Breaking Bad

I feel as though I may have named a blog "Breaking Bad" already. If so, my apologies, and we'll call this part 2.

I began somewhat of a healthier routine this week. I pledged to do some kind of exercise every day. Nothing major. I'm not training for a marathon or planning to drop 50 pounds. Just make myself move and try to break a sweat. I also promised to incorporate better foods into my meals and not fall back on junk food all of the time.

I think I did a pretty good job in both areas. Was I perfect? No. I had pizza and fries at least one day. I went out to dinner Friday and Saturday nights. Okay, there may have been some ice cream involved, too. But I also munched on almonds, raisins, bananas, grilled chicken and fish throughout the week.  And I exercised every day. Except Friday. And Saturday. And probably today. It's Sunday. I have to go to bed super early. Back off!

Otherwise, I enjoyed a variety of activities this past week: weights and jogging at the Y, walking Jack around the neighborhood, yoga in the living room and steps on the Wii. I think I also danced to some music in the kitchen Friday morning. It helps having my exercise log to mark things down. It makes me accountable. I'm still holding off on the food diary. Too much work. I have to have time to read my Kindle and do other "me" things.

Speaking of that, I'm starting to realize there really is no greater form of "me time" than eating the right foods and exercising. I usually think of "me time" as eating chocolate, drinking wine, reading magazines, bubble baths, massages, pedicures, shopping, etc. But what could be better for you than treating your body with a little TLC? Not that those other things aren't awesome. I'm totally going to continue to enjoy them, too.

I'm not trying to lose weight. If it happens, great, but then I'll have to get a new wardrobe. The scale puts too much pressure on me. I did have one true success. I didn't have fast food all week. Usually, I stop at McD's or Taco Bell or both by Friday. But that's when I have no time to throw something together in my lunch bag that's easy and manageable. Which is often. I'm chronically late. And I can't exactly have a 3 course meal while typing furiously on the night shift. But time and simplicity are no longer excuses when I have a constant supply of oatmeal and other readily available snacks at my disposal. 

This is not a diet. There is no New Year's resolution. Again, that's too much pressure which leads to failure. I figure I can't quit being lazy and eating badly cold turkey, right? Even smokers get patches and gum. And it's better than doing nothing at all and staying on the clogged cholesterol train.

Doctor's Orders

Last week, I was told by my doctor during my annual checkup that I may be heading (at warp speed, in my opinion) into menopause.

WHAT?

But Mitzi, you say, you're only in your early thirties and you look 25!

Bless your heart.

It's true. My doc thought it was a possibility. The fact that I don't have a monthly visitor bothered her more this year than it did the year before. Because I told her the exact same thing in 2011, and she said it wasn't a big deal. At that time, lab work indicated my thyroid was out of whack. It wasn't serious enough for me to have to take a hormone, but the doc said I may feel better if I did. Since I wasn't feeling horrible, I opted for the vitamin option.

But I digress. Back to the "change of life" conversation. Really? Really! My first thought was WTF? My second thought was, well that will end any lingering questions about having a family. But I didn't break down and cry, yearning for my fertility. I did, however, stop and think about it a little bit. I wasn't too thrilled about the option being totally taken away from me.

Turns out I'm not menopausal. I think I knew that deep down. I had no other symptoms: hot flashes, memory loss, etc. Instead, I have high cholesterol. My orders are to cut down simple carbs, up the fiber intake and get moving. I assign myself different exercise every day on my phone calendar: go to the Y on Monday, do yoga on Tuesday, walk with Jack on Wednesday, etc. But I often end up blowing said exercise off, especially if work runs over or I'm just too tired. This time, I've decided to make a chart (like I did for Bug's meds) so I can give myself a variety of choices daily and check them off as I do them. That way, I can view the week as a whole to see what exactly I'm doing.

The food part is hard. I like to eat. And I like to eat all of the bad things. I thought about keeping a food diary as well, but that's so time consuming. I've been trying to buy healthier food at the grocery store for some time now. I know better. I know Pmo and I aren't getting any younger and if we want to stick around, eating healthier is a big part of that.

It could be worse. I have friends who live with fibromyalgia and diabetes every day. There are women my age fighting breast cancer and other life threatening diseases. There's a whole world of health problems out there I know nothing about. So for now, I know that my biological clock is still intact, it has not stopped, it's still ticking. But I'm sure it's winding down.

Top 10 Moments in Memphis

10. Mom looking in both directions every time went over a bridge to see if she could get a glimpse of whatever river we were crossing.

9. About 60 miles outside of Memphis at an intersection after eating lunch:
Mom (looking north): “I can see Memphis from here…”
Me (pointing south): “I find that hard to believe because it’s this way.”

8. Watching the Peabody ducks that we had talked about and seen a long, long time ago on “Coach” then stealing the drink napkins someone else had used before we left.

7. Ordering drinks before dinner at Pig on Beale:
Mom: “Water.”
Me: “Bud Light.”
Waitress (to me): “Can I see your ID?”
Mom: “You wanna see my ID, too?”
Me: “For water?”

6. Both of us packing a snack bag, including Cheez-its, without the other one knowing.

5. Having 3 TV channels in the motel that continuously played Elvis movies and catching the end of each one.

4. Both of us being ready for bed well before by 9pm.

3. Watching Mom take in Graceland from the ticket stub to the gravesite.

2. Seeing many horse carriage rides with dogs in the front seat, but only one with a pug.

1. The pizza buffet/game place: I don’t even know how to say this and be politically correct so I’ll just explain what happened as best I can. A woman working there (who happened to be outside on a smoke break when I dropped Mom off then parked the car) let us eat for free. Why? We don’t know. But after we got our food and sat down, we realized we were the only white people in the entire place. It reminded me of that Eddie Murphy skit on SNL called “White Like Me”. Watch it, it’s funny.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/10356/saturday-night-live-white-like-me

Country Concerts

I've seen Miranda Lambert twice now. She started this show with a video montage of women in power while Beyonce's "Run the World (Girls)" was playing. So cool.

Canaan Smith opened for Sugarland. He was okay, but his guitar players didn't sound like they were in sync.

Lauren Alaina said she was missing her prom so she asked this guy to dance with her on stage.

I've also seen Sugarland twice now. I was surprised how much fan interaction they had during this show. They pulled two or three little girls on stage with them at different times.

I'm pretty sure this was during "It Happens". Love the crazy look on her face.

They opened the first show I attended with "Love" and it blew me away.

Wild Card

A conversation with one of my co-workers sparked the following blog.

Me: "I'm rooting for Louisville."
She: "WHHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTTTT???????"

Ok, so it wasn't much of a conservation.
But I can explain.

I don't pledge allegiance to any particular sports team. Professional or college. I root for the region, basically. If IU is playing NC State, I go for the Hoosiers. If UK is up against Kansas, I'll back the Wildcats. If the Colts are taking on the Titans...well, I have a little trouble with this one, because technically Nashville is closer than Indy. It's because I lean toward my dad's logic: you go for the team that's closest to you. Although he's no sports fanatic either.

I'm really not a true fan. I don't commit. It probably seems like that's the easy way out, but look at it this way: at least I don't get my heart broken when the team loses. Or have to make excuses as to why they didn't win. I don't take it personally. I don't get involved in all the trash talk leading up to the game. And I don't have to eat crow afterwards either. Yet I still enjoy the victories. It's good for my sanity.

Yes, my husband hopes UK will go all the way, so Saturday night will be just like the IU game in our home. But rooting against him makes it fun! Now if I took it seriously, that would be a different story. It could get quite ugly. But he knows I don't care that much, and I still get to take part in all the fun, so it's a win-win. To me.

Plus, I like Louisville. The city. Hell, I've been there 3 times already this year. And I'm going back next month. I have friends and relatives there. I hardly know anyone in Lexington. Not to mention, I love an underdog. Seems like everyone I know is for UK. I'm not alway big on doing what everyone else does. And frankly, sometimes people can get too big for their britches. There's confidence and then there's arrogance.

It's not really about statistics, players and records to me. It's like tonight's Mega Millions drawing, which is now up to $640M by the way! There's a chance the little guy will win. There's the possibility the unthinkable will happen. There's an opportunity for a really good story to come out of this. And go down in the history books. Either way, I'll be just fine. Can't speak for Pmo though.

Music To My Ears

For someone who considers herself a pretty big music fan, I really don't seek out new songs very often.
I tend to let them fall in my lap.
Even when artists I love come out with new material, I don't run out and buy their albums or go online and download all of the tunes.
I just wait until I'm forced to hear them, somehow.
So it's no surprise that I've downloaded several songs I discovered through TV, movies and a concert.


Here's what I'm listening to right now:

"Good Morning" by The Kicks
"Colors" by April Smith and the Great Picture Show
"Home" by Girls Love Shoes
"Shine For Me" by Camera Can't Lie
"Don't Stop" by Gin Wigmore

Maybe none of these sound familiar, but I guarantee you've heard all of them.
They're from Lowe's commercials.
My favorite is "Good Morning".
It's the new one where the people float outside from their beds and start gardening.
I'm also really into "Colors".
It's catchy and I think there's a kazoo playing at some point.

"Everybody Talks" by Neon Trees
I loved "Animal" but I never went much further with "Neon Trees".
Until I heard "Everybody Talks" on yet another commercial.
It's fun!

"Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
I had heard of Foster the People and may have even listened to "Pumped Up Kicks" before, but I didn't pay much attention to it until it was a battle song on "The Voice".
And even though the lyrics are pretty dark, it's very upbeat.
Something about the melody makes me happy.

"Stay With Me" by Faces
This is an old one by Rod Stewart's band.
It's on the end of "Wedding Crashers".
"Stay With Me" is one of those songs I always meant to download but never got around to it.
Guess where I heard it again?
"The Voice"!


"I Believe" by Stevie Wonder
This is also an old song that plays at the end of a movie: "High Fidelity".
I get a little bored with the verses in "I Believe", but I just adore the chorus and could sing it all day.

"Tomorrow" by Chris Young
"What Do You Want" by Jerrod Niemann
"Fine Tune" by Miranda Lambert
I heard all of these songs for the first time last weekend in Louisville at Miranda Lambert's concert. "Tomorrow" and "What Do You Want" are similar in theme.
They're both pretty much about booty calls.
But it's from the guy's point of view, and although he's going through with it, he has regrets, too.
"Fine Tune" is also very sultry.
Miranda sings it through some kind of special microphone that alters her voice, and at the concert, she sang it while stretching out on a red chaise lounge.
Hot stuff.

So if you're in a music rut, check out some of these new/not-so-new releases.
Or if you have some others to share, I'm all ears.

I'd Do Anything For...

I am not one to be scared of storms. I suppose if I had lived through a bad one, I'd feel differently. Sort of like if I was in a terrible car wreck, I'd be afraid to get back on the road. But since I've never done either, they aren't big concerns of mine. Which I find ironic because I'm also not fond of things I can't control.

Friday was different. We had just had a tornado through Newburgh on Wednesday morning. And on this day, the entire tri-state was under a high risk. Not slight, not moderate, HIGH. Absolute certainty that the you-know-what was going to hit the fan.

I got home from work around 10:30am and started to put a plan into action. My first thought was to get the SUV in the garage if I could. Even if we didn't get a tornado, hail could really mess up my semi-new car. So I manipulated the riding lawnmower and two motorcycles in our 1 car garage and managed to get the Forester in there. It was a tight fit for sure, and I was pretty proud of myself. Then I got the mattress off the guest bed and dragged it into the bathroom for emergency cover in the tub. By the time I was done, we were in wall to wall coverage on TV and the dark terror was on its way.

I was in an extreme dilemma at this point because I needed to go to sleep. I'd been up since 10pm the night before. But I couldn't nap because there was severe weather all around me. And to top it all off, Bug was at the vet for all day glucose monitoring. That's what freaked me out the most. Although he would most likely be out of harm's way, the idea that I couldn't protect him if something happened really got to me.

In the end, we lucked out again and didn't even have damage, which I can't believe because we have a lot of trees and almost always have big branches fall. I ended up staying up all day and even went out for dinner and drinks with friends that night. I was awake, barely, for 26 hours straight! It definitely helped me sleep through Friday night though, which I often find difficult.

So many others were less fortunate, and I've been thinking about that all weekend. And as I read stories that keep coming in about survival and loss, I take special interest in those about pets. I read a few where dogs were discovered underneath the debris of flattened homes. I read another where a woman took shelter in her basement while her dogs were in the garage. They all survived.

The way other people handle their pets during disasters confuses me. I don't know their situations but I'm pretty confident that I would put my life on the line for my dogs. I would not leave them behind if our house caught on fire. I think I would run out into traffic to prevent them from getting hit by a car. And I'd have them with me in the bathtub during a tornado. Heck, I've already done that. I think this picture is from our last tornado scare.

I'm sure I would do anything in my power to make sure they were not separated from me because they're helpless. I can't justify letting them get hurt or die because they're "just dogs".

Take Bug for example. He's not just a dog. He's an old man. Not only does he have arthritis and diabetes, but we learned Friday that he has cataracts. So add daily (and lifelong) eye drops to his routine of an arthritis pill and insulin shots. He's high maintenance, that Bugton. But he's doing pretty good. I've had a lot of people ask about him and I appreciate the concern.

Now that the storms have cleared (and there's snow on the way, good grief) we are all ready for some R&R in the mountains. We're cabin bound, going back to north Georgia this week with dogs in tow. This time, we're going to let Bug rest and take Jack on some outdoor adventures. It's less stressful and not as time consuming waiting on Bug to catch up. And not as painful if I don't have to carry him. Ugh.

Throw in some wine, the hot tub, meals off the grill, a roaring fireplace, my Kindle, good music... ahhhhhhh.