#randomquestion: personal hell

It's more like 2 questions today.

What does your own personal hell look like? How about your own personal heaven?

A personal hell would be someplace where it's always loud, and where someone is always yelling. Doesn't have to be at me, but yelling in general. I'd be stuck in a room with someone playing Call of Duty, yelling at the TV, and I'd be right next to this person screaming for help because I was sick or something was wrong. And I'm always cold. That's my personal hell.

A personal heaven is much nicer! First of all, it's quiet, but not dead silent. There can be nice music, or just ambiance sounds. It's preferably outside in the sun, but it's not too hot. Overall, though, it's just pleasant, and there are absolutely no first-person-shooter games!

Weekly Round Up

On Sunday's I'm going to start posting a weekly round-up of my gym happenings.

March 14-20, 2016

• 1 session upper body, 1 session lower body, 1 session whole body; 3 total sessions.
• 108 upper body strength training reps.
• 75 lower body strength training reps.
• Ran 1 mile.
• Spin class: 60 minutes, 19.6 miles.
• 48 lunge walks, 24 push-ups, 24 burpees, 48 high knee walks, 48 sit-ups, 48 mountain climbers. 
• 3.5 hours of teaching tap.
• At least 1,621 calories were burned. 

Now I can set weekly goals and have someplace to record them. 

In August of 2014, I ran a half marathon with my friend Sheena. We set a goal, signed up together, and finished. By the end of the race, I said to myself that I'll never sign up for another 13.1 miles ever again. And now, here I am, 1.5 years later, contemplating signing up for another one. It's the Madison Mini-Marathon that runs through downtown Madison, WI. It's on August 20th. I want to do it as a graduate school graduation present to myself, as I just finished my degree online via UW Madison this past December. Crazy, right? Let's run 13.1 miles because I got a masters degree! Runner's World has ranked it #14 as the best half-marathon in the U.S., it goes past over 13 landmarks, and it's advertised as well-shaded and right on the lake. It sounds beautiful, and fulfilling. One problem is I really hope to be pregnant by August. Do I sign up still? Peter and I have postponed fun things because we're trying to have a baby, and it hasn't panned out for us just yet. So I don't want to miss out, but I also don't want to run 13.1 miles pregnant. Carol, my friend, suggested signing up, training, and if I do get pregnant, I can just walk it. I have until mid-April to decide, because after that, the price goes up to $85. Next week I'll start running more seriously, and we'll see how I feel after 2 weeks. 

#feelgood: Size 6

Today I went to the Gap. I have their credit card, so I get coupons and coupons and coupons... but I'm okay with it, since I only really buy clothing from the Gap now-a-days. Anyway, I found a dress that was super cute. I tried a size 12, too big. They didn't have a size 10, and I was bummed... so I decided to try at size 8. Too big! So I ended up with a size 6. Six. I felt pretty good. I also ended up leaving with 2 jeans skirts, a pair of shorts, and some sunglasses. Very good shopping trip, everything fit or was too big. Sometimes shopping trips don't always end on such a high note... 

So, lately I've been pretty happy with myself. I feel good, and I'm eating okay. I've been doing more cardio, and overall I'm just happy with myself and my body. Refreshed, and feeling accountable for my actions and emotions. 

#vsthursday: St. Patrick's Day Edition

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the green crew at the Sugar Grove Public Library! I love my job, where else can you celebrate with green wigs?

Today's Vs. Thursday is a good one.

Girl Scout vs. Badger

I'd vote for the badger, 100%. Especially if it's a Honey Badger. Because he don't give a fuck. But also because I heard from a coworker that when her daughter was in girl scouts, one of their prizes or incentives for selling cookies or earning badges was to stay in a hotel for a night. Aren't girl scouts suppose to rough it?! I don't know, I chose dance over girl scouts, and I do not regret that decision. Finishing girl scouts and making it to the end is impressive, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't for me. Twirling on stage in a tutu was more my speed. 

#reactionwednesday: That's a shame, you're so pretty!

This past week I had an awkward experience with a patron at the youth reference desk. She came in to apply for a volunteer position. We're always looking for volunteers, and since she is a retired school teacher, the man at circulation sent her to me to chat. This is how our conversation went.

Her: Hi, my name is so-and-so, and I'm looking to voluntee- OH MY GOD what happened to your nose?!
Me: Oh, nothing, it's been like that for over 10 years, it's nothing.
Her: It looks like someone punched you!
Me: Oh?
Her: Yeah, I'm about ready to offer to punch them back, and it's a shame, you're such a pretty girl!
Me: Heh heh...

A few things, if you've just met someone, you don't bring up facial deformities. Now, she's lucky. I love my nose scar, and I never try to hide it under make-up. I honestly don't think I look like me when it's covered or photoshopped out of photographs. Hell, I told the make-up artist on my wedding day to not cover it up. BUT if someone was less comfortable or more sensitive with their scars, making a comment like that is just awful. Especially if it's the second thing you say to someone. You don't do that. It's just plain rude. Also, that's a shame, you're such a pretty girl is a pretty shitty thing to say to anyway. Does my scar make me ugly? If I didn't have it, would I be prettier? Perfection isn't real, and to point out that my scar doesn't fit your ideal beauty standards, and to presume that because of that, it makes me any less pretty, is ridiculous.

I posted on my facebook about it, and got some really great comments, and I'd like to share:

Something like this happened this past Monday as well. A dance mom asked what happened to my nose, and I said, "Oh nothing recently. Something happened 15 years ago, but now that's just how my face looks!" I think that might be my go-to from now on. 

Ch-ch-changes

I've decided to not weigh-in weekly. I find, and have found this in the past, that when I go to the gym regularly, my scale either stays the same or goes up. And it's not healthy (mentally) to bog yourself down on that number.

SO I will make measurements and take my weight down monthly. It's the ides of March, so I set a reminder to take all measurements on the 15th of every month. We'll see where this goes from here.

157.6 lbs
43" hips
32.5" waist
36.5" chest

I know and follow at least 3 women online who lost weight and got fit through running. Part of me really wants to get back into it. I remember that runners high and satisfaction of conquering miles... but then I remember how much it physically hurt. How my hips grinded and my toes bled... Still, I get this twinge of jealousy when I see them posting pictures of their run or a sweaty selfie. Not saying I'm going to run another 1/2 marathon, but I'm thinking about it... (Sheena, talk me out of this!!)

(Unrelated), I recently splurged on Spotify Premium. And my splurged, I mean a whooping $12.99 a month! Anyway, it's awesome. It's like, all the music you could want, new, old, classical, story time jams, anything! It's great for dance class, and it's great for toddlers who need to shake it. No regrets.

#randomquestion: funny videos

What was the last funny video you saw?

An oldie, but a goodie. Jenna and Julien playing with helium booth. It's like photobooth on a mac, but also changes you voice. If you're looking for more Jenna and Julien funny videos, you can click here, here, or here. I love them together, and I think they're pretty funny when they do videos together. They compliment each other completely. ALSO, it took me a loooong time to warm up to Julien, just because of the name, but I'm over it, and now he's one of the only vloggers I watch.