Chronicles of a Novice

So, I haven't posted a new blog in over a week at this point. I'm not entirely sure why this is. I joined a gym over a week ago and I LOVE it! Yay 24 Hour fitness. I don't have The Biggest Loser lofty goals but I do just hope to improve upon myself and be the healthiest person I know how to be. This entails lots of salads and early AM fruity shakes. Yum! It also entails spending at least an hour doing the Hamster Wheel/stationary bike combo. I'm working to build up my confidence in order to be comfortable enough to use the weight equipment as well. My boyfriend Trav, who used to be a personal trainer, offered to come with me for a few days (on a free guest pass...bonus!) and help me out with the weight machine stuff. He's been super duper supportive in a loving, not "honey your ass is fat" sort of way. My coworker Sara has also been a huge support and she recently just joined 24 Hour Fitness as well. Every day at work we're pumping ourselves up to go once we're off the clock. Very helpful!

Anyway, for some reason, this new endeavor has seemed to suck any spare time I've had. It's amazing how I have gotten NOTHING done since joining the gym. I feel great and I have tons of energy but I get home from the end of my day and it's already time to go to bed (at least it seems that way - I swear I don't curl up for bed at 6pm)!


Needless to say, I'm just about finished with the top of my table runner. It looks Aaaa-Mazing and I'll post pictures just as soon as I figure out how to upload them to my laptop from my camera. I also finished the borders to the quilt I started on back in November. Its my first one and its ready to be sent to the quilting machine. That should be ready to finish with the binding in just a couple of weeks. I've attached a photo of that right after I finished the borders last weekend. (P.S. I just got my do cropped and colored back to red. Looooove it!)

Yup, that's right. I did not conquer this goal. Admittedly, I did really really well with my "taking the stairs" goal in the beginning of the week and in fact, I was the ultimate stair master the last week of December but I seemed to lose steam by about Thursday of last week.

Here's the breakdown:

Monday - Wednesday: Took the stairs like a champ. I even went out of my way to find ways to take MORE stairs. I wore my cute ballet flats and showed those stairs who was boss (I'm pretty sure the stairs were intimidated by my asthmatic wheezing and slow trod after floor 5 - FYI)

The downfall began on Wednesday afternoon when I had a total, mid-afternoon brain fart and a hankering for a delicious hostess cupcake. That's right. I admit it. Those little chocolaty morsels of heaven were my stair step downfall. As my previous post described, I happily got on and off the elevator BOTH times with no thought to the fact that I wasn't taking the stairs on my fatty escapade.

On Thursday, I decided to wear my SUPER cute blue Madden Girl pumps which got tons of compliments but were not conducive to walking the stairs. In fact, let's be honest, they were not really conducive to doing much at all except sitting and looking pretty (which I pulled off marvelously and without flaw of course!). So, on this day, I made the conscious decision to not take the stairs.

Of course, on Friday, I decided to wear my OTHER new shoes hilariously dubbed "Lesbian Pirate Boots" (so named by my fashionable male coworker). I coupled this look with a dress, brown tights and a sweater over the dress. Super cute outfit but I was able to talk myself out of walking the stairs in the dress. Silly, yes but I'm great at talking myself into bad things and out of good things. Its a skill. People are jealous of this ability.

Sadly, this means that I only made it half the week and I've been kicking myself for my lack of self discipline. The great news is that I have two new fabulous pairs of shoes which puts an extra kick in my step. I'm going to continue to push myself to take the stairs at most opportunities I have but sometimes, the regimen must suffer and bow to the likes of fashion. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.

Week 1 Novice Attempt: Stair Master
Results: Yup...still a Novice

Ah, the joy of shoe shopping! I came across these blue babies last night at Famous Footwear for only $25. For Steve Maddens? Nice. So, in light of this, I did NOT take the stairs today because I had to show of my new kicks at work! Priorities people.

Along this same note, my wonderfully fashionable friend, Sara has made a pact with me to attempt to be more sassy and daring with our outfits at least once a week. I'm thinking these blue fancies will help me accomplish this. Perhaps paired with a pencil skirt, patterned tights and fitted top? I'm already scheming!

Sara and I had a conversation yesterday (there actually is another Sara in my life...I'm not just trying to say that I was having a conversation with myself) about wanting to be more fashion forward. Working in a hospital, sitting at a desk all day is not the best place to display our personal style but we've decided to give it a go. A fellow coworker and fantastic dresser, Josh, assigns his Monday's as his "dress up days" where he goes all out with a suit and tie get up. At first, I couldn't understand why he was putting so much effort in for the type of job we do but then I realized that it would be a great way for me to amp up the style in my own life. Along with just trying to look more put together and steer away from the standard cardigan-ballet flats-slacks-ponytail look that I have been drawn to lately, I'm also hoping to be more daring with my future purchases. Looking for items that fit well, compliment the rest of my wardrobe and are of decent quality is now my goal. I'm a bargain hunter. I LOVE to find a steal and I pride myself on being a cheapskate. The problem with this is that I end up buying a lot of crap because its cheap. I make excuses for the poor fit and the terrible quality. I justify all of this by telling myself that its OK because it only cost $5! I want to be one of those women that people look at and say, "That girl knows how to dress to flatter her figure and she always looks so polished and put together!" Or something like that anyway. I always admire the curvier women that manage to look fabulous and sassy every single day in spite of a few extra lady lumps hiding under their camisole. Having quality, properly fitting cloths will help me with this and will add the extra bit of confidence I need to add some more fashion forward, trendy pieces to my wardrobe.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Basically, I'm excited about my new blue shoes and the prospects for sassy-ness that they bring. I used to be a sharp dresser and I'm looking forward to working back to that. I few good shopping choices and I'll be well on my way!

So, looking into 2010, I've set the following weekly goals for myself (these are in no particular order):

• Create an Appliqué pillow
• Create a Quilted Table runner
• Create a Toddler quilt
• Create the Perfect cocktail
• Bake the Perfect cheesecake
• Take an African dance class
• Take a Yoga class
• Cook a Roast
• Walk/run a 10k
• 20 mile bike ride
• Bike repair by myself
• Oil change by myself
• Learn to Knit
• Refinish furniture
• Karaoke by myself
• Create a vegetable garden
• Make a throw rug
• Host a movie marathon
• Maintain a blog
• Cake decorating
• Learn to play the Guitar
• Take a Martial Art class
• Make homemade baby blocks
• Make Perfect Pasta Sauce

I will continue to add to this list and will choose my weekly project depending on my mood, budget and time allowance. If you have any suggestions or would like to join me for any of this, I would welcome it all!

Well, its week 1 of 2010 and I've "officially" started my first task - Stair Master. I actually started this last week because I figured, what the hell. I feel REALLY great! Of course, I get super tired by the end of the process but after walking up and down 232 steps (yes, I counted) every single day I've definately started to notice a difference.

Today, though, I had my first fauxpas. I decided that I simply wouldn't be able to live without a small nibble of chocolate. So, I counted up my spare change and set out for the mini store found on the first floor of the hospital. I got to the store, made my selection, paid and smiled at the clerk and made my way back to my desk. Just as I was exiting the elevators, slightly elated by the prospect of my yummy chocolatey treat I realized that I had TOTALLY taken the elevators without even thinking about it! DAMNIT! So, not only did I shoot myself in the foot with my delicious yet not fat-free snack but I also missed the opportunity to take the stairs!

Oh well. Back to the groove. I can do this! I plan on just making this a habit but with the new year in play now I figured it was a good week to start forming better habits. The really funny thing is that somehow this blog is keeping me accountable. Right when I realized that I had accidentally taken the elevators I thought to myself "well....I've got to admit this on my blog. Way to go!" At this point, I have approximately zero followers but, even so, this seems to give me a sense of accountability that I never had before. Very excited about this unexpected result.