The BIG MOPPER Debate

When Irv and I went grocery shopping last Sunday, we got into a discussion about....of all things....paper towels!

Irv is a BIG fan of paper towels. He uses them like we own stock in the darn things. I understand that they are nice for certain things, but we DO NOT need to use TWO rolls of paper towels each and every week. That's EIGHT rolls a month. Not only is that a waste of resources, it clutters the landfill and it's a waste of MONEY....and you all know I am all about saving money right now!

Well, on Sunday, Irv won and we ended up with TWO BIG FAT ROLLS OF BIG MOPPER PAPER TOWELS IN OUR CART!

When we were putting the groceries away, I decided to be kind of "cute" (as in funny) and make a point at the same time....so I hid one of the rolls of paper towels. I was determined to get through the week using ONE roll of paper towels and my goal is to eventually use NO rolls and replace them with inexpensive bar towels that can be washed and reused.

Today is Saturday and we are still on the first roll! He doesn't even know the second roll isn't in the cabinet! I guess we won't have to buy any this week! Chee Hoo!

Do you use paper towels? How many rolls do you go through a week....and be honest now.

Chee Hoo!

It's FRIDAY! It's my no work out day. It's my no walk day. It's my eat whatever I want day. It's jeans day at work. It's Starbucks day. It's Dunkin' Donuts day. It's even PAYDAY!!! I actually couldn't wait to get up this morning!! Chee Hoo!

I cannot believe I have been working out and walking and eating healthy for three weeks. That has to be a record for me. Yes, there are some mornings when the last thing I want to do at 5:30 a.m. is yoga or pilates...but I'm doing it.

There are plenty of days when I get home from work and the last thing I want to do is change my clothes, bundle up and head out into the frigid air to walk....but I'm doing it!

Many evenings I have no interest in preparing a healthy balanced dinner for myself....but I'm doing it.

I am not to the point where these things are a positive habit for me yet. In fact, I still find it all a big pain in the butt....but I'm doing it.

My neck and upper back issue has caused me to rethink my workout. If I didn't, I might have quit. Instead I took out the arm and shoulder dumb bell workout until my neck and upper back are more tolerant of the yoga and pilates. Once they are, I will add the arm work back in. I did add some leg work on the days I do pilates too.

I am really looking forward to spring when I can be working out with the doors and windows open, and I can pile on the sunscreen, throw on my hat and walk until I want to come in rather than having to come in because my eyes are tearing, my nose is running and my face and everything running down it is frozen solid!

If you made some changes....healthy eating, working out or other changes for the New Year...how are you doing? Need a Chee Hoo or some encouragement? I'm here for you. :)

Any Armchair Psychiatrists Out There?

I can't watch violent TV shows. I've talked about this before and I've always said that I don't like them. I use to love the show 24. I love the idea behind the show, I love the suspense, I love the acting and I love Keifer. Last season I stopped watching because I just couldn't bring myself to sit through the violence which seemed to be increasing each season.

The show premiered on Sunday and Monday this week and I decided to try again. The first night I turned it off and on and off and on and then off for good when the bad guy had the husband tape his wife's mouth and then the bad guy shot her in the leg.

Thinking it was silly that I couldn't sit and watch a TV show, I tried again the next night and I didn't get very far. The recap of the night before and seeing the terror in the wife's eyes was the end of 24 for me. I won't watch it. I know everyone likes different kinds of programs, but I use to love this show. What happened?

My family loves 24 as do many, many other people. I asked my daughter if it bothers her at all and she said "Not one bit. It's a TV show."

I know that, so why on earth do I find shows like that so disturbing? I know it's actors. I know it's fake. I know the blood isn't real. It isn't that it scares me or the sight of blood makes me sick. I guess I just don't see the point in watching it. It isn't entertaining....at least to me. It makes me feel sad that people would do stuff like that....and maybe that is part of it. Even though it's fake...things like that really do happen, and they happen every day.

I don't know. I think the older I get the stranger I get!

Destination Simplicity

Geez...remember my big dejunking plan? Well, I haven't dejunked anything since that first week! HAHA! My "plan" was to spend a little time each week sorting, donating and tossing. I did get quite a bit done that first week, but I didn't put a dent in the 37 years of accumulation in this house! To be honest with you, I just got side-tracked and forgot I was doing that. Duh!

I think I am going to slap some brightly colored post it notes in some obvious places to remind me to get my "rear in gear"....like on my forehead. :)

Even if I just took one drawer a day, or one shelf a day or even one cabinet a day....I know I could get it done by summer......of 2015 maybe!

Maybe I will decide what drawer, shelf, cabinet or closet I am going to tackle and post a "before" picture on the sidebar of my blog. Then I can take an "after" picture when I am done and post that. Heaven knows I'm on my blog enough....so when the same "before" picture has been up there for a month....you will know, and I will know that I got side-tracked once again!

So wish me luck as I embark on my dejunking journey....as I try to reach my destination called Simplicity.

Oh Happy Day!

Well as crazy as the weekend was, Monday made up for it. What a great and productive day filled will all kinds of good stuff!

I started out doing my yoga and it felt good. It's getting easier each time I do it. Then I took the dogs for a mile walk. We all enjoyed that even though it was cold and damp. We had some of that freezing frost stuff this week and some of the bushes and trees are still a bit white. They look so pretty.

Back home for breakfast and some clean up and a phone call to Comcast. When we disconnect our cable TV on Saturday to get Dish Network, we will be left with just Comcast Internet. That means our special little rate goes up to the ridiculous regular rate. I didn't want my special little rate to go up so I pleaded my case to three different people and my rate will stay the same for six months and then it will go up. I figured by then maybe something else will be available out here where I live, if not, I pay the higher rate. Oh well.

Then it was etsy time. I put on my Adam Lambert CD and got to work. I listed this pillow in FourDogDay.....

and this new Itsy Bitsy Tote Bag too. Kind of a fun one.

I am still using up fabric that I have on hand for these, and that is so awesome....especially after working on my taxes this weekend and seeing how much I spent on material this year! OUCH! I have two other Itsy Bitsies done and they are my absolute favorites so far. I'll show them to you as soon as I get them photographed.

I even managed to iron all of my clothes for the week today so I don't have to worry about that every night. I hate it when I don't iron and have to do it on a nightly basis. Such a pain! Do you iron?

What do you keep busy with in the middle of January? It's back to work for me today, but I love the four day work weeks!

Make it an awesome day and be sure to do something nice for yourself today!

One of THOSE Days

Geez, what a bummer of day yesterday was. In fact, the whole weekend kind of stunk! I had such big plans to get so much done and wow, things sure did not go according to plan. I got upset for a while last night and then I thought you know what...there isn't a darn thing you can do about it so move on girl!

It started out with my sleeping about an hour later than I normally do on Sunday...so that meant we got to the grocery store later than normal. It was more crowded and it was so late when we got home I felt like half the day was gone already.

I started working on our taxes and swore I was only going to spend an hour on it....sure thing. One hour turned into about two and a half....but I am happy to report that they are as done as I can get them at this time. I'm waiting on some statements and then they can go to the accountant.

Then we decided to switch from Comcast Cable for our TV to Dish Network. They had a great deal where we could save some money each month. Well, that took FOREVER to do. Blah, blah, blah...the guy...who was really, really nice just kept talking and talking and talking. Then on top of it when he went to run our credit (which seems so ridiculous when you are getting a DISH...I'm not buying a friggin' house for heaven's sake) they could not access my credit. It was blocked. In order to unblock it....even though I never requested it be blocked...I had to answer all of these security questions. Then they decided that my answers weren't enough to say I am who I say I am so they couldn't put it through. Are you kidding me?

We had 12 months of a free "we'll watch your identity back" service and that expired ages ago. Somehow it wasn't removed from my Social Security number. I'm not complaining because it's kind of nice that no one could sign up for DISH TV using my social security number.....BUT IT'S ME AND I WANT TO SIGN UP FOR IT!!!!

Anyway, we ended up using Irv's social and it went right through...even though he had the free 12 month thing too. So we have our appointment for Dish Network.

Then I knew that when I canceled my Comcast TV that my Comcast internet would go up. I already pay $57.95 and they wanted to up it to $72.95. That's not happening. So now I am looking for a new internet provider that might be a bit cheaper. I am going to go back to Comcast and try to wheel and deal....I've been told they do that, but I also told the DISH guy that if I didn't find something cheaper I was canceling our DISH order.

During this time, in fact the entire weekend, Irv has been trying to hook up Michael's old Dell in our basement so he has his own computer. He bought the box and the cables the guy at Best Buy said he needed and nothing. Got a different box and different cables that the other guy at Best Buy said he needed and it turned on. It turned on, but it didn't work. It said something about the IP address and then it said something else and as of Sunday night the stupid thing still isn't working.

I did not walk or work out for the second day in a row. I am a morning person and if it doesn't get done early it isn't getting done....and it didn't get done...and I was upset about that.

I got almost nothing done on etsy this weekend....and the plan was to get lots done.

At this point my friends I am laughing. As I just read back over this post, I thought...what a screwed up weekend it was! Funny how that happens some times, and yes, I am able to laugh when things don't go according to plan. Nothing horrible happened, things just didn't go the way I wanted them to go. Big deal.

I am off of work today which is just so awesome. I am NOT planning my day. I'm just going to take it as it comes. I hope you enjoy yours. Do something nice for yourself today....I sure plan to!!

Mish Mosh

I made a trip to the chiro yesterday and did not work out. :( It's the first day I've missed. Maggie and Wrigley road with us. Sparky doesn't like the car.

I have a real messed up spine and one of my shoulder blades sticks out more than the other. When I do arm and shoulder exercises it starts to get very uncomfortable as it did on Friday. On top of that, I took one of those quick little "oops" slips on some ice Friday. I didn't fall, but it was just enough to cause my muscles to all tighten up on me. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up where I left off some time today. I am tweaking the yoga and pilates exercise plan to include some leg exercises. I am really enjoying the workouts right now.

My healthy eating is going pretty well also. I'm just watching what I eat and trying to make better choices where my snacks are concerned. I'm also making sure that one dinner a week is a nice big salad like this one I had last week so I'm getting some greens. Yes, that whole thing was for me and I ate every last bit of it!

I have my shopping list and coupons ready and we are about to head to the store. Hopefully we will come back with a few dollars left so we can get our favorite Friday night carry out!

I snapped this shot of our icicles right before Irv went out to knock them all down. If you leave them they can actually cause your roof to leak. I think they are so pretty though.

One last thing.....do you have cable TV or dish? We pay a ton for our basic cable and are considering taking one of the special offers for Dish Network to save some money. We have always had cable. Your thoughts?