We're In This Together *~August~*

Good morning everyone :)

I have my cousin sleeping over, so no workout for me yesterday. I spent the day doing laundry, grocery shopping and cooking dinner. I made Thai red curry chicken w/sugar snap peas, onions, broccoli, orange peppers, over a bed of Basmati Rice. It was delish :p

Today will be something cardio, but I'm undecided. My butt is really sore from Plyo legs :D :D.

Mark and I are talking about going to Cuba next year. I need to renew my passport, and get Bella one too. I was looking at pics and literally melted. I cannot describe how pristine and beautiful that island is. The people are quite amazing too, very hospitable. The women are so incredibly fit, very lean but curvy with nice round tushies ;). A lot of them are pear-shaped, small chested, so I fit right in there :D.

Colleen
I still think I should get B&G since it has the hugest cult following for a LB workout. Is it truly that special from let's say all of Cathe's other LB workouts out there? I think they are all gold.
Thank you for the compliment ;). My vanity lbs are because of the wedding and baby shower I am attending. And let's be honest here, who does not want to look a little extra toned for a family event?
I hope you are "ok" with all the family stress going on. {{{hugs}}}

Sarah
I did not buy the pre-sale yet :eek:. I will though :).
Where are you going for your last summer trip?

Jen
Thank you for the compliments Jen :). Much appreciated.
How have you been? How is your blog?

Have a good one ladies :cool:
 
The trip in August we will be going to Idaho to camp with my sister, and spending a day at Silverwood (rides and waterpark).

The trip in September we go th Anthony Lakes and stay here R6/PNW - Recreation Rentals of the Pacific Northwest.
We have gone every year for the past 6 years. I love it. It quiet, very rustic cabin, gorgoues and just a great time. There is a little lake for fishing about 100ft away and tons of hiking. I love hiking, that would probably be my exercise of choice.

I didnt get my walk in yesterday. We went to dinner and after and hour and a half we walked out because we hadn't been served. I was so hungry and pissed off.

Nat your dinner sounds soooo good. I so hope for you that you make Cuba happen. I will preorder today because apparently it ends soon.

Colleen - Hows your LB feeling, that was some workout you did. I get cramps in my hammies with the one legged ball roll ins but I get press through sometimes.

Jen -I totally know what you mean about your life filling up so fast and before you kow it you have crap to do all the time. I like a more relaxing life style, I'm not one for always wanting something to do. With my niece being in town and only 3 weeks left of summer it seems like I'm going to be very busy despite me not wanting too.

Sarah
 
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Quick post while I choke down my lunch before the next patient comes. We've been so busy at work lately! It's good, but gives me less time with my forum addiction. :p

Today was HC volume 3. These are getting easier for me to do! Yay! I hardly have to modify at all. There are still a few sticking points in that one where I struggle but overall, I'm pretty happy about my performance today!:D

As far as the drama with my sister...it's still ongoing. I haven't talked to her much this week so my own anxiety has dialed down but only because I'm blocking it out a little:eek:. Apparently she went over to my other sister's house on Wednesday and talked to them for a few hours. I don't know if I mentioned before but I'm the oldest of 5 siblings. I have a picture in my profile labeled "me and my sistas". From left to right is Areka (pronounced Erica, 1 year younger than me), me (gray sweater), Arianna ("the baby" who towers 5 inches over the rest of us!) and Danielle is the one in the vest. I have a brother, too, but he becomes a ghost when a camera comes out. :) Danielle is the one going through all the drama. Anyhoo, Arianna and Areka talked with her for several hours I guess and she was crying and explaining how depressed she's been. This guy she's with is a serious anchor and I'm hoping that if she can cut him loose maybe she can turn things around. We'll see...sometimes breaking up is a process and it takes more than one time to make it final. At least that's what I'm hoping for:confused:.

Sarah- I'm exactly like you in striving for a relaxing lifestyle. I hate that go go go feeling all the time. Mark always worries that we should be "doing" more...like we're too boring or something. I say all that running around and trying to fit everything in is just too stressful! That vacation sounds like it's going to be a blast! My tush is feeling a bit DOMS'y today, but not so bad that I can't walk ;).

Natty- Cuba sounds so amazing! I wish Americans could go there. :( I just love the Cuban culture in Miami and southern Florida. Key West is sooo close to Cuba you can almost taste it! As far as B&G...of course I'm going to say get it! LOL I will always buy any and all lower body workouts Cathe puts out. I bow down to her greatness when it comes to lower body :eek:!!

Dang it, gotta run. Later girls!
 
Good morning everyone :)

Yesterday's w/o was Step Blast. I consider it Cathe's *best* complex choreo step. Fun, innovative moves? Check. Rockin' music? Check. Sweat? Check. Blasts? Check. I love it so much :).

Today we are going to visit the in-laws in Hamilton. Hopefully the traffic is not a disaster like last time :mad:. Oh, I forget to tell you guys what happens every single time I go there. I love Mark's mom and sister's to death, don't get me wrong, but they are kinda obsessed about weight and appearances. It can get kinda tiresome and annoying to have to hear my MIL tell me "oh I see you are still looking beautiful. No weight gain" :confused:. If I gain a few lbs, does that take me down a few notches in the beautiful department? I don't get insulted, as this has been customary since I've known them. Mark says they are amazed at how I don't gain lots of weight, since in their family it is the norm for the women/men to balloon-up VERY big. Most people in Hamilton are very unhealthy and overweight. Lots of fast food and a sedentary life with do that. The embarrassing part though is actually telling them what I do to stay fit after they ask me. It's hard for me to explain Cathe, they just look at me all dumbfounded :eek:.

Jen
I hope you are ok. Thinking of you :)

Colleen
Yay for not having to modify HC V3 and rockin' the workout! I knew you could do it ;). I have seen the video clips to confirm those are not for the faint of heart :eek:.
I'm sending you lots of positive vibes and hoping there is a light at the end of the tunnel for all of you. {{{hugs}}}

Sarah
The trip to Odaho looks amazing. I am also a fan of quiet, quaint cottages, nature, and hiking. I would love for that to be my life all the time. I hate the hustle and bustle of busy cities. The city I live in now has more of a small-town feel, but it's growing. That's why we moved out of Toronto, to get away from all of that. The one thing I do miss greatly, is all the wonderful places to eat/see/do.
I'm sorry to hear about how you had to walk out of the restaurant. I would have gotten the "hangries" too :mad: (btw, that's hunger+angry together :D)

Have a great w/e ladies!
 
Hello Friends,

Colleen-Busy at work, I miss that. Although, eating lunch fast is not always good. My family's drama happened with my divorce, my niece's passing but our family stays out of the relationship side problably due to our distance in travel from each other. It is hard to deal with though. My post-divorce relationship, the guy told me to put my own needs aside for his. I ended the relationship.

Sarah-Idaho, I've been there and had fun many years ago. Be careful for wild animals though. Please post some pics of what it looks like. Thanks. Rarely, I had to wait for 90 minutes for a meal. Something must've gone seriously wrong in the kitchen. I would've left to.

Natty-Love Step Blast! My first DVD purchased from Collage. My sprained ankle workout. I love it though!! From college, I know a few people from Hamilton ON. One of them owns a car dealership or two there. You are beautiful on the inside too! With Cathe, I show people her website on my phone. Sedentary lifestyle happens all over MI too. People get lazy and expect others or a machine to do it. I don't own a snowblower even though my driveway is steep and long, it shocks my neighbors.

This week has been busy once again. Meetings every morning except for Monday, drove to Lansing on Tuesday then a "party" after that. Tired of the Mona Vie, Send Out Cards, etc from the networking events. Plus, Aunt Flo' came to visit. She's a pain. My new potential former employer knows I'm still looking. Because of all the sacrifice of him and his wife, it needs to work. His business plans are excellent and concise. Although, since I'm not working with no W-9, I am still considered unemployed. Next Thursday, I will be in downtown Detroit for an IT networking event. Recruiters might show up. My business cards are well received. Lately, I've felt trapped sometimes in my house and in the job hunt so I am getting out today maybe to Lake MI, not to swim, but to see it. Also, my goal is to move back to metro Detroit within the next 12 months. Social media is hot in Detroit. It will be good to be home.
Workouts?? Hoping to jump back in on Monday. The cooler weather is perfect to workout inside or go for a walk. The newest ones, I will attempt again.
Next week, only Tuesday and Thursday are blocked. My potential future is supposed to call on Monday. He wants me to go up to our former college and ask for students to intern for us at NASCAR to tweet ongoings of the race and of the product. Plus, to share the raising funds for the school too.
 
Update: Mental health day in Grand Haven on Lake Michigan. Acted like a tourist which I can't do in Charlevoix.
Ate a great burrito and ice cream, both local.
 
Back to school shopping today with my 15 year old niece, my 12 year old niece, and my 2 daughters. If you guys never hear from me again, you will know why :eek:

I took a walk Friday night and ran out of time yesterday for exercise with a ton of cooking that had to be done. I had to make a German Chocolate cake for FIL's B-day plus cook hamburgers and hot dogs over at there house (not really sure why I got stock with this job ). Then came home to make pizza for 12 people (I made one a white pizza with chicken and onions and bell peppers it was really good). The night before it was herb and wine marinated grilled chicken, pasta salad, corn on the cob for 10. With homemade hot fudge, and homemade caramel sauce for ice cream sundays. Then yesterday in the wee early hours of the morning I made 14 pounds of pulled pork for 14 people today so I wouldnt have to cook at all (plus 2 chocolate cream pies for dessert). I'm tired and yet I am up unable to sleep at 5:30 in the morning :(

Nat - Did you have fun with your cuz :p? How was the in-laws? I also forgot to ask when the wedding shower is? It's funny when people say ask me about what I do also to keep in shape. They see me walk the dog and think thats all. Or see me at Zumba and say oh Zumba got you in great shape. I say I love Zumba and thats part of it but there is many other legs of fitness in my life :)

Jen- You have so much going on, I'm not sure how you would fit a job into all of that :eek: Glad you got to have a little time for fun. Was there sour cream and avocado on your burrito? ;) Me likey!
Yuck Nascar (my hubby and bro willl be watching it today again) Not sure whats worse Nascar or shopping with 4 girls :confused:

Colleen - Is work busy because of BTS? I was thinking of instead of buying HC that I would piece together many of Cathe's with planks moves and stuff and trying that out for a couple of times and goning from there. Since I did yesterday bite the bullet and got Cathe's presale :D

Sarah
 
Happy Sunday!

Muscle Max, I am not worthy :eek:. Either I was having a "weak" day, or I forgot how tough that workout is. I will be doing MM and PUB 1X/week, so hopefully I will be able to increase my weight #'s with both (and not feel like a total wuss). There were lovely push-ups in MM. I did the 2X12 sets on my toes with a 10sec rest in between, so I thought I was doing alright. Then the chest flies came, and that took all my power for the next round of push-ups. She does this crazy 4 count down, 2 count up, 2 count down, 4 count up, and repeats this for a few sets. I was like seriously Cathe? You crazy, crazy nut! But I love her so much for it. Definitely something to strive for...I did them on my knee's.

This w/e I went and bought some wonderfully fresh Talapia fillet's. This morning I marinated it w/lemon, EVOO, sea salt, dill and garlic. As I was handling them, I was so excited by how fresh they were. The flesh had a beautiful pink hue, no smell of fish whatsoever. My hands did not even smell like fish! You had to see me oohh'ing and aahh'ing over them. My sounds resembled a bit like...the Big O ( TMI? Can I say that here? Probably not :eek:).

Sarah
How did the BTS shopping go? Oh dear Lord, shopping with teenage girls :rolleyes:. You brave, brave soul. Did you take any sedatives? A few shots of Vodka when you came back?
Ok, stop it with the food, seriously. I read your posts and start drooling. Your family is SO lucky to have a cook like you.
Most people in my life will never understand my Cathe addiction. I want to share/explain her, but I don't think anyone would fully appreciate it, so screw it.

Jen
I know all too well about laziness. People think I'm weird when I tell them I actually want to walk places.
Busy, busy week for you! It's good to get out there and do things and mingle with people. I love how social and friendly you are. I'm the same way *sometimes* but I like my peace and quiet times at home too. Having family sleeping over last week was nice, but stressful too.
Yum Burritos! I love my loaded like Sarah w/guacamole and sour cream. Go big or go home right?

Have a good night ladies :)
 
I did Drill Max today! I was feeling sort of low on energy, but I just had to get a kick butt workout in today since I've been eating and drinking total crap all weekend. We took the kids out for a movie on Friday night (Madagascar 3...so cute!) and I ate movie popcorn and then pizza afterwards. It was pretty much downhill from there all weekend!:eek: We also had friends over last night and a campfire...the weather was perfect for that. Of course, that added to my crazy bad diet this weekend! Beer...not so good for the midsection!:eek:

When I first started working out, I actually started a different dvd (Patrick Goudeau's Extreme Calorie Burn). Why is it Cathe seems to be the only instructor that knows how to do a proper warm up? :cool: I do actually like that workout but the warm up is so sucky, I just wasn't feeling it. So out it came and Drill Max went in instead. It felt so awesome!:D Endorphins flowed nicely. Then I was feeling so good I decided to do half of HC volume 2 (about 20 minutes) just to get a little core in. I was pretty wiped after all that!:eek:

Speaking of HC, I have another awesome benefit I discovered from doing those workouts...DIVE BOMBER PUSH UPS:eek: I was able to do all of them in DM today! I can usually only do one and then finish the rest doing regular push ups on my knees! Whoo hoo!

Sarah- Oh man, Natty is right! Your cooking sounds amazing!!! Seriously, I want you to be my mom!:p
Back to school shopping with teenager girls does indeed sound like hell on earth! :confused: You brave woman you! My kids are still young enough that I can just buy all their clothes and say "wear it!". lol Eventually, I suppose I'm going to have to drag them along to get their input. Definitely busy due to back to school, although it's been a pretty decent summer over all...which is unusual. June was actually a little busier than usual, although not like we are right now. It's definitely cutting into my forum time though! lol

Natty- that was so funny your description of the tilapia! lol I was sort of like that when I found rainbow trout at Sam's club yesterday. I saw it and it was like angels "ahhhh" light shining on them, the whole bit.:p I was like "oh ho ho ho...trout" Nummy! Have you ever had it? My parents live in the country and we have a creek that runs through the property that has trout in it so when I was young we would sometimes catch and eat it. So good!
Awesome job on Muscle Max, btw! I had that one and only did it once before I traded it on VF. Silly me! I totally should have tried it again! I can't even remember the workout and why I decided to trade it. :rolleyes:

Jen- I was thinking the same thing Sarah said, you sound busier than most people I know with employment!:eek: Aunt Flo is indeed a pain, isn't she? ;) I'm expecting her to visit next week, stupid lady! The weather has cooled down considerably for us, too. I'm sort of hoping it warms up again soon, though because we really want to go canoeing Labor day weekend. The last time we went it was sooooo cold and I was totally miserable. Then Mark flipped the canoe (accidently)...twice. I've never been so freaking cold!:( I wouldn't mind a little 90 degree weather for that!

Good night ladies!
 
Hello Friends,

Sarah-Wow!! Lots of cooking and baking for you. Pulled pork is great. Growing up, my Mom and Grandma spent too much time in the kitchen too. Avoiding the malls here with the much cooler weather. It feels more like fall than summer now.

Colleen-DM, love that workout!! Yes, I ate crap all weekend too. Beer is the worst, caloric wise, you could eat lots of ice cream. Congrats on the Dive Bomber pushups!! Those are a bear!

Natty-Never had Tilapia. Many grill it here wrapped in foil. Its popular here, its not fresh water fish, right?

Yesterday, I got out of the house and went for a short walk, 6 blocks. My normal route is 24-36. With the weather, I may do CF or TTM, the one w/o the step.
When things kick in with this future employer, I will re-working my schedule. I will no longer be attending support group meetings. Already looking at condos in west metro Detroit area near Novi, Wixom and Walled Lake areas cause I do want to move.
For Thursday, I can check to see if whom will be attending but getting my name out is most important. Not thrilled about driving, parts of the drive into downtown are the worst which the media shows all the time. The area where the event is fine though. Aunt Flo adds to my depression and everything else when she visits. It doesn't help my diet faltered either, which would've helped it all out. Getting out of the house made alot better.
 
Hi everyone :)

My inner thighs are super DOMS'ing from MM, which is strange. Not complaining though, love it :D

Today's workout will a good calorie incinerator (I need it). So I was thinking Intensity w/both hiit sections (no bootcamp).

I'm making pork ribs in my slow cooker today :p. Not the healthiest, I know, but I only have a few pieces anyway and the rest goes to Mark and his lunch for tomorrow. I always try to balance the "naughty" foods w/lots of veggies on the side.

Funny thing to tell you guys, I did this quiz on how "Canadian" I am. Purely stupid and for entertainment purposes. Anyway, I'm not a typical Canadian woman. It even asked me if I was living in the right country :confused:. I'm not surprised though, Canadian's don't really have a set culture. I mean we're known for maybe Maple Syrup, Ketchup Chips, Poutine, skating and snow. That's about it :D.

Colleen
I've done that many a time when I start w/one instructor and just go back to Cathe. Her damn near perfectness just spoils me rotten :D.
Yup, Saturday was a total write-off for me eating healthy-wise too. Mark's family just does not believe in veggies or fruit of any kind :rolleyes:. It amazes me how they even go to the bathroom...if you know what I mean.
CONGRATS ON THE DIVE BOMBER PUSH-UPS!!! Holy cow, those are CCRRRAAAZZZYY! I'm proud of ya!
I've tried practically every single kind of fish out there. I'm a fish/seafood lover :p. Rainbow Trout IS fantastic! If I could eat fish all day, every day, I would.

Jen
I'm sorry about Aunt-Flo :(. She is definitely an unwelcomed visitor. It's good you got out of the house and walked. That always makes me feel better.
How is Detroit? I've only see the city in movies. I heard from somewhere that the crime rate is high. Is that true? How is the food there most importantly? ;)

Gotta go! I have no life today :eek:
 
Natty- The food in Detroit is great! It was known as the murder capital per% of population but I think ATL passed up on that. Kid Rock has his own beer label.
 
Good morning ladies :)

Yesterday's w/o was a nice 4mile walk w/Bella. I found a new park on our city's website and decided to check it out. Very nice. No one was there, and so that tempted me to *try* a few pull-ups on the monkey bars :D. I knocked out 2 full ones! It felt awesome to do that :cool:. In the evening, my "official" Cathe w/o was Hardcore Extreme hi/low intervals. After 50min of that and no a/c in my spare room (that's where I do my thang) I decided to call it quits before the Kickmax blasts section. I felt too icky, sweaty, and my legs just wanted to give up. I'm tempted to get Low Max :D. The few intervals I do in HCE really work my legs nicely. I think if I did that w/o 1X/week in addition to LB workouts, my legs would get toned super fast.

Have a great day everyone!
 
Drive by check in! :D I'll try to post more later!

I did Afterburn today. I feel like I could practically do that one with my eyes closed I've done it so much! lol I really hope the low impact Hiit in XTrain is this good. Lurve it.

Natty- I did the same thing with the monkey bars in this park we visited in Florida with the kids! I was like "look Mark! look at meeeee!" :eek:

Jen- I hope your feeling better today. Did you get to do CF yet?

Hi Sarah!!

TTYL
 
Some great news! The Detroit Chamber asked me on Twitter for ideas.
Walking instead of CF.
 
:( My lower back is feeling discomfort again. WTH? I don't know what I could be doing to cause it. Perhaps it's the way I put away my weights, or how I pick them up. But that was Sunday w/Muscle Max and it's just hitting me now :confused:.

I went ahead and used today as my Yoga day. I started off with Cathe's Yoga Relax. 15min in and I just was not feeling it. There's something about her Yoga's that I just can't connect with. Not sure, can't put my finger on it. Anyway I popped in TBL Weight Loss Yoga. Now that's what I'm talkin' about :). I friggin' love that workout with all my heart. With my lower back pain and lack of flexibility, I could not really go deep into the poses like I used to when I religiously did Yoga 2X/week. I got a great sweat going anyway and I'm glad I did it. I will be doing that one along with Jillian's Yoga Meltdown, 60min 1X/week.

Jen
How exciting! Congrats!!!

Colleen
On the contrary, I hope Cathe's new low impact hiit resembles the Intensity low impact hiit section, not Afterburn :D. NO PLANK EXERCISES and you still get an intense low impact workout :D.
Did you see Breaking Bad???!!! OMG how awesome was that last episode?! I can't believe that kid got killed :eek:.


Have a good night all :)
 
Natty- omg, Breaking Bad...:eek: My sister Areka texted me right after. Her: "oh god, my stomach is just sick" Me: "I think this show is trying to kill me" Her: "I think poor Jesse is gonna end up in the nuthouse!" :eek: LOL

Good night girls!
 
Hello Friends.
Wednesday, temps are much cooler now than one week ago. Early fall might happen here.

Sarah-Hope everything is going well. Getting ready for the trip?

Colleen-Afterburn, great workout. Haven't done it that much-yet. No Breaking Bad for me. I've been into Top Gear on BBC-A.

Natty-Yoga is hard. Cathe's yoga is not what I did in college, which is astanga-more Indian like type of stuff. Congrats on the pull-ups!

This week, I've been walking. Walking does alot for me. Mainly, gets me out of the house just for a few minutes. In the past, I walked all summer long and had no probs doing Cathe. Easier though, if I was biking too.
Yesterday, I mentioned the Detroit Chamber of Commerce asked my opinion on something. Totally flattered. I did respond.
The funding to move my potential future employer to MI is moving along.
Tomorrow, I have a social media seminar in metro Detroit, not going downtown. Gained knowledge will be useful.
Thinking about no longer attending support groups here. They look at me "odd" or strange when I tell them what is happening. They encourage job hunting strategies reverse of what my program in Lansing did. I think having a blog, promoting my personal brand in social media is too radical. GOD opened the door for me to rewrite my future.
 
Hi everyone :)

My back is feeling a little bit better today. I think the yoga helped :).

Today's w/o will be LBB w/floor work. Since I've been doing leg workouts 2X/week, I already notice my legs becoming a bit firmer. I'm this.close to downloading Low Max, as I feel it is an EXCELLENT cardio + leg workout (the few intervals I do in Hardcore Extreme).

Jen
You know how much I love walking. I'll say it a billion times: good for the body and the mind. I was watching an episode of the Daily Dose w/Jillian Michaels, and she was talking about how when she visits countries overseas she walks a ton, is on her feet all day, eats all the local cuisine, and still manages to drop a few lbs even though she did not go to a gym. Those steps are like magic :).
I'm so happy about the Detroit Chamber of Commerce asking you for feedback! How cool :cool:
It's strange that people look at you "odd" when you tell them your situation. I don't understand that. If the groups provide a negative vibe, yes stop attending. You don't need that crap.

Colleen
HA! Were you in my living room on Monday?! Mark and I had the exact same conversation! Wanna hear something bad? Last night I had a dream about Bryan Cranston :eek:. Lately I've been finding him super attractive :eek:. I've always had a thing for older men anyway ;)

Have a great day!
 

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