Reconstructing Gertie

Word on the street for a while now is that 40 is the new 30. When a friend told me she was turning 41, my jaw dropped in awe of how amazing she looks. In San Francisco you see gorgeous, hip women on the positive side of 35 all the time. Apparently, women should no longer be scared to turn the "Big 3-0." In my book it's 32 they should worry about.

When I turned 30 I didn't change much. I still looked 26. And even though I still act 26 to this day, here I am at 32 and it appears I am starting to physically deteriorate. The whisper of future wrinkles I saw when I was 30 are now digging in and actually becoming features! My admired firm tush has decided to distinguish itself by adding a shelf. And where the hell did my tricep definition go?! Strangers are even calling me "Ma'am" more often than "Miss."

Then! Just when starting to contemplate all of this! A TV commercial came on: a girl enters her apartment, drops her purse, goes to the fridge and grabs a slice of chocolate cake. She takes the cake to the couch and starts eating it while watching TV. When she finishes, she sets the empty plate down, leans back on the couch and lights a cigarette. I am loving the commercial, waiting for what is next, because this girl is me. Chocolate cake for dinner and a relaxing cigarette after! Nice (though if it was me I would have eaten more cake). And here is what came next. Fade to black, and: Eat right. Exercise. Don't smoke. Live healthy.

%^&@!!!!!!! OK, OK, I get it. So, with the universe screaming "YOU'RE AGING AND UNHEALTHY" I am slowly reconstructing Gertie. That's right folks, in the face of my changing face, it's time to focus on some long-term preventative maintenance. In fact, I've already made some strides of change:

1. Replaced my daily ritual of the morning coffee to green tea, and reverted back to the pre-collegiate days of "social" coffee drinking. I did this to increase the anti-oxidents (anti-aging), but you can't imagine the recovery of lost energy I've had. Plus, coffee begs for a cigarette, green tea really doesn't.
2. If any of you have followed along my blog journey, I mentioned in "Bad Gas" that only the hint of love was enough to get me to floss regularly. Happy to report that I floss about 3 times a week, compared to previously which was more like once every 3 months. Not a huge step, but your mouth ages too, people.
3. Cutting back on the cigs. I take 5 out of the pack in the morning and that's all I have all day. Unless there's a party. Or alcohol involved. No, it's not the same as cold turkey. Baby steps, folks, baby steps.

Well, it's not a complete 360 lifestyle change. I've still got to work on the food intake. You were probably wondering how a cute, slim girl like me keeps her figure - it's not the diet. As it stands, I eat like crap, run 30 minutes 2 times a week and come out okay. Here's what I ate yesterday:

8:47 am: green tea
9:14 am: 2 slices toast gopped with butter
9:28 am: 2 more slices of toast gopped with butter
9:42 am: 2nd cup of green tea
11:51 am: heated up can of Trader Joe's Low Fat chicken noodle soup
4:16 pm: a bowl of chicken flavored Top Ramen
7:46 pm: peanut butter an jelly sandwhich (Yes, I know I'm 32!)
9:12 pm: too many chocolate-covered raisins to count

Did you notice the theme of 2's in there? I probably had 2 pb&j's as well. Hard to keep count. Hey and there's another theme - did you catch it? Right. It's vegetarian - just kidding. Theme number two is NO FRUITS OR VEGETABLES. I am real enough to admit that a chocolate-covered raisin is not a fruit.

Well, at least I can say I already had some good habits in place (sunscreen, eye cream, daily moisturizer and drinking lots of water), and I don't think I'm off to a bad start here with my newest trends, either. This is even more exciting than having New Year's resolutions! Ah, yes, change in the name of vanity and longevity...now, if you'll excuse me, I'm under construction.