The Old Lady

I know you have all heard one version or another of a joke about the old lady staring back at you from the mirror, right? Who IS she? Or more sanely, when did THIS happen? I had a long phone chat with my sister yesterday and this was the main topic of conversation, brought to the forefront by her impending birthday tomorrow. I let her rant and rave because I know exactly what she is talking about. She is mid-forties. I am latter forties. I have been there, the early to mid-forty point where you first start noticing an old lady replacing your image in the mirror. She also jumps in front of you whenever a camera snaps your picture. Annoying old hag.

This is all new for my sister. She is devastated that her size 2's no longer fit no matter how much she diets. Do I sound bitter? Well, I try not to be, but the fact is that I have never fit into a size 2 even during the thinnest times of my life. My bone structure alone is bigger than a 2. But its all relative. A larger size IS a larger size no matter how low the number. I know what she is talking about. I feel her pain.

I try not to interject even more misery by warning her of even worse things to come.
I KNOW the weight gain and the strange things happening to skin and facial features and body parts is awful. You think its the end of the world....you know you do.
But whats worse than that is the aches and pains that start to creep in. Now you not only feel UGLY, but you HURT! Bones creak, joints ache, stiffness changes the way you walk....Oh wait, Christ almighty, I am starting to depress myself....LOL!!

Anyway, its an uphill battle. You can't win the war. I am starting to make peace with that. You have to figure out how to make peace with it or it will kill you. She is depressed right now, but I have faith that she will find a way to accept what is and just move on with it. Diet and exercise are extremely important. These things can do a LOT for how you feel, and how you handle the aches and the stiffness. But no amount of obsessive compulsive work out will stop the clock, so.....? My advice to her is this: Do what you can to insure your health and after that? Just be kind to yourself. Love yourself and love and accept what is. Yes its new and different. By the time you get used to it, there will be something else (maybe worse?) to face. Its a never-ending process and no amount of food deprivation or surgery or exercise can ever make any of us look like we are in our 20's again. Its a fact. Either its going to kill you or you can find a way to get over it and let it be whatever its going to be. I am trying to take my own advice. Its simple, really, but it is NOT all that easy.

Lately

Lately I don't have the stomach for violent movies. I don't remember it bothering me so much before. It seems like every movie that comes in from Netflix or on one movie channel or another is nothing but non-stop explosions, gun fire, and people beating the hell out of each other. Its almost the same as watching the news. What is going on?
Is it art imitating life? Life imitating art? Confusing. I think I am going on a violence fast. It will limit my choices as far as television goes and I most likely won't be able to keep up with current events, but it just feels right.

Its All Good

Everything is fine around here. Nothing to report, nothing to complain about. Its hard to write a blog when things are pretty much boring. Although, in all honesty, I have come to appreciate boring. Boring means no drama, and no trauma. That has to be a good thing, right?

Party Dog

This adorable party dog is here to wish Hannia a VERY happy Birthday today!

You have WHAT?

One of my co-workers is sick with the flu. He went to the Dr. this morning after having been sick for most of this week. He tested positive for the actual FLU, was told to go home and go to bed, and for what ever reason came on in and worked anyway. What the heck is that all about? Its not a matter of your being a martyr, of showing your total dedication to the company in spite of the dangers to your health and well-being. Its a health hazard to the rest of us, and I do NOT appreciate that at all. Flu epidemics could be effectively nipped in the bud if people would just use a little common sense and consideration for others and stay HOME! Its highly contagious. The rest of us do NOT want it. The same goes for colds too, but at least those, while uncomfortable and unpleasant, are not as dangerous. Still...if you are running a fever, are coughing, sneezing, and spraying phlegm and mucus all over the place...PLEASE, for the love of God and all things holy just STAY! HOME!

Anyway, I was so angry to have to work next to flu man today. I avoided contact as much as I could. And just in case it does any good at all, I stopped by Rite-Aid and bought some Airborne tablets. Hopefully I won't catch anything. And if I do? While I will be tempted to SUE flu man for careless endangerment...one thing is for certain. I will NOT be at work spreading my plague to unsuspecting innocent bystanders. Geez. Can you tell this bothers the hell out of me? I really do think he wants a medal for his dedication and I just think its stupid and reckless.

Days like this

I had high hopes for the day. I was off of work, finally, a make up day for working Saturday. I was going to take it easy, run a few errands leisurely, and maybe catch up on laundry. It just wasn't meant to be. I found out a close friend of mine was sicker than we thought. She just had surgery, and knew she had thyroid cancer. Her Dr. informed her today that it was stage 2, which is more serious and more advanced than anybody thought. It tore my nerves to pieces. I feel so bad for her, and her family, and all of us who love her. I am going to have to pull myself together, and be strong so she won't have to look at me being all weepy and sad. We need to keep a positive outlook and I WILL do that. The news just knocked the breath out of me for a little while.

Somehow, while I was still reeling from that phone call, somebody stole my bluetooth ear bud. I was in Target, feeling flustered and distracted and took it out of my ear to ....I don't know....compose myself maybe? But somebody swiped it and even though I looked and searched, asked the front desk, and walked around with my phone on because the bluetooth was still ON and should pop up on my phone screen if I came within range of it....it was all to no avail. Its gone. I should have been paying more attention. I am going to miss it because I use that thing every single day. I never talk on the phone while driving unless I have that. Oh well....it was probably 4 years old. Maybe I can find another one I like just as much as I liked that one.

After that I didn't even finish the errands I intended to. I just wanted to come on home. And I did. I walked right in to find a cat (Probably Bitty, but I am speculating) had turned over a whole large bottle of liquid laundry detergent. I had failed to screw the cap back on completely and there was sticky detergent all OVER the laundry room floor. It took me forever, mopping it and going over it with a rag at least half a dozen times (maybe more) before I got all of that up. On the bright side, my laundry room floor is really REALLY clean.

Valentine's Eve

We celebrated early this year since work is interfering with going out tomorrow. We saw a movie (Just Do It) and had dinner. Nothing over the top, but we wanted to pay homage to the day. The movie (with Jennifer Anniston and Adam Sandler) is not going to win any major awards, but it was light and funny with a sweet ending. Perfect for the holiday. It was nice to have an afternoon out just doing something fun.

I have been reading a little bit of history for Valentine's Day and although there are quite a few variations of the story, almost all of them end with St. Valentine being beheaded on February 14th. How awful is that? The version that made the most sense to me was the one depicting St. Valentine as a Roman priest during the empire of Claudius II (known as Claudius the Cruel). Marriage and engagements had been banned in Rome for a period of time because Claudius believed that he would be able to recruit more able-bodied men for his army if there were no wives and children to get in the way (clearly not thinking ahead for future generations of soldiers so besides being cruel, Claudius must have also been short-sighted). St. Valentine (not actually a saint until after his untimely death) still believed in love and was marrying couples on the sly behind the Roman government's back. He paid for it with his life. So it IS a romantic story in a way. Just with a sad ending.

But whatever you do, whether you celebrate the day or not....have a great week ahead.