The Ideal Bathing Suit

That is, if I had the ideal body!

I'm still on the hunt for a cute, affordable bathing suit this year (I've been wearing one I got last year).  Once I saw this one at Victoria's Secret, I knew that it would be the one if I were tall & skinny like the model sporting it, ha!  Unfortunately, and contrary to Snooki's belief, I don't think monokins are for short people.  But check it out:

both images from victoriassecret.com

I can't decide if I like it better in black or white.  Either way, it's HOT!  But maybe not for swimming at the neighborhood pool with two toddlers (which is what I'm up to this weekend).  

It's finally pretty here in northern California and I intend to get the tan to prove it!

Also, check out Micaela's post about her upcoming visit . . . she, Marianne, and Jessie will be here in just four days!!!

Shredded

Happy June!

I'm not really shredded (yet), but I did finish the 30 Day Shred!  I did it in 5 weeks: 6 days a week, taking Thursdays off (my Thursday schedule during the school year is crazy).

Gotta say, annoying as she is, Jillian knows what she's talking about.  Granted, I've also been eating meticulously over the past month and a half (and thanks to My Fitness Pal, I know everything I've consumed over the past 5 or so weeks), but I think this really works.  I don't have a scale so I'm not sure what my weight difference is, but I put on a pair of jeans the other day that haven't fit in over a year.  And I can see a lot of definition in my legs.

My motivation?  BATHING SUIT SEASON.  Yikes!

anthropologie.com

Swooning over this one from Anthropologie, but not having a lot of luck elsewhere.  Where have you gotten your bathing suits this season?

Now that the 30 Day Shred is done, I need some new goals.  Thinking of starting here:

1. Exercise 4 days a week

2. Read ten books this summer

3. Send poems out to literary journals (two submissions per week)

4. Call my grandma weekly

5. Create an account at mint.com and/or read the book that my friend Christina recommended, Total Money Makeover, in order to start being an adult about finances.

What's in store for you this month?

Friday I'm in Love . . . sorta

1. Azim Khamisa
I'm teaching about forgiveness and restorative justice in class right now, and Azim Khamisa embodies the principles of empathy and forgiveness.  His 20 year old son, Tariq, a pizza delivery guy, was shot and killed by an angry 14 year old when he was held up for the pizza.  Instead of seeking revenge, Azim Khamisa has established the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, the philosophy of which is that there are "victims at both ends of the gun."  He works closely with the grandfather of his son's killer, traveling around speaking to young people about violence prevention and forgiveness.  If you have the chance to see the short film "From Murder to Forgiveness," do it.

from

One of my heroes, that man.  But what I'm not in love with?  The fact that I can't attend this conference.  

2. Earth Day

Everything in my sister's etsy shop, Very Fine House, is now HALF OFF with the code . . . HALFOFF. ;)

from

3. Ruffly Swimsuits

These and pretty much all others from Anthropologie.  Gotta hop on the Shred bandwagon before I start trying on swimsuits, though, geez.  And speaking of swimsuits, would you check out this wackness from Urban Outfitters?  WTF?  

Okay, I'm off to finish the school day and then jet off to find a delicious bottle of red wine to bring to my friends' house for dinner tonight.  Ah, adult beverages and conversation.  You heal me.

**Link up with Summer and tell us what you're loving this Friday:

Bikini Body?

Is there any girl out there who truly enjoys bathing suit shopping? Like most girls, my weight fluctuates up & down, but even when I'm at my skinniest (which I'm certainly not now), standing in that dreaded fitting room light in front of a full mirror in a bathing suit can spiral me into the worst mood in a split second. Even when I'm the happiest with my body, as soon as I try on a bathing suit, everything I criticize about myself becomes grossly exaggerated . . . those bright mirrors are cruel! And mocking!

I'm heading down to the O.C. in a few short hours to visit my dear friend Amyola (and her new baby, Sam!), so yesterday I went to Target to try to find a new bathing suit. Needless to say, it was an unsuccessful endeavor. In my fantasy, I'm wearing a white monokini, big black sunglasses, a floppy hat, and red lipstick. HA! Never gonna happen.

The terrible irony is that the trying-on-a-swimsuit experience isn't nearly as bad in my own house as it is at the store, but it's way too risky to buy a freaking bathing suit without trying it on first, considering I have to try on about 42 of them in the fitting room before I find one that I think actually looks cute on.

Today, though, I stumbled upon this beauty at Anthropologie's website, and it just might be worth ordering (and inevitably shipping it back):

Gorgeous, right??

Anybody have any tricks to making bathing suit shopping any less miserable?

Also: thanks to my sister and stepmom, I'm now obsessed with playing Words with Friends on my iPhone. Who else plays this?! I need to know right away so I can start a game with you! Tell me your username! And if you don't play it yet, please download it pronto. ;)

Wish me luck finding Seth and Ryan on Newport Beach!