I Work Out

Posted on March 24, 2013 by missfancy

I’ve been completely inspired to get into shape without a gym membership. A of all: There are always so many creepers at the gym that that “work out” just so they can look at girls in workout pants. B of all: I don’t really feel like paying money every month to purposely look like a hot mess. My inspiration came from Pumps and Iron and Julia. Nicole from Pumps and Iron is freaking hilarious (this post is one of my faves) and she can probably kick The Rock’s ass. I initially started watching Julia’s makeup videos years ago and then stumbled across one a few months ago and saw that she lost a bunch of weight and looks AMAZING.

I’ve recently done lots of retail therapy and in the process, have started buying new/updated workout equipment. It’s a tiny collection so far, but maybe it will grow to be awesome someday.

I realized that Pinterest (do I have any post that does not involve the mention of Pinterest?) is a great tool for at home workouts. I have a board just for workouts. It’s a small collection of pins right now, but I’m not into the ladies with ripped abs, so a good number of the pins are out of the question for me.

Another driving force behind me getting into shape is that I’ve gained 10 lbs recently and I am going to be in a wedding soon, so I want to look awesome. And it’s mainly my mom arms that make me hate myself at the moment. I feel like every day I get closer to 30, my arms wave back at me just a little bit more. Also, I just want to look wicked hot.

For my workouts, I’m hoping to do a combination of cardio (I loathe running, but I’m told if I just stick with it, my body will eventually stop rejecting it), strength training with free weights and yoga. Luckily I live in a nice neighborhood (although I do get the occasional creeper who I have to run away from) so I can run and do the cardio stuff outside. The only place where I can see myself spending money would be for yoga. There are some great resources online, but nothing beats going to a class where a teacher can tell you exactly what you need to do for your body. Plus, there are some really great yoga studios in my neighborhood.

I figured if I put it out on the internet, I might actually stick with it. Maybe I’ll do before and after photos too. This shirt explains my history with working out. I’m temped to get it…

Caffeine Update

Posted on February 14, 2013 by missfancy

Day 1 – February 4th – I wasn’t any more worn out than I usually am when I have caffeine in my system. I was pretty tired by 9:00pm and was in bed by 9:30pm. I don’t remember waking up during the night and I woke up the next morning 15 minutes before my alarm went off.

Day 2 – February 5th – I was tired by the time I was driving home from work around 5:00pm. I had a headache for most of the afternoon and evening even though I was drinking a lot of water and green tea. I’m attributing that to the caffeine withdrawal. I was in bed at 9:30pm, but I woke up at 2:00am. I normally only dream once every 6 months or so, but I was dreaming all night. My alarm woke me up the next morning and I had a hard time getting out of bed.

Day 3 – February 6th – I was really tired in the morning but felt better by lunch time. I had a little bit of a headache throughout the day. I didn’t become overly tired until the evening. I started getting really tired around 8:00pm but I didn’t go to bed until about 10:30pm. I woke up a number of times during the night and I was dreaming all night again.

Day 4 – February 7th – I woke up on my own at 5:30ish and I was really tired. I wasn’t really awake at any point during the day, but I did notice that I did not yawn as much as I normally do which I find very interesting. I ended up staying up late because I went out and got dinner and drinks.

Day 5 – February 8th – I was so extremely tired when I woke up. All I wanted was a huge cup of coffee with French Vanilla Coffee Mate Creamer in it. I literally could not keep my eyes open as soon as 9:00pm came around.

Day 6 – February 9th – I woke up before 6:00am because I fell asleep so early the night before. I wasn’t particularly alert or awake at any point during the day. I took a nap from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. I never fully fell asleep during the nap, but my eyes were closing, so I didn’t really have a choice I suppose. I was in bed at 10:00pm.

Day 7 – February 10th – I woke up at 6:00am, but stayed in bed until about 7:00am. I don’t think I woke up once during the night. I was able to stay up til about 10:00pm, but I wasn’t tired when I got into bed.

Day 8 – February 11th – I woke up at about 4:00am and didn’t get back to sleep until right before I had to get up at 6:00am. I’m very tired.

It is now February 14th and I still haven’t consumed any caffeine. I’m not as tired as I normally am during the day which is great, and I’m sleeping more. I definitely think caffeine will not be a big part of my diet anymore.

On a side note, I found that alcohol has the same effect on my sleep that caffeine does. Even if it’s just a glass or two of wine, it totally messes me up. I thought that was interesting. I definitely recommend trying to cut the caffeine out of your diet and seeing if there are any positive changes in your sleep habits.

Thanks Be to Ned

Posted on February 6, 2013 by missfancy

A huge thank you to Ned who found and updated the new face of MissFancy. It is amazing.

Caffeine

Posted on February 4, 2013 by missfancy

I’m putting myself to the test. No caffeine. Not just in the morning, no caffeine at all. I have a very hard time sleeping through the night without waking up. I know I need to work on my stress (with work), but I think caffeine is also playing a major part in my lack of sleep. Whenever I have caffeine, it doesn’t have the jittery effect on me which is probably because I’ve consumed it every day for the past 25 years.

In doing research, I found that caffeine can stay in your system much longer than I thought it could. If you are a habitual caffeine consumer, it can take up to 96 hours to get out of your system. No wonder I can never sleep! So, starting today, no caffeine. I would eventually like to be one of those people that never consumes caffeine. Wish me luck!

Living Car Free

Posted on February 3, 2013 by missfancy

I’ve set a new goal for myself: To not be dependent on a car by the time my car dies. I’ve got a sweet 2004 Saturn Ion with 75,000 miles on it. I’ve put about 16,000 miles on it each year I’ve had it. That’s a lot of going and doing. The idea of living without a car has become more and more popular recently and it definitely has some major appeal. I thought about it, and the only time I ever go more than 4 miles away from my house is when I go to work. Everything else I do is within 4 miles of my house (which is either a good walk or a quick bike ride).

Why do I want to do this? First of all, I really don’t like driving. I never have. Second of all, having a car is freaking expensive. I love the idea of just relying on myself to get places and not spending a penny doing it. Of course there are the environmental aspects of living car free, but I’m just being selfish at the moment and thinking about myself.

I’ve found a very interesting article about people who bike/walk to work and their happiness. It makes sense that they would release more endorphins which makes them happier, but it’s not something you really think about too much. Click here for the article.

I’m making a huge effort to get a new job and I’d really like for that job to be in my neighborhood. I currently work for a huge corporation and they have a building closer to my neighborhood, so transferring is also a possibility. Cutting the commute would be great. Depending on what your current commute is, you could get some extra sleep and you wouldn’t have to deal with road rage first thing in the morning.

My dream bike

How much money will you save? I did the math for myself and my current lifestyle. The cost of owning my car is over $3,000 per year. I have an old car which means my insurance is relatively low, and I don’t have a car payment. When I was doing my research, the average of car owners in the US was around $7,000 per year. I’d love to be able to put the extra money into paying off student loans or buying a house for cash.

Currently, I’m taking small steps for towards the car free lifestyle. I’ll have days where I don’t use my car. My next goal is to only use the car Monday to Friday (until I start working closer to my house).

Project 333

Posted on February 1, 2013 by missfancy

I was actually surprised when I found that I got to item #19 and realized I didn’t need to add any more items of clothing. Those pieces are literally the only pieces I’ve worn in the past 6 months (with a couple of exceptions). This wardrobe also includes 10 different work outfits. Here’s a photo of my pieces:

My Project 333 Wardrobe

In doing this, I’ve realized that I still have excess stuff that I can either give away or sell. When I was deciding what pieces I would include, I was still saying to myself, “well I never wear that so I won’t include it.” Well that means it shouldn’t be in my closet! Duh. Part of me wants to add some more staple items to my wardrobe. Especially pieces that can be worn throughout the seasons. Does that go against Project 333? I mean, I currently only have 19 pieces, so it’s not like I’m going over the 33 piece limit. I guess I’ll stay with my current pieces just to see if I can do it without buying anything else. That’s probably the whole point of the project…