Ceiling fans and baseboards

I never mentioned why a good home environment is important to health and weight loss.  I feel stupid for not having said word one on this.

I think Home Environment is important to total health and weight loss, because when you are happy with your home, you are happy to stay there.  You'll eat in more, be able to unwind more quickly, sleep better.  And if you just so happen to be in love with a homebody, you won't mind those date nights in so much.

10 minutes of cleaning a day has changed my world.  I love being home now, because I don't see huge problems everywhere I look.  I see a plan for what I am going to do each day to make my space work for me.  Yesterday, I went home early from work because things were pretty slow.  A wasn't feeling good and was lying down in the bedroom.  I went to sit with him for a while, and stared up at our lazily rotating ceiling fan.  I love our fan.  I spent hours picking out just the right one, then I bought a second one for our office just because I liked it so much.

I really hate the dust that builds up on those fans though.  I did not take a picture.  I didn't want to make anyone sick (or make anyone think my house is always like that!).  As I sat there, I couldn't stop obsessing about that dust.  I got anxious.  I had to get rid of it RIGHT NOW!  So after convincing A that it was ok if I didn't sit there with him, I got up and decided to put my 10 minutes to the best use.  I grabbed an old t-shirt and got to cleaning.  Now, cleaning 2 ceiling fans takes maybe 5 minutes, but I have one other thing that drives me nuts, and that is dirty baseboard heaters.  Every couple of months I carwl under my desk at work to clean my baseboard heaters.  Inveitably, I'm weaing a skirt, and someone walks by to witness me crammed under my desk wiping furiously at the half inch of dust on the heater.  It's kinda embarrassing, really.  It was such a relief to kill 2 sets of nasty with one wet rag.  And even though to the casual observer, our hose looked no different, it made a world of difference to me.

But then again, I might just be crazy obsessive girl.  Your call.

Grown-up Decisions

Sometimes, being a grown up is a lot of fun.  Other times, well... yeah.  Let's take a look at the decisions I made last night.  They illustrate my point nicely.

What I wanted to eat for dinner:

What I actually ate:

Fish cakes with collard greens and rosemary roasted potatoes

What I wanted to drink:

What I drank instead:

And trust me, after a couple of margaritas and some thin mints, I would have been oh so happy to kick back on the couch and watch the newest episode of "Smash" that's on my DVR.  What did I do instead?

Yep, that's right.  I studied.

Growing up is overrated.

I did that?

This is a post about swimming.  About reaching for something that seems impossible.  About allowing others to have the faith in you that propels you forward.

Yesterday I had one of those crucial, pivotal workout experiences.  We were at swim team, and we were all warmed up.  The coach handed out kick boards, and rattled off our set:  4 sets of 50 yards freestyle kick on a 1 min 10 sec interval.  We all looked at each other.  We looked at the coach.  We asked him if he was kidding.  That's a tough set.  Most of us SWIM our 50 yard freestyle on a 40-50 second split.  So to ask us to manage this split seemed impossible.

But Coach couldn't be swayed.  We were going to do it.  If we didn't make it, we didn't make the interval.  But we needed to try.

We took off.  I knew I needed to stay right next to the woman to the right of me (the 2nd fastest person on the team) if I had any hope of making the interval.  It really isn't a big deal if we don't make it;  in fact, if you miss the interval, you usually get a longer rest than the people who make it (you default to a 10 second rest between sets instead of resting in the remaining interval time).  Last Thursday I had successfully managed to stay with her for the first set out of any drill we were given.  I was absolutely driven to do no less this time.

Set 1...  All 5 of us working the drill hit the wall about 6 seconds ahead of the next interval.  We all looked at each other with fear, because they only get worse from there.

Set 2...  2 people start to lag behind.  3 of us are still going strong.  We make it to the wall, this time with 4 seconds.  The third set in a series of 4 is the hardest;  you're halfway there, but you aren't on the last one.  The end isn't close enough yet to give you that extra motivation.  We know this.

Set 3...  It's just the woman to the right of me and I now.  everyone else has dropped the interval.  We both hurt.  My legs are burning.  I don't see how we are going to finish.  We make it in with 3 seconds to spare.  We are hating it.  Our coach is cheering us on.  We can tell he is a little surprised we are still making the interval.  It's time to go...

Last one.  Gosh, I just want to be done.  We're racing against the clock.  I can see that a 10 yards from the finish I have just 9 seconds left in the interval.  That's when I realize... oh my gosh.  We made it.  We survived the "impossible" set.

When I was still selling Mary Kay, there was a popular saying:  If you could not believe in yourself, borrow the belief that your sales director has in you.  When you have belief, you can accomplish things you never thought possible.

It's pretty true of all things.  Yesterday, my coach and my team mate believed I could beat the interval.  I didn't believe it myself.  But I allowed their belief in me to carry me through.  4 weeks ago, we would do the same drill on a 1 min 30 sec interval, and that seemed hard.  My belief in myself grew this morning.

My coach described our progress as a team as "miraculous".  I have to agree, because even more important than the fact that we all made it for at least some of the sets is that we all pushed beyond our previous boundaries.  Even the people who finished behind were doing a 1 min 30 sec interval.  Those people 4 weeks ago were falling behind trying just to make that particular interval.  We have all gotten better, and it wasn't until that very moment that we realized how much.

I ask you today to think about what area in life you need to "borrow" belief in.  Then find someone who truly believes in you, and ask them if you can borrow on that belief.  I know that they will be happy to oblige you.  And if you can't think of anyone else, please, by all means, let me know.  I would love to believe in your impossible for you until you are ready to handle it for yourself.

Thrifitng

Thrifting has truly become my favorite way to shop.  It has officially turned me into a cheapo, and I must say that I really don't mind that moniker (in this instance... don't want A calling my cheap though!  The other great thing about shopping at thrift stores is that it makes me think about what I have at home that I can donate.  After all, there would be nothing to buy if nobody donated!

Every weekend I set out to find a few new awesome things.  There are a few things that are on my list right now of things to search for when I go.  My list of things to keep an eye out for:

Lamps.  I don't have a hugs love for lamps in my home, but I like the potential for them as an item to make cute and sell at my friends' shop.  For instance, I found this one a few weeks ago, and I'm in the middle of getting it ready to sell:

I sprayed this lamp a high gloss black, and bought a bell-shaped shade.  The last step is going to be hand stenciling the shade with black acrylic paint!

Cute blouses:  I am a sucked for cute work shirts that are any color other than red!  At my last job, I had to wear red every day for work.  Now that I don't have to, I still find myself reaching for red, simply due to a lack of variety.  I picked up 2 new blouses this last weekend, including this beauty:

It has pleats and ruffles, and it ties in the back!  I officially love everything about it.  However, one of the fabric covered buttons was missing.  So I picked up some cute buttons at my favorite sewing shop, Mama Said Sew.  They have the cutest things!  I mean, check these babies out:

I realized a little too late that the buttons are navy and the shirt is black.  However, they really look pretty cute together, and add a little pop to the otherwise monochromatic shirt.


Banged-up quality furniture:  We are always on the lookout for solid wood furniture.  It's harder to get ahold of, but you can totally find it.  We like it, because solid wood is easier to refinish than something that has a veneer on it.

We found this desk, and A could not resist.  We aren't even going to re-finish it, we love the character.  A sits in it almost every day.

Unique storage solutions:  We have a ton of stuff that is small and loose.  If there is one thing I always need more of, it is storage containers.  I really dislike the way the plastic bins look.  Things like hat boxes and trunks are far more up my alley.  I showed you my new (vintage) hat boxes last week.  Yesterday, I bought this beauty of a trunk for fabric storage:

I saw her and knew I had to have her.  Sad news though, the bottom was covered in contact paper, and when I peeled it off, the metal was rusted through in several places.  She is unusable until A and I can devise a way to get her patched up, and rust free.


What items are always on your thrift list?  Or are you absolutely terrified of the thrift store?  What was your best ever thrift score?

I Loves...

Good Morning!  It's Monday, and I am so ready to rock and roll this week, are you!  I was really debating what to write about today, and was leaning toward thrift store finds of the weekend, because there were a couple that will seriously knock your socks off!

...And then I came home, sat down at the computer, and decided there was something else to talk about.  Love, people.  Tomorrow is "love day".  Now whether you love or hate everything that February 14th stands for in our current society, I challenge you today to change how you see it.  Shift your frame of reference with me, because I want to tell you what I'm loving on right now.  And since I totally spaced doing Sweetly Saturday this last week, this is going to do double duty as my gratitudes for the week :).

PS, these are not your typical "I love my boyfriend" things.  Those are a given.  He's great.  These are the simple things in life that I love that I often take for granted.  I want to recognize them as being special too.

I loves...

The Blogging Community at large.  Where else can you find people from all over the world who share a passion for the things you love too?  Where can you find people who are doing the impossible and making it look way cool?

Chickadette.  Not only did she leave me the sweetest comments yesterday, but her blog is so refreshingly honest, and I kinda think I would love to have her as a real life friend.  And her cat is freakin' adorable.

Thrift Stores.  I cant go in anymore without buying at least 2 things.  They are full of treasure.

That feeling you get after the feeling like you're gonna die after a crazy workout.  You know the one, where the pain and fuzziness clears, and you feel like a bad-ass?  Yeah, that one.

My kitty Beckham.  I cant get enough of him most of the time.  He's such a little lover.  He's laying in my lap right now, and I can't lift my right arm.  It's precious.

Having a nice rec center 4 blocks from my house, and an amazing walking path system that runs right by my house.  It's easyier to go to the gym when it takes no effort at all to make it.

Seasons.  As much as I hate the cold, it would be hard to live somewhere where you didn't have clear seasons marking the passage of time.  It's nice to know that the earth changes along with humans.

Pretty things.  I'm a definite girl, and Valentine's day is all about those glittery, lace filled confections of cuteness.  

In the end, I want to think about tomorrow as a day for not only honoring the relationship A and I have honored, but also as a day for honoring all of the great things life has brought my way in the past year.  I feel so lucky to have found so many things to love! 

Wish (Out Loud)

I definitely grew up as a product of the Disney generation.  All girls are Princesses, and as long as they never give up hope, they will live happily ever after with their dashing Prince.   Walt also mentioned dreams and wishes a whole lot in his movies.  Very few of their movies omit the scene where the protagonist wishes for a brighter future.

As I grew up, I tried with all of my heart to hold on to those movies.  To believe in the happy ending.  It is never easy, and people are always reminding you that fairy tales and reality can't co-exist.  But the truth of the matter is, I have a Prince Charming who loves and adores me.  While it is up to me to work hard and provide for myself and my future, I got the hunk that Disney promised me.  I just wish Walt would have told me that you can't just wish and wait for something to happen, you have to go out and make the changes yourself.  You have to make your wishes come true.

This week I am wishing for the ability to stop and breathe when my everyday becomes too overwhelming.  I wish for the clarity to understand that this time in my life is hard, intentionally so, but that when it is over, I will be a better person for having endured it.  I also wish that I remember not to blame those around me for my own circumstances, and that everyone does the best they can with what they have.

Today I'm linking up with Wish (out loud).  Have you made a wish lately?

It's been crazy

I feel like it's been forever since I've had a chance to share my life with you guys.  I know it's really only been a few days, but what a few day they have been!  My workouts this week have not been what they should.  I omitted my Monday and Friday workouts this week in favor of sleep.  I have been staying up late doing homework.  The work seems never-ending, and I wonder if my teachers ever stop to think, "These people are taking my class online.  They probably have a job, a family, and other classes they are taking.  Perhaps I should not have 7 assignments due all in one week."  And then I realize that most people don't really care what someone else's schedule looks like, they are far more interested in what benefits them the most.  ::Sigh::

A and I took some time to watch "The Voice" this week, but other than that, we have been immersed in studying.  I am so proud of him and how hard he is working to ensure academic success.  Last night, instead of whispering sweet nothings in my ear, he was whispering quantitaive analysis chemistry processes in my ear.  The academic force is strong in him.

Going back to my workouts for this week... sleep isn't the only reason I skipped 2 workouts.  I have been having a lot of problems with muscle recovery these last few weeks.  I think that I may have been pushing my body too hard.  My original plan back in December was to do self-paced workouts and build intensity.  In doing so, I could easily exercise 5 days a week, because it was more at my pace.  What really ended up happening was I joined a swim team and I started going to water aerobics classes.  Both of these proved to be far more intense than what I had originally intended.  I knew there was a problem when even after 5-6 weeks of working out, I was still experiencing crippling muscle fatigue.  My workouts were leaving me feeling exhausted all day.  So, I wanted to see if by eliminating my water aerobics, I would be more effective in my swim team workouts, and the answer was a resounding yes!

What does this mean for my workouts going forward?  It means that I need to be nicer to myself;  I didn't work out for nearly a year, and then jumped into one hour a day, 5 days a week.  I am still going to keep on with my Sunday yoga, and my swim team.  But instead of doing an hour on Mondays and Fridays, I am going to put in shorter, easier workouts.  Something between 20-45 minutes.  Just something so that I get moving and continue to build up.  I am hoping to be strong enough to go back to my water aerobics soon, it is such a great workout!

In other good news, I am really loving the results of the cleaning for 10 minutes a day project.  We do it most days (we aren't perfect), and I am amazed already at what a difference it has made.  Next step is to find the time to do some more decorating and make it even more homey.

I meant to post this Friday, but ran out of time.  But I hope you are having a great Saturday!  Go to your nearest ARC and enjoy the sales!