Truth or Dare

To me, fall means wearing jeans, t-shirts (or tanks!) with my big, baggy sweatshirt.

I have this one sweatshirt that seems to be worn more than others.  Trust me, this is not a fancy sweatshirt.  No designer label sewn in.  I didn't even pay $15 for this sweatshirt.  The sweatshirt is even of a school that I didn't even go to.  Shhh.  And yet...it is my fav.

I can be seen wearing this more as my fall coat than an actual sweatshirt.  It is on in the mornings as I go to the gym, as I leave the gym and when we go outside in the mornings.  Since fall weather tends to warm up here in our afternoons...I shed this layer.

I do wash this, a lot!  So don't freak out that this isn't clean.  I do also switch sweatshirts around so I'm not always wearing the same one.

My fav has a torn neck line because, well, it is just more comfy that way and I tore it myself, on purpose.  There is a stain of some permanent green marker that is pretty faint that appears on my hood.  I don't see it because it is behind me but I am sure that some Type A person out there has made a comment of it before.  I don't care.

As fall approaches I know that this sweatshirt is going to fit.  Do sweatshirts ever NOT fit?  I really don't think so.  Jeans however...now that can be tricky as the seasons change.

I went to put on a pair of jeans today that I haven't worn probably since April/May.  Women...that is a long time to go without wearing clothes, right?  Anyone get a little bit on the nervous side when you pull out a pair of jeans and have a tiny thought that these may just not fit?  Yoga pants...no problem.  Jeans...there is not much give in those sizes so it really is a truth or dare type of situation.

Truth...do my jeans fit.  I'll know if I can zip them up and button them.
Dare...do I even try them today or just wait until I am a little bit more confident that they will zip up without needing to do the "suck it in and zip" dance.

7:23am.  That was my situation.
Was I going to go the Truth option or the Dare option.  I have yoga pants and love them but it really was time to embrace fall and see if my wardrobe was ready for this season.  Truth...here I come.

I wrote a few months ago that I wasn't going on the scale for 6 months.  I have lost count how many months it has been but I know it has been several, probably not the full 6 yet.  If you want to know if there is excess weight on you or inches, go put on an old pair of jeans.  You really don't need a scale to tell you if you have gained some extra weight somewhere.

This morning at 7:24am I was able to zip, button and put a belt on my jeans...an entire notch lower than what I had done the last time I wore these jeans.

Victory!  Today I wore one of my favorite sweatshirts and one of my favorite pairs of jeans and didn't have to suck it in.  This did remind me that I should take some measurements and see where I am at...thinking maybe around the first of the month I will do that again.  I am a bit scared because I get really upset with myself when I don't see progress after working so hard but I also know just from my clothes that things are moving around again in the right direction.

Workout notes:  I start boxing class tomorrow.  Super excited!  I have no nerves about this at all...pretty pumped...and I really have no idea what I am getting into.  I am anticipating that my upper body will be sore though on Sunday.  Just a guess.

My hubby is out of town this entire week so my only morning trip to the gym was getting up at 4:15am on Monday morning so I could be back by 6:40am as he was leaving.   I did manage to get a night workout in on Wednesday.  Let's say this...I do not like the gym at night.  It is creepy, feels gross and no one there really seems to be "working out" other than with their eyes.  I had about 40 minutes and crammed some really heavy lifting in during that time.  Even with the gym being very crowded I managed to get enough nerves to be in the "guy area" and do what I needed to do.  My music was up extra loud and I just focused.  I was so focused and determined that my butt and quads are still very sore from that workout.  I had some great squats and I am still feeling them.

I was anticipating that I would have some asthma issues after the Warrior Dash, and I was right.  I am using my inhalers a lot this week, even the steroid, to try to get my breathing back where it should be.  It is better but I still have a few days to go before I am back at 100%.  I have been around a lot of sick kids too the past two weeks and I am thinking that they have shared some of their precious spit with me as they have been sneezing in my face during story time.  I don't think that I've gotten that yucky part but my lungs took a beating this week.  I only had 2 days where I was feeling really bad and even walking up stairs was a challenge so this is a big improvement from a year ago at this time.

Personal Notes:  I did have something pretty scary happen today that I can't share but just pray for this situation.  I was left feeling very thankful, proud and protective of my little ones.