I’ve been going to the gym almost every day, and I’m feeling fantastic. Going first thing in the morning gives me an incredible boost of energy for the whole day, and I’ve been coming into work feeling like I can take on the world. I shared the goal I came up with with Travis – my June, I want to be jogging on the treadmill and by December, I want to be running. I’ve been starting off slowly to get my body reacquainted with physical activity and so far, so good. An old friend recently started working at CYKL, and I mentioned to Travis that once I start getting into better shape, I would like to start taking classes at their studio. I think I’ve set some really positive fitness goals for myself.

We also discussed some personal goals that I want to reach this year and what steps I have to take to get there. Travis mentioned that I need to get over my fear of starting something new and he’s right. I haven’t recognized it as fear, but rather as just being uneducated in certain aspects of the project I want to tackle. Travis is right. I just have to start doing something, get moving, researching and seeking out. In other words, just do it.

In other news, yesterday was my mom’s retirement party – lots of friends and family, tears and laughter, and of course food. I’m so proud of myself because I didn’t overeat like I have done in the past. I didn’t stuff my face to the point where I feel sick. I didn’t even have dessert! My aunts bought my mom a birthday cake (her birthday was on Saturday) and when she insisted that I bring some home, I declined and told her I wasn’t eating any more junk food. I think Travis really wanted some cake, but he kindly declined on the offer too.

I’ve managed to avoid junk food yesterday and even when we went grocery shopping – this is a good start. Even today, there was a big gift basket of chocolates, candies and cookies in my department’s area, and I declined every offer for some. I’m not going to lie, I could taste the chocolate and really wanted some, but I stood my ground. Right now, I have to work on eating correct portions since my whole life, there was no such thing as portion control. This, I think, will be the hardest part of my journey to get healthy.

The lack of sleep comes courtesy of my lovely cat, Danka. The first couple of nights she was very scared of her new surroundings and just slept for two and a half days straight. But when she finally got used to everything, the peace and quiet stopped. Because our place is open concept, I can hear everything, and I mean everything. Our windows face the city, so I can hear all of the traffic, sirens, city sweepers and drunks girls on the weekend. I can also hear everything that little Danka does; use the litter box, jump on the desk, eat her food, try to flip over the mat under her dishes, and most annoying, I can hear her opening the sliding closet doors in the hallway and our bedroom. Needless to say, I’m getting no sleep, and when I do sleep, I’m having the most strange and bizarre dreams.

I can’t remember them all, but I do remember a few. One I had last week was I had an itchy wrist, presumably from allergies, so I started scratching. Well, my wrist started bleeding, a lot. So much that I managed to open it and have blood spuing all over the place. The second one I remember was (I think) a continuation of the first dream. Same itchy wrist, same scratching, but this time, there was no blood. My wrist opened up like a flap and I could see inside – it was hollow.

The dream I had last night was really random. I was talking to Jim Carrey and he was talking about how he bought a heritage house and turn it into a massive, fully functional tea pot. There was a giant thought bubble (like in cartoons) over his head and I could see into it. I could see this giant water wheel turning to heat up the water, the tea steeping inside and then the house pouring a cup of tea. He was serious about this renovation, and the thought of a tea house sounded pretty awesome to me. And then I woke up.

I have no idea what these dreams mean, but they are by far some of the strangest ones I’ve ever had.

If anyone has any clue what these dreams mean or why I may be having them, I’d love to know!

Travis and I had been looking at apartments, condos and lofts in the downtown core for months, but when the new year rang in, we took it a lot more seriously. Late last week, Travis and I went for our first showing. The place was located right in between where our jobs are located, so the commute, or lack there of, was about a 10 minute walk. The building was fabulous, modern, and was once a hotel, but half is now converted into condos, the things Travis and I are really looking for in a place.

We walked in and reality sunk in. It was small, really small. Not quite 600 sq feet small. Having lived in a house my whole life I was used to having a lot of space to move around in. This place you could turn around and you would have seen everything. That was one strike. Strike two was that there was no lighting in the living room or bedroom, and the lighting in the kitchen and bathroom were too dim. Strike three was that parking was extra. Travis and I want to keep my car for at least the first year, and not having a readily available parking spot is a problem. Having to hunt down a parking spot and pay another $150-$200 more a month is too much money.

And so the search continues. We found four more places we are interested in, so hopefully we can see them this week without being told that the places are already gone or that there is a bidding war between two couples (like we have experienced before.)

My and Travis’ goal is the find a place and move in no later than the middle of March. I can’t wait to see even more places and finally make the big move.