Getting Our Licks In!

[ladubose]

Hi everyone! (welcome Back EllieP!!)

I spent the day with a girl friend who is going through a terrible time with her husband, since you guys don't and won't know him I can divulge that he is diagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder and he is in a really scary psychotic episode, luckily he is out of town at another property he owns in Southern Colorado, but none the less it has been really hard on her so I took her to Boulder for a pedicure and lunch. Sometime it is good to just get out of the house for awhile.....But no exercise for me

I did teach pilates tonight but also moved around the room a lot working with people's bodies to get them to 'feel' where the movements are supposed to be coming from...so this week is turning out to be a little lighter than normal on the exercise front, but I figure that it all works out in the end...

Michelle: You are very smart to let that body heal up a bit, sounds like it could be tendons and they do well with some recovery time. My feet have also been hurting more with the higher impact cardio and it makes me pretty darn nervous actually..

Shoegal: Well I have a BIG confession to make to you! YOU HAVE CONVERTED ME TO A SHOEGAL!!!!! I used to not give one little darn about shoes, well maybe that they were comfortable and didn't look to bad, but I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the new shoe styles going on out there right now. I even took my friend into a high end shoe store on the Pearl Street walking mall just to look at them. It was almost like going to a museum, each shoe a perfect piece of art. One of them even had semi precious stones on it! SO WHO KNEW I HAD IT IN ME? And know I look at everyone shoes to see what they are wearing. Now I just need to live in area that I could actually wear these cute shoes, all snow,mud and rocks up here...I was joking with my friend that I could carry my shoes into the houses so they wouldn't get ruined but everyone makes you take your shoes off at their houses up here to keep out the muck so what would be the point??

 

[Elle_p]

Thanks for the warm homecoming Girls!

I have scheduled in all my workouts for May into the workout manager as well as my phone. I think it will help if i have everything planned ahead of time and then i can make adjustments as i need to.

Last night i did Basic Step and Upper Body Add On. I'm not a big fan of using the tubing but i'm trying to do the workouts as is. I think sometimes it's good to use different forms of resistance and this sure feels different from hand weights.

Laura: Sorry to hear about your friend's problems. If you needed to skip a day of exercise to support a friend then i think it's time well spent.

Have a great day Everyone!

 

[Shoegal]

Hello Ladies -

Last night - wasn't sure what I was going to do - but I was still wanting to "ease" back into exercise. My friend had recorded some of Cathe's workouts from FitTv for me years ago when I first started to get into Cathe. Well, I stuck on the recorded workouts - I thought - these will be "condensed" in an intertesting way - and I'll do one of them. I chose Lo Max. Well, it has been awhile since I've done this and I couldn't stand the music!!! The warm up was to Holiday by Madonna (well Madonna wasn't actually singing it though)- I found it completely distracting - I hated every momemt of it - (of the singing - not the workout). Cathe seemed to be moving at a faster rate than the beat of the music. These annoyances continued into the first interval and I still couldn't take the music and I was always not quite up to speed - a bit behind. I decided that for FitTv - they switched out the music and went in search of the actual video. I discovered that no - it was the same music - but the quality of the recorded version was quite poor and I couldn't discern the beat very well. This helped quite a bit and I thoroughly enjoyed the workout after that. I pushed myself hard and it felt really good.

Elle - I'm not one to plan out my workouts - it is always a crap shoot for me. I admire that you put it all down!!

Michelle - Glad you seem to be on the mend - healing up all those signs of boomeritis. I still feel a bit of a twinge in my hip flexor - not sure how to heal that up. I miss the days when everything felt really good.

Laura or should I say Shoegal2? Welcome to my world! Remember-Shoes need not always be practical. I think of it as fun - I love when I really like when my shoes and I can't prevent myself from taking peeks at my feet. I am so into patterns and different colors on my shoes at the moment- and you're right the styles now are so exciting. You can actually just wear them around the house. I do that . I have a pair of very expensive strappy high heel sandals that I LOVE - that are more formal and don't get worn out very often. I just stick them on and walk around the house. Rex says, "What's with the shoes?" I just laugh.

Hope everyone has a great day!!!

 

[janiejoey]

Hi Everyone,

I need to read the posts I've missed to catch up with all of you, but in the mean time, I have just a few pictures to show you. I've picked the best most interesting ones and will periodically show others from time to time.

The Cruise Ship called Celebrity Mercury

My sister Joy on the left and our family friend Ellen, I'm the one on the right.LOL This is usually where we have breakfast.

My new best friend!

My brother and I dancing at the night club.

An amazing nail work done on our ship. Not my nails though. Believe it or not they were done with USA paper money. WOW!

Our last formal dinning experience. Starting from the top to left is: Steve (Patty's fiancee a friend of my brothers), ME, then Timmy (my brother); Second row; Patty (Steve's fiancee and friend of my brothers) and Diane (my brother's fiancee), the fourth row is Dusty (brother in law), and the last row is Ellen (family friend) and Joy (my sissy)


Will talk again. Need to unpack and get acclimated to home again.

Can't wait to catch up with all of you,

Janie

 

[Shadowpup]

What a fun way to get home! I'm peeking online, just drove up home and need to check on the four footed kids, but wanted to say hi - what do I see but Janie is back after being kissed by a dolphin, our Ellie has returned (welcome!), and Laurie is a true Shoegal! Fun!

And, Michelle, I am guarding the middle of next week/Wednesday zealously and about to call it off limits for work. Would you like to meet for lunch or coffee in the am and if so, what time/where?

And now for the kids - very neat to see all these postings. Can't wait to dig through the earlier ones.

 

[ladubose]

Hi everyone! Quick post because I need to get dinner going!!

Today was STS Meso 2 Week 2 (2nd time around) Disc 17. Man that one makes me sweat so bad it looks like I got caught in a rain storm.

Ellie-P: I don't have basic step but I was thinking of getting it to get some material for my classes. Good job on planning ahead, I do that as well. So have you been exercising while you were MIA or are you just getting back into it again? Are you still teaching yoga?

Shoegal: that workout is one I have not done that often. I thought about it the other day but did a premix from the Body Blast Step Jump and Pump instead. I am trying to find that routine with the Buttercup song on it, it is one I always have fun doing but I can't remember which one it is. Do you? I think Michelle might..good idea to wear the shoes around the house!

Janie Welcome home and the pictures were so much fun! Thanks for posting them and you look great by the way, all the hard work paid off!

Shadowpup: welcome home again to!! Bet those kids are so happy to see you! Hope you get some nice weather to ride this weekend..

 

[Elle_p]

Good Morning!

I did end up getting home very late last night so i did not do Stretch Max as planned but i don't feel bad since i completed it Tuesday which was scheduled as a rest day.

ShoeGal: I can totally relate about the music. Right now i'm doing BS & Body Fusion to ease back into Cathe and i don't really like that soundtrack at all! Believe it or not the EXACT same soundtrack from Body Fusion is also on one of Jeri Love's Ripped workouts! *UGH!* I actually really like LoMax though and i'm planning on adding that to my next "rotation".

Hi Janie!!!!!! Remember me? Your pics are amazing! I love the dolphin one and i must say you look fantastic! It's so nice to see you are still getting members to come out of lurking in the current lurker check-in as well.

Shadowpup: Welcome back. I was very happy to find this group still together. It is very encouraging and motivating.

Laura: I'm still teaching yoga and that is probably what helped me maintain where i was when i went "MIA". I stopped doing Cathe although i did workout on my treadmill off and on.
I was going through a crazy time. I made a very difficult decision and left my husband in July and i am much happier now. In March i went to Venezuela for two weeks for a much needed vacation.
As for Basic Step & Body Fusion, I find them to be very "simple" Cathe workouts. Because of that i find they get boring really quickly. I'm using Cathes's beginner rotation for four weeks to ease back into Cathe workouts. For an absolute beginner or someone returning to Cathe they are a good place to start. The routines are pretty basic so i don't know if it would give you any "new ideas" for teaching though.

Have a great day!

Elle

 

[Catchick65]

Just a quick reply...Buttercup song is on Cardio and Weights...the Intensity Series. Will post more later today.
~Renee

 

[janiejoey]

Joey and I did Total Body Sculpting using heavy weight and doing the workout twice. I also did a 30 min. cardio on my climber.

Pictures of the Cliff divers excursion:

Debroah, You are back too? Yeah! How is everything at home, especially the 4 footed dears? How are you doing and how long can you stay home this time?

Elle P, It is so good to hear from you! Of course I remember you. We've missed you! Glad you could find our group again even though it's a different name. Don't you just love our name? Pretty cool. Sounds like you are doing very well with exercising. Keep up the good work!

Laura, Good job on Meso 2 Disc 17 and your second time around. I know what you mean about the sweat factor. LOL That is such a great workout. Thanks for the compliment, I did work hard. The ship had a gym (will show pictures later) so was able to keep up the work. YES! Didn't gain a pound, but man, I didn't lose either. All those marvelous deserts.

Renee, Love the song Buttercup. Looking forward to your post later on.

Will catch you all later tonight to see what you are doing,

Janie

 

[Shoegal]

Hello everyone -

I did Supersets last night and really enjoyed that - looks like it is going to get colder over the weekend. It is too bad - I need to plant my canna bulbs - we were going to put out our deck furniture - I'm rethinking all that though - I could wait. Now Thomas' communion party is going to be a bit chilly. Oh well.

Janie - Welcome home - you looked great in the pictures - looked like such a fun time with family and friends too. Were you glad to see Joey though? Did Joey survive giving Winkle the shots? Can't wait to hear more about it. But tell me how to post pictures like you do - Picture trail tells me all my pics are too big??? I'm jealous of the Dolphin shot - that looked amazing. Did Joey keep up with his workouts too?

Shadowpup - glad to see you checking in when you can - hopefully things will work out and you'll meet up with Michelle.

Laura - Catchick is right - Buttercup song is on Cardio & Weights - and it is a definite favorite with me - I think because we stop and do the weights - it is a lovely little break. I haven't really done Step jump and pump much at all - I think I'm going to dig that one out - can't keep track of all of these workouts.

Elle - don't have basic step either or body fusion - by choice - I'm like you - simple would be just too boring. Step is my favorite cardio - but I like complexity and I like it to move quickly. You know - life is too short to be unhappy - I'm glad that you are on the other side of that major life change - and that you're happy now. Keep up with your exercise too - it will make you happier.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!

 

[MDolfiniReed]

Yesterday was a very long day. Had to get up a little earlier than usual to go to Virginia Beach for a meeting. I wasn't really at the beach, but rather Damneck which is part of the Navy's holdings, right next to Oceana. Anyway, what we thought was going to be a 2 hour meeting turned into a 2 hour meeting plus a 2 hour tour of a mostly empty office building. Driving back, my dear colleague managed to somehow miss an exit and we headed into downtown Norfolk. We worked our way back to the interstate and got stuck in the tunnel traffic. 4 hours later, we were back to my house--long day. About to get longer....

My dear friend and colleague Janet was supposed to be in the office this week for some meetings. She had contacted me a couple of weeks ago to say she was coming in and would I have time for a visit. I emailed her back and told her to let me know her schedule. Then I didn't hear from her again which is not that unusual. I figured we would connect when she came in. Well, Janet did not make it in this week and when I found out she had canceled I immediately felt like something was wrong. I called her house, no answer, left a message. Not too unusual, she and her husband could be out. Next day, called again, no answer, left a message. Called again last night, no answer. Okay, what's going on? So, I dug out her cell phone number and called. Janet answered the phone and she sounds absolutely horrible--just no life in her voice. I immediately asked her what was wrong. Initially, she said that she was worn out and would call me back and then she asked if I was sitting down. Uh-oh....Yes, I'm sitting down. Okay, she says that she is in the car and that she and her husband are coming back from Philadelphia. She was diagnosed 2 weeks ago with ocular melanoma, they went to Philly on Sunday, she has had her eye removed, and now they wait for the test results to see if it has mestatisized. OHMYGOD! She was wiped out and we got off the phone shortly after that. I proceeded to google ocular melanoma and read. None of what I read is good but I need to talk to Janet again to find out more about her condition. I sat on the steps to the tub in our bathroom last night and cried. I got up this morning and cried. And now, I am determined not to cry anymore at least not until I talk to Janet again but I want to give her some time to rest at home before I call again. She has a very strong family and many friends, so I don't want to call too soon because I'm sure she is worn out from talking and worrying. I'll wait until tomorrow to call to see how she is doing and find out more about what is going on.

I did do total body stretching this morning, somehow I just didn't feel all into it.
~michelle

 

[Catchick65]

Wow, I am so sorry to hear the news about Janet. Geeze, and I too, googled ocular melanoma...not good. I hope it hasn't mastatisized. Lord have mercy.

I was gonna post a bunch of stuff, but now it seems so unimportant, trivial and mundane.

I am done with school concerts for this year. My last "big" concert was a success. Glad its over with and am looking even more forward to summer.

I finished the first week of October 09 rotation. Its a beast. I am considering Janie's "Intensity/Cathe" workout rotation for next month or FitnessFreaks "Get Ready for Summer 2010"...both look killer. And yes, I still want to add MMA classes, and my summer biking and hiking to the list of things to do once school lets out.

I'm pretty tired after the last few weeks of intense work activities, dances, and concerts. I plan on doing the regular weekend chores, exercise and what not and just chill.

Janie, I love the pics from your cruise. You look like you had a lot of fun. Of course you did!

Elle, glad to meet you. I wasn't with the group when you were but I look forward to getting to know you. Michelle and I are sisters and often refer to one another as sister. Just thought you'd like to know that so you wouldn't get confused.

Well, I like to find quotes and post them from time to time...here's one...
"There are no classes in life for beginners: right away you are always asked to deal with what is most difficult."
Rainer Maria Rilke

~Renee~

 

[janiejoey]

Shoegal, It's colder here as well in my neck of the wood. It was 36 degrees this morning. Saw only two hummingbirds today. Where are they? Hummingbirds are normally everywhere by now. Hmmmmmmmm

Good job on Supersets today, not an easy workout.

I was so glad to get home and be with my Joey and fury friends. 16 days is a very long time away from my family.

Joey and Winkle survived the shots. But, Joey decided to give Winkle only one shot a day and upped the insulin. He also had another insident of mistakenly leaving the syringe in winkle, and off he (Winkle) went with it stuck in his neck. So glad I'm home now to take over. Joey did his best. He said every time he did it, his heart raced, was shaking and scared to do it. Poor man and Winkle.

Pictures the way I do it: There might be a setting in your camera just for forums and emails, to make them smaller so they fit. If not, perhaps you can find something there to make the pictures smaller. Check out the instructions, I bet you might find some little button that will do it. Then go back to picturetrail and try again. Hope that works.

Joey was very good about continuing with his workouts. I'm very pleased about that.

Michelle, Glad you managed to do some stretching. You may not have felt into it, but you did yourself a favor for doing them. Proud of you.

What a horrible day you had! My prayers for Janet and you and many many (((((HUGS))))). Janet must be terrified! I'm so sorry. Please keep us posted on what goes on with your dear friend.

Renee, Congratulations on the first week of your rotation. You have a lot on your plate concerning exercises this Summer. Remember to take some breaks in between and for sure lots of stretching.

Do relax and have an enjoyable weekend.

Take care everyone and have a great weekend.

Janie

 

[janiejoey]

In about an hour I will be doing a cardio for almost an hour. Yikes!

Warning: WOOHOO! These are celebrators after the divers performances. Very unique and, well, (swallowing hard) you get an eye full.

Take care everyone and have a great weekend,

Janie

 

[Shadowpup]

Michelle, I am with Renee - after reading about Janet I'm rather stopped on what to post. I saw your note last night.

Really, it stopped me in my own tracks too. Janet sounds like my own closest friends - popular, bet she's successful, loving spouse, terrific family, the kidn of person maintains connections with her friends, perhaps some free spirit since she's prone to dropping in with little fanfare. Now she has lost part of herself and may be feeling disfigured, afraid for her life, angry about the unfairness of why this had to happen to her ... it is hard to imagine. The eyes are the window of the soul; to lose a window is hard indeed. Telling everyone about it is also so tough. And so hard for you, wondering what will become of your friend.

All I could think to do is put more in the White Canes Day bucket this weekend, and tell them "it's for Janet." White Canes is a foundation to help the visually impaired that our local Lions club supports. I'm not in Lions but my husband is a long time member and he's prez this year, and I go to their events whenever I can. It truly isn't much, Michelle, but that and saying a prayer for Janet and for you is all I could think to do... and to take in the beauty of the spring with my own eyes, and feel thankful for having them.

Many (((hugs))) to you both. Janet will need friends to be strong with her, cry with her, laugh with her, and eventually help her rebuild the life she will be living whether short or long. Her husband will, too. She is lucky to have you in your corner. She might need help in getting the word out to everyone ... when I had cancer, that was a draining message to deliver and my husband and I were thankful for the people who helped take some of the burden off of me there, explaining the disease, and giving progress updates. Don't know if she'd feel the same but possibly she would.

 

[MDolfiniReed]

A much better day today. I ended up calling Janet last night and she had just gotten off the phone with the surgeon's physician assistant. All her body scans came back negative. No signs that the cancer had mastasticized to anywhere. This is the best possible news that she could have received. So, this has all happened within the last 8 days for Janet. She is still trying to come to terms with the fact that this is not a dream because it sure seems that way to her.

Janet is Jewish and she will be the first to tell you that she is the typical Jewish mother: worries about everything. Her perpetual fear is that she will be diagnosed with a brain tumor. Over the course of her adult life, she has read everything she can about every type of cancer. When the retinologist told her that she had ocular melanoma, she knew exactly what he was talking about. She originally went to see her eye doctor because her vision seemed to be deteriorating. She figured that she had a torn retina and she did. She didn't expect to find out that the reason she had the torn retina was because of a tumor growing in her right eye. Apparently, after diagnosis, determination and implementation of appropriate treatment is done very quickly.

I am just extremely grateful to our good Lord that Janet got the best news she could on her scans given that her eye had to be removed. She's got alot of mixed emotions going on. She's worried about work, which is just typical. I told her not to worry about it--take some time to cope and heal. Nobody is going to expect her to be up and running at all let along at full speed at work. But that is not her way. Janet can be very intense. It's one of the reasons I love her.

Janet's good news meant happier walkabouts with Ripken and I enjoyed doing the standing glute work and ab premix on Butts and Guts earlier today.

Shadowpup: you are an artist with words. Thanks.
Thanks to sister and Janie too.
~michelle

 

[Elle_p]

Hello Everyone,

It's a gloomy, rainy, cold and windy day here. I completed my scheduled workout yesterday: Basic Step + Stability Ball Abs. I decided to go ahead and add a riser to my step to kick it up a notch. It went well.

I'm feeling kind of lazy right now but i'm going to make an effort to get today's workout completed anyway. We'll see how that goes.

Michelle: I'm very sorry to hear about Janet. I don't really know what else to say right now but i am glad the cancer has not spread. I'll be sending blessings and thoughts her way.
Hearing this really makes one thankful for good health and the gift of sight.


Renee: Thanks for the welcome and for the friend request.


I hope everyone else is having a great weekend.

Elle

 

[ladubose]

Oh my....so much going on in life right now...Michelle I am so sorry to hear about your friend, and also glad to hear the cancer had not migrated to other parts of her body, she is luck she went to the Dr when she did. Elle I am so sorry to hear about your difficult discussion to separate from your husband, but glad it was the right choice for you and know you can move forward..

Yesterday was my day off and once again spent a lot of time with my friend who is dealing with her Bi-Polar husband and heard today that a friend of mine has a tumor on his kidney and is going to have surgery to have 75% of his kidney removed. Life seems a little to intense lately...full of struggles. But it does make you appreciate our blessings and our health, our friends and our loved ones while we can.

I took the girls to their Spring Faire and School Circus today. I got home late and almost didn't motivate to workout. I was tired and had dinner to make but decided I had to do it, as Friday was the day off, and I didn't want to get behind in my rotation and I didn't get my cardio in on Wed. so I popped in Back & Biceps took breaks to get dinner done and then I felt like a little more so I did 4DS LIS as well...somedays you never know...

Catchicks: thanks for the tip on the Buttercup. I will see if there is a cardio only premix on that and maybe I will do it tomorrow.

Janie: love the photos so rich, exotic and fun! Just what I need to see in my present mood...Glad Joey kept up his workouts and got through the shots for winkie

Shoegal: Did you do Step, Jump & Pump? I did the Step and Hi/lo premix as my weight is STS. It is kind of funny that way as it seems a little broken up. I wanted the step to continue and although the floor work really works to get the kicker ticking it wasn't my fav...

 

[Elle_p]

Well it's still cold here. Feels like November weather. Yesterday i did motovate myself to complete my scheduled workout: Upper & Lower Body tubing from the BS DVD.

Today i completed Stretch Max (all 3 routines) I skipped Stability Ball Abs since they were still sore from Friday.

My scale did not budge at all last week. I didn't think my eating was too bad so i obviously need to pay closer attention to what i'm eating. At least it didn't move up!

Laura: Great job getting your workout in despite the busy schedule. Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope everything goes well for both of them.

Have a great Monday everyone.

 

[Shoegal]

Michelle - so sorry to hear about Janet and I was glad to hear that her cancer hadn't spread. I wish her all the best and I know you'll be a comforting friend to her and that always helps. But big (((HUG))) from me - it is not an easy thing to deal with.

Laura - gee - bad news spreads - sorry about your friend - hope his operation is successful and he is none the worse for wear. Yes I hear you - we all have to be thankful for the blessings we have. Haven't done step, jump & pump but plan to tonight!!! Happy Mother's Day - by the way - what did the girls get you?

Elle - It was cold here too! Kind of took the wind out of our sails this weekend - we managed to set up our deck with furniture - that's it.

Janie - love the pictures - yeah, I'm afraid I'm going to have to read the directions about making the pictures smaller - dang!!! Like when things are very user friendly and I can figure it out on my own.

Have a meeting this morning - I need to prepare for - got to go.