Monthly Archives: January 2012

Closet Cleaning

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Sunday morning I spent most of my time not showering and stalking Pinterest.  I found this really great blog that put me in the mood to get organized and spend my life savings at The Container Store.

I emptied out my closet and put everything on the bed.  The entire closet was empty.  I intended to just go through my clothes, donate what I don’t want and put everything I wanted to keep back in the closet.  James came in after I dumped everything out and had the great idea to take the long rod down, put up two rods on each side and add shelving in the middle.  If he was feeling handy enough to start a project, I was smart enough to let him!

Why do I have this much crap?

After two hours between The Container Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, a trip home and another trip to The Container Store, we had all the materials we needed.  We bought two Start-A-Stack systems and four ventilated shelves.  James did all the hard work by screwing everything up and I started tackling the clothes I didn’t want.  It took me for what felt like forever to sort through everything and get rid of what doesn’t fit, what doesn’t look flattering and fold or hang up everything I wanted.  Now I need to go through my dresser and get re-organized.

Not sure how James' shoes ended up in my closet.

This photo shows my closet almost done.  I just need to fill up the drawers! That garbage bag is a construction sized bag that holds everything to be donated.

Skip Spinning, Sip Starbucks

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I woke up today so sore from yesterday.  All day long I was planning to go to the 6pm Spin class at the gym but my thighs are way too sore to work my legs again.  Skipping the gym tonight has nothing to do with binging on Chex mix.  I know the book recommends rest anyway so that your muscles can repair.

Columbus weather today made me ready for Spring.  The rain has been pouring and the wind is so strong, I thought my car was going to blow over.  The perfect day for soup and grilled cheese (I had neither).  My favorite part of the day was my trip to Starbucks,Grande, Non-fat Awake Tea Latte with Caramel instead of simple syrup.  Yum.

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Tomorrow its back to NROLFW, Workout B.  My bag is already packed and I didn’t leave room for excuses.

 

Cleanish Fridge

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Is spring in the air? Our fridge has never been this empty. Right now we hardly have any fresh food and the only fruit I’ve eaten today are the raisins in my cinnamon raisin english muffin. We had so many uneaten leftovers an expired condiments that were taking up too much real estate in our fridge.  My favorite part of the fridge is the Cheese Drawer (the one on the left).  The entire drawer is filled with just cheese.

I have gotten tired of opening the freezer and having 3 things fall out every time.  I took everything out of the freezer and then put everything back.  Our wedding cake takes up a lot of space and we have at least 10 more months until we can get it out of there.  I gave my SIL all of our left over meat products but somehow missed the frozen bison patties from the farmers market.  They were so expensive and I’d hate to just throw them away. I should still edit through the condiments.  I need to go to the store so I can fill the fridge up again but it looks so nice and clean now that its empty.  And James will have an easier time knowing what’s in the fridge since he won’t have to move things around.

New Rules of Lifting for Women: Day 1

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Today was the first day of my new workout plan.  I don’t really plan to workout on Mondays because I have my drawing class from 7-10pm.  But today was special since it was Martin Luther King Day.  I have a dream… that one day, I will be in shape.   Not entirely appropriate but it gets my point across.

Speaking of “not entirely appropriate”, I took “Before” pictures of myself wearing a bikini from front, back and left and right.  There is absolutely no way I’m going to post these pictures on the internet.  Its just way too embarrassing.  But nevertheless, I want to keep track of what I’m doing so here is what I did today:

Workout A: Week 1

Each workout had 60 seconds between each rep and I was in and out of the gym in less than 30 minutes.  I didn’t do any cardio because I’ll be Spinning tomorrow.  I do have to confess that I did every exercise as scheduled except for the Prone Jackknife.  It involves using a stability ball with your shins on it and rolling it towards your body.  I tried.  I tried really hard.  But after several failed attempts, I decided I like my vertabrae right where they are and did the same set of crunches on a Bosu ball instead.

I’m feeling excited about this program.  I don’t plan to change too much else about my life since I’m already eating pretty clean and feel active, I just want to look toned.  The book is extremely easy to read and makes everything easy to understand in real life for a non-professional athlete.  Here’s hoping in 6 months I’ll be super toned and buff!

 

Semi-Productive

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Last week I went to my first drawing class on Monday.  There were about seven people in the class and I may be the worst drawer in the class.  During the introductions, people were talking about how extensive their drawing backgrounds were.  As we set up our easels, people were creating realistic versions of the objects we were drawing and my sketch pad looked like a cartoon vase got in a fight with a cartoon mug.

On Tuesday, I stuck with my gym resolution and went to Spin class.  I realized very quickly how out of shape I am.  I started out with too much resistance and then my legs were pooped out the rest of the class.  But I stuck with it because no one else really knows how little resistance you can have on your bike.

I intended to go to Zumba on Thursday but I got home way too late due to heavy traffic.  Thanks a lot Joe Biden. The Thursday class doesn’t start until 7:45pm.  That seems really late to be working out.  After my drawing class is over, I’ll try to go to the 7:30 class on Mondays.

I just pulled my New Rules of Lifting for Women off the shelf.  I’m going to dust of the cover and crack it open.  My ultimate fitness goal is to tone up with weights.  Hopefully this book with give me a plan so I don’t just fall into the trap of getting bored and then getting on the elliptical.

Here’s to a new week of goals! Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Its chili in here

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I have a very strict rule in our household that it has to be “chili weather” for me to make a pot of chili.  Its been a mild winter but I usually say it has to be at least November for it to be chili season. James gets really excited about chili and he hates when I tease him with chili in the warmer months.

Sweet potatoes and black beans really compliment each other well and it has been one of my favorite combinations since discovering the sweet potato black bean quesadilla at Whole World.  Tonight for dinner I made one of my go-to vegetarian recipes of all time.  I have made this so many times since we’ve officially become vegetarians and each time I make it different than the last. I’ve made it in a regular stock pot and just boiled the hell out of it instead of waiting around for the Crock Pot to do its job.

The only difference I made to the recipe is I sauteed the onion and green pepper before adding them to the Crock Pot.  Real Simple is a great resource for recipes since they have standard ingredients and the recipes are easy to follow. You can find the recipe here.

January Goals

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After one week of January, I think I’ll lay out my goals for the month.  James and I came up with 12 New Years’ Resolutions but these are the ones I want to commit to for the month.

1. Clean out the mess I call my closet.  Get rid of clothes I never wear, don’t flatter me or make me look like a juvenile. I’m always in the mood to clean it out when I’m not looking at it but when I open the door, I find it overwhelming.

2.  Go to the gym 2-3 times per week.  I joined the gym (I different one than I quit a few months ago) and would like to go to at least two classes per week.  Specifically Zumba and Spinning.

3. Take a drawing class ( I know I’ll complete this one because I’m already signed up!)

4. Eat down the fridge/pantry.  I go to the grocery store a few times a week to replenish perishables and produce.  But I need to get rid of the stuff I have now.  The worst part is, there are 6 bottles of champagne in the fridge and bottles of Yuengling leftover from the wedding.  I’m tempted to give it away as gifts.