All My Friends Say...

Oh Luke Bryan. I do love that song. I love even more weekends home with my girls. I recognize that I use pictures of the SATC ladies often, but if you'll notice it's always in reference to these fabulous hometown women in my life. It was so wonderful to be around, be lazy, and be out with them this weekend. Nothing too exciting aside from a giant shoe clearance and a night downtown with all of us able to be together again. Three new pairs of heels and a slight blip in the diet plan later, it was a pretty fantastic weekend indeed. 

It's amazing how some friendships stay exactly the same even when the individuals are changing and evolving in their own rights. The four of us, I think, have changed and grown so entirely in the past few years. Even from Christmas to this past weekend. Is that possible? Maybe it's just the individual goals and priorities that we've changed for ourselves, both individually and together. The dinner conversations were hilarious. Still a lot of the same, but definitely more of the diet, fitness, working out, let's be healthy mentality going on over our chips and salsa... and maybe a margarita or two... It's so nice to all be trying together though. You know when you're the only friend dieting or maybe it's another one in the group and it's all they can talk about? You know it's a big deal if you're the one working so hard, but to the rest of the group you just can't shut up? It wasn't like that at all with us this weekend. We were all so excited and so motivated. I think we all helped one another. Just like we usually do. Anyway, a very positive weekend. Put me back in the place I needed to be. It had just been too long without them. 

Monday sucked. That's nothing unusual. But we're pretty much at Wednesday now, so another weekend is right around the corner, right? Right. 

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

First, note: This might come off as Carrie Bradshaw-esque. If that's the case, you've been warned. Second, also note: This is a follow up of Island Girl's last post, just so you understand where I'm coming from.

As you probably now know all too well, since the beginning of this new year, I've been on what one could refer to lightly as a 'health kick'. One could also refer to it not so lightly as 'super dieting, calorie watching, ass kicking, gym going, point counting, obsessively dreaming of change' kick. For many reasons, some previously stated, some not, this has been my life since January 1, 2009. Since that date, I've lost almost 15 pounds. In a healthy way. I'm working really hard to come up with the results I want to see in the mirror.

Now, after reading Island Girl's latest post on my break yesterday at work, I've not been able to get her thoughts out of my head. Mainly because I share so many of her fears, concerns and frustrations. While I have been on this 'kick' for a much shorter time span than she, I am already beginning to see where things could get out of hand for me.

This past week was a little frustrating. The weekend wasn't exactly diet friendly as it was a holiday weekend and when "Roll Call Wednesday" came around for OSB, once again, it was another week with not much change. In my head I understand that 13-15 pounds is quite a bit of weight to have lost by pure hard work and accountability in under 2 months. In the mirror, I'm already fearing that I've hit that plateau and it's going to stop falling off of me after this being the second week without much loss to account for. While I see that my stomach is getting flatter and my face is slimming down, I caught myself on Tuesday being disgusted with my 'curves'-- some might enjoy, I'd like to get rid of at least some of it-- and pinching the skin on my back thinking why hasn't this gone away too? Okay, now before I'm accused of the onsets of an eating disorder, please note that I love food far too much for that to ever occur. I will take full responsibilty, however, for a self-image disorder. That I've owned all my life. I've just been pretty good about keeping it to myself most of the time. But this is where Island Girl and her 'nutritionist' made me think...

Is she for real? This nutritionist, not I.G. Does she honestly believe that people in our 'age bracket' have overcome whatever image issues they previously had and are just 'settled' with however they look currently? This concept absolutely baffles me! Seriously? And for her to say that without laughing. Moreso, for this to be her reasoning to explain away voiced frustrations of a client? In the infamous words of Lewis Black, "And I am confused!"

But in retrospect, as I've contemplated it for a couple of days now, it brings about a larger issue. Will we ever be good enough for ourselves? Not for anyone else. Not for popular culture or the new fashion trends that we may love or hate. Not for the cute guy at the bar. But for the mirror. Because when it comes down to it, that's all we have. It's me and my reflection. If I can't be confident in that, what do I have? Don't get me wrong and take me for some shallow human being who only believes that beauty is only skin deep, but seriously, if you can't look in the mirror and be proud of that person, physically, emotionally, spiritually, whatever... What do you have? Everyone else's opinions? Can't be good for all around character building. At least not in my world. ha. Maybe a little deep for a Friday night, but here I am. Just a whole lot of questions and none with true answers I suppose. Can't say it's the first time I've asked them, but maybe the first time I've felt them necessary to outwardly impose.

Some nutritionist, huh? I.G. I feel for you, but I feel more for her. She is seriously disillusioned with both the world around her and more specifically her career. Keep pushing. You rock.

Happy 'healthy' weekending!

Oh, John...

As I discussed previously in my post about the 51st Annual Grammy Awards show, one of my favorite acts was the John Mayer, BB King, Buddy Guy and Keith Urban ensemble. It was incredible. Big fan. Mr. Perfect enjoyed it as well, surprisingly enough. We've always had our differences over Mr. Mayer because of my... well... undying love and devotion towards the man and anything he puts out musically. You could say that Mr. Perfect is a wee bit jealous. Maybe because I've flat out told him, I'd leave him for John... yeah... that could be it. Oh well. Such is life. I can't help it. The man just does something for me. Always has. I received a burned copy of Room for Squares the summer after my sophomore year of high school. Before he became a HUGE deal on pop radio charts, then on blues/jazz radio charts, and then on gossip columns everywhere. Since that cd, let's just say, there was no going back. I have every cd and dvd that has been put out, I was in the fan club and received back stage passes to one of the three concerts I've seen him perform, have my picture with him, a framed poster... yes, I'm in my twenties and some might call me obsessed. I hide it well. Don't worry. Not a freak about it. Mostly. I just love him. Love his music. Think he's an unbelievable song writer lyrically. You name it, I'll go on and on about it... Just can't help it. Sorry. 

Anyway, to my point. 

I come home from my run this evening to find Mr. Perfect and a friend of his watching my latest John dvd, "Where the Light Is"... if you're a fan, you need this dvd. It has performances of an acoustic set, the John Mayer Trio, and then all of his chart toppers. It's fabulous. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, Mr. Perfect, not so much a fan of John... at all...  at least this was my understanding. Anyone who knows him would understand the shock factor here. But apparently the gears are shifting. He has always said that he respects him as a guitarist, because let's face it, he's amazing at his art, however, apparently now he's starting to warm up to him a little bit more... And thus, my job is done. Sure, he's still jealous. He should be. ha. 

Good point in my day, I get to watch John all night and not be ridiculed for it. He did roll his eyes at me when he saw that I was looking for images of the man for my blog. Oh well. I don't see the problem. 

And so, I don't believe I've ever truly expressed my love for John via my blog, so I thought tonight would be as good of a time as any to share. Happy Monday. 

He's Just Not Into This Movie?

But I was! I loved it! The end of my Valentine's Day yesterday consisted of dinner and a movie. My choice. Therefore, He's Just Not That Into You seemed the perfect pick. And luckily enough, it had enough humor and and wit about it that Mr. Perfect enjoyed himself too! I highly recommend it. And Island Girl, you totally could have seen it by yourself. The majority of the movie is dissecting men and women in general. Hilarious. 

What wasn't so hilarious, however, was the much larger gentleman sitting two seats away from me. He waltzed in a few minutes before the actual movie began, missing previews and stumbling through the dark with his date. He sits down acting like my coat in the chair directly beside me is in his way and then begins his adjustment period. No joke. Takes him at least ten minutes to get situated. And then, his phone rings. Not on vibrate. But out loud. Not only does it ring, he ANSWERS it! Don't mind me, I'm just trying to enjoy the first part of this movie that I've paid to see! ... well, I didn't pay technically, but that's not the point. After he hangs up, he proceeds to spill is large popcorn all over the floor. He then begins kicking and shuffling his feet to move the popcorn out of his way. I'm not making this up. If I had been sitting in front of him as opposed to beside him, I would have turned around to smack him! But it didn't end there!

His cell phone rings again! And he answers it again! Then, my favorite part. He takes a sip of his large coke and belches! OUT LOUD! Are you serious?! Now, as I work with children on a regular basis I had to catch myself from turning to him and saying "Really?! Excuse you!" Instead I turned to Mr. Perfect... who was then, laughing at him. It didn't end until his phone rang a third time, he began to snore, and then stripped off his top layer revealing a cut off tshirt. I'm not kidding, I'm not creative enough to imagine such a cinematic adventure. This man was unbelievable. Never in my life. 

First of all, how many times do they have to flash upon the screen: "Please be courteous of your fellow movie-goers and silence your cell phones!" Secondly, do we seriously need to even review decent manners? Belching out loud?! Honestly? Where did this guy come from? Not real. Not even real.

And so, the movie: A; the company outside of my date: F. If I had been his date, I would have been mortified. Does she deal with that on a regular basis? Wow. Just, wow. 

End rant. 

51st Annual Grammy Awards: Wow.

Can anyone say tragedy? Because as I sat through all three and a half hours of them (why? I'm not sure.), there were very few times when the look of utter disgust vanished from my face. No matter what your tastes in music include, most of the performances were lacking. Seriously.

Now, I'm not ready to slam the entire show. My favorite highlights include: Carrie Underwood's performace (of course) and her kickass lead chick guitarist; Sugarland and Adele's duo performance; John Mayer, BB King, Keith Urban and Buddy Guy together (Heaven.); and lastly, Jamie Fox and Ne-Yo singing Motown. Not all was lost. There were parts that I loved...

HOWEVER.

Can we please talk about the performance of a 9 month's pregnant M.I.A. with Jay-Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne and T.I. ?? Can we say CATASTROPHE? (Note: If anyone finds a picture of this disaster, please post it because I've looked and can't seem to come up with one as of yet) If you didn't see it, you need to. Just to believe it. Also, do the Jonas Brothers know that Stevie Wonder has been blind from birth? Because they danced around him throughout the entire performance like the man could see them ruining one of his most famous songs. And I recognize that there was pre-show drama that left both Chris Brown and Rihanna's performances out of the televised broadcast, but the collaboration of Justin Timberlake, Rev. Al Green, Keith Urban, and 3/4 of Boys II Men that was thrown together to kick off the show made zero sense. And I'm a big fan of all four of those artists... but together? What?

As you can plainly see, as a majority, I was disappointed. Some of the crazy collaborations were fantastic. Others... not so much. And don't get me started on Hannah Montana and Taylor Swift. 

Dear God.

If you watched, please let me know your thoughts! Tell me I'm not the only one who enjoyed what our Music Industry now calls "Music" last night! Let me know!

Side Questions: 1) Where was Beyonce?... Not only was this the first year in forever she hasn't performed, but her new husband was up for Rap Album of the Year. Hello? 2) Not really a question, as more of a statement for Island Girl: Kenny's date-- skank.

Home Sick

I miss my girls. A lot. I'm having major withdrawal lately from being without my hometown ladies. It's been since Christmas since I've been home with all of them. Some might say that's only a month and a week now, but it seems like so much longer. We're all trying this new health kick thing and I've been trying to keep up with all of them for updates and progress reports, but I've found it makes it that much harder. I just miss their company. And the conversation. It's never dull when we're all together. Sure there are some that I miss more than others.. cough.. Roxie.. cough, but some of my very favorite times back home lately have been when we've all been out together. We seem to have too much fun. 

I have really been blessed to find such good friends here in the city. Most of whom pretty much fell into my lap via Mr. Perfect's already-made friendships. They've really turned out to be great friends though. Always entertaining. I've also been blessed to have best friends from college come to visit often and that is most definitely perfection. I've spent many a fantastic Saturday night showing off the city to them.  There's nothing like home when you need it, however. My hometown ladies and our favorite hang outs are all calling my name. It's past time for a reunion. I've communicated these feelings to Mr. Perfect and he agrees. It's time for a trip home. Two weeks from today, I'll be back with my girls. Begin said countdown... now. 

Walking Double Standard

And I just can't help it. 

In college, as a Sociology major, I took several classes dealing with feminist issues and perspectives in today's society. One class in particular looked at how women are viewed in various forms of popular culture and media. A piece of information I have kept with me from said class includes how women are so objectified. Piece by piece they are dismembered and viewed as individual body parts as opposed to actual human beings. This concept disgusts me. 

How does this relate to my title? Well, I have a confession. Ladies and Gentlemen, I am a walking double standard. Tonight in the gym after running my little heart out, I was making my way towards the weights when I happened upon a few handsome athletes I'd not seen before. What I realized after seeing these men and coming to the conclusion that they were attractive... I had yet to look at their faces... oops. I was too focused on the perfect form of their arms while more than my body weight was being lifted above their heads. Big oops. Now, this wouldn't be the first time this has happened in my experiences in work out facilities, but at least I have known said pairs of arms in previous circumstances. Oh well. What can you do? 

I've got a thing for athletes. And their arms. Oh, their arms... My family is full of them. Athletes not arms. Well, arms too... I digress.  It's in my blood to be one or love one. Irony of that-- Mr. Perfect: not so much an athlete at all. I don't hold it against him. And he doesn't hold it against me that my eyes tend to wander in the gym when I see "attractive" men lifting ungodly amounts of weight. I just can't help myself! 

Have I said that already? My bad. 

Anyway, needless to say, tonight's workout was a good one. And not just because of a few random athletes in the room, but I also felt good being back in the groove of my routine after a not so strict weekend. Back on track and feeling good. 

The eye candy made it better...

God, I'm terrible. Funny how such realizations come at the most inopportune times. Oh well. Such is life. I promise, I'll do better... Tell me you haven't done it before? 

Spring Fever!

Yesterday's weather left me with a serious case of Spring Fever. With highs reaching the lower 60s in the city and the sun being out with all of its glory in a big blue sky, this morning's freezing rain has quickly jolted me back into the realities of February. Gross. Is it only February? I am so ready for Spring. For so many reasons.

First and foremost, the weather. As Spring is probably my favorite season as far as weather goes, with a close second being Summer only when I'm able to lay by the pool or frequent the beaches of Florida, I have been longing all morning for Mr. Groundhog to tell me that it's quickly approaching. Well, Phil from PA let me down. Poor thing saw his shadow which means 6 more long weeks for this terrible wintery chill. Boo.

Another reason to look forward to Spring? Flip flops. I suppose they coincide with the weather aspect, but busting out the flip flops and spring wear always brightens my spirits. Especially this year as I plan to look more smashing for mini skirt and tank top seasons. As I'm working my ass off currently to do so, I suppose I'll be feeling pretty damn good about being me by then. Hopefully.

Along with that, wedding season. On the calender so far, I have three to attend and one to participate in. Whether I'm looking forward to the actual weddings or the reactions I'm seeking from people who haven't seen my current transformation, you take your pick. In any case, I do enjoy weddings especially because right now, they're not mine. Young and free is the way to be at this point in my life anyway. I have nothing against anyone getting married at my age or even starting families if they so desire, trust me I know many who have already done so, but it's not in the cards for Classy quite yet. And I like it that way. But attending the festivities of others... that's a different story. I'm always a fan of a party. Just make it a good one. Verdicts are still out on how "good" these particular weddings will be, but once again, I'll be feeling good, so it's a positive attitude exuding from my end. Eyes bright, smile on, waist line smaller... You with me? Good.

Anyway, they got snow back home today. My mom asked this morning if we had gotten any here as I suppose we were predicted to. None yet to report. Sun's still bright even though morning rains brought my Spring temperatures back down. At this point in the season, if you're not going to give me enough snow to get me out of work, just give me the sun. And warm it back up so I can get these children outside for the love of all that is good! I don't mean to whine, I'm just day dreaming away. Bring on the Spring. Please!