the cats might push me over the edge

Unless you are mega-rich in New York, you have a small apartment. That means most of the people here are living in small spaces compared with the rest of the United States. It's not uncommon for an entire family to share a 1 bedroom. So I will never whine about our apartment being too small. Because I know it's bigger than a lot of them. But I have wondered what would be too small for our family.

What about you? What would be too small? Could you live in a really small space? Ok, maybe not with kids, but what if it was just you and your spouse or you and a roommate? How small could you go before you were close to going postal?

Here's a couple in NYC who recently purchased a 175 square foot studio apartment. This is their home. With 2 cats. So they not only felt they had room for each another, but they also felt they had room for cats? Two cats? Their apartment is about the size of a subway car. Let me give you a visual:



They don't cook. So their only appliance is an espresso maker. Side note: I used to wonder why a lot of New Yorkers don't cook. Now I don't wonder. This is the food capital of the world and I have the ever-growing waist line to prove it.

Because they are short on closet space, they use their kitchen cupboards to store a lot of their clothes. They leave their apartment every morning in their work-out clothes and have their work-clothes stashed at various dry cleaners around the city. Wow. They seem to have it figured out how to make it work!

Plus they bought their apartment for $150K. Pretty unheard of to own a piece of Manhattan real estate for that price.

What about you? Could you live in a space this size?

i'm sending up a flare

I made an important discovery.
If one eats a large quantity of NY bagels, NY pizza, and other amazing NY food, one gains weight.
And by one, I mean me.

I've been ignoring the signs. The jeans that started to get too tight. The muffin top that became more visible. But I hit an all time low when I was laying in bed one morning. I picked up the phone to have fresh bagels delivered to my door rather than walk to pick them up. It's a slippery slope from there, my friends. I told Rod I had to do something, otherwise I would just stay in my bed and order food for weeks. He got a worried look on his face. We've seen the Discovery channel.

Fortunately, my apartment building has it's own gym. Something that made me really happy when we signed our lease.

I remember calling my mother with excitement:

Mom, my new building has it's own gym!!

So? Michelle, that doesn't mean anything. Just because you have it, doesn't mean you will actually use it.

Turns out that woman is wise. Plus she has a workout room in her house, and she was speaking from a little something called experience.

But today is a new day. I decided this was the day to start my new fitness routine. First, I googled "Going to the gym and have no idea what to do when I get there." Seriously, I did. But, it turns out there are not a lot of responses to that search. So I headed out without a plan.

I piddled around for a while, and worked up a good sweat, but I think I really need a plan. I'm good with a plan. And I believe I actually have some discipline to carry out a plan once I put my mind to it. In fact, I decided to give up meat for about 2 years once. I was a dedicated vegetarian. And have you been to Chik-Fil-A? The fact that I did not eat there for those 2 years is proof I have said-discipline.

So, I'm reaching out to you, internets. What is your workout plan? Share it with the rest of us.

i double dog dare you

Trying to clean out the pantry since movers are coming in a week.
I challenge you to make a meal with this.
Ideas?

i'll give you a topic

Should this really be a fashion statement?
A purse that lights up with the word TAXI?
Would this be useful for someone who lives in a big city?
Discuss amongst yourselves.



By the way, it's $225.