I'm literally cutting and pasting an email I sent some friends this morning. Read it and you'll know why. :)
-------------
Sorry I've been MIA. Here's the timeline of our last week:
Thurs: Scott picks up kids from daycare and learns three other kids puked that day. Nice.
Sat: Gracie started vomiting, felt better Sunday though...
Mon: Gracie started in again
Later Mon: Scott started
Sometime between Mon and Tues: Ian and I started
Tues pm: everyone seemed relatively well - whew!
Wed early am: I started again. And again. And again. Every 20-45 min for 12 hours. I would have gone to the hospital, but by the time it was convenient for Scott to take me, I felt I was through the worst of it. I am probably still dehydrated and would probably be recovering better had I received fluids, but I'll manage. I think I could have come back to work sooner had I done that, but oh well, it's just work, right? LOL I'm back today though dull-eyed and saggy-tailed. :)
When I called the dentist in SLO to cancel the kids' appts on Tues morning, they said I was the third parent to call and cancel because of stomach flu that morning and it was only 8:45! Watch out and stay healthy...and obviously stay away from those damn Thayers! LOL
Seriously though, if I haven't responded to email or something, that is why. I literally did not leave our master bedroom for two entire days.
On the plus side, I dropped 10 pounds (well, 9.8 to be exact and obviously all fluid, but I'll take it!) in two days and kicked my diet coke habit since I haven't been able to drink it fand now I don't even miss it. As my Nana would say, "there's some good in all evil."
Happy Friday! Hope you're all well!!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
If you let someone else pack your gym bag, double-check it before you leave the house
First, let me say that my husband is an amazing, wonderful, sweetheart. He is always so helpful and supportive. Today he was helping me get out of the house to Body Combat before work and he packed up my gym bag with my street clothes and such. Awesome, thanks sweetie!
Then he calls me on the cell when I'm just a few minutes away from the gym (and 30 miles from home) to let me know that he thinks he forgot to put my bra in the bag. Eep! Since I go to work straight from the gym and don't have time for the hour round trip, I'm thinking, what to do, what to do...
When I got the the gym, I checked my bag and sure enough, the bra wasn't there. Luckily, the gym had sports bras for sale in their little shop area. So I purchased one to wear to work since the one I had on would be disgusting once I got through with Combat.
Cut to the shower room after class. I get out of the shower and dry off and start to get dressed. I start to put the new sports bra on and get it over my head and my arms partially through when I realize that I'm stuck. The combination of the snug fitting sports bra (they didn't have my size so I had to go one smaller and cross my fingers) and my semi-damp, fresh from the shower skin had caused the bra to twist around itself as I pulled it down and it was now stopped around my neck and upper arms. I was standing there with my elbows flailing in the air in an attempt to get the damn thing to either move up and off or down and into place where it belonged.
After much grunting, tugging, and pulling...success! Thank god there weren't any other women in the locker room because I'm sure that would have been quite the show. My second attempt went a bit more smoothly. Having learned from that first experience, I put my head through first, then one arm at a time and was able to get it on without too much trouble that time. Whew!
And I tell you what, I am looking STYLIN' now. Because I have such an awesome figure to start with, that smooshing my boobs down with a too-small sports bra to make me look even more frumpy is really working for me. Girls, watch your men cuz they're all gonna be wanting me looking like this!
Then he calls me on the cell when I'm just a few minutes away from the gym (and 30 miles from home) to let me know that he thinks he forgot to put my bra in the bag. Eep! Since I go to work straight from the gym and don't have time for the hour round trip, I'm thinking, what to do, what to do...
When I got the the gym, I checked my bag and sure enough, the bra wasn't there. Luckily, the gym had sports bras for sale in their little shop area. So I purchased one to wear to work since the one I had on would be disgusting once I got through with Combat.
Cut to the shower room after class. I get out of the shower and dry off and start to get dressed. I start to put the new sports bra on and get it over my head and my arms partially through when I realize that I'm stuck. The combination of the snug fitting sports bra (they didn't have my size so I had to go one smaller and cross my fingers) and my semi-damp, fresh from the shower skin had caused the bra to twist around itself as I pulled it down and it was now stopped around my neck and upper arms. I was standing there with my elbows flailing in the air in an attempt to get the damn thing to either move up and off or down and into place where it belonged.
After much grunting, tugging, and pulling...success! Thank god there weren't any other women in the locker room because I'm sure that would have been quite the show. My second attempt went a bit more smoothly. Having learned from that first experience, I put my head through first, then one arm at a time and was able to get it on without too much trouble that time. Whew!
And I tell you what, I am looking STYLIN' now. Because I have such an awesome figure to start with, that smooshing my boobs down with a too-small sports bra to make me look even more frumpy is really working for me. Girls, watch your men cuz they're all gonna be wanting me looking like this!
Friday, July 17, 2009
I have been remiss
I haven't been blogging much lately. Probably because I've been really busy just trying to juggle work, exercise, kids, home, etc, you know, the usual drill we all juggle every day. But things have just been busier than usual of late. My apologies to the few people who follow this blog because I am just sure you breathlessly await every post from me. HA! :)
Anyway...I will post soon, I promise, with a summary of my progress in the TC, measurements, what I'm doing for workouts and nutrition now, etc.
Other news in my life...I've finally gotten back into scrapbooking and I am so, so excited about. I have done about 18 pages in Ian's (yes Ian's, haven't gotten close to Daniel's yet) baby book and I can feel the creative mojo coming back to me. I'm going on a crop weekend next weekend with some friends and we have ideas to use our Cricuts to make all kinds of adorable word books and all sorts of things. I can't wait! So you'll probably start seeing some posts on crafty stuff up here soon too.
Ok, off to Body Combat at the gym to take out some workplace agression in a more appropriate place than my cubicle wall or a particular software engineer's face. Have a good one!
Anyway...I will post soon, I promise, with a summary of my progress in the TC, measurements, what I'm doing for workouts and nutrition now, etc.
Other news in my life...I've finally gotten back into scrapbooking and I am so, so excited about. I have done about 18 pages in Ian's (yes Ian's, haven't gotten close to Daniel's yet) baby book and I can feel the creative mojo coming back to me. I'm going on a crop weekend next weekend with some friends and we have ideas to use our Cricuts to make all kinds of adorable word books and all sorts of things. I can't wait! So you'll probably start seeing some posts on crafty stuff up here soon too.
Ok, off to Body Combat at the gym to take out some workplace agression in a more appropriate place than my cubicle wall or a particular software engineer's face. Have a good one!
Anchoring
Weight Watchers defines anchoring as “a process for creating cues and triggers to remind yourself of your weight goal and the inner resources you have to achieve it.” Your “anchor” is an object that reminds you to stay on track, something that can re-focus you when the going gets tough. A little something you can keep with you and look at or touch when you need it.
I’ve always had a tough time in my previous WW experiences to come up with an anchor. Ideally, it’s something that’s with you always so whenever you are tempted, feeling out of control, etc, you can bring yourself back. I don’t carry a purse, don’t even always have my keys if Scott drives, so attaching something to one of them wouldn’t work. I never really gave it too much thought. Yeah, it was a tool WW gave us to help us succeed, but I did okay without it, so whatev, right?
Lately, I have found myself touching my muscles. Not in a Divinyls, “I touch myself” kind of way – get your mind outta the gutter! But in a wow, I have muscles kind of way. You can’t always see them, but they’re there, believe it or not, under the layers of flab and they are getting stronger all the time. Occasionally I even catch a glimpse of them before the flab shimmies back over them, trying to hide them from the world. They’re just waiting for their moment to shine…when all the flab is gone for good and the muscles can bask in the glory of the sunshine. Ok, that last bit was a little corny, but you get what I’m sayin’, right?
In any event, when I’m sitting at my desk, or waiting at a stop light, I frequently find myself squeezing my biceps, or poking my quads. Sounds weird, I know, but I just can’t get over how firm and strong they feel. Me. The girl who has been struggling with her weight for so long, has muscles? Now, who’da thunk it? Even ask my family, I make Scott, my sisters, my mom, all of them, feel my muscles whenever I see them. It’s not unusual at a Voigt family gather to hear, “Feel my butt!” And they do. Now, that’s real love!
Last night driving home, I caught a glimpse of my bicep bulge out of the corner of my eye as I turned the steering wheel on a corner. And I thought…”there’s your anchor, Heather.” My muscles. They’re always with me and when I touch my bicep and feel that strength beneath the skin it reminds me that I am strong. I am stronger than any temptation that comes my way. I am strong enough to make it to the gym, even when I just want to go home and eat ice cream. I am strong enough to get myself healthy for my kids, for Scott, my sisters and parents, and most of all, for me. Ok, that last bit was corny too. But it’s the truth, so there!
I’ve always had a tough time in my previous WW experiences to come up with an anchor. Ideally, it’s something that’s with you always so whenever you are tempted, feeling out of control, etc, you can bring yourself back. I don’t carry a purse, don’t even always have my keys if Scott drives, so attaching something to one of them wouldn’t work. I never really gave it too much thought. Yeah, it was a tool WW gave us to help us succeed, but I did okay without it, so whatev, right?
Lately, I have found myself touching my muscles. Not in a Divinyls, “I touch myself” kind of way – get your mind outta the gutter! But in a wow, I have muscles kind of way. You can’t always see them, but they’re there, believe it or not, under the layers of flab and they are getting stronger all the time. Occasionally I even catch a glimpse of them before the flab shimmies back over them, trying to hide them from the world. They’re just waiting for their moment to shine…when all the flab is gone for good and the muscles can bask in the glory of the sunshine. Ok, that last bit was a little corny, but you get what I’m sayin’, right?
In any event, when I’m sitting at my desk, or waiting at a stop light, I frequently find myself squeezing my biceps, or poking my quads. Sounds weird, I know, but I just can’t get over how firm and strong they feel. Me. The girl who has been struggling with her weight for so long, has muscles? Now, who’da thunk it? Even ask my family, I make Scott, my sisters, my mom, all of them, feel my muscles whenever I see them. It’s not unusual at a Voigt family gather to hear, “Feel my butt!” And they do. Now, that’s real love!
Last night driving home, I caught a glimpse of my bicep bulge out of the corner of my eye as I turned the steering wheel on a corner. And I thought…”there’s your anchor, Heather.” My muscles. They’re always with me and when I touch my bicep and feel that strength beneath the skin it reminds me that I am strong. I am stronger than any temptation that comes my way. I am strong enough to make it to the gym, even when I just want to go home and eat ice cream. I am strong enough to get myself healthy for my kids, for Scott, my sisters and parents, and most of all, for me. Ok, that last bit was corny too. But it’s the truth, so there!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
What we've been up to and 5 things
Well, summer's in full swing at the Thayer household as evidenced by:
1. several loads of towels and swimsuits a week
2. bottles of sunscreen all over the house and in each car
3. flip flops and sandals everywhere you turn, from sub-miniature a.k.a. Daniel's size on up to adult size with a few different sizes in between.
4. Gracie's refusal to wear anything other than a tank top or sundress
5. Both the older kids' hair getting blonder already from the chlorine and the sunshine
I do love summer. I only wish I had more time to spend with the kids during these next few months. But without much cash for a vacation or vacation time to take off work, we'll make the best of it. On the occasional Wed, we will do the concerts in the park, on the occasional Friday we'll do the movies in the park. We'll go to the beach a handful of times and the lake a handful of times. Luckily they can sleep in on Tues, Thurs and Fri as they are home with Scott and that means we can be less stringent about bedtimes on most nights except Sundays and Tuesdays when he and I both have to be at work early. So with the late light we can go for bike rides and walks after dinner and head down to the park. We'll also set up our pool soon since the heat seems to be here to stay now. So the kids will be all over getting in the pool after dinner or while they're waiting for dinner. We'll BBQ and I'm going to try to convince Scott to spend some of our tax refund money on a new patio table. It's crazy, but we have terrible luck with tables, having had four of them damaged by windstorms, fallen tree branches and the like in the 12 years of our marriage. We're left with a nice abundance of mis-matched chairs and he is hesitant to buy another table as he assumes it will just get crushed, broken, shattered yet again. But if I can convince him, then we'll eat a lot of dinners outside as well. Even without the patio table, we can spread out a blanket and have a picnic out there too. Anyway, we plan to spend a lot of time outdoors this summer, one way or another.
The other sure sign of summer is swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are at 5:30 pm, which is nice. It was a pleasant surprise to find a few years back that the Paso pool had lesson times that actually fit a working mother's schedule. Imagine that. Something the other pools in the area had overlooked. So we're in the second week of session 1, then we'll have two weeks off, then four more weeks of swimming lessons, then two weeks off before school starts. Gee, when you say it like that, the summer sounds so short!
I love the fact that the Paso lessons are every day for two weeks. I know a lot of other pools ofter one or two lessons a week for several weeks. But in two weeks of swimming every day, the kids improve so quickly! Last summer, Gracie moved up three levels in 6 weeks of lessons...she started in 2, moved to pre-3, then moved up to 3 and at the end of the summer, they recommended her for level 4 this summer. It was crazy to watch her improve. By the end of the summer she was a little fish! Or a little mermaid, as she would probably prefer to be called.
Ok, enough rambling, I should get back to work. This blog is being read (dare I say followed? lol) by more of my friends and family now so I won't be focusing solely on fitness and exercise any more, but providing peeks into our crazy lives as well.
Oh, and I can't forget - my 5 things I'm grateful for today:
1. My nutrition session with Shelley - so helpful, and motivating and informational
2. body combat with Carey...love working out with that girl and love any of Lauren's classes
3. a supportive and loving husband
4. dinner with "the girls" tonight after work
5. 10 days off work in t minus three days
Ciao!
1. several loads of towels and swimsuits a week
2. bottles of sunscreen all over the house and in each car
3. flip flops and sandals everywhere you turn, from sub-miniature a.k.a. Daniel's size on up to adult size with a few different sizes in between.
4. Gracie's refusal to wear anything other than a tank top or sundress
5. Both the older kids' hair getting blonder already from the chlorine and the sunshine
I do love summer. I only wish I had more time to spend with the kids during these next few months. But without much cash for a vacation or vacation time to take off work, we'll make the best of it. On the occasional Wed, we will do the concerts in the park, on the occasional Friday we'll do the movies in the park. We'll go to the beach a handful of times and the lake a handful of times. Luckily they can sleep in on Tues, Thurs and Fri as they are home with Scott and that means we can be less stringent about bedtimes on most nights except Sundays and Tuesdays when he and I both have to be at work early. So with the late light we can go for bike rides and walks after dinner and head down to the park. We'll also set up our pool soon since the heat seems to be here to stay now. So the kids will be all over getting in the pool after dinner or while they're waiting for dinner. We'll BBQ and I'm going to try to convince Scott to spend some of our tax refund money on a new patio table. It's crazy, but we have terrible luck with tables, having had four of them damaged by windstorms, fallen tree branches and the like in the 12 years of our marriage. We're left with a nice abundance of mis-matched chairs and he is hesitant to buy another table as he assumes it will just get crushed, broken, shattered yet again. But if I can convince him, then we'll eat a lot of dinners outside as well. Even without the patio table, we can spread out a blanket and have a picnic out there too. Anyway, we plan to spend a lot of time outdoors this summer, one way or another.
The other sure sign of summer is swimming lessons. Swimming lessons are at 5:30 pm, which is nice. It was a pleasant surprise to find a few years back that the Paso pool had lesson times that actually fit a working mother's schedule. Imagine that. Something the other pools in the area had overlooked. So we're in the second week of session 1, then we'll have two weeks off, then four more weeks of swimming lessons, then two weeks off before school starts. Gee, when you say it like that, the summer sounds so short!
I love the fact that the Paso lessons are every day for two weeks. I know a lot of other pools ofter one or two lessons a week for several weeks. But in two weeks of swimming every day, the kids improve so quickly! Last summer, Gracie moved up three levels in 6 weeks of lessons...she started in 2, moved to pre-3, then moved up to 3 and at the end of the summer, they recommended her for level 4 this summer. It was crazy to watch her improve. By the end of the summer she was a little fish! Or a little mermaid, as she would probably prefer to be called.
Ok, enough rambling, I should get back to work. This blog is being read (dare I say followed? lol) by more of my friends and family now so I won't be focusing solely on fitness and exercise any more, but providing peeks into our crazy lives as well.
Oh, and I can't forget - my 5 things I'm grateful for today:
1. My nutrition session with Shelley - so helpful, and motivating and informational
2. body combat with Carey...love working out with that girl and love any of Lauren's classes
3. a supportive and loving husband
4. dinner with "the girls" tonight after work
5. 10 days off work in t minus three days
Ciao!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Five Things and Nutrition & Fitness Update
Five things I am grateful for today:
1. casual work environment that allows shorts on a beautiful Friday
2. a beautiful Friday
3. my housecleaner coming today!
4. going to Ventura on Sunday to see my family
5. good friends
I haven't posted in a while and I wanted to give an update on where I am with my plans for fitness and nutrition.
I signed up for Weight Watchers with a friend. We weigh in on Wednesdays so I'll try to post my progress here each Wed. I am trying to journal in my EQ journal: 1. because they want us to continue to turn them in on Tuesdays starting 6/30. 2. because I still want to pay attention to fat, protein, carbs, etc. I just added columns for fiber and points.
As for exercise, I signed up for a boot camp package which includes meeting with the nutritionist four times over the next eight weeks and meeting with the sports psychologist four times over the next eight weeks. I am trying to hit boot camp 2-3 times a week, rock bottom 1-2 times a week and occasionally throwing in a strength session out on the floor with a friend or two.
I'm trying to get my cardio in 5-6 days a week. I'm shooting for a mix of running, RPM and Body Combat. Running is 2 miles a few times a week. I decided to drop out of TNT as I just don't have the time to commit to the fundraising right now and my bronchitis was taking longer to go away than I expected so I was missing some of the training sessions and already felt behind. I am doing the City to Sea half-marathon in October so I'll post my training progress here. I'll be training with the EQ team starting August 8th.
I think that's about it. I am still trying to get my before and after pics to post here. I'll be meeting with my trainer from before the TC to see how much stronger I am and what my measurements are. She measured in a lot more places than they did for the TC so we're both anxious to see how that turns out as well as how much more weight I can do on my various exercises, etc. I'll have to do a post-TC progress post here soon. Just gotta get all my data together.
Happy Friday everyone! I wish everyone an enjoyable weekend!!
1. casual work environment that allows shorts on a beautiful Friday
2. a beautiful Friday
3. my housecleaner coming today!
4. going to Ventura on Sunday to see my family
5. good friends
I haven't posted in a while and I wanted to give an update on where I am with my plans for fitness and nutrition.
I signed up for Weight Watchers with a friend. We weigh in on Wednesdays so I'll try to post my progress here each Wed. I am trying to journal in my EQ journal: 1. because they want us to continue to turn them in on Tuesdays starting 6/30. 2. because I still want to pay attention to fat, protein, carbs, etc. I just added columns for fiber and points.
As for exercise, I signed up for a boot camp package which includes meeting with the nutritionist four times over the next eight weeks and meeting with the sports psychologist four times over the next eight weeks. I am trying to hit boot camp 2-3 times a week, rock bottom 1-2 times a week and occasionally throwing in a strength session out on the floor with a friend or two.
I'm trying to get my cardio in 5-6 days a week. I'm shooting for a mix of running, RPM and Body Combat. Running is 2 miles a few times a week. I decided to drop out of TNT as I just don't have the time to commit to the fundraising right now and my bronchitis was taking longer to go away than I expected so I was missing some of the training sessions and already felt behind. I am doing the City to Sea half-marathon in October so I'll post my training progress here. I'll be training with the EQ team starting August 8th.
I think that's about it. I am still trying to get my before and after pics to post here. I'll be meeting with my trainer from before the TC to see how much stronger I am and what my measurements are. She measured in a lot more places than they did for the TC so we're both anxious to see how that turns out as well as how much more weight I can do on my various exercises, etc. I'll have to do a post-TC progress post here soon. Just gotta get all my data together.
Happy Friday everyone! I wish everyone an enjoyable weekend!!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Here we go again...
This morning I went back to boot camp at the gym. I know, I know, you thought I was done with all those insane early morning workouts. But to be perfectly honest, I missed them! I felt like I was floundering a little bit since the challenge. I was trying to go in and do weights on my own and then I would do my cardio. And while I felt pretty good about the cardio, I still knew I wasn't pushing myself enough and knew I needed to start taking some more classes so I would push myself even harder.
As for the strength training, my team and I had chatted about getting some group personal training sessions going, maybe go once a week for four sessions or something so we know what we're doing when we go in on our own. But in the meantime, I needed to have a plan. So I signed up for the post-TC package #1 which includes:
24 sessions of Boot Camp (MWF at 6:30)
4 sessions with the nutritionist
4 sessions with the sports psychologist
Last night I hit rock bottom for the first time in weeks and I thought I was going to die. And then this morning was my first morning back at boot camp. I knew going into it that it was going to just about kill me. For three reasons:
1. I haven't done boot camp in three weeks
2. I got about four hours of sleep last night so I was exhausted
3. It was Lauren's day. Nuff said.
And even though I have been running on the treadmill and lifting weights and doing the machines these past three weeks....it....kicked...my....butt. And my quads. And my hamstrings. And my biceps. And my triceps. And just about every other muscle you could think of. By the time we were done, all my muscles were twitching like I had a dozen nervous tics! But it felt good. I'm sore already, but it feels good.
Sick, isn't it? 4 months ago if you would have told me that I would have liked getting my hiney kicked like that, I would have asked for you to share a little of whatever you were smokin'.
Ah, it's good to be back!
As for the strength training, my team and I had chatted about getting some group personal training sessions going, maybe go once a week for four sessions or something so we know what we're doing when we go in on our own. But in the meantime, I needed to have a plan. So I signed up for the post-TC package #1 which includes:
24 sessions of Boot Camp (MWF at 6:30)
4 sessions with the nutritionist
4 sessions with the sports psychologist
Last night I hit rock bottom for the first time in weeks and I thought I was going to die. And then this morning was my first morning back at boot camp. I knew going into it that it was going to just about kill me. For three reasons:
1. I haven't done boot camp in three weeks
2. I got about four hours of sleep last night so I was exhausted
3. It was Lauren's day. Nuff said.
And even though I have been running on the treadmill and lifting weights and doing the machines these past three weeks....it....kicked...my....butt. And my quads. And my hamstrings. And my biceps. And my triceps. And just about every other muscle you could think of. By the time we were done, all my muscles were twitching like I had a dozen nervous tics! But it felt good. I'm sore already, but it feels good.
Sick, isn't it? 4 months ago if you would have told me that I would have liked getting my hiney kicked like that, I would have asked for you to share a little of whatever you were smokin'.
Ah, it's good to be back!
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