Food | BulgingButtons

January 22, 2014
by BulgingButtons 13 Comments

Makeover Week

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.

January 21, 2014
by BulgingButtons 6 Comments

Feeling Kind of Monday

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.

January 6, 2014
by BulgingButtons 7 Comments

The Twelfth Day of Christmas – And Boy Do I Feel Fat

My sweetheart gave me a little history of Christmas and the Epiphany today as we took the Christmas lights off the garage. The lesson continued on the way to dinner at Kona Grill. You see, I just got back from Hawai’i and there’s really no food in the house, so dinner out was in order. My sweetie suggested Kona Grill to extend that Hawaiian feeling.

The lesson was fascinating and I learned about the Twelve Days of Christmas. I also learned that the Christmas season is now officially over, if you count all twelve days. Over. Done. Finished.

Kind of like my vacation. Today was the first day back to school, and it was a long one. Today we tried out a slightly new schedule, regrouped students for both math and reading, and began the study of fractions and magnets. I also had a new student start today, and I worked on report cards after school for two hours. They are not yet finished. Yes, vacation is over. Done. Finished.

This is not a boo hoo, poor me post. I’m very fortunate and I know it. Few people get to take off two weeks in the middle of winter and escape to Hawai’i with loved ones. Few people get to take off two weeks in the middle of winter, period. I enjoyed the time off and I especially enjoyed the trip, but now it’s over and real life has returned.

Real life means bills and laundry and bedtimes and deadlines. It also means a reality check on the state of my health and well being. Mental health? Great. Rested, relaxed, batteries charged and ready to go. Physical health? Uh… not so great. No, I’m not sick (cross fingers, knock on wood, chant a magical incantation, anything to keep me well). However, and this is a big however, I’m not in very good shape either. The holidays and the cruise were delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed them. Now, though, after our fabulous Kona Grill dinner, I have to face the music that, like Christmas, vacation is over. Vacation mode eating needs to end too.

I’m not enthusiastic about facing the scale, but I feel like I have to. I know I’ve gained weight. I see it. I feel it. My clothes are tight, my face has rounded out even further, and my multiple chins are wiggling whenever I speak. Rolling over in bed is becoming paramount to an Olympic event, and tying my shoes is enough to get me winded. I hate this feeling. Ok, so maybe my mental health isn’t quite as fabulous as I first suggested. Just like Jacob Marley I wish to be free of the chains I’ve been forging in this life. To quote Scrooge, “I want to live!”

It’s time to start over. Not those absurd New Year’s Resolutions that some people make, but the baby steps that always lead me in the right direction. I need to revisit my 47 for 47 challenge page, eat better, move more, and allow myself to be ok with who I am, even though I’m not perfect. Here we go again. Here’s to your, and my, health in the New Year.