You're kidding, right?!

I went to the mall with my husband today with the intention of helping him (not because he needed it but because I enjoy shopping) pick out a new dress shirt for work. The mall where we live is small, so there aren't a lot of choices. We started at Old Navy, moved on to Gap (where he found a shirt he liked but wasn't so sure b/c of the price), American Eagle, Aeropostale and finally Abercrombie & Fitch. I hadn't been in an American Eagle in years and neither of us had ever been in Aeropostale or Abercrombie & Fitch. The button downs in Old Navy, AE and Aeropostale were too casual for him, and those in Abercrombie, while very nice, were way overpriced. So we went back to Gap. He decided to purchase one and while he was checking out I meandered over to the women's side even though I've not had much luck there before. I found the cutest spring coat on sale for $39.99 (originally $88) and decided to try it on. I found a large (but still had reservations that I'd need the XL as it was Gap after all), and slipped it on. I made my way over to a mirror and was inspecting myself when my husband walked in from the men's side. I asked if he liked it (as it is a little busy and different), and they had the same style in a solid light blue for the same price. He said he did, but I decided I needed to get another woman's opinion as well. I asked a salesperson and the woman being checked out what they thought. They both said they liked it, and then, get this, the salesperson said, but I think you need a smaller size. I'm sure I gave her a look of complete disbelief. I turned and looked at my husband, and he just gave me the biggest smile. So, she returned with the MEDIUM, and it fit!! I am still in a state of shock that I came home with the medium. Then, to top it off as we were walking out, my husband says to me, that guy was just checking you out. Bizarre.

I am so sore!

I took a Tai Chi class last night with a co-worker. It was an hour and a half long class, and with the exception of the first position we did (which we held for about 10 minutes), it didn't seem that long at all. There weren't any weights or anything other than my own body used for resistance. But, man am I feeling it today! Most of the moves were done in the horse position which is accomplished by spreading the feet just a little over shoulder-width apart, pointing the toes outward about 20 degrees, bending the knees so that the knee caps are directly over the top of the feet and tucking the hips in so that the spine is completely straight. And, despite my thighs not hurting too much during the class, they're completely killing me today! It's not debilitating, but doing normal things like walking down steps, sitting down and bending over are torturous. But it feels good at the same time, you know? And, clearly, it worked muscles that neither the elliptical nor the cord resistance program do. So, I plan to go back next week; it's very cool (even though I pretty much sucked at it).

I'm a mouse killer ...

I found another dead mouse yesterday. I'd set a 2nd trap in the drawer under the stove because I'd seen droppings there too. I checked it soon after finding the first dead one but assumed there was only the one mouse, so I forgot about it. Then, on Thursday morning, I noticed a smell emanating from the kitchen. I checked the garbage and found it to be rather foul, so before work, I took it out. Unfortunately, when I got home from work, not only was the smell still there, it was worse! And, then I knew it. I opened the stove drawer and found the trap no longer set. I opened it a little more, and saw the tail sticking out from the covered trap. Ewwww!!!! So, now I'm down two mice, but I'm also out of traps. And, because of my innate chickenness, I'll have to continue buying the $4 covered traps instead of the 79 cent regular traps. I do _not_ like this one bit! This situation coupled with the water quality (not only does the water smell and taste bad, I swear my hair falls out less when I shower just once at my parents' (or elsewhere), and I've never had one of my shower weakness episodes elsewhere) leads me to believe it's unlikely I'll want to stay here after our lease is up ... regardless of where my husband's living. But, I _love_ the layout of the place, the amount of room we have for various stuff (although I've been seriously thinking about having a major garage sale this spring to get rid of a lot of this stuff), the big yard and most of all the radiant floor heat. That has got to be the best kind of heating system ever! And, I absolutely hate moving, but we'll see I guess.

Whew!

Well, I thought I'd done myself in, sand-bagged myself, etc. I mentioned last week that I was pleased because over the last eight months I'd not had even one week where I didn't lose at least one pound. I decided to step on the scale yesterday morning to see where I was, and the number was exactly the same as it was the previous Tuesday, 165. Ugh! Of course I thought to myself, I jinxed myself! But I really knew why the scale hadn't moved; I only did the elliptical 1 time during the week, and other than my daily activities (which are pretty active) I hadn't done any other form of exercise. And, not only had I not consistently exercised, I've been snacking a lot at night. I must stop it right now! There have been some nights where I've felt hungry and have given in to the snacking demon because of it, but it's more likely that I've been snacking at night just because I want to. I got in the habit of doing it, so each night my brain was calling for it. I at least wasn't pigging out; I'd have some popcorn or some soup crackers and one time I had 90 calories worth of no sugar added ice cream. But, I don't _need_ any of it, and even if I did that means I'm not giving myself enough food at dinner which is where I should be getting my fill for the night ... of the healthy foods I eat for dinner. Knowing that earlier in the day my weight hadn't budged and I was out most of the evening on campus for a lecture, I managed to refrain from snacking last night. And, when I stepped on the scale this morning (my official weigh-in day), it had moved ... exactly one pound. Never before had I been so happy to see the scale move just one pound. It's entirely under my control, and I'm going to do better this week.

Bizarre weekend

Yesterday, I woke up with a pinch in my neck presumably from sleeping oddly on it somehow. As such, everything I tried to do caused pain. Everything but sitting on my butt in front of the TV, that is. So, that's what I did ... despite needing to do the elliptical, clean up the kitchen, vacuum the house, mop just about the whole house and do laundry. I farted around on the computer, watched the Olympics, read and watched a good portion of season 2 from Sex in the City. And, as the day crept by, I felt worse and worse both physically and mentally. Each time I got up, my head would spin, and I felt weak. And, mentally, I felt extremely guilty about doing nothing all day long even though I have only myself to answer to. I took multiple Tylenol, took a hot shower letting the water run on my neck for a long time and used a lavender-filled neck roll heated for 2 minutes in the microwave all to no avail.

I woke up this morning still with a twinge of pain in my neck but decided I couldn't let it keep me from doing what I needed to do. After munching down my daily Kashi breakfast bar and banana, I hopped on the elliptical. At some point during my time on the elliptical, I noticed the pain was gone! Damnit! Why didn't I just do this yesterday?! So, today's just been full of accomplishing those things that I needed ( and wanted) to do. The only thing really left to do is clean up the kitchen, but now that I've cooked Black Bean Turkey Chili and taken everything that was in the stove drawer out (b/c the mouse was yet again all over it) to be washed again, the mess is much bigger, and it's unlikely I'll get it cleaned up tonight. I loathe washing dishes. :P

One of the things that I accomplished today was throwing away the dead mouse that the trap I bought caught. I finally gave in and bought traps on Friday because the previous night the thing chewed through the plastic lid to a container of dog treats. And, after telling my co-workers about it, they proceeded to tell me stories of how much they pee and crap all over the place. And, not only do they scare the crap out of me the idea of having their excrement all over the kitchen was enough to make me want to get rid of it. And, since it was pointed out to me that even if I were to humanely trap it and set it free outside far away from the house it would probably still die due to the cold and lack of food, I decided the snap trap was the way to go. I hated doing it, but I just couldn't take having it around anymore. I set them on Friday night, and by Saturday morning, I found one of the traps no longer "set". They were covered traps, so I couldn't see much (as I really didn't want to see much). Even with the traps being covered, I couldn't stand the idea of getting anywhere near it. But, today, I decided having it dead inside my cabinet wasn't a good thing either. So, I mustered about all the courage I could and threw it in a small, lined garbage can and then dumped that into the big can in the garage. I'm very sorry Mr./Ms. Mouse, but we just couldn't continue to co-exist.

And, I know I've said it once before, but it warrants another time. I just _love_ my iPod! While completing the myriad of tasks, I was jamming to it, and it made the whole thing pass so much more quickly. Previously, I'd try listening to CDs while cleaning and would find it impossible to do without blasting the neighbor, so it's perfect b/c I can just take it along w/ me regardless of whether I'm vacuuming or cooking or watering/tending my plants, etc.

All right, I've blathered on enough about nothing. If you've read this far, you're a good friend. :)