Healthful Living/Weekly Workout Support Group - 8/24 - 9/6

[Leslie Ferguson]

Howdy one and all to the next installment of the Healthful Living and Weekly Workout Support Group. The last two-week installment was stretched out to a three week one - mostly because I decided to take some personal time and recover after a busy summer. It has been a bothersome time for some folks here, economic conditions are driving lives in more ways than imagined - some good and others bad. Luckily and by grace we have been relatively healthy and families are getting back together after some time away. The dog days of summer have hit in many places and a tropical storm has been influencing those from the southeast - never a good thing even if they caught up on some much needed rain. In an attempt to catch up with what happened in the last thread I’ll try swing a recap of the last two weeks (or so):

Life successes/Good News include - Kate got back from Seattle and got news that DBF is getting a full scholarship in graduate school (and not a moment too soon), getting back to the gym and into a workout routine; jjsooner reported that she had received a job offer in a new school but now she needs a replacement (since she already was under contract for this year), and reported that she had a great time at the summer camps; Karen got her kids safely back from camp and even got most of their clothes back this summer, keeping up her varied workout routines and in general having a great summer; and I finished at the hospital with a blaze of glory, got many compliments about the work we did there, had a much needed vacation to Canada to just be for a while, getting more consistent workouts in as I prepare for a race on this coming Sunday and finally getting ready for school in another week (the day after Labor Day).
Stressful living - Kate DBF is under the gun for the next round of cuts at the paper - and the stress of not knowing until mid-September, still preparing for the GRE in the near future; jjsooner is looking for a replacement for her current teaching position so she can take her new job; Karen will be spending a little time away from the Y because they are closing for their annual cleaning, getting ready for school and all that entails (supplies, getting the taxi ready, balancing and juggling 4 or 5 schedules all over again); and I have had a restful time and have had few complaints about healthful living.

Workouts: have been getting better in fact had 4 consecutive workouts last week, planning on runs and/or rides on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday with a potential for a ride on Wednesday; probably won’t run on Friday or Saturday this week so I can be ready for my race on Sunday; the following week I’ll have to hold out on because classes start on Tuesday so all bets are off.
Healthful living: Sleeping well, keeping up on exercise and personal maintenance has been helpful and will continue during the coming weeks.

Not much more to report for now - dinner looms and I’ve got to figure out what to do. Something with chicken breasts and new red potatoes (as opposed to old ones :D ). Have a great week and I’ll probably check back before bed time.

Peace to all,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Uh, oh - back to back to start the week. Hopefully things aren't too weird in New England or Texas.

I had a good day, probably one of the last days to truly relax before school starts what with a seminar I'm helping with on Wednesday, traveling for a race over the weekend etc. But I tried out my new scoots today with a noon run. They felt good, even though I started to get a little hot spot on one foot, but that's not too uncommon when I get new shoes - it takes time to get everything tight/loose/laced properly/an impression in the insole to fit my foot. By the end of the run things were pretty good - tomorrow will bring the last run before leaving town and (for the most part) being "stuck" with the shoes. In all, I pulled down just over 7 miles and with the exception of some midday heat things went well.

Talk to you all later, things are well here as I hope they are wherever you all are. Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sorry for being MIA the last few days. All is well in New England. Just busy over the weekend with our end of summer picnic for DH's work followed by major re-coup Monday(did not sleep great Sunday night so was exhausted yesterday and also had an eye appt. with dilated pupils).

Anyway, it is a glorious day here in New England with a fall chill in the air. We had a great time at the party on Sunday and I have continued to get in many varied workouts in spite of no pool this week. This morning at 5:15 am it was a walk outside for over an hour and a bike ride later in the morning. At home I also did my weights and core. It was downright cold outside this morning(50's) and took me a while even after a warm shower to get the chill out, but the bike helped with that later in the morning as well as a trek into our garden. I picked TONS of tomatoes this morning along with alot more cukes and green beans. If I don't make some roasted tomato soup this weekend, I will have to just roast some to freeze as there are way too many to consume as is and alot more in the garden on the verge of ripeness. And some of them are ginormous!!!!;) I had a half of one slice this afternoon with a pinch of salt as a side to my lunch. MMMMM!!:) This afternoon took DS#1 to the tailor to get his good pants altered. He is invited to the first of his friends Bar Mitzvah's in 2 weeks. This one is in Boston and DH will likely go with him and attend a conference at Harvard while there. Kills two birds with one stone as the saying goes(as well as gets paid for by DH's group this way!) I just requested that he get me a Harvard sweatshirt. I had one years ago(Mom went to Radcliffe and she got me one years ago that is long gone now). After the tailor, DS helped me pick up a few things at the grocery store. I was going to get the kids haircuts today, but most places were an hour wait(back to school rush, I presume) so I figured that they could wait a week or so until things settled down. I did not need for them(or me) to sit in a shop for over an hour on such a glorious day here and their last one before school.

YEP!! Reality sets back in tomorrow for all of us! DH has the day off as well. The two boys have to be out of the house and at the bus by ~7:20 AM. This will be a big adjustment for DS#2 who is just beginning middle school and likes to sleep late. I already helped him set his alarm for the morning and instructed DS#1 to NICELY wake DS#2 up if he is still sleeping after 6:15 AM. And if he is NOT nice; he WILL pay!:p DD still goes to the elementary school so her bus is not until 8:35 AM. Lucky duck! She gets one more year before she too will have to scratch the sleep out of her eyes at some inhumane hour of the morning. Aside from school(only a half day tomorrow), DH and I will meet with our financial advisor at the house in the morning. I will probably wake up at my usual time as I have been doing the last 2 mornings to work out my cobwebs in some way. I think tomorrow the treadmill may be my friend and then I plan on boxing before I settle down with the financial guy.

That's it. Hope all is well with everyone else.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Well, I guess it's that time isn't it. I hope that DS#2 doesn't have too many troubles getting up in the morning (I might have problems considering how late it is). Isn't it convenient that DH can take DS#1 to his Bar Mitzvah in Boston (on the company's dime). I hope that you have a good week for the remainder of the week away from the Y.

Need to fly right now, it's been a disjointed night and I need to get some sleep. I had a pick up at Dulles Airport to support school. When all was said and done it was after 10 once I got home - and I still had dishes to wash. :( But I ran a little more today - shoes are acting nicely and I think they'll be keepers for the race and beyond. I just hope the hot spot really does go away tomorrow or the next day. Besides that, I can't think of much more for today, then again, I can't think much more already.

Peace,
Les

[Laura]

Hi folks, sorry to be MIA for so long. Part of it is work and part of it personal. Nothing has been tragic, but DH's DD has gotten herself into quite the pickle with school/suspension from her soccer team and loss of her scholarship. I am vascillating between wanting to discipline her as I would if these situations had arisen with my own kids and having to step back and let DH and his ex-wife handle it. I think in the end, this will be a blessing to have DSD back on the right track, but it is a process and one that has to work itself out.

DD went back to college on the 16th. After spending 11 hours at the Denver airport with our flight being cancelled, delayed, delayed, delayed, we got into Seattle at 10pm and still managed to get her completely moved in by 12:30 the next day when she began Resident Assistant training. Of course, now she has a miserable cold and I feel bad I am not there to help.

DS got his driver's license and is slowly being allowed to drive on his own. He gets to drive to school on days he has ROTC as his ROTC class is at a different school and the bus back after his class does not always get him back in time to catch the bus home.

As for me, DH got me 6 sessions with a personal trainer for my birthday and I have my 3rd session tomorrow. She is a big proponent of interval training on different machines and using your own body weight for weight training. It has been interesting and has given me some good ideas on what I can add to my work out schedule. DH and his son also watched me swim last week and have said that my mechanically my stroke is very good, so I am trying to swim about 2000 yards once a week.

Work is keeping me very busy right now such that I am often working till 11 pm at night. That should end by mid-September, but it has been very tiring.

Les, I am sure you were a huge success at the hospital knowing your heart. I am not sure what race you are doing, but I am sure you will do well. I love the BodyGlide to help with hot spots.

Karen, it sounds like you are as busy as ever and getting workouts in despite the Y being closed. Our school bus comes at 6:40. :eek: Jack is loving the days he can drive and does not need to leave for another 15 minutes. I am drooling at your abundance of tomatoes.

I hope to post more frequently, but my computer at home is on the fritz. Great. :rolleyes:
Take care, folks. Laura

[karen w]

Laura-Hi there! Whenever you can stop by is great! We love hearing from you, but we know "life" takes the forefront to the BB. Sorry to hear about DH's DD. I do think this is one that you have to take a step away from and bite the tongue, so to speak. Best of luck and I hope it all works out for the best. I envy your personal training sessions. I may do that one of these days. It sounds like you are also keeping up a nice varied routine.

Les-Hope the scooter's are all ironed out in time for race day. Is it this weekend or ?????

We all survived the first day of school. Of course, no problems this morning getting any of them up as despite not readily admitting it, they were all nervous, excited etc... so up earlier than usual. We shall see how long that lasts. It was only a half day today, but they all seemed to be happy with respective teachers. About the only glitch all day was with DD's return bus this afternoon. She was just over an hour late in getting home!!!:mad: Seems there was a different(must have been new) driver who did not know the route or roads, took a few wrong turns missing some stops along the way, and had to back track so many times that they finally sent out a mini van which brought home the kids from our neighborhood. As for my day, woke up early and ellipticized plus stripped some bed sheets and did laundry all before breakfast.:) After getting the kids off, went to the store and boxing. After lunch, I was busy with the kids most of the afternoon getting/labeling school supplies etc... Finally all went out together tonight for a bite to eat.

Tomorrow is a full day of school. Also must pick DD up from school as she and DS#1 have an orthodontist appt.

Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

hanks for checking in Laura. I'm just getting ready to head out to pick up my race packet and can't quite sit down for a long personal response but:
I commend you Laura for what you did whit DSD - let her parents mete discipline because you're still new in the picture and she might consider you meddling. Sorry that DD had such a time getting back to school and then to pick up a cold in the process. YUCK! As it is, body glide probably wouldn't work with the hotspot on the ball of my foot. Luckily my shoes are breaking in and I think I'll be fine come Sunday.
Karen- I'm glad that your kids had a good first day at school and bet they'll have a good time from here out.

I'm having fun in Norfolk again but remember why I dislike Norfolk - it's way humid and sticky right now. Hopefully the temp drops to the low 70s for the race on Sunday or it will be a bear.

As I said, off to pick up my race packet but I hope to get back with you all later this evening.

Peace to all,
Les

[karen w]

Hi there,

Quick pre-weekend check in and happy holiday wishes for all. It has been a busy few days with school getting off to a start, but the kids(and me) are adjusting well. I have gotten in all of my workouts each day(today boxing and treadmill) plus busy getting school supplies, clothes, orthodontist appts. etc.... Was able to get in a bit of gardening today and I am overflowing with tomatoes. I will be doing something about that this weekend during my cooking binge as DH is "on call" so we stay home. I am going to try a tomato gratin and may end up roasting a bunch to freeze for soups, stews, sauces etc... in the winter. I also made some more pesto today.

So as I said, no major plans for the weekend holiday since DH is working through Monday. He has off Tuesday. I will ellipticize over the weekend and swim Monday morning as the YMCA re-opens for holiday hours. That's it in a nutshell.

Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

Karen

[mackandme]

Hi all. I've been spending most of my time blowing my nose, lately. Somehow managed to get a really bad cold (I now don't have a single sick day left for the rest of the year) and blow out my back all at the same time. So it's been an unpleasant week, and no exercise to speak of. I'm a hunchback with a snotty nose and a hacking cough! Finally starting to get better, though. Mack's been taking a little vacation, which is just as well as our air quality has been horrendous.

So everyone's back to school, huh? Laura, I'm jealous that your DD is in Seattle! My brother got his master's at U-Dub and liked the city so much he has never left.

DBF started school last week. Finally something to keep him busy! He's happy to be back in school. Now we've just got another week or so before we find out whether he's still employed.

May not log on much this week as work will be busy, between the convention and the hurricane (and our now perpetual short-staffedness). Hope everyone has a great week!

[karen w]

Kate-Take care of that cold. Sorry to hear you are under the weather. Still thinking some positive thoughts for DBF and his future employment.

Our weekend was gorgeous. Sunny, blue skies with low humidity and just a hint of a fall nip in the air. . . just the way I like it. I ellipticized Sat. and Sunday, but today got back into the pool. The YMCA was spiffy and clean and my swim felt great after a week away.

Hope everyone else had an enjoyable holiday weekend safe from hurricane force winds and the common "crud."

Have a good week,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by...
I had a good long weekend in Norfolk, even with the hot and humid conditions for the race yesterday. It was great seeing folks that I haven't seen in a long time and even had the opportunity to have dinner with the gang twice while there. Then drove home today and spent about 5 hours at the Labor Day picnic for the school - now I have to get to bed soon because chapel is at 8:10 in the morning and classes start tomorrow. That said, a check in will be forthcoming tomorrow while at school (between events).

Peace to all,
Les

[Laura]

Sorry about your back and cold Kate; I could see myself hacking and injuring my back.

Les, I am glad your race went well and you got to spend some time with some long lost friends. Enjoy your start of the school year!

Karen, although fall is my favorite season, I was actually saying to DH that I could really have summer last another month. It went by really fast this year.

The weekend here was good, but not long enough. I did get to the club to swim and lift so that was good. Thanks for the thoughts on DSD; I just wish I knew what the motivation was behind her actions as they are so contrary to who she says she wants to be. It is really hard on DH and his ex-wife.

Well, work is still insane so I need to go. Later folks!

[karen w]

Les-Hope the start of school is smooth for you today.

Laura-Is the weekend EVER long enough?????;) Sure never seems like it is to me anyway!

I had another great swim this morning and in my own lane(as opposed to my first swim back yesterday with the "flailer"). Not much leisure in the morning anymore for the jacuzzi, however, with the kids and school schedules. After breakfast and getting them off to their buses, I ellipticized and did a few weights/core exercises. This afternoon had my teeth cleaned. The dentist proclaimed that I had "happy teeth!":) I intend to try to keep it that way, too. This evening DH took DS#2 to his guitar lesson. First one since May of last year. DS#1 has decided to quit(not a surprise at all:rolleyes:). he did express interest in resuming the sax which he played in 4th grade, but for now that is a "NO" by me. With his past history, he needs to prove himself in his school courses/studies before he starts up something new right away. He can start sax lessons anytime throughout the year, so that may be motivation for him(although, unfortunately I doubt it:(). Anyway, that is it here for now.

Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey all - it's been busy but I'm almost back "in battery."

I'm sorry that you are stuck with a summer cold and the crud Kate. Never a good time to be sick and certainly not now either. Have you had any issues from Gustav?

Laura - I'm glad that DD is back at school safely and I hear you about the best season of the year. In my opinion though, the end of summer (like right now) is grand. It was 60 last night and 90 (and no humidity) today. Nothing finer in my book.

Karen - Back to all the fun of school and extra-curricular activities. Good call with DS#1 - especially with the increase in expectation these days (even if he's in the same school) and increased distractions (Bar Mitzvahs). It sounds like your Y is better than the one that we used to frequent... ours was never that nice after they closed for maintenance.

It's nice to be back at school - not in classes mind you but back at school. I had a busy day today - prep for my upcoming internship, a class in Theology, and a debrief (including free dinner) from this summer's internship. The past weekend was way too short (as you might expect) and I'm probably a day or two behind (and I've only had one class). Maybe this week I'll figure out what my schedule will be like - classes M-Th afternoon and Wed and Fri morning. There will have to be time in there to work out - I know there has to be.

But for now, shower and more reading before bed. So until tomorrow - peace to all,
Les

[karen w]

Les-What kind of internship is upcoming for you?? Is it like your summer stint at Children's or something different? Glad to hear you are getting back into the swing of things slowly, but surely.

I had a good swim this morning, went for milk/fruits/veggies after the kids got off on their buses, and then to cardio kickboxing class. I really enjoyed that class today and may do that one again on Friday, but I have to watch it a bit. The right knee is beginning to remind me it is not a normal knee and not perfectly happy at the moment. So far, major problems with it have stayed at bay, but it has been acting up more frequently than it used to in the past. One of these days. . . .(I don't want to think about that now!:(). Anyway, this afternoon got my haircut and ran a few quick errands.

That's all for today. Have a nice night!

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Drive by for tonight again...

The internship is a job at a local church as their seminarian. That will entail 12 hours a week (including travel) at the church doing everything from worship on Sunday, preparation for Sunday, meetings with my clergy supervisor and the lay committee from the parish, and some other number of things. It won't be as intense and it's supposed to help me prepare for parish ministry in my future (if that is what I decide I am called to do when I grow up).

Hope that helps. I'll write more tomorrow but need to hit the sheets so for now...

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for the info. on the internship. It does sound a bit less emotionally stressful than the summer. I am STILL trying to decide what I want to do when I grow up as well!:D

I had a great swim again this morning and even snuck about 3-4 min. in the jacuzzi(about all I had time for:rolleyes:). After the kids were off I biked at home and did a few abs, but nothing too intense today. This afternoon did some gardening and a bit of cooking. That seems to be happening more frequently again now that the kids are home again and the garden is still in high gear. The cukes, squash, and green beans are finally winding down, but tomatoes are still going strong.

Tomorrow I will swim and may cardio. box. DH is off as well. We may make a trip to Costco in the afternoon. I need a few things(so what's new??!!:rolleyes: and DS#1's glasses are finally ready).

Good evening,
Karen

[mackandme]

Just a drive-by, as we are busy with the final night of the RNC. hopefully tonight will go better for us than last night - that was a bear here in the office!

have gotten two brief rides in on Mack this week. he has a gash on his leg, so i've been riding him lightly to keep the swelling down, tho the gash itself looks great. when horses have leg injuries, a lot of times the injury site itself is fine, but the inflammation tends to make the next joint down in the leg swell up. the big guy just needs to keep moving. the weather here has been nice, thanks to gustav. tho we would have liked to get more than the paltry bit of rain we did.

no trips to the gym yet. i am still emerging from my cold and my back is still a bit tweaked. maybe next week. i have a four-day weekend then.

sounds like a fair number of people are putting in for buyouts at work. *maybe* no layoffs. i think we'll know next week.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry that you're still a little under the weather Kate but it sounds like you are having fun "making due" with riding Mack. Here's to a sane night at work tonight as the RNC winds down. Also hope that you start to get better over the coming days. Also, still praying for good news for DBF and you at work.

Karen - Definitely less emotionally stressful and hoprefully it will really help me figure out what I want to do when I get older (I'll never grow up). Have fun tomorrow at the store and having DH home from work. ;) Hopefully you all aren't whacked by Hanna this weekend like they predict down here.

Well, another functional ride today. Took a trip to the other end of town and made a stop at the bank. Not too many cars today but still enough to keep things interesting. Looking forward to the end of the first week of classes tomorrow. Hopefully the rain doesn't hit until later in the day and that the storm passes as quick as they imagine.

Have a great day tomorrow and peace,
Les

[karen w]

Kate-from the sound of things, we may have a few(gazillion!) raindrops to spare and send your way tomorrow when Hannah blows through here. UGH!

Les-What kind of classes are you taking this session???

A decent swim this morning even though half of it was in the company of the "flailer." Some mornings he is just barely tolerable and this was one of those, I guess. :rolleyes: After breakfast went off to do errands and went to cardio-boxing. It was a great(but very sweaty) class even though I may pay a bit for it in the long haul(knee is acting out a bit:(). Anyway, I am just not going to stop what I love to do. I have to do the best I can with what I've got and when it goes, I'll deal with that (unhappily) then. After lunch DH and I did Costco with one pitstop before we got there. DH(my ultimate romantic and schemer of devious things) took me to the jewelry store where we had my wedding stone reset last winter with orders to pick out anything(absolutely anything!!) I wanted in the store for my b-day(9/24) because he just was not sure what to get me this year. Of course, I told him that I don't "need" anything and have everything that I want as long as he is with me etc... etc... etc... but he is difficult and stubborn and would not let me leave without getting something. I picked out a lovely pair of oval hoop earrings with diamonds that I can wear everyday and can also be used for dressier affairs. I wore them all afternoon today and they are very comfortable and beautiful too, I might add.:)

In other news, looks like we are staying put this year for Thanksgiving which is unusual for us, but have convinced my Mom to make the trip out here. . . .and she is going to come! So also invited FIL and he will as well, so it looks like I will be the hostess with the mostess this time around. Anybody got a good stuffing recipe??!!:D

This weekend(tomorrow) we are supposed to get slammed by Hannah so DH has decided to kill the day at the Natural History Museum with the kids(not sure if all are going to go yet. . .DS#2 is on the fence). If he stays back, he will keep me company. They will take the train. Sunday is also the first day of Sunday school. I will ellipticize and/or treadmill in the mornings as usual.

Have a good weekend.

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - I hope that neither of us get as much rain this weekend as they predict. It will be odd being here considering my house in Norfolk will probably get a nearby brush from Hannah. :( I feel the house will be okay but still, a little different not having either LW or myself in the house for a storm since one of us has been there for every tropical storm or hurricane in the past 9 10 years (almost). But I can't do anything about it from here and the tenants will be fine - gave them all the pointers we have. I hope you didn't wonk your knee today - no need to hurt it if you can avoid it. Hopefully the trip to the museum goes well for all the kids tomorrow, including DH. ;)

This semester I'm taking four classes, one of which is my internship/Field Education (12 hours a week at a church). The other three classes are (real name and description): Homiletics - the art of preaching; Liturgics - how and why the Church practices its worship services the way it does (a mix of history and practiccum); and Systematic theology - trying to explain how the Church (corporately) believes and what it says about it's relationship with God. The last class will be fun but challenging - it's a very deep and oft times philosophical discussion. That and we'll be reading stuff from the early years of the Christian Church as well as some contemporary theologians.

I skipped my workout today but probably should have run or ridden because it probably won't be useful to run tomorrow - they are predicting between 2 and 8 inches of rain between 10 am and 4 pm. :(

Hope everyone is keeping cool and dry this weekend. I hope to be in touch later as long as the electricity doesn't go out...

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey all, I hope that everyone had a good day today and didn't get too much in the rain realm. Alas, I didn't get a run in today or a ride - lots of rain but not much wind. The worst thing was the fact that I ended lugging out between 50 and 70 gallons of water from my basement today - one window well didn't drain correctly and there is a hole in the wall that leaks (cinder block wall that somehow was getting water from the outside). I thought I'd share a couple pictures with you - to give you an idea of what's going on around here...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11791467@N05/2834039477/
I knew I'd get the chance to put that wet suit to use...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/11791467@N05/2834040327/
You can see how much water near my house...

Plus you can see a couple more pictures if you'd like.

No wonder I couldn't get out and run today eh?

Peace all - tomorrow I start at the church I'll be working at over the next couple years. So to bed early today...

Les