2013 New Year's Resolutions

So each year I have posted my new years resolutions in hopes that putting it out there for the entire world to see will help me get motivated to stay on track. If your curious you can check them out here and here. Some have been successful and some have not. I have aimed for losing weight, getting more organized, cook more, exercise more, drink more water, blog more, become a better mother, be a better wife, a better employee, a better boss, work harder, play harder, you name it I have thought about changing some aspect of it in my life.  

But this year has been different. It is January 24th and I have yet to post what my resolutions will be. We are at a time when most people have broken or forgotten their resolutions and I am still trying to figure mine out. It is not for a lack of trying, but this year I just couldn't put into words what I wanted to do. That was until I came across this video. I found it posted on one of my favorite blogs and it really hit home for me. Thanks Bethany! It was too good not to share.

So this is it, only one resolution. So simple and yet so profound. Be present.

Lucy

Well I am proud to say that our little family of 4 just became a family of 5. Now don't jump to conclusions, I did not have a baby in during my blog haitus. Instead we decided to get a puppy! Am I crazy? Possibly. But my girls love her, and that is all the justification I need.

She is a Golden Retriever puppy and although she is small now that won't last long. We got her a week ago and although the first week has been rough we are making progress. And by progress I mean she doesn't wail in her crate keeping us up All. Night. Long. Now it is only when we first put her in and in the morning when she hears us get up. So without further ado... meet Miss Lucy!

Yes, we will have lots of fun potty training, leash training, you know the whole kit and kaboodle. And for those of you know me, probably think we are crazy. Why? Because I have allergies. As in nose running, sneezing, eye watering allergies. Not fun! But I have to say that I am taking my vitamins, a Claratin every once in a while, and so far, I have been fine.  That's a mini miracle if you ask me.  That is proof that she was meant to be ours! 

Ready, Set, Go.....

So lately I have been on a health kick. Why you ask? Well, at work I am heading the planning committee for our holiday party, and this year my staff wants something nice. And I have a killer dress to wear. Only it doesn't fit. So Operation Get Healthy has begun or OGH as I call it.  Cheesy I know. Now my goals are not only to lose weight but to also get fit. So I plan on running a 5k sometime in October or maybe November... depending on how confident I am.  I haven't registered for anything just yet but the idea is in the back of my head.

Anywho so moving on.... So how am I going to do this? Well with the help of my iphone of course! First I am using MyFoodDiary.com to track everything I eat. It is awesome!  It is a handy little website that lets me track my meals, my weight, and it provides all the nutritional info that I need to stay on track. And if I eat something unhealthy it lets me know so I can adjust accordingly. I love it. And it is only $9 a month. Pretty cheap if you ask me. They also have a cute little app that I have on my phone so I am never without it.

But that's not all. Our family also joined a gym, and I have been running on the treadmill. Thus, why I want to run a 5k. And to help me do it, I have been using another app wonder called Run 5k. The idea is that in 8 weeks you will be ready to run 3.1 miles without stopping.  Perfect for a beginner like me, I am on week 5 at the moment and loving it. It is a series of walk/run intervals, and it tells you exactly when to do what. No more me having to watch the time on the treadmill trying to figure out when I can walk again. (just being honest folks!)  And it runs in the background while I jam out to my workout playlist.  

But that's not all. I am no statistics guru and I don't know the facts but I am pretty sure that when most people join a gym they lose interest after awhile and stop going. And then it becomes a waste of money. Heck it has even happened to me. At times, going to the gym can seem like such a chore. It is just easier to stay at home and veg out on the couch. Not.Anymore.More. Yes folks, I give you GymPact! 

It has to be one of the coolest apps out there.  The concept behind GymPact is that you get paid to work out and when you don't, you have to fork over the moolah! Pure genius I tell you!  So I set a pact to workout 3 days a week and I put $10 on the line. Now it is not just $10 that I pay if I don't meet my pact it is $10 per workout!  So if I don't go to the gym at all during the week it costs me $30 bucks! Which is a huge motivator for me to go! And if I make my pact well then I get paid! The idea is that they disperse the funds from those members that didn't meet their pact and pay it to those who did. Seriously, why didn't I think of that?

And the results so far? I am proud to say that I have lost 7 lbs. Ok, so I am obviously not going to break any records here as I have only just started. But it is more then just the weight, it is how I feel. And I feel awesome! I am proud of myself for attempting something that I haven't done in years. I am excited to be focusing on myself for a few shorts minutes at the gym each week. My stress level is less and overall I am healthier for it.  I know it because I can feel it. And that is all that matters.

Now if only I could find my phone....

I was not compensated in anyway, shape or form for discussing these apps. They are just tools that I genuinely love to use and thought I would spread the love.

For My Girls

I came across this online and thought it was absolutely beautiful.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I love my babies more then they will ever know.  This is for them.

thoughts

Today has been one of those days. It is gloomy outside, the weather doesn't know if it wants to rain or not. My girls are sick and the hubby has a stiff neck (must be stress right before Easter) He can't turn his head and I am bored. I have been locked up in the house all weekend. Not that that's a bad thing. Only I'm not motivated to do anything productive.

You see instead, I want to go shopping. Not for clothes but for furniture. The hubby and I have decided that it is time for a new bedroom set. Two of the drawers on our cheap Ikea dresser are no longer functional and we are ready for an upgrade. So occassionally when we both have time, we peruse the furniture stores, looking for the right pieces to no avail. Only he can't go with me because as I mentioned he has a stiff neck. And the girls are sick. And who wants to go furniture shopping by themselves? Not me.

I also thought about remodeling the girls bathroom. Put in two pedestal sinks, retile the floor with something pretty, new toilet, shower, built-ins, the whole shebang.

And I want to tear out our perfectly good hardwood floors and replace it with wider plank floors, in a dark stain. Get rid of our carpet, install board and batten in our dining room, new kitchen appliances, etc.

This is what happens when I get board. I start dreaming about all the things I want to do to a perfectly good house. It drives my husband crazy. Not that he doesn't want to do it, just that it costs a lot of money. And when your main goal is to pay down your debt... well you see my dilemma.

So I dream and wish and try to think of ways that we could do this at least one of these things on my list. And I come up with nothing. So I settle for a trip to Lowe's for some new planters for the front of the house. At least it gets me out of the house. Did I mention that my girls are sick and I have been covered in puke the last few days? Yeah, Lowe's was a welcome reprieve.

So here's hoping that this next week is busy (as I know it will be, it is holy week after all) and it will take my mind off of all the things I want to do and can't. Better yet, let's pray that my hubby and girls feel better soon. I hate being bored.

So things are about to get crazy around here...

Tomorrow I start a new job. Although I am really excited for this I always hate starting something new. It is nerve racking to be the newbie and not know anyone or how they do things or even where the bathroom is. Sure, it gets better with time and eventually I won't be the newbie anymore but it still doesn't make it any easier.

Tomorrow I will have to get up extra early, kiss my babies goodbye as they sleep soundly in their beds, drive on new roads and hope that traffic isn't too bad. I will be wondering if my hubby got the kids off to school ok, meeting new people all day (half of which I won't remember their names the next), try and get comfortable in a new office, at a new desk and attempt to learn an entirely new system.

I know this job is a good opportunity for me and my family and I look forward to the challenge. Hopefully some of these new people that I meet will become good friends. So far they have been really great to me and if this is any indication of what this company is actually like, I think I will like it there. It also means that I will be going back to work full time. I haven't worked full time in several years so that in and of itself will be a huge adjustment for me.

So for now, I will be biting my nails in anticipation of what tomorrow will be like, studying up on the employee handbook (since I work in HR it is my job to know it throughly) and debating over what I am going to wear. And hope that tomorrow will go smoothly. Which I know it will, it always does. Then I will have Monday under my belt. And then Tuesday will be even easier. Maybe by Friday I will actually know some of their names!

Laundry Room Love

So over Christmas our laundry machines bit the dust. And believe me when I tell you that I was not to broken up about it. In fact the hubby and I have been wanting new machines since we bought our house so now was our chance. Plus it was time to make some changes in there in anyway. As in paint, new shelving, better organization, etc. etc.

Here is what it looked like when we first moved in. Plain, boring and blah...

Sorry for the dark photo. I should have turned on the light, but I didn't. Oops! I will learn better next time. And did you notice the lovely shelf running along the side of the wall? Yeah, the lid from the washing machine would hit it every time. And if you didn't lift it at just the right angle, it would come crashing down on you. So annoying! And the upper shelving above the machines was impossible to reach. Seriously, who thought of this anyway. Ok, moving on...

So I decided to paint the walls a soft green color. It is Sparkling Sage from Valspar color matched in Behr paint.

We love Behr paint. I can't say enough about it. But you have to get the kind that has the primer built in. Seriously you only need one coat. It is that awesome! Gee, think I get off topic very much? Moving on yet again...

So down came the shelves, up went the paint. The new machines were installed and we love them! However installation was not without its many hickups! The machines themselves are awesome. Just not the company we bought them from. I could go into detail here about how awful that entire process was and how I will never buy anything from that store again but that would take an entire post all by itself. Plus I don't think the world wide web wants to read an entire post involving me complaining about said store. So I will refrain, just know that they will be receiving a nasty letter from me in the mail. I was that mad!

So yesterday we went to Ikea to purchase new shelving and I hope to have them installed this weekend. We decided to go with these shelves because they held the most weight and you could cut them to fit the size you need. Only one small problem, we can't cut these. Ahhh yes, the joys of Ikea. Apparently they sell two types of white shelves, one is called the Jarpen and the other is called the Tony. Basically the Tony has a shiner glossier finish to it. The Jarpen is painted with acrylic paint and according to their website, it can be cut to fit. And guess which one we bought? Yep, the Tony! Go figure! If Ikea wasn't so far away we would have exchanged them for the right one, but alas I don't have time to take two hours out of my weekend to drive to Ikea just to get different shelves. SOOO that means that we will be attempting to cut them to fit on our own. Wish us luck!

So I hope to post better pictures soon of the new laundry room once the shelves are installed. But don't think I finished there. We still will need to install a new drain pan under our washing machine since the old one didn't fit the new machine and because I have a large whole in my laundry room floor underneath the machine until it gets covered up.  We need to add a counter top above the machines so I have a place to fold clothes. And figure out some kind of laundry sorting system so my girls can take responsibility for their own clothes. And I can't forget to install a new light fixture.

As far as the counter top goes, I really like the idea of a butcher block counter top but I don't know how practical it would be for a laundry room. So I am perusing magazines, home improvement stores and pinterest for ideas. Hopefully I can get something that is durable, relatively inexpensive and easy to install and not have to wait eons for it. Stay tuned to find out what we decide on....