Superbowl 48 = Super Bowling

Last year we had a REALLY memorable Super Bowl Sunday. There was tons of chaos, blood, grocery store trips, etc. This year was far less traumatizing, but far more fun to make up for it. I'm not going to list anything this time because there's only one thing!

Around lunch time we went BOWLING with the kids. Because what better way to celebrate the Super Bowl!? They had a blast and because Nicko and I suck at bowling so much, the kids only barely lost. It was awesome to go bowling, since the last time I've been was when Nick took me on our second date for bowling and karaoke.

The scoreboard shows our scores in this order - Nickooooo, Abaleth, Scarsational, and Shelbybooboo. Yes, Nick gets creative when filling out the scorekeeper.







We had a lovely afternoon, and quite possibly have just founded a family tradition for our Super Bowl celebrations. And I can hardly wait until the next bowling trip!

Why I Don't Hate My Body

This post has been moved to... http://everythingisntnormal.com/why-i-dont-hate-my-body

So a few weeks ago I posted about my fitness goals. While I'm not asking anyone to disregard that post, I really feel like it's important I make it clear how I feel about my body. I never, in the post, said anything about desired weight loss, inches to lose, etc. And the reason is, I don't really care about losing weight. Let me give you a whole bunch of perspective. This picture is me, right now. My belly isn't flat, I have a muffin top, stretch marks, a slight double chin and a round bottom. I've looked pretty much just like this for two years. I've never really attempted to change any of it and I don't really care to. I love my body, I accept it and I don't hide it except when I'm practicing daily modesty, such as wearing clothes to work.

Over the last two years I've dated a few men who have seen this in person. Not one of them has been turned off, disgusted, revolted or unwilling to touch me. I've never been denied a hug or kiss due to my body's appearance. I look slimmer in my clothes that out of my clothes. Not once has anyone complained that I was hiding my "true" body or that I had tricked them about me. And without actually asking any of them, I know that they didn't dislike my chubby tummy, my muffin top, my butt, or my stretch marks. And today, my boyfriend loves me and has never once asked me to change my appearance. In fact, I'm pretty sure he actually LOVES the way I look.

But let's set aside the "men's point of view" for a minute. Why should it be about what they like any way? This is about me, and how I see myself. My physical appearance is natural and it's rare that make up ever touches my face. Not even a foundation or concealer. The chin shows up when I look down like a dork or make a silly face. It's not even important. My tummy. It's sooo unflat. It's fairly round. If I hold my breath and puff a little, I could pass myself as a roughly 4 months pregnant woman. But my pants fit and I don't bother buying pants if they don't. My blouses and t-shirts are rarely too tight and if they are, I just wear something else. And I do wear a bikini at the pool, because guess what, nobody sees my belly. Because they just don't care.

Nothing in the world is more attractive to anyone, including my own self, than the confidence I can exude. I'm sexy, beautiful, attractive, whatever you want to call me and my body is PERFECT because I'm CONFIDENT about it. If you ever hear me say "I'm sort of fat." It's because I'm stating a small fact that has nothing to do with who I am, how I live, how I succeed or fail, what kind of parent I am, etc.

I want to promote healthy body image views for everyone. I have a young daughter and it's come to light that every woman in her life can influence the way she feels about herself and I need to make sure she's confident with her body and her mind.

I'll love some twitter response to this! Post your picture of your body that YOU love and tag with #lovemybodychallenge and I may feature one or two during the next blog post about body image and talking to kids about it!