The Weighting Game

Making resolutions is a rare thing for me, and it's even more rare for me to do so around the new year. Thinking about what I want to accomplish for the next year is something I naturally do around my birthday instead. But there is something about the new year that makes is a good time to make a fresh start on being healthier, and so that's my big goal for 2013. Again. Getting healthier and finally finishing the freaking kitchen renovation, which has become rather embarrassing anytime anyone asks about it. The answer to that one is no, it's still not done, and yes, my kitchen cabinet doors are still sitting in the garage waiting for more spray-paint-friendly weather. To say I can't wait for spring is an understatement.

By setting only two big goals, I hope that it's easier to successfully accomplish both. But making a change to my usual routine and habits is never easy for me.

Now when I say I want to get healthier, what I really mean is, I want to lose some friggin' weight. And lots of it. Unfortunately this isn't my first rodeo. I've been unhappy with my weight for, oh, decades. When I was much younger, I wasn't actually overweight (looking back now I realize that at times I was darned skinny). Since college, however I've struggled to stay within my healthy weight range and have floated just above or under it. 

The Problem
Why I'm currently overweight is no secret of course. I like to eat. A lot. Unfortunately, I also like to eat crap. A lot. I don't love to exercise and I hate, hate going to the gym. But for several months of the year that's of the best options I have to get a decent workout. I will never be one of those people who enjoys working out (bike rides in the great outdoors, yes, everything else, hell no). The feeling I get after a workout is superb. But before and during? It's always a struggle. 

The Fix

How to lose the weight isn't a secret either. We all know the facts, eat less (and better), move more, repeat for the rest of your life. Doing that all the time, every single day, can be downright tricky however. 

The first time I really, seriously stuck to a healthy diet and exercise routine was 2009. Starting January 1 that year I used the free tracking tools at sparkpeople.com, ate better, exercised 3-6 times per week (burning around 2000 calories) and lost 35 pounds. I was so proud of myself. I kept it off until 2011 and then begin the much quicker slide back up. I gained that 35 pounds right back plus another 18 for bad behavior. A new medication may have contributed to that, but once again I had gone back into my old routine of eating lots of crap and never exercising.

So now I'm trying again, hopefully for good this time. I started on January 9 and am down 7 pounds as of today. Overall that's not bad, but it feels slower this time. And harder. I know I can do it, but I also know it's going to take a long time and that I can never stop trying.

One of the many annoying things about trying to lose weight is that I find myself more obsessed about food than ever. I'm constantly thinking about what I can or can't eat. Or trying to fight off a craving. Or adding up how many calories I have left. Or thinking about the next meal and whether I have a few extra calories to indulge a little, or not. It's exhausting. But it is getting easier.

One meal at a time, one day at a time. It's the key to everything, right?

The Neverending Summer To-Do List

Restoring nine windows is just one
of the projects on my to-do list.

Thanks to a job change, I'm lucky enough to have some extended time off this summer for traveling and hopefully tackling some of the things on my never-ending to-do list.

This brings up a topic I struggle with almost every weekend, do I spend free time doing projects, planning for proiects, relaxing and having fun or trying to squeeze in all three? I'm not good at balance; instead I have a bad habit of becoming singularly focused on big projects and work myself ragged until it's done. All of which makes for a very unfun and tiring vacation, weekend, etc. Then I'm not able to find the motivation to do another project for a long time.

This time, I'd really like to strike a balance between getting things done, and still having fun even when I'm home. Anyone who has tips on how to do that, please share! So far I'm thinking: take some time off during the day to do things I don't have time to do when I'm working (eating some breakfasts and lunches out, making a nice lunch for the Boy and I, going to a movie during the day, going swimming, etc.).

But without further ado, here's my list. I'm sure there's still more on it than I can possibly accomplish, even though we've started a few things already and even finished one or two.

Inside:

• Pick out a new AC
  
• Fix living room walls and repaint (Done!, but it almost killed me)


• Fix bedroom ceiling and paint
  
• Finish patch in kitchen
  
• Touch-up bathroom paint and paint window
  
• Patch and paint bathroom door
  
• Hem bedroom curtains
  
• Frame and hang art in living room
  

Outside

• Stain deck, see it here!
  
• Paint/restore three or four windows and storms (two will have to do)
  
• Paint front door and shutters (Done!)
  
• Paint awnings (or at least fix the horrid rusty one!)
  
• Paint garage doors
  
• Remove hideous bushes by driveway(done! thanks to the Boy)
  
• Patch and seal driveway (The Boy said he'd do this one on his break, yay!)
  

Will 2009 be the Year of the Kitchen?

From the first time I looked at my house, I loved the kitchen. It's bright with natural light from three windows, it is larger than the kitchens in the other houses I was looking at, and it had a decent amount of counter space. After looking more closely however you'll notice that the countertops are hideous (the wood edge - yuk!), the backsplash is fake plastic tile, and the mouldings are cut horribly. Also, due to the obviously added-on extension on the right, there's not enough room for more than three people to eat in my home. It needs some serious help.

Right now I'm still in the dreaming stage. I'm debating doing a smaller DIY remodel and fixing the current cabinets versus replacing everything. With the crappy economy I'm uncomfortable spending too much right now, but dreaming and planning is affordable and there is a ton of inspiration on the net.

Clockwise starting with top left: (1)Dave & Melanie's Craftsman kitchen via
Apartment Therapy (2) Leah's kitchen via More Ways to Waste Time
(3) image by Gerri Williams via Desire to Inspire (4) BenDen's 1920s Kitchen

There are some things I've already decided on: white vintage-looking cabinets and brushed nickel hardware, grey or black solid surface countertops (marble would be my dream, but I can't take the idea of it getting stained), and white subway tile backsplash. The stainless appliances will stay. I love the idea of keeping my cabinets and sprucing them up with moulding and paint, but when we went to IKEA on Friday I fell in love with the drawers and cabinets that softly close automatically, the organizers, and the pull out drawers. Decisions, decisions.

See more of my favorite kitchen inspiration at my Rate My Space favorites and My Deco File.

Making Min Hus Even Better in 2008!

While I'm happy with all the projects we completed around the house in 2007, I have even bigger ambitions for 2008. Namely:

Inside:

• Purchase and hang new window treatments for living room (the hardest part of this one is picking window treatments)
  
• Fix living room walls and repaint
  
• Drywall and paint finished room in basement (I feel good about this one since the boyfriend already started drywalling!)
  
• Install ceiling in finished room in basement
  
• Seal and paint remaining basement walls
• Add insulation around outer wall in basement
• Re-caulk bathroom tub and shower
  
• Paint bathroom trim and touch up walls near trim
• Paint bi-fold door in kitchen
  
• Install new tile floor in bathroom
• Replace fake tile in bathroom with beadboard
• Paint hallway trim and storage cabinet
• Clean up and paint fireplace

Outside

• Finish planting front bed
  
• Finish creating and plant side bed
  
• Stain deck
• Create work area in and reorganize garage so we can get a car in there again!
  
• Paint 10 remaining windows and storms
  
• Paint front door and shutters
• Paint awnings
• Patch and paint foundation where needed
• Paint garage doors and trim
• Remove hideous bushes by driveway

Whew, I'm getting a little tired just typing this list. I think I'll be happy if we finish half of it!