Time for some dancing in the privacy of my own living room.

A friend reminded me of this song today...

Society's stranglehold takes another victim

I told myself I wouldn't do it. I knew, from four months of looking at my naked body in the mirror that the weeks and weeks of inactivity and Midwestern meat-eating were taking their toll on my metabolically-challenged (thanks to the nature of aging) temple. I didn't need to do it, but alas, in my new place of residence there lives in the bathroom... a scale. And I stepped on it. And I discovered that I am the heaviest I have ever been, having gained about 10 pounds after moving out here. Which means that I am just under 25 pounds heavier than my "happy weight."

I am of the belief that a person's weight is not indicative of their health, necessarily, unless of course we're talking super overweight. But if you live in your "healthy weight range," you can be on the high end of that range and still be really healthy because of bone-size or because muscle weighs more than fat, etc. But I am at the very heaviest of my healthy weight range and lemme tell you, I'm a medium-frame person and not very strong right now. So I did 25 sit-ups and 10 push-ups last night. Not a lot, but more than I usually do!

I have watched myself balloon and not fit into my favorite pants and not get to wear my tight slogan t-shirts I love. I haven't stuck with my yoga program or my goal of "total vitality" (except for the quitting-smoking-again thing, which is arguably the most important) and I have yet to go to a Tae Kwon Do class. Again, I will allow myself some slack for the "winter weight," but my self-esteem has taken a bit of a slapping about as a result of this new-found flabbiness and it's not only affecting my wardrobe choices, but my sex life as well. As in, I just don't feel sexy. It's a horrible feeling.

I know I still have the body that many women would love to have. I don't give a crap. Sure, I'm grateful for what I have, but I'm even more grateful for what I know I can be. I blow a lot of hot air about nutrition and health and I'm just not practicing what I preach. I can't wait for the weather to pick up so that I can go ride my bike again. And also to make some headway financially so that I can join the Y and do some water fitness classes or something.

But for now, I'll do my sit-ups and jumping jacks and anything else I feel like that will be getting me off my ass.

Identity Theft.

I have a wild hair up my ass. Not because I showered (I discovered, as my hair was getting longer - I wore it quite short for a few years - that the longer your hair gets, the more noticeable it is when it falls out - which is often - which means you get hair in your butt-crack when you shower. It just kind of slides down there). I have long identified myself as a redhead. It's been about 13 years (with some off-and-on) and for all of those 13 years, my mother has been asking "When do we get to see your natural color??" Well, Mom, it might just be your lucky weekend. I have been having a craving to chop my hair and dye it light brown with some blond streaks. I wish I still worked in the salon because this would be a simple task, but I'll have to put forth the know-how I gained from watching highlights and single processes performed for 2 1/2 years and relegate my transformation to the bathroom. Maybe Trevor's bathroom - it's bigger.

Now, the thing with red is, like redheads themselves, it's the color that's the quickest to fade, but most difficult to get rid of. I will be bleaching pieces that are already red, though it's been about three months since my last coloring, but those pieces will probably not turn the shade of yellow-white I want. Of course, even the ashy light brown I desire will be warmer because of my "base red." I'm aiming to capture my natural color, which is more than an inch out of my scalp right now and it's a little Jennifer-Aniston-y, but browner:




Okay, much browner, but not chocolate-y. It's debatable, but I have always considered myself a natural dark blonde simply because of the hair's texture and tendency to highlight to a light blond. And I want to go back. I'm tired of the orange-y red brightness which I've been doing for a few years now. I don't know if I'm growing up or if I just need something new. I was going to post a pic of Kelly Clarkson's hair (yeah, I know, what? I'm looking to have hair like Jen Aniston and Kelly Clarkson??), but I decided hers is much too streaky and I don't want to scare you guys.

The bottom line is my days as a redhead are coming to a close. I've been thinking about this for a little over a year now and I've come to the conclusion that my identity as a person and a performer is too wrapped up in the color of my hair. I'm ready for a change and I'm excited to see what effects the change has on me. Of course I will post pictures once I've achieved what I want. Might happen tomorrow!

Stay tuned...