Share Your Generosity!

"Follow through on all your generous impulses."
- Epictetus

For some reason that quote's stuck with me over the years. The idea of following through on a good thought really made sense to me. Maybe it's because I grew up with kind and generous parents that would do anything for anyone. Maybe I just like the feeling I get inside when I do something nice for someone. Big or little, it's an amazing feeling.

So I've had people text me, email me, comment on instagram posts, etc. to tell me about their generous impulses. I feel warm and fuzzy every single time and I love being the person they share it with. So what's the problem? It stops at my inbox, my phone, my instagram. I was thinking the other day about how I can get it to keep going. I brainstormed with my #1 fan (Ben!) and talked about a way that I could get people to share with each other. What if there was a place to post these "generous impulses" so that others could see them too and holy shit, maybe even be inspired by them?! If there was a problem, yo, I'll solve it.

I created a little online bulletin board that people can access anytime using the "Share your generosity!" button over there on the right. Share whatever you want! How you've displayed your generosity, how someone's made your day, ideas you have for making other people's day, whatever the hell you want! I moderate it, so don't try to get all crazy on me.

How to post:
1. Double click anywhere on the background.
2. Enter your name or the post title.
3. Share your generosity! Write a little story, scale your post box and drag it around.
4. Once you click off of it it'll give me the ability to approve it, then boom! It's there!

Bottom line is, everyone has the ability to make someone's day. Whether it's a friend's or a stranger's. Sometimes it's something as silly as telling someone to have a great day!

Have a generous impulse? Do it. Share it. Repeat.

The Longer They Are, The Shorter They Feel

The longer they are the shorter they feel.  Weekends, I mean, obviously.  I feel like you always cram so many plans into a long weekend that you run around the whole time like a chicken with your head cut off trying to make it from one appearance to another.

Friday night consisted of a little bit of pizza and a lotta bit of beers.  And Saturday morning I somehow miraculously woke up feeling fine and ready to do some yard sailing with my partner in crime (who's secretly an old man).  He scored some tools, I scored a green mini cooler and we bought some life jackets that happened to come in handy later in the weekend.  Oh and I was rewarded with a tasty breakfast out for being such a good sailing buddy.

I wanted: chocolate chip pancakes dammit!!
I got: an italian omelette with veggies (it was ok but lacked chocolate chips and pancake batter)
Fuck. Now I want chocolate chip pancakes again.

Saturday afternoon we started getting ready for our dear friend's wedding when the hubs ran up in a panic that the basement toilet was spewing out all of my warm sudsy deliciously coconutty smelling shower water.  I still had conditioner in my hair and hair on my legs, not awesome.  Surprisingly enough, we still made it to the wedding on time, didn't look horrific and had a lovely time while trying not to think about the disaster at home that we had cleaned up but not addressed yet.  We saw a sweet sweet couple eagerly exchange vows, ate some delicious food, had some very powerful drinks, looked ridiculous while dancing and spent some quality time with the BFF and her hubs.  Congrats to Kristin & Gordon!

Sunday started with some toilet trial and error – more errors than anything.  We're not plumbers, although I did have on a pretty awesome outfit for the adventure.  Never thought I'd stick a shop vac in an overflowing toilet and vacuum it out…never say never.  You do some gross shit when you own a house.  We abandoned all toilet remediation and got ready for our day's appearances.  Cookouts and crabs.  If you eat crabs you know that there's no possible way to take pictures of eating crabs while eating crabs due to the large amount of Old Bay infiltrating every crevice of your fingers and hands.  So you'll just have to use your imagination on that.  They were delicious, especially when paired with some coronas.

We ended the glorious weekend with a little Memorial Day canoeing trip with Chelsea and her husband.  I'm no expert, but I know that hitting rocks is bad and if in a panic I can typically steer us away from them.  Typically, not always.  It ended up being a relaxing trip, despite the late start and lack of planning (we decided Sunday night that we were going).  It'll happen again, hopefully with more preparation, intoxication and most importantly, sunshine.  Best thing about it, by far, was the company.

I'm spending the day here trying to avoid liquids at home while I wait for the plumber to arrive.  The joys of being a homeowner!  I have some ideas bouncing around in my sluggish brain that I'm excited to share!  Stay tuned, but give me a minute.  This weekend slowed my brain down juuuust a little.

Enjoy your short week!

The Last WIW

So in January I started a Biggest Loser contest.  I figured it'd be some good motivation and I figured right.  I didn't really keep up with the fb group because it (as usual) started to get weird.  So today, after 19 weeks, I went for the final weigh in.  And by went in I mean I worked out, came home, got naked, peed as many times as I could (yeah I tried for a #2, failure) and thennnn weighed myself.

It only took me like 15 weeks to paint my toes.

• I lost a total of 22.9 lbs. 
• My BMI went from 28.5 to 24.5.  Which is considered "normal weight."
• I'm happier and prouder of myself than I have been in a while (this one's my favorite).

I kinda wonder what it was like before all of this.  Before I started exercising and giving a shit about what I ate.  Before I felt like I was held accountable for things.  Before I realized that how I felt about myself was directly related to how much I sweated and what I put in my body.  It's hard to think back and be able to identify with that person or to feel sorry for myself back then.  I'm not sure how I let it get to where it did or what made me go there.

I guess either way you look at it, it's a vicious cycle.  Whether it's a negative one or a positive one.  Back then, it was most certainly a negative one, and when I started to exercise and see results and feel better about myself it turned into a positive one.  It turned into wanting to go to the gym.  It turned into wanting to buy cute workout clothes because I felt like I could.  It turned into wanting to keep challenging myself because I realized exactly how much I was capable of.

I still don't think I look good in a swimsuit.  My stomach still jiggles when I brush my teeth.  I most definitely don't think I look sexy as fuck naked (see below, those are ecard words, not mine).  But I do FEEL good.  I feel confident, happy and holyshitohmygoshsometimes sexy (that one's few and far between).  So even though I'm not winning an autographed Mama Laughlin picture (yeah that's one of the prizes for the contest), I still feel like I won (<-- I'm a douche).  I'm glad I participated and I don't think I'll be visiting the scale quite so often anymore, but I'm happy to have been held accountable!

This is a lie. I exercise for both those reasons.

How can you challenge yourself?  Can you hold yourself accountable?

I'm Alive (kinda)

Happy Monday!  Oh girls weekends, you suck the life out of me, in the best way.  This has turned into an annual trip and somehow I keep getting invited back – not sure why or how, but I'll take it
BFF Bran and I headed down on Thursday night and had a quiet little night with pizza, beers and a movie.  Somehow she made it through the movie, even with her lil restless legs.

Friday was a leisurely start, turned into a little lunch by the inlet complete with plenty of sunshine and a couple orange crushes.  If you don't know what an orange crush is, I'm sorry.  Find out, and I guarantee your quality of life will increase by approximately 147%.  Unless you don't like oranges, or alcohol, or fun.  This turned into a walk to the beach where the water was cold as shit.  Confession: I didn't pack a swimsuit.  Why Tara?  You're going to the beach!  I'll tell you why!  I don't have one that fits me.  I'll admit I've gone to try them on a couple times, but to no avail.  One made my boobs look alright, but the bottoms gave me a serious case of muffin top or something like that.  We'll try again one of these days and I willlllll nnnot be posting pictures.

Saturday was a nice little Saturday.  Bloody mary #1 was prepared at 8:45am.  That's what happens when everyone else drinks the coffee and you're thirsty.  My partner in crime and I went all domestic and cooked breakfast.  The rest of the day is a teensy bit blurry, but I have photographic evidence that proves I have a good time!  The bloody mary bar was pretty epic.  I definitely had like 19 servings of vegetables that day, thanks V8.  Dinner at a tasty seafood place was a blast!  I wore a one piece outfit and got to see an old friend Andrew, his adorable family and his sweet lady friend.  I believe I've already sent the appropriate apology texts, but yeah, my mouth was real sailory.  Sorry about that.  I blame the oyster shot, 2 crushes and 3 shots of fireball that y'all force fed me!

Sunday consisted of a long drive where I went for copilot of the year and managed to stay conscious for the whole drive and hold down a Wawa sub.  Bran and I gangbanged the Under Armour outlet and I got home with enough time to spend a nice day with my sweet little family.

 

Oh and disclaimer:  I didn't make it to the gym at all last week, except Monday.  I went back today and thought I might be a little behind but I managed to run on the deathmill and do some abs.  Goal for the week…drumroll…I fucking hate running…is to run for 25 minutes without stopping (I'm hovering around 15).  We'll see how it goes!  My new gym outfits are bound to help, right?

I'm thinking I need to plan some more annual trips complete with shenanigans.  I'm gonna need to do some research!

Hope your Monday doesn't suck!

WIW + Dang Dresses

Happy hump day!  I'm back to life today for the most part.  Just in time for Weigh in Wednesday.  Once again results might be a bit skewed due to the fact that my dinner on Monday consisted of a (delicious, home delivered) snow cone and two slices of toast.  But fuck, I'll take it.  I lost 2.7 lbs (yeah I used a calculator to double check, don't judge me).  I'm hovering riiiight at 140 and I wanna see the 130's but this weekend I'm going on an annual girls beach weekend with the BFF.  The kind where I'll be consuming too many alcoholic beverages and eating too many raw oysters (they're good for you, right?).  So we'll see if orange crushes happen to have fat burning qualities…

In other news.  I'm getting reacquainted with dresses.  I didn't wear them when I was bigger because the amount of chub rub could start a fucking fire.  Also, I look insanely short when my legs are fat.  Sorta oompa loompa-ish.  So in rekindling my love with dresses I've realized that even at my age, I still don't sit correctly while wearing one.  I cross my legs as to not inadvertently display the cash and prizes, but I need to think about it all day and remind myself.  I also need a tan, in the worst way.  I'll admit I was crazy excited this morning when I thought to myself, "Hey, this is all I need to put on!"  The thought of ONE piece of clothing for the whole day really excites me.

Note to self: Must check Target for more dresses or as I will now start referring to them, "one piece outfits."

Know any good places to buy dresses that are cheap but not so cheap that they feel cheap?

I Get it From My Mama

I hope y'all had a nice Mother's Day weekend!  And uhh I'm kinda hoping I get to celebrate next year, is that weird?  Oh ok, I don't care either way.

Running Update: I tried C25K and got annoyed with it so I'm just trying to increase the amount of time I run each time.  I hate running, really hate.  I'm up to 20 minutes on the deathmill with no arch pain and no shin splints and I'm (GASP) not hating it as much!  Kinda makes me think I might not die on June 8th during that first 5k.  I'm not positive though.

Nice little weekend despite the fact that it was hubs-free (yeah, I missed him).  But I did get in some quality girl time…worked out well that my besties' husbands were also out of town.  I felt like a 12 year old all over again on Friday when I packed an overnight bag for a slumber party on Friday. 

-- HHH was cancelled because my BFF is a badass and was running her THIRD half marathon in a row on Saturday --

I immediately stopped feeling a 12 year old when I went to a local dive bar for pizza and beers, I didn't drink beer when I was 12…I was a late bloomer.  In fact, I may not have bloomed yet, that's still up in the air.  Saturday I debated on whether or not a stick of string cheese was an acceptable dinner, then had an internal battle about whether or not I should drive to Five Guys and get a cheeseburger in my slightly intoxicated state.  I'll have you know I did NOT…hold on…let me pat myself on the back for resisting a cheeseburger.  Ok, back to what I was saying.  I ended up eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and watching half of Silver Linings Playbook.  Don't tell me what happens, I haven't finished it.

Mother's Day oh Mother's Day.  You know who I love the shit out of?  My mama.  We had an awesome day complete with an amazing lunch, lots of laughs and a little shopping.  Try and find something wrong with that!  Speaking of my sweet mom…I got the most awesome email from her the other day where she told me about her diet and exercise and ended it with:

"I know that if I stick to this plan, I WILL lose weight. It’s just having the incentive and perseverance…you know damn well about that. You’re my inspiration!!!!"

How fucking awesome is that?!  My whole life I've been inspired by HER.  By what a strong woman she is, by what she's taught me, by how kind she is (unless she's driving then she calls people assholes a lot), by the way she loves my dad and my brother and I even though we can be the biggest pain in the asses sometimes and by the way she can act like a hardass one minute and cry during a hallmark commercial the next.  So this Mother's Day was an extra special one.  To hear the one woman that's inspired me all my life tell me that I'm her inspiration…that was a ridiculously amazing feeling.  Now someone hand that woman a tissue because you know she's crying.

Who inspires you?

WIW + Warm Fuzzies

So remember that time I had a bunch of fun on Cinco de Mayo weekend?  Yeah, apparently that translated into a couple pounds of fat.  I'm a little bummed out but it's a good reality check. 

Dear Tara, 

Stop being such a lush and lay off the booze so that your workouts and diet are more productive.  And while you're at at it, eat better. 

Signed, 
Your Gut

So I'm up, hold on lemme get my calculator…+1.6 lbs.  I figure that's probably made up of 1 chicken soft taco, 1 steak soft taco and maybe like 2 glasses of sangria, a Corona light (<-- because the light part mattered) and a margarita.  Moral of the story, I need to stop eating with reckless abandon over the weekend, even if there's a super fun ethnic holiday I want to participate in.  I'll try harder for next week.

I bought some heels!  Holy shit, two pairs!  In my first post ever I talked about some of my goals.  Not resembling a newborn baby horse when I wear heels.  I think I even used the S word.  Well, we'll work on the sexy part.  For now, I can walk around without teetering and I consider that a success.  I may have tried these on at the store then ordered one of each color online (coral and nude).  They'll be making an appearance at a wedding in a few weeks.  For now I'll wear them around the house to A) break them in and B) fuck with my husband.

I don't get warm and fuzzy on here too often, but it happens.  Sommmme people have made fun of the blog title and asked what it was about.  It's from my all time favorite quote ever, "Follow through on all your generous impulses."  How can you NOT like that quote?  It's ridiculously nice!  So I try to do that.  If I have a nice thought, I try to pass it along, some people may call me a softie as a result (shh don't tell anyone).  If I think of a nice gesture that I think would make someone happy, I'll do it.  Why?  Because I grew up seeing my parents do the same thing.  Because doing nice things for other people makes me feel good.  Because what if you think to yourself, "Nah, I'll do it next time." and there isn't a next time?  Morbid?  Maybe a little, but it's true.  So the next time you think, "I should totally buy the person behind me in the drive thru their coffee!"  Do it.  You'll make their day.  And while you're at it, tell the ones you love that you do.

What have you done lately to follow through on your generous impulses?

I'm Pretty Much Mexican

So if I could describe this weekend in 2 words I think I'd go with Mexican and blurry.  Am I proud of that?  Eh.  Friday's HHH was a pretty epic one.  The bro and soon to be sis-in-law made their first ever appearance and it was excellent!  We, of course, had a Cinco de Mayo theme going and I made sure to sample every type of beverage that was available.  The rest of the attendees were pretty standard, with the exception of a couple of first timers!  All in all, I think everyone had a good time.  Some people I may not remember everything that happened that night, but I checked my texts the next morning and didn't find anything incriminating so I think I'm good.  If I don't remember it doesn't count…right?  So there were some photo ops and maybe a couple videos were taken.  To the person that requested a dance party…that's funny, and I will never take post a video of that shit, even when it does happen (it has before).  Also, my friends (and family) are the greatest.

 

The rest of the weekend continued the Mexican theme, I was down.  I went on my second blind date ever and I'm proud to say that I, once again, did not get shanked or roofied.  2/2 motherfuckersss!  I'm happy to say I made a new friend and we had talked so much prior to our super caliente date that it wasn't the least bit awkward.  I think she asked me via text to go out again…and I think I said yes.  Like I said before, blurry weekend!  So to clear the air…Melissa, would you like to go out on a second date?  Check yes or no.

I also did a little shopping this weekend.  I know I know, you're super surprised.  So, here's the story.  I have to attend some bridal luncheon thing (what the fuck is that?) and I wanted to get a cute dress for it.  So I ordered one online.  Well, you'll see in the picture below that the sumbitch clings in ALL the wrong places.  As in, that portion of my stomach that jiggles when I brush my teeth.  So I panicked and I don't wanna wear spanx (a. because of the additional investment b. because it feels like fucking cheating).  Soooo I maybe bought another option, because Chelsea made me and it was too comfortable not to.  But I also have a plan in place.  This bridal luncheon thing is on May 31st…a friend and I have a challenge in place to see how much of that jiggly stomach portion I can knock down this month.  I'd post the before pictures, but I don't want to.  We'll see what happens.

 

How was yourrrrr Cinco de Mayo?

WIW + Losing Weight Ain't Cheap!

So I feel like a little bit of a cheater for this week's weigh in Wednesday.  I had some kinda stomach something or other that had me feeling like absolute death the past day and a half.  On Monday all I ate was a breakfast sandwich and a PBJ and on Tuesday I had chicken broth, white rice, applesauce and a shit load of gatorade.  So needless to say, my weigh in results are probably a bit skewed.  I'm posting em anyway, but not with all that much pride.  I like it better when the # goes down after I eat and exercise, but whatev.  Oh and thank you to all you nice people that send me get better messages on the ol' instagram!  Made my day!  Oh yeah and so did a little facetime from this handsome man!

So I'm down 2.7 and weighing in at 141.5.  Holy shit that's close to 140.

Ok don't hate me, but I'm getting annoyed at dressing myself.  I want to look nice but I feel like I buy stuff and it's too big after I've worn it a few times.  Do I just look frumpy and wear baggy shit or do I convince my hubs that we need to devote a portion of my paycheck to my cute clothing obsession?  I may or may not have a serious obsession with colored pants.  I've gone through blue, red and yellow…and now I'm in cranberry and coral land.  Do I want every color of the rainbow?  You bet your ass I do.  Do I want to buy a shit load of pants now and not fit into them later?  No way José (that's Joe in Spanish).

Not as much of an issue with the tops and let's be honest, I don't wear dresses.  This pants problem is getting a little annoying though.  I find myself having to wash and dry things even when they aren't dirty so that they'll fit better.  A clothing swap type thing could be cool.  I don't really know how that works though.  And I lose my pants often enough that who the fuck knows if I could find them to actually mail them to you.  Maybe I'm not the best candidate for a clothing swap.  Are a lot of you running into the same problem though?  Also, I'd send you my size 8 jeans from LOFT but I spilled red wine on them while trying to open a bottle with my keys.  Needless to say, I succeeded.

Random, but you may have read this post where I had a few beers and decided to tell my parents about my online shenanigans.  Well, I recently (and soberly thankyouverymuch) grew a pair and decided to tell my brother and soon to be sis-in-law about it.  I'll admit, I was a little nervous…you know that approval that you kind of want but don't always say you want from a sibling?  Yeah, I wanted that.  Lucky for me, they're both pretty cool and were about as encouraging as they could possibly be!  Lots of exclamation points.  Gotta love the ones that support ya!  Also, it helps that Lauren probably takes more selfies than I do and doesn't have a blog.  She's cute though, so you can't blame her.  Hell, let's be honest, they both are.

Shoe update:  Went for a pre-death walk with Chelsea on Monday night, I think it ended up around 2.5 miles.  Still no pain on the shoes!  Wahoo!

Hope you're having a great hump day!  You better be making HHH plans for Friday and they better be Cinco de Mayo themed!  Just sayin!