Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Hit the gym again for the first time since the wreck and it was really the highlight of my day. 30 minutes of cardio again, I'll probably do that tomorrow as well and then lift on Thursday.
Friday we drive to Tulsa, my father in law is walking! I am so excited that he has made such tremendous progress and we're going to have yet another 2 year old party for our boy (with all the Oklahoma relatives, combined with grandpa in law's 80th birthday).
Once again I have a monster headache and that description is coincidental but it actually came from drinking M0nster energy dr!nk again and then for going it today. I lost my focus here...(see:headache, huge).

Some good things I want to list:

Blood pressure down to averaging 100/60 from 120/80 and a resting heart rate down in the 60s, that is awesome. Also I am stronger both when lifting weights and doing cardio but I'm not sure how to quantify that without it being even more boring than this.

Still being positive and also, made a new friend! Like, a real friend that I call without feeling awkward and talk to every day. Very cool.

Sunday, July 29, 2007


Monster truck picture for M@rla.
Monday I was too tired/hungover/still extremely sore to do a workout plus it was my baby's birthday, but Tuesday I was back in the gym. I did thirty minutes of cardio again, ten min bike, ten min incline walking on treadmill, and ten minutes on the bouncy elliptical. The incline walking can get my heart rate up too high quite easily so I say poo to the idea that walking doesn't do "enough". If you're strolling along at your local outlet mall then I would agree but if you are hauling ass or going up and down hills, it counts damnit.
Wednesday I did the same thing.
Thursday? Thursday I got rear ended while sitting at a yield sign and I've been dealing with the fall out from that ever since. I've thought myself better though and have only slight soreness despite the initial pain and discomfort. The hitter (me being the hittee) was a stand up guy who had insurance and every thing is just about over, just have to drop my car off at the body shop tomorrow and once that is done I can get on with things. I'm already thinking of what I can do at the gym tomorrow, this inactivity sucks but I remain positive. It's amazing what your mind can do for you, now I think I know why they say weight loss is mainly in your head. I've eaten meals lately that should have bloated me up but I tell myself how nice it is to be this size and to be healthy and I'm aware that I sound like a kook but I am not gaining even though I would have before. *Cue the twilight zone music

Monday, July 23, 2007



If I could have my way this would be an entry filled with gorgeous photos of our son and touching stories and phrases. However, things never seem to go the way I want them to, and here it is his birthday and I have no such glorious entry crafted.



In fact, I would say becoming a mother IS the only thing that has gone the way I want it, and far beyond. I never knew I would have a comedian, a musician, a dancer and a singer at my disposal any time I want. Any time other than nap or snack time that is, and he works cheap.



I never knew that one little body could stop my heart with one shaky step, make it burst with one sidelong glance, make it grow each day he’s alive. Every day with our son I am one day closer to being a complete person, I can feel it. I am one half of his world (hey, Da Da counts too) and in the mornings when his hair is tussled and his skin all warm and snuggly and those little arms reach out for me, I know I’ve done something right.

Happy Birthday John Reid bear, two years old and on top of the world.

Sunday, July 22, 2007

In about six hours I have roughly 25 people descending on our house, and I INVITED THEM. WTF was I thinking? Still some cleaning that needs to be done and of course the massive amounts of food and balloons and I have to make The Cake.
Our little guy turns two tomorrow and I'll try and write an entry relevant to that then. Yesterday morning, despite wading through a cheerleader convention that took up the all of the parking, and having to endure their grating "cheering", I made it in to the gym and lifted there for the first time. I got to use a squat rack, something new for me, and that must surely be why my legs hate me today and I have slowly lower and raise myself from the toilet. You wanted to know.
I hurt all over today, thanks to the reunion with my beloved assisted pull-up/dip machine (combined with all the other moves) my upper body is in bad shape today too. Just what I needed when trying to get ready for a big party! I'm happy, don't get me wrong.
I also tried the waterfall pool after lifting, its about a foot deep with waterfalls at one end-designed for sunbathing. Of course after laying out for 20 minutes I became convinced that skin cancer was sprouting on my shoulders, so that may be used sporadically. It was very relaxing though, I felt like I was on vacation and I sense this could be something I can use for stress management, not to mention there are family hours that we can bring our little sweetie.

Friday, July 20, 2007

I did go swim yesterday in the lap pool, and yes it was a comedic disaster actually getting to the pool. I had anxiety about not knowing exactly where to go, how to act, what to do and oh my God I might do something wrong and other people would see me! Ack! <-------get over it, honey.
I decided to ask the front desk guy, despite it making me squirmy to do so, if there was anything special I needed to know-did they have towels or should I bring one, was their a locker room in the pool area, etc. I had seen doors on the other side of the glass with the different locker room designations so I thought maybe they had locker room areas over there as well. He said no they didn't and to just wrap my towel around me if it bothered me and they had towels for 25 cents but to bring my own if I wanted in case. I specifically told him I was there to swim and he waved me on through with nary a mention that the DAMN POOL WAS NOT OPEN FOR ANOTHER HOUR.
Yes, I changed out, took a shower so I was now WET in my bathing suit, walked out through the front entry of the locker room right in front of all the cardio bunnies and meat heads only to walk up to the glass doors that surprisingly did NOT OPEN. There is something about trying to open a door that is locked that embarrasses me in a big way. I them hear someone say, "What's that girl doing in a bathing suit..." right before I read the hours sign for the fifth time to finally see that on weekends it opens at ten but during the week its closed 'till 11:30. It was 10:45 by that time, I turned and walked quickly back to the locker room while my mind whirled crazily. There was an entrance to the pool directly from the locker room, which I had tried and finding it locked concluded, "This must be why the front desk guy did not mention this door, they must not use it" before I walked out to do my walk of shame. I had reasoned that surely he would have mentioned the pool was not open, but that's what I get for assuming things. It makes an ass out of me and me.

I've never had good luck with combination locks and this was no exception. I am standing there dripping and embarrassed (though that was lessening, who gives a flip what those people think) and struggling with the damned thing for quite a while before I got it open. Put my clothes back on and even though I was wearing sandals I decided to go upstairs and walk on the indoor track. So I walked a mile, stretched a bit, and then was able to change back out and go through the previously locked door.
The sign on the wall said there were five lanes, 5 being the slowest swimmers and yet there was no designation of what was what. I had to get the lifeguard's attention which was sort of hard to do since he was busy staring outside acting bored while simultaneously thinking about how HOTT he finds himself. After he said no one pays attention to that I just did my thing and swam for thirty minutes, pretty much constantly. I did ten laps, twenty lengths, or 500 meters-whatever you want to call it. My neck was killing me since I was keeping my face out of the water the whole time (no goggles or anything) but I really liked it and plan on buying some gear to make it more fun. Goggles and probably the weird little nose clip thingie, I want to go underwater a lot more, that was always what I liked about swimming when I was a kid-going underwater and doing as many flips as possible. It made me feel like a mermaid or a dolphin-I always had a good imagination.

No workout today, I had planned on lifting but I'm incredibly fatigued today and feeling crappy from something that was in my sushi last night-must have been msg I think. My finger joints and wrists are swollen and the skull sinus on the back of my head hurts. Damn it's already 4 and this house is still a wreck. I have 18-20 people coming over here and I am no where near ready. At least I bought the cake mix and other stuff for it, gotta have priorities and I only get to eat this cake once a year when I make it myself. I'll have to post the recipe, it is beyond delicious.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

I'll actually post later about my swimming experience, but for now just an fyi I answered comments in the comment section. I wish there was an easier way, that's my one complaint about blogspot. Livejournal has a great commenting system.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Today must be a rest day, I am "tore up from the floor up" as the saying goes. I am just exhausted and my body is being held together with string, not to mention I'm still having random female trouble and that doesn't mix with today's activity.
I packed my bag last night so I had full intentions but it is just not to be today. I think I'll go to school and then come home and take a nap. This house has to be clean by Sunday (little guy's 2nd birthday party) and someone has to do it. It's never a full blown sty but it sure can look like it with toys and Hubby detritus everywhere.

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Hit the gym again today, this time I did 15 minutes on the stair master (and of course my left knee started complaining), then 16 on the elliptical but this one was different than what I am used to and I really liked it, felt like I was doing a combo of bouncing /dancing which is why I went on past the 15 minute mark a bit and had to tell myself to stop.
My legs don't even want to go on at this point, the white flag is up and waving frantically back and forth. Tomorrow, I swim laps.
I have never been in a lap pool and also I had to go buy a bathing suit that would not have my bosomy area popping out left and right. Wow, one piece bathing suits are really unflattering, especially ones made for sporty type stuff. Kada, they were all racer back style and I did not like it either! I remembered your post on it. Also I wear anything from a 4-8 now and I had to get a size 14 to fit. WTF? Whatever, as long as I can swim in it and not have my ass showing through the material or boobage popping out, I will call it good. I plan on swimming tomorrow and then we shall see what's next. The waterfall pool is going to get a visit too but it's just to lay around and be lazy in, not for SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Did I mention I don't know how to swim "properly"? This should be good. Yep.
Saw two girls actually using free weights today. The first was doing bicep curls (meh, though I am not totally snobby about that like some people I've read) and the second was doing Bulgarian split squats. Progress I think, I'm a bit nervous about lifting in public again, I like private so much better since I can try things out without an audience and spitting and scratching are allowed, not to mention I just bring my iPod stereo out to the garage instead of having the earbud cords strangling me. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Monday, July 16, 2007

I could strangle my last OB/GYN, I feel more and more that she has contributed greatly to a lot of my mysterious female issues. Whats more, when I communicated to her that I had too much pain to have relations (wink wink, nudge nudge) with my husband she was not too concerned about fixing it. She's seemed increasingly bitter towards her own husband and I don't appreciate the fallout on me. Anyway, sonogram came out clean so my new gyno thinks maybe the nuvaring birth control I was on, which is higher in estrogen-THANKS OLD GYNO, might be encouraging the out of control bleeding, disrupted cycle, etc. Anyway, she's moved me to a different type and I think I'm going to like it, instead of sugar pills during your off week (in this case four days) you have iron pills. That's pretty neat and something I need as I am always slightly anemic or borderline.
FIL is now in rehab hospital to work on his left side, heart is doing great but the after effects from the stroke are what is bothering him at this point. Thank you for well wishes for him and me as well, much appreciated.
The vaccinations I got on Friday kicked my ass all weekend. They were required for my program this fall in order to insure me while I see patients. Measles, mumps rubella (mmr), tetanus/diphtheria and a tuberculin skin test-all of which left me feeling crappy. Today I did manage to get to the gym for the first time since we went and played racquetball together, and I knocked out 30 minutes of fairly intense cardio and managed to like it. I decided to go back to my old method when I started exercising which was 30 min cardio, ten minutes on 3 machines. I started with the stationary bike, then the tread for intervals, then the stair master. No stair master today, my knees need the break I think so I did incline walking and some running on the treadmill for some extra time. Nice equipment, nice facilities, etc. Of course this IS at one of the snootiest private colleges around so I'll just let you imagine the clientèle.
Speaking of taking it easy, I've had this weird sore spot on my spine that started freaking me out when it got really big and hurty this weekend and the skin was red. Doc said it is bone, I was right and that it is most likely from lifting too heavy over my head. Whoops! I have to take it down a notch so I will probably switch to lateral raises for a bit, or I may just cut back the weight even though I think it is already a paltry amount.
The free weights area at the new gym is meathead central which I am not too excited about, I only saw one woman working out over there and of course that was with her boyfriend who was putting her through the paces. Lots of ab work, no heavy lifts that I saw, definitely no compound movements. Sigh.
Please update lovelies, I have no energy and would like to be able to read stuff.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Back but I've just been too exhausted and busy to get online much. I am usually bored surfing the net wondering why no one understands I am the center of the universe and they should update for my amusement. Lately I have not even had enough time to make it through my regular reads, let alone hit Whingey Level Orange, Danger Danger.
Anyway, FIL is doing well/not doing well depending on what angle you examine the situation from-he has been finally moved to a private room out of ICU I THINK, though that could be misinformation as they tried to move him before but he had a stroke that morning that made him go back to ICU. He had four bypasses and it was a beating heart surgery, meaning no bypass machine was used which as a science nerd I find absolutely fascinating. Only a very quick, very skilled surgeon can pull that off and that part of the ordeal went very well. They couldn't just go in and clean out the blockage because diabetes had thinned out the connecting portions of his arteries, they were screwed every which way to Sunday so had to be chunked in the bin basically. His leg is hurting something awful where they took out the vessels used for the bypasses.
I am about to leave to get a sonogram done, abnormal bleeding and pain has been plagueing me since last Tuesday and my doc wants to find out what is going on inside. My mother had a full hysterectomy at roughly one year older than I am now because she had cysts that did not dissolve which turned cancerous. I am praying this is not what is going on right this minute as I sit here and type.
I've experienced some wonderful, tasty healthy food lately and discovered some great restaurants. Yesterday I had a meal by myself in a French place and it was absolutely incredible. I can see why they say French women don't get fat, the food is so damn good it's a crime to choke it down like I do burgers and fries. I took forever to eat my soup and salad and crusty bread and felt super satisfied when I was done. I also spent a lot of moola at Target and got tons of great tops, I think I left feeling so happy because I avoided trying on pants.
So, drinking water to have a full bladder, about to go get a rude test done and I only hope nothing terrible is wrong, but I don't have the best feeling at this point. I'm trying to catch up on blogs as I can, hope all is well.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

My father-in-law went in for his angiogram this morning and it was as far from good as it gets. They're doing a full bypass on him immediately and we are headed that way in the morning. His blood force (push of blood through the chambers) dropped from an already bad 35% of 60 down to 20% and his arteries are obstructed big time. One is pinched and the other may not even be operable.
People, this man was thought to be in relatively good health, but he had diabetes unknown to any of us that has screwed up his heart in a big way and I'm terrified I'm going to lose someone very special to me.
We only get one body, let's hope they can repair his. I guess I'll be doing a ton of walking since I'll be out of my element. I'm an emotional passionate person and my husband and his whole family are very stoic and detached, pray for me or send good thoughts, whatever your preference.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Still extremely sore this morning, I guess it will just be walking for me today. I have my last lab practical at 11:50 and I just don't wanna study or take it, so burnt out and I still have two more years to go. I've been doing this for 4 yrs now and I just want to be done. Meh. I know I will be pumped again when I get into my program and am doing field work, so no worries.
Nasal passages feeling great still and when I finally got to sleep, I slept HARD. Must be getting more oxygen, eh?

Sunday, July 01, 2007

I ordered a neti pot and it arrived Saturday, but for some reason I felt overwhelmed with the idea of mixing things and pouring it through my nostrils. Tonight I dug down for a bigger set of balls (metaphorically) and did it and I feel great! I think I've gone around with partially obstructed passages and mucus in my throat pretty much all the time and just thought that was normal. Apparently it's not and you feel way better if you get rid of it. Let's say I am feeling extremely optimistic that I will rest better and not get sick as often as I tend to do. At least four or five doctors have told me my issues stem from allergies and that Dallas is one of the top allergen centers of the country so I have to take meds every day or just deal with it. Perhaps some natural medicine can do the trick, please, please, please.
I now have the use of my arms, at least partially. What a weird statement, eh? Well my husband and I played an hour or more of racquetball yesterday and if you've never experienced this particular game, it is an ass kicking workout. I used to play my own modified version of it at home with a tennis racket, bouncing a tennis ball against the back wall of the house and keeping it going was the objective. I did that all the time when I was much younger, maybe 12-15 yrs ago. So let's just all assume I got my ass handed to me and am sore in places I didn't know existed. My right arm in particular has been pretty much useless all day, like the Wii arm you hear about but I actually played a sport instead of a video game. (not that I am against the gaming system, anything that gets people active is great) We had so much fun and it was a great workout that just felt like play time. I can't wait to do it again.
Speaking of playing again, I'll probably play solo several times a week now that my class schedule is shifting and I'm familiar with the gym. It's gorgeous, only about a year or two old with all these nifty features I've never had the privilege of using. I will be trying a guided nordic track treadmill class with hills and sprinting, heavy bag cardio class, and a fused yoga pilates class-though that one may be harder to get to. There's a staircase you can run and then it has a track that goes down you can walk instead of running back downstairs-hard to explain but way cool. Well equipped free weights area that I'll definitely be taking advantage of, individual lcd screen tv's on the cardio machines, an indoor rock climbing facility, lap pool, outdoor lounge area pool that's shallow and you can just hang out-waterfalls and such. We both have memberships for $10/month because of Husband's employment at the university. Not bragging, just super excited. I've never been part of something like this, it's like fitness heaven. The showers even have the little bench enclosed with the stall but out of the water area so you can put your stuff down there without it getting wet. My new class will be over by 11:30 and I can just cruise over there before picking up the young'un.
It will probably be another week before I tackle the classes, we shall see. Two more exams and anatomy I is over.

PS Live Free Die Hard was the most fun, exciting movie I've seen in a long time. Obviously it's an action flick, but I'd say it's the best one in quite a while.