Caution: Long-Winded Post
Last week I bought myself a nice outfit. I had heating assistance left over, so I actually had one entire child support check with no bills coming out. Thats over as of this month. My Cable/Net is divided in two checks. And my electric may take up two. My rent is just out of one. Thank goodness for income based housing :( I am almost ashamed to admit that.
Anyways, yes I bought a nice outdit. I have been living in tshirts (with the sizes going up up up over the last 4 years) and jeans or capris. It was Crazy Days sale at the mall so I got a cute top from JC Penney, and could not find a pair of bottoms I liked. I actually found dress pant on clearance at Wal-Mart that I actually liked. So I spent less than 30 bucks on shirt, pants, and a whole bunch of jewellrey.
So here are my goals. I want to try to pick up a top or pants on sale every week. Spending no more than 15 bucks. That is of course if I have the 15 bucks free from Michael's needs. I want to work up a nice wardrobe slowly so I can start dressing nicely. That would make me feel a little better about myself, and make up a better impression of myself.
Starting Friday since it is the 1st, I am hopping back on the diet wagon. It will be even easier once Michael starts school, I can go back on the yogurt/cereal diet. I have a treadmill, I would use it more often except for two glitches. It is an old motorozed one, and loud. I live upstairs, and the neighbors downstairs hear every step we make. I hate the idea of annoying them. They get up early and I want to work out in the evenings since it is cooler. And my other glitch is rather silly. I have torn apart my already overcrowded room and I cannot finemy other tennis show. I only wear socks when I wear tennis shoes, and I only wear those types of shoes on my treadmill. So I only have one pair. And I am missing one. I hate socks.
Once he is back in school I am hitting his room with a vengeance, and if it ever looks like this again I will throw away every toy we own. It is much easier to clean when he is at school. I can turn the cable to music (I am so sick of the Disney Channel) and clean without him around. I want a clean house. I feel like I am beating my head on a tree trying to keep things clean now. plus Michael and I are both slobs and live in a little tiny apartment.
I am going out for my birthday! Yep I am actually planning on going out. It is not until the 4th of Sept, but I am going out the 6th. Up to the Iowa Great Lakes, to a little place called the Barefoot Bar which is literally on the lake front. I have never been there so it sounds like fun. And yep thats why I bought a nice outfit, thinking ahead. I want to lose a few pounds by then too.
Today is my last lazy day.
Today is my last lazy day. Tomorrow I have to get in gear. Which means I need to find the treadmill. I cannot go barefoot on it anymore. My poor feet cannot handle it. But I think Mon-Fri I will hit it everyday. And then on weekends if the neighbors are not home.
Nicole, I am sure the dress would still work. There will be people dressed to the nines, and some barely dressed up at all, so you will look fine. That is another reason I want to work up a nice set of clothes. I have nothing to wear to funerals or weddings. My best friend's baby shower is on the 9th, and I know most of the young peeps will look nice, not in jeans and old t-shirts.
I almost wish I had an stationary bike instead. I could work up a great sweat and never bother the neighbors.
I think the tread is more
I think the tread is more effective than a stationary bike (at least for me). Pedalling a bike just doesn't seem to take much off. The machine I really like though is the eliptical trainer - quiet like a bike but burns calories even better than a tread. We've got a real good deal on a membership at a new gym just down the road from us, so hopefully this will be some incentive for me to get back into really good shape. I've been taking the dog for a good run as an even cheaper alternative - and boy can she run. She's a lab (which gives her endurance) and we think she's part lurcher (which is a form of greyhound cross). If she could run on water, I'd have a great waterski tow boat - lol
Yeah, the treadmill is
Yeah, the treadmill is weight bearing exercise which is supposed to be better.
The treadmill is better, I
The treadmill is better, I would have to spend 3x as long on the bike, but I would do it cuz it would not annoy the neighbors as much. There is a new gym opening up next week, Anytime Fitness. I hear they are pretty cheap. Ma says if they run any promotions like you get 3 months for a friend she will get up memberships. I was in weight lifting in high school. No not like muscle freaks, but it was an alternative to regular PE and it was 3 days a week instead of 2. I loved it. My knee was seriously injured, I actually would need surgery to fix it, so lifting helped keep it in shape a little.
Oh go ahead and bug the
Oh go ahead and bug the neighbors lol, it'll be fun =)~~~
Yeah but they are one of the
Yeah but they are one of the few out here who do not cause much drama. I already get the feeling they do not like me. Around here you tork someone off you risk getting human services called. And in Iowa they rarely write anything off. And every investigation stays on your record for 5 years. I have issue with people coming in and telling me how to live my life. So I try to stay out of everybody's way and stay out of the radar of others. And I would hate if someone lived above me and thumped away on a noisy treadmill.
Also, their bathroom is flooding again when I run my shower. We have a new maintenance staff, so I hope they get it fixed. I cannot go without bathing my son. Or myself! Her ceiling is probably rotting and molded in there. EW. I try to be nice.
Yeah, it sounds like a smart
Yeah, it sounds like a smart idea to not piss off those neighbors.
I get self-conscious if I think anyone can see (or hear) into my house (they can) when I'm trying to work out at home. I go around closing all of the blinds/drapes, some of which are sort of destroyed from Wyatt so I drape a towel/sheet over the door. As if someone is going to go to such lengths to be a Peeping Tom! And I'll go around half dressed or in a towel straight from the shower--but if I'm going to jump up and down and look stupid doing a workout video, I don't want there to be any chance of being viewed. Gawd, I'd hate to see myself doing spastic jumping jacks on YouTube.
OMG spastic jumping jacks on
OMG spastic jumping jacks on youtube.......... Nicole you're hilarious. Hey we have really
big windows in our house. They're probably oh I dont know 8 feet high by 9 feet wide.
I hung the drapes (or rather daddy hung them for me) using plumbers copper pipe which
at the time was cheep , and these copper strap things on either end of the window & one
in the middle. I came up with the idea because Marcel used to pull at the drapes and brake
the rod. These are indestructable. I even had him do the same thing to the french doors,
pipes and straps. All the windows stay covered no problem.
That is one reason I like
That is one reason I like living on the 2nd floor. It is harder to look into my apartment. At night you can see everything from the grassway out back. Which is why I rarely leave my lights on in my bedroom. I have dark throw blankets hanging in my living room.
That wasnt long winded or
That wasnt long winded or boring. By the way I have a treadmill. Havent used it in awhile but
when I was younger I stayed relatively thin for three years by walking on it daily. I walked
barefoot with a fan near by and music blaring =)
Oh my gosh, this post
Oh my gosh, this post totally speaks to me. I feel the need to go on a bit of a crash diet for my cousin's wedding. Uhg! I got a dress at Sears marked down from $80 to $8. It's this breezy, floaty asymmetrical ankle-length 2-piece thing in a lavender and gray floral pattern. It's perfect for attending an August wedding. But then I got the invitation and found out the reception is at 6pm so now I'm all worried that maybe my dress would have been more suitable for an afternoon wedding. I suppose I shouldn't stress over a couple of hours. I mean, it will still be light out at 6pm. That side of the family drives me a little crazy anyway. I'm sure they'll hate whatever I wear and comment accordingly.
As for the workouts, we want to get a stair climber, but we don't want to spend $$$. Personally, I'm with you on the treadmill. Those are my faves at the gym. But Marc likes the stair steppers. Back in the day, I had this wonderful mechanical stair stepper that I paid $79 for, not all tricked out and electronic, but just this heavy machine operated with pulleys and resistance. When I used that thing all the time my rear was looking pretty great. I should never have gotten rid of it, but I got lazy and so on. They say whatever form of exercise you choose will work, as long as you do it. Oh wait, isn't that the Nike slogan, "Just Do It"?
When you talked about cleaning Michael's room, it reminded me of my parents. They would come to my room with a big black trash bag and they would threaten, "If you don't clean this room right now, we're throwing everything out!" One of my short-term goals this summer is to go through all of Wyatt's things and organize them. It's all part of my master plan to simplify my living space by getting rid of stuff before Wyatt can break it. Today, Wyatt broke one cup of one of my tea cup sets that I brought back from Japan. So right there on the spot, I gave the remaining 4 cups to my friend's little girl. In Japan, all sets are made in fives. Four is an unlucky number there. But here in the U.S. four is a perfect set.
I think clutter confuses
I think clutter confuses everybody & it causes anxiety. Trust me when you get rid of it you will feel
relieved & before long you'll forget you had all that crap in the first place. I even gave away an antique
dresser I literally had my entire life because it became too rickety & was a danger to Marcel. It was
the type you sit at to put on makeup. The mirrors were extremely heavy and he started to climb onto
it one day, that was it, it was outa here.