What I'm Reading This Week #9

Happy last Friday of February, y'all!  I hope you've had a good week!  I don't know about you but we're ready for the weekend.  I've been working on a project for our 25th anniversary and damn, when you've got 25 years of stuff to go through, it is quite the undertaking!  The Mr has been in class all week and I know he's glad to be done with that.

Here's some of our eats for the week.

Monday it was Brussels Sprout Flatbread.

Workout was 10 Rounds Upper Body Strength.

Tuesday was Coconut Shrimp with spinach and carrot polenta.

Workout was a 2 lapper around the hood in the ice that somehow got us the same steps as a 3 lapper.

Wednesday was turkey tacos with garlic green beans.

Workout was a 2 1/2 miler at the park in the rain.

Thursday was Beyond Burger and potato wedges because I wasn't in the mood to go deep.

Workout was 10 Rounds Lower Body hell fest that will no doubt cripple me today so a lighter WATP will be on tap tonight.

Let's limp on into...

You're Not Imagining It: The Pandemic Is Making Your Hair Fall Out  (See Mr, this is why you're cleaning the drain more.  LOL)

This Vascular Biologist Wants You To Address Blood Vessel Health ASAP (These are great things to know.  The Mr and I are genetically a vascular mess.)

A Trainer Says This Is the Best Workout to Do If You Want to Lose Weight and Build Muscle (Yes please)

15 Bodyweight Glute Exercises You Can Do Anywhere, From Our Favorite Trainers  (My butt and legs hurt already!)

5 Ways to Reduce Stress-Related Tension in Your Neck and Shoulders  (I'm all over this!)

15 Interesting Physical Signs You’re Wearing The Wrong Bra  (Oh how fun...despite buying like 6 different bras this past year, I still have most of these signs.)

Ever Feel Secondhand Embarrassment For Someone? There's A Word For That  (OMG, I can't watch internet videos of people falling or people laughing at someone else's expense.  I soo have Fremdschämen)

Brain Activity of Bodily Symptoms in Anxiety Disorders  (I can tell you deep, controlled breathing techniques can do wonders as well as a doctor that isn't a total asshat.)

How A Mindfulness Technique Could Help Restore Your Sex Drive  (This is a must for people with issues from childhood ranging from religious shame to families that didn't express affection or those with body image issues.)

Dog Brings Mom Exactly What She Needs Every Time He Hears The Baby Cry  (Oh my heart!  What a sweet big brother!)

I think it's supposed to be warmer but rain all weekend.  I'm fine with that.  Sunshine makes you feel like you should be out there and then once you're out and in the traffic to go nowhere, you regret going out.  Maybe it's time for an 80's movie marathon or something.

Oh, if you didn't have time to answer hump day survey's consider playing along.  The answers are interesting and they're here to stay for at least a few months.

Anything going on for y'all this weekend?

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Another Hump Day Survey

Here's the next 15 questions from the icebreaker survey.

What did you name your first car?  I don't think "please stop making that noise" is an actual name but my friend had a POS old red Toyota Tercel she called "the Cherry Bomb."

What Disney/cartoon character were you inexplicably afraid of as a kid?  I don't know that I was.  There was that Medusa chick in The Rescuers book, were they Disney?

What was your first record, tape or CD that you ever owned?  I have no clue.

What were words you couldn’t pronounce as a child, so you made up your own?  Pompatis.  But then I later found out that Steve Miller made it up too.

Have you ever gotten super lost? What happened?  I got lost in the mall as a kid and there's nothing worse than that when you're that young and can't find your parent.  Obviously, I was found.

What’s the story of your first crush?  See here.

What was your first job? What did you like/dislike about it?  Retail.  I liked that I met my future husband there and I disliked...people.

Who was the worst grade-school teacher you ever had?  Mr. K in 6th grade.  He was a pompous ass and was more interested in calling people out than teaching.

What afterschool activity did you quit as a kid, and why?  I don't know if this can actually qualify as quitting or not.  Mom signed me up for tennis my freshman year without my consent because I used to have a crush on a tennis star which she mistook as interest.  Didn't know how to play, I'll be damned if I was going to humiliate myself just for the family to have someone to cheer for.

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened on your family vacation?  I can't think of anything funny enough to stick out but there's a situation that others would probably find funny at my expense.  On my last vacation with my mom before I got married, we went with my aunt to visit my grandma and her husband in Florida.  We were booked on a gambling cruise.  The night before, we were all crammed in this TINY motel room two of them in a double bed and me in a rollaway bed.  My aunt and grandma's husband are legendary in the snoring department...like Richter scale kind of loud.  Between them, it was one long snore to the point I would go to the bathroom and slam the door to get 2 minutes peace from them semi waking up.  I got 15 minutes of sleep which was once the sun came up and I passed out from exhaustion.  We got on the gambling cruise, had breakfast, I pulled one slot before getting SO seasick, I spent the rest of the cruise splayed out on the stern of the ship trying not to barf.  

What’s the funniest animal you’ve ever owned as a pet?  A toy fox terrier and that dog was just like her adoptive mama on the hijinks scale.

What’s the worst haircut you ever had?  I'd have to say the week before kindergarten pics when I thought cutting a square out of my bangs was a good idea.  Slicked over bangs, ftw.

What’s the best prank you’ve ever played on someone?  See here.

What’s the most ridiculous thing your parents ever did to embarrass you?  Thankfully, nothing comes to mind.

As a kid, did you ever do something wrong but manage to pin it on your siblings?  I'm sure my step-brother got more than his share of blame for stuff I did after I left for my weekend visitation.

Your turn!  Pick five or all of the questions to answer in the comments.

What did you name your first car?

What Disney/cartoon character were you inexplicably afraid of as a kid?

What was your first record, tape or CD that you ever owned?

What were words you couldn’t pronounce as a child, so you made up your own?

Have you ever gotten super lost? What happened?

What’s the story of your first crush?

What was your first job? What did you like/dislike about it?

Who was the worst grade-school teacher you ever had?

What afterschool activity did you quit as a kid, and why?

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened on your family vacation?

What’s the funniest animal you’ve ever owned as a pet?

What’s the worst haircut you ever had?

What’s the best prank you’ve ever played on someone?

What’s the most ridiculous thing your parents ever did to embarrass you?

As a kid, did you ever do something wrong but manage to pin it on your siblings?

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They Did...Weekend Recap

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope you found something fun to do.

Friday, one of my besties FINALLY got married.  She's the one who had to postpone her wedding twice.  One due to the death of her mom and grandpa (basically father) and then her wedding in Hawaii due to the crap fest.  We got to video chat a few hours before which was nice but of course, not the same.  There's that lag where you feel like they're not really hearing you and you're both just trying to catch up.  Same reason I hate cell phones.  We've been friends since 7th grade and I never fathomed not being able to not be there to see her get married.  I've been trying not to think about it because I just break down.  But her brother and his wife and daughter drove down to be there with them.  They've locked down tight the whole pandemic so they're safe and it's been a year since they have been together.  I know the important thing is she is married to the man she loves but my heart breaks for all of the dreams she had to give up for her wedding day to finally be a Mrs.  Those are things you think about when you're a little girl and it took her a few frogs to find her prince and she deserved the day she wanted.  I hate that about a week or two before that she said "I just want to be DONE thinking about a damn wedding!"  That's not how it should be.  They even drove to the site on the beach to get married and they were like yeah, there's too much wind and rain so we can't do it here.

SERIOUSLY!?  Like you couldn't have called it a few hours before so they could get something up at the condo they were staying at??  Just such a clusterf**k of events to get to their happily ever after but I'm glad they can just focus on being husband and wife now.  

We did manage to get out for a drive.  The places we drove by brought back some crappy wedding memories of our own having to do with my dad's power trip over the planning process from a state away.  The Mr said no one gets out of their wedding without stories to tell either about the day or the planning leading up to it.  It's true.  You never realize how embedded those are until something triggers them and you think about the crap you had to put up with when you're trying to plan the happiest day of your life.  I totally get now why people elope.  Though the Mr and I almost did!  We went to Vegas with my family in 1994 about 4 months after we got engaged.  We said we could get married at the Excalibur in the chapel.  The Mr was a no go but he at least pretended to consider it.  We still would've had our wedding two years later but would've had a big reveal for the reception.  That would've been pretty epic.  😂  But ultimately, I'm glad we had the wedding we did even with all of the crap that came with it from family, friends, old friends, neighbors and everyone else who wanted to make it about them and not us.

The rest of the weekend was just chilling out and grocery pick ups/deliveries here and there.  Nothing major to report and hope to keep it that way.

How was your weekend?

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What I'm Reading This Week #8

It's Friday.  Not sure if that's exciting or just a continuation of the one long day that has been the past almost year. 

Here's our eats for the week.

Beyond Burger and tater wedges.

Workout was LIIFT 4 Chest and Tri's

Tuesday was BBQ Chicken Pita Pizza and veggies.

Workout was WATP 3 miles

Wednesday was HF Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie.

Workout was Shaun T's Rockin' Body Disco.

Thursday was salmon, TJ's gnocchi and veggies.

Workout was Turbo Fire 45.

Now. let's peep...

COVID-19 vaccines: What does 95% efficacy actually mean?   (FYI)

Don't Do This Until a Month After Your COVID Vaccine  (LADIES!  Listen up!!)

5 Exercises You Should Do In The Morning  (Get that body unkinked!)

Pigeon Pose Always Bothered My Tight Hips Until I Tried This Yoga Instructor's Tips  (That stretch can be brutal, anything helps!)

A High-Powered Attorney Suffers From Memory Loss and Slips Into a Coma. What's Going on?  (Holy crap!  You NEED to read this to at least be armed with the knowledge!)

How to Have Difficult Conversations When You Don’t Like Conflict  (Very good tips for the people pleasers)

How to Clean a Washing Machine So It Runs Like New  (Need to do this)

Frequently Eating Chocolate Linked to Lower Interest in Sex  (Maybe eat the chocolate after sex?)

Why You Should Never 'Unsubscribe' From Illicit Spam Emails and Texts  (Don't do it!)

'Flea Market Flip's' Lara Spencer to Star in New HGTV Series 'Everything But the House'  (This looks interesting!)

No plans that I know of as usual.  Looking forward to whatever mischief we might be able to get into.

Any plans of mischief on your end?

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Hump Day Survey

I can't take credit for these questions, I pulled them off of a website and I didn't even read them first so I'll be seeing them for the first time as you do!  

What are your favorite songs from your teenage years that you still rock out to?  I'm surprised by how much I loved Poison back in the day but turn off Every Rose Has It's Thorn the second it comes on now.  I also turn off Def Leppard because it was my friend's favorite band and I had to listen to them enough back in the day to last me a lifetime but that wasn't the question.  I always love Dr. Feelgood or Girls, Girls, Girls by Motley Crue even though I didn't like them enough to have them on my walls.  Always love the original remake of Hard to Handle by Black Crowes before they re-released it with horns and ruined it.  Probably love it because I'm in the balcony in the video.

Who was your childhood actor/actress crush?  John Ritter and John Travolta.  

What’s your most embarrassing moment from your teen years?  Hmm, oddly nothing really comes to mind.  I actually think more of something from 6th grade.  There was a new kid that year that I had a crush on.  One day I was talking to him when I guess I should've been listening to the teacher who had a flair for being a flaming a-hole.  He said "when you're done flirting with boys maybe you could pay attention?" in front of the class.  The object of my crush leaned over and said "don't be flirting with those boys now!" to which I gave him a finger gesture and began my voodoo doll of said teacher.

What’s the craziest dare you ever took?  I don't know that I took dares, I just did what I wanted and waited for people to say it was crazy.

What’s the grossest food you ever had to eat to be polite?  My dad traumatized me with caraway seeds as a kid.  I didn't eat it to be polite, I ate it because I was forced to.  My gag reflex literally goes off if I smell rye bread or even see the word 'caraway.')

What’s the worst thing you ever did as a kid — and got away with?  Like I'd tell anyone!

What’s the craziest fashion trend you ever rocked?  I suppose neon.

What did you get into the most trouble for with your parents as a kid?  My grades.  Solid B and C student with a D thrown in for good measure and grounding.

What’s your silliest memory with your best friend?  We used to make cassette tapes of our own X-rated soap operas with our favorite rock stars as the object of our teen lust.  I should probably burn those.

What part of elementary school do you wish you could incorporate into your adult life? (i.e. naptime)

Art.  Finger painting used to be my favorite.  I remember when we poked lava with our hiking sticks in Hawaii and it smells just like finger paint believe it or not.  Took me right back to kindergarten!

What was the first concert you ever went to?  Rick Springfield.  (No, I've never seen this asked as a security question like people immediately say when you answer that question online.)

Do you have any crazy roommate stories?  My mom had to have a roommate she worked with when I was a teenager to make it with crappy child support.  The roommate was dating a guy who looked and acted like Sam Kinison.  (Sorry, I said dating, I meant affairing despite knowing my mom got cheated on.  Classy.)  Let's say, if I had been a smaller gal in my early teen years, things might've gone bad for me where he was concerned but I had no problem holding my own and telling my mom about it and he wasn't allowed in the house anymore. 

What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten for breakfast that is not a breakfast food?  Cold pizza?  Damn, I haven't done that in DECADES!

What’s the strangest family tradition in your family?  I don't feel like we have any strange traditions.  

What was your favorite item of clothing as a kid?  I had this pretty wine colored velvet shirt with a rhinestone heart on it.  I loved that thing.

Your turn!  Answer five or all of the questions.  I'll put them below so you can copy and paste easily.

What are your favorite songs from your teenage years that you still rock out to when nobody else is listening?

Who was your childhood actor/actress crush?

What’s your most embarrassing moment from your teen years?

What’s the craziest dare you ever took?

What’s the grossest food you ever had to eat to be polite?

What’s the worst thing you ever did as a kid — and got away with?

What’s the craziest fashion trend you ever rocked?

What did you get into the most trouble for with your parents as a kid?

What’s your silliest memory with your best friend?

What part of elementary school do you wish you could incorporate into your adult life? (i.e. naptime)

What was the first concert you ever went to?

Do you have any crazy roommate stories?

What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten for breakfast that is not a breakfast food?

What’s the strangest family tradition in your family?

What was your favorite item of clothing as a kid?

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VD Weekend Recap

You know you're old when you thought I meant venereal disease weekend recap!  Don't fret, I'm old too.  Then when did it go from VD to STD's and now STI's??  Anyone got a timeline on that?  Things to ponder.

It was a weekend o' love around these parts because honestly, these long pandemic days you need reasons to do ANYTHING different.  Friday the Mr surprised me with flowers.

Now some of you maybe like "really?  Surprised you with them.  It's Valentine's weekend, fool."  Yes.  Surprised.  For all of our marriage, I've always had a "don't you dare pay jacked up prices for something that's going to die."   So if flowers arrive here, I am surprised.  And I didn't even give my usual response which is usually that he didn't have to do that and basically I'm not worth flowers given the price, etc.  How does that ever get me flowers in the future when it's not a holiday if I'm constantly reinforcing I don't need them (even if occasionally I want them.)  So yeah, while that might not sound like much to y'all, it was BIG for me.  

Another big thing for me was I bought this frame online from a retailer I've shopped quite a bit during the early pandemic.  Well, I thought it was a wood frame and upon receiving it, it was this nasty resin.  Okay, I can paint it when the weather warms up.  Then the more I looked at it, the more I was like 'this thing looks warped!'  I started to chalk it up to well, you get what you get when you buy vintage online.  The Mr is like 'uh, that thing is not usable.  Do what you want but I would contact them.'  I went back and forth and then thought 'no, there was no mention of it being warped and that's kind of crappy, I need to see what they suggest as a resolution.'  I emailed them about it and their response was disappointing given how much money I've spent there.  So I hung the frame and took pics from top and side to clearly show their suggestion was not going to work and was quite polite about it.  I didn't want to have to dispute it with my credit card company but I would because this thing stuck out INCHES from the wall in one place.   Glad to say they did the right thing and refunded me without me directly having to ask for it.  I'm glad I didn't roll over on that one for $40.  Someone's making some mental progress.  

(tenor.com)

Saturday morning, I attempted a copycat version of the Mr's favorite breakfast from Butler's Pantry in Stowe, VT of Biscuits and Sausage Gravy.  

I know it didn't taste the same as theirs but I gave it the ol' college try and I know the tweaks I'll make if I do it in the future.    It's the thought that counts.  LOL

He got us some virtual dance lessons for us to take before our anniversary which is awesome and I can't wait to learn some moves!  We went out to grab some stuff we needed then went on a drive since they claim there's snow coming our way but I won't hold my breath.  It was fun going back to some of our early dating haunts.  When we came home, we watched some old WWF Royal Rumble matches which were my favorite.  We watched a few movies on Amazon Prime before conking out around 1am. 

Then as usual, I started off Sunday with the annual blasting of Outkast while we procrastinated starting the day.  When we finally got up and around, I made a ham and swiss omelet, whole wheat toast and fruit salad.  We watched Sunday Morning like the fogies we are and the Mr finished up the laundry.  We opened cards and lazed around until it was time to workout.  I chose the Burn Fat Faster kettlebell workout because it was short(ish) and I'm a sadist.  That one always seems so benign in the first round, a little harder in the second round and has you begging for mercy by the third round.

Instead of grabbing takeout at some restaurant that was going to jack up prices for the occasion, I had already grabbed some filet's from TJ's on our last run and seasoned them.  I had some leftover shrimp so I made fixin's for a fancy dinner of shrimp cocktail, filet mignon with baked potato and salad and mini dessert of chocolate lava cake from TJ's with a chocolate covered strawberry side.

I must say, better than a restaurant and no Covid to be found.  Double score!

How was your weekend?  

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What I'm Reading This Week #7

Happy Aloha Friday everyone!  I hope you had a good week and those of you in the deep freeze and snow all around bundled up to take advantage!  Or maybe enjoyed it from the comfort of your home with a cup of tea.  Valentine's weekend is upon us!  I don't know if that means anything to anyone or not.  I sent out a few cards.  I've got stuff to make a pretty good spread here food wise but it'll probably just be me, the Mr and Aunt Flo curled up on the couch.  Good times.

Let's see what we've been putting in our heart shaped candy holes this week.

Monday was protein penne with Silver Palate's low sodium marinara and a slice of Cheesecake Factory brown bread loaf.

Workout was Powerstrike.

Tuesday was Deliciously Ella's Sweet Potato, Lentil & Coconut Curry with a side of roasted broccoli.

Workout was Turbo Fire Tone 30 and PT.

Wednesday was glazed orange roughy, sweet potato gnocchi and maple garlic green beans.

Workout was Shaun T25 Speed 2.0.

Thursday was tried and true General Tso's chicken over cauli-rice.

Workout was WATP.

Now let's slip and slide into...

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Walk (Always good to get outside when it's not too frigid to do so.)

8 Stretches to Do Before Bed  (Some good ones...I need to find room for some of them.)

This healthy WW cabbage soup is a simpler version of minestrone  (This actually looks good unlike that heinous soup of yore.)

Study finds childhood diet has lifelong impact (Thanks a lot Magic Fries and Pizza Rolls...the latchkey kid diet of champions.)

No, You Were Not Happier Way Back When. Here's Why  (I agree.  When I look back, I always say 1983 was the best year because of all of the good music and sleepovers with friends.  It was the year my parents divorced too and caused me more trauma than I could bear.  You remember what you want to.)

7 Gaslighting Phrases Used to Confuse and Control (This sounds like someone's sibling I know.)

Are You Problem-Solving, or Just Worrying?  (Usually the latter.)

The Best Cupcake Recipe From Magnolia Bakery  (In case anyone wants to replicate a trip to the Big Apple for Vday.)

Learn to cook like Brenda (and trust me...you WANT to!!  Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco was worth the trek from Pac Heights through the Tenderloin past (what is the PC term for a pissed off pimp yelling at his lady employees?) for the French Toast which is on my last meal list.  Their French toast is topped with the butter pecan sauce they have listed.  If homegirl lists how to make her crawfish beignets, I'm probably going to just explode...figuratively and literally.)

There are 7 faces of David Bowie mysteriously hidden in the film ‘Labyrinth’  (Holy crap, I knew two of them but now we'll have to watch it again sometime and check this out!)

Olivia Newton-John says people criticizing 'Grease' for being problematic 'need to relax a little bit'  (Get it, Liv!!  I'm so done with people picking apart every.single.thing. to throw their cancel culture BS net over.  You cannot look at older art in any form through a modern lens.  These teens and twenty something's are going to be friggin' basket cases by the time they're 30 and this is by someone from the generation that created 'PC' culture.)

We've got a simple Valentine's celebration this weekend as I'm sure most of you do.  I'm ready to kick back and hopefully not have a headache like I've had pretty much all week.  Just throwing it out to the universe.  Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies!

Anything going on this weekend?  Any plans for the Hallmark holiday?

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An Old Friend

I'm working on a project that had me going through old boxes of pictures, negatives and letters.  It's funny how going through stuff stirs up emotions on different levels.  I see pics of the Mr and I in our early dating years and various stages thereafter and smile.  I'll see pics of us with different people and can remember what I was thinking when it was taken.  Sometimes, 'get it over with so we can drop the facade' other times feeling lucky to be with them.  I saw news clippings of my father in law when he got cleared of his first round of cancer as he was somewhat high profile in his area.  I saw an envelope from my dad in his handwriting, a rarity, and I didn't feel like reading in my current state of mind.  There were old cards mostly from the Mr but one from my former best friend and maid of honor that was really lovely and made me wish things could've been different but they can't.  I still always remember her birthday, which was Monday and it makes me a little sad I feel nothing when I remember it most years but some years it brings up all of the betrayal that went with the end of it and I wish I could push the date out of the memory bank.  I also found a thank you note from my grandma from her 25th anniversary.  I got a little misty because in a few short months, we too will be celebrating our 25th anniversary...robbed of the chance to celebrate it in any of the ways I ever thought we would, which is a blog post for another time.  While it was wonderful to see her handwriting and the beautiful sentiment behind it, the thought of knowing who she was really married to now overrides any fuzzy feelings I may have seeing her sign his name.  I can't even begin to relay the shit show that man has invited into his life and how quick he was to cut us all off.  I am beyond glad I took the things of my grandma's that I did when I had the chance though there are still a few things I would've liked and I'm 99.8% sure I'll never see again.

I also came across some pictures of a guy I thought I was madly in love with in 7th grade.  He worked at the mall and my friend and I were all too happy to stalk him and his hot co-worker when we were there every weekend with the occasional weeknight thrown in.  He was handsome and just dippy enough to be charming.  He was also manipulative, unreliable and self centered but I suppose most of us are to some degree at 17.  (Or was it 18?  19?  He lied about his age. I was 13 so who cares but then again, I don't think I told him I was 13 either.)  We became friends and the fact he had a bad home life only activated my 'stray'  magnet harder.  He was a good looking guy hoping to break into modeling.  At some point in 8th grade, he left to move a few states away.  I regret sending him with a soap opera cassette that my friend and I made to listen to on his bus ride out for entertainment because it was our best one.  He promised to send it back.  He didn't.  When I asked him about it twice, he casually said he thought he lost it.  I was so mad at myself for being so stupid to not make a copy and give him that.  A lesson you have to learn the hard way when you're blinded by infatuation.  

The postcards he sent became fewer and farther until they stopped altogether and my first piece of mail to him was returned at "not at this address."  He'd moved on and didn't want me to know where.  I suppose I always knew it was coming.  Out of the blue, I ran into him my freshman year, I don't even remember where.  I was so excited to see him more because I wondered if he was dead.  (This would actually happen with several people in my life so you can see why I have issues.)  His mouth ran before his brain as my father liked to say to me and I figured one day he'd say the wrong thing to the wrong person.  He was staying at the house of this weird chick who went to my school and had zero idea how that whole thing came to pass.  When he would ask me to stop by sometimes, I never went inside but the girl always talked about him like she owned him or knew something about him that gave her some kind of power over me.  Like 'I have something you want, kiss my ass to get it.'  Uh, no thanks.  His family wouldn't let him move back home and they were toxic too but in physically abusive ways over his mental games.  I thought maybe he was finally getting his life together and seemed like he wanted to.  He would sometimes come to school and sit with me during lunch period.  We hung out.  Sometimes held hands.  Never kissed.  Did I mention he was gay?  He would be the first of many gay men that would break my heart.  To put it politely, many gay men back in the day (late 80's) thought they had to act straight to be accepted, even some of my own family did this.  But the destruction of self esteem and self worth left to those they were using as their social shield was long lasting and hard to climb out of.   (Please, no one get their panties in a wad over all of that.  Him being gay wasn't the issue but it's essential to the whole picture.)

He caused me to act in cringeworthy ways that only a 14 year old can.  I could've easily lost myself in his ego and did to some degree but his first discarding of me made me a smarter and more leery person of him, and everyone, the second time around.  I was the girl crying over him at a dance while he danced obliviously until throwing me a bone to dance to Crazy For You by Madonna.  Ask if I can hear that song without flooding my body with trauma?  All of the crap that happened after the dance can be called nothing short of a mental breakdown on my part.  He had no problem exploiting my feelings for him to continue to get gifts from me, have a place to crash on one occasion or a sympathetic ear because everyone was so unfair to him.  He knew there was no future for us from the get go but it behooved him to drag my heart like a tin can on the back of a bumper from a 70's wedding getaway car.  I should thank him for breaking me early on because I swore I was never going to let a man treat me like that again.   I don't even remember how he left my life that time but he did but I'd already moved on to the next gay man who would gently and sweetly let me down easy unlike this spineless turd.  The next time he fluttered in, I was dating the Mr and I think he was just swinging through town but started calling like nothing had changed.  Thankfully, I had...at least where he was concerned and it was the last time I ever saw him except for finding him on social media about five years ago.  While he looked healthy on the outside, nothing much changed about his personality.  I was horrified to see an exchange where his brother berated him and basically aired all of their dirty laundry.  I had to remember what it was like to be a pawn in his games and don't know his brothers side of the story as to why he felt that should be handled in front of mutual family and friends.  Even though that display broke my heart, I had zero desire to reach out to him to say hi because he's one of those people who when given a thread will find a way to hang himself.

When I came across these modeling pictures he gave me in 7th grade, I had no emotions.  I didn't think of the manipulation, the lovesick girl who would do anything for him to notice me or the mixture of good and bad times that made up whatever it was we had between us for what was a brief time in our lives.  I just suddenly knew I didn't want them anymore.  I hopped online and I have what I hope is a current address.  I wrote a note telling him I somehow ended up with them and thought he might like to have them for nostalgia's sake.  I hope life has treated him well and signed it 'an old friend.'  Yes, I know it will probably drive him crazy.  I don't care but that's not why I did it.  I know enough to know if he has any old stuff of mine with an address, he'd be able to track me down even if I signed my first name.  I highly doubt he still does since he so casually threw out a cassette I said I wanted back but you never know what people throw in a shoebox.  I have no desire to be found by him.  I don't wish him ill will but I don't want him in my life even as an acquaintance because I don't have room in my life for potential BS.  I hope he's different and has learned from life but as of five years ago, he's still part of some serious drama and I don't even take that from my own family.  I know if someone came across pics of me and they were going to throw away, I'd love to have them over them being in a landfill.  I have no need to hang on to those pictures anymore.  I'd come across them every few years or so and it would bring up so much in me and I never knew why I kept them.  It wasn't because of him but I guess more representative of a simpler time with friends.  A time when I was a mall rat in the 80's scoping out dudes and the time I finally got the courage to talk to one.  (Lesson learned.)   I have one other picture of us together that I like somewhere in the abyss that is my closet and I'll keep it but these don't feel like mine anymore.

And I'm glad.

Have you gotten rid of something that used to stir up your emotions but you find you no longer need?

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Hump Day Poll: Trends

(I agree sir...your facial hair makes me want to scream as well.  Source)

What trend are you glad died and what trend would you like to come back?

Both of mine involve hair.

I am SO glad the metrosexual lumberjack/1880's snake oil salesman trend is gone.  Where dudes were all like "wouldn't handlebar mustaches be cool?"  No.  No they wouldn't.  

At. All.

Now, the one that you guys are going to be like "no, no it wouldn't" is 80's hair.  I was a master at Aqua Net and loved having so much poof.  If people can have friggin' violet or unicorn colored hair without people batting an eye, I should be able to get my closer to God hair with zero people being able to have an out loud opinion about it.

What trend are you glad died and what trend would you like to come back?

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What I'm Reading This Week #6

Six weeks into the new year!   Yeah...I got nothing.    Happy Friday to you.  I hope the week hasn't been too stressful and you're ready to slide into the weekend like a pair of satin pajamas with a Barry White album on.  Sorry, I think I'm losin' it a bit.  

Monday was bourbon lime salmon, sweet potato gnocchi and veggies.  (Oh yeah and we're pretty sure Trader Joe's has changed the formula on the gnocchi which now tastes bland.  I'm hoping it was a bad batch but I'm not going to have any reason to go there if they keep this up.)

Workout was a walk around the park in the snow.

Tuesday was turkey taco Tuesday.

Workout was me dancing to Gwen Stefani like I was her backup dancer while the Mr took a rest day.

Hump Day was General Tso's shrimp made with cauli-rice.

Workout was T25 Ript Upper Body Strength.

Thursday was Caulipower Veggie Pizza because I didn't feel like cooking much.

Workout was 3 miles of Walk Away the Pounds that killed us by the end of it.  The Mr was kind enough to massage my legs at it's end so I could walk from the previous night's deadlift soiree.

Let's limp  into:

Here's Why Women Should Pay More Attention to Their Pectoral Muscles  (Mine are being real a-holes the past few months)

The 25 Best Exercises to Tone Your Abs and None of Them Are Crunches (I'm down with that because crunches suck.)

When You Lose Weight, Your Fat Cells Don’t Just Let Go of Fat  (Well that's rude!)

Best Nutrients for Eye Health as Ranked by a Functional Eye Doctor  (Good to know to keep your peepers in check!)

How CBD Oil Affects Hormonal Birth Control  (Worth shouting out loud to all on hormonal birth control pills!!  CBD oil competes with some estrogen pills rendering it less effective and increasing the risk of unwanted pregnancy!  Do your research before adding to cart.)

Why You Don't Always Need to Forgive  (I know someone out there needs to read this!  I am taken back to when the Mr's sibling betrayed his trust and turned his whole family (except his dad) against me the first years we were dating in a situation they knew nothing about.  It took over 2 decades before my MIL and I were ever square about truths and untruths of all of that.  Pouring all of my hatred into what that did to us for the first 10 years and ruining any chance of acceptance early on only put more stress on me.  *I* was drinking the poison so to speak and expecting THEM to be sick from it!  At some point, I decided the person who betrayed him wasn't worth my time anymore and I evicted them from my mental space.  I never forgave them because they got pleasure from the pain they caused and they never apologized or took responsibility.  Choosing to let it go isn't the same as forgiving and it's not a requirement to be a good person.)

The 8 Golden Rules for Having a Conversation That Reduces Stress Rather Than Stokes It  (Good tips!)

5 Ways to Hack Your Nightmares  (Reading for a friend.  Okay, it's me.  I'm the friend.)

28 Sex Games for Couples Who Want to Spice Things Up  (Valentine's Day is right around the corner.  I had a horrible vision of playing Strip Twister, getting in a weird position, starting to laugh which inevitably means I'll probably fart or cramp violently and end up on the show "Sex Sent Me to the ER.")

Dave Grohl: 'I dreamt I was shot in the back'  (Great article)

17 things you probably didn't know about 'Grease'  (It's the word, it's the word, that you heard.)

Crap, how is it the weekend before Valentine's Day weekend?  I got a Woodstock Illinois puzzle for Christmas of the square featured in Groundhog Day and planned to have it put together by then.  Didn't even remember it until it was too late.  Basically, aren't we living it every day?  Do I need a puzzle and movie to remind me?  What cosmic lesson am I supposed to learn?  Just can't have the same "fun" screwing with mortality as ol' Phil Connors did.  

Remember this time last year when things were still normal?  Ahhh...good times.

Any tomfoolery on tap for you this weekend?

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Hump Day Poll: Experience

What's the biggest thing you, unfortunately, know from experience?

A lot of things.  I think the one I've had the most trouble coming to terms with is people who are supposedly 'closest' to you, are more than happy to take someone else's word about a situation than ask your side of the story.  We all tend to fill in the blanks on some things and usually based off of history of actions or reactions by someone.  But when something happens that is like "that doesn't sound like her" or "something really bad must've happened for her to react that way", it's apparently easier to believe the worst of what people say than to ask someone.  The Mr and I have come across this more times than we can count and it's very sad that people would rather believe the worst in you than ask for your side of things.  

I did at least learn from that.  Years ago there was something I heard about a family member and I point blank asked if she was seeing someone but didn't want to assume they were together.  She said "THANK YOU!!!  No, we're not together and everyone assumes we are and it's annoying!"  (Side note:  They now are together and...ugh.)

What's the biggest thing you, unfortunately, know from experience?

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Womp Womp Weekend Recap

Oh hey, Monday!  You rolled around too quick again.  I suggest not making that a habit.  It was not the best weekend we've ever had.  

Friday night, we finally broke down and went to Trader Joe's.  It was more crowded in there than the parking lot let on and it takes everything in me not to drop kick their employees who sit there yammering and popping a squat in the middle of the aisles as we're all trying to maneuver around them.  A store we once loved going to is now a nightmare and that was even pre-pandemic.  I am looking forward to trying the guava passion fruit yogurt they got in.  If that's any good, we may have to run back over and stock up but for now, so glad to be done with that place for another 4 weeks at least.

I had some nightmares for two nights in a row that did not leave me in a great mental state come Saturday morning.  The inflammation in my body from adding in strength and adding an extra lap made for no weight loss on my end (but the Mr rocked a three lb loss!  Woot!)  So that didn't help things.  I was not in a talking mood so there was a lot of silence since I also wasn't interested in watching yet another crappy show I didn't care about or stare at a screen all day.  Pandemic boredom was at it's pinnacle that day.  The Mr suggested a decor shop I like that has a pup there that we can cuddle on.  We were in there longer than I wanted to be because people started coming in and the owner likes to chat.  I picked up a little souvenir from Stowe since they spent their honeymoon at Trapp Lodge and didn't want to wing it at her and be run off by a chatty Cathy.  It was nice having the pup give us kisses as we checked out.  I got a vintage piano reel, two candles and a small broom.  Once I get them up and styled, I'll take pics.  Later on we had a good talk but I felt bad I ruined his whole day after a long week.  

That night it began snowing but I wasn't getting too excited because I saw by morning it was going to be raining so it's not like we could actually enjoy it.   I woke up Sunday and looked outside and it wasn't snowing but I saw the rain was coming soon.  The Mr and I got suited up and I didn't think it was deep enough for a base for actual snow shoeing but he got out our snow sneakers from L.L. Bean and we went to the park.  

It was that icy rain that gets wetter by the lap but we were able to enjoy some of the scenery before Mother Nature took it.

I woke up with a headache and he woke up with a twisted back but we both know you don't pass up snow in these parts.  With each lap, it got more slick and the snow was heavier.  If we would've thought to bring poles we could've gotten a good upper body workout.  We got in the car and grunted and groaned like people twice our age.  When we got home, it was straight to the basement to roll and dig out the things that ailed us.  It didn't work completely for the Mr, as he had to take some ibuprofen and luckily we still had some of the good stuff from Canada before the great shutdown of 2020.  He was out like a light not too long after and we got sucked into some Flea Market Flips before having grilled cheese and soup for dinner.

Now here we are....February 1st.  😮

Did you have a groovy weekend?

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