Step II: Health

Tonight, I do something I hate...I join a gym. I hate gyms, I hate them so much, and I am so bad about going to them, but I need to get in shape. I also think they are overpriced, and annoying. I could do a lot of other things with that money, but you know what, I also want to live a long and healthy life as much as possible.

Blarg, stupid gyms. At least they have a month-to-month plan so I can stop if I hate it.

Edit: Maybe I will try DVDs again, or P90X at the behest of my sister-in-law, who I trust on such matters. 

Random Truth #5

I love dogs more than cats.

Henna

I have wanted to dye my hair red for some time, but I hate commercial dyes, and think salons are too expensive, which they are. Being an eco-minded person, I started to research henna as a means of dyeing my hair, and let me tell you, I love it.

This weekend my husband applied henna to my hair, and it has come out this amazing red color. It isn't too bright, and it isn't too dark, and I didn't kill any little animals in the process. In sunlight the henna is a very vibrant red, and in indoor light it looks like my natural color with red highlighting. Here are some pictures:

Home, Sweet 351-square feet

I have always wanted to live in an efficient, environmentally friendly home. In recent years, this has started equating to small, homey, and efficient uses of space. I have been further inspired by this couple, who had a large home and after a fire decided to modify and live in 351-square feet.

Here is the article on that story.

Dresses

I am officially becoming a dress person. My mother is finally getting what she wanted all those years ago...I'm wearing dresses. Mind you, my mother was sweet and never pushed the issue, and she let me be a tomboy all I wanted, but she would have liked it a lot if I had enjoyed dresses, makeup, and shoes.

My favorite pieces of clothing are about 6 dresses: 2 retro wiggle dresses, 2 modern retro-ish dresses, a sweater dress, and another retro mod-dress. Now I am looking at 2-3 more that I really like:

 

I definitely want to try and sew these...now to get motivated to sew. I am always so motivated to do things when I am at work, and I get all excited, and then I go home, and my brain turns to mush, and I never seem to get anything done.

Step I: Health

With great health comes great happiness, and supposedly longer life. In any case, I have started to consider my own health. I am very lucky in that I have been about the same weight my whole life. It is both a blessing and a curse that it is very hard for me to either lose or gain weight, and extremely lucky that my weight, size, and shape are all of healthy proportions.

I think it is great that I look fine, but am I healthy? The answer: I am healthier than most, but not as healthy as I should be. I walk about 3 miles to and from work each day, but I have an extremely sedentary job. Also, I am prone to being a couch potato at night either with books, movies, or video games. I'm slightly health conscious, but I eat out, I eat a lot of junk, and generally I never really consider what I am eating. I seek out all organic, grass-fed, etc. etc. food, but I never notice the calories, sugar, or fats involved in that food.

What spurred this? A New Year's resolution? Hell no, I never make those, because I know my own will power and limits, and I would never be able to live up to a resolution. Instead, I am spurred on by the fact that my young parents are ailing in their late-50s. I am not referring to the general progress of aging, taking Lipitor, or having joint problems. Diabetes, severe arthritis, excessive pain, sickness, and poor health, not to mention highly misinformed decisions leading to weight gain, inactivity, and complete lack of mobility or ability to do anything physical is what I am referring to. I don't want to be that way when I am 57. I want to ride my horses, take care of my farm, and be able to chase down my college age niece with surprising grace. Some part of health is genetics, and accidents, and so maybe I won't be able to be in the condition I want at 57, but it will damn well not be for lack of trying.

The first order of business is that John and I have decided not to ever eat out again unless it is for a special occasion, or friends and family want to, but not the two of us alone. Second order of business is more exercise, because walking and riding horses is not enough. To this end I am trying to do yoga at home, and find other possible exercises that are easy to do outside of a gym, because I am horrible at attending gyms and classes. Third, I have started to write down everything I eat so that I can count the calories, and be more aware of what I am actually eating in a day. I definitely eat too much sugar, or items with high sugar content...honey is a huge problem for me, and carbs and breads are a major issue. I need more vegetables, which I have known for some time, and I need to make sure to eat food that are good for my cholesterol since my family is prone to heart diseases. Any suggestions on your favorite foods?

Wish me luck, because I have never been very good at this...again, better than most, but a far cry from what I should be doing.

Random Truths #4

I love the way hair looks underwater or in the bath tub, like seaweed or something so beautifully organic and alive (yes, I know hair is organic and alive, but you get the point).