January | 2014 | BulgingButtons

Did you catch The Biggest Loser last night? It was makeover week. The week where the remaining contestants, some of whom have lost over 100 pounds, get a professional makeover and see themselves in a new light. Tim Gunn of Project Runway does the wardrobe, and puts in his two cents about how fabulous everyone is, and some big name hair guy oversees color and cut. At the end of it all these folks looked fantastic, and they got to show off their new looks to their happy families.

Now I have to say, this is a fine looking group of people to begin with. The network chose them carefully, and they didn’t pick anyone who wasn’t handsome or pretty, even with the extra weight. They had plenty to work with, if the casting call I attended a while back was any indication. Hundreds of people wait for hours just to be glanced at for a moment at these calls. People also submit videos of themselves pleading their cases. Yes, there are a lot of fat people willing to sweat it out in front of a national audience. These are the ones who were picked and managed to stick around long enough to make it to makeover week. Good for them. It isn’t easy.

I would love to have my own makeover week. I would love to have a day when I grab some hot outfit off a rack in a size I haven’t seen since high school or earlier, and look in the mirror astounded. I would love some top notch stylist to study my features and hair and design a style that brings out the best in both. I would love to see a new version of the old me. But the thing is, those contestants earned that makeover day. They didn’t just stroll in with a credit card and buy it. They earned it with workout after workout, fruits and vegetables, sweat and tears. Good for them.

I hope to earn my makeover day sometime in the not so distant future. I want to feel that I deserve it too.

Yesterday was a wonderful day off from school in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It was a beautiful day in my desert southwest city, and my son, my mother, and I took full advantage of it. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch on a restaurant patio, then worked it off hiking around our Desert Botanical Gardens. They had both seen the Chihuly glass installation there the last time around (son was in 5th grade then, now he’s in 10th), and it was fun to see how it differed from last time.

We soaked up the sunshine and warm weather, marveled at the beauty of the glass, and logged a couple of miles of desert hiking (well, strolling anyway). We entered the huts on the grounds that showed how the ancient people lived, and we inhaled the scents of lavender and sage. We read the signs, posed for pictures, and chatted with other visitors. It was a magnificent day. All on a Monday.

That means today feels like a Monday all over again. It’s time to jump in the shower and face the work week. It’s time to teach some new vocabulary, work on the skill of summarizing text, and try once again to demystify the world of fractions. Somehow I don’t feel up to the task. I feel ill prepared, although I’ve done my lesson plans and reviewed the week’s material. I just don’t feel ready. I feel like a need another weekend. Is that bad?

I’m not getting one though, at least not for four days. Oh, Four days. Well, that doesn’t sound so bad. Yes, I can do this. I’m certain I can. Wish me luck. I’m off to fraction hell.