Curveballs

I am definitely a Type A personality. I am not sure if due to that or because of it is why I like order and "normalness" so much. I like to know what's going to happen later today, later this week or even later this year. The sooner I can put it on my calendar, the better.

As the years have gone on I have become a little better at handling the curveballs that life throws. Maybe those close to me will laugh at that, but from my perspective I do. I don't like to blame that trait on "that's just how I am." But it really is. This doesn't mean I won't work on it or realize the need for change, but it will probably never go completely away. It will have to be accepted.

I just wish you could know SOME things in advance. Particularly things that involve money. The money that I work so hard for on my feet for pretty much 8 hours straight. Pulling often immobile and very overweight people from one table to another. My work is hard and the money is well deserved.

I just wish I could keep some in savings or spend it on something not exactly needed but very much wanted in my house.

Shower/Tub before - Gold - blech! 

You see, when I moved into the house in January 2009 I knew I wanted the carpet gone and laminate floors put down. I planned on getting a dog (enter Baylie!) and the carpet wasn't going to last much longer. For some reason I spent a good chunk of change on my backyard first - I guess because summer was approaching at the time. But those floors were the next problem.

Until...

... water damage is found to be creating havoc in my master bathroom. Curveball!

Current state of shower/bath :)

At the moment, my bathroom is half functional. The bathtub is ripped out, the walls were torn down and re-built and soon the fun stuff will go back in. I am so thankful to have a brand new bathroom without gold-trimmed shower doors, just sad for the 10 G's going down with it.

I'm rolling with the punches here and am now postponing floors to 2012.

The following are pictures of some of the stuff going in the new bathroom. To say I am excited is an understatement. By the way, who knew it was so tiring making decisions about bathroom tile and countertops.. or mirrors!??!

New quartz countertop

Tile and backsplash

My Z Gallerie mirrors which I LOOOVE!

"Finished" and "Home Improvement"

Two words that will only ever be in the same sentence when used with the word "never." As in "Never finished with home improvement" or in a more exasperated tone: "Finished with home improvement?! Never!"

I feel more like the latter. 

Way back in April of 2009 I threw away the idea that the backyard could wait. You see, when I looked at this house and fell in love (mostly with the kitchen and neighborhood), the only thing I could say about the backyard was "It's ok and will do for now. Anything I want to do with it can wait." Four short months later and Round-up was my best friend. Palm tree: gone. Italian cypresses: given away. Stock in Round-up due to me: probably up. 

Here's a little before replay of the transformation my backyard has taken from April 2009 to October 2010:

This is what I thought I could deal with for awhile

Nope. Palm tree and cypresses MUST GO!

Here's where Round-up came in handy. 4 rounds!

New patio and mow curb poured. Sprinklers installed (myself!)

New grass and 3 new trees (not seen in this pic)

And there it stood from October of last year until a few weeks ago. I NEEDED plants. Dry dirt flower beds full of weeds were driving me crazy. 

Well, the plants are in and I swear I bought 100 (if you count each individual strawberry plant and monkey flower!). I also learned the names of 3 more Green Acres employees - seriously, they ROCK. I cannot say enough about this place and if you are near Jackson Rd or near the Galleria in Roseville, you should be using them for all your gardening needs. 

The only snag of the planting process was me breaking a sprinkler line with a pick axe. At least I was the one to break it, otherwise all hell would have let loose. 

So here it is - the plants are still pretty small so it's hard to really capture how great everything looks - but you get the idea. Enjoy the pictures!

My prized peony - I hope I can keep it alive!

Love my banana plant! Lavender in front and jasmine 

soon to be climbing the trellis behind.

Cannas lining the fence (soon to have huge bright red-orange 

flowers!), phormium to the right and little bunny fountain

grasses up front. Oh! Don't forget the strawberries!

Hosta

Heucherella

On the mend, a confession and a huge project!

Wow!

It's been awhile folks, hasn't it? I had every intention of catching up on this over the weekend, but then sickness kicked me in the ass starting on the car ride home from Stinson Beach. I think the cute little shack where I stuffed myself with a cheeseburger, some chili and a chocolate milkshake was the death of me. I was thinking car sickness as we all know Highway 1 can be a little, well, curvy... but I was told it was most likely a lingering food poisoning bug - and I blame that chocolate milkeshake I just had to have.

Baylie enjoying the beach

 

Despite being sick, Sunday was a great day of visiting the beach. There are a few things in life that bring me joy and flip flops on the beach are one of them. It could have been slightly less windy, but the company was good and the sun was out so I can't complain too much!

And now it's confession time. I haven't talked about the Wellness Challenge in awhile and that's because I've officially fallen off the wagon as of a couple of weeks ago. I know, I know. I'm officially disappointed in myself as well. But looking back I knew it was going to be a huge struggle for me. Not because I have difficulty in eating well or getting exercise, but I have major issues with keeping track of stuff. It's the same reason Weight Watchers didn't work for me - I was so concerned with my "points" that it made me so focused on food all day. God knows I already focus way too much on food - Weight Watchers just made it so near the end of the day I'd think "Oh my goodness.. I only have 5 more points... WHAT am I going to eat with only 5 more points!?!" It was horrible. The Challenge was similar to me.. I'd lose track or realize I still had a fruit and vegetable to eat and I'd cram it in at the end of the day even if I wasn't hungry.

So, yea, Wellness Challenge officially is over for me. Don't get me wrong. I think it's a GREAT idea and it has helped a lot of people. Heck, it even helped me! I still plan on applying the one cheat day a week, no eating after 8pm and daily readings into my life - but I am so thankful I don't need to keep track!

Moving on - I have a huuuuuuuuuuge project coming up in the next couple of months. My backyard! For those who know me, you know the backyard project started last summer and it was a source of a lot of stress for me. I got a lot of the big stuff done, but this spring I will be planting all the plants and configuring the drip system for those plants. It's gonna take awhile as I only have every other weekend off and the first round is going to be pulling weeds, hauling in some good dirt and preparing the soil. Any takers? :)

Left: Before                   Right: After

The best part of the planning for the backyard and all the plants I'll be putting in is that I have a lovely friend who planned it all out for me! I'm loving that I am going to get some of my favorites like hydrangeas and cannas, but I am going to be mixing in all kinds of edibles too. I'll have a few tomato plants, some lettuce, brocolli, a bunch of herbs (cilantro, sage, rosemary, chives, thyme, basil, etc.) and they'll all be thriving along with my flowers! I started a bunch of the edibles by seed awhile ago and they seem to all be doing well.

My little seedlings!

I can't wait for some home-grown caprese salad! Yum!

Missions... ACCOMPLISHED!

I am a list maker. I think that is something I've taken from my mom. Not only does it feel good to check stuff off as you go and see all you have accomplished, but I tend to forget things I wanted to do. Not sure if it's a convenient I-didn't-really-want-to-do-it sort of thing or I really just get off-track in doing something else and forget all about the million other things I wanted to get done.

Well, today was a list day.

 

And as you can see, I got most of it done. Hey now, I still have a few hours left... 

The bathroom was started and I think I actually may have gotten the brown-gray color right the first time, but I'm still not 100% sure. Sometimes I walk in to look at the spot I painted and think it looks dark purple - ewww. I'll give it time before I decide. I think I'll post a picture tomorrow to get all of your opinions. So, the work on the bathroom gave me my personal goal point for the Wellness Challenge!

As for day #2 of the challenge - MUCH better than day #1. I did start to get a slight headache at some point but thankfully it disappeared. Once I eat dinner (which I have to do soon since it's almost 8!), I will only need to read from a spiritual text (I'm reading a daily devotional) and do 15 more minutes of exercise (ran with the pooch for a whole 25 minutes this morning, plus another 5 minute cool-down walk) and I'll be good for the day! 

Tomorrow is another story: It's day #1 of the 3-day detox I am doing. I bought out practically the whole produce section at Nugget today.. see?

I also got some gluten-free oats for breakfast (cooked in plain soy milk), beans (which are currently soaking so I can cook them tomorrow), quinoa (I ran out!) and some free range chicken. I don't have a juicer and Naked had their "Green Machine" on sale, so that will be another way I'll get plenty of nutrients from fruits and vegetables as well. I do have to admit I was a bit depressed at how bland everything was going to be, but I thankfully ran into two great Nugget Market employees while searching for some epsom salts to take baths in (suppose to help with removing the toxins from your body) and they were super excited for me to be doing this. I don't know why I didn't think about it, but I can cook my chicken WITH the cilantro, shallots, lemons and garlic I bought for the "soup" I was making. DUH! So I left with a smile on my face and I am so ready for this. 

Oh, here's the "soup." 

 

It doesn't smell bad at all. Actually smells quite good with the leeks, garlic, ginger and cilantro. I am sure it will taste bland as there is absolutely no salt in it, but I think the point is to reset my taste buds - it's amazing how much salt has to be put into foods nowadays for us to even taste it!

And to top off the night, I am going to enjoy my lavender salt bath to help my tired muscles. Hey now, that 25 minute jog was the most I've done in at least 2 months. Give a girl a break! 

Listen all y'all... it's a sabotage!

That particular Beastie Boys song is ripping through my head.

This day cannot get over soon enough and it has nothing to do with the Wellness Challenge. Or maybe everything to do with it.

I have a splitting headache. The kind that feels like there is a man inside your head with a sledgehammer and he is repeatedly banging it away on your frontal bone.... duh, that's forehead to you non-xray folks. I thought maybe it was attributed to the fact that I was slammed this morning and didn't eat anything for almost 5 hours (still a possibility), but then I realized a pattern.

My body knows what I'm doing to it and it's not going down without a fight.

You see, anytime I've set a time to start eating better I always feel horrible the first day. But really, nothing has changed. This morning I had a typical breakfast (Kashi Go Lean cereal) and for lunch I had a turkey sandwich, apples and peanut butter planned. See? Normal for me and more importantly, good for me.

But here I am, trying to figure out how I am going to fit into the rest of the things I need to do by the end of the day to get my 10 points total.  I'm gonna say it again. My head really flippin' hurts.

For those who didn't read the Wellness Challenge, here is where I earn points on a daily basis.

1. Drink 48 ounces of water (already almost there for the day)
2. 45 minutes of exercise (seeming near-impossible with this headache)
3. Consume 2 servings of fruit and 2 of vegetable (only 1 fruit down so far - ugh)
4. No soda or alcohol (not an issue although a Diet Coke would probably help this headache!)
5. No sweets (head hurts too bad to even think about eating anything)
6. No eating after 8pm (I wish I was there already - want to go to bed!)
7. Read 15 minutes of a spiritual or uplifting text (uhh.. I'm seeing double, how's that going to happen?)
8. Write in your journal (doing it right now)
9. Express specific appreciation, love or praise to another person (done and done)
10. Personal goal - this week I am tackling my bathroom. I bought spackle, paint for the mirror, paintbrush and paint tape at Walmart today (done!)

Don't know how I am going to do it, but somehow I have to get in 1 more fruit and 2 veggies (extra veggies on a sandwich, perhaps?), read and workout to finish the day off right.

And I just want to curl up in bed.

*sigh*

Gloomy Day Project #1

It's really hard with these gray, gloomy days to have hope that we are going to come out of it and Spring will actually come. I have a few indoor projects that I was waiting to do during Winter, but apparently I am one of those people only motivated during sunny weather.

One of those projects is my hall bathroom. Everything about it is wrong. Very pale blue-gray tile, gold accents and pale green walls. The shower curtain left behind from the old owners tells me where they pulled those colors from - I'm just surprised they didn't go for lavender walls!

With the impending Wellness Challenge ahead of me and the fact that one goal per week I have to name myself, I figured this will be the best time to start on this project and let my creative side flow. Below are a couple of pictures of my bathroom in its current state (ewww!).

It's hard to see the colors, but I hope you get the idea.

I've gone back and forth on the color to paint the walls and I think I've settled on a brown-gray. I know, boring, but there just isn't much else except for white and I'm not a fan of white walls.

Below is a picture with the color of wall I am thinking about. It is a little dark, but this bathroom is just my hall bathroom and I'll be putting plenty of lighter colors everywhere else that I think it will be a good balance - white cabinets, white framed mirrow, light shower curtain and who knows what for art (that's another post and another creative project until the sun comes out!).

I might even be able to do taller base boards in the bathroom since it's so small and wouldn't require more than one board - but I'm not an interior designer, so I am not sure how weird that would look.

Another aspect of the bathroom I want to change is the mirror. I currently have one of those typical flat wall mirrors held up by brackets (and an ugly gold track at the bottom). I am on the hunt for a large mirror with a cool frame. The frame can be any color as I'll just paint it white (or possibly leave it silver if that's what I find), but I am thinking something along the lines of this:

Or maybe more antique looking? As you can see, I just don't know... but I need to get on this.

Help people? Either make the sun come out or give me suggestions and/or ideas and feedback on my ideas. Your choice!