Catching Up

So, I definitely didn't intend on letting over a month go by with no updates. Maybe I'm not so great at this bloggy stuff! I spent the last few days in Laughlin, NV for the annual family reunion for my mom's side of the family. It was a really rushed trip, but I had a good time. Friday was the only warm day, but it was really nice. I even got to lounge by the pool for awhile. We visited Oatman, AZ like usual. Here's a picture of Ethan & I by the old Route 66 sign:

And of course we came home to cold, rainy weather! But that's okay. I know there are plenty of warm days ahead. :)

Going Raw

So, I have completed ALL 30 days of the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred series- 10 days doing level 1, 10 days doing level 2, and 10 days doing level 3. I am definitely happy to say that I feel my endurance has really improved. Though subtle, I also notice changes in the muscle tone in my legs, arms, and abs. I am disappointed to say that I did not lose any weight at all, in fact I gained a pound! I tend to have high hopes with things like this, but Ethan helped to remind me that I most likely have gained muscle, which will add to my overall body weight. I'm not unhappy with my results, however it is now time to kick things up a notch.

To give myself a short break, I'm going to take 5 days off from working out, but during that time I'm going to eat completely raw. Rather surprisingly, Ethan has agreed to do it with me. I've done raw diets before and I must say that I really love how I feel when I eat that way. I have certainly struggled with self-discipline in the past but feel I have really gained resolve over these last 30 days. This will be a trade-off for me. 30 days straight working out, eating how I wish (within reason, of course), 5 days break from working out but feeding my body only whole, raw foods during that time. Here's my loot from the grocery store today.

Mango, papaya, kiwis, limes, organic Fuji apples, and golden delicious apples.

Blueberries and strawberries.

Crisp red grapes.

Organic carrots, purple cabbage, and red & green bell peppers.

Fresh basil (the best smell in the whole world, by the way!)

This is my first time storing it this way- I read tips on keeping it fresh the longest and found out storing it cut stems down in shallow water at room temperature with a loose baggie over the leaves will keep the moisture in and keep it from wilting. So far, so good. 

And lastly, an assortment of dried goodies: pitted dates, sun dried tomatoes, dried apricots, and mixed jumbo raisins.

This food all looks so appealing to me right now so I feel like it's what my body needs more of, along with lots of fresh lettuce, avocado, bananas, raw almonds, almond milk, and tons of water. Will report back. <3

30 Day Shred continued...

So I am now on day 22 of the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred DVD and especially now that I'm on level 3, it's definitely tough! I've decided to wait until I am finished to weigh in but I am definitely starting to notice some subtle changes in how I'm looking. My endurance is also getting better. Will report in after I complete all 30 days with the end results.

Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred

So, I will be the first to admit that I really, honestly DESPISE working out. But it has to be done. I have allowed myself to start getting lazy again and it just can't happen. One of my goals for this year is to really put some effort into getting fit and taking some weight off so I figure why not start here. In high school when I was dancing, my weight averaged about 117. I was very happy at that weight, and was also a lot more toned. At my thinnest, I was 112, and honestly I would love to weigh that again, even though I think that's sorta unrealistic at this point. After high school (it started senior year, really) I just gradually started putting on a little weight. I wasn't eating as healthy and after graduation especially, I became much less active. Around Christmas of '09 I was up to 144. That's the most I have ever weighed. I know that's not a ton or anything, but for me and for my frame, it was a place that I was very unhappy and uncomfortable with. My health was also at it's worst around that point.

It was then that I realized if I wasn't going to dance on a regular basis anymore, I had to work out. I started working with a trainer and got down to 132 last September, and that's about where I'm still lingering. My trainer moved away and I got pretty lazy again but I'm not going to allow myself to go back in that direction again. I want to get down to around 120 and stay there. 12 pounds is not a whole lot of weight and I know I can do it. I have trouble with staying motivated when it comes to this sort of thing, namely because I do eat pretty healthy and track my calories pretty closely, but I just don't much care for exercising. Regardless, I am going to make myself stick to this for 30 days- I did my first workout tonight- we'll see where I am at the end of this. I will track my progress!

Living Room Concept

So here is a sort-of rough draft of an idea for the finished living room. Some of it are things we already have, some of it are things I would like to get. Our sofa and love seat are very similar to these ones. We have the Ikea Dudero floor lamps which I'm pretty much in love with. We have some gorgeous paper in a similar color palate as these framed behind the sofa. I got the frames at a secondhand store for a steal. The slanted bookshelves from Target were my product shelves when I was at the salon and now they house Ethan's old encyclopedia collection along with some of our board games. I bought a whole bunch of the Joel Dewberry Antler Damask Fabric in Peony last year with the intention of making curtain panels for the living room window, but I haven't taken the time to figure it out yet, and now I have my eye on these ones from West Elm, so that gorgeous fabric might get used for throw pillows or something instead. We shall see.

We also really need a new living room rug. I had a really lovely and giant red flokati shag rug but it shed sooo much that we just had to get rid of it. We were finding what I called "elmo fur" all over the apartment and it was driving me bonkers. Now I just have a little jute-type rug in front of the sofa but it doesn't quite match everything and I want something bigger that feels nice underfoot. I really love this Pebble Rug from West Elm in the heathered gray shade. We need some sort of slightly larger, easy-to-clean rug to go by the front door, also. Especially this time of year, we track in so much junk and try to take our shoes off when we come in that it would be nice to contain it in one area a bit more. But really, once the curtains are up, the rug situation is taken care of, and we get a couple nifty accessories like this snazzy porcelain antler piece up on the shelf above our pellet stove, I think the living room will be looking pretty great. Can't wait to finish it!

Christmas re-cap

So, Christmas was loads of fun for me this year (or last year, now). It was mine and Ethan's first Christmas living under the same roof and that made decorating much more exciting. Now, I didn't go all out and decorate the whole apartment or put lights up outside or anything. We just had a really small, simple tree- but it was gorgeous, if I don't say so myself!

I was already set on doing a white tree and was going to buy one that was around 4 or 5 feet tall, but then I found this little gem out in our garage in some stuff my aunt left for me when she moved. It was only 3 feet tall, but I think it was perfect. I decided to do pink and gold ornaments with white lights. I even found gold glittery "E" and "L" letters. I used a gold curtain panel that I had in my linen closet over the chest the tree is sitting on as a sort of skirt. I also did up my gifts in matching wrap.

I made gift tags using card stock, rubber stamps, scrapbooking letters, and paint sample cards.

And now I'm already thinking about next Christmas. I really like this silver Retro Tree from Grandin Road. It would be really cool with with red, green, and baby blue ornaments and corresponding paper like this vintage-style free printable paper from Mae. We shall see! I have plenty of time to figure it out. :)

My first post on my first blog

So here I finally am after navigating Blogger and figuring out how to create a blog I am pretty happy to call mine. I still have a lot to learn so I'm hoping it will only continue to get better and will reflect who I am even more.

I can't believe we are already here at the end of 2010. Overall, this has been a big and mostly good year for me. Ethan and I moved in together in January, which has been wonderful. I closed my little skin care and waxing business in June and although I miss it, it was the right decision. Since then, I have had so much more time to devote to caring for myself. I found out about my gluten intolerance in July and have been eating gluten free since. My health and overall well-being has improved dramatically. I've lost 10 lbs- here's to 10 more in 2011. :) We lost two older family members this year, which was tough. I had a great trip to Vegas with my mom and sister for my mom's birthday in September, which was loads of fun. In October, I had an amazing, life-changing experience which I have wanted to do for years- more about that later. ;) November and December have both consisted of lots of quality time spent with family. I'm so grateful for my mom's understanding of the new way I have to eat; she made both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner completely gluten free so that I could still have everything. She is just wonderful.

With the new year upon us, I really hope I am able to work hard to accomplish the things I didn't quite get around to this year. I really want to finish decorating our apartment. We have great furniture and a few other great pieces but we are in desperate need of window treatments, pillows, artwork, etc. all placed appropriately. I feel like I have a pretty distinct style and I am so picky that it makes it hard to find things I like enough to have in my home. I search and search and search and finally find things that are way out of my current budget, so I have to wait to purchase them. I hope to save for some of those things this year, as well as find some inexpensive items with character to complete the transformation.

I also want to complete the task I started this year to get back down to my goal weight. I'm certainly not overweight, but would like to at least feel slim and toned and happy with the body I see in the mirror. I danced up until graduating high school (I take class occasionally now but it's not a regular part of my life anymore, unfortunately) and was very slender and in shape. I want to feel that way again, even though I don't ever expect to weigh what I did in high school.

I've also gotten very into some craft projects this year and definitely want to focus on doing more of that. I LOVE making sock monkeys. This year I made them for both of my small nephews as well as my good friend's little girl. I also taught a workshop for some younger girls in my community. I would love to make more for Ethan's nieces, or maybe even eventually open an Etsy shop. My grandmother (AKA "Grammy" or "Little Grandma" in my family) recently taught me how to knit and I am currently hard at work on my first scarf. I'll post more on that, later. I would love to complete more of those as well as some other fun little knitting projects. My mom and I have some sewing projects I really want to finish, as well. Aprons, zippered pouches, and re-usable shopping bags all with gorgeous fabrics we picked up earlier this year and just have not found time to work on. I also want to swoop up more vintage costume jewelry (as if I don't have enough already :D) to restore, re-package, and re-gift.

Also, I loved everything about my Christmas decor and wrapping this year and as silly as it might sound, I am excited about getting next year's figured out early! I also want to master a few great dinners I can cook for company, spend even more time with my family and just do whatever I can to have as much joy as I have had this year. Happy New Year!