Check out my rack!

After getting my first medal from my 10k in St Augustine, I began thinking about how I wanted to display them. I googled around, looking at medal racks, but none of them really spoke to me, They were either too extravagant or too boring! The crafty part of me began wondering if I could make one myself – it would probably be cheaper, and more personal.

I let that simmer over the holidays and after the Princess, I began to think about it again. I went to Home Depot (to get a broiler unit for my oven), and looked at hooks and stuff like that. I began to formulate a plan!

I returned to HD a few weeks later (when I was ready to buy everything I needed) and got a piece of MDF (HD cut it for free, so I got a piece for my medal shelf, and two pieces I can turn into shelving somewhere later), some purple spray paint and 2 three-hook racks. AtWalmart, I got some Command wire hooks. On Amazon, I got a great vinyl decal. I already owned the hardware to mount it and some glue.

First, I painted the piece of wood with a few coats of purple spray paint. Once it was completely dry, I applied the vinyl decal. (You know how you usually use something like a credit card to apply decals like these? I used an old Key to the World card!)

The hardest part of all this was trying to decide on the layout for the hooks. I ended up doing a few different layouts and taking photos of each one, then deciding that way.

Once I decided on a layout, I used some LocTite Power Grab to glue the robe hooks to the piece of wood. Then let it dry.

Now the fun part – getting it up on the wall! I made sure it was level and screwed in the first screw to the robe hook, going through the robe hooks, through the MDF and into the wall stud. I repeated with the other 3 screws that came with the robe hooks and tapped in the little screw cover knobs.

Next, I screwed the top of the MDF into the wall. In hindsight, I should have drilled first so that I wouldn’t have any ‘blowback’ from the MDF, but it doesn’t look too horrible. I taped off the entire area and gave the two screws a hit of spray paint so that they would fit in and not stick out (the screw caps I bought sucked, so I didn’t use them).

Once it was up on the wall, I adhered two Command wire hooks (already painted purple) to the MDF. These were for my bibs.

I laminated my bibs, and used a hole punch to punch holes so that they could be hung. On the back of each bib, I put on a label that had the name of the race, the date of the race and my official time.

Just basic file folder labels

I hung them chronologically, with the oldest one in the back, and the newest one on top.

All in all, I am very happy with the way it turned out.  I wish I’d had room to center the bibs above the two robe hooks, but this way is good too.
  

I only have 2 medals – SO FAR – that I can hang on there, but I plan on filling it up!  For now, though, it can double as a Bondi Band holder!

I have 3 more Bondis not shown here....

And now, some glamor shots of my awesome Medal Rack!

Before I put the bibs on

Close-up of Bib Hanger

Close up of completed project

The Finished Medal Rack

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

So, it’s raining, again. In Florida. What a surprise, right?

Well, when you have a leaky roof, you dread the rain.

Yes, my roof leaks. It’s my dirty little secret I've tried to hide from everyone for years. Yes, years.

It started leaking a long time ago, and we tried to deal with it as long as possible, but (duh-doi), it’s getting worse and worse.

Last week, we discovered a new leak, in the kitchen (above Clover’s cat food bowl, too). 

Okay, enough is enough.  I don’t know HOW we are going to pay for it, but we need to figure something out.  I’m embarrassed to say that we have no money in savings for this.

I emailed four different local companies via their website to come give me an estimate on both repairing the damaged areas (until we can pay for the whole thing) and also the whole thing.  Three companies responded to my query and came out to inspect the house.

Of those three, only two gave me an estimate.  The first company gave me a verbal estimate of $7,500 plus wood (no price on the wood); he wouldn't even give me a price on repairs.  The second company (and a company I am very familiar with, after working at a construction company for 5+ years) provided a very professional written estimate of $5,500 plus wood (at $40 per man hour). 

Obviously, we want to go with the second company!  Now, how to we pay for this?

I contacted my Credit Union to inquire about a personal loan or line of credit. No go.

I contacted my mortgage holder about a personal loan. No go.

I contacted my mortgage holder about a home equity loan or line of credit. I was waiting to hear back from them when I realized that I had a horde of money that, while I didn't WANT to touch it, would give us what we needed – my 401k that had been languishing around from (ironically) my old job at the construction company!

I requested a distribution, and waited for the check to come (which it did, in only a day or so!)

Okay, so I have an estimate and I have money, so new I get a new roof!

I signed and returned their proposal and we were put on the work calendar for our new roof. We have a flat roof, so we would be getting something called a roll-on cap sheet roof.

Once I sent the proposal back to the roofer, they sent me a Notice of Commencement to sign as well, and then we waited….

The office assistant told us that we were about 10 weeks out on the schedule, so that would put us at about July 2^nd.

So, here’s the next question on my mind – remember how Hubby said “No PHM until the roof is fixed”?  - Roof is fixed! PHM here I come? Or Space Coast. Or Key West. Or all three?!?

And as usual, getting the new roof is making me think of other projects that we need to tackle. Depending on what is left over from my 401k after the roof, we should have some money left over to fix other stuff – like my closet, which is where most of the leaking is (I need to re-plaster the ceiling); I want to put in a good closet organizer.

Outside, we REALLY need to tackle the Bamboo Jungle that is the backyard. It’s been bad for years (as bad as the roof), but because we are not really outdoorsy people, or people who grill and chill on the patio, we've never really seen it as a priority. Well, I want to make it a priority.  Florida, when not summertime, does have nice weather. I want to be able to enjoy it more, maybe curl up on the patio and read a book in the sunshine. I also want to fix up the front porch, with new chairs too.

Finally, this is probably a must, I want to repaint the entire house. Ever since we moved in, our house has been a drab grey with peach (seriously, peach) trim. The woman who owned the house before us was old and blind, so maybe they bought the paint at the Recycling Center because it was cheap and she couldn't see it anyway (ooh, too mean?)  I want something warm, like a toasty brown, to match the white roof.  I don’t want the house color to be too dark, because that will absorb the FL sun and heat, but a caramel or toffee color, with creamy trim would be great.

Sadly, I don’t think that we’ll have enough left over for ALL of this, but we can do it in stages. We just have to buckle down and save for it. 

Tentacle Testing

Last weekend, I went to Jo-Ann's and picked out my tentacles. I decided to go with maribou boas, even though not 6 months ago, at the same store, I rejected the idea when my daughter suggested it!

I originally had grand visions of sewing tentacles, even wiring and stuffing them so they were 3D.  Later, when I realized I couldn't really sew that well, I thought of a 'skirt' type overlay on top of my Sparkle Skirt.

As our fall trip to Disney, and then the holidays, came closer, costume creation was put on the back burner. It got so pushed back that somehow, it was JANUARY already!!!  I began thinking again about what could be done easily - and cheaply! - when I had a vision of my daughter prancing around the craft store, covered in feather boas.

So, feather boas it is!

I stopped by Joann's before doing my weekly grocery shopping and after a coupon and tax, I got 12 feet of black maribou boa for $7.93.

 

Now.... How to I cut them without making a huge mess?

Apparently, not gonna happen....

 My desk, my floor, my clothes, ME.... Everything was covered in teeny-tiny black feathers. Of course, having my space heather on (and oscillating) certainly didn't help matters either!  

Luckily, I come prepared with a lint roller!!

After Feather-geddon, my next task was to seal the cut ends so I wouldn't lose any more feathers!. I dabbed a bit of Aleene's craft glue (the best stuff in the world for crafty gals) on the ends of each piece of boa and set them to the side to dry for the night. 

The next morning, the glue was dry and it was construction time!  I pulled out my thread and needle, but stopped.  I really should test running in these before sewing them on permanently!  I safety pinned each tentacle where I wanted them and realized immediately that they were WAY too long!!  Since the boa was 6' long, I took the easy way out and cut them into thirds, which gave me 2' tentacles. My skirt is only about 15" long, so my tentacles were 9" longer than my skirt and went down to my shins!  Good thing I tested 'em, huh?

WAY too long!!

As I climbed onto the treadmill, I debated the idea of just pinning them all to the skirt and calling it a day, rather than sewing them, but one fell off after only 5 minutes of walking, so that idea was rejected!

When I started running, I knew that my placement was perfect!  I had been worried that the tentacles would get 'sucked' between my thighs, but they didn't!  They kind of floated off to each side of me as I had hoped they would. I have an image of an icebreaker ship in my head, shoving glaciers and icecaps around in Alaska when I try to describe what the boas are doing. Not the most glamorous description, but kind of fitting. They didn't annoy me at all. They didn't get in the way of my headphones or my pockets. They didn't get tangled in my arms or legs. They were perfect!  I adjusted the front two (on my hips) so that they would be the right length, and kept running. Still, nothing was annoying! I had a winner!

I got in about 3 miles before I had to go pick up Hubby from work. Not the 10 miles I said I was going to do this weekend, but I knew that time was flying by, and costume testing was needed!

After picking Hubby up from work, I went back to my skirt. I chopped off 9" of boa and sealed the fresh ends and laid them out to dry. No more boa for tonight!

Next step is FINALLY sewing on the boas! Until then, I leave you with a photo of my eye makeup!

Teal Liquid Eyeliner and Waterproof Mascara

p.s. - how many times did you read "testicle" instead of "tentacle"? Me? A LOT!

Zaycon is back!

Anyone who knows me knows I love to eat. They also know I love to save money. If I can save money on food it's a win-win situation!

Enter Zaycon Foods - a direct-to-consumer, privately owned company, founded in 2009 and based out of Washington state.  They bring fresh meat and other products directly to you at wholesale prices. Foods are sold by the case, so the sticker shock can get you, but you have to look at the price per pound (just like you have to everywhere else, frankly!).

This time around, they have skinless, boneless chicken breasts for $1.59 per pound, in a 40 pound case. 

Case dimensions—18 in wide x 12 in deep x 7 in tall

This is a total of $63.60 for 100% natural chicken with no added hormones, additives or artificial ingredients. It comes directly from the processor and has never been frozen. The case includes four bags of chicken breasts that are still in pairs, so there is some post-processing you will need to do at home.

Each bag has about 10 pounds of chicken

You'll need to separate the breast pairs and trim the exterior fat. 

Left and right breasts attached in the middle

The size of the actual breasts determine how many you get per case. I normally get anywhere from 40-55 breasts per case.  I normally will put each chicken breast into a Ziploc bag and put 6 bags into a large Ziploc bag and stack in the freezer.  When I need chicken for dinner, I can take out as many as I need without having to thaw all the chicken. Sure, it's a bit of a waste of Ziploc bags, but I'd rather toss a bag than waste chicken!

This time around, they are also offering 93/7 Ground Beef for $3.29/pound in a 40-pound case. This is a total of $131.60 for LFTB free, fine-grind ground beef. No chemicals, additives or water is added to the meat during processing, and processing is done at a USDA-inspected, state-of-the-art plant that employs strict operating protocols.  

BEEF - it's what's for dinner

Each case contains four 10-pound 'chubs' of ground beef. 

Is it just me or does "chub" sound so unappealing?

I've not personally ordered this item (I don't eat a lot of ground beef), but a coworker has and he LOVED it!  He made 8oz burgers with them and told me later that there was virtually NO shrinkage, so he ended up with an 8oz burger cooked.

Again, you can break this up into smaller portions (like I do with family packs of ground beef from Publix) and store in your freezer. I normally will put either one or two pounds in a Ziploc bag, then use a rolling pin to flatten it out (in the bag) and store in the freezer like books. Flattening them saves LOTS of space!  If you have some free time cook up an entire 10-pound chub then store away for super-quick meals later - just dump a pound of cooked hamburger into spaghetti sauce or make sloppy joes! 

At other times of year, Zaycon offers shrimp, pre-cooked grilled chicken strips, other seafood and BACON!  

I strongly urge anyone I talk to to sign up with Zaycon. I have NEVER seen fresh boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a store for less than $1.99 a pound.  This price is a STEAL!!!  If you can't afford the entire case yourself, if you don't have the space, if you don't eat that much chicken, go in with a friend!  Split a case and then both of you get great chicken at a great price!

If you are in Gainesville, FL, they are taking orders right now for pickup on July 12 at the United Pentecostal church by SFC. 

*I don't work for Zaycon, but I did use their website for some of the information I've passed along to you. I wasn't reimbursed for this post, but I sure wish I was!*

Running Warehouse Goodies Arrive!

My order from Running Warehouse arrived today (I ordered them around lunchtime on the 24th!) and I couldn't wait to open everything!

Here is the Nathan pack. I put a lip gloss, my ID and a packet of Kleenex (as a stand in for my cell phone, which is actually much thinner than that) inside the pack to see how they fit.

As you can see, they fit fine!

 

This is the attached ID card - you can put your personal info on one side and emergency info on the other (like "I'm a diabetic", "Latex Allergy", etc) 

It lives in it's own little home when you don't need it.

This is the amphipod pocket.  Kind of hard to see the details but there is a big flap for the clip, then a smaller flap, the one with the logo, that is the 'entrance' to the pocket. 

 

I decided to put in my lip gloss and my conglomeration of keys to see how much space they took up. When I do my runs, I usually take the key off the keychain, so all I carry is the black oval.

Plenty of room! I could probably fit my MP3 player in here too, because the pouch is stretchy!

Here is a pretty good view of the METAL clip that snaps to your pants. 

The long part of the pack goes between your tummy and your pants, then the clip hangs over the edge of your pants, kind of like Kilroy:

Click here to read about Kilroy

You can still access the pocket without having to unclip from your belt and if you need to move it over, you can unclip it (but leave it tucked in), slide it and re-clip it!  Totally worth $10!  Even better, since my MP3 player has thick buttons, I can feel them through the neoprene (and my pants) and skip songs without having to take it out of the pouch. I love that!

Anyway, so I took my goodies home and, even though you shouldn't train before a 5k, I wanted to do a little with my new gear. It's better to train a bit before, than to do a 5k with untested gear!  I put on my compression sleeve (damn that thing is HARD to get on!!!), put my MP3 player in my pouch (ran the earbuds under my shirt and through my collar), then put on the pack belt.  Neither the pouch nor the belt got in my way while I put on my socks and sneakers (the pouch was over my right hip), and I was ready to get on the treadmill.  

I warmed up for a few minutes, then hit 5mph and ran for a few minutes.  Back and forth for about 10 minutes, then turned off the treadmill.  I was not having shin pain this time, I guess due to the sleeve, but my lower calf/upper ankle was burning!  Stretching felt like hell!!!  But in kind of a good way, not an oh shit, I hurt myself way. I left the sleeve on for about an hour afterwards and plopped onto the couch to watch TV with my daughter.  During that time, I would flex and point my left foot (the leg with the sleeve) and there was no residual pain, so I'm considering this a win and I'll wear the sleeve on Saturday! It's now Friday afternoon, and I don't have any pain (besides my lingering PF).

Also during the run, I wore the pack belt both with the pack on my butt and on my tummy and there was NO bouncing either way.  I think it was a bit more comfortable with it in the back and will probably wear it that way unless I need to get into it.

All in all, I'm very happy with my $40 worth of gear and look forward to putting it to use tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow, remember last week when I said this?

I feel some trepidation about the upcoming 5k next weekend. I have a sad feeling in my heart that I will be dead last crossing that finish line, and I will probably get the pity claps and yells, but you know what?  I will have done the most important thing - I will have CROSSED THE FINISH LINE OF MY VERY FIRST 5k.  I will not quit, I will not give up, I will give it my all and I will cross that finish line, even if I am the very last person to do so.  There is no pity to be had, for I will have finished, and right now, that is the greatest thing in the world to me.

 I decided to go to the Florida Track Club website and look at the last 6 in-town 5k results.  Of those six, I can beat the last-place finisher's time in FOUR of them!  That is making me feel better about my time.  When you hear about people doing 5ks in a half-hour or less, it can really make you doubt yourself. Going into this thinking I have a 66%  chance of not being last has given me a new wind and I know I'll be able to do this!

And then I'll have cake.

Bought myself some goodies!

As I sat at my desk yesterday, working late, I did some internet searches for why my shins have been hurting. I didn't realize that I had posterior shin splints. I thought spin splints were something else!  So, the next thing I Googled was how to get RID of shin splints!  A vast majority of folks say that you should use a compression sleeve on your leg when you run.  Hmm, okay. I thought those were things you wear when you are healing from an injury. I'm learning all sorts of stuff today!

Next up, finding compression sleeves that were affordable.  I checked Amazon, of course, and found a few that looked promising. I put them in my cart and began looking at websites for local stores. Champs, as we know, doesn't cater to women at all!  Sports Authority had a few viable candidates, but I would need to go to the actual store to see them. Our local guy, Lloyd Clarke Sports, had one or two, but I don't know if they carried them in the store. I figured I'd have to go to one or two of these places on Friday after I picked up my Susie's Run packet from Fit-2-Run, if F2R didn't have any, of course.

Then, the Blue Fairy smacked me on the head and reminded me of Running Warehouse, a website that I recently learned about from DisBoards. They have great prices and lots to choose from. If you are a W.I.S.H. member, there is a great promo code, which I used. (I can't publish it publicly - don't want it to be abused!)

I ended up finding a compression sleeve by Cho-Pat that was only 15.95! It came in white or black, but (as usual) my size in the white was out of stock, so I got a large black one (as seen below). 

Nice pedicure!

I also got an Amphipod Micropack Landsport for $11.95 (Amazon's price was almost $5 more!) to hold my MP3 player and a Nathan Shadow Pak (in royal blue) for $18.95. I figure that one of the two of these will work for me, and with Running Warehouse's great FREE RETURN policy, I could get both, see which I liked and return the one I didn't like. 

I like the idea of the micropack - the small part hangs on the outside of your pants and the bigger part tucks securely inside your pants and clips tightly closed.  I'm notorious for tucking things in my pants, anyway, if I don't have a pocket, so this will be second nature to me :)

The Shadow Pak, to non-runners, is deceivingly small, but it says that it will fit a smartphone. My phone is more of a Public-Educated-Not-So-Smart phone, so it's smaller than an iPhone and should fit fine! All I need to carry is my cell, lip balm, ID, car key and mp3 player. Hopefully it will fit ME well and not bounce. There's enough of me that jiggles, I don't need any extra bounce!

The best part about ordering from Running Warehouse? FREE 2-day business delivery!  I just placed my order at about 10am, and they say that my estimated delivery will be 4/26 (Thursday)!!  That's FAST and will give me a day or two to play with the two bags and the sleeve. So, with a promo code, no tax and free delivery, my final cost was $39 for all of this!  DEAL! I just got my order confirmation and it's on it's way to me.  

I'll let you know how they all work out later!  

Being Frugal, but with Calories

Last week, as you know, I had to spend $110 on shoes.  It was a budget-buster for sure, but it was needed to ensure that there wasn't a bigger, joint-related budget-buster in the future.  Let's say that, after spending all of that money, we also went out for a fancy dinner on Tuesday, bought a new TV on Thursday and took a quick weekend-getaway to Disney - you'd think I was crazy!!!

Well, it's the same thing with calories.  So what if your office had cake for Secretaries Day (excuse me, Administrative Professionals Day)?  Why does that single slip-up make you feel it's okay to say "fuck it, I already screwed up" and then eat pizza and cheeseburgers for dinner the rest of the week?

If you look at calories the same way you look at money, I'd bet you would rethink a lot of what you eat.

The general recommendation for us is 2000 calories per day. That is 14,000 calories per week.  If you want to lose a pound per week, you need 3500 fewer calories per week, which is only 500 calories per day. Sure, you can starve yourself, or you can create a 500 calorie deficit with diet AND exercise.  If you burn 250 calories via daily exercise AND  you skip the 16oz Grande Vanilla Latte* from Starbucks, you have successfully created that 500 calorie loss (and probably saved a bunch of money, too!)

*Disclaimer - I don't drink coffee, so I don't even know if this IS a latte!

 However, we don't live in a perfect world and Lord knows I don't exercise every day. What I DO do, is to look at my caloric intake as a WEEKLY thing, rather than a daily thing.  Sure, we all have "oh crap, I blew my diet" days. I had one on Tuesday.  Our office celebrated Secretaries Day with cake and ice cream. I didn't go crazy, and only got ice cream, but it was still a 200-calorie splurge that I hadn't budgeted for, so it put me over my daily calorie limit.  However, because I could deal with it from then on, I ate a bit less for dinner the next few nights to compensate for that splurge.  I'm back on track with my calorie budget and didn't let a little splurge (don't call it an "oops" - that makes it seem like a bad thing) get in the way of my success.

On the flip side of this, I want to also say that, if you KNOW there will be a party coming up, or something that you want to eat that is hi-calorie, budget for it!  You know that vacation is expensive, so you budget for it. Food is the same way.  If I know that on Saturday, we are going out to eat at Cracker Barrel, I plan on eating lighter the entire week and splurging on Saturday.  It works both ways, folks.

Easter Run and The Dreaded BEFORE Pictures

I never took any!

Before we get to that, let's back up to that morning. The weather was gorgeous, so I decided that instead of being cooped up in my bedroom on the treadmill, I'd actually GO OUTSIDE!

I put on my spiffy new compression capris and the teal top. The capris were actually ALMOST one size too big!  The waist was a bit loose, and I had to use the interior drawstring to tighten it a bit. That was weird!  The tee was just about perfect (I'm still retaining a Volkswagen, so I've bloated out to almost a full size bigger...) I tucked my cell phone into the little pocket in the back and headed out the door for an 'out and back' from my house to a major road about a mile away, giving me a total of 2 miles.

The day was gorgeous, not too hot, but after I got 3 or 4 blocks down the road, I realized that perhaps I shouldn't be doing this today - the winds changed direction and smoke from local wildfires began blowing my way!

The Caribbean, Olive and 8Mile are the local wildfires

It wasn't too bad, so I kept going. I would run 'from this pole to that pole' or 'this mailbox to that sign' until I was running about as much as I was walking. Running outside is very different from running on a treadmill!  I'm going to have to make sure I practice outside as much as possible, if I want to be ready for running in the Princess.

Anyway, by the time I make it to Waldo Rd (the big road and my turn around point), I looked at my watch and saw that about 16 minutes had passed. I must have not started the stopwatch correctly, that seemed wrong.  I turned around and headed home, missing a red light and having to stop for about a minute or two, which I took advantage of and stretched my legs.

When I got home, I looked at my stop watch, which said 34 minutes.  I looked at the microwave and it jibed up with my watch.  I DID 2 MILES IN 34 MINUTES!!!  That is a 17-minute mile, people!  1 minute off the race-required 16-minute mile!  I was stoked, so happy! I was also sweaty, tired and thirsty.  I grabbed a huge cup of water and headed to my bedroom to change.

When I got into my room, a though dawned on me.  I never took before photos when I started this journey. I've since had two separate people (who don't know each other in the least) tell me that I've 'got it goin on!' and that I've 'lost a fuck-ton of weight'.  My husband says he sees it, but for me - once a fat girl, always a fat girl.  It's very hard for me to see it. I decided that, before I got changed, I'd take some photos.

I have to be very clear on one thing:  In my before photo, I was sucking it in. In my current photos, I had to deliberately NOT suck it in, to get an accurate reflection of what my body looks like. As a woman, it is so hard to not suck it in!

December 2011 - About 225 Pounds

I don't know why I didn't smile.

I could fly away with those wings!

Side view - much smaller gut

 

Run Disney tech tee I recently bought

Back of Run Disney tech tee

SOON

I have a dilemma regarding this RunDisney tee. I bought it to train in.  It doesn't fit (it's so much scarier in person!).  Should I return it to get a men's version (that will fit my boobs and gut) or should I hang it on my closet (like in the 'soon' photo) and use it as motivation? If I hang it, I probably won't fit into it for at least 2 months. If I get the men's version, I can wear it NOW.  I'm so torn!  If I could find an extra $30, I could have both :)  Maybe I'll think about that a bit....






 So anyway, that was my Sunday. It was the first Sunday since I started (I think) that I ran. I'll keep it up as long as weather permits, but in Florida, summer comes early and it brings disgusting humidity. 

My Saturday trip to the mall

I was going to the mall so that I could go to Fit 2 Run and get my new sneakers. Halfway to the mall, I realized that I was wearing Teva sandals and forgot my sneakers! DOH! I went anyway and discovered two things - 1) they have about 4 treadmills to check you out on and 2) I'm still too fat to fit into any clothing they carry.  The largest size I saw was LARGE.  I'm not there yet, so I didn't even bother to keep looking at everything they had. I saw SPIbelts and GU, which I'm discovering as I research running, but I didn't buy anything.

After Fit, I went down to Bath and Body Works to grab a few deals and freebies - I had a Q for a FREE mini shower gel or body lotion and an internet Q for a free sleeve when you purchased a hand soap.  I got all three of these for $5.83!  What a deal.

I successfully avoided pizza, chicken nuggets, chinese food and french fries at the food court, Auntie Anne's AND Cinnabon on my way back to JCP.  WIN!

My trip to JCP was two-fold:  try on some smaller-sized clothing and purchase a new item for training. I pulled a Misses (not WOMENS) size 18 slim-leg trouser, a few XL tops, a 16w jean and a size 16 dress.  The result of these choices really blew me away!  Both XL tops fit - as long as I didn't eat or breathe.  Considering I've purchased the same brand/style top in a 2X, I consider this a huge win. Also, considering I'm retaining a Volkswagen, thanks to my time of the month.  After a few more weeks of walking/running, I'll be back to buy that shirt!  The slim-leg pants fit perfectly, and they were on clearance for $8, so I put them in the pile to buy. The jeans WERE TOO BIG IN THE LEGS!!!  I pulled them on and they pooched out like jodhpurs! I did a little happy dance, then took them off.  Finally, I put on the dress... I've shied away from dresses pretty much all my adult life because of my belly.  I'm an apple gal, and just about every dress I've ever tried on makes me look 6 months pregnant. Empire waists are the WORST! The waist is between big boobs and big tummy, bleck! This dress however, was just about perfect.  It was a deep v-neck, with a ruched waist and a faux belt in the front. It hit at just the right leg area and made me look pretty. The reason it fit so nicely?  All the walking and running was whittling away my fat tummy!

So, why didn't I buy it?  Well, it was $35, which is never a huge sum of money, but it felt too fancy for work and not really anything I'd wear out on the (very) rare occasions that we go out to dinner. I figured that, while it made me feel good, it would be a waste of money.  I decided that I'd rather spend that money elsewhere. I put everything except the pants back (and 2 sweaters that were super-clearanced to $4 each, that I was going to stash away for Christmas 2012 for myself), and headed over to the Activewear Section!

It was only my 2nd time in this section of the store and it all was still so new to me. Mesh tees, tech tees, yoga pants, what is all this?  However, I knew that I wanted another tech tee like I already have and a pair of compression pants. Maybe if I have compression, I will have less jiggle!  I ended up with an aqua tech tee, a gorgeous purple tee that says it 'actively cools' you (we'll see) and a grey pair of compression capris, all pretty much for the cost of the dress. (Okay, maybe like $10 more than the dress...) I paid for all my goodies and headed out the door, satisfied with my purchases. I couldn't wait to wear them tomorrow!

Zaycon Foods = Cheap Chicken!!!

Zaycon Foods is now serving Florida, and Gainesville is included!

Zaycon Foods is a direct-to-you service that provides fresh skinless boneless chicken (and bacon!) for you to pick up.  If you are familiar with Angel Food, it is kind of the same thinking, but with good food.

Check out the link above to score FORTY POUNDS of fresh skinless boneless chicken breasts for only $1.49 PER POUND!!! The entire box is less than $60!

Thanks to I Heart Saving Money for spreading the word about this company!