Lumberjack with pretty feet

And the internet wins again.

This past weekend I finally did a few things that were long overdue. For one? I got a freaking pedicure!

I never do red. So mainstream of me.

It's probably been over a year since I've gotten one and, as with getting my hair cut, after I have it done and realize how much I needed it, I promise myself I'll do it more often. And then I don't.

Only time will tell.

The next thing I did that was long overdue has to do with a very large, ugly bush. Let's all get the giggles out of the way now. LARGE UGLY BUSH!

Ok, on to the story of said bush.

The first time I pulled up to my house (which wasn't mine yet) for an open house, my first thought was, "Holy crap, that large, ugly bush has got to go."

I mean, come on.

I vaguely remember asking the property manager if I could remove it and her telling me I'm not allowed. And then lately there have been break-ins in my neighborhood and what better place to hide than behind the LARGE UGLY BUSH, right? My agenda was clear: chop down the bush!

And so, saw in hand...

BOOM!

As you can see, there's still a stump there. I don't have the necessary tools to dig it out, but my brother suggested using the Jeep's 4-wheel-drive power to do it. Not surprisingly, I've already gotten an offer from a friend to do it for me...in exchange for beer. Aaaand...done.

Come spring, I plan on planting something much more aesthetically pleasing in the spot than the large, ugly bush. Suggestions welcome. Clearly, the HOA's landscaping company pretty much sucks at choosing greenery....and trimming it.

They trimmed this dude a couple months ago and left it like this.

Now, had they trimmed the large, ugly bush like this, I would have kept it.

I mean, who would burgle a house with this out front?

NO ONE!

Pantry-less no more

Guess who is getting back to the gym?! I had purchased a 3-month membership to the YMCA down the street a while ago and just redeemed it on Friday. I cannot WAIT! Working out in my living room is ok, but there's no comparison to actually being in the gym. I'm just hoping all the New Year's resolutioners are done kidding themselves and are back to chillin on the couch.

My mom and stepdad came to town Saturday afternoon. They brought with them the awesome pantry my stepdad made me! My house didn't come with one, which is just annoying, but I'm pantry-less no more. My stepdad also installed the ceiling fan I've had for probably six months for the guest room.

How the previous owner lived with no ceiling fans whatsoever, I'll never know. I guess it's probably because I grew up with one in every room, that I can't fathom not having any. Air is awesome.

I was also able to replace the cheap shelf I was using as a side table in my living room with this awesome find:

A cloud-shaped table? So awesome!

My mom and I happened to be walking past the clearance table while they were marking things down even more then they already were. I mentioned how cool the table was and the lady said she'd give us the "set" for $30. I'm not truly convinced they actually go together, but hey, I'm not complaining.

While my mom and stepdad are here, they're going out during the days to check out possible locations to move to. Exciting! Good people shouldn't have to endure the craziness of Northern Virginia any longer than necessary.

This afternoon is my chiropractor appointment so we'll see how it goes. The curiosity is killing me a little. My back is feeling a little better, but I think I've had pain in it for so long that I'm just used to it. I'm a damn idiot. There, I said it before you had the chance. That's my Monday gift to you.

flatulent airplane

It's been quite an interesting couple of weeks. Last week I flew to Rochester, NY to spend a few days. On my first flight there they boarded everyone into the plane and then, ten minutes later, they announced that there was two much fuel on the plane and they had to unload some of it before we could take off. I'm not going to lie. It made me a little nervous. (Although better the plane have too much gas than the passengers. Right? RIGHT?)

A few minutes later it was then announced that they needed six volunteers to get off the plane and take another flight and they'd give each volunteer a $200 voucher on a future flight. Did I take it? You better believe I took it!

The flight I was put on arrived a couple hours later than I was originally supposed to land but, dude, 200 free dollars!

More about my visit in NY later. There are some other exciting things to announce, too.

This next thing needs some background explanation.

When I bought my house, through the Community Home Trust, there are certain perks (and some cons as well) that came with it. One of these things is the stewardship account, which contains money that belongs to the home. I pay a monthly fee into the home’s account, and while I live here, I may apply for money from the stewardship account to pay for replacement of certain major systems. The account stays with the home as it is bought and sold.

One thing I've been wanting to replace for a while is the carpet on the first floor. It was never high quality carpet anyway, and it's pretty run down and stained. I really want to put in wood floors.

I had to schedule for my property manager to come and inspect the carpet to assure it's in need of replacing. I was worried for days that she'd turn it down, but as soon as she walked in, she basically approved it just standing at the front door.

I don't know how long it'll take, but from the sounds of it, hopefully not too long. I can't wait! Any advice on where to purchase non-ridiculously-expensive rugs?

And my last bit of exciting news...(drum roll)....

This happened!

I have a coworker who pointed out the Groupon to me and I hemmed and hawed over whether to do it or not and then the stars aligned. I got a freelance check right before the Groupon purchase time period expired and just decided to go for it. Years ago I was studying to become a fitness trainer, but at the time I had three jobs and not enough time to study and it fell by the wayside. This time I'm going for it. Let the studying (and getting back to the gym) begin!

Weekend artist

I had every intention of working out and then doing this all weekend:

Yeah, that didn't even last through Friday night.

Whaaaaat?

Around lunchtime on Friday, my brother dropped off Rocco for me to watch while they were out of town for the weekend. He and Pippi are quite the team. I had two furry, dog-shaped shadows all weekend. It was nice to eat breakfast at my desk at work this morning without them both in my face.

Also, anyone watching me trying to take them both for a walk together in the mornings had quite the laugh.

The remainder of my weekend was spent painting and installing knobs in the kitchen and building a new way to organize my earrings so they aren't sitting in a cigar box on my dresser anymore.

Friday night: knobs

"painted" with Sharpies.

Ready for baking.

Shiny!

Aaaaand...installation.

Wee.

And then Sunday I parked myself on the couch with intentions of not doing much else, and then I found this in my Real Simple magazine:

..and it occurred to me that I could make something like this to get my earrings out of that cigar box and hanging up so I can see them. I headed to Michael's for buttons and a display of some sort. I planned on nailing the buttons down...somehow. 

Well, that didn't exactly work out. I bought a really cheap wooden display case and painted it and then a new thought dawned on me (thanks to Pinterest): a cookie cooling rack!

As luck would have it, I got a sweet new cooling rack for Christmas, so I had my old, handed-down one to spare.

Bam!

 

I also worked out, but that goes without saying. This week I'm supposed to begin the "max" workouts of Insanity and I'm pretty nervous. Send me luck!

I feel like I'm on a first-name basis with these people these days.

I could never be a gymnast

Yesterday, on my last day of "vacation," I decided to use the paint I'd bought for the guest room to paint the stairwell and upstairs hall. I decided I don't like the color for a bedroom but I didn't want to waste it and the stairwell walls are as nasty as the rest of the walls were when I moved in.

dun dun duuuuunn...

Things were going pretty well until I realized, as I was standing on a chair at about the same location I was standing to take that picture, that my balance is worse than I thought. After wobbling and suffering a pseudo heart attack, I decided I'm enlisting help for the parts I can't reach safely. So, to recap: I'll risk cutting off my toes to remove a mirror and a broken face to replace a bathroom faucet, but when it comes to self home repairs, I draw the line at falling down a flight of 18 steps to my death at the risk of having a half-painted stairwell.

Ever since I've had dizziness off-and-on, I've been skeptical of the original diagnosis of an inner-ear condition. However, recent events make me think there may be something to it and I didn't really feel like testing it out yesterday.

During Insanity workouts, there are two exercises that I just can't do because I fall over every time:  

suicide drills and hit the floor. Basically, you go quickly back-and-forth sideways and touch the floor in between. And "hit the floor," I do.

I also have almost fallen over in the shower a few times lately, just standing there, and when I was home for Christmas I realized that while hugging my family members, I get the feeling like we're falling over but the other person doesn't. So so strange. I have absolutely no idea if there's anything I can do about it so for now I'll just avoid reaching over the steps and replace any floor-hitting with other exercises.

Speaking of exercises, I've formulated a running plan for 2013. First of all, I won't be paying to run any races. I've decided that this year I will focus on the house and working on getting out of debt. (so if anyone has a treadmill they're looking to give away, pick me!) Therefore, I'm going to train for and run my own race. No, I'm not joking. It won't be nearly as fun but I'm still reaching for that half marathon PR and to get speedier. Also, because why not, I want to be able to do a 10-minute plank this year. As far as other goals, I am going to train Pippi to balance things on her head.

I'm under no illusions that she'll be able to do this. One or
two treats is all I'll ask.

To be honest, I have no clue how many miles I ran in 2012. I had a goal of 700 miles and then I un-signed up for DailyMile and quit tracking them. Also, my goal of doing a pull-up got shattered when I got rid of my gym membership bought my own house with no room for a pull-up bar. But then again, I think "bought my own house" trumps "do one pull-up".

Here's to 2013!

Contractor-grade is my four-letter word

Spin class on Friday was a success! ... Well, aside from the fact that Bree, thee worst spin instructor eeveer was teeaching and her idea of get-you-pumped music is Taylor Swift and Ke$ha. I remember now why I avoid her classes. I had to take it a little slower than normal because I was struggling to breathe, but a made it the full hour! 

As for the running on Saturday, I had a change of plans. I received a check I wasn't expecting late last week for $32, which, as it turns out, is exactly how much a gallon of paint costs. The luck! Since the nastiness left by the previous owner of my house on the master bathroom walls was seriously grossing me out, I decided to start there. I'd decided a while ago I wanted to paint it dark purple.

My inspiration:

No, I'm not kidding.

My final choice:

I've never seen grapes this dark.

I spent the better part of Saturday painting (with ELF on in the background, of course). I've decided my least favorite color in the world is the contractor-grade off-white color they paint walls that sucks up everything, including the previous owner's nastiness and the first coat of paint you try to cover it up with. Also? The big, contractor-grade sheet mirrors in bathrooms are my NEMESIS! I can't seem to find online how much the mirror the size of the one that was in my master bathroom weighs, but the fact that I didn't break it or cut off my toes removing it from the wall, is a miracle. Holy mother of HEAVY! In hindsight, I probably should have asked a big, strong man to help me but patience isn't exactly my strong suit.













Without further ado, my new bathroom:

Doesn't look quite impressive enough? How about now?

I decided a room of this color needed some big, gaudy gold accents. I'm pretty much in love with the mirror and the picture frame, both of which I got on ridiculous sales, thanks to Michael's and HomeGoods. I always find myself walking around HomeGoods thinking, "I have no idea what this is, but I think I need it." And, in case you missed my previous post about that dog print, you can find it here.

Pippi was extremely unimpressed with my renovation, but, as usual, found herself at home protecting the living room from intruders.

I also did something that will, hopefully, make our lives a little less crazy and bark-y.

And, like that, I've become the old lady of the neighborhood.

One more thing I need to share, because it's kind of a big deal in my world—after 30 years, I may have finally figured out a way to make my hair stay wavy. Accidentally go to bed with wet hair up in a messy bun.

We'll see how long it lasts.

I spent the rest of my weekend cleaning the house. Pippi still tries to attack the vacuum. Any advice on how to get this to stop, FOR THE LOVE??

Martha Stewart will have to wait

I've been spending a good amount of time the last few days online searching for couch slipcovers. As many people noted, the couch my mom gave me is a very light cream color/stain magnet. And, since I'm pretty much a professional klutz and I own a dog with an affinity for making messes, the couch had to be covered. It's currently covered in a sheet but, truth be told, it's the sheet set I typically use on my bed so I kind of want it back. Hey, did you know most slipcovers are super boring? Do a quick Google image search. You'll see what I mean. Why would I want to cover boring with more boring??

Seems fine to me, Mom. Wrap it up. I'll take it.

I had the bright idea to look on Pinterest to see if there was a do-it-yourself tutorial so that I could make my own slipcover instead. I found quite a few, and started getting excited. And then? Then...I started pricing fabric. I'd probably need between 14 and 16 yards to make the slipcover. For some reason, in my head, fabric is like two bucks a yard. It turns out it's more like $6–$10 a yard. I was hoping to spend no more than $40 for the fabric, but unless I can find a helluva good deal, it would cost me more like $80–$150, meaning I'd have to save up for it. <yawn!>




All I can say is Martha Stewart must have started out loaded because this whole doing it yourself thing is a lot more expensive than I thought. It looks like the sheet is staying for a while. Maybe I can fulfill my crafting hankering by making fancy couch pillow covers instead.

Yesterday I decided to do my run at the park. I wasn't feeling like running at all and since it's an out-and-back and once you get out, you have to go back, it was a good plan. I mean, I have yet to get someone to give me a piggy-back ride back to my car. I'll keep trying.

Maybe if I buy one of these.

After about 1/4 mile I was this close to turning back around. But I didn't. A group of police recruits gave me an ego boost by running even slower than me. Passing a bunch of panting, red-faced "men's men" in their special matching shirts: WIN! I can only hope they run faster by the time they become actual police officers. They aren't the smartest, however. One of them stopped me to ask "where does this trail go?" So their plan must have just been to run until the world ends. I don't know about you, but I typically research any new running spots to see where they go. I don't have real faith in our future police officers, you guys.

Today's workout will be washing the car (it's a rest day, really), before my long run tomorrow. I'd better research some routes, lest someone mistake me for a police recruit.

My living room is growing up

This weekend, not only did my mom and stepdad come visit, but they brought me FURNITURE!

Dude, I have a couch! AND a glider! It's almost like I'm a real live adult.

The glider was my grandma's and the couch was my mom's. Both are in excellent shape and both are begging for upgrades. I really want a fun-colored slipcover for the couch, but that might revoke my adult status.

If only Pippi was purple, I wouldn't think twice before buying this gem.

I love when my parents visit. Not only does my stepdad always help me with my "honey-do" list and my mom makes sure I have the things that I need (hello toilet paper!) but they're great company. I wonder if the teenage me would have ever suspected I'd be saying that someday. They're thinking of moving further south eventually and I'm really looking forward to it. Of course I do realize that probably 70% of their decision to move closer is based on the fact that my brother and sister-in-law will eventually have their first grandchild and they'll want to be close enough to spoil it on a regular basis, but still. I'm looking forward to it.

In running news: I can't tell you how much better my runs have been since the weather stopped being a bitch. Also, having the windows open in the house is awesome. I think this is the first time I've ever wished Summer would end based strictly on the weather.

Random Beauty and the Beast reference...FTW.

Also, my post-Hartford challenge arrived.

Thank you, eBay.

Excited doesn't begin to explain it. No, I'm not a masochist. Why do you ask? I have a feeling it's going to be a painful Winter.



Today? I have a case of the Mondays. How about you?

More protein please

Friday at work, I got to pretend to be super important.

Outside the front door of the NC Legislative building

Inside the House chambers. Fancy!

Saturday morning, I got up and went for a run. I was supposed to run 7 miles but 4.5 was all my legs had in them. I was struggling the whole time and was hoping after the first mile my legs would be warmed up and feeling better, but it didn't work that way. After posting on Daily Mile and taking a look at what I've been eating and drinking, particularly after workouts, it became clear that maybe I need to up my protein intake.

Apparently roam rolling isn't the problem.

If I'm being completely honest, I've been probably getting the majority of my protein from peanut butter which, it turns out, isn't actually that great of a protein source. I went grocery shopping and I now have chicken, sausage, bacon, and beans in my fridge. I already had almond milk in there, so I'm not a complete dunce. Post-run chocolate milk sounds good to me!

I guess someone left it here in case, mid-run, I was feeling a little randy?

Pippi and I then went to training class. Whenever Trainer Ryan explains what we'll be learning this week, I'm always hesitant to believe it's possible. This week we're practicing the first skill in having Pippi go directly to her bed and lay down when someone comes into the house (or knocks on the door). Yeah, I'm skeptical too, but one step at a time. For now we just need to get down "on your bed". Here's our progress:

1.

 

2.

 

The next step involves someone actually coming over and helping me by knocking on the door or hitting the doorbell over and over and over so we can practice. That's so much easier said than done. I may need to ask my firefighter friends for more help. I'm assuming pizza and beer will be motivation. (If you're reading this and live near me and want to assist in this super fun exercise, let me know!)

I spent the remainder of my weekend cleaning and painting walls. I finally finished the stripe wall!

The colors are a nicer in person. Promise.

Mom. Tell them how I helped. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom.

Just don't look at it up close. Painters' tape is a damn joke!

On Sunday morning I set out to clean the house and I got halfway done vacuuming the first level when my "check vacuum bag" light came on. I figured it would be an easy, quick trip to WalMart and I'd be back in business. Yeah, not so much. Apparently the worst day to shop at WalMart is a rainy Sunday the day before the college semester down the street begins. For crying in the sunshine! On the way home I had to stop at the frozen yogurt place to console myself.

At least my vacuum bags smell freaking delicious.

I hope your running was much more pleasant than mine this weekend. What do you eat or drink after runs to recover?


Have you ever found something completely random on the ground while running/walking/biking/skipping?