NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION TIME!

Hello and Happy Last Day of 2019!

Okay, my resolution results for this year were mixed. that means I'm wiser, (read here, OLDER), and I'm ready to make better, (more attainable), resolutions that I am going to work hard to keep (I'm going to dumb down the resolutions so far that I'll barely have to get off the couch to complete them.)

1)  Less focus on steps, more focus on active minutes.

So last year I wanted to up my daily steps to 12,000.  And I wound up tearing a tendon in my foot.  So this year, it's going to be less about getting steps every day and more about being active. And no, I don't mean I'm just going to spend an hour shaking my left wrist so I get active minutes while I'm sitting in a chair.  (I've done that.  You really feel dirty the first couple times you do it.  Also, your left arms starts to ache a lot.)  This year, yes, I will still have a step goal of 10,000 a day, but I'm also going to look at alternative exercises.  It won't just be about the treadmill. I've got Wii Fit. I've got a punching bag and free weights. Let's get some upper body work done!  Less stress on the feet.

2) Less bread all around!

One of the things I did last year was give up bread and any bread products (anything I would spread butter on) up for Lent.  That actually had a really good effect on a number of blood tests I had done this year.  But, in the last few months, I find myself eating more bread and crackers and the like.  Now, I'm not positive it's the bread, it might be the butter as well, but either way, for 2020 my goal is the really make eating bread a rare thing as opposed to something I do every day.

3) Accept the gift 

One of the things I put on my birthday/Christmas wish list to my family was that they get me a cleaning service so that I had time and energy to write more.  Well, hubby didn't hire anyone, he took on many of the household chores himself.  (He already did all the vacuuming and made sure we have clean sheets.)  I, however, have a difficult time accepting this gift and taking time to write. Instead, I still allow household chores to suck up my energy.  I need, in 2020, to make writing a real priority and accept that I've married a prince who is being super helpful!

4)  Stop using the credit cards!

This is a big one. My entire adult life I've struggled with credit card debt.  It's shocking, really, how normal I seem until you see my balances. But this year, while I'm not going to get them all paid off, my goal is to stop using them until I get them under control!  If I'm successful, this will have a profound effect on my weight as well, since I probably won't be eating nearly as much.  This is probably going to be the hardest one to keep, especially at first, since I'm in that nasty cycle of using credit to pay for stuff because I don't have cash because I'm paying credit card bills.  Oooooh, but I have Kohl's cash...and Amazon is just right there...and wouldn't it be fun to go to Half Price Books this weekend?

The struggle continues.

5) Let go. Let God.

The past year or two I've had a real spiritual crisis.  Those of you who know me well know where I struggle, especially when it comes to family.  I inherited my mother's ability to worry myself into sickness.  (Not her great metabolism, no. Her ability to worry, that I get.) Now, as we close out 2019, I feel like some of the issues contributing to my lack of or dormant faith are lifting. I see some major changes in that direction in 2020.  It's my hope that I learn to stop stressing and let God work in His time.  (Last year I resolved to be more patient.  That didn't quite work. So we're going with "let's worry less."  Maybe if I'm less worried I'll be less cranky.) This will be a struggle because I've been a "fixer" in addition to being a worrier.  I've found there are some things I simply cannot fix, and I'm pretty sure it's because God, in His infinite sense of humor, decided it was time for me to learn that lesson.  So, more prayer.  

And finally: On my wedding day, my mother-in-law told me to never mend underwear.  She said, "If you're that desperate for money, I'll send you the $1.59 and you can buy new underwear, but don't bother trying to mend it."  (For the record, I've never taken her up on this offer.)

Her words make so much sense to me now. Don't bother mending the underwear. Don't stress about stuff the just doesn't matter.  Put your energy into what will make your life, and the lives around you, better.  Don't let others drag you down with their petty nonsense.   You can spend a lot of time and energy trying fix some things and in the end they won't stay fixed. They'll fall down, rip, sag, and still be gross in the end.

The problems and ugliness of 2019 is our old, ratty underwear.   Let's all resolve, right now, to get rid of that old, nasty stuff with the rotted elastic and get new, fresh, nice fitting underwear for 2020. 

And the world will be a better place.

Victoria may have a secret...but I don't!

Good morning!

WARNING!  Today's blog deals with women's underwear...more specifically...mine.  This blog is not suitable for any of my Sunday School students!  


You've been warned.  

Since the dawn of forever, I've been wearing one basic style of underwear.  I think it's called "High cut briefs" but honestly, I think that's just a marketing ploy for those of us not willing to admit that we wear the dreaded "Granny panties."

I know, I know, underwear is supposed to be sexy.  It's also supposed to match.  My mother trained me to wear bras and panties that matched in color.  (True, we wore pretty much only black or white, but still, they matched.)  

I don't know when it happened, but I'm going to guess right about the time the kids started picking out their own underwear  (and if you haven't watched your teens pick out underwear, I suggest you go on that outing this weekend.  It will horrify and amuse you...sort of like watching Captain Nubbin try to do anything work related on the computer.)  but at some point I sort of gave up.  I started buying these high cut briefs because they didn't ride up and they were comfortable.  I've never been a thong person.  I've got relatives and friends who tell me thongs are so comfortable no matter what size you are, but, come on.  I do all the household laundry.  If I wear thongs, I'll know where they've been and really I don't want to be handling THAT!

The pic on the right...that's not me, but those could be my panties!

A few weeks ago I decided I was going to try something new.  At 46 I'm in a weird place.  I'm really not too old to be trying new stuff, but then again, I'm not young enough to say, "Hey, let's do something crazy!" I decided to try a totally different style of underwear.

But which style to choose?  I mean, in the world of women's underwear there are half dozen completely different styles...at least half dozen.  That's what I was able to find at my local department store.  I know the thong is right out, but I could go back to the bikini I used to wear in college.  Or maybe 

Just to name a few...

a string bikini, you know, not quite thong, not quite covering anything?  I could go the other direction completely and go full on granny pantie.  

I settled on a style I'd never ever worn before:  The boy short.  I had a friend once who liked the boy short because even though she was fluffy, and the boy shorts were basically wider than they were long, they were still comfortable.

Also,the men in my house wear those boxer briefs all the time and they like them.  (I'm more apt to take underwear advice from Skippy and Hubby because, let's face it, they're closer to m y size than Peaches, who is tiny enough to be able to enjoy any style of underwear she chooses.  

I ordered the boy shorts from Amazon, mostly because I hate going underwear shopping so online is just faster and simpler.  I ordered the size that I've been wearing for a couple years, the size that matched what I thought my hips were.

I got them, and tried them on...and I don't know if you've ever just tried on underwear, but it's sort of like trying on swimsuits.  I always think it's going to look like it does on the model or the mannequin, but then I remember it's on my lumpy body...

The boy shorts fit okay, sort of drooped a bit in the back where my booty is about five sizes too big to be "bootylicious."  Then I put pants on.

I sort of expected pantie lines because the legs aren't elastic, but I didn't get pantie lines at all. It felt like I was way more covered than normal, like I had shorts on under my shorts.

What I like to think I
look like.

And let me tell you, every time I used the loo, I felt a little naughty, especially at work, because wearing those shorts feels like I'm actually wearing jammies under my clothes.  Since I don't often feel all that naughty, this is sort of a thrill for me.

How sad is my life?

I will say this:  Either I've lost some weight I'm not aware of, or my hips aren't quite as large as I thought because these shorts are really loose and when I buy them again I'll have to get a size smaller.  Another win!

Bigger fun, I put on the black ones and managed one day to coordinate them with a black bra.  Hubby was impressed, although not exactly the way I thought he'd be.  His comment:  "Are you trying out for the part of the first dead body in a horror movie?"

"I'm sorry?"  says I.

"It's always the hot chick in matching underwear that gets killed first," says he.

Good save. That's why we've stayed together almost 28 years.

All in all, this time out, change is good.  Good, comfortable, and a tiny bit naughty!