Sunday, March 31, 2013

Good haircuts -


You hair is an accessory that you wear every day.
This is an accessory I like to ignore for possibly days at a time and since I still want to look cute and not like a wild animal, I take the time to get a really good haircut.  

I highly recommend a good haircut (and color if you are in to that - which I am) and when I say “good” I mean “quality” which could then translate to “pricey.”

I have had a “good” (read: “pricey”) haircut at times and even though it looked great when I washed, dried and did it – if I didn’t do all three of those things each day it would look like crap. And since I am known to choose ugliness over doing my hair some days I have learned to get a more “wash and wear” hairdo. 

So now my “good” haircut really is. It is versatile – looks nice clean or not so clean, looks nice when I “do” it, and looks nice simply just washed – not even dried.  It hangs well and is acceptable at any stage. For me, having a little bit longer hair (past my shoulders), makes for lower maintenance - so don't assume shorter or simpler is necessarily easier.

I have also had cheapy haircuts – even in the exact style that I know works for me – and sadly, it just never looks quite as good – the ends don’t look as nice as long and need more attention.
I would rather spend more, get more, go less often, and look better longer. And my stylist gives me wine so that's worth a smidge too.

P.S. I also highly recommend skipping the idea of highlighting your own hair.  Just go with me on this. Coloring all your hair at once – may be okay, but highlights? No.  Is this a job for professionals? Yes.


This lady may be my new Ryan Gosling "hey girl".  If you haven't seen the original video of her or the autotunes one it's worth your time.  Here is a link to an all-in-one video: http://youtu.be/Nh7UgAprdpM

This is an oldy but a goody - this is me in the Summer.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Tired Girl ab workout -


I actually HAVE been doing a mini abs workout.  

Two weeks ago I shared this image from a friend:



 And this post:  http://www.thetiredgirl.com/2013/03/gym-poster-life-change.html

The image (and swimsuit season) got me thinking about my abs as well.

So what I've been doing:
I lay flat on my couch and reach my hands above my head to hold on to the arm of the couch. I keep my legs together and lift both legs in the air bending at the waist. I lower them (but not all the way) and repeat. 

I like this because it's an exercise that truly involves laying on your couch.  Watching tv, getting my abs awesome (maybe), watching more tv.  I think it only involves some of your ab muscles, but I'm okay with that for now.

It hurts like crap so I am either injuring myself or about to get ripped (or realistically somewhere in the middle). I do three reps of between 10-15 and each time I do just one extra crunch - to push myself - so I have better tomorrow of course (see image).  

Unfortunately when you push yourself physically you have a more painful tomorrow - the poster left that out. 

Here are some possibly ill-conceived images of me demonstrating these super complicated moves. I put a  filter on them to make them more interesting and less weirdly personal.




















If you know that this is a terrible way to work your abs, or these moves will permanently injure me - please let me know so that I can stop. 

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Don't be too perfect -


Don’t be too perfect – nobody likes that person. This one is easy for me. 

I think it’s nice not to be too prefect (easy for me).  You can show up at a party and look great, make people feel special, be sweet, bring yummy food, dress cute and laugh at other people’s stories, but just be a little late (easy for me), or be on time, but bring store bought cookies (easy for me) or bring yummy cookies, be on time, but maybe your eyebrows are wild and need professional help (easy for me).  

I don’t have to consciously do any of these things – they all happen naturally for me. 

Give people something to show that you are not perfect (easy for me) and therefore human and therefore more likable and charming and you don’t have it all figured out (easy for me). 

The point I am making very indirectly is: don’t be too hard on yourself because no one expects or likes perfection anyway.  Nobody likes that perfect person. 

On a side note - Whatever you do don't ever google image search the words "perfect girl" for ideas for a visual for your blog - you will be very disappointed at the amount of porn that appears.  So I made this image instead- an imperfect photo of me wearing a bib. 



Thursday, March 21, 2013

Jeans make an outfit -

Jeans make an outfit.  That is a totally dumb sentence, but I strangely think about it often.

Are you wearing comfy clothes (read: pajamas) at 2pm and your dog is barking and you have to go get him in the yard, but the people he is barking at will see you have comfy clothes (pajamas) on at 2pm and this feels embarrassing? No?  This happens to me all the time. 

My solution is: jeans make an outfit.

A sweatshirt*,  lounge pants,  uggs = pajamas.
A sweatshirt*,  JEANS,  uggs = outfit.

Have to run to Target? Let the cable guy in?  Look like an adult who is ready to take on the day?
How to look immediately presentable? Jeans.

Inane I know, but I am sharing anyway.  This is where the pajama jeans come in I suppose. 


These girls have it all figured it out.  Luckily I don't wear fur vests or tiara headbands that often - so I don't have to worry about working that in to my pajama outfits


*bra optional

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Dr. Tired Girl -


Tired Girls benefit from having a doctor that they have an established relationship with.  Not a walk-in clinic where the staff does not know you, but a doctor with a practice.  

I recommend this because there will inevitably be times that you are WAY sick, and in my experience the doctors that know you can do many helpful things:

1) Call in a prescription for you (hooray!!)
2) Work you in to see the doctor that day (or that minute - no waiting)
3) Know what medications did not work for you in the past or what other situations you have
4) Possibly care about your well-being in the long-term

I assume some of you never get sick -  so whatever (I’m glaring at you right now), but for those that do, or have kids that do, it saves me lots of energy and pain to have an established doctor that I like and trust.

Oh crud – tough talk coming at you now:  Don’t wait until you are sick to find someone though.  

Get recommendations from friends and go in for a wellness check-up to establish yourself as a patient.  I know that sounds like a miserable way to spend an afternoon and a $20 co-pay, so obviously you don’t have to.  But by laying the ground work early, when you get the swine flu, regular flu, pink eye and a bladder infection all at once and while on vacation in San Francisco (raise your hand if you have had it all come at you at the same time before) you will have an immediate resource (a valuable Tired Girl tool). 

Sooooo, if you weren’t tired before, you are now, because that was pretty dull. 

Make sure the doctor you choose isn't a Muppet.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Gym poster life change -

A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook page last week.  I'm pretty sure the guy in this pic is talking about his abs, which is cool for him.
this dude's version of pushing harder MAY be different than my version


Unlike many things on Facebook that we scroll over, this really stuck with me, but not in relation to my abs (poor abs - so neglected*). 

Every day, because of this quote, I pushed just a little bit harder at different parts of my day to have a better tomorrow - even if it was something like read a few more pages in my book at night before falling asleep (I have a huge stack of books I want to read and it's hard to get through them when I fall asleep after one page OR accidentally shop for shoes on my ipad instead of reading any of them). 

 I won't bore you, with the laundry list of things I worked harder at - you would really understand what a Tired Girl I am if I told you, and possibly think my existence was small, or that I am a weensy bit koo-koobeans or something. So just assume I pushed harder at mastering existentialism or something kick-ass like that. 

I just thought I'd share this, in case this gym poster changed your whole life, like it may have changed mine. 

*Ab workout is on the to-do list that I lost.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Junk emails -


I have a junk mail email address. It’s the address I don’t check often, but the one I give to Anne Taylor Loft and Panera, and to get on a mailing list for some quaint store I am in on vacation, or  if I want to enter a contest and win a yacht.

About twice a month I log in – see if I won anything or got something free from Kate Spade or Tory Burch or CVS, read the email newsletter from a holistic vet, see if I want to fly anywhere on Southwest Airlines for $89, find if if HGTV wants me on any of their shows, delete the emails and I am done.

My regular email is not clogged up with junk, and I am not getting excited when I hear the ding on my phone and find out that Total Wine emailed me. 

I don’t mind giving this junk email out though, because sometimes I do get good coupons, holistic vet tips, and there was the time I won a yacht (not really but here’s to hoping).  

This one is just gaudy - puhlease.

This one seems okay I guess.


Thursday, March 7, 2013

Crockpot Fail -


I have not mastered the crockpot, but many of you Tired Girls have.  I peruse the many crockpot recipe options and after way over-thinking it, I pick a recipe to try, work too hard to create it, and then I am disappointed by the taste / effort ratio. 

I want to be better at it though.  I assume there are many wonderful and bad for you recipes that do work – my challenge was to find some that:
1)  have minimal steps and super easy (no pre-cooking of meat or crap like that)
2) taste good
3) not absolutely, terribly, fattening (a medium amount of bad-for-me is okay, but I am not going to work too hard for bad-for-me, as I could just have my husband stop at Five Guys if I want to go the super easy, tasty and fattening route.)

Fellow Tired Girl Vanessa, sent me this recipe that she has made for herself .  I have not tried it, but it genuinely sounds good, easy and healthy.  

Vanessa got  this recipe from this girls website – if you have time check out all her freezer crock pot recipes.  I like the way this girl thinks.   ( I am interested in her 10 meals in 10 minutes section as well – have to read that later).

The recommended recipe from Tired Girl Vanessa:
Cilantro Lime Chicken with black beans and corn
6 chicken breasts
3 Tbs olive oil
2 limes, juiced
2 cups cilantro
1 large bag of frozen corn (or two smaller bags)
4 minced garlic cloves
1 finely chopped red onion
2 cans of black beans, rinsed
2 tsp cumin or chipotle powder
salt/pepper to taste
 
Split everything into two containers. shake it up, seal, label and put in the freezer. Instructions for Container: cook on low 8 hours or high 4 hours, serve with hot tortillas or tostitos. Dress with sour cream, guacamole, and/or cheese
Cilantro can be an acquired taste so you could easily leave that out and it still sounds like it would be good.  

Please email me your favorite - not too fattening – most Tired Girl crockpot recipes or tips. Do it.  tiredgirl.notes@gmail.com

Sunday, March 3, 2013

SOME people aren't tired -


There are SOME people out there that aren’t tired!!  I have a friend that has sent me her Tired Girl tips.  I knew we had a problem when her “most tired” recipes resembled things I would make only in my dreams (literally) – they had way more than 10 steps – and some of the steps were “stir constantly for 10 minutes.”  No.

I also came across this woman’s blog. It is fun, and I like watching her do her hair (youtube videos) and her makeup.      She is no Tired Girl though and she doesn’t claim to be so no judgement here – just jealousy mostly.  Her makeup regimen clearly works as she looks beautiful and like she isn’t even wearing much makeup – this is my goal always. Like accidentally beautiful. 

And yet another friend who goes to the gym – whaaaaat?

And someone else I know that gets her sewing projects DONE and doesn’t just look at the supplies for a few weeks, thinking about how to add a zipper to a dog bed cover.

These people clearly have it all (or mostly) figured out. Multi step dinners, multi-step hair dos and face dos, the gym????? 

I will not find fault with any of this, or poke holes in this existence.  I simply wanted to take the time to admire majestic beings in my presence and also to remind all of you that though I am quick to share ideas about foil (I just can’t quit you) , and baskets  and, dryshampoo  it is only for survival purposes that I have these things to share.

For every tip that helps me maneuver through my life happily I could use about 100 more.  The laundry?? My arch nemesis! My yard??  Weedy!  My zipper-foot sewing project?? Will probably take 6 months to complete. I am okay with all of this (I guess), because I know I won’t ever have it all figured out.  When I finish my charming dog bed cover –with a zipper closure – in 6 months – I will share a photo of it. 

In the meantime here are some words that sort of comfort me. I bet Liz was no Tired Girl. 



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