Reclaiming the House...on to the Bathroom

This weekend, we painted the upstairs bathroom. When my daughter was in middle and high school, that bathroom was an absolute disaster! You don't even want to know how bad it was. I NEVER wanted to go in there.

Now, I want to make it a girly retreat. I want it to be very feminine and pretty. However, my daughter still has to live there part of each year, so I wanted her to have some input. We chose a nice sunny yellow color for the walls. I have chosen a shower curtain and rug that I plan to order tomorrow.

I had originally planned to order a new vanity and cabinet for over the toilet. Now though, I am thinking that I may just paint the old vanity and sink. I am thinking a nice grey with a white sink. I am going to look at vanities this week, so I guess I will decide then.

The picture is of the bathroom after the first coat of paint. I will post more pictures as we progress with our little redecorating project.

The Year of the Two Fives

The year I am turning 55 is a year that I realize that I am not a kid anymore. My body is 55 years young and needs to be treated differently. I now cringe when the phone rings after a doctors appointment. "Now, what?" is all I can think of.

This past round of doctor's appointments now has me dealing with the development of cataracts and pre-diabetes. I am trying my darndest to get into a routine of a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise each week. Some weeks I do well, some weeks, I don't do so well.

I have to lose 14 pounds. Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done.

The funny thing is, I feel better than I have in years. I love my walks outdoors. I tolerate my sessions on the recumbent bike on those days that it is too nasty to get outside. I am enjoying trying new foods and the research involved in learning to eat healthier.

My husband is being very supportive by trying new foods. He is a bit of a picky eater. He wants steak and potatoes every night. He loves processed foods and white pastas. BUT, we are slowly eliminating those things from our diet. It is a slow process but we are getting the hang of it. We realize that we neither want or have to eat like teenagers any longer.

We have learned to eat quinoa and brussel sprouts, wheat pasta and brown rice. We don't order pizza every week, but when we do we go with thin crust or we call the local pizzeria. We have vegetables EVERY night. We've tried some vegetables we like and some that were just - ugh. Honestly, it's almost like the first year of marriage when we were learning to cook our own dinners. It is rather fun.

In fact, the whole process of becoming empty nesters and learning to put ourselves first is just like reliving our first year of marriage all over again. It's rather nice, really.