Changes need to be made...

So folks, in August I am turning the big 2-5. No biggie, I know. But I am starting to notice that my body isn't reacting to things like it used to. Like how I have gained 5 pounds in the past 2 months from not watching what I eat. Like how tight my muscles are after not stretching for...*insert very long time frame here*.

See, when I was a teenager, from 14-22, I was a dancer at a local studio. It was pretty much my life for years and years. We were a competing school, so every fall we worked on choreography and every spring we went to competitions before our big recital. Photo evidence:

Me during my solo, I think I was 20 or 21 here.

I'm the tallest one with the longest leg highest in the air haha

While I know that I will probably never be able to return to this flexibility, I would like to return to that weight and that activity level. I was dancing 5 days a week, now I go to work and come home to sit on my butt. This has to stop.

An online friend is starting a 30 day challenge June 1 and I think I will be joining her. The start date is perfect, we are taking our anniversary trip right before that so while I will try to watch what I eat and such, I won't have to be crazy or too guilty if I indulge a little bit.

For the 30 day challenge, I would like to lose 5 pounds and start working out at least 2-3 times a week. My long term goals include losing 20-25 pounds, getting toned (aka beach body for our Caribbean vacation next year), and working out 5-6 times a week. I also want to finally join the gym. Maybe if I am paying for it, it will motivate me to actually go.

What are your health/fitness goals? Would anyone like to join me on a 30 day fitness challenge?

Welcome to our home, please ring the bell.

So there are things about this house that I don't like. That seem cheap. That I would totally change if I could. Two examples: our doorbell and the front door deadbolt/handle.

Our doorbell disintegrated. It was one that lit up, and is in direct sunlight pretty much all day. So it disintegrated, as in you had nothing to push when you came to my front door. You had to maneuver and push on the thin side that was still kinda sorta there.

Exhibit A. Can we say "Ick"? So Mr D and I went to Home Depot and we picked a new one. One that is halo lit, meaning the actual button doesn't light up but thin area around the button does. And here we are, our pretty new doorbell:

Moving onto the door handle, it was even uglier than the doorbell. The finish peeled off. It started off as "gold". Yes, gold in quotes. Cuz it was cheap. And it too gets direct sun. And all the finish decided it was going to peel off. This is the first thing people see as they enter our home and it was an eye sore. Exhibit B: Door handle:

Ew. So while we were at Home Depot, we wandered down the door handle aisle and I chose a new handle to match our new doorbell. I actually helped to install this, which completely made me want to do all the home improvement projects we have on our list (It doesn't take much for me to make a grandiose plan). After all was said and done, we had a pretty new handle. See?