Sweet Payoff...Gratification from a Frienemy

There really is nothing sweeter than working your tail off for almost a year-your clothes fit better (and you moved down a few sizes, which means, you have to go shopping), you have a certain glow and your confidence level has reached its all time high!

What could be better?

How about when people notice how amazing you look? Good thing too, because you, dedicating yourself to the gym, eating right and improving your lifestyle habits (I'm a fan of drinking calories, but you have to make sacrifices). The only thing better, is when your Mortal Enemy (or in this case frienemy) comes into town (after several years) and you have seem to shrunk, when they have seem to...um...well, they're carrying a little more water weight than last time?

Another great thing is, in this case this frienemy happens to be the opposite sex, so that has been icing on the low-fat, low-calorie, no sugar-added cake! And when said frienemy wants to buy you a drink and toast your hard work..well-we all need our cheat days!

Here's to working-out hard, staying dedicated, and making them eat their words...or drink them!

Jazzercise Wisdom -- or Just Do Your Thing, Girl!

Raise your hand if you've ever gone to a group exercise class. Thought so. Ok -- raise your hand if you've ever gone to a group exercise class where one participant totally did his or her own thing THE ENTIRE TIME? Thought so. Well, unlike most of you -- I have been there. I go to Jazzercise -- OK, get the giggles out. I love it -- sue me! It's one whole hour of great music, positive energy, and sweating. I love the way I feel after class and I love what it does for my soul and my waistline.

There is one woman who also regularly attends class -- but for the life of me, half the time I am not sure why she is there. At first, it truly annoyed me (GHE style) that she did not keep up with the rest of us. I mean -- why come if you can't keep up? Why do Jazzercise if you are really just working out in the corner of a room full of women doing one thing while you are doing another? It has taken me quite a few classes to "get" my fellow Jazzerciser. After a while, it came to me -- who cares? She showed up and she's working out. Yes, to the beat of her own drum -- but working it nonetheless. Isn't that what matters?

Who am I to say that my way is better than hers? We are here -- we're sweating --- we're sisters in this thing we call "dancing it off". Do your thing, girl!

Really -- isn't that what life is all about -- working it, owning it, and being your own fabulous self :). So -- whatever your thing is, go do it!

"I wish my boyfriend was this dirty" or Car Window Wisdom

Sometimes the answer is right in front of you and you fail to see it. When it is written in the dirty back window of the car parked next to you, it's hard to miss. For our purposes, I changed the sex -- and yes, the window did say "I wish my girlfriend was this dirty!". Well, where am I going with this, you ask? After giggling and driving away....here are my thoughts....

Yes, readers, it's time to talk sex. It was inevitable, wasn't it? The writing on the window made me think -- hey kid, stop wishing and start asking. Maybe she is that "dirty", maybe he is that adventurous. We spend so much time wanting things and so little time going out and getting them. Dirty to you might be tame to me and tame to me might be wild to someone else. What really matters is that we are getting what we want and if not, we are asking for it. Why be shy? I mean -- if you can get naked with him or her, you have just earned yourself the right to be open and not hold back. If you can't ask, then you are naked with the wrong person, honey.

GHF girls know that life is too short and that we must take charge. What's the point in being with anyone who does not know how to make you happy, in or out of the bedroom. Let our GHE counterparts keep wishing that life would be better while we are out -- well, gettin' some!

Stop wishing and start embracing that dirty side!

Just Throw It

There comes a point in your life when you realize that A. You're life is good. B. Someone's life is always better and C. Someone's life is always worse. Or D. Throw caution into the wind, take a chance and just ask the dude out! 

No one's life plays out like a movie, but we do have movie moments in our lives.

Grab some popcorn, grab the guy and enjoy your life!

Counterpoint to GHE: Guest Appearance

So as my friend decided to go over to the "dark side"-I feel that it is my civil-blogger duty to go ahead and play Devil's Advocate and make a statement here on the subject of re-opening those oh-so-fun past relationship doors.

May I offer this inspirational quote to start us off right: "May the dreams of your past be the reality of the future." 

With this said, I believe in not closing doors (not completely anyway). Keep it cracked-just a little, or better yet, keep your eye on the peephole, what you see one day may surprise you.

Leopards may not be able to change their spots, (*please note that the animal print is popular again  and people are working it!). Don't count anything out-put it in your closet and for one of those days, when you feel like going vintage and bringing the past into the present. 

Of course, if you do have a pair of those legwarmers (or that ex that left you completely broken-hearted, dumbfounded, flabbergasted and let's not forget the fact that he showed up 4 o'clock in the morning after cheating on you), BURN the DAMN things! They shouldn't have been invented/discovered (born) in the first place. (Sorry, a little bit of GHE creeps in).

Give it a second glance-you may have missed something the first time around!

Bright Side: Why have a six pack when you can have a keg?

We've all heard the saying "more is more" -- music to a GHF girl's ears. Since the GHF world is all about more and not less, full and not empty, a GHF girl can never have enough.

Take shoes for example -- really -- "too many shoes" -- no such thing. Too much fun, too much money, too many friends -- you get the point.

When driving home from work yesterday, I was annoyed, tired, and hungry. Stuck in traffic as usual, I was losing interest in my standard book-on-cd. My mind starting wandering to the things that waited for me at home -- laundry, cleaning -- and yes, the one that makes it all worth it, the hubs :). Snapping out of my momentary GHE mood, a license plate frame caught my eye.

"Why have a six pack when you can have a keg?". So true in so many ways. Besides the obvious -- it's more fun (and tasty) to have a gut than to kill yourself at the gym OR beer is good and becomes even better in large and share-able quantities -- this quote is the essence of the GHF v. GHE debate.

Why limit yourself? Why look at the world for what's not there? You may not be as thin, as rich, or as perfect as you'd like. I say -- so what? Grab a red plastic cup, put your dancing shoes on, and join the big frat party called life.

When the party ends and you meet your maker, doubtful God will be asking how you looked in your bikini or how much you could bench press. I would venture to say that God could care less if they are Manolos or Chuck Taylors (even though I wear high heels in my sleep). God will care however if you had more -- more compassion, more love, and more concern for others.

"Why have a six pack when you can have a keg?" -- why settle for less when the world is out there, waiting for you, wanting you to join in the fun? So grab a Sharpie, write your name on that cup, and drink it in.

Bright Side: Gay or The One That Got Away

"Oh, sweetie -- you actually thought he wasn't gay?" Legitimate question if you are talking about a hair dresser or fashion designer....sometimes it's hard to know for sure. Not so much if you're asking me about an ex-boyfriend. Even more unfortunate if it's happened to you more than once. (I know....right?)

I think it's safe to say that no one likes a break-up. There's nothing easy about parting ways with someone. But when you part ways and then find out that maybe you didn't have....how do we say this?....the right equipment....well, it makes it a little easier to handle. All of a sudden, the rejection you felt melts away -- you can smile, relax, and think "it wasn't me, it was you" and really mean it.

But what about those other breakups? The ones that leave you crying on the couch until your friends rescue you, whisking you away for the weekend -- thanks girls! The ones that have you swearing off men and doubting that true love really exists. The ones that even self-help books and Oprah can't fix.

They say time heals all wounds but when you're in the thick of it, up to your elbows in Kleenex and heartache, time can't move fast enough. Bright side? Yeah, right. And then time does pass and you feel like wearing something other than his old college sweatshirt and mismatched pajama bottoms. Time passes and you're ready to get out there again, this time stronger, wiser, and determined to make your ex see the error of his ways. How could he not want you -- sexy, successful, and sassy -- and now savvy as well due to the pain you have just endured?

Eventually, enough time passes that you and your exes have not only found true love, you've married it. The pain of the breakups are a distant memory, but you always wonder -- what if? All you care about is that he thinks you are "the one that got away". Shallow, maybe...but admit it, you want the title. And why not?
Who would be stupid enough to pass you up?

You may never have the title, you may never see or speak to those exes again -- even though you might Google them or (gasp!) find them on Facebook. The words "You were the one that got away" may never be spoken. No one's going to send you a golden statue or certificate to prove it. But you know it. Just own it.

Glass Half Full folks, you are the one who got away -- own it and stay fabulous! And if you have a gay ex or three -- fabulous is your middle name, sister!