What do tornado warnings and insomnia have in common?

Honestly not a flipping thing.  Except I was up a bit after my workout and then decided my hair was feeling gooey from the sweat so I'd washed it.  Actually I used a clarifying shampoo first to get rid of build up and then was doing my air dry when the phone rang.  Yeah not my cell phone which could have been random scary things but the house phone which is NEVER good.  Turns out it was just the city warning us that the storm headed our way could produce tornadoes.  The air dry kept going at that point because I was preparing to hide and/or flee the domicile if necessary.  Turns out wasn't necessary as the warning ended without any issues.  Flash flood warning replaced it and now even that is tapering off.  What I discovered while I was waiting is that the back of my hair is doing the weird breaking thing again but only in the mid section again.  The hair from my crown to about mid way down is growing just fine and is covering up that spot.  There feels like there is random new growth there so I'm happy about that especially since for a second it felt like knots--nope super curly hair growing in strong.  Since I got my second wind with the working out and washing my hair as needed not just as scheduled I'm going to be more diligent about nursing that area like I did the front right edge after it broke off as it's growing back in nicely and has almost covered all the hair that was lost.  The back always requires more effort and since I would seriously have a mild heart attack (ok maybe not) if I had to cut the sides I will just recommit to doing a better job.

I didn't take any before or after pictures since it was spur of the moment and then yeah storming lol.  But I did take a photo of the hair loss during detangling because virtually none was lost in the shower.  Here's the photo.

And minor miracle--had a great day with mom after crappy conversations with a mover.  But that's why I started talking to her so I guess I can't complain too much.  We actually talked some things through and if she really embraces what she said she would then we all might be headed on a good path.  Yeah crappy mover guy.  And after that we remade the dinner from last night cause she loved it.  And then we watched Tombstone cause she had never seen it with Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday and she fell in love with him before it was over.  Val is seriously amazing in Tombstone so if you haven't seen it PLEASE WATCH IT.  After you watch it tell me how you like it and just how much you want to jump 1993 Val Kilmer's bones.  Ahhh, you're no daisy at all if you don't lol.

The workout was good.  I really am liking the boxing.  Good full body workout and I get to destroy a punching bag.  Was a good day overall.  Now it's time to watch The Hunger Games since I ravished the books.  I still haven't put up my review.  I will soon.

Oh and the recipe is for a Garlicky Lemony Shrimp.  Super easy.

Try this quick way to make the best shrimp.

Melt a stick of butter in the pan. Slice one lemon and layer it on top of the butter. Put down fresh shrimp, then sprinkle one pack of dried Italian seasoning. Put in the oven and bake at 350 for 15 min. Best Shrimp you will EVER taste:)

Share this to your wall and you'll always know where to find it: www.facebook.com/SharonsPamperedChefConnection

Working Out is Hard to Do....... & So Are Two Strand Twists

You should definitely sing the title of this post to the tune of Breaking Up Is Hard to Do.  And after you're done you can keep reading.  I get to officially update the workout count today and I need to get back to the daily workout.  I always feel better afterwards as I mentioned and this other thing happens lately that I completely forgot about in the stress and hubbub of deciding on which job to take and what to do if a shinier opportunity presented itself.  Even though every fiber in my being kept me lazy and my sleep cycle is still out of whack (clearly which is why this post is going up at 5:30 in the morning) I ran a few errands and got my official offer letter from my new job today.  I ran to the library and got a few books as well as returning the final two books of the Hunger Games series.  The books were great even though the third was uneven and felt slow to me in comparison to the first two but I'll save that for another post.  Part of my library run was to grab a book of stories that I was hoping were like the ones my father told my younger brother and I when we were little.  They fascinated us and we could only remember snippets of them when we tried to compare notes.  After asking one more time if anyone knew anything about the bits and pieces I could recall I got lucky.  Turns out they really were African folk tales and there are a LOT of them.  The main character is Anansi the Spider who is periodically an insect, man, or anything else as the story dictates and depending on which author's interpretation you end up with.  There are also stories with Ananse which seems like it would be a subtle difference but that's the volume I got from the library and how Anansi got stories to the world is totally different so I went with the version closest to the one I remembered and sent some to my nieces and got a few for me too.  They are kind of like Aesop's fables but with more settings in Africa and told from a slightly different tack.  LOVED them and I hope my nieces will too.  Anansi and the Box of Stories is the one I heard all the time in case you're interested.  You can find a few of the stories online too if you have small people you want to impress as you commit the somewhat short moral tales to memory and whip them out like you are the best thing ever.

I also ran to the grocery store and got some lemons for a recipe I saw on facebook that looks super simple and should go well with some pasta or something maybe a nice salad.  Not sure on that but as my two weeks of lazy only netted one pound weight gain I'm going to try to keep it light up and up the working out again to see if I can turn my mostly better eating habits and combination of working out to weight loss.   I have to say though I need some different work out socks or supportive thin shoes.  I got blisters on the balls of both of my feet from the working out.  They just starting peeling and right now they feel like they are kind of on fire which isn't particularly helpful.  Beyond that I feel great.  I figured out that I can do more of my own random stepping around the board and it still count.  Actually when I did the side to side steps and front to back instead of just up and down I moved faster.  It ended up meaning a little more than 100 steps greater than my normal twenty minute frame and was 2152 today.  A little more than 100 steps a minute so I'm happy with that too.  And the rhythm boxing which somewhat frustrates me also starts and immediate burn and toning around my waist.  Even if I don't do the step everyday I may need to figure out a way to keep that up.

I did twist my hair yesterday after I washed it.  I think my hair wants more twists than the four I tried to do and doesn't really like the flexi rod for the ends.  I may pin curl them next time because I keep ending up with semi wavy hair with really flipped ends.  The twists that were so well defined before were with assistance.  I need to work on nailing that on my own for when I have spur of the moment wash sessions.  My hair feels good and there wasn't much in the way of hair loss in the shower or during the detangle.  Just need to make sure I moisturize and seal it later on and then pin up my ends.

Have a good one everyone!

Rental Cars, Workouts & More randomness

Being unemployed mostly has left me with a crap ton of free time on my hands.  It's why I've been able to go on all these interviews recently unencumbered though and looks like that as of now I have a job if I want it.  I was going somewhere with that.  Oh yes.  I've been semi panicked about finances even though I knew I could potentially file for unemployment or tap my 401K which my mother was freaking out about.  However, I remember telling an interview person that I really wasn't stressed about the money thing right now because I figured out I was a lot cheaper to keep than I thought.  And my last bank statement which I never really look at proved it.  Even though I made next to nothing last month I only ended up spending a few hundred bucks more than I took in.  That made me feel much better about my fiscal responsibility.  I will still probably have to raid the 401K a tiny bit for moving expenses even though some of that will come back to me depending on which job I take.  Hell there's only one offer right now so let me not go pretending I'm big balling lol.  I wish some of the jobs closer to family were posted sooner than they were but I knew it was possible that nothing would come through that way.  That sucks for me cause really if I could have gotten one a few hours from my brother that was also a good fit for me I would have jumped on it.  Nieces could have watched Disney movies with me and I could have dropped mom off for extended visits when she started acting crazy lol.

During the last interview I got a Toyota Yaris to drive.  Let me just say it felt like I was driving a turtle even though it got great mileage.  It was small enough that I could it rock it on my own when it got semi stuck in the snow in the parking lot lol.  Sound system was buggy to figure out and because it's one of the rentals with nothing automatic except the transmission I ended up breaking a nail while trying to adjust the stupid steering wheel.  I was very glad to turn it in.

I was able to sneak in another workout before the end of the month.  20 minutes of free step (2083 steps) while watching The Big Bang Theory and Futurama.  Then I did 12 minutes of rhythmic boxing.  Let me just say that sweating that much is crazy but it also feels good.  Like I'm getting rid of a bunch of toxins and icky things as the sweat rolls down my face and back.  And thank HEAVENS for those sports bras.  My daily bras aren't getting taxed and icky.  We'll see if I can keep it up and make it necessary to get clothes altered.  Please please please.  Plus I at least want to be toned before the pinup photo shoot that I am still shooting for in December.

Got a call from the ex.  It was weird and awkward and I felt bad for not being more warm and fuzzy but I'm kind of in what do you want mode instead of yes let's get back together mode.  Ehh we'll see.  I am in the process of prepooing my hair.  I started grading papers, then I had dinner, then I worked out so no washing tonight.  Hopefully no one needs anything from me early in the morning.  Okay I'm done rambling now.  I'll try to post photos when I'm all done.

P.S.  If you have ever wanted to try the Roots Only applicator bottle Jeni @ Just Grow Already is running a giveaway now for four bottles--I think that means four winners.  I already have two so I'm not entering.  And Nakia @ Vogue & Vintage is giving away a gift card to Shabby Apple which I love and want to win but it's rude not to share.

Forgive my tardiness...

This week has been a total and complete whirlwind.  I just got my first workout in tonight as a result and yes I realize I didn't do my weigh in on Saturday but I promise it was just because I was totally preoccupied with getting ready for my trip.  I will do it on Saturday just to keep the day consistent but I'm not sure if there will be any weight loss netted despite having upped my workout count significantly this month.  I'm going to rework how those stats look too because I want to see as much encouragement in that section as possible.  Okay so let's get on with the updates.

• Trip was a MESS.  Travel time wasn't massively an issue.  Lots of layover time and then rushed to get us out of Atlanta otherwise we wouldn't be able to land in my final destination.  You know that great snowstorm that battered half the country?  Yeah flew straight into that.  And my drive to the hotel that should have at most taken an hour took a bit over two.  I got to my hotel at midnight, took forever to fall asleep, and then got up three hours later to get ready for my interview.  Yeah no interview because of the bad weather.  My original day of departure turned into interview day and then back to the airport to get home again after midnight because of computer glitches.  That killed the Sunday through Tuesday workout days and yesterday I had class so no workout then either.  Not good excuses just reality.  But the hotel did have the ID channel so it was a tiny win.
• Because of all the travel delays I actually read an entire book.  I completely scoured The Hunger Games and was a little sad at the last lines.  I wasn't clamoring to read the next one but it left me sated and didn't piss me off the way I was with the first Twilight book that I STILL have not finished. It had good pacing and enough character development that I cared about the main characters even when they weren't in the pages that much.  And oh poor Rue, just not fair and especially not what ends up happening to all the fallen tributes.  Regardless it was a good book and I'll eventually get around to the others.
• As best I can tell and this is being as honest as I can be, I totally checked out during that interview.  I answered everything they asked, had fun during my presentation and shot the breeze with the non staff folks BUT I wasn't there.  I was desperately hoping nothing got delayed so I could get home and get some sleep.  Everyone was nice and the area is nice as best I could tell but really I wasn't fully invested like I have been which is why one of the next updates will shock you cause it sure as heck shocked me.
• Class went well again and only one more week till it's all over.
• During class my phone rang which is atypical because I'm just not that popular.  If it's not family then I usually ignore it and since I wasn't going to be free until 10 I ignored it.  Turns out it was my last interview calling to make an offer.  Yeah the one I was checked out on.  No real details now and I really need to pray on if I want it or if I want to keep waiting for something that is my ideal position even though those may not come through.  And let me be clear there's nothing wrong with this position short of it's the opposite direction from my family.  Still haven't heard from the previous interview even though my mentor seems convinced I should be hearing from then soon.  That position would be closer to family sort of but after seeing a picture of my nieces today I really want to be somewhere I can hug them all the time.  Neither site allows for that right now.  Decisions decisions.
• I finally counted up my workouts since I knew I had been doing better this month.  Of the ten workouts I've done since January 1, 6 have been this month.  I want to try to get in at least 10 for next month and if possible 15--every other day or so since there are 30 days next month.  More than that would be ideal but gotta work with what I can.
• My hair is on some BS right now.  The prepoo with heat was great.  The combined deep conditioned with heat not so much.  My Hydration Elation did not love the Mixed Chicks being added to things.  Granted I went in and out of snow and chilly weather so that could have impacted things a bit but it will be nice to wash it and see how things go.
• Mom's birthday is tomorrow so after she finishes squealing I'm sure it will be off to Red Lobster or something else.
• Oh and the Miami Heat lost so the streak is over and that is the best news ever, after the job offer of course.

How's things with you all my fair blog readers?

Interview Dread and Working It Out

My insomnia is not my bestest friend.  In fact it is quite annoying.  Last night I thought exhaustion was winning again but after about four hours of sleep I was up and couldn't get back to sleep for the rest of the morning.  I fell back asleep mid morning but it was annoying as it threw off my day.  I ended up doing what I had planned, just like yesterday when a similar but not quite the same sleep interruption happened.  Grades are in for both of my classes and no one is yapping about them so tomorrow morning one class will get final grades submitted and the others have nearly a week to get the next batch in.

In the interim I have to whip together a presentation about my past research and future research plans even though the position I'm interviewing for has no research component to it.  Just a lot of teaching.  Considering the fact that I haven't taught in a while at a traditional college and don't have an active research line of my own I am very flattered to have been invited.  The travel times, my sleep issues, my tummy issues, all have my fearful about how this trip will end up working out especially since I have to be on the road at 6AM for the return trip because I'm an hour away from the airport and I have to return the rental car.  Other than the research presentation the interview day looks just the same as the others.  I'm not wearing the cute girl shoes cause there's enough walking, even in the building, that my feet would be on fire by the end of it.  And there's dinner involved too unless of course I can't pretend to keep awake and then I'll try to beg off of it.  That probably won't happen but eh.  Plus it must be some sort of kismet since of the interview days the only option I had that would really work is the day my class has ended so I am not scrambling to have anyone fill in.  I think I'm just burnt out on interviewing.  I would like someone to make an offer so I know what I'm doing and can make my reservations to go see my brother later this year.

No Snazzy Title

Today was more productive than I planned it to be.  I went to sleep at a reasonable hour last night which has so not been like me lately.  Which means I woke up at a reasonable hour, not intentional and since I didn't have anything to do I went back to sleep for a while.  But I got up piddled around for a bit, graded papers, and managed not to overeat which was good.  I did have some peanut butter cups cause I love them but now I'm all out.  I haven't had my ice cream either and I'm trying to hold on so I'm not indulging in that right now lol.  And at 9:30 after my food had time to properly digest, I booted up the Wii after inviting mom to join me.  35 minutes later I had done three rounds of 10 minute free steps (964, 1030 and 1068 steps each round respectively) and 5 minutes of strength training to let me cool down.  It was great to work up a good sweat and that makes three workouts in four days which feels good too.  I'll probably skip tomorrow because I have to teach tomorrow night but after that I should be back on it until I get out of town for another interview.  I'm going to try to do a few minor things on Monday night after it's over but not sure on that since I have to be on the road at 6 to get back to the airport for my flight.  But I also shouldn't have time to overindulge on the road either.  This one is for a teaching position so I'm thoroughly excited but not sure what to expect since I've never done this kind of interview EVER.  Okay I'm done babbling now.  I need to M&S before I pass out since I got all sweaty.

So Zumba...yeah

I decided I couldn't continue to be a lazy bum tonight and went to workout.  I was prepped to do my Wii Fit stuff but said you know what that Zumba fitness game has been sitting there looking pitiful and untouched since you bought it.  I opted to at least try it and if it was boring or I hated it I could turn it off.  I tried it and knew I was in trouble with the tutorials.  But I did the three for the calypso a few times and then did the calypso warm up--it's 5/6 minutes and while I didn't need the tutorials for it really let me just say I was almost in need of an oxygen mask.  I made it through any score ended up around 550 or so which is allegedly a Zumba pro.  It was exhausting and I was sweating more during that warm up and tutorial than I have usually in my 30 minutes of Wii Fit.  I will definitely have to keep it up but woo that was murder and I wasn't expecting it.  On the plus side I wasn't as hungry afterwards so I didn't eat a lot and as normal I felt better.  Yeah working out.

Yeah Me!

This isn't a humble brag but just better management of my life and my emotions.  Mom was still in tantrum mode even though she was doing it on the low key tip lol.  She cooked at some point but by 9 I realized she hadn't knocked on the door, as is our routine, to say hey food is ready.  When I asked she didn't apologize for not saying a word and this is the point that I'd normally go off the rails cause she was just being rude as all get out lol.  Tonight, however, I said okay and hopped in the car to head to Zaxby's.  I let Christina and Blake serenade me the entire trip which was good.  I brought my food in and then booted up the Wii again.  30+ more minutes in tonight.  So far that's a little over an hour for the week and 2 of the 4 days of the month lol.  I did more yoga and strength exercises tonight to loosen up the muscle that got tight from working out yesterday.  But it felt good and I enjoyed it.  I ate later than I wanted to but ehh.  I'll probably stay up later than I want too.  Either way I felt much calmer by the time I was done and now I feel like I should squeeze in another workout tomorrow before I leave for the interview on Sunday.  Tomorrow will be wash day and I'm going to use the Fruit Smoothie face mask I got from Influenster.com.  I would do it tonight but I'm too lazy to take photos. 

Working It Out

So today was a wash with work.  Saw one client at one site, rushed to another to evaluate an emergency, killed 90 minutes waiting on a family member to arrive, went to my final site for the day and half the clients were really not doing well.  Also got a chip in the window that pissed me off lol.  Thankfully my insurance will cover a repair for free if it can just be patched.  Going to take it in to Safelite tomorrow after work.  Going to try to see as many folks and take a nap before heading over to get the patch job.  I don't want it to sit and get worse with the weather going up and down as much as it does.  Then off to interview on Sunday.  I need to roll my hair up cause it fell in my frustration over not working much today.  That and the totally unnecessary fight I had with mom. 

I got out of the house for a bit afterwards, trolled through Hobby Lobby and got myself some takeout.  BUT before I ate it I made myself get up and work out.  I love the Wii because I won't stop working out until the time piggy bank dances which is 30 minutes in at least.  Today was 35 minutes and I could tell I hadn't worked out in a bit.  Will shoot for at least one of the next two days and then try to sneak it in whenever I can again next week even though Monday through Wednesday may be a wash since I won't be in for the night until around 10 each night.  But first work out is done and it felt great.

So again it's wash day

After a busier week and weekend than I imagined at the start of the week, I finally got to wash my hair today.  I even got to break out the Hair Therapy wrap which was lovely.  I miss how nice my head feels when I use it versus when I don't and I think the prepoo and deep condition both worked better too.  The new gel packs heat a little more slowly but the heat sinks in a little longer.  I'm being careful not to overheat them right now though too so it could be I just didn't let them warm up enough initially.  My hair is still SUPER straight.  I mean I guess it should be as I'm only two weeks post but detangling, washing, conditioning all that good stuff didn't even seem to hint at a tangle.  Lost a little hair as should be expected but not enough that it made me nervous.  I thought about just wrapping it and calling it a night but it's time for my ends to get off my collars again.  If I look presentable I'll take a photo of the outcome in the morning. 

Despite feeling like a bum I actually got most of what I wanted done today.  I washed a load of clothes, marinated a bunch of chicken, deep fried said chicken several hours later, washed my hair, graded papers and published their grades, cleaned my bathroom and got in a few games of Wii Bowling.  I haven't been doing the 100 pin lately for some reason but was doing the Mii happy dance yesterday when I broke 221 lol.  My best game today was 187.  I am a week away from my 37th birthday.  I'm looking forward to it in the sense that birthdays are better than no birthdays but no one willl be here to snuggle with, going to dinner with mom will not be fun, and there's not a lot locally that I want to do.  I can't tell you what I want to do because literally I have no idea.  But it would be nice to not be snoring alone.  Ahh well.

And I'm pretty much toast for the fantasy football league so I don't even have to worry about getting those games running next week.  Got my butt handed to me.  Everyone but Jamaal Charles was underwhelming.  But I will just take that energy and focus on the classes for that week before we start our winter break.  And I have a phone interview on Friday for a position closer to my brother.  Forgot I applied for it, I tend to assume that if I have heard nothing in two weeks people aren't interested.  Not that they want to hire me but at least some acknowledgement that they got it and are looking me over.  There are still two teaching positions that I should apply for too but I'm being a bum.  I need to finish fleshing out the life reboot I'm planning for the first of the year too.  Hoping that things go smoothly soon in all aspects of my life at the same time.  That would be nice.

Ahh well no more ramble now.  I'm feeling stuffed from the two and half pieces of chicken I ate along with my mac and cheese.  Have a good one.