We're In This Together **Sept**

[mom2kttj]

Rebekah - My kids were the shy kind- however they still got antsy sitting in carts and strollers. I would give them those big old ring pops. They would sit and suck on those for over an hour. I know its sugar, and most people believe sugar is the anti-christ when it comes to kids behavior, but it worked I wish you trouble free outings

I still have to make sure and bring snacks, they all get grumpy when they are hungry. I find myself wondering when that will end.

Colleen - I got my HC Vol 3. I feel spoiled with Cathe. This looks like a really low budget porn movie I will give it a try anyway.

Sarah

 

[JT]

Good Morning Friends,

A few minutes ago, I reread all the posts of I have missed. Some of my short ones were done from the phone so I apologize for not acknoledging some posts.

Sarah-OMG, your comment about HC made me laugh out loud. I think I need to preview those again. Yes, me too, spoiled with Cathe and understand her cuing. Have fun in Oregon, DH birthday and hiking.

Rebekah-Hope you survive the terrible twos. Good reason to workout to destress. My niece wouldn't eat at that time so my sister got her cooking in the kitchen with supervision.

Natty-I have a Pinterest account which I have IKEA, food and fashion. It reminds me of a hobby board I had when I was in 3rd grade for school. Lots of good stuff out there. The compliments you get are well-deserved.

Colleen-Hope life is treating you well and your DOMs have gone away.

Update: Volunteered last night for PBS, a local celeb whom was terminated from her job became a connection for me on LinkedIn. I told her I remember when she was on a local talk show the day after she lost her job. Hard to be on TV with that kind of emotion. I told her about my blog, gave her my card and chatted. She is a kind person with strong Faith. She knows a guy I used to date.
My H & R Block classes don't start till October 1st, 4 nights a week so that will put my workouts and homework plus job hunting and blogs earlier which I do anyways except for workouts. Don't think homework will be too hard.
Heading back to metro Detroit/Novi on Thursday for networking event without the construction I had.

 

[cokonkel]

Oh my Sarah- I burst out laughing too at the description of HC! lol Yes, she definitely needs to work on her production. Lighting, sound quality, etc could certainly be better. You are totally right, we are sooooo spoiled by Cathe's production quality! Cathe is the consumate professional. Of all the workout videos and instructors I have (and I have alot!) she is by FAR the most professional and polished with regards to filming, not to mention the best cueing, the best choreography and editing, seamless premixes, great backgrounders with few little annoying quirks...you name it!
Wait until you try Volume 3, though...Sandra will kick your booty good!

Jen- what kind of workouts are you doing these days besides walking? Are you getting any Cathe in? Good luck with the networking event on Thursday!

Rebekah- oh how I feel your pain with the naughty kiddo in public! I hate to tell you this, but my kids got worse at 3 years old . They seemed to peak at the tantrums around 3-31/2 yrs and then it got better. Of course, my 5 year old girl is already acting like a 14 year old . I swear she argues with me just for the sake of disagreeing with me! The kids were always the worst at the doctor's office and restaurants. Especially the doctors office for some reason...they would never sit still, have to touch everything and generally drive me batty. Unfortunately, I must admit I just made the decision not to take them with me shopping very often and we only occasionally will take them out to restaurants. They are getting better as they get older, though. I just could never possibly get grocery shopping or clothes shopping done effectively when they were with, so I usually did that stuff while they were in daycare . Shameful, I know...but hey I can only handle so much stress!

Natty- my Sundays are my "luxurious" time where I can just go and go with my workout until I'm totally pooped! During the week I just can't manage as much time as I'd like. There are days when I'm rushing a 30 minute workout in because I slept in too late! Mark has just recently...finally!...learned to just leave me alone while I do it though. It's me time! Leave me be, man! He would do that same thing that Rebekah's husband does which is come in the room, start talking to me, constantly ask "when are you gonna be done"...blah blah. He got enough animal growl sounds to finally just leave me alone! lol

Oh yeah, my workout today... I did Crossfire! Lurve it!

ETA: Oh yeah, Sarah you asked how I manage to fit all those videos in that I buy...well I don't! lol I'm a variety junkie and I keep buying videos like some sort of maniac... but there are several ones I've only done once in my collection and even a few virgins. VF is a dangerous, enabling place to visit! I just can't seem to stop going on that site though!

 

[mom2kttj]

Okay, I was itching to try HC and about half way through the side plank push-ups, I said Holy *uck, what does the *itch want? It was a low point for me I kept at it, till about the 40 min. mark and then just observed the rest

Have a great week everybody, I already have my first 2 ten mile hikes planned

Sarah

 

[REMeeks]

Good Morning Lovely Ladies!

Sarah- Good job on HC! Don't feel bad about getting frustrated, doing something that it totally new to your body is going to be difficult no doubt! I looked at her videos and they do look super tough! Be proud that you made it as far as you did your first time, I am sure you got much further than I would have I hope you enjoy your hikes! Your comment on the videos cracked me up too! Cathe always has produced great quality workouts

Colleen- Yikes!! :-O I was hoping by three it would get better lol. I do not blame you one bit for shopping without them. When I do get the rare opportunity for Heins to offer to watch her for me while I go, I can take my time and enjoy a nice stress free grocery shopping trip He still doesn't quite understand just how bad it can be! WTG on CrossFire, you are cranking out tough workouts! I am so impressed with your dedication!

Jen- Thank you for your well-wishes with the terrible two's, I hope I survive them also! lol That is awesome that you met a professional connection at PBS! I hope good things will come out of that. I hope you have a safe trip to Detroit on Thursday, hopefully less construction and traffic this go round!

Natty- Hope you have a great day!

As for me yesterday I did Interval Max (Thanks Natty!) haha, that last interval wass a doozie :-0, followed it with the core segment from Butts & Guts. Today I will probably do Butt Bible again hopefully followed by the floor work from LBB afterwards like last time, that was a great combo for DOMS

Have a great Wednesday every one!

 

[mini-natty]

Hello gals!

Yesterday I was SO not in the mood to do 4DS Upper Body. I just did not feel like dragging all my equipment out. I ended up doing my cardio day, MMA Boxing. That one is deceivingly tough on the arms! They are DOMS'ing big time today .

I just came back from a nice 5 mile walk w/Bella to our local grocery store to pick up a few things. Bella was driving me nuts in there! (see Rebekah??). She was touching all the produce and would not STAY PUT. Kids ARE a pain in the butt when you need to shop. But hey, you gotta do what you gotta do .

Sarah
OMG your comments about the low budget porn thing had me laughing my butt off!! I'm trying to think if I've even seen that type of porn . Perhaps way back when they sold them at little video stores in VHS form, 1980's style .
I am very jealous of your vaca and hikes. You know me and walking outdoors. If I could do it sans child, I would be in heaven! Have a great time .

Colleen
I have this feeling that when I go back to work, my collection of workout DVD's will grow at a rapid pace . Exercise and travel are my loves . Oh and my family too I suppose .

Jen
Add me on Pinterest if you like. I tried to add people, and I failed miserably . I just don't know how to do it!
It's so nice that you connected with that local celeb from PBS. Surrounding yourself with those positive people makes life a little more bearable when you are going through tough stuff. Hang in there .

Rebekah
Speaking of leashes, between the ages of 1-2 1/2, I HAD to take Bella out in one or risk her running onto the street! She was horrible for just taking off! I literally had no choice . People might have thought I was a nut bag, but it was either that, or her getting hit by a car. My sanity is tested daily by the difficulties of parenting a small child. I am going to be completely honest here, I have not enjoyed the toddler phase AT ALL . I always say, becoming a parent is going from selfish to selfless. All the stuff you could independently do (try on clothes, eating at restaurants, going shopping, ect) is put on the back-burner. It's a tough, tough, gig. Hang in there! Vent all you want too. It's a good way to relieve stress .
Imax1. Yup, the last blast is just a killer! That one literally takes me out!


Have a good one ladies!

 

[cokonkel]

Today I did Athletic Training! OMG, that very first step section slays me every time! I swear, no matter how fit I get, when I'm doing that part I'm still praying for my happy place. "happy place happy place...it's gonna be over soon, this part is short...happy place!"

Sarah- lol on the cursing at Sandra! Oh yes, she is a demon in a sweet little southern package! I have a really hard time on those side plank push ups in volume 3. I always do okay with the first set of singles, then hang in when she does them slower (2 counts up, 2 down) but then when she goes back to singles I collapse every time! Pat yourself on the back for making it 40 minutes! That is great! Those are definitely workouts to work up to, for sure!

Natty- I love MMA Boxing! I haven't done that one in so long! I keep eyeing up Circuit Blast, too from the Shock cardio series. It's so hard to fit all my Cathe's in that I love, not to mention all the other videos I have! lol

Rebekah- great job on Interval Max! Uh oh, they just handed me a patient file...gotta run! I'll be back later!

Hi Jen!!!

 

[JT]

Hello Friends.


Rebekah-Congrats on IMAX, never attempted it. Need to search out this Butt Bible thing.

Sarah-Have a great week with your planned hikes.

Colleen-Love AT!! The workout needs an award. You have virgin workouts? Only one for me, a non-Cathe.

Natty-Yes, I will look for you on Pinterest. My blog is out there now.

Update: No word from my interview pre-Labor Day but I got an unexpected phone interview today plus an email about one next week, not on my social media day in Detroit. Also, a handsome blogger from B4Bconnect (Detroit Chamber of Commerce) made a connection with me on LinkedIn. Can we say Cougar town? Actually, I would like him to hire me. Grateful my blog and my exposure via social media is growing at a steady pace now and happy about my local celeb too.
Plan to walk until October. If I get a job, I plan to cancel my training with H & R block.
Tag-teaming with the leader at a meeting with MI Works, a gov. agency that helps people find work, at 3:30pm EST.

 

[mini-natty]

Good morning ladies

No workout for me yesterday. I was sore from MMA Boxing and still sore from the STS Legs disc I did Monday. On top of that, I was unusually tired come 5pm. I had nothing in me .

So, I have been eyeing my Jari Love DVD's again . I kinda miss them . Besides Cathe, I find her stuff to be very challenging. All her workouts are avail on downloads now!! I ended up getting an older one that has excellent reviews (even some Cathletes liked it!). It's Get Ripped & Chiseled. For those not familiar, it's high reps/low weights, total body weight training. All Jari's DVD's pretty much follow that concept, except for her newest ones which alternate cardio + weight intervals.

Jen
I hope the tag-teaming with the leader at MI Works goes well for you today!

Colleen
Yes, the "happy place" during intense cardio. I know all about that .


Have a good one ladies!

 

[REMeeks]

Good Morning Ladies!!

Natty- My mother also had to use the leash with my little brother, he would just take off anywhere, but especially in busy parking lots. I don't understand why people judge them so much, if it is obvious that it is or the child's safety, then I don't see what the big deal is. Toddler-dom certainly is tough! Every day has it's own struggles. Thank you for giving me permission to vent, same to you of course I will try my best not to! Some days I can just handle the stress better than others, and Tuesday was not one of those days I am glad you are also a SAHM and Bella is close to Addie's age. I am sure I will be asking you advice soon, potty training is right around the corner :-o
I hope you enjoy Jari Love today! I have never heard of her, I have already learned of so many different trainers here. It's amazing how much there is to choose from out there!

Colleen- I do not have Athletic Training, is the step choreography difficult? I am really bad if it is, like trip and fall off the step bad lol
If the moves aren't too dance-y I love the step though! I too, try to think of a happy place, especially during Tabata, its nice to know you only have a few seconds left

Jen- Congrats on making the connection with the handsome guy from B4B connect ;-) That is awesome, I am sure all these connections you are making will pay off soon! Good luck at MI works today, I hope it goes very well!

As for me, I hurt my hamstring doing Butt Bible yesterday, I am not sure what I did wrong It started "smarting" during the bridges, but I just kept going, I am stubborn like that It's not intense pain, just uncomfortable, so I am going to just do UB today, I don't have any just UB DVD's so I'm thinking I will do the UB and Core portions of TurboBarre, the UB/Core segment from TTM, and core from CrossFire, love that one but haven't done it in a while!

Have a great day all!

 

[JT]

Here is some good news for today:

Last night at MI Works, I knew MORE than the presenter about Social Media. A LOT more. The tag-team didn't fly which is fine.

Got an email yesterday to interview next week for a training school for admissions. Cannot locate my records the last time I posted to this school.

Testing the following week for 2 government positions last week in September. Applied in August.

Friday night, going to an business start-up exclusive party downtown Grand Rapids.

Heading to Detroit in 6 hours.

 

[cokonkel]

Rebekah- you would love AT!! The step portion is very basic choreography wise...more like drills actually which is exactly the way I like it! I did try to learn some of Cathe's step choreography in other videos, and was making headway actually and enjoying it, but then found it was bothering my knees and ankles doing those workouts. The step work in both Athletic Training and Cardio Supersets (the bonus step part) is right up my alley! AT is a very well rounded circuit workout, actually a really nice complement to both AB and CSS. I use all 3 of those a lot.

Today I did HC Bootcamp and it kicked my booty Very very tough workout that one...on top of the other tough workouts I did this week (plus the fact I managed to fit in 3 days of HC this week) my upper body is feeling really fried. I was planning on taking tomorrow off and doing another tough kettlebell workout on Saturday (Paul Katami's Burn and Build) but I think I may have to stay away from any weights or body weight exercise for a few days. Maybe some steady state cardio. I'm thinking KPC without any weighted gloves?

Good luck in Detroit Jen! I sure hope one of these interviews pan out for you. I bet you're getting tired of interviews. That's awesome you were more knowledgeable than the presenter about the social media. Too bad for her though, I guess!

Have fun with Jari Love Natty! I still have those two Jari Love dvds I got Get Extremely ripped 1000, and the 1000 hardcore. I really like her cardio actually. Very basic and to the point. Unfortunately, I've only done them once. I'm such a variety junkie! I keep wanting these videos but so far the only ones I seem to go back to again and again are my Cathe's, Horizontal Conditioning, my Paul Katami (the two that I like), and some of my other kettlebell dvds (love Kettlebell Kickboxing and Lauren Brooks Volume 1). There are so many others that I actually sincerely like but I never seem to be able to fit them in!

Have a great day ladies!

 

[mini-natty]

Hello everyone

Just finished Imax2 . I can't believe I can do that whole sucker without skipping a beat. Even those pile jacks, I totally killed them at the end! EVERY.SINGLE.ONE.OF.THEM. Clicking my heels too. My quads didn't even burn...that much .

LOL, I downloaded Jari but I won't test drive that baby out til' next week. I don't want my muscles to look "puffy" for the wedding on Saturday, and new weight training workouts sometimes do that to me.

Rebekah
I will enable you further with AT . Athletic-type step at it's absolute best. The whole workout is fabulous. GET IT. YOU MUST.
Oh God, don't talk to me about potty please! The pee part was a breeze, it's the poo part that's giving me hell!! I have a kid that is afraid to poo in general since a bad constipation bout a few months ago. STRESS. STRESS. Ok, serenity now, serenity now. But don't worry, Addie will be just fine, just like 99% of the potty training child population.
I hope your hamstring is doing ok. It's easy to pull a hamstring muscle . Try soaking in an Epsom Salts bath.

Colleen
I should get back into kettle bells again . I need to eventually get a higher lbs since my wussy 10lbs just does not give me a challenge, really. I must however space out my fitness purchases. This year was BAD...but in a good way .
Hope your UB gets a nice break from all that HC. I can imagine how fried your arms are! Plank positions are crazy!

Jen
Have a safe and good trip to Detroit! Eat lots of yummy food for me!
You should feel great that you knew more about Social Media than the presenter. I'm not certain what a tag-team is, but it sounds kinda naughty .


Gotta run! Have a good night ladies

 

[cokonkel]

Natty- actually your 10 pound bell would be perfect for Paul Katami's Burn and Build! You need to go lighter with that one. Do you have that workout? (Enable enable enable...hee hee hee!)

 

[REMeeks]

Good Morning Ladies! Hooray for Friday!

Jen- That is awesome that you knew more than the presenter! That must have felt good. Good luck with the interview and testing! I hope it goes well Have fun at the party in Grand Rapids!

Colleen- I am going to check out the clip for AT today That sounds like something that is right up my alley! I hear you on the knee issues my right knee is always bothersome if I do too much step in one week I did TTM and Intensity back-to-back once and had to take three days off for it to feel normal again, ugh! I also do not have CSS, oh so many Cathe's to choose from! I can only imagine what your video collection looks like! I am sure it would blow me away! You could probably start a fitness DVD rental store
You must have a killer core and UB from all this horizontal conditioning! I am sure you are sore though! KPC is a great choice, that will always be one of my favorites!

Natty- Wow on Imax 2! I have never attempted it, but know it's tough from the clips I have watched. Congrats on completing it without skipping a beat! Plie jacks are not my friend lol, I will never forget the first time I saw Cathe do them, when I attempted Kick Max for the first time, I was like "Seriously.....?" I was just starting to get good with the regular plies and now she does them with the blue band! Talk about quads on FIRE! It is a very rare occurance that I can finish a Cathe without pausing, but at least I don't do it as many times as I used to Thank you also for your input on AT, I now see the enabling powers you and Colleen have lol I do need some more variety in my collection though! I am sorry for your potty woes, to be honest, I am so scared of starting I wish you stress-free bathroom visits for Bella from now on! My hamstring feels much better today

I am not sure what I'm going today. Maybe I will do KPC as well. Yesterday I did as planned UB and Abs from TurboBarre, UB and Core segment from TTM, Core from CF, and also had time for one more and decided to do Medicine Ball Abs from Ab Circuits, I hadn't done that in a while! My core was nice and toasted!

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!!!

 

[JT]

Hello Friends.

Happy Friday!!

Colleen-Love KPC!! My knees bother me more than my ankles sometimes when doing step. Any big weekend plans?

Rebekah-Great how you mix up the workouts. TB was the first workout I did in the series.

Natty-Congrats on IMAX2!! You Rock!! Ok, get certified so you can produce you own stuff.

Update: Got a call last night when I was in Novi/Metro Detroit for an interview next week. It rained ALL the way home plus tired. In Lansing, two cars decided to race on the interstate so I had to literally move off the road. Saw the Goodyear blimp outside of Lansing on the way there. Met lots of kind people and made lots of great connections. One more trip next week to Detroit. wait and see now. Finally, got a rejection letter from the interview before the Holiday.
One more event tonight in Grand Rapids then I plan to sleep on Saturday.
My cats greeted me when I came home last night.

 

[cokonkel]

No workout today. Holy crap my lats and anterior delts are sore today! Wowza!

Tomorrow Mark is dragging me to this get together that we go to every year. He has to practically pull teeth to get me to go. He is into classic muscle cars big time and had this guy help him do his 1969 Camaro. So every year, this guy has a get together of all the people he has done work for and these guys all drive their various classic cars out. It's a potluck of sorts and we are expected to bring a dish and our own drinks. I'm like...what kind of host doesn't provide drinks? I always end up wandering around with the kids attempting to make excruciating small talk with these people I barely know and have little in common with. Yuck.

Rebekah- that sounded like a great core workout you got yesterday! I just love working the core! I neglected it some while I was doing the STS rotation and I could really tell the difference! I just never seemed to be able to squeeze in the STS ab circuits while I was doing that rotation. Yay! We can do KPC together this weekend!

Jen- so sorry you got that rejection letter, but at least now you aren't left dangling anymore. That is crazy how some drivers are so reckless! Man, I hate that! Especially when it's raining. Don't these people realize that is literally a life and death thing when they do that??

Have a great Friday everyone!

 

[mini-natty]

Good morning gals!

Yesterday I had my cousin's wedding. It was very beautiful; elegant, yet simple. Bella was amazing as the flower girl . She was so well behaved throughout the entire church ceremony and reception afterwards. I was praying to the Toddler Gods for no misbehaving or tantrums . (BTW, I will post pics of me & Bella soon. She looked super cute).

Friday was Turbo Barre. Man, is that workout ever going to get easier??? I got the Upper Body with 5lbs down, it's the Lower Body that I struggle with . I think I have progressed a bit, taking less breaks throughout, but I still cry during those side leg lifts.

I downloaded Low Max too . I will be doing that today, first time .

Colleen
You know what, enabling outside of Cathe is harder in my situation. You know that I pretty much get killed with shipping costs here right? Anything at Collage Vid from Paul Katami would cost me $35 or more . Now, if he offered downloads, that would be a different ball-game .
I hope you had a decent time at the car show despite not liking it. You are right, what host should bring their own drinks?? Cheap a$$es! Every year I go the annual car exhibition in Toronto. I swear I was a man in my past life .

Jen
I'm sorry to hear about your rejection letter .
I hope your interview next week goes well. Fingers crossed!!

Rebekah
Imax2 is so fun! The choreo is kinda tough, I won't lie, but the whole workout totally rocks! Something to consider...
Oh and don't worry about building up the endurance to do Cathe cardio. You'll get there. It took lots of hard work and perseverance for me to not even stop mid-way. Jillian and Bob Harper cardio DVD's helped me too. I was in rough shape after I had Bella. I gained 65lbs (modified bed rest) and had a c-section. I thought I would never recover or get back into the shape that I was pre-baby, but I did . You look amazing though! Didn't you once post a pic of your Avatar with awesome abs??


Have a wonderful day ladies!

 

[JT]

Hello Friends.

Natty-You will LOVE Low Max!! Keep it low impact cause one of the intervals you will recognize from one of her newer workouts. It will hurt. Looking forward to the pics of the wedding.

Colleen-Hope you had fun at the car show. Odd, host has no drinks.

Rebekah-Hope your weekend is treating you well.

This weekend was restful and heavy on calories. Friday night event had "walking tacos" which are served in a chinese take-out container with fritos on the bottom then taco fixings on top. Delicious. PLUS, they gave us 2 free drinks. Saturday started out good but ended with a iced carrot-cake from a high-priced gourmet supermarket. Yummy.
Thanks for the well-wishes but no confirmation of an interview for Monday. Phone tag for long durations of time with this company.
Interview Wed. night for admissions for a school. Then, Livonia Thursday night. My last trip for at least 3 weeks to Detroit area.
Getting real bored with Facebook lately. Not posting too much because of my blog.

 

[REMeeks]

Hello Ladies!!! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
Mine was a bit busy, we had Addie's second birthday party at a local park, the in-laws were with me pretty much all weekend, which was fine, I just couldn't get away to workout :-/ I will attach some pictures at the end of my post though Addie had a really good time, she was non-stop for the almost 4 hours we were there! Heins also competed in a golf tournament Saturday and Sunday, he placed 3rd! He wasn't too pleased with that, but I thought that was good. I think I will do Afterburn today, I haven't done it in a while, it used to be one of my favorites.

Colleen- I hope you had a decent time at the car show/get together. I dread situations like that where you have to try so hard to talk to some one you barely know. Ugh! That is weird about the drinks, some people just aren't concerned with being good hosts! I hope the rest of your weekend went well though!

Natty- I can't wait to see the picture of you and Bella! I bet she was precious! Congrats on her being well-behaved, I know how relieved you must have felt! Thank goodness you were in the toddler gods favor lol I still have to back out for a few seconds on some parts of TurboBarre, its crazy how much it stings sometimes. The "L" moving forward and backward was so difficult for me at first, but I'm slowly but surely getting better! Thank you so much for your nice comment! I too gained a bit of weight with pregnancy :-O I went from 115 to 168, yikes! My midwife made me cry for making me feel so bad about my weight gain. I walked almost every day, but it didn't seem to do any good! I will always be self conscious of my stomach though, my abs look okay in pictures but in person you can see my many stretch marks Oh..... it's so sad what pregnancy can do to a body! Oh well.... Addie was worth it You do look amazing though! Your abs look great! Hope you enjoy Low Max too!

Jen- Those walking tacos sound really good! I had never heard of them but would certainly try them! I also LOVE carrot cake! I too did not eat so well this weekend, we had hot dogs for Addie's party and then cupcakes of course So I'll be eating clean this week I hope you can get in touch with the company, phone tag is annoying! Best wishes for your interview on Wednesday! I am sure you are ready to be done with those and all the commutes to Detroit!

I hope you all have a great Monday!

Here are some pictures from Addie's party:
The first is Addie and Heins fingerpainting, second is Addie riding the toy horse from the in-laws, third is Addie and I, and last is Addie in her birthday outfit.