I workout….

Life Time!

Life Time!

Yesterday I had my first appointment back with my trainer Sara Kate (I call her SK in the blog) since June. To be honest I really thought just walking up the stairs to the 2nd level would have worn me out that there would not have been much for us to do. However, I got up the stairs (winded) and made it to a treadmill where I walked for about 8 minutes at a slow pace.

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At Lifetime Fitness, they have a ton of treadmills, some with TV’s and some that have games like solitaire on them. That is what I usually do, I walk and play solitaire! But not today, I needed to focus on not falling down, plus SK found me and came over to catch up. It had been awhile since we had seen each other. She came to visit me in the hospital during my first round of chemo and brought me an orchid that I am trying not to kill and am failing at.

Me and SK

Me and SK

SK is in her early 20’s and had been training at Lifetime for almost a year. She became my trainer when my pervious one up and left. I had really wanted a female trainer because I don’t like strange men touching me in a personal way a trainer sometimes has to do. (See the leg stretch picture below). I was never able to fully relax with my previous one. And some of the “trusting” moves …don’t get me started.

Problem was that there were not many female trainers at the time who could fit my work schedule (or that I got a good vibe from). Then came along SK! She is a lot of fun and does push me hard. She is able to work around the whole missing my left leg thing and there for balance “issues”. I tend to forget that I am almost twice her age…until we talk about music and well, I scream rockin’ 40-year-old woman. But That is ok, my music is better! The stuff kids listen to these days…

My leg getting stretched by SK

My leg getting stretched by SK

Stretching was first on order. In the past I have been pretty limber and I was  fearful that I had tighten up a lot. I would say I was 75% where I use to be. There were some points where I almost fell off the table but overall I felt pretty good about limberness (not a word but hey, it’s my blog).

We first focused on some resistance work by doing squats and work with bands (really I have no idea what they are called but look at the pictures).

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Pulllllll!!!!!!

Pulllllll!!!!!!

Next we worked on my legs by using three different machines. The burn in my thighs hurt so good! I had missed that feeling. SK had me do 10 reps, three times. I was able to do more weight then I had when I first started working out which made me feel better. I had not turned to total jello while in my Sloth State.

Had to throw this in!

Had to throw this in!

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Next we worked on my arms, which by they way I am having a hard time lifting this morning. I guess that means that it is working! I did four different exercises on three machines.  I did 10 reps, three times each.

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On to the abs! Our hour was almost over, so I did only 10 reps, two times each. I did the crutch machine and the back extender (not sure if that is the name but it is my favorite).

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Workin' it

Workin’ it

After that we did more stretching! My favorite part!

All Done!

All Done!

After my workout I went down to the cafe and SK told me to get the Mocha Madness smoothie with almond milk and a scoop of peanut butter! OMG. Dam thing tasted like a Reese Peanut Butter cup! So Good. She sat with me for a bit and we shot the shit. I wanted to make sure I was ok to make the drive home and appreciated her hanging out with me. Her next client had canceled due to the fact the has a sink hole his is front yard. Pickels!

I did not take this picture. No credit here.

I did not take this picture. No credit here.

After 45 minutes I got in the car and headed home a happy camper. I am feeling my workout this morning. Arms, legs, butt. It is good to have that feeling back! I had missed it! Today, I plan to either do some yoga or ride the exercise bike for a min of 20 min.

The Club

The Club

Readers!!! I hope you all go out and push yourself a bit today! If not today when?!?!

School of Rock

Good Morning!

I hope everyone is having a great morning. I just got back from the gym. I am still training with SK but now on Wednesday’s I go in at 6:30am and I have a partner I work with too. Her name is Carrie and she also trains with SK. She too was looking for a way to save some money so SK asked if we would want to train together. This is our third week and so far it is working out well. I think she is in her mid 30’s and she is also into yoga. In fact, she had talked me into try a Hot Yoga class on Thursday at 6am!! So early but I love the teacher and it will nice to know someone in the class. My goal for the summer is to take 2 to 3 yoga classes a week. I would love to take more but there is this thing called work I have to do. Such a pain in my ass…

On Monday I not only turned 40 years old but I went back to school! Kinda, sorta…well…maybe not. Ok, here is the deal. My Man told me about this website Coursera.  Here is an explanation of what they do.

Coursera is an education company that partners with the top universities and organizations in the world to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. Our technology enables our partners to teach millions of students rather than hundreds.

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My Man has taken computer related courses and told me I should take a look. I looked through the list of courses they offer and ended up enrolling in “The History of Rock”.  (Every time I see that, I think of Jack Black in School of Rock).

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Now they have courses in all kinds of subjects. Lots of computer tech classes, food & nutrition, mathematics, film, science etc. My class is taught by John Covach from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. I went to college up there and though that was kind of cool. You have quizzes and tests you take and each week you have a series of videos you watch. For example, for week one, I have 11 video lectures to watch that covers “The World Before Rock and Roll (1900-1955)”. So far I have watch four of them and have learned some interesting things. Do you know who invested the tape recorder? I do! It was the Nazi’s during World War II. Do you have any idea how rich Bing Crosby was? I do! And he can thank Les Paul for half of his wealth.

I encourage you to check out the website. I am sure you can find a course you would be interested in.

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Ok, time for me to get cleaned up and go to work. Have a great day!

My body hurts…

Getting up this morning was painful, very painful. I was feeling yesterday’s workout. I got My Man and the The Boy (whose eyes look swollen from allergies) off to work/school and took off to the gym. I got there at 7:30 and walked on the treadmill for 20 minutes. Then at 8 am SK came and got me for more torture. Really, it wasn’t too bad…in the beginning. By the time we started to work on my abs, I hit the wall…and backed up and hit it again. I was tired, my legs were sore and my knee really hurt. When I got home I took a few Advil for my knee and by the lunch time, it felt a lot better. Tomorrow I plan on riding the exercise bike and then on Friday I got back to see SK and then Yoga. By then, I will really need a good stretch and a nice glass of wine.

Random thought: We got our tax refund today! Woot! Woot!

Farm Burger

Farm Burger

The Boy’s piano lesson was cancelled today, so we went out to dinner instead! We had seen this burger place called Farm Burger when My Man and I were out for a date night last month and decided to give it a try.

Farm Burger is defined by its mission, its farms, its team, and its community. We depend on local farmers, ranchers and land stewards to make your burger as good as it is. From our beef to our tomatoes to our compostable containers to our owners, Farm Burger is sustainable, local, humane, and helping to reroute our food system to function more like an ecosystem than a corporation. Our goal is to connect soil, animal, plant, rancher, butcher, chef & you…all in a simple wire basket.

When I read this and saw their menu, I knew this was my kind of burger joint. As I have said in the past, I don’t eat much red meat since at most places you really don’t know where it comes from. Why all beef can’t come from happy cows, who live a happy life getting fat on grass and sun bathing, I don’t know. Hopefully one day.

Fries & Rings

Fries & Rings

Anyway, back to the restaurant. My burger was very good. The crisp pickles and yummy smoked gouda cheese made it delicious! My Man and I split a basket of fries and rings. The Boy got a kids cheese burger, fries and shake. He was happy.  My Man was happy.

Shake

Shake

We were all happy.

Question: Do you ever feel that you don’t workout enough?

 

Pigeon Pose

Friday!

Usually on Friday’s I am at the club (my gym) by 7:15am. I work out with SK (trainer) from 7:30am to 8:30am. I then have breakfast at the cafe, read a little and talk to my yoga friends when they come in before class. We all then head up to the Yoga studio for the 10am class. Well, SK is still out for the week, so no morning workout. I slept in a bit, got the boys off to camp/work and then headed into the office do to payroll, pay bills, etc. I then hit the bank and drove to the club.

I have been taking Yoga classes at the club now for over six months. I am now at the point where you don’t have to use a spatula to scrape me off the floor at the end of class. I still have a hard time “clearing my mind”, can’t pronounce 99% of the poses but have gotten much better at my breathing. Now, apparently I am not the only one who can’t say all the sand script yoga poses. Some genius came up with American versions. You know- “downward dog, upward dog, cat/cow, childs pose”. I can see why they named them what they did. But I have an issue with one and it happens to be one of my favorite poses even though I can barely move my legs when I am done (my teacher says that’s how you know you are doing it right). It is the Pigeon Pose. Now, I don’t spend a lot of times with Pigeons. Chickens Yes. Pigeons No. But that pose looks NOTHING like a Pigeon. Nothing. Am I right?

Bird Pigeon

Bird Pigeon

http://www.sno-kingracingpigeons.com

Pigeon pose

Pigeon pose

http://manipurayoga.biz/hip-open-poses

Questions: What other names make no sense? What is your favorite pose?

PS- Those pictures are not mine which is why I included the links to the webpages I got them from. Heaven knows I don’t want any pissed off pigeons coming after me.

What Would SK Do?

Bagels

Bagels

This morning it was my turn to take The Boy to camp. I decided that we should get a bagel from my favorite place Bruegger’s Bagels. I got the breakfast sandwich “skinny” on an olive oil and rosemary bagel. Yummy! The boy got a plain bagel with cream cheese. We then headed to camp. The boy is going to camp at our gym. We are members of LifeTime Athletics. Our location has been open for almost a year. I must say, I love our gym. First of all, it is really, really nice. They keep it clean, the employees are helpful, there is a cafe, a spa (The Boy gets his hair cut there), indoor and outdoor pools (with water slides!), squash courts, yoga studio and more. They have a wonder kids club and host Spring Break and Summer Camps. During the summer camps they take the kids on field trips to the Zoo, Braves Games, Six Flags and more. The loves going there.

I was scheduled to workout with my trainer Sara Kate at 8am. However she was unable to make it due to a death in the family. I told her not to worry, I would go in and do a “What Would SK Do?” workout. I first warmed up by walking on the treadmill for 10 minutes. Cool thing about their treadmills is that I can play solitaire while I walk! Next, I hit the machines. I worked on my arms, legs, and abs. I did each machine (total of 11) three times each, 15 reps. I think I did a pretty good job on my own. I got to listen to my “Rock” playlist that I had made for The Boy.

Now it is time to work! Have a great day!

The Boys “Rock” playlist

  1. Forest Whitaker-Bad Books
  2. Back Against The Wall-Cage The Elephant
  3. Virgin-Manchester Orchestra
  4. Crawling-Linkin Park
  5. Ball & Biscuit-The White Stripes
  6. I’ve Got Friends-Manchester Orchestra
  7. Son’s Gonna Rise-Citizen Cope & Santana
  8. April Fool- Manchester Orchestra
  9. Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground-The White Stripes
  10. Gigantic-Pixies
  11. Hotel Yorba-The White Stripes
  12. Shake It Out-Manchester Orchestra
  13. The Hardest Button to Button-The White Stripes

 

Tuesday

Today started off by getting My Man and The Boy off to work/camp. I then did my AM Yoga DVD. I did the forward bend practice. Of course, I was not alone. Panny and Simon did a few cat yoga moves with me and then went off to eat a little. I was really sore from yesterday’s bike ride. My hamstrings hurt when I did the forward bend. I couldn’t go down as far as usual but by the end I felt better.

I want to give a shout out to my girl Heidi for sending me the linky link that showed me how to make links on WordPress. I knew it would be right there in front of my face and I wasn’t wrong! Thanks again Heidi!!!

My bike ride went well yesterday but during the middle of the ride I saw smoke in the distance and a helicopter hovering. Something was defiantly on fire. I told my assistant about this morning and she read the an apartment complex had a fire and it affected a section of apartments. I hope everyone is ok. By the time I left, the smoke was getting heavier and I was happy I got there when I did. It would have sucked to have to ride in it.

It looks like I will be doing Meatless Tuesday today. I had a protein smoothie while I drove to work today. I then had same salad I had on Monday for lunch. I also had some grapes and an apple with peanut butter for snacks. I have really been on a peanut butter kick lately.  It is so yummy! I only eat the Trader Joes kind. Only peanuts and salt for me!

After work, I went and picked The Boy up from camp. Boys are weird. Yesterday I went to pick him up and he was like “What took you so long?” It was 4:30. Today I get there and he is unhappy because he said I came to early! It was 4:05. I can’t win!

When we got home he had to practice his piano. I must a admit, I totally forgot about it yesterday. He has his lesson tomorrow. He has one song memorized but not the second one. I am not to worried though since the second one is a new song and much longer then the first. After practice I did a little work on My Hotel Yorba and then is was time for dinner.

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I made my self a veggie quesadilla using Trader Joe’s vegetable Marsala burger and cheese as the filling. I also had a side of black beans.

The Girls

The Girls

After dinner, I went out to hang out with the girls. For snack they got home-grown lettuce and broccoli. The broccoli heads are starting to go bad so I thought I would see if they would like them.

Poppy likes it!

Poppy likes it!

I sit outside with them while they eat and then scratch the ground, inside purple Dino and take dirt baths. Hawks are an issue. A little over a month ago a hawk killed our little chicken Sally. She was a Silkie and only weighed a pound or two, much smaller then the other two. I am still upset about it, so now I hang out with them while they free range. It is a good thing I do. When I went to put them up I saw a hawk fly away. It had been hiding in a tree about not to far away from the coop.

How did that get there?

How did that get there?

Turbo on the left, Poppy on the right

Turbo on the left, Poppy on the right

Plans for the rest of the night include riding the stationary bike for a least an hour and catching up on my DVR’d shows! Oh! I have a new Twitter handle – @myhotelyorba  Go check it out and follow me…I will follow you!!

Question: How often do you go meatless? Where do you get your recipes?

Meatless Monday!!

The sun is out and it is nice and warm. It is about time! I had my shake for breakfast and since it is meatless Monday I had a salad for lunch. My salad included: a mix of spinach, arugula, goat cheese, edamame broccoli and quinoa. I also had some grapes.

After a meeting with a client, I ran to Target. I needed to get a new cover for my iPhone. Somehow I lost mine. I have no idea where it is. No doubt I will find it in a week or so. Oh well. I also got a new sports armband. The one I have sucks! I can’t see through the plastic cover and I have to take the dam thing out of the cover to make it work. What is the point of that! So I got a new one from New Balance. I will let you know how it works out.

New iPhone Cover

Workout Band Between The Boy and me, we have lost/misplaced so many ear buds. I can never find them when I need a pair, like today. So I bought two pair of cheap ones. They cost $3.00. Aren’t they cute?! A duck! A deer!

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On the way to work I realized I forgot to pack some workout socks. Oh, did I mention I was planning on going on a bike ride? Sorry about that.  So since I was at Target, I got a pair of socks to wear. They were only a $1.50, so I got two pairs.

While at work, I went to the bathroom (it happens) and noticed that I was wearing two different pair of shoes. What? How did that happen? No, I did not dress in the dark.  Where was my head this morning? At least they are both black…  And yes, I am wearing pants. I didn’t forget those.

After I got back from my Target run, I had some Trader Joes Low Fat Vanilla Yogurt with Almonds. It is my favorite kind.