<<<<***STS 6 Month Alumni***>>> --- September

Hi Everyone!

Rachel sounds like you had a great time! I hope you really enjoyed your trip. Lincoln City is 45 minutes from where I grew up so spent a lot of time there. In fact spent tons of time on the coast growing up! What did you think of what you saw overall?

I just wrapped up my 1st Masters class and am taking a break. What happened with my new job is it's my old job and I was brought back to run the division. Unfortuantely 4 management team members were let go and I've had two key people quit so have been working 12 hours a day and trying to do that class (which I shouldn't have). I am trying to work out a new schedule so I can get working out again!

Emma is growing like a weed and we've started training with her. She just turned 12 weeks and we've got her doing sit, come, down, off, and no bite. But of course she does sit the best and obeys the others depending on distractions. We have training this afternoon.

Kim and Cendrine, hope you're both doing well! I'll write some more later as DH wants me to come help unload groceries!
 
Jo, I can honestly say that I have absolutely no complaints about anything we experienced in Oregon! I think other than the beauty and the extent of what there is to do, it is note worthy how extremely nice everyone was! And I mean Everyone! No matter where we went, whether it was a small town or the big city (Portland really being the only big city we visited), we never had one instance of anyone being anything but helpful and friendly!

It sounds like Emma is going to turn out to be very smart! That seems like a general consensus with that breed. Plus it helps that the owners are smart and attentive;)

Cendrine- I really am disappointed that I could not find the time to meet up. I think I was just overwhelmed by the entire trip. I am sure we are going to come back one day though! It was just too beautiful not to!

Kim-I am having a hard time finding where I found peoples info from the group I will be with but I am going to keep digging!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
ttys
Rachel
 
Cendrien and Rachael, sounds like you both had good vacations. Always so nice to get away and relax, explore new things.

Cendrien did post on the August thread but I don't know how to move it!!

We were away for a few days as well. We were in Saskatchewan for my cousin's wedding. Fun to see relatives and have a weekend away.

Today the kids started school, seem to go well for both of them. I've started the Septmember rotation this week.
 
Thanks, Kim, for telling me about the new thread! I'm glad your kids are starting off school well and that you are already into the September rotation! I am not sure what to do for workouts this month. Technically they say not to do weights or cardio during the cleanse, but I really don't want to do yoga and stretches for a month... The gal that got me started on this cleanse said she ran 5 miles every single day of her cleanse... so I think I will do something, but am also making myself be aware that my body may need a little break now and then, depending on how things go. I have been juicing since coming back from the cruise to flush out the decadence....lol ! I came back with a very weird water retention issue, there are pockets of what I think is water on the front of my calves, makes me look very weird and is taking it's sweet old time to go, despite no salt, lots of water and juices...:confused: wonder what it is and hope it disappears soon!
So yesterday I did cardio and weights and today I did Low Max. I'm thinking of doing High step challenge tomorrow.
Dh was super nice to me, he let me order this really expensive juicer, it will come in so handy with the cleanse and will make juicing very quick plus it yields more juice per lb of produce because it is so super efficient and doubles for other things as well, I can run frozen fruit through it to make sorbet just like that and can make nut butters and chop veggies for salads all in one! I'm excited! It should get here next monday, just in time for the cleanse. I also bought little canning jars, so that I can make lots of juice and put them in jars, fill them all the way to the top to minimize oxidation, so dh can have fresh juices at work (now that he is not working from home any more he has been missing out on juices because they would not be good anymore by the time he'd get to them.)

I don't have the pictures downloaded yet, but like I said, we had fabulous weather on the cruise, we went to tracys arm to view the glacier and got some amazing sights of ice breaking off into the water. We also saw lots of seals sunning themselves on drifting ice, and once we were back on the open ocean we also saw whales without even going on a special whale watching boat....;) The kids had fun buying souvenirs at two other stops, one was Scagway and the other was Ketchikan. I found a gorgeous glass pendant, from a glass art studio in Scagway, so I was covered for a souvenir for myself. I'll have to post a picture of that as well. In Juneau we went to visit the summer husky camp where we got pulled by the husky team on a sled on wheels which was amazing. Those dogs really love to race and pull and work hard, and they really are intelligent, you could tell they knew what the routine was and showed excitement by barking as soon as they knew it was getting close to running again. We also got to spend lots of time with the husky puppies, one litter was 4 weeks old, the other about 10, I think. It was a lot of fun and luckily there wasn't a crowd, so we had lots of time.
The kids enjoyed the pools on the ship and also loved the clubs and labs for their age range, and dh and I got some wonderful dowtime that we had not expected to get. I read 3 books and enjoyed the little cafe that was nice and quiet and overlooked the scenery. It was really wonderful. The gym was on the front of the ship, the entire front was glass windows so you got to workout while overlooking where the boat was going! Quite amazing! I worked out 5 of the seven days I was there, hopefully that did some damage control of the eating....:eek: I did really well for the first half of the cruise, they had many vegetarian options, but then the desserts are vegetarian but not low sugar at all! The presentation of everything was really beautiful!
It would be really fun to go on a cruise with friends next time! We really liked the format and will probably go again, but maybe in a warmer area so I can hit the pool too... lol!

Rachel, I can completely understand how you ran out of time to meet up with me! I know that is what happened the first time we went to Seattle and were going to try to meet up with Jo. But it worked out the second time and I'm sure we will get another chance as well. I can't remember where in Oregon your training will be but if it is close, I could drive where you are and we could meet up then. Although I'm sure your schedule will be pretty packed then too. So just play it by ear!

Jo, I hope so much that you get the staff you need to have more normal work hours! But also I am so glad for you that you found a job and one you already know! I just wish for you that you could have less packed of a schedule so you could study and work out without needing to bend over backwards!

Ok, I think that's enough for one post!
 
Your tales of the cruise make me want to take one Cendrine! My friend just did a river cruise on a smaller scale while over in Europe and he loved it! I think there were a hundred and something people on the ship.
What kind of juicer did you get?
THere is some good and sweaty detoxing yoga out there that you can add to your workout schedule. I did some yesterday with a teacher that was hard hard hard! Nothing but core work with some standing posed in between to break it up!:eek:
I forget the name of the resort that is in OR but I will look it up and get back to you. I am coming in the night before and have been looking at hotels to stay in the night before. I wanted to get in the downtown area but 200- a night seems a little steep for just me. Plus I will not get there until after 8pm so it just is hard to justify that sort of pricing for that little bit of time!
THe group is setting up carpools so as soon as I get a better idea of my schedule I will let you know. I should be in Portland part of the day on October 14th. SO maybe coffee or breakfast.;)

I hope the school year starts out smooth for you Kim! How are you liking the September rotation? I do miss Cathe workouts!!!

Jo-I know work is hectic right now...post when you can to get us up to date!

More sweaty hard yoga today with my teacher...she leaves to go back to Mexico tomorrow...:(But I will enjoy the day!
 
I'm sure you would love the cruise, any cruise, Rachel! Really the only downside is the small living quarters, but then you don't really have to be in your room much if you don't want to... lol!

Definitely let me know if you think there is time for us to meet up during your training, I'd love to do coffee or breakfast or anything!
I never knew there was such a thing as sweaty detoxing yoga! Tell me more!
I can't do a lot of the moves of yoga, all the ones that require twisting of the spine because of the herniated disk, it makes it worse. But if there are some other moves that will assist in the cleanse I'd love to hear about them!

Still doing the juice, I'm trying all sorts of different concoctions from a juice recipe book and am having fun with it. Some things I'm juicing I worry about and then I taste it and love it!
The juicer dh so graciously authorized is the Norwalk Juicer. It's an amazing machine! Having grown up with very modest means, I have never been a 'shopper' and I think this is why dh listens when he hears me get excited about something, he keeps joking that while some husbands have to put a limit on their wives credit cards, he has to force me to go out and buy something...lol! This purchase certainly makes up for some of that 'nonshopping' lol!

School for us will start next week. I'm looking forward to it but at the same time I always wonder how I ever pulled it off the year before! It's interesting how you seem to take as long as you have to accomplish what needs doing, so more just somehow gets crammed in when it has to!

I signed up for an organic produce delivery service, it's a small box of fruits and vegetables every week that feeds a family of four (of course we go through more because of our vegetarian cuisine) but it is a great start and it's very reasonable, it's local, it's organic, fresh and delivered to my door! I love it. The first box arrived today, the produce was gorgeous! The kids dove into the apples right away and can't wait for the corn on the cob and big juicy carrots for dinner! The wonderful thing about this service is that you can tell them what things you don't want in your box and what you would like substituted instead, and you can add on other things such as eggs and even tea and coffee and such, as needed and you can change the box to a big one or fruit only or veggie only , it's very flexible, definitely think I found a good thing here!

I did do High Step Challenge today, felt a bit fatigued afterwards, probably because I'm only having juices right now. I might start making after workout juices to replenish electrolytes and get some energy.
 
Cendrine, thanks for sharing more about the cruise! Sounds great! We have done 2 cruises (both Caribbean) one before kids and one on the Disney cruise line with kids. Your cruise was with Disney, right?? I couldn't get dd to go to the kid's clubs and she got kind of bored hanging with the adults but otherwise it was a good trip. Brings back good memories. We are thinking of Mexico for a winter holiday.
How is the water retention now?? I bet the cleanse will help. I'm not doing any official cleanse but I am doing a few weeks of extremely clean eating to detox from all my overindulgent summer. I always get to lax on the healthy eating/exercise and gain a few lbs every summer so I find I need to get really strict for a few weeks to get rid of the sugar addictions and just detox.
My garden at the new house hasn't done quite as well as at the old house , we did have such a hot summer and I think I didn't water enough. But I have an overabundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, beets and carrots so healthy eating is easier.

I forgot to tell you that all though school went well for the kids, we had one incident. DD was supposed to take the school bus home. She didn't arrive when she was supposed to, I figured the bus was late as it was the first day and there was probably some confusion. By the time she was 1/2 hr late, I started phoning and there was no answer at the school. Then a bus stopped in front of the house, I went running out in my workout clothes, to talk to the driver, it was from another school but the driver was able to radio dd's bus driver. That bus driver send she was already finished her route and dd never got o the bus.: :)confused: By this time it was a hour since school was dismissed (remember I served on a murder trial recently where the child was kidnapped by a stranger on the way home from school so I probably was over reacting). I got in the car and found her walking home (very slowly!!) with her friends, she decided to ditch the bus and walk but didn't think she needed to phone!!! Oh, we had quite the talk!!!!:mad::mad:

Rachael, the September rotation is fun! Some old and some new workouts, lots of variety! Only 5 hard days, then one ab/stretch and one rest. Yesterday was SJP and tonight is Step Jam!

Jo, hope you are able to find some balance between work and play!!
 
Good Morning!

Yoga done and ready for this much anticipated cold front that is supposedly coming in some time today!:cool: We are hot hot hot here and we are expecting temps to be in the low 80's tomorrow and you would think the queen is coming to town(;) Kim) It is all anyone can talk about...I guess me included!haha

Cendrine trust me when I say you can sweat plenty and not raise your heart rate too much which is what it sounds like you might need to avoid during a cleanse...? I really have never done one so I am going to have to look into that. We are supposed to start a detox during the teacher training so I will be interested to see how that goes. There is an eatery in Yoga Pearl in Portland called Prasad on Davis St.( I think) and it has all sorts of clean foods and juices. I just got a juice there one day but I glanced over the menu and I think I would eat there all the time if I lived there.
I will see what I can find for you on detox yoga without twists. The thing I love is that I feel like I am still getting my strength workouts too!

Kim-I would have been worried too if I was you...recent juror or not! Sounds like dd is at that age where she forgets to think first sometimes. I am sure she will remember now after "the talk"!
My yard looks just horrible Kim so I can relate with the "did not water enough" during the summer. It was just so hot we did not want to go outside and now there is a bout of west nile going around in the area and so DH freaks out if I go out without bug spray on!:rolleyes:Even though we looked it up and only 1 in 5 ever even show any symptoms if infected...I still know he is right but don't tell him that.;)

Got 4 of the 5 books I ordered for teacher training...YEA!
ttys!
 
Wow, Kim, sorry about the scare with dd! Mine sure would have had a talking to as well! I'm glad that all it was is walking home with friends!

I still have something funny going on as far as water retention goes. I seem to get a little bit better every day, but I have never had this happen to me before and it seems to take a lot longer than I thought to go away. I sure wonder what caused it? My legs look pretty much back to normal in the morning now, but last night they looked swollen again and I have no idea what's causing it. But the juicing and the cleanse are probably the best thing to do for that, so I'm going to be patient and hopefully see it all go. I have to do a pH test before starting the cleanse, and I did a test run today to see how alkaline I am after 3 days of juices and I passed with flying colors, so I am definitely going to start on Sunday. I'm kind of excited about it!
Eating clean will certainly help you get back into a routine, Kim, and with the summer activities gone, it's probably easier to stick with it, right?

Rachel, thanks for telling me about the restaurant in Portland! I will check it out! Can you go eat there without being a yoga member or whatever it is? We just heard about another place called Vega Cafe also in Portland and it has a lot of healthy things as well, so now we have two places already to go check out!
Sorry to hear about your yard, I'm sure it will recover though! It's amazing how resilient nature is!

I did a tm walk to day, and went and did the grocery shopping for the cleanse. My fridge is packed with fruits and veggies LOL, nothing else...;)
Rachel, I would love to hear about your cleanse when you do it, or detox that you mentioned as part of your training. We can exchange notes!

Have a great weekend, all!
 
Doing Clean Max today (as well as muscle endurance). Been away or super busy the last 3 weekends so the house really needed a good going over. Cleaning can be hard work!

DH did Muscle Endurance with me this morning and we had so much trouble with the dvd freezing! Ended up pulling out the VHS version and using the old VCR!

Going to spend some downtime reading now. What is everyone reading these days??
 
We started school this week, so I have been vrey busy, plus this is the week I also started the cleanse (definitely only for the comitted!) And my new juicer came and ds started his lego robotics class at the homeschool campus... so lots of new, lots of routine to get used to and lots of new things to learn. I made a carrot celery juice on the juicer yesterday to learn how to use it and boy was it good, I never thought I would love straight veggie juice with no fruit this much! Then today i had leftover beet tops and a lettuce that I wasn't going to make salad with, some tomatoes from our yard and more carrots and juiced that up and it was fabulous! I'm loving this machine, though there is a learnig curve, but it extracts the juices and flavor better than my other one. I also used a smaller grid that came with it to make fruit sorbet, i had frozen rasberries, banabas and peaches so we made a triple fruit sorbet, it was super smooth and delish without any additives, and of course the kids loved it, they were on my case ever since monday night when it was delivered to make 'ice cream' lol!
I decided to try to do the september rotation so I am on week one and so far so good, I like the workouts she chose for this one!
 
I doing the September rotation too Cendrine! Almost finished week 2 (just stretch and abs tomorrow) and have enjoyed it so far. Some tough workouts, BodyMax, MIC, Intensity in the next couple of weeks:eek::eek:
I've lost 4 lbs in the last 2 weeks with healthy eating and consistent exercise!!
How are you doing on the cleanse?
 
Yeah, I saw that week! I won't be doing the HiLo on MIC, too much output and impact for me, But I've enjoyed this week, the first one for me. I'm not pushing myself, I'm allowing myself to be in maintenance mode for the duration of the cleanse and not try to rise to new hights.... the cleanse is going surprisingly well, day one was by far the toughest. I'm slowly getting used to the schedule of what herbs to take when and how long to wait before the next thing.... It's like having a new baby in the house, I'm constantly getting up to do something cleanse related, lol! I don't think that I have ever in my life stayed away from salt for an entire week, but I have just pulled it off! They don't allow any salt on the cleanse so I'm eating all my foods without salt and I'm hadling it fine. I am watching my electrolytes like a hawk because those are essential for me to keep feeling well doing this. Next week is going to be the same as this week and then the week after that it will ramp up.

Congrats on your weightloss! Feels so good to make progress! I managed to reach my happy weight on the day I started the cleanse (but I know some of that is temporary as I might gain water weight when I have salt again) So I am not as focused on loosing weight on the cleanse and just focused on making it as comfortable as I can. I am still weighing in once a week though just to keep track and possibly add more juices if I seem to loose too much weight.

School and cleanse starting in the same week wasn't the smartest move on my part, I feel pretty tired and just want quiet and down time and sleep, but I think next week will already be better because I'm getting used to the routine!

Hi Rachel and Hi Jo!
 
How long is the cleanse Cendrine?

We had beautiful weather this weekend so went out to the cottage just our family and my mom. It was nice to be out there without such a big crowd, did some canoeing, bicycling, and walking. Had a bonfire in the evening and we were able to get some chores done so a nice time.

If I survive Bodymax tomorrow, I'll let you know.;)
 
Sounds like you had a nice time at the cottage! The weather here has been wonderfully sunny as well, so I have spent some time on the deck soaking in the sun for all it's worth....lol
Dh bought spring flower bulbs from Costco and started planting them today. I hope they take, it would look so beautiful!

The cleanse is a total of 28 days, but really there is a pre cleanse and post cleanse week, so it's really more like 6 weeks, just not as strict as the core which are week 3 and 4. I am on week two now. So far so good!
 
I did 30/30 on Monday and SM today, both of which I enjoyed and was surprised how much energy I had and how well I did! Quite encouraging! We are having company this Friday for dinner, I have to figure out what to make and do the shopping for it. It's odd how I'm thinking within my cleanse guide as far as food is concerned and it's hard for me to want to cook other foods... good sign for me, I haven't had any cravings to eat things on the no no list, but I gotta figure out something for everyone else so they don't feel like never wanting to come again...LOL!

Ds is enjoying his Lego Robotics class, he had his second session today and dd starts her dance class tomorrow, which she is excited about!

Life feels more calm this week than last, I guess I'm getting into the swing of things! Glad about that!

How is everyone?
 
Sounds like life is getting busy with extracurricular activities for the kids!

Keeping up with the rotation some heavy workouts this week, Body Max Monday, Leaner legs yesterday and Intensity today.

Did you come up with a menu?
 
It's quiet on the sts alumnae front these days;) life sure is getting busier here too and with the cleanse on top of everything else, it kind of complicates being out and about a little... But it's going well, I am on day two of phase 3 and holding up well still. I really thought I was going to have a lot more issues with my electrolyte balance and blood pressure, but I'm able to keep things in check with coconut water and a really cool supplement that is allowed during the cleanse that helps with the electrolytes, so I'm actually able to go about my days quite normally. I did not have time for the entire body max and since it's leaner legs tomorrow I decided to skip the leg portion. I can't remember LL at all, so it should be fun and new.
This weekend we had gorgeous weather so we went to a farm that grows 'no spray' blackberries. It was really enjoyable, I'm amazed how we feel in the country literally within a 10 minute drive.
I am hoping that I can blame this on the cleanse, I have been very cold and don't seem to be able to get warm unless everyone else in the room is melting.... I am layering and all, but it's not doing much. I have ordered some warm socks and things and hoping that it will help me weather the colder temps... Kim, you are allowed to roll your eyes at me... Lol, and you too, Jo if you are reading ;)
I wonder how you all are doing?
 
We are getting into the school/work routine here, Cendrine. DS seems to like his new school, he is on the cross-country team and seems to be making some friends. He is at hockey tryouts tonight, his swim lessons start this weekend and curling next week:confused::confused: That's ds always the over achiever and of course driver's ed lessons start in about 6 weeks!

DD is starting her courses to be a lifeguard next week as she has completed all her swim levels. She's playing clarinet in the school band and is practising lots!

I'm keeping busy driving kids places and doing the September rotation. Almost done the rotation and keeping up with all the workouts! Today was Athletic Step.

The weather is turning cold here. We have had frost a few nights. I cleared out the garden on the weekend and stored the root vegetable in the basement. The leaves are starting to turn colours and the geese are returning. Autumn is definitely here!!

Canadian thanksgiving is in a week and a half and we are going out to Saskatchewan as my aunt and uncle are having their 50th wedding anniversary. It sure seems like we have been travelling a lot, we have been away 4 out of 7 weekends. Sure enjoy the weekends home!

Hope everyone's doing well!
 

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