Day 178 = Gym + Goth

More Burger Club makes me say, "homina, homina, homina!" That's right. Tonight was another installment of Austin Burger Club, and it took place at The Roaring Fork. They only have one burger, and I think it's like a pound. Debbie and I shared one. With fries. I drank a diet Coke to balance it out.

I needed a burger today. My day started out with a gym workout with my trainer who's pretty much put me on bed rest because she thinks I work out too much and it's bothering my hip. Well, I guess even God took a rest, but I reserve those days for resistance bands, to be quite honest. I'm still going to buy more sessions from her to get me through Thanksgiving, plus a foam roller to get me through my workouts. I'm seeing results - thanks to Regan's guidance. (OK, bed rest works.)

So I needed this burger. Sore hip. No alcohol. Work. Can I just say that the place where I work makes me want to go Goth? And funny, I've recently uncovered my stash of The Cure CDs that I thought I'd sold after I'd ripped all my songs on my old laptop, which was later stolen. Suck it, you burgler!

Speaking of Goth, someone enlightened me with this gem: Goths in Hot Weather.

Day 177 = Running + Austin Marathon

I've decided to finally run the Austin Marathon, which will be Feb. 14, 2010. This morning was my first long run, but I ran it by myself. Only because I went out on Friday night and purposely missed the group run on Saturday. After my run around Town Lake was all over, my Garmin said only 6.5 miles. I was supposed to do 7. Katie, I really was out there. (And I'm calling out Katie because I think she reads this blog.)

I downloaded some new tunes, and one of my favorites to run to is "I'm On a Boat." You know, the SNL digital short song. It was totally pumping me up. In addition to this song, I miraculously found all my CDs by The Cure and Jane's Addiction in my garage. I thought I'd lost them forever and would have to re-buy them on iTunes. Three years ago, I ripped a lot of my CDs on to my laptop and then sold the CDs for cash when I was laid off. Then about 8 months later, my laptop and my external hard drive with all my music, photos, files, etc. were stolen.

Thank you, Karma.

Day 176 = Walking + My Bathroom

This is an ode to my bathroom.

I'm sure there's one room in everyone's house that they love. It's their retreat. In my house, that's really any room because I live alone, but my master bathroom is one of my favorite places. When I first saw it, I thought, "This is the biggest bathroom ever!" At least that I've ever owned. I measured it and it's something like 162 square feet all together. There's a very long vanity and a mirror that covers the entire wall behind the vanity. There's a window the size of the bathtub that I look out every day. I've watched the crape myrtle tree change with the seasons many times. I have a separate water closet (where I have a small recycling bin upstairs) and a large walk-in closet.

There's a lot of light in my bathroom. It's either coming from the windows or the recessed lighting. Not sure if it's the best light for applying makeup, but it will do for now. Everyday I blow through that bathroom like a tornado hit. One end of the vanity is for hair; the other end is for makeup. It's amazing what I pull out to put myself together. Whether I'm listening to my radio or listening to music on my little hot pink iPod docking station that I keep in there, I'm usually zoning out thinking, "I'll try this color today. Eyeshadow goes here, blush goes here, concealer goes here, eyeliner goes here, pinch 1-2-3 now mascara." I'm talking about where it goes on my face. Does anyone else think like this?

My bathroom is where Debbie, Kristina, Katherine and I ate our Jimmy Johns sandwiches the day they helped me paint my bedrooms before I moved in. When I bought my house, I thought, "One day I'll cry in this bathroom" because, ladies, you know you've all fallen apart over something in the bathroom. So far, so good, though. It's as if when I made that statement I bet myself to not cry in there. In fact, last summer I was crying over some guy, and I started to walk in the bathroom and I thought, "No, I'm not crying over him in my bathroom!" But here I am recollecting the memory. Wait - I think I have actually cried in the bathroom. I cried when I had that face plant.

Tonight I was zoning out in the bathroom listening to "Closedown" by The Cure and teasing my hair into whatever I can create that would resemble a fashionable ponytail that I can get away with at dinner. I went for a walk with my neighbor tonight, and instead of washing my hair, I'm just going to work with it. Gosh, that sounds like something a crackhead would appreciate.

Day 175 = Running + Maxi Dresses + Bosnia

I went running this morning for about 45 minutes because I knew I had a busy night planned.

Tonight I had one of those moments debating on what to wear. I finally opted for something that I knew I would just be comfortable in - a maxi dress. They are all the rage this summer. Let me tell you about maxi dresses and walking around downtown Austin. There is no telling what that hem dragged around in all night. I'm almost afraid I might catch some disease on my ankles. From whatever I was stepping on in the bathroom to whatever it dragged across near the outside bar at Emo's - it's anyone's guess. Tonight when I got home I bathed my calves. I didn't want to get in my sweet bed with disease or something lingering. Ick.

So let me now tell you about my night at Emo's. I was with a few friends at the bar when some guy walked up and asked my friend if he could buy her a drink. She said, "let me ask my boyfriend right here" and he gave it the ol' OK. Clearly, the drink-buyer was on something. My friend's boyfriend wandered off to talk to him and came back with a report that yes, he is definitely on something but more interestingly, this guy is from Bosnia and in the army and going to Afghanistan on Monday. It got me thinking, "really? we are recruiting foreigners to fight in our war?"

So Bosnian dude started talking to me. He spoke pretty good English, but he did have an accent. I figured he must have just been a kid during the 90s and the Bosnian War. Maybe his dad died then. Maybe he was an orphan. But one thing was for sure, he was messed up on Friday. He kept saying how he hated the army. I asked him why he joined. He said it was either the army or prison. I thought, "so the mystery continues...."

I asked him what he did to go to prison? He kept saying, "you really want to know?" and I would say, "yes." We went about 9 rounds of this. I was getting a little nervous (even though my friend's boyfriend was keeping an eye out on the conversation). I even said, "tell me, don't show me" because I had no idea what was going to happen next. Do you want to know? He said he was going to prison for kidnapping, assault and manslaughter. He had been a cocaine dealer and killed his best friend.

So then I decided to slowly walk away from him and talk to his sister, who was in town visiting before he was deployed. I said, "So what do you do in Bosnia?" She was like "Bosnia? I live in BOSTON!"

Yeah. Emo's is loud.

Day 173 = Gym + Yoga + Microphone Dream

On a hot day, there isn't much that beats ice cream. Fortunately, I don't have to deprive myself because I've found something new to be addicted to. These Weight Watchers brand mint ice cream cones. It's not like OG Baskin Robbins, but it is a good substitute. And tonight when I found that I burned - or sweated off - 400 calories in Bikram yoga, I bought a new box of ice cream cones in which I plan to indulge over the next couple of days.

This morning before I woke up to go to the gym, I was having another dream about "my crush," which I thought I'd put aside for now. I remembered it when I saw the top of a microphone in my garage, which is from a karaoke machine. I dreamt my crush needed a microphone. I was with some friends (some of my guy friends, I think one was Joel) at some show where my crush was performing. That's all he needed - a microphone - and I was thinking, "Of all things, is this the one thing you need?" I would think it would be such a critical piece for the performance that was about to ensue. I remembered the karaoke microphone, and I said, "Will a karaoke microphone do?" and he said yes. So I went to find the microphone and gave it to him. The venue was on a street that I remember I've dreamed about before or I've seen it - sometime during my college years I think, but it really isn't a place that actually exists. I think it's some part of a recurring dream. In the dream, it was sometimes warm (I had on shorts), and at other times I looked out the window and it was snowing and cold. The end.

According to http://www.dreammoods.com/, this is what I learned:

To dream that you are watching the snow fall, represents a clean start and a fresh, new perspective. It is indicative of spiritual peace and tranquility.

To see a microphone in your dream, suggests that you need to be more assertive and forceful. You need to voice your opinions more strongly and make your views known. The microphone may also be a pun on someone in your life who is named "Mike."

My crush's name is not "Mike." But as I write out the dream, I think I understand its meaning.

Day 169 = Running + "Gin and Juice"

I ran again today and then went out tonight again with my brother, his girlfriend, my cousins and birthday-weekend-girl Kara. And she snapped this pic of me later in the evening.

Have I written a blog about this song yet? Hol' up, hol' up. I have got to give props to this summer of 1994 college hit. For the people who know me, they wouldn't call me Junior League. But I'm sure I look that way to some people. So a couple of years ago when I got up on a karaoke stage and busted out "Gin and Juice," the alterna-persona began.

I know this song backwards and forwards. I don't need to see lyrics. I've sung it for karaoke. I've sung it for The Gong Show (wearing a Catholic school girl outfit). I've sung it in a bar with acoustic backup. I do not get tired of singing it. And I guess maybe Snoop doesn't either. I waited 14 years to see him, and I've seen him 3 times within the last year! What luck! I know - this seems odd. But my music tastes vary. Greatly.

So on Saturday, Kara and I met my cousins at an after hours bar and my cousin got the DJ to play the song, so I got on stage and sang it. I had a little crowd.

"With so much drama in the LBC, it's kinda hard bein' Snoop D-O-double G...."

Day 168 = Running + Lord T & Eloise

My brother never steers me wrong with music. Or funny stuff. And tonight, he delivered on both accounts.

I was visiting family and friends in my hometown this weekend (North Little Rock, AR), and after my brother, Jason, and I took our dogs for a walk (well, I went for a run), I got dressed and met my friend Kara for her birthday. Jason had told me about this band playing downtown that night called Lord T and Eloise. They can only be described as Beastie Boys from Memphis meets "I'm On a Boat."

Day 167 = Yoga + Walking + Mammograms

A few months ago, I was in the shower doing my monthly exam and I felt a little lump. I didn't want to think about it. But a couple months later, it's still there. So I went to the doctor yesterday and she felt it, too. She recommended a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. I am 35 and breast cancer is not in my family at all. My doctor thought it was a benign cyst, and I was hoping and praying for the best outcome, too.

So I went to the doctor this afternoon and had my first mammogram. Such a strange feeling. I saw the screens and nothing was there, even though the mammogram lady felt the lump, too. Then I had an ultrasound, which was also weird, and the ultrasound woman felt it, too, but nothing showed up on the screen. The doctor later confirmed it was nothing. It was just regular breast tissue. A happy ending to a worrisome situation. My mother assured me this is never a waste of time because women need to know these things.

So the moral of this story is ladies, get your boobs checked! Now I have a benchmark mammogram of my perky 35-year-old boobs, which have been labeled as "easy to read." In addition to this, my dermotologist recently told me that I have "beautiful skin." So I've got great breasts and skin - where is the lucky man who's going to appreciate this?

After the mammogram, I decided to take another Bikram yoga class. Was it wrong that I was totally thinking about the cheeseburger I'm going to make for myself tonight for dinner? But I wouldn't let myself have that cheeseburger without a walk around the neighborhood first.

Day 166 = Gym + Rest

This morning while working out with my trainer, I was completely exhausted. I am just worn out. Do professional athletes get this tired or do they ever acclimate to the constant workouts? I did take a moment to smell my skin and confirmed that the cupcake smell was still existent and enhanced with my sweat. That's hot.

Tonight I was supposed to swim for half an hour in addition to the workout this morning, but I decided to just let myself rest. It's been a rough couple of months at work, and the mental exhaustion is catching up, too.

I love to sleep, and I love my comfy bed and relaxing bedroom. I need curtains, though. I need curtains all over the house. I think that's my next home project.

Day 165 = Running + Cupcake Shower Gel

Tonight when I exchanged some hair products at Ulta, I was compelled to buy some travel size (or trial size, in my case) shower gel. It smells like a cupcake! I can't wait to see if I smell like one after my shower. I'm kind of obsessed with cupcakes lately, and I'm excited about getting to eat one this weekend (big plans! ha!).

I find myself often thinking at work, what the hell am I doing here? Let's just say work has not been the most fulfilling lately. I mean, I know what I'm doing, but I'm swamped. I've mentioned this in previous blogs about how all I do is work, workout, eat and sleep during the weekdays. There's not really any time leftover for anything else, yet this is what I choose. I want to do this. Well, I would be willing to rearrange my schedule should a nice man come along....

And just when I thought I didn't know what I'm doing, my coworker said the nicest thing today. She walked over to my cube and said something to the effect of, "I know I don't say it often but I wanted to let you know I really like working with you and I appreciate you." Wow - that was so nice. I was touched, and it made yesterday at work just that much more worth it.

In closing, I will say that after my 40-minute run tonight, I came home and took a shower with the cake soap (verdict: yeah, I faintly smell like cupcakes). I was checkin' myself out in the mirror and I noticed that when I pull my skin taut, just so, I can see some ribs! Sweet. I haven't seen those in like, ever.

Day 164 = Gym + Yoga + Walking

Today I blew it out. It was a workout trifecta. I woke up and worked out with my trainer. I went home after the workout in an effort to get in a little nap before my first meeting at work, but I realized my first meeting was 9:30 am, so I went ahead and got dressed...only to get on the call for 10 minutes because not all key players showed up. So it's been rescheduled. My next meeting was the same way. Corporate America rocks! (Clap if you can you hear my sarcasm.)

That said, I just wasn't "feelin' it" at work today, so I left around 5 pm (early for me) and went to do some Bikram yoga (hot yoga) at YogaGroove, since I purchased another $28 introductory month of unlimited yoga. I can appreciate all my running in the heat of the summer because it's really prepared me for hot yoga. Following hot yoga, I went for a 30-minute brisk walk (per my trainer's instructions) and it was so cool. Maybe I was still warm from yoga or maybe because it only reached about 93 in Austin today, but my entire walk was totally comfortable.

With regard to my crush, I figure if it will be it will be. So I'm just letting it go for now.

Day 163 = Yoga + Crushes

Today was a fairly lazy day. Lots of sleep. Had a massage. Did some Bikram yoga. Made some homemade chicken soup.

Meanwhile, I am crushing on this guy. Not sure if he knows it. He may be completely unaware or he may not be into me. We've only met a couple of times, after all. I'm 35 and have a school girl crush. Just when I was enjoying two and a half months of non-crushing, non-attachment to any guy, here comes this crush. That's the thing about crushes -- you can get them your whole life. As I laid around today, sleeping, I had some interesting dreams about this guy I'm crushing on.

Here's how the dream started. I dreamt I went to his house. It was low key. It was a date, I guess, but not like a first date but an early one. So I go in and his place is a pig sty. Such a mess, and he's sitting on a twin bed in the living room and says to me, "I need to ....' and I honestly don't remember the phrase he used in the dream but it equated to having a BM. So I'm like thinking, "Geez, I just got here and now I have to wait for him to do this and he's just so open about it." Oh and btw, before he got started his BM, he walked in the bathroom and walked out and all he had on at this point was a t-shirt and I could see his legs (nice legs) and made some comment to me. So I quickly found the remote so I could turn up the TV. I just met this guy and I don't know if I'm ready to hear noises come from the bathroom, you know? That's not a new guy/early date kind of thing, in my opinion.

So I walked through his house in order to get away from any possible noises (and I wanted him to save face, too) and I thought about taking pics on my phone of each room and sending them to my friend Amy S. for recon evaluation, but instead I went in his kitchen, which was like out of the 1940s or soemthing. And the whole house was old like that, which is not uncommon in Austin (and btw, in real life I have no idea where this guy lives - in a house or an apartment or with roommates or if he is a slob; I don't know any of this). Anyway, the kitchen was this enlongated horseshoe/boomerang shape and on either open end of the horseshoe were a couple of stairs to get into the kitchen. Then around the curve was the sink, stove and fridge and between the stair areas were floor to ceiling cabinets which was good storage but unnecessary for the flow of the kitchen. I mean you could have put a little bar there with stools on the other side. Instead there was like a window booth opposite on the outside of the kitchen. There were a couple of other bedrooms that were also in disarray. The outside ofthe house was kind of overgrown, too, but not too bad I guess. I mean, I don't know this guy's situation so I didn't judge.

While he was STILL having his BM, I played with his dog, but there were several dogs. And I'm a dog person, but I wondered why he had so many dogs. I say so many, but really it was only about four. Then I woke up. What's it mean?

Day 161 = Running + My Gold Tooth

So my personal trainer has challenged me to 3 weeks of soberness. Ironically, this is what inspired me to start 90 Days/90 Workouts. But I took her up on this challenge, and I have done very well. I have proven that I am just as much fun being sober as, well, otherwise. If I can last a day on the boat avoiding beer and Jell-O shots, then I can do anything.

I got in my run after work tonight because I knew I was going out with some friends to the Alamo Drafthouse to see the 80s One Hit Wonders sing-along.

I have to say that lately, I've been sporting my fake gold tooth. When I break that out and people just don't see it coming, they are quite suprised. But I put it on tonight and some guys were checkin' me out. Hilarious. Of course, no one wants to ask out the "gold tooth girl."

Note the bruise on my arm from sleeping on the BodyBugg....

Day 159 = Home Workout + "Delilah"

Today was a shitty day at work. It's been a shitty two weeks, actually. I try not to use profanity in my blog, but hey, I think you should get to know the real me.

It was one of those days that ended when the sun had already set, and it's just August, so the sun shouldn't be setting so early. That means, it had to be past 8.

Normally I plug in my iPod in my car and click through a minimum of 137 songs only stopping at the songs I'm in the mood to hear. My life revolves around my moods. Instead of the iPod, I was in the mood to hear the soft-spoken, motherly/cougarly voice that'll make it all better from Delilah. Also, I was driving a rental car and could not hook up my iPod.

You know you've all heard of Delilah. That soft, raspy voice bringing you soft rock and love songs to the mass of 7 million listeners every Monday through Friday at 8 pm on a radio station near you.

According to Wikipedia: Delilah Rene Luke (born Feb. 15, 1960 in Reedsport, Oregon), almost always simply known as Delilah, is an American radio personality, author, and songwriter, best known as the eponymous host of a nationally syndicated nightly U.S. radio song request and dedication program, with an estimated 7 million listeners.

A more recent addition to Delilah's show is "Friday Nite Girls," a "fan club"-style feature in which Delilah honors groups of her regular female listeners with prizes. She occasionally also calls certain "Friday Nite Girls" chapters and speaks with them live on the air.

This last part just makes me want to start a bridge club (or other card game that involves finger foods and alcohol) and play Delilah on the radio with a small group of friends. See, you never know what can cheer you out of a shitty day until you just open your mind to what you can learn from listening to the radio.

Later that night after a home workout I put together myself, I saw the perseid shower. I watched it in silence because a commentary is not necessary to watch that amazing sight.

More links about Delilah:

http://www.usatoday.com/life/2006-08-02-night-listener_x.htm