Last workout of 2010

I had another great workout this morning, despite having woken up in pain.  Worked my back because it hurt, and my abs to balance the back.  Then I did 20 minutes on the bike, and 10 minutes on the stair-stepper!  Two weeks ago, I couldn't even do half that on the stair-stepper!  I've built up my stamina pretty well so far!  I still look about the same, and my measurements haven't changed, but I'm getting stronger.  I'm even considering trying Zumba next week!  That might be just what I need to kick the actual weight-loss into gear.  I've gained five pounds; of muscle, I'm assuming.  And muscle burns fat, so I'm just waiting for that to start happening.  Come on, muscles, do your thing!

Hope y'all have a great New Year's Eve!  I'll be spending the evening with my best friends, chatting and knitting!

Working through the pain...

Went and worked my arms and shoulders this morning, since they were the only parts of my body that didn't hurt from my fall yesterday.  I only did 20 minutes of cardio, on the bike.  My back and ribs and hips are so sore.  I took a bath that seemed to have more epsom salt than water, and it helped some, except that my upper back slipped out of place again while I was pouring in the salt. Argh.  So this afternoon I gave up and took a nap.  I'm hoping hubby can pop my back when he gets home from the football game he and his dad went to today; the chiropractor is closed today, and probably tomorrow for the New Years holiday.  Okay, I'm off to beg Angel to put BioFreeze on my back.

What a fun day!

We went to Galveston today, to visit Moody Gardens with Hubby's dad.  We had a great time!  I made some progress on "Evellyn Anne" during the drive...

 One of the really fun activities we got to do was go ice skating!  I haven't been ice skating in years, so I was pretty excited about it.  I didn't get to go to the gym today since we headed out early, so I decided to count ice skating as my exercise for the day.  And believe me, it's good exercise!  My legs, back and backside are pretty sore, but that could also be partly due to my HUGE wipeout... I was skating pretty fast, and came around a curve, and didn't get my feet under myself quickly enough.  All 170 pounds of me went down HARD on the ice.  I'm gonna have a heckuva bruise on my backside, which nobody but hubby and I will ever see, but I survived the shock to my bum and the hit to my pride and got back up and skated for quite a while longer.  The girls fell several times as well, but not as spectacularly as I did.  

Angel had only ever gone ice skating once before, but had lots of practice with her rollerblades, so she did really well.  She skated all around the rink by herself the whole time!  She kept her balance fairly well, and had a lot of fun!

 I spent most of my time helping Princess.  It was her first time ever, and she did awesome!  She was scared at first; hubby took her around a few times and let her basically hang on his arm and make him do the work.  I refused to do that with her.  I held her hand but told her she had to push with her own feet.  Within twenty minutes, she was skating by herself!  She wasn't too graceful, but she refused to give up.  I'm so proud of her.

 The above can serve as my "two-and-a-half-weeks-exercising in-progress" picture.  I have a lot more stamina and range of motion than I did three weeks ago, and my thighs and butt aren't quite as chunky.  Can you believe that tall girl is my little Princess?

Here's a shot of the beach as we drove past...

 The waves were pretty wild.  It was rainy and windy, but we saw several crazy people out there surfing!  In December!

Here's a pic from the Aquarium at Moody Gardens....my girls in a shark cage!

An Almost-Oops.

I had a great workout this morning.  Worked my abs and back, then did 20 minutes on the bike and 10 on the elliptical.  I pedaled faster and ran faster than I've been doing.  Got my heart-rate up a little too high.  I almost blacked out.  Felt dizzy on the drive home, stumbled into the house and collapsed on the floor.  Still feeling a little dizzy now, half an hour after finishing my workout.  I'm drinking ice water, which is helping.

This has happened before, but not in a long time.  It could have been really bad.  I'm glad I made it home.  And glad I had a terrific workout. Haha.

Yup, another post about exercise.

Went to the gym; worked arms and shoulders, then did 20 minutes on the bike and 10 on the elliptical.  I didn't want to do the elliptical, but I needed to.  It wasn't fun, but I'm glad I did it.  Time for a shower, and then I need to run errands. Blah.

Back to the gym...

Went to the gym this afternoon.  Worked back and legs, and did 20 minutes on the bike and 5 minutes on the elliptical.  My ankle and knee just didn't want to cooperate.  It wasn't an awesome workout, but better than nothing.  Now I want a nap.  So worn out from all the excitement and preparation for Christmas.  I feel like I could sleep until New Year.  I am so going to be better organized next Christmas.  I don't want to be so over-stressed at the last minute again.

Merry Christmas!

Despite a dubious start, it's turning out to be a good Christmas at the Knitter house.  The turkey was delicious, the potatoes were absolutely wonderful(I'll be making them with Lactaid milk from now on!), and the kids were so stuffed that they didn't even think to ask about dessert.  Which I forgot to make.  Oops.

This has been a very disorganized season for me.  Angel's Christmas tree is still completely bare, because she was waiting for me to put the lights on.  Kinda moot at this point.  At this moment, the girls and I are watching Return of the Jedi on tv.  Hubby is skype-ing with his aunt, and Hubby's dad is, presumably, taking a nap.  A little while ago, Angel was "teaching Princess to sew".  They made a bookmark out of flannel, which was promptly given to Mommy.  It's terrific for a first project without grownup help! 

Angel is very excited about her gift from "Grandpa Claus"...a real sewing machine!  Tomorrow or the next day, we'll find some time to get it set up and figure out how it works.  I handed her the manual and told her to read through it, so she'll know, at least intellectually, how to use it.  Princess's old bike was officially too small for her, so "Grandpa Claus" got her a brand new one, without training wheels!  Kitty's gift from "Grandpa Claus" is a Leapster, which we will figure out tomorrow or the next day.  But her favorite gift was a little stuffed kitty that I picked up at Hobby Lobby as a gift "from daddy".  All three girls got lightsabers "from Uncle J" and they all agree they're their second-favorite gifts.  Santa filled the stockings with candy, so I'm predicting a few days of wired kids.  Hubby got me some Black Hills Gold earrings(which he kept secret since September!), and his dad got me the art I've been eyeing for months!  As soon as I can borrow a tall ladder from my neighbors, I'll have prints of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution gracing my front entry!  I did get a little yarny goodness, and I can hardly wait to cast on, but I need to finish a few projects first.

No workout today, as the gym is closed for the Holiday.  I was planning on going for a walk, but I'm still in my jammies at 4pm, so I'm not sure that's going to happen.

Anyway, Merry Christmas!  I hope you are having a happy holiday, and your stress level is low.

Christmas Eve workout

I had a pretty good workout this morning.  Worked abs and back, then did 20 minutes on the bike and 10 on the elliptical.  According to Hubby(who seems to think he's an expert in the field of fitness, despite the fact that he weighs 300 pounds) you don't actually burn any fat until you've had your heart rate up in the proper range for 20 minutes.  I don't know that that is necessarily true, but in case it is...that's why I came up with the idea of doing the bike first.  I can pedal for 20 minutes more easily than I can run on the elliptical for 20 minutes.  For some reason, my joints like the bike better.  So I get my heart rate up for 20 minutes on the bike, then switch to the elliptical, which burns more calories than the bike.  Of course, the weight training I do before cardio also gets my heart rate up.  Either way, I'm hoping to start seeing a real difference soon.

The gym is closed tomorrow, so I'll have to make do with my handweights and rollerblades.  Merry Christmas!

Almost forgot to post..

I've been so insanely busy today that I almost forgot to post my workout, so without further ado...

Worked my arms and shoulders, did 10 minutes on the elliptical and 10 minutes on the bike.

And I hate Christmas shopping.

That's all I've got the energy to say.  Good night, internet.

A great workout

Went to the gym this morning(as usual, haha).  Worked my legs, abs and back.  Then did 20 minutes(7 miles!) on the bike.  I didn't use the heart rate sensors, so it didn't adjust on me this time.  After that, I had a little energy left over, so I did 10 minutes(almost a mile) on the elliptical.  I had to talk myself through the last couple of minutes, but I made it. ☺

Aside from my energy level and stamina, I haven't seen any major changes.  I haven't lost any weight, because I'm building muscle, and muscle is heavier than fat.  My hips and thighs have shrunk a little, but not much.  I'll wait to take an "in progress" picture until I can see more of a change.  Maybe by New Years Day; that'll be three weeks of working out every day.  Which reminds me I need to ask if the gym will be open on Christmas Day; I know the Kids Club will be closed, but I can leave the kids home with Hubby and his dad if the gym will be open.  If it won't, I'll just do some exercises at home, and go for a walk in the neighborhood.

I'm off to clean house some more; Hubby's dad's plane out of North Dakota was delayed, and he missed his connecting flight by five minutes, so spent the night in Colorado.  He should be here tonight.  I'm glad, because it gives me a little more time to finish cleaning.

I should not be swatching...

I should be working on this:

Excuse the color; it's actually much brighter green than this.  This is my Evellyn Anne blanket sample for Knit Picks; it's about 18 inches wide now.  There's still a lot of work to do on it.  But I got distracted...by this:

I had the idea of making another in-the-round square blanket, this time with cables instead of lace.  I'm just swatching at this point, but I'm liking what I see.  Each panel started with the center plaited cable, then came the rope cables that twist toward that center braid.  And as you can see, I've just started the next columns of cables; ropes that twist away from the other ropes.  After that will come another set of braids....and ropes twisting towards the braids, and ropes twisting away from the other ropes....you get the idea.  So far, I love it.  I'm using worsted weight "I Love This Wool" from Hobby Lobby and size 9 needles, so that the stitches are not so tight.  This yarn is great for cables, and it's very warm and snuggly.  In fact, I'm loving this so much, I might have to go buy some more of this yarn in this color, to finish it!  I had planned on just doing a swatch, and using it as a potholder, but I find myself wanting to see how it would look as a whole blanket.  I was thinking baby blanket, but now I'm wondering how much yarn it would take to make it 5 feet wide, so I can snuggle up under it!  I'm also wondering (naturally) whether Knit Picks would like it...

♥

I had a much better workout this morning.  Worked my arms and shoulders.  I'll probably be a bit sore tomorrow, but that's alright with me.  I was able to pop my back last night, so that pain is almost gone, thank God.  I only did 10 minutes on the elliptical, and the last three were torture because my ankle and knee popped.  I made it to ten, and switched to a stationary bike, which I did for 13 minutes.  I was going to do 20 on the bike, but the darn thing automatically adjusted the resistance on me, and the last minute or so I was talking to myself: "Don't give up. Come on. You can do it. Don't give up. Damn this hurts. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't..."  It didn't work, and I bet everyone around me thought I was nuts.  I gave up.  I'll do better tomorrow.  So long as the machines let me tell them what I want to do instead of the other way around.

I noticed in the mirror last night that my thighs were looking better, so I measured them this morning: 26 inches.  *Sigh*  My waist used to be 26 inches, once upon a time.  Okay, so that was a long time ago, but still...

What do you do when you don't feel like working out?

Ugh.  Woke up in pain, and feeling "off" in general.  Took a handful of Advil, and some caffeine to kick-start myself, then off to the gym.  I had decided to not work my back today, and do abs and legs instead.  But every movement was making my back feel worse, so I changed my mind and did some back exercises as well.  Felt unfocused the entire time, but the back exercises did help a little.  I also inclined one of the ab benches to as sharp an incline as I could (close to 45 degrees) and hung upside-down on it to stretch my back.  That was my dad's suggestion; I inherited back issues from him, so he knows whereof he speaks.  That helped some too.  Forced myself to do 20 minutes on the elliptical, because it's good for me.  LOL.

This is one of those days when I did NOT want to workout, but did it anyway.  I'm sure I'll be glad I did(someday), but right now...it wasn't a good workout, I didn't enjoy it, and now I feel worse than before I went.  I'd better get some food in me; I feel like I might be sick if I don't.  I just want to go back to bed, but I can't.

I need to clean house today and tomorrow; my father-in-law is arriving tomorrow night to spend Christmas with us, and the house is a mess.

Exercise yes, Knitting no.

I forgot to knit yesterday.  Actually, my hands were hurting, so I didn't.  I hate when the weather changes; it makes my joints hurt. (There I go, sounding like an old person again!)  Add in all the exercise I've been doing, and my sore muscles....I wasn't even able to finish combing Angel's hair after her bath last night.  I felt so bad about it; her hair tangles so easily, and we haven't found a conditioner that works well enough to get it untangled easily.  And poor mommy couldn't do it.  I told her she'd have to finish, because I could hardly grip the comb.  Anyway, enough whining.  I'm going to try to knit today.  I need to make some more progress on that blanket!

Went to the gym after church.  I'm now a full-fledged member!  Worked my back again, and it felt good while I was doing it.  Still doesn't feel too bad; hoping that continues.  Also did some work on my chest and shoulders.  Then 20 minutes on the stationary bike.  That darn bike wouldn't register my heart rate, so I gave up on keeping track of it and just pedaled.  According to the machine, I biked over 6 miles in 20 minutes. ☺ It wasn't as strenuous a workout as the elliptical or the treadmill, but boy, did I feel it(and see it!) right after!  My leg muscles were bulging under my fat; my thighs looked enormous.  It felt like the muscles were going to explode right through the fat and the skin!  Haha.  I think I'm going to take some advil and a nap.  Then I'll try knitting afterward.

Workout...

Since the only time my back doesn't hurt is when I'm using it, I decided to work my back today at the gym.  It seemed to help at the time, but it hurts now.  I did a little work on my abs too.  I only did 20 minutes on the elliptical, because my legs were already complaining before I got on it, thanks to the 30 minutes I did yesterday.  So it was a short workout, but a good one.  Tomorrow I'll have to wait until after church to exercise.

Haven't knit a stitch today.  Yesterday either.  Need to make time this evening.

Another day, another workout.

Today's workout: abs and legs, and 30 minutes on the elliptical.  It was good.  Then I stretched, and my back popped.  Yep, same spot as usual, right between my shoulderblades.  I'm hoping hubby can pop it back into place for me, so I don't have to go to the chiropractor.  I'm using the back massager right now to relax the muscles where it hurts.  But at least I had a good workout!

Today's workout

Worked arms and shoulders, and did 20 minutes on the elliptical.  My knee and hip did not like the elliptical for the last five minutes, but I pushed through.  I bet I'll regret that.  Oh well.  My seven-day free trial membership is nearing the end; I'll join the gym officially on Saturday.  And as of this morning, I've lost two pounds, and an inch off my hips.  Hooray!

Evellyn Anne is in progress!

I got the yarn on Monday for the Knit Picks sample of my Evellyn Anne blanket pattern!  Yes, it really is this green.  Haha.  The color is called "Parrot".  It looked a little more pastel on the website picture, but I still like it, and think this blanket will look terrific!

This picture is from Monday night.  I didn't get much knitting done yesterday, so it only has one more row(from the center) of diamonds completed now.  I just transferred it to a circular needle; I picked my shortest size US6, and it's actually a little too short at this point.  So I'll transfer it again on the next round to a longer circ.

♥

I'm using KP Swish DK again; same yarn type as I used for Posy Patch.  I really like this yarn.  It's incredibly soft, and very nice to work with.  I hear that it's also great when it comes to washing, but as I've never washed anything made from it(just soaked and blocked) I can't speak from experience there.  I should knit up a swatch and wash it, just to see how it behaves.  Maybe I'll do that....when I'm done with this project.

♥

I went to the gym this morning; worked abs and legs, and did 22 minutes on a stationary bike.  Good workout.  My shoulders are still a bit sore, so I put some BioFreeze on them; hope it helps because I want to work arms again tomorrow.

Before...

Okay, I took a proper "before" pic of myself.  Workout clothes on, not sucking in the belly, no makeup, no smile.  Haha.

Notice the fat face, double chin, thick neck, untoned arms, big bazongas(actually they don't look too huge in this pic, probably because the shirt comes down to my hips), flabby flabby belly, wide-as-a-barn hips(and butt, though you can't see it in this pic), chunky thighs.  The calves are in proportion to the rest, but not too bad.  The scale said 172 this morning; heaviest I've ever been.

I went to buy some workout clothes, and discovered that they were even cheaper than what the markdown tag said, so I was very happy about that.  I think I've got all I need now.  Went and worked abs and back today, then did a couple minutes on the stairstepper and switched to the elliptical.  The stairstepper was just too much for me.  I'll try again in a week or so.  In the meantime, my arms still hurt like crazy from two days ago, and my legs are a little sore from yesterday.  My abs will probably hurt tomorrow.  No pain, no gain, so they say.

'Tis the season...

for getting in shape.  Yes, round is a shape, but it isn't the shape I want.  So yesterday I joined a gym.  It's a great gym, with an area where they'll watch the kids while I work out!  That's the main thing that's been holding me back; most other gyms don't have that, and I'd have to find a sitter so I could go work out, so I didn't.  Well, there's that, and the fact that I hate to exercise. Haha.  But I've decided that I hate how I look and feel more than I hate exercise.  Really.  I look in the mirror and I'm disgusted.  Yes, when I was skinny, I was one of those terrible people who were disgusted by fat people.  My perspective has changed.  Now I'm fat, and I'm disgusted by myself.  Not so much by other fat people now, unless they're morbidly obese.  Anyway, I'm tired of being this fat, lazy, depressed woman who has no energy and no stamina.  I'm 30 years old, and everyone always told me that when I turned 30 my metabolism would change and getting/staying in shape would be harder.  Well, I hope they were wrong.  Maybe it's just that 30-year-olds in general are too busy with everything else in their lives, and don't make time to take care of themselves.  I'm just a stay-at-home homeschooling mom, so really the only other stuff in my life is my family and my home.  And my knitting.  So I should be able to manage to go to the gym three times a week.

Anyway, the gym hubby picked last month when he decided to get in shape is where I went yesterday.  It's great.  Not only does it have the kids' area, but it has a pool and spa and wet sauna and dry sauna, and lots of cardio equipment, and all the other equipment is color-coded by what muscle group(s) it works.  And...all the classes are included in the membership fee!  So if I want to take Zumba or a spinning class or Yoga, all I have to do is show up!  I'm leaning towards Zumba, and maybe kickboxing. ☺ But first, I have to build up some stamina by just doing basic workouts.  Yesterday I worked arms and shoulders, and did 20 minutes of cardio on an elliptical machine.  I thought the elliptical was supposed to be easy on the joints, but my left knee and hip didn't like it. (I sound like such an old person!)  I'm going to use a treadmill today instead, and see if that's better.  Hubby told me that stairsteppers would be good for me, to work my backside.  I teased him and acted all upset that he was saying my butt was big.  I think I'll wait on the stairsteppers; maybe my joints will be better when I've built some muscle around them.

So I'm just waiting for the girls to get dressed, and then we'll head over to the gym.  The kidsitting service is only available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so that determines my workout schedule for now.  On the off days, we'll go for walks in the neighborhood, or I'll go in the evenings after Hubby gets home from work.  I promise I won't blog too much about my workouts, just the milestones.  And I will post what I work on what day, so that I can keep track, but I won't go on and on about it. ☺

EDIT:  I went. I worked my legs, and did 21 minutes on the treadmill.  It didn't seem like as much of a workout on the treadmill as the elliptical did yesterday.  So maybe I'll alternate.  Oh, and I was confused about the kids' area; they're open every day, not every other day!  Woot!

Football and Movies

Yesterday was the Army/Navy football game.  Since Hubby went to West Point, that game is bigger than the Superbowl for us.  Well, to be honest,  I still don't care all that much, since it is football.  But I do make an effort to watch at least part of it.  This year I only caught the first half.  And not really even the whole first half; we missed the cadets marching onto the field, and the National Anthem, and the kickoff, and the first 3 points...and I left the party before halftime.  But that was fine with me.  I didn't want to go to the party in the first place; I only went to keep peace between Hubby and me.  Army lost, again.  I think the last time they won was in 2003.

Anyway, the reason I left early is that I had promised months ago to take Angel and Princess to see "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", the new Narnia movie.  The original plan was to go on Princess's birthday, since that was the opening day for the movie, but Hubby reminded me that he would be at work on Friday, and of course we couldn't just leave Kitty at home alone, so we changed our plan and went yesterday.  Despite having to drive almost an hour from the party to the theater, through crazy traffic, it worked out fine.  Princess was particularly excited, because it was her first time to go to a theater.  Angel has only been once before, to see "Prince Caspian", when she was Princess's age.

The movie was good, better than I had expected it to be.  Actually, I was a little concerned last week, when I heard about some stupid comment that Liam Neeson(the voice of Aslan, who is basically God) made about Who Aslan is supposed to be.  Fortunately, his comment wasn't part of the movie itself, just something he said in an interview somewhere.  It was perfectly clear to me Who and What Aslan represented in the movie.  Anyway, enough about the stupid actor; back to the movie.  It was scarier than I'd expected(both girls were snuggled up to me, putting fingermarks on my arms), and the White Witch kept reappearing(she was in "Prince Caspian" at one point too) which she didn't do in the books, as far as I recall.  Other than that, I don't remember any huge, glaring "artistic license" moments in the movie, of which I'm glad.  I grew up reading and rereading the Narnia books, and I still love them, so I'd hate to see the general storylines or messages messed up by hollyweird.  I am glad it'll be months before it's out on DVD, because I think it's too scary for Kitty at this point.  In a year, though, it should be alright.

My new patterns are up!

My two new scarf patterns were uploaded at KnitPicks yesterday!

Upstream

Avonlea

Both patterns are available to download, for $1.99 each.

Good news two weeks in a row!

I just realized I mentioned having sent the scarves and patterns to Knit Picks, but not the fact that they did decide to publish them!  So far, they've published all of my designs that they liked enough to have me make samples, but I still can't help thinking maybe they'd decide not to after seeing the sample.  Guess I'm just a paranoid-type of person.  Anyway, they said they will publish them, but it might be a week or two; they've got a lot of patterns in the works right now.  That was last week.  So they might publish them tomorrow, or next Thursday.  Either way works for me!

I sent the design proposal last week for my Evellyn Anne blanket, and got the response yesterday: they're interested in it!  So I'll be getting some yarn support in the mail, and then I can start on it.  I suggested Swish DK, in any of three nice pastels: a light yellow, a springy green and a lovely lavender.  I can hardly wait to see which color they choose!

And one of my dear friends is going to have a pattern published as well!  I am very excited for her!  It's a great design, and I'm so glad Knit Picks thinks so too!  I need to get back to work on that test-knit for her! ☺

I had a birthday!

Yesterday was my 30th birthday.  And aside from being hungover from my party on Saturday night, it was a good birthday.  On Saturday, we had a little cookout party in the backyard.  Hubby sent me to the store for a few last-minute things, and I didn't realize he did it for a reason.  Haha...I hurried to the closest store, got just what I needed, and hurried home....and caught him and the kids and the neighbors decorating the back yard!  There were streamers and balloons and confetti, and a very cool Happy Birthday banner, with the background of the banner being a pic of my Posy Patch blanket!  Hubby had bought me some beautiful, enormous wine glasses...I'm pretty sure you could fit a whole bottle of wine in one...and a couple bottles of cabernet, which is my favorite wine.  The neighbors gave me a cool ceramic wine mug that says on one side "Mommy needs wine" and on the other side "This is the only whine Mommy likes".  Hmmm...sensing a trend here...maybe I drink too much wine...lol

Anyway, we stayed up late and partied the night away, then had to get up early for church yesterday, since we were scheduled to work in the nursery for the early service. (What in the world were we thinking?!)  We weren't feeling too terrific, so we didn't stay for the service afterward.  I'll look on our church's website for video of the sermon later today.  Anyway, we got home from church, and the kids gave me their presents: two books "America By Heart" by Sarah Palin and "Decision Points" by George W. Bush, two boxes of chocolates(which they've already helped me sample), and Hubby gave me some jewelry he had bought from my sister(she's a Premier Designs jeweler).  Great gifts, all of them. ☺ I took a nice long nap in the afternoon, which helped with the hangover. 

I've already started reading Sarah's book.  I really admire her.  I think if we knew each other personally, we'd be friends; we have a lot in common.  I'd love to be able to vote for her someday. ☺Which would drive my father-in-law batty. Haha.