Bad Hair Day!

OMG. I am having such a bad hair day. I must admit I have not had many since reading the Curly Nikki blog. I mean my hair is nowhere near as fabulous as hers, and there are good days and OK days. But it has been a while since I have had a bad hair day. I wish I could just stay in the house and worry about it tomorrow. So what did I do to try to help this situation...Pulled my hair into a high pony puff and keep it moving.

What is sad is this is how I used to wear my hair all the time. I mean every day. I knew it was bad then and I felt like i was having a bad hair day everyday for like a year.

Hopefully I will have a better day tomorrow. But it is funny how your hair can ruin your entire day.

Recipe of the Week

This is my first week of "Make a New Recipe a Week". Today I made Evelyn's Favorite Pasta. I got it from here. Apparently it is a take on a recipe from the Cheesecake Factory. I have never had it there, but this recipe is very good. And on top of that it is healthy. The real test is whether or not the Hubs likes it. He is not that picky so if I like it he should. And the verdict is...YES! Now the quest to look for the recipe for next week.

Rocktober Challenge - Week 2

Week 2 of the Rocktober Challenge is done and I am on to week 3. I will admit it is getting hard. I am trying to mix up the workout so I am not doing the same thing all the time. And the weather is getting cold fast so just doing outdoor activities that could count as 30 minutes of physical activity is not happening. So here is what I did for week 2:

10/8 - w6d1 of C25K
10/9 - total body resistance band exercises and abs - 1 hour
10/10 - w6d2 of C25K and arms
10/11 - elliptical for 30 min. and legs
10/12 - 30 min. arms
10/13 - walked the US Capitol and the Capitol Visitor Center - 1 hour
10/14 - repeated w6d2 of C25K. I did so much better this time

So that is what I have done. I am really trying to do this every day. It will be a huge accomplishment for me to have done all 31 days at the end of the month. I know the Hubs is proud of me and that make me want to keep going. I am proud of myself too and I do not want to let myself down.

Going Green: Laundry Detergent

As I have to replace my traditional products I am buying "green" ones. I personally think it is a waste to throw all the old stuff away and I have been using it my whole life so using it for a little longer is not going to have any more detrimental of an effect on my health than it already has. So I am getting "green" laundry detergent. In fact, I am going to start to make my own. I am a chemist at heart, so this is right up my alley...and it is like 10x cheaper than the free and sensitive products i was buying before.

There are several recipes for DIY detergents here. I was going to do the powdered detergent...easier, but the Hubs says he would rather have liquid so I will give it a try.

The recipe I am going to use is:

• 1 quart water (boiling)


• 2 cups of bar soap (grated) I am going to use Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Organic Bar Soap


• 2 cups Borax (found in the laundry aisle)


• 2 cups Washing Soda (found in the laundry aisle)

Very basic and if I don't like the results, I haven't wasted much money. And there are several recipes so I will just try another...maybe powder.

I will show my results when I have them.

Can you force yourself to enjoy something? I really don't know. I have been trying to force myself to enjoy working out and I have been working out every day this October as part of the Rocktober Challenge. But, I must admit I still do not LIKE working out. I am hoping at the end of the month I will see big changes in the way my clothes fit and this will give me more motivation. I am not going to lie, I want to see the changes on the scale too.

Another thing that I do not enjoy is cooking. I do not understand this. I come from a family that cooks, my mom caters, my grandmother bakes cakes that people fight over. But still, I do not like cooking. So I have decided that I am going to make myself do it. I am going to pick a recipe from one of the several cookbooks we have in or house and once a week I am going to make that recipe. Once a week may not sound like a lot, but this is going to be a challenge for me. Because if I don't enjoy something I just chose to not do it. Ask my husband. He always asks "What did you make for dinner tonight?" Um, nothing. I know I am a bad wife. Trust me I do feel bad, but still. So I am going to move my way over to the cabinet with the cookbooks and pick one. Keep you posted.

Rocktober Challenge - Week 1

Week 1 of the Rocktober Challenge is done. Woo hoo! I did 30+ minutes of physical activity every day. That is not something I ever thought I would say. I used to say, how do those people go to the gym 6-7 times a week. All I can do is 3. Well obviously that is not true. I went to the gym 6 of the 7 days and every day I did over the 30 minutes. It was very hard for me to get my activity time in on day 7. I worked some unexpected overtime and because of that I did not get to go to the gym. But I found a way to get in so physical activity and I am very proud of myself. I was doing leg lifts and heel touchers in my chair at work and I walked for about 15 minutes earlier in the day and broke a sweat.

So here is the breakdown:
10/1 - walked Annapolis Mall 2x (broke a sweat)
10/2 - elliptical, strength training, and abs
10/3 - on the dance floor til 2am and w5d2 of c25k program (2x in one day, WHAT?!)
10/4 - 30 min. elliptical and 10 min. treadmill
10/5 - w5d3 of c25k program
10/6 - elliptical, strength training, and abs
10/7 - 15 minute walk, leg exercises in the chair

I will admit, getting in the 30+ minutes a day is not easy. But it is great having others to be accountable to. If I have learned anything this week it is that I am stronger than I think I am and I need group support. So now I am on to week 2.

Rocktober Challenge!

So one of the girls on TN started the Rocktober Challenge and in my quest to be healthier I decided to join. So I am dedicating myself to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day in October. It is already day 3 and I have been doing it. This is more than just taking the steps to the office or parking in the back of the parking lot. This is actual physical activity.

Day 1 - Week 5 Day 1 of C25K

Day 2 - 10 min warmup on elliptical and strength training

Day 3 - dancing in the club (hey, I was sweating so it's working out)

I think about 25 people are doing this challenge, so we have each other to hold each person accountable. I think I have been needing this. I usually do all my working out alone, which can get boring and I don't think I push myself as much.

So I will be keeping a log of my daily activity and remember, I am also Scale free October. So I am hoping that at the end of the month when I finally step on the scale I will be pleasantly surprised. We shall see.