5 posts in 1

I had a few posts going in my head over the weekend, but none of them amounted to one substantial piece, so I am combining my ideas into this totally random post...enjoy

1. I wake up at 5:20 AM on the dot. No matter what time I went to sleep the night before, I am awake at 5:20 AM. No matter if M is awake or not, I am awake at 5:20 AM. No matter if I threw back some cocktails the night before, I am awake at the God awful hour of 5:20 AM. I used to tell stories about how M did this - no matter what time we put her down, she was up at 5:45 - and now somehow I have become my daughter.

Now, I am the type of person that needs their 8 hours of sleep. Never have I been one to sleep in late in the morning (I consider 8 AM late) but I absolutely hate to be woken up in the morning before I am ready to get up. So this new pattern (has been about 2 weeks now) is driving me insane. I am not waking up refreshed and ready to take on the day, I am waking up cranky, with puffy bags under my eyes, which does not make for a pleasant Mama J the rest of the day...I have tried a pillow over my head, eye masks, different temperatures and different pajamas, and even on nights away in a different bed, without my husband (let me clear this up that it was at my parent's house, not with another man :), the same thing happened. I don't like it one bit. Give me until 6, and then I will be a happy camper

2. I only shave above the knee once a week. This behavior started the creation of a post about how I am old, but the more I thought about it it has nothing to do with getting old, it is just sheer laziness. I no longer wear anything that shows off above my knee (more on that below), so why shave above it? When I have an inkling my husband and I might fool around, of course I take care of the ladyscaping (which now sadly includes upper leg-al area) and what not, but on regular days, I just don't have the time or energy to shave above my knee.

I never thought twice about this, until this weekend when I was in yoga pants, that I had rolled up over my knee, and sitting on the floor with M. I happen to have an itch behind my left knee and while I scratched it I noticed that I had long black hair back there. I yelped in disgust at my discovery of what looked like my husbands hairy chest behind my knee, and ran into the bathroom to immediately shave  the back and upper portion of my leg. I think from now on I will shave my entire leg all the time...I think.

3. I shop at old lady stores. Ok, so Coldwater Creek isn't necessarily an "old lady" store per-se, but it has been my Nana's favorite store for like 20 years now, therefore it is an old lady store to me. I remember Nana sending my catalogs of it in the mail with things circled that she thought I might like, and me being horrified that she would think I would ever like anything of the sort! And this past Saturday I was not only in a Coldwater Creek, but I purchased two pairs of old lady shorts. Now in my defense, I got the least looking old lady shorts they had in there (holy crap where there some high waisted mom-jean pants in there, and yes I tried them on).

Yes, they have come a long way in the last 10 years, but I was still horrified to find that the only shorts I actually liked (after trying many pairs on at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and J.Crew) were from Coldwater Creek. I guess because my idea of shorts now is a Bermuda short that goes to right above the knee, and not shorts that are so low they show my ass crack and are so high my hairy thighs are hanging out for all to see. What is next, Chicos? Actually, I have already been in there and seen some cute things...who am I???

4. I am a binge eater and a yo-yo dieter. Now don't be thinking I have an eating disorder, I just like food - a little too much. In January I went on Weight Watchers, and within 2 months had lost 15 pounds. I was very good at counting points, and was working out a lot (which is the key to my weight loss success always). But then, like always, I love the way I look after the loss (eventhough I had 10 more pounds to go) so I cheat here and there, and skip working out because "wow I look good, I don't have to be as hard on myself as I was!" I also started doing the "I need to eat this entire bag of pretzels so they aren't in the house anymore," and found myself eating much more than I had been the last few months.

Fast forward to today, and I have gained back 5 pounds, and worked out today for the first time in 2 weeks. I guess this could go have gone into the "lazy" post as well. Today marks another start to Weight Watchers, with the hopes of dropping those 10 pounds, in addition to the 5 that I gained back in the last 4 months. I am freaking starving right now...

5. I have become my mother.  For my entire life people have told me "wow, you look exactly like your mother," and for some reason I hated hearing it when I was little. I wanted to be my own person, not her little clone, like everyone always said. I have always struggled with our similarities, both physical and mental, but lately I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing I can do...I have become my mother. Sometimes I feel like we even share a brain, as she will say something out loud right after I think it.

And to further prove it, this weekend my husband actually stopped me mid sentence and said "honey, you sound exactly like your mother right now." My first instinct was to walk across the room and slap him, but I thought about it for a second, and holy crap did I sound just like my mother in that instance. And probably many other instances, but you know what? I am cool with it. She is a very cool, magical lady, and although she can't keep her mouth shut for longer than a minute (this have yet to inherit thankfully), I am proud to be compared to her! And thankfully I married somene as gentle and kind as my father (and very easy going, which my father is not :), so we have a good chance of being married at least 37 years like them!