~*~JULY 10 Check In for the 2nd~*~

[Boingo1]

Hey girls!

Just starting us off. Another "lazy" summer morning. LOL!. Seriously, I don't know where I got the idea summer would be lazy. Not happening here!

Today I'm going to to TURBO FIRE 45 Class (my first time with this one) and
4DS Bi's and Tri's!

BBL after I feed the kitties!

 

[bitmover]

Funny about the lack of laziness, Chris..... and I know what you mean! But, at least there are no homework hassles!!! Except I do need to figure out what Travis is supposed to be reading this summer and get him going on it!!

Must be fun to have so many new workouts! I like the way you're adding in 4DS, too.... I'm starting to think about doing something like that, where I do some cardio and some weights/yoga each day, instead of the total body approach I was taking. See, I just can't stick with it. Today I did a zuzana style workout and Tracie Long's Reach Further -- I love that one! Definitely thought about Chris during that balance work!

Oh, I meant to comment on the Betty White show.... I have heard it's great, but didn't realize who else is on it -- that's a good cast! I'll have to see if I can find it on the internet or something. But speaking of that.... when I was down with my mom, one of her friends is an actress -- no one you've heard of, but has had bit parts in Cheers, The Practice, commercials. Anyway, when I saw her she had just come from an audition and was really excited and talking about how this Betty White popularity might be good for older women actors. She said she asked the director if it means there will be more parts for older women, and he said "Yes, and we'll want Betty White for all of them!" I haven't heard if she got the part.

Dylan as a playdate today so I will take Travis to the office for a while. He hasn't mentioned Twilight.... hope it stays that way!!

Waves to Kathy, Joanne, and Hottie! Hope you're feeling better, Hottie!

 

[jojobean]

Hi ladies!! Yea - it's Friday. Except OSIF Chris!

Chris, so sorry to hear about that patient. It's got to be hard to know you are doing all you can to save someone or make them comfortable, but even harder when you know there's more that could be done. He was the one who wouldn't accept certain treatments because of his religion, right? Oh, you will LOVE Turbo Fire 45!!

Kathy, good to see you checking in! How was Shrek?

Beth, it's so heartbreaking to hear about your mom. Sorry to hear she is in pain. I hope they can control it somehow and/or the radiation helps. Hopefully she will at least feel more comfortable in her own house. We had some home helpers for my dad and they were wonderful. Why does your doctor recommend the freckle lightening? Never heard of that! Jameson is supposed to read Of Mice and Men over the summer. Better get him started on it. I think they have a quiz or something on the first day. That's funny about Betty White - it's true, she really is one of a kind!

Hottie, hope you are feeling better!

Today's workout was Turbo Fire Hiit 15 and Sculpt 30. I liked Sculpt - it's all bands. Short, but kind of tough. I like doing strength with the bands, something different.

Jameson called last night - they got to the campground safely. It's the family, Jameson and three other boys. The first thing he says is "we have our own shower." His priorities have certainly changed! Colin and Ian were fighting over who could sleep in his room last night. He has the xbox in there and the flat screen TV he won. Colin got it last night and Ian has it tonight.

Have a meeting shortly. I'm on the committee to plan a summer outing for our department. I found this bike tour that looks really cool. You ride bikes and get a tour of some of the city. But, I was thinking last night there are some people who are um, a bit out of shape. I'm thinking they may balk at the idea. But, we'll see.

BBL...

Joanne

 

[bitmover]

Joanne, a quiz on the first day? Wow, that's harsh! Travis has to read Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli.... at least it sort of looks like it'll be a fun read. I'm going to see if we have time to pick it up today.

Oh, the lightening..... freckles/age spots.... you say tomato, I say tomato.... It's just for cosmetic purposes.... serves no medical purpose I don't think.

I forgot to tell you guys another story.... I had lunch with my friend and of course we mostly talked about fitness and diet.... that's what we do! Anyway, her brother has been overweight most of his life because by the time he was 11, I think it was, he had broken his leg four times -- had some bone disease -- each time he was in traction for a year or something crazy like that! Anyway....... he went to the dr. in January and was told his blood pressure was so high had to go on meds for it. Well, completely on his own and alone he decided to lose weight. Apparently he's somewhat ocd, so once he made up his mind it was pretty easy. He's lost 50 pounds since February. Here's the funny part.... since he's a little ocd, he walks at the same time, same route, every day. Lives in NYC. Well, his route included going past some govt. office. One day last week they came outside and stopped him and questioned him, saying what are you doing.... you walk by here the same time every day! And he said he's just exercising (couldn't they see the weight loss?!) and they said "well do it somewhere else!" Isn't that funny?! My friend said it's so maddening though because her brother is saying he doesn't understand what's so hard about losing weight.... you just don't eat much and you lose weight!

Got to go make some calls about my mom..... Chris, if you have any thoughts on this, I'd appreciate it. The reasons she's being sent home, as I mentioned, is that the insurance is not going to pay for any more. Well, there is some thought that she just isn't ready and should go to a nursing home or whatever. We're trying to talk to a couple of drs. today to get their opinion, but I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts. Personally, I think she'd rather be home, so that's probably what we should do, but I know it's stressful for those who are caring for her.....

 

[Boingo1]

Holy *#@$! TF 45 was the most intense so far!!! I felt like puking at least twice during it. (mostly after the Fire Drills). But I still love the music, and Chalene just motivates the crap out of me. I like when she said on the 2nd fire drill in a row, "Do it like your family's life depended on it". And I pushed hard, even though I felt like I was spent from the first drill!!! I can't even stand how much I like these workouts! Am I crazy, Joanne??

Beth: Yes! No more homework hassles! But they do have to read too. Alex and Jake were VERY enthusiastic about joining the book club at the library and checking out books AND reading. Zach is tough. But he did mention on his OWN that, "I guess I'll have to get to the library too. I have to read" (said in an Eeyore type of voice. Had a big blow out with him last night again. God, I'm sick of teen attitude. ... It's funny, I almost changed up my weight work today, because I feel like I don't want to stick with 4DS , just like you want to switch up your rotation, Beth! (I thought of YOU!). But I do remember another gal on these forums (I forget her name), but she was fit and LEAN, and swore by 4DS. So maybe if I stick with it. I've done it 2 weeks. I was thinking of going over to CTX weight work. ... OH! And I forgot to tell you guys the NAME of the Betty White show. It's Hot IN Cleveland and it's on TVLAnd. You can also see it here online!! (make SURE you watch Birthdates episode, it was sooo freakin funny!)

http://www.tvland.com/shows/hot-in-cleveland/full-episodes/birthdates/?xrs=synd_facebook

That's too funny about your mom's actress friend! Betty White has always been so funny. I'm glad she's "back".

On the subject of your mom. tough call. I guess you have to see how much help she really needs. I'm SURE she'd want to be home. If she can get around pretty much "ok" by herself?, she'd be ok with help a few times a day to help her bath and make her meals. If she needs help to get UP or to MOVE at all, she may need a little more physical therapy? Just a few thoughts. Definitely get in touch with the doctor as to how much help she will need. .....

Quick throw in about MY mom. She's 86 and lives alone. Was talking to her last night, and she tells me she FELL on thursday night. She tripped and hit her head! And had to CRAWL into the living room to help herself up. Now I'm freaking out about her falling and not being found for DAYS. I need to get her that lifeline thing or something similiar.

Funny story about your friend's brother! yes, weight loss is SO EASY! Actually, the formula to weight loss is simple as shit. It's just doing it in the face of stress, lack of sleep, and life getting in the way. I would think OCD could come in quite handy with weight loss , exercise and diet though!

Joanne: thanks for the words about my patient. I don't think I could believe so much I could leave my family and kids. I just don't. Maybe I could. It's mind boggling. His religion (Jehova Witness), doesn't believe in blood transfusions. Which ultimately would have saved his life. But to tell you the truth, someone his age diagnosed with Leukemia, didn't have a good chance of surviving long term anyways. ... Of Mice And Men. Wow. Deep GOOD book, but kind of "boring" for a teenage boy. Sculpt 30 sounds interesting. So I might have to change things up next week to get in that sculpt class. There's only one next week? There's so little weight work in this rotation.

*waves* to Hottie and Kathy!!!!

I have to run, going to QUICKLY grocery shop for the weekend. Oh I hate it with kids!!

 

[jojobean]

Beth, that is a tough call about your mom. Does insurance pay for the nursing home? Would they pay for any help at home? If the nursing home is anything like the one my dad was in or others I've heard about she'd be better off at home with someone coming in to help. Maybe a few hours in the morning and then again in the afternoon. And if you have to pay for either, getting help at home would likely be less expensive. Just being in her own surroundings would be nice for her. Is there a social worker or patient advocate at the hospital or place where she is now? They should be able to go over all the options with you and give you referrals for caregivers.

Ian loves the Jerry Spinelli books and he hates to read. So, they must be good! Sounds a lot more fun than Of Mice and Men! Too funny about your friend's brother. He is right - it's pretty simple - eat less and exercise more!! If only food didn't taste so dang good. And, yes, if stress didn't exist.

Chris, no, you are not crazy!! I'm loving these workouts too. The sad thing is that I think the energy of my other workouts just won't compare when I go back to them. I just love the live class and the no breakdown. She just gets right down to it. Although this is a 20 week rotation (with the advanced) and then there is also a TF/CLX rotation, so I should be set for awhile! I think doing CTX weights is a great idea with these. I think there is more toning further into the rotation. I might be wrong, but I think next week you do Tone 30 and Sculpt 30. But, yes, this week (2nd week), there is only Sculpt. I can definitely see adding in more weights, though. And, there are essentially two rest days built in. One total rest and one with core and stretch. You could add weights on the core and stretch day. Oh, that was Randi who was having great results with 4DS. How scary about your mom. I worry about mine, too, if I don't talk to her for a couple days. Or if I call and get the machine and she doesn't call back right away.

Oh, I forget to tell you all - I LOVE my reading glasses!! Wow, what a difference. It's a pleasure to read again. I read the paper on the way to work and it was so CLEAR!! No more straining my eyes. Ian was mocking me last night. I was on the couch with my reading glasses on looking at something (my ipod, I think) and he asked me a question. I pushed my glasses down my nose and looked at him over the top of them. He was like "oh, no, mom, please don't do that!"

OK, the bike tour did not go over well. Heaven forbid we do a physical activity!! Actually one of ladies on the committee with me thought it was a great idea and we are going to ask a few others to do it another time.

Found out my MIL is also coming with us to the cottage. I guess we'll have her and my mom share a room. This will be interesting!! She's great, but has some, um, shall we say, quirks? It actually will be good cause her and my mom get along pretty well, so they can entertain each other.

 

[bitmover]

Thank you both for the mom thoughts and opinions. A lot has transpired since. My sister talked to the case worker at the hospital and learned a lot. She does require 24 hour care and she said my mom's not really ready to go home, but that if we have (24 hour) help, she could be at home. I talked to my mom and it sounds like my mom would rather go to the skilled nursing place. This one is actually quite nice (and I'm sure pricey -- I'm waiting for a call from them to find out details). The good news is, if it is considered "skilled", then medicare would continue to pay -- we don't know how long, but at least for a while. The other thing that's crazy is that it's possible it may not be that much more than two 12 hour shifts of helpers to have at her home. We're checking all that. The good news, the very very good news, is that my mom has a very good long-term care policy, so that's going to help a lot. It's capped at $6k a month, but that'll help a lot. She very nearly cancelled it in Feb. of this year -- thank goodness she did not!!!

Chris! You have got to get one of those lifeline things for your mom! That's very scary. I think it's about $30 or $40 a month, so well worth that piece of mind. They can set it up to call you first, too, if you prefer that. At least the place I talked to was very flexible. I guess we need more than that for my mom at this point!

Yes, I'm sure this book will be better for an 11 year old boy than Mice and Men! Wow. I told you guys I read aloud to my kids every day, right? We just finished Peter and the Starcatchers.... really fun. They are desperate to read the sequel but I really want to read Tom Sawyer to them, so I think we'll do that first.

So cool that you guys are loving TF so much. I do think I may eventually cave, but I'm going to wait a while. I still have a bunch of new things to work through. I think I may try the separate cardio & weights each day for a while though. Is that Randi who used to sometimes check in with us? That's cool! I was thinking the shorter KCMs would be a good thing to add in, too, if I get bored with 4DS (like I sometimes can!! )

Good news on the reading glasses, Joanne! Just don't lose them! Larry is constantly asking me where his glasses are.

Oh, and the bike ride.... too bad, but maybe you can do it with a smaller group. There is a blimp here that we were thinking about taking all of our employees on -- I have to check out costs and details -- Larry really wants to do that. I think it may be too expensive. So, do you have other ideas lined up? It's sometimes so hard to be the one in charge of that since it's hard to please so many people.

Interesting about the moms going on vacation with you. My mom has never met Larry's mom, and it looks like they never will. I think they both regret that. Strange story about my grandparents..... my dad's dad was a lawyer. My mom and dad grew up in very tiny neighboring towns. Well, when my mom was about 10, she had a sister who was 16 and was out with friends. Their car was hit on the train tracks and my mom's sister was killed (I guess all of the kids were). Well, imagine how long ago this was! Even back then, my mom's parents, who were uneducated farmers, ended up suing the train company. Get this.... it was my dad's dad who represented the train company!!! Imagine how awkward it was eight years later when my mom and dad started dating! We just learned that story in the last year or so. The train company ended up settling and paying them some very small amount of money.

 

[Boingo1]

(taking a break from cleaning)

Joanne: I'm glad you feel the same way about TF. I truly don't remember having this much enthusiasm for any other workouts. I know TF cardios are going to kick my butt, but I ENJOY them. I also LOVE Cathe, but there is a tiny bit of dread factor with Cathe's HiiTs, for me. So I've never felt like this about kickbutt cardio before. I think. I may have amnesia! LOL!... Sorry the bike tour didn't work. it sounds VERY nice to me. I mean , it's not like you're going to "Tour De France" it, it's a LEISURELY bike ride tour. Geesh. Some people. .... That should be interesting your mom and MIL sharing a room! not that I know them, but it sounds like a good time to be a fly on the wall. But I'm sure they'll get along great, or pretend to, at least ..... YAY for reading glasses! I got a 4 pack of them at TJ Maxx a long time ago. So I put one in each room that I read in. It's so much nicer to SEE what you're reading. I've been trying to keep them on my head. I actually have one of those neck chains, but that didnt' really work out. .... I've done the glasses on the end of my nose thing MANY times! LOL!!!!

YES! It was Randi! She was amazing, and loved 4DS. I'm going to try to stick with it for another week.

Beth: That would be AWESOME for your mom to have 24 hr care at home. If she can! An upscale skilled nursing facility is even better. Will she have an ambulance come take her to radiation treatments? You guys are so good on working things out for her. She's lucky to have you !! ... I do have to look into the lifeline things. Do I go through her doctor? Or is it an outside agency? I'm so nervous about her now! ..... You have plenty to keep you busy in th meantime! Do 4DS! they're pretty good workouts! I kind of forget about the weight work being decent for 30 minutes. .... That is a crazy story about your mom and grandparents and the train. I never thought of suing a train for getting hit. How could it be the trains fault? just wondering.

okay, better go vacuum. Zach's papers never came (some guy drops them off) , and they're going to be SOOOOO late. I feel so guilty for the people who expect them. Why do I? I have no idea !LOL!

Hottie: WHATCHA UP TO, GIRL????

 

[bitmover]

Chris, you need no dr. involvement for the lifeline thing.... they are just a private company who comes and installs the equipment and then if she needs to press the button, they then call whoever it's set up for the to call first -- you, 911, whatever. They do a test run once a month, too.....

Well, my sister talked to one of my mom's doctors today and it was kind of depressing.... he didn't want to make any sort of predictions on life expectancy, but he finally said it's probably a matter of months, and that we could see a really sharp decline at some point. He did say it'd probably be easier to have her at a facility, but that it would be possible to manage at home with 24 hour help. So far though, it sounds like a facility is going to be cheaper than hiring the 24 hour help. Oh, she is still taking an ambulance to radiation, but that's only because that's all they are set up to do where she is. Once she moves out of there she can go by car, so that's the good news. I imagine it's a liability issue for them. I think the radiation is supposed to end soon and it really is just for pain management and apparently the chemo wasn't really doing anything so they may not resume it. Not very good news!

The train thing..... ok, they sued the train company, not the train. And it was because they had no safety equipment -- no railroad crossing thing -- I don't know if those existed back then, but apparently they must have had something, because the company did settle. That was quite a blow to my mom as a young girl.... she had a lot of siblings, but this is the one she was closest too. My mom had a hard life growing up!

Well, Travis did it.... he convinced me to take him to the twilight movie. I felt like it was sort of a good opportunity with Dylan at the playdate and the timing just right. I fell asleep for part of it. There was one part where Bella was talking to her dad and he was trying to have the "sex talk" and she wanted no part of it saying that her mom had it with her ten years ago, etc. and then she walked away saying "I'm still a virgin!" and the dad then says to himself "I'm starting to like Edward a little." or something like that. Everyone in the theater laughs, including Travis, and then he says to me "what's a virgin?" and I had an extra laugh!!

So, nothing done in that time, of course! Ug! But, the weekend has begun...... I have to take the kids to the dentist tomorrow afternoon, so we'll go to town early for errands and so I can work a while. Maybe the weekend has only sort of begun!