Day 271 - Rotten on the Inside

I love Groupon. I promote their business and they give me money. It's win-win. In fact, if you have a business that needs promoting, just give me money, cash preferably.

The BFF and I snagged Groupon Coupons for Tradewinds Dinner and Casino Cruise that leaves out of John's Pass in St. Pete and sputters out into International Waters (a.k.a. The Gulf of Mexico) so that their patrons can enjoy some "Vegas-Style" gaming.

All I can say is, it wasn't worth the free Groupon dollars, or the gas that I wasted driving out to the coast. Their "dinner" choice was either frozen boxed lasagna with dinner rolls that reminded me of elementary school lunch or meatloaf & mashed potatoes that looked like something you would see in a prison cafeteria.

To top it all off, the bathrooms were not air conditioned and opened up right into the gaming area. This would have been all well and good, except that someone on that boat was clearly rotten on the inside and decided to "make a deposit" and share it with the rest of us. You smelled it every time the door opened up. It affected my game. I wasn't happy. I had to find a spot that was upwind from the bathroom.

I DID, however, get to spend some quality time with my girl J.V. and we met a couple of cool cats who were just as disappointed in the cruise as we were. Enjoyed the adult conversation and learned a thing or two about gaming. One currently owns the nightclub Joyland County Night Club and the other (or both of them - can't remember) owns the patent on the original Jager Bomb Hurricane Shooter glass/cup/whatever it's called, and sells/distributes them out of Sarasota, FL. I'm not big on doing shots. My sisters and true friends know that if you've ever seen me do a shot, you've probably been fooled. I've mastered the fake-a-shot slight of hand. I fake it fast and then dump it before anyone notices.  Shots always seem like a great idea in the moment, then not so much a few moments later. I prefer to sip on a glass of vino.

As for my "Twenty" today, I spent a good hour on the floor stretching my lower back out. Even had Charlie help with a few stretches. If you're a committed follower of this blog, you would know that I pulled my back out last November doing 75lb dead lifts coming off a season of no activity. While my brain was shouting, "You Can Dooooo IT!!!" my body responded with "SMH.....sucker."

I am now a fan of the warm-up. 

It's been almost a year now and my back still hurts about 80% of what it did a year ago. Stretching helps, but only if I do it every single day for a ridiculous amount of time. I remember being young and invincible, listening to "old" women talk about the benefits of stretching daily. Hmmmpft.

Well, I suppose I've finally arrived.  Welcome to Oldville, we've been expecting you!

Day 270 - Too Pretty to Sweat

That day when you realize that you haven't actually "done" your hair in over 2 weeks. I recently just bought hair ties in bulk.

I suppose that should have been my first clue.

I'd say it's a combination of new house stress, car repair stress, kid in her senior year being out of school district stress, making new friends stress and husband wanting you to go back to work stress.

Taking a glimpse into the past: I was invited to go have dinner and drinks last night with a new friend.

Ugh.

That meant I would actually have to "do" my hair and makeup. Talk about a moment of truth. Poor Charlie. I may have actually divorced me by now. Being a stay-at home mom, it's easy to fall into the shower-every-other-day routine.

Fast forward through the torture of trying to make myself presentable: we met at Kokopelli's... apparently it's the only decent place to have dinner in Dade City. I was impressed and I will definitely go back again...met the owner...his name is John - very friendly and welcoming.

The Awakening:
It was the time that I spent on my hair getting ready for my girlfriend date that brought my attention to the fact that I have truly let myself go. Thank goodness I had a pre-scheduled hair appointment today. Normally, I would have asked for a trim and possibly a few foils. Instead, I sat down in the chair and heard these words come out of my mouth: "cut it all off...lots of layers and lots of dramatic contrast." I almost slapped myself. WhAT?????

Thank goodness for my new hair stylist (Kesha @ Bella Tower Spa in Dade City across from Pasco High School). Had she not recognized my obvious moment of insanity, I would probably have Ellen Degeneres hair right now. Not that Ellen has bad hair. I LOVE her hair - but it's skinny chic hair. Wouldn't have the same effect on this big head.

Spent the morning hours in foils, and the afternoon in a Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger KeraTriplex Treatment. Yeah - say THAT 3 times fast. All I can say is my hair feels like silk. They said it should last about 3 months. I'll let you know. Regardless, there is something to be said about having someone make you beautiful. 

I was planning on throwing on the sweats and pumping out a mile or two on the treadmill when I got home, but I didn't want to mess up my pretty new hair. Too pretty to sweat!! Ha! My blog, my rules.

Day 269 - The Weight of the World : Lifted

Holy Toledo. It's over. The stress, the sleepless nights, the worrying, the secret, the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, the fear of completely ruining my daughter's life: GONE!

Lifted away in one swift click of the mouse.

It's the reason that I quit blogging. It's the reason I have gained back all of the weight that I lost earlier this year. It's the reason I wouldn't let anyone "check-in" to my home on Facebook or Twitter. It's the reason that I choose live an honest life. I don't handle dishonesty very well. I'm a terrible liar and I don't like having secrets.

Instead of dishing details, all I can say is the School Choice gods were good to me. It's official. She may have to drive a little further to get to school, but it's a good feeling knowing my Band Captain, Mu Alpha Theta officer, National Honor Society, AP & Honor student, top 20% of her class, well rounded beautiful daughter will get to finish out her high school career without having to change schools! 

(don't roll your eyes - you'd brag, too, if she was yours) 

The sky has opened and the sun is shining again...the warm fuzzies are back. Unfortunately, so is my muffin top.

So, with that being said, I hereby declare today a new beginning. Picking up where I left off...45 minutes on the treadmill, 100 kitchen counter push-ups and 50 sit ups. Life is good again.