Penultimate day of the 30 day push

Masks have real social value in that they allow you privacy and space in an often brutal world. But there is a price you pay for wearing a mask. Masks cause little deaths -- little soul deaths. When you wear a mask, nobody (not even you) gets to find out what you really need. And when you wear a mask, nobody (not even you) gets to find out what you really have to offer.
- Gordon MacKenzie, Orbiting the Giant Hairball: a corporate fool's guide to surviving with grace

The quote/picture aren't relevant to the blog post; I just thought them interesting.

Penultimate day of the 30 day push. I haven't always made the goal of 3 hours of exercise each day, but just by aiming for that goal I have managed almost always to get at least 1-1/2 to 2 hours a day. This was a good goal. I don't think I will try to continue with that level once I become gainfully employed again, but I will probably be able to do at least 1-1/2 hours of daily exercise. I'll aim for 2.

This must be a bit like what life is like for celebrities or people who go on The Biggest Loser. Being able to focus my attention and my time on exercise, being able to concentrate on just that goal. I know that once I start work again, I'll get caught up in doing the job. The hours I spend exercising will be spent doing nothing more than sitting in a car or on the Max. So in a way, being out of work is useful. If only I were one of the "idle" rich, I could get so much done!

Okay, whine done. Still waiting on Mr. Hopeful to come fix the hole in the wall. He came by yesterday, told me what he could do, how much it would cost, when he could start. All straightforward and positive, except that he warned me that he'd have to take his wife to rehab sometime today. (No, not that kind of rehab.) And so I sit waiting for him to call, so I will know when he can come by.

This probably means I'll have to do something Useful Around the House. Like cleaning it. Damn.

Luckily, this also means that I'll have time to get in exercise. Probably mostly ellipticalling. Some gardening, if the wasps don't mind. It's the time of year to plant tulips and other bulbs. I figure planting something now in the hopes that I will still be here in the spring to see them come up is an act of faith. The old woman who used to live here planted loads of bulbs; even though she's no longer around to enjoy them, maybe she's somewhere that she knows they're being appreciated.

Exercise du jour:
Morning - 1 hour elliptical
Done! And after I was finished, I -- wait for it-- took a shower! In my own bathroom! I feel so proud.




Noon - 1 hour gardening elliptical

Done! Had to fit it in around the workmen coming and going.




Night - 1 hour elliptical
half-done. I'm still putting up the star because the reason I stopped is that Damn Knee started to hurt. It's been at least three weeks since Damn Knee complained about an hour's worth of ellipticalling while it was in progress. Improvement.


Photo courtesy of iwinatcookie.

Maybe I should've gotten that Ph.D after all...

Quote du jour: Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Study du jour: Don't Get Too Excited About Job-Creation Plans.

The good news: For workers over 25 years old with a bachelor's degree or higher, the unemployment rate stands at 4.3% down from 5.0% a year ago.
The bad news: For those over 25 without a high school diploma, unemployment stands at a staggering 14.3%, up from 13.3% in August 2010.
Moral: Get that degree.

Or not? This guy has a different take on it:

...if we take the average earnings of a high school graduate and college graduate, account for cost of college and the opportunity cost of going to college (time not spent earning money) and assume a 5% savings rate for each, the college grad has a net worth of $400,000 when he retires. The high school grad: $1.3 million. Revenge of the jocks.
- Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

Or, you can compromise -- you don't actually need a degree if you can merely convince people that you have one instead of going out there and doing your homework. One woman wrote a memoir, Phony! Or, how I faked my way through life, about how she built a successful career by lying about having a college degree. Apparently, she worked her way up to a six-figure salary with several people working under her. Her main skill seemed to be picking the right people to do the work that she herself didn't have a clue how to do. That, and the fact that she mastered the art of confident lying.

I'm not sure how much credence you can give to this story-teller. I mean, she admits first off that she's a liar, and a good one. And then you're supposed to believe this memoir?

Oh wait. This is an exercise blog. I suppose that means I should get back to actually doing some of it. I was going to go bicycling, but it's going to be too hot for that today. Luckily, all the trees have left me with lots and lots of raking that I can do in the shade.


Exercise du jour:
Morning -- 1 hour elliptical
Done. Well, by 'done' I mean I turned the resistance down to nothing and went through the motions in super slo-mo. I pretended to work out for an hour. I'm going to pretend that counts.



Noon -- 1 hour gardening
Done. Gardening is riskier than I'd thought. Simply because I destroyed his web while I was raking the lawn, a spider climbed up the inside of my trouser leg and bit me on the ... well, let's just say I'm sitting a bit funny right now. The things I do in pursuit of fitness...



Evening -- gentle walking, ellipticalling
Done. Decided not to rake the part of the lawn that was occupied by a wasp's nest. The elliptical doesn't sting, at least.

May day? I'm starting to believe in spring

Quote du jour: Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working. -Pablo Picasso

I suppose it might be true... spring might be ready to sprung, as it were. But I'm almost afraid to believe in the possibility.


It could all be a giant hoax.

Sure, the tulips are tuliping, or so they claim.





It could all be a dream. I might be hallucinating the camellias.



On the other hand, I could use all this profusion of bloomsion as a sign that it's time to get out there and show off my mad cycling skills.

This week, I want to cycle 100 miles. Let's see.

Exercise du jour: Cycle 20 miles.

Sunday: Done! I'll have to dig up my traditional gold star, dust it off, and post it up here. I think I'm getting faster.

Monday: Done! But much, much slower than yesterday. Why? Is it because I was carrying my lunch and work clothes and such? Maybe it's a sign I should walk tomorrow.

Tuesday: Why did walking a measly 2.5 miles end up with aching shin muscles? What the frack is up with you, body? Sooner or later, you're going to have to deal with the fact that we have to exercise!

Naughty Camellias, or Pink is the new White

Last September... loads of potential blooms there...

Quote du jour: Half the interest of a garden is the constant exercise of the imagination.
- Mrs. C.W. Earle, Pot-Pourri from a Surrey Garden, 1897

In today's news, I’m mad at Home Depot. (Yes, that is news. Usually I’m mad at Lowe’s.)

Last fall I planted seven, count ‘em seven Camellia trees (C. japonica). Only one of which bothered to put forth a few blooms last month. According to the label, it was supposed to bloom in the fall. Which, last I checked, ain't January.

Oh, I suppose I'll bloom a bit...

The others were “supposed” to bloom in early winter. Considering winter is two-thirds of the way along (at least if you believe the calendar), I’d say they’re confused. They’re not the only ones.

I planted these trees according to a plan, damn it. I was going to be this fancy dancy landscapey person, so I alternated the colors carefully: red, pink, white, red… all the way down the row.

I even left the labels on the plants, so I’d remember which one was which. (Yes, I could’ve written that info down, but then I’d lose the piece of paper.)

Here’s a picture of one of the camellias, which is thinking about considering the faint possibility of maybe, just possibly, starting to bloom a bit.

To bloom or not to bloom... decisions, decisions...

What color does that bud look to you? To me, it looks dark pink or maybe red.
Here’s the label came with the camellia tree. It's still attached; I never took it off.

White? It's not even remotely Caucasian...

Either the camellia is suffering from an identity crisis, or Home Depot has an issue with truthiness.

So yesterday, I blew money on a camellia that was already in bloom. I like the looks of these flowers, the color and the form. Plus, the label matched the blooms that were actually on the plant.

Not ashamed to be labeled a pinko

I like that I know what the heck I'm planting ahead of time, which makes me feel a bit more in control of the landscaping. The only drawback is the name of the variety.

Is it just me, or does that sound like the name for a naughty type of massage implement?

I realize that this camellia is also pink, not white, but a) I liked the particular color of pink b) I like the form and c) I couldn't find any bloomin' white camellias. (Sorry, guv. Slipped into Cockney dialect for a sec.) Besides, this one was intentionally pink. Plus, I bought it at a store that was not Home Depot. And I got to include a bit of spring color in the grey despair of Cubicle World.

Bloomin' camellia with a cuppa tea

Exercise du jour: Look, all I'm going to commit to is 20 minutes on the elliptical first thing in the a.m. before doing anything else besides getting out of bed and opening my eyes. After that, everything is negotiable.
Done! Plus, 3 miles walking. Plus, I didn't annihilate a single cow-orker today. That definitely calls for a star!



Quote courtesy of QuoteGarden.

Planting trees with an ax

Blogging is a great way to excuse slackness. Sorry, can't keep planting trees, have to blog about my doing so. And, of course, taking pictures of the activity.

The evidence

It sounded so simple, in theory. Dig a hole. A whole hole. How hard can that be? Well, when the yard is rife with tree roots (from erstwhile trees), it can be quite the workout. I was reduced to hacking at the roots with an ax. Great for the arms, works up a good sweat, but it takes forever. Probably a young, muscular man... with blond hair and green eyes, nice tan, good build... hmmmn... could deal with this in two minutes.

The accomplices

Exercise du jour: 30 minutes on Ellie the elliptical. That, at least, I know I haven't misplaced.

Too hot to ellipt. 30 minutes rowing instead. The rower is in a cooler room

Done! I really, really didn't want to exercise tonight. Blog guilt works.

A brief interlude to stop and smell the roses

Every now and then, I like to post pictures of the yard up here.


a)because it's beautiful.


b)because if I don't post it here, I'll lose the photos or forget where they are.


c)because by the time February rolls around, I will really need to be reminded of green and growing beautiful things.


These are actually photos from July. I'm slow.

Exercise du jour: Jogging 5 miles. It's hot outside, and getting hotter all the time. Friday's run showed me how awful running can be in a heatwave. If I put it off, the temperature won't go below 95 until late tonight. I'm going to try now. Will bring water.
Done! Settled for running around indoors, which does have several advantages. It's only 80 indoors, as opposed to 100 outside, plus there's ready access to cold washcloths and fresh cold water. Still took forever, but at least it's done.

The Perils of Pizza

Just ran across an old post, never published, from August:

A six pound weight gain overnight? Wait a minute. If I'd weighed those slices of pizza, all three four of them together would not have equaled one pound. And I did exercise yesterday, really I did. (20 minutes jog/walk, 10 minutes raking.) How the hell does that translate into six pounds?

It's interesting because yesterday, in addition to two hours of exercise, I ate a couple slices of pizza. And this morning I woke up to find that I had gained four pounds.

Note to self: Pizza is evil. Avoid at all costs.


Exercise du jour: yoga, walking. If passing a pizza parlor, walking very, very fast.
Done! No, not the walking by the pizza parlor part. I decided to avoid temptation. But I did an hour's worth of yoga and another hour's worth of raking the roof. (Some people rake the lawn, me I just gotta be different. I blame the neighbor's tree.)

My Secret Addiction

Yes, here it is.




The labels look so cute!

However, I'm not alone in my addiction. Gardening while intoxicated says this kind of behavior is perfectly normal. And you have to trust someone whose blog has a title like that, don't you?

I keep buying these bags of bulbs with their pretty pretty labels, and then they sit there sneering at my lack of follow through.

I'm posting this picture because it's not enough to merely look at the pretty bulbs on the labels. Time to get these suckers into the ground before nature gets serious about cold weather.


Exercise du jour:

One problem I have with running is that there is no convenient place to do it around my home. One solution that I'm trying is to run by my work first thing in the morning. I'm lucky enough to work near the Nike headquarters, which has a running trail all around its perimeter. The major, major drawback here is that it means getting up Early in the morning, which is completely against my nature. Nature vs. getting thin-and-fit? We'll see which one wins out.

Couch to 5k week 1 day 3 Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.

Done! Manuel was ridden hard and put away wet.
Just a note about my progress (for future reference). I remember the last time I tried the C25K on the treadmill, I sluggishly jogged what felt like endless minutes of dreariness. This time, for the first 4 sessions at least, I actually ran on the treadmill, and the time passed as swiftly as the treadmill band beneath my feet. Mind you, after the first 4 sessions, the calves started to cramp up and the quads started to complain and I had to run around the house to loosen up the muscles a bit. Even so, I count as a victory those moments when I was flying.

Also, 30 minutes yoga.

If I tell you, then I'm going to have to do it. Right?

Grey day, grey rain.
Autumn crocus, and the leaves are starting to fall.
I think nature's trying to tell me something.

Feel like I should be storing away food for the winter, like those pesky squirrels. I'll devote the morning to Useful Tasks Around The House, but this afternoon I am damn well going to exercise. Don't know what I'm going to do yet, but Something.

Update du 8:21 pm: Took a walk in the woods, new woods that I've never experienced before. Not as aerobic as a jog, but alas her ladyship isn't up to jogging any more. At one point in the walk we came to a wide open grassy area, totally deserted, and I let her loose so she could run. Ten years ago, she would have seen the wide open greenery as an opportunity to run as hard as she could, just for the sheer joy of her physical strength and the chance to use it. Today, she romped alongside me for a few yards and then found an excuse to collapse, grinning at me. Oh well. At least she's still enjoying life. Not bad for a 12-1/2 year old German Shepherd.

Scrambled routine & poached brain

see more Lolcats and funny pictures


Frapp.* Had to push the push and sit ups from Wednesday to Thursday, which means I had to push the next session from Friday to Saturday. Then got roped into activities from 7 am to 10 pm on Saturday. So... Doing the Day 3 on Sunday. Which means I'll have to push the next week's sessions to start on Tuesday, which means.... hey! Quit snoring! I have to track this somewhere. It's confusing.

Exercise du jour: Frantic mowing, weed whacking, and cleaning to prepare for the Saturday festivities.

*Hey, there might be ladies reading this blog. (To quote Douglas Adams, "In an infinite universe... anything's possible.")

Besides, I happen to think the Frappaccino makes a very satisfying, lo-cal swear word. Satisfies the basic need to use a cuss word starting with "f" without descending into the Anglo-Saxon guttural. (You should always try to keep your mind out of the guttural, or so I was always told ;)

p.s. Did I mention that crazy routine yesterday caused me to lose a pound?

Update du 2 pm: Okay, now I'm just whining. I'm typing (see, I am too busy... I'm blogging!) to soothe my conscience, which thinks I should be cleaning the kitchen.

Does a heatwave make your appetite disappear? Thanks to SparkPeople.com, I can vouch that I have consumed 287 calories today (and cardio'ed 270 calories). Yesterday I barely managed to eat 1000 calories, while exercising away 850. (Hey, maybe that's why I lost a pound yesterday. You think?) It's very unusual for me to have so little appetite, so I'm trying to find a reason for it.

Update du Saturday: Lost another 1-1/2 pounds from this non-eating & lots of exercise. Well, that's one way to do it.

Even the best laid plans can't always get laid

Some days, even the best laid plans suffer from Exercise Dysfunction. Yesterday was one of those days.

Woke up late, scratched early morning ride.
"It's okay, I still have the hour-long walk at lunch."

So, of course, co-worker canceled the lunch walk. Hmph.
"Well, I'll take an extra-long bike ride home."

Then, naturally, found out that I had to be at the other end of town by 6:30, which meant taking the light rail instead of riding the bicycle.
"Um... maybe I'll fit in some aerobics in the evening?"

You guessed it. My mother called and really needed to talk to me for an hour or so about her garden, the weather, and other important topics.

People come before exercise, but even so... aaaaargh!

Exercise du jour: Taking the day off work, which means more time for exercise!
50 minutes aerobics




the push ups and sit ups from yesterday




20 minutes cycling




and as much gardening as I can take before the sun broils me to a lobster.

Only about 15 minutes after sunset... why do I always have to do the unshaded front lawn on really hot days? Damn those weeds anyway.




see more dog and puppy pictures

Tanji the Wonder Dog

see more dog and puppy pictures


I think the drugs are taking effect. No, not on me. The rimadyl that Tanji's been taking is allowing her to take longer walks with less pain. Yesterday morning, she suggested (quite strongly) that we take a walk. And then she actually led me four whole blocks to the park and back! (10 years ago, I used to walk her four miles a day merely to take the edge off of her energy level. These days, four blocks and back is an amazing trip.)

Not only that, she was up for a walk around the block in the evening as well. Two whole walks in one day! Thank God for drugs.

Exercise du jour: 90 minutes bicycling. And absolutely no damn gardening, I mean it!
(I'd felt sorry for myself, being the only person around gardening on a 3-day weekend. Took a walk around the block with Her Ladyship, and found that everyone's yard waste bin was overflowing with greenery. Ha! It wasn't just me.)

Sore Gainer

Huh.

So, it's like this. I spent about 8 hours gardening yesterday. Wielding the (damn heavy) weed whacker over grass too long to mow, trimming lawns, pruning stuff, planting stuff, killing weeds by hand and by roundup and by digging the stubborn little bastids up by the root. I'd thought there were 'just a few' blackberry shoots, but they apparently multiplied when I wasn't looking. (That sound you just heard was the bitter laughter of many a Northwestern gardener.)

Long story short:

• Several hours physical labor.
• Not a lot of food.
• Very sore leg muscles.
• Unhappy arm muscles.
  
• Got up this morning to find that I've gained five pounds in two days.

People say "oh, it's just water." Somehow that doesn't leave me encouraged. They say "oh, you're building muscle." Since that doesn't translate to lost pounds or smaller pant sizes, it doesn't seem like a fair trade.

Then again, that co-worker last week could see a change.
Maybe this is Just A Phase. Or whatever.
But I'm depressed now.

Update du 8:40 pm
On the plus side, the sunburn was applied evenly, from the top of my forehead to the base of my throat. No awkward white patches.
On the downside, I've taken to wearing a wide-brimmed hat, even though these have been referred to as "Old-lady hats" by a friend and even though this is not the day to wear something "old-lady" ish.
On the plus side again, I was serenaded by three generations of family tonight. (Picky people might insist that my great-nephew was too young to sing, but his vocalizations sounded extremely tuneful to me.)

Okay, two plus, one minus, looks like I've come out ahead. Another day and another year older, but I'm ending the day on a positive note.

You're a very mean human and I'll never forget this

Or so I surmise were the thoughts behind those hurt brown eyes. In vain did I try to explain that I had finally broken down and spent money on evil nasty weed killing stuff and she couldn't get near it until the poison had evaporated.

She didn't believe that one for a moment.

Finally I headed out the front door, and danged if she didn't try to squeeze past me, apparently in the belief that I couldn't possibly have meant any of those foolish words I'd just spoken. Irritated, I told her off, using her full name. (Anytime she hears Tangerine vom haus Tyson, she knows I'm really irked.) And I made it a Command that she not follow me out the door.

Oh the hurt look I got for betraying her thus. The angst at my perfidy.

Sigh. I know it's good for me to do the gardening, fiscally frugal and a good way to stay healthy. Nobody warned me about the guilt-inducing side effects. Time for a little doggie cleanup in the backyard, mano a guano, so to speak though thankfully not in the literal sense.

P.S. In case you ever wondered -- when blackberry bushes have a turf fight with English ivy, the blackberry bushes win.

Dead woman's tulips

For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snow-storms and rain-storms and did my duty faithfully.

- Thoreau

I need to get PhotoShop on this computer.
You can barely see the large yellow tulips at the base of the tree. Trust me: they're there.

I love days like this. Warm and cloudy, spring rains and the occasional glorious burst of sunshine and blue sky. I love to sit on the porch and listen to the rain falling on the roof. I love being surrounded by green and growing things. Feels as if Nature is trying to apologize for stripping all the leaves from the trees and leaving everything grey and brown and dead looking for months.

Winter? You must have been imagining it...

I feel compelled to blog about the yard again. This kind of post is great to read if you're having insomnia -- at least, a lot of people seem to drop off when I raise this topic. But I can't help it. It's fascinating to see what is popping up this year. Tulips that I've never seen in the stores, irises that I know full well I didn't plant, even that rose bush that I accidentally mowed down last year is making a comeback on the front lawn.

How can I mow with little tulips popping up through the grass?

I thought tulips only lived a year or two, but these bulbs must have been planted at least three years ago. It feels as if I'm living with someone else's yard, seeing the results of choices made by a woman who's been dead for a couple of years. Does that sound morbid? I just bothered to look up her obituary, and she didn't actually die in the house. I don't think anyone has died here. It's only 60 years old.

Lord knows I'm not psychic, but the old house I grew up in always felt as if it had a couple ghosts hanging around. (Yes, it did have a grave in the backyard, but I always assumed that was a pet's grave, or maybe a small child's grave. The headstone has some initials and RIP, but no dates. Did they bury humans in backyards 100 years ago? Somehow that doesn't sound likely.)

Oh. This is a blog devoted to exercise -- of the body rather than the imagination. So I should post something exercise-related.

Exercise du jour: 50 minutes running.
1/2

Only half a star. Jog/trudged for about 25 minutes. For some reason, my stupid foot started hurting halfway in and got steadily worse, until I finally decided I was making it worse by pounding on it every other step. Frustrating.



Plus bonus exercise of an hour or so of weeding. If I don't come back, you'll know the weeds got me. Make that three friggin' hours of weeding and mowing and sowing. Maybe I could hire a goat to keep the lawn trimmed.

One step at a time ... but which way?

Quote du jour: I child-proofed my house, but they still get in.

Exercise du jour: I can't plan exercise for today. I don't know if family is coming to visit or not, and if they are then I don't know when they might come by. I just know it's probably a good idea to hide the breakables.

Having just done a road trip myself, I can understand the whys and wherefores and whoknows, but it's still frustrating. If nothing else, I'll do a lot of housework. And mowing the lawn, that's exercise.


Blues Crossroads courtesy of hankword.

Halfway there, looking for Ninjas...

more animal

Halfway Status Check: Fifteen days of daily exercising and giving something away. Time to check on my progress.

Giveaway du jour: I do have less stuff than I did; other people have more compliments, quotes, or forgiveness than they did in October.
Do I feel any different? Well, not really. Not sure if I was supposed to. But it is nice to have less Stuff around the place. Haven't missed anything that I've given up, even though it's Stuff that I've been clinging to for several years.

Today, back to the garage. I will find something to add to the Goodwill pile. It's getting harder to find Stuff to let go of, but I Have Spoken. There has to be something out there that I don't need.
Hmmmn. Oddly enough, it's much easier to sort and give stuff away in the daytime. The garage is adequately lighted at night, but I'm much more motivated during daylight hours. Trying this on a weeknight is too depressing. One more box going to Goodwill.

Exercise du jour: 4th week of the couch to 5k.
Hmmn. I'm running more, longer, but since it's mostly on Orlando Manuel, not really getting anywhere. Probably I should be glad that I haven't injured myself or stressed my body until I'm sore. On the other hand, this might be a sign that I'm not pushing myself enough. Hard to tell.
Done!




Geez, what a blah status check. Need to add some zing to this.
Suddenly, three Ninjas burst into the house and raked some leaves for me...
(I'm just sure that's going to happen. Any day now.)