Update

I really have zero desire to blog. I have zero joy in my life right now and am dealing with way too much to focus on anything. BUT I feel obligated to at least share the basic updates in regards to my health and fitness. It is, after all, why this blog exists. (although I highly suspect that is not why most of you read it - I think you just like the free stories about Zumba and Batty and Bones. ;-)  )

Anyway, went to the doctor this week. Those pesky 2 pounds that I gained last week are gone, but that isn't all - I LOST 8.5 pounds this week. Now, I know technically I only lost 6.5 since 2 of those pounds weren't supposed to be there, but moral of the story, I lost them. I worked my ASS off last week. I exercised every day like a nut, I ate perfectly, wrote down every bite that went into my mouth, and decided I'm worth it.

Soooo, as of right now my current status is: I have lost 19 lbs, 25 inches (right?!?!), and my BMI has went down by 3 points. I am wearing a pair of pants today that haven't fit in a very, very long time.

I would love to be overjoyed and excited by this, but alas. Not today. Still breaking from Facebook and.....well, life. I'll try to update next week.

Peace. Love.
Micha

Batty & Bones

Whew! Never, EVER, start back with keeping up a regular blog if you choose to do any of the following things: 1. Quit your job         2. Start a brand new job    3. Travel to Ohio and back and the airport twice all in five days time or   4. Quit your job. (that one was important, so I felt compelled to list it twice).  As I’m sure most of you now know, I have taken a new position as the Education & Outreach Coordinator for Lexington Philharmonic. There are many, many details that go into this particular story, none of which do I have time or energy to post here. Just know that I am HAPPY, excited, and ready to get going!!!

Now, back to Thintervention-type news. I had my weigh-in this week at the doctor. It went terrible, no good, awful. I GAINED 2 lbs!!! I should hang my head in sorrow, but I’m not gonna lie – I’m impressed I didn’t gain 5 lbs. I had a pretty bad week for food, exercise, and general health. For all of the above mentioned reasons. I was traveling, entertaining, some laziness thrown in in between, and some bad food (spaghetti!! And garlic bread!!! Eeep!). I didn’t calculate my meals out as I should have. I only exercised 4 out of 8 days, which by normal standards is really not all that bad. But the 4 times I exercised, only 2 were Zumba. The other two were very, very light impact quick walks so that hardly counts as valid. Add to that I am in the week before my monthly mother nature visit, so the bloating and fatigue have set in full-time. Ugh. Like I said, awful. BUT the nurse and staff were SO helpful and positive. They reiterated that everyone has bad weeks now and then, and that at least I showed up for the weigh-in. They said most people who had weeks like I did would have canceled. And they encouraged me to just re-focus for this week and stay on track. And thus far that is what I have done!

The last four days have been fine. Exercised every single day, sticking to my meal plan. I have sad news though! With taking on this new job, I am losing the greatest (and perhaps ONLY) perk of my current job: NO MORE FREE ZUMBA CLASSES!!!! People, people. It is SO sad. I have the option to join the gym (which I will do), but the Zumba classes will cost additional money. I haven’t decided yet what my plan of action will be here. It is a tragedy, indeed.

On a side bar, since I have no Zumba stories to speak of today (I couldn’t go on Tuesday because of my weigh-in. By all means, go get bitchslapped at the doctor for gaining 2 lbs and skip Zumba, which probably would have made me lose 12….), I shall share with you stories of my foul neighbors. They are the poster-children for white trash America. They live together, but are exes, and she is pregnant with some other dude’s baby. That should bring you up to speed entirely.

So periodically they get into these huge I HATE YOU I LOVE YOU I HATE YOU fighting matches, and it’s basically free entertainment. The girl, I should mention, is CRAY. I mean, batshit cray. I will omit their names, lest they ever learn to read, find this blog, and sue me. So let’s call her Batty. Well, sometimes Batty gets high and/or drunk and that usually starts her arguing with the roomie/ex-boyfriend. Let’s call him Bones, because he is skinny as hell. Batty & Bones it is. Bones kicks Batty out about once a month, but keeps her dog, so she comes back until he lets her move back in. The last time, he sat allllll her stuff out on the porch and I had to climb over it for about a month before she came back. This past weekend, Batty showed up with all her stuff and Bones let her back in. Well, late the other night as Chad was leaving, he opened the door at literally the same exact moment that Batty and Bones decided to unleash their redneck fury on each other. As Chad steps out, I immediately slam my door shut like “Bye Honey!!” and glue myself to my peephole. Chad walks down the stairs, and Batty follows him and says, “Where are you going? Can I have a ride?” bahaha He of course said no, and took off for his car and called me. Batty started telling Bones she was soooo sorry, but she can’t be called crazy anymore (which to be fair, she IS crazy). They yelled for a while, then she left.

Fast forward to yesterday, I come home for my lunch break, and Batty is sitting on the stairs with ALL her stuff surrounding her, crying. I couldn’t even get past her. She sniffed and gave me a weak hello, and I climbed over her and went inside. I am texting Chad this, and I start hearing some weird noise. I return to my peephole, and Batty is trying to break in to Bones’ apartment using a credit card and a nail file. High tech little redneck. She gives up after her dog starts barking and she proceeds to lay down in the fetal position on top of all her stuff. When it was finally time for me to leave, I had to physically step over her to get to my stairs. She sits up and goes, “Oh. I locked myself out.” Um yeah. Sure you did. With everything you own? (which fits neatly into totes).

So stay tuned for the continuing saga of Batty & Bones. They may replace my Zumba stories until I figure out that situation. Moral of the story: I got a job. I have foul neighbors. I will lose 5 lbs this week or things will die. That should do it for now. Until then, I give you: My lunch. It's sideways again. The blog people must not like me.

Glam & Sunshine

Well kids, Zumba: The Sequel turned out to be survivable as well! I am here to tell about it, and that is saying something. I'm quite surprised that after an entire year off, I am able to make it through the class each time. I have been exercising more lately, so I guess I've built up some type of weakling status. Others, however, have not. Let me paint ya a picture:

So I get there last night and immediately take my spot in the last row in the back. I should note that I take my glasses off before the class starts, upon which I immediately gain blurry vision. Now, I'm not one of those people who go blind, but I do have some trouble seeing further away...i.e., the instructor. Anyway, right next to me are two new girls. I know they are new because they are clearly not wearing the correct clothes for this class. One was very punk rock, so we shall call her Glam. Glam had on a very cute, edgy little "workout" outfit that was mostly blacks and grays, along with numerous piercings, her hair was all spiked up and she was ready. Next to her was a woman whom we shall call Sunshine. She was wearing all tie-dye (it was purple tie-dye, so I give her points for wearing my favorite color, despite the fact that it is indeed 2012, not 1987) and spandex pants.

So we start dancing, and it becomes no secret that Glam has no rhythym. Now, I am NOT judging. This class is full of all kinds of levels, and I certainly am not at the top of the food chain. But Glam was just not having it. She kind of waved her arms like spaghetti and then periodically rocked out to a tune I can only assume she could only hear in her own head. After song 3 we were given a water break, and Glam peaced out. Grabbed her keys, kind of gave us all a Godspeed look, and walked out.

So then that put me right next to Sunshine. Well, Sunshine was all kinds of in her own world. And I don't know what came over me, but I started to laugh. I just couldn't help it. She was totally spaced out in a field of flowers and daisies and had NO concept or idea that she was in Zumba. I almost ran into her like 17 times because she was over there like singing the Carpenters' greatest hits or something. Well, after about 6 or 7, Sunshine stopped mid-dance and walked over to the bench on the wall and just sat down. She smiled at us all and pulled out her cell phone and just started doing who knows what. Meanwhile, I am STILL laughing. I couldn't stop. I probably burned extra calories because of it. Secretly, I think I was jealous that Sunshine got to sit on a bench with Bob Ross while I was on the floor coaching my inner-Beyonce.

Anyway, Sunshine eventually left and I regained control. JUST in time for a guest leader to come on stage and help lead a song with our instructor. This girl was the poster child for "Baby Got Back". I kid you not, I was mesmerized. I don't even remember what SONG we did. All I remember is that ass. I literally could not watch anything else. I told my boyfriend this story last night, and I still don't quite know what it says about me. lol

Overall, had a blast at class. Danced to some J-Lo, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Pitbull. I did have one brief fleeting thought though - I wonder if someone else is taking this class and ALSO keeping a blog to track their journey? They could be coming home every night and writing endless stories about this girl in the UK Wildcats t-shirt who laughed every time she turned around, faced the wrong way, and stared at someone's ass for 4 minutes straight. Food for thought I suppose.

Anyway, before I go let me leave you with a few pictures. Enjoy. I have ZERO idea why they are all sideways. The files are not sideways originally, all the pictures look correct on my computer. Whatevs. Turn your head.

Grilled veggies and Boiled Eggs = YUMMY lunch!!

Right after said Zumba class. I actually find it fitting that this one is sideways.

My fridge - All water, all the time.

New iPhone case - completely irrelevant to weight loss. Fully relevant to my sanity.

Roasted asparagus and (mostly) egg whites. I give this a 6/10. The asparagus was chewy as hell.

Back by popular demand...

Well hey kids! So I'm not gonna lie - y'all take this blog seriously. I have received wall posts, status comments, emails, and even a few text messages asking (and some shameless begging) me to start this blog back up again!! It hasn't been updated for one whole year, and yet people still seem to remember it and want to read it. So why deprive my adoring public? And by public I mean the like 25 people who read it. But still. I have people.

I'm gonna dive right in before I catch you up on my life. Last night I went back to Zumba, also for the first time in a year. And may I just say, it did NOT disappoint. I was actually scared to go - not just a little nervous or somewhat worried. No, SCARED. Like, in a dark forest surrounded by spiders scared. I was convinced I was going to bust my ass or be forced to stand next to badonka donk girl again. But I made myself go.

Immediately, before the class even began, the free entertainment began. There was this couple standing in front of me, a guy and a girl probably in their mid-20's. You don't see many men in Zumba. Then again, you don't see many men in black cutoff t-shirts and spandex, but who am I to judge. So before the class he is massaging her neck, holding her waist, and then they start full on kissing. Just, you know, chilling in Zumba with 100 rhythmically challenged women, MAKING OUT. I seemed to be the only one appalled by this, so I can only assume they must be regulars and everyone has just de-sensitized themselves to this process. I, however, have not. So I start blatantly staring at them, my mouth open. I figure if you're going to do it, Ima make you feel the shame.

The class starts and homeboy starts dancing like his life depends on it. I kid you not, his hips make Shakira look Amish. Every move we did he put his own flair on and added spins and dips and extra feet and arm movements. I, meanwhile, am behind them wheezing but managing to actually keep up. We did a lot of the same songs as last year and my body remembered probably 75% of the moves. Well, every 3-4 songs we get a quick water break. On the first break, what do they do? Kiss. Big, sweaty, hot mess kissing. In ZUMBA?!?! I'm sorry, am I ON the set of Young and the Restless? No. He massages her neck, they kiss, we dance. Next break - he massages her neck, they kiss, we dance. Then, the icing on the damn cake - we are dancing and MID-DANCE he leans over and kisses her.

Now, I am all about a happy couple. I really am. I love my boyfriend with ALL my heart and I love kissing him and being all honey-mooney and obnoxious.....AT HOME. So picture me, in all my glory, standing behind them. I am fat. I am sweating. I have rosy red cheeks. I am wheezing. I am not pretty at this point. And I can't. Not. Look. It was like a Zumba Lifetime movie.

Now, all that aside Zumba was actually a lot of fun and I survived. The only number that I had trouble with was some song where our instructor yelled, "PART THE ROOM!" So I, outloud, say, "Like Moses?" and the next thing I know the room has divided in two and we are all facing each other from our respective halves. Well, because I was right in the middle of the class to start with, I end up being in the front row on my new side. This dance starts and the object is to mirror the other half of the class. Well, thats all well and good when you know the dance and have your wits about you. I, however, did not. So we start walking and turning and spinning and every single time we walked, I went the wrong way and ended up facing about 50 women (and salsa dude) facing me. Then I would spin and be face to face with the other 50 women (and no salsa dude) facing me. I was a hot. damn. mess. I never did catch on. At one point, during a fancy footwork moment I finally gave up and started marching to the beat and waving my arms like a hoodlum on holiday.

Okay, now that my Zumba stories are out of the way (don't fret. I go back tomorrow.) I will explain a tiny bit about where I am right now. As we all well know, Thintervention went fantastic last year, and then I quit. I went back to my normal anti-healthy little lifestyle, and of the 35 pounds I had managed to lose, I gained about 15 back and was probably on my way to gaining it all back. Well, for the last 6-8 months I have been having some mystery health problems that have landed me in the ER/Urgent Treatment/Doctor's office multiple times, and they can never solve the mystery. I ended up having a cat scan done in late-Spring/early Summer and things were found. Not good things, and basically was told that in about 10 years I am looking at lovely things like organ transplants, death - you know. Sunshine and rainbows. I was told I HAD to get on a doctor supervised weight loss plan and do something. Well, after exploring many, many, MANY options of the best route to take with all of this I finally settled on entering a program, doctor supervised, through a medical weight loss center. NO surgery, which I had considered briefly but ultimately decided was not for me personally. I meet weekly with doctors, nurses, nutritionists/dieticians, counselors, etc. I eat what they tell me to eat when they tell me to eat it based on everything in my body makeup. They hooked me up to a machine and measure every single aspect of my body - weight, metabolic rate, BMI, muscle mass, lean fat, bad fat, etc etc. Then they did blood work and measured my cholesterol levels, sugar levels, thyroid function, liver function - the works. Based on everything they set me up in a program that is 26 weeks long (I am in week 3 now), the first 12 of which are VERY strict. I exercise every day, I fill out a food journal, I go there every week and get checked on. It is super hard, but super awesome at the same time. I have so many people helping, and the knowledge of the doctors and nurses walking me through it all is amazing. I have lost 13 pounds so far, which equates to 52 pounds of pressure off my joints, and I already am feeling better. I am back at the weight I was after I lost all my weight on Thintervention, so now I am just getting back in the swing of things. And I don't have the choice to quit. It is very sobering to sit down and see things about your body that basically tell you the ways you will die in 10 years because of various diseases.

Okay, enough of that. But I felt I should at least fill y'all in since you're dedicated enough to read this business. I will Zumba tomorrow and make it my mission to find the most interesting thing in the room and report it immediately. Or perhaps I will just take Chad with me and sit in the middle and make out whilst we salsa. Tomato, tomahto.

Peace, love, and Zumba,
Micha

Misha?

Well kids, I know I promised stories of redneckery and whatnot, but I just haven't had any time!! Time does not exist to me these days. I am working so many hours - so many loooooong hours - that I just can't keep up.

I am also finding it somewhat difficult to get back on this Thintervention business. Not because I'm consciously avoiding, but because I am literally not thinking. I've been eating crap for so many weeks now, that I seem to be continuing to make poor decisions without really meaning to. Does that make sense? Like, if I am hungry and want lunch then I just eat whatever sounds good for lunch. I don't stop to think about the calories or anything. I need to re-vamp my thought process and make sure I'm paying attention!!! I know it sounds really weird but it's what is in my head and you don't wanna get. in. there.

So I went to Wendy's for lunch today (here's your sign...) and I'm in the drive-thru. I go to the first window and there is this guy who pretty much looked like he hates life. Wouldn't you if you were working at a Wendy's drive-thru? Yes. So he takes my card without really looking at me, and repeats my order to me and swipes my card. Then he looks at my card and sees my name and tries to pronounce it and says "Mi...Misha?" and I laugh and say, "It's Micha". He smiles and says "Wow. That is really beautiful. Wow....and you're really beautiful. You really live up to your beautiful name. How are you today?" haha! I laugh and say I'm fine and he says, "Good, I'm glad. Would you like your card back beautiful?" so I take my card back and he practically drops it because he is like staring at me. And he asks me if I need anything else, to which I say no and pull ahead to the next window. Hated to leave the guy hanging (because he wasn't that bad looking actually...), but mama was hungry. He must have been sleep deprived or hunger induced or something to be that intrigued by me, but it was amusing nonetheless. Thanks, Wendy's. #neededthat

Okay, gotta go. No time for play today.
Micha

Setbacks

Um...hi. No really....hi. Okay, so my last post was on July 15th. 7 weeks ago. I have had some MAJOR setbacks that have seriously derailed my train of thought here lately. I'm not saying they are excuses, but life happened and I really fell off the wagon. Hard. The GOOD news (well, I'm considering it to be good news at least), is that yesterday I drug my ass to the scale for the first time in a month. I fully expected to have gained like 47 pounds and be two seconds away from dying. But, by some miracle, I have gained NO weight. I am exactly the same weight as I was 7 weeks ago when I last posted. How that is possible is truly beyond me. I have eaten a lot of crap. Granted, I have also had good days and have still pretty much avoided the main disasters - i.e. fast food, pizza, etc - but nonetheless I have not consciously been Thinterventioning. So much so to the point that I had to go to my own facebook profile today to go to my own info section to find the link to my own blog so that I could write this entry. How. Sad. Is. That. Eff.

So allow me to catch you up with my variety of reasons for disappearing. Grab some light popcorn and settle in kids. Mama's back.

1. Josh Groban - I feel absolutely no need to tell my Josh story on here because the only people who could possibly read this blog already know the entire story from beginning to end. But I will say the last time I wrote was the day I was going to see Josh. The next two weeks after that (I am not exaggerating) I was on such a high of life that I do not even remember them happening. I spent my days watching the youtube video - in case you want another view Me Singing With Josh - and my nights dreaming of Josh. That is the only conclusion I can reach because it was one big blur.

2. Hot As Hell - So the last time I went to Zumba, also about 6 weeks ago, it was literally over 100 degrees in there. Laura puked, and I almost passed out. We both sort of agreed that the heatstroke was not worth it. Well, that was a fabulous excuse.....for July. And maaaaybe part of August. But that is all. And because I wasn't Zumba-ing (remember how that's a verb kids...) I was also neglecting to focus on my eating as much,too.

3. Summer - Yeah, it happened. Spent every single weekend and half my weekdays at the pool, cold beer in one hand a book in the other. If I wasn't at the pool I was at my sister's house playing in her sprinkler. Or going to a cookout. Or a party. Or traveling and visiting friends and eating crap. Or, as in this past weekend, going to a Caramel Festival where everything was fried. Vacations happened. Eating out with friends happened. Birthdays. Looooots of random nights sitting on decks drinking and listening to music. You can go ahead and exchange every word I just wrote with the words "mucho calories" and you'll get the same conclusion. Summer happened yo.

4. Depression? - Maybe not depression, like clinically. But definitely some sadness. Despite all my awesome travels and food and parties and adventures, I have been really, really sad these last couple of weeks or so. I've tried to drag myself out of the funk, but it just wasn't happening. I'm stressed financially (actually, that is really an understatement), stressed with work (okay, another understatement), stressed with relationships or somewhat lack thereof-ish - just stressed in SO many ways. I feel like I'm drowning some days because I can't seem to get ahead in any respect and it is really getting old. But this weekend I kind of had a chat with myself and I'm gonna need to not be so sad and foul.

I guess those are the biggies. Again, not excuses but definitely parts of the puzzle. BUT, after weighing-in yesterday and realizing I've somehow managed to not damage the work I've already done I felt somewhat re-motivated. I talked to my mom for a while. So much time/money/effort has been put into this thing I am not even remotely considering quitting. I just need to re-focus. So today I am eating healthy (thus far), and I have every intention of going to the gym tonight. Even if I just walk or run or something for a while I feel like I NEED it.

Now, I know what you're thinking - why wasn't this post funny? I clicked on this post for Thintervention humor and am sorely disappointed! Micha you fail! Well, never fear my friends. Because I went to a redneck festival this weekend to rival anything you have EVER witnessed in your entire life. And I will tell you ALL about it. Trust me - you will be so entertained there will be no words. But that shall have to wait until tomorrow because my lunch break is over and I have a crap-ton of work to do. So I leave you with the sad little picture of what I ate for lunch today - a Lean Cuisine and some cheese cubes. Enjoy. And prepare ye ya'll for the redneckery.

Yes. Really.

Micha

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