A Letter From A Woman In Her Workout Clothes To Other Women in the Grocery Store

[Note: A few days ago, I read this article titled A Letter From A Working Mother to A Stay At Home Mother (and Vice Versa). It was a great read that really nailed on the head a lot of things women don't wanna say to each other...or maybe do...or maybe it's just stays unspoken. But either way, conveyed much respect and love, and I enjoyed it. So much so, it inspired this post below...with a slight variation on a slightly different topic.]

Dear Other Women in the Grocery Store:

I see you glance over at me in the Harris Teeter. First of all, I know right now all you see are sweet potatoes, bananas, cabbage, romaine lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers. Because, well, they are what's visible on top of the cart. But I am not the "only health food all the time" mom that you may think I am. Come a little closer, and you will see the Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish, the Easy Mac, the Cheddar Chex Mix and the croutons at the bottom of my cart. You just don't see them because of the way I navigate through the store. Inner aisles first, outer aisles last. Not trying to hide them. Just have my system.

I know I am wearing stretch pants, my Zumba tank top, and my hair is in a crazy sweaty ponytail. I don't look like this because I want to brag to everyone that I just worked out. I look like this because I have 28.2 seconds today to squeeze in all my errands, and this was my next stop. No time to go home to shower and change. That will happen later, after I make one more stop at Target and before I have to run to my kid's Valentines Dance and then to my other kid's birthday party.  Working out was something I had to schedule in today. In fact, I have to schedule it in most days. Because life is busy, I get busy, but I know it's something that needs to happen. So, it gets added to the calendar and then subsequently gets checked off the To Do List.

And I do kinda enjoy it.

I didn't always enjoy it. In fact, for a looooong time, I didn't even do it.

I tried a few things. Found a few things I didn't like, or I guess I should say, things that didn't really EXCITE me. And then I found the things that I did like.

I used to look at women in the grocery store and think "Really?  Could your pants be any tighter? Could you not have gone home and changed?"

And the best excuse I had for myself: "I can't workout before going out today, because I won't have time to shower and what if I see someone from high school at the Teeter today? I cannot look all nasty and sweaty."

But, then I realized I didn't care. I didn't need to care. And I didn't want to care anymore.

My health was more important than whether or not my eyelashes were curled or I was wearing my cute new boots while running my errands in public.

So, Women in the Grocery Store, who is staring a bit too long and comparing our carts and our attire. Please know, I was you two-ish years ago. I had all the excuses in the book. Memorized, cued up, and ready to use.

But, guess what? I only have 24 hours in the day just like you do.

But I learned how to make the most of those 24 hours.

And I have more energy than I have ever had. I eat better than I ever did (Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish aside). And I don't freak out when I run into someone I know when I am "less than presentable." Because, honestly, I am sure they saw a picture of me wearing make up and those cute boots at some point on Facebook anyway.

I'm rooting for you, Other Woman in the Grocery Store. I know you are just at the start of your weight-loss/healthy living journey. Make that leap to the next level. No judgement from me. All love and support. We women have to stick together because we are raising the next generation of women. And it's our job to stop the judgement and encourage the understanding.

And let me know if you wanna come shimmy and shake with me.

There's no judgement there either.

Love from the produce aisle,
Woman In Her Workout Clothes

Some snow days and some not-so-snow days...

This post is waaaaay late but my phone crashed and I lost some pictures, but luckily they were saved on BlogPress in a blog draft.

But then BlogPress started acting kooky and it took me WEEKS to recover this post and figure out what pictures were actually on this post.

If my memory serves me correctly, these were from the first "snow." The "snow" that now, after seeing the second snow, was not really that big of a snow to begin with.

But anyways...some pictures.

We laughed when we dusted off the Wii Fit and realized it had been a "while" since Chad had been on it.

And we updated all of our Mii's and celebrated that everyone was in a "healthy" weight range.

Jake and Brooklyn face-timed with each other...from down the hall.

And I actually picked up a book and started reading again.

And Brooklyn wanted to join me...


Note: Since that first snow, I actually kept reading that book and went on to the 2nd and 3rd book in that series. They are fantastic! (Definitely very "Hunger Games-ish.")

Once the weather cleared, we met my favorite niece for some Mexican.

Jake perfected all of his faces.

Brooklyn continued her love for Hasbro games from Christmas....and spanked me at some Life.

Once Jake returned to school, he showed me the "class rocket."

Some time in there, I escaped the house, and my Zumba sister, Sarah, and I went out to dinner...

I think this was all the end of January/beginning of February....but dates are fuzzy....and I am reminded why I blog because if I can't remember these things after 3 weeks, I am doomed for any long term recollection.

Hope everyone is having a great week! We are loving the sunshine here, and I just wish it were here to stay!

Snowmageddon 2014: Day 3, A Quick Re-cap

In the last 48 hours...

# of pairs of flannel pants worn: 3
# of times I made a Pinterest recipe: 4...nope...wait...5.
# of recipes I pinned on Pinterest: 23
# of Curious George episodes watched: 21
# of crock pot meals made: 2
# of crock pots used at one time: 2
# of times the dishwasher was loaded and unloaded: 4
# of snowmen made at our house: 1
# of people who built said snowman: 1 (#luckyme)
# of snowmen named Olaf that I saw on Facebook: 7
# of times I checked the weather radar on my phone: 81
# of books bought on my Nook: 2
# of books read: 1.5
# of times the sled was used: 2
# of sleds cracked & thrown away : 1
# of loads of laundry done: 4
# of Frozen songs downloaded to my iPhone: 3
# of minutes spent shoveling the driveway: 64
# of calories burned shoveling driveway: 324
# of times I cursed gathering together all our tax information: 0 (#smallvictories)

Oh, and Happy Valentine's day! Hubs and I are celebrating by each taking time to leave the house today. Alone. :-)

Snowmageddon 2014: Day 2, what I've wanted to say all day on Facebook

Being home for over 30 hours, I could have been tempted to spend a lot of time on Facebook. But much to my waistline's dismay, I've been on Pinterest and in the kitchen instead. And actually read a book.

But had I been on Facebook, here is what my status's would have read all day long:

I recently found karaoke songs on iTunes. This cannot be good. You have been warned.

(Upon realizing tonight is Thursday) YES! Honey Boo Boo and Myrtle Manor are on tonight. Don't judge me.

Does anyone else hate wasting a "good bra" when just hanging out at home wearing pajama pants?

#snOMG. I'm over it.

Each member of the family now has their own Netflix profile and corresponding list. #whathappenswhenatypeApersongetssnowedin

Why is it that Brooklyn can write all her valentines and address each member of her class from memory, yet I can't remember what I decided to make for dinner tonight?

Snowed in with a pantry full of snacks and an active paypal account. I'm in trouble.

All my Pinterest snacks and crafts require the same ingredients. I'm going with the snacks. #snowedinproblems

And a picture. Cause I did remember to take another one today.




Here's hoping we bust out of this joint tomorrow!

Snowmageddon: Day 1, Hour 1

I got home from work at 1pm. It's now 2:28 as I sit and type this. In one hour we have run around in the falling snow, thrown snowballs, complained about cold necks and wet gloves, made hot chocolate, made chocolate chip cookies, said the hot chocolate was yucky and wanted goldfish and apple juice instead, swept up spilled m&ms, seen a meltdown from the kid who you would not expect a meltdown from, had a long talk about meltdowns, loaded the dishwasher, prepped for dinner, and marveled at how much mess can be made when the whole family's home for just an hour.

Hour two started with an episode of Curious George on Netflix and a hot shower for mom.

But at least I got some pictures this time around.

'Tis the Season for Thin Mints

Winter time at the Girl Scout office can only mean one thing....COOKIES!

And it means that I get to wear sweatpants to work. :-)

It's the happiest time of the year!


And the time where I get some great exercise at the office running up and down this trailer.


So, be on the lookout for some cute Girl Scouts in your neighborhoods and grocery stores. And buy a box. Or 5.