Just dance.

"I can't dance, I can't talk.
Only thing about me is the way I walk.
I can't dance, I can't sing
I'm just standing here selling everything."
~~ Genesis, "I Can't Dance"

Today was the longest day ever.
My best friend Johnny gave word that two of his friends were coming over for drinks, so as soon as I was finished at work, I sent the smoke signal to have a glass at the ready for me as I hightailed it to his fabulous haus.

Johnny is pretty much the most fabulous person I know.
Not only is he my BFF, he's a kindred spirit - one that I can discuss books and a million other things with and share my love of good libations.
He's also my fantastic date to many a thing since I'm always the one going stag, but more than that, he's just great to be around. Aside from my family, he's the only person who ever really helps me feel good about myself, and plus, he keeps a fabulously pristine haus that makes me regret my own somewhat uncleanliness.

By the time I got there, two bottles of wine had magically disappeared, and upon my arrival, three more - including a tasty homemade vino that was to die for - somehow found their way into the same black hole.

Instead of cracking open another bottle, we turned to our old standby, Stegmaier.

What followed next was inevitable.

A dance party.
Which is pretty miraculous considering I'm the worst dancer ever, something Johnny can attest, considering he's tried to teach me about a million times, including a two-step across his dining room tonight.

But enough about my shortcmings on the rug cutting.
Back to the dance party.
It included Murray Head's "One Night in Bangkok" and Cindy Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."
It included more than a few show tunes before morphing into Madonna - during which Johnny and I made up a routine to "Like a Virgin," "Like a Prayer" and an off-the-charts (if I do say so myself) "Vogue" - before ending with the ever-queenly Cher.

It was totally what this Tuesday ordered.

And I totally envisioned myself dancing amid "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,"

but it just might have been the booze talking ... never mind the routine we did during "Half Breed" and "Like a Virgin."

Some things are sacred, you know.

My fabulous Mommalah.

"All that I am,
or hope to be,
I owe to my angel mother."
~~ Abraham Lincoln

Mommalah.
She is the most loving, kind and just downright incredible person I know, or probably will ever know.
It's a great feeling to know that you are loved so completely and so unconditionally.

Yesterday was her birthday, so we went to the fabulous Tunkhannock Rotary Harvest & Wine Festival.
We got our commemorative glasses and hit the grapes, falling in love with a few wineries, and the exact opposite with a few wineries - though you'd never know the latter from our always-empty glasses!

We got ourselves a nice little sunny fall day buzz before heading to the fabulously quaint Twigs for dinner. If you ever find yourself in Tunkhannock, you simply must eat there! Athenian chicken is to die!

I wanted so desperately for her to have a wonderful birthday, a day she's never really been too crazy about.
{Clearly my obsessive compulsive zest and excitement for my own birthday comes from the mailman.}

And she totally did.
And so did I.
I hope and pray everyone has as amazing a woman for their mother as I do.

"God could not be everywhere,
and therefore he made mothers."
~~ Jewish proverb

The New Regime: Days 4 & 5.

Wow. I can't believe it's been five whole days since I started TNR.
And that I stuck to it as rigidly as I did.

Yesterday, I had a really good morning workout and went out to dinner with Mommalah, where I actually behaved myself.

Today, I did a killer ab routine.
I got terribly peckish at work after eating my salad for lunch, so I grabbed my wallet and headed to the elevator that would take me down to the vending machine, where I was sure to fall prey to a bag of pretzels I'd eat in one sitting - a bag that probably had a serving size of three.

I hit the down button, and as I waited for the doors to open, I remembered the banana I brought in two days ago, that was slowly turning brown.

I remembered how good I felt this week.
I remembered how noticeably thin my face was already.
I remembered how proud I felt of how strong my willpower had been.
I remembered feeling my jammie pants get less snug as the week went on.
I remembered how I've been reveling that my stomach, which is still and probably always will be more fleshy than I'd like, was less fleshy than I began the week with.

Can I just tell you I enjoyed the hell out of that banana?
Almost as much as I enjoyed finding this:

The New Regime: Day 3.

I am completely dragging ass today.
Still haven't really slept and it's starting to catch up to me.
But I did take one hell of a walk after work like I had wanted to. It was my usual 2-mile loop, but I seemed to be trekking a lot more brisk than usual.

Because of my uber-ridiculously early outing this morning, I ate my breakfast super early and didn't eat again for another six hours.

That is virtually unheard of for me, unless I have to fast for blood work.
I'm the type of girl could - and would before TNR - binge all day long.
I even used my rarely-seen willpower to not have any of the tempting, tasty-looking subs from Quizno's while I was at 98.5 KRZ this morning.

Me turning down food? Or, more importantly, me turning down free, carb-laden food?
A whole new regime, indeed!

I know pride is bad, but I can't help but feel so proud of myself!

The New Regime: Day 2

Today was sort of stellar, diet-wise.
I ate very well, did a heck of a yoga routine from an old SELF magazine - the one with tips from Jennifer Aniston's own instructor.

I just felt lighter, and felt completely wired most of the day after the morning's grande red eye from Starbucks (a medium coffee with a shot of espresso. SO GOOD! and SO EXPENSIVE!).

Was kind of pissed I got out of work a little later than expected, only because it meant I wouldn't be able to take a walk tonight. And I have to be out of the house retardedly early tomorrow, so no pre-work workout.

Enter The Testing Zone.
Historically, if I get sidetracked or have a crazy schedule one day, it derails my whole regime.

Well, not this time damn you.

Since the early bird will be out ... well, early tomorrow, she'll be home early as well, and plans to take a big ole walk.
I can't wait.

On Sunday, I stocked up on Lean Cuisine and bought myself a new SHAPE magazine for inspiration, even going so far as to ask Mommalah for a subscription for Christmas.

That little question spawned The New Regime's first challenge (as if eating healthy and exercising at least five days a week isn't challenging enough).

The challenge is to lose 10 pounds by the time my first issue arrives.

I think I can do it.
I know I can do it.
I want to do it.
Do you think I can do it?

{Because I am so easily discouraged, I'd love for you to comment below with some of your suggestions and tips on how to keep my will power - and call me out if/when I fall off the wagon.}

The New Regime: Day 1

OK, I'm not gonna lie to you.
Day 1 of The New Nikki didn't go off to a half hour on the Air Climber. I did still get up at 6:20 a.m. and did a half-hearted 10 minutes on the AC, but I was so exhausted because I had one of my Insomniac Nights.
Not that that's an excuse, of course, even though I didn't really push myself.

I ate well all day and was starving by the time I left work.
I was so starving that I got one of my Nikki Hungry headaches,* yet I courageously ventured out for a quick walk around the school.

Damned if I didn't feel better!
The crisp air and the beautiful fall sky made everything better, even though I felt weak from starvation.**

The neatest thing happened at the end of my first lap. Just as I came around the corner of the school, I, deep in thought, looked up at the sky.
In parts it was bright orange as the sun began to set, and toward my house, amid ominously dark clouds, a very faint rainbow was visible.
I don't know why, because it certainly wasn't raining, which is the really only time I've ever seen a rainbow, save for through the mist at Niagara Falls.
It made me happy.

***
Like maybe I'm on my way to my pot of gold - my pot of mental and physical happiness gold.

I got home from my brisk 1.5 mile walk, had a nice dinner, ate my pudding cup with a dollop of peanut butter**** and here I am.

I feel better. Clear headed. Like I'm getting back on the road to myself. Yet again.

Well, I guess everyone is a work in progress, right?

*a searing headache that comes along during the first few days of a diet. According to my medical analysis, the headaches happen during the drastic switch from gorging myself to diet mode. Now granted, my medical analysis is done by me, who is not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, so it's pretty much bunk.
** I am not, under any circumstances, starving myself. I just like to hyperbole. And use big words.
*** Photo courtesy of Photobucket.com, not moi.
**** For the first time in my adult life of living alone - nine whole years - I bought generic peanut butter. I am a total Jif Extra Crunchy girl and immediately following the demise of this jar of generic reduced fat peanut butter, I am totally going back to my Jif Extra Crunchy. I don't give a damn how many Weight Watcher points it is. That fresh roasted peanuts taste is worth the higher price. I'm ashamed of myself, really, for trying to pinch pennies, when all I did was pinch taste. What kind of foodie am I?

Down in the dumps plus a TV marathon and a Happy List.

I've been feeling pretty miserable.
On Friday, I took my first sick day ever - yes, ever - during my 3.5+ years at the Weekender on Friday. It broke my heart, too, because it was our annual Model of the Year party, the biggest shindig we throw. It's like the prom for us staffers, and what girl doesn't love her prom??

I had a horrid cold. Sore throat. Fever. The Works.
But even before that, I was pretty down in the dumps.
Fall is my favorite season and I always feeling so reinvigorated and ready to Go. Walk. Bask in the cool temps.
But these past few weeks I've been going through one of my Lonely Periods. (Plus one of my I Feel Fat periods. Ugh.)
The change of seasons made me yearn for someone to go pumpkin picking with. Someone to kick up leaves with. Someone to cuddle when the temperature goes below zero in the apartment (or someone who has a warmer house to crash at).

But enough about the lonely period.
He'd probably find it weird that, in between numerous naps on Friday, I spent an awful lot of time watching the Canadian teen drama "Degrassi." I fell right into its soap opera-y world and it was everything I knew it would be. I'm not even ashamed to say I watched it for the better part of 10 hours.
{The last TV marathon of that caliber was when I happened upon a "Ninja Warrior" on G4 a few years back. It, too, was an exquisite way to spend 10 hours of my life I will never get back.}

Now that you've snickered and judged my "Degrassi" addiction, what is your TV guilty pleasure?

And now on with 10 Things That Make Me Happy:

1. Sundays with Mommalah …
2. … especially ones when she lets me be all whiny.
3. A blue sky over the pond so dark that’s lined by vibrant fall-colored trees.
4. Fall weather.
5. Seeing leaves dance in my rear view.
6. A gorgeous Halloween-worthy moon.
7. Feeling better, finally.
8. A “Degrassi” marathon.
9. A new episode of “Family Guy.”
10. Looking forward to making Mommalah’s birthday special on Saturday.