Linda - you are back on track - and doing great! You have done an awesome job losing almost 60 lbs. You deserve a big WOW as well. And now that you are feeling better, and the weather has GOT to cooperate pretty soon - it will be 70 lbs. before you know it :)

Gail - you are getting so close to your goal. You are an inspiration, for sure :)

Hello to everyone else - I hope you had a great Monday. Our weather was frightful, but since school was canceled, I actually got quite a bit of work done (without the phone ringing off the hook). :)

We are starting to plan our trip to TN. Trying to find what hiking trails will be best (and passable) in the Smokey Mtns. the end of March.

Whereabouts in Tenn. are you going, CountingDown? I've been to Cookeville, I think it was, and to the east of there, for a Buddhist retreat.

Jay

Just outside Knoxville - Louisville and Friendsville (seems like every community in that area is a "ville" :lol:

I've been to the airport in MEM. At that time, it was pretty much a shrine to Elvis.:lol:

:wave:

Quick flyby to say hello. Hope your day is going well. Where is everyone today?

C'mon now, folks! Let's see some action! :lol:

A couple things I wanted to mention. One is about the economic stimulus rebate here in the U.S. To get this rebate, a person must file a tax return. This is the case even if normally someone does not have to file--because of low income, non-taxable income, etc. So, if you know any U.S. folks who are retired or on disability, and haven't had to file in the past, let them know about this. No tax return--no check. That's how IRS is handling it.

Another thing that's come up is that one of my friends in her 80s has had her husband pass away in the last month. She's having trouble with one of his sons (from a previous marriage) in that this son, who is in his 50s, is way too interested in the terms of the will, his dad's personal possessions, etc. Of course, the will leaves everything to my friend. I told her that if he asks her any more questions, she should refer him to her lawyer.

It is just so obvious sometimes when children are interested in Mom's or Dad's money! I have a few tax clients where their kids might as well wear T-shirts saying "We want the cash."

Have a good day, everyone!

Jay

Hi gang . . . :wave:

Well, there won't be any outside activity for me today -- we got another inch of snow overnight, but I think it's just there to act as padding for the ICE STORM that's supposed to start this afternoon. :mad: No two words can strike more terror into the northern heart than those. Even the people who actually enjoy Winter, admit they'd be happy never to see ice falling from the sky. :p

Good day to stay at home -- just hope the ice doesn't knock out the power lines. Another good reason to stay home -- found out yesterday that I need to have a root canal and I'm now taking a round of penicillin to knock down the current infection so they can do the RC as soon as possible, and (as often happens with antibiotics) my system is 'objecting'. :o

Hope the rest of you are having a better day than we are . . . keep things moving and shaking enough for all of us -- those that are able to get out and about. See you later . . . :grouphug:

OK, confession time - for the first time EVER, I was distracted (late for a training session - and I was the trainer) and I locked my keys in my car. The school was 2+ miles from my house. So, I walked home to get DH's keys. Which he took to work (??? he walks, so why he would have my car keys in his pocket is a mystery). So I walked to the hospital, met him after work, and we walked to my car. About 4.5 miles on the snow/ice covered sidewalks. AND - the best part - I wasn't tired when I got home. :woohoo:

Jay - thanks for the reminders. I mentioned the same to my mom - who does not normally file a tax return. Many senior organizations will fill out tax forms for free.

You are so right about the money thing. I have a long sordid tale that I won't share about greed and family members. It can bring out the WORST in people!

Linda - sorry to hear about your weather and your tooth. My personal experience with root canals (all 5 of them) is that they aren't that bad at all. People have horror stories about them, but all of mine were no worse than having a filling done.

Happy hump day! Hope you have a wonderful Thursday!

I've only had one previous Root Canal experience and it was horrendous -- freezing wouldn't take; face swollen like a beachball -- hopefully this one will be better. :crossed:

Good Morning Everybody . . . :wave:

Well . . . our Weird Weather patterns are still going strong . . . Yes we did get lots of lovely ice on top of yesterdays snow and things were pretty awful out there for a while -- then, overnight, it rained buckets and the temperature went way up and -- this morning, no sign of any snow or ice remains and the sun is shining. :dunno:

Hey, it's a good thing (I think) and it's also good that my stomach problem seems a little more settled this morning too so I've decided to do the Thursday Mall-Crawl after all. Hope the 'settled' state continues. :crossed:

Hope you all have a good day on the go . . . :carrot:

CountingDown--bummer about the keys! I'm glad you got a good walk out of it, but still... what a drag.

I've got plenty to do today, and so I'm not quite as chatty as sometimes. I've been getting to the gym, though! :cheer2:

:wave:
Jay

:wave: . . . HI

I misplaced my car keys last Sunday. A major, major aggravation. I didn't really even get any exercise out of the episode.

My DH's daughter is one of those that is looking for $$$$. We have all of our affairs in order, so she will just have to take what she gets. I told her that if she causes DH to have a heart attack and die from giving her so much $$$ already, that she will have me to deal with and I won't be nearly so gererous!! Words like that just go right over her head. She is going to be 40 this year and still acts like a teenager.

I am still congested and coughing, although by now, I feel pretty much normal. I gather that this is par for the course of the particular virus going around right now.

I did manage to get on my stair stepper for a while today. This represents great progress on my part!

OOH this makes me mad. Why do offspring think they have the right to their parents' money! It is their parents' money and not theirs! The best thing I can imagine about this is that the parents succeed in timing everything just right so that they spend all their money before they go. My perception is that it commonly happens that they save for things that they hope they will never need, like extreme hospital expense, nursing home expense etc., and when they don't need it, it goes to the kids, but it's not like something the kids should just expect. That makes as much sense to me as thinking you are entitled to use your parents' spleens or something. It is as annoying as people who don't have money so they want to marry someone rich. If someone wants to have more money then they should do something on their own that will get them more money. Don't aspire to get it by mooching off someone else's money. Grrrrr.

And another thing: Why do people think that the little sparse benches in the locker rooms are for the purpose of putting gym bags and water bottles on??? So here are these benches full of gym bags and water bottles and I'm standing next to one, trying to put on my leotards while standing up and balancing on one leg, using one arm to balance against the lockers, and the other to hold the garment, and I'm flopping around like an idiot while an inanimate object with no butt gets to sit on the bench. Grrrr.

Ok, I'll stop for now.

LOL - Jo - thank you for sharing your lockeroom perspective. You are so right! I've been known to move one of those gym bags to sit down, and then put it back when I am done. I'm not so great at putting on leotards standing up.

Gail, hope you are feeling better soon.

Jay - congrats on continuing your gym workouts! You are an inspiration!

Linda - glad you are feeling better! Hope the mall walk went well :)

I'm hoping life slows down just a bit soon. I did find an out fit for the dinner cruise - sale racks are wonderful things :) I got through all of my teacher and parent training events this week, which was fun, but exhausting. Step-father is out of the hospital, but still not doing very well. Mom is a wreck. Wish we were closer. It is so hard not to be there to help. Very glad we have tickets to fly down for spring break! And I'm thankful that my brother is there to help.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Stay strong!

Laurie

Checking in between folkaerobics and the gym. I came to work for folkaerobics (that is: playing the songs on my iPhone, smashing bowling pins together, running, skipping, forward, backward, sideways, kicking, stepping, all up and down this long hallway at work. No one else is here so I feel free to do anything.) I like this so much more than the hamster wheel machines at the gym. I was just thinking -- I read a lot about the advantages of free weights over the Nautilus type machines, and I can understand that; it makes sense that if you have to control everything on your own that you are using more muscles, and developing more coordination and balance. So, wouldn't that also be true with the cardio parts of the workout? I mean, if someone does one cardio machine all the time, like the elliptical or the bike, they are stuck in one place making their legs move around in one way, so it seems they would not be getting as thorough of a workout as they would if they did my folkaerobics hodgepodge (I hate that word - "hodgepodge") of various movements that are all over the place.
Ok, pals - later - time to pump some element number 26.

jo

Hi Everybody . . . :wave:

Had to rush off to town for something at 8 am and the trip was awful -- we are having torrential rains and very mild (for us) temperatures and this has resulted in fogggggggg. I am glad to be home again.

You know, JO, I think you are very correct -- especially about the free weights being much better for balance (of which I have so little :lol:) Don't see why the same thing wouldn't be true for aerobic stuff. :yes:

Well, times awasting and I'd better get myself moving and shaking . . . :carrot:

Jo - I agree with you. I really think my body responds better when I mix it up with my aerobic workouts as well as my weights. Doing different activities uses different muscles, or different combinations of muscles - which means I can find new and exciting ways to be sore ;)

Linda - I hate those rains this time of year. Then when it gets cold again and freezes ... Stay safe and warm and dry!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend! I'm off to get some laundry and cleaning done :(

Hi folks,

I was out of town yesterday (Saturday) doing tax returns in my old community--having moved this past summer. I do still have a handful of clients down there. It was a long and tiring day. :faint:

I can see the pros and cons of both free weights and nautilus machines. I use them both. The machines are good for working some muscles--e.g., the hamstrings. I know of no way to work those muscles with free weights. Also, I prefer to do a sitting leg press than squats with a barbell.

I agree that the aerobic machines do have a pretty set movement--even if you use their "random hill" setting or something like that. That's why I use different machines every day. I used to like to take step aerobics classes--anyone do those? You really have to think!

Spiny, I can't see you doing anything the way it's "supposed" to be done. ;) You're just not that kind of mouse! (Oh--except I bet you do follow procedures in the lab...) I like your "folkaerobics"!

I'd rather not go to the gym today, but I'm going to go anyway.

See ya!
Jay

Hi Pals -
Step aerobics - yes, you really do have to think, and fast. That is why I prefer to do my own thing. I found that in the step classes I was standing there mystified more than moving around, which is not the goal. So on my own I might not be perfectly equal in the number of times I move my right leg vs. my left leg and the times I point toward the front vs. the back vs. the right vs. the left, but there is no one there to care.
Chi ball challenges my mind to body movements just about as much as is my limit at this time!
I think I have a Chi Bunny.
Yep. I bought some books at Borders and the clerk said I could get this dumb stuffed animal bunny for only 5.99 because I had 3 items, and normally it would be 12.99, and isn't it a cute bunny, and i could go to the bunny rack and pick my own bunny, and the weirdest thing is that although I don't like cute useless ornaments, I got a bunny. Can you believe that????
I think it's going to be a Chi Bunny. That is, it will substitute for the Chi Ball in my at home dancing and miscellaneous movements. I don't know what else it could possibly be for. A bunny. Sheesh. I don't know what is wrong with me sometimes.
Speaking of such, today I ate a goose egg. I don't like eggs but I get suckered into funky things, like the dude selling goose eggs at Farmers Market. Oh wait, I didn't mean I got suckered into the dude himself.

Have a good day everyone -

jo

Jo! :rofl: goose egg, bunny-- is Easter in the air? :rofl:

Jay

Jay - congrats on your gym workout! You are doing so great consistently going since joining your new gym! I'm not sure I would be as faithful as you are!

Jo - LOL - So glad you are posting this weekend! You make me smile with your wonderful wit and sense of humor. Chi bunny - probably an excellent use for it, actually. I mentioned once 30 years ago that I never had any stuffed animals as a child. We moved frequently, and had very few possessions that traveled with us. Consequently, people started buying me stuffed animals. I have bags of the critters. They were gifts, so I don't like to part with them. I finally started donating some, and kept my favorites. DH still buys me one every Christmas. My giraffes, platyus, polar bears, kangaroo, and penguin are my actually on my dresser.

Have a great start to the week everyone! I'm starting to get my things packed for the Chicago trip. It looks like the weather might even be "nice" :D

Good Morning . . . :grouphug:

Time changes are so not me . . . almost all I did yesterday was sleep. Mind you, I spent enough time playing with my new Wii system to give myself a very sore right wrist. :) Boy do I ever need to practice -- my current Wii fitness age is 76 :o and I absolutely suck at everything except bowling (on Wii Sports) and target shooting (on Wii Play). Absolutely :love: cow racing game (on Play) even though I'm so terribly bad at it that I can't even keep my cow on the race track most of the time. :lol:

At least we did not get hit too badly by the latest storm and today is cold and :sunny:. Hope this weather pattern will continue for a few days at least.

Guess I'd better go and get some moving and shaking done . . . see you later, everybody . . . :wave:

CD - wow, no stuffed animals as a child -- now I feel better that I did not get both Pixie AND Dixie for Christmas when I was 4.

Linda - Cow Racing sounds fun!

Jay - Easter! I hadn't even thought about it but yes, it is almost time for Easter! I have an Easter hat (that you can't tell from the picture but it has a ribbon around it and some dried up flowers in it) and an Easter Wig. Why is it an Easter wig, you may ask? Well, it's a long story, so never mind. But on Easter I get my easter basket and fill it up with Fortune Eggs. I have always wanted to make fortune cookies with my own goofy fortunes in them, but I could never succeed in making them right, so I wait for Easter and make Fortune Eggs. They don't have normal fortune cookie fortunes in them, but stupid things like "You are the Ayatollah of Disco" and no two are alike, and then I go to the local hangouts particularly one where there is live entertainment, and I distribute these fortune eggs. I just love Easter. This pic is from 2004. Apparently all the eggs are gone from the basket already. Maybe this year I can incorporate the bunny in the routine.

bodyrail?
 

Hi again Pals -
I went to a class at the gym called "gravity" and it was positively the best, and the hardest, workout I have ever done. I would like to continue to use this form of torture device. However, this class costs extra, and is not included with the gym membership. It's $10 per class. The class only has a max of 5 people because they only have 5 gravity machines. The gravity machine is the commercial grade of what is offered for home use as the Total Gym. I did some googling and found there is another product called Bodyrail, which is substantially less expensive than the Total Gym but is supposed to be sturdier, and of higher quality, but works on the same principle. I guess Total Gym has to pay for all their infomercials with Chuck and Christie so they're more expensive. But the bodyrail is still not cheap! If I get the high end model of bodyrail, that's $500 plus $90 to ship it, and if I want the pilates package that's another $100 so we are now up the cost of 69 Gravity classes at the gym. So now it gives me something to think about (would I use it at home? where would I put it? How much in the way would it be? How much of a hassle to put away and dig it out? ) It still wouldn't replace the gym because I like going to some of the other classes like Chi Ball and Pilates which are included in the gym membership, and the pool. So I don't know. Anyone heard about Bodyrail?
jo

Hey JO . . . got a link to a Bodyrail site? I've not heard of it, but I'm interested in seeing what it looks like . . . did you check our Exercise Forum to see if anybody knows about it?

I searched 3fc for any posts on bodyrail but it came up with zero. Here's a link.

http://www.bodyrail.com/index-total-gym.html

Looks and sounds good and a real bargain at 1/3 of the cost of Total Gym. Maybe you should spring for a few sessions at the gym to decide if you really want to make that investment though. Personally, I've always wanted a Smith Machine with all the bench attachments, but way too pricey and way too big and heavy too.

You might want to ask the mods in EXERCISE/FITNESS -- Mel, Meg, Ilene -- if they have any feelings on it.

The thing about buying a few sessions at the gym is that you have to buy a package. 5 sessions for $60, or 10 sessions for $100. (The first class just to try it out was free.) So If I'm going to lose 60 - 100 bucks I'd rather lose it toward actual ownership of the gizmo. I'm going to measure some floor space when I get home. I live in a cottage designed to house a dwarf.

Hey Jo,

Why do you think of "losing" the money? It's really a gain, isn't it? If I were in your position, I'd take the 5 or 10 classes, and if I completed all the classes and still liked the machine, I'd consider buying one.

I've bought too many home machines just to have them sitting there after awhile because I stopped using them...

Jay

I'm with Jay and Linda on this one. Get one package of classes. See if you still like it after those are done. My exercise bike and my treadmill are no more. However, wed did use the octagym and airwalker until they absolutely fell apart. We got enough use out of the wall mounted weight stack to feel that it was a good investment, and we still use the Body Solid multi-station machine several times per week. My Gazelle on the other hand is probably destined for the yardsale pile if I don't get back on it soon.

Hope you all had a great day! Packing for the Chicago trip. Thanks to everyone for the advice on what to wear on the dinner cruise. I got word back from the social director for the conference - the word was "dressy". Not formal. I found a great ankle-length black knit skirt, matching top and black, gray & silver jacquard jacket. Wally World had some beaded kitten-heel pointy toed shoes half price (I don't care for pointy-toes, but these aren't too bad). I'm one of those odd-ducks - I'm not much into shoes. 4 pair should be enough for anyone - workout - walking, everyday, dress, and a pair of comfy sandals. OK, throw in a pair of hiking boots too (do those count as shoes?)

Good Morning . . . :wave:

Another cold and :sunny: one is shaping up, but I have no definitive plans for out and about stuff as yet.

Hope you have a fun trip, Laurie . . . and even though I'm not in your range with the home equipment, I know what you mean -- my treadmill lives in the garage; my rebounder is about to join it out there; so far I'm still using my Gazelle. :shrug:

Hope everybody has fun plans today . . . keep things moving and shaking . . . :carrot:

CD - you mentioned a wall-mounted weight stack. This bodyrail has a wall-mounted option. I wonder how that works -- does it put a bunch of holes in the wall?
My place is just too small for this thing, but now I am entertaining another idea -- having it at work. Hmmm.... do I ask for permission or forgiveness? I can't imagine anyone would care actually. Unless possibly about holes in the wall.
As you all can see I'm still leaning towards purchase rather than gym package. Also, the body rail has a pilates kit that can be added, so it can be used as a pilates reformer and half trapeze, which I find very enticing. The ones at the gym aren't used that way. Pilates classes at the gym are just on the mat.

I'm not much into shoes either! The ones I get are of high quality so they tend to be expensive but I only need about 4 pair also. I don't care about fashionable feet. Talk about putting a fancy bow on a bag of manure, that's how fashionable shoes would be on me!

P.S. I am eating some "Gourmet Atomic Frog Balls." That's what it says on the jar. They are actually pickled brussels sprouts. Just thought I'd share that. I'm so glad they are "Atomic."

jo

Hmmmmm . . . I'm getting a not so pleasant picture of what the 'atomic' could refer to . . . might make those feet really worthy of a bow after all. :yikes:

I have quite a few pairs of SAS shoes. I guess I mentioned that before :lol: - over 50, ya know. I like one of each color and a couple of extras.

Hey!

I own five pair of SAS shoes--my three colors of dress shoes and two of the sandal-type, which are great!

And I just got two brand new pairs of Adidas athletic shoes! :cb: :cb: :cb:

Jo, I would not let those atomic frog balls within ten feet! I dislike Brussels sprouts under most circumstances, let alone pickled. :p

What is it about the class that you don't like, Jo? Just wondering since you seem so set on getting a machine...

I'm rushing as usual... been having a really good week with food and exercise. Regular exercise really is a key component for me.

Cheers!
Jay

Jay -
what I don't like about the classes:
1. extra cost
2. the schedule: times offered are not the best for me. Doable, yes, but not optimal.
3. the classes work all the muscle groups in each class. I would prefer to alternate muscle groups, so that I can get a resistance training workout on consecutive days (ideally, that would be every day.) I have read about the advantages of strength training over cardio for prolonged metabolism boosting over the next several hours following the workout, so I'd like to be able to do it every day.

By the way, The Boss says go for it, get it, drill holes in the wall, he doesn't care.

Hi gang . . . :wave:

Just one of those busy days . . . hopefully tomorrow will be better and I'll get on-line a lot earlier.

See you . . . :carrot:

Hi Everyone.
 

I have been around reading but not writing much. It is great reading the banter. You guys always make me smile. I want a husband like CD'S and a hat and wig like Jo's and all of your enthusiasm for exercise. It escapes me so.
Jo where on earth do you work. Nice to have a boss to be so supportive. I have asked ours to quit rewarding us with donuts so Monday they are having a pancake breakfast. Yuck.

We just changed the time an hour ahead. It was just getting nice and light out in the morning and I was thinking that will make it easier to get to the gym. But now it is dark again at 630am. I am going to set a buzzer tonight so that I will have to get up. The music puts me back to sleep.

Jo do you belong to a chain of gyms?? what a great place it sounds like. I would just like to try Chi ball but they seem to have a lot going on.

I am off to weigh in tonight and think I have lost a couple of pounds. It is slow but I am not going anywhere. You are either on the losing side or the gaining side and I want to stay on the losing.

Cd enjoy Chicago. Never been there. Hope your hubby is going with you. Have fun.
Talk to you all again soon......Jude:T