Spring Cleaning 101

I wish I could be uploading pictures of pretty decorated cookies right now instead of my bookshelves...because that is what I really wanted to be doing this past week.  Decorating cookies.  Or going to the mall. Or taking a long walk with Knox.  Or reading a book.  Or just about anything else besides spring cleaning.

But no, it was time to tackle this huge list of mine, which I wrote back in January, and have been finding excuses to delay ever since.

Do you notice that each and every item on the list now has a check mark next to it?! 

Last week was officially Operation Organize week here in our apartment.  Everything was turned over and inside out and we are now clean as a whistle.

I am not fond of organizing or deep cleaning.  I keep things clean on the outside but if you open a closet or cupboard door you better be ready for the attack of clutter and dust.  My mother tried to teach me better than that, but it just didn't work.

But now, after 5 days of hard work, we are truly clean and organized. 

At least for now.

I have this vague idea that when you write a blog about organizing you're supposed to give everyone your super duper organizing tips.  So here it is.

My strategy for Spring Cleaning/Organizing looks like this:

1.) Write a list.

2.) Try to do the things on the list.

3.) Months later, when that hasn't worked, bribe yourself with a reward (Tiff's Treats warm & fresh cookie delivery, for example).  And then get busy! :)

Worked like a charm.

And let me tell you, a week of Spring Cleaning burns a LOT of calories.  I totally deserved this, people.

Happy Spring!

Insanity Update (and the mustard yellow pants)

As you may recall, my New Year's resolutions for 2011 were #1 to JOURNAL more and #2 to complete the 60-Day Insanity workout challenge (while cutting back dramatically on refined sugar).

It's February 4th and I'm still going (fairly) strong.  Time for an update!

The journaling is going great, I'm loving it.  My goal is to write every day, and that doesn't usually happen; but I'm journaling a lot more than I did last year so I'm happy with that.  (Plus I'm blogging like crazy so that has to count for something.)

I'm doing okay at the sugar challenge.  I had to rewrite the rules a little bit:  There are now certain exception periods, like when guests are in town or when there is a snow day (or four "snow" days in a row, which I'm pretty sure only happens once in a lifetime). 

Also "one sweet treat" had to be further defined and it means anything that obviously goes together.  For example, brownies and ice cream obviously go together, so they equal one sweet treat.  And a Starbucks frappuccino and a vanilla bean scone obiously go together, so that equals one sweet treat as well. 

Hey, it's my New Year's Resolution so I get to write the rules. :)

Insanity...is tough, but I'm hanging in there.  Week 3 was the hardest, I hit a wall and wanted to give up.  But I didn't! 

Tomorrow I will have completed the "recovery week" (Week 5).  I was hoping recovery week meant stretch out on the couch and twinkle my toes, but no such luck.  It's been a little easier than the regular workouts but still challenging.  I'm scared to death of Monday morning because the hardest, longest workouts begin then.  :0

So far I have only missed one workout in 5 weeks.  That's 29 out of 30 workouts.  Go me!  I've lost three pounds...wish it were 13 but I'll take the 3.  My clothes are definitely fitting a little looser, though, and I can once again button my favorite MUSTARD YELLOW PANTS!  This in itself is worth all that sweat.

I asked for these corduroys two years ago for Christmas.  I'm pretty sure they have gone out of style since Christmas two years ago (I know, some might argue that they weren't even in style back then) :)  but they're still my favorite pants so I'm going to continue wearing them with gusto!

Insanity Challenge: five weeks down, four to go!!

Sweatin' to the Oldies

INSANITY!

That's my other New Year's Resolution.

Not to go insane, but to complete the Insanity Workout 60-day challenge!

Knox is five months old and I have 12 lbs to lose to get to my pre-baby (and pre-Christmas cookie) weight. The baby belly was cute when I was 5 months pregnant but not so much at 5 months post pregnant.

The New Year has rolled around so it's probably time to get serious about this.

I actually like exercising. My regular routine is to jog three times a week and do Tae Bo two times a week. But that's been my routine since...let's see...college. Not that I have a tendency to get stuck in ruts or anything!

But I figured I needed to change things up to knock off these pounds. We'll see if Insanity can do it! I'll let you know how it goes. :)

I'm on Week #2 and it is HARD. Yes. These videos are by far the hardest workouts I've ever done. Let's just say I usually go through an entire 32 oz. Nalgene bottle of water by the end of the warm-up and stretch! And the workouts get harder after the first month. I don't even want to think about that right now.

I can't cut back too much on calories since I'm nursing, but I AM going to try to avoid as much refined sugar as possible during these 60 days. That's the plan. No refined sugar except 1 (2 at tops) sugary treat per week. As you all know, this will probably prove to be a much bigger challenge for me than completing those crazy workouts! :)

But that pan of Ghiradelli double chocolate brownies that was on my kitchen counter all last weekend? Yeah, I only ate ONE. It was a pretty big one - because if you can only eat one sweet a week you really have to make it count! - but I only had one.

What does Knox think of all this? He's been busy polishing his own workout routine.

He starts the day with a nice stretch:

Warms up with push-ups:




Jumps right into some fat-blasting cardio:




And finishes it up with a circuit of plyometrics!

Just for the record, Vermont maple syrup is not refined sugar.

I resolve...

Thank you so much for all the awesome ideas on things I can do for Josh to help him survive this crazy semester!! I love what you said! Here's what we have so far:

"Keeping the Castle in Order"
(keep the home clean, organized, welcoming)

Make Good Meals

Make or Get Sweet Treats

Initiate Quick, Fun Study Breaks

Have "Face Time"
(one minute to give/receive undivided attention)

Surprises!

Sex
(did I really just write that on my blog?)

Take Walks/Play Frisbee

Give Back Rubs

This should give me lots to work with this semester. And I'm still interested in hearing ideas if anyone has any more!

I did ask Josh, too, what he would say helps him most when he's stressed out. He said, "just knowing that you're okay and happy; and if you're having a tough time, just knowing what's going on inside you."

Swoon. Isn't that a cool answer? But it's not as easy at it sounds because I'm not always as content as I want to be and I'm not always the best at communicating what's happening inside me. That's something I'm always working on. And that is one reason why I need to journal.

...Which brings me to my New Year's Resolutions. What kind of blog would this be if I didn't post my New Year's Resolutions?!

New Year's Resolution #1 is to JOURNAL.

Journaling is (usually) a very important piece of who I am. I picked out my first diary when I was eight years old. It was shiny black with a turquoise, hot pink and purple design on it (my favorite colors in 1988); and its best feature was its teeny tiny lock and key.

So I've been journaling ever since. I have loads of old journals. Seriously. I was looking for one earlier today and since most of them are in a huge Rubbermaid bin in the back of our closet I started my search there.

Then Josh said, "Aren't there some under the bed?" And I said, "Yes." Then he said, "Aren't there some under the dresser?" And I said, "Um, yes." Clearly our apartment is being overtaken by old journals. It's not very convenient, really, to be a journaler when you move as much as we do. Journals weigh a lot. I've tried journaling on the computer to save space but it just isn't the same.

Something happened to me last year, though.

I fell off the journaling bandwagon.

I'm not completely sure why. I think it was partly because there was a baby on the way and I was just excited and distracted and busy. Oh, and tired. And partly because I never even bothered to get a real journal, I just pulled one of Josh's extra school notebooks off the shelf...Exhibit A:



As you can see I doodled a (very lovely) tree on it one day, but it's still a boring old spiral notebook, and wasn't ever as inviting as a pretty journal. (Our pastor, Neil Tomba, said last week that "Real men don't journal; they have notebooks." Having a notebook didn't work for this girl)

I discovered last year that I'm not the same person when I don't journal.

It's harder for me to connect with God.

It's harder for me to sort out my feelings.

It's harder for me to stay focused on what is important in life.

It's harder for me to dream and make goals.

So 2011 is the Year of the Return of the Journal.

Here she is:



Still not the prettiest one I've ever had but it was on sale for $2.99 at Target!

Let the New Year, and the journaling, begin!

Oh, and I'll tell you about my other exciting New Year's Resolution tomorrow! :)


By the way, a bunch of red squiggly lines are telling me that "journaler" isn't a real word but I'm going to use it anyway. :)