Becoming healthier..

I’ve eliminated so much craziness from my diet and I’ve been going to the gym in the mornings, and even swimming laps some afternoons.

I’m having fun with it! I downloaded the MyFitnessPal App on my phone and it is beyond amazing. It’s basically a diary of what you eat but it’s so easy to use. They have a huuuuuuuuge database and you can just type in some key words from what you ate and scroll through to find the brand, or exact kind, and change the serving size. And it provides you with a Nutrient Summary that tells you how much of your recommended daily vitamins you have received from what you ate, as well as calories, fat grams, carbs, cholesterol…. All that. And it saves your foods so it just becomes easier and easier to use.



On Monday I went with my cousin, Jessica, to see Dear John and it was so sad it made my stomach hurt. I had to hide behind my scarf. It’s a love story based on a book so it comes with the territory. I did appreciate how it exemplified the way 9/11 affected young people in particular.

So considering that I could probably get away with wearing my pajamas to work, even the slightest opportunity to wear a hat and scarf gets me excited. I do need a haircut but hey, I’m tryin’..

Happy

Here’s some more of my apartment. I’ve just recently gotten around to organizing and decorating. I’m on a super tight budget.



This is the computer nook and that wire mess behind my laptop is probably a fire hazard and might blow up but whatever. So much crazy shit gets thrown in here..



This is my living room with an exhausted Ebi. I am not crazy about the picture but it keeps the wall from being bare for now. I got the futon from Target for $160 and the black tables (there’s another small one) also from Target for $40 for the set.



I love these little red tables. They came from TJ Maxx and were $50 for both. Those little drawers are perfect for storing tiny things I would otherwise lose.



I throw all my hats here (for right now).



This is my favorite one. It’s not very structured so it fits my head perfectly and it’s so comfortable over my ears. I usually have difficulty with hats and ears because I’m a baby about the way it feels. I found this one in a Delia’s catalog years ago and then went to the store and paid like $28 for it. I’m glad I did.



It’s so much easier to take quick pictures with my iPhone and email them to myself but then you can’t see my face.

Tonight my aunts and mom and some of their cousins met for dinner at Satisfactions in Brightleaf Square. I was happy to go. I love to hear them tell stories about their childhood and how cool of a Dad my Grandfather was to them. They had a freaking pony! Their childhood seems so beautiful and I’m happy that they had the experiences they tell about. As kids they went to the grocery store as a family and it was a really big deal that they got dressed up for, and the guys that did the bagging went to school with them and they were always rushing to do their bagging. My mom and her sisters were some hotties. And Sears had a candy bar! And the Carolina Theatre downtown was the place to be. It all just seems so cute. I mean, they had a pony!

March 10 would have been Gpa’s 90th birthday, and I’ve proposed that we all go out for dinner that evening because he always talked about living to be 90. I think it will be full of wonderful stories.

The Mat

This is my life for an hour each week. I'm surprised that I don't mind it that much. This laundromat is always so quiet and empty when I go either Monday-day or Tuesday-evening. I could buy a W/D but that would involve me having to pay a fat amount, and then move them, and move them again one day. And I wouldn't be able to complete all laundry in such little time while reading the Independent.

I didn't know about this until today but Jessica Simpson has a new reality show starting March 15 on VH1. She is traveling the world to meet women, study local fashions, dietary trends, and beauty regimes. I'm goofy excited.

Sick dog

Ebi has been sick, moaning, and groaning since the middle of the night last night and he definitely slept in the bed with me last night. He was pitiful and snuggled up close and then he hated me for pouring Pepto Bismol down his throat. He’s doing better now.



I bought him some discounted Valentine bears today because he likes to tear stuff up. Two-for-one deal! Just a little snip of the scissors and we have a toy to destroy now and one to destroy later.

Getting it together

I like my home so much better now. I did some organizing today..

I had some giant Rubbermaid containers full of craziness that were just sitting out and I had to look at it every day and it was making me so sad to have to see that old, tired, dirty plastic. Every. Single. Day.

I have a sort-of extra room (because I moved my bed into the sunroom where it’s brighter & open with a giant window) so now there is nothing in the actual bedroom except for a bookshelf and now my old TV. The floor hasn't always been full of shit and crazy like this but when I started pulling things out this is what I started with this morning..



In my closet I did have my shoes thrown up here (where my jeans are now neatly folded) and it was a mess.



I did have all of my pants hanging up so this cleared up a lot of space.

It was impossible to keep my shoes organized before because they were everywhere on top of each other. The shoes that I wear most are now stored here. We will see how this works out for me. I like it so far, and I don't have to stretch like a maniac to reach them. I do need a foot stool though.



My bike was in the extra room leaning against the wall and I played with the idea of hanging it from the ceiling because I had seen that done before but I don’t trust the sheetrock and I don’t really think I can go putting holes in the ceiling AND I don’t even know how to begin to tackle that project so the bike is now comfortably stored in the pantry-thing.



It’s now accompanied by the vacuum, ugly plastic giant container, and broom, and stuff. I like it so much better in there.

This shelf on my book case is intriguing. Are those Spanish translators next to philosophies next to the Holy Bible next to Genome next to Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl next to Ellen Degeneres next to mindless chick reads next to Harry Potter next to Amy Sedaris, PostSecret, and Jessica Simpson’s “I Do”? Why yes, yes it is…



Pretty flowers...



Here is part of the cleaner, more organized room. I’m putting my desk in there within the next few days. I have a giant table one from Julie packed up and I am ready to have myself a work area!

Snow slumber

This weekend was amazing because it snowed and I didn’t have to go to work on Saturday, and I updated everything (iPhone, Flickr, iTunes). Since my work schedule is Tues-Sat I never get to have Saturdays off and it makes me a little jealous of people with traditional weekends. Sometimes.

We got about 6 inches of snow. I took Ebi to the fenced in playground in my complex for him to go crazy and bury his face in the snow, and eat it, and chase it, and bark at it.

Sunday we ventured out on very icy roads to go to the grocery store.



I have been all up in Flickr this weekend. Now that I have the Flickr app on my phone (not sure why I hadn’t already downloaded it), I can upload pictures easier since I mostly use my phone. And since I updated the software on my phone the camera is much faster and clearer and captures my beast-dog running...


I’m embarrassed that I had not already downloaded these upgrades. Shame.

Photos on Flickr make me crazy for wanting to take more pictures, wear brighter colors, and explore.