Looking forward to an off day

From this...

to this... 

to this.

You can still see where the padding fused to the floor. All in all though, I think it looks very nice. The wood gives the first floor an entirely different feel.

After scraping and steaming the dining room floor, I moved into the kitchen.

I removed the paneling on the back wall of the kitchen. The paneling covered adhesive from the tile that used to be there, so that had to come off as well.

I learned my lesson when Energizer Bunny helped me start this project early in December. I still have a mark on my hand from the heat gun. Today, I wore gloves. So much better!

5 and a half hours. One clean floor and one clean wall. My arms are ready to fall off from all the scraping and furniture moving this week. I'm looking forward to an off day tomorrow!

I'm also looking forward to an off day on my food plan. Tomorrow is FNO, which means Mexican most weeks. My off day doesn't mean I can eat myself out of house and home. It just means I don't have to be quite so careful with balance and calorie allotment. The basic menu stays the same, except for dinner. I've built an off day into my food plan because I know myself, and restricting my diet just makes me want things more. That's why, technically, I can have anything I want. I just have to be able to mitigate with an equal amount of calories in vegetables. 

For the record, these are not vegetables. If my self destructive half is determined to have junk food, however, they are not a bad way to go. I did not manage to balance my diet with vegetables today. I do worse when I'm tired, it seems. Still looking for food to give me energy, even when I know in this case it won't. 

The weather has warmed up, the snow was melting and I wanted to run outside today, but I have this thing about running in the dark. I'm certain I'll trip over a raised bit of sidewalk. I don't lift my feet enough when I get tired. That and I don't trust my neighborhood. I'm not sure I know of a neighborhood I would trust after dark. While it was still somewhat light out when I got in car at my Mom's, by the time I was close to home there was just barely a tinge of blue in the horizon. I drove right by my house and went to the Y.

The last couple nights have not been restful, and I've been pushing my body all week both at my Mom's and the Y. Also, my cold is getting better but not yet gone. I only dosed myself with a single Dayquil today, instead of the recommended two. Better living through chemistry, as my Mom says. It's easy to forget I'm not quite healthy when the symptoms are subdued. Until I actually get on the treadmill that is. I knew I was tired, but didn't know I felt that exhausted until I started running. I also didn't know my back and torso were that tight, until I started running. I wanted to do 3, but 1 mile was enough for me today. I'm hoping to log several after my new treadmill is delivered tomorrow!

I stretched several times today. Arms and back while I was working. Legs and hips after running. I don't know that I feel any looser or more relaxed. I'll be calling for an appointment with my Christmas present masseuse tomorrow. I'm looking forward to experiencing myofacial release. I understand it's not comfortable, but that it's totally worth it. <fingers crossed>

I didn't get anything done on the house when I got home. Just sat down in front of the computer. Tired. It's been a long week and I've been very productive, overall. I'm looking forward to something of a day off, even though I still have to study and do several things on my list tomorrow.

I did submit a resume, for an Investigative Data Analyst with Progressive. An old high school friend works as a Business Analyst there, and I know a few other people in other departments. I plan to touch base with them tomorrow, and see if that takes me anywhere.

5 positive things about today:

1. Tomorrow is Friday, which means my treadmill will be here!

2. There was a beautiful sunset over my Mom's back yard. Pretty reds across
    several cloud layers.

3. The snow melted, meaning I can run outside this weekend.

4. Even though I'm tired, I can feel myself getting stronger from what I've
    accomplished this week. My trunk is stronger. My legs are stronger. Now I
    just have to get used to this level of activity...

5. I had an idea for clay necklaces today. I haven't had a clay idea for a long
    time, believing all my creativity was taken up with my parent's house. I
    don't have the time or energy for clay right now, but it's nice to know there
    will be ideas when I do.