Over the past couple months I've used the holiday season and chilly Wisconsin weather (yesterday's high was 8 degrees!!) as an excuse to eat anything and everything I wanted. Which means that the pounds have been creeping on slowly but surely. I hate that moment when you realize that your jeans are starting to feel too snug in certain areas or that your dress isn't laying the way it used to around your curves.
For me those areas where the initial "snugness" can first be felt are my hips, thighs and upper arms/shoulders. South Beach Diet to the rescue! Ah, at least, I hope... Today is day one. I've attempted the South Beach Diet (SBD from this point on) in the past and while I did begin to notice a difference in the first week - I quit because my willpower is essentially next to nothing.
I love bread and carbs and starch. LOVE bread. As in, if I only had one food to eat for the rest of my life I'd choose white, refined, starchy, zero nutrient bread. Which of course means I'd eventually die from malnutrition but hey, it'd be a tasty ride down. And of course my love of bread is what kept me from completing the SBD the first time around. This time however I'm not taking any prisoners. I don't like my tight jeans or my thunder thighs and I'll be darned if they get to hang around for too much longer.
Phase One of the SBD is the most restrictive meaning no fruit, no grains, no starchy, carby anything. Also no yogurt or ice cream or basically anything with sugar (natural or otherwise) in it. Unfortunately I've already *accidentally* broken the diet this morning. When making M's breakfast I ate the crusts from his piece of toast (and yes, I cut the crust off for him. Its the only way he'll eat whole wheat bread) like I do most every morning without even thinking. But I've since rallied and finished breakfast with a cup of black coffee and a scrambled egg with pepper and salt cooked in a little butter.
Even though I've basically ignored this blog since starting it, I think this will be a good place to track my SBD successes and failures (not that there's going to be any failures of course!). Even if no one actually reads what I'm writing, which is highly likely, I'll have my progress out in public on the interwebs and I'm hoping this will keep me more accountable.
Let the beaching begin!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Friday, December 16, 2011
My neighborhood
Here are few quick snaps of my neighborhood I took this week with my camera phone while out and about:
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| Our backyard |
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| View from one of the many bike paths near our house |
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| Goodman Community Center on the bike path behind our house |
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| Train tracks and bike path at the end of our street |
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| We live in a very hippy-meets-hipster-meets-blue collar worker neighborhood Therefore we hate the Republican governor |
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| Home sweet Home. We live on the first floor of the house |
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| We'e going to LOVE the front porch (and swing!) come spring |
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| Beautiful stormy morning on the lake |
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Yarn bottles update and thoughts on Madison thus far
As promised, here are pictures of my finished yarn-wrapped beer bottles. I ended up using two beer bottles and one wine bottle for the project. I had three different colors of yarn so I did three bottles. Pretty simple. My colors are pretty similar to those in the last inspiration link I posted. I gravitate towards neutrals in everyday life punctuated by small pops of color and that was definitely reflected in the skeins of yarn I had lying around.
The project ultimately ended up being super easy and quick. Although I think the yarn would have adhered a bit better with a hot glue gun rather than my Elmer's like I mentioned in a previous post. But all in all, not bad for a free, easy DIY.
Aaand now for the heavy stuff... I kid. Sorta.
I realized this morning that Saturday will make three weeks I've been living in Madison. How has the time flown by so quickly?! Madison feels familiar yet still so new and undiscovered at the same time. I've gotten to know our quirky little neighborhood quite feel I think simply from the fact that Dean dog and I take multiple walks a day. I've used the bus system a few times and so far, so good. It's nothing like Philly. All of the bus driver's I've had have been so helpful! They've offered me directions, advice on living in Wisconsin and helped me understand that transfers are free (!) here.
Meeting other people hasn't been quite as easy of a transition simply because without a job and no real network to speak of I'm just starting at zero. And the meetup.com scene in Madison seems to be somewhat limited to SAHMs and Singles Ready to Mingle. M has been great about including me in a work event or two and going out of his way to find things for us to do. I'm hoping to hone in on some activities (and therefore a community of folks) I might want to join soon.
Though I don't think there are a whole lot of us twenty-something, stay-at-home, non-mommies (fur babies don't count here I think) out there... it's no longer 1955. Most women who don't work tend to have children. And most women my age are out there in the workforce or in school. So the whole making friends at the playground or in the preschool drop-off line doesn't apply in my case (And yes, I'm aware of the gendered nature of my comments. But this is my perspective and experience. While one could argue the economic recession coupled with the rise of young hipster parents has led to a surge of stay at home daddies, women still perform 90+ percent of child care duties in the country. That's the way it is. Anyway, I digress...).
Crossing my fingers I'll find a job soon. And not just for the monetary benefits it will bring. Human interaction is nice too! But lest I sound like a whiner, I will say that I recognize how lucky I am to have this option. And I will try my best to make the most of my free time. i.e. there will be more DIY projects ahead!
The project ultimately ended up being super easy and quick. Although I think the yarn would have adhered a bit better with a hot glue gun rather than my Elmer's like I mentioned in a previous post. But all in all, not bad for a free, easy DIY.
Aaand now for the heavy stuff... I kid. Sorta.
I realized this morning that Saturday will make three weeks I've been living in Madison. How has the time flown by so quickly?! Madison feels familiar yet still so new and undiscovered at the same time. I've gotten to know our quirky little neighborhood quite feel I think simply from the fact that Dean dog and I take multiple walks a day. I've used the bus system a few times and so far, so good. It's nothing like Philly. All of the bus driver's I've had have been so helpful! They've offered me directions, advice on living in Wisconsin and helped me understand that transfers are free (!) here.
Meeting other people hasn't been quite as easy of a transition simply because without a job and no real network to speak of I'm just starting at zero. And the meetup.com scene in Madison seems to be somewhat limited to SAHMs and Singles Ready to Mingle. M has been great about including me in a work event or two and going out of his way to find things for us to do. I'm hoping to hone in on some activities (and therefore a community of folks) I might want to join soon.
Though I don't think there are a whole lot of us twenty-something, stay-at-home, non-mommies (fur babies don't count here I think) out there... it's no longer 1955. Most women who don't work tend to have children. And most women my age are out there in the workforce or in school. So the whole making friends at the playground or in the preschool drop-off line doesn't apply in my case (And yes, I'm aware of the gendered nature of my comments. But this is my perspective and experience. While one could argue the economic recession coupled with the rise of young hipster parents has led to a surge of stay at home daddies, women still perform 90+ percent of child care duties in the country. That's the way it is. Anyway, I digress...).
Crossing my fingers I'll find a job soon. And not just for the monetary benefits it will bring. Human interaction is nice too! But lest I sound like a whiner, I will say that I recognize how lucky I am to have this option. And I will try my best to make the most of my free time. i.e. there will be more DIY projects ahead!
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