What's Been Happening

from here.

I read blogs just about every single day, but I fail to write anything on my own. 

So, for your reading pleasure (whoever is actually reading this), here's a little collection of random musings.

*Do you know when you had your last tetanus shot?  You should.  Last week at work I got a few nails jabbed into my shoulder.  I assumed that my tetanus shot was up to date.  I was wrong.  Very wrong.  I was due a tetanus shot in 1992.  That was a long time ago!  So I got one this morning.  Think it's no big deal until you get cut?  I suggest you Google tetanus.  Seriously.  I mean, do you even know what it is?

*You know how bad I despise cleaning my bath tub, right?  If you don't, then you have never actually read my blog, obviously.  Well.....my mind was completely blown last week when I decided to spray my tub down with my lovely smelling Method multi-purpose cleaner.  I walked away for a few minutes, came back and the gunk just wiped right off of my tub.  Amazing!  Truly amazing!

*One should never assume that customers know anything at all about the business that you are in.  Ever.  We are doing an extensive remodel on a home, which has turned into almost a rebuild, instead.  Just because a customer has a fancy plan drawn up by a supposed "engineer" does not mean that said plan will work or that the customer will understand why you are pretty much tearing his entire house down in order to achieve the house that he expects to get.  Communication, folks.  It's priceless. 

*Hummus has never been on my list of favorite things to eat.  That is, until I tried a local brand that made all other hummus taste like dog food (or what I imagine dog food tastes like).  Roots hummus is so good that I can finish a whole container of it in a few days, all by my little self.  The Extra Spicy Chipotle is my favorite flavor, but Spinach is dang good, too.  

That's all for now, folks.  I'll see you on the flip side. 

Life Gets in the Way

I had finally found my sweet spot for working out. I had figured out the right combination of cardio and strength training, with some yoga worked in. I was on a roll. Feeling great. Looking stronger than I had in forever. I looked forward to my workouts.

And then.....

I had to take ten days worth of high powered antibiotics whose side affects included risk of tendon rupture. Yes. Tendon rupture. My body ached like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. I could feel tendons and connective tissues that I had never even thought about. No working out for over a week! Actually, it's been close to two weeks now. My body is still hurting. And the risk still remains up to a month after the antibiotics have been finished.

But I intend to work slowly back to the place I was before. That happy place where working out was a reward for the day. Where lacing up my cross trainers makes me smile.
Slowly but surely. It just sucks to be sidelined right when you feel at the top of your game, doesn't it? But at least I am able to get back in there. Thank God for that.


*On an unrelated note....I am gonna try to answer some of your comments within the comment sections. I don't have a ton of comments, so I think this will work. So, if you ask me a question or something in my comments, check back......I will try to answer you.

Hugs and Sunshine to all of you. =)

*oh yes. and I think you can figure out where the pic above came from. it's marked right on it!

This Post Is Not What You Think It Is.

Girls don't just simply decide
to hate their bodies.
We teach them to.

Ladies and gents, Miz. Jo is getting ready to break bad on the interwebs. Are you ready?

I ran across that quote the other day and automatically had to save it. How our society is raising young girls is something that I feel very strongly about and hope desperately that we can change. Low self esteem, self worth issues and eating disorders are rampant in our perfection obsessed world. And the two main things that are fostering these unhealthy views of the female form are photo re-touching and cosmetic surgery. Two things that have nothing to do with reality. No one is teaching our children that the photographs in magazines and catalogs are all digitally enhanced and perfected. No one is pointing out how many bodies are surgically produced. All of this "beauty" that our world is ingesting in gluttonous proportions is all fake. And little girls think that they are supposed to grow up to look like super models, actresses, pop singers and porn stars. And little boys expect them to do the same.

This disturbs me. Greatly.

But there is something else that is starting to disturb me even more.

I found that photo up there on Pinterest. Lovely, isn't it? Wouldn't most women love to have an ass like that? And that is the exact reason that someone pinned that photo. As inspiration. But some of the comments I am seeing on photos like this are really getting under my skin. On this particular photo someone had commented that the model looks "scary thin". That her shoulder blades jut out too far. That her waist is smaller than a child's. Another photo that I saw was a before and after photo of a young woman after some serious health and lifestyle changes. She had lost a bit of weight and gained some beautiful muscle. Her weight was down to 110, but she looked healthy and fit. Regardless, the readers started bashing her for being "too small". Quoting what the "healthy" weight was supposed to be for someone her height. And, worst of all, saying that she looked better before.

Okay now. This is where my blood starts to boil.

Nothing in me wants young girls to think that they need to look like a Victoria's Secret model. Nothing in me wants them to feel like they need to get breast implants and liposuction to be beautiful. But telling them that being out of shape and unhealthy is more beautiful than being strong and taking care of themselves is just absurd! This entire issue is about being mentally and physically healthy, isn't it? Well, guess what? Not working out and not making nutritious food choices is dangerous, too. True. We can't all look like super models. But we can all work hard to be the best version of ourselves that we can be. And I personally believe that this is what we need to be teaching young girls to do. There is a blurry line drawn between what society proclaims to be too "fat" or too "thin". But every single body out there is different. And what is healthy for one is not always what is healthy for another. Despite what department store clothing may suggest, we are not cookie cutter people. We did not all come from the same mold. We are as varied as the stars.

And this is where it gets personal.

Why do the "too skinny" comments disturb me just as much as the "too fat"? Well, because I have always been that "too skinny" girl. I am 5' 7" and weigh anywhere from 107-112 lbs. depending on the day. The charts in the doctor's offices have always preached that I was "too skinny". I have never worked out in public, nor do I talk about working out because I get fussed at. People roll their eyes if I skip dessert. Ditto if I order a big salad instead of a pasta dish. I have never turned down a dinner roll that I didn't hear "yeah, like it's gonna hurt you. you could stand to put some meat on your bones." And so, I have always tried my hardest to "put some meat on my bones", in the form of muscle. My nutrition choices are based on what makes me feel better and perform better. And my workouts are to insure that I always stay strong and capable instead of soft and frail. I have always had a very healthy body image and therefore always tried to make responsible and wise decisions regarding my body. It's a good thing that I have always took the snide remarks and quizzical looks in stride. Otherwise, the teasing about my skinny arms and flat chest could have driven me mad. But I have always chosen my health over what society keeps yelling at me. I have never been told by a doctor that I needed to gain weight or quit working out. The charts may say otherwise, but I am a healthy weight for my body design.

Now, I don't know the girl in that picture. I can't tell you what she had for breakfast or how many hours a week she works out. But I can bet that she isn't "scary thin". She has a nice full booty. And see those dimples and that dent at the base of her back? That usually comes from good muscle tone. If she were too skinny you would not be seeing that. If it is a good practice to inform girls that some people are just made bigger and that their healthy size and shape may never be a size 2, then it is only fair to acknowledge that some people are made smaller and their healthy size and shape may never be a size 6. Both are equally valid.

Girls are told exactly what every single aspect of their being is "supposed" to look like. From their hair to their cheekbones to the shape of their nose. From the size of their breasts to the size of their hips. For heaven's sakes, people. They are even doing cosmetic surgery on women's genitals. When will it stop? When will we all figure out that there is no "perfect" formula? We are all unique and special and that is what makes us beautiful. Our differences. Teach young girls that their bodies are not supposed to look like the artificial versions that they see on television and in magazines. And men! Your role in letting women know that natural is beautiful is even more important than ours. The same encouraging words can be much more powerful coming from a man than coming from another woman.

But please......Please! Please! Please! Please! Please!...... don't ever tell a female that striving to be the best version of herself that she can be is not beautiful. Being healthy is not about what we see in the mirror, although positive physical results are an encouraging side effect. Being healthy is about the myriad of benefits that come with it. Vitality. A sense of accomplishment. Strength. Self worth. and yes. Beauty. Because the human body is a beautiful thing. The more you love and respect it, the more beauty you will find in it.

This is what we need to be teaching.

Playing Catch-Up

Friday, again. The weeks go by so fast, and at the end I'm always left thinking that there was more I intended on getting done. So, I'm going to give you guys a quick rundown of what went on this week, just in case you are curious at all.

*Sunday was swimming in the river until dusk (the most fun I have had in a while). *Wednesday, a great cookout with friends. Didn't get one thing done that evening, but enjoyed every minute with the people we love being around.

*Yesterday, the appointment with the "girl" doctor. In the search to find what the heck is wrong with my girl parts, we discovered that I have a "flipped" uterus. If things continue to get worse (i.e.- more painful) we will have to do laproscopic surgery to find out if I have endomitriosis. Yay woo. Cut my long locks off. Yep. Went chin length with it this time and I love it so far. Learned that it is impossible to find shorts that are not either the size of underwear or past your knees. What is up with that? And apparently people don't make popsicle molds anymore.

*Got the results from my blood work back today. Everything looks normal, as always. No thyroid problems, although I wake up in the morning wondering when I will be able to take a nap. And! If all goes as planned, me and the hubby will be closing on a piece of land that we are finally buying!!!

I also want to thank all of you who leave me comments. Your words have been encouraging, humorous and very much appreciated. Love to you all. Which brings me to answering some of the questions that you ask. Such as:

*Do I get enough sleep? Um, not lately. But usually. I normally get 7-8 hours a night. My body tends to prefer 8-9. However, even when I have plenty of sleep, I still want more.

*Where am I located? I reside in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Where it has been a ridiculous 90+ degrees lately.

*What the heck would I be doing if I were living up to my potential? Um. I would be working for myself. making. designing. writing. I'm not sure what all. I would have a house with a yard and lots of plants. And I would be sleeping 9 hours a night. ;)

Thanks for stopping by and reading my ramblings. I hope you have a great weekend. Let's make it a good one.

*photo snagged from coco & kelley.

The Week's End

Are you serious? This week has already went by? I haven't even posted since last Thursday? What the heck?

I'll tell you what the heck. I am exhausted. I can't seem to muster up the energy to do any of the things that my mind (and body, for that matter) keep telling me I need to do. Haven't worked out, not once this week. Haven't washed the dishes yet. Haven't made one single thing, even though I have massive creative overload right now. My "list" has come to a screeching halt.


Me and the doc had a nice little talk yesterday about what Zoloft could possibly do for my life. And me and the "girl stuff" doctor are going to have a nice long talk next week about why I am going to become a drug addict if something isn't done about my very painful girl parts.


Do you ever feel like you aren't living up to your potential? I know that some people are quite the opposite and feel like they have no potential to live up to. I, however, feel like I have masses of potential, yet no energy to even attempt to live up to it. Do you ever just know, deep down, that you were meant for something bigger than what you are doing right now? Because, I believe that my life is meant to be a lot more than what it is at this time. To be honest with you, I feel a little ashamed that I haven't accomplished more by now. I will be 30 this year. There are people half my age who have accomplished worlds more than I have. What's up with that? But when I look back at my life, I really can't remember ever feeling too great. It seems like I have always felt tired and annoyed and frustrated. I have always just wanted to take a nap. And now that I am getting some grey hairs and my metabolism has obviously slowed down, I wonder what is going to happen to me.


I wonder if I am ever going to feel better. Will my working out and eating right pay off somewhere down the road? Will life begin at thirty? I mean, it is the new twenty you know.
*Come on people. Lay some advice on me. Tell me your story. Or just make me laugh. That's always nice. Feedback. I want feedback.


*lookbook

Get It Together

*photo from French Vogue via { a glamorous little side project }


I thought that, by now, I would not have acne.

I thought that, by now, I would be able to successfully curl my own hair.

I thought that, by now, I would have my own career.

I thought that I would not be going grey already. I thought that I would have my own house by now. I thought that being voted most talented in middle school and high school was some good omen that I might end up doing something fabulous with my life.

Guess what. I was wrong.

I have always known that I am not much of a motivated person. Other people set goals. Other people are go-getters. Other people end up being stylist and designers and event coordinators at the age of twenty two. I am not one of those people. I have big ideas. I have dreams. I have the someday syndrome. You know what I'm talking about. Someday I'm going to make enough money to build the home that I want. Someday I'm going to have the job of my dreams. Someday I will have beautiful long shiny hair, perfect makeup, real diamond studs in my ears, two gorgeous dobermans and a black SUV. Okay. So anyway, you get the idea. But you know what happens? Someday never comes. They really shouldn't have read us fairy tales when we were young. I keep waiting for the fairy godmother to show up and make things happen. She's a little late.

So now what? What am I getting at? Well. I have been trying to get out of the someday mode and into the now. Yoga teaches mindfulness. Paying attention to what is happening right here, right now at this point in time. And I think that I need to think like this more. I need to quit planning and just do. Quit daydreaming and start going for it. Gees. Sounds a little scary.

But, hey. Someday is getting closer all the time.