High Hopes

Why is it that I'm super motivated to go work out in the middle of the day, thinking, 'oh man, today is going to be great, I'm going to work out once I get home, I'm excited, and it will be great for me....' and when I actually get home after a 1.5 hour commute and usually an unsatisfying nap on the train [that only leaves me more tired] I just can't get the motivation to get to the gym. I'm sure part of it is that it's winter, and I've been out of the habit of going to the gym for months. But, man, I just can't seem to drag myself there anymore. And really, I just want to get in better shape, tone a few squishy bits and not get winded walking up the 5 flights of stairs to my office every day. I mean seriously, I get winded EVERY DAY. That's sad, but maybe I'll never get used to it...? Maybe I need to use the stair machine at the gym.

Alright, so the plan is to go to the gym w/ the husband tonight...lets see if we make it :-)

Fun with Picnik

So, I finally played around w/ www.pinnik.com to make some collages here are the results. All pics taken w/ my new camera Christmas present. I haven't totally learned how to use all the bells and whistles but it's been fun playing with it and taking tons of pictures of Meatball and Betty. They are constant subjects of my photographic experiments. And they are always doing cute stuff that I just NEED to take pictures of. So, as a round up of the last month:
This is the anniversary dinner VAP and I made for ourselves. Big ole steaks, huge shrimp [which we had to devein, ewwwwwwwwww] and some yummy mushrooms and onions go on top.


Meatball likes to get inside bags. He just crawled into that target bag and decided to sit a while. Betty can come off as a little aloof, but she's a cuddler at heart.
My dad made these AWESOME Cats Meow type things for Christmas. He made the house I grew up in, where VAP and I live now, and the church I grew up in. He took photographs and spray glued them to wood then cut them out w/ a band saw and then sanded and painted it. They look really professional, all they need is the little black cat in all the pictures. I was really impressed with the 'secret project' he was working on. I had to send him a picture of the house, I figured he was doing some sort of collage or something, this was way cooler.

it gets worse before it gets better

So, new heat pump and all that business today. The guys who installed it got it done in about 4.5 hours which impressed me. The poor kitties about jumped out of their skin the the ductwork from the old system was being cut out and banged up. The both ran under our bed and looked shell shocked for a few hours. They are all calm and snoozing now though :-) The new system works great! I'm not wearing 17 layers finally and my nose and fingers are a normal temperature.

So, to allow the mechanical guys to do their job we had to clean up the 'utility room' aka little box around the inside unit that we shove stuff we don't know what to do with. So, VAP emptied this out this morning---all over the basement. I finally went down after the final install and it looks like we are bums that have a hording problem. Wreathes for all seasons, Halloween costumes, pillows, blankets, spare winter coats, a safe, air mattress, sleeping bag, extra comforters, various grilling accessories, a HUGE box of cables and video games including old original Nintendo games, extra Mary Kay stock [want some?] and so forth. So, since the HVAC unit is bigger, and we reallllly don't need all that crap anyway we tried to sort it out. Most stuff is just ended up in the attic, or as I like to call it, 'where stuff goes to get lost till we move.' But I don't want to just stash stuff there b/c I don't know what to do with it. So much stuff though! UGH.

Well, at least some point soon I'll try to schedule the clothing exchange again, get rid of some closet stuff. I'm planning on spreading a bunch of stuff out on the dining room table and saying- please take it off my hands! Free to whoever wants it. I feel a huge yard sale coming on once this weather stabilizes, I just need to have less stuff or I'm gonna go nuts.

Ok, that's it, I'm done. It's just so hard to keep a clean house when you start cleaning and realize all of the sudden it's worse then when you started. Makes you not even want to try.

testing a new look

just playing around with some free backgrounds for now. Trying some out. Not quite getting everything to look the same yet. Hopefully I'll have it all figured out soon. Check back for the updated look!

Girl Time

So I was reminded tonight why it is important to make time with your girlfriends. Making time apart from work, from your spouse, from just regular old relaxing at home-because only your girlfriends know exactly what you are going through and can make you feel like you are not the only one who experiences something and that however crazy parts of your life feel, someone else is going through the same stuff.

You need your girlfriends, to make you feel sane and remind you that guys are fundamentally different when it comes to some things, and that only a fellow lady can commiserate.

I went and took a look at some of the "marriage" advice I was given by the church ladies at the bridal shower they threw for me. Some of these are real gems and really stand out:

"It's very important to develop your relationship with your husband, but keep your female relationships strong too! Women friends are essential."

"Learn to work around him so he always thinks he's right- even when you know he isn't"

"Remember to be open with your communication. Use kind words. Think before you say anything out of anger. Be patient."

"Read the book 'Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus.' I wish I'd read it years before I did."

"Enjoy activities that you can do with your husband but do some ventures on your own too! Keep your girlfriends, and be sure to spend time with them."

"A little advice that was given to me many years ago- If you have a little 'spat' or misunderstanding with your husband, always make up before you go to bed"

"Always give in when you need to."

"Remember to say 'I'm sorry.'"

"Have lots of fun- do things that make you laugh. It's all a roller coaster ride, when it goes flying down, it starts back up again."

"Enjoy each and every day together. There will always be peaks and valleys but that is what makes your lives grow. Spend lots of time in the 'kitchen' and other rooms too! Save time for yourself. Talk to each other."


So, I haven't read these in over a year and I'm amazed at how wonderful the pieces of advice are. And the fact that these came from mostly older women who have been in relationships for years and whose experience really means something. I know why I saved them and why I will keep them always. They make me smile and remind me how important it is to have women in your life.

To all the ladies out there, lets hang out soon!

burrrr-cicles

So it's freaking freezing in our house, ok, so it's only 60, but when it's 30 outside and feels like 12, 60 inside isn't really that comfortable. So I've got on, sports bra [I'm thinking these are warmer than reg] top and bottom long johns, t-shirt, hoodie, sweatpants, puffy vest, warm socks, and awesome slippers, and I'm still cold! I've got a Betty-cat currently in the spot between me and the laptop, providing some warmth, but this needs to change. And hopefully it will soon. VAP had some mechanical contractors he works with come over and tell us that our heat pump or the compressor or whatever is broken, kaput. BGE is coming Thursday for a free estimate to find out how much it would cost to replace it all. And the other guys are doing the same. So, even though we have a emergency fund just for things like this...I really hate to actually spend that money. It makes me feel like I have more money if I pretend I never have to spend it on anything.

So, hopefully it doesn't cost too many thousands of dollars and we end up with a system that is actually more efficient and makes our monthly bills less. *optimistic*

good and bad

So on my way home today I was kinda proud of myself, thinking I had a relatively productive day. At the end of the work day I realized I didn't really check out all my usual websites I look at to take a break, or pass the time if I feel bored. I was actually busy enough to get some things done without really having much time to slack. A pretty good day. I got in to work a little later than usual b/c one of our cars is in the shop so VAP dropped me off at the MARC train station and was going to pick me up at night. I ended up taking the train right after my usual one so I could make up some time from the morning. As our train stopped at Riversdale, College Park, and then Greenbelt things were going fine until it stopped a minute or so after leaving Greenbelt. Turns out there was an accident up ahead that damaged the tracks and we couldn't go forward. Well, we couldn't go backwards either b/c there were trains behind us, so we had to wait where we were till the traffic controllers could coordinate a massive redirect of all the Camden line trains. No one could come south and no one could go north past this spot till they determined the damage. Our train finally got the go ahead to head back three stops to Riversdale where there was a cross over and then all trains were going to have to single-track between there and some point north where there was also a cross over. Well, that means all the regular trains doing the N/S commute had to take turns on this 10 mile or so stretch one at a time. By this time we are already 40 or so mins late. Once we started back tracking they let us off at Greenbelt if we wanted to get off and find alternate transportation. After a few frantic moments of not being able to get VAP on the phone I finally got him and told him to head to Greenbelt ASAP. I wasn't about the get off the warm train and wait essentially outdoors at Greenbelt w/o knowing if he was able to come get me. Lucky for me [and him] he was. He picked me up about 7:15 and we decided to get some Thai food in Greenbelt. Finally got home about 8:45. From what I can tell, the train I was on should have finally rolled through my station about 8:30, about 2.5 hours past the normal time. Still proud of my semi-productive day at work, but it stinks that something always happens to mess up your good mood. It's just like when you get the day started early and you are all proud of yourself and have plans for an awesome day and then the bus is late and you are late to work- sometimes you just can't win.

At least tomorrow is my "Friday"! Hope everyone is having a good week, despite any things that try to get in the way.