Me, Backwards

I’ve written a lot about the changes I’m making in health and fitness this year, but that wasn’t my “official” New Years’ Resolution.  No, after going through five dental visits in about six weeks to get three crowns put on, my resolution was to floss more consistently.  I’ve tried before to break the bad habit of only flossing when there’s something stuck in my teeth, but haven’t had any luck.  I think part of it was because I tried to do it “every few days.”

This time I told myself I would floss daily so there was no need to remember “well, did I do it yesterday or not?”  I’ve been good at keeping to 5-6 days a week, which is such a vast improvement that I’m willing to consider the resolution kept.  Things were definitely feeling better, but Friday morning at the dentist for my 6-month cleaning, I got objective proof.  All of my gum measurements were steady or improved, and the hygenist said I had “almost no tartar buildup.”  Woo!

Woo hoo! I’m trying to be really happy about the table but I keep focusing on a (relatively minor) flaw that you can’t see in the photo. I had two sides to choose from for the “top” of the table. One had a slight crack, the other had a “hump” at the edge from where the wood was split. Sean and I had discussed which side to use … not the humped side. But I forgot about the hump and focused on the crack … so I have the “wrong” side up.

Still, super cool to have made something myself, and I still have to think about how to finish it - whether to go for some sort of stain or lacquer, or to paint it.  For now, it’s in the foyer and will be the “dumping” table where I put keys and mail and such.  It’s nice to have made something functional.  (Dimensons are about 2 feet tall, 14″x18″ top).

It occurred to me a couple days ago at the gym that the key to change is intellectual honesty.  This epiphany came as I was struggling through situps number 10-15, after committing to myself that I’d do 20.  I thought “Well, I could just stop at 15.”  But I’d said that I’d do 20, and there was no physical reason (other than wussiness) for not finishing out the set.  So I did. (more…)

I feel like there’s been a lot going on lately, but really, it’s just life moving on and moving forward.  The weekend ended up being pretty mellow - errands and time hanging out with Sean, lots of reading, taxes, all kinds of fun stuff.  Taxes turned out in my favor this year - I’d hoped that I had adjusted my withholding so I wouldn’t owe, nor would I get a refund.  Unfortunately, my long period of unemployment kind of messed that up, so I am getting a sizeable refund.  Not that I’m complaining one bit about getting an infusion of cash, but I don’t so much like giving the government an interest-free loan. (more…)