HL/WW Support Group - Week of August 20th

[Leslie Ferguson]

Greetings friends, neighbors, visitors, and lurkers and welcome to the next installment of the Healthful Living and Weekly Workout support group. Look out -- summer is coming to an end soon. Over the past couple weeks we’ve been having good discussions and lots of folks both new and old have been coming back for a dose of healthful living. It has been a good family time for the past month or so - plenty of emotions to go around both good and not so good. I hope that folks are experiencing the break in the weather that has been predicted - we can all use it. With that said, over the last week or so things that have stood out include:

Karen - CAN YOU SAY STRESS! Tough week for her extended family - Father had a stroke but is getting better and may be transferred to a “better” hospital (in Milwaukee) for his long term treatment and her mother’s ability to be with him; MIL having complications from some long term medical issues which precluded her coming to visit this weekend; understandably, she’s spending a lot of energy to take her mind off things; keeping her kiddoes busy with friends is helping; just a couple more weeks and they head back to school too.
Laura - Cruising through the last week of summer break for DD and DS; feeling a lot less stressed about the upcoming fall after opting out of the RnR San Jose race; weather wreaking havoc on her work outs still.
Jean - Workouts are good; got a pampering from DH - a day at the spa (I’m jealous); getting her arms around her eating bugaboos and making good progress sticking to her plan.
Laura K - Headed out for a long weekend with her sister; had a blast with DH at her High School reunion; taking some hits on her ability to strictly follow WW (I’m guessing a little) but still making sufficient progress in her weight loss plan.
Terri - Outer Banks half marathon training continues with a long run yesterday in the heat and humidity; figuring out the effects of heat and humidity on hydration; work picking up after meeting with a supervisor that deals with personnel employment at her job; looking for weight training routines; and she’s still making progress on her “100 class challenge.” WOO HOO!
Me (Les) - A good week although a little disconnected; lots of meetings and things going on but nothing that I couldn’t keep up with; got most of my workouts in; did a lot of personal maintenance (internal and psyche); came to the realization that I’ve finally made it so my workouts don’t rule me but that I can choose (and it’s ok to choose) not to work out (as long as I don’t do it all the time).

Workout items: lift today (as always) then run and/or ride this week. Depending on my schedule (which might not support early runs this week) and I’m going to try to run 3 times this week and ride just once (to give my hands and wrists a little break again).

Healthful living - I’m still working on getting more sleep (and alluded to above, I’m doing better). I’m also working on being more intentional about the things I do when interacting with people (part of the skills I need to bring back to the forefront for my believed call to ministry). Working on not sweating the small stuff and focusing on the things that are truly important.

Well, that pretty much sums up as best I can remember. I hope we all have a good week and I look forward to the spirited discussions to come. If there happen to be any other lurkers out there - please drop in and chat, we love having new people come by for a visit.

Until later friends, have a great week -

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Thanks for starting the week again, Les. You do a really good job with the weekly wrap up. It would take me HOURS to put that together. Thanks for the tip on eating a bit more salt after my workouts. I did have some tortilla chips for lunch yesterday, but maybe it wasn't enough. I still felt kind of blah when I got up this morning, so I had a fitness water and that seemed to do the trick.

Rest day for me today, workout-wise. It was a busy day nonetheless. Church this morning, baby shower and pool party this afternoon (two different events this afternoon). The end of the summer heat is still here and I told someone if they would have found me a dark t-shirt I would have jumped in the pool with my clothes on! :eek: Got home and showered and now I feel almost human again.

This is going to be kind of a weird week for me, workout wise. I have a 6am appt. with my trainer tomorrow to get me started on a weight workout. It's supposed to be a run day (4 miles) and I'm hoping to get that in on the treadmill in the morning after the weights (may have to adjust my work hours tomorrow and leave work a bit later in the afternoon). I would just do weights tomorrow and run on Tuesday, but I have the spinathon on Tuesday evening and don't want to run in the AM and spin in the PM and then run again on Wednesday AM. So, I think I will try to do both tomorrow, spin on Tuesday, weights on Wed., run on Thursday and Saturday. That's my plan for the moment.

My healthy goal for this week is to cut out (or cut back) on the sweets and supplement with good sweets, like fruits. I'm pretty good about eating my fruits and veggies, but noticing a few more candies sneaking in there. I need to stop that. Saying all that with a birthday cake in the fridge to go into work tomorrow for a coworker's birthday!

Have a good week everyone!

[karen w]

Les-I agree with Terri....you do such a great job each week getting us going. Many thanks!

Terri-Sounds like you're going to have a busy day tomorrow. Good luck with the trainer in the morning.

I'm going to keep it brief again. I'm still not feeling that chatty. Maybe because I had some bad news from Mom this morning. Dad is being transferred back to the ICU due to breathing difficulties. They are going to further evaluate why he is having problems, but that's the last I have heard. It is just so difficult being here(not there), knowing too much medically, and the guilt/thoughts that plague you because you're not there etc... Unfortunately I've been dwelling on the latter alot lately. But I still don't think flying out there now is the answer. Anyway, the weekend was O.K. in spite of things. I kept to my exercise routine, and I am trying to keep to my routine, in general in order to maintain some normalcy to my existence right now so as not to get to depressed. The boys went to a b-day party yesterday and DD played with the neighbor. Today the kids all went to a cub scout family picnic with DH while I did the grocery shopping. This evening we went for dinner since I just did not feel like cooking....SO THERE! :p

Tomorrow I plan on swimming and boxing. As an aside MIL is out of the hospital and they are going to tentatively plan to come next weekend which means I have to plan and cook another meal for them...and that's not really what I feel like right now. However, with MIL's health issues as well, I can't be that selfish for the sake of DH and the kids. Meanwhile the meal I had planned to make for them tonight was cooked last night, and we will have the leftovers this week. :rolleyes: Oh well. That's not such a bad thing.

Have a good week everyone. Kiss your children, wife/DH/SO etc... or just hug someone special this week!

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thank you both for the comments about my opening "salvo." With my steel trap mind the facts get stuck in there (and get released correctly most of the time - but not last week :rolleyes: ). Thank you Karen for the reminder to hug the ones you love and the ones that are close to you. That's something LW and I are doing more and more these days - life is moving in wild directions here (not anything like up your way) but after almost 23 years we are getting a lot closer all the time (hard to believe isn't it? ;) ).

Karen - That's tough news. Don't be too hard on yourself either because you know you're right - being in CT is probably less stressful (but as you say not as personally and familially rewarding) for all involved. But that still doesn't make it easier. I hope the docs get your Dad stabilized and back out of ICU quickly. Prayers headed out again (like I ever stopped). Thank you for the good news about MIL, please pass my best to her through DH. I hope that you all have a good visit next weekend too. You know what, I bet they'll be thrilled with whatever is served - because it will be made by you (or your family) and it will be shared with you and your family. I hope that you can continue to get your frustrations out at the gym and that you listen to your body and rest when it needs it. This is a tough time for you and probably one of the times that you can over do it.
Terri - I'm glad you feel a little better this morning. It really sounds like you got your electrolytes out of whack yesterday. Salt is a big thing but a complex mix of electrolytes is better. One of the recovery drinks I've used in the past, especially on sweaty days is stuff called Ultima. It's gotten better over the years (was pretty gastly the first couple times I drank it). But it is a recovery drink not a replenishment drink (not many carbohydrates in it - not sugar based but has artifical sweetner). Oh how I remember these days in the DC area from years gone by... hot and nasty in July and August. Your week sounds packed with workout disturbing things but it also sounds like you've got a good plan to work around those disturbances. A cake in the fridge is ok because it's going to work and not going to be eaten around the house. :cool:

I didn't do too much today - lifted and fell into my solo lifting trap. It seems when my coach is out of town I lift a little heavier than I would typically lift. (He in Montana doing a Marathon near Great Falls.) Tomorrow will be a little weird because I've got an appointment with my therapist in the late morning and a chiropractor appointment at noon (I need to see him again). That will disturb my workout time tomorrow so I might end up with a late ride or a late run. Oh well, something will come out.

That's about it - time to go to bed so I can be ready for the day tomorrow. I hope that everyone has a good week (and that Karen has a peace-filled day tomorrow). Happy Monday all and until later... peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Good morning!

Karen, I'm sorry to hear your father is back in ICU. I will continue to pray for his healing. I'm glad to hear that you're staying on your routine to keep your mind occupied. Good to hear about your MIL's recovery!

Les, I hope all of your appts. today went uneventfully, or eventfully enough to feel better!

I had my meeting w/ the trainer this morning. She gave me just a few exercises, but they will be good for a little while. She said to come back in a few months to reeveluate. I will probably be sore tomorrow, but that's ok. I'm more worried about my legs being sore, as I have the spinathon tomorrow, but I guess the biking will get some of the soreness out of them!

After meeting w/ her, I still had time to get my 4 mile run in. Outside, I do 5 min run/1 min walk. On the treadmill I increased that to 9 min. run/1 min. walk. It all worked out fine. I'm going to have to find a podiatrist and get my right foot checked. My orthotic is not fitting right and by about 3.5 miles this morning, it was getting pretty sore. I noticed a small blister on the bottom of my foot again after my Saturday run (didn't feel it while running), so I know that it's slipping or needs an adjustment.

Hope everyone is having an ok Monday. I'm tired from the busy weekend and am waiting for the afternoon to speed by :)

[Leslie Ferguson]

Howdy all, this isn't a good sign this evening -- no Karen post. I hope things haven't turned in an unwanted direction. I'll open with a prayer for her families (again).

Terri - It sounds like you got the exercises you were looking for. Great job getting 4 miles in after lifting too. That in and of itself may have some impact on your legs and body. I know that I'm a little tender after lifting when it comes to running. How did the spinathon go? I'm sorry about your shoes and the orthotics - hopefully the orthopedic can give you some info that will help keep your foot in a good place and prevent blisters.

After my appointments today (you can see the offshoot of one in the "Other Things" board - I found an interesting list of "Rules for Being Human and a lot of them apply to me these days and also help explain a lot of what is going on in my life and my head). My visit with the chiropractor was ok - still a little tight and need to get my hip to release better because that darned lumbar roll is getting to me right now. With all that I decided to ride tonight. Not wanting to put any stress on my hands (give them another day to recover if they are) I rode inside on the trainer (it was too nice to ride outside but I think discretion is the better part of valor today) because I can ride without having to put my hands on the handlebars while I HAVE TO put my hands on the handlebars when I'm on the road - no balance. I did an hour on the trainer and found myself back at my typical pace (90 rpm) for most of it. Still a great ride watching Home Improvements (two shows) and catching bits of Rachel Ray.

Tomorrow??? Probably will run in the morning since I have another meeting in the evening and that will preclude getting a workout in after work.

Until tomorrow - I hope and pray that Karen is ok and that we hear from Laura, Laura K, and the rest of the gang. Until then...

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

I'm with you, Les, hoping Karen posts something.

Sore this morning - more upper body than lower body, but that's to be expected. I took the morning off, since my spinathon is this evening. I'm really tired this morning. I slept fine, but just feeling really groggy. I think I might need a vacation. :D

I spent last evening going through pictures. We're putting together a DVD for my mom's 75th birthday and I need to get some pictures scanned in. I'm trying to get one of my sisters who live near my mom to raid her pictures, since she has all the good old ones. I'll spend the next few days scanning what I have. I already have two DVDs from two of my sisters. Hopefully the rest will contribute, too.

That's about it from here. I hope everyone has a good day.

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry about the grogginess Terri I hope it wears off before the spinathon. Your mom's 75th birthday, what a great thing. We celebrated my step-MIL's 80th a couple years ago and put together a multimedia thing - what a great presentation and everyone enjoyed it. I hope the DVD building goes well and you get your pictures scanned in without issue.

I was successful getting on the road but not nearly as early as I would have liked. My run felt pretty good and I logged 8.2 miles (thank you google map) at my typical speed (can't seem to push any faster these days) ~ 8:15/mile. Good thing, it's done and I felt pretty good until a little GD hit. :( :rolleyes: Luckily there were facilities where I could stop all hot and sweaty and remedy the issue.

Looking forward to a few others with good reports of the day or at least reports whatever they may be. Until evening...

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

I'm still feeling pretty tired and one of my teammates has pulled out due to work issues, so I'm doing two hours! I'm hoping that some of my tiredness is from not working out this morning and the spinning wakes me up.

I'll check in later.

[karen w]

Hi guys,

I'm still here. Yesterday was just a really awful day all around for me with the exception that I got my exercising in and more importantly my kids & DH are really awesome. Dad was seriously circling the drain yesterday and then mid afternoon I get a call from a cousin of mine(whom I really have not spoken to much at all in the past 20+ years). She felt it was her business to shovel on a huge guilt trip. Why am I not out there watching him die etc... I never said a word to her during her lecture. I was just sobbing into the phone...until I could not stand it any longer, and screamed into the phone, "I don't need this cr*p" and hung up. I guess she won't be speaking to me anytime soon....or ever again. As I see it, we have not spoken much in the last few decades...what am I losing??? I called the hospital to speak to my mom, and then sobbed with her. Part of the sob fest was asking....am I a bad daughter for not being there?? As morbid as it may sound, the last time I saw Dad he looked great and that is how I'd like to remeber him. I just feel bad that I am not there for Mom, although I know she does have some support. And I do want to be there, but I have nobody to take care of my kids etc.. etc... Anyway, mom reassured me a bit. She said the same cousin was asking her why she was not staying at the hospital 24/7....why did she go back to the hotel at midnight to get a few hours of sleep!! As my mom said....she needs to stay strong for him and the best way she can do that is by getting a few hours of sleep; not staring at him breathing all night. Meanwhile this cousin has no idea what my life circumstances are since we have had no communication for so many years, nor the fact that I have been inflicting my own guilt trip on myself for not being there. She just had no right to butt in...AT ALL! My mom did tell my little brother about it who tried to call last night to reassure me(I was in bed by 8 PM with a throbbing migraine, though). He was also given instructions by Mom to tell said cousin to stifle!

I guess that's my mini-vent for the night. On a brighter note....there is still some hope. Dad seemed to be doing better all around today. His heart rate was back down, breathing improved, labs a bit better, responding more appropriately, and the neurologist seemed optimistic. So keep up the praying....PLEASE! And thanks for all the prayers to this point.

Also on the brighter side, all of this stress does wonders for the exercise. I had a very intense swim this morning, and today at boxing the punching bag became the above mentioned cousin....boy did she(it) get a beating!! :D

I am going to turn in early again tonight as I still have a touch of a headache. Sorry to not address everyone individually, but I hope you all have a good hump day tomorrow.

Karen

[TerriAb]

Karen, I'm so sorry that you are having to go through all of this! The last thing you need is someone telling you what to do, like you didn't know all of this already! I would have been right there with you, telling her off! I'll continue to pray for your dad's recovery and rest for the rest of your family. Thanks for checking in.

Well, I made it through the spinathon. Going in I was going to try and do all three hours (or at least two of the three, as my other teammate bagged on me later in the day). I did the first hour and then one of the teammates showed up, so she did the 2nd hour. However, there was another team that was doing 20/20/20 (three people, each 20 min.) and needed a third for their team, so I rode the last 20 minutes of the 2nd hour, too. I walked on the treadmill for the other 40 minutes, though. I was going to stay for the 3rd hour, but I thought I had had enough by then and was ready to get home.

Tomorrow is my running day, but I'm going to see how I feel in the morning. My quads are pretty sore from the weight lifting yesterday, so I'm not sure they can take the running or another weight workout. I may do an easy elliptical, just to get something in. I really will wait and see how I feel in the morning.

Have a good night everyone!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - (1) Vent away and there's no problem not addressing any one person specifically, your plate is overflowing right now so personal maintenance is important for your well being.
(2) You are not a bad daughter. Fie on your cousin for berating you and your mom. She should just butt out and let your family do what it needs to do. I agree with your Mom and you - there are ways that you can help support your family and taking care of yourself and those who are with you (your kids for instance) is important.
(3) I'd bet your father would rather you spend time taking care of HIS grandkids so he can devote his energy to getting better and not worrying about you and your kids.
(4) I'm glad that his condition is looking up a little and as you request, prayers haven't ceased since we started praying. I'm glad that you had an avenue to vent your frustration and quell your fears a little. Talking with your mom is probably a good thing for both of you - a little female compassion and someone who cares.
Bless you, your family, your mom and dad, and all who are caring for them. And please take care of yourself.

Terri - I hope your quads start feeling better soon. I remember when I started lifting weights and how I felt on my first and second runs of the week. I'd recommend dropping the weight a little if your quads are still tight tomorrow. Honestly, weight lifting for endurance running is more about more reps (in my uneducated opinion) and lighter weights. That recipe on the weight machines has kept my muscles happy for the most part over the past 5 years. Great job on the spinathon too. Hope your run tomorrow is a good one.

I tried something a little different after running in the H&H this morning/noon. I found a package of Ultima Replenishment drink and swilled that after the run (it was almost frozen). It was pretty good and I didn't seem to have any detrimental effects from running in the H&H. Maybe that will have to be the key after runs when it's hot and muggy.

Other than that, there isn't much else to add so I'll check out and say -- nighty night.

Peace to all and coming hump day,
Les

[tmsl]

Hi gang,

Wednesday already, the weeks are flying by. DH & I had a great time at the beach this past weekend with friends. I had dinner last Wed. with my sisters in town, not at the beach, but it was good to see them as well.

Now back to the work week. Going well so far, I did workout Monday after work and my hip has been a little sore since then. I did a hill workout on the treadmill and I may have not been ready for that. I will probably try the elliptical tonight to cut down on the pounding of the joints. WW is going well, I am eating decently without too many temptations.

Terri~Whew, what a workout. Did you get on the treadmill just to keep your heartrate up during the spinathon? I would be worn slap out after that.

Les~Great on finding the replenishment drink for the muggy runs. May need to remember that if I ever get to "Les" like runs. Hope your hands are better now that they have rested some.

(((Karen))) feel free to vent anytime. Hugs and prayers for your family.

Chat with you again soon,

Laura K.

[karen w]

Good evening,

Today has been a pretty quiet day for me(a good thing). I have not heard from Mom yet today, but no news is good news(I hope). DH had the day off, so I got to do alot of my errands sans kids. The kids have also "camped" out in the back yard in our tent for the last two nights! Tonight will be the last night as we have to take down the tent since it might rain tomorrow and we get our grass cut on Thursdays. Anyway, I had a nice swim this morning. I've still been bothered with a mild headache, but it might be my sinuses since it is right sided OR dare I say....STRESS??!! Fortunately, the swimming always helps me in the morning. DH took the kids after breakfast while I went to the store and boxing. DS#1 went fishing; DS#2 had a play date; DD went with DH for awhile as well as fished with DS#1 as well! They did not catch anything, though. This afternoon I went to Costco. I have a ton of fresh food for our visit with the in-laws this weekend, so I sure do hope they show up. Otherwise we will be eating high off the ....well not hog since I did not buy meat....how 'bout the vine(lots of fruit and veggies) for the next week. Speaking of veggies....DS#2 has decided to become a vegetarian. This came about last weekend at the Cub scout picnic when he saw the raw burgers going on the grill. He wanted to know what the red stuff was on the meat. When DH told him "blood" he swore off all meat. I figured it would last a day or two, but he's going on day 3. At his friends today, he just ate a salad. The other night I made the kids chicken noodle soup. He asked for tomato soup even though he has always claimed to hate that flavor. He ate it all, too! Perhaps if anything, this will get him to expand his repetoire of foods. I'm still not counting on it to last long, but I will support him as long as he feels strongly about his reasons, and he eats a well balance diet(which he does) plus his multivitamin.

Terri-Congratulations on completing the spin-athon. It sounded really challenging. Hope the quads have recovered.

Les-What exactly is "Ultima?" I'm glad it worked for you. I know there is a very delicate balance your body has for dehydration etc... so whatever it takes.

Laura-Glad to hear you had a nice visit with your sister. Hope the hip is feeling better soon, too.

Tomorrow I will swim in the morning and in the evening I have my first monthly bo-black progress test(need ~10 of them and at least 1 years time to qualify for my black belt). I'm not the best prepared(in terms of sparring, anyway) for tomorrow's test. But the way I see it....if I really suck tomorrow, I will look that much better in a year when I go for my black belt. :D

Thanks again everyone for all the prayers. Have a good night,

Karen

[TerriAb]

Sorry I didn't check in this morning - I had an early meeting and then actually had some work to do! My work issues should be resolved hopefully sooner rather than later if for no other reason than my boss is tired of hearing me complain that I have nothing to do. Things are looking up, I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I skipped my workout this morning in lieu of some extra sleep. It's rare that I do that, but my body was TIRED this morning! It would have been a light day anyway (which I guess is better than nothing), but I'm giving myself the break. Tomorrow I'm scheduled for a 3 mile run. I don't think that should be a problem. Obviously I drank enough during the spinathon because I was up about 4 times last night visiting the loo. I always fell right back to sleep, but I hardly ever get up at night (or if I do, it's only once). It's all good, though.

Still working on the pictures for my mom's DVD. To my siblings that haven't sent me anything, I'm emailng them really bad old pictures of them threatening if they don't send me something, this is what's going on the show. :D I feel like I have such power putting this thing together!

That's it for tonight. I keep thinking it's Thursday and then am rather disappointed that it's not when I think about it. I guess the weekend will be here soon enough.

Have a good evening!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey all, I can't claim a run today. It was in my plans until I got home then I was overcome by events and spent the hour I was going to run figuring out what music I wanted to play for church this evening (then ended up not playing any of it - long story and don't want to hijack the thread). My story, and I'm sticking with it, is I'm tapering for the half-marathon (yep, that's the ticket).

Karen - In my book, no news is good news from the home front. It must have been refreshing to have DH to herd the kids for a while - one less stress inducer for you. I liked your treatment of the "living high on the???" since there's no really good finish to that. That's kind of humorous with DS#2, I wonder how long his vegetarian days will last but like you said, if it helps him expand his dining repitoire the so be it. I hope your progress evaluation goes well tomorrow. To answer what Ultima is - it's a brand of recovery drink (as opposed to replenishment drinks that you consume during a run) for post run that has all kinds of vitamins, minerals, and electrolytes. I had used it in the past but had gotten away from it for most of the past two years but found a packet and decided I needed to run a non-scientific experiment for my running. I was happy that I came through the experiment with flying colors because, like you said, I've become acutely aware of my intolerance of hiccups in my hydration levels. Prayers continue (like I really needed to say that).

Terri - Tired today? :confused: Let's see, you did a spin-a-thon last night and some treadmill too. I wouldn't be tired (NOT!). Sometimes being the squeeky wheel is a good things so I hope that your work situation resolves in an acceptable manner. I too hope that your quads get happier tomorrow.
Not to ignore you Laura K but I just went around the corner and have fallen asleep at the keyboard one too many times so I'll have to give you a response tomorrow.

That's about it for the evening... I hope that the end of the week goes well for everyone. Tomorrow will be discombobulated again, teeth cleaning mid-morning will dictate my running schedule (probably after work - not a lot of fun these days with H&H).

Peace,
Les

[TerriAb]

Les, sorry your run got waylaid last night, but it sounds like it was for a good cause. I hope your dentist appt. goes well today and they don't find any cavities (always a bonus for me and it rarely happens).

Karen, good to hear from you and it sounds like things are "normal" around your house. Funny about your DS becoming a vegetarian, but I'm with you - if it gets him to eat new foods, then great! I hope you have another non-eventful day today.

Laura K, congratulations on your eating well. I know when I was doing WW, it took me awhile to fall into a groove and once I got there, the temptations became less - not gone, just I seemed to be able to resist more.

I got my 3 miles in this morning. I think I'm still pretty tired because it was tough. I think I may have started out too fast up the big hill. But I got through it and I'm done for the day. Yay!

Have a good one everyone!

[Laura]

Sorry for not checking in much these days, I am just really, really busy work wise. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I working two jobs (one full time, one 2 days a week). I will quit my current full-time job in October (once I vest in the pension plan), and then make my current part-time job my full time job, but until then. Things are crazy.

I have been doing a mix of workouts. Pilates, running, and walking. I would like to do weights more but haven't figured out a way to get it in yet.

Karen, IMO your cousin is awful. I know when my mom was sick I dealt with a lot of the same emotions. But I also know that if she would have handled the situation exactly the way that I did. I will keep your dad and family in my prayers. That is interesting that your son has become a vegetarian; I think it is right that it may encourage him to try more things.

Terri great job on your spinathon. I am impressed that you ran this morning after having heavy legs, and running a hill to boot! I think you asked once if my tailbone ever bothers me when doing Pilates, and I have to say no. Are you doing it on a good mat? I have a few DVDs and then go to the Y for their class when I can. Once I feel more comfortable with the moves, I would like to sign up for some classes at a Pilates studio.

Les, sorry you missed your run (and your opportunity to play), but sometimes those rest days are good whether you planned for it or not.

LauraK - I am envious, but glad you had a good time at the beach. Congrats on your succes with WW. I really need to be doing that again, as the scale has been to places recently I have not seen before. :mad:

I don't know how much more I will be able to check in this week, but hope you all have an enjoyable rest of the week and weekend!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry for not checking in much these days, I am just really, really busy work wise. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but I working two jobs (one full time, one 2 days a week). I will quit my current full-time job in October (once I vest in the pension plan), and then make my current part-time job my full time job, but until then. Things are crazy.

Les, sorry you missed your run (and your opportunity to play), but sometimes those rest days are good whether you planned for it or not.
Wow! 2 jobs, one full time and one part time... I can imagine why you haven't been frittering your time away here. At least you're keeping yourself sane (it sounds like) and things in perspective. I hope things stay reasonable until October when the job shift is completed.

Last night, I did play guitar at church and it was good. What didn't happen was the music I played wasn't the music I planned. It seems that I didn't have the music book for the Wednesday service at home (fixed that last night) and the stuff I thought was in the book wasn't and I didn't want to violate copyrights and make copies of the stuff I wanted to play. But in the long run the music I played was more in concert with the tenor of the service - sometimes it takes getting out of the way to do the right thing. And what's even more ironic is that lesson plays into where I've been going over the past weeks with my contemplation and self-awareness. A very long story but I'm starting to realize the things that set me off or might set me off kilter and take steps to prevent or mitigate the reaction I don't want. (Does that make sense? :confused: ) Way too deep for this hour of the day and way too much thought has gone into my whole personality discovery process. Maybe some day I'll get it figured out.

I got a, "Your teeth look great. It's always nice to see someone who takes good care of their teeth," from the hygenist today. I told her that after going through all the pain and discomfort of the bridge I've redoubled my efforts to not ever have to do that again.

Work (actually lunch) calls. Hope all are well and I'll see you later.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Good to hear the pearly whites are shining bright. Sounds like everything worked out well in the end last night. And BTW...when you do figure "it" out...pass along the secret to me. I am still trying to figure "it" out, and I think I will be forever. :rolleyes:

Laura-No surprise you've had no time to check in here. You've been a busy gal. Try to stay sane, O.K. And thanks for being sympathetic. You're right, too. It was none of my cousins darn business! :mad:

Terri-Pretty understandable that you're still tired after that spinathon marathon etc... I'd be, that's for sure. Matter of fact, I am anticipating being a tad sore myself over the weekend after tonight's bo-black progress test with the Master.

I had a great swim this morning. I came home and the kids were just getting up from their backyard campout. We broke the tent down this morning. I kept it mellow the rest of the morning in anticipation of tonight's testing. I did do some food prep for the in-laws "potential" visit this weekend. At least we have not heard any "nays" yet. The kids played with the neighbors. We had the little girl next door(DD's friend) for lunch. She was going to stay for dinner, too. I finally decided "enough is enough." She can come back again tomorrow for lunch.

I called my little brother last night to find out if there was any news. No big changes yesterday. If anything, maybe slightly in the positive direction which I'll/we'll take.

Tomorrow will be my last swim for a week. :( Next week the YMCA has their yearly "shut down" to clean up the place, make repairs, paint etc... I usually wake up at my unhuman hour of the morning anyway to take a good long walk. I may alternate walks with the elliptical now that we have that, too. That and my boxing should help vent stress, and get the juices flowing through the veins for the week the pool is closed. :p

Have a good evening,
Karen

P.S. DS#2 is still sticking to his new diet. He turned down his absolute favorite(Chicken Parma) the other night; last night when DH took the kids to dinner he had a huge salad; and tonight he had ravioli in lieu of the hot dogs I made for the kids!! I did tell him he needs to eat all of the fruits and veggies that I serve him, if he is going to continue his vegetarianism in order to say healthy...i.e. Mom's brainwashing tactics to get him to eat more fruits and veggies(although he is pretty good at it anyway).

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - I figure that I won't figure "it" out until I'm done. And even then I'm sure I'm going to have a few left overs when I get to heaven. Part of this whole process this summer has been becoming able to see a little more of the shpere that encompasses my life or at least view my portion from a different perspective. Kind of scarry some times. I hope your quiz with the sensei went well even if you didn't feel wholly up to it. Sorry the Y is out of the swimming business for the next week. Our Y was out for the same stuff a couple weeks ago. Luckily we have at least 4 Y in the area with pools and a few of them are fairly close to the one I go to most often. I'm sure you'll find something to occupy your energy next week. I'm glad that your borther had not bad news for you - always a good thing to be making progress, even if it is small steps. It sounds like DS#2 has made a "long term" lifestyle change - good for you for supporting him and getting him to eat more fruits and veggies too.

Laura K - Looking back, it's great to hear that you had such a good weekend with your sister and at the beach. I'm also pleased to hear that you are making WW and weight progress. Way to go!

I rode about 70 minutes this evening after getting off work. It was pretty nice out and there was a good but slight breeze. I think I've figured out the position to ride and not whack my hands. The next couple days will be telling there.

Think that'll do it this evening. I hope that all are well and thank you for keeping us informed of your father's condition Karen. Happy Friday all and healthful dreams.
Les

[TerriAb]

Happy Friday!

It's my Friday rest day, so no workout for me this morning. I did take my car in to be serviced and walked here, but it's only about 3/4 mile and not at a fast pace, since I didn't want to get sweaty!

Laura, wow, two jobs! That's enough to make anyone crazy! I know the time will go quick and you can be down to one only. I'm assuming this is a career move that you want to make?

Karen, sorry to hear about the pool next week. I had a gym one time that did that once a year, too. Made me feel good that they were conscious about it, but it was a pain to be displaced for that week. I think the first time that happened I came into my office gym (where I work out now) for that week and thought "I will never work out in the office gym - too weird seeing your coworkers/VP's all sweaty." Well, I've changed my tune and I like working out here now. I'm going on the no news is good news front about your dad and will continue to pray for him.

Les, glad to hear the ride was not hard on your hands. Hopefully that'll keep up.

Well, off to work (really!). Have a good day everyone!

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry for not checking in last night - kind of a hectic but good day and I rested a lot. But I thought I'd check in after this morning's extravanganza. Get this... I had an interesting run this morning and was able to accomplish something I've never done before. drum roll please... I got a bee or wasp sting on the roof of my mouth. :eek: I'm not exactly sure how that happened except the critter flew into my mouth while I was running then proceeded to give it's all. I had what felt like an enormous stinger in the roof of my mouth and once I got it extracted the thing had to be about .7 cm in diameter. The sting spot was actually by my left rear molar (actually behind it) OUCH! Even worse, it happened at the 1.5 mile point of my run. But after hacking and pulling the stinger out (and being asked by my running group if I wanted to run back to the start) I finished the 10 miler. It was a decent run and felt really good - of course I had the opportunity to run with the Africans who are running in RnR next weekend - the breeze was brisk when they flew past. :cool:

A few more things to do before date night and "licking" my wounds from this morning but thought I'd drop in and say hi!

Peace all,
Les

[karen w]

Just thought I'd check in to see how folks are doing. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for me here(still). I won't keep hashing and re-hashing daily events every night, but suffice it to say Dad is not doing too well again. He developed a fever to 104 the other night and is not responsive again. They are continuing to support him to see which way this goes. I've had some more family members call with very suspicious excuses(ridiculous ones, as a matter of fact) with the ultimate intention of finding out if I am going to fly home(like it is there business!). Anyway, I was ready to book a ticket this morning, but called Mom at the hospital before going ahead with the plans. She adamantly told me to stay put and take care of my family. She said when this is all over, then she'll likely need me. Also to continue calling daily so we can support one another. I felt a bit better(less self inflicted guilt etc...) after talking with her, and for now I WILL stay put.

As for the rest of the day, ellipticized this morning and spent the afternoon preparing for our visit with the in-laws tomorrow. DD and DS#1 went to work with DH to play on the computers there. DS#2 had a friend over to the house to play. A pretty mellow day in the end.

Les-YOWZA!!! OUCH!!! A bee sting in your mouth! It hurts me just thinking about it, but I'm glad there were no lasting consequences for you. And you even finished your run...what a trouper! :cool: Enjoy date night with Kathy. DH and I have a DVD for tonight. It's our homemade pizza(grilled eggplant, artichokes, tomato, fresh basil, and carmelized onions tonight) and movie/popcorn night.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Karen - As I read your responses I think that you are doing the right thing and probably more so because you ARE talking to your Mom daily and getting the straight scoop on her needs and your Dad's condition. I know that I would be one to try and fly to their side immediately but as calmer heads prevail the tack you and your Mom are on seems to be the best one. If I had one piece of free advice (remember that free advice is worth what you pay for it) - trust your woman's intuition (I would have said mother's intuition but that would have been confusing). You will know the right thing to do at the right time. My hat's off to you too, that you can keep a semblance of a normal life right now. I'm sure that things are so all over the spectrum that you can't stand it but the fact that you are still functioning is a testimony to your strength. My prayers are with you and your family (and one will be that your siblings and extended family stop guilting you). I hope that tomorrow is a nice day for a visit from FIL and MIL. You and the kids need a little light and brightness and I bet FIL/MIL will help bring that to your household. I'd take mellow right now too. Peace be with you and your family.

I tell you, my wasp sting (I know that thing wasn't a bee - the stinger was wrong for that) was a source of amusement for a little while today. I could envision lots of bad things happening but thankfully I am not allergic to bee/wasp stings (yet). But the pain just didn't want to subside so I read up on stings in my at-home medical book and read that aspirin and systemic antihistimines (benedryl) are good for reducing the pain and swwelling. No benedryl (other than topical) in the house but I have some diphenhydramine. The only problem this afternoon was once I took a single diphenhydramine -- can you say Les got the nods? I knew you could. I was in a fog most of the afternoon and ended up in a stupor on the couch for an hour (and to think that I used to take 2 of those things a night to fall asleep). But I finally shook it off and date night was nice and successful. Dinner (nothing to shout about but Max and Erma isn't too bad) and some essential shopping for some upcoming gifts and a minor run (only ~ $15) in the Hallmark store (I just wasn't inspired really) and things are good. After this past week and the upcoming ones it was nice to spend a little time with Kathy.

I think that's about it - I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far and I'll be in touch in the afternoon on the new thread.

Peace,
Les