Karstyn & Positive Thinking
Little Karstyn just fits my mood this week. That awesome “In the Groove” feeling didn’t really last into the weekend. Friday I struggled with my cold. I did take Angel out for a walk, but after a mile and a half, the wind and the mud chased us back to the house and hot baths for both of us. Friday night and Saturday morning, I was busy chasing two year old boys in the studio. They were so much fun, but I think I got my strength training in just trying to keep them anywhere near a camera.
Saturday, Sunday and today, I did my workout, running, biking, whatever. I actually worked pretty hard each time, but I’ve come away feeling, hmm, unfulfilled. Not that huge adrenaline, “I accomplished something” feeling that I had last week.
So, I get back to the studio this afternoon, and the “Biggest Loser” email tells me to “Quit My Whining.” Basically, the blurb suggests replacing all those negative thinking with positive ones. You know, “I don’t want to do this any more. I’m bored with this exercising. It’s too much work doing this every day. I just want to eat Twin Bings and hot chocolate for every meal for the rest of my life. “ Ok, so I don’t really want to eat just Twin Bings, because since I haven’t had them forever, they really don’t taste as good as fresh “in season” fruit. And, I really like to exercise most of the time. I just need to switch it up to keep it fun. And, I know all that hard work is paying off, because my clothes fit better, and I feel better. So, think positive, go for a walk, do yoga, or play “happy” music to improve my mood, and keep little ones like Karstyn around to keep the yucky stuff all in perspective.
South Dakota Family Photography:Foster Family
In the Groove
Ever have those moments when everything just clicks, and you feel like you can keep moving forward forever. I had one of those moments yesterday. I started going to a new Bible study yesterday led by friend Jill, and figured I could get a noontime swim workout done before going home. By the time I made it up to the CC, it was already 12:30, but figured I would hop into the pool and get as many laps as I could in before the pool closed at 1:00 pm. Normally, 20 laps for me takes almost an hour so I was planning about 10 laps, maybe a little more. I started clicking off the laps and the more I swam the better I felt, so I kept going. Watching the clock, I hopped out of the pool just before 1:00, and had completed 28 laps! Funny thing is I still had energy to spare so I threw on my gym clothes and ran upstairs, hopped on a spin bike and biked 6 miles in 21 minutes.
Only down side–the cold my daughter shared with me settled into our ears. When I got out of the pool, I couldn’t shake that water in my ear feeling, and I couldn’t hear a thing. You’ d think, as a mother, that would be a good thing; I could ignore my kids for a while, but, no, not so helpful in real life. I stopped by Lewis to see what they had for “Swimmer’s ear” — Most of the products that are over the counter are 99% alcohol, in a little bit of gel, which is fine, but I don’t really need to buy a$4 per ounce bottle of rubbing alcohol. Dr. Oz had a home remedy that recommended olive oil and garlic but Rachel and I aren’t real thrilled with the smell of garlic coming out of our ears. Finally, I did find a homeopathic mixture that had camomile and witch hazel in it. That seems to help. At least, I could hear for a little while.
Unfortunately, that “In the Groove” feeling doesn’t last for long, and today, the cold is definitely taking effect, and my brain and body is slow-moving. I’m on the attack with this cold though. Kick it in the butt, before it kicks me. This morning, I took my Claritin, took my echinacia, took my vitamins, sucked on a zinc tablet, and made myself a big pot of tea with lemon. With the weather not so great again, I think I’ll stick to a less intense exercise day, and be ready to find that groove again tomorrow.
Half Way There!
February is here, and we made it to the middle of the challenge. Last week, as a team, we didn’t do so well. We’re still heading the right direction — We lost 3.3 more lbs, but out of nineteen members, that’s not exactly an overwhelming percentage. Now, I know Mike and I didn’t pull our share last week, but this week the scale is loving us, so I plan on everything going well for you, too.
The dog and I went for a three mile walk outside yesterday. As long as I headed north, the weather wasn’t too bad, but when I turned toward home, I could really feel the wind on my face, and reminded me why we haven’t been out much this winter. The weather is changing again today. The sidewalks are already icy, with freezing mist, and snow is coming tomorrow. Then it’s supposed to get cold again. Gotta Love Winter. Anyway, the extra Vitamin D from what little sun we had yesterday must have helped because the dog slept last night, and I woke up more well rested.
Mike had Lisa all to himself yesterday, and she worked his legs. He came home whining, so she must have given him a good work out. As much as Mike and I like to work out together, sometimes it’s good to go it alone, the trainers will give you just a little more intense workout than in a group. I felt guilty for missing, so when Rachel went to church, I ran 1.5 miles, and kicked up the speed a little from what I had been running. Then I did my own leg workout, but I’m not whining today.
Suggestion for the Day: Here’s a new thought. Watch the artificial sweeteners. More and more studies are connecting aspartame and other artificial sweeteners to all sorts of disorders and also increase problems with diabetes and metabolic syndromes.Now, this seems counter intuitive since we use artificial sweeteners to curb calories, but often times sweeteners contain hidden calories in their foods, and there seems to be some connection between aspartame and increased appetite. On top of that, sweeteners have also been connected to mood disorders, fibromyalgia, and cancer studios.
Last year, I wanted a little flavor to my water, so I started adding those little flavor packets to my water bottles, and almost immediately started having problems with my mood and energy level. After hearing and reading about connections to the sweeteners in those packets, I gave them up and returned to plain water. I notice now that my mood is generally better and my energy has definitely improved. I can’t prove that there was a connection but I’m suspicious.
So, diet coke drinkers, I know you’re going to hate me, but consider it. Switch your diet cola to water or tea and see if you’re energy doesn’t improve. You might just be sabotaging your own efforts without realizing it.
Protected: Chad & Melissa
My Dog is Trying to Kill Me
My mother and other “non-dog-in-the-house” people don’t quite understand how a dog ends up in your bed. I was right there with them until three years ago, when this cute fluffy 8 week old white fur ball that you invited into your life cries all night long from the kennel, because it can’t get close enough to you. You eventually acquiesce and once it cuddles up under your chin, you’re stuck for life with a dog in your bed. So, my life goes 360 days of the year, but for the last week, my dog has been up every hour or less, whimpering to get up, get a drink, go outside, wander the house, whatever… I feel like I have a newborn again, and I empathize with all those young parents wandering their houses in the middle of the night, wondering if they ever will have a whole night’s worth of sleep.
Yes, you will for a year or so between the ages of 12-14, when they can’t stay out all night past curfew yet, and they hate to get up in the morning, so you get your sleep between midnight and 8 in the morning. Then give it up again, because you’ll spend the next six years going to basketball games in far off locations, chaperoning prom functions, all-night youth rallies, and giggly sleepovers, or worrying about whether they are alive when it’s two in the morning and they haven’t found their way home again.
What’s this have to do with the fitness challenge, ElizaBeth? Mmm, well, I didn’t get to sleep until 5:00 a.m, so I didn’t do my workout this morning. (Sorry, Lisa.) As much as I loved my time with my kids when they were younger, it was a lot harder then to plan time to workout and get time for myself. At that time in our lives, it seemed neverending, but, good news, (I think) we did get past it, and now, my kids don’t care how much time I spend on myself, as long as their clothes are clean, there’s food in the frig, and money in their pockets. Never mind it takes a full time person to make sure they are that well-loved.
On to other good news. The scale likes me today. Another two pounds down, and, yes, Shari, the sun IS shining today, which always helps to get us going. By the way, Shari owns Second St. Diner, and after my blog the other day, commented that they have new menu items for the fitness challenge. I missed it on Sunday. She’s is looking awesome these days after her own transformation. “Weigh 2 go!” So, stop by the diner and ask her for her recommendations. I will have to say the Diner has always been a good place for me to go, and special order foods that fit my needs, so if you have special dietary needs make sure you discuss your options with the waiters.
Yesterday, I had a quick workout while Mike was taking some weight off his head, in the form of a haircut. He looks better, thanks Jackie. 7 miles on the bike and a quick ab routine, then back to work in the studio. In the evening, while Mike and the kids went to yet another basketball game, I did my grocery shopping for the month. Talk about a weightlifting workout: By the time I hauled six loads of groceries through the back yard, over the snowbank and to the kitchen, then cleaned out the refrigerator and stuffed everything away, my arms and shoulders were exhausted.
Suggestion for the day: When grocery shopping, shop the outside edges of the store first, that’s where they keep all the good stuff we’ve been working on. Aisle one-produce, and deli. I picked up my veggies for the week. Remember colorful is good, so I found some great sweet red peppers. I stopped by the deli to get turkey for sandwiches. Try a pepper variety for a little kick–Dacey’s favorite. Off to the bakery in the back, for the good bread. I try to keep a loaf of rye or multi-grain loaf in the house. I also found some buns that had flax seed in them. For some reason, Hy-Vee in Brookings keeps the frozen chicken right next to the bakery — not sure why, but the easiest way to keep chicken breasts at hand are the frozen ones, and they were on sale, so I stocked up. Over to the dairy, for milk, yogurt and cottage cheese and then at the final corner, is the organic aisle, where we find all those good seeds we talked about. After you do the outside of the store, shop with your list in hand on the inside of the store, getting the canned and cooking goods you need, that way you avoid splurging on the cookies, chips and other temptations that fill the center of the stores.
On the list was dill pickles. Thanks, Jan, for the suggestion. They helped to curb the munchies last night. Try to eat chocolate after a dill pickle. It just doesn’t work, (unless you’re pregnant.) So, I think I’ll go add one to my turkey sandwich and take my dog for a walk in the sunshine. Maybe if I wear my dog out today, I’ll get to sleep tonight.
Doing Swimmingly
After Friday’s 20 laps in the pool, and yet no weight off, I was kind of crabby, so I took Saturday off, ate horribly, didn’t exercise, woke up on Sunday and had lost 2 lbs. Huh! Anyway, Sunday I worked out by playing with my kids. After church, we went to 2nd St. Diner As much as I love their food, I do struggle finding foods when I go out to eat that aren’t all grease, white bread and sugar. Yes, I know about every restaurant offers a variety of lettuce salads, but there is only so many varieties of lettuce salad and grilled chicken breasts that I really want to eat. So, I’ve gotten better at sharing entrees with my family, and leaving leftovers on my plate.
After lunch, we went to the CC. Mike kicked up the work out a little maniacally and did 14 miles on the spin bikes and a couple miles on the track. I decided to do more with my kids while I had them with me, so I played racquetball with Dacey. I’m in trouble because he just legitimately beat me for the first time. I may never live it down, and now might have to kick it up a notch. Rachel and I then swam for an hour. The pool was packed, so I didn’t really get many laps in, but I did a lot of water walking, and some ab and arm exercises in the water. In the meantime, Mike made plans for another 6:45 swim workout this morning. I’m beginning to feel like I’m preparing to turn into a mermaid.
I was so not in the mood to get going this morning, but Mike is all fired up and Lisa was waiting for us. She decided the 20 laps on Friday wasn’t enough, so her goal for us today was 25 laps. I think she either got tired herself (nah!) or she figured I was planning on drowning just so I could take a break, because at 22 laps she let us be done. I did feel better after the swim, but still wear out by midday after starting so early.
After the rest of the day on the computer, I needed to take Rachel in to dance class, so I used my half an hour wait time to get a quick run in. I ran into teammate LJ who shared with me that she has already lost 12 lbs on the fitness challenge. “Weigh 2 go!” Keep up the great work. I know she and her son have been doing the family GET active together, and I can really see the change in her son as well. After a couple laps with her, I hopped on my favorite treadmill and started running.
Thank you, my cheerleaders, for cheering me on. The track was busy, and all sort of mom friends encouraged me to keep going as they were lapping me. I misplaced my music, so was kind of pouting and needed the extra encouragement. I was watching Wheel of Fortune which is a pretty good mind-occupier while I was running. Since I was really short on time, I only ran a mile, and then did 10 flights of stairs, no weights today. By then, I was already running late to pick up Rachel and was worried about sliding around town on the ice.
So, here we are with a suggestion for the day: Get a support group. Grab a friend. Have someone hold you responsible for your food and activity level. I’m as much of a private person as anyone. I prefer working out by myself, would prefer not to share my weight goals with the whole world, and really like to act like a hermit half the time, but I know having Mike dragging me along to workouts, Lisa keeping me on schedule, and all of you checking in on me from time to time does help me keep going. Then don’t be insulted when I return the favor, and encourage you in person to keep the faith and as Dori says, “Just Keep Swimming.”
Here’s Lisa at the end of her 20 laps on Friday and still all smiles.
Protected: Matt & Ashley
Brian and Amanda: First moments
It’s been one week since Brian and Amanda said “I do” in the Grace Lutheran Church in Nunda, South Dakota. If you remember last weekend’s weather forecast, we were supposed to get rain, freezing rain, snow and lots of wind. Thank God the weatherman missed his prediction. We did have a little rain and snow on Saturday but we did have mild temps in the 30’s making travel much easier.
We always do “First Moments” with the bride and groom in the sanctuary before we start taking couple pictures. It gives the couple the opportunity to see each other all dressed up for the first time on their wedding day. It’s a time full of emotion: nervousness, tears of joy, laughter and love. Here are a few of Brian and Amanda that were included in the reception slideshow.
Mornings & Munchies
Today started early, too early. 6:45 a.m. swim workout with Lisa. It always surprises me how busy the pool is early in the morning. As much as I enjoy a good swim, it’s not something I could get myself to get up and do at -15 degrees, if I didn’t have someone waiting for me. Lisa came in right before us, looking groggy but determined. Sure enough, twenty laps later, I was tired. We were still feeling the ab workout from Wednesday, and the run yesterday, so every lap I kept thinking my abs can’t do one more, but then when we got to the end, she said we had only done 19 laps and I figured I needed to finish on a nice round number.
I stepped on the scale this morning before going in, and you would think all that exercise and eating right would count for something, but no such luck. Hope the rest of you had a better week. I do know my pants are fitting looser, so even if the scale is not moving, I’ll get to buy new clothes eventually.
After a couple hours of errands, I came home exhausted and the computer screen kept bouncing around in front of me and I just couldn’t get warm, so I curled up in a couple blankets and caught up on some of my missing sleep from the last week. I guess there has to be some benefits to owning your own business, and taking a nap when you really need one is definitely a plus. But then here it is 10:52 p.m. and I haven’t really finished for the day, so I guess it works both ways.
Anyway, I woke up much more energized and ready to finish the computer projects I was working on.
One of the things I have noticed is that the more tired I am the more munchie I get. Not really hungry, but needing to keep eating anyway. Suggestions? I’d chew gum, but I’m not really a gum chewer. I keep healthy choices around, but still the cravings linger on. It’s your turn. What’s your best cure for the munchies, that doesn’t destroy all of our progress?
Baby Photography: Cayden at 6 Months
Cayden at 6 months.
Shoes
Speaking of shoes, I ran TWO MILES in 24 minutes, no stopping, slowing down, or dying! That’s my accomplishment for the day. Now, for you SICK running types, that is no major accomplishment, but for me, who has never run more than one and half miles without feeling the inside of my stomach coming up through my lungs, it was Huge. So, I get to say, “Yeah, Me!” tonight. Afterwards, I did 15 min. on the stairmaster and 10 min of abs, and came out all sweaty, but feeling better than when I started.
I think the winter blues were setting in pretty rough today. The sun was out, but it is cold. Currently, -10 degrees, and dropping, and for whatever reason, the more the temperature was dropping so was my mood. No excuses, but I definitely didn’t feel my normal cheerful attack-the-world self. I made myself a cup of tea, put the flourescent spectrum light on and watched Dr. Oz, who, of course, had suggestions for beating winter blues. Besides the flourescent lamp, he suggested peppermint oil to soothe you, chili peppers to excite you, ginger tea to boost your metabolism and also as an appetite suppressant, and gingko balboa to keep you alert. I’m thinking I could do peppermint and ginger tea all day if it gets me through this cold weather faster.
Ok, so, new game. Don’t forget to weigh in tomorrow, plus remember to vote for Black Studios as the best fitness challenge team, but ALSO, Aaron Walters announced a new challenge for us today. The cc has teamed up with Soles4Souls to provide shoes for Haiti survivors and we can help. The cc is trying to gather 1000 pairs of shoes, so bring in your new or gently used shoes and help someone who really needs our help. Now, here’s what I’ve learned about all you crazy runner people. You love your athletic shoes and you want them to fit well. I just gave Lisa and Desiree a bad time about how many pairs of tennis shoes each of them come up with, and I know from personal experience, that my training shoes that live inside the cc never get ugly before they get done running, plus, then there’s all those shoes we girls have buried at the back of the closet that we had to have and then wore once and couldn’t wear again because they just weren’t comfortable enough to wear a whole day. Plus, then Rachel and Dacey have change sizes every 6 mos, so I know their shoes never get enough wear, especially during boot season.
There you go: Suggestion for the day: Get those unused shoes out of your house and get them to the cc. Stop by for a little run while you’re there.
Another 15 lbs Down!
Great Job, Team! We are still going the right direction. I know last week was a really hard week, between the weather keeping us inside, and the kids and other schedules keeping us out of routine. Now that the weather is cooperating a little, let’s get back to everyday workouts, eating right, and feeling better. On average, our team has lost 2.6 lbs, exactly the same as the average of all the participants in the challenge. Of course, I’m convinced we can do better so make sure you kick it up for the rest of the week.
And in other news, this week the cc asks us to vote for our favorite team. Well, of course, that would be Black Studios! So, when you weigh in this week make sure you add Vote: Black Studios to your weigh in. If you are just cheering us on, here’s your chance to participate, send in your vote to weighins@yahoo.com. Again, let them know you are voting for Black Studios. Truthfully, I’m not sure what we win — maybe t-shirts, but bragging rights are always good. So, this is where all you spouses and cheerleaders who wouldn’t commit comes in, send your emails in for us, or stop by the cc and drop your vote in the box. GO, Black Studios!
Finally, after not being able to leave the house for two days, I was able to get in and get a good workout in. I ran 1 mi, did ten sets of stairs with 8 lbs weights, walked another mile with Mike on the track, rode on the spin bikes for 6 mi, and then finished up with 8 laps in the pool. It actually felt great, and my muscles loosened up, and I came home full of energy. On top of that, the kids went back to school and all of their activities, so I could actually stop cooking and doing dishes nonstop.
Unfortunately, the loose muscles didn’t last, and once again, I had a fitful sleep and woke up all achy, so I am going to see my favorite chiropractor, Dr. Joe, and see if he can help me sleep better.
Suggestion for the Day: Dr. Oz was talking about anti-aging activities today. His suggestion for everything from skin aging to keeping the cholesterol down, to improving libido is to eat foods with color. Red grapes and apples, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, spinach and edamame. So, when shopping this week, avoid the potatoes and white pasta, and buy pretty foods with lots of color. Umm, but this doesn’t mean the gummy bear aisle! Look, on the other side of the aisle, and treat yourself to a little red wine instead.
Birthday Club: Elijah & Madysen
Elijah and Madysen both took advantage of the birthday club this month. If you join the birthday club you get a free session and 3×6 magnet. Here are a few of their pictures and the free magnets.
1/25/10
Another Blizzard. Another Day stuck in the house. Another Day of too much eating and not enough exercise.
The wedding went off without a hitch on Saturday. The weather stayed warm so the ice didn’t build up and, other than a little bit of fog and a whole lot of slush, Amanda and Brian had a beautiful day. With one fussy little one, and two overly excited other children, I definitely got my exercise. Thank you, little Hyde, for all the weightlifting. Amanda was beautiful and as radiant as I’ve ever seen her. It was fun to be at a wedding where we probably knew 80% of the people there, and we were even able to stay late enough for my husband to dance one dance with me.
Unfortunately, Rachel was sick on Saturday and Mike was achy on Sunday, so we stayed home in what was our little opportunity to get out and about. Then the temperatures dropped and the snow started falling and the wind started blowing, and no one was going anywhere. Today the wind has been blowing between 30- 50 mph all day long. Frequently, we can’t see between the house and the church, and the one dash Dacey made to the store for caffeine taught him how people get lost in storms. His footprints were already gone by the time he came back.
I think all the sitting around has made me achier than when I exercise, because my back and shoulders feel like I’ve biked fifty miles today. Lisa called to see when we would come to workout, and I laughed and said not today. Not much point to even try shoveling today. And, the lack of sun makes doing anything seem like more of an effort than I really want to put into it. I will try to get motivated to at least put the Biggest Loser DVD in before the day is over.
Suggestion for the Day: Get enough sunlight. Boy, that’s a hard one with weather so uncooperative, but I definitely feel the difference when I get sunlight. It gives me energy, lightens my mood, and helps me get more done. I do have a full spectrum light in the studio. I’ve always had it on the other desk, but for now, I will turn it around and see if the extra artificial light helps to replace what I need until I can go outside again.
ORR vs Colman-Egan: DVC Boys Basketball
The C-E Hawks defeated the ORR boys in the first round of the DVC tournament. Here are a few images from the game.
ORR vs Dell Rapids St Mary: Girls Basketball
Last week’s DVC games were moved around due to the weather so the ORR girls found themselves playing under the funky yellow lights of the Arena in Estelline. The yellow lighting messed with your eyes and the camera didn’t care for it much either. It wasn’t the prettiest game but the Lady Raiders came away with the win.
ORR at Estelline: Girls Basketball
The Lady Raiders were in this one until the end when they fell short in the final minutes.
ORR at Colman-Egan: Girls’ Basketball
Time to catch up on posting some basketball images! The Lady Raiders won in Colman.
Nunda South Dakota Wedding Photography: Brian and Amanda – 01.23.10
The forecast for yesterday’s wedding looked as if we were going to be using candles as all of the Sioux Falls TV stations were telling us freezing rain, snow and high winds were on the way for the weekend. Most weekend athletics were even canceled by the local schools. Lucky for us the temperature stayed a couple degrees warmer than expected.
Brian and Amanda had an amazing wedding on Saturday. They were surrounded by their family and friends in the Grace Lutheran Church in Nunda. We must have known 75% of the people at the wedding which made everything that much more special.
This was the last image in their reception slideshow of their wedding day. Thanks to Jeremy Brech for providing with the appropriate music for the slideshow. We always know that we will be taken care of when DJ Jer is in the house.
Josh & Amber – June 27, 2009 – Video slide show
On June 27th, 2009, Josh and Amber were married at Grace Lutheran Church in Watertown, SD. The reception followed the ceremony at the Watertown Event Center also in Watertown, SD. Here are a few of our favorites of their wedding day in a video slide show.
Enjoy.
1/23/10
No workout today. It’s a wedding day! Usually weddings take a lot out of us, energy wise and physically. Lots of running around, chasing kids, hard floors. We’re usually shot on Sunday. Today, however I am sore enough still from the workouts this week, I think the wedding activity will be a nice change of routine and rest to my tired glutes. I did get up and make a big breakfast –waffles (with flax), bacon, frozen berries instead of syrup. This will be our main meal for the day, since the rest of the day is packed with wedding frenzy. The couples are always polite enough to offer food at the reception, but we have so little time, we usually don’t bother and then eat after we are done.
I will pack snacks for the car. Yogurt, rice crispy squares (a staple in my life, ) extra water bottles. Then we will at least have that energy boost, and we then avoid convenience store snacking and binging on mints at the reception.
The ice storm seems to be falling apart making our day a little easier. It never got below freezing, so the precipitation which was suppose to be ice or snow stayed rain and didn’t freeze to the power lines as much as was expected. We had a short power blip over night and that was about it. The weather is suppose to redevelop tonight but hopefully, we will be safe at home before anything significant happens.
Rachel ended up sick over night. Probably the same stomach bug I had last week, and Dacey’s activities were all rescheduled so they should be safe at home today too. For everyone else, travel carefully.
Suggestion for the day: If you’ve been working hard for the last week, take today off. Relax your muscles, treat yourself a little. It’s said it helps your body to keep from plateauing if you take a day off now and then. Then we’ll hit it hard again next week.
1/22/10
Kids are out of school early again in anticipation of lots of ice and snow. This week, they had Monday as a planned off. Tuesday they had school regular hours. Wednesday they had no school due to bad weather. Thursday they had a late start and they rescheduled the DVC tourney taking most of the kids out of school early and today, they released at 2:00 pm. Not sure how the teachers are finding time to teach in amongst all the ice storms and basketball games.
We made it to town for our noon workout with Lisa, but was blasted with wind, ice and snow, when we came back out at 1:30. Tomorrow with prediction of lots more of the same, we have a wedding in Nunda, reception following in Brookings. It’s frustrating and depressing to keep fighting this kind of weather, especially from a business standpoint, but thankfully, we are all safe and warm and blessed with so much. As I always tell my couples, all the bad things help us remember the good events. Otherwise, they seem to slip by unnoticed.
So, back to the workout. I am still hurting from Lisa’s torture yesterday and the day before. My glutes and my thighs are screaming everytime I sit down or stand up. On top of that the scale wasn’t great to me today. I lost 1 lb this week, which I guess is something, but as much as my thighs hurt, it would be nice if it showed on the scale. On the other hand, my clothes are fitting looser, and my jeans are baggy again. All good.
Lisa has been pressured into joining us in the Triathalon in April, so she has decided to train with us. Today, she joined us in the pool. She had Mike work on trying different strokes so he can keep going longer. Mike hates swimming so he struggles each time with breathing and keeping going. She had me switch up how often I breathed with each stroke. It messed me up. Try it! I breath with each turn of my left arm always tilting my head to the right. Lisa had me breathe every third stroke switching directions of my head. She thinks it will help me breathe better. Maybe, with practice. Right now, it makes me think a lot — not that I am ever really good at thinking, so then I run out of breathe and panic and stop swimming. I’ll have to practice, and see what happens.
We threw in a few push ups and ab work out, and a little water jogging and we ended up with a pretty good workout. Afterwards, Aaron Walters, cc director, and Mike and I all ended up at our favorite after-workout location, Subway. I just wish I could find some nutritional application for the cookies I keep eating there.
Suggestion for the Day: 1)Today Dr. Oz suggested adding seeds to your diet. My kids love sunflower seeds in the summer time at ball games. Me, I don’t like the shells, so maybe I can get the pre-shelled and add them to salads, or maybe some homemade bread. FM Cafe used to make sunflower seed cookies — Ahh, back to cookies again. Another seed I do use all the time is Flax seed. You can buy it fresh or ground, but Dr. Oz says it needs to be ground for best absorption. Flax is full of Omega 3 oils plus helps with digestion. I throw it in my muffins and banana bread and don’t tell the kids. Dr. Oz also suggested Hemp and Poppy seeds. I’ve never tried hemp. I guess that will be a new challenge for me.
2) The other suggestion that came across my desk today might help with all this winter blues. An article I was reading suggested keeping a journal every day of 5 positive attributes about yourself to help improve your self-image. I would suggest taking it one step further and add five positive things you did today to make your life better. It might be as little as finally getting that closet cleaned, or sharing cuddle time with your favorite pet. Then some days it will be the big things that help change our world into a better place as well. My math isn’t very good but 5 positive baby steps everyday and you’ll have 1825 footprints by the end of 2010. What a legacy for 2010!
Phil & Kate – July 25, 2009 – Video slide show
On July 25, 2009, Phillip and Kate were married at St. John Lutheran Church in Madison, SD. The reception followed the ceremony at Camp Lakodia on Lake Herman west of Madison. Here are a few of our favorites of their wedding day in a video slide show.
Enjoy.
1/21/10
Erika, Mike and Megan all said they wanted to go work out with me today, so I signed us up for a GET active session, even though I definitely was feeling the leg workout from yesterday. Then, one by one, they all bailed on me. So, there I was stuck working out with Lisa again. Gotta love her! After I ran/walked a mile on a very busy track, the rest of our group was ready and she started two of us on the spin bikes, while the others ran on the ellipticals. Kristine, who was riding next to me, hadn’t used the bikes before. Make sure when you start to reset your seat and handle bars to a comfortable position; it will be easier on your legs and back. Anyway, Lisa had us do several sets of standing pedaling. My sore quads were seriously complaining.
Then we went into the aerobics room and worked with the TRX: Those are those torture straps you’ll find hanging in the aerobics room. Generally, you use your body as weight against the straps to do all sorts of exercises. Anything standing up isn’t too bad– bicep curls, triceps, even push ups can be adjusted to how difficult you want to make it. However, Lisa was into upside down exercises again. Put your feet in the straps and do push ups, planks, knee ups–generally stand on your head. The college students standing around all had their chins on the floor — not sure whether they were laughing at the exercises, or the difficulty of which us three 30 to 40 somethings were struggling to accomplish each task. We did a couple rounds of each of these with sets of stairs in between. In the end, I was tired, and my hope was that the workout would loosen up the tight rear end muscles–It didn’t.
So, I decided to check out the hot tub. Much better, although a little crowded when I got there. At 5:00, there is a water aerobics class. It wasn’t well attended but looked like a fun class. Maybe a good starter class for those looking for a low impact workout. Besides, the aerobics class, the pool keeps one lane open for lap swimming. Jason was there doing his crazy multitudes of laps, but he did share one side so I did 10 or so nice slow easy laps. It was actually relaxing tonight, as I didn’t have to hurry to get to the rest of the workout and I didn’t have any little people grabbing my attention. After the laps, I finally felt a little looser and ready to go home.
On the way home, I received the message from Erika that she got caught up at work, so I guess I’ll have to forgive her for ditching me. The ice and fog truly are scary , so I don’t really blame anyone for not wanting to drive too far. I came home to an empty house so I was able to have veggies for supper, with no one begging me to cook. All in all a good end to this week. Hopefully, it will pay off on the scale tomorrow morning.
Suggestion for the day: Boost the fruit. Mom just sent me an email about all the benefits of bananas- Everything from curing indigestion to curing warts with the peelings (who knew?) I did know bananas are full of potassium and are highly recommended if you struggle with leg cramps. We’ve been eating fresh pineapple– It’s so sweet and juicy– add a little lemon yogurt for a sweet breakfast or end of the day snack. Of course, my favorites are berries, blueberries, strawberries, even cranberries are great antioxidant boosts and a great sweet treat. Anyway, trade out the chocolate this week for a fruity treat.
