TA Meta and everything else - Fall/Winter 2020

[eventmom]

wow ! haven't check in in quite a some time. scrambling at work I guess.

Monday - Caribbean aerobics pilates + some cardio
Tuesday - yoga stretch karen voight
Wednesday - Margaret Richard getting better upper body + 30 min cardio from youtube
Today - Margaret Richard getting better lower body + Charlene prickett cardio

ebianco - omg on your wrist but I guess we can say glad it is not worse than that, falling on ice can be so dangerous. hope you are still feeling somewhat up beat and get cleared for some exercise soon.

Buzzer - we are done with snow. it was around 70 on Tuesday! I won't miss it, I guess it would be okay if I didn't have to wade through drifts to get to the barn and haul manure out to a manure pile. But then again maybe not. Glad you are able to get LB out to her activities. I don't know what I'd do about that type of activity commitment - 4-6 years? Kids change stuff happens. I guess I'd be questioning it too!

[Buzzer]

Body Beast Back and Bis... DONE!

I went a bit lighter on the weights, not maxing out. It was still hard, but not so hard that I was straining to get the last rep. I did notice that I ate about half the calories I need for the day before 10am though. So after the heavy workout, I didn't realize how much I ate to replace it! However, I ate a salad for lunch and watched myself the rest of the day and ended up right on target.

I did some walking and jogging movements between sets, and pushed myself but didn't go all out. I want to maintain the muscle I have, so I will not stop doing my weights. My goal right now is to do what I can for the next 7 months to lose weight. I picked 7 months because that'll be a good length of time to mess up, get back on track, and make it a habit. Plus, with about 30 pounds I want to lose, that will be a good, long length of time to really see if I can without losing so fast that I make myself sick and lose muscle. I really want to preserve muscle.

So instead of pushing myself to try to lift 25's 8 times, I lifted 20's 8 times with a little more ease. I am watching my water, and drinking a LOT more. I didn't realize how little water I was drinking, and how many calories I was getting in with just walking by the smoked almonds and eating a few, or eating Cadbury mini eggs. Oh, wait, still eating too many mini eggs!!

I was feeling like logging every little thing would be daunting, but I guess that was because I was eating too many of the every little things. Now I log everything on my Fitbit app, all the way down to every almond. I don't log my water, but I figure if I drink two bottles (my bottle is 64 ounces) a day, even with sharing with LB, I am doing good. So far that's what I've been doing! It's amazing to me though that with drinking that much, I get intensely thirsty a lot which I didn't do when I was actually dehydrated. That's weird.

Yesterday we stayed around the house. I cleaned the living room and kitchen pretty intensely, we read a lot to each other, and LB got her math and English done. Overall, it was a productive day! We also visited my parents last night. My husband helped them with their printer that wasn't working. It was hard. I finally was getting to a place of feeling more settled and at peace, and it kinda knocked me off that. I was precariously placed there anyhow. However, I cried a little after we left, pulled myself together, and made the decision that it's their choice, I can't change it. I am working on me, like Ebianco said. That's why I'm listening to the podcasts. I need to work on me and settling myself.

Ebianco: so I was thinking of what I would do if my arm was broken and I couldn't workout. I think I would do walking workouts, no matter what. Even if I did them so lightly I didn't sweat. I would have to move! I would also do my Chicometrics (if you have that one. I LOVE him!) and Callanetics stuff because they don't use weight on the arms. Oh, you could do Essentrics too!! I don't know. I would just have to do SOMETHING. HA!

I hope you are doing better though and can get the removable cast!

Eventmom: we only got about 5" this last storm, and the 10 day has 50 degree days in it so it's warming up. I'm tired of the garage. So tired of the garage. Like to the point where I don't even feel like it'll be worth all the crap we've done to get it done when it's done. I am so tired that I am resolved to the fact that I will be happy with a garage, because a house will be 100x worse and I don't even want to deal with that. It's like walking through knee deep mud getting it done. I will be happy with a garage and live in the crap house the rest of my life.

Maybe once I get the crap that belongs in a garage out of the house, I will feel better. That's what I'm counting on.

So anyhow, whenever I see something about migraines, I think of you. If I see any magical (so called) cures, I'll let you know. I'm sure you have tried them all, but I will still pass them on and see if something else can work! Maybe with more eyes on it, we can figure something out. So ridiculous what you are going through. I would think medicine would be more advanced than this.

Today we are schooling, then going to a friends house and karate. I kinda wish I could drop her off at friends houses and go sit and read or just be quiet, but I am always kinda committed to having to sit and chat with the mom. I know it's not a babysitting thing where I can leave her, but it would be nice!! I am not that social, and LB is. It's kinda exhausting.

[Buzzer]

Leslie 5 advanced miles... 3 miles DONE!
GSP RushFit 3 rounds of the ab workout... DONE!

I did the miles, then wanted to do some abs. I looked through my workouts while I was walking/jogging (I have trouble keeping it to a walk and usually do a bouncy jog in place) and realized I hadn't done GSP in forever. So after 3 miles, I put it in.

The first round was more cardio-ish. Some kettlebell moves with one weight, so I used an 8. I did 3 rounds, and it progressively got less cardio and more abs. After 3 rounds I was about out of time, so I ended it there. Pretty good workout though!

We did school then went to se LB's friend. They are such a nice family. We should spend more time with them. I often tell LB "we meet the nicest people" and I really think that's true. So many nice people! We ended the day with karate, and seriously that was our whole day. We didn't get home until about 7, so by the time we ate dinner, it was time for bed. Fastest day ever.

I didn't do so well with the eating yesterday, but that's why I made my goal 7 months instead of 3 or 4!!

Today will probably be shoulders from body beast. Maybe some legs from Margaret or something.

So two nights ago (Thursday night) there was seriously a crime spree in our area. I have always felt pretty good about where we live, if DH leaves the door unlocked, I wake up in the morning, see it and think "oh well."
So last night, there was a car stolen across the valley (maybe a mile away), plus the people up the street from us, about 2 houses away, had their car stolen!! It was found like a block away from their house, right in front of our neighbors house. They found a black hat that has a gang name on it in our neighbors yard (the one who had their car stolen). So we are thinking a gang has realized how we are unincorporated, in the hills, and the police aren't on constant patrol up here, and decided it's a good place to come up and do their crimes.

We have a camera outside our house and two big dogs, plus a fence all around our property and gates on our driveway, so I feel better than if we were completely exposed. But it's still horrifying to think that a gang is up here in our little tucked away community

So last thing last night I locked all our doors, and first thing this morning I turned on the outside lights to make sure our cars are there. It was too dark to see DH's so I'll check that at sunrise. So sad that I even have to think that.

Waves to you guys!

[eventmom]

friday - some cardio I found on youtube + karen voight yoga strength
today - chicometrics

so Buzzer you mentioned this one recently so I pulled it out. It was tougher for me than in the past and I need to remember about it when I don't want to lift. So sorry to hear about the crime in your area - that would be scary but with your gate and dogs I think you are unlikely to be hit but still scary. I hope the garage helps and I honestly think it will. We struggle in NM b/c it's 900 ft-sq and no garage so all kinds of things have to live in the house.

hi ebianco!

[Buzzer]

Body Beast... rest of the build week... DONE!
Some Leslie Miles... DONE!
Linda Lounge Series inner & outer thighs.... DONE!
Walk each dog individually... DONE!

So I finished out the week. Lighter weights by about 5 pounds on each set, walking between sets. For legs, I did Linda's inner/outer thighs because that's the one that works my abs like crazy too! After that day, I really felt all the muscles around my hips/glutes and my abs a lot!! I love that workout.

Since my muscles were so sore the next day, I did extensions and curls the next day. That was about all I could do for my legs after that workout!

I did lots of Leslie miles, both listening to podcasts and listening to Leslie. Yesterday I slept in late (!!!!) until 7am so I skipped my workout time. However LB and I took Eugene for about a 1 mile walk (maybe a bit more), then LB, DH and I all took Otis for the same walk. So we walked about a mile each dog, 2 miles total. Ish.

We also spent yesterday cleaning out the bookcase with our homeschool stuff in it. That ended up with LB and I cleaning another bookcase because I decided to move some books we don't use to another bookcase. So that bookcase needed to be rearranged and cleaned up. That lead to books that needed to be in LB's room, so we had to tidy up and go through her books in her room. It took a few hours! We have a lot of books. Less now though!! After that I tidied up the fireplace mantle. Then we had to go get Eugenes medicine, return some clothes that didn't fit LB. She shot right from size 5 to size 7, so all the 6's we bought I had to return.

Then we went to karate. So we ended up with a busy day! It was really good though. The living room looks better with all that organized! More to do today, probably while LB does some school and violin.

We have gotten a little further on the garage, although it's all busy work so it's not moving up, but rather we are doing rebar stuff. It's at a height that's uncomfortable for me, which is really, really frustrating for me. Probably DH too.
So we spent part of the weekend working on that.

I am trying to keep my workouts kinda low key, where I feel good after them rather than going for the soreness and maximum reps/ weights. I am eating less, logging my food, and drinking water like a champ. I admit I am not eating the best I can, however my goal is first to eat the calories and not more, then my goal will be to eat better within that calorie range. It is actually stressing me out less doing it this way!! Plus, I am naturally making better choices because I know if I make really bad choices for breakfast, by dinner I don't have many calories left for dinner and that frustrates me. So, I am gradually making better choices early on so I can have calories left over by the evening to eat more and not be hungry.

It interests me because I usually get stressed by trying to eat better. My brain goes into "I can't have WHAT??" mode. Now I feel almost like I am tricking it into eating better. why didn't I think of this years ago!!???!!

No weight loss, just feeling better though. Not as bloated, because I am avoiding gluten still, eating less sugar naturally to save calories, and not snacking as much.

I am trying to relax myself, refocus my brain, and quiet myself more. I have been feeling really stirred up for.... oh, 8 years and I am trying to calm and quiet my mind and body. I used to be a lot more centered and focused, and I am trying to get back to that.

Sorry I'm not checking in that much, I honestly don't know why I am not!! I think of it, think I do, then realize it's been days since I did. Weird. Time gets away from me. I am also still listening to podcasts while I workout that are helping me feel better. I guess even if I don't lose weight, I am doing some good for me!

Eventmom: That's what DH and I are thinking. We are more protected because of the fence and gates. The dogs I hope help, but they sometimes sleep through a lot!! I was worried about our garage construction area getting hit, but so far so good. We have it pretty blocked from the street with DH's truck and some of the blocks. I have been watching and listening, but haven't heard of anything else happening so I wonder if it was a gang that was just dropping people off to steal what they can for a night, then leaving before the cops patrol more and people gear up and protect themselves.

Honestly, I think it also helps that DH stays up until like 10 or 11pm, and I wake up at 3 or 4 am. Not many hours that our house is quiet!

I am kinda at the point where the garage build has been so tedious and frustrating that I am coming to peace that I will be happy with the garage and live in this house, as long as the stuff that should be in a garage (that is currently in our house) goes into the garage. It will make the house less cluttered to have the LB's car batteries, RC cars, her bike, scooter, the tools, beach stuff we only use in the summer, extra whatevers out in the garage instead of in the house.

I told DH I would rather have someone else, or a crew, build the outside walls of the house (since I figured up, we got the foundation dug in November 2019, blocks delivered in I think July of 2020, and we are only about 2/3 done with the garage) and we just do the finishes. He disagrees. I can look at it as his hobby, however it takes a lot of time and energy to do the outside walls. By the time we build the house we need, we won't need it anymore. LB will be older and what we need, we won't need anymore. Plus, I don't want all her memories of growing up being building the house and garage, and then never getting to enjoy it as she moves out and on with her life. She will never want to build anything again!

So I guess that's where I am. Put our crap in the garage, make the best of where we are, and deal with it. I hate, hate, hate this house, but I guess sometimes you are not meant to live somewhere you like or love.

I hear ya on the small house with no garage though! I haven't had a garage to put my car into since 1993! I will be so excited to finally not have to clear snow off the car and not have to warm it up completely in below zero temps. Or have it so hot when we get in we can't touch anything. I will also be happy to have space for LB to play with her friends! So much I will be happy with when the garage is done.

Ebianco: I hope your wrist is doing good. I keep thinking of you, and wondering what I would do. Hopefully you got the removable cast and can do a bit more now! Also hope the situation with your sister is getting a little easier for you. I know my situation with my parents is getting a little easier, I think I am adjusting to the fact that I can't do anything about it. I am not at peace with it, not by a long shot, but I can't do anything about it. Like you said, I can't control their decisions. That's a hard one for me. To see people you love making such horrible and hard decisions, and not be able to do anything about it.

They talk like it's their only option... however they barely bothered to look here, take their time, and realize they are not homeless once their house sells. They could stay with any of their kids, or a hotel, or even rent an apartment or small house until they find what they want. They chose not to, and I need to understand that was their choice.

So I am not helping drive them out. I have to say I am relieved! It would have been driving them out, and they wouldn't even have their new house ready until the 25th. I would have had to deal with their moving stress, plus whatever drama goes on there while they wait. This way, I don't have to live through the stress and drama, and I can go there once they are settled and visit. hear about it in hindsight. It's not easy moving, people will (and are) taking advantage of them. The movers wrote on contract to charge them a crap ton of money to leave their stuff in Florida until they get their house. Apparently they verbally told my Dad they won't charge him that. He told my sister he "hopes they stick to what they said." WHAT??? No, they won't. They will go by the paper contract.

DH told me to stay out of that one. I kinda agree, however if my Dad tells me that story I will tell him to get it in writing. My parents have a tendency to believe whoever is nice to them. They think people are their friends (their realtor, the house builder of their current house, people like that) and the people end up just really being fair-weather friends. I wish they'd learn, but they are old. What can I do.

Anyhow, I'm working on all that, getting to a place of peace. I need to realize these aren't my problems. That's hard.

So that's my long and tangenty checkin today! Working on myself, working on what I can live with, working on letting go of situations and problems I can't control or aren't mine. Plus working on myself, losing weight, re-centering, drinking water and eating less. It's a lot.

[eventmom]

monday - christy taylor spice for 20 min + floor barre
today - qi gong (like 9 minutes) + 30 min essentrics stretch

buzzer - I get not wanting to build a house. I don't know how you would do it with your husband's work commitments. We are no not handy we would never even attempt it. We have 2000 ft-sq and with DD gone it seems like we could be down 500 ft and be fine but we have a garage and overflow in the barn. It is hard to watch your parents move and feel like they are setting themselves up for surprises.

ebianco - hope you are doing ok!

[Buzzer]

Leslie 4 mile walk (weight loss? slim down?)... DONE!
Body Beast Bulk Chest... DONE!

So I did one mile of Leslie, then paused for a set of chest, then restarted. When I felt ready to go again, pause, do a set, restart. So I did my weight lifting during mile 2 and 3, then finished out Leslie. I worked out for almost an hour and a half, but it was fun! I didn't work terribly hard, I dropped my weights by about 5-10 pounds. usually I do 40 pounds in each hand for some of the chest presses, the heaviest I picked up yesterday was 30's.

It was good, fun, and stress free. Listened to podcasts during my workout on my phone, had Leslie on the TV turned down, and did Body Beast. I was using all my media sources

Today I am thinking of doing that Linda leg workout again (the lounge room one I love so much) and probably some extensions and curls. I am not crazy about the body beast legs, I hate working legs, so finding a leg workout I enjoy I am gonna stick to it for now!

We were crazy busy yesterday, homeschool gym, karate and awanas. I forgot about awanas so during dinner we got some of the awanas stuff done. I know a lot of it was playtime, but man, it was non-stop! I need a break today. Luckily all we have planned is violin lessons, so we can get other stuff done again. I promised LB we'd try to get half of the shed cleared out so she can have it to play in with her friends. We have this big shed that is full of stuff, we don't even remember we have. LB needs somewhere to play, and we have an awesome play place that is sitting there holding things we don't even remember we have. So I told her we are going to get rid of stuff and move her into half of it.

I may have over promised, but I think it's something we have to do!

We don't want to go through our own crap, what makes us think someone else will after we are gone? So I will do it. I know a lot of it is tools, which isn't my place to say "keep" or "get rid of", but I will do what I can.

I also want to go through some more of the house. Going through the bookcases made them feel so much better, I now want to start going through other stuff. So much I want to do.

Eventmom: This house was icky but OK when we moved in before LB. I didn't like the layout, or the only one bathroom, but it was OK. Since LB and toys and stuffed animals moved in, it just doesn't work. We need a linen closet, coat closet, mudroom for all our backpacks/coats/shoes/snow clothes/work boots/muddy things from working on the garage. It's all just piled inside the front door since we don't have a coat closet or mud room. Always on display like fine works of art.

We need a second bathroom, a guest room, a kitchen peninsula I don't have to run all the way around and back to get to the kitchen... an office for DH, a play place for LB, a study room or quiet area for LB, even a school room would be nice since again, all our school stuff is on display like art. I'd love a place to hang a white board. We have no place for a dining room, or even a kitchen table, so we have this super nice dining room table that is shoved into a weird place and we don't use. We eat sitting on the couch or chairs in the living room. I'd love to be able to host a holiday at our house, but we have no room and no where to sit to eat. Get the adults in here, plus the large adult kids, and the house becomes so tiny.

However, once the kids move on with their lives, get married, possibly move, my sisters have said they will move where their kids are. Plus LB grows up and moves out, we will be back to just needing this house for the two of us. All our needs are more immediate. The house will, at best, not be started until at the earliest a year or more after we finish the garage (hopefully this summer), and since we dug our foundation for the garage in November 2019 and are still not done, I would guess the house will take much, much longer. The garage is just walls and minor finishings, a house is walls and finishings so you can actually live in it and be comfortable. That will take us long into LB's adulthood and I have zero desire for her childhood to be building a home for us to live in while she grows up and not taking vacations, family time that isn't garage or house building, and a nice yard that isn't mud and dirt hills.

I don't even know why we are doing it if it takes that long. Call me a negative Nancy, but I need to figure out how we can live now. So, I will be tossing/donating/giving away things. Finding room where I can!

Ugh. I guess I need to listen to more podcasts on being happy. HA! I can talk myself into "I'm good with it" but in reality, I am not. So I guess I need to give up my dream of a house and figure this part out.

Maybe I'll start planning a little road trip for LB and I at least so we can say we went somewhere, since we haven't taken a vacation in about 2 years now. We used to go at least once a year, usually had trips planned all year. Now we stay at home and work on the garage.

Ok, guess it's time for me to go listen to podcasts and try to work myself out of this. Learn to be Ok with it. HA! I suck at this positive outlook crap I guess!!

[eventmom]

today - essentrics sculpting meant to do cardio but the plumber was coming to repair something and never got back to it.

Buzzer - I'm not sure you're being negative, just realistic about the challenges and time frame. I certainly hope once the garage is done and you can move garage stuff to the actual garage it will help. Our house in NM has no garage and having the ladder, tiles, tools, etc etc in the 900 ft-sq is annoying! It sounds like cleaning out the shed to make a play area for LB is a great idea. Two for one - get rid of unnecessary things and make a space of LB.

hi ebianco!

[Buzzer]

Linda Lounge room inner & outer thighs.... DONE!
extensions and curls... DONE!

I love that inner and outer thigh workout. My abs also get a great workout, so it's a bonus! I don't use a stool like she does... that's crazy. I barely get my leg off the floor for crying out loud! I do my best though, position my upper body like she does, and do what I can. I am always sore after this workout though!

I added on extensions and curls to make it a complete leg day. Nothing fancy or too hard, but a good workout.

LB and I spent most of the afternoon clearing out the trailer, where we had a bunch of clothes from when she was tinier stashed. I packed up 4 bags for goodwill, one for my BF's kid who is 2, and one for me that I don't necessarily want now, but perhaps if I ever do lose weight. You know, wish clothes I can't part with.

When my Grandfather (Dzia Dzia) died, my sister asked for these lamps. They aren't pretty, they are nice, but not my style at ALL. They are white ceramic with angels on them and are from the 50's. I remember my Mom telling me she got her Mom (my Bushia) a lamp she loved, however she only bought one. When her Mom said she wanted 2, they went looking for another and couldn't find it, so my Bushia returned the nice lamp and got these since there were 2. So apparently neither my Bushia or my Mom were very attached to the lamps, so why I've been holding onto them since 1993 or 1994 when my Dzia died, I have no idea.

So anyhow, my sister asked for them, and somehow she never got them and I ended up with them (typical for her, she's the one I don't talk to anymore). So yesterday I finally packed them up for goodwill. Even LB scrunched up her nose at them. I have other stuff from my grandparents I like much better than I will pass on to her, I don't want her to think she's stuck with ugly lamps!!

So we spent the rest of the afternoon in the shed, moving boxes and boxes of books! I don't know why DH wants to keep so many boxes of books... I think I moved about 15 boxes yesterday of books and will move more tomorrow or whenever the weather gets better. I opened up about 1/3 of the space for LB that I want to. Enough to fit the rocking chair comfortably. There's still probably 30+ boxes (those plastic bins) of papers and books to move, but I feel like we made progress!!! I was exhausted though. So much so that when I was getting out of the shed, we have to climb over some flooring I got for free and want to put in the laundry/pantry area. So as I was climbing over, I got stuck. I couldn't lift my leg over to the other side to get out of the shed. LB climbed back over, helped me lift my leg over the flooring. I was exhausted!

I sat in the massage chair and took a nap while I got a massage. My whole body aches!! Of course I didn't sleep any better last night because of it. I will probably just do some stretching or walking today for my workout.

I didn't log calories yesterday either, because I knew I was off the rails. Today I am back at it.

It's supposed to snow today, which is good because otherwise I'd spend all day in the shed again. Also bad, because I want to get the shed done! Tomorrow is nicer though, and the weekend is back into the high 50's, almost 60's. So it's kinda just one day of cold.

Eventmom: YES! Everything is in the house. It makes me crazy. I remember reading once a looooong time ago that even a museum doesn't display everything it has all at once. I used to pack things up and rotate out my "displays". I have been thinking of that lately and brought in some empty bins. I told LB we will go through today and figure out what we want to display and put everything else into the bin. Then in 6 months or whenever we think of it, we can rotate things out. I am thinking of taking one of our outdoor storage bins for cushions and putting some of the stuff like RC cars and some of the smaller outdoor things in it. I hate hiding things like that, because it seems like out of sight out of mind, and we forget we have it to play with it. But I am so tired of everything being in the house!!!!!!!!!

Waves Ebianco! Hope you are doing well and healing!

[Buzzer]

Some walking with Leslie... DONE.
stretching for sure! DONE.

Man, I was sore from all the lifting at the trailer and shed!! My whole body ached. So I did some walking with Leslie. I kept it so super low that even Leslie looked like she was running a sprint compared to me. I did about 3 miles with her, listening to a podcast, then stretched. Man, I needed all of it! I was pooped. I thought about giving up about 10 minutes in, but decided the alternative was sitting on the couch and doing nothing, so I kept going. I kept it so low though.

Today I feel better and will probably attempt some back work.

Apparently, my fit prime idea has fizzled. I hopefully will get back to it!

Yesterday it snowed most of the day, so we did a stay inside day. School, reading to each other (LB read me Calvin and Hobbes cartoons), and watched "Dynasties" which was a cool BBC documentary about animals and what they go through to live in the wild.

I actually slept almost. 7 hours last night... however it was very disjointed since the dogs woke me up at about midnight to go out, then I fell asleep on the couch and let them back in at about 2am. Eugene was excited "LET ME IN!" Otis was curled up on the deck staring off into the distance. Usually he gets cold first, so when he realized I was actually letting them in and didn't abandon him, he jumped up and ran inside. I felt bad, I only meant to fall back asleep for an hour or so. they have big heavy coats on, so they were OK though.

Eugene has been sleeping every night next to the bed, next to me. I love that. Otis has been trying to figure out his place in the bedroom, but so far he starts out just inside the door but doesn't last. I think he wants to be in there, but can't find where he's comfortable.

Today is snow on the ground, but it's supposed to start melting. This weekend is somewhat nice. We have a few nice days, then we get this 4 days of constant snow Wednesday through Saturday, so it'll be a struggle to get things done again. I'm hoping to get more of the shed done before then though!

I packed up some stuff we had "on display" yesterday to be moved out to the shed or trailer, for future rotation back on to display. I have to do more today. Not that I did a lot, maybe 7 or 8 things, but enough to make a bookcase we have look less cluttered.

Hope you guys are having a good week!