our christmas tree killed itself.

I know, I know. I just wrote a blog the other week about how beneficial waking up in the morning and exercising was to my general life. But then I realized that I was mentally freaking out any time I was going to sleep later than 9:30 and I also realized that since I don't absolutely have to, 4:30am is way too early to wake up. (It's too early to wake up even if you DO have to). So, I've changed things up. I am exercising at night. Given it's impossible for it to be quite as consistent since there are sometimes things going on when I get off work, especially during the Christmas season, but I have realized several benefits to this option. 

• I get to exercise with Luke
• I am more motivated
• I get to sleep until 5:30 or 6am
• I am less stressed about the amount of sleep I am getting

So, this is the way things are going to stay, unless I ever could exercise in the morning and still wake up at 5:30 or 6. 

I'm starting a food journal. Yep, it's starting today. I've learned that a huge part of having discipline is simply being aware of what you are doing. So, if I'm writing down everything that I put in my mouth (even just a bite of cake), I'll be more aware. And I think sometimes I may not eat certain things just because I don't want to have to write them down.

I've also decided to keep a "sentence journal". I got this idea from The Happiness Project (as well as the food journal idea). I've always been a journal keeper, but often I slack off because the prospect of writing seems like something I need a lot of time for. The idea behind a sentence journal is that I can write 1-5 sentences about whatever I want, each day, and I won't feel guilty that I'm not writing more, but at least I am writing something. 

Our Christmas tree killed itself. Ever since we got it the day after Thanksgiving, it has refused to drink water. I hoped it would hold out until Christmas, but by the end of this past week, all the branches were hanging low and it was starting to turn brown. So, we strapped in on the top of our car with twine (and if you have ever seen an unbundled Christmas tree on top of a car, it's quite a site--very Clark Griswold-esque) and took that sucker back where it came from--Lowe's. They gave us a new one. It's not as beautiful as the last one since it's the week before Christmas and the pickins are slim, but it's green and LOVES to drink water, so I love it. 

We went to Leavenworth this past weekend with friends. Leavenworth is a little Bavarian town on the east side of the Cascade Mountains. It was basically a dying town and the city council decided they could save it if they turned it into a little Germany. It's a completely ridiculous place, complete with a classic Bavarian McDonalds, a tiny hill where they have hauled snow in from the mountain (well, some might call it snow--it was more like icy mud) for children to sled on and cheap plastic sleds for $20. My favorite part of the evening was commentating on the ridiculously overpriced Christmas ornaments of angels with no pants on. Also, the bratwursts. 

The Abare's are coming this week. It's going to be a good, old-fashioned Christmas here in Sea-town. 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Fridays, husbands and tomatoes

Today is Friday, and I can’t remember the last time I was so excited for this day. The weekend has so much more meaning now.

I am on the last day of the first traditional, 8am to 5pm, 40-hour work week that I have had in who knows how long. I have been blessed for years to have an incredibly flexible work schedule and it is a huge adjustment to not have that luxury. I have so little personal time to do all the things that I want to do and so to maximize my time I have been waking up between 4:30 and 5:30am to workout, eat breakfast and get ready for work. I never thought I would make those unspeakable early morning hours a regular part of my life, but they now are and will be for a long time. Getting up so early means going to bed by 9:30 or 10pm, so that’s weird also, considering my history of 1am bedtimes.

One would think that waking up early to work out would make me more tired (the double whammy of less sleep and vigorous exercise), but the opposite is true. Pulling myself out of bed never fails to be hard, but once I am up I feel quite energetic (only to go sit at a desk all day…). In fact, this morning, I decided to sleep in till 7am (I catch my bus at 7:34) because it’s Friday and I know I will be up late tonight. I was hoping I would feel more rested by an extra hour and a half of sleep, but instead I felt far more groggy on my ride to work. So the getting up early and the exercise certainly are worth it (and I have lost 2 lbs.)

Marriage is pretty great. I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better husband. Luke and I work so well together in every area from decision making to cleaning the house. He is wonderful and my perfect match. The upside/downside of marriage is that, loving to cook, I have been taking advantage of having an eager recipient of my food and concocting all sorts of delicious (and usually fattening) meals. And it was starting to show up around the hips. So, this week has been full of salads, wraps and other less-fattening foods. Except last night we had pizza and Dr. Pepper…so… (but the pizza was homemade with whole wheat crust, so that’s better than Dominoes).

In other news, Congress decided that Pizza is a vegetable. Because of the tomato paste. Tomatoes are technically a fruit, but that’s beside the point.