Work and Weight and Hair and Stuff

I've gained a little weight. Not a lot, but enough so that the pants that I've been wearing for the past 3-ish years have become too tight. I can get them on, but they hug my mid-section and it's not pretty. So I've had to go buy more work pants because I'm in this place now where my 2007 pants are still too big, but my 2008-2010 pants are too small. I have to wear ugly blue uniform shirts to work Monday thru Thursday, so my pants options are limited. And when in the hell did the gap stop selling everyday khakis? I don't understand. I now have to go to Old Navy to get my khakis, and they don't fit nearly as well as Gap pants do. There is a J Crew outlet in Mississippi that I only go to about twice a year, so I will have to hold off on my major khaki purchase until then. PS - The word 'khaki' looks weird when you type it over and over.

I also bought some comfortable work shoes - they're clogs. Like, brown clogs. The kind that you see nurses and chefs wear. They make me feel tall(er) because they've got thick soles. I think they're a little butch, but holy shit are they comfortable. I've worn them everyday this week because wearing comfortable shoes to work makes my day better.

And this whole weight gain thing? I mean, I'm still doing the gym thing four days a week. I'm starting to think that I've plateaued with the running; but I can't get up any earlier than I already do to get to the gym to run longer, so it is what it is. I also think the weight gain may have something to do with Neal going to a 14 and 14 schedule earlier this year. I eat so differently when he's gone and when he's home and I think my body was used to 7 and 7. Eating like crap for 7 days in a row while he's home is probably not as damaging as doing it for 14 days in a row. And once I gain weight, it's so freaking hard for me to take it off.

ANYway, I got my hair trimmed Tuesday and my hairdresser told me she was 14 weeks pregnant. I feel like the only non-mom on the planet. She is 28 and has been married for 6 months and she is very sweet, but she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed. I kind of miss my NOLA hairdresser, Charlotte. Charlotte is about my Mom's age and I have always wanted to be her. She's so cute and always wore the best clothes and I think it would be so great to just hang out in my Magazine Street salon all day and gossip and drink PJ's and be quirky and fashionable. Instead I'm wearing blue uniform shirts with lesbian shoes and reading policy everyday. (No, serisouly I love my job but sometimes I think it would be nice to just gossip all day long uptown while wearing expensive jeans and $60 t-shirts from Gae-Tana's.)

And while I'm thinking about moms and hair and stuff, I realized that if I ever get pregnant and have a girl that I will have to learn how to fix hair! I can't fix my own hair, much less someone elses. Is there a class that teaches you how to do this? The thought of this makes me very nervous.

Oh, and don't laugh but I recently finished a book called The 10 Best-Ever Anxiety Management Techniques: Understanding How Your Brain Makes You Anxious and What You Can Do to Change It and it was very helpful. I skipped over some of the parts that either did not apply to me or were too science-y, but the explanations on how the brain works and the relaxation/thought control techniqes she taught were worth the read.