Dreadful Hot Weather

It was a long, hot day in July...

The opening line of my exciting boring book?

Nah.  Just stating facts.  It's that time of year that I want to be parked in an air-conditioned room and wait out the heat.  It drains me, this humidity of mid summer mixed with crazy hot temps.  And just to make sure I'm sufficiently miserable, Mother Nature says, "I know, let's send another relentless surge of hot flashes her way!" ... Mwuahahahaha

You evil woman, you.  And just when I thought I'd "outgrown" them.  Ha!  Yeah, right.  Something tells me I have very little control over this merciless phenomenon.  But in mid July?

Fifty-Somethings of the world, there is no mercy.

I am woman; watch me suffer.

So I drive home with the AC (and the tunes) cranked, pull into the driveway, drag my butt into my cool, dimly lit  -- shades all drawn -- home, and begin peeling off my glued-on clothes.  I quickly change into my standard uniform, a tank and shorts, and throw together some sliced chicken breast and several slices of fresh COOL cucumbers from my garden.  It's day two of back-to-back days of little to no carbs after a weekend of debauchery.  Everyone should have one cheat DAY a week.  It keeps our furnaces happy AND HOT.  But an entire weekend isn't recommended.  (The plan was to limit it to one beer on Saturday, but it resulted in two...and that scenario was repeated again on Sunday. Add to that chips and salsa.  And ice cream.  It's no wonder I'm craving carbs out the roof!)

I've been at this long enough to know how to turn it around pretty quickly.  And I also know that the longer the debauchery, the more torturous the extrication from it.  In this case, two days of low to no carbs, and I'm back to status quo, energy good, bloat gone, cravings gone.  Onward.

After a bite of dinner, I began checking emails... going over some loose ends from today's trial in court ... and then I began wandering on Pinterest...then Houzz.  Those sites are way too addictive.  Especially when it's hot outside, I'm feeling lazy and tired after a long day in court, and I want to occupy my mind with something that requires very little brain activity.

So it's cardio and Callanetics days for me, yesterday and again today, knowing I'd have to cut my workout at the gym short in order to get to work on time. Besides, it's just SO HOT.

Is it hot in here or is it just me?

What dreadful hot weather we have!

It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.

~ Jane Austen

So Weather Guy says we have another day of this suffocating humidity and heat, and then we get a break in the weather.  Thursday and Friday is shaping up very nicely.  Perfect.  I'll be at the gym those mornings, which will give me four days total at the gym this week -- Saturday is down in pen, my kickass leg/glute day.

And just when I needed a nudge of motivation to stay on get back on track, I get a call yesterday from my sweet, funny, smart and incredibly beautiful friend telling me about her new workout regimen with her new trainer to whip her ass in shape.  It's like she tossed a splash of gasoline onto my fading flickering flame. It's what I needed to kick MY ass back in gear.  Suh-weet!  Synchronicity.  Support and friendship and encouragement -- they're a powerful thing in this world where we long to be understood, a hardy high-five to keep our spirits elevated.  And that's how it's done.

Yes, you gotta want it bad enough to do the work yourself, or you'll fail miserably.  But it sure helps to know there's someone on the bleachers cheering you on.  Your biggest fan.  Go me.  Go YOU!  Kick Ass!

And SHE will.  She's got this.