Spring Cleaning and Increased Libido

Spring cleaning is extra thorough this year. Why? Because my mom is moving out to the country!

This is a bit of a stressful time, for my mom, for me, for my whole family, but I’m looking at it from the perspective of someone turning over a new leaf. Spring is in the air, and it’s time to clear out all of the dust and crap that has been collecting in my mom’s house for TWENTY years. Not only is this a cleaning opportunity for my mom, but it is for me as well. I didn’t realize how much of my crap was stored at my mom’s house, and the whole process has not only caused me to sort through the stuff at my mom’s and see what I REALLY need, but it also has caused me to look through the stuff already at my apartment. I’ve already selected bags and bins to donate or sell, and it feels great to get rid of all of that junk!!

In light of the obvious relief it is to have less clutter around the house, there is also the amazing relief of clearing out metaphorical clutter in the form of emotional stress. This winter has given me a lot of time to reflect on my life and whether or not I am ‘happy’, and the spring has brought clarity with it. I’ve stopped obsessing over my health – I will eat as well as I can, work out when I am able, and stop hunting for answers. All of that hunting did nothing but stress me out. Have you ever tried to google ‘headache’? According to Google, if you have a headache, you have 27,000 types of cancer. All of the information is so overwhelming, so I’ve reached a point where I realized that the stress of the overabundance of information is part of what was causing my health problems. Since I’ve let go, I ‘miraculously’ feel better!

Along with my physical health stress, I’ve also gained a new perspective on emotional stress. It used to be that my mom would use some passive aggressive tactics to make me feel like a terrible daughter for not helping her out. I know it’s not healthy for her or for me, but that is the only way she knows to get my attention. I realized this tendency, though, and after a couple of conversations about it, we’ve hit a new status quo with our relationship. I can’t keep letting her make me feel like s**t because I can’t put my life on hold to help her. However, if I take the focus away from ‘Ugggggh, I don’t want to help her’ and change my perspective to ‘It feels good to help out my mom, and I know she needs it’ then I’m already leaps and bounds in a better position, emotionally. I’m finding that as long as I offer to help without her having to ask me, she won’t have to use passive aggressive tactics, and I’ve also found that the more that I help with an enthusiastic attitude, the more of a relief it is. When I talked to her about this, I realized that I was part of the problem too. When the thought of her move first came up, I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things that need to be done – walls that need painting, furniture to move, clutter to declutter, cleaning, etc. I got overwhelmed, and projected it onto her (something I know I need to work on), and she got even more overwhelmed. Now that I know that this is a problem, I’ve made a 180 with my attitude. Every time I go over to her house, I try to point out how much better the house looks and that I can really tell that she has been working hard. I try to point out how much work has already been done when she starts getting overwhelmed. I try to offer to help clean and pack things whenever I can. I know just having me over there to talk to and to help is enough to relieve a lot of her stress. I think the worst part of her move is that she feels so alone, so I try to spend time with her as much as I can 🙂

The whole process, though stressful, has had a positive impact on my life – and has had a surprisingly positive influence on my libido. For a while, I was so stressed out that I rarely was in the mood to be with my boyfriend. Sure, I found him very attractive and we were still intimate, but sex is completely different when you’re in the mood versus when you’re not.

Suddenly, over the last month or so, clearing out all of the stress in my life has had a profound effect on all aspects of my mood – my libido being the most noticeable change! I’m not saying that I’m walking around horny all of the time, obviously, but it manifests more as a boost in my confidence than anything else! I feel like my clothes fit better, I walk with my head held higher, and I feel more powerful!

“With great power comes great libido.”

Wait, that’s not how the quote goes. But you get the idea 🙂

Thanks for reading my rambling, and here’s to health in all aspects of your life! Stay healthy friends – and get rid of unwanted crap!

All Planned Out!

So, I went a little seed crazy on Ebay about a week ago (curse sales!) and have TONS of seeds to plant this year! Come to find out, a lot of the seeds I purchased actually can grow very symbiotically with one another! So, I’ve taken the time to figure out how to fill my 6’x10′ balcony with the various plants I’ve gotten seeds for. Here goes!

Diagram of my balcony with yellow representing posts (aka can’t plant there), and containers 1 through 6 representing my various planters

Diagrams outlining what will be in containers 1 through 6. As an FYI, broc = broccoli, rad = radishes, car = carrots, SM= San Marzano tomatoes, and spin = spinach

Whew! That was a lot of work to plan all of that out. I plan on mostly using these awesome looking containers called City Pickers that you can buy at Home Depot. They are supposedly able to handle multiple plants at once, and I purposefully checked whether or not the plants are compatible when designing my garden! The orange square represents a 5 gallon bucket turned into a planter (most bakeries at grocery stores will give these away for free!). I also plan on having 3 containers growing at my boyfriend’s house: 2 with roma tomato plants, 1 with a Rutgers tomato plant, and carrots and a cucumber plant mixed throughout!

I’m hoping to have at least one type of plant be successful, we’ll see! Wish me luck – and happy planting!

So Many Tomatoes

I’ve mentioned this on this blog before, but I live in a single bedroom apartment with a small balcony. I’m currently growing 23 tomato plants (many with multiple actual seedlings in the pots).

And then, I realized that 12 of those plants are the wrong seeds. I ordered heirloom San Marzano tomatoes, and received Rutgers. I clarified the mix up with the seller, and he is now sending me MORE seeds.

*sigh*

New plan! I think I may have started my other seeds too early. I planted them about 9 weeks before the last frost date in my area, and it is now about 7 weeks to the last frost date. Also, I didn’t have enough lighting, so my tomatoes are a bit “leggy”. So, here is my new plan:

• Buy materials to build a cheap seedling grow light:
  • 14 gallon tote
  • Clamp light
  • Daylight 100W CFL bulb
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Duct Tape
• Buy proper seedling trays
• Start 6 new sets of seeds: 2 each of Rutgers, Roma, and San Marzano
• Start 6 other sets of San Marzano (since there are already so many others for Roma and Rutgers.
• Keep the other tomatoes growing and monitor progress.
• Be up to my armpits in tomatoes!!

… seriously, I’m going to have to get rid of so many tomato plants!! My boyfriend has offered to grow some of them on his deck, but he’s also growing all of his plants, and I don’t want his roomie to get mad!

Wish me luck, and stay healthy friends!!

Feeling Better Just in Time for Nice Weather!

I’d have to say that I like all of the seasons, but my two favorites have got to be spring and fall. The weather is always the perfect temperature, and both seasons are stunningly beautiful! So, yesterday, I popped open my windows to get some fresh air in, and went for a quick walk with my boyfriend.

I know it sounds silly, but that has to be one of my favorite dates with him in a long time! The weather was just so beautiful, and we had a nice conversation while we soaked in the fresh air and sunshine!

This year, we’re both going to try to grow our own produce, just for fun! It’s fun watching seedlings grow, and the produce that you harvest will contain so much more in the way of nutrients when compared to produce you buy at the supermarket. I even purchased some canning equipment so that I can preserve the harvest for use during the fall and winter. I’m mostly focused on growing tomatoes, since I want to preserve fresh salsas and sauces. My boyfriend is growing lots of other things, like cucumbers, green beans, and spinach. He’s even growing some cat grass for his cats!

My Amaryllis bulb, in full bloom!

1 Day after planting two types of tomatoes: Roma and San Marzano

After about a week of planting this Roma tomato seedlings, I had two seedlings growing!

The rest of my plants! 4 Amaryllis bulbs, an orchid, 2 aloe plants, and some jade plants (below)

I can’t wait for the weather to keep getting nicer and nicer, and I hope to harvest some delicious Tomatoes!

Thanks for reading, and get outside, friends!

Something Must be Working!

Hello and welcome! Lately, with the springy turn in the weather, I’ve been in a really good mood. I’ve been trying to eat more, and, though it feels like I’m constantly stuffing my face, I still managed to lose another 2 lbs since Saturday. And this time, I KNOW I’m not dehydrated!

It might be a result of a slight change in workout routine. Variety is the spice of life, and maybe, with a little healing, I’ve gotten some benefit out of lighter exercise. On Monday, Sylvia and I opted for an hour long walk instead of Dynamic Core. Yesterday, I jogged in the morning, did Core Speed (by FAR one of my favorite DVDs EVER), and then walked again for a half an hour to absorb some sun and cool down. The walking is apparently doing something for my ankle that Focus T25 wasn’t doing, since it’s been a little tender since I started walking. I’m monitoring it closely, and I’m pretty sure it is just testing and strengthening new muscles, which is always good!

Sylvia and I have come to the conclusion that we’re going to replace all Core Cardio workouts and Speed 2.0 workouts with Core Speed, and here’s why: we push ourselves harder in Core Speed because we are actually having fun! Core Speed is a really really tough workout, and I often push myself to my absolute limit (yesterday, I took a 4 minute break in the middle of the DVD because Sylvia got a phone call, and I still averaged 165 with my heart rate). But when I do Core Speed, I’m just blown away by how powerful and strong I feel when I do the moves. There’s so much punching and jumping around, and that’s what I like, and the music always picks you up when you’re about to give up. So, we may not get as many lunges in as we would with Core Cardio, but I will look forward to working out if I know Core Speed is coming!

Today, we’re doing Rip’t Circuit, and I’m actually looking forward to doing some weights again! Rip’t is generally easier on my ankle, so hopefully my ankle will get a bit of a rest 🙂 It’s another beautiful day here, and I can’t wait to go outside and get some sun too! I hope everyone has a great day, and remember to stay healthy friends!

A Glimpse of Spring

So, yesterday, I was bad and didn’t do Dynamic Core like I was supposed to. Instead, since it was a gorgeous sunny 70 degrees outside, we went for an hour long walk, and it was GLORIOUS! It has been really crappy weather here in Blacksburg, VA for far too long, and it was so nice to see the sun shining and the weather warm for once! I could have walked all day, but Sylvia made a great point – we don’t want to overdo it, especially with my bad ankle and her bad ACL. We stopped just in the knick of time, since my ankles were a little tender and her knees were just starting to get sore. But we made a point of using our abs while on the walk, so we were still able to burn some calories and work our abs a bit!

This morning, I woke up early to go for a run, and my roommate Naomi joined me! It had been about a week since my last run, because last Thursday was 22 degrees outside with 15 mph winds, and I felt terrible on Saturday and Sunday due to lack of sleep (excuses, excuses, I know). But it felt good to run today. I managed to scrape 11 seconds off of my mile time, mostly due to a sprint for the last 0.05 miles. I have a feeling I’ll be even better on Thursday! It was also really great to have my roomie there, since she helped push me 😀

Well, today’s post is short and sweet! I hope you all have a great day, and stay healthy!