One suggestion from my RealAge Test is to take a multi-vitamin everyday. Everyone in the house now takes one as well. One surprise that I found was how many different types of vitamins are available. Here are two sites that have suggestions:

• Drugstore.com: Quick and easy to read
• BC Health Files: This is a link from the RealAge Encyclopedia

Like anything, there are conflicting suggestions on what kind of multivitamin to take, so I’m going to ask my doctor for advice as well. My main goal is to make sure we’re getting the nutrients we need that we don’t get in our normal food intake. Please feel free to comment with any suggestions you have.

The sink and new faucet are installed, in addition to the tile on the countertop. We also painted the vent above the stove in hopes that it would blend in better than the previous harvest gold color.I really love the new faucet that was installed. I especially love the soap dispenser that was also installed into the sink. It’s very easy to refill and allows me to keep that area less cluttered with soap bottles.

The vent project was not as successful as I had hoped. Mostly because of human error. We bought cans of primer and metallic color for this, instead of using a brush. That was a good idea for sure. However, I wasn’t really experienced with how even and light you have to spray, so that caused some issues. I ended up getting drippy paint and then tried to fix it too quickly. It’s noticeable to me, but it was an inexpensive fix to get it to blend in better in the kitchen. Our plan now is to watch for sales so that we can get a stainless steel vent for that area.

Overall a successful project that wraps up under $500. As I’ve said before, it’s not a professional job, but the price is definitely right. It took a lot of work hours, but I learned so much through the experience. I’m getting more comfortable in making changes in the house on our own. I’m amazed at how much money you can save by doing the work yourself. For us, the less money it costs, the better.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to JB & Sandy on the radio, while they were talking to Turk Pipkin about his film, Nobelity. I Netflixed it that day and finally got around to watching it last night.

This is a great film! The film had a very simple idea; talk to people who’ve helped make changes in the world and figure out a way to make a better world for our children. Okay, not so simple, but a great message.

The DVD also includes a list of organizations that are working toward this goal, including The Nobelity Project.

This project turned out way better than I expected. As in my previous post about accent walls, I was very unsure about this idea.

Now that it’s complete, I’m extremely pleased with the results. First off, it complements the color in the room and the border in the kitchen. It also breaks up the color on the couch and wall. They used to both be a shade of beige, so that takes care of my husband’s main issue in the room.

In the room, we added some pillows to the couch, plants in the room, and changed the insides of the china cabinet, to better reflect the look of a den.

BEFORE

AFTER

More home improvement projects are currently in progress at our home. The latest one we are tackling is an accent wall in our den. The main reason this project came about was my husband’s disgust with the amount of beige in our house.

I, for one, do not feel there is too much; nevertheless, we’re about to change one of the main walls in the den. My personality was against this idea at first glance. I’m really kind of a uniform look person, but I’m willing to take a risk. It’s only paint and if we don’t like it, we’ll just do something else.

We decided to extend the accent wall to an adjacent wall under our bar. It really complements the existing tile and will allow the barstools to blend in better than the current setup. It’s a darker color, so we also decided that it really wouldn’t look good in the whole room.

Finished product pictures coming soon…

Oprah.com has an excellent section on Back to School Tips for families. They offer advice for:

• Tips for morning routines & bedtime
• Tips to help your child’s study habits
• Tips to help your child in social settings

I especially liked the tips on how to speed up morning routines by making lunches and choosing clothes the night before. There are also easy tips to encourage your child to read regularly.

This time of year is stressful for you and your kids, so anything that can make it easier is a help.

Alright, my mother-in-law is back and ready to tackle the other side of the countertops in our kitchen. Because we were short on time for her last visit, we decided to wait to do the side with the sink. Some of the considerations we’re taking into account also is whether or not we can put a deeper sink into the area. We’re also dealing with wall plates and space near the refrigerator.

One of the perks of this project is that we’re installing a new faucet for the sink. I really liked the kind that is able to pull out and be used as a sprayer, because the single sprayer by itself never seems to work well.

We learned a lot from last time’s experience that we’re going to keep in mind. One is that the plan is to do all the layout first and mark the cuts, so we don’t have to keep the tile saw for the whole day. That will save about $20 on the rental fee for that piece of equipment. We’re going to pay attention to keeping the thinset (tile adhesive) off the tops of the tiles as much as possible. It doesn’t mess them up or anything, it’s just not fun removing it once it’s dry. One last thing is to make the grout in small batches. I messed that one up big time by making all of my grout at once last time. Had I thought about that more, I would not have had to buy an additional bag for this project. I’ll keep you posted and will put up pics soon.

Well, it was bound to happen. It was just a matter of time before I had an increase along the way. It’s so cliché though. Stress happens, weight increase happens. We had a death in our family a couple of weeks ago, and the weight loss went down from there. Traveling is so hard to deal with, but staying for an extended period of time doesn’t help either.

I’m always so surprised at how much effort you have to put into getting back on track. You continue to make excuses about getting back on program and before you know it, two weeks have passed. No excuses now though can be made. School’s back in session, we’re back home for an extended period of time and I’m much more in control of what I eat.

Of course, the question now is, “What excuse am I going to make during Labor Day weekend?”

I’m thrilled that I ended my first full month with a decrease. With that, I lost a total of 6 lbs. Again, not drastic, but consistent. I can live with this knowing that I can reach my goal by next summer. I’m really glad that I’ve picked up some good eating habits that I am going to be able to live with.

Next month’s goals will be to increase my cardio time up to 35 minutes. I’m doing cardio consistently for 6 days a week, so I’ll stick with that. My challenge for the upcoming month will be my eating habits, now that I’m back to work. The key will be to pack my food that I’ll need each day, so I’m not tempted to eat out. We’ll see how it goes.

Oprah had an interesting show on today that caught my attention. She had various women in their 30s talking about their life experiences.

That of course got me thinking about my own experiences and how I approach my life now. I think the first thing I notice is that I’m more laid back. I think back to my 20s and can’t even believe how I acted. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not claiming that I’m never impatient, but it’s definitely better.

I love being a mom. Having two boys is even better than I could’ve imagined. It’s hard work, but it’s worth every minute of it. They keep me on my toes and keep me honest. I really feel like I now get that family is first and everything else is second. If staying late at work is going to affect my boys, I’m more able to let it go for the next day.

Being married in my 30s is fabulous. It’s probably got more to do with the fact that I’ve been married for 10 years, instead of my age. Not letting little things get to me and knowing that we’re here to support each other is great. I like the feeling that I want to talk to my husband about everything and we don’t keep secrets from each other.

Finally, I am excited that I’m thinking about the bigger picture. I’m conscious of the decisions I make and how they impact others. My new thing is thinking about how our family can help the environment. We’ve started with little things, but I’m glad we’re doing something.

All in all, I feel more grounded and reflective in my 30s.