October 04, 2011

The story of our couch

This is the first weekday that I haven't run in about 10 weeks... it feels strange!  However, since I did 8 miles yesterday when I should have done 3, I don't feel the least bit guilty about not running today. I did feel a little guilty for watching a Lifetime movie this morning, but I plan on cleaning out my refrigerator today, so that should make up for it. I hate cleaning out the fridge. I take everything out and then scrub it all down and put all of the (non-spoiled) food back in.

I colored my hair today. I've been trying to get it back to my natural color. When I got highlights done a little over a year ago, I loved the way they looked--but my hair felt sooo dry and gross. And I'm too cheap to fork over hundreds of dollars a year to color my hair, so I just want it back to my normal super dark brown color. I colored it a couple of months ago, but my highlights were showing through again, so I decided to do it again today. Now, it's black--and it feels a little better after I cut it a few days ago.
Is it just me, or do I look 100 years old in this pic?



So last night, Jerry and I torched our couch. Let me tell you the story of our couch... When we got married in 2003, we used the money we got for wedding gifts to buy furniture for our house (we didn't live together until we got married). We bought this big, comfy, 3-piece sectional couch for the living room.

A couple of years later, we decided we didn't want a sectional, because there were only two ways to arrange the furniture in the living room. So we sold it to Jerry's parents, and then bought a leather couch and love seat. About nine months after we bought it, I sat down too hard and broke it (the fact that I was 253 pounds might have something to do with that too!) 

We returned the couches for a full refund from Sam's Club, and bought a microfiber couch. It was AWFUL. Microfiber shows every single stain and it's impossible to clean. So we sold that one to Jerry's sister. We decided that we really wished we had our original couch back, and we went to the same furniture store that we bought it from. They no longer sold that particular one, but we looked through books until we found one similar to it. We selected a fabric and then ordered the couch.

When the delivery truck came, I was cooking dinner and didn't watch the guys set up the couch. When they left, I went into the living room and didn't know whether to laugh or cry... the couch was hideous! Jerry and I sat on it and burst out laughing because it was so small and SO uncomfortable and stiff. I was half-laughing, half-crying as I asked Jerry to call the furniture store and see if we could return it. They said no, since it was a special order (I should've gotten one from Sam's, they'd have let me return it!!) so we were stuck with the ugly couch.
The ugly couch, right after we got it

Not only was it ugly and uncomfortable, it looked completely worn out after a couple of months. The fabric was too thin and the cushions flattened out in certain spots. That was about two years ago.

A month ago, Jerry's parents told us that they were getting new furniture, so they were going to get rid of the couch we sold them back in 2005. We told them we wanted it, so they gave it back to us! And now, 8 years after we bought it, it's back in our living room... and we couldn't be happier :)

At first I was afraid we wouldn't be able to keep it, because apparently Jerry's parents' cat peed in one corner of it--and it smelled like cat pee. After much scrubbing and then buying some special cat-urine-smell-remover-stuff, the smell is no longer there. This couch is so much more comfortable and a lot bigger.

Back to the burning of the couch last night... Jerry and I tore apart the ugly couch and burned it!! We cut up and tore off the ugly fabric, and then used a hammer to break up the wood (and let me tell you, couches are built like STEEL--I don't know how I managed to break one by sitting on it!)  We made a fire in the backyard and torched the ugly couch piece by piece.
Lighting the ugly cushions...

The ugly cushions burned FAST

And they created some really ugly smoke

The ugly base and ugly springs

Mission: Destroy the Ugly Couch--accomplished!


Food log from yesterday:

Breakfast: banana and coffee
Lunch: pumpkin smoothie, toast with peanut butter
Dinner: General Tsao's Chicken with brown Jasmine rice
Snacks: hot cocoa, Dove Promise (just one!), pistachios

Total calories:  1,196  (Yes, that's very low, especially since I ran 8 miles... but I wasn't hungry AT ALL yesterday. Probably because I ate about a quart and a half of frozen yogurt on Sunday).

Tomorrow is Wednesday Weigh-In!


16 comments:

  1. Seriously....I have not even read this entire post b/c I just wanted to comment on your hair!! 100???? WTF More like 20!! You look amazing...when my hair was dark everyone said my eyes popped and how great they looked...same with yours. Your eyes just stand out. It looks great!

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  2. Oooohhh! I wish I could have torched our old couch! We were flat broke, and bought a couch that doubled as a futon, but didn't really LOOK like a futon. It was comfy, for a little while, and while it was microfiber, it was a chocolate color, so it still hid some stains. But it was built like a cheap crappy futon, and broke after about 6 months of barely any use at all! (my husband preferred his computer chair because it's super comfy, and I preferred the recliner) And the cushions, which were padded all nicely with springs for a more "couchy" feel got all squished and lopsided.

    We recently got a set of leather reclining couches for super cheap from a friend who was selling off furniture acquired during a failed marriage, and so far I like them! The color is a bit... meh (beige :/), but my two year old has written on them with a pen and it wiped right off. I count that as a win. And $450 for reclining REAL leather couches? Double win.

    Anyway, I love your blog, and have been reading it for months, even though I never posted. Just thought I'd make your post all about me with this huge comment :P. And I need to email you about those peanut butter cookies!

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  3. While I'm sure you had a great time taking out frustrations while tearing the couch apart, you can also just put it on Craigslist or Freecycle and have someone just come & haul it away for free. :) I love building fires...so I would have loved that part too, except for all the smoke.

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  4. I LOVE your hair color! It's perfect to show off your eye-color (jealous!). Where's the picture of the "new" couch? My dog put holes in the covers of several of the cushions of loveseat and 2 couches, so, with 20% coupons in hand, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought 3 piece chocolate slipcovers. They look brand new! It cost about $300-$400 for the slipcovers, but I would have spent at least triple that to replace the furniture. I'd rather spend the money on other things.

    I should be dying my hair since I went prematurely gray about 10 years ago. I particularly don't like being mistaken for a grandma and I get snippy with people when they make that assumption! I am too cheap to even do it myself!

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  5. I love your hair!!! Dark colors look great on you!!! LOL, about the couch!!!

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  6. I hope you didn't breathe in too much of that smoke from the couch. Sometimes that foam can release toxic fumes when burned!

    Your hair looks cute. I just recently dyed mine back to a darker blonde/light brown after being light blonde all summer. My hair color pretty much varies with the seasons. LOL!

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  7. Wait...after all that, no picture of the good couch?? :D

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  8. HAHAHAHAHA THE COUCH! Revenge!!! I can't wait to see the new couch! BTW the color of your hair makes your eyes pop! You are so beautiful! Green eyes are my favorite!

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  9. Love the couch burning. Classic! We have a microfiber sectional and it is soooo comfy and we all fit on it to watch movies and stuff. It is a monster and takes up our whole family room. There is even a giant ottoman for our feet and for the dog. I really hate the fabric though - shows every stain and I have to wipe it down with a wet cloth every month!

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  10. I think the darker hair suits you much better. I also recently dyed mine back to it's natural color and I'm so glad. I hadn't dyed it for years and then I thought I'd dye it. It only took two weeks for me to go back to my natural color.

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  11. We had a friend who burned their old french door in their fireplace. At least you burned that furniture outdoors!! And you look great in that first picture!

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  12. I was thinking about toxic smoke too-I hope you stood wayyyy back while that baby was burning:-) I bet it was really satisfying though.I believe you have had more couches than I've had in my life and I'm 47 years old- LOL!
    I think your dark hair looks gorgeous and you look about 19- seriously - and gorgeous. Look at those clear eyes!

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  13. Your hair looks great dark!!!!!:-)

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  14. I would also like to see a picture of your new (old) couch. Glad to know someone feels the same way about microfiber. Everyone I know who has one has stains all over them.

    BTW, your hair looks great, no where near 100 girl!

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  15. I think the color looks great, makes your eyes pop :)

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  16. LOVED the couch story. But I want to see a picture of the new (old) couch again. Oh I see others asked the same thing.
    I like your hair too, makes you look....oh about....25! Had mine colored and highlighted this week, I've been doing that since I got below 200 lbs. last November. My niece does it, and I give her $40. It's probably not enough. I always ask, but she says it's fine. I have it done about every 2 months. I think I look younger than when it was long, straggly, and grey! At least I hope I do. I remember having to color my hair when I was 29, I know I was 29 cause we were going to my husband's 10-year high school reunion, and he is a year younger than me. That's how long I've been going grey. You're lucky not to have that problem. You look fabulous! I heard on the radio yesterday that Loreal (I think) has developed a pill that you can take to keep from going grey. But...you have to start taking it (and continue for life!) TEN years BEFORE you start turning grey. The problem is--how do you know when that will be? I doubt if that pill is gonna catch on much.

    Your dedication to eating less and running more has got to show up on that scale. I expect a big loss next Wed.! Good luck! Like you, I struggle to stay below 145, got there a few weeks ago, and loved having a healthy BMI for the first time. But that damned scale likes to fluctuate higher than that--frustrating! I guess nobody told us this would be easy, did they?

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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