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What I Learned This Week: Caviar Tastes On A Soda Budget

February 26, 2013 7 Comments
What I Learned This Week On Making Our Life Matter
What I learned this week has always been a favorite blog meme. Reading some of Julie’s entries has always brought a smile to my face. Each week I think that there isn’t anything I could have possibly learned that is worth blogging about.  Or sometimes it seems like I learn the same stuff over and over and over again.  Sometimes I feel like I am doing nothing but complaining, and who wants to read that, right? But then I think, maybe someone out there understands or is going through the same thing.  So, without further discussion, here is what I learned this week:
  • I am not sure I want to start our home improvement project.  I know it has to be done, it is the financial end that scares me. Every time I think I am okay about having it done, I get a full-blown panic attack thinking about the bill!
  • I want it to be Spring, right this very second so that this project can be started.  Although the contractor has given me hope that it could start sooner rather than later.
  • I want to do the demolition on said project.  The thought of being able to wield a sledgehammer is extremely intoxicating!
  • I learned that while I am terrified of the cost, I am having fun dreaming and planning.
  • I can’t wait for it to be done so I can enjoy it.

 In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am discussing building a new deck.  Our current deck is 15 years old and is on its last leg.  The sooner we get it done the better.  I do need to stop having visions of grandeur though.  The likelihood of being able to afford a roof over the deck is slim and none.  But the appeal of being able to use the deck most of the year is very, very appealing.  And the outdoor furniture catalogs?  I think I need to hide them!  So you could also say that while I am usually a very simple woman, I have champagne tastes when it comes to home improvement.

I learned a few things along the way this week, some new, some the same old same old. How about you? Join in the fun to see what others are doing and to make new blog friends. For more WILTW, please visit Julie at From Inmates to Playdates!

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What I Learned This Week ~Exercise Is For The Birds

January 29, 2013 12 Comments
What I Learned This Week On Making Our Life Matter
What I learned this week has always been a favorite blog meme.  Reading some of Julie’s entries has always brought a smile to my face.  Last week she discussed all the things she learned about exercising and water consumption.  She has some really great things to say about it.  Right now I am trying to work on some healthy lifestyle changes, but that is not going to well.  I have been so resistant to the whole exercise thing, until hubby made me get off my rear and workout with him.  So, without further discussion, here is what I learned this week:
  • I am addicted to Turkey Hill Iced Tea.  Just the regular kind.  But it is like crack to me.  I can stop drinking it for a while, but if I get so much as a whiff of it, I fall off the wagon and grab the gallon jug.
  • I hate drinking water.  I mean I despise it.  I know that I need to drink more, I know that it is good for me, but I can’t do it.  I think part of the reason is that our tap water tastes like a dead sponge.  We don’t have a water softener, so you can really taste the gunk in it.  I try to buy spring water, but it is such a pain in the rear(and I save the spring water to use in my beloved Keurig).  One of the things that I know I should invest in is a Brita pitcher or similar water strainer.  It’s on my to do list, somewhere in the middle.
  • Exercising is a necessary evil.  Hubby and I are doing P90X Lean together.  I hate exercising because I hate sweating.  But you know what?  Exercising with hubby has made it more bearable.  We get to spend time with each other, and are doing something healthy.  So it is a win-win situation.  Plus it has other benefits as well, including physical, emotional, and even spiritual. As Tony Horton says, “Do Your Best, Forget The Rest.”  Okay, if you say so!
  • Dressing for the occasion makes exercising a little more bearable.  This includes some high quality sneakers, athletic tops that whisk away the sweat, and a compression bra.  I have somewhat large “girls” and the cardio workouts really bounce them around.  Once I got a good compression bra, the exercise became less painful, as I wasn’t distracted by the movement.
  • I can’t do Yoga.  Period.  I know it’s supposed to be relaxing, and it really is good exercise, but it is an exercise in futility for me.  Exercise is supposed to relax you in body and mind, but is it worth it if you end up angry?  Nope, not in my book.  So I just skip the YogaX workout, and add another cardio.

 

I learned a few things along the way this week, some new, some the same old same old. How about you? Join in the fun to see what others are doing and to make new blog friends. For more WILTW, please visit Julie at From Inmates to Playdates!

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What I Learned This Week~Christmas Decorating

November 27, 2012 1 Comment

Happy Tuesday! In this week’s edition of WILTW, I have a few things I want to talk about regarding decorating for Christmas.  It is kind of hard to believe that the holiday season is already here, and that it’s time to put up all the Christmas stuff. So here are a few of things that I have learned this week:
  • No matter how grumpy you are, putting up the decorations and listening to Christmas music always changes that!.
  • No matter how carefully you pack away your decorations, every year something gets broken, even though you haven’t touched them for 364 days.
  • A law of some kind states that somehow one or two strings of lights always end up broken.  Not sure how because they worked 10 minutes before I packed them away.
  • Despite your best efforts, you will never remember what is in each container.
  • That you can never quite remember how you decorated last year, and seem to have more/less things than needed.
  • Each year you say that you will not put as much up, and you do anyway.
  • I learned that having an almost 6 foot hubby comes in handy when decorating a 7.5 foot tree.
  • It’s awesome to have two boys that love to put ornaments on the tree.
  • And really awesome to have two boys that can help carry things up and down the steps!


So I hope that you enjoyed reading this post. Take a few minutes to visit Julie and read her wonderful blog.
Have you learned anything new this week?
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What I Learned This Week~After The Storm

November 6, 2012 7 Comments

Happy Tuesday! In this week’s edition of WILTW, I have a few things I want to talk about regarding power and technology. We depend on it so much that we don’t know what to do when it’s not there. So here are a few of things that I have learned this week:
  • Don’t ever take power or heat for granted.  They are great conveniences but they can disappear in a flash.  Be prepared to survive without them.
  • Have an emergency plan, and update it frequently.
  • Keep all your important family information written down on paper in a secure location.  Storing them on your laptop or on your phone will not be useful if you don’t have power and can’t charge up these devices. Things to include are emergency numbers, SS#, blood types, medications and dosages, allergies, etc.
  •  Take the warnings from the weather service seriously.  Many were caught unprepared by Superstorm Sandy because they thought “oh we won’t lose power”.
  • Learn to use a generator safely!!  And if you aren’t sure, don’t use it!  Several people lost their lives because of improperly used generators.  It was an unneeded loss on top of an already devastating situation.
  • Take a moment to review the rules of the road.  Many people were injured because they forgot or didn’t know that a stoplight becomes a 4-way stop when there is no power.  Slow down, too.  I will never complain about a stoplight again because it was even scarier without them!
  • Don’t take life for granted.  You never know when it will be wiped out.

So I hope that you enjoyed reading this post. Take a few minutes to visit Julie and read her wonderful blog.
Have you learned anything new this week?
Filed Under: What I Learned This Week Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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