Days 7 through 15: Sick and Tired

doggie showing me how it's done

Sorry for the silence.  I think I might have over-did it a bit by going full force and not adjusting properly.  I kind of always do that.  So, I took a week off to get better and be lazy.  I kind of over-did that as well.  Hopefully now I can find a good balance between psycho-overachiever and perpetual lounger.

So with this in mind, when I tell you that I watched nearly all of both seasons of Pushing Daisies (which is an amazing show and is now streaming on Netflix) I don't feel any guilt because I also balanced my finances and paid my bills.  Now I'm going to do some design research for Sven in Tokyo (more on SIT later).

Thanks for the words of encouragement, and thanks for reading...

Day Six: I focused on the family

doggie and the hubs

Today was hectic.  I was cold and sore when I got home.  Yes, I probably could have gone to yoga or even exercised at home.  Instead, I chose to go eat sushi with the hubs and hug doggie till he wouldn't let me anymore.  I needed to recharge my batteries.  Tomorrow I will exercise and maybe even tackle that stack of mail I haven't opened in over 3 months.  But right now I am thinking freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, a bubble bath, and these two.  I'm proud that I'm taking time for me tonight...

Day Five: I didn't eat Taco Bell

image via Bike Carson

I have a problem.  I am obsessed with eating Taco Bell.  I blame my sister-in-law.

Before I met and became related to Stacy, I hadn't touched TB in over 10 years.  I thought it was gross.  I still think it's gross, but it is just so so delicious.  Anyway, I ate it last night and I wanted to eat it again tonight, but I brought down the hammer.  The verdict:  Eat a freaking salad.  So I did.

Veggies: 1, Taco Bell: 1.  The war rages on...

Day Four: I did Yoga

yeah, right...

So really, the fact that I did anything physical is a pretty big achievement.  I am pretty thin (genetically), so the fact that I haven't exercised in over 5 years hasn't affected my appearance.  It has, however, affected my strength, flexibility, sleep patterns, moods, stress levels...you get the picture.  I know that I cannot simply go to the nearest 24 Hour Fitness and hop on a treadmill or pumping iron.  No, when you are as out of shape as I am, simply walking up a flight of stairs or opening a jar of pickles is a challenge.  I decided yoga is the best way of building the important muscles to get me to the next level - cardio.

Exercise has traditionally bored me, but yoga (at least tonight's class) can keep my interest.  I think it is all the pose changes.  I could really care less about the chanting or the "focused breathing", but I can say that even after one class I can really feel the results.  I am going to be in so much pain tomorrow.

Ps - I rewarded myself with Taco Bell.

Day Three: I didn't flake.

link to image

Over the past year I have gotten quite comfortable blowing off commitments (especially after-work commitments) in favor of lounging around, surfing the internet, and other low impact activities.  But not this year!  No friends, this is a new year and thus, a new me.

Today's proud moment came when I pulled up my britches and met my good friend and business partner, Berg, out in our non-climate controlled workshop (it's 30 degrees here), and worked for a solid 2 hours on making some headway on our first piece.  I vow to keep my promises, and not say yes when I mean no.  Why I haven't done that from the get-go?  The new me doesn't care.

*Cherry on top:  I made myself dinner instead of going to Taco Bell like I really wanted to.

Day Two: I did it myself - car edition

doggie aka archenemy of dapper dressers

One of my goals for 2011 is to present myself a bit better, so I'm planning outfits, fixing my hair, and thinking about wearing makeup again. Also, I'm going to try my very best not to show up at work looking like a lint trap. One key way of accomplishing this is to de-fur my car.

Today's proud moment came when I decided (with the urging of Tyler) to not take my car to the fancy "We'll clean your car for you" place, and instead hunted down some quarters and did it myself (with the help of Tyler). All we did was vacuum and clean the dog slobber off the windows, but it was such a pain to keep searching for quarters and feeding them to the vacuum monster. The suction was terrible so it took twice as long as it should have, and when we finished there was still a good amount of hair. I think next time I'm going to take it to the people who know what they are doing. I'm proud that I can admit defeat.

Day One: I started a blog.

my nye party duds

ps. i made that headband and i'm very proud of it.

I'm starting this blog as a way of motivating myself. I am usually the kind of person that daydreams of all the fantastic things I am capable of, but when I get off work and land at home all I do is turn off my brain and watch TV. While this is perfectly fine for most people, I can't shut out the feeling that life is passing me by, and with it the chance to do something really amazing.

So here is the gist: everyday I am going to push myself to do something that I wouldn't normally do. Really, that could be most anything because, as I mentioned before, my free time is mostly spent imitating the doldrum creatures from The Phantom Tollbooth. That being said, I will try to keep it interesting. Please feel free to get in on the action. If you do something that makes you proud of yourself, leave a comment. Just keep it classy.