Day 3: Avoid the word "no"!

Considering I was in the car from 10-3 today, with the girls hollering "how much longer" and "when will we be off the freeway", I feel pretty damn good that I only used the word NO on four different occasions!

Jeff tried to trip me up....several times. Sass!

 And there was really just one time that I used the word "no" with an annoyed tone. And it was when Holly wanted to practice typing on my iPhone but I was already on the phone trying to re-set my voicemail password.

And the funny thing is that I am the one that caught myself saying no - if I had just kept quiet- maybe no one would have noticed. But that might be because I do say "'no'" more often than I should and DEFINITELY more than I need to. For example, there's no reason I can't answer certain questions like "Mom, can I have a cookie?" with "Yes, after lunch", rather than blurting out the usual "no, not now". Something to think about it, for sure.

There sure as heck is a time for a resounding "NO" (like the other day when Sydney tried to cross the street without looking first) but life just might be a whole lot more fun if I say "no" less and "yes" more...

Off to do those pesky -40- push -ups. Hmmmm, -40-, really? Me thinks there is a theme building, here... :)

Day #2: Au Naturel

Woo Hoo! Made it through the hair product task!

It was a day of major curl, pouf, frizz and tangles.

Tomorrow, I will be properly leave -in conditioned, moussed, sprayed and God knows what else! Whatever it takes to contain the beast.

Over the years, I've come to terms with the curls. Some days I love it, some days I hate it. Without question, I thank god EVERY DAY for hair products...

This was a fun exercise in letting go and fussing about one less thing.

And my hair did feel softer and it really wasn't as bad (i.e. big) as I thought it would be. It was also refreshing to see my girls do the same with their hair (they were product free too). Holly and Sydney are just starting their love/hate relationship with The Curl, so it's good to set them off on the right foot. To laugh about it and accept it, rather than fighting it and wanting to it to be something it just won't ever be. 

But I'll indulge them with a blow-out every now and again. 'Cuz as Curly Girls know, it's just soooo nice to be able to run your fingers thru your hair without snagging a fingernail, or pulling out a wad of hair...

Here are some pics to document the Au Naturel:

#1  Morning - hair is pretty well contained...

#2  Late morning - Holly and I, she with the tangle-itis and me with the start of the pouf.

#3  After some cooking and a steamy kitchen and then rummaging in the coat closet looking for something (which basically involved me crawling under a bunch of wool coats) there was a Frizz Revolution well underway.

#4 MAYYYBBEEE I donned a cute little cap for a trip to Tar-jay.  :)

Day 1: Swimming

The girls were great cheerleaders!

Not the best photo I've ever taken, but just keeping it Reals :)
So, it's RIDICULOUS that I never properly learned to swim. Growing up in Yak, we had a pool. We lived out in the boonies and there wasn't much else to do. While I mastered diving and can do a mean dog paddle, I never learned much else, in respects to aquatics.

It's really kind of embarrassing to be a grown up and not even know how to do the crawl.

Let's start with the equipment: I don't even own a proper swimsuit (or as we call them at our house "swimmers"). I pulled out the most "sporty" bikini I own and hoped for the best. Jeff, God Love Him, had bought me some swim goggles recently at the gym, so I was set there. (And seriously, who looks good in those Speedo suits anyway? Well, I guess real swimmers do, with their 6% body fat, but the rest of us need a little help in the "flattering" department, am I right?)

All week Jeff has been telling me I needed to watch some instructional YouTube videos. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, but what was I doing this morning? Watching several videos of the crawl and the importance of "high elbows", doing the right thing with your pelvis, rotating hips when coming up for a breath and so on and so on...Yikes! This is harder than Pilates, in terms of technique (Angie, are you totally laughing at me, yet???)

I think I must have looked hilarious.

Jeff, the coach, (who is by no means a professional swim instructor, but has completed a triathlon in the scary/murky waters of Lake Washington with a respectable time, so I think he fit the bill as a coach. And did I mention he is very patient?) said I have a "natural stroke" and that he was "even a little surprised" that I did so well. The breathing part? Not so natural. I didn't suck but I most def. was not channeling the cute girl in the videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTQpF_mmg44 .

(And, to be honest, it was a little difficult to concentrate when the buxom gal in the bright pink swimmer and matching lipstick, with lots of perfume on, started swimming (?) in the next lane with a kick board. There was a booming sound that emanated from her kicking, that nearly made me crash into the edge of the pool...)

But I did it. I kept trying. And I did -2- lengths of the pool, consecutively, with the breathing. And I didn't lose my bikini bottoms! Sadly, 2 lengths only equates to -1- lap at Columbia Athletic Club. But, damn, if it didn't feel good. And, the biggest surprise of all? I actually enjoyed it. Yay me!

I may just have to go get myself a proper swimmer, cuz I'm def. going back for more...

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm"

I turn 40 on 3.9.2011. The way I see it...if I want my next decade to be great, I've got to embrace it, be excited about it, and "own" it. So, that quote from RWE seems a good fit for the title of this endeavor.

I am ready. I am psyched. I am -maybe- a teensy little bit frightened. Not because of the actual birthday (although it will mean I have walked this earth for 14,609.688 days = yikes!) but because of this undertaking.

In the -40- days leading up to my 40th, I shall try/do 40 things that:

• I've never done before.
• Haven't done in a long, long time.
• I think about doing, but just never carve out time and pull the trigger.

Said "new" things are a combination of:

• Things that have been on my mental Bucket List for say....20 years. Things I've thought "Hey, that sounds neat" but that's as far as I ever got.
• Things my friends/family suggested I try/do when I unveiled this cock-a mainy plan to them (Thanks y'all - love you for your enthusiasm and guidance!)

In addition to the -40- things, I will blog DAILY about these shenanigans. The good, the bad, the ugly, the silly, the stupid, the inspiring, the "what was she thinking", etc. etc. etc.

I will even post some photos...Woot-Woot!

You can read and play along (double dog dare you!) - for many of you will also be turning -40- this year. And the rest of you schmucks already are -40- or will be -40- someday.

Comments and encouragement are much appreciated!!!

What you will not find on this blog: Perfect grammar and punctuation. I like to write the way I talk...and this 'lil endeavor is: Just. For. Fun. (Plus, I have -2- little kids and a hubs who travels a lot. In fact, he will be out of town about 8 or 10 days during this -40- day endeavor. Hmmmm, I just realized that. Bummer. Anywho, doing -40- "new-ish" things in -40- days is asinine enough, let alone writing about it daily. Give a girl some props, right?)

Wish me luck. Tell me to break a leg. Tell me -40- is the new thirty.

-40- things in -40- days goes live 1.29.2011.