I actually am quite satisfied with my workouts. :) Didn't have much to report this week, except I did my first proper pull-up. (Had gotten to close grip overhands recently, but not a wider-grip pull-up.)

Went clothes shopping yesterday (my jeans were too big!). I ended up buying some ridiculous sparkly shirts in the little girls' section. :lol: I also noticed that in the dressing room lighting, I can now see the horizontal striations below my first row of abs when I lift my arms over my head. The people outside the dressing room must've thought I was nuts. ("Why does she keep holding her arms over her head so long when she's taking off her shirts??")

sumire I always take so long in the dressing room because I am admiring my muscles. I walk in with two things and take forever because I am admiring my back or something :lol:

I have recently danced in a dressing room. :) True story.

I think I'm looking good lately. Been adding lots of body weight exercises inbetween the lifting:

http://healthplusfifty.files.wordpre...8/progress.jpg

Most of all I don't look freaking gaunt anymore!!! I think I'm looking better than a few months ago:
http://healthplusfifty.files.wordpre.../photo_115.jpg

Thought I was 115 at the time, but I was probably closer to 107. I'm fluctuating between 111 and 112 now. Also where are those shorts I'm wearing? I need to find them again! :lol:

Sontaikle,

You look awesome! You look very healthy and happy!

You are an inspiration to me, I look forward to reaching my goal weight of 110-115. I am at 127 right now and the scale is going down sloooowly.... I took your advice and I increased the gym time I allocate to weightlifting. The scale is hardly moving, but I can see some improvements in my appearance. Anyway, I hope I look half as good as you look in your pictures. Also, your hair is so beautiful.

D.

Looking GREAT Sontaikle!


Did a lower body workout before Zumba on Friday ... 390lbs on the leg press (plus whatever the machine weighs). I love being strong! Less than one month until my Tough Mudder!

Smokin' hot, sontaikle! For what it's worth, you don't look at all gaunt or unhealthy to me in the lower picture.

My gym is closed this week, so it's at-home workouts (bodyweight stuff, plus I have dumbbells up to 25 pounds). Today was pistol squats, step-ups, band-assisted parallel grip pullups and regular pullups, decline pushups, overhead presses, renegade rows, and 1-arm dumbbell rows (for high reps since I only have 25-ers :)).

Sontaikle - Whoot whoot, you look great lady! I love your yellow shorts... they're so bright and cheerful! I have a cute pair of pink denim shorts that I just love and have been wearing a lot this summer. Can't beat some gym-sculpted legs in a cute pair of cutoffs!

LovelyandLosing - Where are you doing the Tough Mudder at?

So, I don't know if any of you have seen my posts regarding my recent shave biopsy I had on my leg, but if you haven't I posted some pictures a while back in the August Feather's Chat thread. It's pretty gnarly.
It's healing slowly but surely, but it's at a stage right now where it itches like **** and is a bit, um... gooey? It's not cute, but I have to keep it bandaged at all times so normally it's no big deal.
I noticed today at the gym though that the wound started weeping through the bandage! Gross! LOL I switched to thinner bandages now that it's healing a bit, but I didn't think about the ick factor of me wearing shorts at the gym and having people see it.
It was a little embarassing and I hope nobody noticed, but I didn't stop my workout because of it or anything. :) That's just crazy talk.

I'm going on a business trip in a few weeks and the hotel gym only has some cardio equipment and some dumbbells... pretty standard for a hotel I suppose. I'm going to try to find a 24-hour fitness or another gym where I can buy a day-pass but if I'm stuck at the hotel gym I'll be in the same boat.
I'm just going to have to come up with some creative workouts to challenge myself!

Jossfit ... its in Frederick, MD I believe? It is the Mid-Atlantic one. Funny that I don't know exactly where but I live in DC with no car - I won't be the one driving! Why, are you planning to do one?

They seem to have them all over the place. There is one coming up in NC (where I am) sometime in October, but I don't know the exact date. I'll have to look though because I might want to sign up for it!

I am irritated.

It's Wednesday, so as per usual I went to the gym to lift a bit (focusing on smaller muscle groups) and leaving some gas in the tank because I have CrossFit on Wednesday mornings as well. Usually I focus on bis, tris and work in allover exercises that aren't "staples" of my routines (examples of staples being deadlifts, squats, military press, etc.)

So I got to CrossFit and the WOD sounded promising; 4 rounds of 10 hang-cleans, 15 toes to bar, 20 pushups, 25 squats and then a 400m sprint. Okay... cool.

Well they made us partner up! Since none of the other females can keep up with me they put them all together in a group, partnered up all of the men except one, and left me the skinny little sickly looking guy who looks like a cat sh!tting razorblades trying to do a bodyweight squat. Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and I like him a lot, but he's MILES behind me in every way physically. Even on the runs he was shuffling along at a snail's pace.

The basic idea was that one partner started with cleans and the other started with squats, and when you were both done with all 4 exercises you do the 400m run together before starting on the next round.

I ended up standing around coaching him through his cleans and pushups every single round, and totally lost out on the intensity that a METCON is supposed to produce. It wasn't a wasted workout, but close. Had I known it would be in no way challenging for me I would have pushed harder at the gym this morning before I went.

What I could have done in probably 14 minutes I ended up doing in 22. Blah.

That's ANNOYING, JossFit. And insulting to you! You shouldn't get punished for being the strongest woman by getting stuck with the weakest man. That isn't how it works!!!

It definitely wasn't an intentional punishment. I actually think the instructors were trying to do me a favor by not teaming me up with the other females (none of them knew how to do hang cleans and opted to do light kettlebell swings instead)... but it did hamper my workout for sure.

My partner tried hard, I'll give him that. My frustration is just that it was a wasted workout. In retrospect I should have just asked if I could do it alone but that would have been rude to ask in front of my partner.

I don't get to attend next week because of a work conflict, so hopefully the following week I get a good session!

Monday I lifted and then took two spinning classes, rested Tuesday because I went to my grandma's house and went to a buffet where I had my fill of crab legs :carrot: and today I took a spin/step class and then a weight training class in the evening.

I did inner thigh squats at 70lbs for 300 times (3 sets of 100). Everyone else was doing half that. At least I know I can go A LOT higher on those if I can do that many!! I would go higher, but during the class there simply aren't enough weights to go around with everyone there. That's why I do more of my heavy stuff on Monday and Friday. My legs are like jelly right now though.

My fiancé has been coming to my weight training class with me (he couldn't today, unfortunately) so it's been nice working out with him :) It's also funny that I can lift more than him!! Lol!!

I'm going away for a couple of days starting tomorrow, so I might be scarce :) Thursday is a rest day usually anyway and I'm going to figure something out for Friday and Saturday, even if I have no gym. I know that I will be doing a lot of walking, so I'm not all that worried, but I know several bodyweight routines I can do too.

Plus I've trimmed a few hundred calls off each day for the past few days (and thus, weighed in today at 110.4) so I've got a bit of a buffer to indulge if I want to ;) My fiancé is totally on board with my plans: we're bringing a carton of eggs (the hotel room has a fridge and a microwave) and my microwaveable egg poacher thing. I think I'll grab a jar of red peppers too so I can have with my eggs in the morning and I'm throwing some Quest bars and pistachios in my bag as well.



dani13 - thanks! I think not stressing about "the last 10 pounds" really helped me out though…mainly because I never knew I had 10 more lbs to lose! I just did my thing and the pounds came off.

LovelyAndLosing - thanks! :) Great leg press!!

sumire - Thank you :) I've got to pick out some bodyweight stuff to do too, since I'll be away on both of the days I usually alternate to get my third lifting day in. I'll see if they have a gym there, but I'm thinking they don't (fiancé made the reservation).

JossFit - thanks! I LOVE colored shorts too. I had to talk myself out of buying so many of them since they're on clearance now, LOL. That's so annoying about CrossFit :( I know how you feel though, I've had a couple of workouts where everyone convinced the instructor to "go easy" and it really PISSED ME OFF. One instructor used to do CrossFit style workouts outside with us, but people freaking chickened out and the owner told her to stop. I'm really annoyed about that because I looked forward to her class (I still do, but it was much better when she was taking us outside and doing all of this crazy stuff).

It's supposed to be hard! Gah!

Are you back from your trip yet? How'd you do staying OP?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not a lot to report with my workouts the last few days. The gym that I go to for my Saturday workout was closed this week, so I hit my regular gym. (I'm military and my base has like 15 gyms/fitness centers to choose from, but I prefer to use "our" gym on the area of the base I work. :)) On Saturday's I hit the Kettlebells pretty hard, and we don't have them at my gym, so I go to a bigger one.
Anyway, had to skip them this weekend AND I'm working off base this week so I'm missing CrossFit on Wednesday as well. It's not a huge deal, but those are the two most fun workouts I do during the week so I'm a little sad to have to do my own thing.

A few weeks ago I started making Mondays my heavy 5x5 workout day where I really drop the reps and go for max weight in order to keep myself from backsliding on strength from doing all the CrossFit and "JossFit" style METCONS... so that'll be tomorrow. I'm hoping I can add like 5 lbs to each lift from last week.

Had a great gym session today. I've moved up in all my weights after feeling "stuck" for a while. I am really starting to either look more defined or at least think I look better, haven't taken measurements in a while but I'm pleased with my arm/shoulder/back progress. STILL hiding from the squat rack. Any day now.

This is a stupid photo, but yeah! It's nice to wear ridiculous dresses and feel confident in them.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...55821195_n.jpg

I have a really stupid protein question - I've read all the sources saying to eat your body weight in pounds in protein on lifting days. From your experience, am I doing myself a disservice by eating approximately my body weight in kilograms? I guess I could cut out some fats and drink protein shakes but they all taste like sh!t and I'm not a huge meat person.

JossFit I'm sure you've still "got it" as far as those max-lift 5x5 days go.

sontaikle Hope your trip is going well! It's nice to have a few options to eat your own food away instead of having to survive on protein bars and dubious restaurant food.

I'm loving the trainers at my gym. This morning, one said "You look just like Wonder Woman. You know, the cartoon version with all the muscles."

Best compliment EVER? http://www.geekscape.net/how-dc-comi...derwoman_large

Krampus - Thats fantastic you had a little increase in your weights! Onward and upward... gotta keep progressing to see results! Your picture is awesome, and I LOVE your dress. It's so fun!
As for your protein question, I'm not really sure what the correct answer would be. I've always gone by the rule in terms of POUNDS, so for you I would aim for at least 125g of protein per day. Personally I go for a macronutrient split of 40%P/30%F/30%C so I end up with more like 1.5-2g of protein per pound of bodyweight depending on how many calories I am eating at the time.

LovelyandLosing - Haha, that is an awesome compliment. I'm sure you've been earning it!

Hey gals, the trip went great! I had a nice time!

http://healthplusfifty.files.wordpre...5-37-38-am.png

I stayed on track with food and exercise, so I'm happy! :carrot: Didn't have much junk at all because I simply didn't want it :)

There wasn't a gym at the hotel, but I went jogging on the boardwalk and stopped at benches to do bodyweight exercises. Today I was back in the swing of things and went to the gym before work—I wasn't "off" from lifting long at all but I was already craving a good weights session!

Hey where is everybody?!

I just need to say that lifting weights has made my professional life easier, :lol:. I'm teaching in a new school opening up in September and we're still getting books and supplies. Someone donated a crapload of books and we needed to bring those from outside to the 4th floor of the building. No elevator.

I carried several BIG HEAVY boxes without getting out of breath or breaking a sweat. Everyone else was struggling to make it up and I was running up and down the stairs. In my head I was like: "whhhhaaaattt? I can do this?!"

I feel kind of guilty that I skipped my evening spin class yesterday, but I had my morning weights session and then the manual labor, and considering I hardly break a sweat in that spin class anymore, I decided to go home and have a small quiet dinner to myself (everyone was out, it was nice to have a quiet house!)

Still here! Nothing that exciting. Switched from twice to 3x/week for upper body with more sets and more variety and heavier weights. I got 20 day passes to Gold's Gym (fancy!) for $20 on Groupon so I'm excited to try those out.

Need to work on grip strength - I'm thinking I'll dangle from my home pull-up bar and do farmer's walks and keep doing swings with the 35 lb kettlebell at the gym.

I'm here, I'm here! :)

Not a whole lot of new things to report for me either. Yesterday was my 5x5x5 day and I'm sore! It's a good sore, but definitely DOMS like a mother F! Today was cardio... and tomorrow I have my 2-a-day of weights and then CrossFit with a break in between to cram food in my face. :)

This weekend I'm going to see my husband and in addition to CrossFit WODs Friday and Saturday, we'll be walking around the State Fair, staying pretty busy in general, and doing the Incline and Barr Trail on Sunday for cardio. It's a beast! This is a picture of it;

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...43360878_n.jpg

That "Incline" takes about 45 minutes to conquer at a brisk pace, and is basically just doing walking lunges all the way up. Then, we take a 3-ish mile trail back down, usually running at least half of it. I figure the whole trek burns about 800-1000 calories depending on your weight/height.

Hopefully all that activity and my resolve to only eat natural foods will curtail the usual couple pounds of post-vacation weight gain.

(Oh, and this picture was before my husband proposed to me, at the top. :) )


-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sontaikle - Yay, so glad the trip went well! I totally know what you mean about lifting weights making life easier. Sure, I train for looks but I also train for functional strength, and it definitely works!

Krampus - Getting up to 35lb KB swings is pretty good! I hope that doesn't sound condescending at all, but seriously, nice work. I'm proud of you! I love when women actually PUSH themselves and try to lift progressively heavier. Thats the POINT, right?! :?:

Weights this morning. I came home and checked myself out in the mirror and loved how beefy my shoulders and upper body are getting. Still have lots of wiggly area around the belly, but that's what happens and it's getting less so.

n00b question. Say you only have 20 minutes before work in the morning and you have fuel left in the tank. Is there any "negative" repercussion for lifting in the afternoon? I feel silly even posting that, hehe.

JossFit Not condescending AT ALL, I still consider myself very much an ignoramus in the gym! Honestly I don't see the point of lifting if not to progress to heavier weights - I'd get so bored! I hope you have a great time this weekend; what an amazing place to be proposed to!!!

sontaikle Quiet dinners alone are oh-so-valuable. I don't know if this stems from previous unhealthy habits or what, but I love nothing more than having a meal alone without distraction! So glad you're running circles around everyone else at work!

Been about the same old here. Like sontaikle, I recently put my strength to good use helping someone move out of his apartment. He was skeptical about my help because I'm female (ha!), but I worked like a fiend. Packed an insane amount of work into 16 hours worth of organizing, cleaning, lugging, etc. It's great to be strong and fit!

I know this is a lifting thread, but since this is my main home these days, I'll mention that I'm back to some running these last couple of weeks. I never make myself run if I don't feel like it, so I go through little jags like this. The upshot, of course, is that I always enjoy my running! :) I've been doing 1-milers with half a mile of walking between (usually 3 1-milers per run, 3x per week); I decided I wanted to see how fast I could get my mile times. I've always been an abysmally slow runner, so I was proud when I managed 8:57 a week ago (my previous best was 9:29... in 5th grade, haha). Well, today I did one in 7:47! (Ain't going to impress anyone here, I know, but I'm proud of myself.) And deadlifting day was yesterday. :lol: Beginner's gains are the best, both at lifting & running... ;)

Getting nice and lean these days. Cracked below 120 pounds. Amazing how effortless it seems now, and how much I'm still eating. Stopping at 115 or sooner, then re-building!

Jossfit, krampus, sontaikle: Keep being awesome. :D

Hi guys. I miss you!!!

My computer broke and I'm still in the midst of moving and visiting all my family for the last time before I leave the mainland. Been CRAZY. My scale is broken too... but I have a feeling I'm down a few more lbs. I used to stress eat. Now I stress starve. Bla... It's not pleasant either. I'll feel better after I am on the plane and it's totally out of my hands, in a couple days!!

I did have an AMAZING trip up to Utah. Lots of running around and ziplining and fun stuff like that. It was cool to play like a kid and not worry about my size getting in the way *at all*. That still feels kind of new to me.

I haven't been in the gym as much as I'd like the last few weeks... but I've been lifting my luggage and my kids at home. Whatever works, right? My 4 year old thinks it's hilarious to be bench pressed :).

Anyway - Hope you're having a great summer!!!!!! I'll be back in a few weeks once I can get my hands on a new computer. :)

Val - I've been wondering where you were! I'm sorry about your computer!

-- Just a quick check-in, as I'm out with my hunny on vacation -- I did ring dips at the gym yesterday! Whoot! My husband says he's only seen one other person jump up there the first time and do dips like that. :) Nice.

Hit up Gold's Gym today to use my Groupon after running 3 miles outside with my boyfriend in the morning (28:13 - not winning any races here). What a confusing maze of weird isolation machines! I did my usual and threw a bunch of extras in - situps with a dumbbell (I used 20 lb but I could probably handle more easily!), KB swings with the 20kg KB (heavy but doable), tried some of those "renegade rows" that JossFit and sumire have mentioned - how do you keep them from rolling over when you put them down?!

ValRock So glad to hear from you, if only to say you're busy. Hang in there and don't forget to eat!

JossFit Ring dips are IMPRESSIVE! I can barely do tricep dips...I have to do slow-mo "negatives" and I shake like crazy.

sumire Nice work on your times! You're getting SUPER lean - how much are you eating these days?

Hey everyone! Still lifting! I took today off for labor day since the gym was closed and my other gym was only open for three hours in the later morning hours. Well I was "off" but I did my lifting yesterday instead...haha

It's really nice to be sore from workouts you design yourself! This morning I could barely get out of bed! I'm not so sore now; the walking around I did all day at the mall helped loosen me up :)

Been noticing more muscles popping lately and seeing more ab definition. I think that my loose skin is shrinking ever so slowly. Pants are also a little looser despite still hovering around 110 point something and 112.

Stayed within my calories, but between yesterday and today I think I had my fill of grilled meat for a while. Yay protein!


JossFit - You look great! I would love to go on that hike :)

krampus - Yay beefy arms! I also don't think it matters WHEN you lift so much as to whether or not you actually do it! I have one lifting day in the evening and two in the mornings and I've been doing great like that.

sumire - Also looking great! :) I love how lifting makes it easy to run, haha.

ValRock - glad to see you back, even just to check in! Good luck with everything!

I've been hobbled by a cold! Taking some time off from working out. I've been running myself ragged lately both during & outside of my workouts, so it's not terribly surprising that I got sick. I'm rarely ill, so I think this is my body telling me that I'm pushing it too much these days. I think more rest & more calories are in order.

ValRock: We've missed you too. :) Glad you had a good vacation & hope life settles down soon. Keep lifting those kids! :lol:

JossFit: Ring dips are SUPER badass.

krampus: You are obviously continuing to KILL IT. :) I do my rows slowly & deliberately when I'm doing renegade rows; if I don't put the dumbbells down carefully, they do have a tendency to roll. As for calories, when I'm perfectly on plan these days (which is rarely - my friends like to eat out often, and I've been taking a lot of intentional diet breaks), I'm eating about 1500 on non-workout days (which are also rare now, haha) & 1800 on workout days. I drop about a pound a week at this calorie level.

sontaikle: It is fun to design your own workouts! I hate being told what to do. ;) Lifting does definitely make running easier; I think it's the improvement in core strength more than anything else that has done it for me.

Sorry that I haven't been checking in guys! Work was crazy last week so I didn't get to lift, though I did do Zumba a twice. I'm too nervous about being sore for Saturday's Tough Mudder to lift this week. But I've been walking 6-10 miles each day and reading The Primal Blueprint. I'm giving the whole Paleo thing a try. I've limited grains for a while now anyways, and my ex dropped 30lbs (then gained 15 in muscle) doing Paleo a year and a half ago. I'm excited!

Krampus - Looks like you're really doing some new stuff and shaking things up... nice work! The dumbbells I use aren't rounded off, so they are nice and stable to use for renegade rows. They look like this;

http://www.uniquefit1.com/images/view/491

Sontaikle - Thank you so much! That picture was actually from the last time I was out in Colorado and did the incline about a year ago. This picture is from our hike on Sunday;

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...81507758_n.jpg

I feel ya on being sore... I have a love/hate relationship with it. Today I am crazy sore from Sunday's hike and then spending all day Monday sitting on airplanes. Not cool! I did manage to conquer that beast in about 35 minutes though, which is a damn good time. Last year I did it in 45 minutes and definitely wasn't a slouch in the fitness department. I anihilated my husband. :)
That's fantastic that you're seeing some more definition in your midsection! Whoot!


Sumire - Oh goodness, I hope you get over your cold soon! Rest and a bit of additional calories will definitely help out with that. I too have trouble resting as much as I should at times. Fortunately I am traveling a bit more this month so there are a few days that, due to early flights and such, I am FORCED to take a day off from working out. I hate it, but I know it's necessary.

LovelyAndLosing - Have you by chance read into any of Gary Taubes' writing? I recently picked up a copy of 'Why We Get Fat' and it was REALLY interesting, especially for someone like me who generally agrees with Paleo/Primal styles of eating. I find that I process carbs just fine and have no need or desire to cut all grains, dairy and legumes from my diet... but I do like to keep them moderate. Anyway, the book is great and I highly recommend it. It isn't a diet plan, but rather an alternative explaination of how our bodies process carbohydrates and particularly those that are super processed and fast digesting.
Seriously, check it out... you might find that Paleo isn't exactly necessary based on the science of how your body actually works, but that the principals are sound (and you can save yourself the "Would Grok eat this" cultish feel).

JossFit Those were the ones I was using. I guess I should just use REALLY HEAVY ones eh (I wasn't sure which to use so I went with 20-25, can't remember which)? My bent-over row is 45-50 right now and I don't think I could do that much with renegade rows. Congrats on the 10 minutes shaved off your time!!!

Krampus - Hmm, yeah I don't go super heavy on the rows either... just be careful when you're putting them down? :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's CrossFit workout was deceptive; the hard part wasn't all the dips, pullups, sprints or tire flips, it was the bear crawls we did between each exercise! We had to go around the perimeter of the mats inside, so probably a 30 meter crawl after each exercise, for 5 rounds. Thats a total of 20 bear crawl intervals, which I realize doesn't sound too bad but it sucked!

I still finished first and kicked the crap out of some tire flips though. :D

Gaaa, I had no idea my traps and delts would be so sore from those stupid Bear Crawls on Wednesday!

Super super busy with school just starting up! I'm determined to keep lifting though! Woke up at 4:45 to get to the gym and I'm feeling great still AND felt great throughout the day working with the kids. I love starting my day this way :)

My students keep feeling my arms muscles. They come up to me and squeeze my arms. It's funny.

I need strength to get up early again tomorrow...but I can do it! I'm posting here to stay accountable and get my @$$ to the gym!!

sontaikle: Of course they're going to squeeze your rockin' arms! Good job getting yourself up & going and fitting in that weight lifting. You remain an inspiration!

JossFit: Nice, bear crawls! I haven't thought about those since elementary school! Keep up the good work, as always.
---

Don't really have anything to report here, same old thing. Still lifting, also ran 10K three times this week-- slow as ****, sigh.

I keep telling myself I'll commit to getting a few more pounds off, and then immediately canning it for one reason or another. I may just go into maintenance mode again for a while. We'll see.

Hey lifters, checking in here!

I've been really working on lifting heavy while eating a lot more (not always On Plan... but yeah, that's another story) but am now transitioning back to more metabolic conditioning. I signed up for a Tough Mudder in 6 weeks so I've got to be able to do a lot more running and stuff.

My focus is going to be on adding more sprints, plyometrics, CrossFit training and pullups to my routine. Nothing dramatic, but I just have to keep those things in mind.

-------------------------------------------------

Sumire - Any updates on what you've decided RE: maintenance?

Sontaikle - LOL, I hope you went! :) For me, getting to the gym is NEVER an issue... but sticking to my diet can be. I figure if I eat too much at least I get some use out of it by hitting some heavy lifts.

JossFit: Have fun training for your Tough Mudder! I'd hate to be one of the poor souls who has to compete against your awesome self. They never stood a chance! :lol:

I have decided that at least for the immediate future, I'm going to maintain here (weight averaging around 120 these days). There's a lot of stress going on in my life, and I feel like trying to lose more weight is sapping some of my energy. And my performance at the gym hasn't shown much improvement since June, which is bumming me out.

So, more food, and a slightly more focused plan for my lifting and my running. Some muscle building would be nice, but right now I want to remove the obsessive focus on my body and its tiny flaws. I would like to see some performance gains (stronger, faster!), but I would also like to be realistic about those and to appreciate all of the little gains that come slowly over time.

So, new goals: focus, rest, attitude of gratitude. :)