The 5 Productive Things I Did Today

This counts as a list, right?

1) Put out my Collections

The holidays are my thing, and I look forward to Christmas all year long. I had 11 boxes and 3 bags full of decorations that were ready to be put to use.

I put out my Carolers...



I put out my Santas...



I put out my angels...



And I put out my houses...




2) Decorated my Family Room





3) Did Dishes and Decorated my Kitchen

Before...




After...




4) Hung Ornaments on my Tree

Before...



After...







Loooooove...



5) Worked Out

We got our first real snow today...





So instead of going to the Y, I did my stair workout.

I did them for 18 minutes (at this point, that is enough... any longer and I would have collapsed). I finished with a total of 1040 stairs in that time.

It felt really good and I'm super glad I did it.

I need to keep up with this workout regime if I plan on eating all the holiday goods that are sure to come my way over the next 31 days.

Happy almost December, everyone!

Construction, Thanksgiving, and Phase 2

CONSTRUCTION

On Monday, the construction men installed new windows in my bedroom. I made myself scarce by going home for 2 days.

But when I came back, there were quite a few things wrong.

a) I didn't have blinds anymore. My blinds were laying on the floor. Reasons why this is a problem: the sun now wakes me up even before the construction noise gets its chance; and it's my bedroom, where I get dressed, and my room overlooks a busy road and is right across from another highrise apartment building.

b) My walls were all smudgy and dirty. My floor had chunks of wall laying around.

c) There is white dust EVERYWHERE. They said to move all my stuff 6 feet away from the windows, but apparently that wasn't enough.

The dust even managed to find its way into my closet.



I'm relieved this is over, so now I can put my bedroom back together (and start the long and strenuous dusting process), yet they still have to do the windows in my family room. Those will be done at some point over the next few weeks, which obviously I'm SUPER excited about.

I'm thinking that next time it would be a good idea to cover all my belongings in sheets.

THANKSGIVING

Obviously, I had to work, so I didn't get to celebrate Thanksgiving like all the normal people.

Instead, I threw my own little Thanksgiving and made my very own Thanksgiving dinner.

But hold your applause.

Because my meal was made up of only things I already had in my kitchen. And I only had 40 minutes of my lunch break to cook and eat my meal before I had to be back at work.

So I decided on corn, mashed potatoes, and biscuits. That's Thanksgiving-y enough, right?

Except my timing sucked and all the parts were ready at seperate times.

So I ate my corn...



And then my mashed potatoes were ready, so I ate those...




And lastly, my biscuits finished up right as I was running out the door back to work...



Well, I'd probably be lying if I said it was a good meal. The corn was good, the mashed potatoes were pretty gross, and the biscuits were delicious, but 180 calories each.

It's been 2 years since I've had a real Thanksgiving. Maybe next year.

PHASE 2

If you recall (which you probably don't), I came up with Phase 1 of my weight loss plan a few weeks back. It consisted of eliminating pop from my diet, eating only 2 servings of cereal every morning, eating 1 apple each day, and taking the stairs to my apartment whenever possible.




I feel like I have stuck to that plan pretty successfully, so I think it's on to Phase 2 for December.

Phase Two:
1. Workout at least 3 times a week.
2. No food after midnight.
3. Cut my calories to less than 1800 per day.

I'm 6 pounds down, and I have 9 to go by January 25th.

What Needs to be Done

I'll admit it... I havn't worked out since the Jingle Bell 5k, which was almost 2 weeks ago.

Eek.

I'm sure it's no coincidence that in the past two weeks, I've only lost 1 pound.

Obviously, this needs to change. It's pure laziness that is stopping me from putting my workout clothes on and dragging myself to the Y (or, God forbid, going outside!).

So I think I need to sign up for a race to get me moving.

The Midwest Indoor Tri-Classic Series starts in January and has 4 races nearby:
Downers Grove - 1/25
Woodridge/Naperville - 2/8
Glen Ellyn - 2/22
Wheaton - 3/8

I'm thinking about doing the one on Feb 22nd because the first two will interfere with my basking in the Bahamas sun. However, if I sign up for TWO of them, I get a discount. Hmmm...

The format:
Swim - 10 min
T1 - 10 min
Bike - 20 min
T2 - 5 min
Run - 15 min

The swim is obviously in a pool, the bike is on a stationary, and the run is on an indoor track.

I wish I could make big triathlon plans like everyone else, signing up for races in June, August, October... But who knows if I'll still be living in Illinois by then.

A Week of Being Thankful

Day 7

I missed yesterday because I was juggling my super stressful day at work while repressing the urge to KILL my landlord (they installed new windows over the weekend, and now I have no blinds in my bedroom!). Today, I'm thankful for my family. I know a lot of people who have messed up families or non-existent families, so I'm thankful for my extremely normal relatives. I wanted to put off this one til today because this is THE day to give thanks, and THE day to hang out with your family, and I'm unable to do the latter. And it's days like this that I really wish I hadn't taken all those other holidays for granted... snuck off to my room or drank a little too much wine. Because I would love to have today off and to be at home with all of them... food or not.



Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

(PS: I have a question.)

Trainers

A random question to fellow bloggers/triathletes... does anyone know anything about bike trainers?

My mom told me to start doing trainer research, but my brian feels like it's going to explode.

I'm looking for something that's not super expensive (like, no more than $200? Is that unrealistic?). Yet, I don't want it to fall apart after 5 uses.

Plus, I'm not sure if you need a different trainer for different bikes (mine isn't a road bike... it's a cyclocross).

Any suggestions?

A Week of Being Thankful

Day 6

This one is kinda weird, but it's relavent. I'm thankful for my recent OCD-like need to organize. I have always been an extremely disorganized person. When I was younger, my teachers would tell my parents, "she's a good student and smart, but VERY disorganized." Seriously... like, all my teachers. One day I woke up and felt the urge to organize and throw things away. I'm a born packrat, so it was a miracle. I embraced that urge because I wasn't sure how long it would stick around (or if I'd be digging through the trash the next morning for all my lost belongings). Surprisingly, it's been 2 months and I'm still going. I got home from my parents' house this evening and whipped myself into a huge organizing frenzy. My place is a total mess... but it has to get worse before it can get better, right?

(PS: this is not my apartment... I only WISH I were this organized!)

A Week of Being Thankful

Day 4 & 5

This is a big one, so it encompasses two days (not really... I just forgot yesterday's). I'm thankful for my outlook on life. My brain is definitely more creative than analytical. Because of this, I tend to see the world in a pretty abstract way (especially compared to my parents, who are both accountants). I love film and photography because it captures a moment and a feeling and it often captures things that have yet to be discovered. Even though I complain a lot, I would consider myself an extremely happy person. Some of my happiest moments in life involve me just sitting outside on a nice day by myself.

5 Things I Want to Do Before I Die

... which hopefully won't be for a VERY long time.

1) Go Skydiving

I was supposed to go with some sorority sisters my junior year in college, but the weather wouldn't allow it. So now I have this lifetime raincheck (because I already paid the $200) at the world's smallest airport in Richmond, Indiana.



The funny thing is, thinking about that tiny little plane and jumping out attached to absolutely nothing gives me massive anxiety. I would probably throw up mid-freefall.

2) Live in New York City

You probably think I'm weird for having this on my list (and some people think I'm crazy), but I have ALWAYS wanted to live there. Not forever. Not even for 5 years... just a little while.



I want to live in a small, horribly expensive loft and have to take the subway to work. I want to take a random Friday night and go see a Broadway musical. I want to eat at restaurants that aren't names "Applebees," "Olive Garden," or "Taco Bell."

3) Go Scuba Diving in the Great Barrier Reef

This is probably better sooner than later because, in case you didn't know, the reef is dying and looking far less cool than it used to. It's projected that by 2050, the reefs will be 95% dead. THEN who's gonna want to go see it? Surely not me!



Stupid global warming.

4) See my Name in Movie Credits

I'm young and freshly out of college, so I'm not sure in exactly what capacity that would happen, but I'd be happy with almost anything (as long as my name isn't preceded with "Village Idiot Played by").



Movies are my real love and I would do almost anything for the opportunity to direct or edit part of a real Hollywood film (yes, I'm a sellout). So if any of you plan on making a movie any time soon, you know who to call!

5) Run a Marathon

For those of you who havn't been reading since the beginning of TIaHI (my blog's super cool acronym), this all began because I wanted to do a marathon, but knew I didn't have it in me just yet. That is what led me to triathlons instead.



So even though I'm not sure I'll EVER have the discipline and strength to run that far, it's something that I hope I can attempt one day.

A Week of Being Thankful

Day 3

I'm thankful for everything my parents have given me. One of the greatest opportunities I've had in my life is to travel a lot. When I was younger, we would go on a family vacation every year. Our trips during that time spanned the country and always kept me wanting more. As I got older, our boundaries became limitless... Germany, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, England, Ireland, France. My parents were the sole reason I became as well-traveled as I am today. So when I end up moving away from Illinois and my parents complain, I will remind them that it's their fault for giving me this drive to see the world.

A Week of Being Thankful

Day 2

I'm thankful to be young and energetic and determined. So many of my friends and coworkers spend their weekdays at a job that has grown stale, and their weekends at the bar getting drunk. But I have bigger things in mind. That's why it's hard for me to stay in one city. That's also why I'm so happy to have gotten into triathlons and 5Ks this past year. They really gave me something to push myself towards and an excuse not to get lazy and compliant.

So Much to Talk About

My week has been busy, so try and keep up...

MONDAY

I woke up early so I could pick Ryan up at the airport. I found a letter under my door from my landlord. It says (in a nutshell): "your lease is up January 1st. You can either get another year-long lease, get a 6-month lease, or move out. Oh yeah... and we're raising your rent by $35."

Joy.

So now I have 4 more days to make this big decision. I didn't really want to do a 6-month lease, because I had wanted to get out of here before then. I can do a month-by-month lease, but that costs an additional $50/month. So really, there is no good (or cheap) choice here.

I drove to O'hare and picked Ryan up. Right as we were pulling into my parking lot, I got a phone call from the head director at work. I cringed. The other director's wife was expected to go into labor any day now.

This canNOT be that day. This canNOT be that day. This baby will NOT ruin the only two days I have with my boyfriend.

I let the call go to voicemail because I was too afraid to answer it.

"Kelly... it's Andrew. Pete's wife went into labor this morning. However, I am NOT asking you to come in to work. I know your boyfriend is in town, so you can stay at home. However, no one knows I'm doing this, so if you get any other phone calls, just don't answer. Tell them you are out of town."

Wow. I owe him HUGE. Cookies? Candy? Liquor?

With a newfound thankfulness for our time together, Ryan and I spent all day hanging out.

We went to Walmart with the intention of buying a board game. But they have some WEIRD board games now... "Hannah Montana's Mall Madness"?! Come on, people.

So we settled on "Jumbling Tower," which is the generic version of Jenga.

And we quickly figured out why it was only 1/3 the cost...

... Because the blocks don't really fit together correctly.



There should NOT be those spaces in between each block.

Slightly unsatisfied with our toy purchase, we stopped by the dollar store on our way home from dinner and picked up a $1 puzzle.



So we spent the evening in... watching TV and movies and putting together our 500-piece puzzle.

Oh... and drinking.

And since neither of us drink very often, it didn't take much before we were a little ridiculous.

TUESDAY

After a really late booze-filled night, construction woke us up at 7:30 (well, construction woke ME up).


I went into the family room and was met with a total mess.

There were beer bottles strewn about, puzzle pieces and chips on the floor, 2 empty wine bottles, and a permanantly jumbled Jumbling Tower.

Ryan was starting to not feel too good. He tried to blame Jimmy Johns for poisoning his sandwich with tomatoes. He tried to blame the drinking for making him hungover. He even tried to blame the weather for being too cold.

But he sucked it up and we went bowling that evening. Ryan and I have an ongoing bowling competition, so we play almost every time we see eachother.

(Naturally, I always win).

See?? 129 to 110. HA!

After beating him at both bowling and darts, we went home and Ryan finished our parrot puzzle.



WEDNESDAY

We woke up early and I took Ryan back to the airport. He was full-blown sick by now, and drugged up on Dayquil.

After I dropped him off, I went home and weighed myself. I do this every day, but I was nervous because of the way I had eaten on Monday and Tuesday.



Woops!

Looks like I had a slight setback this week.

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

I've really been watching my calories these past few days to make up for my massive endulging.

The best part of yesterday was realizing that I had caught Ryan's cold. So now I'm a snotty, sore-throaty, non-sleeping mess.

Plus, I want and NEED to workout... but I can barely get myself out of bed at this point, so I don't think that will be happening for a few more days at least.

Ryan and I have been talking on the phone and commiserating over our illnesses. However, the nice part is that I pretty much know what to expect over the next couple days, simply based on how he's been feeling.