Yeah, I Don't Think So

So this will have to be a quick post for me today. I realize that my "quick" posts are still quite lengthy but give me a break.

The other day I experienced my first massage. For anyone who knows me, I am NOT a touchy feely kind of person and particularly with strangers. I even try to avoid hugging my friends when I can - not because I don't like them, though. Anyway, the massage was a "treat" from one of my colleagues. I survived but I don't think it's for me. I spent the whole time thinking about my to do list at work. And when the woman got to my toes and individually massaged each one, I couldn't help but recite the "This little piggy went to the market..." nursery rhyme. I couldn't help it. I don't think I appreciated the whole experience the way a normal person would.

I wrapped up my last two training sessions this week. I don't recommend drinking a cosmo before working out - just a little something I learned on Tuesday. Yesterday was much better sans the alcoholic warm up. I apparently accomplished some great feat yesterday by completing 40 cardio push ups. My trainer was more than impressed. Yay for me, I guess.

I need to decide if I want to sign up for another round of sessions or try to do it on my own and focus on the proper eating portion of the event. I think I need to take my mother up on her offer for the next great challenge. I like eating healthy, but somehow I manage to avoid it too often when work gets stressful.

I'm at work and need to get back to it.

Parting words - congrats to Mom for her consistent dedication. I hope you can teach me a few tricks when I'm home. :) I'm also looking forward to your cooking and even some kohlrabi.

Two more work days until a week of vacation. Yippee!

Some Things DO Stay the Same

Sunday was a fairly uneventful day so I'll keep my rambling to a minimum. That, and I'm at work and need to get a head start on a bunch of stuff.

I finally made a trip to MY gym. I had been neglecting it for the past few weeks in favor of working out with my trainer. I did 35 minutes on the bike. I figured I should submit some cardio with photographic evidence before my mother started to question my honesty.

As for the title of my blog today, I thought I would go back in time and try eating something that I didn't necessarily love when I was a kid - pork chops. I've seen them in some recipes lately and on TV and they look wonderful. I thought I'd give them another shot and put them on the grill. It's about what I remembered - dry and a little tough. Yes, it might have something to do with the cook. I have plenty of leftovers so I have ample opportunity to get used to them. I did, however, enjoy my green bean salad that I made.

Off to work. Happy Monday!

My Nose Finally Stopped Burning

It's far more common to hear that one's nose is running or perhaps that one's ears have been burning. In my case this afternoon, my nose was in fact burning. No, I didn't spend too much time out in the sun. I made a salad. Huh? I don't know what's more surprising - that I finally made a salad instead of eating a bunch of junk food or that the salad I made was incredibly spicy.

It all started with good intentions. I had a session with my personal trainer this morning. It was a good workout so I was determined to eat healthy today so all of my hard work and sweat didn't go to waste. I love chickpeas (or garbanzo beans if you prefer) so I dumped a can of those in a bowl and mixed it with assorted veggies, tuna and feta cheese. One of said veggies in my salad was a leftover pepper. It looks like a hybrid of an Anaheim pepper and a jalapeno. Let me go on the record by saying that I had already eaten two of these peppers in the past week or so and they were a very mild but tasty pepper. I don't know what happened but this thing picked up heat somewhere and it didn't occur to me that I needed to handle it with care. I dumped it into my salad after I half-heartily scraped out the seeds/ribs. I don't recall washing my hands, which turned out to be a problem that I later regretted.

I was thrilled to dig into my salad and the first few bites were yummy! And then it happened - my mouth was on fire! No worries, I thought. I'm not a wimp and I love spicy food. That's what my ice water is for. I kept going because that's the kind of trooper that I am. Next thing you know - my nose is burning and I mean B-U-R-N-I-N-G! I must have inadvertently rubbed my nose when it began to run due to the spicy peppers I had been eating. A burning mouth and a burning nose is not a good (or attractive) combo. Shoving a cold, damp paper towel up one's nose is not really a good idea. Somehow it made it worse. I just had to suffer until it went away - about 30 minutes later. Guess what, though? I finished the salad and I'm dumb enough that I'd probably do it all over again. See how dedicated I am to healthy eating? Ok, that's probably a stretch.

I haven't blogged in a while so here's a quick recap:

-I've continued with my personal training sessions. I just completed my 6th session (out of ten).
-I did 15 minutes of cardio on Thursday with my trainer (Mom, you decide if you want to allow me to count it).
-I did 10 minutes of cardio following my session today (pretty please, Mom?).

Oh, I also spent a bit of time outside today trying to get my windblown tree up off of the ground and properly staked. It's a very young tree and can't seem to hold itself up. The previous stake snapped in a storm and the tree fell over but didn't break, thank goodness. I think the current contraption I'm using might be temporary. It's my best looking tree in the backyard so I can't afford to have it beaten up like that. I might need to call in a professional because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

Have a good weekend!

Just What I Thought

Yesterday was day three with my trainer. I have to say that I actually enjoy the training sessions. I like leaving with the knowledge that I have worked hard and that my efforts will be worthwile.

With that being said, I also walked away with confirmation of something that I have known but have never fully proven. I have little to no discernable upper body strength. I'm exaggerating to some degree, but it's definitely a weakness of mine. Unfortunately, my dedication to "12 oz curls" have not resulted in improved strength. I might have to adjust my tactics - slightly. :)

My mother has kindly informed me of my lack of upper body strength and tells me that's why my golf game stinks. Ok, she didn't use those words exactly, but I know that's what she meant. She has a vested interest in my training sessions because I am her golf partner in an upcoming tournament. The stronger I am, the less she thinks she has to do. So, so wrong.

Thank you to everyone who gave me tips on how to avoid injuring myself in the gym. Why is it I've always been intimidated by the glove-wearing weight lifters? I just assume you have to know what you're doing and be really serious before you earn the right to wear them. Maybe I've been wrong all of these years and they're just sweaty like me. I think they prevent calluses and blisters, too. Yesterday wasn't nearly as sweaty and slippery so I'm hopeful that I won't make a fool of myself. I have another session tonight - lower body and core exercises. Yay!

By the way, only a 5 minute cardio warmup yesterday. Hardly worth reporting, but since the race in the cardio challenge is tight I need all of the help I can get.

Is That Normal?

I've discovered recently that I sweat a lot. Before I continue I should probably explain that I'm talking about situations where some kind of physical effort is involved. I don't just break out into a flop sweat when I brush my teeth or anything. Come to think of it, I do sweat a little when I blow dry my hair. That's not the point, but in my own defense I will say that I rarely set my AC below 82 so the occasional bead of sweat will appear at random times.

Back to my original statement regarding sweat and physical effort. I recently decided to sign up for some personal training sessions this summer. A friend of mine is a personal trainer and she was offering up some summer specials, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I tend to be more diligent if someone is expecting something out of me. I'm a people-pleaser so I can't help myself. So far I've had 2 of my 10 sessions and I think I've sweat more in those two sessions than I have in all my life. I honestly began to question my ability to hold onto the weights and equipment because of my sweaty hands. It became a big concern when I was laying down on a bench and lifting a slippery 25lb weight from over my chest, to over my head and toward the floor. How could I explain that I broke my nose and knocked out all of my teeth while exercising? Fortunately, that didn't happen but it was a distinct possibility. Having toned triceps didn't really seem worth it at that very moment.

If there is any chance that the amount of one's sweat equates to the number of calories one has burned - then I'm good for a few weeks. :)

One other matter that needs to be addressed...the Cardio Challenge. I have been woefully absent for the past few weeks. I'm hoping that a certain someone will grant me permission to count my 10 minute cardio warmups that my trainer includes in my training sessions (hey, it's not like I'm claiming I warm up for 60 minutes or anything). She doesn't allow me time to take photos of my cardio time.

10 minutes on a treadmill (Tuesday)

10 minutes on the elliptical (Friday)

30 minutes on the elliptical today, for which I have proof

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July!

Apparently I'm a Slow Learner

My plan was to get up this morning (check), water my plants and my sad tree (check) and go for a hike (check). Sounds like a lovely morning, doesn't it?


The morning was technically a success, however, I should have planned more wisely. I was distracted by a few things I needed to this morning and headed out for my hike later than originally planned. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but holy crap it was hot! It was already 100 degrees by 9am-ish. I've lived here for nearly three years and it still catches me off guard sometimes. I'm not so stupid that I don't take water with me, however. I was torn between my fuel belt and my Camelback (hydration backpack). I went with the fuel belt and probably should have gone with the Camelback since I was out there for over an hour.


My dearest mother/competitor had better count my cardio for the hike. I used my Garmin specifically for this reason - I want credit for the 1 hour and 4 minutes of cardio that I did out in the heat and climbing a mountain. The Colorado Rockies it was not, but it was still a big damn hill. That's 1 hour and 4 minutes for 3.52 miles. The "0.0" was my pace at the time I took the photo. No, I can't take photos and walk at the same time. The 11:28 was the time at which I took the picture (after I got home and had breakfast) and it's off an hour (should have read 10:28). More than you wanted to know, I'm sure.

Yesterday, was a relatively lazy day. I made a trip to the farmer's market to pick up a few items. The last time I went to this particular market, there was a Nebraska vendor selling pork products. I didn't stop to chat them up last time, but yesterday I decided to stop by and check out the goods. The company name is Pork on a Fork and they sell pork straight from their Nebraska farm. As a fellow Nebraskan, I felt I had to support their company. I picked up a pack of jalapeno bratwursts. I grilled them up last night and my roommate and I thought they were really good. Good for summer grillin'.

The other neat thing about the guy who runs the stand - he was wearing a t-shirt from the local Husker bar that I go to for football games during the fall. I'll have to look for him the next time I'm at Arena's for a game. It can't hurt to have a friend in the pork business, right? Actually, I don't know why I said that - I really don't eat that much pork. Now, if it was healthy to eat pounds of bacon everyday, I'd be all over it.

Have to go to the grocery store for other items for the week. I think I'm going to try panzanella salad this afternoon. It's mostly bread and fresh veggies, how bad could it be?

I'm One Hot Corner!

Last night was my first kickball game. I had missed the mandatory rules clinic and practice games last week so I had no idea what to expect and I was actually a bit nervous. From what my teammates had told me, we didn’t exactly play very well in the casual pickup games. I was expecting us to be a team of misfits – the kids who always got picked last in gym class. To add insult to injury, as one of the new teams in the league we were given the pistachio colored t-shirts. They aren’t as awful as you might think.

We didn’t win our first official game, but I thought we did really well. Apparently we played one of the best teams in the division, Rubber Balls & Liquor, and only lost 2-0. Our defense was really impressive and I think all credit should be given to our 3rd baseman. Oh wait, that’s me! Yes, I play the “hot corner”. Did you know that 3rd base is called the “hot corner”? News to me. I personally got 3 people out at 3rd base. That’s right – don’t mess with me and my base! Wade Boggs, George Brett and Mike Lowell have nothing on me. As for the 2 runs that the other team did manage to score, they had nothing to do with me.

Unfortunately, I can’t count any of my kickball activity last night as cardio. The agreed upon rule was that I had to kick a double (get to second base) or more in order for it to count. Well, no one on my team can say that they did that. We need to work on our offense. I had no idea a big, red rubber ball could roll so slowly toward the plate. I was expecting faster, bouncier pitches. Overall, it was a fun night. Next week’s opponent is “Don’t Come on My Base”.

A bit of irony for you on a Friday – I have a toe injury. Did I get it during the kickball game last night? No, I didn’t. I managed to drop my garbage can on my bare toe this morning and it’s still throbbing and is swollen. I actually can’t walk normally. I’ll be sure to use the family remedy of “stick it in some ice and you’ll be fine”.

Have a good weekend!