tiny house anyone?

I thought I would be able to re-enter the blog world and regular life last weekend… but that turned out not to be the case.  I thought maybe some time this past week – nope.  Finally, today I took the day off and this is how I feel

I may look a bit rough around the edges but see? There is hope on the horizon!

Jumping back into regular life isn’t easy.  Every September I go through it and I forget how much I crave a routine.  Whether it’s a regular running schedule, a clean apartment, actual clean clothes (and not just febreezed) and a normal amount of caffeine consumption (as opposed to the gallons I’ve been drinking), it all sounds fantastic!  And today is the first day I can make it all start.

During all of this chaotic time, I’ve become fascinated with the tiny house movement.  If you aren’t familiar, many a folk are choosing to downsize into very small abodes.  I’m talking 250 sq feet – heck, one person lives in 95 sq foot house!  Crazy!  This small is not something I would choose but there is something about this that appeals to me.  There is a great documentary on the as well.

I also like the idea of a yurt

For those of you who’ve been around here for a while, you may remember me griping about how small my current apartment is.  480 sq feet.  So how does this align with my current interest in tiny houses?  I like the idea of there being a place for everything.  Tiny houses by design and necessity have to be organized or they wouldn’t be livable.  I love the ingenious behind them – especially the romantic-esque lofts.  And yes, overall idea of it all.

see how cool and functional this is?

I’m starting to realize I could get my current digs a bit more likeable and functional.  I get extremely frustrated with the lack of organization here (my fault with all of my stuff) but also the lack of a place to put some of it.  There is a severe lack of shelving and closets here.  I recognize I can/need to dehoard but there is still a simple need for SOME shelving.  And counter space.  And perhaps some cupboards?

I would like a slightly bigger living space when I move next.  I’ve done enough pinterest-ing to also get some ideas about how to live large in a small space with creative decorating and organizing.  I also have a co-worker who loves to organize and would like to be professional organizer in the future.  She is going to help me!  And take before and after shots for her portfolio – I love it.  I get a free service and maybe I can help further her career.  I’ll post the pre and post pics here when it’s all done!

Maybe you can help?  Any tips for organizing small spaces? 

 

apartment living

I have a bit of a rant on my mind…

Apartment living.  I’ve never NOT lived in some sort of apartment.  There are definite perks to this but I’m not going to focus on those today.  Seriously, what is a rant with all positive points?

1.  Remembering you have neighbors in very close proximity.  I admit, I’ve become an old man in terms of noise.  My patience is thin but I also don’t think my standards are THAT high.  I just don’t want to listen to blaring music at 3:30 am.  Or people yelling about how drunk they are – again, at 3:30 am.  To be perfectly honest, I would just appreciate the loud tunes ending at 10 pm.  Yep, I’m old.

this includes my hearing space

2.  Laundry.  Oh my gosh – this one drives me bonkers.  I’m already cranky about having to go to the  complex washer and dryer.  We have established this in previous posts.  Sunday I went to do laundry and put in two loads.  Both dryers were full but they only had 10 minutes left.  In 29 minutes (the time of the washing cycle) I headed back to get my clothes.  The dryers were still full.

Boo!  I lugged my giant bag of damp clothes, which seriously, weighed 10 tons, back to my apartment.  I also put in two more loads.  I went back 29 minutes later and the guy was just coming to get his clothes out of the dryer.

Guy:  “Are these yours” (pointing to the washers)

Me:  “Yes.”

Guy:  “Well I guess I can take my clothes out”.  Cue very passive aggressive sighing as he removed his clothes to a table so he could fold them.  Rude!  Now, I could see some aspects of his point if the clothes were still hot and he wanted them wrinkle free.  Even then though, when someone is waiting, take them quick-like to your apartment and fold them.  This guy?  They had been dry for over an hour!

3.  Children.  Let me first say I know kids cry and play loudly and romp about.  I have no problem with this and in fact completely expect it.  HOWEVER, when you never allow your kiddies to go outside the ruckus is 10 fold because the kids are going kind of nuts.  I wish I was joking.  Our apartments are 480 sq feet.  I can’t imagine living with 3 other people, much less being a kid who wants to move about.  Also, one of the kiddies who lives above me is the spawn of hades, completely exaggerated by the fact she is trapped in a small place.  I definitely feel sorry for these tykes.  P.S. this doesn’t apply to babies, they can’t exactly burn off steam – at least to my current knowledge.

4.  Fighting with your significant other.  Again, I get it – people fight.  I don’t have any expectation that everyone will live in bliss – especially when quarters are tight.  But screaming and yelling freaks me out when it’s continuous, hour after hour, night after night.  I don’t have any idea where couples should go to fight so I don’t have a solution for this.  I’m very aware of domestic violence and I’ve had to call the police before.  Scary.

These are the “crimes” against fellow apartment dwellers I can think of at the moment.  Trust me, I am not the perfect tenant but I try to mindful that I live in a community.  Breathe Amy…

blog post stew

There are a few stories/situations rattling around in my brain that don’t really warrant a whole post so time to serve up some blog post stew.

1.  This goose was getting its Karate Kid moves ready for me.  I took an alternate route because geese are freakin’ mean and I have no desire to play a game of chicken with a goose.

the karate kid move worked – I was scared

2.  My feet are a bit worse for the wear recently with the lack of arch support in my uber fun summer shoes.  I’ve found some Sketchers that promise to help with this issue and meet my standard of cuteness so hopefully these will work a little better.

3.  I played furniture tetrus on last week in my living room.  My living room is 10×10 so fairly small.  It takes a lot of minor movements to situate it.  I *think* I like it but the  verdict is still out.  I’m playing again with my bedroom in the upcoming days.  Moving a queen size bed in a tiny room is essentially trying to find a place for this little bitch when the time has started speeding up:

yes, I’m talking to you!

Funny thing, I’ve moved my furniture around more in the last year than I did in the 9 years I lived in my previous apt.

it’s also kind of like this

4.  I reached laundry rock bottom the other morning… I’m 36 years old and had to perform the “smell test” to make sure I could wear an unlaundered item.  This isn’t the first time either but it was when it finally dawned on me how pathetic this was!  In my old apt I had my own washer/dryer and I certainly didn’t take it for granted.  Not a day goes by where I don’t mourn my w/d…

5.  Last Tuesday I had to use all of my faculties to keep my ADD brain under control and focused as there was a big project to finish.  I was successful and productive!  This takes so much energy and in the evening I was a bit of a zombie.  When I have days like this, the next day I feel as though I’ve tapped my productivity reservoir completely dry.  Oh sure, there is some residue at the bottom but it’s tough to move it to the areas where I need it.

oh brain, how you both vex and amaze me

6.  I’ve been using my passion planner!  Now this DOES deserve its own post and I will get to it either at the end of this week or the next.  I wanted to give it a go some.

7.  I broke my non-running streak.  I was trying to decide if this mini hiatus was a good thing or a bad thing.  Then I decided not to put a value judgement on it and recognized it was a needed thing.  Just a bit of a running breather…

8.  Allergies?  What the heck nature – why are you out to get me?  I had ONE day out of last week where I didn’t feel like staying in bed.  Massive headaches and stuffy nose/sneezy horribleness.  This is most certainly a notch above any other forms of allergies I’ve had in the past.  I’m not happy about it.  And I don’t have a clue how to deal with it – suggestions PLEASE!

ugh…

9.  Umm… that’s it.

10.  Oh wait!  I like olives again!  Phew – that certainly was important!

road trippin’ – guess where I went?

Friday I took a friend to the airport.  It was an early flight so it was only 9:30 am when I dropped him off.  I had a couple of choices:

1. Bum around airport town looking for something to do.

2. Drive home and hang out on the couch – did I mention I took the day off?

3. Drive to IKEA and Trader Joe’s.

my excitement was reaching this level

I chose #3.  I should mention from where I was at, it was a 3 hour drive. I  am still not quite sure why I picked number three but it was definitely a good choice.

I had a nice day!  It was fun to be on my own small adventure.  Since I’m not the most confident driver on the road, driving on the freeway freaks me out a bit.  And for good reason – I got run off of the road once this trip.  I didn’t realize there was only one lane for an exit (you could either go left for the exit I wanted or right for the one I didn’t).  I hate merging on the left!  Well, I saw to close to the actual exit that I needed to get in the other lane and no one would let me in.  So, I had to stop in the (sort of) lane that divides both of exits and then wait for a pause in traffic and gun it.

this was happening on the inside

For the record, VW bugs have a very different definition of “gunning it” than other cars but thankfully I was able to pull in front of a semi with some time to spare. I legitimately thought I would be sitting there for ages rather than minutes and panic was setting in. But all was well and I only had to deal with a few other jackass drivers.

IKEA was a success! I kind of knew what I wanted going into it as I recently checked out the website.  Of course, going through all of the rooms, I found some really cool spacing saving ideas and my list grew somewhat by the time it came to the self pick up area.  At this point, I was *fairly* confident I could fit what I wanted in my car.  I had moderately cleaned it out for my friend’s trip to the airport.  This meant, taking out some crap but leaving most of it so in reality, I was a wee bit concerned.  I headed to pick up this shelf first:

this was only $64.99… definitely a possible future purchase

Haha, I couldn’t lift it off of the shelf.  T-rex arms!  It worked in my favor though because it would NEVER have fit in my car.  Kismet.

Next, I picked up this bad boy:

I plan on using it for a combo nightstand and additional shelving in my bedroom.  I found this wire rack, a total steal at $24.99.  I have kitchen appliances I don’t want to get rid of but they need a new home – my kitchen floor just isn’t conducive!  These are fairly expensive at Target or other ones were too flimsy for what I need it to hold so I was pleased with this find.

I found quite a few other shelving options I really liked. There was one bathroom set up with a great shelf that had hooks.  It would be perfect for my bedroom but they were out of stock.  When I got home, I realized it might not have been the best purchase right now so again, kismet.

On pinterest I saw how someone had hung a shoe rack on the back of their door so I picked up one of those as well.  Again, very handy and it even came with hooks.  A couple of other little odds and ends jumped into my cart but for the most part, I did a fantastic job of asking myself, “do you NEED this?” whenever I was tempted.  Get this: I only spent $111.00.  Win.

mine has three smaller holes for hooks – this is great

Next up was Trader Joe’s.  There is something about this grocery store that calms me.  I have no idea why. I think I feel like I’ve found “my people” when I shop there.  It sounds silly and I can’t explain it any other way.  Thankfully, they weren’t out of stock on these bad boys like last time, and I hooked myself up with three bags.

I am decent at adhering to portion sizes with out and only eating a serving size at a time.  It’s a hefty calorie count and I have to run 2.5 miles to burn it off however, it is so.freakin’.worth.it.

The two hour drive home was exhausting.  The two pieces of furniture are still in my car as they are heavy sonsofbeehives.  Oh and I’m lazy. My quest to organize and decrease my hoard is an ongoing process. One step closer this weekend though!

 

my internet connection went on strike

For those of you who are new to these parts, I have lots of issues with my internet.  I’ve been put in “internet detention” more times than I like to count and sometimes the connection isn’t reliable.  However, I thought most of these first world troubles were behind me.  Insert evil laugh by my router.

this is my version of “foreshadowing”

The router’s shenanigans have been going on for days.  I did all I could to fix it (with my limited techy knowledge) and I read completely confusing directions on how I might be able to reboot it.  Umm… nope.  Finally, yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered a new one.  Naturally, when I got home 2 hours later it magically started working again.  I may have called this inanimate object some not-so-nice names.

Oh well.  Life has been moving along here.  Get this, yesterday it was in the upper 40’s and the sun was shining!  It was pretty amazing.  People were out in shorts and short sleeves.  Now, I don’t think it was quite warm enough for this but it was positively wonderful.  Everyone was in a much better mood too which was nice.

I’ve also been running.  Last Thursday I did 5 miles with some speed work.  You know how runners write they did 10×9309235 and this makes sense to people?  It has never made sense to me.  I mean, I got the overall theme but I didn’t understand how to put it into practice.  On Thursday, I just decided to run hard for a certain time length.  I picked 2 mins and pushed it.  Whew!  I think I did this 5 times?  Well, once I looked at the distance, I had gone .25 of a mile suddenly I understood!  So I did 5×200.  I think.

this is how I felt!

Friday I hit the treadmill again for 4 miles.  My goal here was to run each mile without a break in between.  When on the ol’ ‘mill, I have to pause and/or walk a lot more than when I’m running outside.  Or maybe it’s because there aren’t any natural stops on the treadmill, i.e. a stop light.  This was a good challenge for me!  I proved to myself I can run further than I anticipated and I got into a decent rhythm.

Saturday my legs were fatigued!  I decided going to Red Robin for french fries and campfire sauce was a much better option than running.  Sunday I accomplished 8 miles.  In order to get the miles in around campus I had to back track a bit and run up and down ALL OF THE HILLS.  I wish I was exaggerating!  Oh and then the headwind was really helpful.  I felt very pleased with myself when this was run was said and done.  There was one point at mile 6.5 where I pushing it up another hill.  My mind started screaming “uncle” and I started to halt.  But I kept trudging up that hill.  I wish I could say it was pure heart and determination, however, I’m certain it was muscle memory.

source

After the running, I’ve been stretching, foam rolling and doing a bit of ab work.  The ab work isn’t enough to make a major dent but I need a gateway to something more substantial.  The stretching and foam rolling are quite helpful with some twingy areas.  About 5 years ago, after a bad break up, I decided to see how many days I could go without a rest day (I also wasn’t eating much or sleeping – it was a great/healthy time).  I made it 20 days.  Back then, I hadn’t incurred any injuries yet which was only because I was a new runner.  I had no idea how to care for my runner body and never stretched.  My body looks back at those days and curses my silly ways!

And here is a cute gif of a pig

Hope your Monday was a good one!  Welcome Tuesday!

diy all the things!

Edited:  I looked up “diy gif” and there was one of a guy cutting off his thumb.  I’m hoping it was fake.  Nasty.

I’ve mentioned it before but when I get really into obsessed with something, I like to buy EVERYTHING all at once.  I have so many ideas running through my mind that I want to just dive in – of course I need all of the supplies, right?

ohhh yes, my glue gun is my new favorite tool!

*Sigh*.  Traditionally this leads to my partial downfall.  I will buy everything but then start to lose momentum.  Pretty soon, there are 1/2 started projects all around me.  They clutter up the place (even more) and I put off finishing them.  I’ve got all of the supplies after all, so I can do it anytime!  Fast forward and only 1/2 of them are done.  And some of the fun part is over with.  Boo.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep and thought of a really great idea for a mini makeover for my bedroom.  It will look neato when all finished.  But as I wrote about earlier, I purchased some canvases to paint my bird-branch-masterpiece.  I also picked up some paint to fix-up these small mirrors I have, the triangle banner isn’t hung yet, nor is the twine up that I will adhere pictures to.

Clearly, I have a problem!

So once I found the decor I wanted for my room, I was all ready to hit BUY.  Magically, I held off and committed to not buying it until I’ve finished a few of the other pending projects.  Big deal for me folks!  I’m very impatient person and this pre-buying everything was modeled for me by my mum.  We both have/had all of these amazing ideas and our brains are/were filled with creative ideas!  However, the follow through isn’t/wasn’t all that great.  I very much want to work on this since it’s one of the paths that lead to some of my hoarding in the first place.  Despite my major desire to purchase all the supplies, I’m holding strong to this idea of completing projects before getting everything for the new ones that are swimming around in my brain.

***Awkward transition***  Treadmill run again today.  Thankfully, it was a better than the one the other night.  I did some squats, burpees and some ab work to warm up my muscles.  I definitely think this was part of the problem the other night.  I fueled up with some caffeine as well.  I ordered the coffee protein drink Click a year back but never tried it (eek – recurring theme?!) until yesterday.  I didn’t it mix it well enough and the clumps were very slimy.  Today, I grabbed my alcohol shaker and it worked like a charm.  The boost of energy is appreciated as is the extra protein.  Just don’t drink the bottom dredges when you are almost finished – this is where the slimy chunks live.

this is familiar but still grateful!  I wouldn’t be running at all without my trusty tready!

a water-drinking fiend

I did some of the running yesterday.  It wasn’t pretty.  I might have had something to do with me laying around until 8:15 pm and then attempting to coax my muscles into actually moving.  I’m fairly certain those muscles had atrophied during my couch laziness.  Of course that means today‘s run will be off the charts amazing – right?

I have the next two days off.  This week is spring break and I decided taking two days vacation was a good idea.  I was wrong – it was a fantastic idea!  I have all kinds of plans for this weekend, some of which involve some crafty business and cleaning all the things in my apt.  There is a chance none of this will happen and I will exist in my sweatpants and a hoodie, snuggling my cat.  It really is 50/50 at this point but I’m headed into it with some motivation.  Fingers crossed I can use this motivation for the greater good!

Today is the beginning of Lent.  I took one of those Buzzfeed surveys titled, “what you should give up for Lent”.  The survey determination?  Television.

Yep, I don’t know how I feel about this.  First of all, how does Buzzfeed know me so well?!  I swear, they have spies everywhere!  Or maybe they work for the NSA –  this makes more sense in my brain.  Anyway, this is probably a really good idea.  I’m sure I would get a lot more done if I didn’t spend time in front of the boob-tube.  However, I don’t want to give up tv.  There I said it.  But I could scale my tv watching down.  I should think of a time limit… or something.  I shall ponder this.

Last year I gave up my snooze button.  This was remarkably difficult.  I want to give it a shot again this year.  I failed my first day but I shall not give up!  I’m so completely addicted to my snooze button.  I set 3 alarms because I am this dependent on it.  I’ve read the science-y articles that say hitting snooze is detrimental to feeling awake but in the morning when I’m all warm and cozy it’s difficult to believe said science-y articles.

I also like to do things that are beneficial for Lent.  I guess the snooze button falls under this and I have a one or two other ideas that I’m hoping to put into action.

I got to pick these nummies up today!  Wahoo!

You can bet your sweet bippy I tore into these about .03 seconds after I picked them up.  It would have been sooner but I figured stuffing my face with cookies in front of others would be less than appetizing.  I’m probably going to alienate many with this admission, nevertheless here is a truth about me:  I can’t stand Thin Mints.

Last and this is going to be TMI… I peed 10x yesterday!  This is huge for me!  To be honest, this is sometimes more than I pee in TWO days, let alone one.  I definitely have an issue with hydrating.  Today, I’m already on my third water bottle (24 oz) so I am very proud of myself.

 What are you proud of yourself for?

 Are you a Girl Scout cookie fan?  Which kind. 

measuring matters

Great scott, I have to stop watching HGtv!  Actually, what I am really obsessed with is Rehab Addict.  Nicole Curtis is basically awesome and I wish I had her skills.  I would have built a mini mansion at this point.  Well, the mini mansion would be for Simon but I would definitely have some shelves!

I wish I had a dog to blame my mess on!

She talks a lot about salvage yards and they always look incredible.  I found one online here in Kzoo and headed down there yesterday.  I wanted to price out an old door for a possible headboard, some storage crates for my bathroom and possibly some for shelves for my kitchen.  Or some reclaimed wood for those shelves.  From a barn.  Natch. (Can I even express how much I HATE the shortening of the words?!  I’m still not sure why I wrote that)

I got it in my mind that “salvage” meant “cheap”.  Nope.  In fact, this is not the case at all!  I did find a cool door but it was almost $200.  There was a mirror that had possibilities but even that was expensive.  I did get this nifty crate (and a sliver) for $20:

someone painted the inside pink – lame. But I can put my dvds in there along with a decoration

I headed out for wooden wine boxes next.  A local liquor store has them for $20.  They were all out so I drove to another one and they gave me two – FOR FREE!  I was beyond excited and celebrated by buying some alcohol.

What did I actually accomplish this weekend in regards to some DIY?  I created my masterpiece!

I love it!

I wanted a white trash can to blend in but could only find black in the style I wanted.  A serious moment of inspiration and my polka dot garbage can was born.  I’m in love.

these were my two ingredients

Next, I decided to give my cords a makeover.  I don’t have much of an option of hiding the cords so I took some washi tape to them to make them less ugly.  They are cuter for sure.  I have a little white box that I’m going to hang then they won’t dangle quite so much.

ew – ugly

much prettier cords!

Then I took three trips to my storage.  The stuff that went in was mostly items I want to keep – Christmas and Halloween decorations.  Two other bins are things (scrapbooking supplies) I want to sell but don’t have time at the moment to organize it.  Also, I wanted it out of my living room.  I basically added over 3 feet to my living room by getting it out.

“there’s so much room for activities!”

My super epic plan for the weekend was to take one of my very bland walls and add some pizzazz.  How?  Temporary wallpaper!  My original plan was to washi tape it but I don’t know dimensions and ended up with little tiny, skinny rolls of tape.  Apparently, size matters when it comes to DIY and so does learning how to read dimensions.

I went onto the Sherwin-Williams website and fell in love with a few different prints.  I headed to the store ready to purchase a roll – yay!  Wah-wah… you have to order it.  They don’t have any on-hand in the store.  I feel I should have had that info in my brain already but whatever.  Since we have established I am not a patient person, I figured I should re-imagine what to do with this wall.  I’m still thinking.

A couple of other projects are in the works (yes, I do start several at once!) but they aren’t picture ready just yet.  This week, I’m looking forward to my maint guys hanging my curtains along with my wine boxes (as shelves) in my kitchen.  I feel like it will then look like I’m actually making progress.

Oh yeah, and a long run on the docket today!  OUTSIDE!  Wahoo!

Are you in DIY?

Do you start a number of projects at once?  Or concentrate on one?  Tell me about your projects!

reshuffling priorities

As I mentioned, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago.  Naturally, this means I get fairly introspective.  I am approaching this introspection differently this year, which is good – I’m not overanalyzing!  Or I’m not focusing on what I’m lacking in life rather what I feel is important and how to better focus on this.

I didn’t want to say but yeah… these are true, too!

I’ve been de-hoarding and reading some minimalist blogs.  MissMinimalist is a good one – I like how she says minimalism looks differently for each person.  This is nice to hear since I am never going to live in a 25 sq foot house.  Nevertheless, I know I want less stuff than I currently have.  Watching HGtv has driven this home even more.  Some participants say things like, “I need a bigger house for all of my stuff!” or “I need giant closets!”.  I’ve said these things too – in fact, in the last year even!  But I don’t want my belongings to dictate my future house/apt.

Then there are the larger life decisions – do I stay in MI?  Do I stay on my current career field?  I know, these are definitely the “biggie size” questions and I don’t focus on these everyday.  Although, I do keep them in the back of my mind.  I won’t make any of these changes for a year or so but since change is tough for me, it’s better that I think about these in advance!

My health is also my priority.  I made a lot of progress this past year and I’m looking forward to what I can accomplish/gain/learn this year.  Yes, running is included in this and getting a running coach was the first step in this area.  Also included is healthy eating and continuing to lower my anxiety.

Budget-smudget.  Why can’t I find budgeting exciting?!  While I do enjoy watching my bank account grow the urge to spend seems to hit once I see the progress.  Curses!  Many of my friends are very savvy with money.  Talking about money seems kind of taboo in our society but I’ve started asking friends how they do it.  I really do find it fascinating.  I also pin/read a lot of budget suggestions and tips.  Some of them definitely do not jive with my personality and others are decent ideas.  For me, setting these priorities is a great way to start.

friends and family! don’t thank me now but look what you’re getting for birthday/holiday gifts!

I feel good about these priorities.  They are spurring me into action!  Last weekend I realized my apt is completely lacking inspiration.  So, I’ve taken some action on this front – my home should be a place I enjoy not one I just exist in.  Not to mention, I have some nifty ideas that I can’t wait to share with you all!  And I dropped donations off, have the “sell” items in the car and have another “need to get rid of” pile started – yay!  Progress!

How do you go about setting priorities?  Do they change?

Are you good with a budget?  What are your secrets?!

oh gluttony

Gluttony.  It’s one of those seven deadly sins for a reason and it sure is sneaky!  While I knew I was indulging, it didn’t dawn on me just how much until today.  Well, maybe a bit yesterday but it was Sunday so I ignored those feelings.  Monday.  Monday is the day I deal with unpleasantness.

every freakin’ week

What has my gluttonous behavior included?

Sitting on my bum a lot, LOTS of ice cream and other treats, two coffees a day, Investigation Discovery (ID), and absolutely no effort with regards to preparing meals.  Oh and my apt is pretty messy.  I’m decent at being able to tune these things out when I want to; so despite this behavior happening for the last two weeks, I didn’t allow it to penetrate my frontal lobe until today.  Another beautiful display of avoidance and denial!

All is not lost!  Since having dips in healthy routines are not a new phenomenon to me, I have come up with a plan to rectify this.

1.  Only one coffee a day.  Bummer.  This is the first day and despite my only adopting this since being back in WA during winter break, I’ve already come to depend on this heavenly caffeinated elixir – in both the morning and afternoon.  But my budget has noticed the increase in consumption as have my hips.  So you know, I’m going to drag my way through the day with water.

2.  Ice cream and treats.  Lots of treats.  My sweet tooth has been on overdrive lately!  Goodness!  My love affair with Baskin Robbins peanut butter and chocolate ice cream runs deep.  Yesterday I went to drop off my donations.  Goodwill happens to be close to BR and I really had to tap into some willpower to keep my car headed in the opposite direction.  I’ve also limited access to other treats by not purchasing them.

Weird sidenote: the grocery store was packed yesterday.  I was in line for a long time and a woman ahead of me was talking to another patron.  She was saying how her hubby is having surgery and she wanted to make sure he had lots of snacks while she was at work.  I took a gander at her goodies and suddenly I felt like, “CRAP!  I forgot to get snacks!  I need to go and get snacks!”.  Since I love me some good snacks, I had to hold firm.  I was surprised by how influenced I was by another person’s groceries.

3.  Meal prep.  Good gravy, I’ve been very lazy.  I haven’t had any motivation to cook so I’ve eaten a lot of peanut butter sandwiches because I’m five years old.  I’m not sure what else I’ve eaten because I know it’s more than that.  It’s been this weird hodge-podge of restaurant leftovers and quick eats.  Finally on Saturday and Sunday I prepped some food for the week.

4.  The ID watching and sitting on my bum go hand in hand.  I was lethargic last week and didn’t do much to combat it.  Oh sure, some running here and there but essentially I surrendered.  This week I intend on spending about one hour per night on my apt.  I’m always amazed with how much I can get accomplished in a short period of time.  Somehow I forget this though and put things off for “when I have more time”.  Hmm.  So, I will balance some HGtv, ID and DIY with some actual productive behavior – a match made in heaven.

While this wasn’t a huge descent into the dark depths of gluttony it was enough for me.  I don’t need to spend months trying to get out though and the above goals for the week will help.  Well, that is if I can stay awake long enough – great scott, I am FADING!  Hopefully a run will perk me up a bit!  I’m going to need to fit lunch work outs in again or risk the afternoon slump everyday – ugh.

afternoon coffee, I miss you already

Are you a coffee drinker?  How many cups per day?

Ever fall into a gluttonous trap?