We are in the home stretch!

 This you see is the home stretch! The kids bathroom is almost 100% complete! Never mind that we started this project back in January and here we are on the last day of February, going into March to have this completed! Nothing ever goes as planned and it always takes 10 times longer than expected! 

The new shower faucet/shower head was installed Sunday. It has to set 24 hours and the water needs to be turned on. I'm ready to test it out! 

The shower door was a major pain to install. First we were missing parts to the top bar of the shower. That prevented us from doing anything for 2 weeks till the new part arrived. A few more days later, Steve was able to finally get back to installing the door. Some parts had to be siliconed in place and set for 24 hours, so more delays. Wish we would have used gray grout instead of black because it's hard to see the decorative tiles as it all looks like solid black from a distance. 

I still have more tile clean up todo and Steve has some white grout touch ups in the shower where the black mixed with the white and got it all dirty. 

The kids picked out the new wall color, It's an off white color called, cameo white. We picked up the paint and Steve will hopefully paint tonight. I need to clean up the bathroom tiles and vanity from the dust. Plus, move back our furniture in our bedroom where we moved the dresser from the wall to get to the plumbing panel. 

Once the painting is done, we can re-install the toilet and towel bar/TP holder. Once it warms up to 50+F, I can spray paint the mirror and light fixture matte black. Its just taking forever, but at least we are on the home stretch!

It's a little hard to tell by this photo, but I finally got the plant off the ground! I found a cheap $12 plant stand that I liked at Walmart! Its couch high, just tall enough to get the plant up to get more sun. Plus, I now can clean around it since its off the floor. The old plastic water catcher was dirty and gross, so I spent another $2.50 for a new liner. I was tempted to get a fancy $11 metal liner but figured it would just rust and get gross super fast. The point is to catch water leaking from the pot, plastic works just fine! 

I also had to throw away my favorite brooks pure flow, black running shoes. I noticed they were ripped apart from the soles on one side about 2". No longer wearable! I've had these running shoes far longer then the recommended 300 to 600 miles, so it was time to throw them away! My new pair, black Brooks running shoes, similar to my old ones but not the same. They discontinued the Pure flows and I couldn't find any online. The new running shoes weren't cheap at $100 but also not the most expensive $175. I would have liked to find some in the $60 to $75 range but I took what I found since they are super comfortable and I only had to go to one store. A win/win! Now to put some miles on them! 

Went skiing yesterday by myself 3 miles on the trails. Forgot my cell phone at home, which felt weird, so I was unable to take photos. The park was busy restoring the land. To me its more destroying than restoring. They took down huge pine trees. Not sure why that was needed? Along with other bushes etc that I'd always see birds hanging out in. They want to return it to a prairie. 

It's going to be 40+F this afternoon. I need to get out and ski this morning before it gets slushy and after it thaws enough not to be icy. 

I also need to get back on the dieting and losing weight track. I'm up at my highest weight once again! Time to lose it and get in more exercise every day. 

What's my plan you ask? 

Stop eating crap! Plus, eat a lot less. I lost weight by eating one meal a day, low calories and exercise running 6 miles or biking with weight lifting every day! That's what works, eating rice/salsa, sweet potatoes and moving more! It will help my mood too, as I've been feeling kind of blah. 

I have to get to the point where I look forward to my morning run/bike. Right now it feels hard and eating less feels joyless. Its all in the mind and I can do this!!! 

Day 1 of changes starts today, not tomorrow! Today, I will exercise, today I will eat less and today I will make a bigger effort to keep moving and do less sitting. More being mindful and proactive! Always good start the day with a little pep talk and revisit that through out the day with some yoga to re-center when I'm feeling off. 

Meal Plans.. What's this?

 I read a few blogs that try to be thrifty and do meal plans, try to reduce the costs of food they purchase and use up what they have on hand. That's not really my thing, and I am not super interested in reading how people are thrifty but for some reason I keep reading. I do think its a good idea to try and be thrifty, but we all have our area's where we choose to be. For me, it's more recycling what we already own, spray painting a light fixture or Lamp to make it new and fit in with the ever change house decor. 

I eat my lunches at home and we don't go out for breakfasts. We do like to go out for dinner and drinks, but we choose cheaper places mostly and share a meal. 

Food, we go to Costco, buy things we use a lot in bulk. We aren't so great at using up what we have on hand. We have an over flowing pantry, freezer and refrigerator. We probably could cook a few more meals at home. 

Here's what we ate for dinner all week:

Monday - Potstickers (frozen and heated up) Rice

Tuesday - Bare Chicken nuggets with hot sauce and rice

Wednesday - Domino's pizza 

Thursday - Out to dinner, Tomahawk steak, salad and brussle sprouts, with chocolate dessert, chip/salsa

Friday - Pulled pork tacos with all the fixings (salsa, cheese, guac, pico, taco sauce, coleslaw, peppers and rice)

Saturday - Appetizers at a friends house, olive bread, corn chips, cheese dip, and sausage stuffed mushrooms

Most days I have PB nuggets (5 or less) for breakfast. I did have hash browns Saturday and leftover pizza Friday morning this week. This morning, I'll be having pulled pork, rice and peppers for breakfast! 

How am I being thrifty? I spray painted the kids bathroom outlet covers instead of purchasing new. I also replaced two of the bedroom door knobs with some that I purchased back in the summer. 

We didn't eat out Friday or Saturday night. Opting to make a family meal for Celina's birthday and then going to friends on Saturday night. Also did the drive up to get a pizza and used a coupon to get a large pizza for $7, which made that into 3 meals! We also saved $75 on a refund from Logan not being able to come home this weekend on the bus, a refund. 

Where we did splurge - Celina's birthday night out to eat. Gift for Celina, but stayed on budget since we gave her cash. 

Extra $, The cat sitting job fell though, so no extra earning this weekend after all. I posted a vanity for sale on C.L. Still hasn't sold. Will post more to try and sell what we have and no longer use. 

Saving on the bathroom remodel with Steve doing all the work. He is installing the door today. 

Friday night... Cake and Taco time!!

 Last night's birthday Cake!

Celina made these two cakes, gluten/dairy free. Chocolate flourless cake and a chocolate peanut butter cake. So delicious! 

The Birthday Celebration!!

 Happy 22 Celina!! Since it was snowing and the roads were slick, our dinner plans changed. Just went to the MOA, and had dinner at FireLake. Excellent food! 

We did a little bar hopping at a few other restaurants in the MOA before dinner. 

All the lights in the MOA

We shared a tomahawk Steak for 4 people, salad, two sides and three desserts!

Monster bone!! lol...

A fun night out to celebrate her birthday! 

Happy 22nd Birthday Celina!!!

 Happy 22nd birthday Celina. To my Tinie Ceeenie,  who is kind, smart, and a super baker! 

She loves her coffee, working out, spending time with her brother and baking gluten and dairy free cookies and cakes. I will have more birthday photos tomorrow!!

I never did go out to ski because it was only around 10*F. Today is pretty much the same, starting off below zero and warming up to only 10+F but the sun is out! 

Let it snow!!!

Evan out playing in the snow we got yesterday! It think it was at least 7 if not 8" of snow. Thankfully, it was light and fluffy! My back still hurts today from shoveling the first 4 inches and helping with the side walk the 2nd time we shoveled.  

At one point, the wind was blowing and the snow was coming down so heavy that it looked like a blizzard. Steve said the roads were awful and he couldn't even see the road. Scary! Good Thing he didn't have to drive very far from home. 

I mostly did this yesterday after washing some towels and the bathroom rugs. 

Ended up sleeping for over an hour in the afternoon, then paid for it, but not going to bed till after 1am. 

Watching the news was the trick to get me to fall asleep. I only woke up when Steve called to tell me he was on his way home. I quickly got up to outside again to shovel. 

Zoey was extra snuggly this morning. She crawled up to put her head on my pillow. Normally, she likes to sleep at the end of the bed, between me and Steve or where my legs go, so I'm either laying crooked just to have my legs on one side of her. She doesn't move even when pushed. It's just dead weight. I would rather have her sleep up at my pillow, so I have all the leg room. She is even laying next to me this morning. Wonder why she is being so clingy this morning? Must like me again?? 

I'm going to start looking around our house for stuff to sell again. We have sooo much that we don't use and I need to purge. Plus, earn a little extra money for my effort before taking it to goodwill and donating. It will be a good project. 

2/22/22

It's positive 2/22/22  "2uesday"! 

They were at least right about the snow today! I was worried about the snow potential Monday since Celina has a long drive to Mankato for class and back home. I let her use my SUV just incase the weather turned. Glad it went north and we were spared! Not so much today! The snow was right on track and we are expected to get anywhere from 1 to 6"? Not really sure. Glad I'm home and not driving anywhere myself! I don't like to drive when the roads are snow covered and slippery even with 4 wheel drive! 

Zoey would not let me sleep in this morning. She crawls up on the bed next to me and then waits till I pet her. After awhile she jumps down and starts this whine till I get up and go down stairs with her. She won't go outside right away. Not until she is ready to go out, which is after a few PB treats and a doggie massage. Totally my fault for training her to do this and giving in to whatever she wants. 

So this was canceled yesterday! Logan has a test on Thursday afternoon. We were all sad about Logan not making it home this weekend. He would have been on the bus more hours than home. So we decided to just cancel the bus. Still no trains running which would have saved 3 hours of travel time. At least we will see him in March for his 12 days of spring break! I'm guessing we will be driving and dropping him back off since again, no trains and the bus would be 18 hours for him, but 20 hours total for us to drive there and back 4 times! I'm thinking we can just make it a fun two day trip for us. 

We are skipping going out this Tuesday to bingo or a cheap movie night. Figure the snow will continue and the roads will be bad. I suppose if it clears up we still might make it out. If not, I'm fine staying home and inside! I will be shoveling snow at some point and if we get enough at least 3 to 4", I can cross country ski tomorrow afternoon. 

I have big plans to fix my hair in a new style every day this week. I'm always just putting it in a ponytail or a bun. I'm going to curl it and see if it lasts. I'm sure the curls will fall out and I'll have it back up in a bun by the end of the day. Just think I need to make more effort on myself. 

My other plan is to workout two times a day. Sometimes one time is too much, but I do need to move more during the day and to be honest, I'm bored in the afternoon/Evening. How hard can it be to do another 12 minutes of running on the cross ramp and lifting a few dumbbells? 

While its easy to think of all the negatives here are some positives:

We are getting a little bit of money back from taxes. Not paying in is always a positive! 

Covid is going down again. No one is sick in our family. 

Spring is 4 weeks away and we are sooo close to being done with winter!

Celina's birthday is this Thursday, 22!

We have dinner plans downtown for her birthday at a new to us restaurant. 

I'm cat sitting this weekend for extra money. 

Spray paint is my favorite!~!

 I got out the spray paint cans and went to work on changing up the outlet plates and towel bar holder! This mirror will need to be transformed to matte black also, but when the weather warms up to at least 52*F, so I can take it outdoors. 

Still not sure what to do about the light. Do I just spray paint it and change out the glass? It would be a cheap fix as I'd only need to purchase 3 new light covers at $10 each. It's just not the style the kids like and we are limited with the glass cover selection. 

I think the light switch plate turned out pretty nice. I used matte black chalk paint, followed by a matte clear coat of spray paint to seal it and prevent chips and scratches. I didn't do the best job spray painting the old chrome towel bar holder. The rod was difficult to stand up, so the paint ended up dripping a little on one side. It should be fine, as it will alway have a hand towel to cover that up. Plus, the rod can be turned so the drips are at the back side. Good enough for a no-spend fix! I just love spray paint and how cheap and easy it can change up what we already own. No need to go out and buy new when it's easy to transform what you already own. 

After 1 week, my roses from V-day are quickly dying. I used to save the dried buds but will probably just toss them. 

Logan texted me and posted on Instagram picture of his Dallas Texas trip. It was nice to see he had a good time with college friends. 

I had a very low key Sunday after having two, too many drinks Saturday. I wasn't feeling the best come Sunday morning. Food defiantly helped! 

It was supposed to be in the 40's Sunday, which it got up to 43*F, so we took Zoey for a walk at the Umore park road. The other parks would be too crowded and Zoey likes to hunt, zig zagging across the road. I was tempted to let her off leash, but the area is no trespassing off the road and we didn't need to risk having to go in to get her. I'm sure she wouldn't run away, but you never know!! 

We are just waiting for this major snow dump to happen today and Tuesday. Thankfully, I think its going to go north today. Celina has to drive to Mankato and I like that we won't be getting snow till 8pm, after she is back home safe! I'm still letting her use my SUV for the drive just incase there is some snow and blowing of snow. 

Hearing spring is 4 weeks away, does not make me want a lot of snow right now. Sure, I do want to ski a few more times, but would gladly pass if that means we'd see ground instead of snow! 

I've got to do better at working out! I'm just going to do my plank 1 min, lift 15 pound dumb bells 10/10/20 and 10 minutes or 1 mile on the cross ramp. It's the bare minimum right now till I can ski, bike  or run outdoors. 

My dieting is on and off. Mostly off. I'll have to freeze the Costco chocolate cupcakes I purchased Sunday.  This way, I won't eat them, but won't have to throw them out either. My only diet plan is to cut back on calories and eat frozen oj as a snack or popcorn. 

A day in my life goes like this.... 

Get up around 5:30-6:30a.m most days and get dressed in yoga pants and a tank top with some sweater or jacket. 

Do yoga on the floor for an hour, while making a todo list for the day. 

Sit on the couch, email and blog

Feed Zoey and let her outside a few times

Eat a few PB pretzels (less then 10 and give Zoey a few)

Do my 1 min plank, lift weights and maybe run on the cross ramp 1 mile

Change for work, into work yoga pants and a tank. 

Drive to work.. and work till noon most days M-F. I rarely work past noon or a full 5 days. 

Come home, eat lunch. Usually rice/salsa or some other leftovers. Sit on the couch, read the internet, maybe do some cleaning at home or go run errands. 

Eat dinner that Steve makes or find leftovers to re-heat, watch TV, read the internet and go to bed around 10pm. 

Very predictable and boring! Should I do more with my day? Yes, do I, nope! Some days I'm more productive, like when I need to do all that tax data entry or clean my own house or even run errands. Most days I plant myself on the couch doing nothing more than reading the news, looking at Tic rocks, thinking what we could do the following weekend or making lists of things I should be doing. 

After working, I do need some rest/down time. Some days I nap, others I just sit and read. Mostly, I'm bored. I should work more, or try to do another type of job for income, but I don't. I'd rather be lazy or nap my afternoon/evening away. 

I do need to brainstorm other income ideas. Just not sure what I really want to do?? 

Too Many Beers..

 We had a fun Saturday afternoon/Evening. Drove out to River Falls Wisconsin which is about a 30 minute drive from home. We planned a day of beer hopping. 

Started off at a brewery in town that has amazing soft pretzels from a local bakery and ate that with warm cheese. 

As we were driving to the next brewery, Rush River just out of town, we passed by a distillery, Taterstalls. So we decided might as well stop in and check it out. They had a bar/restaurant or a tasting room/liquor store area where we had one drink with their vodka. I usually won't drink hard alcohol, but decided I could share a drink with Steve, until we realized the drinks were in a pretty small glass and he wanted to try their old fashion. 

Not a bad drink at all once I squeezed in the lemon juice. It was strawberry, lemon, chamomile with vodka. 

The drive back to Hastings to stop in town for dinner the sunset was gorgeous! 

I attempted to get a few photos as we drove over the river. 

After doing yet one more cheers in Hastings at the last stop where we shared a Philly steak sandwich and fries, I managed to break not one, but two glasses! We were looking up at the old time photos of the restaurant and my arm caught the glass and it tipped over. I've never had such fast service! The waitresses were over in a split second clearing away the chunks of broken glass. I did it again about 10 minutes later putting on my jacket, it hit the glass, fell over and broke! We needed to get out of there asap! Good thing this isn't our regular stopping place in town! 

I have to make a note to myself, never have more then 3 drinks! It's just too much for me! 

Urgent care doctor called me back, yep my ring finger is fractured. Here they said it was just a very bad sprain. Still can't bend it all the way without pain. Steve said I need to run it under warm water and start exercising that finger to get to move. I probably should try this at some point. Maybe when it doesn't hurt anymore?? 

Its supposed to be 40+F today. I'm not drinking today that's for sure! Maybe we'll go to a park and take Zoey for a walk. 

Still no shower part! They said 3 to 5 days and I ordered it back last week on Thursday. I sure hope it shows up before Thursday when Logan comes home for the weekend. Its the never ending project! I still need to paint the side of the cabinet and spray paint the towel bar along with two screws for the shower drain. I probably should do that today.