Just some girlie links

I came across these on Networked blogs today:

Herbs n' Oils

The Holistic Diva

Cathy's Natural Remedies

Vintage + Goodness = Happiness

Now back to networked blogs to add this blog.

Green Living and Clothes Disposal

I do give my unwanted clothes to places like Goodwill, but have to admit I'd never thought beyond the impact of clothing and recylcing, etc. Here's some good info
NRDC: Natural Resources Defense Council site about this topic.

The Hair Styler

I tried out The Hair Styler and I was pretty disappointed. The site lets you upload a photo and then try on different hair styles and colors. The first problem was that it was hard to get my head to fit right into the template (maybe I have a weird head?). Second and worse is that none of the hair looks like it does in the photo you click. Often times the color is different and it looks more like a drawing than actual hair.

Anyhow, I won't be choosing a new hair style or color using that. I looked horrible in every single one!

My latest thrift store bargain

How could I resist that adorable ceramic cup set for $3? I couldn't.

Kind of girlie stuff

For those of you from other parts of the country and world -- that is a Navajo Taco. That one is fry bread with beans, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Normally they also contain ground beef and red chili rather than green, but I prefer no meat with green. Fry bread is a wonderful thing. Luckily it is not something you find everywhere, not even in NM. Aside from the tacos it is yummy with just honey. If you have ever had a sopapilla, it is like that only not as puffed and much bigger.

Anyhow, we spent part of the day at the Wild West Antique Show, at the fairgrounds. That is kind of a girly thing, but plenty of men like antiquing -- including mine.

Normally I like to buy trade beads at this annual show, but since I haven't beaded in ages -- I bought nothing other than food. Oh, I still would have bought beads if I found any really unique trade beads, but I didn't. A couple years back I bought a strand of rattlesnake rattles and I still need to make those into something because they are awesome!

Britton talked me into sitting on a bull to have a photo taken. Actually, I am glad he talked me into it because it was fun and I can now say that I have rode a bull. :-)

Exercise -- an excuse to shop!

So after almost a week away from "the spa" (due to the dog bite) I went back on Sunday. Any weight I had lost that previous week I had managed to gain back. Not that it was any surprise. On the bright side, my neck and back still feel great from swimming.

I swam enough laps last night that my arms are actually a little sore. I am going to see if I can lose those few pounds again this week.

Something I discovered now that I am "working out" -- sports bras are wonderful! Much more comfortable than most regular bras. I have been wearing them everywhere lately. I didn't know that some come with actual cups. Seriously, I love them!

Of course, I had to buy more yoga clothes and I have ordered a couple more swimsuits. Now I just need some new shoes. I am not a big fan of athletic shoes, but surely I can find some that I like. After all, they are shoes and I have never had a problem finding shoes that I want to buy. :-)

Love Your Thighs

Searching for vintage ads and images for my
Pulp Jello blog (nice plug, huh?) I found a blog I like called Formerly Fun. I really liked this post:
"> Ode to Thighs, with great vintage pics as well as a terrific poem.

Trapped at home

As some may know from Facebook or one of my other blogs, my dog was not feeling well Sunday night and I was messing around with her and ended up with a nip right on the face. Really was totally my fault, she went without eating for two days and I should have known how bad she felt. She is now better, but I have a couple teeth marks and a swollen face. Since it is right below my eye, it looks (to those that don't notice the teeth marks) like someone hit me. In fact, I even received an email from someone on facebook that was concerned that the dog story was a cover. That is why I haven't left the house since Sunday -- people automatically think things like that and I don't want to have to explain to everyone I meet what happened. I certainly don't want people to waste time worrying about me when there are women out there in abusive relationships that actually need people to be concerned about them. It is very irritating because normally I don't care what people think, but I do care that they might think I would put up with a relationship like that. Not sure exactly why, but it really bothers me that someone might think that.

Anyhow, so I have been trapped here at home and it sucks! I told Britton to bring back some food when he went out earlier and he brought back TV Dinners. I know he was trying to be nice, thinking that way I wouldn't have to cook, but I would rather make a 12 course meal than eat that crap! I didn't eat it. I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

I miss the spa and swimming too! Surely my face will look good enough by Friday to swim a bit and be around for happy hour. :-)

Free eclairs at the health club!

So after 5 days of swimming a few other activities I finally weighed myself again. I was happy to discover that I had lost 3 lbs! However, I then stayed for the "tennis party" and probably gained it all back. Yes, there at the health club they had trays of fattening food. Seafood salad, chicken salad, veggies with ranch dip and so on. Worst of all though, they had these fabulous dessert trays with one of my favorite things - eclairs! I had a chocolate one and a caramel one, oh, and a fruit torte too. Mind you, they were about 1/3 the size of regular eclairs and tortes (maybe even smaller), but likely I should have only had one. Did I mention the wine? Bottles and bottles of it. I probably drank down 3 glasses before we left. No, I didn't bother to weigh myself again. :-)

The miracle of swimming!

I didn't join a gym (health club or whatever you want to call it) for anything other than hoping to lose a few pounds. Yes, there was that day when I got dressed, looked in the mirror and asked that age old question (to myself), does this make me look fat? Well, immediately I realized that it didn't make me look fat, it merely didn't cover where I am fat well enough.

That was probably 2 years ago. I have quite a lot of exercise equipment here at the house and thought I would quickly work it off. The problem with exercising at home is that there is always something to distract you and keep you from actually doing it. So I ended up doing it for a few minutes, maybe once a week or not at all.

So last Monday, we joined a very nice - I would even say swanky - health club. This health club is right at the base of the mountains, with a beautiful view and a huge outdoor pool. As hot as it has been we were immediately attracted to the outdoor pool. So for the past 3 days I have been swimming. Well, swimming is really an overstatement. I have been paddling around for about an hour a day. Just from 3 days of that (though actually two because I noticed it yesterday) something miraculous happened. No, I didn't lose the extra 10 - 20 lbs. What happened is that the constant pain in my neck, that I have had since a car accident several years ago, has totally disappeared. The pain in my back, that I have had for even more years, has decreased by at least 70%.

Seriously, I have been taking 2 -3 Advil tablets at least 3 times a day for years. The past two days I have taken 1 dose and that was when it was pouring rain and really super humid -- which totally freaks out my back. I can even turn my neck without it sounding like I just poured milk on a bowl of Rice Crispies! Truly, I am amazed!

OK, now if I can just lose a bit of weight I will be even happier. However, even if I don't lose a pound I will be there, paddling around. Exercise really does do a body good!