Here's some cool info. Tired of getting a gazillion credit card offers in the mail? Tired of Citibank/Capital One/Bank One/whoever calling to tell you about their fantastic interest-rate deal? Call (888) 5 OPT OUT and leave your info. Then the 3 major credit reporting companies - Experian, Trans Union and Equifax - will take you off the list of credit-card leads that they provide to these interest-charging monsters. This may not stop all credit card offers, but it should cut down on them somewhat. It also reduces the number of "promotional inquiries" on your credit report, which don't really hurt your credit score, but it's annoying nonetheless to see just how many companies have asked for your credit history.
Yep. It's official. Coach Fran is leaving Bama. I guess he missed me so much he decided to follow me to Texas, haha...
Anyway, yesterday I didn't work out. I had every intention of doing so, but then my aunt called and asked me to go to some girly-type arts n' crafts fair out west of town. So I left work at 4 and we walked around this building for an hour looking at earrings, soap, gourmet jelly and all that good stuff. I bought 2 sets of earrings for my mom and sis, and a bracelet for my other sis. I was looking for stuff for Mark's mom, but nothing there screamed out to me. I'm probably going to buy her a candle or something generic like that. Or maybe some Texas salsa.
Mom still hasn't told Dad about the impending divorce. On Wednesday she had told me that she was going to try and work it out with him first - give him a laundry list of all the things he must do if she was to stay - but when he got home Thursday she said fuck it, I can't stand being married to this man, and decided to go full speed ahead with divorce proceedings. I'm betting it will be a contested deal. Which means unless Dad moves out, they'll have to live together 5 months while they wait for the case to come up in court. Blah. The lesson here? Don't ever get married without thinking long and hard about it. Also, don't neglect your spouse. Sorry to say this, but I think this is partially Mom's fault. When they started having kids (us!) she just dove headfirst into the whole mom thing and kind of ignored my Dad. So naturally, he's been feeling like an outcast for the past 15 or so years, esp. since Mom would try to turn us against him when they got into fights. We heard diatribes about how mean Dad was, not a good father, doesn't deserve us, etc. And I believed it for years, until I was about 19-20 and my Dad started coming up to see me at college and stuff. He's not a bad guy at all; in fact, he is a great parent and I couldn't ask for anyone better. He and Mom just aren't a good fit anymore; there's too many hurt feelings to work it out. So that's that.
Anyway, so tonight it's back to the old treadmill routine. I think I will try to do weights since the machines should be a little more deserted tonight. Most people shy away from the gym on the weekends but I love it. It's one of the only things I do that is just for me, and I love going Fridays and Saturdays because I don't have to wait for anything.
I have been obsessively going here to check for the latest info on the Tide's Franchione and whether he is going to defect to Texas A&M ... I kinda hope he does, especially since I am a Texan now, but something tells me he's going to stay at Bama. UA guys are saying he's going to stay, but TAMU guys are saying he's leaving ... hard to know which to believe.
Argghhh! I was in the midst of writing a long post about my asshole brother-in-law and my stupid sister and yoga when IE crashed. God, when will I learn to write these things in Word? Well, I'll try to reconstruct it as best as I can.
My asshole BIL and my mom got into a fight the other day. I knew this would happen eventually, since he's got a bad attitude and she's got a tendency to get up in people's faces during a disagreement. Apparently the guy got mad because my other sis, Kat, got Steph (my BIL's wife) a job at the grocery store where she works. The plan was for them to share rides and both work nights. Well, BIL didn't like that at all. He wants Steph to be home at night with him so she can attend to his needs. Plus if he's home alone during the evenings he'll be the sole babysitter for their kid, whom he's indifferent about.
The way I see it, beggars can't be choosy; he only makes $7 an hour doing some crap somewhere, and now they have a $350 rent on a crappy trailer. Steph HAS to go back to work. There's no way around it. But the upshot of the whole argument was that BIL thought my family was "interfering" by trying to help them and that they were "making them weak." Let me tell you, without my family's help, they wouldn't just be weak; they'd be helpless. Like out on the street helpless. I told my mom she should just wash her hands of all of them and be done with it. They are literally killing her with this crap. But she refuses because she fears her granddaughter won't be taken care of properly. But as long as she helps, they'll stay married (we are hoping he'll get fed up soon and just bolt).
I am so disappointed in Steph. It's sad that she is making min. wage at a grocery store and becoming "white trash" rather than doing something with her life. At her age I was in my second year of college. I lived in a dorm, went to class and watched TV at night. I basically had no one to worry about but me. And it was great. Oh well. I still love her and I just hope she realizes who she's married to soon.
Mom is supposed to ask Dad for a divorce this week. He is coming home today after a week in Texas and Mississippi, visiting relatives and myself. I'll be curious to see how it goes.
Anyway, now for fitness stuff ... I did yoga last night, as I said. I did 20 mins on treadmill for calorie-burning purposes and then the yoga was an hour long. I love this woman who teaches the class. She is from another country, I'm not sure where, maybe India ... and she goes very slow and doesn't assume that you already know everything about yoga. I learned a new pose last night, the fish pose ... you can see it here if you're curious. My favorite is the warrior II pose, though I like this one too. I can't do inversions yet because my core muscles aren't strong enough. Plus, I'm afraid I'm going to break my neck.
Nope, I didn't post yesterday. What the hell are you going to do about it, anyway?
Seriously, I got kinda busy at work and I just didn't have time. But rest assured it won't happen again - at least not until the next time I have a lot of work to do.
Last night I went to the gym and did 46 minutes on the treadmill and bike. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after having been gone over the Thanksgiving holidays, but it is so hard. I just can't tell you how hard it is to set foot inside that gym after almost a week of sitting on my ass. But each day that I work out makes it a little easier. I usually try to sneak out of work around 4:45 and get to the gym by 5:10 or so, but today I'm going to go home and then go work out around 7. I haven't done any weight training in weeks, so I want to go a little later, when more machines will be free. It was like a madhouse around the leg machines yesterday. After about 20 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of weights, I'll go to the beginners' yoga class at 8:30.
I have really gotten to like yoga. If you have access to yoga classes, at your gym or wherever, by all means go. It can be pretty tough if you're new, but it's one of the most interesting forms of exercise I've ever seen. I never get bored in yoga, because I'm always working - not only my body, but my brain too. How can I get my body to achieve this position? What can I do to hold this pose until we go into the next one? And then there's the relaxation period at the end. Sometimes I could swear that I've partially melted into the ground, it's so good.
When I came home for Thanksgiving, my 2 sisters, my mom and my best friend in NYC all said I looked thinner. My mom said it looks as if I've lost 8 pounds. While the scale at last glance says I've lost about 10, I think I agree with the 8 pound estimate. That scale is a "feel-good" scale and I'm almost positive it's not telling me the truth. I hope that I can truly up that weight loss to about 12 by the time Christmas rolls around.
Ha ha. My sides hurt I'm laughing so much at that one.
This Thanksgiving was definitely weird. First off, my dad wasn't even there because he was visiting relatives in Texas...and then my mom didn't cook any Thanksgiving dinner. With only me, her and my sis Kat at home, there was really no point in making a huge turkey. I don't even like turkey all that much. So I went to Mark's grandparents' house for a late afternoon Thanksgiving celebration, and then we went to my parents' house and drove into Mobile to go to Denny's. If you're ever looking for a kickass breakfast deal then try their Grand Slam. It's only $2.99 and you get two eggs, two strips of bacon, two sausages and two or three pancakes. I didn't eat all of it, thank God, but a good value nevertheless.
Then on Friday I went with my mom to see the divorce lawyer. She's made umpteen million appointments with the guy but this was the first time she actually went (which he says is "typical"). He told her all her rights, bla bla bla...she is entitled to half his retirement and some child support for Kat till she turns 19...but it's probably going to be pretty dirty. I can tell you right now that my dad is not going to give my mom half his retirement without a fight. And a contested divorce takes 5 months, versus an uncontested one at 30 days. Plus, the worst part is that unless my dad moves out, they will probably be living together for those five months. My mom can't afford to move out b/c the attorney told her that she would still be responsible for any bills she pays at the old house in addition to the bills for her new place. My dad is staying with me tonight and tomorrow, and I think he knows that she is hopping mad. He surmised that my mom wanted him to move out, but he is still clueless that she is filing for divorce. And I can't say anything. It really sucks. I told Mom that she ought to have Kat around when she tells him the news, in case he gets nasty about it, because if he gets violent she can have him kicked out. But I don't think it will come to that.
Okay, enough about my parents...on to myself. I haven't exercised since Tuesday, the day before we left, because there's simply been no time. My mom and I went to the after-Thanksgiving sales and then to the lawyer and then out to lunch, on and on...and last night I couldn't go because my dad was here and I had to entertain him. So I am hoping that I can sneak out early today and go around 4, then make it home by 5.
The eating has been pretty much under control as well. Yeah, I ate a lot of different stuff - but only small portions of it. I did have 3 McD's cheeseburgers over lunch and dinner on the 12-hour drive to Alabama, but on the way back to Texas we packed turkey sandwiches made from leftovers ... good AND healthy. (OK, so I had Cheetos too, but it was a snack size.)
Still have lots of people to shop for. Here's to hoping I don't go nuts.
Name: Jen Location: DFW, TX Occupation: Journalist WHY this stupid blog?: To lose the 20 pounds I've packed on since high school and to entertain you with stories about my fabulous life. Current Weight: 138 My Goal Weight: 115 Pounds to Go: 23
