Déjà vu

Despite choosing to drive on Thursday, my Week Without Biking was an overall success.  I’ve got 3 of my 10 commutes in the books, which means I’m well on my way to completing my resolution.  I hope to bike a couple of days this week.  Bonus:  During my week of biking, we installed a new bike rack in the office garage!

This week, I’m bringing back an oldie but a goodie.  I just passed the first anniversary of this little blog, so I’m resuscitating the week that started it all:  A Week Without Pop.  It’s fitting, too – because lately I’ve begun to suspect that I’m developing a reaction (gasp!!) to soda.  If I feel better this week – I’ll likely give up pop for good.

Coke Zero, you & I had a good run:  Mornings together at the office, road trips, lunches at Mr. Goodcents, breaks at the vending machine… good times.  You even surprised me with gifts from your CokeRewards Points.  I’m sorry, but it’s time for me to move on.  It’s not you.  It’s me.  *burp*

The Downsides

I’m on Day #3 of bike commuting.  First off – I like it.  Second – there’s a lot of positives that bike commuters are always preaching about:

“It’s good for the environment!”

“You’ll lose weight!”

“You’ll feel great!”

“It saves you money!”

Yeah, yeah.  Those are all TRUE.  However…I don’t hear a lot of the negatives.  So here it is – the sh*t they don’t talk about:

-          You fall.  In front of people.  It’s embarrassing.  (and sometimes hurts)

-          You have to get up earlier & plan ahead much more. (...and then they’ll cancel the morning meeting anyway.  Harrumph.)

-          If you’re not used to biking, your nether regions are going to hurt for a while until they get used to it.  Even with bike shorts.

-          You’ll care about wind more than rain.

And the one even bike people talk about:  Drivers don’t see you.  They will run over you.

So far, my rides have been fairly uneventful.  I’ve watched out for drivers.  I’ve had fantastic weather.  I have the ideal work situation for bike commuting.  And I’ve felt great!  And aside from falling over yesterday in front of rush hour traffic, I’m happy with what I’ve done so far.

LOOK AT ME!

Day #1 of bike commuting was a success!  I experienced a bunch of things on the way to work that I wouldn’t have in a car:

•           A cool breeze on my face
•           Exchanging “good mornings” with 2 dog walkers, a utility worker, and a homeless guy
•           Meeting the electricians that were working at the office
•           Burning a few calories

Plus, I was really awake & in a great mood when I got to my desk.  (I can hear the “I-told-you-sos already…)  

Half of my route is through residential streets, and half of it is along busy streets in a commercial area.  I have ridden with traffic before, but I’m not yet comfortable enough to do it during rush hour on those streets.  Besides, I have a feeling my slow butt would seriously impede traffic!

The ride home was a little bit more stressful.  I actually yelled “LOOK AT ME!” to an oblivious driver on a cell phone.   Both the forecast and my schedule have worked out perfectly for this week – so I’m hoping for another successful ride tomorrow.

A Week Without Commuting by Car

It’s been months since I’ve done a “week without”, but that’s not to say that I haven’t been self-improving J  My husband and I have been cracking down on our horrible sleep habits, clutter covering the house, and next we’re looking to improve our finances.  There’s no shortage of things that we need to organize…

After a few weeks of HOT weather including three-digit temperatures, Nebraska is starting to feel like fall.  Perfect for football, and perfect for riding my bike to work!  “Ride my bike to work 10 times” was one of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2012, and it’s high time I got it crossed off my list!  So, starting tomorrow, I’m going a Week Without Commuting by Car.  I can still use my car for other things, but I’ll be getting to & from the office on two wheels.

On another note, I’m taking a long weekend beginning Friday to cross off another reolution:  taking an overnight river trip.  If all goes well, I’ll be paddling down the Dismal River – which I hear is contrary to its name.

No sloth in sight! Even though my Facebook addiction remains strong, I’ve been doing a lot
less sitting around & a lot more DOING. I’m like a Home Depot commercial on meth! I’ve been staying late at work almost & running errands over my lunch hour & after dinner every day. I’ve only made it to the gym once this week (..and not for a class), but I’ve been getting a LOT of activity anyway.

Some highlights:
Tues: got my replacement drivers’ license, cleaned fridge, worked out at gym

Wed: applied for a marriage license, composted & tilled the office garden, walked around Holmes Lake, went grocery shopping

Thurs: met with my Teammate, skipped a board meeting (I never do that!) to work late on an edit, wrote a couple more thank-you notes, bought a wedding gift, hand delivered a mis-addressed invitation, dropped something off at work for an early-morning shoot

Today: I am taking care of more wedding stuff over lunch & getting a lot done for the big spring/summer projects at work…you know, the stuff I keep putting off until later. Ha!

I have kept myself busy & running around all week, without much of a chance to watch TV
or play online. If I’ve had free time, I’ve spent it exercising or checking things off my list. Ok, I DID allow myself some beers on a friend’s deck – but I much prefer that to throwing my time away on Facebook or Pinterest!

If I can take care of those last couple nagging items on my list (Yakima parts, mail a gift), I’ll feel MUCH better than I did at the beginning of this week. Even if I don’t make it to spinning class :)

Since this week is a pretty vague “without”, I’m looking for a specific, quantifiable one next week.
I’m toying with “a week without a bed”. Any other ideas??

Gettin' Stuff Done!

Holy productivity! Not only was it a CRAZY busy day at work (no time for a lunch break, and I stayed really late), but I got a lot done!

- Stopped at tux store to confirm stuff for wedding

- Decorated my boss’ office…LIKE A BOSS!

- Mailed off a thank you note

- Mailed off a baby gift

- Wrapped three presents

- Got fiancé to follow up on some wedding things

- Made a big to-do list for the rest of this week

I set the hourglass timer on my phone for an hour of idle time, and I still have about 9 minutes left. It’s keeping me from losing track of time & wasting all of my at-home hours. My fiancé thinks it might be keeping me TOO aware, because I didn’t relax much at all tonight while I was “on the clock”.

Fiancé’s argument: You suck at relaxing in the first place. Why are you putting even more stress on your down time?

My argument: I’m stressed because of things I keep putting off! Making myself do some of these things will ease my stress, instead of paralyzing myself like I normally do. Also, YOUR FACE!

Although I’m a pro at procrastination, I am horrible about relaxing. Really. HORRIBLE. I will lay down with my fiancé, but he’s the only one who can nap (for 3 hours at a time!!). I can’t even sleep on international flights. When I took my landlord to small claims court, I didn’t sleep well for about 3 months. I’ve developed nervous tics that only close friends will recognize. When someone gave me a meditation CD, I literally checked the back to see which track was the shortest - because I was running late for something and too stressed to meditate. Ha!

So, with the wedding –and lots of work projects- looming, you can imagine the amount of relaxing I’ve done. I think the gym is a good idea this week.

Another busy day is on deck. Since I lost my wallet, I’ve got to go get a new driver’s license so I can get a marriage license. Oh, and drive. J Plus, I checked the class schedule at my gym. I think I’m going to try spin class on Wednesday. Anyone wanna join me??

In keeping with the “sloth” theme for this week:

Kristen Bell’s infamous sloth meltdown on Ellen

Baby sloths (they look like they’re wearing pajamas at the end) CUTE OVERLOAD!

A Week Without Sloth

“I’m back, bebeh!”-Bender Bending Rodriguez

Time for another “Week Without”! And this time, it’s a Week Without Sloth. Ah, Sloth. It’s perhaps my favorite deadly sin: Lounging on the couch, soaking up bad TV, browsing the internet for interesting videos, playing word games, and wasting time on Pinterest & Facebook. I’m really good at sloth.

Truthfully, my big goal this week is to get myself off the couch and into the gym. I used to be very successful at setting weekly goals & working out at the gym. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve been there in 3 months. Embarrassing.

Since it’s difficult to quantify sloth, here’s my wish list for a successful week:

- 2 new classes at the gym (maybe spinning & a BodyPump-type class??)

- Get some cleaning done around the house (the fridge is getting gross)

- Take care of a couple gifts I’ve been meaning to deliver FOREVER

- Get some wedding planning done

- Mail the WRONG replacement parts back to Yakima & install the other things on my roof rack

I’m not going to rule out TV & internet, but I’m limiting myself to an hour a night. (That’s a very strict media diet for me!)

“Heyyyy youuuu guyyyyys!” - Sloth