Angry exercise

I assume if you are awake you are angry about something.  I know I am.  

This anger easily manifests itself when I exercise – luckily I am in the privacy of my home when my anger regimen begins. As you know – for me – the gym sucks.  

I don’t consciously think about children and animals that are abused, intolerance, dirty water, hate crimes, sweet hungry faces around the world – instead I listen to the most awful music and run like a crazy person on my treadmill, punching in the air and screwing my face up in revolution.  Hey – eff you world!

F-bombs, sexual innuendos, angry women, angry men, vulgarity, poor choices, great beats, and general screw-you-ness all make up my perfect exercise playlist.   

The sweat pours down and that makes me angry too, because exercising sucks.  But at the end I feel calm, happy, and energized – all that anger and tension is spent. 

If you are angry about anything take it out on a tennis ball, a yoga mat, your bicycle, your stairs.  Exercise buys me time of less tiredness.  Sometimes I only go 5 minutes and sometime I go for an hour (just the one time in '98) – I don’t judge myself though because judgement  sucks – yeah! Fist in the air!! 

Something to be angry about just in case you have nothing:

not the end of the world, but not cool either  -  p.s. I have no idea if this fact is true or where this picture came from, so you could also be angry about negligent bloggers like me

Yeah!! my shorts are going to look great on me because of all the crappy things in this world! 

best Tired Girl bra

The best Tired Girl bra -

This is it! 

I won’t go in to all the many reasons why this bra is the BEST.  I will let you infer it all – just to be ladylike in an almost public forum. But I will say that I have spent $60 on a bra before and they have nothing on this one.

Comfort, cuteness, price, comfort, shape, comfort, washability, versatility, comfort.  Done.  

I also like the looks of this one and this one. I prefer a nude color most of the time as I wear a lot of white tops.

Here are some bra jokes:

http://www.little-doodles.blogspot.com/

Stupid adulthood -

My husband and I once overheard an awesome conversation that went like this:

Husband: while you were out I moved the coffee table and vacuumed the whole living room.

Wife: well you don’t get a medal because I do that kind of thing every day.

Awesome.  My husband and I love this, so we often, laughingly, say to each other – “well you don’t get a medal!!”  And even though we don’t (get a medal) we still routinely announce our accomplishments to each other.  
I took out the trash!
I cleaned Ralphie’s ears!
I erased the old voicemails! 
I vacuumed!  
The words – “you don’t get a medal” are our own weird private joke prize to reward each other.  We love it!!

The other night though my husband sweetly said to me:.  “I know I don’t get a medal, but I unloaded the dishwasher.”  (P.S. Unloading the dishwasher is the MOST DREADED task in our house – We. Hate. It.)  And I said to him – knowing how pooped he was from the day and how much we both avoid that chore. “Are you kidding!! You do get a medal – that is awesome!”   Because it was, and so I guess sometimes we DO get a medal.

As stupid as this may sound I understand that as adults we don’t get a reward for doing things we should do, but we should reward ourselves sometimes anyway.

Watch puppy videos on youtube, walk the aisles of Target, peruse ebay for a used Maserati, waste time, plan a sewing project you will get to in two years. Give yourself a stinking medal sometimes because being an adult is exhausting. 

I have shared some of the "medals" I give myself:

How do you reward yourself?  Tell me so I will get more good ideas.

This Girl Needs a Nap

My Friend Vanessa sent this to me - I think we all need one!  

I also want this -

Tired Girl Family Room Decor

Dogs and kids and adults and snacks are all things that leave smudges.  I won’t tell the story about how we own the sofas we own, but if I got to pick out any sofa in the whole world it would entail washable slipcovers.  

That’s not what I have though.  So I bought two quilt/sham sets to cover my sofas.  They get washed, they get rumpled, they get dog hair on them, they get dog slobber, they get cheez-it crumbs, they get pulled off, they get washed and they go again.  When company comes over I can either a) yank them off to reveal clean, mostly hairless, sofa underneath – suitable for guests to sit on;  or I can b) yank off my grubby set and throw on a freshly washed set suitable for guests to sit on.

Will I win décor awards for my stunning use of a quilt and sham? Not likely.  But for this Tired Girl this is a way to have a still nice looking family room that is also completely livable and realistic. 

I have included breathtakingly beautiful photos. I did not straighten the quilts before photographing so you can see that they do look dishevelled when it’s just us, but if I feel so inclined I can straighten them.

I have two complete sets. I was lucky to find quilt and sham sets – less expensive than piece-mealing.  I bought two queen sized quilt sets – as we have two sofas. I fold the loveseat quilt in half – that way it doesn’t matter what blanket goes on what sofa – no thinking involved.  

I bought the first set at Target years ago and the second set more recently – super on sale – at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I like my new set because it has a pattern. I hope you don’t get grossed out by this, but the pattern doesn’t show anything – so a little dog slobber and we don’t have to stare at a spot until I wash it.  I assume some of you are judging me right now.

I believe my last two statements about this electrifying topic are: 

    1) Think about your washer before you purchase – mine is a frontload and not very big, so I can’t squeeze very fluffy or very heavy quilts/blankets in – and since I wash about every other week I needed them to wash and dry easily,

        2) When I pull a set off I pretty much immediately wash and dry it, that way if I need to pull the next set off in an emergency (guests or a spill or something) I have the next set ready to go. 

      

I think I hear Elle Decor and Architectural Digest calling - at the same time - they want in on this.

       

Proactiv and good skin -

I feel like if you have all the basics of your body healthy then you can look tired, or be wearing something whackadoodle, or have skipped your make up, or have doctored your hair up, and you still look pretty good.  

Healthy skin, healthy hair, healthy body, healthy teeth.

I never had acne, but do have breakouts (sometimes pretty bad) and I have combination skin which just means your skin is never happy no matter what.  Cranky skin.  

I have used Proactiv for years and had success with it.  Proactiv is possibly quite toxic  - maybe – I don’t know!!  But just in case, I did not want to be addicted to any one product so I have worked to wean my face off of it.  I still use it about once or twice a week just to keep my face happy.  I love to barely put on makeup on a daily basis and the key to this for me is having lovely, clear, healthy skin.  I would like to add radiant and glowing skin, but as Tired Girls know – we don’t always get to claim a glow.

If some brilliant person out there wants to invent a acne fighting and wrinkle reducing skin care line then sign me up.  How jerky is it that I should have to think about both wrinkles and breakouts at once. 

On the days I don’t use Proactiv, I use a Clarins orange scrub, an all-natural toner and/or a face wash, and the “Say Yes to Cucumbers” daily moisturizer. 

P-90x is all about “muscle confusion” – keeping your muscles guessing. So I am all about “skin confusion” my skin doesn’t know what’s going on so it can’t break out or look old.

And this way I can run to the store and not need much makeup to cover up too many trouble areas. Looking nice when I feel tired makes me less tired.  

When I was in college and lived with all girls for four years it was so fun to see what products everyone used and you could easily try something without having to buy.  It's not quite so fun to look around my husband's products as mostly there aren't any. These are the things that work for me - just sharing:

my three face washes - I use the Rafa Natural Clarifying Cleanser with my Clarisonic

my toners and moisturizers - the Clarins Hydra Quench is wonderful

Clarisonic review -

When my friend Gabby moved to Florida she decided to buy expensive sunglasses – polarized.  

The salesmen asked her if she “wanted her future son’s friends to hit on her?”

Of course she answered yes – if for no other reason, but to hear more.  He went on to explain how the right sunglasses don’t make you squint, and if you don’t squint you don’t get wrinkles, and if you don’t get wrinkles – well you know where this is going.

Sold!!

So when fellow Tired Girl Ashley shared this Tired Girl beauty and skin tip with me I thought of the idea that salesmen was selling – you can’t put a price on looking young.

Here are her words:

I recently broke my tendency to be cheap with beauty products and splurged on the Clarisonic Mia 2 facial brush. Around $140 on Amazon. I have tried the Olay spin brush - no comparison, don’t waste the money.  My skin was great during pregnancy, but terrible before! I was always fighting the hormonal breakouts. Now that I am no longer pregnant and my skin started to turn back to the dark side, I needed something quick! Being a new mom, I no longer have time to fuss around with the war on acne, makeup and multi-step skin care. So I bought the brush, my reasoning was, if my skin is completely clean of makeup and dirt at the end of the day, then the less likely my pores will clog up and combine with my hormones causing acne.

So far I am right! With this brush, once a day (evening shower) for a few seconds with a mild cleanser, is all it takes to improve your skin! Pat has even noticed my overall skin improvement acne and texture. The other plus, is that my skins texture is so improved, that putting makeup on is also a breeze and only takes seconds. I also look forward to and enjoy the feeling of getting my skin super clean.  I used to fuss around with products to help my skin, taking so much time cleanse, cream, mask, facials etc. not to mention nit picking my makeup and concealing techniques!  I no longer waste time on all these steps, although if I had time I would enjoy a facial :)

I received a Clarisonic for Christmas and I agree with Ashley. Just 100% agree. I use this wash with my Clarisonic: .  The Clarisonic is a bit pricey – maybe has gone down after Christmas – but you can’t put a price on your skin care.  Well you totally can, but this is worth it. Sell something to buy this.  Don’t you want your future son’s friends to hit on you?  I know that is totally creepy – but you get the idea. 

Don't BE a Mrs. Robinson, but just look fabulous forever. I wanted to find a  fun picture, but I had to do my actual work. Booooo.  This is a stock image of a Clarisonic.

Roasted chicken thighs -

And another favorite recipe – Roasted chicken thighs.  When you say something has been “roasted” (not simply cooked) it is immediately BETTER.

Preheat oven to 400, then line a brownie pan with foil (I just can’t quit you foil).  Rinse off 2 packets of chicken thighs (any kind – bone in, bone out, skin on – doesn’t matter).  

I dry them off (important) and place them in lined pan.  

Drizzle olive oil on them and sprinkle kosher salt (any salt will do – I like kosher salt) and then take your hand and rub the olive oil and salt all over all of them – both sides – make sure they are coated.

Wash your hands well and throw those babies in the oven, even if it isn’t heated up yet.  

It probably is better to wait till it’s preheated (probably makes them better or something), but I don’t want to wait so I just put them in.  

Set a timer for 30 minutes (disclaimer: I am terrible with numbers – never remember what temp I cook on or how long – sometimes I make it up as I go each time).  20-30 minutes is a good enough time to check on the thighs, but probably will cook longer - maybe - I don't know!

I start my water to boil for brown rice (I actually do this while I prep the chicken - brown rice takes about 50 minutes) and rinse off pre-cut veggies, put them in a glass dish, sprinkle salt on them and set in the microwave ready to cook when the time comes. 

I neaten up the kitchen, clear off the table and then I can cruise off and look at my mail (ugh!), call a friend, put in a load of laundry, sit there and stare of into space, or shop for fabric online on fabric.com.

The timer will tell me when I have to do something else.  The chicken will probably be done before the brown rice, but it can just sit and cool a bit. Once I pull the chicken out I cook my veggies in the microwave, and start making up plates.  

Clean up is minimal and taste and health are maximum for this one.

Raw chicken is not a great look - should have taken the picture when they were cooked and actually appetizing. 

Tired Girl outfits -

I have a few sweatshirts, lounge pants and slippers that I live in when I feel most tired, (which as you know is most the time).  When I worked away from home these clothes were on me within minutes of my arrival home.  They are the kind of clothes that their sheer existence relaxes me, and yet their style simply does not exist. They are perfectly wonderful for wearing in the presence of people that love you, or when you are alone, but they are the type that  you hope no one drives by when you slough out to get the mail in them.  Now that I work from home there are days that these items are worn all day as my actual "outfit" (yikes). 

Sweatshirts seem to be the key for me. I would wear a sweatshirt that read " I heart sweatshirt" instead of any cool band or prestigious college,  if it had been properly washed, worn and was ill-fitting (way too big), to look almost offensive. 

I did branch out and buy a few "cuter" sweatshirts this fall.  They are my special occasion lounge wear, my "I feel especially gorgeous" sweatshirts.

I have added a blurry photo of my sweatshirt today. I did not add a photo of  my Ugg's (which I also incidentally am attached to), because even though they are only seen on my feet in the photo they are still especially unphotogenic. 

Does anyone else out there tear their clothes off when they get home and put on lovable, horrible, comfy clothing?  I have not tried this one, but I like the looks of it. 

Sweatshirt love