So here we are...

Life is what happens while you're making other plans- John Lennon

So I realize it's been a damn long while and I'm not going to apologize for that. I'd rather deal in quality rather than quality. What I will say is that I'm in a much better place right now, one that's a lot more creative, a lot more introspective, and a lot more driven to try to make myself happy. That said, I've got a lot to say in this post and I think I need to get a move on.

So what I've been doing for the last 10 weeks? Not a hell of a lot, save for a little staycation where I re-decorated the guest room. My lovely boy has lived in our apartment for 10+ years and this was always the place where people crashed when they were too drunk to make it home. I wish I'd taken "before" pictures because honestly, the room looked like an asylum-- stark white walls and a cornucopia of random bedding. When I finally got my entire bedding suite out of storage in March, I wanted to redecorate that room so it actually felt like it belonged to the rest of the place which is pretty modern and cool as well as put my cute linens to use! I've always wanted to try striping a room, but most of the time, it just looked too difficult. This room was the perfect venue for it: small enough that it made it easy to do by myself and it makes the room look so much larger than it is! It's hard to get a full picture of this room because 6' x 8'. At least now it's cleaned out and looks like a proper guest room, stocked with all the little things you might want or need while you stay with us. I know it sounds silly, but I'm a big decor geek when all is said and done, and it makes me feel really good to know that if our parents come to stay with us, we're not shutting them away in a sad little room. Plus, the soft yellowy-green tone really made the room seem brighter and cozier and the accent colors on the wall- a deep grey, a midtone gold, and a pale cement color- really class up the joint. Woot! The best part is that with all supplies and materials, it cost me less than $50 and only about 8 hours. They sell 8 ounce containers of sample paint now and they're $3 a pop! Perfect for this job! For my next project, I want to redo the study, aka Red Room as it has garnet carpeting and sad, dirty walls. It's a pass-through room in our place so the walls get knocked into a lot; it just needs some new paint and some TLC.

I've also been trying to make sure I cook more often, but sometimes it's really hard because the things I like to cook end up being way too much for just my man and me. I heartily recommend this cookbook for any couples stuck in a dinner rut. One of my favorite things about it is that when they require an ingredient that you're not going to use up in one recipe, they always include another recipe to show you how to finish it off before it goes bad- a HUGE deal in my house. I cannot say how many half-eaten veggies have lingered in my fridge unused-- or just how many Tupperware containers sat for a week as I'm not a huge fan of leftovers. It even includes a shopping guide so you can make the most of the recipes. Not only are the recipes convenient, but most of them are simple enough that you can toss them together in 30+ minutes- another huge selling point. The Cooks' Illustrated people always make good cookbooks, but this is the one that has gotten the most use in my cooking library.

This is a total godsend for me! I bought it last Friday and have literally used it every day for at least 30 minutes, but most of my sessions have gone into the 1 hour mark. It's intuitive and easy to figure out. I'm not a huge fan of some of the activities- the Tricep Extension activity in particular is worthless and I tend to just use my free weights when that one comes up- but overall, it seriously kicks your ass without you realizing it! I've vowed to use it every day and so far, so good. I especially like that you can do a lot of body measurement- weight, waistline, steps taken, activity log- without necessarily doing the actual exercises. That means I can just as easily track myself when I'm away from home as I do when I'm home. I'll probably do a fitness post weekly, mainly to keep myself on track. I don't want to get into specifics per se (no-one but me and my Mii need to know my BMI), but in the last 5 days, I've lost 7 pounds, an inch in my waist, and 1.5 points off my BMI. VERY exciting news indeed.

Alright, I'm wrapping up, but I'm going to try to keep up with my blog as well as my life....we will see... :)