Days 8-12

#1) Run a half marathon: Although I took a few days off this week because of the polar vortex, I upped my mileage this weekend.  Sometimes when I run I think to myself, “Man, I love running.”  True story.

#2) Learn to bake bread:  I told Beth who teaches the Whole Foods cooking class that we should have a bread making class one of these days.  She was into it.  I am also planning to attend a Whole Foods gluten free cooking class in a couple weeks.  Because my life is all about contradictions.

#6) Study yoga: I gad a great class at the Cincinnati Yoga School on Saturday morning.  The instructor was really good--he talked us through every step and demonstrated the more difficult poses before asking us to attempt them.  My favorite part was when he put a block under my butt so that I could get into swan pose with my foot hooked into my elbow.   I also learned how pressing down on your knees with your elbows while in lotus can help open up the fascia in your inner thighs.  Not much of a party trick, but still good to know.

#16) Go antiquing: After thinking about the good stuff I passed up at the Riverside Antique Mall last week, I went back yesterday to collect it.  Although I kept worrying that someone may have read my blog and gone in and snagged all my stuff, it turned out that nobody reads this and everything I wanted was still there.  The corner by my front door is almost done, and all for less than $200:

• Desk: $5 at St. Vincent de Paul + $20 for paint and sandpaper.  I left the shelf the natural color for a little interest. 
• Cubist painting: $22 at Riverside Antique Mall
• Vase: $12 at Riverside
• Ottoman for a chair: $120 at Pier 1

I wasn’t planning on buying anything else, but also got this silver bowl for 50% off $38.  It was handcrafted in Paris which makes it officially a good find. 

 

Now, this next purchase was acquired through an activity better described as “junk collecting" than antiquing.  The truth is I got these porch chairs at a place that is basically a pawn shop.  They were $10 apiece (I talked them down from $15) and just need some new cushions.  Ignore the chipping paint on my table, I'll take care of it later.  Maybe.

 

#30) Give up Diet Coke: By Friday, the ratio of sparkling water cans to Diet Coke cans in my recycling bin at work was 6:5.  Not my best week, but there are a lot of weeks left in the year. 

#31) Give up cable:  When Donnie picked me up from work on Friday he announced that he had purchased a new fiber optic package from Cincinnati Bell so that we could cancel Time Warner.  All it took was some guy ringing the doorbell asking if he was interested.  So by next week, I’ll no longer have DVR service and our package will just be “basic cable.”  Today I've been binge watching Here Comes Honey Boo Boo to clear out my DVR before it's gone.  This is a step in the right direction, but I could not get past the fact that Donnie made a purchase from a door-to-door salesman.  Although since this was the same week that I made a purchase from a pawn shop, I think he deserves a pass. 

 

-K.