A long time coming

Christmas was great. I stayed in salt lake and bummed around for two weeks. Went hog wild with the sweets over the break but went back on my diet with a vengeance and cut out all meat and animal products. So far I have lost about 15 pounds (I don't really weigh myself. These numbers are coming from yearly doctors visits).

We also put tile in the kitchen and hall, painted the bathroom, textured the walls in the bedroom and tore out the built in closet that was about 30 years old and made from plywood, and I am painting the bedroom today.

I also learned how to switch out the old light switches to new ones. I really like that I know how to do that. And, we got some new lights for the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. That always makes a big difference.

The end is in sight for this seemingly endless project. I can't believe what a push we've made in the last two months. Living in squaller for the last year and a half might be worth the finished project. This house is really shaping up.

As far as things that are coming up, in June I am running in the Wasach Back. I am really nervous for this. It's a relay race from Logan to Park City. We have twelve people on our team and I will run three legs of varying lengths and difficulty. I have never ran more then 4 miles so I'm not sure what it will feel like to run like 10 miles. I am interested in the experience of pushing my body to those lengths though. And this just seems like a good challenge. Something to keep away the monotony.

I must say that, it feels good to have this to look forward too. It has been a hard few months and I am ready to get out of the house and run in some good weather.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!

I win again!

I started a healthy living type diet exactly two weeks ago. I just wanted to see what it felt like to eat better, and let me tell you it feels pretty darn good.

I cut out white sugar, white flour, and preservatives. I also don't really drink milk anymore or eat cold cereal which was huge for me. Mostly I eat vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. I try to cut down on the meat, not that I ate much to begin with, and dairy.

It actually doesn't feel like a really big deal. I feel like I have always eaten this way. The only hard thing is making sure I have enough food around. I am not much of a shopper. My fridge is always empty so I feel like I am always at the grocery store now.

Also, my sister-in-law started a running thing every Saturday morning so I have been doing that too. That's about all the running I can get in these days. It just gets dark so fast!
Although I did do a homemade 5K yesterday. My neighbor orchestrated it for all our friends. It was really fun. Plus it was nice to get a run in before all the Thanksgiving gluttony.

I think that biggest change for me has been in my moods. I just feel less grumpy and I am sleeping better too. I never thought that I could live this healthy. I love how it makes me feel. Maybe it's a control thing but I am so proud of myself for actually eating the way I want to and being the kind of person that takes care of my body. I most surly felt the effects of careless eating and lack of exercise a year ago. I was getting sick all the time.

Anyway, thats whats going on these days. But who can spend time writing when there are like 30 really good movies in the theater right now.

exploited Asian women and toe nail travesties

So my sister-in-law, Cora Jane, is in town and all the girls in the Arnold and Jenny West family decided to go to lunch and get a pedicure together. I never do stuff like that so it was way fun. Plus it's always interesting to hang with the Wests. Never a dull moment in this family.

But the saddest thing happened. I painted my toe nails this beautiful red color and then I put my shoes too early and they smudged. Isn't that a total bummer?

When you think about it it's really very tragic because some poor Asian women worked hard on them and then what do I do? Just up and ruin them. Smooth Cherie, real smooth.

bathroom makeover

We are finally getting around to remodeling our bathroom. We have had the tile and sink and lights and all that stuff sitting around for months and just haven't gotten around to putting in the work. We bought paint, pulled up the existing floor, and took out the sink yesterday, then Andy pulled all the moldings and baseboards today. It is totally bare except the tub and toilet.

So for the rest of the week we need to be working on patching all the holes we made in the wall from removing the baseboards(they sucked!) and painting. Then on Saturday we will tile and hopefully put in the new sink.

This is so exciting because we have lived in our house for a year and it has been under construction the entire time. It will be nice to have at least one room finished. I can't wait.

Pants shortage

Yeah yeah, I know it's been like a month. Trust me you all didn't miss much.

Good news that is also bad news though. I totally don't fit in any of my jeans anymore. Apparently, I am losing weight which is weird because with the bad whether lately and early nights I really haven't been running. Why am I losing all this weight now?
Anyway it is not as cool as I had hoped because I bought these cool jeans like 6 months ago and they don't fit anymore. They just fall off all day and I have to wear a belt with them and even then they look all saggy. Not cute. Plus I had to buy new work clothes first before casual stuff so I really feel the jean shortage on the weekends. Man. Losing weights sucks. I looked fine before and I had tons of pants. Now I look a tiny bit slimmer but now I have no pants. Not a good trade off if you ask me.

Rose Hip October

My garden is just winding down for the winter. It was a beautiful thing it was. And I don't think that I have ever been more proud of myself.

I really want to be that type of person, with that type of family. The type of family that keeps and excellent garden. But not only keeps one, shares one. I really want to be one of those people that always seems to have way too much food and really must share it with the neighbors.

I guess that desire stems from my other desire to live in a small community that shares everything. (Don't make me say commune) It's true though. My question is why doesn't everyone want that?

I also want to be one of those moms that always has other peoples kids over at their house. Especially, as they get to be teenagers. I just want to have an open and safe home for my family and the people important to them. It's probably the only thing about kids that I'm looking forward to.

To be totally honest I feel that I have both of those desires met right now. But it just doesn't mean as much because we don't have children to share it with. Sad.