Let's Give This A Shot

Well folks, I'm back in my own abode. My own barely-air conditioned abode. Fortunately for me, my couch is pretty comfortable, so last night I slept out in the living room so I could get what little AC there is. And surprisingly, I actually woke up twice in the middle of the night--once to get a blanket because I was freezing(?!) and again to adjust said blanket. It may be slightly ghetto-fab, but I have this AC/fan set up so the box fan blows the cool air directly on me. Result: Happy Liz!

Around the House

Now, there's nothing like being in someone else's house for a week that makes you want to clean your own place. On my list of things to do around my apartment is: clean bathroom (don't get me started with the shower head coming out of the wall!), clean kitchen (I'd tried this a few weeks ago, but I think I need to get some new stove burner pan things), steam clean my carpets (there are stains left from the previous girl who lived in my room), and paint the walls in my room (she left them a deep burgundy and since I get so little sunlight, it makes my room seem that much darker).

Lucky for me, my assistant manager at work (love her!) has a steam cleaner that she let me borrow. So this morning, I got to work going over my carpets trying to get the stains out. I've never used a steam cleaner before, but I think it needs another go-round. I'm going to let the carpets dry for a few hours and get back at it this evening. There's really not much I can do in the kitchen right now, because I'm too lazy to drive all the way out to Lowe's and get the burner pans (I figure if I go to Lowe's, I can knock out that and the paint swatches in one trip). As for the walls, I really am at a standstill here too. It's way too deathly hot & humid out lately to paint, although now that I think about it, it would have worked well to do it this past week when I wasn't staying here. So unfortunately, the walls will have to wait until the end of August or September, and I'll have to do them alone instead of having my mommy help me, wahhhh.

I'll call you..."Mr. (Carpet) Clean"!!

I did manage to get a bit done in the bathroom this morning, scrubbing down the shelves that are built into the shower (did I mention my apartment is O-L-D?!). But it does need a bit more TLC in there. Why this sudden desire to spruce up my place? I have no idea! I think it is partially because I was at Stacy's house this week and partially because, to me, having my apartment together is one step toward having my life together. It may take some time, but slowly but surely the pieces will fall into place. Besides that, I have a cute set of 4 pictures that I want to put on my bedroom wall, but I need to paint before I put them up. I don't know how long I'll be living in this apartment (at least until next May, but after then I may look for somewhere with better AC), but I want it to feel like home. I think that's partially because this is my first apartment since graduation, so it's also like my first "real" apartment.

Inspiration

I also really wish I could plant my own garden. I've never really been one for flowers. In fact, my mom and my sister always used to drag me along with them on errands that included stopping off at nurseries to look at flowers. Yes, I'm a girl, so I enjoy receiving flowers, but in terms of planting them, I'm one of those people that looks for the pretty ones, grabs them and goes. I'm not a fan of the flower "window shopping" where you take your sweet time looking at each and every one. Which is sort of ironic, since I can spend like 2 hours in a grocery store looking at each and every nutritional fact panel. Yes, I'm that girl. Anyway, flowers, no, but vegetables, yes. I should have noticed this sooner, because when I would go on these flower shopping excursions with my mom and sis, I would always try to get them to buy some vegetable seed packets. But I always got the whole "there's not enough/too much light" answer. Being at Stacy's this week, I was actually drawn to her husband's pride & glory--his vegetable garden. Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, peppers, basil. It was magnificent! And everything was coming in when I was there, with a lot more tomatoes on their way.

Not too shabby!

I was told to use these, but I didn't cook much there :(

Practically grew overnight!

Bunches & bunches about to ripen!

Mmm, BASIL!

If those don't make you want to start your own veggie patch, I don't know what will!!

Exercise Experiment


Lately I've been been having some discomfort in my calves and feet. This could be because of numerous things--I've still been going heavy during my calve raises (90lbs on the leg press machine), I ran into my fan in the dark a little over a week ago and cut/bruised my foot, or perhaps because I've been living in my FiveFingers for about 4 weeks now. Back in the day (aka 2 months ago), I used to alternate between my FiveFingers and my trainers. More recently, I've stuck to my FiveFingers because, honestly, socks in 100-degree weather just does not sound comfortable. I do everything from running to the stairmill to squats, deadlifts, EVERYTHING in my FiveFingers. And I really haven't had a problem until now. My calves have, on occasion, felt tight, but there's nothing really wrong with that, and I figured that was because I was increasing weight on the calve raises.

In an effort to alleviate this problem, I'll be doing 2 things differently this week--1. taking my calve raises to the seated calf machine, and 2. switching to my cross trainers for at least a couple of weeks. We will see how this goes, and I'll keep you posted as to how I progress with this. I've not heard of anyone having any calf soreness past the first few weeks of wearing the FiveFingers, but then again, I haven't looked. Note to self: Google!

In Other News...

I'm expecting an EXCITING package this week! A "pre-lated" birthday gift, as my dad calls it. A VITAMIX!!! I'm already plotting planning what I should make with it in it's first few days alive :) I half jokingly asked for one for my birthday at the end of the month (let's be real, they cost MORE than an arm and a leg!), and my dad decided to order it sooner rather than later so I can start using it! Woohoo! My poor little knock-off Magic Bullet wasn't doing so well. It didn't really like to actually blend the ice and would leave chunks in my morning protein shakes. That, and after going to Smoothie King like it's my job, I was jealous of the fluffy, thick texture of their shakes, compared to my icy-poo shakes. That's right, icy-poo. I don't think I have a good enough vocabulary to describe it better. It's just poo ;)

You may not know this about me, but I <3 kitchen appliances! This just adds to my collection (belgium waffle iron, crock pot, juicer, Magic Bullet-esque blender, KitchenAid stand mixer)...

I hope you're not bored out of your mind still reading now, because I have one last surprise!

Is this not the most adorable thing you've seen lately!? Can you say "NEW PET"?!?! Kidding, I'd never replace Archie!