Getting Our Licks In!

HELLO!!!

Very Busy for me all weekend. Thursday had little birthday get together with Rex's side of the family - (gee more presents!!!:D). Rex's sister has a birthday 2 days after mine. She got me a garden flag - goodness, yet another thing to change out for the seasons - now I'm obsessed with finding new flags for the different holidays. :rolleyes: Friday - went to the boat with Rex's other sister who was in town that week from Michigan - then had to come home and cook off potatos and eggs for the potato salad I was making for my nephew's graduation party. I finished making the salad the next morning and road out to Pittsburgh to help with the party. I was there until midnight cleaning up and so forth. It was such a nice party and I think my newphew was very happy. On Sunday, I celebrated my birthday with my family - and had left over party food and cake from the day before. I got home and was going to stay up a bit but I listened to my body and went to bed. I fell asleep very quickly - at one point I was just about to drift off when I heard Rex's voice reach me from the other side of my dream. :D

Shadowpup - I bet the the children are happy as heck to see you!!!

MIchelle - sorry about the cold - that must be maddening and in such hot weather!!!

Laura - hope you are enjoying Seattle - only there once and did no shopping - it was all closed the evening I was near the waterfront but had a great dinner at Cutters.

Elle - As far as not feeling Cathe - not an issue - you just need to get the exercise in & maintain consistency and if that means doing half of a planned workout or even 10 minutes of an off the wall workout completely different than what you had planned - then that is what you need to do. You get it in -and it will help you move forward to the next day - and eventually you'll really want to do the workout you have planned and the entire thing. Just go with how you are feeling. I know that sometimes if I have a workout planned that is hard and long - I might also have to deal with the dread - and sometimes that prevents me from doing anything at all - which is not a good thing.

Janie - wow - I bet you are enjoying those family reunions - nice to meet up with people you haven't seen in awhile. Enjoy yourself.

Ok going to go now - hope you all have a good day.
 
We are still stewing in the heat, but it is supposed to be better this morning. Ripken and I were up at 5am this morning to walk before the sun came up. It was pretty mugly outside. Then I did powerhour, cleaned up, packed up, and headed to Va Beach with a colleague on a business trip. We are here just overnight. Will have more meetings tomorrw and then head back up the road.

I was glad to get powerhour in this morning. Not 100 percent with my cold but managed to get through the workout.

Elle: I'm with Shoegal. You don't have to be feeling like doing Cathe everyday. Just get the exercise in. If yoga is your thing then focus on the yoga.

Janie: sounds like you are having a great time visiting with your family and old friends. How is Rolly liking all the excitement and new faces?

Laura: love Pike Street Market. The Pike Street Seafood Restaurant is great. Don't see how anyone could leave that place hungry. Great place for breakfast too!

Shadowpup: welcome home, again. Glad to have you back with us.

Shoegal: yummy, potato salad. I love potato salad but I don't ever make it. Might have to make a batch over the holiday weekend.

Sister: how's the home improvement project going? Controlled mess or chaotic mess?

My cold is not so bad--if my cough would go away, I'd be great.
~michelle
 
Good Tuesday morning to everyone!

My house is a mess, but this should be for only two more days. It took the floor man all day to pull up, remove and prep my floor for hardwood. What a noisy, dirty, difficult job. Glad there are people who like to do that work. AND glad I am just a music teacher...lol.
My cats were freaking out, and its soon gonna start all over again. Poor kitties, but they are pretty resilient.

I am now working out in my finished basement and actually enjoying it. Everything is in one central location. No more moving stuff out and back. Yesterday I did LIS and STS back and chest 34, plus Karate. I took it kinda easy on the stretching and kicks at karate, and my leg is feeling much better today. Oh, its not 100% but at least its not the major pain I had. Today I am leaning towards LowMax plus karate this evening. I've strayed from my rotation, but thats okay, since I have this pulled muscle, I want that to heal but still stay active.

Elle, just MOVE! That is what is most important. Do what you love, and if yoga is what you love, then just do it! (Sounds like a slogan, lol) I am fortunate enough to love Cathe, hiking, biking, and now karate. Its all fun to me. In the summer I get to do as much of it as I want. I am so gonna hate when August rolls around. I'll still do it, but obviously not as much. :(

Shadowpup...don't know how you do it. Busy all the time, busy all the time.

Janie, I am so glad you are having a great time with family, travel and friends. AND Rolly! The last time we had a family reunion was back in 2002 for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. It was nice but it was stressful too.

Shoegal; Oy, not a fan of potato salad. I like potatoes but not as a salad. What kind do you fix? German style is okay, but I am really not crazy with the eggs and mayo type. And I like that stuff too, but not mixed together.

Hello to everyone else...take good care and don't forget to MOVE!

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.
Aristotle

~Renee~
 
I did ASC I with Amy Bento - again. I found that I was having a bit of trouble doing the "crazy shuffle" - box was too high. I took it down and kept it down but still found it a pretty good workout and super fun. It flies by - just wish it was s bit longer. I am a step junkie I think ;):D.

Renee - I am actually not much of a cook but I can put together a pretty good potato salad - its the eggs/ mayo type - American Style. It is not for everyone. Nurse that injury - enjoy your exercise - sounds like your new space is really working out for you.

Michelle - last weekend was really hot for us here - I found myself wanting to take shelter indoors - but felt kind of guilty for doing that. We are getting a lot of freak rain storms here - it is like someone turned on the shower for a couple of minutes to get everything really wet - then shuts it off and the sun comes out again. How does Ripken like the heat? My sister's goldens hate it - like the air conditioning blowing on them.

I'm a wee bit tired - I'd actually like to take a nap but the day is just starting!
 
Hi everyone, I'm back home. Had a good trip, collected a lot of information. Now, we have to do something with it. My slight bout of a cold seems to be subsiding. My cough has pretty much gone away. Hopefully it will not resurface when I lay my head down to sleep tonight.

Didn't exercise today, but Ripken and I did take a nice walk right after I got home and I imagine we might get another one in this evening. I do love walking my pup.

Shoegal: you've really got me wanting potato salad. Unlike sister, I LOVE potato salad, American style. Yum-yum.

Tomorrow I have Power Max on the rotation. I'm looking forward to it.
Hope everyone is doing well.
~michelle
 
The heat has finally broken here. This morning we have no humidity and great temps in the 60s. Ripken and I were loving our walk this morning. Then back to the house and Powermax for me. I'm at the tail end of Cathe's June rotation. Just a couple more days and then I have to figure out what July will be. Cathe posted the itinerary for the Roadtrip last night. I've got to buckle down and find a place to make our Getting Our Licks In shirts for the roadtrip. There's a shop in Solomons that I need to check out. Need to put that on my "to do" list this weekend.

Full day of work ahead for me. Time to fly--try to get back for more later.
~michelle
 
This has been such a busy week for me. My new hardwood floor is now finished and BEAUTIFUL! Even though I wasn't doing the work (thank god) it sure was a major undertaking. The floor man left at 3:30 which gave me all afternoon to get things back in order, right? Wrong. I then went and ran errands, which included an hour at the verizon store for a phone upgrade, and then to Lowe's to buy furniture felt pads, grab a quick bite to eat (yuck, fastfood) and then karate. Finally home at 8 o'clock. Then I had to start putting the felt pads on the furniture and putting things back. Good grief! Up until 11 o'clock and I am still not done. The BIG furniture which I can't move on my own still needs padding and moving, but oh, does it look WONDERFUL! I am so pleased and happy with the outcome,

Yesterday, sister suggested Body Fusion. I was actually leaning towards Cardio Fusion but I went the "easier" route. Even though I went easy, I sure did sweat. Cathe uses 3 pound weights on the DVD. Nope, not me, I went 10 for this circuit workout. Boy, did that knock it up a notch, no wonder I poured sweat! Now, what to do today? All I want to do is be moderately lazy, but, there are still so many things to do, including mowing the yard, which I have neglected way too long. Yippy skippy.

Update on pulled muscle. Eh, its improving but, honestly, its gonna take a while because of all the dynamic moves and stretching we do in karate. I hate not being able to go full throttle, but to do that risks bigger injury. (sigh)

AH, July....

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson

~Renee
 
Things are so busy in the summer - doesn't seem like there is TIME for anything. DH and I were thinking of going away this weekend but I told him I honestly didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to be home to get a couple of things done around there - like the garden. I'd like to get mulch there - I'd like the plant the rest of the planters - I'd like to finish!! Oh well - I managed to plant 2 plants yesterday evening.

I also did Lo Max. Hooray! Well I did the premix where you only do the step routines not the blasts - ok - it was something. The step routine is too easy and frankly, a little boring but not too bad there. I've had routines way too basic for me where I want to just fall asleep while stepping :p. I really think you need the blasts to spice it up.

Last night Rex and I booked a cruise for September - going to the Caribbean - yah!! I also have family vacation this month - in a couple weeks. I need a vacation like Rex where I just stay home and take care of it. I need to give my home more TLC like Renee.

Renee - I bet your floors look incredible!!! Congrats - I'm happy you're happy. I bet you are itching to get the house all back together so you can really enjoy your surroundings and the home you've created. You also need to sit back and nurse your injury - hope that heals up quicker than you think.

Michelle - make some potato salad this weekend in honor of the 4th!!! Glad the heat broke - colder here too!! I'm glad that you are feeling better and that you had a successful trip.

What are everyone's plans for the holiday? I was thinking we were going boating for a bit and then on Monday (off work) my family and I are going to Kennywood (local amusement park). Can't wait!
 
Just caught up on everyone! Sounds like everyone is pretty busy and fitting their workouts when they can! I know that is true for me, I definitely worked out a lot less the month of June, but considering how busy I have been I am still happy with myself. It really shows how exercise is just a way of life for me now. I do what I can when I can even while on vacations. This trip to my mom's I got 3 runs in 1 MMA KB and two STS workouts at the gym. Not bad for a 7 day trip.:D

Yesterday I got the house straightened, we left it a mess right after the wedding straight into travel, and the clothes unpacked. I made up the one STS workout I missed which was STS Chest & Back and STS No Equipment Abs, and today I continued cleaning the house, worked in the flower beds outside which have been very neglected and did the 2nd Plyo Legs workout and Meso Cycle 3 which was AWESOME!!! I sweated Buckets!!

Shoegal: I hear you on summer time! I always look forward to it so much and it always goes by in a blink as it is so busy!! MMMM yummy I LOVE potato salad as well, any kind of potato is good for me!

Catchick: I bet you are loving your wood floors, we have wood floors all over our house and I love them. It must be nice to have a central place to workout as well! Keep resting that groin and you will be kicking your heart out soon enough in Karate!

Michelle: glad you are feeling better! And the heat wave broke! 60's to 70's is perfect weather in my mind. Do you like the Power series? Power hour, Power Max and all those older workouts? Are they worth having?

Elle: any big crowds are tense for sure and on the border of being barely contained! Sorry that happened in your town. Don't worry about not being in the mood for Cathe. We all lover her, but variety is the spice of life AND her workouts are intense. Listen to your body, it will ask you for what it needs.

Janey: sounds like a busy time full of family! Have a great time in VEGAS!!

Shadowpup: how are the 4 legged children doing? They must be missing you!
 
Hello everyone -

I worked out to ASC II - Amy Bento last night. The 3rd combo - hard on the heart but it felt so very good. I acutally did quite well. My sister in law was coming over and DH and I were late in coming home - so my workout had to be crammed in the space I had for it - and it acutally overlapped with her arrival but I got it done and I was quite happy. She had us try something called a Moscow Mule - it was ginger beer, vodka and lime juice - it was super tastey. We actually got to use our deck for once - it looks very nice but it seems like it never gets used. :(:confused: We are thinking of getting an awning for it.

Laura - you did incredibly well during your trip - you worked out quite a bit - but you are right - in the summer there is so much going on it is a struggle to sometimes to get those workouts in. I'm the same way - working out is so much a part of my life I don't forget about it and I always make the effort to get it in.

I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend. :D Happy 4th of July!
 
Happy 4th of July weekend to everybody! Whats your plans? Me? I don't have any yet, but I'm sure I'll figure something out, always do.

It's almost 10 o'clock in the morning. Got the mowing done already and now I am contemplating what Cathe to do. I am feeling like a cardio this morning. And then I am going to do some stretches and exercises suggested in two books I recently bought; Stretching Scientfically A Guide to Flexibility Training by Thomas Kurz and Dynamic Stretching and Kicking by Bill Wallace. I am hoping this will help with my karate, flexibility, kicks and splits. As sister can reaffirm...I do not like stretching. It has never been my thing, but now, since I started karate, I am just a wee bit motivated to do it more.

I hope everyone continues to stay positive, healthy and motivated. Take good care this weekend, play it safe always.

Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose--
a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye. Mary Shelley

~Renee
 
Busy day yesterday and I didn't get a chance to check in. We are still loving the break in the weather and NO humidity. Yesterday morning, after my walk with Ripken, I did Leaner Legs. I just sweat buckets on those leg workouts. And I always seem to forget that Leaner Legs also includes an ab workout--not an easy one either. Are any of them easy?

Then I was at Quantico all day yesterday. Great--short commute home. NOT. Normally a 15 minute trip was over an hour yesterday. The traffic has just been horrendous this week before the 4th of July. I can't imagine what July 5th is going to be like. Fortunately, I don't have to worry about that because we will be on the boat through Tuesday. We have friends coming down to Solomons by boat from Baltimore. Looking forward to visiting with them.

This morning, another great walkabout with my pup. He really is such a wonderful dog. Then we did Total Body Stretching this morning. Well, I did the stretching and Ripken did the total body licking. Silly, silly pup. Everything is packed and ready to load to head over to Solomons. Just waiting for Joe to give the "let's go" signal. Ripken is snoozing amongst the backed bags in the foyer, also waiting for the signal to go.

Sister: glad you are happy with your new floor and have got your house back on the road to order. Have mom and dad come over to check it out yet? What do the cats think? They are probably just happy to have peace and quiet again.

Shoegal: a trip to the Caribbean sounds nice. Where will you be going on your cruise?

Laura: sounds like you did real well with your exercise while you were in the PNW. Those meso 3 plyo leg workouts are tough, aren't they?

Shadowpup and Elle: where are you?

Counting down: 28 days to the Cathe Roadtrip!
:)Michelle
 
We are doing really good. Rolly did very well traveling, but it's a bit much for the kitties. Right now they are in a room with AC, food and bed. They are now doing very well. Poor things, but if they live with us, it has to be done.

I've been doing lots of long walks, and went to the gym this morning. Worked every muscle I own. LOL It was great!

Shoegal, Sometime working in the garden one step at a time is best. A couple of plants per day is great.

I have to agree sometimes when you have a lot of energy needing the blasts with step workouts. Amy is a much better workout for cardio.:D

The Caribbean sounds like Joey might be interested in that one some day. Anyway I hope so, perhaps next year in the Fall. Take pictures please and do enjoy the heck out of it. It sounds soooooo beautiful.

I'm like you, in that when I get home I'll be doing lots of TLC for my home.;)

Enjoy the long weekend, it sounds like you will have a great time.

Laura, I agree, exercising is a part of my life too. I wouldn't want to do without it. Good job while on vacation by continuing with the exercises.

Renee, I'm so glad you will be doing more stretching. I'm very motivated to look into Karate when I get home after all our traveling is done. Sometime in January.

Our son gave us a surprise and here they are. Part of Joe's family that we haven't seen for many years. I have to go!

Stay good,

Janie
 
Good morning, all! I missed our check in - there was so much to squeeze in during my day home earlier this week that I never did get back :eek:

But today is a gorgeous three day weekend, and I only have about half a day of business-work things that need to get done. Good thing, too ... plenty of personal-work needed! We are hoping to have the hay cut/bailed today, and that means the barns both need to be entirely ready for storage. I was able to do the worst of it last weekend. But, there's also the annual ''moving of the winter manure'' (exactly what it sounds like), which may be possible if things have dried out enough. That's a twelve hour task. Great workout, though :)

Speaking of workouts, I did get a kettlebell workout and Ellen Barrett's Cardio Fusion in on Thurs/Fri, two Cardio Coaches last weekend, Muscle Max one day, and free weights in the hotel another. I've cut the intensity down somewhat as my body was asking for a bit of a rest.

And now I get to catch up on what our terrific check in group has been doing! Looking forward to it :D
 
Rolly, Joey and our Dan went for a walk that Rolly will always remember.:rolleyes: They should be gone for an hour or longer, before the weather gets tooooo hot. I'll be going to the gym here in a bit and do some cardio on the treadmill.

Michelle, You always do such great workouts. Sweating buckets I want to do all the time when exercising, it's the only time I know that it's working (for me). Love the "Whew" factor.

Seems you just can't get away from the 4th of July traffic unless you do something like be on a boat. Have Fun and enjoy your friends!

You Lucky Person! When you are at the Roadtrip have the time of your life! Take lots of pictures, and please give Cathe a hug for me, since she was so instrumental in getting me into the best shape of my life.

Deborah, It's always so nice to hear about your adventures. You are so busy in every corner of your life, so it's nice to hear that you are taking it a little easier on your exercises. To tell you the truth, I just don't know how you do it. You amaze me.

How do you like Ellen Barrett's Cardio Fusion? I'll look it up here in a minute, but would like your opinion on it.

For a person that is so busy, you are so consistent with the workouts. How do you do that?:confused:

I don't want to do anything except have fun, and have to force myself to go to the gym. I do enjoy walks with Rolly though, even though the temp is in upper 70's in the morning and later so far 105 degrees. Yikes! Thank goodness for AC.

Looking forward to hearing more about everyone's Summer and fun events. You all inspire me to continue to workout, even though I really just want to have fun. The only excuse I have is the hot weather, but I just have to work around that.

Take care and will look forward to your posts.

Janie
 
Happy July 4th everyone!

Took a break yesterday to enjoy the last day of nice weather and no humidity. Washed the boat and it was a great day for it. Ripken and I took some great walks around Solomons and I plopped my butt on the bow for a couple of hours and read a book in the sun with a lovely breeze blowing out of the NE.

Today, the wind has shifted out of the south and the heat is returning; the humidity will follow. But that's the way it is here in the mid-Atlantic. Did a low key workout this morning: upper body sculpt, lower body sculpt and stability ball abs. Sister would call this a weenie workout, but I'm going light for a few days because I feel like my body needs a little bit of a break. Then I'll gear up again and start preparing for the roadtrip at the end of the month.

Lots of boat traffic today and people are going too fast. Where we are located is supposed to be a No Wake Zone, but some folks seem to have a problem understanding what that means. The Marine Police tend to patrol the other end of the island where the Tiki Bar is (and you can guess why), so we just have to put up with the poor boating behavior of folks further up the creek.

Janie: by the sounds of the weather, you must be in Las Vegas. I think Ripken would not like the hot weather in Nevada. You are getting what I call "pure heat" which is different from heat and humidity. But, dogs probably don't like either. Ripken is staying in the A/C today and close to his floor fan. And having fun doesn't sound like such a bad idea.

Shadowpup: cleaning out the winter manure sounds like a snitty job. Hope the weather cooperates with such a lovely chore. Sounds like you haven't missed a beat on your workouts. I don't know how you do it. You are extremely focused and driven. Qualities I admire.

Hello to sister, Laura, Shoegal, and Elle. Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend.
~michelle
 
Hello everybody! Hope all is well in your world.

Today I did a classic, Step Max. Nice hour of "easy" step. Just what I needed. Yesterday was my rest day, which was very nice to have on THE holiday. Saturday I did Muscle Max. Every day I continue to work on my flexibility for karate, which means stretching. Yippy skippy! At least I have found something that motivates me to do more stretching. lol

For the fourth, I spent the day at my friends pool. I am headed back there later today. :)
It was very low keyed but fun, and suspect it will continue on that trend. These friends of mine like to party all the time, but they seem to have lowered the intensity just a little. Which is very nice indeed! It is also nice being "the skinny hot chick", which I have never been in my life. So, admittedly, I like the attention and the compliments :) but I won't let it go to my head.

Try to be happy in this present moment, and put not off being so to a time to come,—as though that time should be of another make from this which has already come and is ours.
Thomas Fuller

~Renee
 
It's so hard to get back to work after a long weekend!:( For some reason i wasn't able to get on to Cathenation yesterday or earlier this morning. I'm not sure what the problem was but it finally worked.

Last week I was busy studying for my mid-term exam for a course i'm taking. I did the exam first thing Thursday morning and got to enjoy the rest of the weekend. I was off Thursday and Friday for Canada day and it was such a nice weekend here. On Friday i had a spa day: Massage, Facial, Mani, & Pedi.

My summer yoga classes began on Saturday. The number of students is lower than normal but that usually happens during the summer season.

I've been keeping up with my yoga practice and also got in Cathe's Muscle Endurance on Friday.:)

Much as i tried to keep it together this weekend, my diet went a bit crazy.:mad: I tried to plan ahead but it really is hard to keep track of everything and estimate points values for food that was prepared by someone else. I went to a BBQ on Saturday and my mom's for lunch yesterday and much as i tried i exceeded my points targets and used up all of my flex points.:( Tomorrow is weigh-in day so i'll see what the damage is. I'm back on track today and from now on i'm really going to plan ahead for these types of events.

Have a great 4th of July holiday!
 
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Sounds like everyone had a nice weekend. I have to run to drop my kids off at a friends' to go teach my 2 classes so I don't have time for personals, although I did read them.

We had another busy weekend with lots of parties and late nights. The poor girls are exhausted today and it was their first day of Horse back Riding Camp.:rolleyes:

I took yesterday off of exercise, Saturday was STS Shoulders Tri and Bi's and STS Abs with the stability ball. Friday was Step Blast.

Today I took a beautiful hike with some friends while the girls were in camp tonight is Pilates and a full body workout with weights. Thinking of going light weight and high reps to confuse my body from the heavy lifting and to go easy on the joints and tendons.
 
I had such a good weekend - packed full of activity. On Friday - we went out and had a late dinner at our favorite place - actually met up with a neighbor we had met there earlier in the summer and chatted with him a bit. On Saturday, I had wanted mulch on the garden - DH went and got 2 truckloads but it wasn't enough but just enough to get started. I feel better about the state of the garden now. :) Rex was intent on going to the boat - it was a very hot and gorgeous day and I could see why but I could have stayed at home all day long working the soil. I did get the flowers planted in my new planters - I hope they do well!!! We headed out to Moraine though for some fun in the sun - anchored the boat out and just swam and tanned - that is what I love and I had a great time!! The girls did too - we were anchored pretty close to shore and were able to lower the girls off of the boat and into the water. They swam to shore and ran along the perimeter then would swim out again and again. There were so much fun to watch. Afterwards - we went to North Country Brewery for dinner. The girls were allowed in the outdoor spaces of the restaurant so we took them in with us. We got home pretty late though.

On Sunday - we worked the yard again - :D and I got more done but still not enough and went to the boat later in the day about 3pm - it was super HOT!!! We had a great time - more of the same from the day before and then set out to watch the fireworks afterwards. We found this field along with 100 other people behind the Big Butler Fair and watched them there - I actually found them too bright and too loud. :eek::eek::eek: - when the actual firework was preceeded by a bright flash of light - my instinct is to close my eyes - and I do - then I miss the firework altogether. :confused: Oh well - I suppose I'm getting old.

Monday - went to Kennywood - it is such a wonderful place filled with so many memories. My entire family was there - and we all went on the rides and had a blast. We all brought a dish for a picnic and had a great lunch in a pavillion there - right by the "JackRabbit" - which is an old wooden coaster with the famous double dip. :D We spent all day there until DH was begging to go home!!!

It sounds as if everyone had a fun weekend - oh dear back to work! I'm afraid workouts suffered this weekend but I'm back on the wagon today - will keep everything under control this week for sure!!
 
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