3 Day Weekend Reflections

Every 3rd week, I get a 3-day weekend (followed by a 1-day weekend, so don't get too spiteful or jealous). 

The first day, Saturday, is usually spent relaxing or convincing myself I will spend the day cleaning up the house so that the rest of the weekend will be relaxing.

The second day, Sunday, is spent being confused about whether it's Saturday or Sunday and "do I have to work tomorrow?" questions.

The third day, Monday - today in this case - is spent forgetting that tomorrow is the day I really have to go back, and no, this isn't a vacation. (Insert my favorite piece of punctuation, the comma, here and everywhere else you feel like. I clearly don't stop myself.)

This Monday happens to end on an intoxicated note, but it won't always be that way.  Expect reflections from a 3-day weekend to come every 3rd week.  As Chef Terranova says, "We'll be here."

• Shelby came home with fleas this weekend.  Fleas!!!  Oh well.  Palmolive has them under control, and I feel like a horrible mom because I simultaneously didn't want to go get Dawn for her (much gentler) and didn't want to hug her for a day (she was basically covered in the herp!) #lifewithdogs New name: fleabag aka flea-bitten-varmint
• Do you know stuff trends on Facebook now?!?!!  My phone can't see it, but while browsing the interwebs on my PC, I found you could click everytime there was a hashtag_____
• I made a random batch of sangria today at about 3:30pm.  Maybe the 1st day of the 3 day weekend would have been a better time for this, but I had the ingredients, and - oh! - lookee-there - the pitcher is gone.  Waste-not want-not and all of that. 
• I can't wait for Bates Motel to come back.
• Did you know that Target sells packets of just earring backs?!?!  I bought a pack today for I think $4.99 and divided by all of the earring sets that were going to be thrown out because I lost one back, so worth it.
• Also, Walking Dead.  One word: Darrell (Daryl?)  Pat can't even deny me because he's his favorite, too.
• I washed Shelby's bedclothes because of her infestation (it was really like 4 fleas but I take no chances and no prisoners - they all die) and she took it upon herself to "redecorate" when the cover to her upstairs bed was not out of the drier before bed time.  Aaaaand now she has a new memory foam bed.

 

 

• I just finished Harry Potter book 4 and I'm really loving the books again, but differently at this point in my life.  There's no doubt or secret that I adored the story line while growing up, in fact we would fight to decide who was reading them first, but they mean something else now that I'm a "grown up" (oh say it ain't so!!!)   I've been taking a small break between each of them and reading something unrelated, so I'll probably finish up with "Boxer, Beetle" before I go back to book 5.
• Pat went out for TP today and turned around to come home before he made it to the store, deciding to just use PT.  If that doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will.  I've been dying over it for 12 hours now.

Greyhound playdate

What a fun day for Shelby!  She got to meet Cody, a recently adopted greyhound, and had the time of her life.  We've never really seen her want to interact with other dogs, but as soon as she saw this big guy she really came out of her shell.


They played together...

They drank together...

They made funny faces at us...

And Shelby even shared her bed...

Shelby the greyhound goes for a ride

Where are we going?  I'm ready!

And then came the snow.

What a cold, snowy morning!  Shelby the greyhound didn't seem to get the message that greyhounds don't sit.

Warm Day in January

Shelby the greyhound got to spend a little bit of fun time outside before the cold set in.  She's jacked yo'.  And tatted up.  She looks pretty bad-ass.

A Very Shelby Christmas

We had a very relaxing Christmas and Shelby the greyhound got to spend the holidays lounging and visiting with family.  Christmas Eve was at Grandma Gurney's house, while Christmas Day was with Pat's side of the family.  Her Christmas sweater and jingle bell collar were worn most of the time!

Week 1: Goals

To help me track my progress without tracking every bite of food I eat, I've decided to set a weekly goal and then report weekly results.

This week, my goal is to eat my 3 servings of dairy and to drink 64 fl oz of water, every single day.  The dairy will most likely come in the form of yogurt, either:

Yoplait Greek 100

or Fage Total 0%

I'm not officially sure if either of these are considered Simply Filling, but they are Simply Filling enough.  I don't mean to start off this project by making substitutions, but this yogurt is good for me, and that is really important.  Their non-flavored counterparts are on the SF list, and the fruit flavoring on both is made of sugar, fruit, water, and preservatives - no corn syrup, nothing weird.  Since I know I would never eat plain yogurt, this is going to work for me!  I'm happy that we have a fridge on vacation, too, so that I'll always be able to have a few containers of yogurt on hand for a protein-packed snack.

I'm also starting off with only 64oz of water, since that seems managable.  I think I'm supposed to be drinking like 100+ or something, but that's out of reach right now.  I'd like to start with goals I think I can really be successful about!

Simply Filling

I've decided to embark on a journey.  I'm having a tough time tracking my food on the WW Points Plus plan, so a great compromise is the Weight Watchers Simply Filling Plan.  

I made sure that this is something I can see myself following - I've spent time eating mostly this way, as well as following some blogs to see how other ladies incorporate the restrictions into real life.  I'm proud of the improvements I've made when it comes to stopping before I'm stuffed.  I no longer find a comforting feeling knowing I've conceived a food-baby every night.  Day.  Morning.  Whatever.

The great part about me starting this program now is that I've come to love most of this food, and regularly go for extras of the good stuff before more pasta or sweets.  I don't even really like desserts as it turns out!

This plan also allows for some leeway.  You still get your 49 PPV weekly for items of your choosing, which you can either consume or not.  It lets me still enjoy vacation next week, still drink my weight in Miller 64.  Ha!

So here's to a mostly-the-same new lifestyle choice.  I think I can pretty easily get Pat on board, too.

Some living room ideas

I've been playing around with some ideas for the living room since it will be the next room to get painted - and seriously, I think that paint can do so much to change the whole mood of a room.

Although I don't have any current pictures of the living room (note to self: take some!), I'm actually fairly happy with the types of furniture there are, however the accessories need a BIG update.  Here is a little mood board I put together to get an idea of where I'd like to be without switching out the big pieces.

Anyone who has been in the house will see that the key elements are already in place here.  The rug we have now is a nice, high pile white shag rug (although it needs to be spun because a couple of Shelby oops spots have turned grey).

That chair is SUPER close to what we've already got, and it's not going anywhere until its worn through in the seat.  And even then.

We'd really like to get a new couch, as Pat isn't finding ours very comfy anymore, and it's not really as white as I'd like - more of a cream/ivory - but we're carrying the basic idea for now.  Our current couch is a little bulky and rounded, where I'd really like something closer to the one pictured - cleaner lines, but still traditional, with slip covers or at least a skirt.

We've known for a few years that our hand-me-down coffee table is on its way out (my sister, the hander-downer, begs to differ), and I'd eventually love to replace it with a nice rustic square table that's an inch or so shorter than what we've got now.  Either our couch is too short or the table is too tall, but our knees go numb when we put our feet up.  I'm really loving the warm, worn color of the table pictured.

A simple basket is something I really want to add, like this one from Thrifty Decor Chick.  Sarah got that one at Target I think, and the chalkboard accent is adorable.  It would be really nice to have somewhere to put the blankets not in use since we don't like to leave them on the couch.  Not only does that look messy, but a certain greyhound likes to claim soft things as her own and that's just annoying.  And gross.  Because she sheds.  And mostly because she farts quite a lot.

When I first saw these watercolor world maps by Jessica Illustration on Etsy, I was hooked.  I'm still infatuated almost a year later, and I can't wait to add a big one to the back wall of the living room.  Maybe a birthday present? :)

I thought that the maps and the chevron curtains (I mean, zig-zag, right Lindsey? ;-)) would really pair nicely with the wall color I've chosen and add a bit of crispness to an otherwise pretty warm room.  The color on the "walls" in the picture is pretty close to Sherman Williams' "Snowdrop," which I have 2 gallons of - is that enough for a living room?  Who even knows?  Probably not, it never is.

The orange ikat pillows simply seemed like a nice contrast-but-not-clash to all of the blues and greens going on.

Lastly, we can't wait to switch out our ugly boob light in the top of this picture:

with a ceiling fan.  Not because we think they're pretty, because we don't, but because we just love the functionality of ceiling fans so darn much.  I was totally bummed everytime I thought of installing one because of how ugly I think they are, but I came across S.T. Lighting online and by George do they make a beautiful product.

They take any ceiling fan that has a light kit and they turn it into a beauty.  I called the number listed online and a very nice gentleman picked up - it's actually the owner's cell phone - and he couldn't talk long because he was onsite at a job, but I'll definitely be contacting him when I'm ready to pull the plug!

I'm in love with the living room I have planned - it's nothing extravagant, will never be seen in magazines, but it's comfortable and us and simple and livable.  I'm just sad that painting is the first step :-(

She makes my day

Those of you on Facebook have probably already seen this, but I just had to share incase anyone missed out. Seriously. So much happiness comes from having Shelby around.



Is there really anything else to say?