The after
I didn’t make a list of ten today. I knew I wanted to focus on the bathroom, so that’s directly where I went when I got moving today. I finally finished. I did a really deep cleaning of this room, which is why it took so long. I cleaned everything from the medicine cabinet, to my makeup brushes, to every beauty product plus their mirrors! Additionally, I wasn’t as focused as I would have liked to have been, so that’s part of it, too. Now that my bathroom is clean, I hope that it can remain that way.
While cleaning, it sort of inspired me to think about where I want to take this room. I’m not ready to start doing makeovers or anything like that just yet. My focus right now is to get the apartment presentable enough so that I feel comfortable having people over. Right now, I’m embarassed when I walk into my place and I’m alone! Sheesh. Here are the after pictures:
I’m trying to debate whether or not I should paint. This won’t come for quite awhile, but I really need to consider painting. I’m not sure if I want to invest the time/money. I could move into a more beautiful apartment (where I don’t have to pay for heat, this place is drafty!), or I could stay here, save up some money and buy a place. I’m not sure if I want to commit to Chicago that long, so buying a place may not be the best idea. These are thoughts stored in the back of my head, for now, I need to focus on the present.
While cleaning, I noticed during the period of a few weeks, that my bathroom is an extreme dirty clothes magnet. I’d like to stick a hamper in there, but then there isn’t room for the shelves for all of my products. What I could do is turn a spot in my room in to a vanity area, but that’s something that will have to be visited later. For now, I just need to remind myself that I’m an adult, and adults don’t leave their clothing on the floor. In addition to a nice hamper, I’d like to get some nice storage for my products. The metal shelves set me back a bit. I wish I’d saved the receipt. At the time, I bought what I “needed” instead of what I wanted.
I’m not pleased with the set-up of my bathroom. I miss having a sink with no understorage. This allowed me to stick some storage between the toilet and the sink, and left the opposite wall for something like a hamper. Additionally, the towel hangers are a bit inconvenient in the sense that they are placed weird. I could have bought an over-the-toilet storage unit, but the bar is in the way. I don’t like the towel hangs behind my product shelves either. Is that me just being nitpicky? Perhaps. I also think my landlords skimped out with the claw foot tub kit. I’m referring to the shower curtain . . .is it still considered a rod if it’s sort of squarish? I think it needs to be larger. My shower curtain hangs very awkwardly, because the ring/rod area doesn’t expand beyond the tub, so the top half of the curtain wants to be inside of the tub area, while the bottom obviously needs to be outside of it. I’m not sure what to do about that, because there are already holes drilled in the ceiling for that. . .and do I want to invest money in permanent apartment fixtures? I don’t think this sort of thing is something I’ll need to take with me when I leave.
Here are a few things I want:
The wicker storage for the bathroom that I wanted is no longer on the website!
I think I also need a toilet paper holder. That would free up space under the sink.
If I do paint, I think I’d like to paint the top of the walls a goldenrod color, and I’ll paint the bottom of the tub the same color. I won’t do anything with the chairrail. It looks nice white, and I’m too afraid to mess that up!
Three days a week. . .
Five goals complete! This is better than the day before, no? I think yes! I am really proud of my lunch. I made baked ziti, so I can eat it the rest of the week. I chopped up some celery and cucumber, and packed them away with some baby carrots and a little asian sesame dressing. I also made two huge bottles of Aveda Comforting Tea, which will count for water. There’s about 64 oz between the two bottles. The tea is herbal and caffiene free, so it’s just as good as water (but better!).
I work three days a week. Three very long days (12-13 hours each!). During these days, it’s rare that I do anything but work and sleep. I don’t think setting a 10 item list for each day is going to work. Therefore, I’ve decided that on the days I work, I’ll create one list for the entire work week. I’m not sure how this will fare, because I usually go to bed as soon as I’m off work, and get up just before it’s time to leave for work. When I’m on the day shift, I can usually get by with 5 or 6 hours of sleep. I’m going to try to shoot for that. We’ll see how it goes.
Now, for the list:
- Go to the gym at least once.
Bring lunch and dinner to work, excluding one meal on Friday.Drink 64 oz of water (or equivalent – ie calorie/caffiene free beverage) each day- Pick up all mail sitting around and file it/pay it/throw it away
Clean plastic meal containers every day, and pack them with food for the next shiftChange windshield wipers- Make productive use of “down time” at work (ie work on whiteboard project)
- Pick up five things, and put them back where they belong
Eat breakfast every day- Take out recycling
Hibernation is a temptress
It’s so cold in my apartment right now, although the thermostat reads at 72 degrees. All I want to do is hang out in a hot shower or under my blankets. That’s not very productive. My list was not completed yesterday. I overslept both today and yesterday. I went to bed very late this morning, and I’ll need to stay up late today, anyway.
I’m not too disappointed about not completing the list. The important part was that I actually did SOMETHING. I did more than just lay around and waste time (although I still managed to do that a bit).
German class is HARD. I guess with skipping a class, I should know better. I feel like a C student right now. I just have to remind myself that I’m a C student who skipped a class. I need to find more practice exercises online. I used the exercises in the book, the workbook, and the practice book. Oh, I must remember to buy a German-English dictionary. The vocabulary book we have is daunting. First, one must look up the word in the back of the workbook. The workbook indicates the page on which the word is located. After finding the page, the exercise is noted, and THEN the word can be located in the vocabulary book, as they’re indexed by exercise. Sheesh.
Today’s list:
Cook all meals at homeGo to German classDo the dishes- Finish cleaning the bathroom
- Change the sheets
Cook meal for tomorrow- Pick up ten things
- Go to sleep at 6:00 am (or earlier)
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water
Shrink-wrap kitchen windows
The Points Plan. . .
hair I haven’t quite calculated a specific plan or reward, but I want to get started right away. I’m going to make a list of ten things to do tomorrow, each worth ten points. If I obtain 100 points, I’ll put twenty dollars away for something special. If I obtain 90 points, I’ll put away 10. Otherwise, nothing. . . or maybe I should make myself throw out ten things? That’s tentative. I’m trying to be realistic here.
Okay, so I’m going to bed a little early so I can try to get up a little earlier tomorrow. Here’s the first list:
- Wake up by 1:00 pm (I’m a night shifter, here!)
- Finish cleaning out bathroom
- Shrink-wrap windows in the kitchen
Clean out refrigerator/cabinets of food I don’t eatTake out the trash- Do the laundry
Study German homework- Put away the laundry
- Pay bills
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water
Baby steps, I know. I have to start somewhere.
What’s cooking
I think I’m going to need a goal. Instead of just changing my patterns, I think I need a little more motivation.
I’m considering developing a points system, and however many points I have, I’ll grant myself whichever reward that fits the points range.
Today, I cooked two small meals (nothing fancy, but cooking is not eating fast food, right!?!). I had a baked potato with some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray, a Laughing Cow Cheese wedge, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. I also had a wrap with grilled buffalo chicken strips, low-fat cheese, romaine lettuce, Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, and low-fat bleu cheese dressing. Not bad. I did have a soda, though. Two pluses, One minus.
In homefront news, I did a bunch of dishes, and shrink-wrapped my bedroom windows. My home is in too much dispair to do the rest of the windows.
Today, I’m going to finish the bathroom, and start on the kitchen.
Oh, I also went to Target. I got a few groceries, a basket for the bathroom, and some underwear and socks.
All of this apartment “renovating” really has put me in the mood to OWN my own place. It’s hard to put so much effort into a place, only to know that it’s not permanently mine. I want more openness. I want a dining room, and a bigger living room.
I know change takes time. Saving money takes time. It’s hard not to get caught up in the instant gratification that our society encourages. I’m learning to be patient.
My first check from my raise will arrive on January 30. I’m looking forward to my new budget.
Eating isn’t cheating . . .
I started my German class tonight. It was difficult, as I expected, but there was a dictation, and I got most of it right! I’d say about 95% of it right, to be exact! That part was awesome. The part that wasn’t awesome was my inability to tell time and remember my numbers. The second not awesome part was my seat partner who has a HORRIBLE accent. . .not just a bad one, but a HORRIBLE one. Hopefully her friend will be in attendance next week, so I won’t have to sit by her.
In food news, I went to the grocery store today. I took all of my used plastic bags (hooray, I remembered!), in hopes that they actually recycle them. I also remembered my grocery tote. Unfortunately, I haven’t done REAL grocery shopping for about 2 months, so I had far more groceries than bag space. I probably saved 2 or 3 bags, though. That’s something, right?
Tonight, I cooked. I made alfredo with shirataki noodles. Shirataki noodles are made from tofu, yam flour, and something else. They’ve got a really interesting texture. I wouldn’t encourage anyone to run out and replace all pasta products with these, but I think if prepared correctlty, they can be pretty ok. I think I mostly just had a time adjusting to the texture. It’s not quite chewy or too hard or squishy. It’s really hard to explain. Anyway, aside from getting used to the texture, the meal was pretty good. I believe it was a total of 4 or 5 points, since the noodles are supposedly zero points, I added an extra for good measure. Here’s the recipe for the alfredo. I should have snapped a picture!
Laughing Cow Alfredo
3 wedge The Laughing Cow Light
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
1 Tbsp reduced fat parmesan cheese
1/2 Tbsp Molly McButter Natural Butter*
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
In a medium-sized saucepan, combine all the ingredients over a low heat,
until everything is melted and the sauce is velvety smooth, about 20
minutes. Serve immediately over hot cooked pasta of your choice.
*NOTE: I used a pat of butter instead of Butter Buds/Molly McButter
The end of. . .
Today, Sunday, 14 January 2006, will be my very last day of eating McDonald’s.*
I’m nearly thirty. I should not eat McDonald’s more than once a week. . . no, once a month. . .no, twice a year! EVER. I eat there. Why? It’s convenient. I get cravings. It’s cheaper to buy a $1.00 double cheeseburger than a $3.29 dollar bagged salad that I’ll probably eat 1/3 of before it goes bad.
Why shouldn’t I? Well, you saw Super Size Me, right? It’s fat, sugar, high fructose corn syrup. It’s money put toward garbage that could be put toward health. It’s bad for the environment. It’s an empire that has aided in making America fat, and is now inflating the entire world. The list goes on. I know all of these things, and I still eat there. I’m banning myself from that place, as of today.
*excluding days when I’m hungover, because it’s the only hangover cure that works!
