TGIF Peeps

LauraR

Cathlete
I'm home. I have internet. It's Friday . . . It's a good day!! :D

Just finished another 4 mile run, but I changed my route today to include another hill. So that meant 7 total in the run. I was feeling pretty proud of myself at the end! ;)

Several of you have been asking about Uganda, so I thought I'd share some with you about where I live.

We live in Uganda which is part of East Africa—along with Kenya and Tanzania. All 3 of these countries border on Lake Victoria, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world.

Uganda is home to the source of the Nile River—pretty snazzy, huh? I’ve actually rafted the Nile a couple of times. :p

Uganda is unfortunately famous from back in the ‘70s when the crazed dictator Idi Amin began his reign of terror. Fortunately these days things are pretty calm. There was instability in the north for a while, and some of you may have seen the documentary called Invisible Children. These kids had to walk for miles every night so they could have a safe place to sleep because of rebel raids taking place in their home villages while it was dark. But Kony has been run out and the northern stretches of Uganda are safe now.

Where we live is officially considered “sub tropical.” Most people have 2 pictures of Africa. It’s either dense, tropical rainforest (think Tarzan), or broad stretching savannah (think Lion King). :D Both are accurate pictures, just in different places. Next door Kenya is the “Lion King” terrain. Where we live is more like the “Tarzan” picture. But we’re at 4000 feet, so it’s not steamy. It is VERY green, though. I’ve posted several times about how I love to sit in my garden here, and folks are always impressed and say that they have no green thumb. Well, the truth is, it takes absolutely NO skill to be a great gardener here. You poke a stick in the ground and it grows—seriously.
I have a handful of pictures on my page—some are of Uganda in general, and some are of the gorgeous garden I have in my yard.

Well, I’ll take this in increments. That’s enough for now, and I’ll share more later.
 
Goodmorning Peeps.

Laura, thanks for sharing about Uganda. I just can't imagine living in a place so far away. Did you have to learn a different language? I think that's my biggest hangup about traveling to far away places. I dream of going to Paris someday, and everyone tells me not to worry about the language, but I'd love to learn enough to get by. I'm seriously challenged when it come to other languages.

I'd be a lot happier about it being Friday if I didn't have to work the weekend! LOL. Oh well, there's always the Penn State game to look forward to!

Today's workout will be IMAX2, thanks to DebbieH. See you!
 
Good Morning Peeps,

Laura,
Thanks so much for sharing about Uganda. I always wonder what it must be like to live in a different country. I don't really like to travel but am fascinated when others can adjust to a whole new world. I think I am a spoiled American who likes my little suburbia.
Isn't Lake Victoria the one with the MASSIVE falls and that rock ledge at the top. I've seen amazing pictures of that. Enjoy your garden.

Robin, I too am doing the Imax2 with you. Misery loves company.:eek::eek:
And it seems like we are up at the same time everyday!!!

I hope PEEPS have a great day.
ellie
 
Laura, is Uganda in the counrtry of Africa **:eek:sorry,couldn't resist** I remember you talking at the RT about coming back to the states and how different things were here.

Robin, I dreamed we had that coffee last night LOL!!

Ellie, wtg on working out when you didn't want to yesterday!!

I have some chinups on the schedule and a KB session later.

Have a happy smiley day :):):)
 
Hi Everyone... & TGIF!

I haven't been able to post for a few days because I've been really busy working outside. I started to post yesterday... in fact, I had my post almost completely written... but got interrupted by my DH & had to leave the forums abruptly. Oh well. At least I'm here today, right?

So I've completed my week of BBC & I have kettlebells on tap for today. I'm hoping to fit in some yoga too but my in-laws are coming down today & I need to do a few things around the house before they get here so I'll have to see how it goes.

Laura - Wow, Uganda is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Way to go on your run too!

Robin - Sorry you have to work this weekend but I hope you enjoy IMAX2. I hope Penn State does well too. DH is a big Bama fan so I'm sure we'll be watching that one...

Ellie - So you're IMAX2-ing it too? Good luck & enjoy! I haven't done that workout in its entirety in forever so I ought to pull it out soon... but not today!

Catherine - Enjoy your chinups & KB session. You mean kettlebells, right? I look forward to kettlebell day every week...

Well, I've already unloaded the dishwasher & I have a load of laundry all ready to go so I better get going. Not sure if I'll have time to check back in later so I hope everyone has a great Friday... & a great weekend too!

Take care,

Kel
 
Catherine- how did you gain enough upper body strength for chin ups? I have no upper strength but would love to gain some. Any ideas on where to begin?
Wish me luck on IMAX 2 today. I'm up and ready and will start after take son to school. But there's still a little dread facto there. :eek::eek:

Have a great day
ellie
 
Ellie, I did negative chinups to get the strength. Then one day low and behold I could do one. It was during a P90X rotation. Took me almost 3 months to do one on my own. They are tough and just practicing them with negatives or band assistance is a good w/o for the upper body.
 
Hiya Peeps!

Happy Friday:D Well, maybe not....its snowing here! GRRRRR! or should I say BRRRRR.

I had my kettlebell session yesterday. She still spent a lot of time on the functional/mobility exercises so I didn't get to do turkish getups:( I'm refining my swings, cleans, presses.

In my search for kb's, I called a nearby North Star Home Fitness and found they just got in new Spri kettlebells. They are really nice and I got a 8kg & 12kg for $105. The guy gave me $15 off because I brought in web printouts of other kb's that were less $$. Now all I need is my replacement Lauren Brooks dvd to get here and I'm all set.

Laura~ I am geographically challenged and really didn't know where Uganda was located:eek:...thank you for clearing that up. Sounds like a beautiful place (the Tarzan reference really helped).

Robin~ Sorry this is a work weekend for you. Have fun with Imax2 and the Penn State game. Speaking of languages, I would love to learn German. DD is in her 4th yr and DS took 3 yrs and I have no idea what they are saying but I know they're making fun of me cuz I'll get that look and then they'll laugh:confused:

Ellie~ Good luck with Imax2. That is my favorite of all the Imax's. I agree with Catherine's suggestion on learning to do chins. I would use a chair to get over the bar then step off and slowing let myself down. They are really hard and even after P90X, I could only do 3-4 unassisted.

Catherine~ How have your kb sessions been going? Does your instructor still spend a lot of time of the mobility exercises? I'm getting kinda tired of them. Have fun with your chins today and report back on your session if you have time.

Kel~ Nice to hear from you. How do you like BBC? I am assuming that is Billy's Boot Camp(?) I got that last xmas and still haven't done it yet.

Not sure what workout I'm doing yet. Maybe I'll join in on the Imax2 challenge. Hi to all peeps who follow. Have a great weekend!!

JJ
 
Hello Peeps!

I'm basically in the same situation as Kel far as trying to get a post online nowadays.
Getting interrupted by family members and having to exit off the forums unexpectedly is constant here. It seems my only real time to post is usually around 6am when the family is still getting up and eating the breakfast I make.

Today I have Lauren's On The Edge kbell dvd. I finally rec'd my 12kg kettlebell late last night that was on backorder since the end of Sept. so I'll be doing some moves with the 12kg.


Laura
thank you for sharing about Uganda and the Tarzan and Lion King references helped immensely. Sounds very beautiful and lush.

Robin - I know what you mean about traveling to other countries and not knowing the language. Fortunately when I lived in England it was easy but albeit still difficult; try buying diapers and not realizing they're called nappies instead. lol

I need to go back to the UK with my family so our older two children can see where they were born and where we lived. I really enjoyed going into London and did plenty of shopping there.

Ellie Wow Imax 2 is my happy go to dvd. I love it as it puts me in such a great mood and for me its so much fun...hmmm I may do that one tommorow.

Catherine How are you enjoying your kbell sessions? Any tips or tricks? I so wish there was a RKC close enough for me to go to but alas I have only dvds to work with.

Kel You sound as busy as me - Enjoy your kettlebell today

JJ
Seems like you got yourself a great kbell trainer ;) She is just making sure you are doing the moves correctly for future success with them. Please pass along any info.

My TGU are coming along as I'm really studying Anthony's Minute of Strenth. My core needs to engage more but I'm not rushing it. I did manage to do Windmills into Overhead squats using my 15# kettlebell this week. Nice improvement from using a 10# dumbbell...so its working :)


For all that Follow Enjoy the rest of your day!

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Just did my chinups and 1/2 of strike zone. I did weighted chins with 10# 5 sets of 4/2 (the first number is all me, the second is assist with the lightest band and still with the 10#)

JJ, yes Katie is doing lots of FM stuff. I am actually glad because I really need it. So I don't mind so much. I have some pretty significant anterior posterior imbalances that need big time help. Because of these imbalances I have developed some nasty habits over the years. Like squatting more from my knees than from the hips. That has made the imbalance worse,...

Off to the shower ;)
 
Laura, is Uganda in the counrtry of Africa **:eek:sorry,couldn't resist**

Catherine! LOL, LOL, LOL! This made my day. :)

OK, Guten Morgen, my Fellow Peeps!

It's another beautiful day here in the big D. 55 right now, should be sunny and 70 today. Perfect weather. I woke up at 4:40AM, got inspired, and got up by 5AM to do 4DS Triceps & Biceps and the 4DS shoulder sequence. Then I started straightening the house--I'm hosting a play group for Houdini tomorrow and have 10 (!!) moms and 10 kids coming over...Remind me why I'm cleaning? Ha!

My spicy butternut squash pasta turned out fab last night. On my lunch break I'll come back and post the recipe for anyone who is interested. But it was using seasonal ingredients at it's finest (a goal I'm working on. Must say it is NOT easy for me but I'm trying!)

Laura--LOVED the picture you painted of Uganda. Agreed, the Lion King and Tarzan references really helped. Thank you so much for sharing!

Robin--I can't be with you on Penn State this weekend...DH went to Iowa and is a HUGE Hawkeye fan. Good luck and may the best team win (which will be Penn State but don't tell DH I said so.) LOL.

Ellie--Imax 2 seems to be popular around here. Should I get a copy to maintain my Peep status? Ha ha.

Kel--Wow, what a great workout you had today. That's awesome.

JJ--Snow? Neat! (I see it like once every other year or so.) I know you probably don't think it's neat, but isn't the first snow of the season beautiful?

Vilma--Good to hear from you today. :) Enjoy your kettlebells!

:) Wendy
 
Catherine--LOL. Yes! So many people talk to me about the "country" of Africa. People don't realize how vast it is. You can fit the US into Africa many times over!

Ellie--The waterfall you are thinking of IS called Victoria, but it is Victoria Falls. We live by "Lake" Victoria. All the explorers were trying to honor the same queen back then!! :) But I have been to Vic Falls, and it is just as you say--completely impressive. It is one of the most amazing landscapes I have ever seen. The waterfall is simply immense--over a mile wide. Words simply fail me. I absolutely want to go back again sometime in my life.

When we went to Vic Falls, it was the dry season in Zimbabwe/Zambia (where it's located). So all around was brown and barren. But just across the canyon from the waterfall, where all the spray was flying, it was dense, tropical rainforest. You took one step and went from arid, semi-desert straight into a rainforest. It was stunning.

Thanks for all your kind words about my Uganda description. I'm glad the Tarzan/Lion King comparison was helpful. :)
 
Wendy--Thanks for the recipe. I just happen to have a butternut squash (I can only get them in the capital) and was looking for something new and yummy to do with it! :) This sounds perfect.
 
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