Stealing Time

June has been my month for stealing time, for myself that is. I have purposely said 'no' to most things not already on my calendar unless it was something really, really desirable like going to see the Sex and the City 2 movie at 10:00pm last night. That may sound frivolous, but Sex and the City has always been a frivolous indulgence of mine. I got addicted to the series re-runs soon after the birth of my twins, frankly I needed to get lost in a reality that wasn't mine. Reviews aside, there were definitely some aspects of this second movie that I liked better than the first one, namely that the characters in version two were all at a place that I could relate to either presently or at some time in the not-so-distant past.

In addition, June has also been the month for some get-up-and-go in the writing department. I would love dearly to share my recent writings on my blog, but I am currently helping a friend piece together a memoir about her crazy life this last year and the information is a wee bit too personal to throw out to the public at this point. Just today I thought of two writing exercises that would help me blow some more creativity into this project, now if I can just accomplish one of those, maybe I will post it.

Exercise is going well. I am on a new program and trying to quit snacking and eating things that shouldn't go into my mouth. Cutting down on alcohol consumption and getting more sleep (baring last night's adventure) have also been high on my list of "to dos" as part of this summer kick-off.

School is out. This means that mom's taxi service will be taking a break and maybe we can even spend some afternoons at home! How blessed is that proposition! I have some vacation time coming up and we are planning to go on a ramble with not clear destination in mind. Frankly I am tired of planning my life and managing schedules for everyone else in my household. It will be fun, at least that is what I keep telling myself.

The best thing of all-I finally completed all of the yard work that I had set out to do this spring. Now maybe, just maybe if the weather quits with this rain with sun breaks the weeds won't come back.

Golf Swing Rules for Women

Next time that I go golfing, I am going to try very hard to remember this little poem. I don't know the origin, my friend Julie passed it on to me and it sounds, based on my experience, like good advice.

1) Brush the grass
2) Lower your ass
3) Shoulder to chin
4) Pussy to pin

If I am able to accomplish all four rules, especially the last one, and smack the ball over 200 yards I will be very happy.

Blue Monday

I just heard that today, the third Monday in January, has been identified as the most depressing day of the year. Some scientist who studies seasonal affective disorder decided this based on research. These are the reasons why today is the most depressing day of the year:


1) Distance from Christmas
2) Debt incurred from Christmas
3) Too much rain, sleet, snow, and hail and not enough sun
4) No holidays in sight
5) Monthly salary
6) Abandoning, giving up, or not starting new year's resolutions

I am not sure that these are all of the reasons why this day is labelled the most depressing of the year, but it certainly seems like enough. Now I almost feel guilty for having such a great day today, it was the last day of a wonderful and relaxing long weekend in a high altitude snow camp and I got to ski down the first four miles of the mountain road to catch the shuttle to the parking lot. The sun was out and the views were incredible. I should think about spending this day in such splendor every year!

Ideal Weight

Weight is a hot topic for most women and many men. I have noticed, however, that men don't get niggled about the weight thing as much as women unless they are obese. It is true that there is a time and season for everything, including weight. As a pregnant women, I was the heavier than I had ever been in my life. After having babies, my weight usually went down, but then I would pack on the pounds when nursing because I was always hungry. Suffice it to say, that in early middle age I no longer have a girlish figure. There is nothing wrong with that though, because I am no longer a girl. That doesn't mean that I don't feel like I have an ideal weight for me though. This ideal would be the weight that I feel most confident, am able to fit into clothes that I like, and do the activities that I enjoy.

For whatever reason I have been hearing and reading quite a bit about women and weight, mothers in particular, and comments like "why would you care about losing weight after a baby" or "it is superficial to care about losing weight" seem to abound. Well, just because one becomes a mother doesn't mean that they instantly lose their sense of self and are suddenly inhabited by their children. The fact that a woman wants to dress in decent clothes and have an active and healthy lifestyle unhindered by being over weight should never be considered superficial. It seems as though when a woman states that she wants to lose weight, people assume that it must be because she wants to look like Barbie. The weight debate then becomes another issue that can separate women and cause negativity about image to bloom.

This just shouldn't be the case. I know that this post seems a bit confusing, but I am trying to make the point that women shouldn't be niggled about weight loss. If you are uncomfortable at your current weight, can't wear the clothes that you like, and are hindered from activities that you enjoy, than work to lose those pounds and don't feel guilty. For every woman that does this, there will be another woman who is happy with herself being a bit heavier, a woman who has taken the trade-off and enjoys eating any food that they want without guilt and guilty they shouldn't be made to feel. I can't stress enough how much more helpful and positive this whole issue would be if there was more variety in the damn media that many of us try to avoid and if articles on how the latest star shed her baby pounds and now looks like she just emerged from the concentration camp diet shouldn't be allowed at all! Bring back the Dove ads, I for one appreciate and relate to the variety.

Getting to the Core of it All

As I have stated before, I do like to exercise. I don't consider myself to be too much of a gym rat, but if I don't get up and get out there and do something I have like no energy and I feel kind of down. Typically I like a vigorous, hopefully short, exercise routines. It is difficult for me to think about slowing down and doing strength and flexibility training, but I am finding that I must try and do this, too many aches and pains otherwise. With that in mind, I went to my first yoga class since the pregnancy yoga class that I took when expecting my first child almost eleven years ago. I feel great. This class advertised increased energy and I have to say that even though it is late in the afternoon, I haven't gotten the afternoon foggy head that sometimes overcomes me. My goal is to learn some of the stretches and routines and do them at home on my yoga mat whilst attending class once a week. Attending class and learning yoga wasn't a resolution, but I think that I am going to make it one so as to increase my chances of sticking with it.