I'm (just gonna have to keep) Dreaming of a White Christmas

Shitter was full!

Seriously. Where is winter? Don't get me wrong, I love 60's & 70's and it would be awesome if it would stay that temperature all spring, summer and fall. But, I also LOVE winter. Especially snow. I'm having a hard time getting into the winter spirit with it being 60+ out there every day. I'm ready for a good snow storm, some hot chocolate (or wine...which I find warms me just as well), a fire in the fireplace, and an evening of my favorite Christmas movies (Elf & Christmas Vacation). Alas, it appears that I will have to keep dreaming of such an evening since the weather here in KC is a little more fabulous than I desire.
On an unrelated note, I've now made it through two sessions of bootcamp. I enjoyed the second session a lot. I was able to hold things for the correct count and do the set number of reps on most things. So even after just two workouts I'm seeing progress. And all I can say about that is that it feels real nice. I've also managed to make every meal so far this week in my kitchen, so today, I'm looking forward to having lunch with my big sister at my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant (and lunch may include a margarita!) But I'm feeling good and I'm making changes/progress, and that's all that matters.
On a second unrelated note, if you didn't know it already...I'm HILARIOUS. Just ask my sister...

Spaghetti Arms & Jello Legs

So I made it through my first day of boot camp! I won't say I was perfect, but I did my best! Jason is the most awesome trainer. He had a group of 8 people....and each and every one of us was at a different level of ability, yet he managed to keep us together and have modifications so that each of us could complete the exercises. I've always ended up feeling like the world's biggest loser (and not like the successful one from the tv show) when I can't complete something, but last night I really felt good about what I did. I had to walk the side shuffles, but I did them. I couldn't do as many reps as other people, but I did what I could. Overall it was such a great experience, and I am so looking forward to Thursday's session!
I've also managed to curb my eating out so far. I've gone home each evening and prepared and packed a breakfast (usually a banana and either oatmeal or greek yogurt-keeps me full until lunchtime) and lunch. I went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up some healthy options (chicken, shrimp, salad greens, cottage cheese), and good snacks for before boot camp since it falls at the time I'm eating different meals, so I have to put something in my belly, but not too much. It's nice to see my bank account staying steady, too. No more 3 meals a day charged to my account! It is making a difference...especially since I got overzealous buying Christmas presents out of this paycheck!!

Also, I took pictures to post with my blog but blogger has changed and it is a bitch to post pictures now. I'll work on figuring that out to make this much more interesting to read!

My Bravest Moment

My sister called me brave this morning for saying I would put my measurements on my blog. I told her they were just numbers and I didn't really care about numbers, but they are much bigger numbers than I thought, so now, I'm a little freaked out. Did I really say that I was going to post my measurements on here? Will anyone really notice if I don't follow through? Okay. Fine. Maybe it will help someone else someday. They'll get some sort of inspiration from me getting up off my lazy butt and doing something about these horribly icky numbers (well, minus the bust one of course. I don't mind that one at all!)  Without further ado....

Bust 51 1/2"
Waist/Belly (because sadly I no longer have a waist) 58"
Hips 59"
Upper Arm (or the flabby teacher arm as I have always called it) 18"
Thigh 34"
Calf 20"

So there they are. I'm looking forward to seeing progress over the next few weeks. I know that they won't magically get smaller, so I am prepared to put in the work. My nerves are getting the best of me right now as I prepare to go to my first boot camp session in about 2 hours. I haven't been active in months and seeing many of the other people that are participating scares me because I know I am so much further behind in my fitness goals/abilities, but I'm going to do this anyway. And I KNOW that Jason will make sure I succeed as long as I put in the work.

Boot Camp Eve

My how 6 months flies by! I can hardly believe it's been that long (okay, yes I can) since I last blogged. I didn't feel like I had much to say...nothing work putting out into the everlasting memory of the internets at least. Life has been pretty mundane. I work. I sleep. I work on the never-ending beast of a house that I live in. I occasionally socialize. Pretty boring. But, now I am about to stir things up a bit. Tomorrow I start boot camp with my friend (at least he still is today) Trainer Jason. I figure what better way to hold myself accountable for my progress than to tell all of my (3, maybe 4 since I now know that Joe reads if I post) readers out there! So tonight I'm going home, I'm feasting on Stroud's for dinner...then...I am going to do something scary....I'm going to take my measurements and post them on my blog tomorrow. I have that much faith in Jason and in myself that those numbers will be a little bit smaller after 3 weeks. I'm also committing to one other change during these three weeks. Since I've given up Diet Coke (yay me!! That was TOUGH!), and feel confident that that is a permanent change, I am now committing to dining in for 18 of the 21 meals each week. Sounds easy, right? Not so. Being a single gal that eats alone almost all of the time, running and grabbing something has just become too easy. So that is change number 2...cutting WAAAAYYYY back on my eating out. So boys and girls, wish me luck! And I don't want to see any jaws dropping when I post those numbers tomorrow morning.

PS-If you haven't already, you should definitely check out Jason's Facebook and Twitter. He's incredibly motivating, always positive, and an all around great guy and friend.

A Masterpiece....In Progress

Blog day number 3 for me....What are your favorite decorative items/pieces of furniture/household features? Thanks to the big sis for this one. I couldn't NOT answer this one. Anyone that knows me knows that, even though it is sometimes the bane of my existence, my house is something I take a great deal of pride in. I usually only let anyone in when it's perfectly clean and organized. Tonight, I feel like showing off, so you are seeing it in all it's disastrous glory. Does it drive me bonkers that every time I get one step ahead, something breaks and I end up ten steps behind...yes. Is it anywhere near finished....no. Am I making crazy progress on it lately...yes...mostly thanks to Pinterest. So here goes....Here are a few of my favorite things...(which I have been singing since seeing my sister's blog intro on Facebook...damn her!!)




I'll start with my kitchen. My kitchen is (getting) quirky. I tried to be too straight laced before. I'm not straight laced. When I moved in to this house, we gutted and redid the kitchen. It's pretty blah...except for my fantastic backsplash. I have Fiestaware dishes, so this backsplash is the perfect complement. I kept everything else kinda boring as you can see in this picture....until recently...
I'm not done yet even, but I've gotten crazy... The walls are slowly making their way to red...and that taped off portion over there...that's going to be a chalkboard. I've got the paint and am just waiting for some furniture to get moved out of my basement before I paint since the wall is at the top of the stairs...and bound to get banged up in the process!

Fork and spoon to hang on my red walls when I'm all done painting! LOVE  LOVE LOVE them!

My front window. I love this big picture window. I used to keep the blinds closed all the time, but now I love sitting on my couch watching tv and watching people walk down the street or drive past. I live on a busy street, so there's always activity on the other side of this big window. And the light...I get such awesome light from such a big window!

The buffet I refinished. This was the first piece of furniture I ever did. It was oak with black speckles in it. You can't tell from this picture, but I stripped it, sanded it and stained it black...you can still see the wood grain. You can't buy furniture like this anymore. Everything is laminate these days...even the expensive stuff (ahem, Pottery Barn...I'm talking about you!) I refinished the matching dining room table and am working on an old ice chest that was the third piece of the set now!








My halltree. It's a catchall for every last piece of crap that walks in the door. I'm thinking about putting it in the basement in storage until I have a bigger house, but I LOVE this piece of furniture. It was my dad's grandfather's. It has flaws. The arms barely stay on. But, I LOVE this piece. I think it's absolutely beautiful. I would love to have an entry way where it would fit a little better. It is perfect for holding my hats, scarves and gloves in the base and great for hanging coats on in the winter...because God knows I won't take the time to hang a coat in the coat closet!

This vanity. My mom had a friend getting rid of it. I've been wanting one for as long as I can remember. I'm in the middle of painting it. I love the glossy black against the bright green walls (another favorite feature in my house....I'm not afraid of color. I love color.) This will definitely be a treasure I take with me wherever I move. Right now it is in my guest room. I doubt I'll ever use it for it's intended purpose, but I picture it with a vase of flowers, some necklaces hanging on the edge of the mirror and loads of perfume bottles on the surfaces...preferably on pretty mirrored plates. And that bench...I want to put a fantastic fabric cushion on it. Perhaps something zebra striped. I can't have too much funk!

Pick ANYTHING on this table. I love it all. From my colorful Fiestaware pitchers that will soon be hanging on my freshly painted dining room walls, to my new light fixture right up front..to my goofy chef prints that no longer match anything I'm doing in my house. I love all my quirky stuff! Oh...and the gorgeous table it's all sitting on...Yeah...I refinished that.

My deck. It's a mess. But look at that deck. It's amazing. Over there by the door...yeah...that's a bar with a sink built in. My house is in the process of getting painted, and my deck will get redone sometime this summer. It's got a long way to go, but I'm making progress.

So, there's a little glimpse into my disaster zone. I love it so much and can see the finished product in my head. If I only had more money and more time!!

Bunnies, Bunnies, It Must Be Bunnies!!!

Blog day 2, courtesy of Kassie, what gives you nightmares? Oh, egads! How I wish it was something simple like bunnies. Definitely not bunnies for this girl. My nightmares are more of the my teeth are crumbling in my mouth, I've lost a friend's children, I can't get somewhere I need to be, or I'm falling, variety. I've looked up some dream interpretations, and most of my nightmares come from money, and my desire for security. When it's not there, or I'm running short, I have horrible nightmares like the ones I listed. I can't begin to count the number of times I've shot up in a total frenzy because I thought I was falling. There's no going back to sleep once that happens. Lately though, it's been lots of kid dreams. Stupid nagging kid dreams. I want to have kids, my biological clock keeps reminding me that it's time to have a baby, and yet, it's not in the plan for the near future. So instead, I have nightmares. Nightmares that I'd be an inept mom. I can't even entertain an 8 and 9 year old for few hours without losing them, kids I'm watching would rather spend time with other people than me, that kind of stuff. Of course I know I'll be a great mom, but damn Mr. Sandman for making me think otherwise when the lights are shut off.

I'm The Fluff (Not to be confused with fluffer)

Getting back at this after a really long break, and I'm already a day behind! I really have been thinking about the blog prompt for yesterday, June 1st for several days now. From my lovely sister, Kristen, with what fictional character do you most identify, and why? I keep coming back to my own blog from last winter, and I get stuck. I have always completely related to Bridget Jones, When I read the book, parts of it were scarily like reading my own life...right down to her debating which underpants to wear.

Her desperate longing for love and the security of a relationship almost makes me uncomfortable because I know I shouldn't need a man in my life, and I'm certain I could get by without one, but it nags at me...that longing for my "other half." 

Not to mention her "total life change" when things go wrong. I do this once a week practically...ask anyone that knows me. I've always got a plan to make life better...fix all the stuff that's wrong, etc. Throw in her constant stream of embarrassing mishaps, and you've got me. 

Granted, read almost any fluffy chick lit and you'll find me hidden somewhere in the character. Usually not even hidden all that well. I am fluffy chick lit. I'm not all that deep when it comes to matters of politics, religion, equality, etc. I'm fluff, and I'm okay with it. I think everyone needs a little fluff around to lighten the mood!