink this week, and if I never have pizza again it will be too soon. Woof.

Okay, so anyway - can I take a brief moment to vent? Cryptically? Life has recently attempted to teach me some nice, valuable lessons. Lessons that I have learned before, many years ago. And by "learned", I apparently mean went in one ear and out the other, right? What is it that has taught me to measure my own self-worth based upon what someone else thinks of me? When did I become that person?  I have literally gotten to the point of deciding whether or not I had a good day based upon how an interaction with someone went, etc. And at what point did I start thinking that my size and shape are not only determining factors in how I feel, but are the number ONE determining factors in how I feel? And WHEN did I decide that lowering my self-standards in an attempt to gain some type of confirmation or adoration of ANY kind is okay? Does anyone else go through ANY of this? I feel like I am lacking the strength to be me, and that my focus is so far gone that I'm not sure if it is even possible to get back. I have even found myself uttering phrases like, "If I can lose 30 more pounds, then I can/will....fill-in-the-blank......" The worst part of it all is that I've done this before, and thought I learned my lesson but clearly did not. I know all of this sounds like rambling and is confusing and makes no sense. I don't particularly want to elaborate with details, but I just wanted to attempt to get some things off my mind this morning. I already said it but I'm gonna say it again: What is it that has taught me to measure my own self-worth based upon what someone else thinks of me?

And lastly, but not leastly - why is it, that even when harsh reality is being handed to me on a silver platter, I look the other way and create what I want to be my reality? Kind of like selective listening. I hear what I want to hear, and ignore those parts that I don't want to hear. And if you do that consistenly enough, you know what happens? A false sense of reality. Because I editout all the bad parts, and live in my world of happy fluffy bunnies. And then when the moment comes that the bad parts inevitably creep their way back in, I act shocked - like I never saw them coming. Even though I personally deflected them out in the first place.

Okay, I'll spare you all any further ramblings today. My apologies for the lack of love, light and laughter today. But every day can't be rosy, right?

Moving right along,
Micha