2011 in Review

Why fold & put away laundry when I can write a blog post?

Today I ran my last run for the year.  16 miles; it wasn't pretty but it's over with.  Afterwards I decided to plug ole' Gus into Garmin Connect and get a total of my miles for the year.

1,656 miles and over 300 hours of running.  That's about 12 and a half days.  Mixed in there was 2 marathons, 3 half marathons, a 4-day charity run and several 5Ks.  Maybe next year I can hit 2,000???  (Ok, 1800 is much more reasonable.)  According to my Garmin Connect, that is 200 miles more than 2010, but I didn't get Gus until late January or February of last year, so the all of the miles weren't logged.

I made a couple of big changes in the home improvement area - new windows in August and a safer, more energy efficient, brightly colored front door in November.  I have three more big projects that I would like to do, but not sure which will come next.  I would like ceramic tile in my kitchen and I would also like to seriously renovate my two bathrooms.  All of them will be quite costly so there's no telling when I'll actually get my wishes fulfilled.

Another big development in 2011 that I am really excited about is a change at work.  I was given an opportunity to take a different position with my company.  I've been doing it for about a week and a half now.  It's very challenging but I really enjoy it.

Overall, 2011 has been a pretty good year.  I think it's important to focus on what I do have and know that it far outweighs what I don't have that I think I might need.  I can't wait to see what is in store for 2012!

Makeover My Soul

Just as Cher Horowitz decided she needed to makeover her soul, I have decided I need to makeover my... house.  Which I think will have positive effect on my general wellbeing.  I've been in my house for quite sometime, and there are several improvements I have been needing/wanting to make but haven't quite gotten around to.  What can I say, when it comes to procrastination, I got skillz.  Anyway, lately I have following this awesome blog - http://www.younghouselove.com/.  It has really inspired me to tackle some projects around the house.  Unfortunately I was still lacking in motivation.

Yesterday, I placed an order for some new windows.  My current windows are probably original to the house, which was built some 50-60 years ago.  They are the crank-out kind, if that tells you anything.  The new windows promise to be energy efficient (= saving money on the utility bills) and sound-blocking (= no more listening to my neighbor's phone conversations or what she is playing on her car stereo).  I am so excited!  They should be here in about 4-6 weeks, which provides me with a deadline, which is darn close to motivation.

Obviously, I can't complete all the projects in that short period of time (more on the project ideas later).  First of all, I don't have the funds.  Second, I still have a full time job and don't have the manpower.  So my general plan is to get more organized and get rid of stuff that I don't need/want/use anymore.  Having a more organized and less cluttered house will make it easier for the window installers do their job.  

Today's task, however, was an exterior one.  To say I'm not a big fan of outside work is an understatement.  Especially outside work in the middle of summer.  But, there was something that had been nagging me for some time and I wanted to get it accomplished before the windows got here.  The awnings over my windows, which are supposed to be white, have gotten quite grungy over the years.  When we replaced the roof in 2007, we had to take the awnings off so my mom & I took the opportunity to powerwash and repaint the awnings (well, mostly mom). 

So here's the before:

The front:

And the side:

I had a very good supervisor.  Ok, so maybe he's not much of a supervisor, but he's the cutest dang cat I've ever seen.

I used a car washing brush so as not to damage the paint, and a combination of scrubbing bubbles and dish soap.  After what really only added up to a couple hours (maybe 2 1/2) of work, I had this!

I'm not trying to pass it off as perfect, but I think it definitely qualifies for 95% improvement.  I am absolutely thrilled with my work.  I also took the time to weed eat the yard a little.  It has been so dry lately that my grass is not growing but miraculously (sarcasm) the weeds still are.  I feel great about the progress I made today and hope I can stay on that track!