One Month Results (don't judge what's in the mirror)

Well, one month of a gym membership and look at the results! Isn't this how most New Year's Resolutions go? This is a perfect example of don't believe everything you see, there's no way I'd be caught napping during the day! Clearly, this is a clever Photoshop, because we all know how busy I've been at the gym lately. Me nap, never!

It's almost been a full month active in the gym. For somebody who likes to document things, I haven't paid attention to how many gym visits I've made this past month (though, it's been four this week!). I already screwed up this whole quest to get in better shape by not taking measurements or at the very least before and after photos. That makes tracking progress that much more difficult. Looking in the mirror, I can't see any differences. That alone puts any exercise program in danger of failing, but I'm tracking my progress a different way, and last night I witnessed something that has me "pumped".

One of the deciding factors for choosing this gym was it also had classes. My favorite is called Body Pump. It's a total body workout primarily using weights. The other class I've been taking is called Body Flow. It's more of a yoga, pilates, meditation mix of what I can only describe is trying not to fall over for fifty five minutes. The past couple of weeks, I've been doing more of the classes using less of the weight machines. Last night, Becca wanted to try the Body Jam class, which is more danced based. Hell would have to freeze over before I would willingly take a dance class! She was on her own for that class, so I went back to visit the weight machines.

The first chest machine that I visited was one that had me sore for days after using it the first time. I had started at forty pounds and struggled to do three sets of eight reps (I may have even cheated and did six on the last set). Last night, sixty pounds for three sets of twelve reps! (That's a 50% increase, thought I say it just because I like numbers) It continued like that on every machine I used last night. Every machine, I added a minimum of ten pounds of weight and increased my reps, heck on a couple I even did four sets instead of three. I am shocked at my increases because it really hasn't felt like I've done much. I'm actually sitting here excited about going back to the gym, which I'd NEVER thought would happen.

Okay, so that picture is real. Even though I have been visiting the gym often, I do still like to catch an occasional cat nap once in a while! Just like a picture never tells the full story, neither does the mirror. I'm the same person on the outside, but I'm much stronger on the inside. Can't wait to "see" what next month brings.

Winner by Default

This weekend I was hoping for some awesome action skiing shots. I love my fingers too much to subject them to the extreme temps of shooting pictures with bare hands in eleven degree weather. So, the cool skiing shots got downgraded to quick point and shoots to minimize the frostbite. I had hopes that the Meijer Garden's Orchid Show would present the photo opportunities I missed on the slopes with the added benefit of being indoors with heat! What seemed like a simple solution, became anything but. Taking pictures of orchids almost felt like taking pictures in eleven degree temps, it was painful in a similar way. Nothing really felt right, nothing looked right, so in the end this is my favorite photo of the weekend...by default.

My excuse, my fingers were still frozen from the skiing!

A Phone Call, 45 MPH, and a Plume of Snow

This past weekend was a visit to Caberfae Peaks, my old skiing stomping grounds. I've skied there so many times, yet there are always new experiences. Most blur together and get forgotten. The fact that I'm blogging about this one, you guessed it, it's a visit that will not be forgotten.



The first new experience was a cell phone call. Wow, nothing new and exciting about that, right? Not exactly. My Dad gets a kick out of any new sounds, so this was my attempt to take him skiing with me. At the top of South Peak, I called home, asked if he was ready, then proceeded to take a run down the hill, holding the phone to my head. I'm sure it was nothing more then wind noise rushing by, but I tried to yell out things that I was doing and seeing, "Turning, Turning, Turning", "Watch out for that tree...Ieeee", "Halfway Down", and "We made it". I was treated to my Dad laughing and "That was so cool". Success! This photo was taken right after I hung up at the bottom of South Peak.

Definitely a cool experience. One that I thought for sure would make the skiing in 11 degree, freezing temperatures completely worth it, instead I walked away with two great stories from this day (note the snow covering my jacket for the next part).



My GPS is one of my favorite skiing accessories since it's first use skiing last year. It was fun not only seeing the exact paths of every run, but the speeds I shushed down the hills. Last year's record was 39 MPH. Records are made to be broken and this year I got 40, then 43, and finally 45 MPH! We all know how competitive Becca is, well she was stuck at 39 MPH. One more run, one more chance for her to break the 40 MPH mark, sure I'll lead this time down. Lead I did, right into the record books!

After about eight to ten turns at the top of the hill (to make your run look respectable), when the hill begins it's steepest descent, that's when the tuck begins. Twenty, thirty, forty, the speed increases and it doesn't take long to reach what I can only describe as two rolling waves, really two small hills towards the bottom where the elevation goes back up for a short distance. The first was up and down, the second was up then an unexpected launch into the air where I never recovered only to land ripping one ski off as I landed and slid down the remaining part of the hill. As if in slow motion, my first thought was fear that Becca would be so close behind me that she'd never see that I fell and would come smashing into me. Still sliding down the hill, I looked back over my shoulder, where I was treated to almost a movie style effect of the sun rising over the hill, yet it was blocked by a HUGE plume of snow, all the while I'm still sliding! Becca did eventually come over the hill to find me, she did say it was hard to see me with the plume of snow, but she could hear me laughing so she knew I was fine.

In all my years of skiing, there's never been a time where I've wiped out going as fast as I did, slid as far as I did, walked as far to recover my ski as I did, or had as much fun laughing at myself. Since I'm talking about records, my best guess from my GPS log, I'd say from prefall to stop was roughly 211 ft.

Here's proof that I did hit 45 MPH (which happened to be run before The Plume):


All in all, a very fun day on the slopes. The final shot is Becca and I at the top of South Peak with smiles (Her's for witnessing the rare occasion of me falling and mine for knowing I had a great day!)

First Contact

Even though Noel has been a family member for a month now, we haven't attempted to scare him to death with human contact. Well, we've threatened a few times, but tonight his luck finally ran out. Green Anoles aren't suppose to enjoy human contact, but when you live in this house, what you want and what you get are typically two different things (well, provided your name isn't Rascal).

Noel did very well. This past month, he watched us from his jungle retreat with a weary eye, I'm sure convinced we were predators. He did avoid my hand the first time, but the second time he jumped on my hand for a ride. In fact, I think he actually enjoyed his warm blooded dad because he seemed to lay down on my hand. Next came posing for pictures. Surprise, this wasn't Noel's idea, but he didn't seem to mind too much. We also tried to coax him to eat a cricket for us, but that seemed like too much action to give us in one night. So, back to his house he went, that was enough entertainment for one night. Not a bad first contact with those creatures who constantly smash their faces against my house!

I hope Noel's experience wasn't too traumatic. If nothing else, I think he found out that we are big heating pads. Oh and on a side note, over on the right hand side, I added a link to The Live Noel View, so it would be easier to take a peak at him, when he's not camera shy.

5K

5K, sure I'd like to have it as extra laying around. 5K, definitely wish it was the amount my 401K lost in 2008. For once, when I talk about 5K, it has nothing to do with money! Yes, this is picture proof my treadmill can make it to 5K, with me on it.

Tonight was a milestone, I actually made it for a full 5K, or a 3.1 miles on the treadmill. My time wasn't the greatest, 33 minutes, but I did spend 6 minutes walking to warm up and cool down. Far from any speed record, but it's still been a goal of mine to not only a finish, but to not be writing this blog entry from the hospital is a major accomplishment!

With the new gym membership, running has taken a hiatus in my workout routine. So this was an added surprise when even though it felt like I was dying at minute eighteen, I decided to push myself and see if I could do it. The real test will come tomorrow when I get evaluated by a personal trainer at the gym tomorrow. I have a feeling this 5K, might be the easiest thing I do in the next 24 hours.

Best Christmas Ever!

The Painting


The Happy Result

"Mom, this was the BEST Christmas ever!" The first time I said that phrase, I really meant it. The problem, it happened to be after I woke up early Christmas morning and proceeded to open all my presents before anybody else got up! I'm still not sure how I avoided getting strangled for that decision, but I can only assume it was because of the honesty of that statement (but probably had more to do with my dad sticking up for me). I still got grounded for many Christmases after that fiasco, but it's been a phrase that I've said many times.

26 years later and 26 times in a row, I have to say that same phrase,
"Mom, this was the BEST Christmas ever"! The streak has to stop this year, it's impossible to top the gift of a painted portrait of my girl by my mom!

Painting takes talent. Painting a portrait takes real talent. Painting a portrait that captures the soul of the subject, that's a true gift. I'm scared to death when I get asked to take a photo of somebody. Even with that, the margin for error to capture the person in such a way that they are happy with the results is small, and that's with a camera! That is why I have an even greater appreciation for doing it with a brush. Rascal's eyes are her personality. Not only is the painting perfect, there is nobody who can even come close to the appreciation I have for owning this piece of art. Best Christmas Ever!

Life is too Short

 

Sometimes I'd rather not be taught things. Yesterday's lesson was that life is too short, better make the most of it, and more importantly spend as much time as you can with those who share it with you. I'm guilty of not following the second part of that and had time to think about it as I sat at a funeral. 

Here was somebody who helped teach me how to walk. Granted, it may have been a mild form of child abuse as I was coaxed, pushed, maybe even tricked to walking to the point my little legs didn't even want to work anymore. Over and over again with his brother and sister sending me back and forth. Or how about the time he helped teach me how to swim? Sure, I had swim lessons prior that never taught me a thing. His method, much more effective, taking me for a "boat ride", only to leave me stranded on a raft with swimming being the only option to get back to shore. I'm obviously here today, so it worked! Not only did I get back to shore, but I can swim.

I'm not exactly sure what life lesson was being taught when I jumped in the hole he dug, only to find myself buried up to my neck and left stranded, again. Maybe, it was where my independence came from. Or maybe, the lesson was don't be so damn gullible! Either way, something stuck. Those who know me well, I think it's obvious where my teasing nature comes from after being subjected to years of this "torture" growing up (yet, I loved every second). 

My point is he played a part in fairly large part of my childhood, yet I hadn't seen him twenty years! The worst part he was only 150 miles away. I missed my chance to laugh and joke about those things he did to me. Missed my chance to thank him (can't believe I actually want to thank somebody who left me stranded in the middle of the lake). Maybe most importantly, I missed my chance to return the favor with some jokes of my own, and some payback! The last lesson he taught me was this, never assume there will always be time. This also serves as a warning to those friends and family that haven't seen me in a while, I'm coming to spend time with you. Good-bye Kevin.

10 Years in 2 Months (What's My Age Again?)

Happy New Year! Mine actually started two months ago with the Quest for Abs, so I'm way ahead of schedule! I'm happy to report that in two months time, I erased ten years of fast food, steak, Maui desserts, BW3 wings, steak (what can I say, I like steak), and the all important coach potato syndrome to get to the same weight I was at age 23. That puts the total loss at 8% (I'll round this time) so far. I've always said I've been 23 for 10 years now, well, now in a way I am!

Still have a ways to go, I see ab outlines, but none are showing yet. Well, goal #1 was just getting to 160 again. Now, it's continuing on the quest to find abs. I had abs at 18, so maybe by the end of this month the little buggers with show up! At this point, I'm not sure how much more weight I can drop, it's now more about adding muscle. My next goal will be when my birthday roles around, I want to be able to say I'm in the best shape of my life, you know the cliche. The sad part is I'm probably already there, but only my blog will know this, I won't tell myself that!

My reward for sticking with my exercise program for two months, a brand new gym membership! When said like that, it really doesn't sound exciting and really it means only more work, but ultimately the fun will come with the results. My first day was actually the first day of the New Year. It was a long process deciding which gym to choose, but the decision was made on which one had the best weight equipment, since that will primarily where my next goal will be. Yesterday, I even attended my first class at the gym. It was 55 minutes of something called body pump (far shorter then my name for it, which included about ten four-letter words). During the workout, it didn't seem fun at all, but now I can say it was fun and will be a nice change up in the workout routine. At the moment, it seems like only my finger muscles aren't sore, making it possible to write this! No pain, no gain!

So, What's My Age Again (which happens to be one of my favorite songs)? I'm 23.