Our New Hizzle...

Needs some work, fo' shizzle! But we are super excited!

It's our first house (paid for with entirely our own money, oh yeah and a little help from Fannie Mae!)
It's our first remodel project (aka marriage test!)
It's Izzy's first yard!
Yay!!

Spacious garage for 2 cars and 5 bikes and a washer/dryer

1970's seafoam green. My personal fave color!

Original tile work in the bathroom. Yummy.

Nice big yard. Perfect for a 16 lb Boston Terror-er

Our "great room" and my handsome hairy husband taking measurements

"Hand over the chocolate and no one gets hurt" is apprently so important to the previous owners that they inlaid this into the backsplash.

Nature Trail Run

T gently reminded me this morning when the alarm went off that I planned to work out. Oh. Right.
But I am super glad he did, and even more glad I took the time for myself to do this. It started my day off right!

Here's my morning jaunt on the nature trail up to the college. Snuck this one in before the rain and snow. Yes... I said SNOW. FML!

Map My Run!

Here's a little jaunt that my friend K and I did last week. It didn't feel as far as it is, which is why I like this website so much!!!



I've been (thankfully) working out almost every day for the past week and a half. It feels so good to be back into a routine of working out. It seems so hard to start back up again once I've stopped, which is why I am glad I am finally back on the program. This morning I decided to take a run up the nature trail and then do P90x Ab Ripper! I am going to try and do Ab Ribber 2-3 times a week and see if I can notice any results. Ab workouts have never really shown me visible results in the past, but I think it's because I've never really watched what I ate. Since I eat pretty healthy anyway, I've always let myself eat pretty much whatever I want when I am training hard for something, which is probably why I've never lost weight while training for races. When I was training for my Xterra last spring, I didn't lose a pound, even after the 3 hour a day workouts! I'm a firm believer that getting ripped abs (if it's even humanly possible for me) takes more than just the workouts. It's very diet related as well. Which brings me to my goal: Lose 6 lbs by May 14th. Yes, that's two weeks away, I know. My reward: Other than losing 6lbs? Spending $250 on new clothes! Yay! I realize that $250 doesn't get you too far in the clothing world, but for me this is huge, becuase I haven't been spending any money on clothes since we are buying a house... in 3 days!

Anyway, here's what I am doing:
Limiting:
Sugar
Wheat
Dairy
No red meat
No beer or cockatils (red wine only)

Eating:
Lots of veggies
Lots of water
Good whole grains (spelt, kamut, barley, quinoa)

Trying to do something active every day.
Well.... we'll see how it goes, won't we?
New clothes here I come!!!

Unemployment Babble

*It's April 27, 2010. I just found this unfinished post and decided to publish it. I am embracing a less than perfect blog :)

I had all of these intentions of posting to my blog regularly while I haven't been working. I thought I would have a lot more time than I actually do, but honestly I can't hide behind the "time" excuse. I think it's interesting how quickly I hide behind the excuse of being too busy to do something, when in actuality I just can't seem to find the motivation. People everywhere have their plates full, and I often wonder how they manage to fit it all in, or I feel envious about how many different things they have going on. I think the answer to the time equation is passion. If you are passionate about what you are doing in life, you will make time for it, or so the theory goes. I guess after the past two days, I am ready to be a little more introspective of this whole experience, and I am finally making the time to sit with my thoughts.

Since I decided to quit my job, about 3 weeks ago, I've experienced a roller coaster of emotions. First I was pissed, then nervous, followed by liberated, excited and optimistic, and more recently I've been frustrated, defeated and confused. While I still feel I made the right choice, and have overall excitement about my future, the past two days have been discouraging.

First off, the local newspaper postings in this town is a joke. I am a college grad with 6 years of professional experience out of college and yesterday I applied for a job that if offering $13-15 per hour depending on experience, WTF?!?!? After I submitted my resume yesterday, to a place I clearly did not want to work, I felt like I had lost sight of why I quit in the first place. I am trying to take a step in the right direction, not digress 6 years on the professional totem pole.

I guess my biggest problem is that I don't know what exactly I want to be doing at this moment. Unfortunately my last scenario was draining me physically and emotionally to the point where I couldn't even consider doing anything else. For many personal and professional reasons (which I am happy to share in another, much longer post) I knew it was time for me to leave... immediately. I've never just drifted out into the world without a plan, in fact, every job I've ever had has always overlapped with another, leaving me with zero time in between. Since I've found myself recently unemployed and looking for my next step, I am trying to determine which direction to go....

Things, they are a changin'

I can't say what yet, but I can say that I am very excited for the decision I have made to free myself from a current situation that is causing me much emotional and physical stress.

I am proud I have taken this leap of faith and stood up for myself and moral standards. I trust it will all work out....

I just had to share my excitement with someone other than my wonderful husband who has supported me every step of the way.

This is going to be good....

Thank you, Computer Geeks

Just learned this while working on a large mail merge, all of which was originally typed in CAPS.

I tried formatting the font but it wasn't working. This formula worked like a charm, and now my letters don't look like this.

Dear MARGARET,

Thanks to those computer geeks who post these kind of tips on their blogs!

Change the Case of Text in Cells in Microsoft Excel

There are several methods for doing this; we'll provide them all.

Using Formulas

Our formulas assume you have your data beginning in Cell A1 and you'll copy down. This is the easiest way for people who need to do it quickly and seldom.

An Apple a Day

I once read a knitting pattern that said, "buy your yarn on Friday and have this great pair of fingerless mittens my Monday!" That is just a mean thing to say to someone starting their first cable pattern!!
Being a novice knitter, I know that I am usually only able to knit for 15 minutes before I make a mistake, put a marker in it and take it to the knitting store the next day to get help fixing it. At that rate it takes me about 3 months to finish anything! Ok that may be a slight exaggeration.
Luckily this apple hat was a completely new experience for me. This basic and cute hat actually could be made in a day (or 3).
I want to share a couple of small personal accomplishments I've had with this project.
1. I completed the hat in 4 days (3 days of knitting, which totaled about 3 weeks in real time since I didn't have much time to knit around the holidays. This was also not 3 full days of knitting, just 3 "sittings" so to speak) It is a very quick pattern and easy to do. This is a pattern you actually could complete on a weekend!
2. I overcame my fear of having a couple small mistakes. On the first baby hat I made, I obsessed over it being perfect. It turned out great, but took me 5 times longer to make. This time, I just rolled with it. If something looked off, I kept knitting. If I had extra stitches, I figured it out, and when the pattern told me to "sew" the leaves on the top, I decided to knit them on instead, since I can NOT sew! Yes there are a couple of visible mistakes, that if you were really looking you could tell, but overall it looked great. I am proud that I was able to give this hat to my friends, even though it wasn't perfect. Let's just say it looked "homemade!" The fact that I could overcome being perfect, and embrace my mistakes was huge! Of course when my friends thanked me for the hat, I couldn't take the compliment too well. "Don't look too close," I laughed. 3. I improved. Yep, you got it! Improv and knitting aren't two words that are even found in the same sentence. Most lifelong knitters would balk at not following a pattern, or keeping a mistake in their project, but that's because they know how to fix it! When I was downsizing the crown, I realized my number of stitches was off (because I was overconfident and started watching a movie while I was knitting and counting in my head- bad idea). Instead of getting mad, ripping the whole row out, and spending yet another lunch break at Yarn, I simply improved. Guess what... it worked! Ok, you could tell a little bit, but I still ended up with a cute baby hat!
Anyway here is the hat.... my 3rd hat ever made. It cost about $25 with two types of yard and the new needles I had to buy. Good news, I can make at least one more without spending a dime. Better news, another friend is having a boy in May!
PS. Thanks to Yarn for all of the help and inspriation. They have given me great advice, a shoulder to cry on, new ideas, and delicious tea. Without Yarn, I probably wouldn't ever knit again!

Spellbound

I am somewhat of a spelling and grammar snob. I wasn't an English major, nor did I love literature, I just think that their is a right way too communicate and it bother's me when people make alot of mistakes :) (See, it's annoying!)

Anyway here is a great comic on words that definitely need to be spelled correctly.

I think they should add the word "tomorrow," so my jackass boss will stop writing "tomarrow" in emails to our prospective clients. It's not a difficult word... tom, or, row. I shouldn't even get started on the emails my boss writes to clients. It's like showing up to a black tie dinner in sweatpants!

Also related to spelling, are two great movies that I highly recommend (btw, that is a difficult word to spell!). Spellbound is a documentary about kids who compete in spelling bees and Akeelah and the Bee is a fictional story of a girl who competes in spelling bees.

PS. Now that I have posted this, all of you 3 readers have my permission to make fun of me if I use improper grammar or misspell something!

Coffee- the good, bad and ugly

Here are some of the myths and truths about drinking coffee. Below is a chart based on how many cups are consumed per day, seriously who is drinking 6 CUPS per day?!

• Diabetes: Many studies find that coffee—decaf or regular—lowers the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but caffeine raises blood sugar in people who already have it.
• Cancer: Earlier studies implicating coffee in causing cancer have been disproven; may instead lower the risk of colon, mouth, throat and other cancers.
• Heart disease: Long-term coffee drinking does not appear to raise the risk and may provide some protection.
• Hypertension: Caffeine raises blood pressure, so sufferers should be wary.
• Cholesterol: Some coffee—especially decaf—raises LDL, the bad kind of cholesterol.
• Alzheimer's: Moderate coffee drinking appears to be protective.
• Osteoporosis: Caffeine lowers bone density, but adding milk can balance out the risk.
• Pregnancy: Caffeine intake may increase the risk of miscarriage and low birth-weight babies.
• Sleep: Effects are highly variable, but avoiding coffee after 3 p.m. can avert insomnia.
• Mood: Moderate caffeine boosts energy and cuts depression, but excess amounts can cause anxiety.

Source: WSJ research

On a more fun note, here is The Oatmeal's take on coffee.

Tea-licious!

This. Is. Cool.

Making a good cup of loose leaf tea just got easier with the IngenuiTEA from adagio teas. Open the top and drop in your loose leaf tea. Pour in your hot water and let steep. When you're ready to drink, simply place the IngenuiTEA on top of your cup and a valve at the bottom will release the hot liquid through a mesh filter. Watch it in action here. Dishwasher and microwave safe to make your life even easier.

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

I would use this with Wynstone's Cafe Latte tea. It's delicious!