For once - ha, ha - I'm going to be SUPERFICIAL...

But I think we all are at times... some just more than others.  ;)

The gorgeous, bright weather today has gotten me thinking about March's MAUI adventure... which has lead me to this:

I have no shorts.

Well, I take that back.  I have two pairs of shorts; one is a denim pair that my sister says looks like I poopoo-ied in, and the other is an army greenish kind that may nicely show off my taut calves (LOL), but does a number on my "muffin top."  The baking and the eating and the wine drinking and the not exercising have all just apparently collided with one another, creating a delicious, sweet little bulge around my mid-section.  It's squishy and yummy.... right...

So what's a girl to do?  Shall I "bite the bullet," and go buy new shorts while accepting my current size?  I'd sooooo rather go buy cute clothes for O, or shop for home goods or other things that are safe and don't make me expose my seven rolls of fat in a full length mirror in a happily lit store.  I especially enjoy the roll that occurs right around my bra line, and love when beautiful, delicate, flimsy little garments point it out like a gold tooth (or a silver one, or a purple one, or a neon, glow-in-the-dark jagged one for that matter) smack dab in the middle of someone's "grill."  You know it's there, but you just hate to look and stare, for you feel a bit sorry for them having to walk the earth with such an obvious addition to their body.  Yeah, that's about the equivalent of my bra line blunder...

I fully recognize that my weight is not the end all in the world.  I'm a wife, a mother, a sister/in-law, a daughter/in-law, a friend, a teacher... so many wonderful roles I am lucky to be.  But the chub-o-rama is still there, and I feel like I've been ignoring it a little too long, hoping it would just slither away.  I know that I am fortunate in that losing ten(ish - let's be honest, here) pounds would put me around the weight I was when I became preggers with Olivia... and if I lost twenty I would be the size I was when we vacationed around the Caribbean a few months prior to becoming pregnant... I think the five to ten pounds I gained between island hopping and baby making was in order to prepare me for what lied ahead... lol.

The last time I went shopping I bought a pair of pants in a size never purchased, but they seem to be a little baggy to me when I wear them.  I must enter into this warped state of mind when I am shopping for myself, and view myself more as a "Ruby" than as a "Ripa."  That, or I want people to say, "Hey, are you losing weight?!"  To which I will reply no... what a sick little game.

I sigh.

I walked two days last week, while pushing a stroller and walking two dogs.  Once was in the wind (now there's some dedication!).  I bought "The Core" exercise dance videos at Target (hey, you get a $10 gift card with purchase!).  I'm really gonna try.  And I will also attempt to curb my scarfing of my daughter's food.  I WILL have the will power to just say no to "chicky nugs" for snack when I come home from work!  We will, "SAY YES TO CARROTS!"

All I know is that I have two and a half months... the photos will say it all, I suppose!  And even if I am hiding the beached whale behind me, at least I know one thing: I'll be wearing a smile!  And in that case, BIG is a good thing!