I hereby resolve

I have a couple of resolutions this year. More specifically, I have some plans that I think will make me feel more satisfied with myself. I won't share all of them, because I have this minor phobia that if I say it, I will screw it up, but since we all know the food resolution only too well, I will share that one.

The last few months, I have been eating foods that just don't make me feel good. I don't mean guilty, I mean feelings ranging from upset stomachs, to irritability, to headaches, to tiredness. In other words: if the food you are eating makes you feel like crap, it really is bad for you!

Starting tomorrow, we will start our annual alcohol fast. No booze for at least a month, and we often go until Valentine's Day, just because that seems like a good day to celebrate with some wine or something bubbly.

I am also going to go back to healthy eating patterns. I have been consuming far too much white sugar, white flour-type foods and my body really feels it. I am also considering starting up a more consistent exercise program, although I make no guarantees.

I just need to purge all this junk out of my system. What I really need is a spa vacation, but time and money will not allow. So, starting tomorrow, I will create my own spa experience, with fresh veggies, lean meats, moderate exercise and lots of water (both for ingesting and for soaking).

I'm actually looking forward to it!

Important stuff I got to do today

• Go to the gym
  
• File the bills
  
• Make bath salts
  
• Clean out the bottom cabinets
  
• Shovel the front of the house
  
• Play with the tile pattern for the backsplash
  
• Watch a movie
  
• Snuggle with my husband
  
• or perhaps....

Yet another snow day

I feel like I hit the lottery! It feels very odd to be home right now- it is not currently snowing and the roads I can see out my window look quite accessible. But there is a system on its way into town and my school district decided that discretion was the better part of valour. Still, looking outside, I keep feeling like it all was a mistake and I am going to get a call any minute saying "Where the heck are you??"

Until that time (hee), I am considering how to spend my day. Grant asked me to pull out our tax information, which is tremendously boring, but since he had to go to work today, it seems an advisable chore to keep my marriage a happy one. I also need to do some research on how to do my US tax return. I am thinking about trying to file on my own instead of using an accountant, but we will see. Paperwork is not my passion.

I think today would be a good day to make some more bath salts. I was not terribly happy with the batch of lavender I kept for myself the last time; I hope the lavender salts I sent out were a bit more scented. I need to look over my supplies and possibly make some new orders. Grant wants to make some shower gel using the essential oils, so I may need some more. We are still tweaking our recipes to try and improve our product.

I really should take advantage of the break in the weather and go to the gym. I worked out yesterday and was totally proud of myself for doing my upper body stuff on my own. My current workout plan is to meet with my trainer once a week, work out at least one other time on my own and take my Pilates class on Saturday morning. The check in with my trainer each week helps motivate me to go on my own. I really need that incentive, because left to myself, I would never work out. My attitude towards exercise is not one of love. Not too long ago, after listening to me moan and groan my way through an exercise, my trainer commented "There must be something you actually enjoy about your workout." I thought about it and replied, "Not really." She was astonished and a little sad, I think. But the truth is, I do enjoy some of the exercises, particularly the ones where I feel buff and strong (yes, biceps curls, I'm looking at you!), but there will never be a time I like any of the abs exercises!!

Anyway, if I am going, it should be soon. Then I think I will come home and watch The Devil Wears Prada. And see if Project Runway episode 10 is up on YouTube.

Random

For those of you wondering: no, I never actually got fully plastered last night. I had three glasses of a nice Italian red with dinner and decided to cap it off with glass of Irish whiskey. I felt pleasantly buzzed, but never truly drunk.

I have been very productive already today. I went to the gym for Pilates, then I went to the hardware store to pick out my paints. I also bought a new faucet for the bathroom and a new towel rack. So far, the bathroom reno has cost a bit over $200. Next, I have to find a new mirror and start the cabinet part of the project. The mirror part will have to be soon--I am not sure how much longer I can deal with using the mirror in the hallway.

We have a few hours at home, and then G and I are riding a horse and carriage for the Santa Claus Parade. It's very cold outside, so I may need to bring along some of that Irish Whiskey for warmth. Hee.

Cue the montage

I started working with a personal trainer at the Y. This summer was not a good one for keeping off weight; too little activity and too many cocktails. But I am tired of feeling like I have to deprive myself in order to stay in shape. Also, I am not a fan of that jiggle I see underneath my forearms. I hope that I can get into a consistent workout routine three times a week; tone up a bit and allow myself some "bad" food from time to time. (Miss Vicki's, I'm lookin' at you!)

My trainer is my regular Pilates teacher and she is pretty wonderful, but... ouch! I am feeling the workout she gave me yesterday. We worked on shoulders and back, which meant many exercises with free weights. Is it any wonder I kept expecting the music to kick in?

And as long as I don't look in the mirror too often, I can imagine I resemble the newest Bionic woman.