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Thursday, November 18, 2010

I can’t keep up…

Am I crazy or was the first of November just a couple of days ago? How does that happen?

After all the rain I was complaining about at the beginning of last week, the sun came out and the last 4 days of the week were fabulously sunny. And since Remembrance Day was on Thursday, I only had to work on one out of those 4 sunny days. It was lovely I tell you.

The cats and I had some quality time together and I finally got most of the yard cleaned up for the winter. You know, it’s a whole lot more work in the spring – dragging out containers, bags of soil and compost, transplants and all the other garden tools and paraphernalia – but it seems like harder work putting it all away for the winter. Ah well, it was good to get out and enjoy the sun.

 

Kitty Walks

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The garden is put to bed for the winter.  IMG_9867IMG_9868

 

Lazy Sunday morning view – Frank on his loveseat, Zappa on my lap.

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I really should cut some of this catnip and dry it. Look at that plant! It’s a catnip tree!

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Gloomy-ish weather came back on Tuesday, but it hasn’t been as bad as last week. It’s been a busy one though.

I didn’t do any formal workouts on the weekend – I had good intentions, but I was busy doing stuff around the house and yard, so I don’t feel like it’s quite as necessary.

Monday I was feeling kind of sluggish. I made myself get on the treadmill anyway, but the sluggishness did not go away, so it was a short session.

Tuesday I was feeling better, raring to go even, and a new DVD I was looking forward trying. Put the disk in the player…Nothing. Popped it out and back in. Nothing. Tried a different disk. Nothing.  That sorta ruined my mood, so it ended up being another short treadmill session. I’m continuing with my “some is better than none” philosophy.

Yesterday I knew I wasn’t going to have any time, so I planned on a day off. As it turns out, I woke up with a stitch in my side that did not go away all day. Taking a deep breath was challenging. This happens to me sometimes – I have respiratory issues – but it usually doesn’t last that long.

Today it’s better, but I’m not feeling quite back to normal, so I decided to take it easy for another day, just to be on the safe side. Not that I want to make excuses not to exercise, but I do find breathing to be rather essential.

And lookie, it’s almost the weekend again!

I’ll leave with a few more photos that I thought were kind of neat. Last Friday I worked from home, and during the day there was a flock of birds that circled around and landed a few times. Fortunately both cats were indoors sleeping while all this was going on, so no birds were harmed.

 

Photos taken through my living room window. You may want to click to enlarge.

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Tuesday, November 9, 2010

I Meant It…

…And I followed through.

Yes, it is still raining.

Yes, I did a workout.

While flipping through a Shape magazine on the weekend, a workout caught my eye. I decided to give it a go today.

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I did a quick warm up and then repeated this circuit twice. I actually counted reps instead of doing timed sets – I find timing an exercise to be a pain in the butt. Other than that, I followed the routine. I find workouts from magazines can be hit or miss, but this one I liked; I may keep it to do again.

The routine is here if you are interested; I did the dumbbell version.

Then instead of doing a third repetition of the circuit, I tried a couple of other moves from the magazine.

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With some stretching to finish things off, I was done in 35 minutes, which was about the amount of time I had for exercise today. I ended my session with that jelly-limbed feeling that I associate with a good strength workout, so I think it was a well spent 35 minutes.

Then I made supper which I enjoyed while watching last night’s episode of Castle, had a shower, and now I’m having dessert.

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Don’t be too impressed by that healthy choice; I’ve had my fair share of chocolate today.

Off to try and get in a little piano practice before bed.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Rain & Impromptu Thai Feast

It has been raining since Friday. I’m ready for it to stop, but the forecast is saying more rain for the next couple of days.

I was sitting in my chair after work, with my fuzzy blanket, thinking I should really get up and do some exercise. But I couldn’t seem to make myself do it. I thought maybe after supper.

However, by the time supper was ready to eat, it was 8 PM. It was one of those nights when Husband was in the mood to play in the kitchen. He’s been slightly obsessed with a new cookbook.

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We ended up with a Thai feast…

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Green Curry Chicken, Tofu & Mushrooms, Broccoli with Oyster sauce. I didn’t eat the mushrooms because mushrooms are yucky (oh yes they are) but the rest of it was excellent.

And I have lunch for tomorrow.

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But that’s it. Two days in a row of wallowing is enough. Tomorrow there will be a workout of some sort.

Really.

I mean it.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

November So Far...

Getting back into my workout groove...I hope! Monday & Tuesday - Mission accomplished. Today I had every intention of coming home and doing a workout, something not to intense since I'm feeling sore from my circuit workout yesterday. We even got home a little early. The sun was shining. But I just wasn't in the mood. I thought maybe I'd take a rest day, give those sore muscles a chance to recover. I was feeling strangely motivated to try and catch up on some housework...

Frank let me know that he wanted a walk. And the sun was shining. It's been a chilly week, but it was pretty nice outside...Maybe just a short walk!

We headed up the hill, with Zappa watching and complaining from below.

Up over the hill we went. Frank was all keen to explore, then one of the neighborhood kids came running up the hill and went past us. Frank didn't quite know what to think.


Once the kid disappeared we wandered a bit more, but I didn't want to go too far since I knew I'd have to carry my 16 1/2 pound cat back to the house.

Once we got back Zappa felt that it was his turn. Frank tends to meander and take his time, checking everything out along the way. Zappa usually trots right along, so we headed right off around the house, down the driveway, and suddenly another youngster went dashing by up the hill.

Zappa stopped to look (sorry - blogger won't let me reorient the photo - should have written this is LiveWriter) then he immediately turned around and ran back to the house. So much for that.

Anyway, then I came in decided to do a short, easy walk on the treadmill after all. So much for housework.

And, for the sake of record keeping, here are September & Oco

October Workouts:
Oct 23: Fitnessista BootCamp #1[55 mins]
Oct 21: Treadmill walk/jog[25 mins]
Oct 20 Walk + Lunar Flow #1[40 mins]
Oct 18: Treadmill walk/jog[32 mins]
Oct 13: FitChickExpress DVD Superset #1 + Treadmill walk[30 mins]
Oct 12: Treadmill walk/jog[30 mins]
Oct 10: Walk[20 mins]
Oct 05: Walk[40 mins]
Oct 04: Lower Body weight circuit + Treadmill walk[35 mins]

September Workouts:
Sept 30: Cardio + Bicep/Tricep curls
Sept 29: Treadmill walk/jog + short strength circuit[35 mins]
Sept 27: Treadmill walk[25 mins]
Sept 25: The FIRM Power Half Hour DVD[30mins]
Sept 24: Crunch Yoga Body Sculpt DVD[40 mins]
Sept 22: Walk[45 mins]
Sept 19: Walk[40 mins]
Sept 14: Treadmill walk + short upper body circuit[35 mins]
Sept 11: The FIRM HiDef Sculpt DVD[45 mins]
Sept 10: Treadmill Walk[40 mins]
Sept 09: Crunch Pilates-Yoga Blend DVD[40 mins]
Sept 08: Hip Opening Flow #3[30 mins]
Sept 07: Treadmill Walk[40 mins]
Sept 04: Walk[35 mins]
Sept 02: Lunar Flow #1[20 mins]