Customers can get so picky about their food. Some of it is understandable at a restaurant what with allergies and all. But I am thinking more of the grocery stores, specifically Safeway customers because I see those people almost EVERYDAY.

People have a lot of special requests when bagging. The most annoying one is “paper in plastic.” Ok, you are utilizing TWO environmentally damaging (or some other word) products there. Plastic has to be burned, chemicals in the air, it’s damaging and paper well, the trees and some other thing. The main reason customers request paper in plastic is that it’s more durable and easier to hold. Well, last time I checked, REUSABLE cloth grocery bags are the same: strong, durable, less materials used/burned, and you can bring them back again several times.  The best customers are the ones who do come in with their bags and say “Oh just fill ‘em up, I don’t mind” or “I have a whole bag of bags”

Well, another year has gone by. A few changes have happened this year. It’s inevitable. for change to happen, maybe the changes weren’t as grand and breathtaking as I would have liked, but still they happened. I have a different job, not the best, but a different one. My room is a new color, my dog a bit older, my debt a little smaller, my hair a little longer, and at times I think I’m a little stronger. I have surprised myself with my mini accomplishments. Others would never know my proudest moments because they are not moments others would think they would be worth being proud of. They are the small battles I have in my head that I consistently fight and struggle with. They are the thoughts that are truly not worth agonizing over. But I do. I have them going on, and sometimes I win. So that’s a pretty good change. Let the battles continue, and the victories pour. Cheers!

I am 2 pounds away from making this blog into another weight loss blog. Last night, I weighed myself (first, it’s not good to weigh yourself at night because that is not your *real* weight anyway) and the results are enough for me to say, “no more.” I have got to get it together and focus. There’s just way too much eating in my life and not enough doing.

Less eating and more doing is what needs to be happening if I want pounds to be shed off. Then slowly, I can eat more only if I work out intensely to get that awesome Michelle Rodriquez body which I know is underneath my sweat pants and hoodie.

I have read enough, and I know what I should do. Here’s what I know: The main reason why people want to lose weight faster is because the process sucks. Despite all the Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers ads telling you you can eat all this delicious boxed food you’ll like, it’s all a lie. To lose weight, you need to eat plain stuff that’s nutritious and low in fat and portioned out. When you want to build the muscles, throw protein in the mix. Protein does not make your muscles magically grow, nope, it’s just to repair your muscles so that you can be back at the gym pumping those dumbells some more. The more muscle you have built, the more calories that are burned. So that’s why you need to mix cardio (fat loss) with strenght training (muscle building). And that’s what I know in a jiff.

Wish me luck.

It takes forever and a day for me to post something. I know I need a writing rhythm (rhythm is so hard to spell!). Like, every Wednesday will be my day to write. But no, that’s too much pressure. Deadlines. Yuck.

Today, I looked at my childlike rainbow-colored board posted behind my bedroom door that displays all the things I want in my life. A car (check), a dog (check), a cruise (in 18 days), a better job (applied), weigh 135 lbs. (psh) and a few other things. But the better job is something I really want to come to life. My creativity that has been put away in a box and collecting dust needs to be taken out in my next job I hope for. I need to have my ideas going. I want to feel like anything is possible with my imagination.

The other day, I was reminiscing how I entertained myself when I was a kid. My reminiscing partly has to do with seeing all these moms and their kids causing havoc in the stores for the summer. You can tell it really puts a strain on everyone else when the kids are out of school. When I was little, my mom was not able to leave work to me up and run errands all day. But she did make an effort to come home from lunch every once and a while, cook some cream of chicken with a side of saltines and watch All My Children. Plus, it gave her a chance to make sure I was still sane. She would then return to work and I was *gasp* home alone! But I loved it. For some reason, I liked being by myself. I had my pets, a closet full of blankets, and my imagination. Everyday I’d probably pop in a Disney movie and later, bust out the biggest blanket from the closet to wrap around my waist to make a gown. My dog would be my partner in crime, my cat would either be the villain of fairy god mother.

Today, I can tell that kids have little to no imagination and it seems like neither do I. But it’s not so much my fault, it’s the iPhone’s fault. Instead of brainstorming something, I’ll just look it up on my phone.

It’s ok, I have my creativity and imagination somewhere in the spiderwebs. Maybe it’ll come out when I finally paint my room. Yup! We finally got paint!

I have yet to get to the 2nd part of Jillian’s work out. I think I’m actually scared to do it. It’s pretty sad though, that a DVD that I can stop ANYTIME, is preventing me from actually starting it. I guess I just believe that, once is playing and in there, I follow through on it. Sooo in my mind, it’s better to not even start it. Bad method.

Because I really just needed a place to paste this before I go, here’s a list I copied from The Happiness Project:

So here are ten tips from Pope John XXIII about how to live a better life, day to day:

1. Only for today, I will seek to live the livelong day positively without wishing to solve the problems of my life all at once.

2. Only for today, I will take the greatest care of my appearance: I will dress modestly; I will not raise my voice; I will be courteous in my behavior; I will not criticize anyone; I will not claim to improve or to discipline anyone except myself.

3. Only for today, I will be happy in the certainty that I was created to be happy, not only in the other world but also in this one.

4. Only for today, I will adapt to circumstances, without requiring all circumstances to be adapted to my own wishes.

5. Only for today, I will devote 10 minutes of my time to some good reading, remembering that just as food is necessary to the life of the body, so good reading is necessary to the life of the soul.

6. Only for today, I will do one good deed and not tell anyone about it.

7. Only for today, I will do at least one thing I do not like doing; and if my feelings are hurt, I will make sure that no one notices.

8. Only for today, I will make a plan for myself: I may not follow it to the letter, but I will make it. And I will be on guard against two evils: hastiness and indecision.

9. Only for today, I will firmly believe, despite appearances, that the good Providence of God cares for me as no one else who exists in this world.

10. Only for today, I will have no fears. In particular, I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful and to believe in goodness. Indeed, for 12 hours I can certainly do what might cause me consternation were I to believe I had to do it all my life.

What I’m doing:

Reading: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
-book is easy to read since it is cut into somewhat short sections
- I’m on India now
- great way to pass the time if bored at work
- movie is coming out, but I’m not one of those people who MUST read a book before the movie comes out so I sound so prestigious because written words are so much better than pictures on a screen. I saw Julia Roberts interview on Oprah and remembered this is one book I can probably read to see what the fuss is all about.

Exercising: 30 Day Shred
- had a break because I was sick and coughing up a lung or two
- have the goal to move on to level 2

I have also been just accepting each day as is. I am trying to not get worried about work and what each week will bring. I plan out each week as best as I can and hope for the best. If it doesn’t work out, I have to remember to let it be. It can be hard in my worrisome head, but it’s a struggle that I am trying my best to work hard at.

That’s where I’m at right now. My next thing I want to get done is painting my room!

Lately, I haven’t written. Most of my free time is spent shopping for a dress. I have an idea of what kind of dress I want and of course, I can’t seem to find it anywhere.  While I was creating the collage above, I kept staring at one in particular and kept thinking, if only it had this instead of that and that’s how I am! I always try to figure out a way to alter something made instead of taking it as is. (If only I would be bold to apply that in other areas in life.) That’s probably why sewing class would be a good idea. I don’t necessarily want to create my own clothing (which would be cool, especially if I knew about awesome fabric stores) but I would rather alter certain things. I’m pretty sure by the picture, you can tell which one I am aiming for and I would probably change the “poofiness” at the bottom and shorten it up. While I was looking at it, I kept thinking how I could “adjust” it to be more like that dress that I ideally would like. Just adjusting is all I want to do. For now, the search continues and I will show the final contender whenever I find “the one.”

Ok the craft below  is for wedding decor, but I think it’d be cute to hang randomly somewhere in my room, plus it looks fun to make.

I don’t actually sew too well, so to say that I make quilts is a bit of a lie. I love picking fabrics and putting them together in design so I am more of the idea, the visual, and creative part of it. So I put the idea together and lay it out and luckily, I have mom to sew it together! Here’s a “quilt” idea:

I originally thought of making a quilt for my bed which will be all white, but I am now thinking it’d be easier to make a medium sized quilt to hang over my bed. Even though I have a painting of ballerinas, I don’t think it’ll work in my room anymore. Kinda of child-like and I really need to break out of that.

Ok, done with randomness thoughts. I will post my room ideas wholly next post. That’s my goal!

http://craftzine.com/images/craft/crafters/horner_s2.jpg

I haven’t written in a while. Mostly because I have been so busy, well not really. I lie. I have just been lolly gagging (I wanted to use that word, but I thought it was dolly gagging… imaging gagging dolls). I have been coming online, but only to google. Here is a short list of my lolly gagging moments:

1. Body make over tips

Ideal Trainer

I have reading nutrition info., getting tips on how to gain muscle, and other dieting tips. I have also been doing Jillian’s 30 day shred and have only done the Stage 1 part for 2 days with a day break in between. This morning I didn’t do it but I did run a bit. It’s a great workout since it’s free on Comcast’s OnDemand and only 20 minutes long. However, it only counts if you actually DO 20 minutes worth of work out. My quads and arms were sore. I have been watching what I am eating, then feeling guilty on some occasions. But why am I working so hard on getting a sexy body? Leads me to #2.

2. Searching for a fabulous dress

My Wish Dress

In July, my boyfriend’s sister is getting married and we’re all sailing away for a fun filled cruise. Heck yah I’m looking forward to this because it is also my vacation. I only need to suffer in misery another 3 months and it’s bon voyage! So, I thought I found a pretty affordable and nice-looking dress which I can dress up or dress down. However, when I found out that my 13 year old cousin ordered the same one for her middle school dance, I decided I needed to act my age and really shell out some dough and be my age. To save myself embarrassment, the original dress is not childish in any way, it’s pretty, soft, sweet, and down-to-earth looking. I can definitely vamp it up, but it’s the thought…. so I’m on a continuing my search. Which reminds me, I better ship that dress back ASAP.

3. Room make over

CostPlus Bedframe

My room is pea colored green. Originally, it was our family’s “office” room and when I first decided on the paint color, it was because I wanted the green to symbolize “wealth.” Now, every morning I wake up, it looks more and more like pea soup. It’s somewhat draining and I want to feel light, airy, and peaceful in my room. So I have been looking up paint colors, bedding, pillows, fabric, and possibly some bedroom furniture. I found some possibilities, but need some $$$ or figure out what I can actually make/afford.

4.  Excessive Planning

I keep planning to get certain things done such as getting rid of things I don’t use and simplifying life. Psh, as if my life is so chaotic. It’s not, but I think there is a general theme going on for figuring out how to live a better life and the trend seems to be, living simpler. I recently found a blog that has some interesting ideas on getting rid of things and making it an 80 day plan. I want to follow it and see how that goes. I will include this in another post since this is something that I just read today and I have actually had this post in my drafts for a while.

Worked at Sport’s Authority today and saw the jubilee of colors with Nike. Makes we want to work out even more and eat fruit snacks.

This morning, I started my day off with the usual walk around the neighborhood with Esbee. I have been doing that almost every morning 5 days out of the week except when it rains. I’m not losing weight, which is expected because I am not pushing my body.  If I were to run instead of walk and if I increase my distance, I will lose weight. But weight is not a main goal of mine, I want to be toned or have a slight muscular look. Oh my lanky arms will be so hard to get some muscle on!

I’ve really been thinking of this whole health & fitness thing today and know that it’s going to be hard. But I have ultimate event(s) that I want to look good for. Plus, I have always wanted to achieve a somewhat muscular version of me back since I was going to Santa Barbara.  I don’t want to be bulky or anything, but I’m not too worried about bulk because that’s pretty impossible for me to achieve. It’s not in my genes or hormones to be that way.

I’m reading stuff. I’ll really TRY at it. So far I’ve read about feeling the burn, tearing the fibers, rebuilding the fibers, taking in protein and pushing yourself. Checked out a womanly workout for my shape, but I am not sure about the toning affect, I think it’s more about losing weight but I will try it out too. I’ve created a schedule (psh, we’ll see if I get to follow it).

Right now, I have room to try things out. If I end up just losing weight, then that’s cool. Maybe this will be my little project??