May 7, 2013
I am absolutely pleased to say that the semester is finished! If nothing catastrophic happens with the grading of my paper, I should be looking at 2 A’s and an A+ for my final grades. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
This semester was a rough one. All of my classes were labor intensive and all were complicated in different ways. Now that they are finished, I find myself relishing the thought of a summer unencumbered by schoolwork. I am sure I will pay for that later, I should just be getting on with it, but I am not feeling it this semester. A break is warranted.
This semester was also full of work for, well, work. My job was very busy for the last several months. We had a triennial program review to plan, execute, and generally have nightmares over. I had several, and they increased in repetition the closer we got to the review. I am happy to report that every went well, and I think I would have received an A+ on that assignment as well.
So I have been busily finishing up school and work projects, going in and out of the box and working my butt off to build a little muscle and endurance. (And burn off stress and stave off fatigue at the same time.) I missed a lot of hoop class, but still managed some hoop time, and even got my Jay into the spirit on Take Our Kids to Work Day. He hooped with my trainer and she rewarded him with a gorgeous smile, and a big hug.
Over the last two weekends, Ed and I, with the help of Ed’s son Justin and his best friend Jacob (assisted by the most adorable 2-year old foreman you ever met) started working to rejuvenate the front yard.
Justin, Ed, and Jacob, working on the yard.
Now that we have lovely level dirt, we have to dig some more to lay the irrigation system. I have been banished from digging, as the King says watching me dig raises his blood pressure. Its too bad he didn’t feel that way about letting me move rock, he seemed all for that! No matter, no digging for me! While Ed is digging, I can be busy going to the box, and hot yoga, maybe even a farmer’s market or two… Until the irrigation is down, I won’t have much to do. Once it is in, however, I will be busy planting and making the yard look beautiful!
The puppy has grown into a horse, which we knew he would but it took us by surprise anyway. He is, at 6 months, able to reach up and stare over the kitchen counters. He is twice the size of Saki dog, and although he is large and ungainly, he is also a big teddy bear who just loves to be loved on. I am also happy to report that the dogs and cat are living together in what can only be called disdainful acceptance. Which is fine with me, they are not bothering each other.
So, all in all, the summer season is starting off well with good news all around and lots of fun things to keep me going. I am thankful for the reprieve from school work, and looking forward to a summer filled with new adventures and hopefully some familiar faces. Maybe a visitor or two. Maybe some fun trips to new places. Who knows. I will make sure to keep you posted. No matter what, I am blessed to have so many wonderful people to share this summer with!
April 12, 2013
Well, I am definitely getting busy with work! Actually, that is just fine with me, I like to be busy and the upcoming program review has kept me (and a small army of other people) hopping with work to keep up. As happy as I am to be busy, I honestly can’t wait for it to be over as I have been stressing over it since the day I took the job! Two more weeks, and then I am going to sleep for three days… And start obsessing over some other thing with a deadline and a high level of stress that my crazy boss has gotten himself into.
The semester is almost over (yay!) and I only have a few more assignment, a 5 page paper, 3 shorter papers, 5 quizzes, 3 psych studies, and a final exam. Yeah, that’s barely anything… Cake.
I did get my mid-term back from my Microeconomics class. And let me tell you, this was a Herculean effort to complete. I have been working on this project for a month and I flat out thought I would fail. This professor is TOUGH! I didn’t fail, I got 215/200, so not too shabby. My gosh I will be glad when this class ends. It has been soooooo stressful! I will say, however, that the “A” I earned on this project is one of the ones I am most proud of in my second scholastic career.
We certainly do…
I had some great box time this week. A work out with Angie and Tea is always fun! And, of course, my girl Barb pushes me to do my best every single time! What was really awesome this week? I had the chance to work with all three of the Cantina Coaches. I tend to see a lot of Dustin on weeknights, but I actually got to work with Chad and Mike this week too. It was great to have the benefit of all the guys and their input on my performance. They are all pretty amazing coaches, and really great guys.
I had a nice coffee/tea date with my girl Toni-Lei and walked the park with my girl Rebekah too. I had more lessons in wielding a stick, and got to talk to Daddy on the phone. (Which is a big deal, beacause the Masters was on, and he didn’t even seem to be angry that I had interrupted golf watching!)
Today I even threw a little dirt around and planted some more flowers, and got to greet my King Edward at the door when he got home. I would say I am pretty happy. Why not? I have friends, family, and a beautiful series of little moments to cherish.
I have a good life, and I am lucky enough to recognize it.
March 24, 2013
I spent 48 hours doing homework. Ok, maybe I took a break to eat, once or twice. And maybe I went to the bathroom a couple of times. But for the most part, I spent 48 hours doing school work.
Thank goodness for coffee!
I did manage to get 5 quizzes done, (4) 100% and (1) 96%. I also wrote a five page paper, read two chapters, viewed countless PowerPoints and videos and ran more Google searches that any one person should have to do. But I am all caught up and off for a week of Spring Break! (Woo hoo!) Thanks goodness for my new Keurig! Coffee on demand!
I did manage to get the groceries bought, and make a beautiful dinner for Sunday night. I am not about to start the week without food!
Blackberry Pistachio Salad
This is a total steal from my box’s nutrition page. The guys at Cantina CrossFit posted a Pistachio salad that looked delish, you can find their recipe here. I found blackberries on sale, however, so I made a few changes to the recipe.
Ida’s Awesome Blackberry Salad
1 1/2 cups of spinach
1/12 cups spring mix
3/4 cup small yellow tomatoes, halved
1 plum tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1/2 fresh avocado
3/4 cup fresh blackberries
2 small cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup pistachio nuts
cracked black pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
I added some light Italian to my salad, but you can do whatever you like to finish it off. It was super yummy, so give this one a try, or do like I did, and make a version of your own!
Hope you all have a wonderful week, remember that no matter how overwhelming your day is, there is always time to find some small item to be thankful for. Like blackberries on sale, or a supply of fresh coffee.
March 1, 2013
So this was a pretty big week! Here’s how it went…
I have been really enjoying my Crossfit experience, and one of the coaches talked me into giving it a two week test drive. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday in the box. My friend from the Saturday morning Meetups, Barbara, goes at that time also, so it worked out pretty good. I was going to start last week, but got sidelined by the stomach bug. So Monday, February 25, I headed over to Cantina Crossfit to start my new workout regimen. Fear and Panic, followed by Pain and Suffering, with a healthy dose of Awe and Confidence to finish it up. That is pretty much my experience. I freak out panic all day that I won’t be able to do what they ask of me, then I push as hard as I can to be able to do it. At the end out each session I am amazed that I was able to achieve the goal for the day, even if I finish dead last, or have to scale back for my strength. Crazy, huh?
Monday’s W.O.D.
So, my first weekday workout, and they are doing squats, and presses, and pullups. Weightlifting and Ida lifting all at once. (I won’t tell you which is harder, but the weighted bar was only 45 pounds, so I am sure you could guess. Just not out loud please, I do have my pride.)
Monday’s new skill. This is why I feel amazing after Crossfit. That really is me!
This week was also really homework intensive. Microeconomics is becoming my chief academic nemesis, and the sheer volume of reading involved in Psychology and History is starting to overwhelm. Although I have a much better understanding of ancient civilizations and what perception really means…. I am still a little rocky on our to understand the marginal cost of something as related to the number of units to produce, but I am working on it.
Tuesday I did go to the sculpt and strengthen class at lunch, and it kicked my butt because I was still tired from Monday night, so I may not do that again! But we will see. Wednesday, hoop class where I am still working on isolations and my new direction change move, then back to the box where Barb and I had a lot more company than on Monday. Three younger women, and a couple whose children sat quietly doing their homework while Mom and Dad worked out. It was another tough workout, but I am starting to get the sneaking suspicion that the whole point is to make it tough. And they are doing a fine job of it if that is the case.
Wednesday workout. Double-unders really do suck!
I came in with the last time for our group, but I really don’t mind. The interesting thing about recording your time or reps for the workout of the day, it seems like you would compete against everyone else, but you don’t. Well, not really. Because even though everyone is doing the same workout, each person has a different level of achievement or progression, so you are only ever really competing with yourself. I know there is a gripping metaphor for life their somewhere, but I will let you find your own version of it, it should be scaled to your own existence, just like this workout was scaled to mine.
I did try and study a little on Wednesday night, but it seemed my attentions were needed elsewhere…
Saki felt I had studied enough today.
Thursday I managed to finish all of my homework, get quite a bit of work done, clean the kitchen, take a 50 minute walk with my Miss Rebekah and still have coffee with my girls Toni-Lei and Stephanie. It has become increasingly hard to find time for all three of us to get together, and we are now down to about once a month. Toni’s business is really starting to pick up with her real estate and property management business, Couture Brokerage, and Steph has a handful with working crazy hours and watching her grandson several times a week. But it is nice that we all have a chance to get together even if its limited, and more importantly, that we still work to find time together.
Friday was my day off (yay!) and I took the opportunity to sleep in until almost 7:00 a.m. before getting up to feed the puppies and then start my day of leisure. I did hit the scale first, and check it out!
2.8 away from my next marker!
Dig my awesome socks. I have them in six colors….
I am now only 2.8 pounds away from my next weight goal. This has taken over a year and I am super excited to think I will hit 150! Now I can work on strength and conditioning, you know, in case of a zombie apocalypse…
Friday morning I met my friend Alyssa for tea at Figments Tea Shoppe and we had a pot of their delicious chocolate raspberry truffle black tea. And since we were in the tea shoppe and enjoying a pot over scones, we had to find the perfect tea party hats as well. Luckily, Figments supplies a nice variety to pick from.
A Friday morning Tea Party
This week was busy, and a little overwhelming. But it was also very rewarding, and filled with accomplishment. Its nice that we can balance that sense of panic and pressure with an appreciate of achievement and joy. I think that is what makes our human existence so unique, the limitless amount we can feel and experience at any given time. I know I am grateful that I can carry both drive and contentment with me throughout my life.
See you all soon, have a great week, and try and find a moment for a spot of tea! (I have a great hat you can borrow.)
February 15, 2013
Okay, I know, “Where have you been?” The truth is, I have been overwhelmed and overloaded for the last ten days. Between work, and school, and home, and family, and friends, and health commitments, I have not had a lot of time to sit down and blog. But I missed you guys, and I missed sharing with you, so let’s get caught up.
Since we last spoke, I have been to two sculpt and strength classes, spent 4 hour hooping, one yogalates class, three sessions at the gym, and session of kick-your-butt crossfit. I have also been trying those ViSalus shakes and I have to admit they are really good. I have tried about four different recipes with everything from chia and oatmeal to pistachio and cocoa. All came out really delicious! Even the King seems to like them. Considering he despises anything that would be considered healthy, that is pretty amazing.
Over the last ten days, I have also spent about 19 hours on school work and another hour and a half on psychology research studies. As we get further into the semester, the assignments are getting tougher, and more interesting. I think three classes may be more than I should have grabbed this semester, but at the same time, I think I am glad I took all three.
Along with all of my responsibilities this week, I have had some really great moments. I was shocked to discover that several people actually recognized me from my speech at the Biggest Loser kickoff. I spent several hours of time yelling at and snuggling with my dogs and my kitty. My friend Cindy got her hula hoop and is digging it, which is so gratifying, because I love to see people pick up the hoop for the first time an find a little joy with it.
Our first Valentine’s Day together
We also celebrated some pretty impressive milestones around here. On February 12, my Moms and Daddy celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary. A pretty impressive number. They have truly been wonderful role models and I am fortunate to have such a great example of what it takes to make love work. And just yesterday, King Edward and I celebrated our 4th anniversary, which we both agree is absolutely shocking and highly unlikely.
So, there, I think we are all caught up again. I am hoping for a good weekend of crossfit, hot yoga, friends, furry kids, and a little rest. I know that no matter what else it may contain the next few days will hold lots of laughter. What else could you possibly want out of life?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go hit the books
February 4, 2013
I got to stay home today! I didn’t get to sleep in and I spent most of the day doing homework, but I got to stay home, and that is awesome!
I decided to take a vacation day thinking that Ed would get a day off as well, but he ended up having to go into work, so I got the whole day to myself. I worked on finishing up my reading for ECON, got a jumpstart on HIST and PSY and generally immersed myself in my academic life. I also played with the dogs, did a few loads of laundry, and watched about four episodes of Supernatural. (Jensen Ackles makes me smile. A lot.) I was so happy that I had gotten so much homework done that I took an hour and a half and went to go meet my friend Cathy for Jazzercize.
I know what you are thinking. Jazzercize?
The Ultimate 80’s Workout?
But it really wasn’t like that. No leotards, no legwarmers, and no braided headbands taming Olivia Newton John hairdos. They didn’t even play Let’s Get Physical! The new look of Jazzercize is way more modern and actually kicked my butt pretty good. We did stretching, low impact, high impact, worked with hand weights, even did a little Gangnam Style. It was a blast! I am not sure I would do it every week, but I will definitely go back again. It was just plain fun, and a great workout.
I love trying new things, and I appreciate it so much that I have friends like Cathy to point me in new directions and help me find new experiences. Not just in fitness, but in every aspect of life, the opportunity to share new things with good friends is something to cherish.
All in all a really wonderful day off.
The Unfolding Universe of Idabelle 