Mystery Workout Gadgetry

A while back, I decided to start trying random things around the gym for which I absolutely could not tell their intended purpose.

After a bit of awkward staring at people while they used the mystery gadgetry to try and scope out what it is they did with said enigmas, I've tried a few out.  My favorite so far?



I use this...                                         to do this...                                    while holding this against my chest.

I feel pretty fierce every time I do it.  I do 3 sets of 15, 3 ways - first to the center, then turned to the right, then turned to the left, totaling 90 reps.  If need be, I sometimes I take a break and put the weight down for a set.  It works my back, bum, calves, back of my thighs, and my obliques remarkably well.  It always leaves me satisfyingly sore the next day.

My challenge for this evening: to conquer that again, as well as to plank for 3 minutes.  But, instead of my usual routine which consists of 1 minute of planking then 30 seconds of rest repeated thrice, I'm going to do do 1 minute 30 seconds with 45 seconds of rest twice.

Any new, interesting things that  you all have tried lately?  

My week of getting back on track is a success so far!  Granted, I'm only 1.5 days into it, but it's going well nonetheless.  

I hope your week is going well, too!  

YO. Reality Check (one two, what is this?!)

So, you remember that on and off switch I mentioned a while back?  Well, I know I said that I was ready to turn the whole weight loss thing up a notch because I've been too casual about it lately.

That hasn't happened yet.  

Time for some honesty, people.  When I go quiet, it's because I'm ashamed.  And here is why.

I've been burning the candle from both ends and then once it was out, picked up the wax, melted it, stuck a piece of yarn in it to try and reuse it as a candle until eventually I was out of light and had acquired a pointless ball of waxy stuff.  I burned myself out, but it's been fun.  Downside?  I'm back up to 196lbs, peoples.  I was down to 188, but I've had a complete lack of self-control with food in the midst of all the fun I've had.  

I made myself take a break from freaking out and being so obsessive over losing weight.  I needed to lighten up and do a bit of living.  The problem is, I let myself go a little too far.  SWITCH - off.  I had such a good balance going around the beginning of July and got down to 188, but then started finding comfort in food when a lot of life changes began overwhelming me a bit.

What do do you when life comes at you from every which way?  I've freaked out a little bit, which I'm sure you can tell looking back at my more recent blogs.  Finding balance, questioning things, feeling defeated, losing focus - these things happen.  But, it sucks.  I got it together for a little while, but I'm still a bit flustered.  

In an effort to regroup, I've been reading up on some of life's biggest stress-causers.  Change, even great change, can throw you for a loop!  I'm still in mid-loop-throw, it would seem.  But, a good chat with your parents, some organization, and structure go a long way.

So, unless it involves some sweet, old-school hiphop, no buggin' out necessary.  

When it's my turn, I'll bring your shoes...

In a few hours, I'm going to meet my family at a little lake in a small town not too far from here.

A few months ago, my Uncle passed away.  He was an awesome man.  He was a lovely human being, a cool Uncle, was as goofy as the rest of us, could tell a story a mile long (a few times...), loved the outdoors, loved music, and loved us.

They have a little cottage on that lake I'm going to visit tonight, and this is the first summer we've been there without him.  It was bizarre, but it felt like he'd just taken the kids out for a ride in the boat and wasn't back yet.  And then, I caught a glimpse of a silly thing.

I thought, "Oh - his shoes..."  Then, I remembered those were my dad's.  The guys loved these shoes.  My brother got them, then so did Dad.  Then, Jim did, too.

And then I remembered, "Wait.  No.  Those aren't his shoes..."

And it hit me.

My Aunt gave me a hug and told me that my Uncle was so very proud of me and would have loved to tell me so himself.  The way she said it, I could just see him, pleased as punch, knowing that I'd made this huge change in my life.  Allowing myself to really live.  It's been great, and I know he was proud.  He was when he saw me at 40lbs lost, and I know he'd have been just as delighted at nearly 130lbs lost.

Tonight, his ashes are going to one of his favorite places; this quaint little lake where we all have years of great memories with him.

It feels good to know that I made him proud.  I'm going to miss him.  

Hot diggity dog.

This is my family's dog Kylie.  She's pretty much wonderful in every way.

Except when I'm trying to work out...

As soon as she sees me in workout attire, she gets so excited it's ridiculous and knows that the likelihood of a W-A-L-K is significantly higher.  She'll swat at my legs until I give in.  Or, if I opt to do something like, ohhhhhh - I don't know...  Stretch, or do pilates, or something, she's instantly all up in your space and ready for a cuddle.  "Yes, Kylie, doing these pilates moves on my side just happens to be the ideal position for you to spoon with me, but this isn't working out so well..."  On the elliptical?  She'll sit there, stare at me, and occasionally swat my foot as it goes by.


This time?  Well, there you have it.

I've found "the one."

Yes, that's right.  It's tough, you know.  It takes a lot longer than most of us would like, and there's a whole lot of trial and error involved.  So many times, you come so close, but you know it's just not right.  There are little things you know you can compromise on, but other little things you know will just lead to disaster, or at least severe dissatisfaction and doom later on.  But, sometimes holding out is worth it.

I've searched far, wide, high, and low - and it finally happened for me.

I found a bathing suit that I actually like.

It is with much trepidation, my hands covering my face and a blanket over my head, that I show you THE bathing suit.  This was so much easier when I didn't think about how many people might see this.

Old Navy.  On sale.  Fits like a glove.  Curves like a 50's fox.  Bam.

That is all.

Last August, nearly 50lbs down.

 

Balance.

When life gives you a box of chocolates, or some lemons, or a tornado or a big sunny double rainbow - I don't know.  Feed the tornado some lemons while you juggle chocolates trying to explain to one rainbow that the other one just forgot it's not its turn that day.

Life makes just about that much sense.

These last couple of months have been interesting!  I feel as though I've fallen into a trap of apologetic blogger who means well but doesn't post enough, etc.  So, let's just get that out of the way.  Sorry I haven't been posting as diligently as I once did.  But, well, rainbows are fussy and it turns out tornadoes love lemons.  The chocolates?  Well, they looked delicious - but I'm trying to maintain my girlish figure, so I thought I may as well learn to juggle.  With chocolate.  It's been interesting trying to figure out how to balance it all.

Which brings me to today's lesson:

Balance.

How does one obtain this?  Some people just seem to inherently have it.  Others never have it, but they're really good at juggling.  Some people learn it eventually...  Others just don't have it, don't get it, and never will.  I'm not quite sure where I fall on this spectrum, but the last few months have been a lesson in this department - that is for certain.

As I've mentioned before, I don't have a dimmer.  My switch is ON, or it's off...

Kalamazoo State Theatre, Kalamazoo, MI.  My home away from home.

I work at a beautiful, historic, old theatre.  Tucked in little coves along the theatre walls are these fantastic Liberace-esque candelabras.  Until a few years ago, their only light setting was on.  Really, really on.  We wanted to install dimmers so that we could dim the lights during our events to still have that romantic, old-school aesthetic, but we knew that it was going to be quite a tedious and laborious process to get it done.  This place is nearing 90 years old, and changes like this are always quite a feat.  Getting to wiring tucked in walls made of plaster, horse hair, and more is always a bit of a trick.  Every time I sneak into the theatre during a show and see the gentle glow, though, I'm reminded of how very much it was worth it.

I've been trying really hard to install my own dimmer, but apparently it required a couple of meetings, some brainstorming sessions, a cost-analysis, some compromise, and then some difficult rewiring to install this stinking dimmer.  Actually, I'd prefer to not think of it as a dimmer, but more of a...  balancer-thingamadoojob.  Yes, that's much better.

Nearly 90-year-old light control panel.  The
switches next to the tape marked "on" actually
turn on stars and clouds on the theatre ceiling.

I'm quite hard on myself when I'm not as diligent about my food.  I stress out when I have a day that I didn't work out, and I really get perturbed when there are a few days in a week where I don't work out.  But there is so much life happening - meeting people, changing circumstances, fun things that pop up, and more.  I've had so much fun getting out and about, making an effort to be present, do things, have fun with people, enjoy new and old friends.  My role at work has evolved in a wonderful way, bringing along new, interesting challenges, and I am one busy, busy bee.  Finding time for everything I want to make happen in a day is a challenge.

So many interesting, and thankfully, good things are happening.  I've been reminded recently by a few of you outstanding people who I've gotten to know through this blog that, sometimes, it is good and it is necessary to pause, reflect, see how far you've come, and appreciate where you're at.

I'm in the mood to turn the lights on full blast again.  Brighten it up a bit.  But, I suppose adjusting my balancer-thingmadoojob to let life happen every now & then won't kill me.  I may not be as full bore at all times as I have been, but I'm certainly enjoying the glow.

Yo Gabba Gabba on wheat with avocado, please.

Apparently, my core instincts are about the same as they were when I was about 5.

Some dear friends of mine are getting married this evening, so I knew that today was going to be a great day.  It is, however, now even greater because it started off like this.

Only 288 calories!  (See my breakfast entry on myfitnesspal.com.)

And then, this.

Judge me all you like.  I love Yo Gabba Gabba.  No, I don't have kids.  No, I'm not babysitting.  I am a full grown woman who just so happens to thoroughly enjoy parties in her tummy (so yummy, so yummy) with vegetables, Mark Mothersbaugh teaching me how to draw silly things, and appearances from the likes of Andy Samberg, Flaming Lips, Devo, MGMT, The Faint, Weezer, Biz Markee, and so very many more.  This show is awesome, and you bet your bum my kids will be subjected to it when I have them someday.  And they will dance!

Speaking of dancing, I am sure I will doing quite a bit of that later after two of my dearest friends get married this evening!  I hope your Saturday is as lovely as mine has been thus far!