on the home front

Yesterday I went to town on our kitchen. Took everything off the counters, took the microwave and the stove apart, swept, mopped, the whole shebang. I find it strangely comforting to walk into the house and smell the aroma of Pine-Sol. I also got to work on our corner unit. We bought (what we thought) was going to be a temporary solution for our storage problems; it turned out to be one of the sturdiest little pieces we've bought--and it was from Target! It's very simple, which I like because it blends in with everything around it, but it really needed another paint job!

Notice the original orange color peeking through the worn espresso paint here.

I think this was the first piece of furniture I ever painted, hence the huge thick drip marks.

I painted it black to match our coffee and end table that we have in the living room (and the color our wall unit will eventually become). I'll get some pictures of it once it's finished.

I also tried my hand at brownies from scratch. They turned out so freaking amazing! I have to admit I have a nice scorch mark on my tongue because I had to have one right out of the oven (who could wait two hours for them to cool?!). I like my brownies on the gooey side and these turned out perfect.

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Ooey-gooey Chocolate Brownies

2/3 cup butter or margarine

5 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, cut into pieces

1 ¾ cups sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla {I did 3 because I love vanilla}

3 large eggs1 cup all-purpose flour (not self-rising flour)

{The recipe says you can add walnuts, but I’m allergic, so I always omit them}

1. Heat oven to 350-degrees F. Grease bottoms and sides of 9-inch pan with shorting. {I used Pam}
2. In 1-quart sauce pan, melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly. Cool 5 minutes.
3. In medium bowl, beat sugar, eggs, vanilla, and flour with electric mixer on high for 5 minutes. {I think at about 2 minutes mine was nice and smooth, so I stopped. 5 minutes seemed like overkill} Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour in pan.
4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes.*

*This is wear the gooey-ness comes from. You can cook the brownies until they’re cooked through in the middle (pierce with a knife to test), or you can stop before hand. Our oven is a bit on the lame side, so at 40 minutes, they were just about perfect. They may be a little jiggley, but they will firm up upon cooling.

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The past two mornings I've also kept up with my stretching that I borrowed from Jitterbug. It's no wonder that girl is dropping weight left and right! These little stretches can really kick your behind! I'm only doing one set of each stretches to acclimate myself with them, but my body feels the way it did when I'd work out at the gym lifting heavy weights. The backs of my legs are extremely sore from the toe touches I did (um, wake-up call! I can barely touch the floor!). I need to get my walking in, but I've been wearing a knee brace since we were in San Diego and just walking around the house is kind of tiring (my knee cap was slipping; a very odd and disturbing feeling, not to mention painful).

I have a new project coming up that I'm ridiculously excited about--simple minds have simple pleasures--but I'll save it for another post. I think I've rambled enough for today! ;)

procrastination...

...is becoming a regular occurrence in this house. I can't tell you how long it's been since I've done a proper cleaning, which I keep blaming on the move (but really, if I'm going to hang shelves, I need to clean); my exercise has gone undone for a week (I made up for it by running a full mile last night, and walking another mile home); and now here it is Friday and I haven't packed a thing for my trip! It's so unlike me not to have a full blown list of what I'm taking, down to accessories and make-up bits. I think I've planned out maybe two outfits. I need to quit puttering around on the net, reading my favorite blogs, discovering new ones... such distractions, but what delicious distractions!

I'm hoping to do a blog or two from San Diego, but I've been filling up my days with all sorts of activities:

-Bad Kitty Photo shoot (Monday)

-Getting Padres tickets (we won four, Monday)

-Buying a gift for my BBF's daughter's first birthday (Tuesday)

-Buying myself a new top for said birthday party (Tuesday)

-Lunching with mom (Wednesday)

-Reviewing BK photos (Wednesday)

-Watching my mother attempt a zipline (Saturday)

-Attending one year old's birthday party (Saturday)

I also intend to spend some time running (I love those cold foggy mornings San Diego is famous for), some time on the beach, and soak up the rest of the time with family and friends. I really can't wait until we move and I'm close to everyone again!

Guess I'd better start making that packing list...

weight & see

I'm working my butt off--literally! I'm being such a good girl with this new workout regime. When I saw I was up .8 pounds yesterday, I ran an extra half mile on my treadmill before my evening walk. I'm thinking I'll do the same again today. I lost .2 of those .8 pounds gained, which is motivating. I'm determined to hit my goal weight (if not close to it) buy August 7. I plan to keep working out steadily after that as well, because I'd love to get down to my pre-surgery weight with my post-surgery results. I'm also going to stop weighing myself everyday because I know that's not going to be helpful.

The one area I could do better in is my eating. I'm ashamed to admit that the past two days in a row, I've had pizza--four slices each day (damn my compulsive behavior)! This morning I'm sitting here with a bowl of healthy oatmeal, made with only a little bit of vanilla creamer to sweeten it up. Lunch will probably be raw veggies, cottage cheese, and tomatoes (something I truly love to be honest) and dinner will be grilled fish with brown rice and steamed green beans. Truth be told, I could eat fish every day! Hubbs would soon grow tired of it, but not me! Give me fish or shrimp, sautéed, grilled, baked--mm!

I'm not the only one being a good girl though! My friend Katie blogged about our workout routine we've started via telephone. She calls me her drill instructor! I've found that by motivating her, it's also helped me to motivate myself as well. We have daily competitions to see how much water we're drinking, what healthy things we're eating, and how our workouts are going. Yesterday I sent her a picture of my vegetarian black bean burger, celery and carrot sticks with the caption: My healthy lunch. What are you having today?

back on the wagon

Back in North Carolina I was such a good girl when it came to working out! Hubbs and I got up every morning at 5:45 to walk around our neighborhood. It took all of 15- or 20-minutes, but along with watching what we ate, those walks shed pounds like a dream. Then I had my surgery and fell off the exercise wagon. Big time.

I hit "my limit" here in California and really decided it was time to do something. I figured since running and walking have always worked in the past, why not go back to what I know? So, I started running again on June 29. Hubbs and I did a weigh-in with pictures so we'd have before and afters; I think the photos disturbed me more than the weight! Especially the one of my backside! I was horrified. I started pushing myself to run every single day. The first week, I made it Monday to Friday and gave myself the weekend off. The second week I only ran four times because one night was our anniversary (I should have ran in the morning that day instead of using it as an excuse not to run) and Friday and Saturday we were off on Jason's birthday trip. This makes the third full week and so far, doing great! I've run every single day and plan to run both Saturday and Sunday as well.

I've also made sure that I change up my eating habits as well. Anyone who knows me can tell you I loves me some junk food! Most people are under the impression that vegetarian = healthy, but it's not always the case. Jalapeño Cheetos, for example, are vegetarian but that doesn't make them healthy (but they're so good). I still allow myself some junk food, but I eat Pringles instead of Cheetos, and I only have one serving (which is about 16 chips). And yes, I actually count them out, put them on a plate, and put the package back in the pantry.

(These happen to be honey mustard Pringles--very yummy!)

My sweet tooth is also learning its lesson as well. I've cut sugar down to 14 grams in a single sitting--not serving, sitting. For example, after dinner I grab myself a Snickers ice cream bar; it has 15g of sugar in the entire bar. Or I treat myself to the good chocolate (the stuff that's 63% cacao) and I can have about five pieces because it has 14g of sugar in a single serving of five pieces.

And last but not least, I'm reducing my sodium intake as well. I try to limit myself to 600 milligrams of sodium in a single sitting. This is much harder than it sounds. Did you know a can of vegetarian chili has almost 1,800mg in the whole can? Soup too. Even the "low sodium" stuff is still insane. This forces me to eat less store bought foods and make more from my fridge. My one weakness is Red Barron Four Cheese Pizza--it has 700mg of sodium in ¼ of the pie! I usually eat one slice, wrap it up, and it becomes lunch for the next day or two.

It's all paying off big time though! In three weeks I've lost 4.4 pounds! Friday August 7 is when I want to hit my goal weight, so I've got 21 more days to really kick it into gear. That's exactly three more weeks so if I can keep going the way I'm going I'll have no problem getting there!

growing up

In the past few days I've done two things that have made me feel very grown up. Of course, using the term "grown up" probably shows I'm still a way's off from my comparison, doesn't it?

Number One: I made reservations for a car rental.

We've only rented a car one other time, and that's when we road-tripped it down from Pennsylvania to North Carolina after our honeymoon. The car was in Jason's name (since he'd just turned 25) and he was the primary driver. Now, when I make my trip down to San Diego in August I'll be renting a car for the week, all by myself. I've made my appointment with Bad Kitty Photography which means I'll be needing wheels for at least two days that I'm down there (the shoot date and the proof date). I figure rather than put out any family members, a car of my own was the sensible choice. Thankfully our military bank scored me a 20% discount, extra insurance, and a bunch of waived fees. So for a little over $100, I'll have a Ford Focus (or similar) for a whole week.



Number Two: I made reservations with a personal stylist.

I know! How hoidy toidy of me! I actually didn't even know this service existed until I was lurking on the Fashion & Beauty board on The Nest. Apparently, Nordstrom's offers a complimentary personal stylist. All you have to do is make an appointment. I'm very excited because I have some serious questions about the right fits, cuts, and lengths for my body. I have a very odd little shape. I'm kind of short in the torso, I have a large bust, a small waist, big hips, and somewhat short little legs. Jeans that tend to be tight in the thighs gap in the waist. The high waist style doesn't look good on me, but how old can I get before "low rise" becomes a fashion faux pas? High water jeans make me look stumpy, as do Bermuda shorts. Capri pants look great on me--or is it pedal pushers? What about my skirt length? I tend to have a yellow complexion--what colors should I gravitate towards (I'm told I look great in dark colors like blues and reds) and which should I stay away from? You can see I'm riddled with questions! I better save up a bit of allowance now because I'll feel terrible if I pepper my stylist with questions and then buy absolutely nothing from her (or him)!



Either way these two events will be sure to add to an already exciting week. I can't wait to see Cinnamon and the girls again and I've already started preparing for the shoot. This includes running 1/4-mile everyday and putting to use that new Bowflex Hubbs bought! I guess we'll see how well it works in about 33 days...

5 pounds

Before I get into the post, I want to share with you two things. First, this video Stephanie shot while at Disneyland. We took Grace on the the Storybook Land Boats since it was both a kid and adult friendly ride. Ever wonder what I sound like? This video has a sound bite of me actually speaking! For the record, the one gasping so much is Stephanie, not me! ;0)

Second, my outfit from our trip down to Palm Springs. My head got horribly sunburned from the above trip and now my scalp is peeling. Ick! So I had to design an entire outfit--fit for a lot of walking--around my straw fedora. I also wanted to stick with light colors because the desert is getting hot!

Straw fedora from Anchor Blue, blue tank top by Back Stage, tan jeans from JC Penny, flip flops by Collin Stuart, necklace by Cookie Lee, straw tote by Coach.

Moving on, my friend Katie just started up her own blog. She's still getting her blogging legs, but stop on by and check it out. She plans to chronicle her search for Mr. Right and a new figure. Speaking of which, she and I are both trying to keep each other accountable on our eating and exercising habits. My main goal is toning up. Weight loss would be a bonus, but what I need to do is just get myself back in shape. Okay, let's be honest: as vain and stupid as it sounds, I really would love to lose about five pounds, since it will bring me back down to my best weight.

Yesterday I did my most thorough workout yet. I did a 40-minute walk and a 15-minute exercise video. I'm finding that it's easier for me to keep track of my progress by using a spread sheet. I weigh in weekly [and have gained 1 pound since I started actively doing this, frown] but as Hubbs says, I'm not going to see results right away since I'm already a small person.

I've also taken a cue from Jitterbug and have been trying to cut my eating off at 8:00 pm. This is much harder than it sounds especially because we just found out that Hubbs is going to be in the night class for his next course of school . He won't get out until 7:00--which means dinner has to be on the table when he gets home in order for me to make my deadline! I'm hoping I'll also be able to tack on another walk after dinner to help burn off the meal.

It's going to be a challenge, but I've already jumped one major hurdle. I've cut a big chunk of sweets out of my diet; I only eat sweets that I bake here at home. So, one hurdle down... how many to go??

musings on health & eating

You know those days where you feel so philosophic because suddenly things start making sense? Connections form in your mind, you feel worldly, and all of sudden you get "it?" I'm having one of those days.

I've mentioned the "allowance system" I'm on (by choice) that gives me $50 per week to put into my little section of our bank account. I can use it for whatever I want, but I can't borrow from it (so if the money's not there, it's not there). Hubbs has let me overspend only twice since being on it, but both times it was his idea (and who am I to argue when a handsome man wants to buy me nice things?). Today I came to start fully appreciating this little arrangement we have.

I'm a big fan of little purchases. The right little thing can make your whole day worth while (and let's face it, when you're a stay at home wife, nothing is better than getting the mail everyday). I purchased some cocoa butter body creme last night (thank you drugstore.com, only $6 for a 15 ounce tub) in hopes of salvaging this horrible lizard type thing I'm calling my skin. The desert climate is just killing me. Then this morning, after reading Donna's blog, My 50's Year (link on left hand side), I purchased a 1955 copy of Better Homes & Gardens Diet Book from Amazon for a whopping $3.



I'm really excited to get both, but the diet book is what I'm anxious to have in my hot little hands. I love learning about natural ways to lose weight--and I don't mean "all natural" acai berry pills. I admit I was a pill popper until recently when I started thinking what all those artificial metabolizers might be doing to my system. When Hubbs and I became vegetarians two years ago, I tried to really be aware of what into my body. Some days I'm better at in than others, but usually a skim through Skinny Bitch's chapter on sugar and junk food is enough to set me straight again (this also happens to be the book that changed me to a veggie, and for what it's worth I cannot wait to get pregnant and buy the next instalment "Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven." I own the first two already).



I have a feeling the BH&G book will be similar to Skinny Bitch, as Better Homes & gardens has a line in the book that reads: "You're fat because you eat too much. There isn't any other reason!" Testify!

So today I'm thinking about dusting off the vegetarian cookbooks we've be given for the past two Christmases and taking a long hard look at some of those recipes. We have all the substitutions from Morning Star Farms and Boca Burger (all of which are very scrumptious and have half the fat and calories of their meat counterparts), but I'd really like to try home cooking some vegetarian meals. It means a foray into the world of refined coconut oil (which they happily sell at the commissary, yay) but some of those recipes look and sound delicious. Peanut butter potato chip cookies? That's PMS food if I ever heard of it (and wouldn't that be the perfect combo when you're craving salty and sweet?)!

Wondering why we became vegetarians? Truthfully, it wasn't because of the whole cruelty to animals thing, although yes now that's a part of it. It's because I don't trust the farmers, the FDA, and the USDA. We no longer live in a world where small farmers take care and pride in their animals and product. Now it's who can make the most the fastest. While there are still some small farmers out there who still subscribe to this line of thinking, they are few and far between. Nowadays animals are pumped full of artificial hormones to make them produce more. ... I'm getting pretty heated up and I'm about go on a tirade of my beliefs that these hormones and such have a contributing factor in birth defects and auto immune diseases, so I'm going to step off my soap box and thank you kindly for reading today! My blog is a conflict-free area. :0)

♥ ♥ Thank you for letting me vent! ♥ ♥

adding to the list

One mile! WOO-HOO!! Actually, 1.7 miles in sixteen minutes! I was sweating and now I am chugging water and wheezing a bit (blasted asthma) but I feel so good! Even with my leftover cold, I'm still okay! Yesterday I did my first proper workout in a while. I started with yoga, but with the whole head-cold thing it wasn't pretty. So instead I opted for mat exercises like crunches. I'm about to go jump on my balance ball and do some bench presses Marilyn-style. Now that I've broken the one mile goal, my new goal is to do it five times a week. Yep, Monday through Friday I'm going to try and run my tush off! I'm stuck at my current weight (three pounds lighter than when I started, but not moving from there), and Hubbs has said that this should help me shed some of those pounds.

But I think what's going to help even more is pumping my water intake. I don't drink nearly enough water throughout the day. Half the time I don't think I even get in twenty ounces (that's about .59 litres for my readers across the pond). So right now I'm off for another workout and some water! I should be back later with a look book look. We didn't have any snow yesterday but it's still plenty cold here!

huff, puff, giggle

My workouts are definitely the least vintage part of my day. I put on my track pants, USMC sweatshirt, and running shoes, plug in my iPod, and go to town on my electronic treadmill (with all the bells and whistles). ::shrugs:: I'll get vintage about my workouts soon enough. But what did the vintage lady wear to workout? Hmm...

Anyways, I was really chugging along this morning. I've been trying to get myself up to one mile in fifteen minutes. And I'm getting there too! Day one I only did about .60 miles. Day two I think I did .65. But day three I got up to .80 and today I managed .90! Go me! I'm realizing the completion of my goal is going to require me to jog my little tush off (I can't full out run because I battle with asthma). Today I think I ran about seven minutes of my fifteen. I have a couple songs that I love to run to:

-Cotton Eyed Joe, by Rednex

-Burning Love, by Elvis Presley ::dreamy sigh::

-Shake It, by Metro Station

-My Boyfriend's Back, by The Angels

-Proud Mary, by Tina Turner (and not when she was with Ike!)

And it's this last song that brings me to the giggle part of my post. Now before I begin, if you've never seen Tina Turner perform "Proud Mary" watch the video real quick (sorry it's not the best quality--YouTube was really disappointing for this). You can fast foreword to 4:30, and that's when you'll see her signature move.

On our wedding day, Hubbs and I had a live band and supplemented their songs with an iPod (because let's face it, sometimes the original artist is just better). "Proud Mary" was one of those songs I wanted played on the iPod, and what ensued was a memory so wonderful, I burst into a fit of giggles every time I hear the song:

Oh yes, we're doing The Tina Turner. It was one of those memories that will last forever.

I'll have a Look Book Look later this morning, but right now my new tea is calling my name. Blueberry pomegranate white tea and toast. Yum! It's all slowly paying off for me: I'm down 3.8 pounds. I want to drop about ten pounds total, so only 6.2 more to go!

there go my good feelings about candy

I chose not to run this morning because my darling Hubbs ordered me a workout DVD from Netflix. It was a burlesque style video and I thought it'd be fun, a little sensual, and I'd learn something new.

How. Wrong. I. Was.

It was like cheap porn meets bad phone sex! I finally had to turn it off when she was teaching a move called "The Candy Shoppe" which consisted of coming down into a squat, pushing your rear end out, and bringing it back up slowly. Not a bad move, but when she said, "Goddesses, this is your candy shop, and you've got sweet things to serve up," I knew I was done.

Her sleazy innuendos and commentary made it feel like I was being seduced (badly) through my television. "I call this move the Too Hot. I'll explain why in a minute...well, if I have to." I'm far from being a prude but this was just terrible. I'll get back to my treadmill tomorrow, and in the meantime, I might stay away from strip-tease workouts. 50s Gal and I have been chatting back and forth about exercising and she's found some vintage videos on YouTube. Hopefully she's having better luck than I am!

the big promotion!

My love was finally promoted to Staff Sergeant February 2, 2009 at 8:30 am. It was a small ceremony held in his classroom with my mother, father, step-father, grandma and grandpa looking on. I was spot on in the cute outfit I'd painstakingly picked out over the last month (thanks lovely readers and Fedora Lounge-ers)! The ceremony began by calling everyone to attention (my family loved that!) and then reading the promotion warrants. Then the Captain called out, "Mrs. M! Please come forward!" and I had to walk from the back of the room to the stage with my little heels click-click-clicking all the while thinking to myself, Please don't trip, please don't trip! My hands were shaking terribly as I pinned Jason's new military chevrons onto his collar. His Captain even gave me permission to give him a little kiss!

From left to right we have my step-father, my mother, Hubbs, Yours Truly, my father, my grandma, and my grandpa.

And how did the winning outfit look?

Black bow tie cardigan from Forever 21, Heather gray pencil skirt from Victoria's Secret, Back seam nylons by Leg Avenue, Spectator pumps by Coach, Potato pearl earrings from my personal collection.

Today was also my first day ever that I wore a garter belt with my hose. Quite the experience as I tried to figure out how to attach the darn things. For me, it worked out better to attach the hose to the belt before I actually put them on, and then after they were set I slipped my feet into them and arranged the belt as it needed to be. I just couldn't grasp the whole clasping-the-garter-belt-behind-my-thigh thing.

But that wasn't the only cute outfit I had going on this weekend! On Saturday my mother and step-father met us at the outlet malls near our house. I was so excited to go and shop! I think this may be one of my most favorite outfits to date! I felt a bit like Katherine Hepburn in these jeans, but I wish I could say why exactly (probably would have been more vintage if they were high waisted...).

White top from Banana Republic, Navy jeans from American Eagle Outfitters, Gray cardigan from Target, White sunglasses from Target, Cherry cha-cha shoes by TUK shoes, flower necklace by Cookie Lee, Sunny yellow Coach purse.

Then on Sunday, we spent the day eating, greeting, and watching the Superbowl! My grandparents came up on Sunday so we spent some time with them as well. I was channeling summer thoughts as I donned this outfit:

Striped navy top from Banana Republic (bought on Saturday), Linen Capri's from Maurice's, Linen flats from The Gap (also bought on Saturday), Bow tie necklace by Swarovski Crystal, watch by Guess (you guessed it! Bought on Saturday).

I was trying to mimic this look, which I picked up from 50s Gal.

Overall it was an amazing three days but I am thoroughly exhausted!! Having company also threw off just about every routine I had going. I haven't done the dishes, we've eaten out about every day (bad for my diet) and I haven't walked since Friday! So while I'm glad to have my family in town, I'll be so happy to get back to normal first thing tomorrow (if I can drag my tired butt out of bed)!

getting in the groove

Day two of my exercise regime. Fifteen minutes boogie-ing my way down the treadmill. As I type this I'm munching away on toast with a light spread of butter (well, margarine) and about to try a morning tea blend of hibiscus, rosehips, spearmint, lemon grass, orange peel, cherry stems, and blackberry leaves. It's veeeerry pink. ::sips:: Hm. Not a lot of flavor, kind of a sweet touch on the tongue...not bad. Might could use a bit of honey in it.

Today was also one of the first days I started my routines. Since unpacking has taken precedence over everything else, my housewifery takes a back seat. But this morning as my tea water was heating up and my bread was toasting, I emptied our dishwasher (I know, how very un-vintage of me), rinsed last night's dishes and loaded it up again. I swept a cloth over my counters (which are happily clutter free for the first time since we moved in), and finished just in time for my tea to reach its desired strength. The front rooms are coming together nicely and I'll be very happy once they're organized and set up to my liking.

Yesterday my copy of "America's Housekeeping Book" finally arrived!



I thumbed through the pages (which definitely spent time with a smoker about twenty years ago, but it gives the book even more of a vintage feel), amazed at some of the chapters. It is literally a manual on how to be a housewife. It's all the things we should have learned as little girls, probably the text book from which our mother's would have taught us. If Hubbs and I ever have children and I happen to have a girl, it will be what I teach her from. For those of you who read Jitterbug's blog, you know some of what the book touches on, but it goes so much further than that.

The chapters include tips and guidelines on how to create and manage a budget; clean different types of floors, walls, furniture, drapes, table cloths; storage problems (which we definitely have) and how to fix them; how to care for and clean different types of metals; as I said literally a manual on how to be a wife! I wish they'd passed this out in Marine Wife Training 101! I know a few ladies who could definitely use it! And what man doesn't want his wife knowing those basics?

lots to talk about

I've been a little on the sick side this week. It seems like the dust and dirt coming off of the boxes is knocking me down a peg or two (and my eye is all bright red again--curses)! It really makes for a difficult day as that last thing I want to do is get all dusty and dirty again. But I'm now down to about 6 boxes and I want it all gone by this weekend. This morning I'm marching my little tush over to the office and ask about my storage unit key--otherwise I'll happily go to Home Depot and buy a new lock myself!

Yesterday Hubbs and I ran onto base to start the paperwork on some of the casualties we had in our move (our flat screen TV, a candle stick from our wedding, and some cracking china). Here's the adorable little outfit I had on:

Black and white "aqua dot" dress--Bloomingdale's, Black half-cardigan--Forever 21, Red brooch--personal collection, Black satin and lace shoes--Wild Diva

Of course then I stepped outside and was smacked with 40 degree F winds, and I ran for my one-button black coat. It still looked cute though. Here's a (not so great) shot of my hair. I have it in a pony tail and pinned up the ends so they kind of made a waterfall effect.

Oh! The other night, right as I was about to take my bath I received a very nice surprise!

I've been looking for milk bath for about a month or so now. I found some at the Vermont Country Store, but they wanted about $14 for 17 ounces. Not too horrible, but the price just didn't feel right (especially since that was half off). So, upon discovery of Drugstore.com, I was very happy to find Canus Goat's Milk Foaming Bath at $7 for 16 ounces. And since its regular price was only $7.50, I was much more happy to invest in it.

A squirt and a half netted me a tub full of bubbles!

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the smell was very light...almost reminded me of Ivory soap or something similar. My skin was definitely softer, not like I had put on lotion, but not like I had just stepped out of a regular bath either. So I'm quite pleased!

I also had Hubbs set up our treadmill so I could start walking again. I'm a bit ashamed to say that I've climbed to the high point of where I think my weight should be. Just last May I was in the best shape of my life (down to a slim 118 pounds) and I'd love to get back there again. At that point, I was walking every morning for about 10-15 minutes, with the odd day of jogging. Now I'm fighting with myself to drop this bit of weight I've put on (I was actually down 6 when we first moved back out here). So this morning, I put on some Elvis and walked (and danced) my way to "Burning Love." 15 minutes a day is hardly difficult to fit in and hopefully I'll see some improvements!