Rethinking Running

Lately I've started to rethink my plans on running. If you read this post it will tell you about my journey into the running world.

In fall I took a running hiatus, and even though I finished C25K I never actually RAN a 5K.  I know.  What was the point.  When I started running again I realized I wasn't ready to run a 5K, so rather than jump into the 10K program I did the "Ease Into 10K plan."

The first few weeks went really well.  Even now It's going ok, but there is a problem.  The workout is LONG.  Like almost an hour run long, and that's fine if that is my ONLY workout of the day, but then I ended up giving up my Zumba classes (which even though they make me crave Mexican food, I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Zumba.  It's SO fun).

So I came up with this CRAZY workout schedule.  It failed.  Miserably. 

As awesome as P90X is.  I CANT workout at home.  Two little ones under my feet just isn't working.  Also I get too distracted.  I need the gym and I NEED their daycare.  I wanted to do it ALL, but at this time in my life raising small ones I just can't.

I also CAN'T give up running.  The difference that it's made in my body is unbelievable.  I never want to stop running and I always want to incorporate it into my workout regimen. 

The long runs are draining me.  Don't get me wrong, I plan to finish the 10K program and run a 10K.  I want to be able to say I did it.  But I'm thinking that I don't want all my running to be for endurance.

My husband and I started discussing sprinting.

Then I saw images like these:

img from HealthierLiving.com

And these:

img from HybridFitnessSolutions.com

Also, the more I started to read and research, the more it started to make sense.  PLEASE don't think I'm hating on marathon runners.  There is definitely something to be said for endurance.  As much as running has helped me shed the pounds that I wanted, I'm just not seeing the muscle definition there that I want, and SOMETHING has to change in my schedule.

I ran across this today and I LOVE it.  (Three Simple Sprint Workouts).

So I'm thinking now of somehow incorporating sprinting into my schedule, keep up with my strength training in my boot camp class, and bring BACK Zumba, because nothing is more fun than dancing to Latin music, even if it does make me want to eat tacos. 

Cleaning Checklist

Has it really been over a WEEK since my last post?  I was doing so good getting in a few posts a week.  I've been off doing important stuff (you know, like pinning all kinds of projects I'll never make.)

I did finish my cleaning checklist last week and started it.  The house has actually remained pretty clean the past week and laundry caught up!  Who would have EVER thought a list could keep me so on track. In fact I was SO on top of things I realized I don't have enough drawer space to hold all my clean clothes.  (Talk about first world problems.)

I am TRULY blessed and I need to realize that more often.

Also, in keeping me focused and on track a friend of mine posted this blog on Facebook, and I tell you with everything that I've been struggling with lately, this was the MOST FREEING thing to read.  It allowed me to forgive myself and actually relax a bit.  I swear if you are in or have ever been in mommy burnout mode you MUST read it.

Back to my cleaning checklist.  Talk about something else that has been completely freeing.  Seriously this little checklist has changed my life.  I feel organized and so put together.  I feel free to blog or get on my computer because I know that there is nothing lingering to do for the day.  It took me some time to figure it out but after several hours of planning, and tweaking my schedule and spreadsheet I think I've finally got it. My version of our cleaning checklist.

I first came up with this idea after seeing it on I Heart Organizing. The problem is I needed it to be tweaked a bit to work for our family. However if you LOVE the idea of a cleaning checklist as much as I do, and don't want to invest the time to make your own, please pay her some love and respect and hop on over to her Etsy store to purchase some of her printables.

After printing it off I went to the dollar store and picked up a document frame for a buck.

I went to HL and bought sick on magnets ($1.99) to stick on the back.  I decided to go with level "3" magnets (mainly because they all ready had adhesive tape on the back and I didn't want to glue) .

I quickly regretted that.  It took ALL of them and it does not magnetize as much as I would like it too.  Currently I'm afraid the slightest nudge is going to make it come crashing to the floor.  Time to purchase some more powerful magnets I suppose.

Now I can use my dry erase markers on the frame and just wipe it clean at the end of the day/week etc.  Saves a TON of paper from printing each week.

I'm hoping that this will keep me more focused on the house and get the stuff done that needs done on a regular schedule.  It seems to be working GREAT so far!  Now it's just time for me to delegate some of these chores out ;)

Home Goals

So there is this amazing blog that I stumbled upon one day. I think I found it as a referral from another site, and honest to God I can't remember from where.

It's called the Nesting place, and as I read her story (the Nester) and as she opened up her heart to her readers I just fell in love with her. Her testimony was amazing and her advice was so poignant to my life at that moment I became an instant fan.

So next Wednesday January 11th she is having a home goals linky party. Where I will link up this post about my goals for my home this next year. I think it's an amazing idea because when you read her post she comes up with some really thought provoking questions.

Here is what she says:

• What’s my favorite room in my house? Why?
• How and where does my family hang out together?  What’s working for that room? What’s annoying in that room?
• Is there something in my home I want to do but I’m afraid?  What if I take that risk?  What’s the worst that can happen?
• What’s the purpose of my home?  Is that obvious by how we use it and what is filling it?
• Do the objects in my home reflect our family or do I just have things because someone told me it looked good, gave it to me or bought it for me?
• Am I neglecting my home and not putting money into something that is needed?  Am I squandering money on something I don’t need or enjoy?
• Stop apologizing for your home.
• Say more kind things than negative things about your home.
• Your home is for the people who live there first and foremost, honor them and also think about your guests.  This means you can ignore what your well-intentioned neighbor, 80-year-old male painter, and kind-hearted father in law have to say about your paint colors and furniture placement. Make it work for your family for this season of life.

I can't even begin to tell how how relevant this is to me in my life right now.  So I started pondering this and came up with MY goals for the following year. (now, keep in mind MY goals sometimes seem a bit lofty, but I'm REALLY trying to be more realistic about the budget and our capabilities to handle renovation at this time in our life.)

So here goes my goals and thoughts for this year, and answers to The Nester's questions:

WHAT IS MY FAVORITE ROOM IN THE HOUSE AND WHY?

I would have to say that my favorite room in the house right now is my den.  Painting those cabinets white has been such a HUGE transformation in my home.  It has made it feel cleaner, crisper and brighter.  It's the room that has helped me find my style and figure out what I want my home to eventually look like.  Though the room is not quite finished yet, I still love coming in here.

Before

After!  So MUCH brighter.

Although I still have more to complete in this room I love it and it works right now for us.  My goal (hopefully this year) is to get rid of the overstuffed furniture.  Also waiting in my garage are two wing backs.  My plan is to recover the two wing-back chairs in a charcoal/gray fabric and place them under the window with a table in between.  I plan on getting curtains for the window, and on the north side of the room put a desk like this Ana White plan underneath the some shelves.  SOMEDAY (not this year) I would like to close off some room with some pocket doors, that we can open/close whenever we wish.

Image from Pinterest/Conspicuousstyle.com

Wouldn't those pocket french doors just be TO DIE FOR?  Even better would be barn doors, but I can't convince my husband to jump on that bandwagon yet, and since this is his home too, I guess I have to consider his opinion ;)

Hmmph.  Whatever I think they are gorgeous.

Img from Pinterest

HOW AND WHERE DOES MY FAMILY HANG OUT TOGETHER?  WHAT'S WORKING IN THAT ROOM?  WHAT'S ANNOYING IN THAT ROOM?

Our family hangs out now in the front main living room (we used to have the TV in the den, but had to move it to get the computer out of our master bedroom).  The ONLY place that we had to place the TV was on my mothers cedar chest in an odd corner.  I'm not at all thrilled with the placement of the TV.  I think that room was meant more for a sitting room, because there is really NO great place for a television set.  Problem is it works better for us to have the tv in the front room.

I love our fireplace.  During winter we love to chill out in there, watch movies and have a roaring fire going while we pop popcorn and drink hot cocoa.  As you can see though, the TV is just a HUGE eyesore in that room.  It REALLY needs to go above the fireplace, so our goal is to get the cedar chest OUT of that room, and add a mantel and trim work to the fireplace and mount the TV up there.  I know MANY people are either FOR or AGAINST a TV mounted above a fireplace, especially one as large as ours, but it really needs to happen for my own sanity in that room.  We also need some type of storage solution for our DVD player and cable box.  My husband and I are still formulating a plan for that one.

Below is our vision:

Img from Pinterest/DIY Chatroom

ALSO...

After putting the TV in there we realized you can see EVERYTHING going on in that room from the street so I recently ran across black out curtains for $7 each at Target.  A total steal, we LOVE the privacy they give us. Problem is they are a smoky blue/gray and just are not working with the color of the room, so I have to find some new wall color to match these curtains.  Since my husband has never really been fond of the wall colors in this room I chose, it's a good opportunity for us to make that change over.  So I'm hoping for this room to get a small renovation this year.

IS THERE SOMETHING IN MY HOME I WANT TO DO BUT I'M AFRAID?  WHAT IF I TAKE THE RISK?  WHATS THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?

I'd have to say without a doubt it's my staircase.  You can read about my vision here.  I want to rip up the nasty gross dirty carpet and go for a clean fresh look.  I want to paint the rails espresso and the treads espresso as well, with white balusters and white trim.  There are some issues that I need to work out, but really the worst that could happen is that we live with some wood stairs for a while until we re-carpet the house.  I think anything has GOT to be better than the carpet we currently have.

 

Also this year hoping to get my entryway storage bench/coat rack complete.  If not this winter, maybe in the fall! 

Here is my vision:

Img from Pinterest/Remodelaholic

Gorgeous, I mean, WOW, I just need to go for it.

WHAT'S THE PURPOSE OF MY HOME?  IS THAT OBVIOUS BY HOW WE ARE USING IT AND WHAT IS FILLING IT?

This is a strange question.  I guess I could answer this by saying our purpose is to be comfortable and relaxed in our own home.  I want my home to be pretty but we actually have to be able to LIVE in it and keep it reasonably clean with four kids, two dogs and two cats!  Also we do LOVE to entertain and have people over, and I think that we have updated our seating and dining area enough to accommodate guests comfortably.   I would like to get the kids bath/guest bath complete this year (we had a water leak issue, the floor is sagging and come spring we need to repair the floor and start working on that room).  I want to get that up to code for our guests to use.  Oh, and I really need to get better about having more guest towels and washcloths.  MAKE MY GUESTS FEEL WELCOME AND COMFORTABLE.

DO THE OBJECTS IN MY HOME REFLECT OUR FAMILY OR DO I JUST HAVE THINGS BECAUSE SOMEONE TOLD ME IT LOOKED GOOD, GAVE IT TO ME OR BOUGHT IT FOR ME?

Yes and no.  I'm starting to replace artwork with things that are my own, rather than store bought items.  Also some furniture was given to us or was passed down after my mother and grandmother passed away, but it's working for now, some my husband has made, some I bought myself before we were married (can you say purple overstuffed sofas?) , but some like our dining table we bought together.  It's a work in progress.  I'm learning to let go of things that were my mothers but don't reflect my style.  For the longest time I would hold onto things of hers because they were hers, even though they didn't reflect my particular taste.  I'm learning that my home is MINE, not hers.  She would want me to enjoy my home and be happy with it, rather than just holding onto a piece for sentimental reasons.

AM I NEGLECTING MY HOME AND NOT PUTTING MONEY INTO SOMETHING THAT IS NEEDED?  AM I SQUANDERING MONEY ON SOMETHING I DON'T NEED OR ENJOY?

Ok people, here is where I get real and honest.  We have a BAD eating out habit that needs to be broken, and we are TRULY getting better about it.  I wonder just HOW much could we have done to our home last year with that money?  Instead, we just ATE it.  

STOP APOLOGIZING FOR YOUR HOME

Stop griping about my tile when guests are here and apologizing for it.  Stop apologizing for our bathroom upstairs, hey, it's not pretty but at least it works and it's clean.

My husband has a great saying "Those that matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter."

REALLY good saying.  Those who truly love us and care for us don't mind that our home is a work in progress.

SAY MORE KIND THINGS THAN NEGATIVE THINGS ABOUT YOUR HOME

Stop griping about my tile.  (See above).  Stop pointing out all my homes imperfections and show them what I'm proud of and all that I've accomplished in this home on a very small budget!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE my home, and there are times that I forget how much I love it when I see the stains on my carpet, the scratches on the trim, and the fingerprints on the walls.  Every once in a while I'll get a glimpse of my home through a strangers eyes, and what I see is absolutely beautiful.  After all it's not the walls, furniture, paintings or carpet that make this house our home, it's the people living in it, and I honestly couldn't be happier.  This is our home, and I love it.

Linking up to the Nesters Home Goals Linky Party!