Construction Zone

When we moved into this apartment, I loved that the buildings were a bluish green color and kind of just blended into the trees and bushes on the hills.  We didn't live here long before the complex was on the market and they began doing inspections and updates to try to sell it.  They painted the buildings this awful tan and orange color and not only were the colors horrid, but they didn't even do a good job, all of the paint on our door chipped off (with the help of paint picker John). 

Eventually the complex was purchased and they began another round of updates.  The roofing, which, being in a bottom floor apartment didn't really bother us much.  But now they're redoing the entire exterior of the buildings and it is a HUGE pain in the ass.  While I am beyond thrilled to get rid of that godawful orange and tan, living in a construction zone (we're in week 3 of probably 6) sucks.  Oh it sucks so bad.

The good news is they are reinsulating the entire building, they put in new windows and doors (THAT was a fun day, let me tell ya) and putting up brand new wood siding and painting it a more neutral color.  So in the end, it will be like living in a brand new building.  But for now I'm stuck inside, shades closed (so I don't feel like I live in a fishbowl with construction guys right outside my windows all day long) with people banging on the walls 8 hours per day.  Our patio is blocked off and when we go out the front door we have to dodge hammers and nail guns, weave our way around the 6 generators (helpfully placed right in front of my kitchen windows for MAXIUM noise), electrical cords, ladders, table saws and try to stay out of the construction worker's way.

If this was summer, we'd be at the pool or at the park to escape the noise, but since it is winter/spring and rainy, and I don't have a car, we're stuck inside turning up the volume on the TV and mommy popping Tylenol to fend off the headaches.

For the most part, I don't really mind apartment living, and though we were planning to move either this summer or next, I'm thinking that to make living through this construction bullshit worthwhile, we'll have to stay in the apartment for a few more years to at least enjoy the finished product.

Completely Uninteresting Resolution Status Update

On January 1, 2013 I would really like to be able to say that I managed to keep all of my resolutions.  To that end, I am adding an element of accountability throughout the year, just a checkin to see where I am at with them every few months.  So, without further ado, is my 3 month report:

Goal 1:  Stay on our current eating plan. We've been doing a Paleo-type diet since October and have been very happy with it.  I say Pale-type because while we eat mostly fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and meats, we're still eating some processed foods and going out to eat a lot.  I want to try to move toward an all whole food diet with far less cheating and really limit our eating out.

Progress:  Well, John has kicked butt on this and has basically turned into a completely different guy.  This has caused me no little amount of anxiety because I have not been able to stay on our plan.  I did fine up until February, I'd lost 20 lbs and suddenly I began emotionally stress eating every damned thing I could get my hands on.  What I DID manage to stick to was whole foods.  We hardly buy any processed foods anymore and I make nearly every single thing we eat from scratch.  In fact I even experimented with making my own ketchup and gummy fruit snacks (both of which were unsuccessful, sadly).  I expect to get my shit together very soon here as the thing that was stressing me out is coming to an end and I can uncurl myself from the fetal position and get on with my life.

 Goal 2: I want to be able to run a 5k.  I can't even do one mile at a slow jog right now.  I don't know if I'll actually do an official 5k race, but I'd like to be able to at least jog a 5k on the treadmill by the end of the year.

Progress:  I followed the C25k program for a few weeks until I was able to jog 1 mile without a walking break, which made me stupid proud, because seriously, this body, jogging?  It ain't easy, let me tell ya.  But then I stopped for a few weeks, and I'm back to square 1 again.  The good news is I am back to working on it and doing the C25k program and I have enlisted some friends to help keep me motivated and accountable.

Goal 3:  Earn some money. I have the ability to earn some money by writing, yet I lack the time and discipline to do it.  I need to start making a financial contribution to our household, even if it's not that much, something is better than nothing.  My goal is to turn in at least one small writing assignment every week day (or at least 5 days per week).  Ideally I will be able to find the time to do several more, but I'll start with one a day and go from there

Progress:  Well here I've had success.  My goal was 5 articles per week and I'm turning in 5 articles per DAY.  So, yeah, kicking some butt here.  

Goal 4: I think I'll unofficially join The Compact. I will attempt to buy nothing new for a year. I suspect we'll still buy new for gifts and some personal items, but my main goal is to THINK before we BUY.  To buy something used you have to go out and search for it, not just stop into a store and pick it up. Ideally I'll be able to buy from local and small businsesses for our new-stuff needs.  I won't enforce this with John or the boys, but I will encourage them to get on board with me whenever possible.

Progress:  Other than food, I haven't bought anything new in 2012.  Which is incredible since I've purchased a lot of stuff.  I've even managed to get John on board with this goal!  The only thing he bought new was a BluRay player (ours died and we needed one since he'd spent the last year or so converting his DVD collection to BluRays), but he bought a floor model at a discount, so it's not REALLY new.  We've both made lists of things we need/want and we hunt around for them at thrift stores, craigslist and garage sales.  We've been able to buy a lot of stuff we wouldn't normally be able to afford on our strict budget and it's been a lot of fun! 

Goal 5:  Learn something new.  Right now I'm thinking I'd love to learn to paint with watercolors, or make jewlery or learn karate.  By the end of the year I'd like to have learned at least one new thing.

Progress:  Well, I've done a lot of new cooking, and jogging is new, but those are part of other goals, so I don't think I've done anything specifically Goal 5ish yet.