Saturday Blahs

Don't get me wrong. Every now and then, I love a day to just do nothing. And by "nothing", I mean do whatever I want and not feel bad about it, and that includes doing a whole lot of nothing such as watching three hours of a House Hunters International marathon or reading until my eyes hurt or cat napping throughout the day. A day of nothing can be great. It can be healing, even. But most of the time, I prefer something to nothing.

I have been fighting some bouts of discontent the last few months. Too much nothing. Our weekend away was so healing. It was nice to have money to waste, and though I cringe a tiny bit to think about it now, I am glad that we allowed ourselves to be a little more carefree that weekend. We never count on bonuses, though since working at AAA, Brett has had several opportunities each year to earn a bonus. But when they come, we try to figure out the most productive way to use them. It's great to be responsible and use that money for something future minded, when it comes. But this time, since it happened to come the day we were leaving to celebrate our anniversary weekend, we had some fun. And that's great. The effects of that fun time lasted a full two weeks and they have been great. But today... feelin' the blahs.

It was definitely a productive morning. We spent the morning cooking breakfast for families whose lives have led them to need to spend some time staying at The Ronald McDonald house, in Dallas. Brett and I rarely perform acts of service as a family, I am sad to say. It is something that we hope to start doing more of together, and we had a great Saturday morning, even if I was a little grumpy when I had to stop and flip a breaker in the middle of blow drying my hair.

Have I mentioned I am apparantely, part Mogwai? I am nowhere near as cute as this guy:

but I hate bright lights. I am big on natural light and lamps. Brett, not so much. He goes straight to the switch on the wall, filling the room with harsh yellow light. I usually follow behind with a click of a lamp and flipping that overhead light off. My blow dryer agrees with me. Too many overhead lights + my blow dryer = lights out and a trip to the breaker (braker?) box in the closet.

Anyway, I was just scrolling through my blog reader (I have been avoiding my blog, which I tend to do when I am heavy and my food isn't going well, which I am and it isn't) because I was hoping to find a little inspiration. I am feeling crafty and wanted some inspiration. What I ended up finding was a little envy and an oncoming of more discontent - not what I was looking for!

Thank goodness I found a post on Ashlee's site, where she posted this little gem: "Comparison is the thief of Joy".

That Teddy Roosevelt. He sure knew what he was talking about.

Too often I come in search of inspiration and end with a sense of longing. I want to be inspired, I don't want to want someone else's life. It is a weak mind that sees something wonderful and feels self pity rather than awe.

I am here to confess that I have been living an unhealthy life. Physically, mentally, spiritually, and for a few weeks, even financially. I am so happy that tomorrow is a new month. I would like to say that I am feeling motivated, but what I am really feeling is closer to humbleness. I know that I am pathetic and that on my own, my sinful nature will never lead me to a life that I love. But I am hoping to start the new month with a humble, seeking heart that will daily take me to the One who can lead me to a life worth living. Isn't God's plan for my life the one that I should be most interested in?

Here's to new seasons, new beginnings, and God's mercy.

My First Zumba Class

Ho. Ly. Cow.

I just survived my first Zumba class. What an experience. I'm not sure where to begin.

One of my co-workers, Msgana, was leaving work a couple of weeks ago and stopped to change into workout clothes. When I asked her where she was headed, she told me about a Zumba place that charges $2 per one hour class and doesn't require a membership and is very close to my house.

I have always been interested in Zumba. I love to dance, though I don't do it often. I'm totally a car dancer. You know - in my car, when a good song is on, I love to jam. A dancer from the waist up. And I have always considered myself to have decent rhythm. I have toyed with the idea of having a "dance party" workout night every week because there are a handful of songs that, when I hear them, I just can't help but dance. I thought Zumba might be a great fit for me.

I am laughing and shaking my head as I type those words now. Talk about a fish out of water! I almost feel the need to apologize to the Latin community for thinking myself capable of their dancing. Or at least apologize to the 50 year old lady next to me whose hand I accidentally knocked 5 minutes into the session.

So, I was originally supposed to go with my sister Laura last week and chickened out. After my refreshing weekend with the hubs, I was feeling better today, and woke up almost excited about going. Well, tentatively excited. I worked all day, came home, went to the bathroom and changed clothes and then headed to meet Laura.

Zumba is... quite a workout. It's fun, I think. For me, it was mostly funny. It's not that the moves are hard to do, I just don't move that fast! I've got a lot of momentum because of all of the extra weight that I carry, and moving around like that is just... well, not always gonna happen.

I did my best. I made it through the whole hour, which I probably wouldn't have done if Laura hadn't been there. She and I were the only white people. There were a few African Americans, but the class was 95% Hispanic. There was very little instruction, but everything the instructor said was in Spanish, so Laura and I just looked around hoping we could follow along. Also, the class was 95% female. I thought it was great to see a spattering of guys in there gettin' their sweat on. I hope it was for the sake of exercise and not because they are pervy. If I had to guess, I would say there were at least 100 people in the room, don't you think Laura? The air-conditioned, I might add, room. Thank goodness! I think I would have thrown up without the air conditioning.

Halfway through, my body just wouldn't do all of the things that the instructor wanted it to. I couldn't jump and I couldn't keep up, but I kept moving. On the second to last song, some of my moves looked more like square dancing than Latin dancing. How embarrassing.

When I left, my feet hurt a little, just because I'm heavy, and my face hurt from all of the laughing. Not a bad combo. I think that a few other parts of me will hurt tomorrow.

Aside from the obvious benefits to the body that working out provides, I LOVE that when I exercise, I automatically crave healthier food. I am excited to grocery shop this weekend.

Tomorrow, my sisters and I are going to see The Hunger Games. I'M SO EXCITED!!! I hope it's good!

A Mrs. For Three Years

I'm feeling chatty =-)

What a great weekend! I am so refreshed. Feeling creative even. Man, did I need that.

I've been kind of... well, irritable would be the nicest word to use here, lately. Not because I have been mad at Brett. He has done nothing wrong. But we are one flesh. So when I am upset with me, it always comes out like I am upset with Brett. When I am feeling shameful or frustrated, it is easy for me to just want to be alone, or be with someone who I can hide from, which is anyone but Brett. I can crave time with friends when I feel that way, because it feels like taking a break from myself. But being with Brett is like being with ALL of me, so unfortunately, sometimes instead of feeling better with him, my bad feelings are magnified. Mostly because I don't always know how to tell him what is going on in my head.

My point is, it was SUCH a blessing to get out of the house for a weekend. We just went to Fort Worth. Nothing fancy. But Brett loves Fort Worth. He lived there for a few years after college and it is his favorite Texas town. We had a great time =-)

We started the weekend with a late dinner (I had to close on Friday) at Brett's favorite Fort Worth restaurant, Szechuan. It was the perfect start. Tasty Chinese food in a super relaxed spot with incredibly friendly servers. I couldn't have picked a better first meal. We left the restaurant at 10:00 or so, and I was wiped out after a 12 hour day at work, so we headed back to the hotel for some snuggling and sleeping.

I slept SOOO well! We had a very slow start to our Saturday and then ventured over to the Stockyards for some strolling. It was St. Patrick's Day, so there was an Irish folk band providing a nice background to our day. The history in that neighborhood is so fun. I love walking through buildings that have been standing for more than a century and imagining the people who have stood where I stood and sat where I sat.

We also started a tradition! One that we had the idea for a while back, so it was exciting to put it into play. Any time we take a trip, we are going to buy a piece of artwork to put in our home. I know that Fort Worth probably shouldn't count as "taking a trip", since it is close enough for us to drive there just for a meal if we wanted to, but hey, we stayed in a hotel. And we were celebrating an occasion. And, most importantly, we could afford something small. =-) So we bought a little sculpture. It's a little cowboy made out of horseshoes. Really cute.

When we left the Stockyards, we felt like doing a little more shopping. I ended the day with a new dress, a super cute shirt and two tank tops, a pair of flats and 6 books that I got for a total of $32 at a Half Price Books. Brett found a great deal on a game that he has had his eye on, but never found the books he was looking for.

We went to a restaurant that was not what we expected for dinner. I don't think I will elaborate here, but we will never forget the underground Italian restaurant, home of the famous singing waiters, where we had the only non-singing waitress and all of the food was overcooked and had a strange chemically flavor.

For some reason, I couldn't fall asleep Saturday night. I read until my book light ran out of batteries, and then just laid in bed trying to be still so I would fall asleep, which I finally did at about 4:45 in the morning. Needless to say, we slept in Sunday morning. We checked out of the hotel at noon and headed to The Old Southwest Pancake House. It was great and would have been a super fun experience if our service had been a little more attentive. After brunch, we went hunting for comic shops and then slowly made our way home.

I am SO happy that we took the day off today. It was so nice to sleep in. And somehow, having a Monday off feels more private than having a Friday off. You can expect places to be a little more crowded on Fridays, but I felt like I had lots of freedom as I ran my errands today.

Now I am about to make the bed so I can lay and enjoy the sound of the pounding rain. It's going to be a great week! My sisters and I are going to see The Hunger Games Thursday night, I am hosting a Mary Kay party on Saturday, and on Wednesday, I am going to my first ever Zumba class. I chickened out last week, but I'm definitely going this week.

Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband. I love you to the moon and back.

Spring Forward... Yuck!

My least favorite time change. Of course, there are only two, so at least it was only beat out by one other. But still, falling back has a decided victory over springing forward.

We had a great weekend though.

I must confess, I've been a bit grumpy lately. Not sure why. Maybe because I've been under the weather. Just a sinus infection, but that can get pretty annoying when it lingers. And it's sick season in general, so TONS of teachers have been calling in, which makes me feel like I can't call in, and it gets annoying.

I'm also miffed with myself because I have pretty much been ignoring Weight Watchers. Again. I really need to get back on track. I am hoping for a good week. But I am planning on eating a Drumstick tonight.

I may be going to my first ever Zumba class this week. I tend to be better about my food choices when I am being more active. So if I could get my butt moving, maybe that would help to focus me.

Last weekend we got to see our good friend Gary who we haven't seen in a year and a half. He's had some pretty major life changes going on and it was SO nice to see him looking well and feeling great.

This weekend our favorite family, the Willinghams, came in town for a visit! They have Spring Break this week, so they have been thinking about visiting. The trip was almost called off due to a sudden death in the family on his side, unfortunately followed closely by an expected death from a long time sick relative. We would have completely understood if they didn't make the trip, but we were so glad to spend some joyful time with them the past two days.

Next weekend we are headed to Fort Worth to celebrate our 3rd anniversary =-) We don't have any set plans yet, but I am looking forward to some new scenery.

This week is Spring Break for us also, so that means a fun packed (translate, crazy) week in the office for me. I am hoping to get a good nights rest tonight so I can be off to a good start tomorrow.

I will take some pics in Fort Worth! Hope everyone is doing well.