Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 9

There are some promising signs of spring going on in my yard, including my first azalea blossom sighting.  Mobile is known as the "Azalea City", and you can't throw a stone without hitting an azalea bush:-)  Truly spectacular when they are in full bloom, just wish they lasted a bit longer. 

I'm glad to say goodbye to February and hello to March, although along with the blossoms comes allergies, with the sneezing, runny eyes, and sadly for me, a sinus infection.  Sigh, I guess you have to take the good with the bad.  My resolutions are limping along, but hey, this is a marathon and not a sprint.  So, any progress is good in my book:-)

• eat better:  cook more and eat out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work, run 2x/week
• lose 20 lbs
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items until Sephora F&F sale

The highlight of the week for me was running twice with no resulting muscle pulls in my right calf.  I think the two months of yoga and Pilates have made a difference in stretching out those tight muscles.  I've been wanting to up the intensity of my exercise, and I really enjoy running, so if I can do it regularly, I'll be stoked!

I also weighed myself for the first time in 2 years or so.  I usually go by how my clothes fit, but sometimes you just need the cold hard slap that comes from seeing those numbers.  I'll start tracking my weight and with the goal of losing 20 lbs.  So, to keep me accountable, today I weighed 150.4 lbs, which is not the number I was hoping to see.  I'm 5'7 and 130 is much more palatable in my mind.  Running is going to be really essential, crossing my fingers my calf cooperates.

Lulu lounging while I work

No decluttering in the house, although I did tackle my back yard.  I love having the privacy that comes with a large yard, but boy is it a lot of work!  On the plus side, it counts as exercise.

Yep, I got one

My no-buy made it to mid-February before I went on a mini-buying spree.  My goal is to resume it until Sephora's F&F sale, when I'd like to get one of the Hourglass Ambient blushes.  Hopefully my resolve will hold til then and I can continue to build those self-control muscles.

So, any signs of spring where you are at yet? 

Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 8

I'm a bit late getting this up, as I'm operating on a lack of sleep.  The last two nights have seen some fierce thunderstorms, which causes more than a bit of anxiety for Lulu, my Westie.  She and Lily sleep in their own room, with my Border Collie mix Maggie (and personal body guard) sleeping with me.  However, on stormy nights, all 3 dogs end up in bed with me.  I'd like to say it's cozy and comfortable, but in reality it's hot and crowded.  Maggie gets jealous and feels the need to meld herself against me, Lulu is shivering and sometimes licking everything out of anxiety, and Lily usually decides next to my head is her best sleeping spot.  Gives a new visual for the term "three dog night", doesn't it?

I've definitely hit a wall concerning some of my resolutions, no doubt reflective of monotony now setting in and affecting my motivation regarding them.  It's the day to day challenge of life, you know?

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

Eating healthy in general is going fairly well, so I've definitely made progress in that area.  I also bought a huge bottle of Vitamin D3, as it seems Vitamin D deficiency is a chronic issue for many people and I'm wondering if my general fatigue could be an indication I'm one of them.

A highlight from this week was another slow cooker stew I threw together, which is my favorite I've made to date. 

• 3 chick breasts
• 4 medium sweet potatoes, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 10 small sweet peppers, chopped
• Swanson Thai-Ginger flavor infused broth, 1 box (really needed 2 boxes)
• 3 cups water (to make up for not having enough broth)
• 3 teaspoons Goya Cream of Coconut (was looking for coconut milk, but couldn't find any)
• white pepper and sea salt to taste

Exercise suffered slightly this week from time crunch, with more "rest days" than I would like to see.  Rest days happen when I don't have time to exercise, so it's not like they are planned or anything.  I also have not made it to the gym the last 2 weekends, so need to turn that around as well.  On the plus side, after 8 weeks of regular exercise, I'm seeing the results with clothes that fit better from having lost a few lbs and having toned up.  I need to not slack off now, but take it to the next level.  Somehow, some way :-)

No decluttering to speak of this week, and in fact I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by my house and yard.  Lots of debris to pick up from the storms, and things will start growing like crazy very soon.  Those little green clumps in the yard are Spiderwort and can get to 2 feet tall in no time at all, once the weather turns warm.  They have pretty little purple flowers, but I know from experience if I let them get too big, I'll need a machete to clear the land :-)

My no-buy of makeup/beauty items bit the dust this week, precipitated by those limited edition Maybelline Color Tattoos (you can see my preview here).  I'm not sure if I will get back on that wagon or go to a low-buy with a set amount I can spend each month.  It was a good exercise and I think it showed me the value of creating a wish list as opposed to impulse buying, so I will definitely continue with that.  So how was everyone's week - was it the good, the bad, or the ugly?

Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 7

February, why you so mean to me?  Sickness has been dogging me, this time in the form of a low grade UTI.  So, I spent part of Valentine's Day in a health clinic.  Fortunately, it was a quick visit and I've now got my antibiotics, so hopefully I'll be well in no time.  On the downside, I had next to no energy this week.  So how did that impact progress with my resolutions?  Well, let's see....

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

I've mainly been eating my current slow cooker concoction and another batch of sausage and cheese English muffins, so all is good on the eating healthy front.  Chocolate consumption may have been higher this week, but that's par the course for Valentine's Day week, so no biggie.

Exercising took another hit, as I felt like a wet dishrag for much of the week.  I did try a different DVD this week (see snippets of it above), which focuses more on traditional yoga poses.  The stretching was just the right fit for a low energy week, yet still challenging enough - especially with the balance poses - to make it interesting.  The core portion of this DVD was really good and I'm a bit sore as a result.  Mixing up the workouts is helping me not got bored and keeping my muscles from getting used to any one routine, so I'm pleased with that.

I did a small, but psychologically helpful, decluttering project this week.  I was really, really tempted to buy one of the new Clinique blushes this week, as Bloomingdale's was have a nice GWP event.  So, to combat this urge, I decided to organize and inventory my blush collection.

Well, I have 120 blushes all nicely cataloged in an Excel spreadsheet now, which was an eye opener.  On the plus side, I could shop my own collection for months to come and not be deprived.  On the downside, how many peachy pink blushes do I really need?  Will that stop me from getting one of the Clinique Cheek Pop blushes when my no buy is over?  Of course not.

So, the no buy limped on.  Some new items have emerged for the wish list, namely the new Maybelline Color Tattoo cream shadows from the Dare to Go Nude spring 2013 collection.  My local Rite Aid has a display of them with other products from that collection, and Musings of a Muse posted a preview here and Nouveau Cheap has swatches of all six here.  There is a bit of uncertainty as to whether these are limited edition or not.  Rite Aid has a Maybelline BOGO going on this week, so I'm pretty my no-buy is about to go bye bye.  Or buy buy :-)

Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 6

Well, despite my intentions to make nice with February, it does not appear to want to make nice with me.  February is the month that I'm usually gutting it through the cold weather in anticipation of spring, and on February 3rd gutting it through took on a whole 'nother meaning.  Food poisoning, most likely of the Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacterium variety.  Consequently, I've been operating at about 60% of my normal capacity, so let's see how that affected progress on my resolutions:

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

Well, considering the culprit of the food poisoning was a take-out meal of hamburger steak, mash potatoes, and broccoli, that kind of drove home the "cook more" part of my "eat better" resolution.  Not that I was eating much this week.  I did mix up a yogurt and fruit smoothie with Greek yogurt, frozen peaches, strawberries, pineapple, and mango, flax seed and almonds that was pretty darn good.  I also made a slow cooker hodge podge of steak, beans (9 bean soup mix), brown rice, and tomatoes that I'll be eating on this week.  No take out for a while :-)

Exercise also suffered as a result of the food poisoning, although I did what I could.  Even walking the dogs wasn't an option, as Lily has a hurt paw and would go berserk if I left her behind to walk the other two dogs.  On the plus side, I've probably lost weight from not eating much and well, you know, so that's good, I guess.  Oh who am I kidding?  Food poisoning SUCKS.

I did manage to declutter another area that's been an eye sore for a while.  Some of this clutter was actually the result of decluttering my closets last year.  I've come to the not so surprising conclusion that moving stuff around is not what decluttering is about.  You really do need to throw stuff away.

Before

So, I threw out the hangers that had just moved from one room to another.  The laptop I purchased my last year of graduate school got tossed as well.  I can't even remember what operating system that was.  Yes, I still have movies on video.  I guess I'll toss them when the tv with the built in video player dies.

After

This little alcove area is actually a closet area in the room I use as my office/makeup room.  The closets in my house are appallingly small, and this one never had doors or a bar in it when I moved in.  So, I use it for shoes/books/movies/makeup and skincare that is waiting to be tested/miscellaneous other items.  The portrait is of my father when he was young.

Charon herds the sinners onto his boat, from Dante's Inferno

He was an artist, and one of his paintings can be faintly seen in the background.  I believe that one was inspired by an illustrated version of Dante's Inferno that my parent's used to wallpaper the bathroom in the house we lived in when I was about 6.  Yes, it was an interesting childhood:-)

I'm still going strong on my no-buy for makeup/skincare/beauty items, so yeah me!  No new items to add to my wish list, although I did have a brief moment of "I deserve something nice after throwing up for hours".  I ultimately decided not throwing up anymore was the true reward.  Hopefully, your week was much better, and if not, we can commiserate together.  Looking forward to watching The Walking Dead tonight - that should put things in perspective :-)

Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 5

Bye, bye January

January is gone, and we start my least favorite month.  Hello February, maybe we can make peace this year?  You certainly couldn't be any worse than January was weather wise (knock on wood):

My iced over back yard

Fortunately, we are back to more normal weather and will be in the 60's for the next few days, thank goodness!  I don't know if the cold weather was to blame or not, but I was tired most of the week and took advantage of the 2.5 days I had off to read and nap in the afternoons.  Hibernating, perhaps?  I just finished these two books, both were fascinating.  I could have sworn I read In Cold Blood before, but apparently not.  Watching the movie Infamous, which was based on the Plimpton book, sparked my interest in the subject matter. 

Image Source:  Santiago Casares

Image Source:  Tower Books

Consequently, this wasn't my most productive week, but I'm still doing pretty good with my resolutions:

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

I've been finishing up the slow cooker meals I made earlier in the month and froze, so it's definitely time to look for some new recipes to make this week. 

Both exercising and using my standing desk at work feels routine now, and I'm feeling really good about the progress I've made in this area.  While my goal was not to lose weight, I do believe the eating healthier and regular exercise has resulted in some weight loss, as my pants are starting to get a bit loose.  I hope that trend continues, but I'm not going to obsess over numbers and have deliberately avoided the scale for that very reason.

I incorporated two of my more traditional Pilates dvds this week, but I think only one of them will continue to see use.  The "Simply Pilates" is indeed a bit simplistic, although I do think it's emphasis on form and breathing is good for beginners.  It just didn't feel intense enough or present much of a challenge.  The "Yoga & Pilates Total Body Toner" is better, and I like that you can do a total body workout or do shorter segments focused on a specific body region. 
 

Decluttering suffered this week, as my energy levels were low and my desire to sleep greater.  I've got an area already picked out to focus on next, however, so hopefully progress will be noted next week.  On the plus side, I was happy that I didn't throw away my ice scraper in a decluttering frenzy, as it was a necessity last week and you can't really buy those around here.  So there's a plus!

I also made it through January without purchasing any makeup or beauty items, nor do I feel deprived.  My subscription boxes definitely help out in that area, so hopefully February will not introduce any overwhelming temptations.  I've also got nothing to add to my wish list this week.  So, not my strongest week, but a great month overall!

Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v.4

We are approaching the end of January (that flew by), and I've been practicing my resolutions now for 26 days.  Habits are formed through repetition, or if you want to get scientific about it, when our synaptic pathways get worn in through repeated behavior.  So how close to forming a habit am I with my resolutions?

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

I've definitely cooked more and eaten out less this month, so that's good!  I wasn't in the mood to cook this week, however, so I relied a lot of some nutrition bars that I recently bought for breakfast.  I'll be making slow cooker oatmeal again today, as I don't want to get in the habit of relying on processed food, even if it is relatively healthy.

The first thing of I thought of when I unwrapped the Raw Revolution Spirulina Dream bar was "Soylent Green".  I'm guessing that 9 out of 10 people who read this post will have no idea of what Soylent Green is.  I won't ruin it for you, but if you don't know, this is worth a look.  It got imprinted on my mind many years ago.

Fortunately, I like the taste of Spirulina Dream, even though it doesn't look very appetizing!

I'm happy to report that exercising no longer feels forced and I actually look forward to it each morning.  I've been researching scoliosis and exercises to help out with the muscle tightness I've been experiencing on the right side of my body, and everything I've read indicates I'm on the right track with the yoga and Pilates.

The Pilates Power Ball Sculpt Workout s kicking my butt - I still can't do all the reps for each position, but I can tell I'm getting stronger.  The exercise depicted on the cover actually reinforced what I've been reading regarding the muscle imbalances that result from a misaligned spine, as the muscles on my "loose" side were very sore afterwards, almost like a muscle pull or spasm. 

Before

I'm also continuing to make small strides in decluttering my house.  This week I tackled the area in my bathroom where my skin and hair care items have taken over.  Kind of like Tribbles.  I'm just full pop culture references from the 60's and '70's this week, aren't I?

After

I also went through all my open mascaras and threw out more than a few.  Here's the combination of the mascaras and items I weeded out of the mess that was in my bathroom.  Some were expired, some were empty or nearly so, and some I didn't care for.

Now you know why I'm on a no-buy until April :-)  Speaking of, my no-buy is going strong, although two items are being added to my wish list:  Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush and Clinique's Cheek Pop Blush.  I'm not sure what colors I want in either yet, but I've got plenty of time to decide.

Ambient Lighting Blush in Diffused Heat (source Hourglass)

Clinique Cheek Pop Blush in Peach Pop (Source Clinique)

Are you happy with how your January has gone?  I'm pleased that some new behaviors do appear to be taking hold, although I know backsliding can happen in a heartbeat.  So far, so good though!

Accountability Sunday: Resolution Progress for the Week v. 3

Senses Day Spa at IP Casino Resort Biloxi (source Spatrips.com)

Did you know that January 17th was "Ditch New Year's Resolutions Day"?  I haven't ditched mine, although some of the exercise induced euphoria from last week has worn off.  Fortunately, I was able to take a 4-day weekend to refresh, recharge, and celebrate my mother's birthday.  On Friday I visited the Senses Day Spa for a deep tissue massage to work out some knots in my neck and back, plus spent time in the whirlpool, steam room, arctic room, and sauna.  Gotta love that!

Whirlpool (source Spatrips.com)

As a refresher, here are my resolutions for 2014:

• eat better:  start cooking more and eating out less
• exercise more: practice yoga/Pilates again, use a standing desk at work
• declutter house
• no buy on makeup/beauty items Jan-March:  can develop a wish list and purchase one or two items from it in April

 

I made no slow cooker dishes this week, but did make some sausage and cheese English muffins.  These satisfy my cravings for their more unhealthy cousin from McDonalds, the sausage egg McMuffin.  I added some bell pepper to 4 crumbled precooked turkey patties and 4 oz. of Colby/Cheddar cheese, nuked it in the microwave, and topped six muffin halves.  You can then bake them (I used my NuWave cooker) until they are slightly browned.  They freeze well and reheat nicely, making a great on the go type of breakfast.  Add fruit and you've got a reasonably healthy and satisfying meal!

I attempted to incorporate running into my work out regime this week, with mixed results.  I used to run regularly but started experiencing tears in my right calf muscle.  I'm surmising it's because the right side of my body is very tight (that's the side my muscle knots are on) due to my slight scoliosis.  I was able to run for 20 minutes one day and 25 the next, but I could definitely feel it in that right calf and was afraid it would go at any moment.  I'm hoping the regular Pilates/yoga will help stretch my muscles with time, allowing me run a few times a week.  We'll see. I should probably consult with some of the Physical Therapy faculty I work with.

I like logging my exercise type and times on a calendar, as it gives me a good visual overview of how I'm doing.  So far so good and I can already tell my strength and form is improving with the Pilates and yoga :-)

I managed to make some baby steps decluttering the house.  Realistically, I'm not going to be able to tackle an entire room at a time unless I've got a whole day to devote to it, but I can declutter a drawer or bookcase.  So, I cleaned out my supplement stash and threw out the expired items.  Ummm, I had stuff as old as 2002, I kid you not.  I go through phases where I'm pretty good at taking vitamins/supplements, and then I'll forget about them and they sit untouched.  For years, apparently.

Before

My other mini-declutter project was my stereo system bookcase, which had accumulated dust and multiple CD's both in and out of their jackets.  Much better and going forward, only the CD's currently in the player are allowed!

After

My makeup no-buy is going strong, and receiving my subscription boxes is helping in that area.  Now, getting something in the mail feels more exciting, as I'm not jaded by multiple arrivals each week:-)  My wish list currently stands at 3 items, but may or may not grow depending on what product Hourglass is hinting at here:

COMING SOON - New this spring is a revolutionary take on color makeup that is out of this world. Stay tuned. pic.twitter.com/bONedPfn1p

What were the highlights - or lowlights - of your week?  This month is flying by for me and I doubt it will slow down anytime soon, so I'm savoring this long weekend:-)