Is that a smile I see?

Okay, I promise this post will not be as "uplifting" as the previous one. I had a nice, refreshing weekend and I feel much better today!! And I of course come bearing more stories.

So after the week from hell, on Saturday I had my sister Anissa's wedding (the wedding that I was attempting to learn that song for). Leslie and I got up and went down early to help decorate. We drove through a freaking monsoon the entire way there, and with my bad mood carried over from Friday it was gonna take a miracle for me to get through the day without slapping someone. As it turned out though, the day was a LOT of fun!! We had fun decorating the cake and putting out all the flowers and decorating. The ceremony was pretty, and I sang my song......dun dun dun. It actually was totally fine! I managed to learn it (sometimes I think I learn better under stress), and sing it. Apparently I missed this, but people teared up while I sang so that's always a good sign of approval. Well, unless they tear up because you're so foul, but I do not believe that to be the case this time. Wait....what?

ANYway, after the ceremony for the reception we basically just had a big family cookout. It was very relaxing, fun, and just what I needed! We ate ourselves silly, then had cake and dancing. Most people dwindled out and left but Leslie and I stayed and we had an impromptu dance party in the kitchen. Ha! My nephews were all there and a few other people, so we cranked up any dance song we could find and had at it. Oh, side note: Earlier during the reception, Usher's "DJ Got Us Falling In Love" was playing, so I proceeded to teach Zumba routine to this song to my mom, Anissa, and Caleb's girlfriend Amanda - it was HAlarious. Leslie filmed the entire thing (and has been threatened with death should she ever share it), and on playback my mom's attempt at Zumba absolutely cracked me up. She was flailing her arms and screaming "Woohoo!!" and shaking her hips - oh my gosh, you just have no idea how fabulous it was. lol And what is REALLY scary?! That 1. I know my Zumba routines well enough to teach them (We did one to Usher, one to a Pitbull song, and one to a Lady Gaga song, all of which I do in class), and 2. That I am the one teaching them!!! Who would have thought two months ago that of all the people in the room I would be the best option to teach 3 Zumba routines?! hahaha I was definitely sweating when we were done, as I do not normally do Zumba in a dress with my hair in curls. Leslie just stood in the corner and "Hell to the naw'd" while we danced. She was not trying to hear that.

Anyway, we got home around 12 or 1AM, and I crashed. Then yesterday morning my phone rings while I'm asleep and it's my dad. He tells me they are almost to my apartment and are taking me to get gas, buy groceries, go get a bathing suit, and to get out of bed and look like something. HA! I was totally asleep and had no idea what was going on and had to make him repeat it all - even then I barely grasped. So I rolled out of bed, got dressed, made myself "look like something" and there they came! We went to pick up Leslie, and the plan was to go to Kroger's first.  I say "plan" because that implies that said plan did not happent. MmmmHmm. We are driving out of Leslie's street, cleared about 200 yards, and we see a yardsale. Mom, Leslie and I all screamed and Dad very quietly said, "oh no" as Leslie proceeded to slam on the brakes, do a full out U-turn and guides us back to the garage sale. We got out of the car and literally ran to the sale - I can only assume the people who lived there though "Mmm no - we don't want any crazy today."

We get up there, and Leslie quickly discovers every item they are selling matches the decor in her house exactly - and it was NICE stuff. She lives in an uber nice neighborhood, so people who have yard sales there don't play. The stuff they get rid of is the stuff I aspire to afford. Sad, but true. So, Leslie bought EVERYTHING they had. I'm not kidding. Not even a lil' bit. She cleared their driveway, and the tables inside. So much so that she had to put the seats down in her SUV - her very LARGE SUV mind you - and then we wouldn't fit in the car. So we had to very sheepishly/proudly ask the house owners if we could chill in their driveway while Les and Aaron drove the stuff back to her house and emptied the car out. I mean, who goes to a yard sale and has to sit in the people's driveway while someone takes the crap home?! LOL And that isn't even the worst part! While Les and Aaron took the stuff home, mom and dad and I stayed at the yardsale. So what happens? Mom and dad start shopping and buy the few items left! Then Leslie comes back and we had to fill the car up AGAIN. Then Les decided to go ahead and buy the table she had been eyeing the first time (granted, mostly because I made her) and literally the people had nothing left. They said we were the best sale they had all weekend.  Well yeah - when you make more in one sale than I make in one week? I'm sure we were their favorite people EVER.

After about 2 hours of this detour, we then realized the mall was closing at 6 and decided to go there first. Thus began the task of purchasing new bras and a bathing suit, which after last week's process I was NOT looking forward to at ALL. Mom and I went to Lane Bryant, who now carries bathing suits in the store and they were all actually super cute. However, the first 10 or so I tried on were simply tragic. Like, really really tragic. I actually put one on, and the strap snapped off in retaliation. So I started having flashbacks of last week and was getting really upset. But finally after much deliberation: I FOUND A BATHING SUIT! It actually makes my boobs look small (I know, right? Miracle) and its cut like a 1940's pinup girl - you know the style?? Well anyway, it was definitely the best option so we went for that. AND my mom found the most gorgeous sundress EVER that is purples and paisleys, and she made the mistake of telling me to try it on - and it fit - and i loved it - mmmhmm. :) Oh....and I may or may not have found the most AMAZING purple shoes EVER EVER EVER. I'll have to take a pic of them. I die.

So I was all happy and ready to leave, when mom reminded me we still had bras to go. Woof. My high immediately went low again as I stared at the floor to ceiling wall of options. I didn't even know where to begin, so we nabbed a sales girl and I asked her to do a bra fitting for me. She measured me, and much to my surprise I was a full 2 inches smaller around than I had even considered looking at! So she took over and all I had to do was stand in the fitting room and she whisked away to pull sizes. the very first one I put on fit PERFECT. It has been quite some time since I have seen my boobs sit where they should! ha I put my shirt on to test it out, and my shirt was loser automatically just because I was wearing the right fit bra! It was amazing. So I bought one in each color of course. :) My mom and I were checking out, and she said "I know you needed this lift of spirits. I'm glad to see you smiling." She is such a good momma. And she's right - I did need it, and after a successful bathing suit and a successful bra fitting, its hard not to feel brighter. :)

We went to the grocery afterward and I stocked up on uber healthy foods and fresh veggies and lots of wheat things. ha So I am re-juvenated for Thintervention now. This weekend was truly what I needed - quality time with my family, shopping with my momma, a few things to remind me I am making progress, some healthy food, and more laughter than I could ever share in one blog post. (because trust me, I have left out like fifty eleven stories, but I ain't got time).

I guess I should work now, huh?
Micha

ready...set...VENT.

I can't. I just can't. I haven't posted in almost a week - why? I am surprised I have found time to eat and pee, let alone write a blog entry. :(  There are so many areas that blow chunks right now, ima just make a list. Mmmk?

Okay, first of all: WORK. I am not going into all the details, mostly because to the average person they would be boring, but let me just say this: INSANITY. ABSOLUTE INSANITY. I am technically an assistant to two different people, plus all the people under them, plus all of the random requests that come in on a daily basis from the random people. Now add to that a huge event that happens to be taking place this weekend (our annual youth dinner theater), and you have a Micha that is ready to literally kick and scream and throw a hissy fit. I give you, TODAY'S to-do list - yesterday was so insane I couldn't even write down anything, so who even knows where that went. And see those things tucked in and around the sides? More to-do's. MmmHmm. That's right.

Again, these are the things I remembered to write down. And why is hardly anything highlighted? Because I've been so busy doing all of the things that I didn't have written down to do in the first place. I. Am. On. Over. Load. :(

Now, in related news - I have been so stressed this week I have been having really bad stress -induced headaches. Mind you, not from just work - from all the other glorious things I'm about to share. Work is only the first part. I have basically had one continuous headache for 4 days straight and no matter what I do it won't quit. I want to cry. Literally. PLEEEEAAAASSSSE GO AWAY HEADACHE!! And because of said headache, I now move on to my next failure: Thintervention.

Have I eaten good? No. Have I exercised? Nope. Have I REMOTELY attempted to act like a normal thinterventioning human being? NO. I have eaten crap food all week partially because I have had zero time to cook, and with my headaches and general crappiness I just haven't cared. No excuse - just have not cared. Not even a little bit. That's right. I said it.

The other partial reason for eating crap leads me to my next failure of the week: Money. Or lack thereof. I am beyond broke. There should be a new word for broke actually. I have paid my bills, barely, which is just swell. But remember when I still have more bills to pay that are due like....oh, I don't know NOW? And remember when I have ZERO money to go buy groceries or go buy gas for $50.00 a gallon? So I have like no food in my house except for a few random crap items. And my car is like running on fumes, I kid you not. But quite frankly, I don't have the money to fix either problem and I don't exactly see any money fairies headed my way so that's that. I'll starve and buy a horse. Speaking of animals, my next failure: My Dog.

I am going to be gone for a week, and need a home for her. An inexpensive one at that. And it is BEYOND stressing me out. I am partially to blame because I am so damn paranoid about where she goes and making sure she's well taken care of. And partially she is the problem because her house training leaves something to be desired, so she has accidents. Grrr. I have explored about 23783510 options, and narrowed it down to a few good ones, but I am so broke that I don't know what is going to be my most financially appealing option. I really don't want to spend more on the dog that I do on my vacation. And speaking of vacation, here is my NEXT failure: Bathing Suits.

I bought a bathing suit online (mistake number one), and it arrived yesterday. So when I got home from my 13 hour day, I decided to try it on (mistake numbers two - seventeen). I had somehow disillusioned myself to believe that having lost 25 lbs trying on a bathing suit would be both less painful as well as possible. WRONG. Oh my god. It was the worst, most depressing moment of my life. I swear. Not only did it NOT fit, it actually bitchslapped me. No - really. It did. I put it on, and it was a halter-type neckline, and it actually snapped back and bitchslapped me in the back. I looked like a beached whale. After eating 40 tons of food. On a fat day. I couldn't even get it off quickly because the fit was so damn awful it was like working a puzzle just to get out of the thing. So 25 lbs? Whatevers. I am still as tragic as always when it comes down to the bare bones.

After I tried on said bathing suit/death capsule, I then tried on the next item that had arrived in the mail yesterday: a new bra. If i thought that was going to cheer me up, then I was apparently dillusional - oh wait, that's right - I was. Let's just say, I now know what Madonna would look like as a beached whale wearing cones. Again, I. Am. Tragic.

And to have some all-inclusive other failures of the week: I am fairly certain its almost that time of month and thats just never good. Also, I am supposed to sing in my sister's wedding on Saturday. She just officially told me the song this week, and it is of course a song I have NEVER heard before, did NOT have any music for, and have ZERO time to learn. So to "learn" it, I listened to it in a youtube video so I could hear the chords. I then wrote the words and chords out so I have "music". I played it once on the piano. As of right now, the wedding is exactly 48 hours away and I couldn't even hum you the tune of the song, let alone actually sing it. And there is precisely ZERO amount of time between now and then to learn the song. Work is too insane, I don't have a piano at home, and that is that. So I have no idea what I'm going to do, other than read it aloud as a dramatic reading. Woof.

I'm supposed to have Zumba tonight, which should be swell since I haven't been in a week. So let's recap, shall we? Work = STRESS, I've eaten a bazillion calories this week, haven't exercised since last Thursday, I have no money, I have no food or gas or the ability to purchase either, I have no dog solution, I have no bathing suit and may never try one on again, no bra, am likely getting a near visit from mother nature, and I have to sing a song in 48 hours that I need to go learn now.

I'm sorry, did I start this entry with "This week was great!" ?

Micha

Ima need a minute

"Because sometimes life's not fair, that's why!" - has your mom, dad, uncle, sister, dog or SOMEbody ever said this to you? Well, I've said it to myself a lot this week. I fear I may even say it to my children some day. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. I can barely take care of myself and the dog, let alone bring a child into the mix right now. Oy.

Anyway, I'm having a frustrating week with everything. Work has been INSANE. Literally. Have a peek at my to-do list from just yesterday and Wednesday:

And these are just the things that I write down. Add to that about 50 million other things that I had to get done that never even made it to my to-do list. All of the things that get asked of me as I'm walking down a hall, or through a room, or someone hands me something...woof. The good news is, if it's highlighted I finished it. If not.....it gets added to today's list. I have had so many moments this week where all I want to do is stop for a minute and scream, but I have thus far refrained. I know things will calm down a little bit over the summer....only a weeeee little bit, but it counts. Between my 8-5 craziness, and then Zumba and/or gym every night until 7:30, by the time I get home I am DONE. No, there needs to be a better word for it. "Done" seems way to light-hearted.

So aside from work, this gym business. I'm doing Zumba three days a week now, and I try to do some form of something on 2 or 3 of my "off" days. So my exercise is to the max - but I weighed yesterday, and had lost ZERO pounds this week. What gives?! I'm still strong at 25, so yay for not gaining. But why didn't I at least lose a pound? I'm eating breakfast every day, drinking about fifty-eleven gallon of water a day, watching my calories, carbs, proteins, etc and trying to eat balanced. I mean, yes last weekend was bad with the Mexican and the Burger King. But honestly, that was two meals out of like 20 that weren't healthy, and I've burned a gazillion calories at the gym this week. The weird thing is, I FEEL like I've lost weight. I'm sure it is just a mind trick, but Zumba was getting easier this week because I am feeling more fit and more agile. And my clothes continue to feel a little looser all the time. Actually, in Zumba this week I had to practically keep one hand on my workout pants because they kept slipping down. sigh. So its really frustrating to hop on the scale and not see the rewards. Granted, once again I weighed at night, after having eaten 2-3 times that day, and was fresh off Zumba class so my muscles were all inflamed and swollen and pissy. But does that matter???

Sorry to have such a Debbie-Downer having lunch with Polly-Pissy-Pants in a convent kind of post, but I am just NOT feeling it today. Thoughts and ramblings are appreciated!

2+2 = 7????
Micha

Clothes

Well kids, I have survived another night of Zumba and lived to tell about it!! Actually, I'm starting to notice something - I think I'm catching on! Whaaa???? I mean, don't throw away all your beliefs and start referring to me as Shakira Hughes. But I am starting to pick up the pieces a little bit. I am to the point now where I am able to do most of the steps, though not necessarily do all of them well. I only remember some of the sequencing though. I have reached an odd conclusion on that: The songs that are just random Latin songs that are more beats than definite words, and lack complete familiarity to me I absolutely never remember the sequencing on. But the songs that are just regular songs off the radio -i.e. Lady Gaga, Usher, Gwen Stefani, etc. - I can literally almost do from memory now. Because I know the songs, and I associate the moves with the different parts of the song. I made the observation last night. There is this one song I had never heard before but I absolutely love now, and therefore I have paid attention to the music - the result is that I know that routine,too and am actually better at it. Moral of the story: listen to random ass Latin songs and pay more attention musically. Only a music nerd would go to Zumba and walk away with this conclustion. But hey, I am able to make it through the entire hour and fifteen minute class without dying now, and I would consider that an achievement in itself!

Moving right along...when did I blog last?? Monday?? I'm trying to remember what I've done for food and exercise and all that jazz. On Monday night I had Zumba, then afterwards I was starving (I always am after this class! What gives?!). I came home and decided to make a turkey burger, steamed caulifower, and peas and corn. Voila:

Not gonna lie, it was soooo good! I added some red peppers to the turkey burger, then wrapped it up in a wheat wrap. I have found the BEST whole wheat wraps! Well, my mom found them and bought them for me. But still. They are only 75 calories, and only 9g of carbs per wrap!!! I consider this to be a great achievement in the bread world. So I have ditched bread pretty much all week and replaced it with these awesome wraps. I've had turkey burgers on them twice, and even had peanut butter on them last night. I want to buy some bananas at the grocery this week and fill the wrap with bananas and peanut butter, and a tsp of honey - I am thinking this will be so delish it will blow my mind. The plan is of course to use 95% bananas, and like 5% honey and PB just for the flavor. Last night for dinner I was exhausted after night two of Zumba class, so I had a can of Progresso Light soup, only 60 calories for the entire can. Granted, it didn't exactly taste like it was made by a chef. But it was totally edible, and quite frankly I was too tired to care. I had the leftover turkey burger for lunch yesterday, and couldn't really fathom firing up the George Foreman grill again. And by "firing up" I mean plugging in. Regardless, I ate the can of soup, and with it had wheat tortilla's with a tbsp of peanut butter spread between them. It was actually somewhat tasty! I drank my huge 32 ounce water bottle, and that was that.

 I've already had breakfast this morning: 8 UNsalted saltines with cheese. Have you ever heard of unsalted saltines? I hadn't! But I have now, and they taste perfectly fine to me so I am making the switch forever. I think they still have that specific taste that one craves when eating saltine crackers, but with less than half the salt. Woowoo! Perhaps not the breakfast of champions, but food nonetheless, and I drank it with a 20 oz bottle of water.

Now, you may be wondering why is the subject of this entry "clothes", when all I am talking about is Zumba, food, and albino crackers? Well, I'll tell you. This morning it is cold outside (boooo May!), so I actually had to give in and wear long sleeves. Its a thin purple sweater that I've owned forever. When I first put it on, I had this fairytale dream that it would be soooo big since I haven't worn it since winter, and that I'd be all "Ooooo, look I'm too small for this!". Nope. Not the case. Now, don't get it twisted - the sweater IS much more loose. Especially in the middle area. And my jeans are actually so big now, that I have to hold them with one hand when I walk, especially up/down stairs, or they just fall off. Literally. Fall. Off. (there may or may not be a story there....). Um, ANYway, at first I was super disappointed. I have lost 25 freaking pounds, why am I not swimming in my sweater like I'm tryin' to cross the Pond?! But then, I reached the most startling realization. Before, I was wearing my clothes so very very TIGHT. They were, in all reality, too small for me. I was sucking myself into my jeans, and pulling them up high enough to hopefully hide my mid-section so I could wear my tight ass sweater with them. I just simply could not bring myself to go up a size. It was such a defeat. So I stayed in the same size, when in all actuality I really was wearing tight fitting clothes and being that girl.

Woof. What a realization. I started ticking off my wardrobe in my head, and realized I did this in most everything. So yes, things are lose now but they are not falling off (except my jeans???). So its like a strange little form of progress. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it either. Thoughts?

Well, on that note I need to go begin my day from hell. My to-do list is as long as my Zumba shaking leg. Should be swell!!

Swim in the ocean, not in clothes.
Micha

Does this whopper make me look fat?

Why hello there Monday. There is so much to cover from this weekend, and I'm not just talkin' food! (though, it was somewhat of a rough weekend food-wise).

Friday night I did what any single girl in her twenties was doing - watching my DVR recording of the Royal Wedding. Woowoo!! Don't act like you didn't at least check out the fairytale for a few minutes! Or, if you are at all like me, you DVR'd it, watched it in it's entirety, then switched to CNN and snuggled up with the dog and watched the replay.....twice. I was not even an avid royal wedding fan, and I certainly was not taking part in all the craziness leading up to it. At best I wanted to see her dress. But then something magical happened when I started watching. I became totally entranced by the fairytale!! The wedding was gorgeous, she looked absolutely stunning, and the pomp & circumstance that was taking place was beyond words. And, being the nerd that I am my favorite part: the choral pieces during the ceremony!! Did anyone else nerd out and totally tear up during that John Rutter piece?! Or even during the second piece that was by that unknown (soon to be well known) composer? The choir was stunning, pitch perfect, 8+ part harmonies....wow. The music was stunning.

After I finished nerding out, I did the other thing that every single gal in her twenties did....watched the Lifetime movie interpretation of "William and Kate". It was everything I dreamed it would be for a Lifetime movie - bad acting, a terrible script, the actors portraying the royals looked NOTHING like them, absolutely lacking in plot, and above all else - fabulous. I couldn't turn the channel. So I watched it, then flipped over the CNN to watch the wedding again. I fell asleep sometime around 3AM when they were about to kiss on the balcony for a second time (Ohhhh snap!)

Then came Saturday. My mom came into town to go shopping, so I got up and took a shower and dried my hair (with CNN showing wedding highlights in the background. What?). We went to grab Leslie, then we went to Kohl's. I have no money, but my mom and sister bought me some new PJ pants and a pretty purple water bottle. Probably more so because I'm pathetic than any other reason! After shopping, we went to Hacienda for dinner. I did not even make an attempt to eat healthy here. I mean, it IS Mexican food so my options weren't exactly plentiful. So I decided it would just be a cheat meal and that was that. So I ordered enchiladas covered in white queso dip. And a side of white queso dip just to dip my tortilla chips in. And rice. And beans. And a Diet Pepsi. Ooops??

Moving right along...Sunday I had EVERY intention of working out. I swear I did. (Sidenote: On Saturday my "workout" was cleaning my apartment, then having a mini-dance party which may or may not have taken place in my tighty whities.) Um, anyway....Sunday I meant to work out. But I failed. I did wake up and make a nice healthy breakfast for myself. I had scrambled eggs, 2 % cheese, and a tsp of bacon bits all wrapped in wheat tortillas. It was sooooooo yummy!! The bacon bits were such a great substitute for having bacon, and I just wanted the teensiest  taste.

After that the day went downhill. I was sooooo lazy. I spent most of the day catching up on my DVR and/or laying in bed surfing the internet. By 7:15 I pretty much committed to and owned the fact that the gym wasn't going to happen. Woof. So like a nice good girl, I made a super healthy dinner, did a home workout video, drank 32 ounces of water and went to bed. Oh WAIT....that's what happened in the parallel universe where the GOOD Micha lives. My bad. The regular sorry-ass Micha in our universe went to Burger King and had a whopper with cheese, french fries, and a large Sprite, didn't exercise at all, and was up until 3AM this morning. I'm sorry, did I start this story with "Once upon a time..."? Again, my bad.

So yeah, Sunday was a total and complete failure. I haven't had fast food in months. Haven't even thought about it. But I really wanted it last night, and I decided not to torture myself and just to go get it. And that is that. Today I had my special K for breakfast (I know you totally didn't see that coming), a Healthy Choice Steamer for lunch, have drank 32 ounces of water, and I have Zumba tonight. For reals - no tricks this time. I even went home on my lunch break and packed my Zumba bag. It's hard to tell which Micha is coming to play these days. ;)

As a result of this weekend's excursion I am now having a fat day. I understand the logistics. I did not, I repeat: DID NOT gain my 25 pounds back this weekend because I had Mexican and Burger King. (wow. hurts to type that actually...) And I understand that I look exactly the same today as I did last week when I was all happy and posting pictures and off to save the world one fat person at a time. But nonetheless, I'm having a fat day. And to be fair, I'm sure I am full of fluid and looking a smidge fouler than normal because of all the salt intake. It happens. The important thing is I am back to my normal self today and my wild hell rat of a weekend is now in the past.

And lastly, I would like to at least acknowledge the elephant in the room: Osama Bin Laden is dead. Hooray!!! I watched all the coverage live last night, from the nail-biting moment that the White House broke in and said they had an announcement, all the way until 3AM when I was falling asleep to the soothing sounds of Wolf Blitzer telling it like it is. Truly an historical moment. Regardless of political affiliation, this is a moment. Speaking of, HAlarious side note - our intern was here today and we were of course discussing the water cooler topic of the day - aka bin Laden - and he asked what party I associate myself with. I opened my mouth simply to say I'd prefer not to discuss politics at work, ESPECIALLY in a work place where I am in the political minority, and before I could answer he goes, "Oh, nevermind. You're one of those musician-y artsy type people. Of course you're an extreme liberal." BAHAHAHA How lovely to see stereotypes working at their hardest and brighest.

Fat days end too,
Micha

25 pounds and counting!

That's right folks - I'm down more pounds than the Duggars have children. Now THAT is an accomplishment! ;)

I did my weigh-in last night, with great hesitance. I mean, this was Easter and I wasn't exactly an angel on Easter Sunday...or Monday. ha! But I did go to Zumba twice this week, and have eaten great otherwise. Last night after Zumba class I went to my sister's house. I walked straight in and weighed - I know you're supposed to weigh in the morning when you're all foodless and stuff, and that I had been eating all day and building up some lovely muscle fluid from Zumba. But, nonetheless I got on the scale and am official down 25 pounds!!!!!!!!! Current photo comparisons:

Above: December, 2010

Annnnd, today: April 29, 2011 - Down 25 lbs total so far, 14 inches total. I couldn't find a full-body shot really of me before - at least not in my cell phone, and I'm too lazy to seek elsewhere right now. ha But at least you can get the idea of where I was verses where I am at!!

That's all for right now. I've got way too much to do, but I at least wanted to share a little. Lunch in an hour....hmm, where to go? :)

Micha

Stormy Weather...again.

Well hey ya'll! It is way past my writing time, but today was just insane!!! (I am realizing that I start most of my posts with that, or something similar. But it's always true!)

Anyway, is anyone else tired of these storms?! I don't know who reads this blog, but for those of you in Kentucky if you're like me you are OVER it. Tornado warnings, rain, hail, severe storms and 80mph winds for 6 days straight? Um, no. Please go somewhere else! As I type this I am hearing that we are supposed to get an even larger system come through tonight. Ima have to have some words with the weather fairy here in a hot minute.

Back to life (...back to reality...oh you know you sang it,too). So I Zumba'd last night. I'm making it a verb now. Because I damn well DO something when I Zumba. It was rough, but admittedly not quite as rough as the first time around. I still barely kept up and wanted to die at the end, but I feel my life to death ratio was much more in balance. And I could actually breathe, which says something. It was fun - we learned two new dances, one of which was cray-cray. Some crazy footwork trick with your toes and your heels and your foot and your dog....well, you get the idea. After she taught it she suggested we try it in double-time. Well, the two girls next to me absolutely went into fits of hysterical laughing at that point. They were like "Um no. That ain't gonna happen", and one of them actually laid down on the floor and laughed. Then I managed to do it for like 4.2 seconds, and she stopped laughing, looked dead serious and said "White girl can dance!" - well, then naturally I couldn't do it anymore after that. Whether it was because of that comment, me laughing, or because I had simply met my "natural" ability dance quota for the day remains to be seen.

A guest instructor did a Lady Gaga song ("Telephone") with us - now, this was both good and bad. It was good because I happen to love that song, and the routine was kind of less Zumba and more dance (if that makes sense at all...). So I was totally getting into it and loving me some Gaga. The bad was that the girl who was teaching us was absolutely a spastastic crazy girl. She would do the most simple move, but her body would move like she was dancing to the countdown to New Year's Eve and was being filmed up close and personal. Her ass was bumpin' so far back I thought she was gonna hit herself in the back of the head with it. No. Lie. It was actually almost comical. No - it WAS comical. But the song was enjoyable. :)

For dinner last night I did a Lean Cuisine pizza and some steamed peas/corn. It was super yummy.

The pizza had red and green peppers, onions, sausage tomatoes - it didn't taste like Lean Cuisine. Then again, after Zumba I was famished so I'm not entirely sure that I cared. I drank a full 32 ounces of water in like 1.2 seconds.

Speaking of, can we please give some love to my water bottle?

I know that one doesn't generally discuss water bottles, but I have some mad love for mine. My mom bought it for herself, and when I whined she gave it to me. What? I never said I'm not spoiled. Not once did I say that. This picture makes it looks a bit special, but really there are two things I love about it. 1. it holds a full 32 oz of water. I drink the entire thing for lunch, and the entire thing for dinner, plus some extra here and there. So I know that I get in a minimum of 64 oz a day, which si good. 2. It has a STRAW!!!!! This is the secret people. I speak the truth. The straw makes the bottle. I sit and sip and don't even realize I've drank that entire bottle. I know it's a "mental" thing (and/or issue...), but that straw makes my little world a brighter place. Hm.

Okay, so anyway, that leaves today. It was Secretary Appreciation Day! (who knew?). So my two bosses took me out to lunch to PF Changs. Mmmmmm. I ordered lettuce wraps which were DELISH. I will have the leftover for dinner. Its literally what it sounds like - a big piece of lettuce, then you fill it with this chicken stuff. The lettuce serves as the wrap. I drank water. The wraps are only 160 cals per serving, and there are 4 servings a dish. I had 2 for lunch, and have the rest left over for dinner. Way too excited. I also would like to note that this morning was one of our staff member's birthdays. They had her a nice big carmel iced cake that looked absolutely to die for. My mouth watered just looking at that beast. BUT, I chose to not eat any (especially since I knew PF Changs was in my near future).

Can't decide about the gym tonight. The weather is still so terrible outside, and I probably won't leave here until around 7:30-8:00. Plus I have Zumba tomorrow. So who knows. But on a bright note: I wore a shirt today that I haven't worn in forever. It was way too small. It wouldn't even button on me, and usually I wore it with a cami under it and it was literally 3-4 inches from considering buttoning. This morning I put it on - not only does it button, it's BIG! It could button another inch over and it would still fit! Love love love things like that. :)

Tomorrow is Thursday (and then comes Friday, Saturday, Sunday....),

Micha

Happy Easter!

I know, I'm a little behind on the well wishes for Easter -but I hope you all had a good one! For me, it was fabulous. I haven't written in a while, but things have just been cray-cray so I got behind.

Friday - all I can say about Friday is STORMS. I mean, really that would sum up this entire weekend but for real - on Friday I thought I was going to die. There is a story - but I'm out of energy to type it. It involved a restaurant, tornados, straight line winds, windows busting out, me screaming - you get the picture.

Saturday....what did I do??? Oh yeah - I went to the gym!! Woowoo. I worked out double hard on the treadmill because I knew Easter dinner was coming up the next day. I also ate well, this much I remember. Exactly what I ate?? Couldn't tell ya. This entire past 4 days is just such a big blur to me!

Sunday - Easter!! I got up at the ass crack of dawn and drove to my parents house. I was going to go to Quest for church, but my mom was singing in an Easter program and I think she really wanted family there. My dad even went with us, which is a rarity! My mom's church is tiny. No, really. It is all of 30 people total, one tiny little room like a one-room schoolhouse. The preacher called in sick (yes, really), so they had a congregation member step in and take his place. My mom sang her little heart out. :)

After church, mom had to go to another church and sing the same program, so my sister Leslie and I ended up in charge of Easter dinner. A couple weeks ago Mom asked me if I wanted her to cook a healthy dinner for Easter. I laughed, and then realized she was serious! Um, NO. I wanted my momma's homecooked Southern treats for Easter just like I've had my whole life. So we had mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, homemade mac & cheese, biscuits, rolls, country ham, turkey, noodles, dressing, corn - you name it, we had it. Sweet tea to drink, and a four-layer chocolate dessert. In case you're wondering: I ate it ALL! I didn't care. lol I have never enjoyed a meal so much in my life! I used to eat that food every single time I went to my mom's, but lately she has cooked me special healthy meals - even on my birthday!! So I went all out, and enjoyed it - didn't feel at all guilty because I knew it was just one day. I've actually gained enough control now to allow myself to do things like that. I can eat like crap and indulge, knowing fully well that I will get back on the bandwagon. In the past I never would have done that. One meal, or one day would throw me off and I would ruin my entire week - or month. Or just quit. But now I take comfort in knowing that I'm getting to the point where making healthy decisions is becoming second nature. I never, ever thought I would say that!!

We did have a rather festive Easter Egg hunt that literally made me out of breath from running allllll over my parents huge back yard! My dad hides, and all the "kids" hunt. By kids I mean me and my three grown ass sisters, along with my 5 grown ass nephews, the youngest of which is 8 and by all rights should technically be the only one hunting. But we fill the eggs with chocolate and MONEY! SO there is a lot at stake. We have hilarious pics from this annual event, but they're all on other people's cameras, so none for the blog. I did, however, snap a picture of our eggs that we decorated. They turned out.....um, special. The one in the plastic case that looks like it needs to be committed is Anissa's.

Oh, and in other news: I also weighed in this weekend. Last time I weighed in I was hovering right around 18 lbs, SOOOO close to getting to 20. This weekend? I have officially lost 22 lbs!!! Woo!! So I'm really hoping to hit 25 lbs by May - I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!This process is so slow some days I can't stand it. But today I was thinking, who cares how slow it is?? Even if it takes me a year, or two years as long as every time I weight the number goes DOWN then who cares? I've lost 22 lbs and that is no easy task, let me tell ya!

Sunday night I came home and got a wild hair and decided to give the dog a haircut and bath. Colin had given her a UK jersey for Easter, but I hated to put it on her with her fur all matted and smelling foul as the day is long. She hasn't been to a real groomer in forEVER, so we've been doing the home grooming sessions. She hates this. So do I. I dread them with every fiber of my being, and she always looks at me like she is going to cut a bitch when I pull the scissors and shampoo out. She totally knows what's coming. This is doggie before:

OMG, I know, right?! She was just tragic. Her little fur was sooooo grown out I couldn't even see her face. So I gave her a haircut-ish. She wouldn't let me trim her back legs and butt/tail area because by that point we had been working for an hour. I was sweating, cursing, yelling and she was whiny and fidgety. So I did what I could, then put her in the bathtub and scrubbed her down. Then blow-dried her. Then she didn't speak to me for at least 3 hours. Here is the after:

My sweet little baby. :) I don't think I did great on the grooming, but I also don't think that I did terrible.

Yesterday I do believe was a complete and total waste of a day. I was tired from the weekend's activities, and lack of sleep from staying up all night because of all the crazy storms. So I slept until 11:30 yesterday, but didn't actually get out of my bed until 1:30. Heeeeeey. :) Then I basically just moved from my bed to the couch, then eventually back to my bed. Whatever. It was my day off and I took it!!

Finally, there is today. Had my Special K for breakfast. Note: We went to staff meeting, where they provided blueberry and poppy seed muffins, chocolate frosted doughnuts, AND Chick-fil-A chicken and biscuits. Good Lord. So when Laura, my Zumba buddy, came in she sat down right next to me with her banana and we stayed strong!! lol I chewed mint gum - if I have that in my mouth I find I don't want food. It smelled and looked delightful, but we resisted. Woowoo! And tonight: I'm going to Zumba again! Wish me luck. Should be just swell. Laura can't go, so I'm going alone. I will just dance somewhere near the back. :)

I have a few other things going on in life right now that perhaps are not so bloggable - but John Mayer seems to be fixing all that, so at least I have an outlet other than food. ha!

Workout from hell - here I come!
Micha

Cheat Day

Oh. My. Word. For real. This week has just kicked my butt in so many ways. Between the insane amount of stuff to get done at work, my much amped up workout schedule, my lack of sleep, and what seems to be an unusual amount of "busy-work" I just don't even remember this week happening.

Anyway, what was yesterday? Thursday?? Oh yeah. I totally used yesterday as a quasi-cheat day. I was at my breaking point for sleep and also just craving every food known to mankind. So rather than deprive and punish myself further, I said screw it and had a much more relaxed schedule and food intake. I had my Special K for breakfast per usual. For lunch we ordered pizza for our facilities staff to say thanks for helping us out with a big luncheon we had last week. We ordered from Little Ceasars. I looked up the nutritional info before lunch and discovered the pizza was 250 cals a slice for cheese, and 280 for pepperoni. I had 1 slice of cheese and 2 slices of pepperoni (told you it was a cheat day!). It was totally delicious and worth every bite of my 810 calorie lunch. :) (hey, that damn sandwich I had from Arby's that one day was worse!). When I got home from work I had already made the decision to not go to the gym. I've been everyday for over a week, including my Zumba excursion and quite frankly my muscles needed a hallelujah moment. So when I got home, I walked straight to my room, grabbed the dog, and collapsed into bed. Somehow I ended up taking a THREE hour nap! I knew my mind and body were exhausted, but I didn't realize they were that exhausted. I woke up at 8:30 and briefly thought I had been kidnapped by aliens or something.

For dinner, I made some wheat pasta. I put it in a big bowl, and ate less than half. I was just too tired to care. I finally treated myself with 4 little Hershey's squares. I read on the nutritional info that 5 squares is 200 calories. Why did I not eat five you ask? Because five squares made it break apart uneven, and I wanted it to break evenly so I could re-wrap it nicely. OCD much? Thus was my cheat day. 3 slices of pizza, half a bowl of pastas, and 4 Hershey squares. I don't even have the energy to feel badly about it. I was back in bed asleep by 11:30 last night. I'm just that cool.

Today I got back on schedule. My day off actually had the intended effect - I feel much more refreshed today and much less cravings. I had no breakfast this morning because I was in a worship planning meeting, and then got swept away into doing fifty-eleven tasks before noon. At noon we had our Good Friday service, which I literally finished checking the text for at 11:00. Oy. The service was actually really, really nice. I needed that 30-40 minutes to decompress from this week and actually remember it IS Easter after all.

After service, Ethan and I went to Ramsey's. He wanted Chinese, but the way I figured there are very few healthy options as the local Chinese haunts. So Ramsey's it was. It's a local place known for it's entirely Southern cuisine menu. Every time my friend Bobby comes it is a must on his to-do list. Cornbread, soup beans, fried chicken, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, mac & cheese - you name it, they make it. So what's a Thintervention girl to do? It was really, really, reeeeally hard! I didn't even order Sweet Tea. *tear* I stuck with water. Ethan, however, not only ordered sweet tea, but had the waitress bring an entire pitcher of sweet tea and just leave it on the table for him!! haha I so totally would have done that 5 months ago. Anyway, I ordered a burger with cheese. I took it off the bun and just ate it with a fork. Instead of frieds, I ordered a side salad with only cheese, ranch on the side. I used half of what she brought me, and ate the burger and drank my water. So not too bad, and it was still really good and I'm totally full. Times is hard ya'll.

Tonight I'm going to the gym, despite the monsoon conditions outside. I don't see myself leaving work anytime too soon. Couple more hours or so. Then it's home for a lovely Easter weekend with my family and most important of all, SLEEP!! :)

Look for me hoppin' down the bunny trail,
Micha

sssssssssssssssssss

The subject of this entry would be all the air coming out of me slowly. I am a flat, flat little tire today. Woof.

Last night, just as I said I would, I went to Cosmic Zumba. Holy hell in a handbasket. I kept telling the girl I went with that I was challenged. She didn't seem to believe me. The setting was super cool. They replaced all of the lights in the ceiling with blacklights, then had strobe lights running, the walls all had multi-colored lights on them, and everyone wore white. Except me. I don't own a white t-shirt and so I wore my royal blue UK shirt that had white writing on it. My bad. I was one of like 5 people who missed the memo. At least I wasn't alone!! They also passed oout glow necklaces and Laura brought glow-stick bracelets. Voila:

The class itself ran pretty much like normal. And by normal, I mean evil. And by evil, I mean the end of time as we know it. The first several songs I did pretty good. Kept up for the most part, broke a lil' sweat. We got a water break after every 3 songs, and we did about 15 songs total. Somewhere around song 7 or 8 I realized I was going to die. I wasn't keeping up with the steps, not because I'm rhythmically challenged and couldn't follow. No, no. I completely understood what she was asking me to do. And in my head I was doing it, right on beat. However, in reality my body was 100% out of commission. At one point, I actually started to laugh in this manic hysterical manner. Laura turned and looked at me probably thinking I was cray-cray. Kelly (the instructor) was doing this super super super fast song and her hips were shaking faster than Shakira's. And I just flat out started laughing thinking, "I'm sorry. You think my body is gonna do THAT? My bad. We apparently were not properly introduced." But instead of stopping, I decided to just keep moving in some fashion. My hips were shaking, though not in double-time, and my legs were moving and my arms were flailing. But I kept moving! We got another water break, and I thought this MUST be the cool down time. I asked Laura, and she proceeded to tell me we had 3 songs left, and then a cool-down song. I'm sorry....what?

I looked around and saw that about half the room was doing great and pumped and wishing there were 10 more songs. I dubbed this the cray-cray half. The other half looked like me - dripping with sweat, shirt soaking wet, and eyes that said, "My hips don't lie. Peace." I dubbed this the thatta-girl! half. Woof. Sooooo, then came three more fast crazy Latin infused twist your hips like a beast songs. I really at this point thought I would die. But I survived!!!! When we finally got to the cool-down song, it was Gwen Stefani's "Sweet Escape". How fitting. Kelly told us to all sing along (yeah....because singing was possible. can't breathe, but let's all hold hands and sing Cumbaya right fast.) I pretty much just made loud honking noises that somewhat resembled words, whilst I stretched out my cavs, hips, toes, eyelashes and anything else that could still function.

When I got home I immediately took the longest, hottest shower that I have ever had. Ever. It felt soooo good. I did not order the pizza that I wanted to. Instead, I had a cup of peas, three boiled eggs, and another wheat Lean Cuisine.

And that my friends, is the story of how the little girl went to Zumba and lived to tell about it. The darndest part of it all? I'm going back next week. Swell.

Peace, love and Zumba,
Micha