Jeepers. It's been a while. Sorry. I've just been doing stuff and work has been crazy, so I haven't really stopped by...I am well. Workouts have been good and regular. I'm feeling stronger. The weekend away with the girls was a tonne of fun and it's been a really good few weeks. I feel like I'm building a circle of friends...it's cool.
One funny memory from the last week just popped into my mind. J and I have been making a conscious effort to try and go out and meet with people and do more so that he gets out of the house more (working from home can be literally crazy making for him it would seem) and we had made a date with a few friends to go for wonton soup tuesday night. Both friends eneded up having a horrible day - one had a surprise exam to study for and the other spent the afternoon cleaning up water in her basement so neither of them really wanted to go out for supper so they cancelled= totally understandable. So I thought it'd be sweet to pick up some soup and leave it at their place as a surprise so they could have soup and still do their things in peace. We picked up take away soup and salad rolls and snuck into their place and left their soup on their table...and when we got home we realized that the restaurant we went to packs up it's wonton broth separately from the soup contents - soooooo we only had left them containers of broth and had their wontons and stuff. Heheh...oops. They were still happy we thought of them and tossed in some noodles and we got extra wontons, but it was pretty hilarious all around. So yeah - I learned that I need to go to soup fairy school.
This weekend I"m going to Edmonton to visit a very old friend Cindi - she and her husband are separating after 20 years of marriage and she's just moved out and moved into her new place. We're gonna hang out and she can vent and we can go out and eat and drink and let some friendship love heal each other's hearts for a bit. I've been waiting to get out there for over a month now and I can't wait. J is driving out with me and will be hanging out with some people over the weekend and lining up some work for the summer. Can't really afford to go, but Cindi has always been there for me...she came to see me to make christmas cookies while I was home on chemo and has always been a good friend. I miss her and I really like being able to keep in touch with her now with things like Snapchat.Technology can be pretty cool sometimes.
Anyways - I am in the midst of planning a Research Day for my 2 laboratories on March 3 and building a website so I've got a tonne of work to do here at work. We ordered custom nerdy lanyards! I only have 30 posters to proof and print, catering to organize, books and nametags to print and judges to find. Eep.I should go.
Have a good weekend!!!
That time when I howled at the moon
Last night I didn't sleep well at all and got to sleep late. I tried to get up to workout but the little bit of extra sleep was needed. I did walk to work this morning though, so there is that. It was only (ha) -15 so I bundled up to get a little activity in. I I can sneak in some isometric work at lunch in my office I'll do some strength stuff, but I'm not gonna get worked up about it. I've been so spot on all month it seems weird to cheat out...but that is life. Things happen. What matters is your life and how you keep going :) My barometer pants are fitting better again so I'm getting back in shape... I feel better about that.
This weekend I'm going away with a crew of girls that I've been getting to know at one of their cabins for a girls weekend. There will be a full moon and fires and cards and snow hikes and possibly some full moon howling...I really hope it is a fun time. I'm a bit nervous, since I'm mostly comfy with them, but still not sure where I sort of fit in...but I am quite happy to be invited. I've been slowly getting to get to know this crew for a while. They're all amazing people and I feel happy to have been invited. Oh the mind games of youth huh? How they linger. I still have to remind myself that yes people do like me and no they aren't just doing this so they can be mean later or feel pity for me...truth is I still find most girls genuinely confusing -but these women are my kinda women...so I feel different about them. And, it turns out, that yes, it's quite likely that they really do like me as well. I have a shortage of girlfriends in my life and surrounding myself with a bunch of strong creative women who really build each other up is a really good thing at this point in my life. It's gonna be a full moon with a partial lunar eclipse and some comets. And snow. I hope we'll get on some late night winter hikes. The weather should be around -10 or so, which is nice for outdoor stuff. So yeah...It should be a fun time.
We're all in charge of 1 meal and mine was (at a request) my baked french toast. Easy peasy. I hope to try and be healthy this weekend and not throw all my hard work out the window - we'll see. I'm just looking forward to a fun weekend of just doing what I wish with no stress and deepening some friendships. I feel a bit bad as J is quite jealous. He says guys don't do this sort of thing enough...and perhaps that's true. He is better friends with a lot of the women in this group and thinks this would be a perfect weekend and would hide in my bag to come along if he could. A few of the guys who are partners of the women going up have invited him over for a beer and to hang out but I don't know if he'll go...he's a funny duck that way - he's like I am with guys - he gets along better with women, so he's never sure how to hang out with "just guys". Plus, he sometimes decides that he doesn't want that and just needs to be alone. I get that. I made up some hummus and guacamole for him so he won't live on bagels and cereal while I'm away so he and the cats will be fine.
Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm off to do some science and then run away to the woods and howl at the moon with some witch folk :)
This weekend I'm going away with a crew of girls that I've been getting to know at one of their cabins for a girls weekend. There will be a full moon and fires and cards and snow hikes and possibly some full moon howling...I really hope it is a fun time. I'm a bit nervous, since I'm mostly comfy with them, but still not sure where I sort of fit in...but I am quite happy to be invited. I've been slowly getting to get to know this crew for a while. They're all amazing people and I feel happy to have been invited. Oh the mind games of youth huh? How they linger. I still have to remind myself that yes people do like me and no they aren't just doing this so they can be mean later or feel pity for me...truth is I still find most girls genuinely confusing -but these women are my kinda women...so I feel different about them. And, it turns out, that yes, it's quite likely that they really do like me as well. I have a shortage of girlfriends in my life and surrounding myself with a bunch of strong creative women who really build each other up is a really good thing at this point in my life. It's gonna be a full moon with a partial lunar eclipse and some comets. And snow. I hope we'll get on some late night winter hikes. The weather should be around -10 or so, which is nice for outdoor stuff. So yeah...It should be a fun time.
We're all in charge of 1 meal and mine was (at a request) my baked french toast. Easy peasy. I hope to try and be healthy this weekend and not throw all my hard work out the window - we'll see. I'm just looking forward to a fun weekend of just doing what I wish with no stress and deepening some friendships. I feel a bit bad as J is quite jealous. He says guys don't do this sort of thing enough...and perhaps that's true. He is better friends with a lot of the women in this group and thinks this would be a perfect weekend and would hide in my bag to come along if he could. A few of the guys who are partners of the women going up have invited him over for a beer and to hang out but I don't know if he'll go...he's a funny duck that way - he's like I am with guys - he gets along better with women, so he's never sure how to hang out with "just guys". Plus, he sometimes decides that he doesn't want that and just needs to be alone. I get that. I made up some hummus and guacamole for him so he won't live on bagels and cereal while I'm away so he and the cats will be fine.
Hope you all have a great weekend. I'm off to do some science and then run away to the woods and howl at the moon with some witch folk :)
OF Day 8 and 9 -
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| after class |
Last night for supper we tried a new recipe - it was on the Ten Thousand Villages international calendar we picked up for the kitchen.Each month has a recipe from around the world...and this was so good. It was fresh and filling and delicious - we had them with homemade burgers (no bun for me) and it was a great reward for a great workout.
Pineapple Avocado Salad (African recipe)
-2 avocados, cut up small
-4 slices pineapple diced up small (about 1 cup canned pineapple pieces)
-2 generous T of cottage cheese
-Handful of cashews diced up
-dressing:1-2T lime juice, ~1/2 T olive oil and 1/4 t paprika, with salt and pepper to taste. Mix up and pour on and stir it all together well. Let it sit in the fridge for a bit to mix flavours (I made mine before class to eat after). It keeps the avocados from browning and adds a fresh taste.
To serve tear up a few leaves of romaine and place the salad on top. Grate a bit of fresh pepper on it and dig in.
Nom. Totally making this regularly. No pictures because I was too damn hungry after class to remember to take one and too rushed beforehand getting between work and class. Tabata is at 6 right after work for an hour so I don't eat until almost 730 on wednesdays...
Gotta run. Time to go be sciencey. Just wanted to log....
OF 7
This morning I did the workout 5 of the series. Solid workout. I could keep the vest on the whole time for this one and I could do all of the moves so I felt pretty badass by the end of it...I forgot to turn on my watch again until over half way through, so I don't have an accurate log of things.
Today at work I got to attend a workshop with a few exercises to help reduce stress. It was very relaxing and I have a few new ideas about how to spend some time when I'm happy to build associations in my mind for when I am stressed out so that I have some happy places to go to when I really need them.
It's another stupid cold day today. -41 with the wind and -30 without. Brutal. I just keep reminding myself that the cold kills the big bugs and spiders...yeah that's it. With the right gear (which I have) you can deal with the cold...but I don't have to like it. I try not to whine about it (much) since it happens every year, and we're due for another cold snap like this before the spring wanders in, but dayum - let's just say that when your eyeballs start to freeze so you want to dig out your snowboard goggles just to walk to the bus it makes you question your life choices :P
Today at work I got to attend a workshop with a few exercises to help reduce stress. It was very relaxing and I have a few new ideas about how to spend some time when I'm happy to build associations in my mind for when I am stressed out so that I have some happy places to go to when I really need them.
It's another stupid cold day today. -41 with the wind and -30 without. Brutal. I just keep reminding myself that the cold kills the big bugs and spiders...yeah that's it. With the right gear (which I have) you can deal with the cold...but I don't have to like it. I try not to whine about it (much) since it happens every year, and we're due for another cold snap like this before the spring wanders in, but dayum - let's just say that when your eyeballs start to freeze so you want to dig out your snowboard goggles just to walk to the bus it makes you question your life choices :P
OF Day 6
Sunday was a day of rest, but I still ate well. We ordered in chinese but I had special wonton soup - nom. I have some salad rolls for lunch. Mmmm.....
I was up to workout this morning. The last of the first week of cardio focused workouts. 3 rounds of 45 seconds work and 15 seconds rest of:
-side to side out and in football shuffles.
-burpees with the sandbag overhead raise instead of a jump
-Rocky foot taps
-stand up from kneeling (alternate legs) holding a weight over your head.
Man - some things I thought would be simple were super tough this morning - I had to take off my vest half way through and the last of the 4 exercises was holding weight above your head and standing up from a kneeling position. The instructor held the 20 Lb sandbag over her head. I tried that - and could not even do 1 with the vest on. So I went down to two 5 Lb dumbells for a bit...and then took off my vest...and then was down to one dumbell....and then none at some points... with just me panting and working to get to a stand up. I admit I felt kinda wimpy, but you do what you can - I wanted to push myself but I didn't want to hurt myself and my knees are finally happy again so I'll have to work on this. I wasn't sure if it would have been better to do a few really hard ones or a lot of simpler ones. What would you all do in that situation? For me I figured something was better than nothing/very little...but yeah. Solid panting workout. I also did the warm up, cool down and extra burnout 6 minute workout that you get with Sweatflix. It made the workout twice as long, but was good for me since I never stretch out or warm up enough...and after me having to dial down the one exercise it was nice to have an extra burnout sessions you get with each workout to try again at so I felt a bit better about things. My watch says I only burned 220 calories, which is a bit odd, since the full on crazy tabata class on wed was only 281 calories...I am wondering if my unnaturally low heart rate confuses my watch...or my old watch just gave elevated results. Time will tell I suppose. At least I remembered t turn on my watch today. I keep forgetting...I was happy to step on the scale today and see it a bit below 125 so all my diligence is at least doing something...I keep forgetting to take measurements or a photo for starting reference. Tomorrow. For sure.
Now it's off to a busy day and a haircut after work- I'm pretty scruffy so I am looking forward to a trim up. It's another stupidly cold day so no walking for me. I was listening to a podcast this AM and it was talking about exercise research into how walking and other base fitness building exercises are linked to greater creativity. Interesting...I wonder if it's because you have the time to think during it or it just gets the positive endorphins going so you're more positive and open to that kind of thinking? I wonder....
I was up to workout this morning. The last of the first week of cardio focused workouts. 3 rounds of 45 seconds work and 15 seconds rest of:
-side to side out and in football shuffles.
-burpees with the sandbag overhead raise instead of a jump
-Rocky foot taps
-stand up from kneeling (alternate legs) holding a weight over your head.
Man - some things I thought would be simple were super tough this morning - I had to take off my vest half way through and the last of the 4 exercises was holding weight above your head and standing up from a kneeling position. The instructor held the 20 Lb sandbag over her head. I tried that - and could not even do 1 with the vest on. So I went down to two 5 Lb dumbells for a bit...and then took off my vest...and then was down to one dumbell....and then none at some points... with just me panting and working to get to a stand up. I admit I felt kinda wimpy, but you do what you can - I wanted to push myself but I didn't want to hurt myself and my knees are finally happy again so I'll have to work on this. I wasn't sure if it would have been better to do a few really hard ones or a lot of simpler ones. What would you all do in that situation? For me I figured something was better than nothing/very little...but yeah. Solid panting workout. I also did the warm up, cool down and extra burnout 6 minute workout that you get with Sweatflix. It made the workout twice as long, but was good for me since I never stretch out or warm up enough...and after me having to dial down the one exercise it was nice to have an extra burnout sessions you get with each workout to try again at so I felt a bit better about things. My watch says I only burned 220 calories, which is a bit odd, since the full on crazy tabata class on wed was only 281 calories...I am wondering if my unnaturally low heart rate confuses my watch...or my old watch just gave elevated results. Time will tell I suppose. At least I remembered t turn on my watch today. I keep forgetting...I was happy to step on the scale today and see it a bit below 125 so all my diligence is at least doing something...I keep forgetting to take measurements or a photo for starting reference. Tomorrow. For sure.
Now it's off to a busy day and a haircut after work- I'm pretty scruffy so I am looking forward to a trim up. It's another stupidly cold day so no walking for me. I was listening to a podcast this AM and it was talking about exercise research into how walking and other base fitness building exercises are linked to greater creativity. Interesting...I wonder if it's because you have the time to think during it or it just gets the positive endorphins going so you're more positive and open to that kind of thinking? I wonder....
OF Day 5
Day 5. I'm doing it. Yesterday, Day 4, was a test. It was a friend's birthday party and she is the queen of good beer and snacks, but I still kept up with clean eating...quite frankly I'm surprised. I had one light beer (Canadian 67 IPA) and snacked on the healthy snacks at the party like veg and hummus and stuck to diet pop otherwise. I did my daily workout too.
This morning I'm up with a healthy breakfast and lots to do but it's fuelled me to really keep at this. I plan to do a bunch of work in the kitchen tonight so we may order food in, so it will be a test for me, but I really want to do a solid month, no compromises and get it done to kick these last few pounds. Day by day. I just signed up for Sweatflix for 30 day free trial so we'll see how that goes...
Now I have a cat in my lap and I'm scheming for the day to come. I hope you're all having a lovely weekend. I plan to :)
This morning I'm up with a healthy breakfast and lots to do but it's fuelled me to really keep at this. I plan to do a bunch of work in the kitchen tonight so we may order food in, so it will be a test for me, but I really want to do a solid month, no compromises and get it done to kick these last few pounds. Day by day. I just signed up for Sweatflix for 30 day free trial so we'll see how that goes...
Now I have a cat in my lap and I'm scheming for the day to come. I hope you're all having a lovely weekend. I plan to :)
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| How I feel after a great workout :) |
If you go to thinking, take your heart with you. If you go to love, take your head with you. Love is empty without thinking, thinking hollow without love.
C. G. Jung.
OF day 3
This morning I was up to do day 2 of the Bodyrock Intermediate Bootcamp with a few extra exercises after and a good stretch. 4 exercises - 50 sec on and 10 sec rest repeated 3 times. Tough and it fits into my schedule in the morning. I took the weighted vest off half way through - you wouldn't think that an extra 6 lbs would make such a difference but wow...it really does. I had to stop and breathe sometimes but I am determined to do my best and do the whole 30 days of the bootcamp and see what happens. I keep forgetting to start my HR watch at the start of a workout so I miss some workout data, but I will try to remember. I am a bit stiff but it's getting better. February is normally the gloomiest month for me so I am determined to change that by doing stuff to help me feel better. When I can't walk to work it really messes with my head and although I can walk the odd time right now, most days are like today where it's just too damn cold (with the windchill it's -31).
I'm thinking I will sign up for a free month trial of Sweatflix to get the extras and see if I like it. It's only $10 a month after...and yeah, I'm worth that. That's 5 cups of coffee. There are a lot more workout options for me and my new gear that way. There are also some great warm ups and cool downs and I'm all over that. Plus I can download workouts this way if I'll be away from the internet and need a few workouts. That's a cool option.
This morning I put a raw egg in my fruit smoothie and I couldn't tell it was there. I'm thinking I'll continue to do it since I don't have any protein powder right now. Once I can get to Costco I can get some but if I want to build muscle I need to feed my body fuel. A plus side effect of my brain drugs is that they curb my appetite so I feel less snacky which helps late at night when I'm usually holding the fridge door open trying to find something to nibble on. They have really been working.
As Jack would say - "For the first time since I really don't know when I feel just like my old boney self again...."
I'm thinking I will sign up for a free month trial of Sweatflix to get the extras and see if I like it. It's only $10 a month after...and yeah, I'm worth that. That's 5 cups of coffee. There are a lot more workout options for me and my new gear that way. There are also some great warm ups and cool downs and I'm all over that. Plus I can download workouts this way if I'll be away from the internet and need a few workouts. That's a cool option.
This morning I put a raw egg in my fruit smoothie and I couldn't tell it was there. I'm thinking I'll continue to do it since I don't have any protein powder right now. Once I can get to Costco I can get some but if I want to build muscle I need to feed my body fuel. A plus side effect of my brain drugs is that they curb my appetite so I feel less snacky which helps late at night when I'm usually holding the fridge door open trying to find something to nibble on. They have really been working.
As Jack would say - "For the first time since I really don't know when I feel just like my old boney self again...."
OF day 2- better living through chemistry
Tabata class last night was awesome. I had a long hot bath after and don't feel too stiff...so far. This AM I got up and did the Bodyrock Intermediate Bootcamp #1 and am starting the day off right.
Today, after a week of fighting with computer software to build websites for everyone I am glad to have some time in the lab. Set up two Sharepoint sites and built a full website for my 2 lab clusters in Cascade that should be filled with info by the end of the week. I had to learn these things to do this work so it's been a long haul - so nice to have actual results to show for all my work.
I'm back baby! It is great to be able to focus enough mentally now to do this kind of detailed work, but my brain is tired. I am so happy that it can be this way again. I have my brain back at least in the areas of focus and alertness. My memory for some things is still a bit vague...but it's better than it was.
Life is slowly getting better too. Some things are still frustrating (like how do you bring up your own worries and problems with a depressed spouse without depressing them further...sigh) but in a lot of ways things are improving. I still get frustrated at a lot of things and I need to talk to J about doing some more things around the house when he is more level, but for now I'm not too stressed out. It'll do. Work in progress.
Off to science stuff. Later taters.
Today, after a week of fighting with computer software to build websites for everyone I am glad to have some time in the lab. Set up two Sharepoint sites and built a full website for my 2 lab clusters in Cascade that should be filled with info by the end of the week. I had to learn these things to do this work so it's been a long haul - so nice to have actual results to show for all my work.
I'm back baby! It is great to be able to focus enough mentally now to do this kind of detailed work, but my brain is tired. I am so happy that it can be this way again. I have my brain back at least in the areas of focus and alertness. My memory for some things is still a bit vague...but it's better than it was.
Life is slowly getting better too. Some things are still frustrating (like how do you bring up your own worries and problems with a depressed spouse without depressing them further...sigh) but in a lot of ways things are improving. I still get frustrated at a lot of things and I need to talk to J about doing some more things around the house when he is more level, but for now I'm not too stressed out. It'll do. Work in progress.
Off to science stuff. Later taters.
Operation Foob
It's Feb. 1. Today I am cracking down to try and get as fit as possible before my upcoming surgery on my foobs now that I have a future purpose in mind. This means stretching so that my knee is happy when I workout now that it is no longer sore and working out daily again now that my knee is happy... and most importantly not throwing my eating out the window on the weekends so that I can get some serious toning done. Here we go.
Tonight is my tabata class which is always a good workout so It's a good day to start. Starting weight today is 127 and I'll take my measurements for reference. I have a few pairs of pants that I will use as a guide - when they fit comfy without a muffin top again I will declare my work complete.
Operation Foob is a go.
Tonight is my tabata class which is always a good workout so It's a good day to start. Starting weight today is 127 and I'll take my measurements for reference. I have a few pairs of pants that I will use as a guide - when they fit comfy without a muffin top again I will declare my work complete.
Operation Foob is a go.
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