never be anything but loud
Way Back Wednesday: Rollin’ With the Homies
This is a picture of a badly taken Polaroid so bear with the quality please.
This is the same crew I talked about running with back in this photo. Sadly, the only people I can remember are the guys directly around me (I’m fourth from the right, if you couldn’t tell). The people on the outer part of the group I couldn’t tell you their names if I tried. This is us on a non-clubbing night at the local pool hall slash game room. Note: the local pool hall slash game room is a town of about 4,000 people in the middle of rural North Carolina.
I actually like this picture of me for the most part except that I feel like you can kind of see through my shirt. Actually, you totally can. And someone should’ve told me that in this case, I should’ve worn a tank top underneath it. Except maybe I was going for that look back then. I think we’ve already established the skankiness factor (note: in appearance only, not practice, thank you very much!)
I did have some great times with this crew! They brought life into what would’ve been a few quiet summers.
Small and Something
The thing I have to keep telling myself is that this is not ALL OR NOTHING.
This is not go out and spend a hundred bucks on workout clothes that would eventually be used for lounging on the couch.
This is not buy a gym membership that will never get used or an expensive workout machine that will only collect dust or clothes in the corner of the bedroom.
This is not cut everything out of my diet. This is not eat Lean Cuisine’s for lunch and sneak the Weight Watchers shortcuts in that still aren’t the best choices (pudding, Rice Krispie treats, etc.).
This is not work out one night and eat healthy for a day and step on the scale to see a loss of five pounds.
This is not a diet. This is not a program that lasts until I reach a goal weight and then everything goes to shit and the pounds pack back on.
This is a lifestyle change. It is a slow process. It is the build up to a different way of living, to making healthier choices without depriving myself of the deliciousness that this world offers.
It is learning to enjoy moving my body and the adrenaline rush that comes after a long and sweaty workout. It is knowing I am going to sleep like a rock and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning because I didn’t skip my work out. It is knowing I can go out and be active, whether it’s hiking in the mountains or riding the ATV’s we plan to buy, without getting winded or holding up the group.
It is knowing that I can have those Reese’s Peanut Butter Miniatures or those French fries but I’m going to have to work for them later. It is not really wanting either of those things in the capacity that I used to, knowing that one or two will satisfy the craving and that I won’t ever feel gross or sick to my stomach because I just kept shoving the crap in my pie hole because it was SO DELICIOUS and I DIDN’T WANT TO WASTE IT!
Way Back Wednesday: Interior Design
Even though I am in this photo looking a hot mess, that is not what I want you to focus on. Look behind my “Mom bursts into the room with a camera the morning after prom and I’m still sleeping” face and focus on the room, especially the walls. Don’t you love them? Isn’t that classy? Because in high school and mostly through college, I thought the whole concept of decorating meant you take as many pictures of hot boys and plaster them like wallpaper all over your walls. Or posters of the music you listen to – this was my “gangsta rap” stage – THUG LIFE BITCHES! This picture does not show that directly above me, on the peaked ceiling, there is another Tupac poster, a Biggie poster and a Diddy “No Way Out” album cover poster. I just pretty much assumed that every spare inch of wall space should be covered in something – pictures, glow in the dark stars, sparkly disco balls.
If you look closely, you can see the original Polaroid of this photo hanging on the wall.
Also, that is a waterbed I am sleeping on. That’s how awesome I was! (Can’t you tell by the bangs?)
Way Back Wednesday: Summers in High School
Better known as the summers I spent at my dad’s where there weren’t as many (read: any) rules so I was going out to nightclubs with my older cousins and drinking and dressing like I was a grown woman. This was one of those nights where we were heading out to a nightclub – or, now that I look closer and see there’s a stamp on my hand, coming home? Who knows? We very well could have been going out and that stamp leftover from the night before because they were a bitch to get off. Regardless, I’m like sixteen here and that is my second cousin (my dad’s cousin) who is like 26 or so. This was also my blond stage and also, see how tan my right arm is? You can’t see it in the picture but my left arm is not that tan – and that, ladies and gentleman, is what happens when you ride around with your arm hanging out of the passenger side window all summer.
Also, that dress was really short. Apparently, I was a skank!
Fraidy-Puppy
He was doing that dance that puppies do when they’re unsure about things and I could resist antagonizing him. At least someone in our house realizes the evils of XBox!
