Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 11/30

Hi Ladies,

Sorry for not posting. I went for a run on the beach on Monday and my knee felt fine and spinning yesterday morning and I had planned on going to body pump in the afternoon, but it got cold and started pouring so I just stayed home. I plan on running today again if it does not rain :).

It took me a while to decompress from the visitors and the cooking and cleaning after Thanksgiving. I'm so glad it is over.

My cholesterol numbers have alway been high, but my HDL has always been great, so my DR. Is fine with that. She does test me every year though.

Lori and Judi, you ladies are amazing with your home projects. Me and my DH are not good at that, but we are lucky to have my DB that is great.

Deb, glad that your tests results were good. I have been trying to loose the same 10 pounds for years ;).

Valerie, hope that you get some relief from your shoulder pain.

Garance, are you working on any sewing projects? I have been looking into sewing classes, I would love to learn.

Josie
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did KCM's Cardio Quick Fix, both workouts (44:39).

I finally previewed my Classical Stretch dvd, and I am looking forward to doing it on Sunday. A lot of the stretches she shows in her book, but I would characterize this stretching as dynamic, with a lot of movement. The warmup is pretty active, followed by 30 minutes of standing stretches and balance work. Then about 15 minutes of mat work and another 15 minutes of barre. Some very different stuff throughout. I am curious to see how I feel after. She's a bit like Bowen--very good on form and where something is being worked.

Valerie, I have never heard of the Melting Pot. Dipping everything in cheese is definitely a high-calorie threat. I think you will find Mockingjay very different from the first two films, which were both about the hunger games. This one is about rebellion and war. Some commentators/reviewers have seen the film as timely and compare it to the war in Syria and Assad's brutal repression of his own people.

Josie, I am making an interesting dress, with strangely shaped pieces and a striped knit fabric. The stripes will be in all different directions because of the piecing. It's a Silhouette pattern I bought from Voguefabricsstore.com.

Lori, I love a lot of novels--Middlemarch, Emma, Pride and Prejudice, the Robber Bride, Brothers Karamazov, Anna Karenina, Beloved, The Great Gatsby, Tom Jones, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Jane Eyre, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Mill on the Floss, Dune, etc.etc. I like big sprawling ambitious novels probably the best because I want them to go on and on. More recent ones include Pillars of the Earth and World Without End and The Goldfinch just last year. I don't know anymore about Gone With the Wind. I loved it when I was younger, but I have a feeling I would find it disturbing, given what I know now about the Civil War and slavery. In graduate school I wrote one of my Master's essays on Dracula--an all-time great vampire thriller. The epistolary style made it so suspenseful.

Judy, that's an incredible workout. Do you listen to/ watch anything while pedaling away or is Spinervals a dvd?

Deb, maybe you should consult with a cardiologist about diet, drugs, especially if you feel somewhat lost in how to handle your worries or you have a family history indicative of problems. It couldn't hurt, and maybe you would feel either reassured or get some good advice.
 
Good evening ladies!

No workout this morning. Needed to sleep in again. Nilla had that nasty hacking cough again. This is the same cough she had a few months back. My DH sleeps right through it but it is so loud and distrubing for me. Then no way could I even think of making my little Nilla sleep outside of the bedroom. She would be so distraught. So of course I am miserable so my dog is comfortable. I guess that is how it goes when you are an animal lover!!

Josie...oh to even think about running on a beach in December!!!! Glad you knee seems to be better. did you have the grandchildren for thanksgiving? I seem to think yes.

Lynda...I agree about Gone with the Wind and all the slavery. I still love it though. Funny about Dracula. I read it last year and really enjoyed it. I guess I just like to read. The 50 shades of grey was unusual for me as I do tend to stay away from all the romance and sex books. Of the list you mentioned I have on my to read list - Goldfinch, the Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejuduce, Jane Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird. I also want to read Uncle Tom's Cabin. I never really enjoyed reading unless it was a magazine until my DH bought me a Kindle a few years back. Now I just can't stop and I have a lot of catching up to do!

Valerie...very interesting about the glucosamine supplements. Wow who would have thought? When are you going to movies and dinner?

Deb...my DH was actually thinking about Jenny Craig because there is a store next to us that he could quickly run in and order food. Or should we say he thought he could do this. Once he found out he would have to have a weekly appt to be weighed in then he could not be bothered.

Hi to Judy!!!
 
Hi Everyone,

Lori-I'm sorry about Nilla :( I hope she gets over her cough soon. I know what you mean, Chino and Shadow always sleep in our room and they would be very upset if we tried to keep them out.

Valerie-that is a very interesting site. I had not heard that Glucosamine-Chondroitin could cause elevated cholesterol. I think I will stop taking it for now, as I'm not sure it's doing anything good anyway.

Deb-your HDL is very good. I agree with Lynda, maybe you should see a cardiologist for advice about cholesterol medicine and alternatives to medicine for lowering cholesterol.

Josie-It really sounds nice to be able to run on the beach in December! I'm glad your knee is better.

Lynda-Spinervals are DVD workouts so I usually just watch them. I like Cathe's cycling workouts too.
 
Good morning,

It's Thursday. The week is dragging and I had Monday off.

Valerie, that is exactly what Melting Pot is. You order a bunch of fondue pots, not necessarily cheese, lots of different things.....like Chocolate!! It's only one meal, enjoy yourself and get right back on track afterwards. I also take glucosamine/chrondroitin supplement...hmmmm....I hope that is not correct.

Josie, yes, glad Thanksgiving is over, although it's my favorite holiday. Now for Christmas! You should take sewing lessons! Now that you are retired, why not right?

Lynda, how long in total is that stretching DVD? no shorter premixes? LOL...would love to see a pic of the dress you are making. I may get back into quilting once I retire. No family history of heart disease. I am wondering if it's not just stress/panic about retiring.

Lori, sorry to hear about Nilla and a cough. Did they tell you what it is? Sounds like kennel cough, but where would she get that? Of course you would not make her leave the room! LOL about your DH and the weekly weigh in....that would be the typical reaction of most men I would think.

Judy, I think I will do the same as you....stop taking the glucosamine stuff at least until I get my blood checked in January and see if it helps.

Work, then home to crash....I need to get back to workouts....

Take care,
 
Peoples Pharmacy ...you can't be "sure" because it's all "word-of-mouth" kinds of things but most of us take different supplements. this is something to consider. I don't expect "miracle cures" but I don't want something harmful either. as usual, the same thing can have very different effects on different people. If most people got elevated cholesterol from taking it, I think this would be known before this. so many people take it! this was the first and only place where I've read something suggesting glucosamine chrondroitin might have this effect. I will be watching for a well conducted study with scientifically based results. meanwhile, I take it, my cholesterol is fine. I have no idea if it actually does anything (or not) to help joint cartilage. If my cholesterol was high I might stop taking it for a time and see if my cholesterol levels dropped. It is SO difficult to prove "cause and effect" of one particular substance when we all have complex lives and it's hard to "control" all those other factors.

another surprise... the latest consumer reports discusses GF diets and the implications. there is a following article about arsenic levels in rice products because so many people are massively increasing their rice intake when they use rice based products to avoid gluten. I had no idea rice, especially certain kinds grown in certain places (Arkansas, Louisiana,Texas) holds arsenic...and arsenic is a carcinogen. California grown rice was lower in arsenic, but apparently all rice has some. this becomes more significant as millions of people switch to alternative products to avoid wheat gluten. I'm sure CR will not make this available free on their website for a while. it's in the Jan issue. apparently rice (even organic) overall has measurable levels of inorganic arsenic more in the outer layers, so potentially brown rice has more than white. it depended on type of rice and where it was grown . they have point values assigned to tally how many points you are getting in a week with adults allowed more than children. rice crackers, rice cakes, rice cereal, rice pasta, rice drinks.
So, I don't eat a lot of rice, I won't stop eating it, but I will look for California grown rice. If I were on a GF diet for any reason, I'd be paying much closer attention. more later.

Lori, hope your little nilla is doing better.
Deb, I am pretty careful in restaurants because I gain so easily. my issues are portion control and this kind of restaurant would not be my first choice. thanks, at least I know what to expect. I will not go in there "starving" .
I loved GWTW ... when I first saw and read it I didn't know much about slavery/civil war. but not the author's purpose to address the issue. I considered it more of a romance novel, not necessarily historically accurate. It's been a long time, not sure a re-read be a good thing.
I hate sewing but do it when needed. Lynda, you have my admiration. my new sewing machine is a miracle.... very easy to use and does all kinds of fancy stitches with push of a button. it was only $135 at Costco. I will use it mostly for shortening and mending, but the price made it worth it.

Did 15 on spin bike, 20 treadmill, and an ab workout yesterday. shoulder is better but not going to yoga or doing any weights until next week if it continues to improve.
 
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Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did XTrain bis and tris (45:34).

Deb, it is easy to divide the workout into 3 parts: standing stretch, mat work, barre work. Altogether it's 60 min., even though it says 55 min. on the cover. The first section is 30 min., and each of the second ones is 15 min. I think chondroitin is from shark cartilage, so maybe if there is cholesterol, it's similar to what is in shellfish. I take Osteo-biflex and really feel it has helped my knees.

Wow, more scary news about food. Valerie, does the article say how the arsenic gets in, on the rice?

Lori, so your DH doesn't want to do Jenny Craig because of the weigh-in? How about Nutrisystem? Can't you just get the food delivered? I've never read Uncle Tom's Cabin but it certainly had a big political impact for the abolitionists. Put Middlemarch on that list. Great heroine and just a wonderful cast of characters. PBS did a series for the novel years ago that was superb. Ooh--it also influenced Henry James, who has a similar villain in Portrait of a Lady, another favorite of mine. I am now looking forward to 3 films: Wild, Unbroken, and the Hobbit film. Hope Nilla is better soon. Any ideas where she picked up that cough? Maybe she is allergic to new paint fumes.

Judy, I just find a 90 minute cycling workout incredible! Your legs must be in great shape.

Hi to Josie!
 
The CR article refers to previous research they did on rice /arsenic in 2012 but I haven't located it. CR's food safety experts have been calling for the FDA to set a federal limit for arsenic in rice and rice containing products.
I'll quote the article but it sounds like rice naturally absorbs a certain amount of arsenic as it grows, and some areas have more arsenic present than others.
"it is present in 2 chemical forms, inorganic and organic and is naturally a part of the earth's crust. Arsenic also has been released into the environment by use of pesticides and poultry fertilizer (chickens can be fed arsenic) Therefore it's in soil and water. Rice tends to absorb arsenic more readily than many other plants. In very large amounts arsenic can kill quickly. but of greater concern for most people is that regular exposure to small amounts can increase risk of bladder, lung, and skin cancer, as well as heart disease and type 2 diabetes"
"Brown rice on average has 80% more inorganic arsenic than white rice of the same type .Arsenic accumulates in the grains outer layers Brown rice from California, India or Pakistan is the best choice."
White basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan and sushi rice from the US on average have half the inorganic arsenic as most other types of rice."

Anyway, as I said, this followed an article about the current boom in GF food. many of those products contain rice, so people may be getting a lot more arsenic than they trealize and for people who don't need to go GF, this is something they probably have not thought about.

I can't copy the whole article, but it's in the Jan CR if you want.

We rode this morning, 15 miles. it was quite cold. warmed up by the end but it was about 40 and about at the limit of what I want to do.
 
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Good evening ladies!

This morning was about 40 mins of barre. No workoit tonight as I worked late.

Nilla seems to be better. Was really odd as her coughing came on quickly. All off a sudden she was hacking on and off. Last night not as much and I have not heard her since I have been home so hoping whatever it was is gone.

Deb...that is what they told me last time when she was coughing that it was kennel cough. I really did not think so since he is never around other dogs and she and chester both had their vacinations. I do not know what to make of it. Yup...once DH knew he had to be weighed in he had no interest!

Lynda..we thought it was the paint too but the cough came on so quickly and it was a few days after we painted. Smell was pretty much gone. Who knows! I have Unbroken and American Sniper up next for me to read. I hear Unbroken is an unbelievable book of survival. Both movies looks great. I do want to read Wild but it is so far down on my list. I will look up Middlemarch and Portrait of a Lady. Oh so many books! Dh and I talked about Nutrisystem but it really did not go anywhere. I plan to bring it up this weekend.

Judy/Deb....yup we suffer so our animals are comfortable. I would not have it any other way!

Valerie!!! Omg where do you get this stuff?? Arsenic in rice? What next? I am going to be afraid to eat anything!!!! I love rice and recently switched to brown rice and it has more arsenic than white? Crazy! Great job 15 miles. How was your foot afterwards?

Have a great night all!
 
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*running through....on my way to work to see the mid-night shift crew.....will drop back in at lunchtime....
 
there were some icy patches on our ride yesterday, one bridge we walked across. ...it was cold as I want to ride. layers are better than a big heavy jacket but it takes some tweaking to get things right, with the wind chill. warmer and wetter today.

Lori, I was really surprised about rice.... was going to skim over their story on GF diets when I saw the story on rice. they have a point system.. one serving of rice cereal( I assume rice chex or rice krispies) is 2.25 points. if you eat cereal every morning that's 15.75 points in a week which is more than twice the recommended limit of 7 points a week. rice drinks were 2 points per cup. rice cakes 2.5 points in 1-3 cakes. it is very very easy to exceed the 7 points weekly. and yes, brown rice is a bigger problem than white! another case of trying to do the right thing, but maybe not.

Wild is the one book mentioned that I have read. I recommend it. it's a pretty fast read.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

This morning I did Dancin' Abs (58:00).

Thanks for the information, Valerie. DH doesn't like brown rice, so I never buy it. For our occasional Chinese dishes, I use sticky rice (sushi), and Basmati rice for others. I wonder about Arborio rice which I make every now and then for a risotto. I will have to check to see where all these varieties come from.

Lori, Unbroken brought me to tears so many times, but I had to keep reading to get to the safe place for Louie. Very moving book. I also like Wild which might also be characterized as a story about survival and healing. I am currently reading The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. It's a spy thriller, but he did a lot of historical research about the Normandy invasion.

Bought my kissing balls yesterday and we will go out Sunday for a Christmas tree. Christmas party tonight.

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
Good evening ladies!

No workout today. Again another sleepless night. Nilla coughing and Chester barking. Chester was just being a pain. So we did put him outside the bedroom. He is used to being kicked out so he was fine! :). Hope to do Cathe's live kickboxing and compound weights in the morning.

Deb...wow you were off early. Hope all went well.

Valerie...I know what you mean...dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. I eventually will get to Wild. Looks interesting.

Lynda...I know I have a very varied taste in books but I have or want to read many that you have, I have eye of the needle and loved the movie. Saw it a couple of times. I bet the book is great. I hope to read this in January. Unbroken will bring me to tears I am sure. Just watching the trailer got me choked up. My friend who shares my Kindle account wants to start reading it soon. Told him as soon as he starts let me know and I will stop Twilight and start Unbroken with him. I can always go back to Twilight after. Ok...what are Kissing Balls?

Received my shipping notice for cathe's new workouts. Yeah so excited!

Chat with you all tomorrow!
 
Good morning,

Happy Weekend! Not too much going on around here. Lots of HouseMax, and our dog club's Christmas party tomorrow.

Valerie, will have to go over to Amazon and look up that book. It is a novel?

Lynda wow, The Eye of the Needle, is that a pretty old book? I used to read Ken Follett years ago...but got away from the spy stuff for some reason. What are kissing balls? Inquiring minds want to know!

Lori, will you be taking Nilla to get checked out? Poor baby, and poor you! I got my Cathe DVD shipping notice as well.

Agility class today, nail appointment, and errands of course...

Hi to Josie, & Judy,

Take care,
 
Lynda, to echo Lori & Deb, what are kissing balls??

Deb, Wild is the book by Cheryl Strayed about walking a big chunk of the pacific crest trail as a way to deal with the death of her mother personal direction issues. I thought it would be like many other crest trail accounts that are more about endurance and scenery but it wasn't. It's the one being made into a movie with reese witherspoon. think it's being released soon. I tend to like non fiction and really enjoyed this one. I HOPE the movie does it justice, though usually books are better. I get images in my head when I read and when I see what someone else thought, lots of times I'm disappointed. just doesn't look like I imagined.

my shoulder is getting better but still limiting my activity. there are 4 tendons that attach to the rotator cuff and I irritated several of them!. not sure what exactly I did but reading about it in a medical text it fits perfectly. Lori too funny "nilla coughing, and chester barking" sounds like a great nights sleep!

we bought a book about the desert southwest with lots of hikes and drives and mt biking info but the book says that there is a much more complete version with color pics, maps, on an ebook. think it was Kindle. so here I go with my ignorance showing. is there a difference in what e-book you buy? I looked at amazon and there are many choices and thousands of reviews. (this is what happens when you let an entire field get ahead of you..you don't know where to start) do you download books to it and they are stored in the book itself? do you subscribe to a service? are magazines available that way? how to you get new books? I've read that it's important to go look in person to get a screen pleasing to you. I'm thinking about one for DH but he's been pretty adamant about sticking to paper books which is why I know so little. we have an ipad, and I don't want to duplicate functions, and the price range is huge... from $50 to 250. If this is 'too much" to type out I understand. ETA I found some basic info on consumer reports but still would love to hear why you use what you use and whether you'd repeat the purchase.
I didn't intend to alarm anyone regarding the rice business.... but I was surprised at the numbers. ad I trust
consumer Reports as a source. I don't use rice as a big part of my diet. I will (now) look at the source of rice I buy and aim for California. mostly it shows the benefit of keeping your diet varied. who knows what lurks in other products?
 
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Hi Deb, Josie, Valerie, Lori, and Judy--

Housemax for me this morning. No doubt the floors will be tramped on by muddy paws and feet by the time I go home.

Kissing balls? They are made of the same materials as wreaths, but round. I think of them as my winter hanging plants, but you don't have to water them. If you want to see pictures, there's a ton of them at where else--Amazon. I buy mine locally.

I buy all of my books at ITunes. Oh--and there's a ton of free books you can download on your IPad if you want to read the classics. Wild did get a positive NYTimes review yesterday. The film uses flashbacks to give you the personal history behind the decision to hike the trail. Laura Dern plays the mother. Hope the film shows up here soon. My next film is Rosewater. It's Jon Stewart's film about an Iranian journalist.

Still no shipping notice from Cathe for me--but I didn't preorder the whole set. I can wait.

Pouring rain here today. Ugh! Hope it's nice tomorrow for our annual effort to find the perfect tree.

Hope Nilla is better soon, Lori. Worrisome.
 
Valllerie,

Dowload the free Kindle App to your iPad, then you can see what the e-book experiene is like As Lynda sai, there are lots of free books on both Amazon ( Kindkl appp) or Barnes & Noble ( there is a nook ap you can gettt for the iPad as well. On B&N, if you put $0.00 in the nook book search, all thr free books come up.
 
Good evening ladies!

I did ended up doing Cathe's most recent live kickboxing with weights. I usually do her kickboxing with the heavy bad but today decided to use my 1lb weighted gloved and glad I did . This one was great off the bag just as it was. Will be one of my favorites. Loved the weight section also.

DS has been here most of the day with me. We went to lunch at Chili's and have been just sitting back all day/evening talking and enjoying each others company while watching Christmas movies. Been a very nice day.

I have downloaded and put on my ipad all the new workouts. I have looked at a couple and will do a leg one tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Lynda...I am going on Amazon right now to look at the kissing balls!!! Rainy here all day too. We put our tree up last weekend. This was very early for us and I like that we did.

Valerie...glad your shoulders is getting better. I really should have mine looked at. It is definetly a tendon issue. Well at least I think it is. You really have made me push up reading Wild. I saw the movie trailer last weekend so it must be coming out soon.

Deb...I have the Kindle app on my ipad and use it for several magazine subscriptions and cookbooks. These work better on my ipad then my actual Kindle.

Have a good evening all! Hi to Judy and Josie!!
 
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Lori I expect they will push the movie release to Christmas or very soon after. anyone who wants the award attention seems to release movies in Nov and Dec these days. DH and I have hiked many sections of the PCT but nothing like this distance. a lot of it is not that interesting but there's a pride that comes with doing the longer distance. we hiked the scenic sections and with the approach trails, it was mileage. anyway the book was different from the "trail log" sorts of books I'd read before, and I enjoyed this book a lot even though it wasn't what I expected. I hope they didn't muck it up.

My shoulder... it doesn't hurt as much as it did for a while, but I am following guidelines and letting it rest, taking NSAIDS, and changing behaviors. no shoulder bag. trying to not sleep on it. the shot is always possible but mostly I will be patient. raising it up and trying to scrub things like windex on a window is NOT happening. doing it southpaw if needed. it is very specific discomfort but is not really pain anymore. ROM is fine but slower because of caution. I may go back to yoga next week as it would be only tuesday. DH scheduled his colonoscopy for thurs am early so I need to drive him.

Thanks.... I will take a look at the Kindle app on the ipad. I would like to get rid of some paper magazines so that is worth looking . I read that the B&N got dumped by Microsoft so nook is not considered right now. mostly I want to see if the kind of books we want are even featured, and how they look. if the ipad is similar I will look.
 
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