Friday, September 3, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Babies growing up
What's on my mind this week is that little annoying growing up thing my kids keep doing. Yeah, I know, better than the alternative, but I do wish I could slow things down a bit. B just keeps growing out of clothes and is pretty independent now. And Ana asked me this week if she could start shaving. Yikes! I noticed her wearing leggings instead of shorts more this summer...well...that's why. She also lost her very last baby tooth last night. Yikes again! And she wants contacts. Did I say "Yikes!" yet?
Anyway, the shaving conversation is funny because every woman I know says that she wanted to shave long before her mother let her. And most of us stole our mom's razor and did it anyway. So I always swore that I would allow my daughter to shave whenever she wanted...I just didn't think it would be when she was 10. (Of course, since the memory is the first thing to go, I honestly cannot remember when I started shaving. That all seems a bit fuzzy to me now.)
Well, in response to all of this, I decided briefly last week that the thing to do was to have another baby. That lasted all of a day before my husband told me I was absolutely insane to think of having another kid now (turning 40 in a couple months and have long since given away all the baby gear). And then another friend aptly pointed out that a new baby would eventually grow up too. Thanks, guys. Last month, it was the doctors telling me I'm getting old. Now my best friends. Love you too. Mean it.
So, now I just need to embrace the idea of my daughter "blossoming" as they used to say. I have no idea how to teach someone how to shave. As we mentioned, I snuck and figured it out on my own. I certainly didn't have these kinds of experiences with my mom. Are you kidding? Supposedly you really grow only when forced out of your comfort zone. Well, I'm uncomfortable, so I guess I'm growing (or growing old, one or the other.)
Anyway, the shaving conversation is funny because every woman I know says that she wanted to shave long before her mother let her. And most of us stole our mom's razor and did it anyway. So I always swore that I would allow my daughter to shave whenever she wanted...I just didn't think it would be when she was 10. (Of course, since the memory is the first thing to go, I honestly cannot remember when I started shaving. That all seems a bit fuzzy to me now.)
Well, in response to all of this, I decided briefly last week that the thing to do was to have another baby. That lasted all of a day before my husband told me I was absolutely insane to think of having another kid now (turning 40 in a couple months and have long since given away all the baby gear). And then another friend aptly pointed out that a new baby would eventually grow up too. Thanks, guys. Last month, it was the doctors telling me I'm getting old. Now my best friends. Love you too. Mean it.
So, now I just need to embrace the idea of my daughter "blossoming" as they used to say. I have no idea how to teach someone how to shave. As we mentioned, I snuck and figured it out on my own. I certainly didn't have these kinds of experiences with my mom. Are you kidding? Supposedly you really grow only when forced out of your comfort zone. Well, I'm uncomfortable, so I guess I'm growing (or growing old, one or the other.)
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Not a stellar week...
It hasn't been a great week for me in terms of exercise (well, actually two weeks). Last week was full of long meetings and even worse headaches. This week all my extra time has been consumed with mom being in the hospital, checking on her stuff, visiting her while shuffling kids around, etc. Needless to say, the treadmill time is the first thing to go when things get crazy.
Before that I had done a pretty regular 2 weeks of jogging/walking every other day for at least 2.5 miles. I was determined to be a good girl this week, but honestly, when I don't get home at night until after 9:00, all I want to do is just sit down....or go to bed.
Anyhow, my goal tonight is to get my ENG 232 blogs graded. I also want to work on the garage some this weekend, but I'll find some treadmill time somehow. Definitely Saturday if not Friday.
The good news is that I stepped on the scale this morning and had lost 5 lbs. I had weighed last week after the two weeks of exercise and lost nothing. So maybe today was a fluke. I have certainly been going out to eat less, and I've been consciously trying to avoid chips and cheese covered dishes (my absolute fave!). Maybe that has done some little bit of good. Wish me luck that it's really gone and not just a fluke from being dehydrated. ;-)
Before that I had done a pretty regular 2 weeks of jogging/walking every other day for at least 2.5 miles. I was determined to be a good girl this week, but honestly, when I don't get home at night until after 9:00, all I want to do is just sit down....or go to bed.
Anyhow, my goal tonight is to get my ENG 232 blogs graded. I also want to work on the garage some this weekend, but I'll find some treadmill time somehow. Definitely Saturday if not Friday.
The good news is that I stepped on the scale this morning and had lost 5 lbs. I had weighed last week after the two weeks of exercise and lost nothing. So maybe today was a fluke. I have certainly been going out to eat less, and I've been consciously trying to avoid chips and cheese covered dishes (my absolute fave!). Maybe that has done some little bit of good. Wish me luck that it's really gone and not just a fluke from being dehydrated. ;-)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Love/Hate Relationship with the Treadmill
We all have that, right? I mean, I like having the treadmill. I like not having to go out in the cold, ice, and snow--or more normally around here, the dreadful heat of summer--but who really likes using their treadmill? I should consider myself lucky to have it, I know. At any rate, I have been using my treadmill again lately, see previous postings, only I don't have it set up the way I want it yet. It's in my unfinished basement, no TV, no real heat, nothing to do but stare at the stud walls. I do have a radio, but that's it. I guess that's an incentive to hurry up and get the exercise over with.
Okay, so here's my accountability report for last week. I was doing well using the treadmill every other day all last week: I began on Sunday and worked out on Tuesday and Thursday as well. Then, with the snow over the weekend, I slacked off a bit. I kept thinking the sledding down and climbing back up the hill would count as exercise, but there wasn't nearly enough of that. However, I was back at it tonight.
I generally do 45-50 minutes, about 2.5 miles walking and jogging. Am I making progress towards my goal? I think so. Running isn't as hard each time. The first day on the treadmill was okay. I ran in 1-2 minute stretches and arguably tried to do too much too soon. The second day on the treadmill I was extremely sore, but I quickly found myself in a pattern of running one minute, walking two. I liked the rhythm and the ability to push it then recover. The entire time was painful, and the soreness continued for a couple days afterwards, but there was no injury, just sore muscles. On day three, I warmed up extra slowly and remembered to stretch. (Well, I always remember to stretch; I just don't always do it. I know that's bad...I get that.) That time I also kept up my rhythm of running one minute and walking two (after the warm up and stretching, of course). That day was easier and less painful, with no real soreness afterwards.
Today, I started out in my run one, walk two pattern, but then I lengthened it to run one and a half minutes, walk two and a half minutes. I was a little tired, I think partly because I skipped a day over the weekend, but I felt good afterwards.
While you may argue that every other day isn't enough, and I understand that from a weight loss stance, I think it is enough for training to run a 5K. It's been years since I've run any distance, and if I'm going to stick with it, the training has to be manageable. My ideal goal is to run on the treadmill about every other day and do some walking on the days in between. I will say, however, that I cannot JUST walk on the treadmill. I get on it, and I want to get it over with. (Did I mention I hate the treadmill?) So after just a few minutes, I'm jogging. I've tried walking only, and unless I'm injured, I can't do it. I think when the weather improves, I'll be more apt to get my walking in. I like walking around campus when it's pretty, and I have three days a week when Ana's in dance that I can walk...I just don't generally want to do that in the cold and dark.
Anyway, that's it for my update. Not much to report, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd given up so soon. I am still afraid to step on the scales. I might do that next week, maybe.
Okay, so here's my accountability report for last week. I was doing well using the treadmill every other day all last week: I began on Sunday and worked out on Tuesday and Thursday as well. Then, with the snow over the weekend, I slacked off a bit. I kept thinking the sledding down and climbing back up the hill would count as exercise, but there wasn't nearly enough of that. However, I was back at it tonight.
I generally do 45-50 minutes, about 2.5 miles walking and jogging. Am I making progress towards my goal? I think so. Running isn't as hard each time. The first day on the treadmill was okay. I ran in 1-2 minute stretches and arguably tried to do too much too soon. The second day on the treadmill I was extremely sore, but I quickly found myself in a pattern of running one minute, walking two. I liked the rhythm and the ability to push it then recover. The entire time was painful, and the soreness continued for a couple days afterwards, but there was no injury, just sore muscles. On day three, I warmed up extra slowly and remembered to stretch. (Well, I always remember to stretch; I just don't always do it. I know that's bad...I get that.) That time I also kept up my rhythm of running one minute and walking two (after the warm up and stretching, of course). That day was easier and less painful, with no real soreness afterwards.
Today, I started out in my run one, walk two pattern, but then I lengthened it to run one and a half minutes, walk two and a half minutes. I was a little tired, I think partly because I skipped a day over the weekend, but I felt good afterwards.
While you may argue that every other day isn't enough, and I understand that from a weight loss stance, I think it is enough for training to run a 5K. It's been years since I've run any distance, and if I'm going to stick with it, the training has to be manageable. My ideal goal is to run on the treadmill about every other day and do some walking on the days in between. I will say, however, that I cannot JUST walk on the treadmill. I get on it, and I want to get it over with. (Did I mention I hate the treadmill?) So after just a few minutes, I'm jogging. I've tried walking only, and unless I'm injured, I can't do it. I think when the weather improves, I'll be more apt to get my walking in. I like walking around campus when it's pretty, and I have three days a week when Ana's in dance that I can walk...I just don't generally want to do that in the cold and dark.
Anyway, that's it for my update. Not much to report, but I didn't want anyone to think I'd given up so soon. I am still afraid to step on the scales. I might do that next week, maybe.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Progress, or lack thereof...
Well, here's the progress (or lack thereof) so far on my running goal:
Friday--Had a sinus headache, came home and lay down for a while. Woke up headache free but just in time to go help my niece with some cleaning of her new house before she moved.
Saturday--Lazy as heck. Did nothing, and I mean nothing, all day except drive to get gas in the car. Uggh. I did resist the temptation to grab a burger on the way home. Yay me.
Sunday--Still pretty lazy. Most of the day consisted of church, grocery store, facebook, and football. I do realize, however, that I will not make any progress on my goal if I never start, so at about 10:20, I got my lazy butt downstairs to set up the treadmill. Yep, set up the treadmill. We've been in the house for over a year, and it hasn't even been plugged in. So, I moved it across the basement, plugged it in, wiped about 2 years of dust off of it, and gingerly started it up. Then I let it proceed to kick my butt for about 45 minutes.
Luckily, everything seems to work just fine on the treadmill except one little annoying part of one digit on the display. So when I burn 100 calories, half the 1 doesn't show. Likewise, luckily, everything on me seems to work okay as well, all except those lungs. So when I burn 100 calories, I'm coughing as my lungs beg for an inhaler (which, of course, I don't think to take with me downstairs).
All in all I think I did pretty well. My sensible plan was to just walk for a week or so and slowly get into jogging. The idiotic reality was that I walked for a quarter mile or so and decided to see how far I could jog right away. I'm pleased that I didn't have a heart attack (yet), and I was able to jog a couple minutes at a time. If I can stick with it, say 3-4 times a week, I have no doubt I'll be jogging a 5K by September.
Okay, now, off to take some preemptive ibuprofen and go to bed.
Friday--Had a sinus headache, came home and lay down for a while. Woke up headache free but just in time to go help my niece with some cleaning of her new house before she moved.
Saturday--Lazy as heck. Did nothing, and I mean nothing, all day except drive to get gas in the car. Uggh. I did resist the temptation to grab a burger on the way home. Yay me.
Sunday--Still pretty lazy. Most of the day consisted of church, grocery store, facebook, and football. I do realize, however, that I will not make any progress on my goal if I never start, so at about 10:20, I got my lazy butt downstairs to set up the treadmill. Yep, set up the treadmill. We've been in the house for over a year, and it hasn't even been plugged in. So, I moved it across the basement, plugged it in, wiped about 2 years of dust off of it, and gingerly started it up. Then I let it proceed to kick my butt for about 45 minutes.
Luckily, everything seems to work just fine on the treadmill except one little annoying part of one digit on the display. So when I burn 100 calories, half the 1 doesn't show. Likewise, luckily, everything on me seems to work okay as well, all except those lungs. So when I burn 100 calories, I'm coughing as my lungs beg for an inhaler (which, of course, I don't think to take with me downstairs).
All in all I think I did pretty well. My sensible plan was to just walk for a week or so and slowly get into jogging. The idiotic reality was that I walked for a quarter mile or so and decided to see how far I could jog right away. I'm pleased that I didn't have a heart attack (yet), and I was able to jog a couple minutes at a time. If I can stick with it, say 3-4 times a week, I have no doubt I'll be jogging a 5K by September.
Okay, now, off to take some preemptive ibuprofen and go to bed.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Losing Weight....
...that's what's on my mind. I've been trying to get remotivated in the last few months, ever since the state decided that overweight people need to be punished and pay more for their health insurance. I'm pretty heavy for my frame, so in order to meet their requirements, I need to lose about 80 lbs. Now, in the past, before the kids, I had gotten motivated with exercise and decent eating habits and lost about 70+ lbs. That was before going to work at Caldwell. That place is bad for the waistline.
Anyway, 80 lbs. Sheesh. I basically have gained back everything I lost before, plus a couple pounds. Back then, I was a part time instructor, teaching morning and nights, but I had the luxury of several hours free during the day. Hours free with no kids. I would walk at L-R, the Y, around school, even at home. During a three year period, me and the hubby wore out a ski machine and a treadmill...completely wore them out. Then we bought a house...I got a full time job...we had a baby...etc. Excuses, I know.
Honestly, though, I was burnt out on exercising. I had been jogging something like 3-5 miles a day, 4-5 days a week, for about three years, yet I never got to my goal. My runner friends all said I needed to step it up some to burn more calories, but I just didn't see how. I don't want to say I've lost all hope now, but if I was doing so well back then and never got to my goal, I'm not sure how to go about it now.
I do know, however, that I need to do something, not only because of the insurance, but because the hubby has gained back all the weight he lost, and we have one "above average" child and one downright chubby child. I have been trying to focus on veggies more and walking some, more eating at home and less eating out. I've been thinking for more than a year now that I would try the 10,000 steps a day plan, but I'll get there like two days out of a week and then back to my normal of 3500 steps a day. I also need to get back to the treadmill, the replacement one we bought a few years back and haven't used nearly enough. The one downstairs, in the basement, so sad and all alone.
Hubs just turned 40 yesterday; I'll get there later this year, and I'm already taking it badly. I need to set a goal to reach by the time I'm 40. I have several months. What should it be? I could set a weight loss goal, but I've never been good with that. Better I think to set an exercise goal and let the weight loss happen on its own. A 5K? I used to do those often. I never got to my goal pace either, but I did do them, and I could jog the whole thing. I know a lot of skinny people that can't run 3.1 miles. Maybe that's it...doing a 5K again. The Race for the Cure is in October, but that's after the birthday. That's what I'm going to do, I think. Look for a fall race and enter. I've got several months to plan and train to get back into shape enough to run a 5K. That would be great too because I try to encourage my daughter to run, but she doesn't think moms can run. Ha!
Okay, there it is...that's my goal. I'm posting it on the Internet for everyone (although only like 2 people ever read this) to see. A 5K by September. Definitely!
Anyway, 80 lbs. Sheesh. I basically have gained back everything I lost before, plus a couple pounds. Back then, I was a part time instructor, teaching morning and nights, but I had the luxury of several hours free during the day. Hours free with no kids. I would walk at L-R, the Y, around school, even at home. During a three year period, me and the hubby wore out a ski machine and a treadmill...completely wore them out. Then we bought a house...I got a full time job...we had a baby...etc. Excuses, I know.
Honestly, though, I was burnt out on exercising. I had been jogging something like 3-5 miles a day, 4-5 days a week, for about three years, yet I never got to my goal. My runner friends all said I needed to step it up some to burn more calories, but I just didn't see how. I don't want to say I've lost all hope now, but if I was doing so well back then and never got to my goal, I'm not sure how to go about it now.
I do know, however, that I need to do something, not only because of the insurance, but because the hubby has gained back all the weight he lost, and we have one "above average" child and one downright chubby child. I have been trying to focus on veggies more and walking some, more eating at home and less eating out. I've been thinking for more than a year now that I would try the 10,000 steps a day plan, but I'll get there like two days out of a week and then back to my normal of 3500 steps a day. I also need to get back to the treadmill, the replacement one we bought a few years back and haven't used nearly enough. The one downstairs, in the basement, so sad and all alone.
Hubs just turned 40 yesterday; I'll get there later this year, and I'm already taking it badly. I need to set a goal to reach by the time I'm 40. I have several months. What should it be? I could set a weight loss goal, but I've never been good with that. Better I think to set an exercise goal and let the weight loss happen on its own. A 5K? I used to do those often. I never got to my goal pace either, but I did do them, and I could jog the whole thing. I know a lot of skinny people that can't run 3.1 miles. Maybe that's it...doing a 5K again. The Race for the Cure is in October, but that's after the birthday. That's what I'm going to do, I think. Look for a fall race and enter. I've got several months to plan and train to get back into shape enough to run a 5K. That would be great too because I try to encourage my daughter to run, but she doesn't think moms can run. Ha!
Okay, there it is...that's my goal. I'm posting it on the Internet for everyone (although only like 2 people ever read this) to see. A 5K by September. Definitely!
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