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Blake and I have been in our new house for about a month now.  We’ve spent most of our free time trying to get organized, doing random house projects, meeting our neighbors, etc.  So you would think after a month that we would have most of the boxes unpacked.  HAHAHAHAHAHA.  No, we don’t.  The office still has about 30 boxes in it.  We finally realized that the problem is that our master closet (also upstairs by the office) is not organized to efficiently the space.  Because of that, we really have nowhere to go with about half of the boxes in the office.

So my amazing friend Lara came over and measured our closets for us and gave us some great ideas for how to organize them.  She seriously has a talent for this - one look at our smaller downstairs closet and she knew exactly what to do to make it a useable space.  We really needed that vision to get us started.  She also recommended we go to the Container Store and ask them to design a closet for us.  The service is free, and you don’t have to purchase when they are done (although you will totally want to).

We waited for the shelving sale to start, then headed over to the Container Store by NorthPark mall in Dallas.  Debbie was our designer and she was awesome.  She took our measurements, which are extremely complicated because of the shape of the closet, and then helped us build the closet wall by wall.  She gave us some good ideas for functionality and tips to keep costs down.  At the end when we totaled up the space, I was a bit shocked by the price.  But have no fear, the program can break down the cost by each wall in the closet so you know where you are spending the most money.  It also shows you what is on sale and what isn’t, so you can remove pieces that aren’t and go back and buy them during their annual 30% off sale that starts Christmas Eve.

We ended up purchasing two walls, the shoe racks, and part of a 3rd wall.  We can install this now, then when we go back in December our design will still be in the system, and we can pick up the rest of the pieces at 30% off without having to recreate our design.  I have to say that Container Stores prices are not cheap, but the service at the design counter and the convenience of being able to go back when its on sale is awesome.  They also gave us an installation demo and made it sound very easy.  I’ll do another post when we actually install the system and let you know how it goes!!

Funny looking word isn’t it?  Monday morning I arrived at bootcamp solo - my workout partner bailed on me at the last minute to get some extra sleep.  Ready for another day of ass kicking, I was surprised to hear we would be going through another assesment so we could see if we were making any improvements.  So we began our half mile run (which is actually .7 miles), 1 minute of crunches, 1 minute of push ups, and holding a plank until you pass out.

My run improved by 5 seconds, situps by about 15, no improvement on pushups, and the plank hold by 15 seconds.  It’s nice to see something happen!  We finished Monday by doing some additional drills by the lake.  The SMU Rowing team is back to practice, so it was more of an obstacle course over there trying to avoid other groups while we ran from station to station.

On Wednesday we worked pretty hard again.  But I was able to complete 16 pushups on my toes, instead of my knees, which is a big accomplishment for me.  Of course today my arms are sore, as well as my butt.  Sometimes having an office upstairs is not a good thing!

All in all, boot camp is really doing a lot for me.  I’m able to get in 3 one hour workouts each week, all at a medium to high intensity level.  Before I was averaging 2 or 3 half hour workouts, and I was getting no weight training at all.  I think I’ll be signing up for another 6 weeks once this session ends!

There is some serious ass kicking going on.  Unfortunately, I am on the receiving end of the kick!

Wednesday marked the first session that did not make me sore the next day.  I was able to spend a lovely Thursday running around town with no complaints, and no need to curse our instructor.  So feeling like I was improving, I was up for a challenge this morning.

Oh boy did I get a challenge.  Walking lunges, reverse walking lunges, squats, planks, running, sprinting, double crunches, jackknife crunches, killer crunches, and all sorts of bicep and tricep exercises that I can’t remember the name of.  By the end I thought I might lose my breakfast, but luckily I had not eaten yet so I had none to lose!

I’m sure I will be sore tomorrow, but I’m pretty proud to have made it through a whole hour of that.  Today was also the halfway point in the 6 week session, and I’m seeing some results regarding muscle tone, so that makes me happy.  Even if I’m still cursing the instructor.

I broke my promise to myself not to miss any days of bootcamp.  I really wanted to make all 18 sessions as my first step towards improving my physical health.  But last weekend I went on a bachelorette trip to float the Comal river.  And I came back with a sunburn.  It hurt to have my t-shirt touch my stomach.  I sat under a fan Sunday night putting aloe on my belly and letting the fan dry it up in an attempt to cool down.  So on Monday morning the thought of getting into a sports bra and doing push ups on concrete with sunburned knees just didn’t appeal to me.  So I skipped.

I was upset about missing the class.  Especially when I remembered I’ve already paid for this!  But I moved on and went to class today ready to work, but not quite perky as the 5:00 a.m. wakeup call is still rough.  Our instructor changed up the drill routine again and the time flew by, and although I’m sleepy now, I’m glad I went and I hope not to miss any of the remaining 10 classes!

In other news, I upped my hand weights from 4 pounds to 6 pounds about a week ago.  Yes, I realize these are wimpy weights, but I’ve got wimpy arms and I’m fine with that.  My biceps are strong enough that the 4 pounders weren’t doing anything.  Unfortunately, the 6 pound weights are rough on my triceps and shoulders.  I’m hoping it improves so I don’t have to lug 2 sets of weights to class each time.  I’m too lazy for that.

I completed Day 5 of boot camp this morning, and I have to say this week has been rough.  After last week’s start, we did a day of benchmarking to see how many sit ups and push ups we could do in one minute, how long we could hold a plank, and our time for a half mile jog (which we later discovered to be more like .7 miles).  After that, Friday seemed pretty fun and easy.

This week they have really stepped up the drills.  We are doing lots more running and there are fewer breaks for you to rest.  I think my biggest nemesis right now are tricep kick backs.  I have very weak arms, but alternating between push ups and kickbacks really pushes my limits.  I guess that is what boot camp is for, but man was I tired after we finished today.  I came home, showered, and went back to bed for what was supposed to be a 30 minute nap.  Blake woke me up an hour and a half later when he left for work!  I’m still enjoying it, but I’m definitely worn out today.

We moved!  We finally were able to get in to our new house and enjoy the feeling of being homeowners.  Well, I’m not sure we’ve gotten to that point yet, but we are enjoying meeting our new neighbors and digging our way out of the boxes.  Slowly but surely we are turning it into our home, and its a great feeling.

In other news, my ballet studio closed.    I was very sad to see it go, but I understand the reasoning behind it and I fully support my teacher in her quest to improve her own well-being.  After 4 years of making everyone else happy, she truly deserves some time for herself!  Because of this and the recent move, my workouts have disappeared.  Knowing that I quickly slip into a world of laziness if I don’t keep a schedule, I decided to join a group exercise program known as boot camp. 

I was able to find one about 15 minutes from my house on the shores of White Rock Lake.  It has a 5:30 a.m. start time, 3 days per week.  It’s a 6 week program and I was excited to get started.  I’ve been needing to get some weight training back in my routine, and this program focuses on cardio and weights, as well as stretching and core muscles. 

A friend of mine joined me for the program and she picked me up early this morning, before the sun had even come up.  We groaned all the way to class, but after 45 minutes of running, weights, crunches, and planks we came out alive.  I had a pretty good time and felt energized starting my day.  However, now my quads are starting to whimper a little, and I know I won’t be able to lift my arms tomorrow from doing tricep kick backs.  Its a good thing I don’t have to go back until Wednesday!