Rainy Vancouver Day

The leaves are varying shades of red and gold. Half naked trees stand in the marshy park with lonely benches against the gray backdrop of clouds, harbour and concrete jungle.

A few people dressed in black quickly walk along the path, shoulders hunched against the cold blowing wind. A woman in a green coat with a floral umbrella walk by. It's nice to see some kind of hopeful brightness on such a dismal day.

I sit in my chair, hands wrapped around a mug of hot tea, glad I am not outside.

Update

Thursday I skipped the gym and went yarn shopping instead. D'oh.. Like my yarn stash isn't already big enough!

Friday was my usual rest day.

Saturday I went to a step class in the morning followed by 11 hours of walking around the PNE. I guess that burned off a lot of calories despite the deep fried pop tart, mini donuts and foot long hot dog I ate.

Sunday - Rest day.

Today it's back to the gym again..

Yep...

Yesterday at the gym....

35 minutes of stationary bike on hill setting, level 11.
2L water consumed
? Calories.. didn't post.. (I know, I know, I should be posting/tracking calories)

I miss my friend M. She's away on a trip.

Goodlife finally got key fobs. I was getting really tired of carrying around that flimsy little card and having to fish it out of my bag every time I went to the gym. I was also worried that my bag would tip in the car and I would lose it.

Plus my keys are usually in my hand anyway so that makes it easier.

I think I am going to go to Attack class tonight. Should be fun.

I think that's all I have today.. bo-ring.

Well here I am again.

Things have been busy, but first, let's put up yesterday's gym activity...

Last night...
20 mins fit fix
40 mins stairmaster
2L of water consumed
? Calories.. I've been slacking at posting my calories lately.. just been too busy.


I was kind of relieved when I looked here today to tell you the truth. I thought it had been longer since my last visit to the gym, but it really hasn't been that long! I have been running three times a week for oh, about the past 4 weeks.

I love running. I love the runner's high and the sense of accomplishment.. I hate the jarring pain in my knees afterward.

That and it was raining yesterday so I thought I'd go back to the gym. Time to start getting into the groove again. I have been falling off and on the bandwagon.

I had a fairly active weekend. The hubby and I went berry picking on Saturday. That was fun. We were out on a nice hot sunny day for about 4 hours. Sunday I cleaned the house. I call it housercise.. lol.. Why did I buy a house with so many stairs?!

The bit I found most interesting about going from the gym to running is that all those hours you spend pounding away on the stairmaster etc, don't really translate to real life. Oh sure I can go like a bastard on that stairmaster for 40 mins, but I can't really run for 10 mins straight!

I couldn't really help thinking as I walked into the gym yesterday with all the shiny machines and lots of people slogging away, that it's kind of sad that we have to resort to this to stay in shape. We are chained to desks for so much of our life that we have to purchase gym memberships to get our exercise. Imagine if you brought a cave man to present day and told him that people pay money to walk on a treadmill. He'd probably laugh at you.

In other news, my friend E and I have committed to a craft sale in November. I am currently busting my hump to make sure I have enough stock for the sale. Goal is 20 scarves and 10 sock monkeys to sell.

Why can't there be more hours in a day?

A lazy weekend

Well, it was a lazy weekend. Friday was my usual rest day, and I thought heck, why not make Saturday a rest day too. I did think about going to attack on Sunday. Oh well c'est la vie.

Elliptical Machines: Good or bad?

Yesterday at the gym...

20 minutes of Fit Fix (weight lifting)
40 minutes on EFX Machine (Elliptical) ( ~400 cals burned)
1,710 calories consumed
3 L water consumed

So yesterday as I was exercising on the EFX machine I was thinking about whether I really am burning as many calories as it says I am. I often wonder about the accuracy of the calories burned readouts on any fitness machine. If someone is the same weight as me, but is not in very good shape, it's going to be harder for them to do the same time period on the machine at the same level. It doesn't ask you to enter in your height, just your weight and your age.

I wasn't really that sweaty. I was warm, but usually at the end of my stairmaster work outs I am dripping (gross, I know).

Last time I did the EFX, I pulled a muscle in my butt. That wasn't fun.

Gym Etiquette

Yesterday at the gym...

20 mins stationary bike (Level 11, 5 miles rode ~180 cals burned)
30 mins stairmaster (aerobic level 8, 3 miles climbed ~350 cals burned)
1,693 calories consumed (daily goal is 1,606.. oh well.. I killed a hell of a lot of calories yesterday)
3L water consumed

On Monday morning at the gym, I was doing the fit fix, which is a series of weight machines. I was really excited to be there in the morning because it wasn't that busy, and it's a good time to get through the machines in order, like you are supposed to without getting stuck behind too many slowpokes. The goal is to move between the machines as quickly as possible so that you keep your heart rate up.

Anyways, when I started there was this lady about 2 machines down from me, and she was going pretty slow, so I took my time getting my water and getting set up. As I started to move through the machines, I noticed that they were actually wet with the sanitizer.

While I appreciate that you are taking time to wipe down the machines, I would appreciate it more if I didn't have to trail after you and dry them all off.. Urggghh.. Just one of those little gym pet peeves.

Since I am kind of one of those "these are the people in your neighbourhood" kind of people, in my head I give people I see often little nicknames. One of the ladies in the gym was Sarah Palin to me.. she just kind of looked like her.. so I would be walking into the gym and see her on the fit fix machines and think to myself, oh god, there's Slow Sarah. I guess I should take longer with my warmup. Maybe I am a snob.

I don't know about you, but when I go to the gym I just want to get in and get out. Exercising isn't my absolute favourite activity. That would be lounging on the couch watching tv and eating chips, and that's why I am in this situation! LOL. I think it also has a lot to do with having a desk job and commuting for 3 hours a day.

Then there's Supergran. Remember that show, Supergran? I wonder if it's on YouTube.

Supergran is this grandma that works out like a fiend. She is probably in better shape than I am at 28! She is a fixture at my gym. Saturday morning she gets there for Step at 8:30, then stays for Zumba, BodyPump and BodyFlow, and I think she might even stay for NewBody. That's 5 hours of fitness on a Saturday! Wowzers. She's also outfitted in the latest Lululemon all the time, and is friends with EVERYONE. She is a really nice lady. She's talked to me a few times too.

I saw Weirdy the other day. I don't know why I picked Weirdy for her nickname. I guess when she first joined the gym, every time I saw her she was wearing the same workout clothes. I guess I thought that was weird.

I wonder what people call me. Probably the loner. LOL.

Do not read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly!

Haven't gone to the gym yet today, so nothing to blog about there. I posted yesterday's activities yesterday.

Recently, the parental units and I were looking at the pictures from the trip I took to Hawaii with my mom back in April. I sat there criticizing myself in every photo. My stepdad looked at me and told me to cut it out! He said that I should start loving myself instead of beating myself up. He has a point.

I don't know when it started, or what triggered it, but I have become totally critical of myself and my body image.

I did have a boyfriend years ago that would tell me often that I was letting myself go, or I was looking a little chunky that day, but I never thought it would get to me.

It could be magazines and general pictures of women in media, and all the studies that say skinny attractive people do better in life than overweight less attractive people. I am amazed at the pressure that women and men are under to keep a lean physique.

Next time you are out and about, look around you. How many of those people are lean and attractive? I bet you can count them on one hand, and since when was attractiveness measured by body size?

I don't pick my friends based on their bodies, I pick them based on their personalities, and really I never think about the package that my friend comes in, well, unless I am looking for him/her in a crowd!

So maybe I should be less critical of myself and my body image. I am who I am, and I am making positive changes for my health and my body by working out and putting good food in it. So what if I have a blizzard once a week? It's not an extra large, and as my stepdad likes to say, eat right, stay fit and die anyway.

Also with our celebrity focused culture, I think that it gives us unrealistic role models. I wish I didn't have to sit around an office all day to pay the bills and that I could just hire chefs and trainers to get me lean and fit, but I am a real person. I need to work, pay bills, commute, deal with stress, handle family commitments and put time into my marriage.

I don't think TMZ is going to be chasing me around any time soon!

Next time you're looking in the mirror scowling at your reflection, give yourself a break. I know I will.

Catching Up

Friday...

Rest day, but took a 1 hour walk with the hubby around the neighbourhood.

Saturday...
My other rest day, went and walked around Stanley Park.

Sunday...
1 hr body attack class

Today
40 minutes on the stairmaster
20 minute fit fix.

Weekends are hard, mmmkay?

It was a long weekend here in Canada, and weekends always mean self sabotage.. well not really self sabotage, just more of the hubby eating foods that are bad for me and me going along with it. I did try to do something active every day and I think I pretty much succeeded.

Positive Affirmations

Last night at the gym:

45 minute Body Attack class
1,584 calories consumed
2 litres of water consumed

Tonight at the gym...

20 minutes of weight lifting (fit fix)
40 minutes stairmaster
1,575 calories consumed
2 litres of water consumed

One thing I like about my gym is that they have started putting positive affirmations on sticky notes around the gym. I was on a stretching machine the other day and there was a note on it that said, you are a beautiful person. I thought that was nice. The other one said sexy mama. That didn't do it for me, but different strokes for different folks I guess.

It's easy to lose sight of your goal if you fall off the wagon and it's easy to beat yourself up. I am thinking of posting some positive affirmations on my bathroom mirror. That way when I look at them I can re-envision myself as lean and healthy. I am strong, I am beautiful, I am smart!

Seems kind of stupid, but I think it might just actually help.

Finding Inspiration in the Success of Others

Last night at the gym...

20 minutes on stationary bike (5 miles)
30 minutes on the stairmaster
2.5 litres of water consumed (through the whole day)
1,514 calories consumed (under the daily goal of 1,606.. I knew I should have had that glass of milk!)


Now on with the post...

I found a really awesome site when I first started my weight loss journey back in August of 2009. It's called calorie count (www.caloriecount.about.com). I have not always been the best at logging my calories, especially on the weekends, to the point where I have considered just carrying a little note book around with me and writing everything down. Calorie count makes it easy. You just put in all your info, what you want your goal weight to be, where you are now, and it tells you how many calories to eat. Most foods are included in their database, so it makes it easy to just log on and add your foods. It also has an exercise log, so that you can track all your exercise. It considers how many calories your body burns just running itself (breathing, digesting food etc), so at the end of the day you get a report which tells you whether you ate too many calories, had a deficit or whatever, and what nutrients you are high or low in. Definately a good tool if you are trying to lose weight.

I've tried a couple of fad diets, and they have never got me anywhere. Back in the day (2006) when I was trying to lose weight I was doing Slimfast shakes for breakfast and lunch and working out three times a week and seeing no results. I guess you can't have a shake for breakfast and a chocolate bar for lunch. I think when I started again in 2009, I realized that it was a lifestyle change that you have to make, and I was getting married in November 2010, and I'll be damned if I am going to spend that much money on a dress and not look awesome in it, so I bust my ass. I lost 14 lbs, which was pretty good for me... then I got stuck on a plateau. Then I went and got married, went on a honeymoon, came back home and fell right off the bandwagon!

So here I am again, hitting the gym like a crazy person and hoping that life doesn't get in the way and that I don't fall off the wagon.

One thing that I find keeps me motivated is on Calorie Count, and that is the Success Stories. I always feel so happy for the people on Calorie Count that have lost weight, and done it the healthy way, with a lifestyle change. Not through fad diets or expensive personal trainers, but because they took the onus on themselves to do it. I admire the determination and the willpower of these people.

You always hear that piece of advice over and over to surround yourself with the people you aspire to be like. I guess CC is my place to do that with regards to my weight loss. Check it out if you are trying to lose some weight too. Definately worth signing up for free!

Gym rat I am not.

So here I am again, hanging out on blogger with my lofty expectations for myself of going fat to fit.

Life has totally got in the way of my fitness goals. I don't think I have been to the gym since I got back from Hawaii, except for yesterday, when I made my triumphant return to the machines and the mats.

Things have been a bit crazy. Just before I went to Hawaii, my brother got put in jail for assault causing bodily harm after getting in a fight with his room mate, but I think I told you that.

The trial came, I bailed him out, and he has been living with my husband and I which severely cramped my style fitness wise, but like everyone around me keeps saying, "You're doing a good thing!" My brother says that all those people who keep giving me mad props for doing a good thing are all the people that wouldn't touch the situation with a 100 foot barge pole.

Anyways, things seem to be getting better. The bro has found a place to live with his boss, he had work the 2nd day out of jail and seems to be getting his life back on track. We resume the second half of the trial on July 4th (Monday) and he is scared that they are going to throw him back in jail, but I really can't see that happening. It really is a stupid situation and a huge waste of taxpayer time and money, but that's a blog post for another day.

Anyway, fat to fit... right?

I'm counting calories again. Made it to the gym last night for fit fix and 40 minutes of stairmaster goodness. 30 minutes of speed intervals followed by a 10 minute comfortable steppin' cool down. Today I am thinking that I might go and ride the bike for 20 mins and then do the stairmaster for 20 mins.. then my body attack class tomorrow, and some kind of cardio and maybe fit fix on Thursday. I'm also thinking that since it's summer and there is less rain running on a Saturday morning down at the dykes or at the track could be a good idea, then there is Body Attack on Sunday morning. Fridays and Mondays might be good non consecutive days off.. hmmm.

Food wise, I think I am doing ok. We have been eating out a lot though, and with my birthday a couple of weeks ago, there has been lots of cake etc in the house. I might have to go all last 10 lbs boot camp on myself and hide all the sweets!

I think my husband might want to lose a bit of weight too, so he would probably come walking/running with me on the weekend. It's just embarrassing for me. There is that whole "he has seen you naked argument, but usually its dark and he can't see all my wobbly bits.. lol.

It's just hard to get myself motivated on a weekend to do much of anything. Getting up every morning at 5:30 and commuting for 3 hours a day takes its toll after awhile, not to mention the emotional stress with my brother's trial. Hopefully after Monday it will all be over and we can go on with our lives.

Anyway, I think that's pretty much it for now. Maybe I'll step on the wii fit this weekend and write down a starting weight.. eugh! Wish me luck.

Lots going on...

Wow, it has been a while since I blogged...

Well Tommy's 10 lb Shred totally didn't happen.. let's see.. where we left off, I was getting ready to go to Hawaii.. that happened.

The trip was good, we had a lot of fun, but I was a little mommed out at the end. Monday we walked down to the Waikiki Aquarium. It was smaller than the Vancouver Aquarium, but it was neat to see all the live corals and tropical fish, mostly taken from Hawaii's own waters.

Tuesday, we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and did a circle island tour. That was totally worth the money at $140 US per person. We were busy from 8:30am when we were picked up, until about 11pm when we got dropped off at our hotel.

We stayed at the Miramar at Waikiki. It was ok, I understand now why they say that it was basic. It was about a block away from the beach, so it had a good location, but we spent most of our time in the swankier hotels. I think if I am going to spend that kind of money to go down there again, I will spend a bit extra and stay right on the beach. That's what you are going for after all.

Wednesday we went to the Waikiki Zoo, which was pretty good. I felt sorry for the elephants though. They had chains on their legs. There were lots of monkeys and tropical birds, and it took us a few hours to go through it. The problem was I think I might have got a bit too much sun, because I was sick all of Thursday... it was gross.

Friday we just started to get packed up, did a load of laundry and sat by the pool. Every night we went over to this bar at the Moana Surfrider. It was outside, and had live entertainment every night. It was right on the water so you could hear the waves crashing into the shore.

Holy expensive Batman! A drink, a single pina colada was $10.75 US.. for A SINGLE.

Everywhere you went, the booze was expensive. A single Malibu and pineapple was $9 US, but you really can't beat the scenery.

It was a good break. I wish I'd gone longer than a week, but I would have been broke when I came back. Everything was pricey.

____________________________________________________________________

EVERYTHING ELSE...

Well I say it was a good break because I could get away from my hectic home life and everything going on here. Don't worry, the marriage is still good!

On the 19th of March, my brother was arrested for assault causing bodily harm. The way he tells it, is that he and his roommate were drinking and something happened and the roommate came at him with a knife. A fight ensued. The other kid took the brunt of it. He claims that my brother kicked him in the head about 30 times. Had that happened, I think he would be dead instead of just having a chipped tooth.

Just days before I was hanging out with my brother and he told me that this kid had moved in with him. He and the kid have a history. I told my bro that it wouldn't end well. What a surprise, it ended with my brother in the clink!

So anyways, then all this nonsense starts with Duty Counsel calling me and hounding me to bail my bro out of jail. I tell them that I am not bailing him out because I am leaving the country in a couple of weeks and can't look after him, plus, where is he going to go anyway? He can't go home, that's where the roommate is, and he can't live with me.

Turns out that C (that's my bro) can't get bail anyways because he has a history of failure to appear. He's not a bad seed, just a kid that can't seem to make any good decisions.

Days go by and I get a call from the correctional facility and C tells me what happened. I tell him that the room mate sent me a message on facebook telling me what happened, then I started getting harrassed by said room mate about whether I have talked to my psychotic bro and that he hopes he rots in jail. Nice friend hey?

So right now C is awaiting trial. Should be happening on June 7. I've been talking to my dad again too just for C's sake, because Dad says he wants to help C. C will need a place to stay when he gets out, and I think my dad is going to flake out. Apparently his g/f doesn't want C staying with them. Guess what, you are his dad. I am his SISTER. I am NOT the parent and this is unfairly all being heaped on me.

Who knows what is going to happen. The plan is to help C find a place when he gets out. My Dad has some hairbrained idea that we can get C a place before he gets out and then just take him there and be done with it. It's frustrating.

And, I think that's pretty much it.

Work is work. Same ol' same ol'.

Going to Hawaii! Yay!

It was a good weekend.

Friday night, I went and got my hair did, which was nice, since I haven't had it done since the wedding. I chopped it all off and it's all freshly dyed.

Saturday C and I headed out to the Grand Villa Casino since we have never been there before. We were actually heading out to North Van for a 60th anniversary party for a coworker of mine. We left the casino and headed to the party, which was nice. I hope I make it to 60 years married.. that would make me 87.

After that, we went to Metrotown and I picked up a signed copy of Tommy Europe's 10 lb shred and I'm going to do my own sort of variation on it. Basically I'm following the meal plan and hitting the gym, so hopefully I can lose the 5 lbs I picked up in the last 6 months. I weighed in on Sunday morning and I'm back up to 173... ack! I started my weight loss before my wedding at 178.. I only have 5 more pounds to gain and I'm back at my heavy weight. Time to reverse this.. NOW!

My mom and I booked a trip to Hawaii on Sunday. Boy, am I excited! That's most of the reason why I want to take off a few pounds. I'm going to be in a bathing suit.. ack.

I can't wait to get there. It's hot and sunny. Not this depressing non-stop rain that we have had here. I really want to do the tour of the dole plantation, visit pearl harbor, the Polynesian Cultural Centre and climb Diamond Head.. I was looking on the Lonely Planet site this morning and there are lots of fun things to do. I think I'll skip the shark dive though. They actually have this package where they stick you in a cage with the sharks swimming around you for half an hour. I think I would freak out.. Hel-lo claustrophobia!

So day one of the meal plan is ok so far, and everything I have to take to work fits in my bento box I ordered from www.laptoplunches.com.

I started my day with 3/4 O% Vanilla Liberte Greek Yogurt and 1/4 cup of Granola. Sorry Tommy, I am not giving up coffee, but I'll meet you half way and put milk in it instead of creamo. I had sugar in it too. I also had a banana.

For my mid-morning snack, I had 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (insert Mr. Yuck face here. I hate cottage cheese), and an apple.

For lunch, I had a sandwich on a multigrain Dempster's Thinful bun, with 2 slices of deli turkey breast, mustard and alfalfa sprouts and a 1/2 cup of baby carrots.

My afternoon snack before I go to the gym is a cut up red bell pepper with 1/3 cup of vegetable hummus.

I don't know what's for dinner, and that's where it always seems to go wrong. My husband cooks, which is great, but we mostly have frozen meals from M&M's during the week. He usually does lots of vegetables though, so that's good.

I'm planning on doing the fit fix again. Basically because I don't want to drag Tommy's 10 lb shred book to the gym with me, and there's not a ton of room in my gym. It's pretty small and crowded. So I'll just do the fit fix and then do about 35 mins on the stairmaster and go home.

Munkeebizzness is open for Business!!

This weekend was a blur, it went so fast, even with the lazy day I had yesterday, my head is spinning and I can't quite believe it is Monday already.

I finally opened my Etsy Store, Munkeebizzness. Check it out!

Friday night went to karaoke down at The Ranch with a bunch of my friends. It was fun. I sang four songs: If you're not in it for love (I'm outta here) by Shania Twain, Baby Love by Diana Ross and the Supremes, Back in Baby's Arms by Patsy Cline, and I was picked to close the show with Fever by Peggy Lee, which my friend L joined me for.

I think my boss thinks I am crazy when I'm not at work. He just asked me if I wore singer clothes. I think he was picturing sequins for some reason.. lol. He mentioned a hat or a fancy scarf.. lol.

Saturday, C slept until 1 and I used the time to catch up on my TV watching and finish up one of my sock monkeys. Then I had a shower and researched etsy a bit more. Then we went grocery shopping, and then it was time to go to my parents for dinner.

Sunday we were totally lazy all day. I opened my etsy store, did some laundry and spent the majority of the day in bed in front of the TV.

And now I am back to my desk. Boss is away at the conference and it looks like I will have some time to catch up on things around the ol' desk.

Should be a good week.

Bleh..

It's Wednesday, which is good, because we are half way through the week.. and it's actually been going by quite quickly.

Hopefully the rest of the week goes by quickly too, because I am ready for another weekend.

This weekend was pretty good. We went to the Canucks game. I posted a picture from the warm up.

It was a good game. It's always nice when the Canucks win, when you actually pay for seats, because hockey tickets are expensive. Those seats were $125 a pop. I don't know how families afford to take kids to hockey games. I think my future kids will only get to see the Giants and Abbotsford Heat if they are into that.

Sunday, we just bummed around and didn't do a lot, and I had Monday off.. woo hoo! Well, kinda. I had to log into my work computer and do a few things. Was going to go to the gym, but then it started snowing like crazy, so I decided to stay home and read instead.

Yesterday I came home and it was snowing like hell, so I decided just to go home. Oh well. Supposed to snow again tonight, but it's already halfway through the week and I haven't gone. Ah, to be lazy.. lol.

Must resolve to blog more often...

Not that anyone actually reads it, but oh well.



Not much new these days (that's probably why nobody reads this blog), been sick pretty much since after the new year, which has been a pain in the butt as it's really eating into my gym time.



I didn't go at all last week, and haven't gone so far this week. Rats!



I'm starting to feel better, but am worried that if I go and work out I will set myself back, and I have this lovely deep chest cough that makes me sound like a seal. I wonder how fast I could clear out the gym just by coughing!



Maybe I will give it another day or two. I should really get back there, because when I don't go, I am bored out of my tree at home!



My dear husband's shift has changed, which sucks! He's gone from starting at 7PM until 5:30 AM to starting at 6PM, which means he leaves for work just after 5, and even if I don't go to the gym, the soonest I get home is about 5:20 and he is already gone. Boo. So I come home, eat dinner by myself, and then proceed to sit around for the rest of the night.



I've been slowly working on inventory for the etsy store. I have one monkey done, and another that just needs 2 arms, ears and a muzzle and he will be ready to go. Once I have the two monkeys I'll post em to etsy and see what happens.



I had my first sock monkey sale a couple weeks ago, so that was exciting. The first craft I have actually been paid to do! I am way behind on birthday gifts and other stuff though.. guh. Maybe tonight I can finish the other monkey.



Other than that, nothing particularly interesting on the horizon. DH is off to Vegas without me at the end of March. Ask me how I feel about that. I will actually have to cook my own dinner! Oh the humanity! Actually - I really enjoyed it when I had to cook my own dinner the last time. I can't even remember why that was... where was DH? I don't know. Weird.. anyway, there was a time back there that I did have to cook for myself after the gym and oddly enough I did enjoy it.



DH usually does all the cooking because he has to eat before he goes to work anyways, so he just cooks for both of us and puts mine on a plate in the fridge for when I get home. It's mostly fast presto food during the week that comes out of the freezer. I'm trying to stay away from processed foods this year, or at least eat less of them than I have in recent years.



We eat a lot of stuff from M&M Meats during the week, which is probably high in sodium. I don't know how healthy freezer food actually is. Maybe I should do some research.

Oh crap. I forgot to mention, I ordered THE COOLEST lunch box yesterday. You can check em out at laptoplunches.com. It's a bento box style lunch kit and it looks awesome. I should have it in 3-4 weeks.

My Somewhat Triumphant Return to the Gym

Well, after a wedding, and the holiday season where you party and eat crap, I made my return to the gym this week. Yep, even after that terrible session I had with that trainer in the beginning of December. Way to go me.

Here's how this week went so far:

Monday: went to the gym. Did 45 mins on the stairmaster at level 8, which just happens to be where I left off. I found it difficult and did have to level down to 7 in the last 8 minutes, because I thought I was going to barf. Finished off with some lunges, squats and abdominal exercise and a stretch. It's not the fit fix, but it's good enough, and like that trainer said, the fit fix isn't really going to do anything for me anymore because my body is used to the movements. I'm a big follower of Paul Plakas too, and he says that those isolating exercise machines really don't do anything for you and he figured they wouldn't even be in gyms anymore by now.

Tuesday: Rode the stationary bike for 40 mins. Did 10.6 miles of intervals on level 9. Ususally I do hill at level 11, but couldn't keep up with intervals at level 11. I was still pretty pleased with my output.

Wednesday: Body Attack class for 45 minutes. That was difficult. Lots and lots of lunge jump lunges and plyometric exercises. Ugh. I also slacked on the pushup track, but I was trying to remember what the trainer told me about doing pushups the wrong way. I was dropping my head. So I guess it's better to do less with proper form than more with crappy form. Still felt good after it was all over. My arms are a little sore today.

Thursday (today): Planning on riding the bike or doing the stairmaster again for about 40 mins. Won't know till I get there.

I'm also tracking my calories again. I'm trying to make myself more aware of what and when I am eating. Hopefully this will help me get back on track.

Christmas is over

And I hope you had a good one.

Mine was ok, pretty quiet, but sometimes that is a nice change from all the running around like a chicken with your head cut off. You actually get to enjoy the season.

Things are good.

I feel kind of boring. I don't have a lot to say these days.

I have decided to open up an etsy store, so I've been busy working on stuff to use as inventory. I still have a whole bunch of wedding stuff I have to do, like get my name change info in to the DMV so that I can get a driver's license with my new name on it, and I should probably tell the bank that my name has changed.

I actually got a letter to Mrs. Newname yesterday which was really weird. It's still not quite sunk in that I am Mrs anybody. I've been writing my name one way for the last 28 years, it's not going to be an easy thing to change overnight!

It's a pretty slow day around the office. Not a lot is going on since it's friday. I have cleaned up my desk and got organized and here I sit for another oh, 5 hours or so. *Sigh*