Okay, so since I can't seem to find a decent job in this place, I've been pretty bummed lately. Believe it or not, I actually like to work. Of course I'd prefer to pick what I want to do, but working hard and staying busy is definitely good for my sanity and self-worth. Anyhow, one of my neighbors manages some apartments just down the street from my condo, and she knows I've been looking for work. So she approached me one day last week and asked if I was interested in cleaning apartments after tenants -- mostly BYU-Idaho students -- move out. For those of you who don't know, Rexburg Idaho has exploded into a booming college town. There are now three semesters, which means a constant flow of students in and out of the town. Since I can't really justify being picky about earning a little cash, I graciously accepted her offer. So last week I cleaned four apartments, today I cleaned two, and Monday I'll have two more. I'll only be doing this through August when the new semester gets underway, but it's something to help pass the time, earn some money and put my mad cleaning skills to the test. :) I get paid $20/hr to clean up after others. While that's good money, keep in mind that A) it's only part-time (occasional, temporary) work, and B) people are pigs! This brings me to my real topic...
What are your standards for cleanliness? Considering that I worked for a cleaning company from ages 16-20 and the fact that my mom owns her own cleaning company now, I suppose I may be pickier than some people. Take for instance dirty dishes. If you come to my home, you will likely NEVER see a dirty dish. Why, you ask? Well this one I can blame on my mom...She has always been a stickler about cleaning up dishes immediately after meals. Growing up, I remember mom practically whisking our dinner plates away before we were even done eating. She could never tolerate seeing dirty dishes just sitting in the sink or on the counter. To this day, I am the same way. I do actually let Eric finish his dinner before I steal his plate and utensils away, but trust me...I sit there watching him like a hawk to ensure I don't allow those dishes to sit more than a few mere seconds. Anal, you say? Yep, I admit it. I may be a little over the top on this issue, but hey, it's something I take pride in, and my mom would be quite proud too! :) To add to the weirdness factor, I should also tell you that we have a dishwasher, but I almost never use it. To me, it seems like a waste, unless I'm entertaining a lot of people. Considering you're supposed to clean your dishes off before loading the dishwasher, I don't see the point in washing them off to put them in an appliance that takes five times longer to clean them than doing it myself. Call me crazy, but that's my perspective. Okay so I told you about my strange obsession with dirty dishes. Next let's talk bathrooms. How often do YOU think a bathroom should be cleaned? For me, one good cleaning a week is sufficient, but I do wipe everything down almost daily. My best friend Michelle is definitely more anal about this...She cleans hers every single day. And I'm guessing other folks are the other extreme and don't even clean theirs once a week. Would that gross you out? Or do you think that life is too short to spend so much time on mundane tasks such as cleaning? There's no right or wrong answer here...I just wanted to see what you think. I started thinking about all of this as I was scrubbing a very dirty -- actually nasty -- apartment this morning. To me, I can't comprehend how someone could move out of a place and not bother to clean anything. They know they'll be charged cleaning fees if it's not tidy when they leave, but some people just don't seem to care. I guess what I'm wondering is how much is it worth to you to leave your place a mess and have someone else come in to clean it? Most of the apartments are somewhat clean, but one of them today was just plain gross. I would honestly be ashamed to let someone else see it in that condition. But I guess that just means my standards are generally higher in regards to cleanliness. Let me ask you another question...Whether you're a Christian or of another religion, do your religious beliefs affect your standards or values about cleaning? Does the way you keep and present your home reflect on you as a person? Or is it just not important? I personally feel that the way I keep my home does reflect on me and my values, but I don't expect everyone to feel the same way. Providing that you don't allow families of cockroaches to live throughout your home, I respect that cleaning habits are a personal choice, and I feel it's to each their own.
Disclaimer: If you haven't noticed by now, I'm very long-winded. I could honestly go on and on about this (and pretty much anything else!) forever, but for your sake, I'll stop now. If you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment. I wish you a wonderful weekend!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Shedding some extra baggage...
For those of you who don't already know, I've been on a weight loss kick the last few months. I've come to accept that I had really let myself go, and after about 6 years of carrying around a lot of extra weight, I've decided I'm done being fat. Growing up, I was always thin. I never ate healthy, but I never really gained weight. In high school, I thought I was heavy, but now I realize that I just had curves in all the right places. I was never fat.
Then about 9 or 10 years ago, after experiencing something very personal and very traumatic, I slowly stopped caring so much about how I looked. I allowed myself to start packing on the pounds and to get LAZY. It didn't bother me much for the first couple years, as I didn't see dramatic changes in my body. But once I started to notice, it was out of control. At that point, I wasn't ready to acknowledge why I had allowed myself to stop caring and why I looked so bad. I became pretty depressed and stop socializing as much. I was embarrassed of how I looked. I was embarrassed that my boyfriend had a FAT girlfriend. Even though I know Eric wanted me to be healthier and to feel better about myself, he stayed with me and loved me regardless. My family and friends offered their support, and continued to love me unconditionally as well. I'm sure it's been hard on all of them to see me get to the point I was at. I'm not going to post my actual stats, but I hit my heaviest weight about 3 years ago. I HATE seeing any pics of me during that time or really any other time over the last 6 years. I was forced to wear FAT CLOTHES. I dreaded looking in the mirror each morning to get ready for the day. I dreaded trying to find something to wear. I disgusted myself. I couldn't stand to see myself naked, nor did I want Eric to see. Seeing myself in clothes wasn't much better.
That brings me to the present. Almost 3 months ago, I woke up and realized that I needed to do something, or my weight would control and define me forever. Coincidentally July was the 10 year anniversary of that traumatic event I previously mentioned. I came to a realization that I had allowed someone else to have control over me all this time, and I was done giving him my power. I was taking my power back, and I was going to make some real changes. I had to. There was no acceptable alternative. So for the last 2 1/2 months I have been on Herbalife Shapeworks products and have incorporated exercise into my daily routine. I wake up in the morning and have a protein shake and vitamins. For lunch I can pretty much eat what I want, although I try and go for foods that are high in protein. I take more vitamins with my lunch of choice. Then for dinner, I have another protein shake with my vitamins. I limit myself to 1 soda (pop, for those of you back east!) per day, and often times I don't even have that. I rarely snack, although I'll eat something little if I get hungry between meals. My exercise routine started out by walking about a mile or so each evening. I slowly started increasing my distance, but then decided I'd rather ride my bike. Eric soon decided he wanted to join in the routine, and I'm so glad he did. We really enjoy riding together each night, and it's good exercise for both of us. As we gradually increased our distance, we also took different routes to mix things up. We used to ride for about 15-20 minutes nightly, and now it's a good hour or more. We're riding anywhere from 5-8 miles every night, and I absolutely love it. I usually add some sort of exercise into the mix during the day too (I'm currently unemployed, since being laid off May 30th)...jogging, a shorter bike ride, walking, use of dumbbells and exercise ball, jumping rope, etc. I can honestly say that I feel better now than I have in so many years! I have energy, and I've lost 24.5 lbs so far!!! I've also dropped more than 2 full pant sizes. I think I'm at a plateau right now, so it's time to mix it up again, but I'm confident that I will continue to lose weight and feel good. My initial weight loss goal is 30 lbs, so I'm anxiously approaching that goal. Once I hit that number, I'll set a new goal (probably another 20 lbs) and work hard to achieve it. My biggest fear right now is what I'll do when the cold crappy Idaho weather returns. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there. In the meantime, I'm actually wearing shorts in public! I may not look like a supermodel, but I'm damn PROUD of myself, and nothing is going to change that!
Then about 9 or 10 years ago, after experiencing something very personal and very traumatic, I slowly stopped caring so much about how I looked. I allowed myself to start packing on the pounds and to get LAZY. It didn't bother me much for the first couple years, as I didn't see dramatic changes in my body. But once I started to notice, it was out of control. At that point, I wasn't ready to acknowledge why I had allowed myself to stop caring and why I looked so bad. I became pretty depressed and stop socializing as much. I was embarrassed of how I looked. I was embarrassed that my boyfriend had a FAT girlfriend. Even though I know Eric wanted me to be healthier and to feel better about myself, he stayed with me and loved me regardless. My family and friends offered their support, and continued to love me unconditionally as well. I'm sure it's been hard on all of them to see me get to the point I was at. I'm not going to post my actual stats, but I hit my heaviest weight about 3 years ago. I HATE seeing any pics of me during that time or really any other time over the last 6 years. I was forced to wear FAT CLOTHES. I dreaded looking in the mirror each morning to get ready for the day. I dreaded trying to find something to wear. I disgusted myself. I couldn't stand to see myself naked, nor did I want Eric to see. Seeing myself in clothes wasn't much better.
That brings me to the present. Almost 3 months ago, I woke up and realized that I needed to do something, or my weight would control and define me forever. Coincidentally July was the 10 year anniversary of that traumatic event I previously mentioned. I came to a realization that I had allowed someone else to have control over me all this time, and I was done giving him my power. I was taking my power back, and I was going to make some real changes. I had to. There was no acceptable alternative. So for the last 2 1/2 months I have been on Herbalife Shapeworks products and have incorporated exercise into my daily routine. I wake up in the morning and have a protein shake and vitamins. For lunch I can pretty much eat what I want, although I try and go for foods that are high in protein. I take more vitamins with my lunch of choice. Then for dinner, I have another protein shake with my vitamins. I limit myself to 1 soda (pop, for those of you back east!) per day, and often times I don't even have that. I rarely snack, although I'll eat something little if I get hungry between meals. My exercise routine started out by walking about a mile or so each evening. I slowly started increasing my distance, but then decided I'd rather ride my bike. Eric soon decided he wanted to join in the routine, and I'm so glad he did. We really enjoy riding together each night, and it's good exercise for both of us. As we gradually increased our distance, we also took different routes to mix things up. We used to ride for about 15-20 minutes nightly, and now it's a good hour or more. We're riding anywhere from 5-8 miles every night, and I absolutely love it. I usually add some sort of exercise into the mix during the day too (I'm currently unemployed, since being laid off May 30th)...jogging, a shorter bike ride, walking, use of dumbbells and exercise ball, jumping rope, etc. I can honestly say that I feel better now than I have in so many years! I have energy, and I've lost 24.5 lbs so far!!! I've also dropped more than 2 full pant sizes. I think I'm at a plateau right now, so it's time to mix it up again, but I'm confident that I will continue to lose weight and feel good. My initial weight loss goal is 30 lbs, so I'm anxiously approaching that goal. Once I hit that number, I'll set a new goal (probably another 20 lbs) and work hard to achieve it. My biggest fear right now is what I'll do when the cold crappy Idaho weather returns. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there. In the meantime, I'm actually wearing shorts in public! I may not look like a supermodel, but I'm damn PROUD of myself, and nothing is going to change that!
Alas -- I'm a blogger!
Well it's official. I've finally entered the blogging world -- or at least finally decided to create my own blog, instead of just being a blog-stalker. For a while I figured it was silly to have a blog since I'm not married and don't yet have kids...That's what most people seem to use this for -- sharing pics and updates on their bundles of joy. But I figured that since I have a lot to say (as most of you already know!), why not use this as a method to speak my mind. I'll also share pics and happenings in my life, but I want to warn you that I will probably post my insane opinions more than anything. If you can handle that, feel free to stop by and visit my blog anytime. I look forward to creating some entertainment for you! :p
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