Speaking of Christmas, this was horrifying!

As if Project Runway wasn't ruined enough by Gretchen's ugly clothes for the farm, now there appears to be an actual trend of clunkiness! This year's clunkiness is comparable to the hideousity that was Doc Marten's in the 80s and Crocs clogs for far too long so I guess we should be used to the ugly shoe trend. So sad, in a season that is meant (by my decree) to celebrate sleek, shiny, maybe even sparkly shoes but never ever shoes that one could wear to happily walk through manure in. Poo.

The Christmas debate (non-religious)

It happens every year. At least one, usually more, of my friends complains about Christmas decorations, Santas, etc. appearing everywhere before Thanksgiving. I strongly disagree. I'm sure this comes from moving to Florida when I was five, but to me Christmas is the best holiday and why not extend it for two months? I remember wearing cute fur-trimmed coats (mine was navy-blue w light-blue fur trim) navy tights, fluffy hats, walking home from kindergarten looking down at the snow melting into oily puddles at the side of the road, The oil, water, ice mixture turned into shiny dark rainbows at my feet. Now, even though many years we can wear shorts and flip-flops for the winter holidays (extremely disappointing!), I long for jewel-toned velvet, fur trims, fluffy scarves and long leather gloves. Christmas means jewelry, perfume and lingerie in pretty boxes. It means getting dressed up, so rare when one lives in the land of capris year-round. Your make-up doesn't sweat off and one looks and feels comfortable and beautiful. It is the time of year that I wish was all year round, okay we could have two months of hottish weather to keep it special. Extending Christmas is an extension of my favorite fantasy time.

Fashion!

If, like me, you wish there was any decent coverage of real fashion on TV besides the Rachel Zoe show, may I point out a website with all the fashion any woman could want. Style.com has video of many of the shows, pictures of all of them, reviews and lots more. I can spend hours here- and the best news is long is back! Mini and shrunken everything has been everywhere for so long now I am truly sick of it, bring on the long skirts and blazers! Also, having your fashion streamed to you online is cleaner then piles of fashion magazines around the house. I have been guilty of this since being 13 years old and looking through Vogue with Brooke Shields on the cover (she was on every cover for two years it seemed in the 80s). Some cute jackets are on my Fall shopping list, fitted and shapely not shrunken, as well as another pencil skirt, perfect black pants and some sexy high heeled boots.

Letting it fly!

Being a bit of a geek, I spend a lot of time on various Internet forums. This means interacting with people and keeping in mind that there is a real person behind posts and behaving accordingly. So, when a well-meaning but fashionably clueless person posted a request for links to purchase a pair of workout-capris with big cut-out holes running down the sides of the legs, I only momentarily bugged out before suggesting they change their focus. This however is my blog and i can say what I want. Stay away from all clothing with cutouts!! Just say no! It's tacky and sleazy and your friend will be talked about if she goes there!

Whew, ok I feel better. The person's response to me in defense of the terrible pants was that they were sexy and why not feel sexy at the gym? Because it is terribly distracting actually, but let's say a girl does want to feel sexy at the gym. Let's talk about sex.

First of all, men are hard-wired to view women who look like they can bear a healthy baby as sexy. So, any woman in the child-bearing age range who appears healthy and well-taken care of is going to attract attention. Secondly, you are at the gym which is an additional step in the healthy and fit direction. Also, if a woman is considering pants like that she is probably already wearing form-fitting clothing. Want to feel sexy at the gym? Smile more at the guys. As long as you are within the healthy weight range and have all your teeth I guarantee you all the attention you could want.

So much for sex, let's talk style. I am not advocating that everyone look the same at the gym or dress in baggy shrouds. My friend Pam works out in a sports bra and little running shorts, admittedly a skimpy outfit. Skimpy, but appropriate; the bra is for sports as are the shorts, she looks great in them and here in Florida less can be more. Now me. I can usually be found in black stretchy yoga pants and a form-fitting but relaxed t-shirt turned backwards to avoid too much cleavage exposure, a covered up but body conscious silhouette. Completely different from Pam's look, but equally appropriate. It isn't hard to figure out what to wear while working out that is comfortable and makes you feel attractive without veering into slutwear.

There is the sad fact that fitness models are often photographed in such slutwear that a woman who sees enough of these images may start to see the outfits as desirable. Here is a good example of a hideously tacky outfit.

Ladies, use the body of the model as your inspiration, but never ever the clothes.

Rest day, DOMs gone

Checking out Facebook it is striking how different my friends up North react to Labor Day compared to down here. They really party it up! Looks cold too, they are already in hoodies and jeans whereas down here it's like, okay a holiday, banks are closed. Maybe not that bad, the beach hotels are usually booked but not anything I get too excited about. Its going to stay summertime warm here for at least another month. Which leads me to Fashion Week! Hopefully there will be a couple of interesting trends for Spring/Summer next year. I can't recall a single trend I was excited about at the beginning of the season this year- those ugly maxi-dresses (which are really a two years ago thing). Hated those all the way back when Uli was being praised all over the place for hers on Project Runway. The boho look is nice but when one is busty, loose flowy tops tend to look more maternity then sexy.

Rest day, second one in a row. My upper back was really feeling those military presses yesterday but today all is well. Tomorrow aiming for 6am Spin to warm up and squats, bench, deads.

Endorphins!

Insomnia has been stalking me lately- but I laugh in it's face and just rearrange my schedule- Ha Ha! Being up before the alarm has its advantages, making it to three 6am Spin classes is one (three?) of them. Since Spinning had become relatively easy for me, I decided to treat it as the warm-up before lifting. This time, I brought an extra T-shirt for modesty. The early cardio shook the cobwebs out of my sleep-deprived mind and got the blood flowing enough for a solid finish to my first week of lifting on the Starting Strength program.

Today was squats, bench, dead. Squats are solid at 65 lbs, all the reps on the program are 5 rep sets after a warm-up set or two. Bench was also 65, and deads/ pulls are 95- going for 100 or more next week. I can't wait to have all three at 135- that's the big girl plates. However, I will wait, or take my time at least as being smart with progression will avoid injuries caused by pushing too fast. The exercise high afterward is a great surprise when it comes too.

Fashion! Remember me scoffing at the six item only clothing diet? Well Jean Chatsky the money gal from the Today show did it for the past 60 days, and guess what? She did tons of laundry. I get wanting to slow one's consumption down, as a person who regularly goes thru her closet to purge, I see exactly what I wasted money on on a regular basis. That said, doing that much laundry wastes resources too, especially when one already has a closet stocked with more then six items. A buying freeze for a year or at least a season makes a lot more sense to me. Shopping is therapy though, so here are six items on my fantasy Amazon shopping trip. What are yours?