Maintainers Chat: Week Of May 3 - 9
 

'Tis the merry month of May! :sunny:

We spent the weekend cleaning out the garage and it was pretty remarkable how many spare tires and car parts we could stuff into one garage. :fr: It's much better now!

I'm off to the gym for shoulders and cardio but will be back. How was your weekend? :)

It was a glorious sunny weekend to enjoy good walking and eating outdoors.

Bad news is that the Boston area has a water crisis; a water main that is only seven years old burst and "untreated lake water" is being distributed. It's clean enough for laundry, showering, and flushing, but drinking and dish washing needs to be done with boiled water. It's a real sobering event.

Good Morning all!
 

It's raining :rain: here today. But that's good because I planted stuff in my garden yesterday and it will get a good deep watering.

Our weekend was totally routine :dz:. It will be until the end of August as DH now needs to study :book2: every weekend for the CMA (chartered management accountant) final exam. I will find new things to do by myself and catch up on my reading and a bunch of "girlie" movies.

I'm looking forward to my dad flying off to Estonia for the summer so I won't be obligated to spend every Saturday morning toting him around. He's always so negative and depressing that it puts me off for most of the morning after spending a couple of hours with him.

DH told me yesterday that he's "tired of being fat" and "tired of feeling stuffed all the time". That made me feel very hopeful and kept me OP yesterday.

I hope they fix the water main and that the water crisis ends soon Bill.

Off to stretch!

Great Monday all!

Dagmar :sunny: in the :rain:

Good morning! It's pouring rain here, too. Lots of thunder during the night. :coffee:

It's raining here too but the silly birds are still singing. :lol:

Bill, that's awful! I hope it gets fixed soon. We take so much for granted and don't realize it until something like water or gas or electricity goes out. A few years ago, we didn't have gas -- meaning no hot water -- for ten days. It was like Little House On the Prairie. Cold showers!!

I'm back from the gym and just have to share because I'm so happy. Three years ago I had my rotator cuff repaired and spent six weeks in a sling with absolutely no movement, six more weeks in the sling with very limited movement, and then months of PT with 1 and 2 pound weights (yes, they were pink and blue. It was humbling :lol: ). Today, finally, I was able to lift the same weights for shoulders that I was doing before the tear. :carrot: It's been a long road with many, many hours in the gym but I think I can say I'm finally recovered. And the best part is that I'm completely pain free and have a 100% range of motion. :cb:

So I'm totally giddy this morning. :D

I just got an email from Delta offering me 6000 bonus miles for signing up with Nutrisystem. How crazy is that? Why does weight loss have to be a big business? All it takes is a pencil, paper (or computer), and good pair of shoes to exercise in.

happy monday all!

i had a crazy busy weekend (as per normal!)... i was WAY OP yesterday because I just didnt care... i am sick (sinus infection again) and tired (dont sleep well at my bf place yet) and generally just frustrated that i still care so much about loosing a few more pounds (would LOVE to see 160's...) I am recovering from Binge Eating so it was borderline binge last night...first time in 4 months... all things considered, i'll just hop back OP today and not worry about yesterday... maybe I need to slow down a bit? ha ha ha....

it is raining here today... but strangely nice in a way... i like rain...snow...sun... i like that is it different every day!

on a positive note from yesterday, i very nearly did my first handstand without help...had both legs up there for a split second... (it is a huge goal of mine!)

thanks for listening! enjoy your monday!

Meg, my neighbor has had three garage sales the last three weekends because his garage is so full. He had a stroller out this weekend, and I asked him how old his youngest kid was. He said 10. Uh-huh. That's wonderful about your shoulder! How nice to be pain free.

Bill, that must be a horrible and eye-opening experience. Water is something most of us in the U.S. take for granted.

Dagmar, before a rain shower is the best time to plant stuff. Now you get to check every day to see if you see anything coming up. Fun!

Wardhog, hope the thunder didn't keep you awake.

Kim, excellent job on the handstand. I'm sorry you're not feeling well. You just may be right on with slowing down.

We were going to go to a park on Saturday to have a picnic with my son and his GF, but it was kind of cold and windy so we had an inside picnic and then went to the Parade of Homes. My son was the one who suggested that. Had a good time, then went out to dinner. It's tough for me going out on the fly because of the gluten-free, dairy-free and being a vegetarian. But the server at the restaurant was gluten-free so she suggested stuff, which was helpful.

We're thinking of buying a condo on the other side of town in an area with streams and a greenbelt. It's a good deal, the area where we want to live eventually, and my son's girlfriend can rent it until my DH retires, which solves her housing problems. If I can get it for what I want to pay, I think we'll go for it. Cross your fingers!

Have a good Monday!

I had every intention on cleaning my hall closet on Saturday and the day came and went without me even opening the doors! I guess it'll be on the agenda for next weekend.

I need to call to schedule carpet cleaning. Soon.

The weather here has been unseasonably cool but we're loving it! Highs around 80. Who can complain about that? We golfed early on Sunday and it was a little too cool when we started out. None of us golfed as good as we could, but it was a nice morning.

We went to see How to Train Your Dragon at the iMax. Good movie! Then DH and I watched Couples Retreat. That was funny. My DD convinced us to sign up with Netflix as it is a lot less expensive in the long run than watching movies on our cable company's OnDemand. I feel a little guilty, though, when I get a movie and it sits for 3 weeks before we watch and return it! I know they don't care, but I remember the old days of Blockbuster where you had 2 days to watch it and return it. Seems like we were constantly running back and forth. This is much nicer!

My weekend went well without undoing any of the hurdles I've set up for myself. Tonight may be a bit of a challenge. DH is golfing in an Autism golf tournament and there's a banquet afterwards. I'm joining him for that...We'll see.

Good Monday morning all!

Meg-- could I borrow some of the old tires you got rid of? Dh had to replace all four of his tires on his truck this weekend. He is going to drive up to pick up dd from college and wanted to make sure his truck was ready. We have so few miles on it (37,000 I think) but it is almost 5 years old so the tires were worn. So excited for your recovery! You wouldn't have gotten there without all of your hard work. 99% of people never would recover full range and strength I bet.

Bill-- hope your water crisis is solved soon. I never really appreciated a clean and ample water supply until I lived in S. Africa. Our housekeeper lived in a township like most Africans. She was lucky--- they had one well that they could all walk to for water and collect in buckets. Can you imagine? Lucky that you can get a bucket of water to then have to heat up to cook, drink, or bathe in? If you weren't lucky, you would have to walk miles to collect that same bucket of water. My housekeeper lived with us along with her granddaughter and I know how much she appreciated her own room with a tub, sink, and electricity!

Dagmar-- we also (or my dh did) planted this weekend. Hopefully we'll soon have tomatoes of many varities, eggplants (never grown these before), and many herbs. When does your dad leave for Estonia?

Kim-- wow! A handstand! Maybe I should try one again. I'm afraid I would pull something like when I do a cartwheel now! So far as your weekend-- you know that today is a new day-- move on!

Hi Ward!

Good luck Sheila on the condo! Sounds like a beautiful area. I hope it works out for you.

Don't people know that I'm trying to catch up with my 3FC friends here? They keep interrupting my computer time at work!

My weekend-- busy as usual! I feel that is what I always say but it is true! Got a ton accomplished but still a ton I didn't get to. Saturday I worked and then managed to cross everything off of my to-do list! I can't even remember all that I did-- the post office, target, marshalls, big walk with dh to the library..... and I worked on the final for the class I was taking. Was is past tense because I finished and submitted the final on Sunday! Crossing my fingers that I got an A on the final to keep an A in the class. Taking one more class this summer and my FINAL class in the fall. The end is in sight!

Sunday I worked again. I'm finally off this Saturday for my first day off in weeks. Cannot wait. Then I decided that because it was so beautiful that I would run/jog to all of my errands. I wasn't sure how far everything was and unfortunately I had to lug a fairly heavy bag with my keys, wallet, water bottle, phone, etc. I ran to get my nails done and then ran to Marshalls to return stuff that didn't work from Saturday and then ran home. All together I probably ran for an hour. Very tired and sore from it as I haven't done much running lately but I am proud that I didn't have to call dh to rescue me like he offered.

I am excited about tonight. We are having the district wide awards ceremony for the Read-a-thon that my school won. There is supposed to be "press" there. I bought a new dress and high heels on Saturday (I never wear heels so I hope I can walk). I can't wait to collect our prizes!!

My weight is stubbornly staying up still. I'm trying not to focus on it but it is hard. It took a dip on Saturday and then went back up yesterday and more today. I'm being so good too. I think I'm really going to kick up the exercise when dh goes out of town to get dd because I won't feel guilty if I'm gone at the gym for a long time. I've never done 2 back to back classes but I know a lot of folks do so I'm thinking I might. Unfortunately I probably won't get to the gym tonight due to the awards ceremony and I never work out on Tuesdays (work my second job) so I'm working at a disadvantage already.

Back to work for me!!
Chat later....

Allison-- I'll have to see Couples Retreat and How to Train your Dragon or put them in my netflix queue. I love netflix! I sometimes keep movies for months but when I want to see a movie, I have one here! My dd's also watch a lot of them online through netflix so at least we're doing that....

Meg, great job with your shoulder! :high:

Bill, I heard about the water main (I have several friends in Boston). That must really suck. :(

Happy, I hope you feel better soon!

Allison, LOL, it has been unseasonably WARM here with high's near 80!

:wave: Ward, Dagmar, and Sheila!

First, in non-dogsitter news, I swam a mile yesterday! :swim: It took me a little less than an hour. I've never swam that far before.

Now, about the dog sitters. I think we are going to go with dog sitter #1 (the one our vet recommended). She was very professional, was nice to Carter (petted and scratched him when he came up to her, but didn't go chasing him around or anything) but had a very dog whisperer-esque attitude (calm and assertive), and showed up on time with a folder to give us containing her contracts, proof of insurance, card, etc. She answered all our questions and asked some about Carter. She didn't ask too much about him because this was an initial consultation, and she said that if we decide to hire her she will want to have another meeting where we go over Carter's habits and behavior in detail (she had some paperwork in the folder that showed all the types of things she asks about). The only things we were a little concerned about was that she said that when she is on a dog sit, her boyfriend watches her dog, and we were thinking, what if you break up with your boyfriend before our dog sit? Also, she mentioned that she has a prong collar for her dog, which I thought was a little weird. That and all the different clauses in the contract kind of freaked me out -- do I really want to think about what should be done if Carter dies while I'm gone? Or what should be done if *I* die while I'm gone? But on the other hand it makes sense to put that kind of thing in a contract, because you never know.

Dog sitter #2 (well, sitters) were nice enough as well and would probably also be okay. There were two women who came -- one is the owner of the company, the other is an employee/contractor who would be actually sitting the dog. They were both very friendly and affectionate to Carter. However, unlike sitter #1, they came in basically expecting us to sign a contract on the spot (although they were unfazed when I said we needed a few days to decide), and asked a million questions about Carter before I even got a chance to say, hey, I have questions for you too. She said she would mail me their proof of insurance. Their contract was not nearly as extensive or formal-looking as with sitter #1. All of that is pretty much okay though. DH was more concerned with the fact that the girl who would be sitting with Carter looked extremely young -- she mentioned she was married and had a child from a previous relationship, but I swear she looked like she was about 18 years old. She was also extremely chatty and kind of hyperactive seeming, and while she was nice enough DH thought (not sure if he thought this seriously or was joking, hard to tell with DH) it wasn't clear whether she is just that type of person or she might be on drugs. Also while it is kind of judgemental, DH thought that her being so young and already with a kid, ex-husband, and current husband, it might indicate that she had lacked judgement in the past.

Really I think either of them would be fine. The second sitters seemed a little more dog-enthusiastic, but I'm not sure that baby-talking to Carter means they'd necessarily do a better job. Carter seemed to like them all equally (he came up to get petted a few times, then went to sleep, as usual). DH was more comfortable with the first sitter because she was older and seemed less hyperactive. We still need to call her references, but if everything checks out there I think we will go with her. Being recommended by our vet is also a point in her favor.

Michele - I keep getting interrupted too, then you posted while I was typing up mine! :lol: Great job on the running!

thanks ladies - i am going for sinus surgery sometime in the fall so hopefully after that i will feel better all the time! it is hard to w/o every day when it is hard to breath ! ha ha ha

wow, you guys have a lot on the go!!! it is great to know i am not the only crazy-busy person out there! sometimes i wonder if i am insane or if others run around like this too!

fri night i saw Blind Witness live after dinner with my friend and personal trainer (brenda) and then sat i had a training session and a massage to break up some severely tight muscles (OUCH!) then drove 1.5hrs to see my bf at his place. we are both sick so sat around and watched tv and went for a ride on his new 4 wheeler...and early to bed...

do you know how many calories you have to reduce your food to loose a pound in say a week? (i am sure i could look it up... i also figure you guys probably know off the top of your heads!)

do any of you do 'intuitive eating' 100% ? what parts work for you? (i am relatively new to maintenance... been about a year at this weight but only mentally caught up now! ha!)

Bill, yuck on the water problem. I hope it resolved quickly. Boiling the amount of water I drink would significantly raise my electric bill.

Meg, my garage looks like a dump satellite. Wanna come over??? Wow on the recovery time for the rotator cuff. I’m thrilled for you that you’re pain free and 100% recovered.

Dagmar, is CMA the equivalent of CPA in the US? My brother is a CPA and those tests were nasty. I hope your DH’s sick of the fat cells results in a loss of them. My DH is sick of them too but isn’t too motivated to get rid of them. Since he’s responsible for his own fat cells, I say nothing. But when he slathers on the butter I want to scream. I guess I do silently…

Happy, I hope you feel better soon. I’m thrilled I can do a handstand in my pool. On land, no way. Congrats on seeing your goal. Why does your sinus surgery have to wait until fall? It would be nice if you could feel better sooner. 3500 cals is the pound amount although I’m quite convince in my case I need 5000 cal deficit to lose a pound and 500 overage to gain one.

Sheila, my fingers are crossed. I hope the bad economy helps you get your price.

Allison, keep on track tonight at the banquet. You can do it and imagine your giddiness when you tell us tomorrow you were on track.

Michele, congrats on finishing and submitting your final. You are so close! Enjoy your award ceremony and remind the powers that be that media specialist are important.

Jessica, sounds like you have a good plan with the sitter. Our sitter required us to have a letter in our dogs’ file at the vet in case of emergency. That letter was hard to write but I asked that it stay there permanently since I trust her implicitly. Like your #1 sitter, mine is quiet with the dogs but they respect her completely. We now chat as we walk/train the dogs but it’s not a real in depth friendship – which is the way it should be. And way to go on the swimming 1 mile. I swim 1 mile once a summer just for the heck of it. You have yours done already.

I’m so not happy it is Monday. I think mostly because I blew off nearly all of Sunday morning doing nothing. I watched Amazing Wedding Cakes tv show that I record. I love the artwork involved in wedding cakes. Yes, I’d like to eat them but the show isn’t causing major diet distress (when it does, it’s taken off the DVR prioritizer). But 5 shows??? What a waste and now it’s another work week. On a bright note, it was sunny and gorgeous out yesterday. We “opened” the pool. The quotes are because there are snowflakes in our forecast and the pool water is 55 degrees. But we started heating it (we use solar so it’s free not wasteful when there is so little hope of swimming anytime soon). The winter cover is off and it looks pretty to see blue water. Yesterday I swayed on my swing, gazing at the water and listened to the hummingbirds buzz over my head. At least yesterday afternoon wasn’t a waste like the morning was.

Time to work. The end of the school year means hectic in my little world. The number of state reports keeps me with job security. Another waste. I should be expendable for another teacher in our classrooms but they can’t let me go because without me there would be funding problems. The number of reports is ridiculous. Today starts the beginning of report season in my world.
Marie

Here is where I confess that one of my life goals is to be able to do a cartwheel. I could never do one when I was a kid, and now at 45, I want to! It's still pouring out, otherwise I'd go out back and give it a try right now!

i cannot do a cartwheel either! i have a list of things i want to do... cartwheel is on it... handstand (against wall at first, then, eventually freestanding)... and ONE STUPID CHIN UP!!!!!!! I have been training for 16 months and still no chin up!!! i am even gonig to install a bar in my basement so i can practice!!! :)

I wouldn't recommend a cartwheel for those who haven't done one for a while! The last time I did one I was sore for a week!

Jessica~just a note on the prong collar. IMO they are necessary for some dogs. They are a lot more humane than choke chains or regular collars because both of those can restrict the airway (cause coughing and wheezing) and worse (my brother's neighbor had their doberman on a choke chain while tied up in the back yard. He leaped the fence and couldn't touch the ground and choked to death--poor decision on the owner for having too long a rope, but still). We used a prong collar for a while on each of my dogs, just to get them to stop pulling while on a walk. The prong pinches the dog without restricting the windpipe. It's uncomfortable enough that they'll stop pulling just to stop the pinching. You can test it yourself by putting it around your leg or arm and pull tightly. It doesn't cut, just a pinch that really isn't all that bad.

Crossing my fingers-- but I think I have good news on my job front. I got a letter today from HR (intent to return form) that says I have a "reasonable assurance to return to work" for the next school year. They've changed the wording to give themselves an out but I think I'm safe for now! Hooray!! Dh also finds out his employment status this week hopefully (his company is restructuring) so I'm hoping for more good news!

And I have used prong collars too-- especially with my doberman as he pulls like an idiot. I now use a harness with him and a gentle leader (halti) with my Great Dane. They also both help with the pulling.

I graduated Chico to the halti, too. He dislikes it. He' paws at it to get it off, but it's so much better than most collars. He'll walk with a collar and leash, but I don't keep either of their collars tight because of what happened to a friend's dog (2 dogs, got in a play fight while no one was home, one got caught in the other's collar and neither could get out and the one dog accidentally strangled the other.) So he'd be able to get out of his collar in a split second. I don't think he'd do well with a harness, either.

I start all "my" dogs on haltis ASAP. Little Havi started wearing his tiny red one at 14 weeks and, one week later, he's totally used to it. This will save me a lot of grief when he weighs 90 lbs. Some of the dogs who came to me as older dogs pawed at the haltis quite a bit but they eventually got used to them.

I use haltis and ask my clients to get martingale collars (combo of flat collar and sliding chain) or flat collars. The leashes are attached to both collar and halti at the same time.

Jessica Base solely on your post I think sitter #1 would be my choice. The questions about Carter dying are just form. We tend to use the same paperwork for all clients' pets. In this case this clause won't apply but it would if I were sitting Allison's Buddy (who is very senior).

I am going to go and watch my boxing video now. Going to try to wake DH up to watch it too. Better put on my gloves first :p - he can be cranky when awakened from naps.

Have a good evening all!

Dagmar :sunny:

Boston water no longer has to be boiled; Thank You water crews who usually work without recognition until there's a problem.

Secretly, I've always wanted to be able to do a cartwheel. Alas, I've never seen Cartwheels for Dummies so I can learn how. Never have figured out how all the eight year old girls in the world just figure it out on their own.

Bill, glad to hear the water is safe again!

Michele, yay for good news on the job front! I will keep my fingers crossed for your DH.

Happy, they say that 3500 calories = 1 lb, which means you would have to reduce by 500 calories per day. However, this really varies from person to person.

Thanks for the dog advice guys (and :fr: about the strangling dogs, how frightening and depressing!). I didn't have time to call sitter #1's references yesterday but I will call them tonight, and if everything checks out we will go with her. FWIW Carter usually doesn't wear a collar when he's in the house, but when we go out he has his regular snap-on flat collar with his tags, then we either use a martingale collar, gentle leader, or a Sporn mesh no pull harness. Usually I use the harness -- he can't pull much with it and is getting better about walking with a loose leash, but although it doesn't control him quite as well as gentle leader he really doesn't like wearing gentle leader. He will put up with it if we put it on him, but when we used it all the time it got to the point where we said, "Do you want to go for a walk?" and he would go hide in the corner because he didn't want gentle leader.

Carter and I had quite an adventure last night. I was planning to take him for a run, and the forecast in the morning had been for a sunny and warm day. Well, when we got home I saw some ominous clouds rolling in and checked the forecast again -- severe thunderstorm watch. I looked outside again, and figured since there was a watch but no warning and it was still sunny over our house, I probably had time to go for my run before the storm rolled in. So I got changed, got Carter ready, and we headed out for a planned 3-mile run. The sky started looking darker, so I decided if it started raining before I got half way I would turn around, assuming that there would be some rain before the storm really came in.

Well, a bit over a mile in, there started to be massive wind gusts. Carter and I were still doing okay though, and there was no rain, so I kept going. When I got just over halfway, it started sprinkling a little. I was already past the halfway point so I kept going. Little did I suspect that that sprinkle was going to turn into HAIL in about 2 minutes! :faint: The lightning started up (not right on top of us -- about 5-10 seconds between lightning and thunder), it started pouring, then it started hailing. Poor Carter and I got totally soaked. He was extremely well-behaved about it though, he just put his ears back and kept trotting along with me, shaking himself out every so often. When we rounded the turn onto our street though he wanted to sprint to the finish and started tugging, but other than that he was great. DH had actually gone out in the car to find me (I left him my route map before I went out) when it started thundering, but we somehow missed each other and I arrived home about 1 minute before he got back.

So, lesson learned. Do not go for a run when there is a severe thunderstorm watch and you can see the storm clouds rolling in. On the other hand, I shaved 20 seconds off my personal record for 5k! Fear of being struck by lightning will do that to you . . .

thanks for the 3500 cal... no way i can reduce 500 per day! that is insane!! guess i will have to regroup and rethink... hmmm...

i've never ever done a cartwheel...this handstand thing is hard enough for me and i am using a wall and havent done it completely successfully yet :P I will get there though! I am nothing if not determined!!!

jessica - wicked job on the fastest run!!! doesnt that feel amazing!!!

have any of you tried kick boxing? do you like it?

Dagmar~Chico usually only paws at his halti once or twice during the walk. He's quite used to it. I think when there is another dog around, and he pulls a bit on the halti, he paws at it to loosen it up a bit. I don't know, but he's okay with it.

Jessica~scary rain! I've only run with Chico once in the rain, and it was just a drizzle so we didn't get soaked, but he kept looking at me like "why are we doing this, mom?" I agree, if there's a warning or a watch, you should stay inside!

DH had a great time at the golf tournament yesterday. He was very impressed at how organized they were. It was a fundraiser for the local autism chapter and they had over 250 participants. I joined him for the banquet afterwards. The food was quite good, but I didn't eat, and neither did he. He said there was so much food all day on the course that he just wasn't hungry for dinner. Me? Well, I got home from work and while waiting for him to call to say they were done with golf, I managed to eat a couple handfuls of tortilla chips (dry). By the time I got there, that little bit of food (I had had an apple just before leaving work) made me not hungry either. Anyway, it was good food, they had salmon, grilled chicken, BBQ ribs, Ceasar salad and mac and cheese. I think there were sausages, too. They had so much food left over, but as I said, there was so much food during the day that a lot of people weren't eating. That was too bad. We bought $100 in raffle tickets and DH won a set of 3 wedges (he says they're worth at least $100 each) and I won a silent auction item. Of the foursome DH golfed with, only one didn't win anything. Well, not he himself. Two of the guys won Ping putters, three other guys at our table won things, and the guy who invited us won nothing, but his wife won one of the grand prizes--a golf cart! It has to be a $5000 golf cart. Very nice. And she doesn't golf! We had a wonderful time, and now I'm back to work for what appears to be a long, boring day...

In my experience most of the people who own golf carts just ride around town in them and they never see a golf course! Many people let their (underaged, unlicensed) kids drive them around the roads, and you'll even see the 10-year old kid holding a baby or toddler in their lap, just driving down the road. I like to blame it mostly on tourists but there are locals who do it too. Dangerous and illegal! OTOH it is fun... feels so much more "free" than driving around in a car.

My office is tense and busy right now. There's a lot of "hurry up and wait" going on. It's giving me a headache. :headache:

Jessica, sorry you got hailed on! Ouch! Glad you & Carter are fine. Sounds like he behaved very well. Congrats on swimming a mile!

Michele, I'm so glad you got some good news from HR!

Bill, glad your water is back. I hate boil-water notices, they're so inconvenient.

Meg, congrats on your rotator cuff healing so well! All physical therapists should use you as an example - if you live a healthy lifestyle look at how your body can heal itself.

Off to "wait" for the rain to stop...

Add me to the list that never could do a cartwheel. Or a chinup or a handstand. I’ve never had upper body strength. I’d say that today I’m the strongest I’ve ever been and wouldn’t dare try any of the above for fear of injury.

Michele, that’s great news on the job front even though there is an out clause. At least your position isn’t in imminent danger.

Allison, I have all the above mentioned collars and no-pull harnesses for my huskies. The halti works best but my pups are champs at pawing it off in one swipe, before you even see what they’re doing. So we’re now working on clicker training.

Dagmar, hmmm, my next puppy will start on the halti very early. Great idea. Kai Pixie is walking with hers and fights it a little less every week. She’s my smartie-paws as she figured out if the steps on the leash right under her chin, one swipe with the other paw removes it. She is so quick it’s comical.

Bill, I’m glad you have water not needing boiling. That’s got to make life easier.

Jessica, I loved your running story. Before I head out for doggie walks on bad weather days, I click on wunderground dot com and look at the local radar. I click the in motion link and watch the green blobs to see how fast they’re moving and whether I can get the walk in. DH got me started on that and it has made walks much drier.

It’s a pretty day out. I’m sitting at my desk and gazing at Mt. Shasta longingly. I love having a 14,000 ft mountain in my sights. It’s so pretty with the blue sky. No haze. And it’s cold (22 degrees when I was ellipticalling) but it’s supposed to warm up to the 50’s. When it’s 100 degrees in July I will be thankful for our elevation because every night it gets cold and my house cools off. For now, 22 in May seems ridiculous. But it is pretty from my warm office and Mr Sun is shining. The only way the day could be better would be if I had the day off. :D

Marie

Megan~due to the fact that we're such a huge golf valley, we have golf cart lanes on many of the roads. They have to be street legal (headlights, signals, seat belts, mirrors) and they have to be driven by licensed drivers although the carts themselves aren't licensed. We don't have much of a problem of kids driving them on the streets, thankfully. We own a golf cart ourselves, and it is street legal. We don't use it ourselves, we let my inlaws use it while they're in town and they use it a lot in their RV community, but they don't drive it outside there at all. If we had one at home, I might consider using it for short trips to the grocery store or mall. I agree, they're fun to drive!

wunderground...I'll have to look at that. We usually rely on accuweather.

I think I caught this guy doing a cartwheel in this video. Amazing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNvJy0zoXOY

SIGH. I can't even spin around while standing up without starting to wobble. Or feeling :barf:

Dagmar (cartwheel challenged)

Never could do a somersault when I was younger much less a cartwheel. I admire anyone who tries!

Michele, that's great news about your job! Crossing my fingers for good news for your DH.

Glad you're back to safe drinking water, Bill.

Jessica, pretty scary stuff--glad you and Carter made it back safely, although soaked. When I lived in CO, I used to time my walk home from work by looking at the skies. I really feared being out in a thunderstorm.

Allison, nice going on the prizes. Did your friend have to drive her new golf cart home (assuming it was street legal)?

Megan, sorry about your work headache. Hope things get better.

Marie, that sounds so peaceful and pretty. We've been having the same thoughts about the cold vs. the July heat. I'm tired of the cold (I want to plant the rest of the garden!), but I dread the heat, too.

Dagmar, that's smart thinking starting them off on haltis young. I tried one with my Husky mix, and she would stop in the middle of the street and paw it off. We quit using it after a while, and then she got old and quit pulling so much.

Today was my shelter day. My fellow volunteer took out this shaggy Schnauzer who marked a lot. While she wasn't paying attention, the dog lifted his leg on her. Her pant leg was soaked--eewww!. Ah, the trials and tribulations of being a shelter volunteer.

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

I'm below my redline again this morning :yay:. This week's additional goal is to stay there until weigh in time next Monday. That means no beer or chips :devil: on the weekend.

I posted my goals on the fridge and left DH :tired: to his hockey game last night. I listened to music and cuddled with the cats instead of eating mindlessly :drool: in front of the TV.

I feel proud of myself :cheer: this morning. I'm due for a reunion with some people I hung out with in college and I'm determined to wear the size 8 pants without looking like a sausage squeezed :headache: into a too tight skin.

Great hump day all!

Dagmar :cheer2:

dogmar - sounds like a blast showing off that sexy bod at your reunion :) rock it!!!

i installed a chin up bar in my basement last night... i have been 'trying' to do one stupid chin up for nearly 15 years! (of course, only recently have i even been able to hold myself up there!) ... so now the test is on! i will try every night to hold and lower a little bit and pull back up...and eventually it will happen!!!

i am at work in body only today - sooo tired of having chronic sinus infections and not being able to take anything for them (I also have thick blood so i cannot take antibiotics to get rid of the infection)... i am 'looking foward' to my surgery in the fall to fix these sinuses!

am at work today, day 2, without my control underwear on... i am feeling a bit nervous as i have been back at work nearly a year since my last mat leave and this is only the second time i've ever come in without it... i was just tired of 'hiding' behind it and being uncomfy all day (and hot!) so... i am trying to accept my roll of belly skin as an accomplishment and not something i shoudl be hiding... deep breath... :)

hope everyone enjoys this 'hump' day!

Good morning everyone! Our tree peony opened up last night and it is so pretty! I don't remember the cultivar name, but it is ruffly and lavender colored and smells very nice. Only one bloom this year -- I cut it off and put it on the kitchen table in a bowl of water. We also have three regular peonies, one of which is blooming.

We officially decided on dog sitter #1. I called her references last night and they were really enthusiastic, while meanwhile sitter #2 didn't even get around to emailing me her list of references. Now it's just finalizing details. I'm glad the decision is made. She gets bonus points for saying in her email that she's looking forward to spending time with Carter. :)

In other news, my parents are coming to visit next week! I'm taking Monday through Wednesday off work to hang out with them. They fly into Chicago today, then we're driving up Saturday to meet them and hang out in Chicago, and driving back to Indy with them on Sunday. It should be fun! On the other hand, this week has to be my spring cleaning week since I want the house to look nice for them. Last night I cleaned all the upstairs windows and dusted the bedrooms. Tonight's plan is cleaning the guest bathroom, cleaning out our cars, and the downstairs windows. Or maybe Carter's nail trim.

Dagmar, great job avoiding the TV!

Happy, good luck with the chin-ups. I can hang from a bar for about 10 seconds but that's it, and I can't hold myself up at the top at all. Someday! First I have to work on being able to do a push-up. :lol:

Sheila, LOL about the dog peeing. When I was a kid our dog peed on my friend's mom's leg! How embarrassing! Carter peed on my leg once, but he was aiming for a shrub. :lol3:

Sheila~no, the golf cart was delivered to their home. It would have been too long a drive anyway. But it is street legal, and she said that last night they drove it to the park that is near their house.

I got peed on by a dog when I was in elementary school. Boy did that make me mad and sad at the same time. I love dogs and never had one growing up. This dog lived by my school and would often come to the playground. I loved petting him--he was a boarder collie. Anyway, one day I was petting him and he peed on my leg. I had on white knee socks. I tried to rinse it out in the sink, but it was so stinky! I think I ended up taking off both socks and going sockless the rest of the day and I'm sure I threw the socks away!

I didn't have a good day yesterday. Eating was out of control for the most part. No scale damage (yet) so I'll have to be extra vigilant today.

Sheila-- eww!!! I've personally been peed on many, many times. I worked for a vet for 15 years plus I've always, always had multiple pets. Speaking of pets, my two dogs decided to throw a wrench in my morning by throwing up everywhere. I didn't sleep well last night and I was pretty sure I heard one of them throwing up during the night. This morning there was plenty of vomit downstairs.... Jozi (the Great Dane) went out and tried to eat grass and started vomiting. She refused breakfast so we assumed she was the culprit. Ozzie (the Doberman) ate breakfast, came in and threw up all over. Sigh... they probably ate something outside yesterday. We can't leave them out or they do that but the weather has been nice.

Great job on being under your redline Dagmar!! I'm sure you'll look great in your pants!

Kim-- I had sinus surgery about 18 years ago and didn't realize that people actually breathe through their nose and blow their nose! I guess my nose was so closed up it never even ran. I had the surgery mainly for chronic headaches but the doctor said there was evidence of many, many repeated sinus infections (that I knew nothing about-- but I'd had chronic bronchitis and asthma for years), multiple polyps, and he removed a lot of extra bone (said my passages were so narrow he had to use pediatric tools). Very glad I had it done. Not sure I could do a chin up either. I've always had little upper body strength too. Good luck without your control underwear! Good practice to keep your abs tight!

Jessica-- glad you are looking forward to seeing your parents. And glad you decided on a pet sitter. You will be glad to not have to worry about that issue now.

Allison-- I succumbed a tad myself yesterday. My cruise was almost a month ago and I still can't get the weight off. I am so sick of being perfect it is driving me crazy. It is teacher appreciation week and I usually get forgotten. Two parents brought me small treats and I was so touched. One of them went to a chocolatier and bought me a chocolate kitty because she knew I liked kitties. I haven't had a treat like that in forever. I did eat him/her and she/he was yummy! Monday was staff breakfast day and I only ate fruit. Yesterday was more food and I ate nothing (at school). Today is Cinco de Mayo and I'm not participating (you only eat if you bring something). Friday is staff appreciation lunch....sigh.....

Dh leaves today to get dd from college. He won't return with her until Saturday. He stays overnight one night in a hotel on the way up, one night there, and then one night coming back. I'm hoping to kick up the exercise and the healthy eating while he's gone to kick this weight off! I have to have my official WW weigh in on Saturday and if my weight is still up, I'll adjust my ticker. I haven't had to do that in forever......

Tabata workout
 

Anyone heard of or done the Japanese Tabata workout? DH emailed me about it - it takes 4 minutes. Very high intensity 20 second reps :eek: with 10 second rests in between.

I'm glad he's looking at doing something but I know this is too much for him :faint: and he'll probably injure himself. He hates, hates :tantrum: to exercise so he's looking for something really quick but I don't think this is it.

He's at band camp tonite and I'm going to watch Top Model without his heckling, followed by The Good Wife with yummy :drool: Chris Noth.

Have a great evening all!

Dagmar :yay: :cheer:

Dagmar, you're right, tabata training is quite intense. It can be a fantastic component of an exercise plan, but a 4 minute cycle of any exercise certainly isn't a complete exercise program -- so if that's what DH wants, this isn't it.

If he's looking for fast and effective workouts in a minimal amount of time, have him check out Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training program. I think it's only 45 minutes, three times a week, and extremely effective for whole body fitness.

But go ahead and let him do a few rounds of tabata squats or lunges so he can figure it out for himself.

Better yet, give him this workout and tell him it has to be done in 90 seconds or less (courtesy of Alwyn Cosgrove):

25 prisoner squats
25 alternating lunges
25 jump squats
25 jump lunges

:devil::devil::devil:

Meg Thanks! Neither DH nor I know what any of the moves (except for alternating lunges) in the Cosgrove workout are, never mind doing them in 90 seconds :lol:.

I will give him the other workout though and I hope he gets some benefit from it.

I am OP for the 4th day, usually my faltering point re eating. I can do this for a whole week. And another, and another . . . oh yeah, they call that maintenance, don't they? :p

Great Thursday all!

Dagmar :dancer:

Hi all,

Owee I am sore. I've been slacking off a bit and am now a bit out of shape! Tuesday I went to the gym and did a legs workout for the first time in about 3 weeks. Squats, side lunges with a barbell, split squats, stiff-legged deadlift, hamstring curls. Yesterday I was sooo sore, so I did abs, and power walked a ran 4 miles. I felt the soreness at first when I started running, but it quickly went to the back of my mind. Now I feel it every time I move my legs, let alone stand up/sit down or attempt stairs! It's a good pain, right? My goal this week is simple - go to the gym 5 days this week.

Actually the gym has really been helping me de-stress after continued crazy/stressful days at work, so I've really been enjoying it, despite the soreness.

Dagmar, you can do it, don't waver!

Meg, jump squats and jump lunges remind me of NRLW's body weight matrix that involves both of those moves. That will make your legs sore, too!

Allison, golf communities and beach communities sound very similar with their golf carts.

Jessica, glad you decided on a dog sitter. Enjoy your parents visit!

Oops... ok... gotta run and do some work. Have a great day all!