HL/WWSG - 10/26 - 11/8: (Halloween already?) Engagement?

[Leslie Ferguson]

A shout out to those from the Cooking Light Bulletin Board who happen upon the Heathful Living/Weekly Workout Support Group offering for the end of October. Fall is trying to turn to winter from time to time and temps are falling all over the northern tier, in fact there’s been snow for a few of the members round here. Of course, some of us have had bi-polar weather this week too, hovering somewhere around 70 on a few days (but that’s about ready to stop I think). By the end of the week we’ll all experience in our own way Halloween. Another holiday that can be tempting to people to fall off their healthful living routines - let’s hope that no one here falls prey to the chocolate monster. There was big news for one of the regulars (which deserves top billing in a second) and decent reports from the rest of the group. So without any further ado I’ll try swing a recap of the last two weeks (or so):

Congratulations go out to Kate on her engagement! A neat story about the proposal, a leaf blower, Japanese food and garden, and a nifty ring all brought a “new” title for DBF - DF (darling finacee). Woo hoo!
Life successes/Good News include - Kate has been floating on air after the engagement, got some rides in on Mack now that the weather has gotten nicer, and is getting back to the gym once in a while; Laura had a fabulous surprise from DD with an unplanned trip from college on a standby ticket, getting good workouts in at the pool (at a minimum); Karen recuperated from her sinus infection well, getting to the gym and keeping a rein in on the things she’s doing with school (as much as possible), making progess on some long term projects with DS#1 and the other kids too; Nelum found balance in an otherwise stressful week by getting away for a small group study at church, loving the foam roller that she uses on her legs too (good when viewing her stressful living entry); and I had a good couple weeks, meeting with my mentors and classmates and even got some rest during the past week too (after midterms were over that is).
Stressful living - Nelum got done in during a workout (did too much) and paid for it for a good majority of the week; Karen got tugged and tagged to work with the youth group at the synagogue (after getting out of working at the school as an advisor), then there is balancing schedules; Kate didn’t have too much to stress over (except the leaf blower); and I have been having anxiety attacks about self-doubts and school (very hard to explain and certainly too boring for around here, also getting ready for a hectic November with tons of traveling.

Workouts: My plan is to get out for at least 2 runs and 2 rides this week - probably Monday through Thursday. I hope to do the same the following week before heading back to Norfolk for a little visit. With the exception of my knee - I feel so much better for getting more workouts in.
Healthful living: working on keeping calm and less anxious about school, my calling to ministry, and all the traveling I’m doing this month.

A run down of that stressor: this Friday afternoon through Sunday noon-ish my internship parish is going on retreat to the western Virginia mountains. The stress there is I’m leading about 45 minutes of ice breaker on Friday (not my strong suit), leading a late worship service called Compline (I’ll try to post a link to describe what that is) on Saturday (will be fun ), then leading an hour’s discussion of the 3 readings for next Sunday - shouldn’t be too tough, just a little outside my comfort zone. The following week I go back to my sponsoring/home parish to preach and catch up with them. That will be a pretty involved couple weeks - considering I’m back in classes starting Wednesday this week.

Kind of long but I hope I haven’t left anything important out but for now, studies call. Still I thought I’d post a new thread and see what is up. Have a great week and I’ll probably check back before bed time.

Peace to all,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for starting the week off for us. I need to make one clarification, however. Unfortunately, I did not get out of anything(although I kinda wish I could) as I AM the new youth group advisor at the temple.:eek: Guess it will be my "mitzvah" for the interim.

Speaking of temple. . .DH, DS#1, and I just got back from meeting with the cantor regarding DS#1's Bar Mitzvah. He begins his preparations next week and we are now T minus 6 months!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: Can you say P-A-N-I-C A-T-T-A-C-K!! :eek: O.K. I am calming down now. . . it will be O.K. . . .I think! I hope!!?? Seriously, the meeting was fine and DS#1 got the materials he needed to begin studying along with a timeline and schedule of appts. with the cantor. He is a good Hebrew student and will do well. Just hope Mom and Dad do as well.:rolleyes: He also had a very good supportive talk with the cantor this evening. She is just a phenomenal person and I hope someday he realizes just how lucky he is to have such a wonderful dedicated person guiding him through this process and his religious education.

As for the rest of the day. . . stayed up a wee bit too late last night with DH watching a movie in front of a roaring fire with some popcorn, so was a bit tired today but managed to pull off a good swim and good solid boxing class. Also squeezed in my grocery run so not too shabby on a half a tank of steam. The movie was The Savages with Laura Linney whom I usually really like. She did a very good job in this movie, but the movie itself was just so-so. It got alot of good reviews etc... but not one of my more favorites of late. DH and I had been curious to see it and he happen to spot it at the library Saturday, so for free it was worth every penny!!:p

That's it on my end.

Have a good evening,
Karen

[mackandme]

Hey all, thanks for the congrats on the engagement. To tell you the truth, i'm much more freaked out about this than excited about it. I am not a big fan of weddings (tho ours will be tiny), and I have been single for a long time (and DBF single for a much longer time), so the thought of mingling legalities, finances, etc, is really scary for us both. I will be happy to become a part of his family, as I like his family very much. But i really wish we could just fast-forward to June and have all the drama over with! :D

Outside of that, Mack and I just took a walk on the hundred acres Sunday - the high was 87 or so! Of course tonight, it's supposed to freeze. I'm taking a few days off work to do my landscaping. Luckily it will warm up after tonight, so hopefully my plants will have a little time in the ground before the next freeze.

Hope everyone has a great week.

[nhonnold]

Kate - Congratulations! The news is wonderful and what a wonderful experience.

Karen - Wow! T minus 6 months!! Sending you positive non-panicky thoughts - all will be well!

Les - Thanks for starting us off. I'll keep you in my prayers for the anxiety attacks and self-doubts. You shouldn't worry about it too much - it sounds like you are following the Lord's will for your life - can't go wrong doing that!

I had a very long and stressful weekend about which I will not elaborate. Let's just say that humans have the capability to be incredibly good and incredibly horrible at the same time. (And my personality type doesn't handle such situations really well - I sink into a bit of a depression.) However, today I got off work early - decided to take Mikala to the dog park and went for a run and did the short loop. (The dog park is 420 acres and there's a 2.5 mile loop and a 4.25 mile loop.) I got home and walked the smaller dogs about 1 mile around the neighborhood.

My goal is to run/walk the dogs everyday - it's essentially a bare necessity since the dogs need their exercises and I really can't keep working 12 hrs a day.

Everyone have a great and blessed week!

Nelum

[karen w]

Kate-I know it is easy to say sitting in my pants, but try to relax and enjoy each and every moment leading up to the big day(and, of course, even more so after). It really is a special time. CONGRATULATIONS once again.

Nelum-Sorry the weekend was so stressful, but I think you have the right attittude and antidote for stress. When I am feeling that way, there is nothing like a good boxing session to really beat on a bag or a good run etc... on the treadmill to help me work through the knots inside of me. I hope the dogs get all of their needed walks and you can work through the things that have you tied up lately. Good luck.

I had a good swim today. I was a bit worried that I would not get one in as it was raining quite a bit here this morning(and all day for that matter). As I was traveling into the YMCA, there were reports of thunder etc... on the news. Lucky that all stayed in the city and parts elsewhere so the pool remained open. I also had a bit of a funky mood today(long story for another time) but I think my run/walk on the treadmill later this morning helped put things in perspective for me. This evening DS#2 had his guitar lessons and DS#1 his cooking class. DS#1 is going to take a month off from that class so that he can prove to me he is really ready to take on more activities outside of school. He has improved tremendously over last year in terms of his organization/timeliness with regards to homework, responsibilities at home etc... but we have one more(major) issue that needs some attention. So if he does what he is supposed to do over the next month, more cooking classes(which he loves) will be one of his Hanukkah presents.

That's all for now. Have a good evening,

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry I was AWOL yesterday, it wasn't the best of days for me. Even though I'm on break I had a startling discovery that I actually had a project due last Wednesday (long story -- maybe later) that I scrambled to finish yesterday (this morning actually) and got done about 12:10 am. Luckily I had no classes today.

Karen - Sorry I mixed things up too; that's what I get for doing new threads every other week - my mind starts to fade after 14 days. :( Probably not what you want to hear but the 6 months will fly by before you know it. :( I hope that DS#1 keeps up his good progress this year with studies and timeliness. Neat that he has a Cantor who works well with him. I've never heard of the actress but it's good that the movie was acceptable - even when it was free. I hope that your funky mood passes without issue (I think I remember things that cause your funkiness after all these years). Good that your workouts provide an avenue to get past the funk. I hope the remainder of the week goes as well.
Kate - Hard sitting at this end of the spectrum (25 years of marriage) but savor all the days of your engagement - they are priceless and you will fondly remember them later in life and tell stories that stick in your mind. Try not to stress too much (easy for me to say I guess). Luckily things are getting to a place where you can get out on Mack often and to the gym frequently to maintain balance.
Nelum - It doesn't surprise me that people are both good and horrible and that's one of the tough questions that I'm asked and that I ask myself more than I care to say. One of the first steps (I'm assured by my spiritual director) is knowing your reaction to stressors and taking steps to mitigate your response if necessary. Finding someone to talk at (not to but at) helps me and it sounds like you have some good therapy (your dogs and the dog park). Prayer helps too (but you know that). I hope that you get your dogs out every day too - I'll keep that one on my list too. And thank you for your assurances, sometimes I lose sight of the end of the road and try to hard at the "middle" - keeping my sights correctly centered makes a lot of difference.

I was so frustrated yesterday finding out that I had misread the syllabus (it wasn't totally clear but that was my fault). Luckily I had done most of the work I needed to do so it was just a few dedicated hours to put the finishing touches on a wedding service (not an actual one but a plan for one) along with an explanation about why I chose certain things and my/the church's theology of weddings. Got the paper turned in and a bunch of things done for this coming weekend (another stressor - leading about 40 minutes of ice breakers for my internship parish... don't ask it's hard). Then this afternoon I got an hour's run in, even with the cooler temps (that's good) and the blustery winds (gusts to 45 mph - that's bad). A pleasant dinner of broiled mahi mahi and white potatoes. Now some reading and early to bed tonight (much earlier than this morning).

I hope the remainder of the week is as good or better than the weekend and much less stressful. Hope to see you tomorrow and pray that all are well.

Peace to all,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Thanks for your support. The "funk" was very brief and has passed without issue. Today was a good day. Sorry the frustration passed over to you yesterday, but I'm glad to hear you got everything ironed out with your school work.

I had a good swim this morning as usual, and thank goodness for small favors. . . they actually had heat on in the locker room at the YMCA!! Phew! That seems to be a novelty there.:rolleyes: Especially, since it was a very cold and windy day here today. As a matter of fact, since it is so cold out tonight, DH and the kids are carving Halloween pumpkins in the kitchen right now. I don't even want to go in there and look at the mess now. :eek: Usually they do it on the front porch and I don't have to know what goes on, but fortunately DH is good about cleaning up after himself. (He knows what the consequences may be if he doesn't :p). Anyway, as for the rest of my day, I went to cardio-boxing as usual for Wed. lately and it was a great class. I am predicting some sore thighs/glutes in the next day as we did alot of squats/lunges with weights at the end of class. At the time of doing them I felt so good and strong. Also accomplished my produce/dairy shopping and Costco along with the usual evening "kid" stuff.

Short and sweet for me tonight. Have a good one.
Karen

[nhonnold]

Les - I have no problem with not escalating a stressful situation - my problem is that I'm so hard on myself afterwards. Did I handle the situation the best possible way? :rolleyes: I like the way the Truth Project answers the question of good and evil :D I'm sorry you were frustrated, but I'm glad things worked out! :cool:

Karen - Glad there was heat in the locker room! I'm such a wuss - if it's too cold I can't even get out of bed - something about separating from my heated mattress pad!! :p So, I admire that you can get up early and go for a swim even with a cold locker room!! The pumpkin carving sounds like so much fun!! I went to a party with pumpkin carving as and activity - and let's just say I'm glad it wasn't at my house!! Try foam rolling for the soreness. :D

Well, I didn't run yesterday - I've been doing really late nights because DH has been doing late nights (don't sleep very well without the added body heat - sometimes I think I married him for the portable heat :p). I got up extra early this morning and went for a run and a walk with the dogs. Then put in a really long day at work, followed by another session of the Truth Project and now I'm ready for bed!!!

Everyone have a great and blessed week!!

Nelum

[karen w]

Nelum-I so hear you on the heat thing with regard to your DH. My DH is my "hotbox" as well, and tonight he is going to be home very late so chances are I will go to bed later than usual. Great job on the run/walk with the dogs in the early morning.

I had a great swim today. I did want to jacuzzi to ease a bit of expected anterior thigh soreness from yesterday, but the jacuzzi was looking a bit yellowish/green today. Not exactly very inviting. Looked to me like it was due for a cleaning. Instead I went home and did an easy bike ride after breakfast and some abs but no weights today. Got alot done around the house and roasted the pumpkin seeds from last night for the kids. They love those.

Tomorrow is the annual 4th grade pumpkin carving at the elementary school for DD so I will go there to carve a pumpkin with her. Last night we opened her pumpkin for this event and gutted it but left it uncarved so she can do it at school. They only have an hour at school for this so it helps if you de-gut your Jack-O-lantern at home. I speak from experience as she is child #3 so this is the third(and last:() time I will have done this over the years. Tomorrow night she is trick or treating with 2 friends from the neighborhood accompanied by DH. DS#1 is going with a friend and sleeping over at his house. DS#2 is desperately trying to find someone that he can go with as he does not want to get stuck going with "the girls," but so far no luck. :p I will swim and play it by ear after that as to whether I box or perhaps ellipticize and do some weights. The martial arts studio is only open in the morning for classes tomorrow because of Halloween, so I could get in my class.

Have a good evening and may only treats come your way tomorrow!!:D

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

It sounds like we're all alike - one of the couple is the heater and the other is the chill-chest. Oddly around here, LW generates heat but is personally cool and I'm normally cool to touch but she seems to think that I generate all kinds of warmth - go figure.

Nelum - Long days at work aren't too much fun but at least you can bookend with your dogs and the Truth Project. I'll have to check on their explanation about the question of good and evil and add it to my catalog. That is another thing that I just don't like and don't like most of my responses so far. BTW, I remember that I still owe you my thoughts from this past summer - they're there, really they are.

Karen - Have fun carving a pumpkin with DD tomorrow. I did mine yesterday (I'll post pix/link later). I laughed about the image of DH and the boys working ove pumpkins in the kitchen. When I did mine in yesterday I seeded it outside then carved the finer details inside - a good thing for me (it was cold outside). Great swim this morning and good call on the green jacuzzi. :)

I've been a little busy over the past couple days and even laid a little lower tonight - I had some packing to do since I'm going to the mountains on the VA/WVA border this weekend with my internship parish and I needed to put some good mileage on a sermon I'm delivering next weekend at my home parish in Norfolk (the 9th). Probably will do tons of walking/climbing (trails but steep ones) this weekend while away and I'm looking forward to the event - not so much the drive (3.5 hours each way).

Have a great weekend all and peace and blessings all around.

Les

[nhonnold]

Karen - Good call on the jacuzzi - that didn't sound like it would have been a pleasant experience! Enjoy the pumpkin carving with DD!! :D Is your boxing class like a cardio boxing class?

Les - Yes, I am thankful that a long day was bookend-ed with really fun things - I just wish that all long day were like that!! The concept of good and evil is a very difficult and complex subject to tackle. I haven't forgotten about your summer experiences - I'm still interested in reading about them, but I also understand that you are busy - so no hurry. ;) Going hiking up in the mountains sounds like a blast!!! :D

Well, yesterday was a 12 hr day at work. Got up early went in and didn't get home until 9:00. So, I did nothing and almost didn't get enough carbs yesterday - got a little light-headed while my lunch was heating up. :(

On the upside yesteday was DH's b'day - We'll be celebrating that instead of Halloween. :D

Today I have a PT appointment and I hope to get DH's present done along with the laundry, the cleaning, etc. :rolleyes:

Everyone have a great and blessed weekend and Halloween!!

Nelum

[Leslie Ferguson]

Nelum - I hope that your PT appointment, getting DH's present made, and the rest of Halloween went well for you. Energy deficit is never a fun place to be and I hope that doesn't happen all that often. I hope that you had a good weekend.

I also hope that Karen and the brood did well over the weekend with Halloween etc.

Things have been going well here - not too productive on a class standpoint but still going well. I've been away from running and spinning these past couple days but I've been pretty active. I've been away in the mountains of western Virginia at a place called Shrine Mont (http://www.shrinemont.com) for a retreat. I did get a great climb. The total distance to the top of the mountain is about a mile but there are some pretty steep grades. (in the 18-20% grade in sections) Probably about a 600 foot rise when all is said and done. After the 2 mile round trip I did some other "flat land" walking with folks and probably put in about 6-8 miles in and around the hills here.

Leaving the hill this afternoonand heading back to the flat lands of Alexandria. Woudl you believe that it was 77 there yesterday? :eek: It's November for goodness sake!

Hope everyone has a great remainder of the weekend and I'll see you all later on.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Good evening. Sounds like an amazing weekend retreat in the mountains with wonderful weather. It was a bit chillier here, but still a beautiful sunny weekend.

As for the weekend, Halloween was much mellower than anticipated for a Friday night this year. The last trick or treater was around 8 PM which was a big shocker for me on a Friday night, but maybe the kids(older ones, that is) had better plans for later in the evening??!!! Who knows!? No vandalism to speak of either. All of my kids had fun as well. I made a deal with them when all was said and done. We saved some of their favorite candies to have a bit in the next few days/weeks, but the bulk is going to work with DH and I am swapping it out for them in exchange for the sugarless gum of their choice. They were very enthusiastic about that deal, and I figure it was good for all in the long run.

Today was religion for the kids. After DS#1 had his first Odyssey of the Mind meeting here at the house with his team. DH and another mother are helping to coach with me as backup if needed. It went well. DD had two girl friends over to play and they had a good time, too. Everyone was very constructive and busy in a good way. DH and I even got to go out by ourselves tonight for a change for a quick dinner with DS#1 in charge. He took the babysitting course(Red Cross) a year ago. As a matter of fact, DS#2 takes the same class this Tuesday since there is no school.

I did my ellipticizing and treadmill over the weekend. Tomorrow I swim and box. DH will be around the house to give me a hand with the kids both tomorrow and Tuesday. He has an extra day off here and there in the next week or so because he is trying to use up a few of his "earned extra days" or "comp days" or whatever they call them that he has not used yet before Jan. 09. ANYWAY. . . .Have a good week!:)

Karen

[nhonnold]

Les - Wow, what a great retreat. It sounds like it was a great time up in the mountains!! :D

Karen - Good that Halloween wasn't too hectic for you. And rockin' that you had some time with DH and that he has some time to burn. :D

Well, Halloween was a training event for DH and I. We spent the night training Mikala to not charge at anyone at the door. (Not a good thing when you're talking about a 90+ lbs puppy - no matter how friendly and lovable she is!) So, we kept her on a lead all night long and made little Raggs wear his pumpkin costume. :D

The rest of the weekend flew by - not quite sure what I accomplished since it's all a blur!! I did get my usual run/walk with the dogs this morning. :D

Everyone have a great and blessed day!

Nelum

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey ladies - wish I could stop and say more but a sermon or two is in the hopper and I need to get the words down before they perish.

Great images though - a 90+ lbs puppie trying to play with little kids. No trick or treaters after 8 pm. Extra time off with DH (that's a bummer ;) ) - I hope you can find something to do when he's around. ;)

I'll try to post a few of my pictures (scenery shots) from this past weekend. Nothing like your neck of the woods Nelum but still pretty, especially for the Virginia hills in November.

Sorry I can't say more and peace to all,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Crawl by...
Bad night last night - the sermon I was working on last night disappeared into electronic ether. After much wailing and gnashing of teeth I recovered it though and 2+ hours of work was saved (and the entire text I might add). Then to top that off I got the "honey, why isn't the toilet filling up?" question almost simultaneously. :rolleyes: When all was said and done it was nearly 1:00 am before I fell asleep and I had to get up early for a doctor's appointment (Audiologist - looking at my failing hearing aid). Nothing big but moving forward.

However, I have a link to the pictures from this weekend (at least the scenery ones). You all should be able to see them on my Facebook account Photo album (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48577&l=f98d0&id=654239289).

Gotta fly - hope everyone voted who can.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Beautiful pictures including the fuzzy wuzzy lil ol caterpillar. ;) Sorry to hear that you got zapped by cyberspace, but at least the matter got resolved in the end.

Nelum-That certainly is great imagery of your puppy barreling down on all the little trick or treaters. He weighs almost as much as I do!!!!:eek:

I had a really fabulous swim both yesterday and today. Some mornings just feel "right on the money" and today was one of those. Seems to be a tiny ant problem in the ladies lockroom at the YMCA(gross!!!!:eek:) but it was not as outrageous this morning. Anyway, voted after my swim. Later in the morning I took DS#2 to his babysitting course and DH stayed home with the other kids while I boxed. DS#1 had a friend over most of the afternoon and DD played with a few girls in the neighborhood while DH was doing yard work. That included putting the garden "to bed" for the winter.:( Oh well, we had a pretty decent season so no complaints.

Tomorrow I will swim and do my cardio. class. DS#1 gets his Bar Mitzvah pictures taken in the afternoon for the temple newspaper. He'll have to take a shirt and tie with him when he goes to religious school in the afternoon and borrow DH's Tallis(prayer shawl). My mom bought one for him last year in Israel which she will bring when she visits over Thanksgiving, but in the meantime DH's will do the trick.

Have a good evening.

Karen

[mackandme]

Just a quick post since it's election night so things will be a little crazy here.

It was nice to take some time off work and stay home for a change. Got my plants in the ground and I'm really happy with them, and did a good bit of cleaning in the house. Also, we ordered a porch swing, and it arrived today (already!) so we're looking forward to putting it up.

DBF and i tried to spend a good bit of time together, too, as my boss has switched my schedule back and after next week, date night is over.

Got some nice rides in on Mack, plus one really short one b/c it was something like 85 degrees out which was way too hot for November!

[karen w]

I'll bump us back up so we don't get pushed off the page!:rolleyes:

I have been getting all my workouts/routines in this week as usual, but not feeling very "talkative" at night this week with the kids busy schedule making me tired at night not to mention something is trying to invade my throat/body, but so far has not declared victory.:rolleyes: Anyway, today I had a good swim and tried to jacuzzi for the first time all week since the spa was finally cleaned(no green tinge to it today) and the ants were gone. Unfortunately, the water was barely warm and the jets kicked off after only 3 minutes. Not sure what gives with that, but it has been doing that regularly lately. Must make a mental note to complain about that. . . .again!:rolleyes: Anyway, DH decided to be a bit late for work this morning so we spent a bit of time together after all the kids got off to school.;) After that I ellipticized, did some weights, a few abs and took a bath at home!!:cool: This afternoon it was off to conquer Costco. I stocked up on sugarfree gum for the kids as per our deal regarding the Halloween candy. It's a long story, but this year they each picked out a dozen pieces to do with as they please and in exchange for the rest, I swapped them sugar free gum. So ALL the remainder went to work with DH earlier this week. AMEN! Well. I did save the malted milk balls for me and the Heath bars for DH.:o

Tomorrow I'll be swimming and probably boxing.

Good evening,
Karen