HL/WW Support Group - Week of Dec 16

[Leslie Ferguson]

Welcome friends, lurkers, and visitors to the next installment of the Healthful Living and Weekly Workout Support Group. Are we just halfway through December? It seems like it was a month ago when December started and we were looking a Hanukkah and now Christmas and New Years are definitely trucking their way into our sights. I have a good idea why I may be feeling that way but I’ll hold off until a little later. And in case anyone just fell off a spaceship, winter is definitely here with a vengeance. However, there have been too many good things going on to dwell on the yucky stuff so I’ll move into this week’s thread with a recap of last week as best I can remember.

Life successes include - Kate got some good news from her recent doctor’s appointment but still has questions to be answered; Laura’s DD got home safely from school, DS had his finals and is looking at a little break, and she’s getting a lot of biking in on her spinning bike; Karen got all her workouts in even with the kids and school and weather doing their best to disrupt her, normalizing relations with friends, and wrapping up a successful Hanukkah celebration; when Cheryl checked in late a week ago she was doing well and staying away from the computer a bit (probably a good idea for me), getting to the Y even with the nastiness of the weather in the upper Midwest; and I had a great time at our school’s Christmas Party and survived a busy week at school without losing too much sleep.
Stressful living - Laura had to help DD come to grips with the killing at the church near their house (DD attended once in a while before going to college), had to deal with DD being delayed getting home (flight issues) and the perturbations surrounding little sleep; Kate is futzing around with the medical community trying to find out what is the problem as opposed to what isn’t the problem; Karen got over her crud and dealt with the machinations of wither weather in New England; and I was and still am trying to cope with a bunch of projects for school and finals next week next week.

Workouts: are more in the air this week than last week. I’ll probably get no workouts in until Saturday after my last final but if something gets in I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Healthful living: mostly maintaining a relatively stress-free existence would be nice. After running yesterday (and not being able to find aspirin last night) my ankle wasn’t exceptionally happy - maybe it isn’t a bad thing to not run too often these days. :rolleyes:

This week should be quiet for me in the workout realm but will probably be quite stressful - regardless I hope productive in both classes and in workouts. If you didn’t see the picture from last week and our Christmas Party I recommend the link on last week’s thread - hopefully you enjoy the picture. Until later... peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for getting the week started again. Sounds like you had an amazing run yesterday. I hope it cleared up some cobwebs and did not tweak the ankle too badly. I LOVE that picture of you and Kathy with your hat. You two are such a cute couple. Have a good week.

We had a good weekend here in spite of our snow/sleet/rain storm last night into this morning. In reality, I think we were spared the worst of the storm here, but religious school did get canceled today and the driveway is a mess! It did not stop DS#1 from getting to his b-day party this afternoon. By then the roads were pretty good.

I ellipticized yesterday; treadmill today. I did a bit more running on it, but again I do a slow pace at intervals with "rests" in between to try to spare my knees a bit. I also make sure I do it on an incline. At least I was told that this is actually less stressful to the knees than on 0% incline. Either way, I am finding the new toy enjoyable. Most of my weekend was then spent decorating lots of cookies for school parties this week and making teacher gifts. I did dreidels, ginger bread boys, and santa's. They look amazing, but what tedious work. Now I know why I like to cook more than bake! Anyway, it's for the kids so it was worth it!

Tomorrow I will swim and I hope to box. There should not be a school delay, but than again you never know??!!!:rolleyes:

Have a good week,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les-Thanks for getting the week started again. Sounds like you had an amazing run yesterday. I hope it cleared up some cobwebs and did not tweak the ankle too badly. I LOVE that picture of you and Kathy with your hat. You two are such a cute couple. Have a good week.
Thanks. I think we do make such a good couple all things considered. Maybe it's all that time we've spent together... ;) :rolleyes: I don't think I whacked my ankle too badly, it was just a little tender after a lay off. That does seem odd to me. This week... it's up in the air for now but it should be pretty good (more later).
I ellipticized yesterday; treadmill today. I did a bit more running on it, but again I do a slow pace at intervals with "rests" in between to try to spare my knees a bit. I also make sure I do it on an incline. At least I was told that this is actually less stressful to the knees than on 0% incline. Either way, I am finding the new toy enjoyable. Most of my weekend was then spent decorating lots of cookies for school parties this week and making teacher gifts. I did dreidels, ginger bread boys, and santa's. They look amazing, but what tedious work. Now I know why I like to cook more than bake! Anyway, it's for the kids so it was worth it!

Tomorrow I will swim and I hope to box. There should not be a school delay, but than again you never know??!!!:rolleyes:
Honestly, I never did like running on the treadmill with 0% incline - that's just an unnormal feeling, running on the road isn't 0% incline regardless what they tell you. I'm glad you're liking your new toy and that your home gym is nearly complete now. It sounds like you had fun baking and frosting this weekend (no pun intended). I hope that your week isn't too clobbered with snow. BTW when are the kids off school? Are they in all week like me?

Why should my week be pretty good? Because I got my longest paper left completed today (5-6 pages). Now all that's left is to create a lesson discussing "the Influence of Western Monasticism on early Christian Liturgy." YIKES. Interestingly, my partner is making a project discussing "the Jewish Influence on Early Christian Liturgical Traditions" - we should have a great couple lessons.

Take care all and have a great week.
Les

[Laura]

Good morning,

Karen I usually run on the treadmill at .5% or 1% mainly so when I run outside the adjustment is easier. I am glad you are liking the new toy.

Les Wow, that seems like a big topic. Enjoy writing the lesson. I am sure you will do well.

I actually ran this morning (well run/walk) as I took DS to morning weights and I went to the Y. I was disappointed that my legs were not as strong as I would like. I am not running outside right now because I need new shoes, but I will try to get back to the Y a few more times to build up my endurance.

Have a good week everyone!
Laura

[karen w]

Les-Woo hoo on finishing the big paper for the week. That is one load off your back, so to speak. My kids have the full week of school, too. They start their break at the end of the day Friday.

And speaking of school. . . ANOTHER 90 minute delay this morning!:rolleyes: This is the third Monday in a row. But as I told DH, look on the bright side. . . next Monday(vacation) there will not be a 90 minute delay!:p I did make it to the pool for a great swim and the roads were not too bad. Our driveway is the worst, though. Since our storm on Sunday was sleet/ice etc..., DH had a hard time getting Big Bertha(the snow blower) to get through what was there. Hopefully we'll get a few afternoons above freezing with some sun to melt it a bit. We'll still probably here FIL's $.02 commentary about our awful driveway this weekend no matter how much is melted away.:rolleyes:

Anyway, since the kids were delayed, I biked at home and did my abs. Then did my grocery shopping after their bus finally came(10:20 am!).

Tomorrow I should be able to make it to boxing finally. I need to get there since they will be closed for the holidays next week Mon, Tues., and Wed.

That's about it for me. Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

It's good hearing that people are doing things that real people do. Maybe I'll have some time to chat with folks later or at least catch up with my reading this evening. But regardless I hope all are well and I won't even try to single anyone out - it's way too crazy in my brain.

Fly by... no working out, spending money like I had it (~$1k for LW's car in the shop), and working projects and papers. And I'm claiming my project is done (it's due tomorrow so I'm early). Now I'm down to 3 finals, two scheduled (Thursday and Friday) and one take home (4 hour "write-for-life") that I'll probably do tomorrow afternoon.

The end is in sight... YEAH!!!!

Peace and thanks for your groovy thoughts,
Les

[karen w]

Les-It is always crazy before the "end" when it comes to school as I recall whether your a kid or an adult in college or otherwise. Good luck. Stay cool, calm, and collect!

Great swim today and get this. . . the jacuzzi had a thermometer in it so perhaps they are going to be more diligent about keeping it at an acceptable temp. instead of either "lobsteresque" or frigid. There were also new shower curtains in the stalls which was another one of those long over due things. The old ones were looking pretty darn pink full of mold!:eek: So after my swim, I did have a nice jacuzzi. Still better. . . I was able to get to boxing this morning! YAY! No school delays!

Tomorrow I'm planning more of the same and mother nature should cooperate again.

Have a good ninght,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Congratulations Karen for a successful day for you yesterday. But for me... Fly by - still no running except in my mind. :D When I can run this place helps me keep motivated to run. But for now I'll have to take a bye. But I stopped in to say - first final in the bag. 4 hours of writing this afternoon went well, 4+ pages which was required for my Chruch History final. So I'm down to 2, one in the morning and one Friday morning. Then it's home for the holidays (more or less).

Thank you for your thoughts.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Fly bys are just fine with everything that is on your plate. Here's hoping the rest of the finals week goes smoothly.

My day was productive, but started out a bit frustrating. The lifeguard was 40minutes late this morning!!!!!!:mad: So when she opened up the locker room door leading to the pool and apologized, I just looked at her with a scowl and said out loud, "grumble, grumble, grumble." Anyway, I did have an excellent swim and managed to get in a full 40-45 min., but, of course, I felt like I had to rush so my swim(and the rest of the day) was really charged with adrenaline. It did make for a great swim and a productive day to follow, but I think I will be crashing tonight. I had to call DH just after my very quick shower since I should have been home by then to get DS#1 off to school. I gave him instructions to pack DS#1's lunch and DD helped him. I was able to make it home to get DS#2 and DD fed and off to school(as well as DH off to work on time). Kickboxing was also supercharged both from my adrenaline high and the instructor today decided to really kick our butts since the studio was very cold and she wanted to warm us up quickly. It worked!:D It was a great class, too.

Hope everyone else also had a productive day. Good evening,
Karen

[mackandme]

Just stopping by. I'm in a Lupron pit these days. It should clear out in another week to 10 days, but for now i'm feeling pretty down. Changes are afoot at work that give me an opportunity i would have relished a year ago, but these days i just feel too overwhelmed to step up to the plate.

And i finally got a call-back for a second interview for that job i'd interviewed for a month or two ago. I'm going to do the interview, but i'm not so enthused anymore because it would mean working an opposite shift from DBF, and would be difficult to make doctors appointments. I've worked nights for so long, i don't know how day-shifters get anything done!

Hope everyone is doing well with school, the kids, new jobs, etc.

[karen w]

Kate-thanks for checking in here. I'm so sorry your down these days. I hope your holidays next week put a little bit of cheer into your mood. Good luck with the second interview. Things have a way of working out the way they are supposed to in the end.

As predicted after yesterday's adrenaline filled day, I was a bit sluggish today and to top it off DH has the crud now so I hope he does not pass it back to me. I had a decent swim which helped get me up and about and I was able to jacuzzi as well. And I needed it too this morning! Made my yummy breakfast of steel cut oats, raisins, brown sugar and fresh fruit that I had planned on making yesterday until the pool ladies untimeliness messed up those plans. After breakfast I was going to go to TJ's, but the highway was all backed up so I did some errands more locally and then went to boxing. Tj's will be for tomorrow, that's all. This afternoon I went to DS#2's class for his winter party. My decorated cookies were a smash hit with both the adults and kids. This evening DD had gymnastics. So over all a fairly productive day for being a bit on the tired side.

Glad tomorrow is Friday and we(the kids and I) all have a week off from our jobs; them from school and me from being a taxi driver. Have a good evening everyone.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hello Kate - sorry you're down right now. I'll keep you in my prayers as you make decisions these days. It's never fun to have illnesses but to have them when you need to make decisions is even worse.

Thanks for your words yesterday and it does sound like you had an adrenaline day. I'm glad that today was a little calmer for you.

Flying by again tonight but it's to claim one down and one to go. My last final starts in 12 1/2 hours and in no more than 15 1/2 hours I'm done for the semester. Then I can get back to the reality of life and getting down south for Christmas.

Hope all are well and I'll drop by tomorrow once I can breath again.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

I'm finished!!! I was actually done at 10:20, much earlier than I expected. And I think I did well today in Old Testament. So in all, I think I'll fare nicely for this semester.

Course critiques and dropping some of our International students at the airport are on tap for this afternoon. I'll definitely drop back this evening and chat - catch up on the goings on for the past week.

Until later -- peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-YIPPEE! Your done(for now!:p ). Enjoy your time away from the books and papers.

Good day here. A great swim and jacuzzi. Then it was on to stripping the beds before getting the kids off to school. After which I went to TJ's and boxing. We had a whopping 6 people at boxing today including me! We all had our own bags. I guess the rest of the lot was either holiday shopping, baking/cooking, or traveling or something. . .?!:rolleyes: Anyway, class was good in spite of the small size. Then I popped next door to pick up two pictures that were finished being framed. One was a gift from Mom which she bought on her cruise this past October. It was for our anniversary. It was a scene from a Sukkah and very colorful. It looks beautiful framed. The other was a picture that I made my father when I was a little girl for Father's day one year. My dad had saved it all of these years in his study at home. When he passed away, my mom gave it back to me. DH wanted it framed and it does look awfully nice that way. After my lunch at home, I finished up the beds/laundry and made a sweet potato casserole(the kids favorite and they have been asking/pleading for it) and a French toast casserole for tomorrow's breakfast.

This weekend I will likely ellipticize and treadmill. DH and I are going out to a holiday dinner party at his partner's house tomorrow night and Sunday the family(FIL and friend, BIL & SIL, niece and nephew) are coming for our belated family Hanukkah celebration. Much of tomorrow I will spend getting ready for our brunch on Sunday(bagels, spreads, smoked fish, lox, kugel, latkes, fruit etc... you get the idea;) ).

Have a good weekend everyone,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks Karen, it will be a great break even with 2 classes in January. Have a great weekend with a party out tonight and your IL's Sunday.

Today was great and I took full advantage of my first day off and slept in. After a little last minute Christmas shopping (how could I not have finished that with everything else going on) I went out for... about 95 minutes of running. It was a nasty temperature because it was too cool to run after dark in the shirt I wanted to run in (and I could have run in short sleeves if it were daylight) and I couldn't bring myself to run in shorts for the same reason. Long sleeves and wind pants are really quite warm when it's 42 out. Still, rolled up and down the hills and plucked off something between 10 and 11. Not bad considering this is the third time I've run in the past 3 Saturdays (only run on the past 3 Saturdays). Heading south tomorrow for Christmas with my parents and sister - brother, SIL and Nephews and niece will be there tomorrow and come back this direction in the afternoon.

I'll try to get something going tomorrow but probably not until later, after we get down south and later in the afternoon. We're probably going to have a little Christmas dinner since brother and his family are coming back home tomorrow and won't be around on Christmas Day. Not a big deal and it will be a great day regardless.

Hope all have a good Saturday and a great weekend and Christmas.

Peace,
Les