Day 140 - Finally Friday!

Friday!!!!  This has been a really long week.  But, this is going to be a great weekend.  The good news is that I got off on the right foot.  I did an hour on the bike at lunch today and then went to my yoga class tonight.  Both exercise sessions felt really good.  The lunch bike ride was energizing, and the yoga class was relaxing.  That’s exactly what I needed today.

Today’s challenge was just that I needed to make the time at lunch time to exercise.  It was a busy morning and it would have been really easy to skip lunch and just work through.  But, I knew I needed to take the time and get on the bike.  I am so proud of myself that I did it, and had a great hour on the bike.

The surprise of the day was that Steve put up the outside Christmas lights today.  So, by the end of the weekend, we should be completely decorated for Christmas.  And, we’ve gotten a lot of the shopping done already.  So, I just need to finish things up and see what is left to do.  That will make for a fun and exciting weekend.

Tomorrow is a weigh in and picture day.  I can’t wait to see how this week went!

Day 139 - I Declare a Holiday!

I was supposed to exercise as soon as I got home, but I wanted to watch the rest of the congressional hearing on autism.  Then, I was going to go to yoga.  But you know what?  I am so hyped and excited right now the last thing I can even think about is being peaceful and focused.  So, I am declaring a holiday in honor of the autism hearing and am just going to bask in the fact that someone is finally listening.  It was so good to see the CDC squirm under the pointed questions and have national leaders recognize that there are real, serious issues that need to be addressed.  Today I am going to hope that they are listening and that a change really is going to come.  (Tomorrow will be back to the program!)

Day 138 - Pinched Finger, but a Pretty Tree

Another Wednesday and I’m exhausted.  Again.  Before the muscle challenge class, most of the people were comparing which muscles still hurt after Monday.  At least I’m not alone in my pain!  Then, class was really, really tough tonight.  When I was putting my weights away, I pinched my finger.  So, by the time yoga started, I was in a great mood.  But, at least yoga put me in a better frame of mind.  There is something about ‘one breath, one movement’ that is really relaxing – even when you’re sweating profusely!

Today’s challenge is just work related stuff.  I have so much going on, and it is driving me completely insane.  If I make it through the end of January with my sanity and employment intact, it will be a true miracle.

The surprise of the day was that Steve put up the tree last night while I was sleeping.  And, he got out all the boxes of decorations.  After work and before the gym, we started to decorate the tree.  It was nice.  Michael is really getting into decorating the house this year.  So, despite everything else going on, all I have to do is look up, see the decorations, and I smile.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.  But, I am going to bed early tonight, so I am hoping to be ready for whatever happens.  Have a great night!

Day 137 - A Little Sick Guy

I am so glad today was a rest day!  I was sore from yesterday’s classes by lunch time.  But, it’s the kind of sore where you know you worked really hard, but it’s not so bad you never want to do it again.  Hopefully, by tomorrow evening, I’ll be ready to go again.

The challenge of the day was that Michael had to stay home sick from school.  He has a little cold and I didn’t want him to share it with the rest of his school.  He’s angling to stay home again tomorrow, too.  I guess we’ll see how he sleeps tonight and how he’s feeling in the morning.

The surprise of the day was just that he’s handling being sick so well.  He pretty much stayed under the covers and played quietly in his room most of the day.  Now, he was watching movies on Netflix and DVDs most of the time, so it wasn’t exactly educational.  But, he wasn’t whining and was actually fairly pleasant.  That’s more than I can say when I’m not feeling well.

But, tonight I am going to get to bed early so I can really be at my best tomorrow.  OK, I am just tired and want to go to sleep.  Have a great night!

Day 136 - Back to Myself!

Today was a much better day! I woke up in a good mood today, and it stuck for the day.  By the time I was supposed to go to the gym, I was really ready.   I took some advice and had a protein shake before I left for the gym tonight.  I mixed a banana into it, so it had both protein and carbs.  My performance in both classes was much better, and I am not nearly as cold as I have been.  This might just work!

Classes tonight were really good.  I normally do a different triceps exercise when everyone else is doing dips on the side of the bench.  Tonight, I decided to give it a try.  I only made it through 5 dips, and then my arms gave out.  But, it was better than I thought I could do.  Of course, when my arms gave out, I landed right on top of a 15 pound weight.  I should have an interesting bruise tomorrow!  But, I am so proud of myself for trying, and being able to do some.  Of course, for the second set, I went back to overhead triceps dips.

Yoga was good, too.  I had to make modifications to some of the poses, and I couldn’t hold down dog as long as everyone else, but I am definitely making progress.  It feels so good to be able to do more and more every class. 

The challenge of the day was remembering to make the shake before I left for the gym.  I had planned it all out last week, even making sure we had almond milk in the refrigerator.  But, I was so excited to get out of the house, I almost forgot.  But, I remembered and I really benefitted from it.

The surprise of the day was definitely being able to do the triceps dips.  Even though I couldn’t do as many as everyone else, I was still so proud of myself for being able to do any.  I really, really love that I am getting stronger every week.  And, I am sure that my muscles got a great workout tonight, and will be very thankful to have a rest day tomorrow!

Day 135 - A Challenging Day

Today has pretty much been a challenge.  I’m not quite sure why, but I’ve been really down all day.  I managed to get an hour in on the bike and an hour on wii exerbeat.  They were two decent workouts, so I should have gotten some decent endorphins, but no such luck.  For now, I’m just going to be happy that I stuck it out and followed my plan for the day. 

The surprise of the day was just that Steve and Dan finished painting the little room upstairs.  It looks really nice and they should be able to re-load the room tomorrow.  Steve has done a few minor repairs and the room is much better now.  Hopefully, we will be able to get everything set up and set up for our next round of HBOT.

I think I’m going to keep this entry pretty short and just hope that I’ll feel better tomorrow.  Have a good night!

Day 134 - Nineteen Week Results

Weekend!!  It feels like a really festive weekend.  For me, the weekend after Thanksgiving has always been the start of Christmas.  We were going to get out the decorations today and start getting the house ready for Christmas.  But, we had a couple major projects to finish first.  One of those projects was to paint the tiny extra bedroom that we use for the hyperbaric chamber and move some furniture around upstairs.  That is going to take the better part of the weekend.  But, once it’s done, it will make everything a lot easier.  And, it will make Michael’s room nicer.  He should like that!

Between Thanksgiving this week and some water retention issues, I was really worried to get on the scale this morning.  But, despite everything, I was still down a pound for a total of 42 pounds.  I am hoping that next week will be a better loss to make up for this week.  However, losing weight over Thanksgiving, I am happy!

I went to yoga this morning and had a really good class.  She did some hip opening poses that I was really surprised to be able to do.  I never thought I’d be able to do a pose called ‘pretzel’!  Later, when I was walking down the stairs, I noticed that it was much easier.  I really think to yoga class helped me today!  Then, while Steve and Dan were busy painting upstairs, I put in an hour on the exercise bike.  It was pretty low key, but a great way to finish up.

The challenge today was trying to keep my expectations reasonable – both on the scale and for what I hoped to accomplish this weekend.  I think I am doing OK with both.  Yes, I would have been happier to have a bigger loss this week, but realistically, any loss this week is wonderful.  And, we have an extra long Christmas season this year, taking two extra days to get the decorations put up is not that big of a deal.  If it means that the upstairs is better organized and Michael’s room is more ‘his’, that is a happy thing.

The surprise today was that Michael is getting much better at doing things for himself.  We decided to have a Michael independence day.  All day long we asked him to do things on his own that we normally do for him.  When he had questions, I walked him through step by step, but still let him do it on his own.  He was a little scared by the idea, but I think he was proud of himself, too.  He was hoping tomorrow would be ‘normal’, but I think we’re going to have him do more and more things himself and see just what he can do.