Week 24: Sunshine & Super Moon

This past week has been really lovely - wish I'd been on vacation! Still, we've all enjoyed it. Monday night I went to Zumba, but Tuesday & Wednesday evenings I got out and enjoyed the weather. It's really perfect at the moment: sunny, but pleasant temperature, not many bugs of the black fly/mosquito type yet, so you can be outside without being bitten.

Wednesday night I may have overdone things a bit though. I wasn't sore after my very first TRX class last Friday, which I thought I might be, because if I'm going to get sore it is usually after trying something new. I wasn't sore after spending most of Sunday planting my garden. Wednesday, I did one of my usual DVD workouts right after work, had dinner, then went out and did some weeding. I enjoy being outside in the good weather, but I like to have something to do, and there are still plenty of weeds out there to pull. I thought nothing of it.

Thursday morning I woke up with screaming quad muscles. Possibly some other as well, but the quads were the loudest. I hobbled about on my sore legs all day, was exhausted by mid-afternoon. By 8 pm I was actually contemplating going to bed, except I had to wait for the cats to get in their evening romp. I was actually tired on Friday too, but over the weekend I felt better.

I happened to see mention of the fact that the full moon this weekend was going to be the closest full moon of the year. It certainly was looking big and bright in the sky last week.

 

 

 

 Of course on Saturday when I went out to look, it was behind the trees. Still made for a bit of an interesting photo once I cropped it.

And  last night (Sunday) it was foggy, so I couldn't see anything.

The forecast for this week is not looking so great at the moment, hoping that will change. It was foggy in town all day today, but when I got home it was nice and sunny in our neighborhood, so I was able to get out and finish my planting. I actually feel like I accomplished quite a bit this week; everything is planted, now I just have to sit back and wait for it all to grow. More or less. 

We had a  slow start this spring, but it's amazing how quickly things fill in once they get started. So once my seeds and transplants get going, I'm sure it will be the same; it always seems like they are hardly growing at all, then suddenly everything takes off.

All of this to say, basically, that I had a really good week. It wasn't about workouts or diet plans, but it was about living and enjoying the things I like to do. Which is the point of this healthy living thing after all.

Week 23: Let's get this garden started!

Monday
Sun is shining! Forecast calls for rain Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. :(

Opted to skip Zumba and spent the evening in the garden instead - have to take adavantage of these short bouts of sun.

Tuesday
I've been doing a lot of the internal "I hate that I'm fat" thinking lately....coming dangerously close to "I hate myself for being fat" even. It does funny things to a person. I walked into the drug store this morning, to buy a bottle of water, the negative fat talk ringing in my head and thought "I want a chocolate bar." What? How does that even make sense? I did not buy a chocolate bar.

It did hit me though, that since we've moved office buildings I am around mirrors a lot. The elevator walls are mirrored. That walkway into the mall is mirrored and there are mirrored pillors in the mall itself. Don't know who decided all those mirrors were a good idea, but I think maybe they are doing bad things to my head. Must start ignoring the mirrors.

Wednesday
Pouring down rain. Again. This is getting depressing. And exhausting.

Thursday
Ended up working from home so I could drive Husband to the doctor. Wednesday morning, Husband was feeling what he thought was a kink in his back from sleeping wrong. The the pain moved and got worse, and was still bad this morning so he called the doc. Very likely kidney stones (ouch!) and he is waiting to hear from the hospital to go in for tests.

I normally work from home on Fridays and staying home today is throwing me off because I keep thinking it is Friday; gonna be a bummer to have to wake up and work tomorrow.

On the up side, the sun actually came out this afternoon. It was still kinda gloomy this morning and I was cold almost all day, but it was nice to see the sun.

Friday
Finally got around to trying a TRX class. It's been in the back of my mind for a while, they offer them at the fitness studio where I go to Zumba. You have to call ahead to reserve, and the class times are 5 & 5:30, so that means I have to: a) think ahead to reserve my spot, and b) be sure I can  get out of work on time. Kinda totally missed the part where they have a class at 5 pm on Fridays; I work from home on Fridays and the studio is a 5 minute drive from my house. Totally doable. Of course, this was the last Friday class; reduced summer schedule is starting.

Was trying to explain TRX to Husband - I forget that not everyone pays attention to every fitness craze that goes by...I said something along the lines of it being a harness system that attaches to the ceiling and you do body weight resistance exercises. He looked at me and said "why would you want to do that?" I did not know how to answer that because all I could think was "why wouldn't you?"

Anyway, went to the class. It's only a half hour and it went really fast; I was quite shocked when we started the cool down and stretching. I am not super fit, by any means, but the  class was totally doable. There were a few exercises where I had a bit of a hard time figuring out the positioning, and  one arm exercise that I felt was straining my elbow joints (I have issues with wrist/elbow/shoulder joints though, too many years of working behind a computer), but for the most part nothing I couldn't handle.

I knew going in that  I most likely would be fine, the class is meant for all levels after all. Still, there is always that little bit of doubt. And then I feel like other people are surprised when I can keep up. Very likely just me projecting.

Saturday & Sunday
The weekend has flown by as usual. Spent most of today getting my vegetable garden started. The actual in ground garden is almost done. I have a bunch of plants to get put in containers. Hopefully we will get a stretch of decent weather and I can get it done this week. I think I even  managed to avoid getting a sunburn, despite having spent most of the day out in the sun.

 

 

 

 Finally! Time to plant things!

 

 

Herb garden. Garlic is growing really well!

 

Yes. I am a child.

 

I've got cucumber transplants in. That white stuff is diatomaceous earth which is supposed to deter slugs. We shall see if it protects my transplants. In front of that, snap pea and green bean seeds are in. The section at the end is still to be planted.

 

 

Hardly saw the cats at all today; it was pretty hot and I think they were sleeping. They are usually around in the late afternoon/evenings though.

 

Rhododendrons in full bloom.

 

 

 

Week 22: June? Hello?

The weather continues to be disappointing. We get short teasers, a sunny day here, a warm day there, but mostly it seems to be grey, chilly and damp. It's starting to make me cranky. And of course, the nice weather, when we get it, happens during the week and not on the weekend.

We moved to a 16th floor office recently. Uptown Saint John is known for it's fog, and this time of year we are likely to look out the window and see white. But, when it's clear, we do have a nice view.

So goals...I had some...

Actually, fitness goals accomplished:

Monday: Zumba
Wednesday: Jackie Warner One On One Upper Body + Yoga Download Moon Salutations Flow
Thursday: Jackie Warner One On One Lower Body
Saturday: Kathy Smith Lift Weights to Lose Weight 2

Food goals...I suppose I did pay attention, but that does not mean I did every thing right. I guess in this case paying attention equals identifying the problem areas so that I can come up with strategies to do better. So, working on it.


Problem #1: JavaChick confuses Husband
So we tried these par-baked baguettes from Costco, and they are pretty good. Of course, since they are from Costco you end up with a whole bunch of them. They keep for quite a while though, so not so bad. You can't call a baguette "health food" but I believe in moderation. The difficulty would be the application of the word "moderation."

Tuesday night - we are having barbequed sausages on whole wheat buns with sauerkraut, and salad. Husband says we should bake up a baguette because we also have the container of bruschetta that should be eaten up. I kind of agree because we do need to eat this stuff up...but I don't really want to add bread to a meal that already includes bread. Follow my reasoning there? By the time we get around to supper, I conveniently forget to bake a baguette and Husband doesn't mention it.

Wednesday night - we are having Janet & Greta's Chicken burgers on Kaiser rolls. Husband again says we should have a baguette was well. I try to explain why I think we don't need one. Husband is good natured, but I can tell he is exasperated, and he thinks he won't have enough to eat. He ends up barbecuing some extra meat for himself.

Thursday night - We are having spaghetti (brown rice pasta). I see Husband look at the baguettes and then look away like he can't decide whether he should say anything. Now I am feeling bad. I ask does he want a baguette with dinner? He says a baguette with garlic butter would be nice, so that's what we have.

Friday we have fish. And roasted vegetables. And baguette with bruschetta. Because this is where I  think it works into a meal. Is it really that confusing?

I don't really want to make Husband feel like I'm telling him what he can and can't eat. But if we have a freshly baked baguette, I know I will want some, even if I don't need it. And he probably doesn't need the extra bread either. Perhaps I really am just a big meanie.


Problem #2: JavaChick gets tired of same-old, same-old
For the past couple of weeks, I have been eating fruit & yogurt for breakfast, and quinoa salad with avocado for lunch. This works because it's easy to pack up in the morning, I enjoy it, and it fills me up. Except by Thursday this week I was going off the rails - a chocolate croissant at the coffee shop seems like a better idea for breakfast, and I think I'll eat a bag of chips with my lunch...

I think the obvious lesson there is that after a few days I probably need to switch things up. Repetitiveness makes the lunch planning & packing easier, but it does me no good if I don't want to eat what I'm packing for myself.

Problem #3 - All planning & routine goes out the window on the weekends. Don't have an answer for that one yet. Thing is, sometimes it's nice to have a break from planning. And it's not like I binge all weekend, just probably am not as balanced as I should be. Baby steps, right?

On to the miscellaneous photos for the week...

 

 

 Frank's fur is growing in nicely and he seems to be pretty much his old self.

 

 

 

Zappa says hello...

There are signs of life in the garden, it just seems so slow this year. I haven't had a chance to get out and do anything and it still seems so cold!

Week 21: Hey! It's June!

I missed posting last week; I think I just felt like I didn't have much to say. I was pretty tired on the weekend, as well, and it just went by too quick.

Over the past two weeks, we've had a lot of grey, rainy weather, and cool for the time of year as well. I never feel very energetic when we have long stretches of dreary weather.

Yesterday, it was like we suddenly woke up to summer. We went from chilly and rainy to hot and sunny overnight. Not complaining, but it is a bit of a shock to the system. The humidity has been fairly high as well, very little in the way of a breeze, and it feels (to my asthmatic self) like there is not quite enough air to breathe sometimes. I'm also digging around trying to find summer clothing, which two days ago seemed like it would not be necessary for quite some time. I really need to get to the gardening, I'm way behind, but I'm not quite prepared for it.

[That bit was written yesterday, today started out nice but by evening it cooled down quite a bit. We are having some wild temperature shifts at the moment.]

I've been beating myself up over weight issues a lot lately. Trying to find summer clothing to wear did not help - somehow summer clothing seems to be the most difficult to find for my short and chubby self. It makes me even more conscious of the fact that I hate being fat. I also hate using that word. I'm trying to let go and be kinder to myself, while trying to figure out what I need to do to lose weight at the same time. It's a little challenging.

It took longer than I'd hoped, but I seem to be getting back into the exercise routine. I've been tracking food in myfitnesspal off and on. My goals are a little fuzzy, as I never seem to be able to figure out what works. Though, I do sort of feel like I can identify the good days and bad days; by which I mean the days where I felt I ate properly, vs. the days I did not, not necessarily the days where I hit a certain calorie target. Does that make sense?

So goals...I feel like I am forever changing and/or restating; let's say they are evolving...

Fitness wise: I would like to aim for one longer strenth training session per week, and one shorter. The difference being, the shorter ones are usually circuit type workout, which involve constant movement and I find I need to use lighter weights. I'd like to alternate, so I am getting in some workouts with heavier weights. In addition, I'd like to get in one Zumba class and some pilates/yoga type workouts. Trying to keep things well rounded. Of course, once I get going on the gardening, this may all go out the window; there is only so much time in a day to get things done.

Food wise: I do feel like I am getting a better handle on what foods work for me in terms of: a) keeping me satisfied so I am less likely to end up snacking mindlessly, b) having a happy tummy. The challenge would be that what I want to eat does not always mesh up with what Husband wants to eat and I still have this tendency to just go along with what he wants; not so much in a sense of giving in against my judgement, but in a sense of not paying attention. And, to be fair, sometimes I just get lazy.

 So that's where I am at the moment. As usual, the weekend flew by and now I'm staring at the start of another work week. We actually have a bit more of a meal plan this week, so here's hoping I can stay focused on my goals. And if the sun comes out again, I have some gardens that need weeding!

May Workouts

01: Harbour Passage Walk
07: Evening Walk
20: Ellen Barrett Yogini Workout DVD
21: Treadmill Walk + Body weight circuit
25: Kathy Smith Personal Trainer Sculpting
27: Zumba
28: Crunch Pilates Yoga Blend
29: Jackie Warner Power Circuit UB+ LB

Week 19: I wear yoga pants now. Yoga pants are cool.

The past five weeks have been exhausting for me. The two weeks Frank was missing took a lot out of me. We jumped from that right into packing up the kitchen and getting ready to have the floors done in our kitchen and entry way. For a week we didn't have a kitchen or living room, we had to board the cats; I felt a bit claustrophobic in my house, like everything was crowding in on me.

My parents had been planning to come for the Victoria Day weekend. When I spoke to my Mom the weekend after the floor was done, she said they could post pone. I said: "Oh no, it will be fine." What can I say? I was looking forward to having my family visit. But it meant we had to get the house all put back together, get the spare room cleaned up for my parents, get the basement cleaned up for my brother. It was a very busy, tiring week, on top of the four previous exhausting weeks.

We did have a good weekend and everything is done - we had no opportunity to let things drag on, so I suppose it was the way to go. I'm ready for a slower pace for a while though.

Over these past, crazy weeks, I have decided that yoga pants are perfectly fine casual attire. Before, I would wear them around the house, but if I was going  out anywhere - even to run to the grocery store - I would put on real clothes. Suddenly, I was tired, and I just didn't care, and I like my yoga pants. I'm not saying this is a good thing. I'm just saying this is how it is. Yoga pants are awesome and I would live in them if I could.

Over these past, crazy weeks, I have also been less interested in food. When Frank was missing, I had no appetite. I would eat, because it was time to eat, but I  didn't really care. Then we were just so busy, and trying to use up what was in the fridge and I just wanted it to be something easy that wouldn't make a mess to clean up. Then we had no kitchen. Normally I look forward to eating out; I enjoy sitting down, ordering what I want, not having to worry about cleaning up. There are lots of restaurants around that we enjoy. You'd think it would have been fun. Except I was tired and I just didn't care. I'm sure this will change and I will rediscover my joy in food, it's just interesting to me to note how I react in different situations.

There has also been next to no exercise. Or, I suppose I should say formal workouts. I certainly haven't been doing much sitting around, and I would go to bed exhausted and pass out every night. Which makes me not worry too much about the lack of formal exercise.

I do think that I could use some de-stressing type exercise over the next little while though. Some flexibility work, I think. I've been a little stressed.

This is the end of my 4 day weekend (vacation day Friday, holiday today). Back to work tomorrow, starting in a new role (which is basically just adding some extra responsibilities to my usual workload) and it's a little outside my comfort zone. Fortunately, I have been so busy, I really haven't had time to worry about it.

Favorite photos of the week...

Spectacular rainbow on Thursday evening.

 



My Dad and brother added signs to my garden shed! Makes me smile every time I go out in the yard.

 



 

Cherry blossoms in bloom. They smell as pretty as they look.

Forsythia

 



 

Zappa wears an earring now. Earrings are cool.

 

 

Week 18: Back to normal

This is what normal looks like:

They never really got to the point of loving the boarding experience. They were boarded at the vet's office, where they have room set up for cats. They were the only two cats there at the time, so they had the  room to themselves. Their was a nice big window and a cat tree. Really not bad accomodations, but my cats were not impressed. We visited every day on the way home from work and it went something like this:

Day 1: Cowering in their carriers, mostly ignoring the fact we were there.
Day 2: Both cats curled up together in same cat carrier; Frank came out to see us, but mostly paced like a...well, like a caged animal. We coaxed Zappa out a couple of times, but he wouldn't stay out.
Day 3: Both cats came out for pets, paced around the room, staked out the door; not stupid, my cats.
Day 4: Repeat of Day 3.

I was actually by myself on Day 4, which was Thursday. When I got home, things were quite close to being finished up. The upstairs was done, except for some baseboards and things like that. There was a  little tile work left to do on the lower landing (grout), and baseboards, but very close to done. The guys moved our furniture & appliances back to the kitchen and were probably out of the house by 5:30. Husband and I started tidying some things away, and then Husband said we probably could bring the cats home. I looked at the clock and it was 5:45; the vet closes at 6, we had plans to meet friends for dinner at 6:30. I said I supposed we might as well wait, because the vet would want to be closing up.

Then a few minutes later I was calling the vet to ask if we could come for the cats. They are 5 minutes away from our house and I just wanted them home. The vet very kindly agreed and we drove right over.

We brought the cats home, I rushed to get their food and water dishes set up while they paced around checking everything out. Then we had to rush off to meet our friends. By the time we came home, the cats seemed to have decided that everything was satisfactory. They did wake me up a bunch of times during the night - mostly Frank, it's what he  does - and in the morning I woke up surrounded by sleeping cats. All back to normal.

 By Friday afternoon, all the work was finished and we have our house back. We're still in the process of getting everything back where it belongs - and doing a little decluttering while we're at it - but the end is in sight.

The floor was basically white before, so it's quite a difference and it took me a couple of days to get used to it, but I think it turned out well.

The floor is actually a couple of inches higher now - note the top of the stove in comparison to the counter; they used to be pretty much level.

There was a height difference where the hardwood met the old floor, but now they are almost level, with the tile being just a tiny bit higher.

The stairs used to have carpet, which basically served as cat scratching material and acted like velcro when it came to cat hair.

We desperately need to paint, and we had talked about having it done at the same time (immediately following in the floors), but the floors happened faster than we expected and it felt like enough upheaval for the moment, so the painting will have to wait for now.

I'm glad we waited, because I ended up not feeling well over the weekend and I'm still not feeling great. I don't know if I'm just worn out - things have been kind of crazy for the past 4 weeks - so I'm trying to pace myself at the moment. I have things I need to get done, but I'm taking my time.

Week 17: No Kitchen

We really have not done a lot of work to this house in the 11 years we've been here. We've partially finished the basement. My sister and I painted the spare bedroom. That's pretty much it. So we are long over due.

Our kitchen floor for example. We noticed this crease developing in the cushion floor. The crease eventually turned into a crack. And we thought we should probably do something about that. So we went to a flooring place and they told us lots about the many different options available and we left feeling confused and overwhelmed.

A year later we had a hole in the cushion floor that we kept tripping over.

So it was time. Fortunately, we found a different flooring place where they offered helpful advice and we decided on ceramic tile. Oh yeah, we decided to do our entry way while we're at it. So this is what things are looking like right now.

The down side is that we couldn't have the cats walking all over the floors as they were being installed, and we had no good way to keep them out of the kitchen and entry way. We really tried to come up with a solution, but in the end we decided we had to board them for the week. We've never done that before, and I can't say I am entirely confident it was a good idea, but we couldn't think what else to do.

So far, that is the hardest part of the whole thing. Five days without our kitchen & living room is doable, but the cat situation is making me kinda miserable.

It's been a pretty busy week - we had a lot to do to get ready and it kept me busy evenings last week and all weekend. So ~ as far as my goal for the month ~ not a lot of time for lazing on the couch eating junk food.

The weather has been lovely, so I did take some breaks to hang out with my Frankie and soak up some sun.

He seems to be doing well and Zappa is used to him being home, which is a relief. Now we just have to make it through this week (I really miss them!), and by the weekend they should be home again. Oh yeah...And we should have a new kitchen floor. :)