Okay, I have finally caved

So, it seems I must do this. I've finally decided to start a blog. I'm not sure why this was necessary, but I do kind of like the idea.

The main reason I'm starting this is to get myself back on track with my workouts and a sensible eating plan. Several years ago, I lost 50+ pounds simply by doing exercise videos (The Firm, Cathe Friedrich, SlimSeries, etc.) and journaling my food intake. I also walked quite a bit and went biking with my husband.

I kept the weight off for several years until my husband and I started to build our new home. Well, we didn't build it ourselves, but we came to the site every single night to make sure it was going okay. Between that and working full-time and going to school part-time, I fell off of the wagon. Badly. Now I want back on. I think that journaling my food intake and workouts on here should be helpful.

My diet, even at its best, is never great. And it doesn't need to be great. I just want it to be better. And I want to lose this weight for good.

Also, I love to keep records of what is going on in my life. Being childfree, my husband and I have a lot of, well...FREEDOM. So we fill our lives with what we find interesting. I love to read, and therefore will probably blog about the numerous books I either read or listen to (audiobooks are a guilty indulgence of mine). We both enjoy traveling, and get to go to some exciting places very spontaneously. We also enjoy making this new house our dream home. So that means decorating, furnishing, buying window treatments, etc.

In addition, my husband (being the handy guy that he is), is finishing off our basement. In about a year (since he's working on it all by himself), we will have a whole other floor of living space. This will include a HUGH JAZZ workout room with a sauna. Can't wait! (For now, I do have a very nice separate room upstairs to do my workouts in. It will become my office once I move my workout equipment downstairs.) Also, he is putting in a family room (yeah, we ARE a family...who says you need kids to be a family?!), a den for him, another large bedroom for guests (or us if we want another room to go to), and a full bathroom. Of course, we will keep a portion of it unfinished for storage and utilities. I'm sure I will be blogging about this process as it's something that we are both very excited about.

Some other things in my life that make me happy (and will probably hit this blog):

• Baking and cooking. I'm getting better with this. I always could bake pretty well, but cooking was more of a challenge. I'm working on it! I have a WONDERFUL kitchen that just beckons you to come in and use it, and I am. I enjoy going to www.allrecipes.com and trying out all of the highly rated recipes. Also, a friend of mine recommended The Best Recipe, and I'm learning a lot from it (thanks, Patty!) DH is very happy about this, BTW!
  
• Skincare, makeup, hairstyles, and grooming. I'm kind of a girly girl in some ways. I like to look nice. That said, I'm not into manicures and pedicures, and I like to do my own beauty-care for the most part. Also, although I like to have nice clothes, I'm not like many women who have to buy new clothes every season. And I'm not a shoe or purse girl. I'm odd that way. But I get really excited about ordering a new skin care or makeup kit.
  
• Cats. I love mine. I love others. They are one of God's best gifts! So I will have to comment often on my little furry feline friends.
• Movies. We watch a lot of movies. DH has fashioned a way to get the big-screen experience right in our home. We have a double-story living room with a wall that we have kept blank for the purpose of projecting movies onto it. I'm sure our neighbors think it's hilarious. It's a good thing we don't watch porn. We also go see movies fairly often in the winter.
• Work. Yeah, well, maybe it doesn't make me giddy-happy, but I do like my job. I've been at my company for over 14 years and have really gotten myself into a great position. I'm the marketing manager and the employee relations manager. I've got a nice office (close to the corner office) with a wonderful view....so it makes going to work not so bad. I'm considering taking my SPHR certification this year (Senior Professional of Human Resources), so I need to put some thought into that.
• Childfreedom. Yeah, it's a weird topic sometimes. I just think it's an option that more people should consider. I'm not a "breeder basher." I really don't care if you want to have kids. That's your business. Just like not having kids is my business. But our world is soooo PRO-natal that I would like to highlight (often) the benefits of choosing a lifestyle that, until recently, was hardly ever considered. Being DINKS (dual income, no kids) has offered DH and I a lifestyle we could never even dream of if we chose to have children. We are financially secure with next to no debt (the home we built two years ago is practically paid off), and either one of us could quit our jobs and we would be fine. I don't think we would have ever been able to take some of our trips (Hawaii (twice), Orlando (thrice), Vegas, Cancun, Lauderdale, countless road trips, etc.) if we would have been saddled with kids. I'm not saying it isn't possible....I'm just saying it's so much easier without them. For some people, all they ever wanted was to be a mom or dad. For others, it might be worth considering some alternatives.

Hmmmm.....I think I'm going to like this blogging thing!