still around

i'm still here, just very busy at work but hopefully that should end tomorrow... the big project that i've been working on (and that has been delayed for weeks) goes to the printer so i'll be able to breathe again... unfortunately, i'll have a corresponding website to do as well but that will be easy considering everything will be finalized for the print version... ANYWAY, i'll try and catch-up with everyone as best i can this week... :)

the bedroom is officially done and all my furniture fit! i was a tad concerned at first but we made it work and it looks pretty good (pictures to come)... we also hung new blinds on sunday so all that's left is a new comforter, curtains, a rug, and some pictures on the wall... i can't wait for that to be done because then i'll feel more settled and part of the house... just having the bedroom done has made a big difference - as a girl, it's very hard living out of boxes and things that aren't where they should be... guys don't care - give them a box and they'll be happy but not me! i need to have my stuff, where it's supposed to be... ;)

bedroom before...



bedroom after...



new blinds and kitties enjoying a real bed...



i still haven't been to the gym (over 2 weeks) and am afraid of tomorrow's weigh-in... i've been scraping by with moving and doing stuff around the house, but not exercising may take its toll finally... i had to work late last night and eric suggested getting 1/2 price pizza at this bar close by - it was really good and i'm looking forward to having the rest tonight... do i regret eating it though? not one bit... :)

happy tuesday...

weekend recap

i treated myself to some vera bradley stuff today, but only because it was (1) on sale and (2) i have yet to spend the $50 i got from work at christmas and the $25 i got from my dad for my bday... i'm so good at justifying things... anyway, i really loved the bag that i bought a few years back but the straps were worn out and i had to stop using it - never thought i'd buy vera again but there was some really cute stuff to be had... if you don't believe me, check out the sale and you'll see what i mean (though most are retired patterns, but still!)... and just in case i don't like what i ordered, their return policy seems pretty good so what's to lose! merry christmas and happy birthday to me! :)

my weekend was busy - we moved my couch/chair on friday night, after picking-up the new chest freezer (which is just adorable)... the chair is now in eric's LR and the couch is in the garage, since we have no idea where it's going to go so, and there it will stay for now... but then again - since there will be no room for my bedroom furniture come this weekend, we may need to put the couch somewhere else... oy, the fact that i have less than a week is starting to get to me - the weather isn't looking good for the weekend but i know it's only monday and things could change... worse case scenario - eric said we can rent a U-haul so perhaps i should stop stressing... but i DO have a lot to pack yet - pantry, misc. cupboards, LR closet, BR walk-in closet, and my whole BR - zoiks! i also have some things that i want to get rid of (via freecycle) so there's that stuff to deal with... and calling my electric/cable companies... wahhhhhhhhh! :(

on saturday - i painted the spare bedroom closet and then helped eric go thru all his clothing since we'd be going by goodwill... after dropping off some things at the dump - we made our donations and then ended up buying a baker's rack for only $30! it's in really good shape and will work great in the kitchen... since i'm not liking the green though - i'm going to paint it and considering they're about $100, i'd say that was our best score of the weekend... after goodwill, we went to home depot which was actually pretty painless, then back to the house... and to celebrate the first weekend of spring - dinner was grilled shrimp and veggies... :)

on sunday - i hit the grocery store, painted the 2nd coat on the closet, and then for about 4 hours we worked in the back yard... it's amazing how much better it looks and it was so nice to be outside since it was in the mid- to high-60s... eric said he hoped it was okay that we were doing yard work and not moving furniture, but i really didn't mind - i love doing that sort of thing... and since we have plans on reconfiguring yet another flowerbed - i ordered a bunch of flowers/plants today (roses, s butterfly bush, s snowball bush, and some giant peonies)... i also bought 2 red azaleas for the front flowerbeds... next-up, the herb and veggie garden... :)

hope you're having a great monday!

TGIF

i just ate a piece of chocolate cake (for a coworker's bday) and it wasn't even "to-die-for" cake, if you know what i mean... glad i've been having low-calorie for soup all week, so things should balance out in the end... we also had a pizza party for someone yesterday and to balance out having a few (small) pieces for lunch, i had a salad with sliced almonds and gorgonzola cheese for dinner... YUM-O! :)

painting update: i have one more coat to do on the ceiling and then i'm done, minus a few touch-ups here and there... eric said he'll install the new light and dimmer switch on sunday and after that, i'll take some pics and share them with you... :)

besides that - i have a laundry list of things to do this weekend... eric won't be home until very late tomorrow night so at least i have the whole day to clean-up, pack some things at my place, go to the store, do some laundry, and most of all - relax... i SO cannot wait to sleep-in tomorrow, though i may head-over to kohls for their early-birds and that starts at 7:00am... could always take a nap i guess but i've never been a good napper unless i'm sick... :(

ugh, i wish i hadn't eaten that cake cus now i need a big glass of milk... :(

have a great weekend, everyone... :)

to weigh, or not to weigh

the scale at eric's said i was down 2.2 pounds this week, but i'm just not sure how accurate it is (i tend to recall it weighs a bit on the heavier side, compared to mine)... since i have to stop by my place tonight and grab more clothes, i will also grab my scale and see what it says tomorrow morning... i'm a sucker for consistency, what can i say... ;)

painting update: i finished all the trim last night so the only thing left, is the ceiling... i may take a night off but we'll see - a part of me wants to keep going and get it done, and the other is like "take a damn break already"... the small of my back aches, from morning to night, so i need to ask my chiro again why that's happening... i haven't been moving anything and when i'm done painting, it usually feels better... go figure...

have any of you seen/tried yoplaits new yogurt flavors? i was at the store the other night and picked-up cherry cobbler, cinnamon roll, and lemon meringue - the first two were pretty good and i'll let you know what i think of the lemon... to see all their flavors, check out their website... :)

happy hump day...

paint everywhere

ugh, who's bright idea was it to start painting? oh that's right, it was mine... i'm making progress with the DR but there's still much to do (2nd coat of the trim, ceiling, doorways, and closet doors)... i want to get it done before eric gets back from florida this weekend (he drove down on sunday) and then we can tackle the next room... he helped me on saturday, in between prepping for his trip, but since then - i've been on my own and that's fine... i was up til almost midnight doing the trim - i had to work late but didn't want to put it off another day so i taped everything and then started... i'm crazy, that's all there is to it... :)

our belated valentine's dinner on friday night was okay - i give it a 6/10... we both ordered something other than our 'usual' and were both unhappy with the result (the calimari was tasty though)... the thai place we ordered from saturday night however, was awesome, and it's only 5 minutes from his house... the people at the table next to us on friday suggested trying it, and i'm so glad we did - can't beat green curry on a cold, winter night! :)

so besides painting - work has been busy esp. since our president is testifying on the hill today re: 401k stuff (that's why i was here so late last night)... i have 3 big projects on my plate right - one in review, one just beginning, and one sort of in the middle... i AM making an attempt to get to the gym though, so at least i'm not being a total slacker in that department...

i made an awesome recipe this weekend --> carrot ginger coconut soup and it comes to only 1 point per serving (1 cup)... if you don't have one of those hand-blenders, please consider getting one because it makes life so much easier when it comes to pureeing sauces and soup... now i have lunch for the whole week, plus some in the freezer for eric... :)

i'm not sure if i'll weigh-in tomorrow since i don't have my scale (i'm staying at eric's this week)... since i have to stop at my place tomorrow night, after my chiro appt., i may bring it along and weigh-in thursday... i'm not expecting a loss but will be happy with maintaining...

now that i have a moment to breathe, i may try and catch-up with everyone...

happy tuesday...

it's been a while

warning: tmi
about a month ago, i had my IUD removed (which my insurance did not cover!) and was told it could take anywhere from 2-12 weeks til i got my period... well, saturday morning eric and i went to a few moving sales (that pretty much sucked) and my back started to hurt and then the cramps started... for someone that hasn't had a period in 4 years, let's just say i knew what it was - and thought, "what a great way to start the weekend!" i didn't feel PMS'y or anything, thank-god, but was really tired/blah and achy for most of the day - advil didn't seem to help so i need to find something a tad stronger i guess... as spoiled as i was for 4 years - i'm glad my body is getting back to normal again and stays that way... :)

as for the rest of the weekend - eric and i decided on paint colors for the dining room and the two bedrooms... my thought is that it will be easier to paint BEFORE i move-in, since there's less stuff to move around... his thought is, "what's the hurry, why do everything now" - must be a male/female thing... from my perspective - i'd feel better knowing the house was semi-ready when i got there compared too 'still in progress' come april 1... we didn't organize/go-thru any closets, like i had hoped, but i did make some space in the laundry room for some boxes - guess any progress, is good progress right? i also ordered a new light fixture for the dining room - the current lighting in there is circa 1984 so i feel this is a VAST improvement... :)

on saturday - we tried a new restaurant (new to us anyway) called qdobo mexican grill - it reminded me a lot of chipotle but with a few more options... i decided that most of my flex points would have to be used and combined lunch/dinner into one meal - it was pretty good though i have to say baja fresh has MUCH better salsas... yesterday, i met a girlfriend for lunch and we had planned on doing mediterranean but the place was closed - we opted for sushi instead... good choice, i thought... for dinner - eric grilled some marinated chicken and we had that with pesto pasta and a nice salad... it's rare that i eat-out twice in one week so i'm hoping this doesn't affect wednesday's weigh-in... :(

as for exercise - i wasn't feeling like it on saturday but since it was close to 70 degrees yesterday, i went for an hour-long jog/walk... it felt great to be outside so i'm glad i waited... hope this weather lasts but i know it won't... :(

happy monday...