Healthful Living/Weekly Workout Support Group – 5 Nov

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hey gang, here we start the first week of another month. Things aren’t going well in cyberspace in the Ferguson household so I’ll have to start a little differently today. But I think that may make for a nice change of pace. Regardless, we’re here to welcome anyone who is interested in maintaining their life in a healthful manner. In our opinion, a healthful life isn’t just about working out, although that can and should be a big part of it. Rather, healthful living is all about spending time maintaining your self: family relations, healthful eating, sleep, stress relief, extended family relations, and just the things that have an impact on our day-to-day life. We’ve found that there are a lot of competing issues in our lives and they will all impact our healthy life in ways that may not be best for us. As for working out, not everyone who visits this thread is a runner and one of the long-standing members doesn’t run at all but does bike, swim, elliptical, and kickbox. :eek:

Fall is really hitting home and getting into the swing of winter. Oddly, I have this bad feeling that this winter may be harsh considering how easy this summer was. As recap for the past couple weeks (of the Karen and Les show), I’ll loft out:

Long-standing members that have been MIA for a while: Terri, Jean, Laura K, and Laura. Most have been pretty busy with life before the checked out and I hope that they haven’t gotten in way over their heads.
Karen – Juggling schedules with her kids and keeping really busy; hosting FIL last night “just because” and hopefully had a good taco bar and meal; DH working hard this weekend on call which can take away part of the team that keeps the kiddoes in check; still waiting on a new elliptical machine after she whacked her last one (broke a flywheel??); busy week ahead I’d bet as the holiday season comes down the line and Girl Scout cookie sales picking up speed.
Les (me) – Spent a day at a church camp with 14 kids yesterday and had a ball; found out that MIL has malignant breast cancer and will go in on Tuesday to see what the treatment plan will be; internship is going well, a little slower this coming week but after the past couple weeks I can stand one; ankle issues are starting to arise for no known reason (except because); life is good and full now and I’m really happy about where I am and where I’m going.

Workouts for the week will include a mix of runs and bikes (I hope) but I’ve got to take it easy on the bike trainer because I think that tweaks out my knees a little. Running doesn’t seem to make much difference with my knees so – that’s a decent exercise still. Oh, lest I forget, I’ve got my physical readiness test this week some time. They’re holding the test every day this week so I can choose one day I want to run it.

Healthful living – sleep is high on the list as is listening to my ankle. For some strange reason I’m having ankle pain (which isn’t a good thing) but I’ll have to do PT exercises more regularly and I should be fine.

I hope and pray that everyone is fine and I’d love to hear a peep from a regular or a check in from a newbie.

Time to get ready for the gym so I’ll finish and check back tonight. Until later,
Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Good evening. Cyberspace is not behaving over here either, so who knows what I'll be able to post tonight. As a matter of fact, DH just drove off to the hospital because he has not been able to download any of the ER cases since 3:30 PM today! He's fit to be tied! :( Anyway, sounds like you had fun at "camp." So sorry to hear about MIL. I will extend some prayers for her.

Our weekend with a visit from FIL was very nice. I just spoke to him a few minutes ago, and he got home safe and sound. He left this afternoon. Yesterday we had a nice visit and a great taco dinner. Today he went with DH to take the kids to religion and spent a few hours here with them after school. Yesterday afternoon DS#1 and I baked the loaves of bread for his school project. The one for us was finished off tonight. The other loaf goes to school with him tomorrow. We had alot of fun and it was a very good loaf of bread made with KAF white whole wheat flour. We might have to start doing that more often. Does not hurt to get something healthy AND tasty into the kids whenever I can. DS#1 has a bit of a cold now, but not so bad that he could not play outside all day! :p Today I made some baked oatmeal since he loves that and "Mom" has to feed his cold, right??!! Also made him some jello(yuck) and made everyone(including a care package for FIL) some yummy oatmeal cookies with pecans, dried cherries, and choc. chips. :)

As for exercise, ellipticized yesterday;biked today, and abs both days.
Tomorrow swim and box. I will try to box most of the week except Friday since #1) kids are home and #2) on Sat. I have a BIG test. every 3 months when the school has a black belt test, the bo-blacks(me) have to do their progress test with the people testing to get their black belts, SOOOO....think of me as I am being tortured for 3 hours next Sat. afternoon with all of the other bo-blacks and black belts. :eek:

Hope everyone out there had a nice weekend. Maybe....just maybe....we'll hear from a few familiar(or new) voices soon!

Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Hearing voices isn't my problems. ;) That's just about normal for here. :D But semi-seriously, I'm glad that you had a good day yesterday with FIL and the kiddoes had a good learning process making bread. I have all kinds of images of Poppa, Dad, and 2 kids at religion class (3 generations) - what a fabulous and heartwarming image. Sorry DS#1 isn't doing that well right now either - never fun to be under the weather, especially when the weather is starting to get good (snow around the corner ;) ). I've got one thing to say about jello - BLAND. Even if you really try to doctor it up. I ate more jello getting ready for my colonoscopy than I've eaten in the past couple years. The only thing that made it decent (remembering the prep includes no solids for two days) was a little sugar over the top then letting it sit in the fridge so there was this crystaline covering on the jello. I now know why you just refer to most jello as the color it is because after a little while there isn't a lot of difference in taste (overstated I know but green jello is pretty much green jello). Nifty sounding care package and I'll be sick if you'll make me baked oatmeal. ;) I'll be thinking of you on Saturday too as you get worked over by the black belt aspirants. I hope things get settled with your computer - mine are holding for now but that could last only a short while. Have a good week and it does sound like things are pretty busy still.

Thanks for the thoughts for MIL. We had the chance to talk to her this evening on the phone (LW and me). She sounded a little wiped but considering everything that has gone on with her since the middle of October and what's on the horizon I can't blame her. Once she realized it was us she did perk up a little. But what a story, I hope things aren't as bad as they sound with possible masses in other places (palpable as she said). Won't know course of action until Tuesday evening. On a brighter note - yep yesterday was a blast even with being "abandoned in the cold." I think the kids are kind of warming up to me which is a great thing really. My lifting session tonight was good and I cleaned up one of the hard drives so I can shift the computer to a newer one (I hope the computer that hasn't been run since 2003 when I graduated from the Naval War College still works). Regardless, I do have the other computer - my traveling one - that I can connect with but don't have all my addresses in it (330+). For the remainder of my week - I'll be pretty much around the office and able to workout at normal hours except for possibly Thursday - I've got a retirement to go to in the morning and a meeting in the late afternoon with my spiritual advisor. Before you get your "beating" I'll be at our retreat center doing my midterm reflection for ordination. LW will join me so that will be a fun day.

That's about it - need to turn in so until tomorrow...

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Sounds like this week might be a bit "mellower" for you which would be nice for a change, huh??! :D Glad to hear the kids are taking to you nicely. That always makes things easier and more enjoyable.

I'm a bit tired today. Let's see....DH had to drive in to the hospital last night since the internet was on the blink and he could not get cases downloaded; then DS#2 wakes up crying cause "he misses Nana" (I guess Poppa's visit stirred the pot a bit). Fortunately that was still while the evening was relatively young, and DS#2 and I had a long talk which ended on quite an interesting note. He started asking questions about "meeting Mr./Mrs. Right....when? How? Where? Pretty deep thoughts for a 9 y.o. And YIKES! A bit early to think about, too!! :eek: We had a good talk, though, and all was well this morning. Finally, DD wakes us up at 3 am and again at 3:30 am because of a "beeping" noise in her room. She determined it was dying batteries in one of her toys so she gave it to me. I went to the bathroom and threw it inside a drawer in our bathroom. Did not want to deal with it at that hour. So, of course, I leave at 5am and when DH wakes up he can't figure out what/where this beeping noise is coming from in our bathroom!!! :D Eventually he did, but what a hoot! :p I did have a good swim, but the pool was packed today. At least 3 or 4 lanes were circling including mine. Boxing was decent today. Then tonight after dropping DD at dance, I had to go to a meeting at the religious school to pick the date for DS#1's Bar mitzvah....3 years from now!!!!! Criminy!! It is going to be May 2009(2nd). Yikes!

Tomorrow DH is off as are the kids for election day. DS#1 is going to the movies with a friend. I still intend on swimming and boxing. DS#2 has an appt. with the doctor(needs a chicken pox booster :( ), and the rest of the day shall unfold as it happens! ;)

Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Sorry to hear about DS#2 but you're right, it was good that you could get through it early in the evening so that it didn't keep him up late. Never a good thing to be missing someone late at night and not sleeping too. That was a funny story about the beeping toy in the bathroom. Pretty smart to put it aside until later. That's not too odd him thinking about "Mrs. Right" - I vaguely remember things like that when I was his age. I can bet that DH was a little concerned when there was unknown beeping in the bathroom - from my POV one of the great reasons to be hard of hearing - I probably wouldn't have heard it even when I was awake in the bathroom. Soundslike the pool was packed today - at least you didn't have too many issues circling. It seems like when I swim the folks who get in the lane can't figure out how to swim with someone in the lane - either circle or "normal." Already planning DS#1's Bar Mitzvah for May 2009 That is nearly crazy but then again it might not be that bad a thing if there are a bunch of folks participating. How is your temple with visitors during Bar Mitzvah? A doay off from school because of elections - unheard of around here (or in Oregon for that matter) but maybe that isn't a bad thing really. I hope tomorrow is fun and uneventful.

I had another nice evening for a run. I ran for about 50 minutes and was able to rachet it up a little (for me considering the pace over the past couple runs). Hopefully I don't pay for it in my test later this week - I'm not too worried about that but still I've got to wonder why I ran like that tonight. And the answer is it was a nice night out. I was a good boy and did PT on my achy ankle too - rededicating myself for a while to get it back to happy with me.

I can't think of much more except it's kind of odd waiting to find out about MIL and her results. I hope that she can get to the doctor tomorrow considering how much rain they're having in Oregon right now. :rolleyes: The last thing she needs right now is not being able to figure out the next steps in this process.

Oh well, it's been a good day and I'll bid my farewells for the evening and see you tomorrow.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Extra prayers being sent to MIL today. I hope the news was O.K. Speaking of which, I just remembered that I must call my mom today. DH said she called early this morning when I was out, and I'm not sure that's a good thing....lately no news has been neutal news, but a call on a weekday morning....well....we won't go there now....just hope for the best. Glad to hear you had a nice run yesterday. I hope you did not have to pay today.

Another pretty busy day here. I had a fantastic swim.....this time in my own lane!!! Go figure. :p After my swim and a dip in the jacuzzi, I headed on home via the polling booths. After breakfast I went out for a new watch battery and to boxing. DH stayed home to blow the leaves and finish winterizing things outside. DS#1 went off with his friend in the afternoon to lunch and a movie. DD and DS#2 played with the neighbor until it was time to take DS#2 for his SHOT!! He was too funny at the doctor's office. He was getting all upset and scared, kept looking at the needle etc... I kept telling him to look away. Finally he looks away, the nurse administers the shot, and then he says "that's it??" I did not feel a thing! :) As I said to him...."sometimes the anticipation is more painful than the actual event." He agreed with me after this experience. He kept me company while I got my haircut;then I took him home so that he could play more with DD and her friend. DH took DD and DS#2 out for dinner tonight since they did not get lunch and a movie like DS#1. DS#1 and i are hanging out here at home. Besides, DS#1 had a long day and is still getting over his cold.

Tomorrow I will swim and box. In the afternoon we have religion and Brownies on the docket.

Have a good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for the wishes - there was news but I'll hold off for a sec. I hope that everything is ok at home. I'm with you, a phone call in the morning (unless it was late-ish) on a weekday doesn't always bode well. But since mom didn't say it was important I'll take the call as informational. I'd assume that if it were really critical she'd have said so. Still, with all the other things that have been going on it's worth a call. At least DS#2 didn't go through the same thing I did to get over my shot phobia. I actually moved when I was getting one (when I was ~13 or 14) and gashed my arm pretty good. The nurse, not feeling much pity really - a great thing :rolleyes: to have a Navy nurse administer a shot to a kid (considering she probably did hundreds if not thousands in a season) who was really squeemish. After almost breaking the needle her comment, as best I can remember, was something along the lines of "bet that hurt" and it was then that I decided that any shot was better than the pain of ripping a hole in my arm. From then on, it's been smooth sailing with shots and blood draws (that's a great thing). It sounds like you had some good, quality family time today on top of your swimming and other things. Hopefully tomorrow is a decent day for you and you don't get the glop we've got right now (it's been raining since 4 pm).

Mixed news on the MIL front - the tumor was a small and primary one (good thing). But the tumor has gotten into the lymph system and is af a fairly/very invasive type (bad news). A few more diagnostic tests - a bone scan and CAT - before the final regimen but it looks like a lumpectomy to further assess the tumor, a mastectomy, and chemo and radiation at some time in the near term. My guess is more definitive information will be available after the two scans. She seemed in pretty good spirits all things considered when she called this evening - that's good. But the really nasty stuff is still to come.

I was glopped in myself today. Felt sick most of the day (nausea) and I might be doing my physical readiness test (PRT) tomorrow so I didn't run today. The rain didn't help either. :( Tomorrow's another day though and I'll have to see what the weather turns out to be in the morning because that will dictate whether I PRT tomorrow or not. But my goal is to hit the hay early tonight and to hope that my brain settles down (last night it was going about 400 miles per hour and I couldn't get to sleep until ~12:45).

Hope everyone is well and I'll be in touch.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-We have been "glopped" in here today with all the rains that you must have had yesterday. It is a miserable day. The kind that you should stay home all day with a fire roaring and bake cookies or make soup....not drag kids around town. :rolleyes: Sorry you did not feel well yesterday. I hope it passed already and that your PRT(if you ended up doing it) went O.K. today.

I had a good swim this morning. Pool was not too crowded which was nice. After the kids were off, I did my milk, fruit, and veggie run for the week and then went off to box. I had a good class but decided to forgo BBC this week even though my big test is Sat. I don't want to burn out before the weekend. Plus I was planning on taking a boxing break Friday and reviewing my forms at home in preparation for Saturday.

There has finally been a bit more forward momentum on the elliptical forefront. I have been calling this guy in MN for the past few days. He is in charge of customer relations for the company that manufactures our unit. He has already had the new unit approved and sent the paper work along to the east coast rep. who sold it to us. They were supposedly going to contact us to set up delivery etc... Since I have heard "boo" from them, I keep bugging the MN guy daily(squeaky wheel gets the grease :D Right!) Anyway, today I got the name and # of this rep. on the east coast and left him a message as did the other guy. He finally called me tonight to tell me that he is checking whether our unit is currently in stock. He said that he would call me back tomorrow afternoon to arrange delivery. Well, I'm not holding my breath yet, but it is progress. If I don' t hear tomorrow....you can be sure more calls will be made....every day until I do get my new machine. :D

Hope hump day was a decent one for all.
Good evening,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Les-We have been "glopped" in here today with all the rains that you must have had yesterday. It is a miserable day. The kind that you should stay home all day with a fire roaring and bake cookies or make soup....not drag kids around town. :rolleyes: Sorry you did not feel well yesterday. I hope it passed already and that your PRT(if you ended up doing it) went O.K. today.
The best laid plans - I know, I sound like a broken record - but I didn't get out for my test today. My boss is on leave 'til next week so I had to cover for two different staff meetings today so I couldn't get out and test and make the meetings (and missing the one with the Admiral wouldn't have been a good idea :rolleyes: ). Besides there was really weird weather this morning - high humidity and the remnant of rain. Tomorrow IS the last time I can do the test (and I have to) so I'm going out and will probably try to psych them out with the pepper shorts. :cool: Actually, the run is the least of my issues - the push ups (which shouldn't be an issue) and sit ups (THE ISSUE) are looming out on the horizon.
I had a good class but decided to forgo BBC this week even though my big test is Sat. I don't want to burn out before the weekend. Plus I was planning on taking a boxing break Friday and reviewing my forms at home in preparation for Saturday.
That's a great call. Good for you to have a good swim and boxing session before the Saturday progress test - probably good to take the momentum from a good class into Saturday. :cool:
karen w]There has finally been a bit more forward momentum on the elliptical forefront. I have been calling this guy in MN for the past few days. He is in charge of customer relations for the company that manufactures our unit. He has already had the new unit approved and sent the paper work along to the east coast rep. who sold it to us. They were supposedly going to contact us to set up delivery etc... (squeaky wheel gets the grease :D Right!)... He finally called me tonight to tell me that he is checking whether our unit is currently in stock. He said that he would call me back tomorrow afternoon to arrange delivery. Well, I'm not holding my breath yet, but it is progress. If I don' t hear tomorrow....you can be sure more calls will be made....every day until I do get my new machine. :D
Go get 'em! How long has it been now? A month? The squeaky wheel either gets the grease or replaced. ;) Do you have the east coast rep's number in speed dial yet? That's next it sounds like.

I hope your tomorrow is better than your today (weather-wise). Like us, you could use a good day or two before things head south for the winter. And I hope the remainder of your week is fruitful. Do your kids have Friday off??? I've got the day off and I'm looking forward to it.

A little foggy with a bad night's sleep again (two in a row). I hope it's not the start of something chronic. :( But for now... it's time to hit it and get some shut-eye.

Peace and happy hump day,
Les

[karen w]

Les-I hope you got some better "shut eye" last night. How did the test go today(I am assuming you did do it today??)?

Well, as lousy as our weather was yesterday was as gorgeous as it was here today. After the humidity and fog burned off this morning, the skies cleared and it was a warm(for November) sunny day. I had a great swim and topped off the week with a really good final boxing class before Saturday's 3 hour torture session. :eek:

As for the elliptical....well, no call from the East Coast guy today(figures :mad: ) so I called him and left a message. If I don't hear tomorrow, I call the MN. contingent as well.

Tomorrow I plan a swim, elliptical, and review of my self defense forms at home. The kids are off for veteran's day. DD has a b-day party in the evening. She'll miss gymnastics because of it, but they allow her to come for a make up class at another time so she'll go next Wednesday instead.

Have a good night,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Fie on the elliptical folks - sounds like it's time to bring in the heavy reinforcements. :cool: More phone calls to the boss may get things moving. Your kids get two days off this week - what a deal. Sorry DD won't get to gymnastics but at least they're human beings about it. I think it was really warm over most of the east coast today - I think it ended up being in the 70s here. Only an issue considering I went to a retirement ceremony (inside luckily) and I was running around at 10 o'clock in my dress blue uniform (navy blue wool jacket, navy blue wool-blend pants) something to wear outside at noon when it's 50 not 70. :rolleyes: Sounds like you are primed for class on Saturday evening - is this one for the test or the last "beat up" session with the black belts? Hope you find something engaging for your kiddoes tomorrow.

I survived my next to last physical readiness test today. I had mixed results, but passed all the sections without issue. Of course the hardest part was sit-ups (only do "official" Navy sit-ups twice a year) and the push-ups were amazingly irritating. I actually think I might have to get the doc to check my shoulder because I felt a little pop when I was doing my last push-up. My run went better than expected though. I was shooting for ~10 minutes for 1.5 miles. Ended up finishing in 9:43 - I'm quite happy with that.

The rest of the day went well (except for sitting in traffic waiting to get through one of the tunnels for an hour + when heading to a meeting this afternoon). I plan on taking full advantage of the holiday and sleeping in a little before doing ??? - probably a Home Deopt run. Slept like a log last night though. Tonight will be another story because of my ankle and shoulder pain. This too will pass but it would be nicer to not try to sleep with the pain.

'bout all for tonight. Hope you have a great Friday and rest day.

Peace,
Les

[karen w]

Les-Glad the PRT went well, but sorry about the aching bones. I hope it did not impact on your Zzzz's too badly last night. As for my test tomorrow(I'm a bit nervous as this is the first "big" one)...it is all part of earning my black belt. To qualify to test for the black belt, I have to put in at least 1 years time after I earn my bo-black and progress test 10 times during that year. The progress tests are monthly done by the owner(5 th degree). Most months they are ~1 hour during the week. However, every 3 months, when the school holds a "real" black belt test, the bo-blacks progress test along with those people earning their black belt that day as well as the current black belts who are also progress testing. This will be my 4th progress test, but my 1st real black belt test. As nervous as I am, it will be good to "prove it" to myself whether I am capable of doing it for when my time comes up(theoretically if I continue on my current schedule that will be next July). So how's that for a long-winded explanation?! ;)

Yep, today was the kids 2nd day off this week. Knock wood the weather was decent so they spent alot of time outdoors. I swam this morning, ellipticized, and reviewed my self defense forms. After making the kids omelets for brunch, I made a big casserole of "Prakas" (sweet & sour stuffed cabbage rolls). After they cool, I will freeze some. DD is at her pajama b-day party/tea this evening. DH is picking her up on the way home from work.

As for our elliptical...made more calls today and may have made more progress. We have a tentative delivery date of the new unit this coming Wednesday. :cool: As for our weekend, DH will be busy tomorrow as we are getting a new desk delivered for his new computer setup in the office. He recently got some new monitors etc.... so that he could read more films and dictate from home when on call, but the old desk was not big enough for all of them. He had the company who designs the offices at the hospital come design us a desk unit for the computers since we could not find much acceptable in the stores. So he will be busy dismantling our current "makeshift" office and then setting things back up after the desk is delivered. Hopefully that'll keep him occupied while I am testing tomorrow afternoon. I also informed him that he's taking the kids out to dinner as I am NOT cooking when I get home(around 6 ish). I will probably throw together a sandwich and soup for myself;then crash! :p

Sunday is religion and a Cub scout hockey event(game and skating). DH will take the boys. DD and I will come up with something, I'm sure! ;)

Have a good weekend, Les, and any lurkers,
Karen

[Leslie Ferguson]

Thanks for the info on your test tomorrow, pretty much what I figured but it's nice to read and confirm my suspicions. I know you'll do fine, even if the test is over 3 hours. Remember, slow and steady stays the course and finishes the race as much as the speedster. It sounds like everything went well in the "W" household today with the day off and you had a productive day - good someone had a productive day. Pajama/tea b'day party, that's a new one my me. But then, I'm not into those kinds of things nor was I when I was DD's age (go figure). I hope she had a good evening. A delivery date for your elliptical, that's great! Now all it has to do is actually show up. I'll think good thoughts that it shows up on time.

My aches and pains didn't hamper my sleeping except for the side-effect of taking aspirin just before going to bed (called potty break). But my shoulder is certainly less happy tonight than it was yesterday and my ankle is just there - no better and no worse. After sleeping in (very much needed) I set out to have a productive day - had my sights set on fixing my ailing computer, going to Home Depot, taking a ride, and maybe even working on my sermon for next week. I was only partially successful curing the other computer - at least now it doesn't crash at the drop of a hat - but its operating system is so out of date I can't get the computer to stay on line long enough to download the patches (that apply to XP since 2003). That derailed my whole morning and prevented me from getting out. Then instead of going just to HD I ended up at CompUSA and got the bad news about updating the computer (it's going to take 3 or 4 days). Then the trip to HD wasn't that productive - I didn't get what I was looking for (a tankless hot water heater) but I did get some literature and I think I've made a selection for the replacement of the old HWH. The run/ride went by the wayside too -too bad, because it was a beautiful (nearly 75) day. Oh well, I did some me things and I'll be fine for it.

Tomorrow, it'll be a 6 hour meeting as the mid-term of my internship. We'll (the other internship folks and I) be at the retreat center for discussions and lunch. Not sure what that will bring but what the hey - it'll be a good day seeing all my friends in the process.

Good seeing you Karen - hope your test goes well tomorrow and I'll be in touch tomorrow.

Peace,
Les

[Leslie Ferguson]

Back-to-backs...
Karen - I hope your test/demonstration went well, even if it was 3 hours more or less. I also hope the remainder of your weekend went well and I can't wait to hear about the test on Sunday.

No run today but I had a rewarding day of reflection. I really wanted to get out for a run, it was great here, but it just wasn't in the cards. Something tomorrow or maybe Monday before I run. Still nursing my shoulder and ankle - neither of which is happy now. I think Thursday last week was my last running PRT - I just can't be this way 3 days later.

I wish I had more to say but my day was taken up by the reflection time and a short trip to HD. That was a better than I imagined ;) :rolleyes: and I was tested a little. When all was said and done (and after the folks really explained everything like the legal requirement for a different inspection for a tankless water heater) I think I got everything I needed to get from the store. But boy was it a tester.

Tomorrow will be a day at the gym (I think) then the week begins in earnest.

Until tomorrow peace dear friends,
Les