Maintenance and Beyond

I realized this weekend that I've been doing a half-ar$ed job lately at maintenance.  Better in some areas than others, I've particularly fallen off in such important but easy to forgo self-maintenance tasks as toenail painting and hair styling.  I convinced myself that ponytails are stylish and that I can just continue to neglect my feet by always wearing socks and shoes.  No sandals for this girl!  Eek.  While I'm not about to teach N that her image is the most important thing she can give the world, the impression you leave with others concerning your style choices IS important to establish professional credibility and portray a sense of individuality.  So this week, I'm determined to get a haircut that suits me and my lifestyle.  Again, as I'm always in hot pursuit of this.  Any suggestions are appreciated.  Also, I painted my toenails this morning, bright red (which N called "orange" over and over).  I didn't wear open-toed shoes to showcase them yet, but I'll get there...

Beyond maintenance, however, I want to take a moment to get excited about positive changes I've been making.  Through a combination of efforts: nearly eliminating soda from my diet, eating more fruits and veggies and fewer processed things, and regular exercise (mostly wogging - a combo of walking and jogging with N in the Burley and the dogs trotting along beside me), I have shed 10+ pounds over the last few months.  Great for my health (and self esteem - hello visible leg muscles!), but not amazing for my wardrobe as most of my dress pants bring to mind one of N's current fave books - The Saggy Baggy Elephant. Ooph, not a good look.

Creatively, I've been working on crocheting with yarn and different materials - particularly t-shirt "yarn".  I found a blog this morning that totally motivated me to use my random t-shirt stash, and dye some of the dingy white tees I've held onto after D told me to chuck 'em.

Great news: my little sis is coming home tomorrow!  We haven't ironed out the day-to-day details, but I'm so excited to see her!  Family get-together celebrating G'ma Shirley's 80th on Friday (likely at Mystic), so lots to look forward to.  Lots of fun to be had.

* Brief reality TV update: happy that Olivia won BL.

I still haven't started my seeds (squash, beets, etc), and it is the END of MAY!  My grand garden plans have...dwindled.  I would love to have a veggie garden, but I realize I'm running out of time to get it started.  Maybe Ali can help me?! I don't know, but it is a nice thought.  More on gardening to come.