Ten on Tuesday

We now bring you to our regular feature, Ten on Tuesday, which appeared on this blog for the first time last Thursday.

Yeah, bite me. I know what day it is.

Anyhoo, it's a little project we have going - my brother's brother, my brother's sister and I. (Wanna read theirs? Linketh on the right.)

So without further ado, I give you ... my Ten on Tuesday:

1. Most of the people I work with are really cool, but there is one person who just makes me want to eat my own hand rather than talk to her. You could go on a three-day bender or talk to her; you'll lose the same amount of brain cells either way, and the bender is a helluva lot more fun.
2. My pants don't fit. I bagged up two trash bags of clothing that doesn't fit anymore. Some heavy chick is gonna get a great wardrobe from Goodwill. Today I wore a pair of pants that used to make me feel like Kathryn Hepburn - full leg, cuffed, camel in color. They fit ... 40 pounds ago; now they're in the bags for donation. But hell, at least my workout clothes fit. Which brings me to ...
3. The mirror and I are getting along. There are mirrors everywhere in the gym, so we can keep an eye on our form. I used to shy away from them, but yesterday I started to look. And ya know what? In general, I have pretty solid form. On the bike during spinning yesterday, I looked like an athlete, strong and in control. Boxing drills? I look like I could kick someone's ass. And keeping an eye on the mirror reminds me to suck in the tummy.
4. Abs. I has them. They're not pretty yet, but they're there. And there is nothing like the vision of near-perfect abs to make me work mine harder than ever. Seriously, there is nothing like a man with beautiful abs. It gives me hope that I might sometime find my own. But for the moment, I am more than content to look.
   
5. I'm not perfect. I am not a perfect friend, a perfect sister, a perfect aunt, perfect daughter, perfect writer ... perfect anything. But I do the best I can, from where I am, all the time.
6. Laying in the sun is a great way to spend a Saturday. Sure, I used SPF 30 so I barely got any tan, but that's not what it was about. It was about letting the sun warm my skin, falling asleep beside a good friend, and smelling Coppertone on my shoes later that same day.
7. Divorce is sad, even when you're ready for it. But support can come from the most unlikely of places, like Vita at the gym, or Sharon in e-mail, or even myself, when i think I'm completely tapped out.
8. I've said it before, but I'm putting it in writing here for the world to see: Love is like a rubber band. The further away life takes you, the stronger you feel its pull. I know Chris, Janie and Liam feel it in Oregon; Chermaine in Texas; Mike, Rae and Kaylee in Tucson; Clan Rice Carlson scattered across Illinois; Matt, Becky and Alice just a wee hour away, and Patrick and Ed an hour in the opposite direction; my Wisconsin family in (wait for it ...) Wisconsin; and yes, my brother James in India. Can you feel it?
   
9. There are storms rolling in. I used to love watching them with Christopher. I know enjoy them differently, but I still enjoy them. Would I love someone to share them with? Of course. But that's why I called Patrick. We can share, even if it's just over the phone.
10. It's almost August. I can hardly believe summer is slipping away. So I'm grasping onto a little denial and I'm just gonna embrace the calendar. It's summer until September 21, people. That's a little fact you just can't ignore.

There you have it - my 10 facts, thoughts, snippets of "wisdom" for the week. Until next Tuesday, remember this: I love you ten times more than you thought I did.