A frustrating day

Have you ever had one of those days where nothing goes as planned? Where everything seems to go wrong? That was me, today. Some things turn out to be far more difficult than they really should. Either that, or I'm just an idiot.

Ninja was supposed to be over around 10:30. I haven't seen him since Christmas. The plan was to put up shelving, then go to lunch together. I had a few of my Dad's jackets for him to try on, and some mail had piled up. At 10:40 I texted him, asking where he was. He was still at home, waiting for his Dad to get off the phone with the IRS so he could move the truck/trailer, so Ninja could get out of the drive. He finally made it to my place about an hour later.

We decided we could still put up the shelving before lunch, so headed over to my Mom's.

My mother's closet, prior to construction

While not exactly the plan, this is a fair idea of the concept Mom is going for.
Source

The first order of business was to determine how far below the shelf the closet rod hangs. The rod has to be 82 inches high, to fit a second rod underneath at 41 inches. Turns out the rod hangers we'd purchased did not fit the shelf we'd purchased. The lip of the shelf was not large enough.

I should note that I had my mother's carpet cleaner, along with a bin of hoses that goes with it, in the back seat of my car. I'd brought the cleaner home yesterday, but had yet to figure out where I could store it so never even brought it into the house.

Not knowing which we would be able to replace, we had to take both the shelf and hangers back to Home Depot. This involved moving the bin of hoses out of the car and onto the back porch. I then organized my trunk, allowing me to fit the shelf in the car by laying the back seat down. We drove up to my Mom's store to pick up the receipt for the returns. About the time I pulled into the parking lot at her store, I realized I'd dropped the hangers into the bin with the hoses when first trying to rearrange the car to fit the shelf. I sent Ninja in my car back to the house to get the hangers, while I ran upstairs to get the receipt.

The trip to Home Depot went smoothly. We decided to leave everything in the car while we figured out what we needed, which ultimately turned out to be the hangers my Mom had originally picked, which clamp on to the shelf. I'd talked her out of them, thinking the bigger hangers that screwed on would be more stable and support more weight. We returned the bigger hangers, purchased the less complicated hangers, and put the $3 difference on a gift card.

Once back at the house, we started putting up the shelf track.

source

It's been a while since I've done a project like this, and it wasn't until I drilled the first hole that it occurred to me I really should line these tracks up with the studs. The first track went up smoothly, after determining the stud was almost exactly where I'd originally planned to put the track. It wasn't until I drilled the first hole for the second track that I remembered the stud finder starts beeping at the edge of the stud. Yeah. The drill bit bounced right off the edge of the stud, into the space between. Now I had 2 holes to repair. The rest of the strips went up easily, although I could not find a stud anywhere near where the third strip belonged. Luckily this strip is in the corner, where the two sets of shelves will butt up against each other and my Mom will not be hanging clothes. The strip is well anchored, so it will bear weight. It's just not anchored into studs like the other two.


While on the final strip, the hammer fell from the stepladder, leaving a huge black mark on the wall. Luckily I'll already have the paint out to fix the extra holes in the wall, so can fix this at that time.

With the strips up, we were in the home stretch. We put the brackets on the strips, put the shelf up... and discovered the brackets were too long. They stuck out past the lip on the shelf, leaving the shelf tipped upwards and preventing the shelf from locking into place. We would have to go back to Home Depot and get different brackets.

By this time, both Ninja and I were hungry. We decided to combine trips and get lunch while out near Home Depot. We also decided poor Bronte would be distraught if we left her again, so we brought her with. Bronte loves car rides, and is accustomed to sitting in the car while my parents stopped for a quick bite. We parked away from everyone else in the lot, so she wouldn't get overly excited with people passing by, and she had a nice little nap in the back seat while we took care of business.

There is an IHOP right across the parking lot from Home Depot, so that's where we decided to eat. I made this choice with trepidation, as I've had poor service in this particular IHOP before. To make a long story short, nothing had changed since my last visit. It is rare that I leave a restaurant without leaving a tip. Yup. That happened today.

Ninja and I went across the parking lot to Home Depot, returned the brackets, and went back to the storage section to find the right size brackets. Half an hour later, we left Home Depot with a set of the exact same brackets we'd come in with. It took me that long to figure out how to slip the tips of the brackets through the lip of the shelf, to make them work. There were no shorter brackets available.

Shelf/closet rod one of three

My brother has a saying, that any project requires three trips to Home Depot. Today proved that saying true. My mother wants two shelves on the back wall, giving her two closet rods to hang blouses on. Do you see the white spots in the picture above? Yeah, those are the result of our attempt to hang the second shelf.

Instructions for shelf kits

The smaller shelves were anchored with 5 clips and 2 bracer bars. We never got as far as the bracers. It turns out there is a broken lathe in the back wall, at the exact height we wanted the shelf. I drilled the hole for the anchor clip, then couldn't figure out why it would only go about halfway through. I pushed in, it would bounce back out as if it were bending. I finally saw the problem, after putting the other anchor clips in. There was nothing for it. We pulled the clips and made plans to return to Home Depot for shelf tracks, like the other wall. I'm actually happier with this solution, as the tracks offer more support than these shelf kits did. The third Home Depot trip will happen with my Mom on Tuesday.

As if the project wasn't frustrating enough, the closet had a final parting shot. Scroll back up and look at the original picture of my Mom's closet. Do you see the double rack against the back wall? That stupid thing fell to pieces when we tried to put it back before leaving. We had to unload the whole thing and put the rack back together, before loading it up again. Ninja and I cleaned up, packed up, and congratulated ourselves on getting out without an emergency room trip or other major mishap. The project just seemed prime for major disaster.

My treadmill setup, including Netflix on the iPad

I've been running on my treadmill for 3 weeks now. I don't know if I change my stride, if it's the speed I'm running, or what the issue is, but running anything more than a mile on the treadmill makes my calves sore. I assume this means I'm building muscle, and that I will be able to run farther the longer I use the treadmill. Much like learning to run in minimal shoes, I'm adding mileage slowly. This does mean, however, that I cannot do long runs inside. I keep an eye on the weather and plan my longer runs accordingly. Now we have snow on the ground this is a bit more difficult, but there is a park near my house that plows their path. I'd planned to run 6 miles there today, but the closet project took too long. I thought I'd at least run 3 on the treadmill, but made the mistake of sitting down at the computer when I got home. I was immediately sucked in, and only resurfaced with time enough for a single mile before heading out to meet Superman for dinner. One mile is enough to keep my streak going, but I'd really hoped for more.

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Improvements I can make

1. My food plan has been shot to hell the past several days. I'm binging again, which may be a direct response to the snow and cold. Regardless, it's a vicious circle when I eat this way. I overeat, I gain weight, I beat myself up, I overeat more... I have to find a reasonable and achievable way to break the cycle. I'm coming to realize (again) that I'm not particularly interested in losing weight. I am interested in feeling attractive, strong, and capable. That, and fitting in my jeans. I can't do those things if I continue to eat this way.

2. I snapped and got mad at Ninja simply because he didn't do what I wanted, today. What I wanted was for him to turn around on his way home, because he forgot the jacket he was supposed to take. Yes, I was thinking he would be cold without a decent winter coat, but getting upset like that was unreasonable. Then I transferred the frustration over into a conversation with Superman immediately after. I have a tendency to get frustrated with Ninja when he doesn't do what I want, which seems out of proportion to the reaction I have when other people do not do what I want. I'm not certain why this is, but it is not fair to him. He's a grown man now, and if he thinks the jacket he has will suffice for another week, I have to believe it will. If he gets cold, he gets cold. It is extremely unlikely he'll freeze to death.

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Positives from today

1. Superman's infinite patience, as I've been short tempered and easily annoyed all evening. I'm not sure why I'm such a pill, since everything has gone my way since arriving at dinner.

2. It supposed to snow tonight, but there is no snow in the forecast for tomorrow or Sunday. This means I can run the park both days. Sunday in particular will be sunny and in the 40s, which is perfect running weather.

3. While I haven't yet found it a home, I actually have a carpet cleaner. Given time, I may be able to eliminate all the spots 10 years of cats and kids have created on my poor carpet. Yeah, I know, I'm a dreamer.

4. I'm finally starting to feel almost healthy. I haven't taken any cold medicine in over 24 hours, and my sinuses are almost completely clear. Cross your fingers I haven't just jinxed myself into another bout of illness...

Boring myself

Source

You may have noticed I haven't posted at all this week, until yesterday's blackout. The reason is, I'm boring myself with all these goal related posts. If I'm boring myself, I imagine that's exactly how my faithful readers feel, x 10. At the same time, it's helpful for me to focus on how my goals are progressing daily. In addition to writing about them here, I've been tracking them on my calendar. The combination of both blog and calendar has been time consuming, which is counter productive.

The past few days, I tried just tracking on the calendar. That hasn't worked so well. Things aren't getting done. It's interesting to me which things are happening (running every day) and which are not (eating well, housekeeping, studying, and resumes). There's my priorities, right there. There is what I fear or find difficult or just do not enjoy doing. Those are also the variable elements in my calendar, time-slots which I allow to move freely depending on things like what time I wake up, what time I finish at my Mom's, and what I FEEL at any given time. I'm thinking I need to stop letting what I FEEL affect what I want to accomplish. I'm not letting what I FEEL affect my daily runs. Why am I letting it affect my daily studying, or daily resume submissions?

Once again, this blog is evolving, and I'm not certain of it's final form. My goals are also evolving, as I find what fits with who I am, and who I want to be. I imagine THAT will be a lifelong process. 

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3 positives from the last few days:

1. I've now run 18 days straight, each week increasing in mileage.

2. I'm tentatively excited about some of the resumes I've submitted, particularly to Progressive. I've not heard back from anyone, but my credentials are more in line with these than most of the other positions I've applied for of late.

3. I don't know if I've lost weight, and I've not exactly stuck to my food plan the last several days, but I FEEL more slender and fit. Ultimately, that's the result I'm looking for anyway.

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Ugh

Turns out some bugs are not afraid (or ashamed) to hit a person when they're down. There's a reason I was so exhausted the other day. I got got by another bug, and it is not the same bug I started with around Christmas. This one took the super duper mega ultra uber cold medicine they keep behind the counter to stop my nose from dripping like a leaky faucet, and even that doesn't get rid of the symptoms - it just makes them bearable.

Knocked.

Me.

On.
My.

Ass.

I was a zombie most of the day yesterday. I've been sleeping all day today. Apparently when I'm ill, all bets are off. Apparently Pierre's Strawberry Ice Cream is comfort food. The only reason it fit in with my meal plan is because Superman stopped off at our local vegetarian restaurant and brought me a care package:

Tommy's CeeBee Sandwich
Almost entirely vegetable calories.

Needless to say, I did not stay within my calorie allotment. I didn't even track what I ate today. That whole "eat for energy" thing keeps kicking me in the head. Eating for comfort. Eating for things that are not hunger. I wonder some times how I got this way, and what it would take to change me. Not everyone has these problems. First world problems, right?

Not everything went out the window. I put in 5 miles outside yesterday. I missed the sunshine, but it was still nice. My body didn't feel fatigued - it was just my head bothering me at that point. I am consistently hitting paces around 11:35-11:40 per mile, which is faster than the 12:00-13:00 minute miles I ran last year. I did a mile on the treadmill today. My body felt alright doing it, but I had a headache by the time I finished. It's just not possible to get enough oxygen through my airways right now.

I've kind of lost site of the stretching again. I thought about doing yoga a few times this week, but didn't want to put in the hour it requires. I did stretch yesterday and today, but both times they were perfunctory foot and leg stretches. Just enough to say I stretched, not enough to do much good.

I put in an application yesterday for an entry level .net developer position. I have only the vaguest idea what that is, but I'm certain that if someone wants to teach me how to do a job, I am fully capable of learning how to do it. I planned to take the Cleveland Clinic test today, but that didn't happen. Instead I basically lazed around and slept all day. Housework consisted of laundry and dishes, which I don't count on my goal because I do them by rote anyway. I did clean the toilet. I know you're all relieved to hear that. An example of exactly how out of it I am: I did not make my bed either yesterday or today. That happens even less frequently than me napping, which happened both days.

I did some studying yesterday too. I learned about the IN command in SQL. Well, part of the IN command. There is apparently more that I'll learn later on. Yesterday I learned that it is used to bring up multiple values when using the WHERE clause. Going back to our contacts database, you can use the IN command to look up all the people in both Cleveland and Youngstown at the same time. I also learned in a script like this you can use * as a wildcard if you want to search more than one column or field.

5 Positive things about today:

Dr. J is a research psychologist and professor at Florida State University. She is concerned with my "list 5 positive things about today" goal. Apparently this type of scenario is used to make people in research settings depressed. If they cannot come up with 5 things, they think the day did not go well. If they cannot come up with 5 negative things, they think maybe the day went better than they thought. She suggests I only list the 2 or 3 things that immediately come to mind, and leave the rest alone.

I appreciate her concern and love her for it. What she doesn't realize though, is I'm having fun coming up with the 5 things. I list the easy ones, then I get creative. Some of them are kind of BS, but it makes me smile to spin them in a positive light. Dr. J suggested another way to improve my outlook was simply to smile. As long as listing 5 positive things makes me smile, that's what I'm going to do. The minute I feel pressured or depressed because I can't come up with 5, I'll leave it alone and let the ones I can come up with speak for themselves.

1. I love my sister. In addition to her concern about my goals, she also is trying to get me to play with
    my clay again. She has an Etsy shop where she sells the results of her playing with glass, her
    husband's photography, and a bit of Dr. Who paraphernalia. Apparently Dr. Who sells. She's offered
    to sell my mother's sock patterns (my mother is a master knitter who designs socks and sells the
    patterns on Ravelry) on her Etsy site. To link the knitting with what she already has, she suggested
    I create Dr. Who paraphernalia too, including Tardis stitch holders for knitters. It sounds like so
    much fun! I actually watched some of the more recent episodes yesterday, when I wasn't sleeping.

2. My mother, the master knitter, made me this:

    I ran in it yesterday, and it was perfect. VERY warm over the ears, but not warm enough I wanted to
    take it off, as I often do my hats while running.

3.  This came in today's mail:

 

    It's officially official. I'm gergitated. 

4. Tomorrow I'm scheduled for my first Christmas present massage. I don't think we'll do the
    myofacial yet, but we might. I have to talk to him and see what he thinks. Again, I'm not sure if it's
    because I'm running every day, or maybe because I am not running any real distance, but I do not
    feel as tight as I did. I don't know if myofacial would be beneficial at this point.

5. Apparently, I'm very organized. I had to go up to the pharmacy to get my cold medicine last night
    (after deciding around 10 pm there had to be a stronger, more effective medicine than what I had.
    Also after leaving my wallet at home and having to turn around to get it. While on the phone with
    my Mom...). Either I'm overly organized, or the girl behind the counter just isn't. She commented,
    then spent several minutes talking about how organized my wallet is, while running my information
    through the computer twice because I hit enter without signing the federal form necessary to
    purchase the super duper mega ultra uber cold medicine. The entire situation struck me as amusing.
    I would lose my mind if I behaved the way she said she did, just dropping her debit card in her
    purse. She said it's because she's always rushing. I organize because I'm always rushing, and I lose
    things if they're not in their place. Witness the wallet I left at home. It was in one of two places -
    either on the doorknob or in the glove compartment. Somehow I didn't see it on the doorknob.

Who's bluffing now?

Wow. I don't know what the deal is, but I have been simply exhausted all day. I got stuff done, but it was a struggle. Even after a nap, I'm still tired. At least I ate today, and ate well. Balanced and within my calorie allotment. Hunger is not why I'm so tired.

It all started when I got up early to meet Energizer Bunny at my Mom's. I did not want to get out of bed, even going as far as to hit snooze 3 times, when I rarely if ever hit snooze even once. Energizer Bunny and her husband (Mr. Math) refinished my mother's woodblock kitchen table today, and we talked about cabinets. The options on the cabinets are:

1. strip with the heat gun, prime and refinish = 20+ hours of work
2. sand, prime and refinish = <20 hours of work, but we're not sure what the quality will be
3. reface everything = $$
4. replace everything = $$$$$$

Energizer Bunny is getting prices and testing the sand/prime/finish theory on the door to the laundry chute. I cannot do much in the kitchen until I know what we're doing. I don't want to patch walls, only to have them torn up if we replace the cabinets.

Luckily, there's plenty to do in the dining room and living room. After everyone left, I spent almost 4 hours working on the windows and front wall of the dining room. There was more water damage than I first thought, but I think I've at least got a plan now. I said I wasn't going to scrape anything since my hands are still sore from last week, but I ended up scraping the window frame. <shrug> It needed doing.

I left my Mom's mid-afternoon, which is early of late, hoping to get a run in out in the sunshine. I was just too fatigued though, and opted for a (*GASP*) nap. I am not normally the nap taker, but I haven't been sleeping well again, and I think I may have caught another cold. I just feel run down. So I slept for a couple hours, then got up and (FINALLY) swept the basement stairs and vacuumed the basement. My run, which I'd hoped to be 3 miles, which my calendar says should be quarter mile intervals, turned into an easy mile on the treadmill at 5mph pace. Since I ran at least a mile, I'm good with that. I didn't do more than stretch my feet, but again, the smallest fulfillment of my goal still fulfills my goal.

Next on the list was studying. Today I learned more qualifiers for the SELECT command. In addition to the WHERE from yesterday, I learned you can narrow the search even more with an AND or Or command. So in our contacts database we would SELECT the city column in the contacts table. Then we would search with the WHERE command for city = 'cleveland", refining that with AND (zip>44113 OR <44122). This will return any addresses in the Cleveland area with a zip code greater than 44113 but less than 44122.

I had to go back and check to make sure the AND/OR commands could search through a different column than the WHERE command. They can.

I submitted today's resume to Cleveland Clinic, for another systems analyst position. I still have to take their assessment test, which is on the agenda for tomorrow. I want to make sure 1) I am as awake and alert as possible, and 2) I have enough time for the hour+ test.

For now, I'm tired and heading to bed. I'm hoping for the run outside tomorrow, since it's supposed to be the last warm dry day this week.

5 Positive things about today:

1. Superman just informed me I'm awesome, for no apparent reason other than I said I had to come up
    with my 5 positive things for the day. 8-)

2. My mother did actually go out and purchase an Ott light for me to use in my craft area. Now I have
    to come up with time and energy to do crafts. Seriously. She said she knows it's not the sole reason
    I'm not doing crafts right now, but it's something she thought I could use. I thought that was very
    sweet of her.

3. Not only did I get to talk to Aunt Gertie and Energizer Bunny today, I also spoke with Big Bro. He
    has my Dad's old hard drive, which may contain some of the historical content Energizer Bunny,
    Superman and I were talking about scanning. We are definitely going through all this material on
    Sunday, and I'm very excited to see what's there.

4. I spent some time today planning my garden for next year, including where and how much trellis to
    put up for my grape vine. The trellis will serve a duel purpose of supporting my grapes and hiding
    my garbage cans. The strawberries and raspberries appear to be wintering well. All I'll have to add
    is a more manageable tomato plant than the one I had this past year, and replanting of my peppers
    which are currently wintering in pots inside.

5. I hit all my goals today. Maybe not with the flair and gusto of a 10 miler or hour of yoga, but I hit
    them nonetheless. Now to do that on a regular basis...

fatigued...or... well exercised!

This was today's project. Remove the paneling and adhesive from the wall over the sink and behind the microwave (already removed). I was surprised that my hands and arms were still feeling last week's endeavors. I also got a little distracted. You see the lower cabinet to the far right? After a conversation with Energizer Bunny, I started taking the paint of that cabinet. We are going to refinish all the cabinets, and it appears the heat gun will be the quickest and easiest way to remove the paint on them now. Of course, this will mean about 2 more weeks of work for me. It really does need to be done though.

I did get the wall cleaned up, including a good look at why the tile was put on in the first place. Sorry I forgot to take pictures. Blogger fail, I know. Not eating anything all day may have had something to do with that, though I certainly had enough pizza to carry me through today and tomorrow as well. Mostly I wasn't hungry, and when I was I didn't have a microwave to heat up what I'd brought to eat. Instead I had some tea and the hunger passed, which means I must not have really been hungry in the first place, right?

I was hungry by the time I got home, though. I made a huge bowl of veggies with the protien and vegetable concoction meant for this week's meals. There was no way I was going to run immediately after eating that, so I sat down and got my studying and resume out of the way.

Today is brought to you by the WHERE command. This is another qualifier for the SELECT command, but it doesn't connect to SELECT in the same way yesterday's DISTINCT does. WHERE is another line in the question "what are you looking for?" You would use it in a contacts database to retrieve only the records from a specific city (city = 'Cleveland'). I also learned that text criteria such as 'Cleveland' are entered with single quotation marks. Numbers, such as zip codes, are not.

After digesting that little tidbit, I started searching for a resume to submit. I'm actually a little hopeful and excited about the Systems Analyst position I applied for at Metro Health. It's an entry level position, meaning they will be willing to teach me what they want me to do.

Once dinner had settled (read: several hours later) I hopped on the treadmill for my run. I was tired, so only wanted to do 1 mile. My calendar said 3, but that is a purely arbitrary number based on nothing at all, including my physical health at the moment (thought I was better, but now my sinues are acting up again). I split the difference and ran 2.

I'm not doing so well with the housekeeping goal the past few days. I still haven't vacuumed the basement, even though I did move the vacuum down there. Maybe if I get to bed before 2am, I won't be so tired tomorrow and I'll get it done.

5 positive things about today:

1. We have had several warm, sunny days in a row. I'm liking winter this way!

2. In line with the warm, sunny days, the sunsets have been fabulous out my mother's back window.

3. I got to chat with both Aunt Gertie and Energizer Bunny today. I like it when I chat with my sisters.

4. One of the people I worked with in my last job touched base with me on Linkedin, which resulted in
    a recommendation and I'm using her as a reference with the resume I submitted today. Funny that I
    found my Dad on Linkedin, listed as manager of my mother's sewing and alterations shop. That
    made me smile.

5. Energizer Bunny, Superman, and possibly my mother will be getting together soon to go through
    and scan in a bit of our family history. My mother inherited photo albums from my father's mother.
    They chronical my grandparent's courtship and my father's youth. I can't wait to go through it all!

Long run, done!

All 4 miles of it. I did them outside and nonstop, at an 11:40 pace. So much better than my runs earlier in the week! I started feeling good enough about mile 3 to consider running 5, but I didn't have time and I was starting to feel a little chilled. I missed the good weather this week, and while it was still sunny the temperature had dropped. Also, it appears I only stretch after running on the treadmill.

I didn't have time for another mile because Superman and I went to see

The Adventures of Tintin

Superman has fond memories of going to the local book shop after school and reading these in between the stacks. I'd never heard of them, other than through Superman, but I can see why he enjoyed them so. In addition to the fast paced story and exciting adventure, I was fascinated with the artwork and detail.

After the movie, I stopped by the local running store to return the Brooks I bought last week. They apparently have arch support or something which I do not need. One mile into my first run with them and I knew they wouldn't work. 1.5 miles and I switched back to my old shoes, which need replacing. Turns out I didn't know the Kinvara's were reworked shortly after I purchased my pair. I'm now the proud owner of another pair of Kinvara's, which are slightly wider and slightly more yellow (if that's at all possible) than last year's model.

On the way home from the running store, my self destructive half convinced me pizza was a much better idea for dinner than the concoction I'd made yesterday for this week's meals. I decided I could afford a personal pan pizza, but it didn't take much for the person who answered to phone to talk me into a large. Apparently Pizza Hut has a special going on now, where all toppings on a large pizza are free. The personal pan pizza cost as much as the large. It didn't make sense to go small, except for that whole "I'll over-eat then chastise myself if I go large" thing. So of course, that's exactly what I did.

This is the compromise my two selves came to. I steamed up a bunch of vegetables and scraped the cheese and toppings into it, then ate the crusts. No, I am not well balanced vegetable-wise today (unless you consider pizza a vegetable). I also didn't stop there and proceeded to eat 2 more pieces of pizza, which I completely did not need. I would have been within my calorie allotment had I restrained myself. Note to self: next time go with the personal pan pizza, no matter what deal you think you're getting. That deal is not in your best interest.

I did get a resume in, for an IT Auditor position at University Hospitals. I also studied SQL for the first time this week. I'm in the early stages of learning this language. The first lesson was on the SELECT command, which will call up the contents of a column in a database table. So if you want to see all the last names in a contacts database you use the SELECT command. Today I learned about SELECT DISTINCT, which returns only one instance of an item in a column. So if you want to see how many different cities are in a contacts database, you use the SELECT DISTINCT command. It cuts out the duplicates.

I have yet to vacuum the basement, but I took the vacuum down to do so before I go to bed. Right now I'm piddling around on the game I play.

5 Positive things about today:

1. I found a coffee candy that is tasty enough, with considerably fewer calories.

2. My mother remembered today that she owns a carpet cleaner. After all my work last week, she no longer
    has any carpets. She offered the cleaner to me. Yay! Maybe now I can get the stains out of my carpet.

3. My mother has also offered to find me an Ott light for my craft/utility room. This lamp apparently shines
    with a natural light, but is not just a "daylight" bulb. The Ott website offers "true colors, clear details, and
    reduced glare and eyestrain - all in a low heat, energy-efficient bulb" which should do well to simulate the
    sunshine I need to be comfortable working in that space.

4. I'm not sure if it's because I'm running every day, because I'm stretching more, or why, but I've noticed my
    hips are not as tight as they were. Before I would be standing by the sink and realize everything was
    clenched and tight. I'd have to deliberately relax those muscles. This week that has not been the case. Yes,
    my back was very tight after working on my mother's floors, but my hips were not. Go figure.

5. My friend from high school responded to my email about Progressive. He is going to submit my resume
    when he's back in the office next month, with his recommendation. He says people who are recommended
    at least get a call from HR. 

The Bug

Today was a one step back kind of day in the food plan department. I did well until this evening. Basically I ate instead of hydrating. Then, even knowing I was eating instead of hydrating, I continued to overeat.

I haven't been hydrating well for the past few days, and it shows not only in tonight's eating, but also in my runs. I ended up with 2 miles today on the treadmill, and those were interspersed with breaks every half mile. I'm certain hydration had something to do with how I felt. I even made tea, which I haven't done for the last few days. Then I had the bright idea to add Amway's Nutrilite to the tea, which ruined the taste completely. I should have just made another batch, but I didn't.

I did accomplish several things today, including getting my car washed and cleaning the kitchen floor. I also spent quite a bit of time preparing my meals for the coming week. I have the plan perfectly balanced for my basic calorie requirements. This means I will be challenged to balance any additional calories from exercise or working at my Mom's. I don't know if I have enough vegetables in the house to balance those additional calories. I guess I'll have to work something out, even if it means another trip to the grocery store.

I also stretched after running. I woke up with my lower back VERY stiff, so stretched my back as well as my legs. Did I mention how excited I am about Friday's massage?

I'm failing on the studying front, though. I was supposed to study yesterday and today, and it just didn't happen. Things took longer than expected, and I made choices which excluded the studying. I have to start making it a priority, and am considering going back to the "every day" concept I started with. Even if I only learn one thing a day, that is better than how I'm learning now (read NOT). 

I submitted another resume to Progressive today, as well as emailing my high school friend who works there. This position is for a college student who graduated from a Masters program in December (that would be me!) or expects to graduate in early 2012. I haven't had any statistics classes, and could not detail a time when I made a proposal or recommendations to a manager or business leader, but I'm a whiz at Excel and I am willing to learn...

5 Positive things about today:

1. My neighbor stopped by and we talked about "The Occassional Dining Club" which apparently will
    have another meeting the weekend before Valentine's. No clue where we'll go to eat, but it should be
    enjoyable!

2. I didn't get to run in it, because things took longer than expected all day, but it was a gorgeous 50+
    degree day again. I can handle this kind of winter here!

3. I've been completely entranced by the Yellow Bird movies of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,
    The Girl Who Played With Fire, and now The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest. (the movies
    are available on Netflix) I haven't read the last book, but these interpretations (done by a Swedish
    film company) are spot on to the books I have read, leaving literally nothing out and changing
    nothing either.  They are dark and fascinating. It's a shame the author died, as I understand there
    were plans for more in the series.

4. My cold is just about gone. No need to medicate, and only a one minor coughing jag. Now to get
    my endurance back...

5. I'm incredibly thankful I chose to list only 5 positive things about my days, as I usually get stuck
    around 3 or 4, and the 10 I was originally contemplating would likely have been impossible!
    Overall, I have good days, but the good things do not stand out at the end of the day.

Because I have no pictures for you, I offer a smile. My one and only celebrity crush...

Happiness is...

A new treadmill.

The box was as big as my living room

This is what I was left with

The instructions kept saying
"ask your assistant to hold..."
"ask your assistant to place..."
My assistant was not exceptionally helpful...

While searching for my level, I accidentally cleaned my utility room
unburying my craft area

Ready to run!

It took me a bit to figure out how to put the treadmill together, without a real assistant. Getting distracted by the utility room didn't help either, but finally it was done! Then I had a decision to make. Run on the new treadmill, or outside in the 56 degree sunshine. Hard choice!

Ultimately I decided to run on the treadmill, hopefully thinking I could put in 2 or 3 miles inside, then another 1 to 3 outside. I had to test the treadmill out, after all. I did 3 miles, and there was no way I was adding more outside. Those 3 miles were very difficult. I know I keep saying I'm not quite well yet, but it's true. I didn't take any medication at all today, with only a minor touch of congestion and one coughing fit. It was obvious on the run, however, that I've lost all my endurance. Yes, I ran 3 miles, but that was with several walk breaks. Also, I have to take my Brooks shoes back to the store. They bothered my arches through the entire run, enough so I switched back to the Kinvaras for the last half mile. If I can't even run 3 miles in them, there's no way I'm going to run 10 or 20 or more.

Again, I did a few stretches after my run. This seems to be my favorite time to stretch, even more than first thing in the morning (which hasn't been happening lately). Somehow the day had gotten away from me though (I didn't study AT ALL), so I was more focused on getting cleaned up and packed up for FNO. I did a couple leg stretches and moved on.

Knowing I wouldn't have much time this evening, I decided to do a quick job search and get my resume submission off my list. The sites I've been searching lately haven't had many new jobs posted, so I added Cleveland Clinic and University Hospital job sites to the list. I applied for an Operation Analyst at the Clinic. I don't know what the expiration date is on their assessment testing but the test I took a few months ago is no longer in the system, giving me the chance to improve my score. This test challenges problem solving and short term memory skills. The last portion is a headache, no matter how brilliant you may be. You have an email stream to read and a list of math problems to solve at the same time. Both are on timers. You can only reference emails you received within the last minute, and they are popping in your box at the rate of 2 or 3 a minute. Some of the emails ask questions referring to other emails, which have already expired from viewing. The problems you have approximately a minute to solve, and are told it's better to pass out of one rather than let the timer run out.

I don't do math in my head.

I did not score very well on this test, the first time through.

I don't expect to score much better this time. Some, because now I know what to expect. I can write some of the pertinent email info down. I can be more aware of the timers.

I wish they at least let you know if you passed or failed, instead of laughing every time you ever hopefully post a resume.

I ate rather well during the day today, except for an abundance of coffee candy. I really have to switch to a lower calorie creamer. Then I had the Nachos Supremo for dinner. I didn't eat all the nachos, but I sure ate everything on top of them. Not much in the way of vegetables, which is ok for an off day. It looks like I'm going to have to be creative tomorrow, as I ended up with leftovers from a friend's fajita. Again, not much in the way of vegetables. I'll have to fill it out some to balance, as I only get one off day per week.

5 positive things from today:

1. My new treadmill!!!!!!!!

2. This has been an exceptionally warm winter. It's supposed to be in the 40s until Thursday, and I fully
    intend to run outside while there is no snow or ice on the ground. Tomorrow, 4 miles around the
    neighborhood. Even if walking is involved, I will be outside in the sun!

3. I think Dr. J planted a seed, as I've been thinking more and more about my clay. Clearing out the
    utility room and unburying the craft table was not just a coincidence, even if I did decide I couldn't
    work in that space unless the sun was shining, and even then it's cramped and dark. I spent some
    time on Etsy today, looking at necklaces like the ones I was thinking about yesterday. There weren't
    any exactly like the ones I was thinking about....

4. I haven't always had the best relationship with my mother. I butted heads with her horribly as a teen,
    and we weren't what I would call "close" for many years. That's been changing over the last several
    years, and specifically over the last few months. I'm enjoying the time I spend with her, and the
    daily conversations are giving me an entirely new insight into who she is as a person.

5. I set up my first myofacial release session for this coming Friday. I'm very excited and hopeful,
    though I realize there is no such thing as a magic pill or bullet or whatever that will fix everything
    all at once. I'm hopeful it will help, that I won't feel so stiff, that it will relieve some of the issues
    I've become accustomed to living with.

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. 

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.

whooped

From this...

To this.

Plus random paint touch-ups, a sidewalk and half of a driveway shoveled, and the 2nd floor wood floors steam cleaned.


7 hours.


One tired puppy.

I almost skipped running, choosing to walk a mile or three instead. In the end I decided the deal was to run, so run I would. I stopped at the Y as originally planned, walked a quarter mile, ran a mile at 5 mph, then walked another quarter mile. Then I stretched, though I could probably do with some more stretching in the lower back region.

I spoke to a headhunter today. Unfortunately, the job he wanted to talk to me about is in Akron - about an hour drive on a good day with no traffic or snow or anything. I told him it would be difficult to come up with enough salary to cover travel costs. He did say he would send my info over to the Cleveland office, so hopefully something will come of that.

I also applied for a Jr. Reporting Analyst position, which matches some of my skill set. I don't fulfill all the requirements, but I figured it was worth a shot.

I ate well, and still have a ton of calories available, which I will not use. I counted all the work at my Mom's at 100 calories per hour, which seemed more than reasonable. I'm going back and forth about including fruit in the "50% of calories consumed are vegetables" goal. I start the day with just over 50% of my daily calorie allotment figured from vegetables. Today, I had a Clif bar before my run, which was at 7pm and prior to dinner because I wouldn't have run if I'd gone home to have dinner first. I was not able to balance those 250 calories with an equal amount in vegetables, though I had the budget to do so. Instead I ate 2 large Boca burgers with my spaghetti squash dinner, then several cups of blackberries for desert.

I've decided I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Today was a good, healthy day. 'Nuf said.

I haven't gotten anything done on MY house today, unless you include the plastic containers I bought for my yearly financial files purge and 7-year storage. I haven't actually done the purge yet. Just planned it and purchased the boxes so I can organize a little better. Xmas items 75% off at Wal-Mart = super cheap plastic containers and another 3 rolls of wrapping paper. Can't beat wrapping paper at $.60 roll.

Maybe I'll vacuum my bedroom before I collapse in bed. Maybe.

check, check, check and check!

Good thing we didn't get buried in snow, as predicted!

what we were promised

what we actually got

Neither of these pictures are mine. I've been terrible lately with the picture taking. Aunt Gertie was right and basically what we got was the news and weather people running around screaming "The sky is falling! The sky is falling! We're all gonna die!"

Then nothing happened.

I took advantage of the nothing happening and got a lot done today. First, I slept in. If you've been reading here for any length of time you know I don't sleep well. I took my Mom's advice and tried a PM cold remedy last night, since the previous few nights I've been waking up as many as 10x per night.

Knocked.
Me.
Out.

I slept about 7 hours, got up for a minute, then went back to bed for another 3.

Is it any wonder I'm feeling particularly productive and energetic today?

I got up and started right into studying. Today I played with Access, remembering they have a nutritional database similar to MyFitnessPal or Fitday. Similar in theory anyway. I fussed for half an hour or so just trying to get the existing database to let me put my height in as 5'6". As soon as I tabbed out of the field it rounded up to 6', which gives me about 2K calories to play with, which is about 700 more than I need on any given day if I want to lose weight. Turns out that field is coded as an integer, which only allows for whole numbers. That particular code is buried a little, so I had to do some research, griping and grousing the whole time. I laughed on the phone with Superman later, because he's pointed out to me that I get frustrated when I'm learning - or at least when I don't understand things, until I learn. That was the whole point of getting in and playing with the database though. I have to get used to the program, and how it does things. To do this, I have to have data I understand, and an idea how I want the database to work. So today I learned.

After beating my head against the Access database for a while, I decided the weather was not prohibitive to running errands, so I headed out. I have a holiday blogger gift exchange I want to put in tomorrow's mail, but did not yet have the bits I wanted to include. Sad panda. Turns out the local chocolate companies do not sell chocolate covered bacon this time of year - only around Father's Day. Sorry Rose. I wasn't sure you'd be able to eat it anyway, considering. Just thought it would be fun.

Always wanted to try it
Seriously thinking about making some
but don't want a whole batch sitting around
calling my name

It's also time for a new pair of running shoes. Experts say you're supposed to replace your shoes every 250-400 miles, though I hear you can run in Vibrams literally until they fall apart. I'm too lazy to do the math to find out how many miles I've run since I purchased mine 7 months ago. I'm not running in Vibrams, and even with only a 4mm heel drop on my Kinvara's (most neutral shoes are anywhere from 10-20mm), I can see where they are worn, and how that wear would affect my gait. Mostly, I'm feeling it in my feet and knees. I am in the market for a new brand, as Sauchony tend to be narrow and my foot is wider than most. I normally wear a men's shoe, and the men's Kinvara is still a tad tight.

Enter the Brooks PureConnect. The fit is snug, but not in anyway binding or uncomfortable. The cushioning is focused on the arch, which makes me focus on foot placement. The heel drop is the same as the Kinvaras. I'm looking forward to testing them out on my new treadmill, which is scheduled for delivery Friday morning.

I went straight from the shoe store to the Y and put in 2 miles on their treadmill, fulfilling my run every day edict. I could have tested out the new shoe, but I already had the old ones in my gym bag, so those are the ones I wore. I planned to do the full 3 miles on my schedule today, but got to a mile and a half and realized 1) I'm not quite healthy yet, which means I get exhausted easily, and b) I could totally feel that all the running I did yesterday was in the Nike Free. Nike Free are extremely flexible, and my plantar fascia (the tendon that runs along the bottom of the foot) is not extremely flexible.

I stretched after running. Feet, hamstrings, thighs and hips.

The weather did get a little dicey on my way home from shopping. Living near the lake has more than one benefit, as lake effect snow passes right over me, dumping 2 to 3 times the snowfall I get into Superman's yard. I made it home with no ill effects, and after my run got busy rearranging the upstairs to make room for the treadmill. I couldn't take a picture that adequately showed the room I made the in front bedroom, complete with desk and internet connection for when I want to watch movies while running, but also with a clear view of the window. I also tried and failed to take a decent picture of the back bedroom, which is now set up with the Wii and DVD player, and room enough to do yoga. Halfway through this project I realized someone had stolen one of my garbage cans, which are traditionally bungee'd to the back of my house. That plus the need for a 3-to-2 prong plug adapter sent me to Home Depot. Home Depot is one of those places I can never walk into, even with a list, and walk out with only what I intended. 

This wasn't on my list
but the last spot cleaner I tried didn't work as well as I thought
the next day the spots showed right back up
Guess I'll see if this works any better.

After scrubbing spots on my bedroom carpets, I spent some time submitting my resume for an entry level Buyer position which looked interesting, and setting up a few searchable resumes on Dice.com. I love talking about how we had a computer in the house before there were hard drives and mouses, where I had to load Word Perfect floppy after floppy in order to write papers in high school.  Hopefully that little blurb will be enough to convince someone I know my way around computers enough that having taught myself how to use applications like Microsoft Office, I shouldn't have a problem learning SQL Server. <fingers crossed>

I have my menu set for the week, and my eating has been within prescribed parameters so far today. I say so far because after I posted about how well I was doing last night, I made the mistake of opening a bag of Almond M&Ms. I had the calorie allotment to have a single serving, but I did not stop there. Maybe if I had separated out that serving and immediately put the bag away... At least I didn't finish the entire bag. Only half...

5 positive things about today:

1. I slept! I feel rested, and even though I still obviously have a cold, I feel better than yesterday

2. I had an awful lot of fun shopping for and putting together my blogger gift.

3. Monkey Boy made me laugh out loud today. He was apparently in Africa for 2 weeks over
    Christmas, and that somehow entitled him to grow a beard. He's very proud of his beard. Says he
    looks like Gandolf from the Lord of the Rings...

Imagine this image in a text string, and you'll understand my confusion.
Why are you sending me naked pictures, my boy?
And what is that smudge on your chin?

4. My treadmill will be delivered Friday morning! They called twice and texted me twice, just to be

    sure I was aware of the delivery time.

5.

Enough said

This is doable (and how I lost my mind... again)

Here it is, a brand spankin' new year, and I'm feeling very much that my list of goals is exceedingly attainable.

Clean and maintain the house
I finally got my storm windows up on both front and back doors. Apparently I paid myself a favor forward at some point, took the doors apart, and put them back together upside down. Switching the storm windows consisted soley of pulling them up and making sure they latched in the proper notches.

Learn SQL and Access
I didn't actively study SQL or Access today. I did, however, search all over Amazon.com for SQL books, and determined there is no way I'm going to learn everything I need to learn before I get a job. Yeah, I'll study, but I'm going to have to convince someone somewhere to give me a chance to learn hands on.

List 5 positive things about today
1. I had a fabulous time chatting with Dr. J, her husband, Energizer Bunny, and Superman today. Dr. J
    is heading back to Florida tomorrow (providing the airport doesn't get snowed in), and I would have
    been sad if I hadn't had the chance to see her one last time.

2. Ninja stopped by in a surprise visit tonight, showing me a picture of a very special something I don't
    think is mine to talk about yet. I knew it was coming, but didn't know he had yet pulled the trigger.
    Happy me, just to see him - even more so to see him happy.

3. I lost my mind today and bought a treadmill. Not just any treadmill. A treadmill half again the top
    end of my budget. I'm in love with it though. I ran at least a mile testing out all the different
    treadmills available, and just kept coming back to this one. It is well cushioned, quick to speed up,
    quick to slow down, sturdy with a strong motor. Everything I want in a treadmill, without all the
    bells and whistles of the lower priced models, which were not as sturdy. I was annoyed by most of
    the bells and whistles of the other treadmills.

4. Energizer Bunny recieved a gas card from her insurance company, soley for recommending I talk to
    them. I did not go with that insurance company, but they sent her a gas card anyway. She gave said
    gas card to me.

5. I made a spaghetti squash chili dish for dinners this week, that came out incredibly tastey. Not bad
    for the first time making spaghetti squash, and just winging it with the rest of the ingredients.

Remodel my parent's house
This didn't happen today, but I'm very happy to have worked out something of a schedule (or at least a list of what needs doing) on yesterday's blog. Hopefully the schedule won't be disrupted too much by the predicted blizzard we're supposed to get. So far, no snow, no worries.

Stay within MyFitnessPal calorie allotment and make 50% of calories consumed from vegetables
This is going to be an interesting challenge, for several reasons. I know I'm within the calorie allotment today. If I follow my planned menu I'm within the 50%, but I'm not done eating. 600-800 calories of vegetables is a whole heck of a lot of food! I still have a box of green beans & almonds, plus a green pepper not yet consumed. I'm stuffed. I had to tweak the menu a bit when I was out shopping for a treadmill and got really hungry. I replaced one non-veggie item with another of almost the same calorie count. I'm going to have to allow for some flexibility in here. At the same time, it's helpful to have the same things to eat every day, at least every day in a week.

Stretch
This has not been the easiest goal to achieve, lately. I started out good, but lost momentum and have not been able to pick it back up. I do have plans to rearrange the upstairs for the treadmill, making certain there is room for Yoga as well.

Submit a resume a day
Today, this resume went to a headhunting agency. Hopefully they'll be able to find me an entry level database administrator position, where I can more quickly learn the skills I'm trying to teach myself. If not that, then maybe they will be able to line up my skillset with something more appropriate.

Run every day
I ran a mile today on Energizer Bunny's treadmill. I'm still ill and it was not a pleasant experience, but it fulfilled the run every day goal. I don't have to run 3 miles a day in order to achieve the 1K/365 goal, because I know there will be many days I run farther than 3 miles. I expect the mileage to average out as I ramp up toward marathon distances. I actually ran 2 miles today, once I figure in the test runs on all the treadmills.