After a year of talking about new kitchen “what if’s,” it feels like we are getting a little closer to taking the leap.  Not as in grabbing the sledgehammer, but as in together, as a couple, laying the groundwork.  

Met with a contractor yesterday.  Which we’d sort of done before, but one was too much money and didn’t seem to understand what we wanted and another fell short of expectations on smaller projects he did for us so…yeah, I don’t count those.  Plus, Fri. marked 1 year since we closed on the house.  So realistically, we hadn’t spent enough time using it to fully appreciate the ebb and flow of how we use the space.

At a glance, it doesn’t look too bad (despite some clutter)…

But if you look closer, you may notice that only one person can really fit in the work area.  And that if the stove is open, that pretty much drops to zero.  Open the DW, and you lose access to cabinets.  Open fridge door=closed entryway…etc, etc.  A coat of white paint and granite counters by the previous owners dress it up a bit, but you can’t quite take it out.  So now I spend my spare time pinning pics like this and dreaming…

…of opening up to the living room and being able to BREATHE in the space we spend so much time in.  Anyway, the contractor seems very knowledgeable, but feel like he may lean towards top of the line (ie, expensive) and not be open to looking for budget-friendly alternatives.  Like, he all the sudden is talking about adding 6 can lights and scrapping all the existing floor— there are 2 types, we need to transition it to one, but they are both new, why start from scratch??

So today we spent some quality time at Ikea, where my husband realized he doesn’t hate their cabinets after all.  Cuz, you know, my saying they had some cool stuff carried no weight.  Played around with their design software and got to talk to a consultant, who asked some questions that made us realize we have some homework to do.  Which is ok, because now we can start on it.  

At any rate, this weekend felt like a step forward.  No matter that there’s like a million more to go.  Just heard at a conference, liked it:  ”To move forward, you have to start where you are.”  So there you go.

Tonight, I gave in.  To the sheer exhaustion of a very long week (big event at work, deadline for job #2, stepson had minor surgery, son brought home bummer report card, adjusting to time change which=driving home in dark, etc, etc).  Crashed when I got home.  Tried to get up around 7:30, but felt dizzy and nauseous. Given that I feel fine now, think it was just my body’s way of slam dunking me back down for some much needed rest.  

By time I crawled out of bed, I decided to skip the HIIT tonight and go for a mind work out.  Caught up on some painting I’ve been meaning to do.  Bought a framed canvas awhile back with the intent of repainting.  While I went in with a more elaborate idea, once I did layers of two whites and a gray, it felt good to me.  Maybe it’s my mood.  I look at it and all I see is winter.  

In real life you see more texture and layers to it.  I swear I’m not just being lazy; my son and husband both dug it as-is.  I also repainted the frame a deep red with a layer of ORB (oil rubbed bronze) over it.  Both Krylon spray paint.  Tomorrow when it’s all dry I’ll see if it all works together.

Frame Before; love the detail but not the gold:

Frame in transition:

I’ll post an after tomorrow once everything is dry and put together.  That is, if I like the combined effect.  The frame might end up in a totally different direction.  Worried it is too much contrast for my Winter piece…don’t want to distract from the gloom. ;-)  Also started on a paint on glass project I’ve been meaning to do forever.  But…yawn…that will have to wait for another time.

Returning home 13+ hours after I’d left for work, a belly full of chili mac from my dinner meeting, I decided I was allowed ONE night off from my daily express workouts. I mean, I put in 9 hours at job one only to turn around and attend a work meeting for job 2 (editing for Prince William Living).   I even started writing a blog post in my head at a particularly long light.  You know, about exceptions to the rule, blah, blah, blah.

Arriving home, I realized that if I had time to blog about NOT exercising, I most likely had time to fit in at least 15 minutes of some type of movement.  Spent some time on the ab roller, then just did a mix of jumping jacks, kick-boxing and jogging around while watching The Voice.  Told myself I had to do at least 10 minutes (to trick myself into starting); went for 22.  

I think it is easy to get hung up on this idea of how we SHOULD achieve fitness:  hit the gym, do yoga, go running.  And it can be overwhelming, intimidating to get started.  Who says you have to go to the exercise?  Why can’t it just come to you?  While you watch TV and move around like a fool.  Revising a blog post in your head.  

Ok, really, politics met my consciousness threshold as I watched election results last night.  Determined to watch the concession and victory speeches that essentially say, “Mommy and Daddy fight, but we love you, and we are ready to stop yelling and make everything all right,” I curled up on the couch ready to see this thing off to the bitter end.  

Instead, it saw me off.  It was probably around 12:40 am when I crashed on said couch.  I woke at the very end of Romney’s speech at 1-something, and rewound it.  And…promptly fell back asleep, before he even came on stage.  3:00 am saw me groggily making my way up to bed without so much as removing a contact.  

WAIT, this really does relate to fitness.  First, in the fact that I shook off the end-of-day sleepies and committed to working out when I got home.  Even if it was just for 20 minutes.  (Which is kind of the point of this whole experiment— you can do anything for just 15-20 minutes a day, right?  Except watch campaign ads.).   Secondly, I decided to multitask and catch the President’s speech while on my elliptical, doing HIIT by alternating 1 minute of full-speed-ahead with 2 minutes of slower speed.  

Sidenote:  I have tendency toward heart arrhythmia and reach inexplicably high beats per minute very quickly (yes, I see a cardiologist).  So sustaining a high heart rate for long periods is never a goal for me.  Elevated, steady; good.  Super fast; in small doses.  

So in the tightly contested race over who will control my waistline— me or my approaching middle age metabolism— today was a victory for me.  Of course, Sierra Nevada still holds a house majority, so we’ll see if any real progress is made.

So, ugh, putting it in writing so I can’t back down.  The only time I’ve weighed more than I do now, I was pregnant.  Another human lived inside of me.  Now, it’s just wine and cheese taking up extra space.  Ok, and a few beers.  And some chocolate.  Did somebody say bacon?

That expression, “big boned,” does not apply to me.  I have tiny bones, that were meant to carry a small amount of weight.  I caught flack for being skinny (note: it is apparently ok to say you hate somebody for being skinny, but don’t start throwing the F** around).  This despite my four meals + 2 snacks a day routine.  

Flash forward to thirty-something-or-other.  Suddenly, doing nothing to manage my weight makes me look like I’m…doing nothing.  Which means it is time to do something.  But I’m really no good at dieting and exercise regiments.  I’ve had no practice.  I know, wah.

Here’s where my experiment comes in, the easy way.  Starting last week, my goal has been to do 15-20 minutes of exercise a day.  Very little equipment (if any) required.  Typically, I’m looking up work outs on YouTube, though occasionally it’s hiking, biking or time on the elliptical.  Because of my super fun tendonitis situation right now, my preferences is for things that don’t put pressure on my wrists.  Fitness Blender has become a favorite.  A lot of their stuff is HIIT (high intensity interval training), so well-suited for trying to fit results in a short amount of time.  

Since I’m not going crazy with my efforts, I’m not going crazy with my expectations. Would like to ultimately lose 30 pounds, but at a rate of 5-7 pounds a month. Would rather go about it slow and steady, making it more likely I’ll keep it up. Will it work? Ask me in 4 months. :)

I suppose I should talk about Hurricane Sandy; that is the topic de jour.  However, there’s enough being said that I can take the shallow route and go down a more “me” focused path.

Sitting at my new work spot— further from windows and potential-projectile-trees than my usual spot (wait, I talked about the hurricane!)— I saw an email on AA Net Saver fares.  Had a physical urge to just GO.  Travel.  Escape for a bit.  Could feel it in the pit of my stomach, a weight demanding release.  

It’s stronger than a passing, “Hmmm, I could use a little get away.”  It’s more like the little voice inside my soul screaming, “Fire!  Get out of this place before you are burned (out) alive.”  

Right this second, I guess I need to lay low, below the smoke and do my best to not suffocate.  There’s not an immediate exit in sight.  But I sure as heck should be looking for one.