NJ06: Update Two

what is up with people celebrating things post-holidays? seriously. can we stop with the cake, please?

today my workplace had a goodbye party for one of my fellow associates, and there was a big ole' honkin' chocolate cake sitting out in my department ALL AFTERNOON.

and no, i did not have any but damn, am i ever grumpy.
[also? whose idea was it to sell girl scout cookies in january? because that doesn't seem very kind-spirited to me. no. in fact, it seems rather mean and ill-conceived. THIS must be why i was never interested in being a girl scout* -- because i must have known, subconsciously, that it is just WRONG and EVIL to peddle delicious, non-profit carbs to the masses when they're in their most vulnerable state (that is, when they have just begun their new year's diets).

and p.s. is it REALLY necessary to plaster POSTERS of the damn cookies in the elevators at work? really?]

anway, hello.

NJ06 is going just fine. i have made some progress, and have already learned (or maybe re-learned as none of this is really news to me) some valuable lessons, which i will now share with you whether you want me to or not.

Things I Am Rather Shocked I Have Actually Done
  1. i organized my big closet. i even bought organizer thingies and used them.
    i have more work to do, of course. there is at least one last box of "stuff" still to go through, and i haven't even begun on my bedroom closet, but please. let's celebrate small wins.

  2. i have stuck to my diet mostly.
    there have been some transgressions, but they've been pretty well tempered. meaning, i have twice taken a meal "off" (where i allowed myself to eat anything i wanted), and then ended up taking the entirety of last weekend off, too.

    but even with the slight transgressions and even though i haven't weighed myself, i am fitting into some pants i couldn't a month ago. hurrah.

  3. i fixed my roots issues.
    it's not like getting my hair done is a hardship, but it's one of those things that i put off and put off because of the time and expense. so i'm glad i finally addressed this head on. (har, har.)

  4. i cleaned my bathroom.
    there is more to do, sure, but it's in better shape than it's been in ages. possibly ever.

    and so i would like to take a moment here to recognize my CuzNate and his beautiful girlfriend for giving me Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products for christmas. never in my life have i enjoyed cleaning so much as with these products -- they're amazing! it's like...imagine fancy-schmancy bath products that you use to clean your home instead of your body. mmmmm! they smell great and they feel great and they work really well! i have been forever changed.

    well, or almost. so yeah, i started on my bathroom but there remains some bleaching to be done.

  5. i have gone to the gym every week.

  6. i received re-Fridget Jones and she has a couple treats in her. i did not let one dead fridge derail me! hurrah! (see how i'm being all on the down-low about this? i am afraid my trumpeting the arrival of Fridget I was maybe what did her in.)

  7. i have done a couple open mics and will be doing one again (with Ish!) this weekend.
    these are still rather terrifying, but ever-so-slightly less so now.

Things I Have Learned
  1. i truly hate laundry.
    even when it's just a matter of bringing the stuff across the street, i still hate it. i do not think i should share with you how little i've done this month, but it's not a lot.

  2. i need to stop thinking i am going to spend any time on weeknights cleaning my apartment.
    it never happens. i HAVE to start planning weekend time for this.

  3. after much research, i have finally figured out that my cats pee on clean floors simply because they can. i'm certain of it.

  4. stand-up isn't just scary, it takes a lot of work. it takes time -- to write material and work it out -- and lots of practice. if i'm going to really try and get better, even really good, i have to recognize how much work it will take and commit to that work anyway.

  5. i will come up with lots of reasons not to go to the gym. i should not listen to them. i will never lose the weight i want if i don't commit to exercising. period.

that's about the sum of it.

i think january was pretty successful overall. i definitely got the year off to a good start.

i think my next big steps are figuring out what, exactly, is going to be involved in my "complete apartment overhaul" and giving myself deadlines.

also, i have avoided it up till now, but. i think the time has come for me to confess how much weight, exactly, i want to lose. and then pick a date (maybe sometime in march?) on which i'll weigh myself and see what progress i've made. i mean, maybe if i hold myself THAT accountable, it will help me stay on track.

can't hurt.


*i mean, aside from the fact that i don't like camping or hiking or nature

Comments

  1. I didn't work out today coz I listened to my 'excuses'. I think you're absolutely right about commiting to exercising to bring the weight down and keep it that way. I have found that it is also the only way to keep me from smoking.

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  2. YAY K!!! Congrats on your accomplishments thus far. Between your decision to stick with it this year and my own desire to make myself healthy, I also joined a gym.

    Started working out and doing their diet (basically South Beach) 2 weeks ago...today is the 1st day of week 3...and I've lost 12-16 lbs, depending on whether you go by their scale or mine. I like mine. I'm thinking of dragging it with me to the gym so I can show them the error of their scale.

    Anyway, if I can stick to it, anyone can. Best of luck with February! Keep up the Great Work!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We never did an camping or hiking or nature in my Burlingame Girl Scout troop. We made fuzzy gnome ornaments and drank Kool Aid though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can help with the GS Cookie issue! Give the girl/troop $10 instead of buying any cookies. Since the troop only gets $.50 (that's 50 cents people) of each box they sell, it's like buying 20 boxes without the calories. You'll save $$ & lbs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Girl Scouts was sooooooooo overrated. We made a lot of crafts which I proudly brought home and displayed, causing my mother to have to think of ways to make them disappear over time.

    Also with the gym and all that: seriously get a calendar that hangs prominently in your house and give yourself a sticker for every workout. It sounds dumb, but I am amazed at how often I will get my ass off the couch to avoid a sticker-less day on the calendar.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like that sticker idea, whinger! But if you need more motivation than being left sticker-less (because who really cares if you don't have a sticker?), then you could give yourself a reward at the end of each month *IF* you have X amount of stickers on the calendar.

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  7. Great job on getting so much accomplished! By summer, you'll be ready to party again with everything in order and then NJ06 will turn into GFFS'06 (Guilt Free Fabulous Summer 2006)!

    I'm working on weight loss too. Got a trainer, he's mean, but it's working so who am I to complain?

    No more excuses on going to the gym. You can work over your stand-up routine while on the treadmill.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You knew I'd have to throw in a comment on the Girl Scouts. They raise the lion's share of their individual councils' annual budgets through cookie sales. Donations directly the Girl Scouts are always welcome, although the scalability and regularity of the income generated by the cookie sales is critical. The fact that the revenue is planned and distribution mechanisms are well established actually make it very efficient. Donations (again, are welcom) can be tricky to distribute. Also, it is innaccurate to say that only $.50 goes to the Girl Scouts. Actually, that proportion is what goes directly to the troop who sells the cookies in question. A larger portion goes to the local Girl Scout Council, which is the local organization which manages and provides all the programs, camps, etc. and acts as a coordinator and service center for the troops themselves. The money the council raises allows them to provide financial assistance not only for their programs, but actually directly to Girl Scouts who otherwise couldn't participate in things like summer programs, camps, after school programs, etc. A little known fact - the Girl Scouts run a number of after school programs for underprivilaged girls. In my neck of the woods, one particular program does wonderful things for a largely refugee immigrant community that are faced with the challenges of assimilating into a new society.

    I realize no one is seriously taking issue with the GS or their cookie sales. But I couldn't let the issue go un-commented upon. My only point is that the Girl Scouts most of us see (the local troops) are the tip of the ice-berg in terms of the programs and value created by the hard work of local councils.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Congrats on the progress! My girl scouts memories involve no nature or hiking. I wish! We had one horrible camping trip, but mostly we just hung out in the school gym (I mean "all purpose room") and made crafts...I vaguely remember a horrid square dance as well.
    The stickers idea is excellent. I have so many left over from when I taught piano, that I had no idea what to do with.
    Anyway, before reading your first post about it, I had a similar set of organizing-life-overhaul 2006 resolutions, but you have inspired me to blog about it (in live journal) and even come up with an acronym. I am such a shameless copycat. It is Get Out of My Own Way - GOMOW06.

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  10. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day is the best stuff imaginable. I can never believe the kind of money I'm laying out for kitchen scrub (which should cost about 80 cents), but the geranium smell almost makes cleaning the house okay. Almost.

    ReplyDelete

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