What???

Ya, I started running on the treadmill again.   It went good.  NOT!!  Up until  2009 when I was dealing with a bulging disc in my neck, I was running on the treadmill.  Ok, running intervals on the treadmill is perhaps the most accurate statement.  But once I injured my neck, the physical therapists said, "no more treadmill till your neck heals."  Ok then. My neck healed, but I remained on the eliptical and never went back to the treadmill.

When I quit, I was interval training at 2-3 minutes from 5.5 -  6.0 mph with a recovery of 1-2 minutes at 4.0 mph....running upwards to an hour.  Not great, but not too shabby. 

Today?  2 minutes at 4.3 - 4.5mph  with a recovery of 2 minutes at 3.5mph.  OMG!!  Ugggh!!  Me, being me, just found my next challenge/goal.  I WILL get back to my pre-injury interval speeds.   Disclaimer: Unless I develop neck symptoms again.

Other than that, my workout was smokin today!  I did five miles (between the treadmill and the eliptical) and did my weights as well; arms, shoulders, chest, legs, and abs.   My reward?  Twenty minutes in the sauna listening to some great tunes.  A GREAT way to unwind.

Weekend Update...

First of all, let me say this….I’m mourning the passing of another weekend (sighs).  They go all too quickly.

So, what was going on this weekend? Nothing.  Natta.  Zip! 

Friday…well, let’s just say that I wanted to go out and cut loose on the town.  However, being considerate of the spousal unit with whom I live with, I opted for the confines of my easy chair, cozy blanket and one or two Mike’s Hard Lemonades.  And No Becky!  I am NOT a lush!  (My friend Becky said I was a lush).  I replied that a lush is one who opens and drinks a bottle of wine in one sitting.  Now, although I may have WANTED to do such a deed, I assure you (and her) that I opted to stick with my two Mike’s.  That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!. J

The usual mundane house cleaning woes ensued as Saturday sun broke the dawn…that’s a given on any weekend.  I tried to sleep in, but the darned internal alarm clock went off loud and strong at 6:30am.   I cleaned, I cooked, I cleaned the cat litter, I vacuumed cat hair, filled the cat dish.  Hmmm, I see a discernable pattern here! Yes, Boris Battenhoff Schutt rules the roost and doesn’t let me forget it either.

I hit the gym for two hours.  That felt really good actually.  I had a super-duper play list going on the iPod that had me totally rocking the elliptical for 45 minutes and kept me company through my weight lifting.  It was awesome.  I worked off some steam, some frustration, thought out some game plans on a few projects I have going and just plain zoned out during my last rep of weights.  I did the gas station ($70) – OMG!! The grocery store ($150) OMFG!! And proceeded home licking my money woe-wounds.  Holy crap things are getting expensive!  I think it’s time I saddle up a cow and start riding it to work! 

Hubs took me out to see Hall Pass with Owen Wilson. A good movie with a few good messages hidden in there. Worth seeing – but I’d wait to see it on DVD if I were you…not worth the ticket, jumbo popcorn and mega drink prices! J  (how’s THAT for a movie review).

Sunday you ask?  Sent a shout out to my good friend Steve who was having a birthday! ( Hey Steve, if you’re reading this…hope you partied like a rockstar!) J Then dallied the day away downloading new music from iTunes, watched the new Starz series sneak peak of Camelot (I’m going to LOVE this one and already have it set to record on the DVR!).  My niece Joan (Doctor in Training) is home from Minneapolis so my sister Peggy (the wine drinker!) called and invited us in to town for a drink at her house then out to IDK for supper.  The only problem with that is, when we arrived at her house she was sick (stomach icks).  We took Joan out for supper without Peggy (don’t need the yucks, thank you very much!) and had a very nice time chatting and catching up with my niece/God-daughter!   As we dropped her off and were driving away, I told T, “No matter what she does in life, I’ll always remember her as the little 3-yr old girl with the play stethoscope wanting to fix it and make it better.”  (Sorry Joan, that is one memory that I’ll always have of you!  Love you girl!!!!). :-)

The rest of the night was spent getting ready for work, packing lunch, yoga bag, getting wardrobe laid out, doing nails and watching the season premiere of Army Wives.    

Lesson to the blog entry:  I don’t need a lot – just the simple things – to make life good.

Sherry

 

Celebration...

Good Morning,

The fact that it is Friday is reason enough to celebrate.  However, this post is about my nephew Blaine Joseph Schulz.

Blaine called me last night to boast his wonderful performance evaluation.  He was awarded a raise, a Wal-Mart coat, and told he was head stockman due to the fact that he’s been there for 13 years.  He was positively flying high, as well he should be.  In his words, “it’s nice to be recognized for all the hard work I do.”

Isn’t it though?  That is all any of us want, really.  The fact that he has a mental disability is no exception to that rule.  I don’t know very many of us that would be out in a parking lot pushing carts in freezing, sub-zero temperatures, snow, sleet, rain, sweltering temperatures and everything else in between.  I do not know that I could do that job day after day, week after week, let alone for 13 years!

I’m quite proud of my man Blaine!  I informed him that we’d be going out to the IDK for pizza and beer in the very near future to celebrate this proud moment in life. 

Lesson: sometimes it’s not the huge, monumental things in life that mean the most to a person.  Sometimes a word of praise or to be recognized for who we are is all it takes to make a person’s day. 

 

 

Escape from Reality

That’s what I need…and I need it NOW!

The weather isn’t doing much for my sunny disposition.  I do yoga, and it helps tremendously, but I long for the days when I can slide my toes in to a pair of flip-flops and skip out the door, feeling the sun on my skin and knowing that when I leave home in the morning I may just actually get back home at night. (sighs).

So, I am doing everything that I can think of to escape from reality.  I take long, hot bubble baths …play soothing music, drink wine (LOTS of wine!, daydream about Bora Bora, listen to Zac Brown Band (ZBB) songs about “toes in the sand” and gaze longingly at pictures of Bora Bora a dear friend has so thoughtfully sent me via email. I know I’m not alone in my misery; every poor NoDak stuck in the frozen tundra is in the exact same boat as me. L

So, what’s new?

Wish I could say a lot, but really, it’s not all that exciting being me right now.  ~L~ 

Ooohhh Wait!! I DO have one thing to report.

I have a mouse in my vehicle!!  (shivers).  Ya....whatsup with that??!

I took my yoga mat out and found  a nice little chew mark on the end , the shape of a half-moon..along with little mouse “calling cards”…if you know what I mean! (snorts)  I was NOT amused.  Hubs, of course, said “set a mouse trap”.  Ok, sure…but how the heck did the lil devil get in there?! And how many are there?  Will one mouse trap be enough??!! Perish the thought!

So, I commence to setting the trap somewhere that I can see it every day.  (Heaven forbid I should catch a mouse and NOT see it!)  I should mention right here and now, that I made the disclaimer right away that if 1) The lil devil went dancing across my dashboard whilst I was driving or 2) The mousetrap snapped at any point during my travels from point A to B, I was NOT responsible for any traffic accidents that might be incurred!  Just sayin!!.

Every morning I load up the 4Runner, I dutifully check the trap.  Nothing. 

Every night I say a prayer that said mouse left for greener pastures (ya, I know! It’s the frozen tundra…there IS NO greener anything in sight!).  Never hurts to try though. (sighs heavily).  Little bugger is probably under my seat munching on the delectable morsels of food that I drop while eating and driving, thinking “man, this is the good life!”  Grrrrrr!

Anywho, when I catch the lil creature, you will ALL hear the shouts of glee and read all about it on this blog.

Until then, life on the frozen tundra goes on.

Namaste’

Sherry