Women's World

I joined a gym 2 weeks ago because I heard on the radio that they were having a one-day special where you could join for $1 instead of the usual $99 or $199. I realized that I wasn't going to get back into exercising on my own because it's been over a year since Alisa was born and I hadn't done anything yet. I've been thinking about joining a women's gym for years so I didn't have to think twice about joining when I heard the special offer. I knew that the fact that I am now paying $49.99/month for a gym membership will motivate me to exercise, if only to get my money's worth.

Women's World is about 5 minutes from my house and they have free unlimited classes and childcare. It will certainly make it easier to exercise knowing that if Craig is busy, I can bring Alisa with me and drop her off in the awesome kids' room. They also make smoothies for $2-$3.50 so that's handy as you can get them with protein building or fat burning powder and even use them as a meal replacement. Most of the treadmills, ellipticals and stairmasters have little TVs attached so you can plug in some headphones and watch whatever while you exercise.

The day after I joined, I had my fitness assessment. I knew that I gained 10 pounds since Alisa was born (after having lost all the pregnancy gain by nursing), but I was horrified to hear that my BMI is 34% (last I had it checked was in college and it was 26%). My almost daily bowl of ice cream 2-3 hours before bedtime was a big contributor to this weight gain.

The next day I had the intro to circuit training (free with membership). I signed up for a month of personal training so my personal trainer was the one to show me how to use all the circuit training machines and what weight and number of reps to start with. She wrote it down on a log that I can use whenever I go there so I can easily keep track of what I do each time.

I'm most excited about attending the fitness classes. So far I've tried the Triple Twenty class, the Body Pump class and the Zumba class. I enjoyed and was challenged during all of them. The challenge during the Zumba class was more coordination than endurance. In case you don't know about Zumba (the newest rage), it's Latin-infused aerobic dancing. I have no dancing skills so I was very awkward during the class. However, nobody was paying attention to me so I wasn't too concerned. I will go again sometime because I enjoyed it and the music. It will just take time to learn the steps and become more comfortable shaking my hips and what not.

I had my first personal training session last week and boy was it tough! I enjoyed it though. My trainer showed me lots of moves with free weights that I had never seen before. A couple days later, I started the treadmill workout plan that my trainer developed. It's basically walking slow for 2 minutes, walking fast for 2 minutes, jogging for 2 minutes and then repeating each of the 3 for 3 minutes, then 4 minutes, then back down to 3 minutes and then 2 minutes (42 minutes total). As time goes on, I will be able to do each activity faster and will end up walking/jogging farther and burning more calories in the same amount of time. I'm supposed to do weight training every 3 days (to give my muscles time to repair in between workouts) and cardio 4-6 times per week (for at least 45 minutes each time) so that could be the treadmill workout or going to a class.

Anyway, everyone I've encountered at the gym has been really nice and helpful (staff and fellow exercisers). I like being there and that's a good sign. After all, my workouts wouldn't endure if I hated being at the gym.

I've been keeping a food log of all the foods (with portion sizes) I eat each day as recommended by my trainer. I haven't done a food log in years. It is kind of annoying but it is certainly eye opening to how many calories I take in. Also, just the fact that I have to write down everything I eat and knowing my trainer will see it, makes me think twice about whether or not I really want to eat that cookie or whatever. I won't have to do the log forever, just long enough to get a good idea on how to judge my caloric intake. To reach my goal weight of 135 lbs by spring (losing 1 lb/week), I need to consume 1200-1500 calories per day. On days that I exercise (burn 200+ calories) I can consume closer to 1500 calories. On days that I don't exercise, I should try to consume closer to 1200 calories. It is certainly an adjustment to cut down my caloric intake (I've been bad the past few months eating too much fast food and almost always eating a snack too close to bedtime) but I am getting there.

We'll see how I do during the holidays! It shouldn't be as difficult as last year because we won't be visiting family for Christmas (I'm sad about that) and therefore be bombarded by tasty treats every day.

Knitting Project - Scarf

I finally finished my first knitting project! I wasn't really in a hurry to finish it once I got going because I didn't know what I wanted to knit next. I mostly only worked on it for a couple hours each week when I met up with some other moms at a coffee shop so it took me 3 months to finish.

Here's my scarf, made from 60% Merino Wool, 20% Alpaca & 20% Silk (spun in Peru):




"Blocking" the completed scarf to keep the edges from curling up involves simply wetting it and pinning it down on foam board while it dries for a couple of days:

I have started my next project, which is a hat for Alisa. I wasn't able to take the hat class at the local yarn shop but I got the pattern from a friend who took the class and she is giving me pointers. It is certainly different knitting "in the round" so I'll let you know how it turns out.

Best Measuring Spoons

I have a set of plastic measuring spoons that aren't round or oval, but more of a rectangular shape. I love them but a few (including the very important teaspoon) have disappeared ever since my husband started using them to measure salt for soaking his ear piercings. I've been looking for measuring spoons that aren't round for many many months now because the round ones don't fit into spice containers as well. I finally found a set that is actually round on one end and oval on the other. That is so handy when you need to measure several spices and liquids in the same amount and don't want to wash or dry the spoons in between). As a bonus, there is a hidden magnet in the middle of each one so when they nestle together, they STAY together in the drawer. Perfect! Well, almost perfect...there is no 1/8 tsp so I'll have to use the one from my other set.

Price Dropped Again

And now gas is down to $2.51/gallon for regular unleaded. I never understood why they change the price so often, even just by a penny sometimes!

Even Cheaper Gas

Gas is down to $2.55/gallon for regular unleaded. Even better.

Sick

I was sick this past weekend (stuffy/runny nose, felt a bit weak, had no energy) and I didn't leave the house for 2 days (Sunday & Monday). The first thing I did when I finally did step outside, was to take Alisa to another pumpkin patch. Last night was the first night in many days that I slept well. What a relief! I'm not used to waking up numerous times during the night and having trouble falling back asleep so it really affected me. I really hate going to bed with a stuffy/runny nose.

My nose is still randomly runny. I'll be fine for a few hours and then super drippy for an hour. I've literally used an entire box of Kleenex!

Gas Prices are Down

Gas is down to $2.77/gallon for regular unleaded. Hooray!

New Ice Cream Flavor

I just discovered my new favorite ice cream flavor--Ben & Jerry's Cinnamon Buns. I don't usually buy (or even look at) the Ben & Jerry's ice cream because it's expensive, only comes in a small size, and has almost twice the calories as other brands. But boy, is it delicious!! I absolutely LOVE cinnamon rolls and ice cream, so to put the two together is bliss!

Assistant Organizer of Local Mom's Group

I joined a local Moms' group in April this year, a week after Alisa turned one. I would have joined sooner if I had known about it. Anyway, I made a lot of new friends and happened to meet some of the assistant organizers at the first few meetups I went to (book club meeting, scrapbooking night and a Mom's Night Out). At the end of September, when an assistant organizer (AO) moved to another state and another one stepped down for personal reasons, my AO friend asked if I wanted to be one too. I gladly said yes.

My main job is to schedule events for the calendar. I also can approve (or deny) new members, respond to message board posts, email members and check the main email account. I've been having a blast so far. October was a busy month with lots of fall festivals around town. I'm sure the rest of the year will be busy too with holiday events.

Recipe Blog

This is what I should be doing tonight:


But this is what I am actually doing tonight (the 1st post explains the blog):

http://www.recipejunkies.blogspot.com

Fixed Leak

We survived the week without the A/C on. It was kinda rough on 2 of the days that were hotter, but we made it. Brian came and fixed the pipe today. Turns out there wasn't a crack in the pipe, the connector part just wasn't glued on! It's surprising that it didn't leak before this! Thankfully, the ceiling in our bathroom dried well and left no water spots/stains.