Blondesense and Nonsense

Hmmn...I think it's time for an update. I'm not gonna lie, I've been slacking, BIG TIME. I mean, I've only gained 10 of the 20lbs that I was supposed to gain this year so far. I'm really disappointed in myself.

But on the bright side, here is what I have accomplished.

Decorate the bathroom

I was at Ross when I noticed they had these kits that had two rugs, a shower curtain, and two towels for like $15. I don't think that I could decorate the bathroom any cheaper than that. But I will say you get what you pay for, the rugs and the towels are very threadbare, but they are just for show. At least there is some color in my bathroom now.








Get a haircut
My friend Marly, who is the queen of parties, threw a hair cutting party. She had her hair stylist Aura come to her house and 5 of us girls came and got our hair cut. Marly had hors d'oeuvres and while we waited for our turn in the chair we watched Ann of Green Gables. It was a fun Saturday.


Join the library
I've lived in CA for 3 1/2 years now. It was time.

Walked a 5k
Several of my friends had the same goal that I did, to run a 5k. So when Marly, Rachel and Karen decided to sign up for a 5k in early March I decided to sign up too and I figured it would be a good warm up for the 5k that I will run later this year. It was hard, I was power walking/waddling as fast I could and I had three contractions during the last mile. I know this probably sounds really trite, but the whole time I kept thinking of pregnant pioneer women who had to walk across um...you know, the whole freakin country. And they did it with crappy shoes (or no shoes) on uneven terrain and probably carrying a toddler or two. It made my little 5k walk not seem like such a big deal.

Get a massage
Actually, I got two...within 12 hours of each other. What can I say, I'm an overachiever. My girlfriends took me out the night before my birthday for a reflexology massage and then Brian booked me a prenatal massage on my birthday. They were very different massages but both very good.


Read one non-fiction book
I read the Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin on my first week of maternity leave. I definitely recommend it, especially to anyone with Project 52. I've actually been following her blog for two years and I really enjoy her perspective on the subject.

Here are just a few points that resonated with me:

• Act the way you want to feel - I think it is really easy to just wait around for a good mood to strike you but in reality, if you want to be a happier person you have to be more proactive about it. Malcolm Gladwell, in his book Blink, also discusses this point in a chapter about how our facial expressions affect our mood. In short, smile more, laugh more and you will be happier.

• Anything worth doing is worth doing badly - In other words, don't let perfect be the enemy of good. This principle can be applied to pretty much anything. For me, this is what has kept me working out my entire pregnancy. My workouts have gotten progressively less and less strenuous. Sometimes I wonder if they can really be called workouts since I'm really just hopping on a treadmill and walking for 30 minutes. But I try to remind myself that when it comes to working out, something is always better than nothing.

• What you do everyday matters more than what you do once in a while - What you do everyday will define who you are more than what you do just once in while. I'm often reminded of this point when I think about Brian's dad who ate horribly all his life but would go for a five mile jog once every few months. He died of a heart attack after one of those random jogs. 

• Do what ought to be done - Even if it is hard or inconvenient, it is better to take care of things before they get out of hand. I struggle with this in the car repair area, I put off routine maintenance and small repairs until they become huge expensive repairs.

• Money like good health doesn't guarantee happiness - Many people with good health don't appreciate it, even squander it and are unhappy. The same can be said for people with money. BUT that doesn't mean that money doesn't matter. Usually when money is a problem, you can think of little else but when you have enough you hardly think of it at all. So, it is important to be prudent with your money.

• Be generous, cut people slack - Seriously. Despite what you may think, the universe is NOT conspiring against you and most people are good people.

I won't be posting another Project 52 update until I complete goal #52: to become a mom.
How is everyone else doing on their Project 52?