I made up for the chocolate eclair I ate yesterday afternoon by working out for a looong time last night. I got to the gym around 8 p.m. and did 20 minutes of cardio before doing the hour-long yoga session. Yeah, yeah, I know 90 minutes isn't a lot by some standards, but I felt good, since my workouts are usually 40 minutes, max. Today I'm back to the regular treadmill/bike routine, but I'm going to try and push it to 50 minutes for that extra burn. Dammit, I want to be thin...I'm tired of wearing size 10's.
So anyway...the yoga was good, there were actually a couple of people in class who knew what they were doing. I like that because when we have a lot of beginners who don't know anything, our instructor will tell us to move into a certain position and then just leave us there forever while she goes to help the other students. Funny.
Still thinking about that Clinique/Estee Lauder sale...can't decide which one to buy.
Sorry for the humongous pictures down there. I tried to post them smaller, but they came out blurry. I don't know what happened. Argh. And I don't have Photoshop so I can't reduce them. But anyway...
Last night at the gym was good. It was the first time this week I've worked out solo, which was kind of nice. I cut it to 30 minutes because I thought my body needed some rest...whenever I work out several days in a row, I've found that I can't make my sprints last for more than a couple of minutes. So I took care not to overexert myself...and tonight is yoga night! Yay. I've been wanting to go back and do bikram (hot) yoga again, but I can't bring myself to pay the $14-per-class fee, especially when I can go free (or for the cost of my monthly gym membership) at Gold's. And while I don't sweat like a pig at my usual yoga class, I do get my body warmed up, which always helps.
I went to the mall after going to a seminar this morning to check and see if the Lancome sale was still going on at Dillard's. It wasn't. Wah. But they did have a Clinique sale going on, and there was an Estee Lauder gift at Foley's, so maybe I'll check those out later. I need a new eyeliner and lipliner.
I'm going through some uncertainty right now over where to live in the coming months. Our lease runs out May 31 and I'm not looking forward to spending the summer in our third-floor, cathedral-ceiling apartment. The sun in Texas is relentless from May to September, pretty much, and our house is hot all of the time. Even at night. Even with the AC running 24/7. Which means we're not comfortable, and our electricity bills are huge. So I'm going to call the realty people and tell them I'm thinking about renewing my lease, but first I want to see if there's anything that can be done to help the heat - more insulation, turbines on the roof, anything. I think they're pretty desperate for tenants because they have offered not to raise our rent for the next lease, and have told us that we don't have to tell them whether we're going or staying until the day the lease ends. So I'm hoping I can shake them down for something. Well, I shouldn't say "shake them down" - I think it's a reasonable request to have it cool enough not to sweat while sitting in your living room. We'll see what happens. I was going to ask today, but I figure I'll catch them in a few days, when they're not stressed out by trying to collect everyone's rent.
It's sad how weddings can break apart personal relationships. Last night I was talking to my mom and she said that she thinks my dad is mad at my uncle (his brother) because he didn't come to my wedding. Apparently my father has gone to a lot of important events in his brother's children's (my cousins') lives and he feels his brother has slighted him. Particularly because my uncle originally planned on coming, cancelled two days before, and then didn't send a card or anything. I couldn't care less, but my father has taken it really personally. I hope it doesn't turn into a family feud.
There's also the example of my friend Garrett and I. Garrett has been my friend since high school, when I gave him a ride to campus every day. We were best friends throughout high school and when we both moved to Tuscaloosa to go to college (he's a couple years younger than me). I visited him twice after he moved to New York, and we talked all the time. I had always assumed that I'd come to his wedding, and he to mine (maybe even be in it). So it was a real blow when I found out that he wouldn't be able to even attend my wedding, even though he had plenty of notice and plenty of time to make travel arrangements. But it was absolutely crushing when I found out that the reason he wasn't coming was because he had no money - he had spent it all on a plane ticket to Alabama, so he could take some chick to a Mardi Gras ball.
We haven't spoken since then. He hasn't sent a card or even called to congratulate me. Needless to say, I'm hurt, and I won't be calling him again. If this means that we never talk again, then so be it. This incident has just made me realize how badly he's treated me over the past few years. Even though he was home for several weeks over Christmas, he never came to see me. I mailed him his Christmas gift - no call, no card, no reciprocal gift. He never remembers my birthday. This was the last straw.
Oh well, must stop bitching. Lots of stories to write and only so many hours left to write them...fitness update later.
Today I'm sending one of my wedding pictures to my hometown newspaper so they can print it up and show all those good-for-nothin's in Alabama how happy I am now. Seriously, when I think about going back to Mobile I get chills up my back. Mark was talking about applying for a job down there and I just felt funny. Most of the years I spent on the Gulf Coast were not happy years. What I remember is being just miserable there, cursing the small-town mentality of the burg I lived in, way out in the county, and vowing to get out someday. Whatever it took. It seemed like there was a hard-and-fast rulebook of life events for young adults: graduate high school (optional), go to a local community college for 2 years (again, optional), marry your high-school sweetheart and have your first child by age 20.
But I tried as hard as I could to blow that stereotype out of the water. I transferred to a different high school, 30 minutes away. Though I got a full scholarship to a good local 4-year college, I chose to go somewhere else. I graduated and though I probably could have returned home, like many of my contemporaries did, I stayed in Tuscaloosa and worked. Then last year, I jumped at the chance to move to Austin. I couldn't wait to get out of sleepy Alabama and move to The Big City. And now that I've been here almost a year, I'm glad I did it. There's more stuff to do here, more opportunities, more chances for happiness.
I'm not saying there's anything wrong with staying in your hometown and living your adult life there. It just didn't sound as appealing to me as it did to many of my elementary-school classmates. And even as an adolescent, I could see what happened to many of the people that chose that path: They didn't get an education, ended up in low-paying, dead-end jobs, and had to go on welfare to support their multiple children. I guess I kind of believed that I'd get sucked into that situation if I stuck around.
But anyhow...enough of that. I hope the girl that tormented me in sixth grade sees the wedding announcement and gets sick with envy. I hope she's miserable, wherever she is. Aren't I awful?
There really isn't a lot to say today. I'm at work. I'm working, at least partially. This weekend I ended up working out both Friday and Sunday, which was nice. We kind of shorted ourselves on Sunday b/c we thought we were going to go walking in the park later...but we ended up rearranging the study, so that went out the window. I think we are going to play Frisbee in the park today, so we can skip all the Monday-evening madness at the gym.
I'm really thinking about cruising over to the Lancome counter at Dillard's today. This weekend I saw they had a gift, with a $25 purchase. And it's a cool gift. It even has a Juicy Tube in it. I hope the sale didn't end on Sunday. That makeup is calling my name.
I've been pretty good about eating today...only granola & coffee for breakfast...turkey sandwich and pretzels for lunch...saving fat-free yogurt for midafternoon snack. Really craving cake right now. I'm still thinking about the wedding cake we had a few weeks back. God, that was some good cake. It was worth the money we spent on it.
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
