Ghetto Booty: Be Gone!

As most of you, around 11:30pm on December 31st I started drumming up some sort of New Year's resolution.

I have been thinking about my weight, talking about it, and doing absolutely nothing. There have been times in my life when I have been in great shape. When I went to Miami, when I was training for the marathon, and right after I got married. Other than that, I have been mediocre to mushy and I am plain sick of myself.

I had to truly do a self-evaluation. So many people spend thousands of dollars on diet programs, pills, creams, hypnosis, grapefruits, you name it...and we're still the fattest nation in the world.

I had the great pleasure of watching the documentary Super Size Me the other night and that's what finally did it for me. I realized it's not that difficult. I was raised in a household of health food, organic vegetables and free-range poultry. My mother drinks green spirulina shakes every morning and her insides are probably more sterile than a surgeon's tool.

I realized there are certain myths that I have believed in order to keep myself in the permanently pudgy state:

1. I don't have enough time: Nonsense! I spend more time on the phone, surfing the net, talking about nonsense that could be used to prepare nutritious meals, go to bed earlier so I can get up earlier and go to the gym, and get myself in gear for the next morning.
2. I'm too tired: Of course you are! Your blood hasn't been properly pumped through your veins in months! You will never "catch up" on your sleep enough to feel energized to go to the gym. You have to drag your lazy a$$ out of bed in the morning and stairstep with your eyes closed for the first week or two if that's what it takes.
3. I need Starbucks to make me happy: Ok, whatever.
4. I don't need to conform to some pre-fabricated socially imposed image of beauty: This is true, but you do need to make sure you're physically fit, not at risk for diabetes, and eating healthy. If you are doing those things it doesn't matter if you don't look like a supermodel. What matters is you're healthy, energized, and taking care of business.

So my friends, the plan is to lose between 15 and 20 lbs in the new year. I was just sick for about 5 days, so not eating got me off to a good jumpstart. :) I hope you are all well, are spending ample time with your friends and families and just taking advantage of the good life has to offer. That's what it's about after all, ¿no?

2006 pa' que no jodeis-

The REAL Return from Hiatus (Pt. II)

Welcome back Cotter! Took a brief (maybe not so brief) break from the blogger world. Honestly, I think I just needed some "me" time and it didn't involve spilling my guts into cyberspace.

So what has La Tremenda Trigueña been up to? Well, she finished her 1st semester of grad school with a 3.5 GPA thank you very much! (Only 2 classes, got an A and a B. I plan on bringing it up this semester). I had a rather placid, eventless holiday season this year which I like just fine. Nothing cool to report there so....

I re-painted my guest bathroom from a magentaish-purple with gold faux finish to a Moroccan blue. I think it will suit my décor just fine, and it's a little more palatable to the man of the house. (ho hum!)

Other than that I'm plugging along in the new gig enjoying the salary increase to the fullest. (AKA the family actually got Christmas presents this year!) I haven't quite found a solid niche here since it's a very project-based position and I basically just do whatever they tell me needs to be done. I was starting to feel a little underutilized, but I'm sure that won't last long.

Other than that, I start spring semester in a couple weeks which should be pretty exciting. I will be traveling for business (finally!) that same week so I think I'm going to miss the first week of classes.

Sorry I didn't have any juicy dirt to spill...besides my paltry rant from last week. For those of you who did read it, I apologize for burdening you with that information, totally inappropriate on my part. I hope you all are well and satisfied from the holidays. Before you know it that groundhog will be rearing his ugly little head and it'll be time for my 2nd favorite time of year...Spring fashion!!!

Under and in,

-TT-

Taking Life by the...Pillow?

Most of you who know me have been following my road to success watching me writhe in anticipation for the new job while I dragged you through every bloody detail. You saw me freak out before and after the interview, and you saw me lose my cotton pickin' mind when they had the randomly good sense to give me the job and a fat raise.

As I'm in the 3rd week of the new gig and nearing the end of the 1st semester of grad school....I've decided to take a look back at what I have. For so many years I was always looking ahead, never satisfied with what I had. I could never wait for the weeks to be over so I would be one step closer to getting whatever I was doing over with. Whether it was school, a job, Easter, whatever...my mind was always 3 steps ahead of my body.

Right now my current schedule consists of: working full-time, commuting 2 hours a day, going to school 2 days a week, spending whole weekends catching up on homework, and the most important thing- being married! The problem is, I haven't been able to really attend to my duties as a wife and homemaker because the other priorities won't wait. I hardly go to church anymore, and I can feel myself slipping away spiritually.

So I sat back, looked at what I have and decided to do something I never thought would cross my mind: LESS. I already have the dream job and my education helps me with work and I can apply what I learn at school to my job and vice versa, but who says I have to go as fast as possible? So I wrote out a new plan, and basically what I have decided is I can't waste these years wishing they would pass by. I have decided to consciously keep myself in the present and appreciate the suspension.

While I hate to be cliché, I thought I would take this time to truly be thankful at Thanksgiving. These years won't be here forever, and before I know it I will be getting Botox and going through menopause. I think God gives us things and he wants us to be satisfied with them for a little while. I have plenty of time to do the things I want to do and still enjoy my life. I only have half a house worth of furniture, no landscaping, and there are a million projects I haven't finished....I will finish school a year later than I planned and I will have kids when I have them, and that's just fine with me...

Cold Weather Potpourri

Well it's that time of year again. The time of year when I'm not satisfied with a normal smelling home which for me is a melange of garlic, onions, candle wax and an occasional dishwasher detergent aroma. No, this is the time of year when I take everything I want to eat and I put it in a pot and boil it strictly for aromatic purposes. It's a lot cheaper than the $20 stuff you get at the store and it feels more wholesome because you made it. Here's my potpourri recipe for late fall:

Tremenda Trigueña's Organic Potpourri Recipe

Fill a sauce pan 3/4 full of cold tap water
Place on stove top over low heat
Add:
Crumbled cinnamon sticks (2 or 3)
A punch of cloves (not a pinch)
Orange peels (either fresh or the dehydrated ones you can buy in the spice section)
A dash of vanilla (either extract or whole if you have it)

Let simmer all day long, but make sure to watch the water level. DO NOT leave this on if you leave the house. Yes it's common sense, but you never know who reads this stuff....

***This mixture not only sends a delightful warmth through your home, it also gives off some humidity for those of us who get dry cracked skin in the winter months. May you all have a wonderful cold season!

Imbalance

For those of us who are never satisfied with our lives (and you know who you are) what is it really that could make us sit back, look at our lives and say:

"I want to sit down and appreciate what I have and not pursue much else at this point." ?

In search for this balance I decided to ask myself what my true values are. I don't feel I have been able to keep up with the responsibilities I have before me and before I can understand why, I need to understand what is important to me. I am going to start a series and please note that I am not putting them in any certain order. Depending on the time of year, month, day, etc. priorities may shift but my values will stay the same. At this time of year I tend to be a little more pensive, a little more self-evaluative. If this series in any way resonates with you, feel free to let me know....
I won't publish a part to the series every time I post, but there should be a value posted at least once a week...

-TT