Oh the Holidays ... what fun!
This year we had the entire family at our house for 5 days, which provided us with laughter, love and absolute pandemonium. Let me set the stage:
Dad -- My father. Nearly 70, not in the best of health. His days are mostly spent in front of the TV.
Mom -- My mom. 70, lively as a wire-hair terrier. She is very active, a bit daft sometimes and easy to wind-up.
Tony -- My husband. Lovely and, bless him, tolerant of my family. He threatened to stir the pot between my conservative father and liberal brother, but kept his comments to a minimum and even cleaned the house while everybody was out one day.
Me -- You know who I am.
Our Son -- 17, inseparable from his girlfriend.
His Girlfriend -- 16, lovely and Jewish which meant her family didn't mind her spending Christmas with us. Bless her she was tolerant of the endless questions from my brother about her religion, etc.
My Brother -- 5 years younger, priorities are him, running, family (I'm pretty sure in that order). Will talk the leg off anybody and isn't the most PC person alive.
My Sister-in-Law -- How she tolerates my brother I have no idea. I'm pretty sure she's a saint.
Neice -- 6 years old, first grader who is so smart the teachers are begging her parents to put her in 3rd grade! You can carry on an adult conversation with her quite fine. She's a little "Miss Know-it-all" but that's only because she does.
Nephew -- 4 years old. His world revolves around trains, trucks and anything mechanical. He's never heard the word "no" so at times he can throw a whopper of a temper tantrum. If he wasn't so darn cute he'd be dead by now!
On Christmas day we were also joined by my oldest, his girlfriend, her 6 year old daughter and their 9 month old daughter. That made 14 in all!
If you've ever watched the Christmas movies Christmas Vacation and Home Alone, our family times were very similar to the ones there. Everybody talks at once (is anybody listening?) and it's general chaos.
I had a little guilt asking my parents to stay in a hotel. We have enough bedrooms, but with two in-home businesses a couple of them are used for offices with no where for a bed. In the end it worked out okay because my Niece watched a marathon of The First 48 with my Dad and being the braniac that she is understood everything that was going on. It scared the living daylights out of her and she decided she couldn't sleep in our house. Not sure how the hotel was better, but it was.
We had dramas ("I thought we were all going to the mall! Why is everybody gone but me?" and "No, I won't babysit your kids while you go out to eat with Mom and Dad."), and Tony and I found ways to sneak off and grab a martini (or two) to settle our nerves, but all in all it was absolutely wonderful. There's nothing like the faces of children as they open their presents on Christmas morning. We did learn that we would have been better off letting the kids open all of theirs and then sending them off to play while the adults opened theirs.
I don't know about you, but as an adult Christmas generally doesn't come with many surprises. You make a list of what you want/need and people get it for you. But this year my list was short (PJs and drill) ... there just isn't as much I need anymore. But true to form Tony showed he'd been listening throughout the year and surprised me with a pair of snowshoes! I am so excited to get out there and put them to use. We had a great time in Lake Tahoe last March and as my business partner likes to snowshoe as well I can see many "office planning" days on the mountain.
About noon today the car was loaded and everybody said their good-byes. The first hour Tony and I just sat there listening to the silence. Then it was time to tackle the two loads of dishes and multiple loads of laundry to be done. I spent DAYS preparing the house for company and right now it looks like I haven't cleaned in YEARS! On the upside, I can go back to knowing where all my dishes are (dishwasher unloading help is wonderful, but it always makes for a game of hide and seek when you start looking for things) and knowing that if I buy a gallon of milk it will last more than 2 days.
I hope you all made wonderful memories over this Christmas and are ready for a fun celebration on New Year's Eve. Wishing you all a happy and wonderful 2010.
Shortly after returning home from Hawaii I noticed I was getting tired earlier in the evening. I kept writing it off to our whirlwind trip, but within a couple of days realized it was something much more. I had brought home with me the ultimate souvenir ... a virus!
Despite my best efforts to ward it off with Zicam it finally took a good hold on me. By Sunday all I could do was lay on the couch ... ALL DAY! Tony kept saying "you won't sleep tonight as you've slept all day." But boy was he wrong! I slept for probably 36 hours straight! Monday was my day to hit the mall so I bucked it up and got all my last-minute shopping done, but by 4:00p I was exhausted again.
Today I am actually feeling better and except for a lingering and annoying cough I'm pretty much back to good. But of course, being the good wife that I am, I shared my virus with my dear husband who woke up with a sore throat this morning. :(
One more day and I'll be back to the workouts. Right now it's really a matter of breathing ... too deep a breath and the coughing begins again. I once heard that if you're sick from the shoulders up you can (and should) continue to work out ... but anything below that you should wait it out. So that's what I'm going to do.
Glad to be home ... glad to be on the mend. Looking forward to working out again.
Monday was our last day in Hawaii. Fortunately, because it's West of the mainland they fly red-eye flights back, so we were able to get a full day of sun and relaxation before heading out.
We decided to return to the quiet beach we had visited on Sunday. Although the marathon was over, we were counting on the fact that it was Monday to keep the volume of people down. We headed up Diamond Head Road, using the shortcut we found on our return the day before. This route takes the bulk of the hill off and reduces the distance by as much as 3/4 mile. Oh yea!
By the time we got there it was already over 80 degrees and we were very hot. There were a few people on the beach, but not too many. We found a nice space by a small wading/swimming hole created by the reef. We had just settled in when a man walked up with two dogs and decided to set up "camp" right next to us. Really!?!? The entire beach and he had to pick there.
He proceded to tell us that one of the dogs didn't have "towel etiquette" ... nice. For a while all went back to quiet until another beach goer arrived with another dog. For the next hour we had to listed to their owners whistle and yell at them to keep them in control. It brought to mind a favorite saying of Tony's. "Dogs are like kids. If you can't control them, don't have them."
We did learn the "story" of the beach. Until 9-11, the beach was the unofficial nude beach in the area. But after 9-11 the brush and trees between the lighthouse and beach were cleared. The lighthouse is the home of the admiral of the Coast Guard and after the brush was cleared he and his wife weren't too excited about seeing everybody's "plumbing." The police do patrol the beach, but mostly on 3-wheelers so you can hear them coming ... and they only come down at low tide. We heard a rumor that they were in the area, but we never saw or heard them.
After several hours we were done so we returned to the hotel where they gave us a room to shower and get ready for our flight home. We bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed one last sunset from the deck before heading out for a quick bite and the airport.
While watching the sunset we talked about what made this break so special ... because it was. First, we realized it's been years since we've been on vacation, just the two of us, without an agenda. The last time we were away alone was London in Feb. While there every day was filled with lots of walking and sightseeing. But here we had no agenda, just time to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Second, we didn't rent a car. This was an on-again, off-again decision, but in the end it was the right one. When you have a car I think you feel obligated to use it. Without a car we didn't feel the need to "go see" things ... and waste time driving around. We found walking from place to place very relaxing. And last, taking the time each day to get a bottle of wine and sit on the deck watching the sunset was a perfect, relaxing close to each day.
There are things we did miss being on an American beach vs. a European one. The biggest was no alcohol. It's not so much that we have to drink, but a nice glass of wine helps relax you a bit. Personally I had a difficult time relaxing/napping on the beach. On Monday we did sneak a bottle with us and it helped me relax and unwide a bit. The second, as I said before, was that I had to wear a top. We found a way around this on the beach we found, but we had to work at it.
So with our break coming to an end we called the taxi that brought us in and made our way to the airport. Our hopes were that we would get some sleep on the flight back to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the First Class seats were as crowded as on the way over and neither of us slept much. As well, we had a tremendous tailwind that got us into LA almost an hour before our scheduled arrival. That made our layover even longer!
We landed home to rain and cold weather ... which didn't fit well with my sandals and cotton dress. Oh well.
By the time we got home all we could think about was sleep and warmth. Tony's napping and I'm cozied up by the fire as I type. Now it's back to busy preparing for the holidays.
As yesterday's venture onto Waikiki beach left me with some much unwanted tan lines we set out to find a more private beach for the day. We had heard about a nude beach below the lighthouse off Diamond Head Road and yesterday during our walk saw a paved path leading to a long narrow beach in that general area so we decided to give it a try.
So we walked 1.5 miles upstream of the 25,000 marathon runners and took the short path down to the beach. We turned right towards the lighthouse and found a secluded section of beach. It was occupied by no more than 10 other people as far as we could see. All were clothed, but with extremely small thongs ... and all were men! We found a nice patch of sand (the sand is like Waikiki ... little pebbles), stripped off and enjoyed several hours of sunbathing and relaxation.
A gentleman sitting a ways away walked over after a while and struck up a conversation. He said because of he marathon this was the best day to be on this particular beach ... because you can only reach it by foot. And that confirmed what we had noticed the day before. When we walked by on Saturday the street was lined with cars of people surfing and playing on that beach. However, because the last few miles of the marathon were on Diamond Head Road and it was closed to traffic. He said most days the beach is very crowded with surfers and families ... and topless and nude sunbathing is very difficult. He also confirmed that while it is "supposedly" okay to go topless on Waikiki he had a friend try it and she was told-off by several families on the beach until she just put her top on and left.
When it was time to leave we learned that there was an ever shorter way to get to the beach without climbing the hill to the pathway. If you're walking up Diamond Head Road, before you get to the lighthouse is a road that drops off to the right (the only one). There is no parking down here so only go this way if you walk. The street ends at the beach. What's weird is that the sand at that end of the beach is as soft as powder ... but as you walk along it changes to a more pebbly type of sand. Weird.
The only caution about going down here is to take lots and lots to drink. It got really hot and the water we brought along got too warm too fast. By the time we got back to Waikiki all we could do is walk straight into Cheeseburgers in Paradise (on the corner by our hotel) and down several glasses of beer (Tony) and Soda Water (me).
The sun left us tired so we bought a bottle of wine (at the ABC Store) and sat on the deck of our room watching the sunset. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Following sundown we walked down to Nobu for sushi. Tony has been to Nobu in London and San Diego, but I've never been and had been craving sushi for a couple of days. The food was fantastic ... but the restaurant was cold. I wouldn't wait to get out of there and warm up ... which was too bad because it was a very nice restaurant in a very lovely and modern Parc Hotel.
Over the past couple of days we've been talking about when was the last time we took a relaxing vacation just the two of us. Or for that matter when was the last time we had a nice relaxing dinner, just us two. Turns out the answer to both was around June this year for our anniversary! At home we got out a lot, but tend to split an entree' at the bar or our favorite restaurant, Urban Farmer at The Nines hotel. And all of our recent vacations have been with other couples or groups.
So this break (we don't think we can call it a vacation as we're only here for three days) has been extra special. Today is our last day and we still haven't decided what we're going to do. Our original plan was to rent a car today and see the island (we're on a red-eye back to Los Angeles) but the city seems to be sold out of all rentals, and we're really having such a good time around here that we didn't see the need.
Today I think we'll let the winds of the island direct us ... I'll let you know what we get up to.
Yesterday started with a 4 mile walk along Waikiki up towards Diamond Head and ended with a fabulous dinner at the Ocean House in the Ocean Reef Hotel.
Along the way we learned a few things:
- There are approx. 25 ABC Stores along the 1 mile Waikiki Beach road. These stores sell everything from alcohol to sunscreen to souviners. They're more frequent than a Starbucks in Seattle!
- When the cab company that picked us up at the airport said all drivers spoke English we didn't understand ... but after a taxi ride to dinner last night we figured it out. English and Hawaiian are second languages here ... the first language is Japanese. Even signs in stores are written in Japanese first ... English second. It's CRAZY! Our cab driver couldn't understand us and we couldn't understand her. I'm surprised we got where we wanted to go.
- If you're traveling West on Kalakaua Avenue, walk. Because of the archaic one-way street system what would be a 10 minute walk can take 20 by car!
- There are more millionaires per capita in Honolulu than any other US city ... and more homeless per capita. Everywhere you look there are homeless people with their carts and tents set-up in parks, along side the road and in alleys. We learned that nearly 40% of them have arrived in the past few years from California. It seems Governor Schwarzenegger rounded up homeless in California and offered them $100 and a one-way ticket to Hawaii to leave the state. I'm not sure how the Governor of Hawaii stood for it, but it happened and here they are. It's sad.
- Despite wide-spread rumors and chat rooms professing toplessness is okay on Waikiki beach, we didn't see on person topless and came to the conclussion it is not allowed. We're going to try to find a remote beach today where I can hopefully relax sans-top. The two things I hate most about tops are 1) the tan lines and 2) the fidgeting you have to do with them to keep them in place!
- Althought Waikiki Beach is called on of the Top 10 beaches in the world I'd have to differ. The sand isn't really sand at all, but small pebbles and just off shore are large patches of reef that make wading in the water extremely difficult and painful. I can think of 10 better beaches I've personally been to than Waikiki. However, it is good for one thing ... people watching! Tony and I agree the women (and men) are better to watch on Waikiki because they're so fit. And if they're not of the fit, athletic type, then they're of the fun-to-watch type ... putting up their shade structure, hauling out the BBQ and generally creating their own little patio in the park.
It's now the morning of our second day in Honolulu. The 25,000 marathon runners have passed our hotel and the road is open ... time to go out and embrace another day in paradise!
We've successfully landed in Hawaii. Tony found this great cab company that will pick you up sort of like a town car (by your schedule) and return you to the airport whne you leave for one set price ... nice! Our driver was a very talkative, but interesting 4th generation Hawaiian (but caucasian) that had a very interesting and somewhat sad story to tell about big corporations, being pushed out by stock holders and age descrimination. He has degrees and hasn't been able to find a job in 12 years ... so what started out as a temporary job is now his permanent means of supporting he and his wife. :(
Tony: "Look at all the people running."
Cheri: "Well, it is evening and I suppose it's the coolest time to run."
Later ...
Tony: "Wow, the hotel is 100% full."
Cheri: "That's weird, I thought right before Christmas Hawaii would be really slow."
Even Later ...
Cheri: "Oh look! The Honolulu Marathon is on Sunday." :)
Yep, we picked the weekend of the Honolulu Marathon to visit and would you believe it goes right past our hotel!? Sunday was our day to get a car and see the island, so now we're going to have to head out extra early to avoid getting caught in all the closed roads, etc.
The reverse jeg-lag is weird. As night we walked down to the Waikiki Shopping Mall, did some window shopping and stopped off at P.F. Chang's for dinner. Although the clock said it was 9:00p, it was 11:00p for us. WAY later than we should have been eating, and after an early morning we were both extremely tired. So it was "early to bed" for us.
The boardwalk in front of our hotel goes the full length of Waikiki Beach and is the gathering place for all sorts of people, street vendors, beggars, etc. There were the typical sellers of handmade bracelets and leis, drummers (lots of drummers ... don't know what that's all about) and some misc. performers. But the saddest one we saw was two little girls (let's say 10 and 8) singing to canned music while dad collected money. They weren't horrible but someone has clearly told them then can sing ... and they really can't. They get a big round of applause for trying and singing at the top of their lungs (they really didn't need the microphones) as if they were Mariah Carey ... but they're not. We stopped in a store across the street and made comment to the girls working their about the sound (it carried all the way across the street and into the store). They said they are there every night. Can't that be considered cruel and unusual treatment? If not for the girls, then for the people who have to work around there?
This morning we woke up to a beautiful, clear, warm day. I have to say it's a little weird being in a hotel that overlooks a main street and where the balconies basically touch (maybe we should have stayed at the J.W. Marriott further out of town). I alsmost did my usual morning ritual of wrapping in a towel and sitting on the deck, but at the last minute I decided it was better to put on some actual clothes. And good thing 'cause the people in the room next to us were sitting on their deck with their young kids. I may have nudist tendancies, but I'm not an exhibitionist!
The day is going to start with a walk along the boardwalk and then who knows ... I can't wait to see what it brings!
As I’ve mentioned in the past few days, we’re off on another vacation. Actually, it’s more of a necessity trip. When you have status with an airline, the perks are many and for Tony the most important perk is not having to pay for checked bags. Although we fly as light as possible for pleasure, when Tony flies for work he travels with three large (put-a-body-in-them-sized) bags. For each trip checking these bags would cost him as much as $300 per trip. But when he flies more than 100,000 miles in a year, that cost is waived.
Well this year, in late November he was doing his calculations and realized he was going to be about 2,500 miles short of his 1K status. So a last-minute trip was necessary. We put together a list of places that would take us to warmth or friends … Miami, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, etc. But can you believe the cheapest place we could go was Hawaii? Evan Los Angeles was more expensive … even though we connect through there!
So off to Hawaii we go for a quick 3 ½ day trip! And let me say, this trip came at exactly the right time. Our weather, like much of the country, has been extremely cold … and Saturday’s forecast is for freezing rain and/or snow. Ah, the sunshine is going to feel good.
It is surreal packing for 80-degree weather when it’s below freezing outside. The good part was that there wasn’t much worry that something we wanted to take with us was in the laundry! I had to dig into storage to find short skirts, light weight dresses and swimsuits. On top of all that light-weight, sun-friendly wear is a Santa’s hat! We figured a couple of pictures laying on the beach wearing it would be fun. LOL
The biggest dilemma of it all was what to wear to the airport. Our flight was at 7:30a, which meant we had to be out of the house by 6:00a. The past few weeks the temperature has been in the teen’s around that time, and this morning was no exception. So I dressed in a light weight cotton dress, cropped tights and high heels, then bundled up in a big puffy coat and blankets for the ride to the airport. It was only as our son parked directly outside a door that I shed the layers and dashed into the airport. I have to admit it was fun watching people’s look at me as they walked around in their jackets, boots and hats. I think they thought I was crazy!
As I said, we got a great fare to Hawaii, but the route wasn’t the most convenient. On our way there we have two stops … and the first stop was in San Francisco with only a 30 minute layover.
For the first time ever, when we landed in San Francisco, we landed from the North … which meant everything was backwards. This usually wouldn’t matter to passengers, but it seems even ground control was having problems with the change and the ground traffic was all backed up and messed up (the pilot’s words). We finally got to our gate, only to find another plane still in our spot!
The flight attendants knew there were several people with tight connections and they kindly made an announcement requesting that anybody with more than 20 minutes for their connection or anybody staying in San Francisco please stay seated so those people with close connections could get off first. And you know what? Everybody on our plane had a close connection! With the exception of 2 people, everybody jumped up as soon as the fasten seatbelt light went off. Now I don’t know about you, but when I’m close to missing my connection I move like the wind when it comes to getting my stuff together and getting off the plane. But not these people. We only had 4 rows to go and I swear everybody in front of us was moving as slow as molasses in January!
Once off the plane, we found the departures board and found out … of course … that our flight was departing from the other end of the airport! Tony took off like the wind … with me jogging along behind in my high heels … lovely! We barely made it to the gate before they closed the doors, but we made it. Unfortunately, they didn’t have two seats together for us and being the laste on the plane the overhead bins were full. After some wrangling we convinced a couple of people sitting around us that their backpacks would do just find under the seat in front of them instead of the overhead bins so we could store our luggage.
Ah, we settled in. I had two very nice gentlemen next to me … and it was a good thing because the first thing I did was spill my drink on me! Luckily, not them. UGH! It soaked my puzzle book, lap and the blanket I was using to keep warm. Lovely. At least it didn’t get on my phone or computer … which were also on my tray.
I have to interject here that planes aren’t what they used to be. When they started the beverage service for the flight they announced there wasn’t any coffee or tea (WHAT?!?!?), or water in the bathrooms. They said the bathrooms were functioning, but I don’t know … without water? No thanks. Luckily it was a short flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
LA was, well, LA. Nothing unusual, just lots of men talking loudly into their cellphones, trying to act all important. It was actually a relief when they boarded the plane. Until we got seated. Tony had upgraded us to First Class … and if the seats we’re sitting in are First Class then I’d hate to see what the seats in the back of the plane look like. If the person in front of us puts their seat back it’s impossible to use the tray for a computer, or really anything. I’m not that big so it doesn’t bother me much, but poor Tony gets really cramped. As well, he has bad knees and stretching them out is the only way to keep them from locking-up. Even in First Class on this plane it’s a big difficult for him. Poor baby.
As I write this, we are 1 hour out of Honolulu. Ah, the warmth! The sunshine! I can hardly wait. We haven’t been to Hawaii in over 8 years, and specifically Oahu in over 13! We hear they’re having 50 ft. waves on the North side of the island so we’ll have to check it out … more to come I’m sure.
Yes, I've been completely out of the routine of working out since I got back from Thanksgiving. I have to admit it's difficult for me to get motivated to do something I know I'm not good at; although doing it more would make me better at it! So I've found a lot of things to keep me distracted from working out ... like working, preparing the house for Christmas, cleaning, etc.
But after a well-intentioned, stining comment from Tony I decided I was not going to let our upcoming trip stop me from getting back into it ... even one day is better than nothing. So this morning I put the Plyometrics DVD in the player and got to it. I've said it before, this could easily be my favorite workout ... if it weren't for the fact that it kicks my butt BIG TIME!
I'd like to interject that our son is doing the DVDs too. He's plays club and high school soccer and is generally a pretty fit guy. So let me admit it was pretty nice to see him struggling with this workout ... and I even had a little bit of satisfaction when the next day he was taking the stairs very slowly because his thighs hurt. Let that be an example of just how difficult these workouts are. Even if you're in shape for one type of activity, it will find your weaknesses and exploit them.
So anyways, I did the workout. I will admit to a few moves where I had to stop a few second short or do the low-impact move, but with the exception of the "bonus" exercises I completed it all. My BodyBugg says I burned 281 calories in the 58 minutes of the workout. I'm sure that if you kept up completely and did the bonus you could easily get this to 350 ... so I'll get that as a goal.
For the next few days I may make comment about working out, or not, aswe're headed to Hawaii in the morning. I'd much rather talk about that ... and you'd probably like to hear more about that as well.
Day 26 down, 78 days to go.
Some of you may be wondering what the heck has been going on with me ... I just disappeared! Well, here's a general update:
After returning from Thanksgiving with my parents, my first couple of days back were filled with preparing for the next event I was working on, which began December 3rd. The good news is that when I'm actually working an event I really burn calories. On the 4th I worked at the airport for 8 hours. During that time I burned 1336 calories and took 8,570 steps. That was awesome! Then in the evening Tony and Ashton returned from England. They were tired and jet-lagged, but they sure were a sight for sore eyes. I missed them so much!
On the 4th and 5th we spent the days decorating the house for Christmas and getting our tree at a local tree farm. It's a great family tradition that we all go together to pick and cut our own tree. I grew up on a Christmas tree farm so I can't remember the last time I had to get a tree from a pre-cut lot.
Because the entire family is coming to visit I want the house to look very special. So with a lot of begging and pleading Tony finally let me climb up on the roof and hang lights. It's been years since I've done this and I forgot how scary it can be. The top peak on our roof is about 3 stories up (or down) to the driveway. Once I settled in I was fine, but I had lots of visions of Clark Griswold swinging and swaying on his ladder. In all, it took 8 strands of lights just to do the front. I admit that in my eagerness ... and then fright ... I hung some backwards and had to do them over. But now that I have the hang of it I've created a "map" of how do to it and next year will be much easier. :)
Then on the 6th it was back to work for me. I was up at 2:45a and at work by 3:30a. By the time I got home later that day I had already worked 11 hours! I love what I do, but the hours can be long and tiring sometimes. The good news is that I did burn some good calories and got some good walking -- 1,163 calories and 6,893 steps. Not as much as working at the airport, but still pretty active without a workout.
Making the day all the harder was the fact that we're having a cold-snap; our high temperatures aren't reaching the 40s and the wind chill is down in the teens. I know this may not sound horrible for some of you, but for sun-loving us it's COLD!
Yesterday, our son began the P90X program too. While I was typing this he completed his first Plymetrics workout ... and he's dog tired. Even he had to take a few breaks ... I feel better already. Tomorrow, since I've taken such a long break, I'm going to get in sync with his workouts; basically acting as if I was starting anew.
I've actually really missed it. I am not sleeping as well and am finding that my hunger is greater than my activity ... NOT GOOD! Generally my weight has stayed the same and my clothes are feeling like they fit a bit better. But this past week off has taken it toll and I'm looking forward to getting back into the routine.
Of course, I'll get back into it just in time to get out of it as we're heading to Hawaii on Friday. But I'm going to try traveling with the program again and either doing a workout a day in the gym at the hotel, or convincing Tony to "power walk" with me.
We haven't been to Hawaii in about 6 years and haven't been to Oahu in over 12. The timing couldn't be better either as the warmth is going to feel so good after all this cold. In fact, they're calling for ice and/or snow while we're gone. Awww, too bad. ;)
Dear Readers:
As you can probably tell from the lack of posts, I haven't been working out lately ... or at least not doing my P90X workout program.
While on vacation for Thanksgiving, as mentioned, I took along my workouts on my iPod and did do one of them, but it turned out to be more difficult than I thought. The bands weren't affective for many of the shoulder and arm moves and without the chin-up bar doing chin-ups (or using the ands to simulate them) wasn't easy. It also was couter-productive to take an hour away from my family to workout on my own. Instead, every day my mom and I walked over 4 miles at sub-15 minute pace. The time we had together to talk was very special and to me that's more important than following a program that took me away from that.
I returned home late Monday night and yeserday was filled with rushing around trying to catch up on the work I'd missed Monday, as well as preparing for a big project I have that begins tonight. So I haven't worked out since returning home either.
The interesting thing in all this is that the walks and not doing weights allowed my muscles to rest and slim down a bit ... a welcomed situation. Yesterday I found that my jeans were fitting better than they were before I left (even after BIG eating over the holiday). I also found that my appetite subsided substantially ... which was a good thing.
I hope to get back to the workouts later today once all my prep work is done for my event. Tomorrow will be a tough day to get a workout in as I'll be on-site at my event all day ... but I won't be idle. My work involves putting on LOTS of miles (last time I did this event I did over 15,000 steps and burned over 2,000 calories in one day!).
Yesterday I talked with my former trainer ... he's even getting ready to start the program ... and discussed with him my difficulty with push-ups. He explained that "the girls" are affecting my ability and that I just need to back-off my expectations and do my best ... I love this guy! His recommendation was to not try to do any straight-leg push-ups (also known as military) and focus on getting as low as I can while on my knees.
I also contacted my friend that has been doing this for 6 months and asked her about the push-ups and chin-ups (since I can do neither). She said she started out as I have ... using the bands for chin-ups and doing the best she could on push-ups. Even after 6 months she can't keep up with all the push-ups, but is just doing her best. She said she has progressed to using a chair to support herself with the chin-ups ... so there is a light at the end of the tunnel!
By Friday I should be back into my routine ... YEA! I'll post when I get started and let you know how my "rest" affected my ability to complete the exercises.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
So I'm 18 days in, but I still have 79 to go.
