Age-Appropriate

We’ve all lied about our age.. When we are young, we lie to seem older. When we are old, we lie to seem younger. But what about all of the lies that we tell ourselves in regards to our age? There are moments in everyone’s life; moments that come about once a decade, where you just have to be honest with yourself about your age. Because there are too many moments in my life where I look around and say, “You are straight-up delusional!” See, there are three types of people that just love to lie about their age. Now obviously these people know how old they are. However, clearly when they look in the mirror they are able to tell themselves they look age-appropriate. We have the 15 year old that thinks she’s going on 25, the 30 year old that still hangs out with 20 year olds, and the 50 year old that insists on dressing like they are 25.

I have a really hard time with kids these days. Now I know that when I was 15, I thought I was all cool, and I dressed and acted the part. Lord knows with all the make-up and push up bras I never actually looked older than 15 though. But these days, it is just starting to get a little ridiculous; there are 15 year olds that actually look like they are 25! I don’t know if it is because spray tanning and hair extensions are so popular with today’s youth, but if they didn’t have their arm around a boy with acne and shaggy hair, I’d believe they were older than me. And the sad thing is- they actually act older than me too. Well it’s really more funny than anything. The way they carry themselves and talk down to other people, they seem to think they own the place. You’re almost fooling everyone-that is until your mom to pulls up in her mini-van to pick you up.

Then we have the person that is desperately trying to hold onto their youth. Now I am friends with a lot of people that are older than me, so it might be a double standard to say that older people can’t hang out with younger people. That’s not what I’m saying at all, or I wouldn’t have any friends. But I’ll give an example; last weekend I was at a college party- a party that I felt too old to be at, honestly. And at the beer pong table (yes, beer pong table if that gives you any indication of the age of the party-goers) there was a 29 year old woman playing with a 19 year old boy-man. It was extremely obvious that she was by far the oldest person in the room, and well it was just awkward to say the least. Worst of all, she left with him. Now a ten year age difference might not be that big of a deal, but when the other person is barely legal I think it is. The point where this woman walked into the party and realized that the kids in the room weren’t old enough to drink, she needed to leave, and preferably without the man-child.

   

Last, we have the people going through the mid-life crisis and think its “hot” to wear tube tops and hot-pants. There is a “self-conscious” part of our brain for a reason. It’s so that you can look in the mirror, see the fat roll over your jeans, and say this shirt is too tight. The only 50 year old women that are allowed to dress my age are the ones with better bodies than me- than hey, good for you! And older dudes: stop dressing in Ed Hardy. That became a universal joke when the dad from John and Kate Plus 8 got reamed for it like five years ago. So stop dying your hair platinum blonde and dressing like a fool. No one is buying it. I’m sorry people, but no boob-job, tummy-tuck, or face-lift is going to hide the fact that when you walk into a college bar, you’re just too damn old to be there!  I would bet that most of you would be really good looking if you would dress and act your age. I know a lot of 50 year olds that are super-hot without looking like an ol’ lady from some motorcycle gang or a guido off of Jersey Shore.

 

Age is a scary thing. I get that. But could everyone start acting their age? (And no I will not take this perfectly good opportunity to call out the men of the world that insist on acting like a five year-old).

Valentine's Day: Love & The Little Things

It’s that time of year! Valentine’s Day! I’m sure that most of you are expecting some loud-mouthed rant about how much I hate Valentine’s Day because being single sucks; maybe talk about how it is a holiday designed to target a consumerist society. However, I feel quite the opposite; I love the idea of Valentine’s Day. We set aside holidays to honor our mothers, fathers, religious beliefs, birthdays, etc. What is so wrong about celebrating the people we love?

Some will argue that we should celebrate the person we love every day and not just on February 14^th. You won’t get an argument from me, there. I think a man buying me flowers because it is a Tuesday is much more romantic than when he does it out of some felt necessity.   I do think it is a bit ridiculous that men are made to feel as though they have to spend an outrageous amount of money on roses and a five course meal. Instead, Valentine’s Day should just be about being with the person you love and celebrating what you have together. Leave out all the superficial charades and high-priced jewelry. Don’t get me wrong, I love flowers and jewelry. Just not on the one day that is meant to celebrate “us.” Don’t make the day about one person and their reaction to all the hard work you put in trying to make the night into something epic. Instead, I think today is about the little things. In my opinion, it should be spent with Chinese food and a funny movie, curled up on the couch before a wrestling session breaks out when said-Valentine passes gas and stinks up the room. It’s about the little things. Or I think it should be, anyways.

      

I know there are a lot of singles out there cursing the holiday because it is somehow unfair that they don’t have a special someone to share it with. We all have love in our lives though. Just because it doesn’t involve a love-interest or a romantic relationship, doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the love you do have. This year, I am going to spend the evening with my best friend and her parents. And at some point I can count on the chocolate covered strawberries my dad gets me every year to say I love you. Honestly, it’s the valentines I get from the people that aren’t my significant other that mean the most because they don’t have to do anything for me; they simply do because they love you. There’s no reason to spend the evening depressed over what you don’t have or wish you had. It’s about celebrating all the love in your life! And who knows, the holiday you curse this year, might be the holiday to remember next year. So just enjoy it today. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Skinny Tab

For those of you that are interested, and to save those who are not from being bombarded with my weekly dieting updates, I have created a tab that you can choose to access or not. At the top of the page, you will see a tab titled, “Gettin’ Skinny.” Here is where you can follow my diet/exercise program and check out what I’ve found to be successful or not. From now on, every Sunday I will be updating this page instead of writing a post. Since I’ve only been writing about two posts a week, I felt that one per week on dieting could get really monotonous. So if you are interested you can click on the tab and follow along. If you are following along and want to leave a comment on the page and talk about your progress, you are more than welcome to!   

Also, for those of you that are on Pinterest, I created a tab that will take you to my Pinterest page and allow you to follow me and learn a little bit more about what I like.

Up Against The Current

One year ago, I quit the field hockey program at SLU. I would say that this decision is the biggest decision I have ever made. I would even go so far as to say that the person I am today is a direct result of that decision. 

It was like it was yesterday. I can still remember walking (on crutches at this point) into the arena alone to talk with my head coach and a couple of administrators. We had spent about a month going back and forth on some disagreements regarding the direction that the program was heading. That day, I finally chose to “agree to disagree” and part ways with the program. I simply told them I was leaving, signed a few papers, and walked out. It took a total of 10 minutes. 10 minutes was all it took to walk away from a love I had spent years trying to perfect. Although it should’ve been a really depressing day, I remember feeling completely liberated and excited.

Don’t tell my dad this because he’ll kill me… but I had to go to class right after the meeting. I drove my car to the building the class was located in and parked Iight outside. While I was so busy calling everyone that I knew to give them the news, I left the keys in the ignition. I came out of class an hour later, frantically looking for my keys, when I realized I had a 'blonde moment' and left the car unlocked, running on Lindell Blvd the entire time. It was still there, thank God or I might not be alive today. I just remember getting in my car and laughing to myself for probably a good five minutes (which when you’re alone, is actually a very long time.) This was honestly the first day of the life I have today.

Last year, you would not have even recognized me. Everything that I did in college revolved around that field hockey team. I hardly ever went out because of the team rules. I never joined a club because I didn’t have time. I’ve never tried recreational drugs because of drug testing (not that I necessarily want to, but on principle it’s one of those “everyone is doing it” kind of things that I never got to do). I don’t want to say I was robbed of a college experience because what I went through and the lessons I learned are far more valuable than a college experience. Nevertheless, I do think I missed out on things. I could write a book about all of the horrifying experiences I had as a collegiate athlete. I don’t even like watching scary movies because it reminds me of the crap I went through. Although the best writers in Hollywood couldn't come close to doing the experience justice. Reality was much worse than anything you could find on the big screen. Despite all the horrors and insanities, my decision came down to the fact that no one really cared as much as I did. Even my teammates; after the class above me graduated, there was no sense of passion left. The school didn’t care. The administration didn’t care. My coach didn’t care. They didn’t care about the program, the team, or the players and they certainly didn’t seem to care about whether or not we were successful. I cared though, probably a little too much. My whole world revolved around it all. In the end, I realized I was just swimming up against a very strong current that would no doubt take me under unless I chose to get to shore and put my feet on solid ground.

This idea of caring too much is crazy. I guess it’s a bit of a gift and a curse. Sometimes, I set myself up for disappointments and failures. Sometimes I feel so strongly about something that it clouds my judgment, and I make mistakes. But when I care and when I have passion for something, it is the most incredible feeling in the world. Since I quit field hockey, I haven’t really found that something that I can truly be passionate about. I love coaching the sport, don’t get me wrong, but it just isn’t the same. I think that during this past year, I’ve spent so much time trying to make up for lost time that I forgot to focus on finding something new to care about. So I’m going to take the advice that I would give anyone in my position, and “get a hobby"- something I hope that will allow me to float a bit easier down stream.

Time to "Get Skinny!"

The title of my blog, as you may or may not have noticed, is “Gettin’ the Skinny.” I chose this title for a number of reasons; mostly because of its play on words. Skinny just seems to be an all-inclusive word. It’s about being in the know and recognizing the naked truth of things. “Skinny Dipping” leads us to think of adventure and excitement. After prohibition ended, people used the word “skinny” to refer to a dime-piece or money. And then there is just the word “skinny” which we use to indicate the shape of a person’s figure. The latter expression is what I would like to talk about now.  It’s time to “Get that Skinny.”

As I mentioned in my profile, I am an athlete. I’ve played sports all of my life but focused mainly on field hockey and chose to pursue it in college. One of the major benefits of being a collegiate athlete is the training. As much as I hated waking up at 5am every morning to go workout, it taught me a lot of discipline and especially how to work out my body. Now back then, I was working out to get strong rather than toned, so I packed on quite a few pounds in muscle and basically just bulked up. After I had my hip surgery; however, I really wasn’t able to lift weights or run at all. I quickly went from a workout-regimented lifestyle to a somewhat static one. Between the 3 year bulk-up session, my bout of inaction after surgery, and the 4 month long, post break-up, pity party I threw for myself – I’ve turned into a little bit of a chub-ster.

I read this quote the other day  on Pinterest that said, “It would be a shame for a woman to grow old without ever seeing the strength and beauty of which her body is capable.” It really kind of hit me that even in my years of intense workouts, I have always pretty much eaten whatever I like and have never really seen what my body has the potential to look like. In every area of my life, I am a lot of talk and a lot action; I am willing to put in the work to get the results I want… except, for whatever reason, when it comes to my body.

I wouldn’t say that I am an unhealthy person by any means. I love dessert and chocolate, but I am relatively conscious of what I am eating. I wouldn’t say I’m fat either. There are parts of my body that I love and parts that I would change. I am at a point though, where I am really interested in what my body is capable of looking like if I actually walked the walked and put as much effort into myself physically as I do academically, socially, and emotionally. Right now I am in an awesome position where I am not in school, so I don’t have to worry about that. I have the best friends in the world and a wildly fun social life. I am in a great place and am emotionally high on life. So I am going to spend my free time and the positive energy I have been running with to work on my physical well-being. It’s time to combine the workouts with the diets.

I want to use this blog and all of you, as my followers, to hold me accountable. On Sundays, I am going to post about what I’ve done throughout the week in terms of diet and exercise. I am not going to put a number on the amount of weight I want to lose. My only goal is to stick with it long enough to find out what my potential is. So if you would like to follow along and do it with me, the first day of the rest of our lives starts tomorrow. It’s time to trade in the brownies for a tangerine and wake up an hour earlier to get that workout in.  Whoa! Here, Weego! (We’ll have the train the dog to bring me bottled water instead of a Bud Light!) (That's a Super Bowl joke, for the un-Americans that didn't watch- youtube it)

Country's More Than Country-Wide

It’s about 6am, and I can’t sleep. It’s not from my usual case of insomnia- I’m not lying awake tossing and turning over the craziness of the day and hopes for tomorrow. Nope, instead I’m just caught up in the music. I should probably be writing this after the first day of spring, when I’ve spent the afternoon driving around St. Louis with the windows rolled down and the radio turned up. Rather, in its place, I’m in my bed with my iTunes playing on shuffle. There’s just something about country music that makes reality better than any dream-state I could fall into.

If you’ve never been in the car with me or have never caught a glimpse of me on the highway, I am that embarrassment. I don’t really care who is watching or how big of a fool I am making of myself, I will be singing to the top of my lungs to every country song I know. I usually limit my performances to the shower or the car, but something about tonight and the music that has me jumping on my bed, singing with an amplifying hairbrush in hand.

Tim McGraw, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisely, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Lady A… to name a few… and new up-and-comers like Brantley Gilbert, The Band Perry, Chris Young, and Justin Moore, Kip Moore- and I will mention David Nail, of course, because of his notable connection to my St. Louis Cardinals- all of these musicians and more change my life. Their music speaks to every experience I have ever had or hope to have. No matter what is going on, whether I am dealing with love or loss or if I am enjoying a summer day or a cold winter’s night, every song completely envelops me and forces me to sing a long.

I don’t care who you are or what kind of music you appreciate, I think you would have a hard time arguing the fact that country music is just all-encompassing. Whether you can handle a little twang or not, every song is relatable; white-collars, blue-collars, rednecks, it doesn’t really matter. Country music is about life. People say that it is just about pick-up trucks and hunting dogs- which are two of my favorite things so hell ya!- but it’s so much more than that. It keeps me up at night.

It's About Right Now

In my blog post, “A Lightning Strike,” I articulated exactly what it is that I eventually want in a future, long term relationship. However, I am not sure that I properly emphasized the words “future” or “long term.” Everything that I talked about in that post is what I want. I just don’t want that right now, and I think I failed to get the point across in that particular post. I do know exactly what I want- but what I want now and what I want in the future- those are two very different things. So for this post I am going to write about what I want currently, right now. 
 

As I have mentioned on numerous occasions, I somewhat, recently got out of a very serious relationship. Five years; I spent the last five years (which is almost a quarter of my life) with the same person. And while they were some of the best years of my life, I am not looking to jump right back into that kind of relationship. I am not looking for Mr. Right. I am not even necessarily looking for Mr. Right Now.

See, my ex, (who, for the sake of all future posts, I am going to refer to as John Deere (JD) so that I can stop using the word ex- it just seems so harsh for regular conversation) sort of jumped straight from me to his new girlfriend- which is great for him- but I just don’t understand why, I guess. For the first time in basically my adult life, I am making decisions without wondering how they are going to affect another person. It’s not as though I was held back from doing the things that I wanted to do, but I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with JD; so in making life decisions I always took him into consideration. He was, for lack of a better portrayal, my ol’ ball and chain. See, I find there is something truly remarkable about freedom (please do not mistake me in my choice of words; I do not think that relationships are prison-like or restraining in any way- the right person can make your world completely limitless). In a way still, it does feel as though I am free to do anything; I can do whatever I want to do and go wherever I want to go. For example, sadly, I don’t think I would have considered that job opportunity in  Dallas if I were still dating JD. I want to keep those options open as I pursue graduate degrees and different career opportunities.

I am honestly enjoying being single. Sure, I have days where I feel lonely, and I do miss having someone to come home to at the end of the night. But after five years, I just feel that I need to explore my freedom, meet new people, and just have a good time. That is what I want right now. I want to continue to be on my own and to continue making decisions for me. With all that being said, I am completely open to something great if Mr. Right comes along; I will absolutely accept invitations to go out on dates or whatever, but I am not looking to force anything. Right now, if I were to consider dating someone, they would have to allow me to be alone without feeling alone- if that makes any sense. For right now, anyways... I am never opposed to my future-wants becoming present day realities. But for right now, I am happy on my own.