Thankfulness

...Or How Amanda is Returning to Her Roots.

Maybe not my roots, but back in the day. You see, after I moved into my house in Gilchrist and got settled in, I decided I needed a visualization of the good things in my life. I got about twenty feet of butcher paper and hung it up in the hallway. I started a list, everyday wrote down the things I was thankful for. It really helped, especially on the bad days, to realize how much greatness I had in my life. And even on those crappy days, I was able to find something good out of it. Now finding that one good thing might have taken me all evening to figure out, but eventually, I always did.

Two things recently made me realize that I need to get back to this. One was a talk I had with my Uncle GG on Saturday. We were walking through his 125 acres and looking at the trees and plants and flowers and he would stop and say "What do you hear?," "What do you smell?" Questions that should be easily answered but I found I rarely take the time to do it that it was tough. "I hear birds" I told him, "What kind?" he replied. I had no idea. It was even to tough to answer what I saw. Flowers. Grass. He pushed, what color? What kind? He reminded me that God offers so much to us, we just have to stop long enough to appreciate it. Needless to say, I spent most of the afternoon and the evening with my Uncle GG. I learned a lot, I LISTENED a lot. It was eye opening. We appreciated the small things in life. I ate bark from a tree that made my tongue tingle, I learned different types of flowers and trees that I walk past every day, I rode a tractor to my Uncle Walton's, I watched the sunset and I experienced the night sky in all its glory. It was a refreshing day and I've decided I need to slow down and enjoy what's around me instead of taking it for granted and wanting more than I need.

And right now, just thinking about Saturday gives me such inspiration of how I want to change my life. So much that I forgot the second thing that made me want to do this. Maybe I'll remember eventually. So I am going to try and post everyday at least one thing I am thankful for that day. This will be in addition to my normal rants and sharing of crazy stories, so no worries, those will still be making appearances.

OH! I remembered the second thing. Kristen, poster on my 365 photo blog, also has her own blog called Question of the Day where she poses questions (obviously) everyday. I will admit that I'm not as great as keeping up with her blog as she is with mine, but I do read the questions everyday. Yesterday, she brought up our New Year's resolutions and I was doing very well on keeping up with them. I remembered that this was my resolution about 2 years back, so I'm bringing it back for the last half of 2010. Who says you have to start a resolution on January 1st? So here goes nothing.

06.02.10
I'm thankful for...
-my Starbucks Barista this morning who was more than happy to accommodate my special request AND gave me the broken orange cranberry scone for no charge.
-the Deli worker at HEB who also accommodated my special request and charged me $2.99 for a grilled cheese sandwich instead of the $5.99 the other sandwiches were going for.
-the little girl in the mall who reminded me that kindness to strangers isn't dead.
-all of you who read this and give me an outlet when it's too late to talk on the phone. :D

Why Shopping is a Good Motivator to Work Out

...Or How It Can Backfire and Make You Sit on Your Hotel Bed and Watch TV Instead.

I don't think it should be a surprise to any of you that I have been trying to get back into workout again, especially within the past 6 weeks. I am finally starting to notice a change. My work clothes are not fitting correctly so I went to buy new pants. I am *almost* in to the next smallest size. You know, the size "that you can squeeze yourself into but you should probably wear a long loose fitting shirt so it doesn't show every thing about your body." Yeah, that's where I am. So needless to say, I opted for that option over the "my pants are so loose they are falling down when I walk" option. Flashing your underwear is generally not considered a good sales tactic. So now, to go with my new pants, I need new work shirts but have had no luck. I decided to go to Old Navy and check them out. I used to work for Old Navy, so I know how the stores are supposed to work. I can still tell you how shirts and jeans are to be folded, how clothes are to be hung, the whole deal. I can definitely tell you that everything should be sized (which is was not at this store). Not only were the clothes not sized, they weren't even on the right hanger. So a size 2 might be on a size 16 hanger. Incredibly frustrating. I was in the store for less than 5 minutes. I hope I helped contribute to a lower sales percentage for them today. I decided to check out a few other stores because I wasn't really feeling working out tonight.

I went into American Eagle because I love their underwear (I mean, I can get personal here because there's only 4 of you that read this.) They are seriously the best, but I only buy them on sale because there's no way I'm paying 7.50 for ONE pair of underwear. Lo(!) and behold, they had them on sale 5 for $15 and that's a pretty good deal for them. Usually their sale is 5 for $25, so I was all over the underwear sale. Then I thought to myself, hmmm, I wonder if I can fit into American Eagle clothes now. You see, I'm not a huge fan of their clothes but every now and then I see something I like. In past years however, my chest area has exceeded the material that AE like to put in their garments. So I decided to be daring and grab three shirts. BOOM! They all fit! However, they all looked hideous on me. They were so oddly and angularly cut that I couldn't stand the sight of them. So I was excited yet disappointed because I kind of wanted to buy a shirt. So long story long, I ended up buying 10 pairs of underwear (what was I thinking?!?) and a tube top that was on sale for 10 bucks. I'm still not convinced that the tube top works because I tried it on with work pants, but in my head, with a pair of khaki shorts, it will look great!

So I decided, hmmm, since AE is working out for me, maybe I'll stop in one of those other stores. You know, the ones that you have no idea what the brand is but they have bright colored clothes and loud music and sale signs everywhere and you think, this has go to be a good idea. I think I actually walked into a Vanity (which I used to go in back when I was in high school because they had the best nail polish.) Anyways, I grabbed two shirts and headed to the dressing room. So I tried them on and not enough boobage material. Not even enough to fake it if I opened a few buttons and wore a tank top underneath. Total bummer. So yay for weight loss but not enough to buy a snazzy shirt. As I walked through the mall I thought, man, I just need to keep at it and after summer, I'll fit into anything I want. But I got to my hotel room and the bed seemed real comfy. I pondered working out. And then I got hungry, but I still thought about working out. Then I was STARVING so I had to eat. And I can't workout after I eat. So I just looked up workouts online for the future. Does that count at all?

What's the point of this story? I don't know. I just felt compelled to tell you all that:

a)I spent thirty dollars on ten pairs of underwear
b)I can wear American Eagle stuff but it's all made crazy and
c)I should stop shopping in clothing stores for girls 10 years younger than me because it's just depressing.

I guess I'm a little talkative tonight. Thanks for hanging in.

Can I Tell You How Much I Have a Love/Hate Relationship with "He's Just Not That Into You?"

...Or "Why Amanda Should Stop Watching This Movie When She's Conflicted About Boys."

I'm a sucker for this movie. It's one of those that you have to watch when it is on TV. However, I get extremely upset with the Justin Long and the girl with the short hair. He spends the whole freaking movie telling her that she's the rule not the exception of guys not being "into her." I mean, isn't that what the whole movie is about? If a guy is truly interested in you, then he'll go for it. He'll call or see you or whatever it is. That's what I start believing. And then, after all the turning down and avoiding her, boom, he just likes her. LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME. How can the movie preach that and then make her the exception? Talk about sending mixed signals when dating, this movie is sending me mixed signals! So am I supposed to wait for the guy to call or am I supposed to move on? I mean, two out of the four girls were the exception in the movie. That means, mathematically speaking, there's a 50% chance that he could really be into you. I think they should either do a remake that really conveys the point that "He's Just Not That into You" or retitle the movie to "He's Just Not That Into You...But Maybe He Is."

Is He Gay or European?

(perhaps substitute metro Hispanic for European)
...or Why Amanda Doesn't Understand if her gym instructor is passive-agressively hitting on her or not?

I have decided to get back on the workout band wagon again. I know you're probably sick of hearing that. But I'm making good progress. I'm even driving 20 miles one way to go workout and get all 37 dollars worth of my gym membership! THAT'S dedication. So since I'm driving all that way, I figure I better get my workout in. Yesterday I went and ran and then did a class called BodyPump. Basically it's weightlifting in a class setting. Well the instructor was a guy, which is not normal, but cool. He was super energetic and I got a REALLY good workout because he was a motivator and I found it easy easier to push myself harder because of him. I always stand in the back because unless it's a dance class that I've been to a few times, I don't like to be in front. I hate the thought of people watching my rear end while doing squats. Gross. It's about halfway through the class, I'm in the back, sweating profusely, trying to hide my grunts as I think to myself "Did I put on too much weight or am I just being a baby?" and I notice that the instructor is looking at me. Like ALL THE TIME. I start thinking to myself, "Am I doing something wrong?" I check my posture in both mirrors. "I *seem* to be doing what everyone else is doing...Why is he still looking at me?" "Are my pants falling down?" Check the mirror again, nope. "WHAT THE HECK!? Why is he still looking at me?!" I scream in my head. So I just chalk it up to the fact that I suck and keep thinking these thoughts for next thirty minutes. I figure it's that or he thinks I'm hot. Yeah, I probably wasn't doing my technique right I'm sure.

Fast forward to today. I drive back to the gym, decide I'm gonna be a haas and go to TWO cardio classes in a row. The first one is my favorite, BodyJam, which is basically a hip hop/modern/sometimes Latin dance class. I love it!!! Not to brag, but I'm a pretty good dancer so even though I only go to classes every once in a while, I'm still able to get the choreography. It usually gets my heart rate up pretty decently but I don't mind it because I love dancing. So I take my spot to the side, but closer to the front because I can't stand being behind the people without rhythm. The same guy from the class yesterday was teaching. I thought it would be a good class because of his energy and motivation. It was! I got my butt kicked and he wasn't blatantly staring at me this time. Class ends. I hydrate like a good workout person should and wait for the next class to begin. Well Mr. Instructor starts walking towards the door and instead comes over to me. He asks if I have ever taken this class before and I tell him I've taken the class before but never done this session, I never come to this gym, blah blah. He then proceeds me to tell me that I was "tearing it up" during class and then says, "You were also in BodyPump yesterday right?" Uh, yes, that was me you wouldn't stop looking at for the last thirty minutes of class. Yes, I replied. He then personally invited me to another class tomorrow that he will be attending and told me to make sure that I come back to his BodyPump class tomorrow.

I leave the gym feeling ESTASTIC! I always think I can dance but to have someone tell me that just makes me feel so awesome. But I've been a member of Gold's Gym for a loooooong time. At least 4 years. Never EVER in that time have I had an instructor come up, introduce them self to me and then tell me how great I am. Maybe I was an exceptional dancer (highly likely :D) and he just felt moved to talk to me. But I am still confused (hence the title). I can't tell if he's gay or an energetic guy who likes working out and can dance and wears thick black framed glasses. Maybe I'll solve the mystery by the end of the week.

My bank is the best bank ever. They have the food network playing in the lobby! I love it!

You know you're really serious about losing weight when you go to Wings N More and order a grilled chicken sandwich. *sigh*

And can I tell you how excited I am about sleeping in a queen size bed with my bedroom window slightly cracked! It's the little things in life!

First Update in a Long Time

...or why I'm resisting updating facebook every five minutes.

I'm trying not to be THAT person who updates facebook ALL the time. There are some people who update consistently about the most mundane things and I think "REALLY, You're updating again?!" But at the same time, I have short thoughts that I'm pretty sure everyone shares, like tonight I would have liked to post, "Amanda Reynolds is glad that after working out and showering that her hair decided to dry PERFECTLY when she has no where to go but bed. Awesome." But I didn't because how many people really care about my hair? I guess you do because you're still reading this! Ha!

I've really fallen behind on blogging in general. My food blog hasn't been updated at all this year (yikes!) and obviously this one and I've been not uploading my photos as recently on my picture blog. But I've decided to put my food blog on hold until I can get a kitchen and cook on a regular basis. So don't expect that to be updated anytime soon. So I might turn this to more of my facebook-type random musings if you guys don't mind. And then again, I just might not update for another 3 months. ;)