March

I cannot believe March is over already. This month has flown by!

How have my New Year’s Goals been holding up? Well, you tell me.

1. Run a 5K race (training for race in June)
On the 7th, I broke my toe and have been incapacitated since. It’s been a little over 3 weeks and I haven’t done any exercise, let alone try and run (which I shouldn’t be doing unless it’s running for the train, which I had to do twice and cried after.) My goal of that June race may not come true, so once I can start running again, I’ll have to choose another race or this goal is kaput.

2. Read 30 books
Two books? That’s all? I feel like all I ever do is read. Only 24 more to go! Sign up on GoodReads if you like reading!

3. Viola
Lessons are going great. I feel I’m moving slow, but learning a lot. Not ready for an orchestra yet. I’m on break for 2 weeks and so I’m getting my bow re-haired this week. I need to post a song for you all!

4. Lose 10 lbs
Let’s see, broken toe, no exercise … do you think I’ve gotten on a scale? It’s bad news in this department. My pants all fit -- the goal is for them not to fit.

5. Save $10,000
Did I tell you that for cost-saving measures, my company is no longer matching our 401k? And no annual performance raises either – not even 1%...just an aside. Compared to how my other accounts are going, my 401k doesn't look too bad; I only lost 7.8% this year so far (My IRA is -33%; and our non-retirement investment is -45%. OUCH.). (My calculations don't include Matt's IRA, 401k, or stocks). But this month, nothing lost any money and we socked away a little better so we're in the positive #s.

We're taking showers

Last weekend, my dad thought he was coming over to measure something for the new built-in cabinet and we shanghai’d him into helping us get in the shower doors so we could rid of, yet, another box. Every box we throw away (I mean recycle) symbolizes one more step towards completion, it's a momentous occasion around here.

Once those shower doors were on, we were officially open for business. Matt took no time taking the first shower – even though there isn’t a door to the bathroom itself. Next up was me and it was lovely. It felt like a hotel or a spa – but heck, anything was better than that disgusting shower we had before.

To see photos of the shower remodel evolution -- check here.

The only thing, now that we have a pristine shower, is to keep it that way! Regular shower clean-up has to get put on that "I-don't-wanna-but-I-gotta" list. I need to now rope Matt in to this new phenomenon...

I’m not picking on Matt, but all men in general. Let's face is sisters, don't we find ourselves doing most of the housework? A long while ago I read this book where it said if the man makes more money, the wife does the housecleaning. If the wife makes more money, they get hired help. Either way, the man tends to get out of it!

When I was living with a roommate, I struck a deal that if she were to clean the bathroom I would clean the kitchen. And most of you know the kitchen gets messed up more, so I felt like it was a fair deal. Why I didn’t make Matt sign on that dotted line when we got married is beyond me? I regret it and I am telling all you women out there so you don’t make the same mistake I made. Strike these deals before any live-in arrangements!

The downstairs bathroom is technically Matt’s domain but I never saw him clean it (I'm sure he did but it never really looked clean). And I refused to clean it since I was cleaning upstairs. Once when I asked him about the shower because it was, well, GROSS, he said, “It doesn’t come clean.” I couldn’t take it anymore, I was gonna get athlete's feet! So I proceeded to scrub it with some baking soda and elbow grease and voila, it came out clean. He was amazed and said, “Wow, thanks hon’. Next time I’ll clean it.”

Uh huh. There was no next time. It got gross again and then we tore it out.

Like I said I’m not picking on Matt, because honestly it’s not his fault he’s a man like all men who knows that if he just waits, his wife will do it. And that’s partly our faults because we let it happen.

Well not any more, baby. This woman has wised up! And I say loud and clear that I will clean out the shower every other week, but he must do it on the other week or I’m locking the bathroom with a padlock and guarding it with a mean dog.

"wink"

Jan Brady Broke

In a previous post I mentioned something about a sprained toe and my inability to run ... well, I went to the doctor and the verdict is ... Broken Toe.

Yes, I broke my toe -- the 4th one down the line, otherwise known as Jan Brady for her non-descriptness and unknown relevance to the podiatal area.

Warning - Photo of Foot - Avert eyes for the Squeamish!

My pedicure from Valentine's day has held up pretty nice.

How do you break Jan Brady? By walking nonchalantly around the house and smashing it against a very solid wood coffee table, that's how.

It's been 2 weeks now, and the Dr. said that it takes about 4-6 weeks to heal. Oy. I have to stay in the boot as long as it hurts to get into a shoe and I have a confirmation, a wedding shower, and a party this weekend!

Were these boots made for walking and partying?

More bathroom work

We're so behind with this!

We had some setbacks ... the shower fixture had some problems and needed replacements parts and then the shower floor wasn't pitched right and was pooling tons of water so it had to be re-built. Yes, re-built! My dad was so frustrated that he pitched it wrong, and I was so angry we had to re-do those pebbles.

But now we're moving on.
Over the weekend, we installed the sink and vanity and we bought lights. The vanity is so much bigger than the original pedestal sink, and it fits but it takes a lot more physical space. It'll take some getting used to.

And then today, I started having regrets that we painted the walls the same color as the dining room. All of sudden I started envisioning a powdery robin's egg blue. I thought Matt was going to hurl his veggie burger at me over lunch as I told him.

Next up -- we're going to make our own mirror using the pebbles as a border. And my dad is constructing the built in cabinet we're using instead of the closet.

2009 Goals: February in Review

Was it me, or was February a bust (except for Vermont)? Despite it all, I feel the constant need to review my goals by month so I can keep track!

1. Run a 5K race
February started off good … then I hurt my neck and couldn’t run. And then we went on vacation – where we were active (snowshowing, skiing) but not running. Now that I’m back at work (March) and two of the treadmills are broken so I haven’t been able to snag one! And just this past weekend, I sprained one of my toes... At this rate, I’ll be last place at the 5k if I run at all.

2. Books
I only finished 1 book all month, Boomsday. Now the # is up to 4. Only 26 more to go!

3. Viola
I had 2 lessons in February and my new teacher got me all these foundation books – scales, foundation studies, 3rd position studies. I’ve never done this before and she told me that after I work on these, I’ll notice that I can play all my other songs better. My bow hand sucks, and I keep bowing over the bridge. In other words, I’m worse than rusty, But she also has me playing in this new book which is pretty advanced and I’m psyched out about working on all this.

4. Lose 10 lbs
I was doing good. I lost 2.5 lbs n schedule and then Vermont and now I’m back up again… Not looking good.

5. Save $10,000
I don’t know what’s more depressing: the scale or our retirement/investment funds? So far this year I am up $2700 in savings, but have lost another $2000 in investments this month for a net of $-1320 for the year-to-date.

I'm not going to give up!

If I had a Million Dollars

... I would buy each one of my cats one of each of these

Vermont Photos

Are posted here.

Some of the photos are actually videos so if you do the slideshow view - or click on it to view - then you can watch the videos.