Isn't this just the best example of the pressures on young girls to maintain a ridiculous standard of skinny? Just look at Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, the Olsen twins, Kelly Ripa, and so many more women who fall victim to what they think society expects. admittedly, I have felt the sting of not feeling able to keep up to the Barbie's of the world. I just hope that in this day and age, Girls realize that it isn't normal to be skin and bone.


The reason this is floating around in my head is that I've been working out all week and am painfully aware of every muscle in my body. I've also started to look a little more closely at the junk I've been scarfing down at 10:00 at night lately. I won't lie and say that I'm not hoping to drop a few pounds, but I think my main objective is to feel strong and healthy. I'm 34 now, and my fitness level has dropped since I've taken up "couch sitting" and "channel surfing" rather than the excersise I used to engage in.


Surely to God I can find some happy medium between the above picture, which I would never want to look like, and the one below, which I know I don't look like, but sometimes, on a bloated day, I feel like (LOL):

I feel that this guy and I are kindred spirits. He really gets me. For some reason, I've had alot of trouble uploading pictures such as this to my blog. Also, why the hell is my side bar suddenly at the bottom of the page beside a large empty space? Also, this is the second time I've written this post. Yesterday I wrote it and it wouldn't save or publish. Instead, it disappeared forever! Anyway, the blog must go on... It was in grade ten that I was cast as "Carlotta Castanet de Santiago," an evil but flamboyant castanet dancer who used her feminine whiles to lure in unsuspecting victims of thievery. It was a fitting character... The part included singing solos, dancing, and a character I could really sink my teeth into. The only thing missing was a wide black belt that would make the costume complete. Where oh where would I find this coveted belt? I new just the place. It didn't take long to locate my sister's belt in her room, for I had been in there in the past "borrowing" her white, tasseled cheer leading boots, her sexy bathing suite, a cute shirt she made in home-ec, a kangaroo jacket, and much more. Sheryl looked everywhere for that belt. How could it just disappear, she wondered... It was closing night and we'd had a great run. The week's performances were sold out with audiences that were generous with standing ovations and laughter. I was back stage awaiting the opening of the production, freaking out about the fact that my family was in the audience and I had on the belt that I stole from my poor sister. My cast mates assured me that she would never notice from such a distance that I had her belt. Besides, I wore it backwards, so the familiar buckle was hidden conveniently at my back. All I could do was go on and hope for the best. The show went great and, after changing out of my costume, I emerged into the gymnasium to see my glowing family awaiting my arrival. They praised my and hugged me, and all the while my mind was on the belt. When it was my sister's turn, she squeezed me tight and yelled excitedly, "You were fantastic!" and then followed with, "now give me back my belt." She really could have ripped me a new one, but she didn't want to spoil my big moment, so she let me off the hook. I don't know why I didn't just ask her when I wanted to borrow something. I guess I just thought she was sooooo cool and didn't think she'd lend me anything that was cool enough to be hers. I think it's just a little sister's job to be a pain in the ass and I was very good at being a little sister.

Went to my friend Dan's Birthday party last night. It was a lot of fun, cuz my bud, Daveen, who is married to the Birthday boy, rented a karaoke machine and lots of CDs.

This is my sister, Sheryl, and I at the party. This was when everything was still dignified, before we were trying to wrestle the microphone out of each other's hands.

despite our plans to have a reasonably early evening, we ended up piling out of the cab and into our houses at about 4:00 in the morning. Sometimes time just flies when you're eating great food, drinking cocktails, sharing belly laughs with friends, and screaming shamelessly to all the timely karaoke classics! We had a variety ranging from anything from the "Grease" sound track, to the ever popular "Brittany Spears." I think I heard a rousing version of "Love Shack" and because it wasn't on any of the CDs, I entertained with a lively accapella (not sure how to spell it) rendition of "Baby got Back." There was also some very riveting, yet disturbed and angry interpretations of a few Alanis Morriset songs, sung by all the women at the same time. Powerful stuff!

So today was dedicated to having brunch with my sis, watching her tape of last week's "The Biggest Loser" and curling up on the couch with my crossword puzzle and remote. It takes a little time to recover from the aforementioned activities, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice.

After seeing Alicia off to school yesterday morning, I threw a load of laundry in, sat down with a bowl of mini wheats and my newspaper, and began doing my crossword puzzle. I had barely gotten started when I heard the cycle shift, and then the sound of water pouring onto the floor. Obviously alarmed, I rushed around the corner to find water gushing out of the machine and splashing all over the linoleum that had just been put in last November. Smoke billowed out of the back of the appliance, and I reflexively pushed the button to turn it off. I then pulled all the soaking, heavy clothes out of the washer, hoping that when it was empty, I could drain the damned thing. When I tried turning it back on to see if it would drain, it threw off large sparks! There I stood in 2 inches of water, my arms soaked to the elbows, marveling at the fact that I didn't just electrocute myself! My thoughts flashed on how close I could have been to meeting my maker for a second there. Anyway, I turned off the power from the breaker, and began the laborious job of mopping up all the water. I had to pull the fridge out, the dryer, and because of the drum full of water, I couldn't budge the washer. What a way to start the morning. This morning I took my garden hose, put one end in the washing machine, and dragged the other end outside. I then proceeded to suck on the end of the hose until the water began to drain happily out into the yard. Phew! Now I could at least move the machine and mop up the floor underneath! I had visions of my linoleum lifting and my damage deposit disappearing!
Anyway, now I have no washer, and Alicia hasn't done all the mountains of laundry she had after she cleaned her room. My sister generously offered to let me use her washer until I have the situation handled, but I hope to have a new/used one, like, yesterday.
Enough of my belly aching, now. I must go run some errends between clients. I'm working on getting Alicia a passport for this December when my parents take her to Mexico. Ola, amigos!

OOOOOH, I'm having one of those days!!! The good news is, I found my camera! The bad news is, it was buried under a pile of junk behind my daughter's bed! I must have left it on the computer table, and I guess it was in the way, so somehow, it ended up getting lost in this abyss of clothes, video games, controllers, walkmans, ipods, paper, garbage, pencil shavings...You get the idea. As I climbed over the mountains of dirty clothes, my fury rose at the realization that there were clean, still folded clothes intermingled with the dirty ones. Digging through the debris, I marveled at the ancient runes that I recognized from years passed. Clothing I forgot she had, 3 pairs of my scissors that she swore she didn't have, make up, nail polish, posters! The thing is, I've never been accused of being a neat freak, but how could I have raised a child with such low standards? How can she live in this dump? I know I shouldn't have started cleaning, because it teaches her nothing, but I couldn't help it. After shoveling a full garbage bag of trash out of there, I sorted 3 heaping baskets of laundry, and threw a bunch of stuff on her futon. The more I cleaned, the angrier I became. We just got new carpets put into our rental townhouse last November and there was make-up without lids on the floor, along with shavings from pencil crayons, nail polish with drips down the sides, dangerously close to getting on the carpet and more. Anyway, she'd kill me if she knew I was exposing her for the slob that she is, but I need to vent, dammit! So now she will come home, and I will send her to her room to finish the job that she will not thank me for starting. Until then, I think the first load of laundry just finished, so I'm going to soak in a nice bath. Though I know this doesn't need to be said, Alicia is the most beautiful thing that has ever come into my life, and I love her so much I could cry just thinking about her face. I just needed to say that since I just ranted about her throughout this post. by the way, I was going to put a picture of the city dump on the top of this post, but it keeps saying "error on the page" so I won't further frusterate myself by fighting with it.

INCH WORM


Remember these? This was like the inch worm I had when I was a little girl. I would hop on my inch worm and go down the street to my friends' houses. You don't just sit on it and push with your feet. You bounce up and down and the accordion-like middle moves you forward.
Once I was hanging out with some friends, when the boy whose house we were at suggested that we all go into the shed and pull down our pants. I must have been about 4 years old. He said that anyone who wanted to participate, should follow him to the shed. Well, we all went into the shed, where he and all the other kids, except me, dropped their drawers. "Sharon," he said, "Aren't you going to pull down your pants?" "No," I said with my arms crossed stubbornly in front of my chest. "If you're not going to pull down your pants, you can't be in the shed with us," he demanded. So I said, "WELL THEN, I'M LEAVING!" and stormed out of the shed, hopped on my inchworm and began bouncing on out of there. I don't know why, but the boy was like, "Okay, you can stay in here. Just come back!" So there I was, the only one fully clothed with all these kids standing around with their goodies hanging out.
Suddenly the door swung open and his mom was standing their horrified. She demanded that we all leave that moment and dragged her son out of the shed, up the back stairs and into his room.
As I climbed back on my inchworm and we all made our way out front to the street, all we could hear was the distinct sound of palm-to-bare-butt spanking and the roaring cries of our little friend. To this day I marvel at how parents back then handled stuff like that. I wonder what ever became of the boy. If I ever see him again, I might be tempted to remind him that my inchworm was bigger than his inchworm.

So I go to the mall today to treat myself to a few new articles of clothing. I walked out with $100.00 worth of facial cleansers and $50.00 worth of make up. For that kind of money, my skin better look like a baby's tooshie in a month! I guess I just figured, what better way to cling desperately to my quickly fading youth than to relieve shoppers drug mart of all the skin care products I can carry? I don't know if they work on commission there, but if they do, that lady has people like me to thank for her children's college education. Sadly for Alicia, it was my skin care, or her college education. I stand by my decision. Anyhoo, Big Brother is ending tonight. I am so disappointed that Janelle was eliminated, but I guess that's how the ball bounces. I can't stand how Mike Boogie is all kissy face with Erica, and then turns around in the diary room and calls her a "whore" with a "ugly long face" I would be so ashamed if I was his mother! It's one thing to play someone for the sake of the game, it's another to snuggle up in bed smooching, and then talk trash about her on TV. What a dink! It was funny, though, to see Boogie cry when Dr. Doom was voted off. Boo hoo..Sniffle sniffle... In other news, I've lost my camera. I was sitting on the couch with Drew a couple of weeks ago, and it had fallen off the coffee table onto the floor. So Drew goes, "Is that your camera? Maybe you should pick it up." I, being in a bit of a cheeky mood, just said, "naaa." Well, sure enough, now the damned thing is missing! Of course Drew is feeling pretty cocky with his "you should have picked it up when I told you" attitude, which makes it even worse! I've looked everywhere, and I don't want to accuse anyone, but Alicia's friends are always here, some of them I know, some I don't know that well. So now I have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that someone picked it up and took it home. Now, I will probably find it and feel bad for suspecting one of them, but I can't help thinking it's possible. On a different note, why the hell is there a big space under this post? I can't delete it, so I'm just gonna publish it like this. I'm not super woman, y'know! (did I mention I'm a little premenstrual?)