Indoor Air Quality Extreme

Did you know that the air in your house is likely more toxic to you than any amount of pollution you can find outside? Yep, true story. With all of the chemicals in everything from paint to furniture to cleaning products, we fill our homes with toxins and create unhealthy spaces for ourselves to live. We introduce chemicals such as formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide into our air with most things that we bring into our homes.

But, there is something you can do! Plants! Plants clean the air.

I learned about this in one of my classes a few weeks ago, and came home and told the chief about it. I told him that it is recommended that there be 1 plant per 100 square feet of home. So, we embarked on the houseplant journey.

We started with a few smaller plants (we bought most of the pots at HomeGoods... they are cheap and sooo cute!). Then we went to Lowes for plants. I found out that I have a soft spot for almost-dead-plants, and ended up buying a few brown, sad looking specimens for $1 each.

We went back and forth a few times, and then, on our last trip to Lowes, we found the most brilliant, gigantic, beautiful plant either of us had ever seen. We were curious as to how much this plant was, because it was about 12ft tall and gorgeous, so we both guessed around $300. Turns out it was called a White Bird of Paradise, and it was only $50. SOLD! We wheeled the plant through the store, hitting the cameras and almost did not even make it out the door.

Then we had to figure out how to get it into the car... We got it about half way in the car... We had to drive really slowly...

The next obstacle was getting the thing into a pot and into the house. We tried putting it in the pot first, but then we couldn't lift the pot. So, we took it out of the pot, moved the pot to its spot, and then took the plant to the pot, tracking dirt through the entire living room.

After all the work and laughing at each other trying to figure out how to get this massive thing into our house, I am so glad that is that it's here, it's gorgeous, and I think it must count for at least 300 square feet of clean air, right?

The skinny on getting skinny.

I used to be skinny. You know, back in the day when my schedule looked like this:

6:00am- Wake up

7:00am- Get to school an hour early, sometimes because I had something to do, but most times because I just did

3:00- Out of school and onto some random activity, be it swimming, volleyball (where I did more bench-sitting than actual playing because I was AWFUL, but had a great attitude), rehearsal for a play or whatever activity correlated with that season, that year

5:30- Either go to another rehearsal (2 years of Operetta rehearsals), or go home to start homework.

Until 10:00- Homework, dinner, family time

10:00- Phone time (boyfriends, best friends, 3-way-calls when the 3rd person didn't know I was there)

11:00- Sleep.

REPEAT x4

Weekends were usually just as busy, but not as structured.

But then I went to college, where I was stuck in a dorm room, eating terrible cafeteria food (and trust me, it was worse than most... APU didn't have the delish cafe like Concordia). From then on, I have developed a much more sedentary lifestyle and packed on the pounds. I don't know how much I weighed in high school, but I know that I got to see some pretty scary numbers. I finally took charge, and have been watching those numbers turn the opposite direction.

Since mid-December I have been on the Atkins diet (mid-December?? What a GREAT time to start a diet, huh????), and been exercising more regularly, just doing basic cardio-- treadmill, elliptical, or walking the dogs a few miles. So far, I have dropped 21 pounds and am fitting into jeans that are 2 sizes smaller, but I still have about 40 to lose until I reach my goal weight.

Well, today I embarked on a new journey. I started P90X. Yep, the one from the informercial. It is really hard. I did it at about 6:00pm. It is about 11:00pm now and I am already sore. My butt, my thighs, my tummy and my back. At least I can confidently say that I did the whole thing!! I ordered this program a few months ago, and when I first tried it, I couldn't even make it through half of the first video. Well now, guess what... I'm going to make those videos my b****. (excuse my french stars, I needed to psych myself up a little... gotta keep the energy up so I can stay excited about this scary thing!).

It's going to be a tough 90 days, but I am so excited! I don't want to post a picture right now, or tell you what my high point (or low point, depending on how you want to look at it, really) was; I am still pretty self-conscious (not to mention STILL scared of the number), but I will definitely post before/after pictures when I get down to my goal!

If you, like me, ever have a hard time working out, just tell yourself, "If I can get through this, I'm going to be skinny tomorrow!" Obviously the statement is completely flawed, untrue, and probably psychologically unhealthy somehow, but it works for me!

Monday, May 17, 2010: -21 pounds

STAY TUNED!!!

I love it when other people have bad days.

I really do. I think it's fantastic, and I am at my best when others are having terrible days. It sounds terrible, doesn't it? I am a terrible person! But not really. The reason why I love it when people have bad days is that I get the chance to try to make their days better!

Today at school, I found out that there was someone having a less-than-stellar day. I jokingly (but not really) said, "We should make him a giant card!" and the class kind of giggled. I told them that I was serious, and that we should do something nice for him to make him smile. Someone informed me that he loves doughnuts, and that his wife is a healthy eater, so the only time he gets to eat delicious, fattening, sugary treats is while he is at school. "Fantastic idea! We will get him some doughnuts!"

Since Dunkin wasn't close enough to the school, I skipped out to Krispy Kreme (why do they spell it with two "K"s? It is already alliterated with two "C"s when spelled correctly). I got three dozen doughnuts (for the price of two plus a $5 donation to help kids go to summer camp - score me and the kids!), and brought them back to class.

He wasn't in his office, of course, but the wonderful lady in the office next door to his was in, and told us that she would go find him. "I'll tell him that something is wrong and you are all upset!" Awesome. So, we scampered back to class and waited.

The door swung open, and the look on his face was pricelessly distraught. (Later, we found out that his face meant, "Not today.. please, not today.") We were all silent for a moment, and then I grabbed the boxes, set them on the table, and said, "Here is something to make your day sweeter!" (Cheesy, I know, but he loves cheesy, and I love cheese.... in more than one way...).

His day was sweeter after that. I saw him smile many times, and he even laughed! I never found out why he was having a bad day. I never asked. It doesn't matter to me why his day wasn't going well, it just mattered that it wasn't going well. There is really no better feeling than making someone smile.

"I love smiling! Smiling's my favorite!" -Buddy the Elf

I ate four doughnuts. So much for my diet today... Bring on the sugar headache!

Totally worth it.

What would one blog about, if they were going to start a blog?

Life? Cooking? Music? School? Pets? Family? Spirituality? Sure... I will probably try each of those out. I am beginning this blog with no clear path, but, in the words of Austin Powers, "Allow myself to introduce... myself...". I am a 24 year old student living in Las Vegas with her boyfriend and two dogs. My family is my life, and close behind them comes laughter, music, food, art, and anything else that makes me happy in the moment. I quote movies and TV shows and comedy sketches... a lot...

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, and my heart belongs to the desert. The dramatic landscape, dry heat, and lack of natural disasters in the Las Vegas Valley will probably keep me here most of my life. Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world, so my man-friend, the Chief, who owns an audio and production company here, will probably not want to go anywhere for a while either. The pups, Norman and Suzie Q., are quite content in Las Vegas, as long as they have a pool to cool off in during those hot summer days, and a person to give kisses to at night.

My immediate family is best described in their own post, but they consist of mom, dad, sister and brother. Oh yes, and I can't forget the youngest, most spoiled, brattiest, most demanding, most hilarious and entertaining and sweet member of the family, Miss Molly, our Scottie dog.

The rest of the family is diverse and entertaining, dramatic and politically incorrect, conservative and out of control, and there are a ton of them. They are fueled by Coors Light, corny and inappropriate jokes, and singing the first verse and chorus of any and every cowboy song you can remember hearing around the campfire as a kid. I love them all so much, and I try to keep in touch and let them know it!

Right now my life consists of going to school (studying Interior Design), helping plan my sister's college graduation celebratory activities, trying to keep up with the ever-changing life of the Chief, and continuing the challenge of losing about 60 pounds (I've lost about 21 so far!). I shall use this blog as a diary, and who knows, maybe it will turn into something worth reading. :)