from Book Bums

Book Bums: a summertime collage

Time: 8:14 AM
Drink: iced soy latte
Mood: pensive yet apathetic

I'm sitting at one of the tables flanking the wall-to-wall bookshelves. Dust-laden spines stare at me over the lip of my glass. This place really is quite cozy, but you have to dodge this place at certain times during the week when it's flooded with little kids enjoying story-time. On the one hand, I think it's great that this little cafe is geared towards promoting literacy and reading; on the other hand, it's annoying when I want peace and quiet. Today I'm in luck: the snot-nosed kids are at a minimal, and I can enjoy my iced cinnamon dolce latte in peace.

Ashley and I have been consistent in our "lifestyle tweaks" (i.e. eating better), and we're going to kick-start exercising again. It's difficult to exercise together, what with the girls and all, but we're both excited about warm weather and the prospect of running again. We went on a handful of runs before the weather turned south this January. I've lost about ten pounds (I'm around 160) and Ashley's lost a couple, but she's plateaued and doesn't seem to be able to get out of "this damned rut" (as she calls it). She went to the doctor, and they did a bunch of tests and told her she's in tip-top shape. They're not sure why she isn't losing weight, so they're going to do some more tests in a week or two and see if they can't figure out what the issue is so that they can fix it. Ashley wants to get down to 140 pounds before our Hilton Head vacation in June, but I'm thinking 160 is a better goal. "I don't want you to get too skinny," I told her; "You know I like a little pudge on ya!"

She tells me she'll always have a belly, which I'm more than okay with. Pregnancy can wreck a woman's body, and Ashley has the telltale signs of someone who's birthed two giant fetuses out of her vagina: saggy breasts, stretch marks for days, a tummy pouch, and wide hips. She hates all of that, often longs for the body she had before the girls came along. I may be weird, but I see those things as marks of beauty: she's created life, she's given birth, she's been privy to not one but two miracles in her womb. There's such a hatred of the womb, and a dislike of children, in our culture that the physical effects of pregnancy are seen in a negative light. I hope that Ashley can, one day, see her beauty the way I see it. I don't care if she's not a super model, and nor do I want her to have a super model body (fun fact: lots of agencies wanted her to model for them when she was in high school). I like her the way she is, and as I told her, my concern isn't how much she weighs but whether or not she's healthy. That's what matters. 

In other news:

the average erect penis is 5.2 inches long.

(I learned this on NPR)

That puts me WELL above average.

And that makes me happy.

#penisenvy. Look this way.

(but no touching!)

Unless you're Blake.

Yes, Blake can touch it.

Be gentle, Dream Boat.