Moms of school-aged kids and tweenagers, Oct-Dec 2020

[TonyaK]

I did it! It was a Lindsay Brin called Cardio Abs B. It was only 26 minutes. I am trying to push myself harder since these are short, and since I really want to improve my cardio capacity. I think it's been years now that I feel almost scared to push my cardio too far. I don't know why! I'm just trying to push a little more each day and gradually get better.

I've made a weird observation. About a year ago, I had this horrible sciatica experience. My right quad and hamstring would cramp up for months afterward. I just realized that my right leg is smaller around than my left! I think I had serious muscle atrophy from that time. I can't believe it's still smaller after all this time and doing STS. I measured my thighs last week. Today I could see in the mirror that my right calf is also smaller around. I know I have always been asymetrical, but it went the other way, since my right side is dominant. Just a little weird thing. Also, sometimes I still get a mini cramp in that quad. It feels strange that the effects are so long-lasting.

Pratima, since you are working from home, I might just enjoy the paycheck! Can you do some other things throughout the day, and just check in every so often? I have had jobs where there wasn't enough to do, and I hated it! But they were in offices or stores where I was supposed to look busy all the time, so it felt really annoying.

[Pratima]

Yay Tonya! I'm proud of you. I relate to what you're saying. Honestly I feel like if I push myself too much in certain ways, I'll get injured. Part of it is age, yup, like my joints just aren't as strong. Part of it is that I'm not used to some things that I used to do, like step aerobics (always hurts my back). I suppose we can take baby steps in that direction.

I'm pretty sure I'm asymmetric all over. I remember being measured for something and my arms and legs didn't measure quite the same.

I'm doing exactly that--alternating reading with housework or walks or errands. I put the Teams and MS Office apps on my phone so I get messages. My supervisor has basically said to do that. She knows we're not busy!

I actually just submitted an application online. I admit, I'm not doing to do interviews again. That was exhausting. But I really wanted a job that allowed me to gain some new experience. I'm sure this will eventually, but I am missing some of the technical aspects. All we use is MS Office! But again, I can do some practice and tutorials on my own.

[TonyaK]

Thank you!

Thanks for sharing about your hesitation to push yourself in some ways, too. It is nice to feel like I am not the only one.

This Balanced Body set of workouts uses all light weight. I've used 2lbs, 5lbs, and 8lbs. She calls 8lbs "medium." These are just streaming workouts. I think some of her other ones use a little heavier weights (Pretty Fierce, maybe?) but I am wanting to do what you said and switch between months of heavier and lighter. I may cancel her and do some Cathes after Balanced Body.

Ooh, Les Mills sounds like a good subscription. I will see how I feel after using LB's for a while. I think this is my first streaming sub. So far, I've used it a lot!

I'm glad you are able to use your work-waiting time as you wish, mostly That sounds perfect to apply for other jobs if you find interesting ones, and work on your skills while you have downtime.

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Hi Friends, so sorry I've been so slack about checking in! It's been intense around here, but I escaped yesterday to Philadelphia with a friend. We went to a beautiful Japanese house museum. She is a fellow art person, so we nerded it up, and it was fun. It was great to have time alone in the car, too. I feel like a new woman!

Anyhoo, I've been keeping on keeping with the workouts and PT. I found a Cathe workout from the Low Impact Series that includes pretty much all my PT exercises, so it's great! I've done it twice this week. I am able to get all the PT done, cardio, abs, stretching, lower body all in one swoop! I'm finding it reduces the mental load!

I will write more later with personals, but DS1 has his championship flag football game in a bit. Hope all are well!

[Pratima]

Stephanie, what do you mean by a house museum? Was it an art museum in a house? I spent a semester in Philly in college, what area of town is it in? A getaway would be amazing right now!

TonyaK, Balanced Body ended, right? At least the 4 week thing Lindsay was running. How was it?

I haven't worked out all week because I was hit with some sort of sickness! Definitely not COVID--I got a free test Tuesday and it was negative. Seems like the usual sinus stuff that turns into a cough. I am completely resting and it seems to be going away! Planning to skip workouts until Monday.

Work is still super slow. I've started doing training on LinkedIn Learning. I signed up for a free 30 day trial and will cancel at the end of it. There's a ton of free material there. It's mostly videos and they come with lots of templates and worksheets so it seems worth my time.

With the time change (we don't do DST) it's sort of easier and sort of harder. I got up at 6 or 6:30 this week and honestly wasn't at my computer until I dropped the kids off, so 8 AM. I do turn my phone on right away though. I really think that once I have projects, I still just won't be as busy as at my previous job. We shall see!

The nice thing is that even though the pay is lower, health insurance is free for me. The kids and DH will stay on his and overall it will save us money!

I feel so out of shape already, only having missed 5 days of workouts. Ick! I logged food and was super careful for about 2.5 weeks and it seriously made NO difference. I was the same weight from age 22 to about age 45 so I guess the 4-5 lbs I gained the past couple of years isn't bad. Still, I am annoyed that I just can't seem to get rid of it! 2020, ugh.

[TonyaK]

Hi friends,

I've taken a few days off from workouts. I will get back on track tomorrow! Pratima, I should be done with Lindsay's set but I have 8 days left, since I have skipped some days. This week I had a mysterious big pain in my upper back and then pains in my feet and ankles. I didn't feel like doing any exercise. I'm feeling fine now, and ready to go tomorrow morning.

I think it was a fine set, for streaming. If it were on DVD, I don't think it was polished enough. I doubt I will do it again, but I definitely needed/need something like this to balance out my strength work! I may try another one of her plans after I'm done with this one, but I may want to move to a different instructor.

Stephanie, it's great to hear from you! It's nice that you can do a workout that incorporates your PT! What a great find. I hope you are healing well! I'm so glad you got to spend time with your friend. It is so refreshing to do something different!

Pratima, are you feeling better? I hope you don't have a long-lasting cough this year.
I hope you will get a lot out of LinkedIn Learning.
2020 Ugh is this year's motto

[Pratima]

TonyaK, definitely 2020 ugh! And maybe 2021 too...my MIL was telling DH that things are shutting down there again. Not sure if it's just their city or the whole state. How are things in your area? Schools here are closing again, some for a couple of weeks, others longer. Mysterious pains seem to just be part of the over-40 plague! I remember talking to a friend last year about how we injured ourselves reading for mugs in a high cabinet.

I do feel better! I took all of last week off from workouts and slept in. I did take a 20 minute walk Sunday and jogged a bit. I have a tiny cough but nothing like in previous years.

I went grocery shopping today and felt like I was apocalypse-preparing again. Not that we really did before but there was sort of a certain mentality then--needing to be able to cook with whatever we found and maybe buying things we might not need right away, just in case. I have to say I did grab toilet paper and paper towel when I walked in around 8:20 AM and by the time I left an hour later, it was mostly cleared out.

I have a call tomorrow to scope out a project that I will hopefully get to work on! There are definitely advantages to being paid while waiting for work but I really do want to start on something soon.

I started up Burn workouts again. My contract ends at the end of January, I believe, so I figure I'll do at least 6 more weeks worth. They are definitely good workouts but I don't see myself going back there anytime soon so it's not worth it to pay $100/month for streaming!

Anyone already decorating for Christmas? Some of the houses around here already have!

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Pratima, I'm so sorry to hear about your DD! She looked so disappointed in the picture you posted.

The house museum is called Shofuso and it's in one of the parks on the outskirts of philly. It's a japanese house. I'll post pictures on IG.

Tonya, glad to hear your aches and pains have subsided!

This is just a quickie--I need to get back to helping DS2, but I am just checking in with a few workouts. I've been a little low energy, but I managed to do an express Cathe premix yesterday and today I did my favorite Tracy Mallett.

I went to the doc on Monday and while I have made a lot of progress, the bone is still not fully healed. He's prescribing a bone stimulator, but I just talked to the rep and even with insurance, I would have to pay $600! Hell no! So I need to call the billing people and see if I can talk them down. That's crazy. I mean, the bone should heal eventually, I don't see why I should spend $600. It's ridiculous. So, stay tuned....

[TonyaK]

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm glad to still be chatting with you after about 10 years! I'm thankful that you still welcome me back even though I am so inconsistent about checking in! Thanks for being my fitness friends

I'm still working through that Lindsay Brin set and I just have one workout left! During the kids' break from school I have been doing a Lindsay workout and adding cardio. Then yesterday, i didn't do anything. That felt kind of good, too. Today I did her Power Barre B and her 10-minute Core and Mobility. I want to go for a walk later on. It's in the 40s and sunny, so I think it will be nice with the right coat and maybe a hat.

It's been fun to add on various cardio workouts that I haven't done for a long time. I did a Turbo Fire, the cardio (no blasts) from IMAX 2, and an old Tamilee Webb one.

Stephanie, I'm so disappointed that your collarbone is still not completely healed! Is there anything other than the $600 bone stimulator or just waiting it out? It's so different from a leg bone, where you could stimulate it by putting weight on it and walking around. I hope you will figure out a way to get the stimulator for a more reasonable amount!

Pratima, our school district announced that all kids will learn remotely after Thanksgiving break, until next semester starts in January. That's what I expected. My kids' school didn't have any problems until after Halloween, when lots of people socialized. I was shocked at how well they did until then! Masks, hand washing, and physical distance really work. We have to decide by the 30th if we will keep our kids learning remotely or send them to the school next semester. I think DD especially would learn a lot more if she were at school. Neither of them want to go.

Our area has extra restrictions in place. I don't know precisely what our rules are (since I'm not trying to eat in restaurants or be inside stores much), but I think restaurants can't have any inside seating and all other businesses have to operate at reduced capacity. But everything is not shut down. What is it like in your area? Stephanie, how about you?

We put up two Christmas trees last weekend and are getting out all our indoor decorations. It is nice to add lights and color! We don't usually put up much outside, but we have three lawn inflatables that we'll put out today or tomorrow. I think we have a light net that we throw over a bush. Some of our neighbors have their houses all lit up! Some others still have their Halloween decorations up

I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving! I can hear DD whining, but DH is with her, so I can happily type away in the basement #thankful We will be having our traditional Thanksgiving steaks with mashed potatoes, corn, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie. I have never cooked a turkey, and I might never.

[TonyaK]

I forgot to add that I am also so sad for your DD, Pratima! I hope she heals fast and has a second hobby that could keep her entertained for a while.