Category: A Better Me

Not Lazy Day

It’s 10 am and I’m still in my pajamas. But I got home and to bed fairly late last night (or early this morning) after celebrating Crystal’s birthday and making sure people got home okay (then picking up a little snack). Fun was had by all and there was NO DRAMA!!! YAY!!!! So, I’m going to write my Sunday To Do Blog while still in my PJs. 🙂

I’ve got a hand full of To Dos today and if I post and cross them off here, I think it might keep me accountable to get it done. We’ll see. Here’s my list:

Sunday’s To Dos:

  • Run Dishwasher & put away dishes
  • Clean kitchen floor
  • Go to grocery store
  • Give the dog a bath
  • Prep tax stuff
  • 6-7 pm dance class

    • That’s not too many things, especially because the dishwasher is running right now. My girlfriends & I decided to take up a Groupon offer that came in for Bollywood dance lessons so for the next 4 weeks, we’ll be learning a new dance style. I’m really excited. Too bad next year’s show won’t incorporate any world music. Alright, on to a little breakfast and the to do list! Happy Sunday!!

    ————UPDATE————

    Clipford decided to air dry after getting his bath and being toweled off a bit. He spins SO FAST!!!

    ————UPDATE————

    So, I got everything done except prep my tax stuff. It’s all in one place (pretty much) but my accountant sends me a worksheet thing each year that I just need to go through so it should be manageable tomorrow. I made a beef stew today, too so I guess that’s a good substitution. I’ll blog the recipe/process with pictures later. Now, I’m gonna enjoy the Grammy’s, shower and go to bed.

    Too MUCH coffee? Maybe??

    I have no idea what’s wrong today but my ability to focus worse than normal! This usually happens when I have a bit too much coffee but I haven’t had anymore than my daily amount (1 travel cup) so I have no idea. I can’t seem to finish a thought, much less a task without getting distracted by something else. My office desk has become a complete disaster and that certainly doesn’t help my brain try to find order. I’m certainly surprised I’ve been able to write even this much without feeling like “OMG, what about this other project I forgot I was working on…two days ago?”. Okay, I remember what project I need to finish next so I’m gonna do it before distraction hits again.
    Dueces.
    ~C

    ***update***
    Just looked and saw that this is post #700. Cool.

    Get in, the water’s fine!

    If you haven’t heard (or read on Facebook), I’ve taken up swimming again. I say again – I’ve been swimming off and on since I was about 7 or 8 years old. I’ve been a lifeguard at Schlitterbahn as well as certified in SCUBA. I love being in and around water (but not so much on top of it, like water skiing). Last spring, I had this…urge? desire? hunger? for swim time. I don’t quite know what brought it on but I just had to swim. I joined a gym and got to swimming. A few days after I joined, my friend Catrina said she couldn’t do the entire Danskin after fracturing a bone in her left arm so I offered to be her relay swimmer and got to really swimming. I did the Danskin swim successfully (and with not bad of a time for only 2 weeks of training) and I’ve kept on swimming since.

    When we went to Hawaii, I couldn’t wait to get in the water. Swimming at the North Shore was just amazing. I jetted right through the water with ease, thanks to the boyancy of the ocean. When we snorkled at Hanauma Bay, I kept getting water in my mask because I couldn’t stop smiling. When you wear a full mask and smile, your raised cheek bones breaks can cause whatever seal you have on your face to open…and I kept having little puddles of water in my mask. It was heavenly!

    If you keep up with my Facebook, you see that I’ve been swimming regularly at Lake Pflugerville. Yes, Pflugerville has a man made lake and it’s been there for about 3 years or so. The water feeds into the treatment plant they have that serves P-ville with their water supply so if you go, don’t pee in the lake, okay? 😉 I’ve only been out there a handful of times but when I go, it’s always a nice swim. Over by the dam, there are a series of bouyes fixed to balloons (or something like balloons) that indicate a swimming path. I go out to the first blue bouy and back and that’s 500 meters. The first time I swam that, I did in around 25-27 minutes. Yesterday (Thursday, August 13) morning, I swam that 500 meters in about 20-22 minutes. I’m not too big on timing myself, except that I am a bit curious as to seeing how accurate my internal clock is as I’m doing an activity in which I’m engaged in something other than watching the clock. Anywho, I’m fairly excited that I have done some time cutting without even thinking about it! I just wanted a nice, easy swim when I went out there.

    With this new/old hobby must come new gadgets. I mean, I am still me and I LOVE new gadgets!! First, I found a swim cap I can deal with. I was made to wear one as a kid once and absolutely HATED it. And the one they gave me (and made me wear) at Danskin wasn’t that great, either. But I do like how a cap keeps my hair from falling in my face as I swim (mostly freestyle) so I started asking and looking around at different types of caps. I found that I can deal with a Silicone cap and found one that is multi-colored. I was also having trouble keeping up with what lap I was on while at the gym, since I get to just thinking about random stuff when I swim, so I found a little lap counter that fits on my finger. I think my next purchase will be a waterproof housing for my iPod Shuffle and the underwater headphones. It all gets pretty pricey when you start getting all the equipment you’d want – why not just get an underwater MP3 player that comes with headphones? That would be one more thing to think about playlists for. I’m really not that great at putting together playlists I fully like. Thank goodness for iTunes Genius! (but that’s another story for another day). I am also seeing that Garmin has a lightweight, waterproof GPS system now in their Foretrex 101 & 201. It even helped certify a new world record in surfing. Not sure how that can help my personal swim thing but it’s a fun looking gadget!

    I do have to say that I’m glad Lane Four Swim Shop is in North Austin. At first, I was worried they’d have their prices way jacked up, being a specialty store in town, but when I stopped by there, they were fairly helpful and the prices were about the same as various online stores. I might have been happier with a little more personalized attention, being as I’m kinda new again to the activity and have lots of questions, but there were several other people in the store and I heard talk about large dollar purchases (caps for an entire race and team equipment type conversation) so I would set me and my $40 purchase aside a bit, too!

    Anywho, I’m just really at peace when I’m swimming. I’m glad to have the ability and venue to be able to do it because it really does help make me be a happier person. As Jeff always says after I talk about a swim, “she’s hooked”. If you’re in the North Austin area and want to come swim at Lake Pflugerville with me, let me know and we’ll go! I’m always looking for a swim buddy. Or, if you want to go there to do the running course while I swim, I’m up for that, too.

    AAAaaaaaaaaaaaaand sleep!

    For two nights in a row, I’ve not been able to sleep through the night. This morning, I woke up at 2:30 am and yesterday, at 4:00 am and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m not quite sure what’s causing it but today, it’s really affecting my overall mood and thought process. I’m thinking it has to do with my change in exercise routine and my body will adjust back to “normal” sleep patterns soon.

    What changes, you ask? Against my disdain for them, I’ve joined a gym. I found a location of Gold’s where I feel very little competition and over all snootiness and feel like I can get in, do my thing and leave – no judgements about it. They also have a pool, which was my primary reason for seeking out a location other than my home or the out-of-doors of my neighborhood. I try to go three times a week and have been going for about a month now. Between this and my workouts I’ve been doing since marching season ended, I’ve lost almost 9 pounds. I enjoy the fact my clothes fit better…or are starting to get to the “falling off” stage with some items.

    Now, for the sleep patterns to normal out again!

    Earth Day 2009

    I’m not quite sure what “special thing” I’ll do today for Earth Day but I have come to truely believe in the last few years that our home has an expiration date if we don’t consciously work at it, we’ll see that expiration date. I may not be the most resourceful person at it yet but I think about what else I can do almost every day…and put as many things into action as I can, as often as I can.

    Living in Texas and being a band director, there are a few things that are difficult to do, like not driving myself everywhere all the time. I am really excited to see that there is a great possibility for a high speed rail system across the US (see below for planned major routes). According to The Austinist, one of those dots on the red line that meets the grey line in the middle of Texas is Austin!!

    I’ve mentioned in the past about my garden and compost. New veggies have been planted and some of the peppers from last year are coming back. I started the 2nd box but it still needs more soil (I guess I forgot how much each box needs when I bought this year’s round of soil!) so I’m not sure I’ll get anything planted for the spring season but for sure, I’ll get something in there over the summer that I can harvest in the fall. A little reading must be done so I do this well.

    I’ve started to replace light bulbs in my house with the compact flourescents and I even installed an automatic switch for the front porch light. I’m trying to be more conscious of water usage but when Pfema loves to play in the other bathroom sink as I’m getting ready in the morning, it’s hard not to let that faucet drip a little for that time frame. When I first bought my house 3 years ago (can you believe it’s been THREE years already?), the first thing I did was install a programmable A/C controller and I try to have that set quite conservatively, seeing as I’m not home as often as I’d like to be.

    The next set of home projects I’ll be working on is finding somewhere I can regularly recycle (the trash companies available in my neighborhood either don’t recycle for my neighborhood or cost too much and take away so very little that it’s not worth it) and change the landscaping of my yard (both front and back) so that it’s more water conservative.

    Little steps, folks. Little steps. 🙂