Save the drama for your...Barbie?

Hey y'all!  It's been a crazy couple of weeks.  To start, I need a round of applause for this doll right here, because I quit smoking again.  (So did Jennifer Aniston.)  It's been a week, I feel great, a little concerned about the inevitable weight gain of a couple pounds, and I plan to start running again soon.  Not that I've really been taking a break from working out - I finally found a gym that I love that is not outrageously pricey, and I am currently having trouble standing up, sitting down, and walking in general because of one particularly difficult class I took yesterday.  Barbies and weights don't get along, but we are learning to be around each other without "one of us" stomping off in a fit of anger and exhaustion.  I plan on attempting it again tomorrow, along with a yoga class taught by a friend from my esthetics classes.  I am also not a yoga person.  I'm guessing you can tell by now that if I'm not bouncing around, I'm not happy.  And that applies to my life too.  My new job as a receptionist at a salon is going fantastically - plenty of bouncing around.

We've also been getting ready for Halloween around here - the original plan was to be characters from the Wizard of Oz, but as that plan has fallen through, we are officially dressing up as a lion and a ringmaster.  My ringmaster costume came in the mail, and surprise, surprise, the teeny tiny polyester skirt covers, well, just about half of my disproportionately perky ass.  Luckily, I was able to find black tutus yesterday at Wal-Mart, but only in kid's sizes.  I bought two, just in case some sewing was required, because at $5 apiece, and with two nieces, I had nothing to lose, but to my shock, they fit (given, I snapped a few threads in the elastic putting them on), and layered strategically, the length is much more appropriate than the skintight black number that came with my costume.  So, since that ordeal has been dealt with, I am moving on to planning our makeup, my favorite part.

On another note, a picture of the new Tokidoki Barbie doll.

I think she is adorable, but she has caused quite a bit of controversy.  Barbies were made to encourage little girls' imaginations pertaining to their own futures, therefore they are made to look like different versions of "grown-ups".  If parents think this doll is an inappropriate role model for their children, the purchase is up to them.  If Mattel takes this doll off the shelves because of the controversy, what is next?  Wash-off tattoos?  (I secretly get a kick out of the spiky puppy's name - Bastardino.  Is it too late to rename my two-year-old pomeranian?)  I also kind of want her outfit.  Next year's Halloween costume?  I've always needed an excuse for a pink wig.

What a week.

Hey dolls!  So sorry for being M.I.A. but seriously, I'm going to put my excuses in list format because they are many and legit.

1.  Monday:  A hair appointment, a fabulous run (almost 5 miles in 45 minutes, a first for me), and the news that I'd already found a new job as a receptionist at a salon were followed by a heinous migraine resulting in bed rest until the following morning.

2.  Tuesday:  Anyone who has had a migraine can probably relate to the "hangover" the next day.  Unfortunately this hangover occurred on the first day of my new job, which also lasted around ten hours.  However, as bad as I felt, I absolutely LOVE it, but was thoroughly exhausted by the time I arrived home.  I slept better than I have in months, though.

3.  Wednesday:  Ken drove me to the doctor an hour and a half away to have an I.U.D. inserted.  (I hope that's not too much information because it is necessary to this particular excuse.)  We were in a pretty big city, so we had a really fun afternoon planned after my appointment, but all that was ruined because I was in horrible pain despite the Valium the very thoughtful nurses gave me.  I have a newfound respect for women who have babies, because that is as close to contractions as I can even imagine getting.  Luckily for me and Ken, we now have up to five years before we have to worry about babies because of this day of cramps.  I spent the afternoon sleeping off the pain.

4.  Thursday:  Day two of my job went even better than the first, thanks to the agony of the migraine and the I.U.D. both being gone, but it was yet another ten hour workday (please understand dolls, I have never really worked, so ten hours is a long day for me) so I was asleep almost before I got home.

Poor Barbie in the real world.

So, except for Monday, I haven't run all week and I've definitely eaten myself silly (because Ben & Jerry's Half Baked goes really well with that poor little ol' me attitude), but I've taken today to whip myself back into shape.  Well, I didn't run because after taking a few days off, it's awfully hard to get back into it, but I will Monday, promise.  Not only did I clean my house, I gave myself a facial and a manicure and pedicure with O.P.I.'s Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees Suede (a gorgeous matte-finish shimmering charcoal), did my brows, whitened my teeth, exfoliated, shaved, deep conditioned and blew out my hair, fake baked, and moisturized, all to my own relief, not to mention my husband, who has stood by me, bless his heart, throughout this horrible and simultaneously wonderful week.

Here's to an amazing weekend and an even better week.

XOXO

Bittersweet.

I was let go from my job of two and a half years today.  I've worked in a little Vietnamese-run nail and tanning shop for what seems like a lifetime, and I am pretty heartbroken.  It was time, inevitable really, because a bigger nail shop came to our little town and stole all of our customers.  "My people" have become like family to me, so even though I knew it was coming, I cried a little.

However, I am two weeks away from having my Esthetician license and being on the hunt for my first real job.  I am allowing myself tonight to feel sorry for myself, drink vodka tonics, pig out, and do some online window shopping, before I start thinking of this as a mini-vacation prior to beginning my life as an adult.  The next couple of weeks are going to be all about preparation for my career as a professional beautify-er.

Bring on the research, cover letters, and resumes.  And I might even do something to my hair.  Because I can multitask like that.