soon

Hullo. Sorry I've been away so long.
There was a wonderful holiday then stressful week then weekend at comicon with my friends and now it's back to life and all it's been handing me lately. Lots going on right now and when I have time to post more than 2 words I'll be back I promise.

BRB

Ah. What a nice weekend. Spent lots of time with my J (went out for mexican food and a movie. A real date. I *know*) wrote a paper and futzed a bit. I had serious baking urges but with my oven still down I just hunted down caffeine free colas and cheesy penguin crackers and relaxed and went for a few long walks. Still caffeine free and starting to feel normal again, and realizing how much I relied on caffeine to fight tiredness. Now I'm finding other ways. Fall is starting and the evenings are really cooling off now. Sweater weather is upon us. Arm warmer time :)

Tonight my sister gets in from ontario on the plane and we'll be visiting my brother tonight. Tomorrow she and I are off for  a week to visit my Dad. As much as I am sad J can't make it up with us I am really looking forward to this. I'm bringing up my workout gear for some runs and beach workouts and getting set for some good reading (I've been saving most of Let's Pretend This Didn't Happen for this week) and relaxing and catching up. I need a holiday. It's supposed to be nice all week and I can't wait to read in the sun and go for a few canoe rides.

This morning I got in a final workout and came in for spin and sculpt class. Got a solid workout in and now I'm off to my last (yay!) day of work before I'm off for a bit. There's no internet up at the lake so I'll be signing off until next week.
Talk amongst yourselves :)

quickie

Soeery for the quick post. Busy, but want to log. Came in for spin and sculpt this morning and got it done.
Now...Science...

getting wistful

Good morning.
This morning I was up and in for a workout. Class was full (*sigh*) so I made my own workout and it was good.
3 rounds through of 11 each of:
-dragon curtsey squats (each side)
-pick up and shoulder and put down 20Lb, then half burpee hop out (alternating shoulders)
-deadlift + bent row (35 Lb)
-box step up + knee raise (each side)
-T arm front raise + side raise (8 Lb)
-pushups
-back extensions
Then I finished it off with 20 kettlebell swings (20Lb) and hopped on the elliptical for 28 minutes on an interval program.
Now it is another long day of work. The no caffeine is getting easier. I'm less tired, but I am still a bit moody. The tiredness only hits after lunch now so it's getting easier. I think morning workouts help that a lot.
Truth is, I am getting wistful. As much as I am looking forward to a holiday and spending next week with my Dad and sister at the lake I am increasingly sad that my J can't be there for it. He has to work the whole time...and I miss him already. We haven't gotten much time off together lately. It's been a hectic last few days and I feel like time is running out. I have to work to finish a paper before I go and I'd rather not "waste" time on work when I can spend it with J. I will try and find a balance... :)

Have a great day.

I have to admit it's getting better

You know, it's getting better :)
Yesterday I wasn't fatigued...I've spent the past few days in a fog and it's like the fog is lifting. I don't "need" a boost anymore. Yesterday my only coffee was at the end of the work day - half a cup. It was tasty and I enjoyed it for it's dark deliciousness and got on with my day. Today? I feel really good. Clear headed. Dare I believe that I may be near the end of this withdrawal? If so, hot damn and hallelujah. Never again.

After a nice visit with my Dad last night after picking him up at the airport it was an early night for me. This morning there was no headache to be seen and I was up and in for my workout - sculpt class with Petra. Once again I am amazed at how someone so tiny can be so dang strong! Solid workout. And we have an extra fan in there now. Yay! Petra has a totally different approach from Mel but same overall intensity and in the end I know I've done my bit for me for the day.
And now.....SCIENCE!

all pear shaped

Yesterday was loooong. Had my only 1/2 cup of coffee at 3 on my break and suddenly felt good again. Ridiculous...I'll be glad to be rid of this...

no caffeine + PMS = ragafragagaaaaaaaah!

Weirdly though - after being tired all day when I laid down to go to bed I couldn't sleep until 1:30....so when 5:30 came and I had a headache I slept another hour and it was thankfully gone when I got up. Feel much better now. Time for another day. I may workout when I get home if there is time...

monday again already

Well, I'm still kicking :) Groggy, but alive. Feeling better by the day, altho I still want to nap constantly. I bottled my cider and made some strawberry preserves yesterday and tried to fight the groggies. It was a tied battle :)
More annoyingly, my oven quit workinng last night so Im hoping that isn't too $$ to fix. The control panel on it won't respond so I can't use the oven...royal PITA. I used it a lot saturday to bake and the stove top is fine at least, but I have to say - I am less than impressed with the falling quality of appliances. I saved up and bought a high end gas Jennair convection oven and this is the second thing to go wrong with it in 3 years. I am hoping it's still under the extended warranty I bought...we shall see. No more baking until I can get it looked at...which is really annoying. I have to say - I'm not a fan of digital displays in general. Switches and knobs and fuses FTW - nothing to break that I can't fix.

This morning I came in to a full spin and sculpt class roster. It was Mel so we worked our asses off. All that hard work made the room very warm. It was so hot and muggy in the room that a girl almost fainted this morning...I personally was dripping sweat off my chin and had it in my eyes had to stop some of the exercises a few time because I was overheated...we mentioned it to the front desk in the hopes they will get another fan in there. I certainly gave it my all this morning and feel great.

Now it's time for breakfast and some (*sigh*) herbal tea and I'm off.
Hope you all have a great day. :)

I am Geo's soon to be conquered caffeine addiction

To try and learn more about why my self enforced caffeine withdrawal is so much "fun" (if by fun you mean cranky exhaustion...sigh) i put on my investigating hat. Turns out caffeine is addictive because the molecule  fits perfectly into our brain's adenosine receptors. Adenosine is responsible for signaling the brain that it is time to rest or sleep. Since these receptors are blocked with caffeine molecules, dopamine (the happy time brain chem) works more efficiently. Add to that the fact that excess adenosine signals the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and you feel more alert too. Happy and energetic! What could be wrong with that?

Well, over time, the brain adds more adenosine receptors to compensate for the caffeine, which causes a tolerance to build up to the caffeine molecule. So you can drink a tonne of caffeinated beverages to feel normal or don't even feel it's effects anymore (ahem. me.) So when I have the order to cut back to a cup or less a day like I have been the last 3 days, my brain is then flooded with adenosine, and dopamine doesn't do it's job properly for a while. The sudden drop in adrenaline levels my body is accustomed to has produced many of the caffeine withdrawal symptoms I have read about. Thankfully keeping a strong cup of Earl Grey in the morning menu staved off any particularly evil headaches and I have tried to fill my days with things I enjoy to be occupied. Even so-I am glad J is working all weekend. I have been a cranky moody tired little hermit and I dearly hope I level out soon and get back to a more decaffeinated normal. 

Thankfully I found some really good swiss decaf. I am one of those  weirdos who really loves coffee and tea. Hot drinks comfort me. I actually drank a cup of hot water with lemon like a granny on friday at work because I had no herbal tea. I am a (sad to admit) caffeine addict. I get a warm rush when I smell roasted coffee...feel elated when I have a sip. To think I drank almost double this to cope with grad school...jeez. I thought I *was* cutting back...

 I am glad my doc told me to do this or I don't know how well I would comply otherwise...

My peeps, I am a sad jittery cranky panda at the moment. Wish me luck.

Berry berry nice

My attempts to keep busy while J works all weekend and I Bgin my decaffeinated life have gone not too badly so far. My sister in law works weekends at the local strawberry u-pick ranch. She texted me a few times today saying I should pick some since there were so many ready. Usually I am not a berry farm person, but I decided to come by since today was pretty mellow for me. 

She was right. The strawberry Ranch is a few minutes out of town so came out to visit her and leave her a cup of some great locally roasted decaf I had been drinking in my kitchen which she sipped while I picked...for all of 10 minutes. I kid you not that there were so many berries ready that I picked 8 Lb of strawberries (which was all I had $$for) in under 10 minutes. I would pick berries more if it were that easy all the time! She didn't even finish her coffee before I headed back home. I was making meat buns and they were rising while I was out so this was a perfect tasty diversion.

I have eaten my fill of them by now and think I will can some in light syrup (I am all jammed out) and freeze the rest...I might make 1 or 2 jars of jam...honestly not sure if I have any jars left, so that will be the deciding factor. Perhaps they will end up in mah belleh.

I am on a strawberry thing today...even racked over my strawberry beer for one last settling out to get it off the fruit after a few weeks into the carbuoy. It smells delicious. The few mouthfuls I caught while racking the beer don't seem to have as much fruit flavour as last batch with a wheat beer base

though...we'll see.  This time it's a lager style-I was hoping it would let the fruit shine thru more...we shall see.

After all that, I'm off for craftiness in the craft pit. J needs a thingamajig for the 200th episode of his show tomorrow and I'm gonna try and make with something...

Later! 

withdrawal is a b*tch

Caffeine is a harsh mistress.

Yes I actually have this mug.
Yes I'm aware of the irony.

I've been instructed by my doctor to cut back on caffeine to 1 cup of coffee a day from waaaaay too many. I also love tea and a diet coke with supper (I know I know bad bad) so combined, when I looked at it I take in waaaaaay too much caffeine. And to think in grad school I was waaaay worse too. Eep. To avoid (I hope) the worst of the rather unpleasant withdrawals I am using this next week to wean back to a cup a day (sniff) and have decaf at other times. I do love my coffee. This will be tough. This AM instead of my XL Tim Hortons I had a small...it's just a teeny baby cup.
But I will persevere...more herbal tea and club soda for me...I will try not to kill anyone in the process. My husband who doesn't drink caffeinated beverages is trying not to be too smug at the moment. I vow not to kill him either :P
This morning I was up and in for spin and sculpt with Mel and all the students are back...it was so weird to go from a class of 4 back up to a full class of 20 again. It was a tough class and I pushed myself...and now it's time to get to work. I have a full docket, but if I can get to it all I can relax for the weekend and spend some time at the farmers market, do some baking, bottle my cider and rack my beer one last time. And probably sleep a lot and mumble about how I need more caffeine...

Grrrreat

Hi. Gotta run, but wanted to log quick so you know I'm being good :)

Spin class this morning - nice and sweaty. Feel grrrrrreat!

Later taters

Long weekend

Well after a nice weekend away I'm back at it. J and I had a weekend at the lake visiting Dad. It ended up somehow with a lot of us visiting people. Oddly everyone wanted to see us since it's been a while, which was nice, but it really got tiring after a while - we just wanted to relax and after a while it was more of a chore when we just wanted to sit and relax in the peace and quiet. There was cake tho...and peaches. All in all we still got in a sunny afternoon of fishing and, best of all,  still got to spend a day alone together hiking through the woods on gorgeous hot and sunny monday and have a picnic and go swimming in a forest lake there too...which was all J wanted to do for his birthday so in the end everybody wins. :)
Tuesday I was up at 4 to drop Dad off at the plane (bleh) and then had a long day of work with errands after so it was gogogo until 10PM so no workout yesterday, but today I was a good little schmoo and was up to workout. It was sculpt class with Mimi and she always gives a strong hard workout. I love her classes and wish she taught more She really makes you work and breaks up the movements into chunks so you can focus on form and strength and not just work to fatigue. Today is another busy one with dinner at my brothers so I must dash. Just wanted to say hi and log in  after my long weekend.

Have a great day!