The dining room edition

From this...

To this
(and yes, Bronte was right in the middle of everything
the entire time!)

I pulled the carpet from my Mom's dining room today. It is obvious this room saw quite a bit more traffic than the living room over the last 30+ years. You can see where the table was. You can see where the padding fused to the varnish on the wood floor around the table. I am not exaggerating when I say at least half the room was fused. Not just stuck. Stuck and compacted and one with the varnish, which was one with the wood. I spent 7 hours on this room today. I still have to go over it with a wet mop and a razor scraper to get the last remnants of padding off. Actually, I have to do the same with the first part of the living room I did, since I realized a sharp razor makes a considerable difference in how much I can remove.

So that's on the plate for tomorrow, along with removal of the paneling (and the adhesive holding it up) in the kitchen.

Before I went to my Mom's I spent some time updating Linkedin, Cleveland Jobs, and Dice.com with a new resume. When I came home I added Indeed.com and Cleveland Careerboard to the list. I also applied for a Business Systems Analyst for Data Warehousing position. Again, my existing skill set does not exactly match what they are asking for, but I do have some of the skills required. I also happen to like working with databases, which is essentially what a data warehouse is.

After leaving my Mom's, I went to the Y for my run. I almost opted to run in place for 15 minutes or so on my little trampoline thingee. I was completely covered in dust from the carpet padding and was not liking the idea of going home to get cleaned up, then going right back out again. I decided to just go get my run on regardless of the dust. I wasn't sure how far I would run, considering how tired I was and the fact that I'm still not exactly healthy. I made it 2 miles, at 5.3 mph. That's an 11:19 minute mile, according to the treadmill. I'm getting pretty speedy, even without speed work lately.

I did some stretches right on the treadmill, then some more in the dressing room. I really need to stretch more than my legs and hips, but that's all that got attention tonight. They have a table that is the perfect height to stretch my hips like this:

Source

I'm going to try it on my bed as well, after seeing this. Not sure how well it will work, since my bed is quite high with a double set of drawers underneath. Guess I'll find out!

I came home in my running clothes. There was no way I was putting those filthy work clothes on again. I immediately threw all my work clothes, jacket, shoes, bag, everything into the laundry. Instead of doing housework, I then just walked around putting random things away. Things like the wrapping paper that's been on the stairs since Christmas. The magazine that never made it to the bathroom. I also went on line and ordered a new belt for a vacuum I almost put on the curb, because I can't find a belt for it anywhere in town.

I stumbled a little with my food plan today, because I realized I've been miscalculating my "coffee candy" (the amount of creamer I put in my coffee which makes it drinkable for me). I somehow calculated about half the calories that I'm actually consuming. This makes matching those calories with vegetables a bit more challenging. Today, out of 1,925 calories consumed, only 657 were from vegetables (843 if I include the blackberries I had for desert). I could balance it out with the 385 calories left in my budget (again, 100 calories per hour of working at my Mom's), but there's no way I'm hungry enough to eat that many vegetables. I'm actually not hungry at all. I very much like the idea of being allowed to eat anything I want, as long as I have 2x the calorie allotment so I can balance those calories with the same in vegetables. That is how I'm trying to look at this plan now. If I have a 150 calorie cup of coffee, I also need to have 2 Boca burgers or a bowl of green beans.

5 positive things from today

1. Monkey Boy had me laughing again today. Here is our text exchange:
    ME: Just sent you a package. No clue when it will get there...
    MONKEY BOY: Ok what's it for?
    ME: You'll see
    MONKEY BOY: Ok. I don't think I can live through another batch of cookies lol

    ME: No cookies. Promise.

    MONKEY BOY: Is it a pony?

    ME: lol! A pony wouldn't survive the trip...

    MONKEY BOY: U sent me a unicorn

    ME: !!!How did you guess!?!?!?!

    MONKEY BOY: Everyone knows unicorns don't need air

    So now I'm thinking of sending him a unicorn...

2. Bronte was cracking me the heck up today, too. She loves having me working downstairs, but
    apparently I was in her space. She got in my space quite often in retaliation. The fact that I was
    sitting on the floor didn't help, because that must mean I'm at her level specifically to pet her.
    Moving her bed with toys meant I must be trying to play with her. She was so preoccupied with me
    she completely missed the mailman walking across the porch right behind her. The mailman is the
    most exciting part of her day!

3. I am very pleased with how productive these last few days have been. In addition to all I'm doing at
    my Mom's, I'm staying on top of my other goals and making progress. Progress is good.

4. I'm getting a kick out of sending job prospects to friends. Didn't you always want to teach at a
    college level, even if you don't necessarily have the degree to do so? Don't you want a job that will
    send you to Spain and Portugal? I found a database administrator one today for an adult novelty
    store. The ad stated specifically that the position would require viewing of photographs with adult
    content. How is that position not filled yet?

    And how is this scene not on Youtube? 

    Betty Childs, Pi-Delta-Pi: [blissfully] Oh, Stan. You were wonderful. You did things to me you've
    never done before.
    [Lewis takes off his mask]
    Betty Childs, Pi-Delta-Pi: [gasps] Ahhh! You're that NERD!
    Lewis: Yeah.
    Betty Childs, Pi-Delta-Pi: [blissfully] Oh, you were wonderful.
    [gasps in ecstacy]
    Betty Childs, Pi-Delta-Pi: Are all nerds as good as you?
    Lewis: Yes.
    Betty Childs, Pi-Delta-Pi: How come?
    Lewis: 'Cause all Jocks ever think about is sports, all we ever think about is sex.

5. Superman. 'Nuf said.