Tag Archives: yoga

Hard Core Yoga Sh!t

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Sunday night we had friends over for dinner. The kids are away at Camp Grandma, so we invited another couple over for a quiet evening. Brian made tequila lime telapia, and I made white beans and zucchini from this yummy recipe. I hardly used any potatoes – I have to read that Dr. Oz thing about bad, bad white potatoes – and substituted almost 1/2 c red wine and 1/2 c tomato paste for the tomatoes. It was yummy over quinoa and great for lunch as leftovers today (2 days later).  The tequila lime telapia sauce livens up the quinoa, but it’s high in sugar. (As Brian said, at least it was raw sugar…)

For some reason I could not sleep that night. Actually, I went to sleep at 11:11pm just fine (I remember saying to Brian, “Hey look, the time is one-one-one-one,” and then falling asleep), but at 2:30 am I woke up feeling fully rested. Very weird! (Sugary dinner? Hormones?) And I had cleaned the house much of the day and ran errands in the heat, so it’s not like I wasn’t tired at bedtime.

I tried all my little get-to-sleep tricks in bed for an hour, then decided to change my environment and read in the living room. At about 5am there was a HUGE CRASH from my daughter’s bedroom that scared me. I was almost too scared to go in and check on it (she’s out of town, remember?) but reason said that if it were a burglar there would have been the sound of glass breaking too.

I tiptoed in her room with a phone in my hand ready to either dial 9-1-1 or find the aquarium glass broken all over the floor. (That happened once while guests were staying in her room and it made 2AM SUCK!) But it was a poster. She has a 6′ framed original movie marquee from Peter Pan from 1969 (I think) that was leaning against the wall because we had not rehung it since we painted. It came crashing down somehow. Thank goodness she wasn’t in there to have the bujeezes scared out of her!

So, meanwhile, that was 5am and now my heart was racing… I did manage to fall back asleep around 6:30 am, but slept through 8:30am Yoga. There went my Monday workout…

But I made up for it with a double dose on Tuesday. Kind of a fluke… I did my usual 8:30am class and stayed late to talk to a woman who was in the class who will have her daughter at my daughters’ school next year. We had a lot in common and a lot to talk about, but after an hour I had to shower and make it to work before lunch. But that night the 6pm class was a special Lululemon trunk show / Yoga class, so I went back for that. I saw friends, saw Lululemon goodies, and got my dog downed. Brian said 2 classes in one day for the 2nd week in a row made me “hard core yoga sh!t’. Meanwhile, Brian was out doing speedwork with the Cross Country kids, so we met back up at home all sweaty for a shower-for-two.

I came home and made quesadillas with Brian for dinner. They were made with ingredients we had left over from other meals, so they were quick and tasty. PLL was on, and I got some emailing/web stuffs done.

About that $600 for textbooks crap… well, it’s not crap, it’s education, but at least I am finding them cheaper all over the web. I might get it down to $500. And we decided to try to sell some vintage Fisher Price Little People to see if that would assist at all. So if you know any toy collectors, or parents who don’t care about recall notices, here is the link. My daughter actually photographed them months ago, but this was the push we need to actually put them online. She already managed to sell her Littlest Pets to her great aunt (for her grandchildren to play with.)

Oh – reading in the living room while having insomnia helped me finish my book: My Name Is Memory. My aunt was reading it when I saw her over July 4th weekend, and she recommended it. I read the back cover and it sounded a bit like The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I have loved dearly for years, so I got it from the library. I was able to skim it and still enjoy it… but that’s all I’ll say.

If you want to run across the state of TN in Nov with me and some other crazy people, we have space left on our Ragnar Relay team! Let me know…

Someone told me today I have an awesome figure! I’ll go to bed now thinking on that…

What’s the best compliment you got this month?

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Me? On a boat?

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Wed night Brian was taking Alice for a run – and I can’t keep up with them – so my friend Lora met me to walk their course. We talked about a lot of things, including my upcoming trip to NYC which I am very excited about!

Thurs we read about a fun run in downtown St Pete that was 4 miles looping out and back from a bar. I can usually get friends to run for beer, but not when I learn about the event at 3pm. I did manage to get B, who I used to run with on Tues AM and miss my girl time with. She just got married, and a 4 mile run makes for perfect honeymoon-chat time. Which we did. And ended back at the bar with, not beer, but some very special water with added elements that is $18 a 6-pack. My daughter says she’s had it before, out of our tap at home. Ha! I said, “But the bottle clearly states to take all vitamins 30 minutes before drinking.” To which the ever growing 14 year old brain responded, “So you believe it because it has instructions?” B won a box of Marathon Snickers bars, and she’s gluten free, so she gave them to us and Alice was in heaven. We hadn’t had dinner before the run (it started at 7pm) and now it was pushing 9pm and she was hungry, so she wolfed one down and tried some pink MIX drink that I couldn’t try because it had tea in it and I’m allergic to tea.

B and I found out we missed a loop somewhere in the course, so I don’t know if we ran 3 miles, but it was fun and there was a steep incline up a bridge, and we put one foot in front of the other. It was also the first time someone asked Alice if she was in high school and she could answer “YES!”

Wendy is off hiking in Mt Zion. Red rocks, sleeping under stars, kayaking… pretty darn awesome. I hope to the Lord above she does not lose her camera. Not only because it was expensive, but because I want to see evidence of the awesomeness she experienced. I won’t get to see her right when she gets home because she flies in about 3 hours after I leave for NYC, so we will cross paths in the air and Brian will bond with the Tampa airport.

Today I am off to YOGA with Destry! Power flow class that is changing the shape of my tummy completely. I say tummy and not core because it doesn’t really affect my @$$ much. But I love it! If it doesn’t rain while I am in NYC, I have found Yoga in the Park at 3 different parks both AM and PM to try. (And a free burlesque show if I dare go out alone at night in the city).

Tonight we are going to be on a boat for a sailing challenge. We have NEVER sailed. Ever. And it’s a 2-couple thing, the other couple invited us and they know what they are doing. He even works for Harken. Which if you have sailed you might know manufacturers sailboat parts. And they said to just follow their lead. My first question was, of course, what should I wear? Swimsuit, shorts, sneakers, water socks?? I’ll worry about getting hit in the head by equipment later when we’re out on the water… gotta love new adventures.

Speaking of new adventures – if you are new to running, we have a lot of women who are new runners on our Disney Wine and Dine half marathon team! Early Oct in Orlando won’t be cool, the leaves won’t be orange, but it WILL be the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival, and it’s a HM that starts at 10pm so you get to finish around midnight with the park open to just race goers. And you get to party with us and the Digital Running Club crew. If you aren’t new to running, you can run up ahead with Brian and a couple other fasties on the team. And I, of course, will be the team mom with all the gear and organizational skills.

Going to find my zen now. Enjoy your weekend!!

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Freakin’ Streakin’

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I did end up doing Bodyflow on Wed night and it felt great.
Thurs. morning I skipped my workout to take my daughter to get braces. The poor dear’s teeth are so messed up they could only put on the top ones. We’ll see what happens over the next 3 months – she’ll probably go into 2011 with a full metal mouth.
Thurs night was karate. My back was still a bit sore, but not painful. We practiced one-step sparring. Your partner takes one step towards you and punches, you have to block the punch and take the person down to the mat. Somehow I ended up partnered with the tallest, biggest man in the class. I’ve heard that he’s never gentle. I was pretty scared. The first time he flipped me over in a 360 the teacher said, “You looked petrified.” And I was, but once I was actually flipping through the air it felt like I was flying and I wanted him to do it again. The teacher said Wendy is ready to test for blue belt and I’m ready for a stripe on my green belt. I’m not going to test next week though, I want to come as “Wendy’s mom” with the camera and take video and let her have her spotlight. I’m hoping the whole family can go together.
Friday I went walking with a friend around her neighborhood and came home to do some abs.
Saturday was a fun run. I convinced Brian to join me at the Lululemon Tampa Showroom birthday bash, which was the “Bare It All Birthday Bash”, a 5k run followed by a yoga class.
The Facebook event page said: No need to invest in a party ensemble, this event is clothing optional! Yep, you heard it right! Less is best but we don’t post bail…

Finishing mile

My finishing mile on beautiful Bayshore Dr., Tampa

The funky 5k led by Nicole Sturtze included bootcamp checkpoints. After the first mile we did 33 pushups and a 33 second plank. At the 1.5 mile stop we were meant to do 33 burpees. (I think I did 8.) Then we all ran back to the one mile point, and then there was a race to the finish. Then we had an outdoor yoga class taught by triathlete/yogi Lisa Jamison.

The morning culminated in mimosas, mini chocolate cupcakes, goody bags, and prizes for the first finishing male and female. Brian was the first finishing male and got a wonderful long sleeve tech shirt that is fuzzy like fleece but wicking like tech stuff, with silver to keep it from getting smelly. I avoided the sugar like a good girl.

We came home and showered, and started to iron out the errands that needed to be run that day. Suddenly, the phone rang and my high school buddy Cindy and her husband asked if they could pop by. She lives in Boston, but he’s a pilot, so they fly places very last minutes and wanted to spend time with us before their real reason for coming – a Sunday trip to EPCOT’s Food and Wine Festival. I was off to volunteer at a fundraiser for My Hope Chest, and Brian & I were invited to a friend’s 30th birthday party, and Wendy had a Halloween party – but they came for about 18 hours to hang out. We ran our errands, I got all fancied up, went to the fundraiser from 4-8, and after some clean up I joined Brian and our buddies at the birthday party. Then they pretty much had pancakes, packed up, and left for Orlando.

Sunday I took the kids for some professional photos. (Sneak peek below of what I snapped with my phone while waiting around.) Then we watched An Inconvenient Truth for their National History Day project. I had never seen it before. The message is powerful but it’s all information I’ve heard by now. girls

We have a very busy week coming up with a karate test, cross country meet, 7th grade parent social, Halloween parties, trick or treating, Fall Fun Day at school, Beauty and the Beast rehearsal and meetings at work – with my lead graphic designer out of town. I also plan to meet our old karate instructor at Bodyflow Wed night. I hope I can keep my head on straight. I’ll let you know how it goes!

2010 goal update: 750 crunches, 17 minutes of plank remaining

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Sore Betty

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Last night my sore lower back kept waking me up. Every position I tried hurt, and when I tried to shift or roll over that hurt too. Why, you ask? Well, I think it was a combo of things.

Monday I focused on upper body at the gym. I did about 12 mins on the Stairmaster before working my upper body with a combo of machines and free weights. I start with the big muscle groups – like chest and bicpes, and move down to tricpes and shoulders, and then start it all over again. I also did some one legged bent over rows which makes my mid back feel great. I did a quick mile on the treadmill, snuck in to 10 mins of Zumba and then called it a morning. None of that was a bother.

That night we went to karate. I got thrown to the ground a few times by the teacher when he was demonstrating. (on a gym mat). That may have done something… mostly we worked on how to get out of wrist grabs, though (Jiu-jitsu).

Tues morning I met B at the park for our 3 mile run. I asked if she’d rather do a bootcamp workout or just run. Since she had done 4.5 miles the night before, she opted for Bootcamp and I pulled this work out off The Fitnessista’s website.

5 min warm up
Sprint 45 seconds
Walking lunges 30 seconds
Jog 2 min
30 sec bench pushups
Jog one min
Sprint 45 sec
Bench tricep dips 30 seconds
Jog 2 min
High knees 45 seconds
Squat 45 seconds
Butt kicks 45 seconds
Jog 2 mins. Easy
Sprint 1 min
Tricep dips 30 seconds
Jog 2 mins.
Push ups 30 seconds
Jog 5 min easy to cool down.

We pounded the pavement and made it through with one drink break and changing the jumping high knees into walking high knees. I’ve never made it through before, and I could feel my lower back start to get sore, but it was worth it.

Tues night was our regular karate class. We actually did jump kicks back and forth across the room for about 20 mins! So 30-something year old me barefoot on the hard gym floor trying to run and then leap up and do a back kick. Yah, that was not pretty. I felt bad for the kids in the class who had to see that! Then we did form for the end of class, and at one point that involved working on jumping again.

So today I woke up knowing it was going to be a day to go easy. I headed for the gym with a BOOK in my hand. I rarely read when doing cardio, because I will totally focus more on the book than the cardio and barely work out. But I did today on purpose, to take it easy. I did 10 mins of brisk walking on the treadmill to get things warm and loose. Then I did 10 mins on the Stairmaster. Then 20 mins of restorative yoga – some of the Lunar Flow class from Yogadownloads.com and a lot of my own cat-cow and supine stretches thrown in.

Maybe I’ll be able to catch Bodyflow at the gym tonight. That would feel nice…

2010 goal update: 850 crunches, 18 minutes of plank remaining

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Welcome mat

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half-moon-pose-ardha-chandrasanaI tried a new yoga class today. My kids’ school added a class Thurs AM for parents. It was a bit slow for me but reminded me of the lack of balance I have in Half Moon pose. The teacher helped me roll my chest and shoulder out into a straight line, though.

After a full day at work making some attorney web sites I had karate class. We started a mat work unit. This means we have big gym mats to tumble on and – UGH! – we had to do forward rolls across the room. So you start standing, roll, stand, roll, stand, etc. And it’s not a somersault, because you skip your head and use your shoulder. It’s fun to watch the teacher flip black belts around and upside down to show why we need to learn forward rolls, though. Mat work is my least favorite unit in karate, and I hope it only lasts 3 wks.

Wed I did a full body workout at the gym. Treadmill, Stairmaster, abductor, lunges with medicine ball, upper body weight machines for 1st set, and hand weights with a big swiss ball for 2nd set. I did abs and stretched, and still had a little time, so I went back to the treadmill and jogged along side Richie for a while. His pace kept me going and when he stopped to answer his phone I promptly got off the treadmill and showered.

Brian’s birthday is Monday. (Hear that, arunnersblog readers?) So I made a rum cake to stick in the fridge and soak up some rum – thus it will be ready to enjoy all weekend. Saturday we need to work on the plumbing in the house, but we plan to go out to dinner in the evening. Hopefully we won’t need to do plumbing on Sunday.

Alice is at the Taylor Swift concert tonight. Some good friends got superb tix and took her for her birthday (coming March 23). Taylor Swift is the only celebrity she really seems to follow, and she has an autographed photo of her framed in her bedroom. I’m sure she’ll have a blast! I think my first concert was Richard Marx. Do you remember yours?

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