No caffeine: Days two and three…

It’s quite a transition to make. I haven’t gone done to the Rambler Stop convenience store for morning coffee with the guys this week. That cuts down the social interaction. When I take a break from the computer, I can’t walk down to the store two or three times a day and pick up a pop and a candy bar. Now I get up, walk around, drink a glass of water and go back to the computer. We certainly have enough computer work to keep us busy. After while though, your eyes are burning and the fun of retouching loses its charm.

Day One of No Caffeine

Each year I go through the struggle of weaning myself off soda pop and caffeine. I decided to rid myself of the corn fructose added calories and get my sleep schedule back on track by eliminating the Pepsi I so dearly enjoy.

I am so tired. The only thing keeping me awake is the splitting headache that will not go away.

I want a nap…a 16 hour long one. Unfortunately I have obligations and responsibilities: I have a lot of retouching to do before tomorrow morning. I picked a heck of a time to give up the go juice.

Email is working again and change in this week’s studio hours

We’ve been fighting this nasty email issue for more than a month. Michael’s sister Linda stopped with Anthony for a short visit on their way home last night. It only took her a few minutes to diagnose the problem and implement a remedy. Everything seems to be working fine so far.

The studio is on short hours for the week as we try to spend some quality time with the munchkins before they head off to school. We will be returning phone calls and emails as time allows as well as finishing up some retouching on a few orders. We will be back full force on Friday. Leave a voice mail and we will get back to you.

Happy Father’s Day!

We took today off to spend with our kids as a family unit…no studio work. That’s not exactly true. We did spend a little time unloading the van and put things away from Friday’s wedding in Madison (Kevin and Audry) and Saturday’s wedding in Nunda (Laura and Anthony). All the files are downloaded, double checked and backed up to DVD. The batteries are all recharged and the cameras are ready to go for another week of studio sessions and ball teams. Only 4 hours today…

We spent this evening at Wild Water West. There is something to be said for sitting in an innertube and letting the artificial current take you round the “Lazy River”. I wasn’t as excited about the cold water being sprayed in my face as part of the experience, but that was offset by the fun of taking ElizaBeth with me. The kids had a great time on everything…even if dear ol’ Dad beat them on the go carts. It was fun just watching them laugh and play together.

I hope everyone had a great Father’s Day!

Drive your tractor to school day…

Only in Rutland…

Yesterday was “Drive Your Tractor to School Day” for the Rutland FFA students. FFA week falls in February and it was way too cold to bring out the tractors this Winter.

It’s windy out there!

After a nice warm spell, we are not getting our share of blustery days. It spits. It blows. It’s cold out there. Not great for outside pictures.

This morning ElizaBeth called me on the way home about some bad wind erosion in a field northeast of Madison. I grabbed the camera and took a few shots for the Madison paper. Right when I pulled up in the car, it was much worse than this. I had to turn the car around so I could open the door safely. By that time the dust had settled down from what it had been.

Back to the pool with Jason

ElizaBeth and I have debated attending Jason’s Monday night swim class for months. Tonight we threw caution to the wind, got rid of the “I can’ts”, sucked it up and got in the van for the trip to the Community Center.

Jason tells me that he can improve my swimming style by making me more efficient. Right now, I am up to “not drowning” in my skill level. I can cruise one lap of the pool and then gravity takes over. The arms grow tired, the feet sink and I gasp for air. I wonder how long it will take for those drills to make swimming easy.

I was expecting pain. I was pleasantly surprised. Jason isn’t known for easy workouts. The hour flew by. There might just be hope for me yet. I’m still not a big fan of water. I’d rather be at a wedding doing photography with my beautiful wife ElizaBeth, but it’s time to toughen up (again) and get into better shape.

What a way to start the morning!

I’m not a real big fan of swimming. When I was a kid, I loved the pool. As an adult that barely learned how to swim, I’m not as thrilled by it. After two years of working with a trainer at the Community Center, I’ve finally advanced to the “not drowning” skill level.

A few weeks ago, I pulled a back muscle. I laid off the training and visited the chiropractor. I didn’t get much relief until I visited Gina Norman at Touch of Heart for a massage. Both ElizaBeth and I go see Gina every month or so to take out the knots out after spending too much time on the computer. Gina worked me over good and I felt so much better.

My attitude over the past weeks has been in need of some improvement. The back wasn’t letting me get much sleep and I wanted to let it heal before running the triathlon on Saturday. I’ve discovered that I really need exercise to relieve the stress associated with life. After the triathlon, I figured I’d take it easy. I couldn’t take it any more. I needed a good workout. I was excited to get in the pool again. I woke up half a dozen times in the night in anticipation.

At 6:30 am, we were at the Community Center and ready to go. I felt so much better after an hour of Lisa’s “encouragement” in the pool. The back feels good and I’m much more productive. I realize that if I’m lazy, I’m going to feel worse because of it. I NEED to exercise every day.

Almost triathlon time!

It’s going to be a cold morning on Saturday when we come out of the Madison Community Center pool and run to the bike racks for our first transition. ElizaBeth and Dacey will be joining in the fun. ElizaBeth has been training with a vengance. Dacey is a little anxious about doing well. He wants to beat me and I want to crush him. The old man isn’t dead yet. I figure I’ve got a couple of years left before the magic of youth buries me. I’m going to take every last victory I can still get.

The race starts at 9 am in the pool. The fastest people go first. It’s a snake swim – you move from lane to lane as you complete a lap. What if you are slower than the person behind you? To pass someone in front of you, you just tap their foot. The fun comes at the end of the swim when you go from the nice heated pool to temps of 30 some degrees while only wearing a still wet swimsuit.

In the first transition, you have to put on whatever clothes you need along with socks and shoes. The bike portion of the race goes west on 9th street and then north on highway 81. Last year, we were blessed with strong north winds that made that first hill unfun. The crew at the Community Center have volunteers manning different parts of the course making it easier for the first time triathletes to find their way. Four miles from Pizza Ranch, the bikes turn around and head back to the parking lot and T2.

Running feels funny after 9 miles on the bike. This triathlon is one of the shorter ones around. The run is only two and a quarter miles. If you burned your legs up on the bike, you can still walk if you have to.

Who is going to win? Not any of us. Jason Crisp has made this his race. Jason has done Kona in Hawaii. Just to qualify for Kona means that you aren’t a normal human being. You have to be gifted physically, train hard and be mentally tough.

Fun at the Falls!

Last Sunday found us in Sioux Falls scouting locations for Spring and Summer senior portrait sessions. We ended the day at Falls Park. We gave the camera over to the kids. Both Dacey and Rachel are awesome photographers talented beyond their years. We have conversations about depth of field and circles of confusion, leading lines and compression of telephotos lenses. Here are a few of their images.

$95.50 to United Way –Weigh 2 Go!

Sorry,  it’s been so long since I’ve updated the fitness challenge. Our team lost a total of  95.5 lbs;  On average about 5.5 lbs per person.  Weigh 2 Go!  We appreciated everyone’s help, and yes, Mike’s pockets are a little lighter.  We both lost about 12 lbs, and we had a great time.  Members of our team should have received your free family session gift certificates in the mail.  We can’t wait to see you and see how well your fitness goals are working for you.   Keep up the great work and pray for sunshine, so we can all get outside and get active.

Of course, our fitness goals are just starting and we have begun to think about the triathalon in april and perhaps a biking trip later in the summer.  If  you have any great ideas for fitness challenges, let us know, because we’re always looking ahead.

Success!

Well, we did it, and we survived.  We completed the Try-a-Tri yesterday morning at the cc. And Mike completed his goals.  He wasn’t last and he beat me.  Both good, and I’ll give him bragging rights because he did his personal best at swimming, his big challenge, and he totally rocked the biking.  Me, I did ok.  I improved my time in the swimming since last spring.   I think I got lost in figuring out the borrowed spin bikes from the Madison Middle School, so I didn’t bike as well as I think I should have.  But then I didn’t stop or walk in the mile and half run on the treadmill at the end.  I have to thank Nicole and Jason for cheering me on to push it up a couple notches when it came to the end, because I was TIRED at that point.  Mike was in the heat behind me, so even though I was slower than he in time, I finished the race before him.  I was then able to help pull him through the last part of the run with a promise of a DQ Blizzard when he finished.

By the way, Congrats to Aaron Walters who was first in our little 13 member Try-a-Tri, followed by seasoned veterans Tim Tucker and Mark Stearns.  All of the contestants except one were over the age of 30, and most of us were on the far side of thirty.  I think that means we’re never too old to take on new challenges, and it’s time to push some of those “youn ‘uns” a little more. Thanks to all the help the cc staff gave in keeping us going and keeping track of all our times.  The extra support really helps us keep at our goals.

The Try-a-Tri was the culmination of the fitness challenge.  Thus, the Blizzard Rewards at the end, but, never fear, we won’t let all of our hard work go to “waist.”   We took today off to regroup, but the Spring Triathlon is April 17th, only 7 weeks away.  Time to improve those times.  If  you are looking for a new challenge to get you going now that the fitness challenge is done, or are one of those last year that said, and I know you did,  “I can keep up with those two,”  you still have plenty of time to get ready for April.  Come along with us, and we’ll all succeed this year.

Thanks to Jon Hunter for getting some pictures of Mike in the water.

One More Day

So, Aaron reminds me that tomorrow is the last day for the fitness challenge.  I hope it has been as fun for you as it was for me.  I have lost 12 lbs, and I think Mike has lost about the same.  Next week we will put up the final results.  In the meantime, make sure you send in your final results, so we can all cheer together.

Today, as we worked out with Lisa, I felt like we made great strides this last eight weeks.  Lisa had us running on the treadmill, and after a mile and a half, I didn’t feel so winded that I thought I was going to die, like I did eight weeks ago.  Mike started out in over-do mode today and was pushing out extra miles on the track, and extra reps on the weights.  After Mike gave out,  I then hit the pool for a few short laps.  Although I still have a twinge in my shoulder, I felt comfortable swimming pretty well non-stop for a half an hour without a break.  Now, I can’t say I’ll ever be a beautiful swimmer, or runner for that matter, but it’s nice to feel like I can accomplish whatever the task was that was set before me.

Now some may have noticed that my husband has become obsessed with his workouts.  Well, that’s Mike for you.  But, all the studies this week are suggesting that several short  intense workouts might be better  for strength-training  and heart health than long moderate workouts.  Calorie experts are still suggesting consistency is necessary to maintain or lose weight.  So what does this mean,  well, maybe new news isn’t really that new.  Maybe we need to combine a couple days of intense (Michael-like) interval training.  Boost up your cardio workout faster than you are used to for 2-5 minutes and then back off and rest for a 1-2 minutes before you kick it up again.  Then the next day take it a little easier with a nice easy walk or jog.  Maybe someday we will even be able to do that outside again.  It’s ok and often necessary to take a day or two off to recover from intense exercise, but if you are like me, it only takes a day or two to totally get out of the routine and suddenly not be paying any attention to working out or watching the diet.  So, for me those off days, I have to try to keep the slower moderate exercise on the schedule.

So, now that I’ve ramble on for awhile.  Don’t let the end of this fitness challenge be the end of your 2010 health kick.  Yes, I know those resolutions were left behind at least a month ago, but remember 22 days make a habit and so  hopefully, you’ve made a few new healthy choices and are well past those 22 days.  Of course, if you haven’t or oops, let a couple of those great plans go, you can always start again tomorrow.  Twenty-two days from today is still before swimsuit season.

Time for a Tea Break?

We started the day with Lisa by the pool.  That little bit of ache I felt in my shoulder yesterday was a full-blown pain today.  After a few laps in the pool hoping it would loosen up, I gave up and used a kickboard, giving Mike a chance to keep up with me in the pool today.  Lisa gave us a little bit of break anyway, splitting up the laps with some water jogging.  After the pool, Mike was still full of something, so we went upstairs and did a little on the bikes.  My shoulder was really bothering me, so I gave up quickly and hit the showers.

When we got back to the studio, I read up on my health websites how you can actually slow down your weight loss by overdoing your workout (specially if you hurt your shoulder)  The concept is that you lose weight during recovery not during the workout, so you need your rest in between.  Good, because I had no intention of letting Mike drag me back up to the cc for the rest of the day.  I came home and put icyhot on my shoulder, which burned more than it helped, but the rest definitely helped.

My other discovery for the day was the suggestion to drink green tea before your workout.  I had heard that green tea is full of good antioxidants, but the article I was reading suggested that while the caffeine in green tea boosts your energy, the other antioxidants actually helps to digest the fatty acids and burn calories more efficiently during your workout.  So, there you go, Nicole, one more reason to give up the diet coke  and try green tea.  The ladies at the cc were discussing giving up pop for lent.  Give it a try — Switch your coke for green tea, juice spritzers, or good ole fashion water.  You’ll be feeling great and leaving all that extra calories behind before you know it.

Great Food and New Jiggles

Had to kick up the work out today.  Last night we went to Montgomery’s Furniture for their “Second Chance for Romance” Event.  Several local business showed their wares, while we thoroughly enjoyed wine and amazing appetizers provided by Shari & Blaine from 2nd St. Diner.  I could definitely see those Luscious “cakes on a stick” as a great wedding fare.  They were wonderfully presented and so luscious.  Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure from the stuffed mushrooms to the coconut shrimp, there wasn’t anything there that I would call “on the diet plan,”  so after totally spoiling ourselves last night and then joining Shari again for her buffet today, Mike and I really had to get to work this afternoon.

Mike and Lori Waldner were just finishing their workout when we arrived.  Not sure I will ever be able  to (or maybe want to) keep up with their intense workout routines but love to see another couple working out together and looking better every day.

Anyway, Mike and I headed upstairs while the kids headed to the pool.  Mike was running sprints on the treadmill, while I hopped on and just started running.  I think I could feel every bite of that delicious meal jiggling around, so even though I had planned to run one and a half miles, I gave up just short of that.  Then I hopped on the bike and rode 6 miles.  Of course, in the back of my head is that I only have 6 days before I have to do this whole craziness in front of other people.

I then did a quick arm workout,  because I have noticed lately that Yes, I am truly getting old, and all those saggy places my mother and grandmother always complained about when I was young and sure I would always have everything firm and in their original places, now jiggle all over the place on me.  Finally, I  hit the pool just in time to join my daughter after the break.  The pool was busy today as it frequently is on Sundays, but I did half laps for a while and then horsed around with Rachel for awhile, before going back to another set of half laps.  When I was done, my shoulders were giving me fits, so I must have done the arm workout that I wanted to get in.

Tomorrow morning, Lisa and Mike have an early morning swim workout planned again.  Considering I’m already tired and I know how excited Mike is to really push it this last week, I think I may be really tired before Saturday gets here.  It’s a good thing I have a finish line in sight to keep me going.

Adventures in the Dark

Another early morning  at the CC.  We met Lisa at 6:45 to go swimming. Mike tried out goggles today. I try to swim with goggles and get claustrophobic.  I don’t think I’m supposed to be that well acquainted with the bottom of the pool.  Anyway, we had barely got started and the power went out.  Since it was still basically dark outside and inside, we waited on the edge of the pool and then after 5 minutes, the lights came on, and we swam some more.

I am really feeling the workouts from earlier this week, so I struggled getting started, but I think I eventually found enough rhythm to get up and down the pool a few times.  After we wore out from Lisa having us swim laps, she then had us swim sprints, as fast as we could go for just the short half of the pool.  20 total laps down and we were able to hit the hot tub for a few minutes.

Then when I hit the shower room, I found myself in the dark again.  By the way, it’s really dark in the family locker room when the lights are out.  Aaron promises to get the emergency lights fixed in there.  But that was enough water adventure for me to last the whole day.

After our work out, we stopped to visit my grandmother for a few minutes.  At almost 89, she still enjoys work outs at the nursing home using the new step machine or doing the group led calisthenics.  The cc has a water aerobics class and an active and ageless aerobic class for the retired age group.  It’s almost always full.  I love to see former teachers and long time friends and neighbors up there staying active and busy.  Guess it proves you’re never too old to take care of yourself, and for those of us that our lazy now, we have no excuses, so we better keep moving.

Hopefully, I’m going to keep my nose to the computer for the rest of the day, unless, I suppose, Mike tries to convince me I haven’t done enough exercise this week yet.  But there’s a bb game tonight to keep him entertained.  I hope your weekend is filled with sunshine, health and lots of playtime.

Almost There

Great week, team.  We lost 19 lbs.  With 19 members, that means, on average, we all shared a great week.  We’ve also lost more than 5 lbs. per person for a total of 86 lbs, putting us in 4th place for total lbs lost per team.  This week has sped by so don’t forget to send your weighins tomorrow, and then next week is our last week.   I would love to see us break that 100 lb mark.  I am positive we can do it.

Mike is well on his way.  He has his goal in mind for next week, so he pushed up our work out yesterday to twice a day.  We started with a swim at 6:45 am.  We met Lisa there doing her own swim workout.  Then we came back at 6:00 for another 45 minutes of biking and running last night. Today we were back again for our regular workout with Lisa.  What I discovered was that if I work out too much 1) I don’t sleep very well and 2) my legs wear out and I don’t run very well when Lisa wants me to.

Tomorrow we swim early in the morning, then I think I will lay off the bike for a couple days.  It seems to be taking a toll on my knees.  But don’t worry, I’ll be back at it, Monday or Tuesday.  Next Saturday, the 27th, besides being the end of the fitness challenge, is the day of the mini-triathalon.  Can’t wait, I think.  If you want to participate, let Jason Crisp know at the cc.  It’s a great way to see how far you’ve come. Hope to see you there.

Finally Back At It.

After days and days of tax appointments, weddings, and once again, horrible weather, we were finally able to make it back to the cc today.  A good swim, a run, and a bike ride made me feel like we might be back in the swing of things.  The indoor triathalon is only two weeks away, so Mike and I have to get serious about what we are doing.  Mike needs a lot more swim time.  He avoids it like I avoid running.  I just need to work on following through.  I’ll swim but mainly just go back and forth, not really work on my strokes; I’ll run but I think I can run faster if I push myself, and then the bike is just so boring inside;  I do 6 miles but I could easily do more if I was racing for ice cream.

Of course, the topic of everyone’s discussion:  The weather is really holding us back.  Just can’t wait for sunny days and bike rides around the lake, swimming where you have to worry about sunscreen instead of finding a short lane in a cold pool, and running outside wearing shorts and not even minding my stubby legs sticking out.  I’d even take an evening or two of watching my kids play softball. Well, anyway, remind me of this if I dare complain about being too hot in August.

We have two more weeks left of the community challenge, and I would love to see us finish off with a bang.  Keep up the good work, and let us know how you are doing.  Also, don’t forget the cc is still collecting shoes to send to Haiti,  so clean your closets and get ready for summer.  It’s only 4 mos. away!

Weigh 2 Go!

Great Job, Team.  We are down another 22.5 Lbs! Keep up the great work.  Mike is really getting int o the groove lately.  Double workouts.  Tons of miles on the bike and the treadmill.  Me –well, I’ve been holding my own.  Not as intense as last week, but still hitting the gym a little everyday, trying to keep the calories down, and the chocolate away.

This week has been a week of yearly check-ups.  Teeth cleanings, yearly physicals.–All those fun things. I managed to prove I was healthy.  No excuses, now, huh.  But it’s nice to know everything is going well inside and out.  It’s also good to have someone else confirm all those moles are looking the way they’ re suppose to, and the odd age spots and wrinkles are just signs that time is passing.

In general, I’m lucky.  Good genes, few diseases, and the ones my family deals with, for the most part, are preventable.  It seems that so many of my long time friends and acquaintances are struggling with some of those other types: cancer , heart disease,  diabetes.  So, my suggestion for the day: Make your yearly appointment.  Check your blood pressure.  Keep your eye on those changing pigments, and be aware of changes in your health and digestion.  Hopefully, all of the hard work we’re doing to get and stay in shape will help with all those preventative ailments, but don’t ignore the signs.  Besides, your doctor is always impressed when you show him how hard you’ve been working out.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

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.

Results are In — Week 2

The results from last week’s weighin are in and we are off to a great start:  We have 17 members, starting with a total weight of 2976 lbs.  Last week we weighed in at 2950.5 lbs. A total weight loss of 25.5 lbs.  For you “Biggest Loser” fans, that’s 0.86% of our total weight.  Way to go, Team!

Funny thing, though.  Mike was worried that we would all lose too much weight and he would lose too much money for the United Way.  Today, he said he thought we all need to kick it up a notch, since he lost the most last week.  All right, Mike.  Team,  help me out, this week.  Use the next couple days to really kick up the workout and keep away from the leftover birthday cake.  I really need some of you to help out this week,  because, besides the birthday bash,  the bug Mike shared with me kept me cuddled in yesterday so one less workout for me.

We did work out with Lisa today, and she really pushed working legs and back, plus, we did some crazy upside down things on the ball.  Anything where my head is lower than my feet makes me nervous.  My balance is not that good.  Tomorrow, if the ice cooperates, we will do a GET active workout, and Friday will be Mike’s favorite, swimming.

Team, don’t forget to send this week’s weight in before Friday.  Have a great week!

“Where Have You Been?”

Yes, I know I haven’t posted for a couple days, so I better update on how things have been going.  Friday, I went in to work out before I did anything else for the day.  I ran into Debbie starting her own workout, so after I ran a mile and I rode bike for 20 minutes, she and I were able to walk the track for 15 minutes or so.  It’s so easy for time to get away from you when you have a distraction.  Walking with a friend, turning on the tv, or turning up the music,  and all of a sudden an hour has gone and you haven’t even thought about it.  Unfortunately, I needed to be on the run, so I had to leave Debbie and run off to Sioux Falls.

Rachel’s birthday is today.  11 years old.  After I walked with Debbie, I went shopping in Sioux Falls for Rachel’s birthday present and party.  I was on the hunt for Peace Signs — the theme for this year’s party.  I’m not a shopper, so I guarantee I find walking the mall to be a really big workout. By the time, I was done in Sioux Falls five hours, a mall, Best Buy, Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby and the grocery store later, I was exhausted and my feet and back hurt more than when I walked up Crazy Horse carrying an 18 mos. old.  On the way home, I stopped at Colman to watch the boys play another winning basketball game against the C-E Hawks.  By the time I made it home and put all the groceries away, it was after 11:00 pm.

Saturday, Rachel had a basketball game in the morning. Then Dacey had play practice, then he stopped home for lunch, and turned around and went to a double-header in Estelline.  Besides keeping up with the kids, I had Saturday to get my house cleaned for Rachel’s sleepover birthday party on Sunday night.  I still hadn’t put Christmas away and all the give-aways from the closets we cleaned in the last snow storm were sitting in my living room. Plus, we needed to make cupcakes and food for two parties for Rachel, and since the sleepover was going to be in the studio, we needed to get that ready as well.  It was a lot for Rachel and me to do by ourselves.  Once again I felt like cleaning was enough of a workout, especially with all of the up and downs of taking down the Christmas tree and hauling boxes and lifting furniture to get all the ornaments that the cat chased all over the house, and have you ever noticed that laundry seems to grow out of every room in your house.   Midnight came and went and I finally was able to sit on all the furniture in my living room, the cupcakes were frosted and all the presents were wrapped.

Sunday, everyone got up early and helped to finish decorating, made barbecue for the family party in town, went to church and worked nursery duty.  Then we went to the cc and all of Rachel’s grandparents and Aunt Linda came to have bbq’s and wish Rachel a happy birthday.  When that was done, Rachel, Linda and I took  a half an hour and walked laps upstairs.  I didn’t work up a sweat, but it was nice to visit with Linda, and to relax and regroup my thinking in the middle of all the family and birthday chaos.  When we came home Dacey had play practice and then his debut performance of  the school one-act play.  Family came, Rachel’s friends met us there, and Dacey, along with the entire crew, did an awesome performance.  We were so proud and impressed with them all.

Then Rachel’s five female classmates came over and spent the night.  Dacey set up a dj system for Rachel and her friends in the studio and they ran black lights and strobes and danced until midnight.  I can understand why kids can eat anything.  They move non-stop.  The more they get tired, the more they move and the more they eat.  At 12:30, I made popcorn, put a movie in and fell asleep. The girls, although restless, fell asleep not too much later.  By 7:00 am, they were all up and moving.

Dacey had another big day with his regional performance of the one-act play in Watertown, and then the beginning of the DVC tournaments in Colman.  He was literally home for 30 min. before he came home that night at 11:30.  Rachel’s friends slowly made their way home by 1:00 pm and then I finally was able to clean up and go back to my paying job in the studio.  By this time, I knew I had caught Mike’s cold from last week, and I could hardly keep my eyes open, they were watering so bad.  Rachel had crashed in the house, and I joined her as soon as I was able.

I finally had a full night’s sleep and woke up this morning feeling almost human again — although a little sniffly.  So what I learned from this marathon of kids’ craziness:

1) I’m getting old.  I can’t keep up with my kids’ schedule even if I try.  I need my sleep.

2) I can’t and don’t want to eat like they do.  Dacey said they had a contest at Pizza Ranch to see which team could eat the most and his team won, with 26 plates of food split between seven boys.  Remember, guys, when you could do that in high school.  Mike does.

The girls ate candy, and cake, and banana splits and chips all night long, and I am sure with all the dancing and sledding and cartwheels and giggling they did,   all that sugar made them more active.  Me, one piece of cake and a little ice cream and I feel sluggish and ready for a nap.  Today I went back to regular meals and healthy choices and I already feel better.

3) I’m thankful for all the coaches and parents and teachers who keep up with my kids’ craziness and come up with more, because most of you are my age or older, and have to be as tired as I am.

So, my suggestion for the day:  Get enough sleep–7 to 8 hours a night, and a  20 minute nap when you  need it.  Lack of sleep will wear your system down faster than anything else.  It will also trigger your brain into eating higher sugared carbohydrates to keep stimulating your body to keep in motion.  Then for me, my suggestion is to go back to my routine in the studio –enough partying with my kids.  It’s too much work!

What Day are we on?

Sorry, I haven’t had anything up the last couple days.  Mike shared his stomach bug with me yesterday,  so no workout, but definitely a quick diet plan ;-(  Today, the day seems to be slipping away from me as well,  and yet at 8:36 pm, I still haven’t found time to make supper.   It’s probably one of our worst eating habits that we frequently don’t find supper until 9 or 10 in the evening.  If it were up to me I would grab a small sandwich or snack in the evening, but the kids and Mike are usually ready for a larger meal.  I usually have an evening appointment so when that’s finished I’m trying to figure out what to cook quick.  Now with basketball season, too often it’s hot dogs and nachos at a ball game, or pizza after.

I did get into the cc late this afternoon, and YEAH,  I found teammate Debbie getting a tour of the facility.  Her son Casey was coming out of the pool and youngest Dillon was in the nursery.  Glad to have one more friend to keep me in line while I’m up there.  When Debbie caught up with me, I was on the stair climber.  I usually just run on manual and turn it up as I want to, but today I stuck it on one of the strength training workouts.  20 minutes of three mountains to climb.  I really felt it by the time the 20 minutes were up. I’m not good at talking and doing anything else at the same time,  so, sorry, Debbie, I was probably huffing away at you.  Then I found my favorite treadmill open so I ran 1 mile to the sounds of  TranSiberrian Orchestra.  Ok, it was weird music but it definitely was energetic.  A little ab workout at the end and I was definitely was ready to go home.

At home, I found both my kids shooting baskets in the Rutland gym.  It was nice to know they were getting a little exercise as well.  Tomorrow morning we GET to start our day at 6:30 swimming.  Mike is SO excited.

I did sign up for the indoor “Try a Triathalon” at  the end of February.  It’s a shorter version of the triathalon we did in April, and it’s all inside.  6 laps in the pool, 6 miles on a stationary bike, and 1.5 miles on the treadmill.  So, here’s your suggestion for the day: Pick a goal that you can accomplish in the next month to six weeks.   Choose something that is not a weight loss goal, because well, we all have those goals, and it’s too easy for weight goals to be out of our controls. Maybe it’s running your first mile on the treadmill without stopping,  swim forty laps in the pool,  or maybe try the triathalon with me, or complete the entire Biggest Loser  dvd workout plan.  Pick something that has a definite beginning and an end, and then start working at it.  Plan your time around accomplishing your goal.  Let someone else in on your goal so you have someone who helps to encourage you.  Then make sure when you reach your achievement,  you reward yourself, and also, let us know, so we can cheer you on.

Day 8

I spent the first half of today serving at Ester Brandes’ funeral.  She was one of the older ladies in the community that has  always stood out in the history of Madison.  She ran the paint store and had a big “Julia Child”-like voice and personality.  I bet half of Madison has at least one story about her or her late husband Joe.  Joe was Santa Claus in town for many years. She and her lady friends were known to frequent the coffee places around town, and whether I was their waitress or just caught up with them for a chat, I always enjoyed their warm hearts and well wishes.

Funny thing about funerals.  Just like every other gathering in SD, there must be food.  The family provided catering from Sunshine today.  Scalloped potatoes, coleslaw and the every present cake.  It was good, church food, and definitely a midwestern affair.
Years ago, I went to a funeral out East for my uncle.  It’s a much different tradition out there.  Instead of  being served by the church ladies in the church basement, the family made a huge spread at their house after the funeral.  The family spent hours and hours cooking and cleaning and preparing for everyone they knew to come and partake in this huge buffet.  As much as I appreciate all my aunt’s and her families efforts that day,  it seems we Midwesterners still take the more practical direction in our traditions.  Plus,  it gives the community a chance to offer its little bit of support to the family.

After the funeral,  I quick did my workout with Lisa.  Mike was under the weather so no workout for him.  You guys on our team are really going to have to get after him to kick it up a notch.  He did say he is losing some weight.  That’s good.  When Mike works out with me, I can pretty well predict how long an hour will be, but when he’s not there the hour seems to just fly by.  Lisa had us bike today and then do an arm and ab workout.  All those scalloped potatoes were trying to make their escape by the time we were done with the abs, so I was definitely  ready to be done.
This afternoon we took pictures at the Madison Dance Academy, 70 or so adorable young people from age 3 all the way up to 14.  I wish I had that much abounding energy.  I think the weight would just fall off then.
Suggestion for the day: ( I just read this one somewhere again,  but I can’t remember where–old age setting in. )  When eating out,  plan to eat less than the portions given.  Either get a doggy bag ahead of time and immediately put half of it away, or cut off half the proportion and put it to the side of your plate.  When you reach the end of your new smaller portion, cover your plate with your napkin to tell yourself that you are done.    When eating out,  I plan to share with one of my family members and they have gotten used to my doing this.  They can have whatever they want and I ask for an extra plate and  eat the smaller portion.  If I don’t think it will be enough, I order a side salad, with the dressing on the side to supplement the smaller portion.  Considering the size of most entrees, I’ve never left hungry.

Day 6 & Day 7

Saturdays are our Mondays in the studio.  We are usually busy all day.  Studio appointments this time of year or weddings later in the spring.  The kids have two or three of their own activities, so juggling is usually the exercise of choice.  Yesterday was no exception.  Rachel had a dance recital planted in between our morning and afternoon appointments.  We had planned to workout to the Biggest Loser DVD, but we noticed when we received it that it was scratched and yesterday it wouldn’t work at all.  So no exercise.  Along with our busy days come bad eating choices.  It’s hard to find time to eat right.  We had a sandwich at Subway after the recital and then didn’t find our house for supper until almost 10:00.  It’s not uncommon for us on wedding days to have a large breakfast and not eat anything again until 9 or 10 at night.  Knowing that that is probably the worst eating pattern, I have tried to keep granola bars and water with us to keep us from “manging” on wedding mints and punch.  Almost all diet plans suggest eating consistently throughout the day so you are never starving yourself.  Smaller portions more often.  You’re also supposed to plan your meals so you don’t  find yourself in situations where you have to starve or grab fast/convenience food.  When we are in Rutland, it’s not so bad, but if we are out on sessions, it’s easy for all of those rules to go out the window.

Today, Mike and I both woke up achey, not sure if it was a touch of virus or all that time couped up with little exercise made us stiff and cranky.  Late this afternoon, I convinced Mike we needed to go work out.  The CC was busy tonight.  The sunshine must have made everybody feel more active.  I did a good cardio workout.  20 min on the stationary bike, 10 sets of stairs, and a mile on the treadmill.   I felt a lot better when I was done.  My mind was more active and I wasn’t as achey or cranky.  The endorphins must have worked.
It looks like it’s finally going to be a beautiful week, so here’s my suggestion for the day:  Play outside.  Bundle up and take a walk.  Make a snow fort or go sledding with the kids.  Trudge through some snow.  If you have the time, try snowshoeing,  cross country skiing or snowboarding.  Have fun while the weather’s on our side.  The sunlight will make you feel great, and when you come in, you can splurge on hot chocolate.

Clear cold morning – what an improvement over yesterday!

What a difference a day makes! Last night is was COLD and windy. This morning wasn’t too bad with temps around 20 below and no wind. The van complained when I started it and it made various noises. The steering wheel did not want to turn. After warming up for 20 minutes at the Rambler Stop while I had coffee, it was nice and toasty warm. I know I’m lazy for driving two blocks, but it’s cold out there!

I don’t think that we will be working on Dacey’s tractor until it warms up. We need to split the tractor and send the engine out for repair. Until then we use it as a prop.

You could see across the field this morning. Yesterday everything was white.

Day 4-Snowed in Again

Yep, we are definitely beginning to get cabin fever, after another day of blizzard conditions.  School was let out yesterday at 11:00 am.  Temperatures dropped from a balmy 8 degrees at noon to somewhere in the teens below zero last night.  Winds picked up to 20-30 mph, and temperatures continue to drop tonight into record temps below zero.  We all get a little antsy being cooped up, even too cold to send the kids out into the snow or Mike out to shovel.  Once again, our neighbors came to our rescue and cleared out our parking areas, but the sidewalk will have to wait until I can be outside for more than five minutes. 

The beef stew was yummy last night, so I was a little more health-conscience today and made chicken breasts, wild rice, and asparagus, today.   The asparagus made me at least feel a little springy. 

For exercise, no luck getting out to the community center, so I finished cleaning closets in my bedroom.  Gentlemen, did you know housecleaning is an aerobic exercise?  I guarantee Mike felt it as he had to haul the up-teen bags of garbage out yesterday that I had stored for way too long.  For an extra workout, make sure you do the floors on your hands and knees, works the abs and does a better job in the corners.  And, I am sure we all have those boxes we have put away until a day when we have nothing better to do.  All that lifting and stretching must count for something.   Now, I have a clean bedroom and a brand new bedspread set, thanks to Mom and Charlie for Christmas. 

Dr. Phil says when you lose weight make sure you get rid of your old sizes so you can’t go backwards.  I’ve really tried to do that, if for no other reason than I don’t really have the closet space to keep clothes I’m not wearing.  It was kind of fun to get rid of the last of the clothes from my heavier days today, even some from when I first started losing weight.  Of course, I also don’t see any point in saving or, for that matter,  buying  clothes that I might get into some day.  The one thing I have noticed is that even when I lose the weight, that “some-day, might-fit” outfit never really fits right.  I have been known to buy clothes and especially shoes that I think fit great in the store and when I get home wonder what in the world I was thinking.

Just in time for the blizzard, netflix sent me the “Biggest Loser” Workout.  I’m not one to buy workout videos, because I get bored with the same workout over and over.  But I figured netflix was a great way to try it out.  Then I can trade it in for a different video when I’m bored with it.   Rachel and I moved out the couch in the studio, and played the dvd on the projection screen.  I didn’t mess around with the extras too much but it has a six-week workout plan, with half hour episodes, and also a customizable option.  If you’re a “Biggest Loser” fan, it has a lot of familiar faces on it, and the work out group are old contestants, so they are not in such perfect shape that you mind making mistakes with them.  I was able to complete most of the workout, even though my “glutes” were killing me, thanks to Lisa yesterday.  Mike wouldn’t join me because he was still whining about yesterday’s workout.

Suggestion for the day:  Use the stairs.  I don’t really have great stairs to use at home, but I make sure I use the ones at the CC, and other places when I find them.  Do them double time and get your heart rate up.  If you’re walking or, heaven forbid, running the track, take a set of stairs every time you make a lap.  You can use the main stairs or the emergency exit stairs next to the aerobics room.  If you have stairs in your house, take the clothes and kid’s stuff up every time you have something that needs to go up, instead off stacking everything until later.  No, it’s not more efficient, but think of all those extra calories you burn if you take a few extra trips up those stairs.  You will definitely notice the extra work on the hip flexors and glutes.

Rachel is playing in the Pep Band

Well at least for one night… Rachel was very excited to play along with the older kids in the Pep Band for the ORR/Elkton game held in Rutland on Tuesday night.

Day Three

Lisa was tough on us today.  We went early for our workout, trying to get home before the wind picked up.  She had us run the treadmill.  As I said before running isn’t exciting for me.  Today, she wanted us to run  one and half miles.  Yes, I know, I’m a wimp, but anything after 1 mile and I start seeing stars.  I did it! Yeah!  without stopping or falling off the treadmill.  Dacey’s Christmas present to me,  a wireless mp3 player, really helps.  I can find a tune with a little beat and it helps me pace a little better and not think so much about the fact that I am falling apart.  (lungs hurting, side hurting, bladder exploding–why am I doing this?)  Anyway, we survived that and then continued with a leg and abs workout that included lunges, squats with weights, and a new toy:  Remember those fun little scooter we used to sit on and scoot around in relay races in elementary school.  Who knew they make great torture games for trainers.  We used them in plank fashion to push ourselves across the floor.  It looks like fun — but as usual, I have little core strength and the two lengths of the aerobic room were more than enough fun for me.   We finished with Lisa’s ritual ab workout.  Mike was whining a lot so Lisa let us end five minutes early.  Thank you, Lisa.

 

I came home craving beef stew.  Unfortunately, blizzards make me feel like hot chocolate, beef stew, homemade bread, brownies, –any other comfort foods I can find.  Having kids snowed in with me doesn’t help.  Tomorrow doesn’t look  like we will be wandering out too far.  The interstate is closed at 7 pm and the winds are suppose to increase as the temperatures drop.  We will have to figure out how to get moving and eat healthy while stuck in our little house.  Any suggestions?

Day Two

From ElizaBeth:

Thank you to everyone who has checked in. We have 11 team members so far plus several other “cheerleaders” who are cooperating with other teams. If you are on the fence, you still have time to join our team. No stress -the more people we have, the more we get to share the weight. My mom asked what happens if we gain weight. Don’t worry, with Amber, our pencil-thin assistant, plus Dacey, our never-stop growing 14 year-old on the team, someone is bound to gain weight. Although our personal goal is weight-loss, the bigger picture is healthier and happier and more active in 2010.

Today Mike and I made it into the cc for our workouts on our own. You would think that would be the norm for us, but not so much, as usually we are working around Lisa, the trainer’s schedule, or two kids busy “drive me here — quick grab a workout between dropping off one and here comes the the other kid.

Another member was starting a GET active class and told me she was struggling with arthritis. The nice thing about getting to know the trainers up there is they can really help you with the things that slow us down. The trainer was able to adjust her work out to activities that would not hurt her arthritis. I know others with similar problems have had great luck with the water aerobics class — again easy on the joints.

Then Mike showed up with complaints about numbness in his leg, and Jason, the fitness director, gave him some exercises to help with that. Nicole, one of the other trainers, was busy writing out a specific workout for one of her clients. Anyway, it’s nice to know you can have someone help gear you in the right direction when you feel like you don’t know what you are doing.

Suggestion for the day: Have breakfast with your kids tomorrow. Dacey’s favorite breakfast is an egg scrambled with every vegetable we can find. Some one said we like a little egg with our vegetables. Grill up onions, mushrooms, spinach and a jalapeno and add an egg and a little pepper jack cheese. If you’re high in cholesterol, do egg whites instead. Dr. Oz said this week, that spicy foods can actually curb your appetite, and starting your day with a healthy breakfast definitely gets your metabolism going and gives energy to your day. I never believed it when I was younger, but a good breakfast in the a.m definitely helps me eat healthier all day long.

Day One — Oops, Day two

So, here we are on the fitness challenge. Yeah. I (ElizaBeth) weighed in yesterday. It’s easy- ok, maybe weighing myself is always scary, but generally pain free. The CC has a digital scale right next to the “official” box. Mike weighed in over the weekend. I don’t really like digital scales, so I use my own at home and then stopped by and dropped off my weight. But you can also send your weighins in through email (weighins@yahoo.com). Make sure you tell them who you are and what team you are playing with.

The scale was good to me yesterday. I had dropped two pounds since last week, 6 pounds since the week before. That means all the extra time at the CC last week, playing in the pool with the kids paid off a little. It’s a good way to start, and hopefully, will keep me going this week, when the weather is suppose to be cold and snowy again.

We had a swim workout with Lisa (our trainer) yesterday. Mike hates swim workouts. Not having spent much time in the water, Mike always feels like a beached whale in the water. Not to make fun of him (ok — maybe a little) but it’s pretty amazing as little as he likes water that he was able to pull off the triathlon last year (6 laps in the pool or 300 yards) . I personally like water workouts. They are a great way to get a full body workout without killing any one muscle area and really strengthens the core muscles. (My core muscles always need strengthening.) And at the end, you don’t feel all sweaty and gross like you do with anything involved in running.

So, my least favorite workout is anything with running. As far as I can tell, short squatty people like me are not build for sprinting or long distance. Almost all the trainers up at the cc love to run and I give a lot of credit to the friends I have (DaLayne, Kim, Pam,) who have taken up running half marathons in the last couple years. And to the really sick people like Jason, Jeanne, Kathy and Nicole who run more than that. I will keep plugging along on my short little distances because I know “it’s good for me.” Besides I feel like I conquered an Iron Man when I make it a mile without breaking a sweat.

Now, If you haven’t signed up on the fitness challenge. Here’s your chance. Come along beside us and help us make 2010 a healthier year for all of us. If you have, here’s your challenge for the day.–Do something you haven’t done. Last week Erica did a GET Active session with me. It’s a mini session (45 min) with a trainer. Usually there’s one to four others in the group. I think she discovered it wasn’t as painful as she thought it would be and probably a little more fun. There are all sorts of classes to join, or play a game of racketball or try out the stair master in the fitness room. If nothing else, get on your kids’ new Wii and find an activity that gets your heart racing.

Merry Christmas from Black Studios – Rutland South Dakota

We are taking a break from the photography studio and spending time with family. It looks as if we are staying home this Christmas because of the impending snow storm that is forecast to drop up to a foot and a half of the white stuff on Sioux Falls SD and surrounding area. We finished delivery of wedding pictures on Tuesday and senior rave books on Wednesday.

We picked up the last presents yesterday while shopping in Madison and visiting family. Getting around is a little easier this winter with our very used 1988 Ford F250 4 wheel drive pickup. The first thing we did yesterday was to lock in the front hubs and put it into 4 wheel drive. The 460 cu. in. engine eats gas but we had no trouble on the icy roads. We refilled one of the gas tanks this morning. Seven miles to the gallon was the result. I hope we don’t have to use it too often.

The kids were out playing in the snow already. I didn’t know that shoveling snow could be so much fun.

Merry Christmas!

Happy belated birthday to Lisa

Lisa, our trainer at the community center, is a target and pretty good sport for all of the teasing we give her. Her goal in life is to work us hard enough that we are totally spent without causing us injuries. In the last year, Lisa has done a great job of motivating us. As ElizaBeth and I have gotten into better shape, we don’t feel soreness the next day as we once did. That means Lisa is doing something right. We spend many hours in front of the computer and that lack of movement is unhealthy. As we get older, the body doesn’t respond the way we want it to. It’s not easy to turn back time, but we can make slow consistent gains as long as we stick with the program. Having a trainer push you to the next level gives us the greatest returns for the time spent. It also means that we have someone to hold us accountable.

It was Lisa’s birthday a few weeks ago and we gave her a picture as a present. During the halftime of the DSU Homecoming FB game, Lisa and some of her friends were involved in a powderpuff flag FB game of their own. Here is the composite of some of the fun.

Digging out

Dacey and Rachel were excited to get out on Saturday morning and shovel a path to the studio.

The roads were terrible in the morning. The Interstate was still closed as of noon north of Brookings. Getting off the I-29 was a 20 minute ordeal. Trucks were parked everywhere on the side of the highway. The line of cars trying to get off was very long.

The competition prints for the affiliated regional judging at the Northern Light Convention in Fargo arrived a little late. My thanks go out to Jayne Erickson for transporting my print case. The print competition is today.

This morning is so much better than yesterday: you can drive on the roads without any worry.

Not to make anyone nervous but Dad called this morning to ask if I was ready for 8 to 10 inches of more snow later on this week. A few weeks ago I would’ve told him that he was crazy. It’s completely possible after looking outside today. I’m ready for green grass, leaves on the trees and 70 degrees with no wind.

Winter again

Thursday evening right after we lost power.

Blowing snow sticking to the road made the drive home on Friday afternoon difficult.

Beautiful main street Rutland covered in snow.

Ice is our friend!

We are more than three months into our workout program. We are stronger, faster and better than ever before. We are also in pain after Justin at the Community Center in Madison puts us through our paces.

Ice is our friend. It deadens the sore knees and shin splints so we can function the day after our workout.

Has it gotten easier?

Easier is a relative term. The first two months of personal training was an exercise in personal torture, pulled muscles, tweaked joints and sleepless nights – getting up every morning was like the first few scenes of the movie “North Dallas Forty”. In the last few weeks, we’ve discovered that we don’t hurt quite as much. We can lift our arms above our heads without the primeal scream.

Life on the backside of thirty is not easy. The body does not recover as we think it should. Reclaiming youth and turning back the clock is hard…but possible.

The end result will be felt this summer. Weddings are a tough workout. When we do a friday and a saturday wedding, we feel it for a few days. Now it will be easier to bounce back faster.

Ice is our friend.

Starting 4th month

We made fitness an important priority in our lives this year. We are starting our fourth month of serious workouts since the start of the year.

We belonged to the Community Center in Madison for years, but we haven’t used the available facilities and programs. Like most people, we made the change at the start of the new year. We’ve enrolled the services of a personal trainer to help with the process.

You may be thinking that having a personal trainer is a luxury that you can’t afford. In reality, we spend only $20 per hour session to work with Justin. For us, that is money well spent. We are investing in our health so we can enjoy life more.

South Dakota Sports Photography: Madison Girls’ Basketball

We headed to Madison tonight for a Lady Bulldogs game in the Madison Middle School gym.

I met Madison Daily Leader sports editor Dan Hollsworth on the way into the gym. Dan and I’ve been friends for a very long time. I volunteered to cover the game for him. Dan has a full plate ahead of him on Friday with gymnastics. Madison is poised to set a national record if they can add yet one more state title to their collection of 13 in a row.

The Lady Bulldogs took on a very tough Dell Rapids team, but never gave up.

Breanne was one of our seniors from last summer.

We’ve known Marti forever. You can see her on the front cover on this year’s senior brochure.

South Dakota Sports Photography: Rachel’s season is over!

We never knew that basketball could be such a rough and tumble sport at such a young age. Girls are much more agressive than the boys at the elementary school level.

Our family pictures

Photographers are the worst at taking time to have their own family portraits taken.

We’ve been so blessed to have our good friends, the Melby’s in Brookings, take our pictures again this winter.

What is this you say? A photographer bragging up a competitors work!?!?

The photography world is really very small. We may be competitors in business, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Most of the established studios have good social relationships with their peers. Besides the obvious comraderie that is shared, we can count on each other in times of need or emergency. That is great peace of mind when you are your own boss.

Many of us refer work back and forth, especially when we are already booked for a wedding.

Now anytime is a great time to get your family picture taken. So many people put it off until they lose that weight or get that perfect haircut. Years and years can go by without any visual record of your family. Kids grow up and parents grow old and die. So before too many more grey hairs populate your head and your kids graduate and move out, consider making an appointment with the photographer of your choice for your family pictures.

Today we are celebrating 31 straight days of daily entries in our blog. One of our New Year’s resolutions was to blog every day. It isn’t always easy to take the time to share a few images along with a few thoughts. We are also in the midst of another New Year’s resolution that we all make: to get in shape. We are now regular patrons of the Community Center in Madison. Michael is at the mercy of a personal trainer named Justin while ElizaBeth so far prefers to work out without “encouragement.” Ibuprofen is wonderful stuff. So far, it seems to be working and there is less of us than 3 weeks ago. Everyone says that you get used to it after while…They lied. Personal trainers push you harder than you would ever push yourself. The thought does run through your mind: “I am paying someone to push me so hard that I can’t lift my arms at the end of the session. This is not logical.” Not only do they get you stronger, they vary the routine to find your weaknesses. They have found them.

South Dakota Sports Photography: Raider basketball

What a game!

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