She scares me...

Which is why I bought 3 of her videos online today. I figured I would be frigthened enough to do as she says. :) Plus everyone told me this workout is pretty good. SKINNY STACY here I come!

A purging of laziness, if you will

I am organizing my life...

I use the same lame excuse all the time "I have no time". But the honest truth is, I have plenty of time. I am just lazy or I just don't wanna do it.

I get up. Get ready. Go to work. Come home. Maybe (not often at all) make dinner. Sit my ass in the recliner and watch TV and Facebook all night. God... I am lame!

Sometimes, we go out to dinner or go do something fun on week nights, but not often. Yet, anytime I need to explain why something is not done I always say I am busy. Well, I am calling bullshit on myself this time! No excuses for not exercising. No excuses for not cooking and grocery shopping (I hate both of these by the way). No excuses for not keeping the apartment picked up and clean all the time. Not to say it is filthy dirty at all, but just keeping up with it and keeping things put away on a daily basis is better than on a weekly or monthly basis like I normally do.

Thing is, I never used to be this lazy. I used to be a go-getter... always busy doing something. Hell, in junior college I had a full semester of classes, was editor of the school paper (for which I was paid), also worked about 20-30 hours a week at the grocery store and 1 day a week at a doctor's office. Not to mention all the special committees and projects I was on. I think about it and I am exhausted. No idea, how I did it. That continued into my 4 year college and for about the first few years after. Then, I am not sure what happened. But I just got lazy. Well, I am done with it! No more lazy Stacy!

So, today, I made a menu of meals for the rest of the month and a shopping list. I know for many of you this is an easy "DUH, I already do that" kinda task. But for me, I never do this. I let Jared do most of the shopping and half the time we "fend for ourselves" when it comes to dinner. My philosophy is.... I work too, just like he does and I do all the laundry and a big chunk of the cleaning as well as make sure bills are paid, so why should I come home and slave over a stove like June Cleaver every night to cook for 2 people while he sits on his ass??? Hmmmmm. :) No guarantees that I will be Rachael Ray anytime soon, but I am gonna try a little harder.

I also made a schedule for each day of the week of what workouts I am doing and what chores around the house. It doesn't seem like that much when you spread it out over a week. :)

So, here's to a new start and to a ROUTINE!

Well, I used to could!

there is an old stand-up routine with Jeff Foxworthy talking about all the things he used to be able to do, but can't now.

This phrase "well, I used to could" resonates pretty well in my life these days. Getting older is a bitch ain't it? I mean, my mom got me a massage chair thing for Christmas for my back pain! When did gifts like this happen? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE IT, LOVE IT... but it just shows how old my poor body is getting. Waking up in the morning is like pouring milk over a bowl of Rice Crispies.... SNAP, CRACKLE... POP! OUCH! Bones and muscles I didn't even know could pop are popping and cracking followed by a huge sigh of relief. Hell, I have even woke Jared up getting outta bed with my morning cracking routine. Embarrassing? Nah... he married me, he can deal with it :)

As I was doing my 20 Turbo Jam workout this morning all the things I used to be able to do came to mind... mostly following my tumble to the ground during one part of the routine. Let me paint the picture for you. --- I am fighting back the yawns as we enter the last 7 minutes of the workout. I am tired... but surviving. I can hear her pushing me "Jab, cross... jab, cross..... upper cut, upper cut.... jab, kick front, kick back. As I move from my front kick to my back kick I lost my balance (imagine that) and my ankle fell to the side and down I went on my ass.... barely missing my cat Jada. She looked horrified. Which, I guess I would too if a fat ass almost landed on me! I get back up, laugh at my total lack of gracefulness and kept on going. To read about more of my nasty falls, click here.

You know, I used to have good balance. I used to be able to dance pretty good too when I was younger. I used to never get hangovers. I used to be able to stay up real late and sleep in until the afternoon. I used to be able to eat McDonalds twice a week without gaining a pound. The list just goes on and on.

Blogging regularly? Well, I used to could. But I hope to start changing that one. The rest of them are unfortunately difficult to change. :)

A big red bag and a battle of wills

my husband has this great big red bag he uses when he travels...

It is BIG. I mean, it has wheels so it almost a suitcase, but shaped like a bag. Not even sure where he got this massive piece of luggage. But, nonetheless he utilizes this bag for all of his big work trips and it seems to work well for him.

Until he gets home and it is time to unpack it.

Before I get to my point, let me share a story with you. About a year ago, Jared took a short trip back to Kansas. Instead of using the big red bag he decided to use my small red suitcase. He returned late one evening and left the suitcase at the end of the bed on the floor. --- SIDE NOTE --- anyone that KNOWS me knows that I cannot stand clutter. Our apartment is tiny therefore some clutter is unavoidable, but when a suitcase or bag is left unpacked for days it drives me crazy!

So, there the suitcase sat... for a few days before I asked him to unpack it and put it away. Of course his response was "I'll get to it... I just wanna relax today". So it sat for another few days and that became a week. I even caught him, no lie, grabbing clean clothes out of his suitcase to wear, but would not unpack it.

So, in the fit of cleaning rage one day. I took the suitcase with everything in it and placed it inside the big suitcase in the closet where it belongs! He never said a word about it. It was only a few weeks later that I got my revenge and proved my point. Jared calls me from work and asked me where his blue mesh shorts were. Hell, I didn't know. I looked briefly and then I thought.... I bet they are in that freakin' suitcase he never unpacked. Sure as hell... there they were!! So I grabbed them outta the suitcase, placed them on the bed and called him. Me: "Found your shorts, wanna guess where they were?" Jared: "I have no idea." Me:"How about inside that suitcase you never unpacked. I suggest you unpack that as soon as you get home." And... you know what.... he did. He unpacked it but not without giving me a hard time for "putting it away". God forbid I clean up something, right? :)

So, here we are today. Jared returned from his long work trip in South Carolina a few days before I got home, yet I returned to his big red bag sitting at the end of the bed busting at the seams it was so full. My things were unpacked and put away the next day. His, is still sitting there. Part of me thinks he does it because he KNOWS it bothers me and he keeps saying "why don't you just unpack it for me if it bothers you so much." I am not going to do it. I am his wife, not his mother. He is a big boy and can unpack his own bag. :)

The battle of wills has begun.... who will win?

yeah yeah... I know... you all forgot about me

i just really haven't been in the blogging spirit lately.

I LOVE doing it when I do, but I don't wanna just blog about nothing just to blog. I save all that nothingness for Facebook, haha. Just wanted to let you all know I am still here and I plan to start sharing more funny, sad, embarrasing and inspiring stories soon. Stay Tuned... I am really gonna try. :)

Miss. Miller

As I walked through the back hallway into my office building today, a noise sparked a memory of my childhood.

It echoed and became louder as I continued down the hallway. Click, clack, click clack... the sound on my black stilettos heels on the bare concrete floor. Why does this noise spark a memory for me? Well, let me tell you about Miss. Miller.

Miss. Miller was my first grade teacher at Apple Creek Elementary in Moore, Oklahoma. I don't remember kindergarten real well and even second grade is a little fuzzy. But I can remember a lot from first grade. In fact, I bet I can walk into that grade school today and still find my first grade classroom. Miss Miller was everything a first grade teacher should be... kind, compassionate, funny, and eager to teach these little ones something great. And, above all, she was beautiful. At least to me and my little first grader friends she was. We idolized her. I remember her as being very tall, even for a grown up. Her hair was a reddish brown, trimmed to her shoulders and she totally rocked one of those 80s perms with the bangs. Her makeup was always perfect and she dressed like a dream. I always remember her in a dress or a skirt and she ALWAYS had on heels. Looking back, I have no idea how she could stand and teach in those all day long, but she did it! She was a tough cookie! :)

Whenever she would leave our classroom for a little bit, she would always say "I'll be right back, be good and keep working on your assignment." Well, we are first graders, so we really didn't listen. As soon as she was outta the room, we would immediately start talking, joking around and being kids. Then, all of a sudden, someone would say "SSSShhhhh... here she comes." The room would get absolutely quiet and all we could hear from the hallway was "click, clack, click, clack." Her shoes gave her away every time and upon her arrival her sweet first graders were always on their best behavior. :)

Ever since then I have remembered that sound. For me, it symbolized being a woman, growing up, being strong and confident. Many of my teachers after her wore heels and were beautiful, but I always remember Miss Miller. I looked to her and thought "someday I will be a grown up and I will wear heels and look beautiful too."

As I left the click, clack of the hallway and entered the carpeted area to take the elevator to the third floor to my office I smiled and thought of her. I wonder if she would be proud of me today? I wonder if she knows the impact she had on her students, even one as simple as wearing heels? As I stepped off the elevator, I tripped. Well, maybe I will never be as graceful as she was, but gosh do I love a good, strong, powerful pair of heels! :)