Our New and Improved Office

Ahhhhhh. That is really all there is to say. I am not sure why, but when we moved into our place three and a half years ago, we had the entire downstairs done in wood laminate, yet our downstairs office done in carpet. I have no idea why this seemed like a good idea at the time, but it turns out the only one in our household who actually enjoyed the carpet was our dog, Ali who believed it was a fabulous substitute for grass when she was too lazy to use her doggy door. Now, countless gallons of stain remover later, we finally made the change and it is awesome!!

Today was a pain with all the furniture moving and paper sorting but now that it is done, I feel super proactive and ready to do great things. The office had totally been bringing my husband down too. He works full time from home and how can a person be productive in that type of environment? Dusty, cluttered and stained- probably a pretty apt description of our minds too when we were in there. At some point, I think we just threw our hands in the air and did most of our work from the living room. Now, we both have a renewed energy. It is so interesting how changes in our environment can affect us so greatly. I even incorporated some feng shui elements. A living plant, wood in our corner for business growth. I am not sure I completely trust every feng shui principle, but it sure does help create a nice energy. Maybe its that energy that makes the feng shui principles seem to work. Either way, I am excited about our new and improved office. Living (and working) is getting easier! Just one more step on my journey to The Skinny Life.

New Months Resolutions

I make some variation of New Years Resolutions every year. Except every year, just like most other people in the world who make New Years Resolutions they don't last long. This year I have decided to do something a little different... I am going to make a new resolution for every month. I know I have problems with self discipline (ah yes, here lies the reason for the extra poundage), but I figure even I may be able to keep a resolution for one month. Don't most people make it through January? I hope???

I think every life needs balance which is basically the focus of this blog. This is also the reason I don't usually like to put blanket restrictions on myself. Sometimes blanket restrictions can be a good way to recharge and see what is really important, but sometimes they are just restricting oneself for the sake of restriction.

The goal for these monthly resolutions will be to "see what sticks." If I can spend a month changing my life in some way for the better and it actually becomes a good fit for my life, then maybe it will be easier to keep it as a permanent part of me. And if it doesn't seem to work quite right, I can let it go in good conscience after one month without the feeling of failure because I couldn't stick to it for a whole year. Seems like a shame to have two options like that: either stick to a resolution that maybe once seemed like a good idea, but may not actual fit my lifestyle, or quit part way through the year and feel like a failure. Resolutions are a great idea, but a year is a long time and I don't have the time to waste doing things that don't fit for the balance I am trying to create in my life. So, here is goes. My New Months Resolutions:

January: No soda (starting off small :))
February: No Facebook (this may be tough, but necessary)
March: Gym or a substitute activity every day
April: No alcohol
May: Create art every day
June: Go for a walk every day
July: No Television
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:

I will also be focusing on staying hydrating, eating less meat, and buying more locally grown foods.

In my mind these are some pretty strict requirements and I am going to be realistic by giving myself 5 days off per month if I need them. It hasn't escaped my notice that only part of my year is filled in, but I think it will be better if I start with these and when I hit August I can better pick something that I feel led to at that time. I am hoping this will help with my self discipline issues.  Now....lets see if I can pull this off....Cheers to living The Skinny Life

On the Eve of Thirty

2010. It is almost hard to believe. This is the year I turn 30. Why has "30" always been such a benchmark year? Why is it that most of us expect to be full and complete people by this time? If this were possible, there would be no reason to continue. I remember as a teenager once dramatically (is there any other way when you are a teen?) telling a friend that if I ever made it to the age of 30 that she should shoot me because I would not ever want to be that old. (I hope she isn't planning on tracking me down). Now, here I am just a few months from the that dreaded day. I sure don't feel old enough to throw in the towel. I don't actually feel much different than I did at the age of 17. Ok, maybe that isn't all the way true. I sure wasn't very street smart or people savvy back in those days. I would like to think I have picked up a few knowledge nuggets on my journey. But besides becoming the brilliant person I am today (sarcasm implied), I just don't feel old. Sure I notice a few more pounds and a few fine lines, but at what point do we begin to feel old?

I guess coming up on this "milestone" has induced more than just a little self reflection. I have been thinking a lot about where I have been, what I have accomplished to date and what I hope to accomplish in the future. My old "goal setting" lists were all labeled "To Do Before I am 30." Time to rip those up I guess. I am pretty sure I won't be learning guitar or earning a black belt in karate in the next 4 months. The interesting thing is that I wouldn't really want to anymore.

One of the most fascinating things about looking back is seeing who you were. For Christmas a few years ago, my dad had all of our home movies put on to DVDs. What a great gift! I have been spending time with these during the past week. In some of the videos I am too young to be able to remember exactly my mindset at that age, but the videos where I am old enough to remember a bit is where it gets interesting. It is a stark contrast between my outlook on the world then and now. In the video of my high school graduation I remember thinking that I had my whole life ahead of me to do anything. Now, with a little more of that life behind me I am realizing how important it is to use the time left wisely-and maybe learning guitar isn't it for me.

I guess that who we are is made up of our thoughts, memories and experiences. But, because these grow and change each day, I guess it is safe to say that we really are a different person from one day to the next. In one home video, I am probably 10, my mother around 40 and my sister close to 5 years old. My mother is reading a story and it occurs to me, that those people no longer exist. What a weird thought. Of course people with those same names exist, but in no way are ANY of us the same people.

Looking at the past has been interesting, but I learned that I am not going to find many answers about myself there. Maybe I was expecting a grand AHA! moment. A clarity of what I am to do with the rest of my life. No, clarity isn't going to come with watching a Cabbage Patch obsessed child boss her little sister around. It will come with looking inward, outward and forward.

Out with the Old

My grandmother lived through the depression. She learned to be scrappy and crafty in dire times and she learned to conserve and save. She never got rid of these traits. In fact, she held onto them so steadfastly that she was able to pass them right on down to her granddaughter. Being her granddaughter was wonderful as a kid-so much stuff to play with, so many things to eat. So many ways to challenge my overactive imagination around her house.

My mother is sentimental. She saves things that mean something. She also has a very good memory which means that a lot of things mean something. The great thing about my mother is she is also a planner. Especially when it comes to her daughters. She has taught us to plan well for our future.

My father is a fixer. I wonder if his father was this way also or if he became this way out of necessity when money became scarce after his father died. Either way he would rather fix an old thing over buying a new one. His motto is definitely function over fashion. If it works, it stays. Just because it may not be beautiful, doesn't mean it doesn't work really well.

From a grandmother, her daughter and her daughter's husband came me. A sentimental, crafty, scrappy, planning fixer. These might sound like some great traits to pass down. And sometimes they are great traits, but when it comes to creating a world of less clutter for myself, these traits greatly hinder me. Whether I am going through clothes, papers, the garage, the kitchen-it doesn't matter. I am constantly fighting against my own nature. My instinct is always to either fix it, make something new out of it, or save it- you know, "just in case." Hmmmm...I wonder where I get it.

For the moment, lets set aside the piles of papers I can't seem to part with, the old toys I won't let go of, the ripped clothing I am one day going to get around to fixing, and the jars, ribbons and other items saved to "create." Lets focus instead on my bedspread. My bedspread? Why oh why are we focusing on that you may ask? For over six months my duvet cover had a tear on its underside that went almost the entire length of the cover. It didn't affect me much because it was on my husband's side of the bed, but still it nagged at me. I am a very particular sleeper-obviously my husband is not. I tried to fix it with mighty mend-it, but could never quite find the time to take it off the bed and do it properly.

Finally, I broke down, ripped it off the bed and replaced it with a brand new bedspread and new sheets and new pillows. It felt freeing to just get rid of the old and bring in the new. Our new bed is calming, and beautiful and at last, we are done with a duvet and are living like real live adults with sheets and a blanket. Ahhhhh.

This was a turning point. Since the bed transformation, I have continued pushing myself to the limit of my comfort zone. So, go forth and get rid of things! I know this may not sound like the greenest way to think, and when you really are going to fix something, or make something, do it! But, don't be like me and hang onto things indefinitely. There must be a time limit and if the item sits around longer than that- then get it gone! Either recycle it, trash it, donate it, or give it away. Just work hard to make your life skinner and I will too :).

Money Saver or Time Waster?

About a month ago I made a list of the things that complicate my life. A recurring theme I noticed was the never ending flow of all types of paper-from junk mail to invitations to bank statements to birthday cards. I tackled a box of paper of all types in our office with the help of my husband and decided to move on to a better organizational system for the flow of paper in the kitchen.

I like to save money. Most people do. I go through sporadic periods of crazed coupon clipping. I get them in the mail and the promise of free money becomes intoxicating. The problem is that I end up with lots of neatly clipped coupons and never remember to use them. Unused coupons are nothing more than trash, but because they offer that tempting promise of money, they end up saved long past their expiration dates.

I thought I had a system of organization in place: three magnetic trays attached to the side of our fridge. When I went through the mess I found coupons that had expired over two years ago. Past system of organization=failed! I kept the trays but now I can use one for our gift cards, one to hold my new file system and one, well I am sure we will find something to stuff in it.

Check out the new system. Now, whenever I get that urge to cut, all I have to do is file by expiration date month- then whenever I glance in there and notice it is September and the May-August files still have coupons sitting in there, I can trash them. Anything without an expiration date gets put in the front and gift cards get there own home.

I know the dynamics of organizing coupons, etc. may seem incredibly boring to some, but for me it is one more baby step to living The Skinny Life.

BEFORE AFTER

Practice Makes Perfect

When it comes to getting in shape, I am by far my worst enemy. I can easily find any other thing to do with my time besides using it to get fit (many of these options include my television). Yesterday was not perfect, but I have to say I was pretty proud of myself for putting in some practice. Yesterday, I ran.  I know it wasn't pretty, but at least I forgot about what bystanders must be thinking and put foot to pavement. The weezing and heel pains weren't great, but it did feel good to be outdoors and to feel like I was doing something good for myself finally. I was right about needing to walk part of the way which was sort of a bummer, but walking is still better than sitting on my couch. My total amount of running was probably around three blocks-I walked quite a bit more. I know to most people that may not sound like a lot, but it is the most I have run since around 1993, so I am damn proud of it. Next time....four blocks baby!

Ready to Run

In 2003 I bought a pair of great walking shoes. After ruining them on my honeymoon, my husband replaced them for me for Christmas that same year. I loved these shoes. Then a few months ago I realized that my feet would hurt after walking in them for a while. I finally stopped and thought about it....hmm...I know they rarely get use, but even so, 6 years seemed like a long time. So I did some research and found out that shoes should be replaced every 300 miles. Well, even with my minimal usage, I am sure I hit that number years ago. My miles were walking miles, but hey, they were still miles.

I decided it was time to replace my walking shoes with running shoes. At first I planned on stopping by Marshalls and getting a great deal, but then I realized I knew absolutely NOTHING about buying a good pair of running shoes. It was time to contact a professional. I found a running shoe store walking distance to my house called Movin. I had no idea what I was in for. The thorough and patient gentleman at the store had me not only try on shoes, but also run across the parking lot outside in each pair. He watched each short run and helped determine the best pair for me. This turned out to be the Asics 2140

I am really excited to begin the journey to becoming a runner. I don't really care if I am ever able to run a marathon, but I sure would like to no longer be afraid of running. It would be nice to feel like that is something I can do instead of having it in a list of things that scare me- along with spiders, clowns and rollercoasters that drop straight down.

I may sound like a crazy person with an irrational fear, but the last time I ran a mile was in the 7th grade when my gym teacher humiliated me. Running was always really difficult for me. I always had an abnormal amount of trouble breathing and pain in my heels from a condition where my heels have tiny cracks in them. The blood circulation to heal the tiny cracks gets disrupted when I run and the continuous pounding causes pain. This almost never bothers me now, but as a kid when you are expected to run more often, it was quite a bit more painful. I was the tiny middle school girl running almost 12 minute miles. Weird since I found out later that I can walk one in 14 minutes. Since my miles were so slow, my gym teacher made me run them by myself until I could do it in 9 minutes. I think the 8th grader she had timing me finally felt pity on me and may have fibbed a bit. After that, I got a note from my doctor and became a permanent member of the "walking team". And apparently I stayed on the "walking team" until now.

Well...I am not afraid anymore. Slightly cracked heels be damned! I will learn to run! I know I will be starting out slow. Maybe even a block at a time, but the good thing about my new shoes is I can walk in them too. I guess in fitness, as in life, a walker is not always a runner, but a runner is most definitely also a walker at times too.

Coming soon:
A fitter me
A fear-conquering me