Party = Clean

So, I had a jewelry party at my house yesterday. Not too many people came, but a few did and it was a good time.

Why did I have a party?
Is it because I love jewelry so much? Not really… I mean, I like it, but I don’t wear it all that often.
Is it because I love Ang (the consultant) so much? Partially… I like to help my friends out when I can.
Main reason… I needed a reason to HAVE to deep clean the main floor of the house.

And that I did!
Dusted everything, moved all the furniture and vacuumed really well, vacuumed the stairs, swept, mopped, scrubbed the bathroom floor on my hands and knee (just the one, though)… Deep clean city! It looked and smelled AH-MAZING!

I also (finally) pulled some of the weeds from our flower bed. Also trimmed down the bushes a little so you can get up our walk way without being attacked by a plant. One day, I’d like to clean the whole thing out and make it super beautiful and presentable. Eventually…

Next project… Well, that depends on if we ever find (I’m starting to think it’s best to just have one built!) DVD shelving we like. Ideally, next project is organizing the “media” (all our junk) room. I also want to clean out and re-organize the pantry. That one seems like it’d be much easier to get done.

Only time will tell!

The list grows

Let’s just go ahead and assume I’m never going to get around to doing whatever my weekly “goal” is the week I plan to do it.

Still haven’t found shelving/storage we like. We tried though, checked out a couple places. But, didn’t find anything… yet. Maybe we can get to Ikea this week sometime. The hunt continues!

I still haven’t pulled the weeds either.

I DID clean the kitchen really good yesterday. Smelled wonderful. Prepped dinner for tonight and have a vague plan of what we’ll be eating the rest of the week.

In addition to feeling accomplished about the kitchen (I think the full bath will be done tonight!) I made a few decisions regarding dance this week that I think are going to be really good. I’m excited to see how the next 6-10 months play out in this regard. Only time can tell!

Goal(s) for this week:
Pull weeds
Find media shelves
Scrub full bath from top to bottom

Insane heat = no progress

No pictures. No real progress.

I needed to pull weeds. I bought a pair of gardening gloves (which at $5 I think I’ll return and see if I can’t snag a pair at the $1 store!), but it was just too dang hot to do any sort of anything outside.

I did make a delicious taco/fajita meal for dinner yesterday that then became a burrito bowl mess for lunch today. Which, by the way, I ate 2 hours ago and am still FULL.

So, goal for this week is to find media shelves for our mess of a “second bedroom.” We’ve lived there a year and it’s still just all the crap I don’t have room for thrown in boxes piled in there. Eventually the goal is to make that room our media room (as well as my clothing and dance stuff). So, we need storage and a lamp. Maybe, if we can find shelves we both like, I can have that room completed by this time next week. That’d be amazing and would make me feel incredibly accomplished.

In the meantime, I should probably get around to pulling those weeds… As soon as it isn’t sweltering outside!

GOOOOOOOAL!

The World Cup is over, right? I dunno... I've been thinking about my own goals.

I’ve been formulating plans.

Debt reduction (eventual elimination!)
School
Dance
Fitness/Health
General life stuff

I need a new computer. Mine is fried. I’ll need a new car soon (or at the very least $$$ to fix it). I want to go back to school. I want to find a better balance between dance and other fitness activities I might want to pursue (as well as just general life stuff… like finally putting together my house – I’ve only lived there for a year!).

So, I’ve been formulating plans. Goals.

This weekend – Pride in your home weekend. Sure, most of you will celebrate 4th of July. I will be celebrating cleaning my house, organizing a few things, and making the front yard look beautiful (or at least, decent).

Maybe if I post a weekly goal here I can actually accomplish it.

Hopefully, I’ll be back on Tuesday with pictures and details on all the wonderful things I did to improve my home this weekend.

It all balances out, right?

I went for an illuminating walk/run yesterday. I say illuminating because I’m not a runner… at all! But, I tried. And, eventually, I’ll get there. I think I’ll follow the Couch 2 5k program. Seems to be one of the best ways to go from well… couch to running.

Anyway, when it was over… I ate half a brownie. Matt seemed to think it was a bad idea. I thought, “I was planning to eat this brownie at SOME point today, does it really matter when?” Then again, maybe I should have saved it for later… I did end up eating a bag of peanut butter M&Ms as well. Oh well!

Lunch today – HUGE salad with cucumber, green pepper, mushrooms and cheese. Topped with about a cup of homemade turkey chili. SO GOOD! SO FILLING! Mostly GREEN (Happy St. Patrick’s Day!)…

See, it all balances out.

Well… I do intend to have a small Shamrock shake later. Maybe it doesn’t all even out… But, I’m happy and that’s all that matters!

Comfort Ideas?

So, my cat of 16 years needs to be put to sleep. I haven’t gotten official word from the vet yet (I’m planning to take her in tomorrow), but I know that’s what’s going to happen.

She’s old, has a tumor over her eye, hasn’t been eating or drinking, she’s peeing/pooping wherever, hiding a lot… Basically, she’s waiting to die.

It’s really, really hard. I’m a bit of a mess about it. On one hand, I know that putting her to sleep is absolutely the best thing for her. She’s miserable. On the other hand, selfishly, I want her to die on her own so I don’t have to be the one to take her in.

Any suggestions on how to comfort myself about this would be appreciated. I know I shouldn’t soothe myself with food, but I predict a pint of ice cream will be consumed tomorrow night. Also, the box of Girl Scout cookies probably won’t make it more than a few days. I’m going to try my best to not curl up in a ball and cry because I’ve done enough crying and it doesn’t do anyone any good.

I think I should go clean the bathtub so I can take a bath tomorrow. Baths are a good soothing comforting thing, right?

In happier/different news, I think I’m going to do a little appearance experiment soon. Should be interesting to see the outcome.

Goodies!

I received the most awesome box of goodies yesterday! I can’t wait to try it all (I had a Blueberry Raw Crunch bar this morning) and post the great pictures.

Thanks Nikes and Ponytails!

"You look nice!"

Here’s the deal… Most days I have the following “look”:
Jeans, shirt, hoodie, tennis shoes, hair in a ponytail

Today, I’m wearing my hair down, I have earrings on, and I’m wearing a sweater (oh, I also put on a little make-up).

I’ve so far received at least 5 compliments at work. I didn’t make it 10 feet in the door before someone said “Oh, new hair. Looks good!” (By the way, it’s not new hair… same style as it has been for years, just happens to be down today) I’ve also received a “Do you have a big date tonight?” (Nope! I have plans to go grocery shopping and do laundry, does that count?) and “You look really nice!” (Well, thanks!)

Maybe I should be putting a bit more effort in my day to day appearance. But, honestly, most of the time, I just don’t feel like it. It is SO easy to throw my hair in a ponytail. If I put my hair up, then I don’t feel the need for make-up or jewelry. BUT, if I wear my hair down (which only take about 5-10 minutes longer to do than putting in a ponytail), then I feel like I should put make-up and jewelry on (another 5 or so minutes - I do a pretty easy "face.").

I sometimes wish I had “wash and wear” hair so I could have a better day to day appearance without any extra work.

The bottom line, though, even if I had “wash and wear” hair, I’d probably still pull it up. A) I’m sort of lazy in the mornings B) I have to wear it up for dance 3 days a week anyway and C) I sort of like the rare days when I “dress-up” (imagine if I really dressed up and wore a skirt or something!) and I receive compliments.

(I feel this post would have more impact if you had pictures… Maybe I will edit and add some later tonight!)

Budgeting

I'm thinking about trying out the cash system.

One of my goals (it's always one of my goals) is to pay down my debt (and possibly build my savings). I'm thinking the cash system might be helpful with this.

Any suggestions?

Links?

Once I figure out my system, I'll report back on it. Certainly having a balanced budget would be helpful!

No movement = crumpled on the floor

I have got to find a better way to take care of my legs! We had two weeks off from dance and I did NOTHING during that time. Sure, I spent 9 hours Christmas shopping, but I didn’t workout. No cardio, no yoga, no pilates, no stretching. Nothing!

I’m regretting it now, that’s for sure!

Classes on Tuesday (which included a Polynesian Aerobics class – a mixture of Hula and Tahitian moves as well as strength training) totally kicked my butt. Yesterdays classes didn’t help. Half way through my first class (Ballet), my leg went out and I crumpled to the floor. Amazingly, I didn’t hurt myself, but man are my legs SORE today!

I know what I need to do. I need to not take two weeks off from ALL activity. I need to stretch more efficiently/often. This really should include some sort of daily yoga/pilates/stretching routine, I just can’t seem to motivate myself to DO it. I’m going to work on that though. If for no other reason than – I’m currently at work and the standing, sitting, bending, filing, standing, sitting again routine I have going on here is sort of painful. ;-)

Balancing the Eats

The holidays are a really tough time to maintain healthy eating habits. Somehow, my fridge/counter has not had any fresh fruits or veggies in/on it in weeks. Tomorrow, that changes. Tomorrow Matt and I are going to do a big grocery shopping trip.

So, how do I intend to balance my DEEP love of chocolate and desserts with my need for nutrients and fresh foods?

I could never eat a diet (I use the term diet not as in dieting to lose weight, but diet as in the foods I ingest) void of sweets. I can, however, do my best to limit my sweets. We have SO much chocolate in the house right now. I’m trying to limit my intake to a few pieces/one dessert a day.

I love fruits and veggies. It should be easy enough to eat them. I ENJOY a good fresh salad. Perhaps once we have these things in the house I can get back in the habit of eating them regularly.

So, the plan? Buy tons of fresh fruits and veggies and be SURE to eat those veggies/fruits every day. My body needs these things. I want to feed my body what it needs!

What does your body need? How do you insure you fulfill that need?