Blast it! Thwarted again!

Yeah...remember that goal of mine to walk 2 miles a day? Hasn't happened. The treadmill was flanked by a piano that we are storing here for my sister and I couldn't get around it to plug it in. Plus, I've been taking it slow this week. This week was kind of a rough week with my fibromyalgia.

Today, lo and behold, my brother-in-law and his brother-in-law come by to pick up the piano. And take the treadmill, too. I whine to my father about how I was going to use that and he tells me to use the bike he bought (he purchased a recumbant bike). Yeah, but it doesn't burn as many calories and it's mind numbing! So, now I get to use the recumbant bicycle to exercise instead. I was going to just do yoga in there (works great for my fibromyalgia, btw, doesn't make me sore), but the bike takes up all the room in there. So ride the bike I will! Good thing I got myself 2 iPods (long story) to keep me entertained while I'm peddling away!

Oh, yeah. Fair warning to my fellow curlies: Until my hair grows out and I can wear it curly all the time again and until I get back into school, this blog is going to cover just about whatever I want to talk about, which lately, seems to be fibromyalgia, since mine is acting up. Sorry, Charlie! Keep checking and I'll let you know from time to time how the hair is doing and when I'm back in school!

For your information, I recently purchased some curly hair products from CURLS. I tried the trial size of CURLS Gel-les'c (the products I purchased can be found at www.curls.biz) and my hair seemed to like it, which it doesn't seem to like anything I have in my very extensive arsenal of products. So I ordered the Children's version of most of the products as they're cheaper and seem to be the same product. I bought the cream cleanser, coconut conditioner, hair tea, moisture spray and Gel-lec's (pronounced Jealousy...lame, I know). I'll keep you posted on how it goes. I think it's time for a protein boost. Might do that tomorrow followed by a DT. I've been neglecting my hair lately, gotta get on top of that!

So...bottom line. Exercise starts Monday. Recumbant bike for at least an hour. Maybe for the duration of a movie, depends on how out of shape I really am. I know I'm severely overweight, but I think I'm still pretty fit. Guess we'll find out!

Halloween

I'd just like to state for the record that I really don't like Halloween. I think it's a lame holiday and usually just crash that night (hence me posting on here instead of being out at a party). This year, working for a new company, they celebrate Halloween. I mean, celebrate! We had a potluck lunch (soup was provided, chili and clam chowder, yum!), where everybody brought something (had way too much food, btw) and people dressed up. They were giving away prizes for most authentic and funniest costume.

So, I figured I'd dress up. I had an idea. I have a weird obsession with Marie Antoinette. I don't know why, but she fascinates me. And it doesn't help that I have a French woman in my office who tells me more about French history, it's great! Anyhow, I had an idea...my sister has a Marie Antoinette-esque dress that she bought when she was going to get married the first time (called it off and couldn't ever sell the dress). I text her and ask her if I can use it. She says it probably won't fit. I say I want to at least try on the dress. So her husband drops it by the house and I'm able to try it on. Yep, it doesn't fit, BUT it laces up the back. I have a nude tank top that I can wear that actually matches the gold embroidery and we can lace me up without zipping it up. Brilliant, right?

So I start searching for wigs. They're all sold out. Then I realize that my cousin had a Marie Antoinette wig from a Masquerade Ball from a couple years ago (maybe 2?). So I text her and ask her if she'll send me the wig. She did and I got it Wednesday. It's perfect, exactly what I wanted!

Since Halloween was on Saturday this year, we all dressed up on Friday. It was a pretty unproductive day and I lived to rue my choice of costume.

First of all, this is a wedding dress. It's heavy as all getout! It has a hooped skirt (which was interesting trying to get into my car and drive), and it's too long, since my sister is taller than me. It has a train that we tried to pin up with a couple safety pins. This did not last, so I ended up dragging the train around me and feeling like Scarlett O'Hara when I would get up to go anywhere, because I would grab one of the hoops and lift up the skirt of the dress to walk.

People were awed. People told my I was insane (which I realized about the time I got in my car), but I was determined to win one of the awards! So I went to work with a sideline trip to a grocery store where people were awed and said my costume was awesome (I did not have the wig on as yet). My arm movements are restricted and I'm laced up a little tight (thank goodness I did not live back then and have to wear a corset!). This is going to be an interesting day at work.

Have you ever tried to sit in an office chair with a "Gone With the Wind" hoop skirt and 30 pounds of dress on? No? I have! It's nigh to impossible! Once I got in my seat, I pretty much stayed there. The safety pins on the train popped and started poking me in the derriere. We tried to fix it, but they just couldn't hold the weight of the material. So now I'm walking around with a train. I put on the wig as everybody starts to drop by and man, is it hot! I start to sweat, which makes my makeup start to wear off a bit, so I take off the wig until pictures.

Management comes around and takes pictures of everybody who dressed up. If I can get a copy of them, I'll try and post those, too!

Around 12, my mom arrives with my contribution to the potluck (cornbread muffins, in case anybody was wondering) and a change of wardrobe. So my friend unlaces me and I am now comfy-cozy in a pair of jeans and a button-down men's shirt and a hat (the wig totally ruined the hairdo).

The good news is I totally won one of the awards! A $25 gift card to Applebee's. When I texted my cousin to let her know what I won, she replied with "Well, let them eat cake," a famously quoted phrase that Marie Antoinette allegedly said to starving French people. There is huge controversy as to whether or not she actually said it, but I wasn't witty enough to actually think to say that when I got my prize!

So, to those who wanted to know how the costume turned out, I give you pictures. I was going to paint my lips, too, but they were all chapped and it just wasn't going to happen. The necklace is real, a gift from my grandmother. I thought it an appropriate accessory. I was going to wear all my rings, but forgot them. Oh, well.

Job, Hair and other boring happenings in life

Yes, that's right. My life has been pretty boring. Mostly because by the time I'm finished with work, I'm so mentally exhausted I literally go home and crash out. Now, this job isn't hard, it just takes so much mental energy to remember all the rules and I'm dealing with 15+ different rules and regulations each day.

I do have a friend that is amazing and makes work so much more fun and we have a grand old time. Thanks to Julie for keeping me sane when I'm about to lose it!

Work is going great. I've had a few unavoidable absences, so they're giving me a probation before being hired on. That's fine. I deserve it. I need to prove that I can be at work and be productive. They deserve that proof. I've got pills to help me over most of the issues that prevented me from getting to work before, so I'll take my pills and get myself to work.

I've made some very interesting aquaitances at work. I wouldn't quite call them friends because we just go out on smoke breaks. Yes, I take smoke breaks with the smokers. Otherwise, I don't get breaks. And it turns out to be the most hilarious breaks ever in existence! I love my smoke break buddies, they're just too fun!

There is a lady at work who is from France. I love her. She is so funny! I wish I had more direct contact with her. She's across the way from me and every once in a while, she'll drop by just to chat. I love that about her. She's actually interested in me and my life and will genuinely talk to me for the few minutes until I have to get back to work. She's amazing, too! Love her!

Did I mention that I really like my job? It's exhausting, just because the fibromyalgia tires me and I sit all day looking at a computer. I don't get up a whole lot like I used to at old jobs, so I get stiff, then everybody asks me if I'm okay. I admit, this transition has been hard and days have been rough. I think I've come in to work without makeup more often that with. I need to get it together.

So I have a plan:

Exercise. Yup, the best help for Fibromyalgia is exercise. Imagine that! We have a treadmill at the house, have for years. Do I use it? No. Rumor is my sister is going to take it to walk on while she's pregnant, but it hasn't disappeared yet, so I'm going to use it. My goal? 2 miles every day. Yes, it's very little, I know. But I have to be very careful not to overdo. I will increase as I feel like I can handle what I've got.

Next, Hair. My hair has been a nightmare. It's still toasted from the bleach. So I went to my stylist that I met at the school I had been going to and asked her to do whatever she could to get as much damage off as possible. She tried a very sharp a-line, but it just wasn't working, so she cut it into a very trendy asymetrical very short bob. it's like a long pixie cut in back with my hair coming to a point just in front of my ears. Very cute and everybody says it looks cute. I can wear my hair curly again (thank the heavens!), but it's a little wild yet. I might try straightening it and seeing how it goes. I love the cut, though. My stylist (Chelsey at Landis Salon in Bountiful) did an amazing job. I'll try and style it tomorrow and post the pic. It's really fun and when I actually where makeup, it's edgy, which is very fun for me, since I've always been quite conservative.

Last. Boring happenings. Nothing much going on, except for work and trying to get my hair back to normal. I'm reading a pretty riveting book that got me hooked off a TV Series. I'm not even sure what channel it's on or if it's even aired in the US. I know it's filmed in New Zealand. The bad guy in the TV series is actually one of the elf lords from The Lord of The Rings movies. This book series is 12 books! Holy commitment! I'm on the third book. Turns out the TV series is not so much like the book. I'm hoping I'll find the connection in further books. For those of you interested, the TV series is called The Legend of the Seeker. And the book series I believe is called the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind (I think). Very intriguing, but not for young adults.

So...Sorry for not posting more often, but after staring at a computer screen for 8 hours a day, the last thing I want to do is come home and look at a computer again! I'll try to be better about posting.