HOORAY FOR MONDAY!

Last week was a bad week, but it's behind me now and I"m getting back on track with exercise and FLYlady.net . No more tummy aches!

I'm going to work out with the Wii every day, at LEAST once a day.

This week's "zone" is the master bedroom. Ours could really use some work. We've been "moved" for over a year and the bookshelves are still more than half empty. Boxes sitting around on the floor. Bed is almost never made. Clothes piled here and there. Time to get it organized. Woot!

What are your goals this week? I hope you all had fun weekends and are ready to focus and move more, eat less with me!

FLYlady - last kitchen post

Actually this will probably be the last before and after post related to FLYlady for a little while since I'll be away from home starting mid-day tomorrow and I think I read that next week's zone is the bathroom. Nobody wants to see that. Maybe I'll change my mind though, when I get there.

So, this is what the kitchen desk looked like yesterday when I took the "before" shots.

I have all kinds of nasty things to say about the person who let it get this way, but I'm taking the high road because I know for a fact that I she reads this blog.  Notice t he big pile of cardboard in the foreground and under the desk. That was taken to recycling center today. A lot of the papers were recycled as well - advertisements and expired coupons. The beset thing to find is an empty Snickers wrapper. That was a long time ago, let me tell ya. Even the cords are messy. Blech. How did I live with that? Will I let it get that way again? Did I really need to avoid it because it really didn't take that long to improve. I started working on that zone (minus the recycle boxes) less than two hours ago.  And this is what it looks like now:

Propping up the cookbooks alone makes the place seem civilized. Had Taz been the last one to cook out of one? Geesh!  Now I still have a basket of things that need attention, but it's not so bad! 

And here is my shiny sink!

Meet Vera, our house nurse/aloe plant. Isn't her tiny garden flag just adorable? She used to have a spider plant friend named Bradley, but he couldn't defend himself and met his demise at the paws (and teeth) of a vicious predator*. In his memory we now keep the dish soap and scrubber in his abandoned (and since cleaned) apartment.
Through the window you see part of the back 40 (more like .40)! If you squint real hard and turn your head sideways you might see the makings of what promises to be a terrific bonfire.  Also our weird shrub that kiddo has named "Harry".  I will have to get you a better photo of him some day. Oh! and I just noticed, you can see to the right our exotic house chef, Solara, out the window. She is our shiny solar oven - cooking away on cheesey chicken broccoli casserole, corn on the cob, and tater tots. Should be interesting. I should go get that stuff in now that the sun is setting! She doesn't work after dark.

*See photo of Hobbes on previous posts.  Nothin' he loves more than a nice fresh salad.

It's all good.

Scale numbers are still trending downwards. Eating when I'm hungry is going well and making good choices about food. Whole grains, lots of fruits and veggies, chuggin' the water. Exercising daily. Walked a mile today - about 3500 steps - on the Wii Walk It Out game. Gotta love the music on there - Black Eyed Peas, Smashtrax, all kindsa goodies.

More photos of the kitchen to come tomorrow. Maybe I'll get it all nice and shiny before my trip. I intend to take some photos and print them out & tape them to the fridge so Sweetie knows what I expect it to look like when I return.

Very sleepy tonight. No problem getting to bed before 10 as long as the kitchen hasn't been wrecked when I go down to shine the sink. I just found out that I left the light on in the garden shed earlier as well so it looks like I get to go outside in my new PJ's. Well, at least they fit for a change.

Making progress in more ways than one

Ya know, I was afraid of starting FLYlady again because I thought it would detract my attention from my weight loss journey. Maybe it would be too depressing to deal with all the clutter and mess and it I wouldn't be able to handle the emotions. It would push me into old habits of eating despite the lack of hunger, wanting food that isn't healthy, and not exercising. Well, after 24 hours I can say I'm doing pretty well with it. I'm glad I pushed myself to take the risk because it is completely supporting my other goals. It's making me happy. It's not too hard for the most part, and maybe I will be able to have friends over without being embarassed. I'm incorporating a lot of the things I've learned about weight loss, such as stopping the negative self-talk & name-calling, replacing it with positive thoughts and even action. I plan to continue these new healthy trends!

October's monthly challenge is paper clutter. This week's focus is on the kitchen. The first assignment was to set the table. This seemed crazy since it was hours before meal time. Usually getting the table set involves last minute rush, pushing aside mail and newspapers and homework to make space for 3 plates, cups, and utensils. We serve hillbilly style straight from the pan and sometimes buffet style from the stove top. 

Yesterday before noon, however, I started setting the table for dinner. I sorted and cleared all the clutter, and remembered instantly how beautiful our table is. It made me happy to set the table for my family ahead of time and have it nice and ready when kiddo came home from school. Snacking would take place elsewhere after school, and there is an empty seat to use for homework if necessary - at least until the desk is cleared.  When dinner (make your own mini-pizza) came out of the oven, it was so relaxing to have the table already set and ready for us. We had a nice, relaxed dinner without so many distractions.  My apologies for not taking photos of before and after last night. But, this is what the table looked like this morning after everyone was off to school and work!

The table itself looks nice, but showing you the clutter surrounding it makes me feel vulnerable and sad. Notice our maid, "Wanda Dyson" wearing my workout jacket on the right. She just stands there and ignores the work to be done. Hobbes is obviously ap-pawed at the sloppiness.  Look at the stuff just sitting there on the pass-through. Really? How much effort would that really take to tidy up quickly?  The answer: Not much at all!  Here's what it looks like now:

Now you can peak into the family room. I'm glad you can't really see much of it cuz it's pretty messy itself. I've had worse though and I know that I can conquer it when the time comes. At least the fireplace mantle is fairly clear. I've decided I'm not really in love with that painting, though. I've put out the first of my cute little Halloween deco now to serve as somewhat of a center piece. The floor is swept, the cat is gone (that happened automatically when I moved the Dyson) and you can see just a smidge of the lovely view I see when I sit down to eat. Who wouldn't want to sit at that lovely table? And look! It's not even 10 a.m. and it's already set for a lunch for two. Hubby and I will enjoy smoked turkey and swiss sandwiches with all the fixin's when he comes home for lunch in a couple of hours.

Before then, I can exercise, check on today's assignment, and go to Wally to pick up my meds and things I need to take along for my weekend getaway to Chicagoland. I can't wait!