Monday, November 30, 2009

Another Benefit to Weight Loss

I cannot believe how much more energy I have now! As of Sunday night my house is decorated for the holidays - and not just a tree and a few santas like I've been doing for years, but my dining table is set for the holidays, my living room is decorated - I even made a cool tree-type thing on my hanging lamp - and my family room is done up to the nines...I swear, I don't think I've ever put out so much stuff in this house, and this is our 10th Christmas here. Plus, after 17 years, we finally retired our icicle lights and bought multi-colored LED lights for the outside of the house - love the colors against our white brick! And several Christmas gifts have been bought and bagged!

This is a first for me...in previous years I would wait to put up the tree until about a week before Christmas, and although Jeff would take down tub after tub from the attic with our Christmas decorations, I would usually only choose a few items to put out. Why? It was a lot of work! No matter that my family liked how the house looked when it was all decorated, pretty much all of it fell on me, and quite frankly I just got tired of doing it - the set up, and then a month later, the take down and packing, and setting up all of the normal things back in their place.

But something clicked in me on Friday, and I actually got excited about decorating! Made a quick trip to a couple of stores for some garland, ribbon and gold ornaments, and I got started. Another interesting thing is that this continued for the next two days - I didn't get one room done and then feel all worn out and just shove all the boxes into a corner for "later." Which, for me, usually never came. And then I felt guilty, and mad at myself for not putting out more effort...which was not a great feeling to have during the holidays. We're supposed to be happy, right?!?

Well, this year I am. And I feel very pleased with what I accomplished over this long weekend - and I know my family will enjoy it, too...all except for cracking their heads on the hanging lamp that I lowered to make the "tree" on - in retrospect, this probably would have worked better on a lamp that was hanging above a dining table, but since I switched my dining and living rooms around, the lamp I needed to use is in the living room.
I got to put my "core" work to the test on Saturday when I leaned back a little too far while I was on the ladder working on this tree - lost my balance, but was able to catch myself, which is what Brad preaches to us as we workout...being able to stop a fall, etc. Another plus for body strengthening exercises!
This is in my entry - note the slightly creepy squirrel - I bought him as a gift for my former boss, but can't bear to part with it, so I ended up back at TJ Maxx getting something similar for ex-boss, whom we will finally be having dinner with on Saturday.
Dining table with an old tablecloth...it's getting there, but I need some red napkins and I also need to get my cute elf salt and pepper shakers down from a tall cabinet.

On Sunday afternoon I put my favorite holiday movie, Love Actually, on the DVD player and decorated the family room. I am still amazed that everything is done, except for putting the ornaments on the tree - but that is the most fun, so I'll probably do it in the next day or so.
End table in family room.
Family room - most of the decorations (including the cowboy boot stockings) were made by my mom!Hutch filled with everything - books, photos, kid's art - just a mishmash of fun memories!

I know, I know - this is a weight-loss blog, not "Decorating Cents" - but really, I wanted to share this with y'all because this has not been the norm for me. Hmmm...what might the difference be? Oh, I'd say about 100 pounds - apparently not carrying around that much extra weight makes a huge difference...one that I am still noticing! So, to sum it up: lose a ton 0f weight, gain a ton of energy!


One last picture...as soon as I was done putting the skirt around the Christmas tree, Kip claimed his place - and slept under the tree all afternoon!

38 comments:

  1. WOW.

    *looks around house*

    and Hanukkah is 12.11 this year.

    I best get to decorating or SOMETHING :)

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  2. Isn't holiday decorating fun? I love your non-traditional tree! How fun is that.

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  3. I got mine done too but I actually cut back this year - gave 2 bags of decorations to the Salvation Army. Usually I'm an over the top sort of decorator but I think recent events have made me want to simplify. Your house looks great. How about a photo of the outside with the lights on?

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  4. What beautiful decorations! Really festive!

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  5. I love your decor - looks fabulous. And what is it with cats under the tree? Ours loves it there, too, and usually after Christmas has left a lovely indentation with a mound of fur.

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  6. No, no, I love decorating shots! Keep it coming!

    How wonderful that your investment in exercise and good food has paid such terrific dividends... Enjoy!

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  7. Twinsies! Did the same thing Friday, with the same amount of energy as you, and just as unexpected! LOL

    Looks great!!!

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  8. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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  9. :) Your home looks so lovely!

    I need to get some holiday stuff for my place... it looks bare with just the tree!

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  10. Yowzah, woman! When you decorate, you REALLY decorate! Great job on not falling.

    Reason #17 why I heart you so much: Love Actually. Some day we'll watch it together and NOT eat homemade stuffing with chestnuts :) LOL

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  11. Love the holiday house pics.

    Interesting about almost falling and being able to catch yourself. I never thought of that.

    I wish I had your energy!

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  12. It's wonderful to hear how things have changed in your life since losing the weight...I love your photo's of your decorations and seeing how beautiful your home is for the festive season.

    I'm struggling to get motivated as its only hubby and I this year...but sure I'll get going soon.

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  13. Your house is so stylish! I love seeing glimpses into people's lives *other* than just the weight loss/diet stuff. It's all part of the whole package, right?

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  14. I love that hanging lamp/tree! Beautiful. I agree with Lori, the whole look is very stylish.

    I keep putting off putting up decorations because I want the house spotlessly clean before I start, and there's always One More Thing to clean... perfectionist? Moi?

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  15. Holy crap, it's Christmas insanity! Loves it. Now, where are the kitty Xmas costumes, hmmmm? Slacker.

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  16. Your home looks beautiful!! Now, if you've got any energy left (and it sounds like you do), come on over to my place and help me finish up. I'm more like your kitty than you when it comes to decorating.

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  17. Love the decorations! And that's great about all that extra energy. You are such an inspiration!

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  18. Wow Shelley! I am not sure if I am inspired or overwhelmed! I have more energy, but i don't seem to put it towards cleaning/decorating my house. But I am going to try to put a dent in it today! Thanks for the inspiration.

    And aren't our pets funny? I can put a single piece of cotton fabric on the floor when I am working on the quilt, and the dogs HAVE to come and sit on it.

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  19. I see you were awarded my Atta Girl Award by another blogger.(Diane @ fit to the finish) Congratulations.
    I do have to ask that you link my Atta Girl award back to my site as I created it and have explained the use of it on my site.
    Anyone can give it out but you must tell them it comes from my site and link back to my site so they and others can get the award too. I also post on each winner of the award increasing traffic to their sites at the same time. I can’t do this if you don’t explain to them where it comes from and notify me who you gave it to. Thanks

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  20. While reading your post I started thinking about myself and realizing how right you are! The last time I was unemployed I laid on the couch pretty much all day, not any more!

    Your house looks amazing and I love your purple walls!

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  21. I love your house pictures! I am in the midst of staying out of my hubby's way as he decorates. I'm not good at it at all!

    Beautiful!

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  22. You really put much effort in the decorating Shelley. I really love it! I'm decorating around December 12th. It's common here to start with the Christmas decorations after December 5th because of another holiday on that day called "Sinterklaas"

    And I love Love Actually, every time I see it I keep crying and crying :)

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  23. Love the Chandeler Tree Shelley! I saw that idea on HGTV... love the shows on there.
    Your house looks festive. Great Job. I so can't wait til I gain that much energy!

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  24. Wow, everything looks great! You are on the ball girl!

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  25. This was very interesting for me to read, since *I* made this discovery myself last year regarding WL & decorating.

    I keep a personal journal and while I have not lost the massive numbers you have Shelley, as you know every bit makes a diff! Here is an excerpt from my journal Dec 08 -
    "I may be totally delusional, but it seemed that the cleaning & decorating for Christmas today didn't "take as much out of me"
    as it has in the past.? This year I am doing everything 30lbs lighter....I think I kind of look at it AS my workout too, in a way.
    I decorated the bannister today, dd & I did the tree, and put everything away, and then of
    course I had to clean."


    So I guess I am not delusional. I think I rather enjoyed it last year.

    And I could really relate to your Christmases past--minimal decorating--bc I too was doing it mostly alone, and also felt it wasn't worth all the work only to have to do it all over again and put it away. So I probably did the bare minimum to get by, and saw it as a chore rather than enjoyable. I too, bought just a couple new things last year!

    Jillian Michaels says "When u see how strong you are physically, it is going to transcend into every other facet of your life".

    I realize that this decorating post WAS talking about physical strength & stamina, but it is interesting to see the various ways it affects us.

    Enjoyed the pics, Shelley. (and it DID relate to WL, but we don't care if it didn't!)

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  26. Having more energy to get things done is something I look forward too. My friends don't understand why I am still unpacking since moving to my new place 2 months ago. I guess they just don't realize how much work it is to do all that while you lug around an extra 180 pounds.

    You're lucky your cat just sleeps on your tree skirt. My cat thinks it's a newer plusher litter box. So no more tree skirts at my house!

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  27. I love the Thanksgiving pics, as well as the Christmas ones...it's nice to have so much energy, isn't it? That's one of the things I'm really enjoying now. :)

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  28. The decorations are great! I love that you have more energy - that is one of the best things about weight loss. Your Kip reminds me of my Charlie - they could be brothers!

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  29. Oh my! It all looks lovely - I want to do mine now!

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  30. Sweety, if you have that kind of energy would you please come to my house and decorate? Wow, it all looks so pretty. :)I'm loving the boot stockings. We're doing a Texas themed tree. :)

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  31. Hi! I saw your comment on Jody's blog about how you'd seen her comments on other blogs and finally clicked her name - well, that's what I just did with yours! Congrats on losing so much weight, it's stories like yours that are so inspiring to me and reinforce to me that it IS possible!!! Way to go! And I love your decorations. I was also busy over the long weekend getting my home done and even though I've only lost 22 pounds so far, I've already started to notice more energy!

    Bookmarking you for sure!

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  32. I absolutely love your chandelier tree. Your entire house makes me want to come visit. Fitness and energy is pretty awesome. Thanks for sharing =)

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  33. Can you come over to my house and decorate??!!

    It all looks amazing. I have to wait until around December 10 before I can decorate, otherwise its too much snowmen for too long for Tony!

    Great job and hooray for all the extra energy!!

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  34. That is an amazing bunch of work. I am stunned. I have a lack of motivation though my local living son says "Mom, you have to get a real tree!"

    My fondest holiday memories were going around to decorated houses. It was something sponsored by our church. My mom took us two girls when we were young-ish. And a lot of the things you have reminded me of those days. I really need to get in the spirit and your post helped. Thanks! (cute cute cat pic too!)

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  35. Your holiday decorations are awesome! And I was proud to just have a tree up. :)

    I love what you said about having more energy. That's something I keep trying to tell myself will happen as I start losing weight. It's so hard to get started, especially when you don't have much energy. But I'll get there. Congrats on your weight loss!

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  36. i am jealous of your energy! way to go! everything looks great... and the best part is that it is DONE!!!

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  37. I love your decorations, Shelley . . . they're beautiful!

    Kudos to you for keeping up the great work on the fitness front. I fell far off the wagon in the past few months . . . but I'm back! As usual, you're an inspiration.

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