Exersize...like your life depends on it!

I've been going to the gym 3 times a week for a while now and I'm about to step it up to 5 times.  I'm serious about getting back into shape and being MORE active than I have been in the past.  I'm pretty sure that my doctor will be thrilled to learn that I've jumped off of the ledge and have taken up all sorts of things. I've lost weight and I do feel better about myself and my endurance.

 When I first started going to the gym I thought that the personal trainer was out to kill me.  Now she looks at me and smiles and nods at me as I get on the elipticle machine and torture myself. When I leave the gym I'm a sweaty mess but I no longer hurt like I did when I first started going. Life is Good!

quote of the day

I like weights. You know where you stand with them. Well, sometimes you're lying under them, trying not to let them crush you, but you see, you KNOW they'd crush you if they could. There's honesty.

- T. Campbell and Gisele Lagace

My latest obsession...

No, it's not a new "craft" rather it's an activity.  I've wanted to get back into bicycling for ages. So, when my husband and I were at a bike shop getting a bicycle packed up so we can ship it to our son in South Dakota- well I started checking out the bikes there. You see, I'd gotten hooked on watching the Tour de France and knew pretty much which bike companies bicycles I wanted to take for a test drive. It was down to 3; Trek, Specialized and Cannondale. I left with a new bike helmet and a new bike. What did I buy? I got the work bike by Specialized and I love it! Here's a picture of my new bike

I also happened to have bought myself something else that I've wanted for quite some time...a Nantucket Bike Basket.

Needless to say, I took BOTH with me on a recent trip to Martha's Vineyard. All 3 of us (myself, my husband and daughter) road all over the place on our bikes and had a blast! I want to ride and explore the area in which I live on my bicycle! Now unlike riding in California, around here there aren't any designated bike lanes. There are loads of bicycle enthusiasts out here. I'm excited to say that I see a great number of bike teams riding around in our area. I'm working on my endurance levels and bike riding makes me feel good about myself.

Okay now for the funny side (with me there's always a funny side)...I'm a skirt wearing kind of girl, everyone knows that. Alas if there's one thing I know, it's not to wear a skirt while riding a bike. I did wear one on our trip to the bike shop and even while taking a bike for a test drive- that was a hoot! I kept worrying about flashing my panties to everyone in the bike shop (talk about a laugh out loud moment). I didn't realize that I was getting myself a bike that day. So any way I need to finish this to make you see the funny side of things and have you laughing with me...
I'm on Martha's Vineyard riding my bike with my family in tow. My saddle (that's the bike seat) was just a little out of adjustment and yes it felt off (I thought I'd just ride through it). Heck after crashing my bike and landing in a gravel filled ditch ( yes, I was scraped up and bruised up), having my saddle feel a little off was nothing! Apparently it wasn't just nothing. I ended up with bruises on the inside of my right though like no one knows and a very sore crotch! Those bruises were the ugliest scariest looking things I'd ever seen! I had to go to the gym and work out and every single person there who looked at me grimaced when they saw my leg. Okay lessons learned- 1-no you just can't pedal through it and 2- I need to wear padded bike shorts.  Alright now for the laughter part- Unless you are model skinny and even then, bike shorts are not a good look as they do hug every curve! And lets face it, we women are curvy. You've got to have a lot of confidence in order to feel comfortable walking around in padded bike shorts and I'll admit it right now, I'm not feeling that confident with having people look at me while wearing them. Now, unless you are a professional cyclist and you happen to be say...Lance Armstrong, Christian Vande Velde, Tommy Danielson, or Tyler Farrar, well then by all means please do walk around in those bike shorts ;-) Now where was I going with this? Oh yeah...I'm not about to go out and about in said bike shorts (did I mention that they have a padded crotch/seat in them? As if I need to have that shown to the public eye) and that's when I discovered something super cool- there are some companies out there that make skirts to go over said bike shorts! So I ordered myself some swanky bike riding apparel! Once it all gets here, well then I will get my daughter to take some pictures of me sporting said apparel! No more will I suffer with having a sore crotch or bruised thighs when going on long bike rides for me! There,  I know I just made you laugh! Trust me the more I think about it the more I laugh!

quote of the day

What do you call a cyclist who doesn't wear a helmet? 
An organ donor.
  ~David Perry

PURGE and don't feel guilty about it!

Here it is, my final push to get rid of the BIG stuff.  The emotional baggage that we let ourselves attach to some items is simply ridiculous! Even I am guilty of this very thing I tell people to "get over".  So here it is, I'll lay it on the line...I'm guilty of carrying around things such as dishes (our wedding china) that I never liked and rarely ever used. Every time I pulled them out and thought about sticking them on e-bay or Craigslist I felt this crushing guilt wash over me. Part of me was saying "Sandie, this was a wedding gift" and the realistic side of my brain would retort "Yeah and you never liked it, it wasn't what you registered for and you don't ever use it. It's taking up space just get rid of it". It was like Good Angel versus Bad Angel on my shoulders. Can you guess which side was the Good Angel? It wasn't until recently that I realized that it was the side telling me to purge and the Bad Angel made me feel guilty. For the longest time though, I thought that it was the other way around. 

Now I've got this new felt freedom surging through my veins and I'm going through things in the basement looking for MORE things to purge! It doesn't matter how much something cost 20 years ago or the fact that something came from your great grandmother or your best friend- if you never use it then it's simply taking up valuable space!  Over time peoples tastes change, it's a natural occurrence and nothing to be ashamed of. We do it with clothing, shoes and handbags and even furniture so why not our dishes and artwork? The counted cross stitch pictures of the nursery and birth announcements of my children will stay stored in the basement for future generations. But the rest, well I've already got a good selection of framed prints and even some paintings that are going to be list for sale on the internet. Now if you happen to know of anyone looking for a service for 8 of Noritake Greenbreir, complete with a large platter, serving bowl along with a creamer, sugar bowl and a teapot let me know!

Dream BIG

I've got this thing in my head about not posting to my blog because I've got nothing "crafty" going on in my life. I suppose that's true in some ways and not in others. I do have some pictures to post of the progress of my next Scrapbook Nook. Sheesh, one can hardly call that space a "nook". Below are some pictures- it should give you a good idea of how large a space my new "nook" will be.

From the pink insulation and where you see those white pipes on one side to just past the 2nd window and where the metal house support beams are- that's the size of my new nook.

This 2nd picture is of a corner- it's where the new bathroom will be.

And this 3rd picture is the space under the stairs and where the door will be to enter my scrapbook nook. Granted, I took these a few days ago and there has been even MORE progress made on that basement. We have rolls of cotton candy pink insulation, loads of sheet rock (drywall) and of course wood for the framing. 

Next step is the framing, then the electrician will come in and do the wiring. We've got to get with it and get some bathroom fixtures. My side of the garage is full of construction stuff such as doors, all of that insulation and of course the wood for framing. So there IS progress being made. And the best part is that when this is all finished, it will be my biggest Scrapbook Nook yet! 

Quote of the Day

Life is full of surprises and and serendipity. Being open to unexpected turns in the road is an important part of success. If you try to plan every step, you may miss those wonderful twists and turns. Just find your next adventure-do it well, enjoy it-and then, not now, think about what comes next. [info][add][mail][note] -Condoleeza Rice