#2......7 days of 7's

7 is the name of the game this week. Today, April 7th, is the start of 7 new challenges. (Of course you can start whenever you read this.)

I realize most of you are still working on challenge #1 and are sporting some beautiful hair do's.....yea for you....now there is more to do! :) I am trying to be a tad organized and always start the new challenges on Mondays. Organization does not come natural to me, so if I am even borderline to showing some organization skills, I had better run with it!

Now then, for you "hardcore" Ponytail Challengers; you need to do all 7 challenges every day for 7 days. Those "easing into the waters," just try and do 1 challenge each day.

Some of these are a bit silly, ridiculous even. The idea for this week's challenge is that you will have some fun, "let loose," start a good habit or two and maybe- just maybe- burn a few extra calories.



Here's to 7....now, go and do:

7 sit-ups & 7 jumping jacks, (if you're really challenging yourself: 7 sit-ups/jumping jacks, 7 different times each day).

pluck 7 hairs that are mysteriously growing where they shouldn't be.

1 somersault, (that 1 somersault is bound to hurt in at least 7 different ways).

drink 7 glasses of water, (I know the recommended amount is 8- baby steps people, baby steps).

say out loud, 7 times, (this is where the ridiculous part comes in), "I am superwoman!" (Besides, it will make you laugh, and anyone who hears you too- it's all about spreading the joy....)

read 7 pages of something enjoyable that you don't ever take the time to read.

wear an outfit with 7 components- dress up! This means more than jeans and a t-shirt. Underwear doesn't count. Accessories do. Example: shoes, pants, shirt, belt, necklace, ring, earrings.




Easy, right? Cheesy? Yes. Nerdy? Maybe- but are you surprised? Does nerdy really seem far fetched after reading my last post?

Have fun and I can't wait to hear what you think! Hmmmm, I am having a sudden craving for 7-up. I am not just saying that..... I really do think that would taste extremely good right now. The 7-up company is going to have to pay me some royalty fees if there is a sudden rush on 7-up this week.

Good luck "super women!"

Front Stage in the Ugly Stage

For quite some time now I have had a theory about growing up. You should be familiar with the "ugly stage." Most of us endured this stage somewhere between ages 9-14. In some cases (mine), the stage lasted for that entire 5 year period.

Now, this is where the theorizing begins. You see, I think the current "let ourselves go" part of life is not our own fault. We are simply enduring another ugly stage. Mother Nature developed this long, long ago.

For example: When you pick up an elastic and find yourself reaching up to the top of your head in a hair slicking motion, it is not your fault! It is instinct.
When you pull those pajama pants on at night before bed and they stay on until the afternoon of the next day, it is instinct!

The point of this blog is to speed up the recovery process of this "stage". Since laughter is the best medicine, today's recovery will be in the form of cheap entertainment. Laugh my friends, laugh.
I am not asking for sympathy. I am quite proud of my ugly stage. In fact, I think I would happily win a contest for the best, (or would it be worst?), ugly stage.

Seriously though, what was I thinking?

.....like when I had permed bangs and the elastic belt stretching in the tummy (or is it stretching out the chub?).



.....or how about a year later, still with permed bangs, but with the addition of kinky hair and plaid.



....lets jump ahead to when I thought it was cool for a girl about to be in high school to walk llamas in the 4th of July parade with yes, once again plaid. (I remember planning this outfit for weeks. Yep, plaid- planned weeks in advance- as a teenager.)



Let us not forget how I forgot (at 10-years-old) to count the correct number of candles for this cake, so I drew the missing one on all of the pictures. There are those bangs again- without the perm- a mini mullet if you will.



Now, to solidify my standing in the ugly stage finals....the "rat tail." I know it is hard to see in the picture, so let me describe.
6th grade, one piece pants/shirt combo outfit with shoulder pads and a new shorter haircut- oh wait, they missed a spot. Nope, I, the 11-year-old beauty queen, requested that. It was braided each day and I also strung beads onto the end of the braid to match my wardrobe, especially the one piece wonder.



Now, I eagerly encourage you all to email in your own ugly stage photo (from childhood- time heals you know... I don't think my ego could handle laughing at today's ugly stage- check back in 5 years). If you do, it will be posted on the blog and we will have another fantastic prize drawing for the participants. If you don't- thats ok, I will just put more of mine up to entertain you all.

By the way...
I am sitting on my couch in plaid....pajama pants that is.....and they are green.... and they have a lot of holes.... where people shouldn't have holes..... and I have on a neon pink shirt.... that doesn't exactly fit the leftover just-had-a-baby love handles....at least I have on a bra.

Time to dream up the next challenge.