As I Turn 40

This is a hard post for me to write.

I will be 40 in a few months.  It's hard to believe.  Here is a photo of me and my maternal grandmother, taken at Easter.  She will be 99 in July.  My dad is 83 and only just starting to slow down. So 40 isn't even halfway in my family.  I've got great genes.  I shouldn't be too concerned, right?

I attended a party on Memorial Day where all the other women were about my age, but shapely, tanned, well-dressed and well-manicured.  I felt like a white, sloppy lump of blubber.  Did I mention it was a boat outing and we were all in bathing suits???  I thought it was just going to be our friends and the kids, so I wore my usual garb: JCPenny brand swim suit, baggy shorts, faded K-Mart tank top and flip-flops the dog chewed at the edges.  I didn't do much with my hair, just pulled it back in a barette and hid it under a ball cap. I figured there was no point in fussing, because we'd be swimming anyway.  I didn't know that the host had also invited a bunch of lawyers from his office!  I was mortified.  But it really got me thinking about my physical shell.  The so-called house of my spirit.  It needs some maintenance.

Due to my sedentary lifestyle and love of food, I am slightly overweight, medically-speaking. In layman's terms - I look like a mommy.  I am always tired, my back and neck ache all the time, and my fingers don't grasp things the way they should due to excessive computer use.  So I constantly drop things - shampoo bottles, coffee cups, pens.  I guzzle coffee the way an SUV guzzles gas.

This must change.

I have to cut down on the caffeine as it puts me at risk for osteoporosis.  But in order to do that, I have to figure out how to wake up feeling refreshed instead of tired.  In order to sleep better, I need to exercise more. In order to exercise, I need to reorganize my time.  This means spending my summer planning for my classes in the fall, so that I'm not staying up late at night doing lessons when school starts.

I also need to finish that novel and get it out of my head and out of my life. Time to "Just Do It."  I need to get over my perfectionism and start producing results.

I've never been a disciplined person, but it's time to grow up and smell the coffee.

No, wait!  I mean, not smell the coffee. I mean, the herbal tea.  Yeah, that's it. (Right.)

I also want to start pampering myself a little more with things other than food.  Bubble bath.  I love bubble bath!  Especially that eucalyptus-mint stress relief scent from Bath and Body works. 




So, here are my goals:
  1. Better sleep
  2. More exercise
  3. Eat healthier
  4. Be better organized
  5. Pamper myself
  6. FINISH THE DARN BOOK!!!!!

I will post my progress every week or so, because I need to keep myself accountable. I know this may not be terribly interesting for you to read about, but I feel I need to do it.  So, thank you for listening and for your support.