Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 12/12

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Cathlete
Good morning,

I did the first workout of week 5 of the C25K plan, which has you running for 5 minutes, walking for 3 minutes 3 times. Then I did STS Legs pre-mix. Figured I would do that right after the treadmill, while my legs were already fried. Next workout you run for 8 minutes, walk for 3 minutes, 2 times, and the final this week is running for 20 minutes!

The party last night was fun, but I hate too much junk and feel really fat today.

I am off to Macy's in a bit to return some makeup that was awful..they better take it back.

Take care,
 
parties will do that, won't they.... we don't have any more this year. went to a few around thanksgiving but none scheduled around xmas so far. just out to dinner with some family. we may do a get together here but closer to new years. not sure yet. we may do some more home improvement projects. are considering adding hardwood to our dining room by removing the carpet. the carpeting is 20 yrs old and needs replacing big time, so something will change. and maybe during the next few weeks.

we are finishing our kitchen floor today and then get to clean up and put everything back. no small job.... had to take out the lower shelves in the pantry to do the floor there, so all that stuff is on the floor & table in dining room. need to dust, wash counter tops. I put away as much as I could but still needs cleaning. mostly a "dust free" procedure but not 100%. plus we get dust from the wood stove and of course wherever else dust comes from. Raining today, hard. will be some flooding. rained yesterday. will rain tomorrow. blech. winter in the NW.

Deb, that sounds like a good program. sort of interval training. supposed to be a good calorie burn. maybe more later.
 
Hi Deb, Valerie, and any later posters--

This morning I did Rockin' Models (71 min.). My legs feel like jello again.

Went to a fun party on Friday night. I only had a 100-calorie yoghurt for lunch, so I did not feel too guilty enjoying all the cocktail food. I tended to hover over the smoked salmon and the shrimp and stayed away from the cheeses as much as possible. We went to cut our Christmas tree yesterday. It's a beauty and up, but still needs some decorating. Tonight we are going to Mezze's again for their Sunday comfort menu. This time it's Spanish-themed.

Valerie, I loved all of the Harry Potter books and films. Tomorrow I will go to see this one--the first half of the Deathly Hallows. My colleagues don't think these books are just for children. They are often very witty, and as Harry and his friends get older, they become successively darker. Some great performances in the films--Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and other British greats. You might enjoy.

Deb, how's the weather there? Here it's pouring rain and almost 50 degrees. I spoke with my BFF in Minneapolis yesterday. She can't even see across the street, and today it's 3 degrees there with a sub-zero wind chill. Just hope and pray it ain't coming our way!
 
Good morning,

I did not get up today, tried to get some extra sleep, but tossed and turned and got up 1/2 hour later, too late to work out, but no extra sleep.

Valerie, is the floor finished yet? Do you stay in the house the whole time? Are the fumes really bad? Yes, the c25K is a sort of interval training, until you get to the point where you run for 20 minutes all at once, then it is just running. The Harry Potter books are great, you need to read them in order though. Then see the movie after you have read the book. I read all but the last two I think.

Garance, we have had rain for a couple of days now, it got around 38 early Sunday, then dropped very fast, to around 30, but we did not get the snow that they predicted, so maybe it passed us by.

Hi to Josie, Joan, & Cathy,

Take care,
 
Yes, kitchen floor is done. got 1 coat of swedish finish and 2 coats of a water based finish over it. It looks very nice. it really needed it! all the dings and cupping and water marks are gone. the swedish stinks. people make jokes about the fumes melting your brain so we did what we should and stayed in the camper. it was fine. got a good night's sleep and went back inside in the morning and aired it out. took the cat in the camper with us. he was quiet and slept with us. we were afraid he might yowl half the night so I was prepared to move him to my car in the garage if necessary. aired the house out a few more times since. can't hurt. the smell is gone now. put some things back... the molding trim,toilet, frig. will finish gradually. I want to finsih cleaning the frig and the other half of the pantry. only half done.

I'll take a look at harry potter. never paid attention, thought it was geared to 10 yr olds so ignored all the hype.

Did High Step challenge yesterday. that is a tough workout. I'd done disk 18 late the day before, back/ biceps, this was only 12 hours later. not enough recovery time. didn't realize what was in the HSC workout. Not my favorite but challenging. a lot of jumping and started with a section of "step" stuff that I do poorly. very fast pace. I need more time to switch weights and clear the floor so I don't kill myself.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Joan, Cathy, and Valerie--

This morning I did the double Bootcamp Circuit premix on KCM's 30 min. to fitness (55 min.).

Just released from a very long meeting revisiting a tenure decision with the committee that makes the final decision. Another "Let's beat that dead horse again!" type of meeting.

Our comfort sunday meal: First course: black bean soup, lime crema, fried tortilla strips; Second course: ancho chili braised Amish chicken, ground hominy, housemade chorizo (from DH's pork); Dessert for DH: churros and Mexican hot chocolate. Very yummy and 20 dollars for me, 25 dollars for DH.

I am off to see Harry Potter this afternoon for a break from grading, academia.

Valerie, High Step Challenge is tougher than High Step Training, for sure. I have to modify Cathe's impact.
 
OMG that sounds wonderful. I had half a peanut butter/lettuce sandwich for lunch so feeling deprived. ground hominy? I've had hominy, my father liked it but I never knew what to do with it. he liked it swimming in butter, not a good thing for me. is ground hominy something like polenta? do they put some chilis in the hot chocolate? I've tried brownies with some chili added and so far chocolate and chili is not a favorite. just can't get used to chili and sweet.

HSC was tough. I have HST also but somehow they were misplaced with some other DVD's and I forgot I had them. Gotta do something today but no upper body. lower or cardio only.
starting my health screening marathon. getting a few things checked out this week, mamm & eye exam tomorrow. cardiology thurs. all just routine as far as I know. need to do my 5 yr colonoscopy sometime soon but no rush on that. didn't schedule it yet. I dread that process.
finished shopping this morning with only a few small things to do yet. couple gift cards when I get coffee tomorrow at starbucks.
How's everyone doing on shopping and holiday prep? hope you all didn't get buried in the snowstorm. we got a boatload of rain here with lots of low level flooding but it's dry today and usuallyit clears in a day or two once the rain stops. all that rain on top of a bunch of soft snow and it makes for a LOT of runoff.
 
Hi Ladies,

I did not workout at all this weekend. I ended up getting my DH's cold. I did manage to go to the grocery store and get the things I needed to start baking. I feel a lot better today.

I need to do some shopping this week because I will be very busy during the weekend.
I also need to finish cleaning my desk before I go on vacation.

I signed up for a bike ride on February 12th. I need a goal to get myself back on track and on my bike again.

Deb, are you planning to run a 5k once you finish your c25k training?

Valerie, the only thing I have to do for Christmas Eve is the baking. My DB Frank will be hosting and everyone is bringing something.

Hi Cathy, Garance and Joan!

Josie
 
Elliot and I decorated a gingerbread house today. I think she ate as much candy as she put on which is why I didn't put it all out. She had a good time but my camera wouldn't work. Will have to take picture tomorrow.

I've done 26 miles in the last 7 days but last total body was last Tuesday. I'm exhausted tonight and have work to do so probably won't lift today.

Joan
 
Good morning,

Another day of no workout. I am off the next 3 days so the plan is to catch up on workouts then. It was 10 degrees most of the day yesterday, and we had some snow last night, enough drifting to not want to go out walking the dogs this morning. Poor Kelsey is so tiny now, and she has lost a lot of hair, so she has to wear a coat outside or she would freeze.

Garance, that dinner sounds wonderful! I hate meetings like that, which most of them are.

Valerie, good for you for getting all that "maintenance" done. I have a OB/gyn apt on 12/15, and a colonoscopy scheduled for 12/23, what was I thinking? Oh well, at least it will be out of the way. I bet your floor looks great, nothing like a freshly done hardwood floor.

Josie, I have no plans to actually run a 5K. I just would like to be able to run for 30 minutes without walking. If I did do a 5k, it would be in the summer or fall.

Joan, how do you like STS total body?

Off to get ready for work...

Take care,
 
Joan, congrats! that's a marathon completed on your way to your goal. Strong work!

I haven't done any baking except for thanksgiving pumpkin pie. I need to make a dessert for xmas. decided to visit SIL & BIL in oregon. they have a house on the coast. they fish a lot. neither DH nor I are big seafood fans so they'll make a turkey. they usually have loads of salmon which I like but DH won't even sit in the same room with. they often have crab but neither of us eats it. they aren't big dessert people. actually they don't eat much at all. it gets brutal as you get older if you don't exercise. both have bad eating habits and no exercise. every time we see them we try to encourage them to get moving but it hasn't helped much. might make an apple pie, nothing exotic, should travel well.

Great holiday diversionary move, Deb. Nothing seems overwhelming if there's a colonoscopy on the horizon. My prep wasn't good enough so I need another... it's only 5 yrs even though I followed the directions to a "T". if they don't modify their directions, I'll do it myself. around here, the Miralax prep is pretty common. it's better than the Golytely stuff. My GYN exam got pushed to end of january as it hasn't been a year since the last one. good thing I checked last years date or I'd have to pay out of pocket, and there's no reason to rush it.

Josie, we're getting prepared for more winter riding... something you don't need to do. I'm getting DH over-booties to cover cycling shoes/ankles. he already had a helmet cover and a neck gaiter. I'm getting a neck gaiter, wind block beanie to go under the helmet and new lightweight boots. our last ride we totally froze, especially my feet in tennis shoes, and helmet/ ear band. the wind went right thru everything. I'm continuing to take a break from cycle shoes. I'll try again in spring.


yes, the floor looks very nice. amazing difference but it had been 20 years.
I did KPC yesterday. I keep hearing Cathe say "change is good" so I'm making a big effort to do more or her cardio stuff. I've been doing the treadmill and elliptical for years and nothing changes so I won't quit them altogether but am going to sub other things.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Joan, Cathy, and Valerie--

This morning I did Jazzercise Dancin' Abs (60 min.).

Valerie, the hominy was very much like polenta, and spicy with the chorizo and chicken and ancho chili. The hot chocolate was very, very chocolaty and not very sweet, because the idea is to dip the churros in the chocolate, and they are very, very sweet and sugary. DH loves fried dough, so the churros were right up his alley.

Deb, we did get some snow last night--about 3-4 inches--and after it rained yesterday, the temp. plummeted. Now it's pretty darn cold out there.

Joan, 26 miles is a lot of running. Wow!

I have just started some baking. DH requested more pumpkin bread, so I did that this morning. And he wants some bars, so I will be doing my turtles and another bar that has a lot of caramel in it, and his other request is Russian tea cakes, so that's it. I'm tempted to do some spritz, but then I never eat the stuff, and DH feels like he should not let it go to waste, so he plods through it out of a sense of duty. He can afford to do this, of course, because he is so darn skinny.

Well, back to the grading after playing hooky yesterday. I enjoyed the Harry Potter film quite a bit, but it's only the first half of the final book, and I wondered if people who had not read the book would really know what was going on. It helps if you know what a horcrux is in advance. Valerie, I also think you would have some problems with the British accents.
 
Back from the mammogram, all went fine. I don't like them but they really are not unpleasant for me. got an hour or so and then eye exam. couldn't get the two appointments close enough together so came home in between. did a couple errands but still extra time.

Lynda, I'd hope for english subtitles if we try the HP movies. most big ticket movies have "english for the hearing impaired" included. we always turn it on even if we don't think we'll need it.

My favorite cookies are big chewy ones like oatmeal with walnuts, coconut, raisins or dried cranberries. they aren't traditional "christmas cookies" , tiny and decorated. I think I mentioned that my mother used to make several dozen different kinds, as my sister does usually. they were good but I don't need dozens of cookies sitting around tempting me, and somehow we don't do the kind of entertaining where cookies are served. my grandmother made vanilla bean cookies, a little like mexican wedding cakes but flat and have pieces of vanilla bean grated into the powdered sugar. I loved those.

oh well, off for the eye exam. just routine, nothing to worry about here. I'm having more trouble reading with my contact lenses in so maybe there's something new that might help.
 
Wednesday

I am off until Monday....
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I need the break. Little things like finishing gifts fo John, etc. Have to go to the vet this morning to pick up some meds, flea stuff etc.

Gotta run, DH is almost ready to go, we will get some breakfast out, then he goes to work at 11:00...

I'll be back later to catch up with yesterdays posts....
 
Hi Deb, Josie, Joan, Cathy, and Valerie--

This morning I did Squeeze (56 min.).

Wow, it's nasty cold here--3 degrees.

Made a batch of turtles this morning. I can't believe how much baking I did in the past. But two little boys, both cookie monsters, loved baking with Mom and eating both the dough and the baked outcome. It was always messy, but fun.

Enjoy your mini-vacation, Deb!

Valerie, that's great on the HP movies. They are shown so often on TV that I think I've seen each of them at least twice. I think my favorite was the Goblet of Fire, but they were all pretty good.

Back to grading (I'm beginning to wallow in self-pity).
 
Hi all,

I did end up doing the second day from week 5 of C25K. This has 8 minute runs with 5 minute walks in between. Tomorrow is a 20 minute run after the 5 minute warm up. Not sure if I can go for 20 minutes without walking, but I will try. Next week is only week 6, I am not sure what that will require. This is a 12 week program.
Even though I am off work, I have to go in for the holiday luncheon. Also celebrating the 40th anniversary of one of the managers that works for me. If it wasn't for this, I probably would not go in.

Garance, just keep thinking of the upcoming time off as you are grading those papers. It's going to be in the 20's today..woo hoo...!

Valerie, glad the mammo went well. I had my yearly ob/gyn appointment yesterday. he told me that the national average for breast cancer is 1 out of 12 women. In our area the numbers are 1 out of 8. Scary.

Hi to Josie, Joan & Cathy!
 
Deb, I sweat bullets until I get the "all clear" letter in a week or two. MY mother had breast cancer ( not a real bad type), I didn't have children, and I was on hormone replacement for a long time. so my odds are probably fairly high. I've kept my weight stable and otherwise live pretty healthy lifestyle so who knows??? I get annual screening.

Yoga was especially good tuesday morning. really enjoyed the class. took the day off further exercise cause we planned on cycling wed but the weather was cold, wet, and windy. not worth it. so we did some heavy yard work. we're chipping up a big cedar that we had dropped a couple weeks ago. today I have a cardiology appt, also just a routine check. He's such a nice man. DH always tells me not to scare him.

we're going ahead with hardwood in dining room, will link thru an open doorway to the kitchen. the carpeting is DOA so we'd be replacing the floor covering with something. plan on late january. still smelled the swedish finish odor yesterday so more aggressive dusting, vacuuming, washing surfaces. there's only a table in the dining room so it will be easier process.

Deb, just do it! It won't be that bad. slow down if it seems too much.

Lynda, turtles? caramel, chocolate, and pecans? I was thinking about doing some almond roca. made it once before and it turned out quite well considering it was the first time I ever made candy. it's dangerous having a couple pounds of almond roca sitting around but I need some small gifts and it might be doable. I keep it in the garage frig so I don't get constantly reminded that it's there. I also need one batch of cookies for giveaway. I've never had churros and probably don't need to meet them.
 
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Hi Deb, Josie, Joan, Cathy, and Valerie--

This morning I did Ellen Barrett's Barefoot Cardio (48 min.).

Deb, it's back up in the 20s today. Feels warm after the Arctic blast of the past few days.

Valerie, my turtles are more like bars. They have a bottom crust of flour and butter, sprinkle with pecans, boil brown sugar and butter until it's almost candy like, and pour syrup over crust, and then bake for about 20 min. Sprinkle milk chocolate chips after baking and swirl. Very important to cut into squares before totally cooled, because they harden, and then it's combat warfare to cut them up! Today I made Russian tea cakes. DH came in and immediately took two. He loves them. I try to stay away from them.

I made Ina's chicken with 40 cloves of garlic last night. Wow is that good! DH has a wood customer who gives him a big box of garlic every year, so I like to find recipes that use a lot of garlic.

Deb, I am trying to be strong (just kidding!) and slog through my papers without feeling like a victim of bad grammar, spelling, and run-on sentences. What really bothers me is if I see the same mistakes over and over again, even though I have corrected them multiple times. Sounds like you are relaxing. Enjoy!
 
Hi Ladies,

One more day before my 2 week vacation and I can't wait! I got chosen for a program at work where you work out for 12 weeks straight 4 days of workouts and 1 day of a nutrition class. This is the second time the recreation center has done it and people are chosen by a lottery. Only 250 people will be chosen every 12 weeks and you are allowed 4 absences only. Out of the first group 156 people finished the program and lost a lot of weight and got stronger. The program begins 1/10/11, I can't wait. The best part is that it is free to staff and faculty.

Well ladies, I will not be checking in very often while I'm on vacation so, have a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Josie
 
Good morning,

I wish I could say my miles are running but they are all walking. No kids today school was cancelled for the ice. It must have backed up on the gutters and roof because my roof is leaking. Last time it happened was when we bought the house 30 years ago. Ice freezes on roof but melts from the bottom because of the warm house. Only place to go is down the walls of the house. It is actually leaking in my bedroom which is on the lower level.

I am making half recipes for many of the cookies. It is so quick and easy. And I don't have extra cookies for me to eat.

Christmas party is Saturday and the final count is 26. Hope the weather cooperates.

Joan
 
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