CHALLENGE......Extra Baggage

Spring cleaning. In general, my attitude to spring cleaning is: phooey! Spring is the time of year to escape the house and go outside. Dirty kitchen? Shut the door and go outside. Clean, fresh air aplenty.
Fall, however, in the fall, I go a little crazy. I finally get my motivation that lacks the rest of the year. I begin preparing to settle in for the cold weather. I begin to clean out and clear out. I am really good at beginning these projects. I am really bad at finishing. This week, I began to clean out my bedroom closets, dumped everything out of them and began to sort. That got boring, so I left the mountains of linens and clothing to clean out my pantry. Soon enough, I had enough of canned goods and went on to start to finish decorating my son's bedroom from when we moved 2 1/2 years ago. All the while, eating candy after snack after candy that I discovered in the pantry. (Pantry? Really, it is just a large cupboard. A real pantry? Someday.)

The week has come to resurrect my favorite challenge from the past.
Here it is, the original Extra Baggage challenge from April:

This weekend has brought to light a few.....shall we say....issues that I have. Friday night, I fed my family pizza. I really, in all seriousness, do not think that pizza is that unhealthy- in moderation. After my 3rd cheesy bread stick & 4th piece of pizza, (all of which were dunked in creamy ranch dressing), it was obvious I don't think too much about moderation. I exercised last week for the first time in many many months..... I was quite proud of myself. I was even a little sweaty, the heart was thumping and my legs felt like jello. Too bad this all occurred after 10 minutes of jumping on my kids' mini trampoline.... and that was the entire workout session. (Shout-out to mini trampolines- I really do know several women who have lost A LOT of weight doing this. I think you have to jump for more than 10 minutes though.)I bought 2 lbs. of candy from the bulk section at the grocery store Saturday.I bought 2 dozen rolls, 2 loaves of bread, 12 bagels, cream cheese and marshmallows. Carbohydrates anyone?I ate 2 lbs. of candy this weekend...... ok, it isn't all gone yet..... but I kid you not, it is getting close. AND, I only have let the kids have 3 pieces each so far.Our Sunday tradition is to have Cinnamon or orange rolls. Not for a snack- for a meal.... or two meals.I could keep going with my terrible habits, but I wouldn't want to gross you all out. For those who don't know me, I am lucky enough to have a petite build. I have never been extremely overweight- but I have never been right on target either. I have about 15 to lose. My problem isn't necessarily the weight- but the distribution of the weight. There is some major "baby baggage" to lose. The "muffin top" doesn't stuff into my warm weather shirts. The "junk in my trunk" only gives me 2 pairs of jeans that are wearable. My girdle is only comfortable for a few hours- seriously- I have a girdle. AND I LOVE IT! Anyone who has had a baby or needs to fit into some cute little dress should get one. It is self esteem in a store wrapped package. I know, I know... you shouldn't think you can buy self esteem... blah blah blah. I LOVE my girdle! I got it just 2 months ago after baby #3 was born. My body decided that pooches are very trendy these days. Anyways....

CHALLENGE

It's all about the extra baggage baby! On yourself and around you.

Lose 1 pound. (For the skinny mini's and pregos out there: gain 1 pound!)

Throw something away. Clean it out or donate it. We all have some things we have been holding onto.

I still have several old t-shirts from high school. I don't wear them. I just move them around and have them take up precious space in my next-to-no storage home. Why? I wouldn't be that sad if they were lost. I just have a few hoarding behaviors. A few months ago, I geared myself out to de-clutter. I threw out lots of clothes that aren't in style- I just held onto them in hopes they would fit again & you know.... they might come back in style. I threw out shoes. Really, did I need 5 different pairs of lawn mowing shoes? (Truly, I had 5). And, the old canvas shoes I was keeping for the once-every-5-years rafting trip I go on. Extra bonus- I have a bit of a water phobia- so next time I am invited to go rafting..... darn. I just won't be able to go without my special "rafting shoes."So, I de-cluttered. It felt amazing! So, this week I am going to try and clean out some more. Maybe I will get so busy that I won't eat the rest of that candy & then I will lose my 1 pound.

Back to the present: This original challenge is pretty much verbatim to what I could have wrote today- except that the baby is a little older. And, instead of multiple lawn mowing shoes, it is pair after pair of ragged flip flops. Time to get back to work.

Anyone in?