It's getting there

I should be out shovelling (it snowed some more!!) but since I did 2 hours of that yesterday I'm finding myself coming up with other things to do today. One of those things was to hang some mini mirrors in my bedroom and kind of finish that room up.

Here are the befores:





































And the afters:




















Of course not from the same angle...I'm not that organized!


You can't really tell in the before photos but the carpet was a gray-blue; at least where it wasn't stained or where there was a giant bleach spot. I'm not thrilled with the pale cream-beige-gray I chose because now I think it looks a bit dingy but it's still better than the previous stuff. The baseboards before were simple casing and not really baseboard. And last weekend I figured out how to finally replace the lightswitch and outlets to the decora style that was started in the rest of the house. And of course I missed it in both sets of pictures but there is a new light fixture up now and new hardware on the closet doors along with new trim around them. The nice wooden blinds behind the curtains were repurposed from my cousin's house. And the curtains were made for my previous house and have been put up in a few different rooms a few times since then. I finally gave in and bought a new bed this summer when I woke up aching every morning and it's quite high which makes it feel kind of luxurious even without room service.


There are lots of things remaining to do in the house but it's nice to take a look back at the initial photos and realize that I'm getting somewhere.

Now if I could just find someone to replace the kitchen counters, fix the fallout drawers and replace the ugly tub and surround!

This is not my idea of personal growth

So for the last 2 weeks I have been chasing the wagon...meaning I have been back to the gym 3 times a week. And I've been watching what I eat; well mostly. However, I am still increasing in size. WTF?!?

I have weight in places I have never had before such as a muffin top and a belly going on. Initially I attributed this to stress weight gain since work has taken everything I've got for about the last 6-8 months. But now, although there is still some drama, the pressure is mostly off. Any time the jelly belly and muffin top want to go away so I can fit back into my clothes would be great.

I know in the past my routine of walk/run and weights worked so I'm hoping that it's just a bit early to see results and my body just needs a reset. I'm really not sure what to make of the ongoing increase that I feel in my clothes; I actually bought a size larger jeans today just so I'd have some that aren't cutting into me. Deciding to do that was extremely tough...I'd like to think that I'm headed back for some other jeans in my closet but at the same time, feeling like I have nothing to wear isn't working so well.

So....3 more weeks before I head home. And I'd like to be packing less of me and more of my "mid-range" clothes. Here's hoping that what's worked before will work again!

2.5 miles in 39 mins

Next week is 3 and 1's

Yes I bought Coldfx at Costco

And it doesn't seem to be helping...I am sick again! I was sick earlier in October too and I'm tired of it. This seems to be a similar bug that involves a splitting headache, body aches, stuffiness and fever and chills. Lovely. This time I toughed out 2 days at work since we had roadshow presentations and then dropped on Thursday. Today is Sunday and I felt even worse this morning including *new!* nausea. Of course I went out on Friday night and ran errands most of the day Saturday mistakenly assuming that I'd done my share of sick days. (On the up side I am down to 1 bank account so less monthly charges!)

This is interrupting my intention to get back on the fitness wagon once work became mainly sane again. Which is worrisome since I don't seem to be slowing down on putting on a few more curves. And yes, the elliptical is still in the living room...with a nice layer of dog hair.

So aside from the coldfx and lots of naps, I'm not getting anywhere too fast.

Tonight I've packed a spinach salad with chicken breast for lunch tomorrow - sounds healthy, right? A step in the right direction I hope. Once the bug is gone I think I have to check out the rec centre again...and try to get back to the routine that used to work for me.

Finding something warm and cozy

Did I mention I started dating again? If you're not single then I don't think you can possibly know what hell that is...

• First there's your own insecurities to deal with - in my case it's the weight gain I can't seem to shake and the fact that if I hear one more time about how independent I seem (this is never a compliment) I might just go independent on their @ss...

• Then there's the initial meeting and the fact that very rarely do people seem to resemble their photos. In my case something weird happens between the lens and myself but at least my photos are current, in focus and not me in a group of other people.

• Once you actually find the person you are meeting the fun really begins...and in my case the Seinfelding

* odd choice of clothes including very metrosexual boots on a very not metrosexual guy

* british teeth

* extra 30 lbs all held as a beer gut

* sweats

• After that it gets more interesting because I have found that because I'm a chatter and I can keep a conversation running for a very long coffee this means that eventually any weirdness they possess is bound to come out.

Some nights...in fact more and more nights, this kind of thing is starting to look like the better option. It's homemade, with lots of non-masculine toppings like tomatoes, red onion, red pepper, spinach, garlic and rosemary in the crust.

If only I hadn't forgotten to pick up some wine to go with....hmm...maybe a boyfriend would come in handy....

Harder than it looks

So that on-sale elliptical? it needs to have come with a power assist setting.

I am now up to 10 mins. In an evening. Not consecutively. On the lowest tension setting.

To give myself some credit, I could barely manage a minute the first time I got on it. Then 2 was over the top. I'm now at 3 consecutive minutes. Woo hoo!

Ok so there is a ways to go. And no way I am going to be a slimmer me by the time I go to Winefest in Kelowna this weekend. But maybe, just maybe in a few more weeks I'll start to get the scale (and clothing sizes) moving back in the direction I'd prefer.

Ps - that "berry" nice guy? has gone MIA....according to him he had a whole lot of work stress and needed some time to figure things out. So after a few weeks of trying to figure out where he was at with figuring things out I've decided to start dating again. Which puts more emphasis on using the elliptical...it's enough to be nervous about yourself without being stressed about there being more of yourself than you'd like.

Ultimate goal = 20 consecutive minutes of elliptical without imminent death due to lack of oxygen or pain from quads

Personal life goal = a "berry" nice guy with stick-to-it-ness that I don't Seinfeld out