Too soon for snow

It was one of those mornings when I knew I wouldn't like what I saw out of the bedroom window. On Sunday it started to snow in the mountains; the weathermen first warned us there would be snow above 9000 feet, then 7000 feet, then at 5280 overnight.

When I woke at 4:30am I could see a dull light from the window. It was lighter than normal for this time of year and a sure sign that it snowed overnight. I didn't look out of the window until 6am, mainly because I knew that when I did I would frantically start putting on waterproof clothes, hats, gloves and boots.

At 6:05am I was out in the backyard armed with a broom and a feisty determination. Three young trees were bent over and touching the ground like weeping willows, their still-green leaves full of heavy wet snow. I bounded around like a cartoon character whacking their snow laden branches and shaking small trucks. These are my babies, I've known them since they were 1 inch diameter saplings, they have come so far and grown so much in 4 years. Damn it, why didn't they lose their leaves early!

Paying for Pain

What should people think about their personal trainers? I'm indifferent to mine, on a personal level, but I hate going to the gym - I hate it with a passion. It takes all my willpower on the day of the appointment not to call and cancel. I hate the workout during the session and the days that follow. Contrary to popular belief, I do not feel better, I do not feel more energized and I don't think I look any better, in fact I think I look tired and jaded. The killer is I am paying for this pain and suffering...and it's not cheap!

I do have a natural desire to be healthy, but on my own conditions. I understand, that for a consumer to feel they are getting their money's worth, there has to be measurable results in a certain timeline. But I don't want to lift weights until I am incapable, in pain and shaking. I understand the methods for gaining muscle, but I don't want to take pain killers 4 days out of 7. I hate waking up and rolling out of bed. By rolling I literally mean roll, I cannot move without pain and so I have discovered that if I roll towards the end of the bed and let my legs drape over the edge, I can become upright with the least amount of pain.

Next week is my last session with a personal trainer. I will continue to go to the gym, I will probably go more often, and I will pace myself. I will not train until I reach my maximum heart rate, I will not lift weights so heavy that I quiver with pain, and I will probably not see results very fast. I will be fine with my progress, I will not take pain killers and I will be able to get out of bed with a simile on my face!

Time to go home

My week is over. I've been to London, Brighton, Horsham and Canterbury. I've been bike riding in Sussex and drank wine in several old English pubs. We went to see a play in Guildford, I've eaten fish and chips, scampi and chips, paprika flavored Pringles and crayfish sandwiches. We painted my brother's house downstairs and I have bought loads of clothes to wear state-side. I even sent out postcards today after eating a really good Cornish pastie. It wasn't all about the food, but that did play a big part - the chicken tikka masala balti was suberb. The weather was pretty good too - it only rained one day (and we were painting that day anyway).

I worry about my brother, I hope he finds a girlfriend soon.

I'll be back home tomorrow night.

Other side of the pond

I flew over the big pond yesterday - not bad, it only took 8 hours and I managed to sleep a little. I just love those BA direct flights - whoosh straight into Heathrow... Ta-da! I'm here, no problemo... arrived and went directly for a Starbucks latte. I stayed awake until 10:30pm - was very proud of myself since there is a 7 hour time difference. I woke the next morning at 7am, blah jet lag - who are these wusses that complain?

I thought the US was reacting badly to increasing gas prices. All day we kept getting stopped by traffic jams as people lined up for petrol/gas. Because of the price increasing so much there are people demonstrating by refineries and stopping deliveries. That means that people are panicing and petrol stations are running out. We went to a place for gas and met people from the next town because it was out of petrol. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4243950.stm

'Nuff said!

Got this in an e-mail today

http://dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/9/8/13924/40887

'Nuff said!

I want a ROKR!

This morning was very unproductive (hope my boss doesn’t find this page). I staked out applenewsfeed.com (I must remember to bookmark that page) during the Apple reveal of the ROKR and Nano. I've hated my Samsung phone ever since I replaced my dying and beloved Motorola StarTac. I'd love to move to a stylish Moto-Apple phone. I really can't justify a ROKR; I have a digital camera and one in my PDA, my phone works fine (it's just ugly and boring) and I have a 20 Gig iPod. I just want a ROKR - whaaaa! It's been a while since I was the kid with the latest cool toy - I used to be the geek chick in those days.

I'm all over the makemedance.com website!

30% Fat!

My personal trainer said I am 30% fat! Holy moly, I thought I was low 20s - that's what the POS scales have been saying for the past year! Sooo, my trainer wants to get me down to 22% body fat by losing 8lbs of fat and converting 2lbs to muscle. I also have to keep a log of all the food I eat - not sure if this is going to be fun yet!

Too darn hot!

I did my first spin class yesterday. All in all I don’t feel too wrecked today. It was not what I expected. I thought my main issue would be keeping up with everyone, and pushing myself to the limit. The problem was heat, it was almost unbearable in the room. I hate to cycle when temperatures rise above 85 degrees, so I thought a spin class would be a cooler, indoor alternative. I went though a little bit of heat shock when I got home last night and now I'm a little annoyed as my master plan to maintain fitness had a big bubble burst yesterday. I am unsure whether I will take another spin class.

I "own" my goal weight

I am at my goal weight and have been for a few weeks. I have successfully transitioned into maintenance mode. I now "own" that weight; to me that means - I consistently see that weight every morning, it's not a mistake, it's not dehydration, it's my weight! What is weird is that last year I would have killed to be this weight, now I'm used to it I wonder…would 4 lbs less look better? I certainly don't look skinny, I've only dropped one dress size, would 4 lbs get me another dress size? Yesterday I checked my BMI and it was 22.3, that is right in the middle of the acceptable range, what shocked me was that if I lost 10 lbs I'd still be in the range. I think 10 lbs would be too much, I'm sure I'd have no boobs and no butt!

I joined 24 Hour Fitness last week…I haven't used my Bally's membership in years, so it felt a little silly buying another membership. I also have a personal trainer package so it will be interesting to see what they say. Though I suspect I will have problems taking advice from a skinny person 15 years younger than me with no science or medical background. Oh, just call me old and skeptical!

I set the basement on fire yesterday.

I have a kiln, loaned to me, that I must have mistakenly knocked the on switch when I moved it. It was resting on a fireproof pad and heated up to 2000 Fahrenheit for a few hours before melting the pad and burning a plywood sump pump cover. The plywood was the only wood part of the basement, if I had set the kiln down 2 feet in any direction I would have hit concrete and not had such a smoke problem. A small square foot of plywood was scorched, the smoke billowed out of the basement window, made visibility very difficult and the rest of the house smell like a bar-b-que smoker. We used the fire extinguisher and have had fans running since.

I am amazed at 2 things; the amount of smoke the small piece of wood made, and the fact our smoke detectors didn't go off.

I am annoyed with myself for not noticing I had turned the kiln switch on when I moved it...and

I am scared to use the kiln, which is a shame because I was having fun fusing glass - it was my artistic outlet from a process driven and very repetitive existence.