The Neti Pot......

So friends....I have had the nastiest bug/flu for the past week.  I was so proud of myself for making it this far without getting sick....I was making sure to wash my hands several times a day, not touch anything too germy in public places and try to stay out of people's faces.....it didn't work.  

After three days of all the normal symptoms one of the most annoying ones was the fact that I could not breathe through my nose.....my new hobby was blowing my nose and sleeping with four pillows under my head, mouth open while snoring I am sure!  I couldn't take it anymore so I broke down and bought myself an infamous neti pot.  Caleb and I had seen Dr. Oz talk about it on Oprah so I knew it wasn't going to harm me....so I decided why not try it.  Some tips to using your neti pot:

• do not use normal table salt.....it burns like hell in your sinus' :)  you can buy the pre made neti pot salt packets and I would highly suggest it!
• make sure the water is warm enough because using cool water seems to irritate the sinus' too!
• accept that fact that you will not look attractive while using the neti pot 
• be prepared on your first try to feel weird and have some go down your throat.

I do have to say though......that little pot worked!  Don't take my word for it though...check it out, you can see how a pro does it:  Neti Pot Video

dance on...just make sure to give me my space.

Mr. Fix It and His Facial Hair.....

The house will officially go up on the market March 1st!  Caleb has been amazing......he has painted almost the entire downstairs, fixed doorknobs that were sticking, drawers that didn't close just right.....just about anything you can think of on my "house to do list" he has taken care of or has begun to take care of.  He is a stud and sometimes I don't deserve him.

Caleb and his friend Wade have made a bet.......Caleb isn't allowed to shave his beard and Wade isn't allowed to cut his hair.  The first one to cave in and shave/cut.....has to get a tattoo picked out by the other.  Good thing I like facial hair to begin with because I have a feeling that Caleb's face is going to get really hairy in the months to come.  They both are already looking a bit shaggy.  I am not really sure why they felt the need to make the bet......I think that it must be a guy thing.  Lord knows....Caleb doesn't really need another tattoo.......isn't a portrait of his parents on his arm enough?

He keeps threatening to get a 1950s cowgirl pin-up as his next one....the kicker is he wants the face of the cowgirl to be my face.....yikes!  I'll keep you posted on that one.

dance on...just make sure to give me my space.

So between my last blog which was last Thursday and today......I have made a major decision.  I am putting my cute little house in East Nashville (Inglewood to be more specific...) up for sale.  This little house has been my home for three years and I have loved every minute of it.....then why am I selling it, right?  Well, houses in my area are selling when in other areas they aren't and houses in my area are selling for way more then originally bought...so it looks like "profit opportunity" might be knocking on my door!
Needless to say the last few days have been filled with "to do" lists or at least the making of them.....figuring out what I need to fix or re paint or re plant in order to get the house listed.  So far the list isn't too long or daunting and for that I am thankful!  The biggest thing is that I had the bright idea early fall to rip out all the shurbs/landscaping in the far left flower bed in hopes of planting my "dream flower bed" in early spring.......well spring hasn't happened yet so that same flower bed is very bare and ugly, this means I will be detouring from my original plan and planting "make-do" plants for now.  Don't you just love planting when the ground is cold and hard......I guess I could look at it as a great arm workout!

One thing I will miss the most......this backyard!  

So if you know of anybody in Nashville who wants to buy a great little house on the East Side....let me know :)

dance on....just make sure to give me my space

Bench Press This......

Today is Thursday, which is my favorite day of the week because the weekend has yet to begin but is just around the corner......

For the last couple of weeks I have paid a personal trainer to beat me up for a full 60 minutes.  Why do we pay someone to torture us?...And a better question is why do I like it?  Maybe I just have this strange fondness of pushing my body until it protests and won't let me lunge anymore or until it revolts at the site of the precor machine.  I have been working out at a smaller gym and this morning I was very glad of that fact because it was just me and my trainer this morning (I was doing this one exercise and I literally caught the 8lb medicine ball in the face instead of my hands as planned)......facts to know about me while working out:

• my session is the morning so therefore brushing my teeth and washing my face is about all that happens between bed and the bench press.  that's right people, I don't brush my hair and I sleep in most of my gym gear so I can just roll out of bed and rock it.
• i am a sweating machine.  i can walk past a treadmill and start to sweat......i prefer to just say that i have good ventilation.  so warning if you ever run into me in the gym...skip the high fives or hugs.....i will have already started sweating out toxins.
• my workout apparel never matches and mostly likely never will......you will always catch me in sweat pants that are two sizes two big, made for guys, and tank tops that your grandfather probably wore under his dress shirts.
• i will never be accused of being "cute" at the gym......if there is one place where make-up should not be allowed it is the gym.  What is with the girls that actually put on make up to go work out?  And what is even more puzzling is the girls that still have that perfect face of make up on after they have done 50 minutes of cardio!
• last but not least........i don't like to talk while working out.  i can hardly breath as is.....you think talking to me is going to help?  It's like going to the dentist and having him talk to you while his hands are in your mouth....I can't talk.  I don't have enough breath to just breathe normally let alone form words and push them out of my mouth.  So to those of you who can run on the treadmill at top speeds for five miles all the while carrying on a great conversation with you neighbor....awesome, but if that neighbor is me.....please just wave and smile, no talking.  

My weekly torture sessions are over for this week, but next Tuesday will come soon.  Maybe instead of talking I could just start grunting...like some of the guys do while lifting the "heavy" weight.

dance on...just make sure to give me my space.

 

My Anniversary......

Nashville has been home for eight years this coming May.......my original plan when I packed up the u-haul and drove from Texas to Tennessee was to reside here for about two years and then continue the adventure in another zip code most likely in another state.  Six years past my two year mark I still have the same zip code and the same state license plate on my little car.  

Oddly enough I am okay with this......I visit NYC every couple of months and for the first few days I am there I kick myself several times throughout the day for not living there but by the end of my trip I am done kicking and ready to return to the 615.  I realize that I am not 22 anymore and having a kicka** public transportation system, diners open all night on every corner, irish pubs with legit irish bartenders, and being able to order almost anything for delivery isn't worth giving up my savings accounts, the house I own, being able to buy groceries for the month at one time and then going home and actually cooking in my kitchen that is wider than a hallway.  Oh NYC I will always have a love affair with you a couple times each year but I will always come home to Nashville.

To my amazing beautiful friends in NYC....I miss you terribly and wish we could grab drinks more often then we do.......I am envious of you some days but not of your bank accounts on other days :)

dance on....just make sure to give me my space.