2011: Here we go again

I've set my goals for the year, both personal and professional.  Its the usual - lose weight, eat right, build Beachbody business, increase sewing skills, plan Disneyland trips better, etc., etc.  The difference is that this year, I actually wrote down my goals, something I've never done.  Let's hope it works. I need to lose  I don't know - that Nutella spread on graham crackers in the cupboard keeps beckoning to me.....grrrrrrr.

*sigh*

January is  a busy month. I'm having new windows installed.  We are trying to update our 1980s ranch house and the windows are one big thing to cross off our list.  Let's see - we've replaced the carpet, the roof, painted inside and out, replaced numerous lighting fixtures, replaced the a/c unit and put up a pool fence.  We've done a lot.  We still need to empty and acid wash the pool this winter.  After that, I think we will be done with the majority of the big/expensive projects.  That is, until we tackle the kitchen.

I have several Beachbody events to attend and I'm looking forward to working out with Tony Horton on Tuesday night.  He is on his book tour and stops in Phoenix for signing and exercise.  It should be fun and I will be posting pics.

I then have a home and garden show, a doll show, and a sewing show every other weekend.

For the first time in years, I pulled out a calendar to keep track of everything.

Chalene Extreme

There is nothing like a good workout! I brought it last night with Chalene Extreme Burn 2. Strangely, I don’t feel sore. I maxed out so I’m surprised. Then again, when I worked out Friday night, I didn’t feel the sore for 2 days later, hehe.


I love working out!!! I feel so great today and I know it is due to the improved diet and beginning exercising again. Why is it that we allow ourselves to derail so quickly when we get such great benefits from exercise? Granted, life sometimes catches up with us and we get side-tracked but we would feel (and look) so much better if we stayed the course.

Ah well, such is life.

It was a steal!!!

....at $14 at Lowes!  It was the last one and it was the floor model.  I was so happy because I was thinking I would have to spend a couple hundred dollars to get a nice ceiling lamp that I liked. 

The wall color is Hazy Sage from Glidden.  It is gorgeous and I don't think this picture does it justice.

Painting.....well, priming, actually.

I spent the weekend priming the ceiling with Kilz2. We attempted to texturize the ceiling, without much luck. It didn’t turn out the way we expected. Of course, neither of us has ever tried retexturing anything before so our novice-hood was apparent.

 The can of texture we purchased was just not doing the trick and for $20/can, it only covered a 1x4 foot. I was supremely frustrated when my husband announced that we would have to wait until next weekend to do anything as more texture was not in our redecorating budget for this week.

I was so disappointed and began to clean up when my husband suggested we follow the directions on the can (who would have thought of that!) and prime the ceiling first. I remembered that we had a can of Kilz in the garage and I promptly pulled it out and began to paint the ceiling. It made a huge difference and I was happy to have made some progress this weekend.

Steven's Room

My son's room has recently become vacant as he has moved in with a friend.  This has given me the opportunity to begin my decorating journey.  I plan to make his room into a sewing/craft studio that will double as a guest room.  We have removed the popcorn ceiling and will be covering the exposed drywall this weekend.

Here are some recent pictures of Matthew:

May 24, 2010

Been very busy lately trying to decide how to decorate my house now that our bills have eased somewhat.  I've been scouring the web for ideas and I've come across some fantastic blogs!  These women have such wonderful taste and have done a great deal of their decorating with flea market, garage sale and thrift store finds. 

As I looked through their pictures, my mind began racing as to all the things stored in my cluttered garage from my packrat husband who refuses to throw anything away.  I realized I had my own treasure trove of things I could remake, reuse and recycle to make my house a country-cottage home.  It would just take some effort on my part to look at things with different eyes and let my creativity loose.

Sex and the City

About two months ago, I transferred to another division of my company. Ultimately wanting to be a part of logistics, I accepted a position in receiving. This allowed me to dress in jeans and tennis shoes everyday.

You might think that dressing down everyday at work is a wonderful thing. However, I have since found that the way you dress at work indicates your position in the hierarchy of things. The jeans and tennis shoes indicated that I was a low-level worker (despite my MBA). As a result, I started to wear my more professional wardrobe and I feel a little better about myself.

I find however, that I need to step it up a little more still. It isn’t really necessary that I do this it’s just that there are a few women at this new division who have the cutest clothes!!! One is downright Sex and the City cute. She is always very well put together in designer fashions (apparently her husband makes very good money and she has no children!). Another woman is my age and really dresses in the cutest clothes that are age-appropriate. These two women make me sit back and say to myself, “ I can dress like that!!!” I just don’t because I’m generally lazy.

Clothes like that really make a woman feel better about herself. Like my sister Linda, who always looks very well dressed and matched even on her casual days, I need to step up my look so that I don’t appear so frumpy all the time.

Coco Chanel said, “Dress shabbily, you notice the dress. Dress impeccably, you notice the woman.” Although I think in the case of Sex and the City, the clothing is more noticeable than the women, in real life I think Coco had it dead-on. I have been inspired by these two women at work to dress more fashionably and take more care with my appearance.