Fell off the bandwagon...

So it's obvious that I haven't lived up to one of my New Years goals. I fell into the trap that so many people do! I set big goals, get them going for about a month, then life catches up and I just didn't stick with it. So it's time for me to get back on the bandwagon. Here is where I am at with the goals I set for myself:

1. Blog - I haven't blogged in awhile, but that's why I am writing this, right?

2. Be healthy - Still a work in progress. It's hard to make the right choices when your coworkers keep a container of peanut butter m&ms in the room to eat during lunch (which I encourage since they are one of my fav. candies)

 3. Put in more effort at work - I definitely feel as though I have stuck with this goal. It might not be a huge project, but I am putting in more effort.

4. Find a hobby - Also still a work in progress. Suggestions??

I don't feel as though I set my sights too high in sticking with these goals but I am back to try. I can blog once a week, right? Right?

On another note, Jeff and I are coming up to one year in our house. There is still a lot of work to do but it is crazy to think last year at this time we were keeping our fingers crossed to get the house and everything to be fine. As the snow is melting, we are creating our list of spring/summer projects that just won't end.

Last summer, our deck started to rot and I actually fell through one of the boards. We have this huge deck which was one of the reasons we bought the house so when we realized that we needed to rip it up, we were so bummed.

 

 Jeff's family came to town one weekend to help us rip it up.

While I was at my bachelorette party, Jeff called on some coworkers and our awesome neighbor Ryan to come over and help rebuild the deck. They put so much work into the deck that now we have a new, beautiful deck that we can actually enjoy this spring and summer. I was lucky and didn't have to help build it, not that I would have been much help. I can't wait for the first nice day that we can pull out our patio furniture, turn the grill on, and have a relaxing beer. We are almost to that time.... just keep thinking happy thoughts until we get to warmer weather!

Until next time (which will be sooner, rather than in 2 months),
Molly

Being a homeowner is a lot of work!

In April of 2013, Jeff and I purchased our first house. We had been living in an apartment and decided it was time to but a house before we got married. We found a house that had been newly "remodeled" and knew it was the house for us. Little did we know that the "newly remodeled" look was hiding the poor job the remodelers did. Don't get me wrong, we still love our house but we have put some work into it and it still needs a lot of work. The company we bought it from had bought the house in foreclosure and flipped it in 3-4 months.

We bought the house in April so there was still snow on the ground. This is what the house looked like the day we bought it:

 

As the snow began to melt, we realized that it had been hiding a lot of things. This is what we found UNDER the snow:

 It seemed as though no one had raked the lawn in ages and there was glass all over the yard and under the front picture window. Apparently when flipping a house, it is ok to break out the picture window to take it out and then leave the glass all over the ground? I didn't know that! Maybe I should try it some time.

We also had the nasty pine tree right in front of the door which was ready to fall/lean on the house. After many hours shoveling rock in the front yard and getting the pine tree removed, we were finally able to put new grass in parts of the lawn! Before we hit fall and winter this year, I was able to snap a quick pic.

We still have many projects to continue working on. We are currently focusing on things inside the house, for example refinishing the basement that had been finished. How does that happen you might ask? Well, let me tell you. The basement was finished when we bought the house. After a few rainstorms, we found water in the basement. One day, Jeff and some of his friends decided to take down to wall to see if they could find where the water was coming in. We hopefully found the spot and with the help of new gutters, should be good to go this spring when the snow melts. Jeff has been working hard with our neighbor (who is AWESOME at house projects, thankfully) on putting up some drywall and sanding the basement. We started repainting the basement and should be finished with it soon!

I could tell you about so many more house projects that we have worked on over the last 10 months that we have owned the house. There will also obviously be plenty more projects to share! My goal is not for this blog to only be about house projects but since that is what we spend a lot of our time on, I figured I should blog about it and share some things.

Thanks for staying tuned to Poolspective!
Molly

Real Life Hunger Games?

Last week, Jeff and I started watching a new show called "Opposite Worlds". Now the show is on Syfy, so right there it might tell you that it is going to be a bit out there. Wow! That is all I can say. The show is a social experiment and a social media experiment where 6 people live in the "future" with technology, showers, and good food; and 6 people who live in the past, like cavemen. Each week they have competitions to decide who gets to choose the world they live in. During this first competition, they had to use taser sticks to force someone off a podium. This is where the real life Hunger Games comes in...one guy fell off the podium and broke his leg! Then on Wednesday nights (did I mention this is a 2 night show?), it is live where they compete to kick someone is off.  All while the show is on, people tweet who they like and don't like and you can watch it online. It is AMAZING to see the tweets that people tweet throughout the show. Unfortunately, we are addicted to it and can't wait to find out the craziness that the producers put these people through. Is this seriously how we are spending our time??

While we had the cold weather, I kind of fell off the bandwagon of getting to the gym and going to Zumba. Well, I learned my lesson. I went to class last Thursday and didn't know any of the new steps/songs. I went back to looking like the idiot who didn't have rhythm and didn't know what she was doing. I am jumping back on the bandwagon so I can be one of those people who knows exactly what they are doing. :)

As Jeff informed me last night, I also fell off the bandwagon of blogging. Remember I wasn't going to be one of those people who started all of these goals and then stops? There has maybe been one week that I haven't blogged, which is pretty good. We are almost into February and I have maintained most of my goals. I have yet to find a hobby for myself. Any ideas??

Until next time!
Molly

Another day off?

Today we have another "cold weather" day. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy days off as much as anyone else, but we are now getting to the point where a day off means we have to add a day in June. Really? Let's add another day of nothingness in June when all the kids want to do is be outside and not in school. We already had 2 days off this week. Couldn't the cold weather have waited for a different week when we were in school the whole week? 

This past weekend, we traveled to Blunt to see Jeff's family. It is always a long drive but once we get there, it is fun to hang out with his family. If only we could snap our fingers and be there rather than the 6 1/2 hour drive! We had a white elephant gift exchange where everyone brought a gift. One of his cousins brought a live goose as his gift....hilarity ensued and a story to remember!

Busy weekend ahead! One of my coworkers and I donated an item to our schools fundraising event. We said we would take two kids to Cookies and Canvas. Similar to Wine and Canvas but it's for kids. On Saturday, we are taking two girls to go paint a puppy. I'm not the best painter so it should be interesting. I'll keep you posted on how my puppy turns out.

Well I'm off to decide what to do on my day off! Stay warm!

Adventures at the gym

Do I really have to go to school tomorrow? Teachers wait since the beginning of the school year for the 2 week winter break. It is a break that both kids and teachers need. But after being home for 2 weeks, I was ready to get back into the swing of things. I was a little thrown off to have 2 days of "cold weather" days where we didn't have school. I wish we could have had them in a few weeks rather than on the tail end of a break. I enjoyed my break but I really do like having a routine and being at school.

Last Saturday, Jeff and I went to the Minnesota History Center for the Prohibitions exhibit. It was actually really cool to think how much of alcoholics our country was during that time. It was also awesome because we were there for Speakeasy Saturday so for $5, we could have a tasting with the local brewery that was there. Since Jeff is an avid beer drinker, I thought it would be an added bonus. Unfortunately we weren't as wowed with the brewery that was there, it was still something new to do.

In the beginning of December, I rejoined Lifetime. I figured I would still be one of those people that would join around New Years but I could do it a few weeks earlier. To beat the rush, maybe? One of the main reasons I rejoined was for group classes. I had looked at the schedule online and found some times for Zumba and Cardio Kickboxing. Now, I had never been to a Zumba class but I had heard about it. What an experience! 25 overweight women trying to shake their hips like a backup dancer while the skinny leader can do it without breaking a sweat. I have learned a few moves that I shared with Jeff but as I try to shake my hips or throw my hands over my head, I can't help but laugh. I laugh not only when I am showing him but also during the class. Tonight I went to Cardio Kickboxing and that was a little different. There was more punching and kicking. I feel as though if somebody were to come after me, I can totally kick their butt. Well, maybe not tonight since my muscles are already feeling it, but definitely in the future.

The Lifetime in New Hope is also quite an experience. You have the normal people that work out (me included, right?), but then there are the vultures that wait for their class - total conditioning or strictly strength. Now, I am sure the class is awesome but I am so intimidated by the people that wait for it that I don't know if I could ever go. People come 30 minutes beforehand just to set up their stuff and claim their spot. Is it that great of a class? They barely let us get out the door before they ran in to get set up. Some day I will venture to the class and try it but I fear that I might not get a spot in the room. Stay tuned for more adventures at the gym!

See ya next week!

I don't like the word resolution.

"Today is the first page of a 365 page book." A quote I love hearing on the first day of 2014. I know there are so many people that start New Years Resolutions on this day. I just heard on the Today show that by January 17th, most people will have stopped their resolutions. I don't want to be one of those people so I am going to call them goals instead of resolutions. Each year I set a "resolution" and never seem to follow through with it. Will this year be different? I don't know, but it is worth a try. I started a blog last year about our wedding, but seeing as it was a New Years resolution, it never was completed. One of my goals this year is to continue this blog throughout 2014 by blogging once a week. Let's be realistic about this. I know I can't blog every day, but I think I can manage once a week.

As Jeff and I rang in the New Year last night, we were talking about our goals. Obviously the goal that everyone has is to get healthy - workout, lose weight, etc. That is one of our goals but I want to label it as be healthy. I think when we focus on "lose weight", there can be a negative connotation to that. It is a huge part of the goal but my biggest focus will be to get to the gym at least 3 times a week and make better choices about what we eat. It's all about choices!

While having two weeks off for winter break, I have had some time to reflect on the first part of the school year. I feel as though I have rushed through everyday in the classroom and want to make a goal of putting in more effort in my job. I do put in effort but I want to put in more effort - creating new projects, really get to know my students as individuals, and enjoy my job (I do enjoy it most of the time).

After our wedding, I found that I don't have any hobbies that I can call my own. My goal for this year is to find something that I can call a hobby. Something that is just mine, not something I share with Jeff.

It sounds like I have a lot of ambition to reach all of these goals this year. Taking it little by little, I think I can accomplish my 4 goals:
    1. Blog
    2. Be healthy
    3. Put in more effort at work
    4. Find a hobby

It's going to be a challenge but I have no excuses as to why it can't be done.