Running, concerts and Child2

So, how are you?

I’m kind of exhausted. But that’s because I’ve been going to bed so late! I blame Rose. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Rose? I’m even reading a Thriller now. A genre that I haven’t read in YEARS. And I am LOVING it.

Anyway, I thought I’d post an update on running, concerts and Child 2 – in that order:

On Running:

I am LOVING my running sooooo much! This past weekend I went for a run, followed by a long, long, long walk with Friend E and the dogs, followed by a browse around the Tokai Market. I was in agony and my body ached.  In the afternoon I went for the most EXHILARATING swim. Oh my gosh, I have missed that part of my life so much! Just thinking about it makes my skin tingle. I’ve decided that this will be my Saturday morning routine from now on.  A run followed by a swim. Child1 has invited himself along (that one is a morning person of note and wakes me up at 6am on Saturdays to go and run) and although I really enjoy the alone time, I am happy to spend the time with him too!

On Thursday (or Friday last week) – I can’t remember now, entries opened for the Two Oceans Marathon. I briefly considered signing up for the half. And then I freaked at the thought of the crowds. And then I decided that I can’t let something silly like the crowds put me off. And then I decided to sleep on it. And then on Saturday I ran 7km and I BATTLED. IT was mostly uphill and I wanted to cry! In fact, I did have a bit of a cry. And then I thought WTF is wrong with me?  Am I mad in my brain? Could I really even be thinking about doing a half while I’m barely running 10km?  And then I decided to take a week to think about it. I thought about it today. I will sign up. Because really, I can change my mind anytime. My DH did ask me if I am losing my marbles. I told him that yes, I probably was, but THAT was exactly why he fell in love with me and that I would be needing LOADS of leg massages over the next few months so best he start preparing for that.

On Concerts:

On Thursday last week my DH and I had a FANTASTIC date night. We don’t particularly like going out at night during the week because we are just old like that. Also, there are some serious logistics to work out ito our kids. We do have babysitters but we need to work out things like bringing them home at some ridiculous hour during the night and getting them up for school the next day etc. So on Thursday, I left work early, fetched them, made them take a bath and we grabbed our (already packed on Wednesday) overnight bags and I took them to MIL. She made dinner for them and managed to get them ready for school the next day. After my DH and I dropped them and grabbed a bite for dinner, we still had a good 40 minutes to kill before the event started at 7pm. We went to the 80s Rewind concert and oh my goodness but it was STUNNING! DEFINITELY money well spent. It was really well organised and the crowd was fun fun fun! I sang along to nearly EVERY song and I literally did not stop moving all night – I even woke up without my voice on Friday morning. Honestly, if you didn’t go then YOU MISSED OUT! It was soooo much fun and I haven’t let my hair down like that in FOREVER!

Our next concert is happening on NYE at Kirstenbosch – we are seeing Hugh Masakela and I am VERY excited. But, having said that concerts are our thing so you just never know what can happen between now and NYE. I don’t have Lady Gaga tickets and I don’t have Linkin Park tickets and I also don’t have Bon Jovi tickets. I am feeling done with stadium concerts as I’ve been VERY spoilt by the Grand Arena but, you never know.

On Child2:

On Saturday my DH said: “Julia, he actually says words and he goes to the toilet without telling us. Can you believe it?”. He DOES this and it is  soooo exciting. I literally can’t get enough of those WORDS! Yes, there is a fair amount of cheekiness and being all sassy and yes, we still have soooo much work ahead of us but really, he has come SUCH a long way and this makes me insanely happy! He is a VERY different Child to the one he was last year. And in fact, he reached a milestone last week! Some events transpired that didn’t suit him and he said “I don’t like you Ju-la”. Oh my goodness but I was soooo proud of him!  The words were being used correctly and there was adequate expressing of emotions. I stood my ground with him and mostly ignored him (well, I had to – can’t be showing too much emotion when he says things like that) but I was VERY proud of that. It IS a milestone.  He has come sooooo far and I’m really proud of him.

But seriously now. How was your weekend? Have you had a good Monday?

Am signing off now because Child1 and I are working through fractions! So much fun in my life this Monday evening. NOT.

Later.

x

 

Exercise: a few options

I haven’t exercised for about 6 weeks now. I just REALLY couldn’t fit it in during December and in November I only went a few times. Having said that, I WISH that I had made more of an effort because with the November and December that I had, the best thing for me would have been to exercise regularly.

Unfortunately (as much as I hate it) I MUST exercise. Not for my figure but for my sanity. It does help if I set myself a goal – makes it all the more worthwhile and when I do accomplish a fitness goal then I feel VICTORIOUS and like I’m the queen of the universe.

I have decided that I am done with Bootcamp.  As EXCELLENT as the programme is, I have never ever loved it and I never got that endorphin thing that I FINALLY experienced in all its glory this past summer with swimming.

So.

I want to swim. Am thinking on a Friday after work. IT means that I wash my hair on Saturdays. This is free if I go to the beach. Or. If I go to the pools at Newlands  straight after work (I prefer beach swimming though) then I would pay a small amount of money. Something like R15.

I want to run. Am hoping to join a running club in the area. They train twice a week and do weekend runs. This costs next to nothing. Approximately R300 for the year and a nominal fee for each race. Maybe R10 or so if anything.

I also want to yoga. Once a week. Am looking at approximately R65 –R80 per session. BUT. If I groupon then I can get it a lot cheaper.

Am also thinking of finding a zumba gig somewhere. I don’t belong to a gym (have no intention of wasting my money) so will have to find a zumba class. There is nothing in the area where I live OR work which means that I will have to drive somewhere for it. This already puts me off. I don’t know what this would cost me but I can’t see it being cheaper than yoga.

There is A LOT of yoga in the area but it is all hot-room yoga. I HATE that. I can’t stand the heat and my hair is too much to handle afterwards. And ALL the groupon deals are for hot yoga ONLY.

All I want is regular Hatha or Inyengar or Ashtanga or even Power Vinyasa. At room temperature. Why are all these people following the 40degree hot room fad?

There have been some changes in my household as well so this also complicates things wrt fetching kids etc.

I was thinking today about what my exercise routine would be like if I was a SAHM.

I would start the day with 5am bootcamp (even though I hate it), actually, no. I would get a PT.  After dropping the kids at school etc I would have a yoga session. And in the evenings and  on the weekends I would run. Occasionally I will fit in a session of swimming. Or Zumba.

None of this business of trying to fit it in with the suicide hour.

Have you set any fitness goals for yourself this year? What are your fitness goals for the year?  What will your exercise routine look like this year? Are you trying anything new?

And what is your  fantasy exercise routine?

 

Back to normal. Almost.

1. So I am back at work after a fabulous break and the first day was not too bad. I do have LOADS of catching up ahead of me but, seeing that I have only 2 hands and 1 brain, I will do whatever I can, when I can.  One positive thing though was that my computer was acting up when I arrived and so I couldn’t do any work. I used the “free time” to do some private admin that was long overdue. And I have to say that, as much as I enjoyed the silence at work today, the homecoming I received from my boys on entering my home was just BEAUTIFUL. It was like the QUEEN had arrived. LOVE it!

2. I FINALLY got to experience a  proper endorphin rush and it was BEAUTIFUL and so, so EXHILARATING. Like the best drug EVER. Only so much better! I experienced that rush after swimming in the ocean  – something I haven’t really done for a few years.

I was giddy with happiness and everything around me was just glowing and shiny. I literally could not stop laughing every time I came out of the water. I am going to try to swim more often (at least once a week if I can fit it in) and I have decided that I’m done with the Bootcamp.

As excellent as the programme is, it simply does nothing for my endorphins. My fitness plans for 2012 include focusing on my running.  By the end of 2012 I would like to be doing at least 15km races though first prize would be a 21.5km race.

Am trying to decide between signing up with a running club with a good beginners programme or if I should head off to the big guns at the Sports Science Institute for their fantastic (expensive) running programme which starts in two weeks.

3. I have been walking around with big hair for most of these holidays though I did  blow dry/flat-iron it for Christmas. I was also using a leave-in conditioning treatment because of all that swimming that I was doing. Well, last night I HAD to wash my hair for work. I ended up having to give it 4 washes because of all the treatment in my hair and today it looks FABULOUS! I finally see the beauty of the Brazilian (which I thought would be non-existent after all that salt water btw.)  Here is a pic taken this afternoon just as the wind was starting up:

4. I have been using the Tranquil Body Treats range on my skin for the past few days and I have to say that there is a VERY noticeable difference. Even my DH says that I am looking “like a virgin” again…LOL. I am using the milk cleanser, toner and moisturiser and for the first time EVER (since my La Mer days) I am LOVING my skin again.

Seriously. Try the stuff.  I use the eczema cream on Child 2 for his eczema which we usually BATTLE with during summer and his skin is just BEAUTIFUL. I have not had to use any form of cortisone on his skin and there has been NOT A SINGLE FLARE UP for the past few months! Isn’t that FANTASTIC?

I do have their exfoliation cream as well but I haven’t used it yet because I can’t quite figure out when to use it. Help anybody? And I keep forgetting about the under eye cream. Will start that tonight after I do my 3 steps.

5. My cousin and his partner became parents to a little girl yesterday.  Little Isabella is just sooooo beautiful and pictures of her just leave me absolutely breathless.  I will admit that it made me long for the little girl that I will never have and I just can’t wait to go and smell her up close and stare at her little feet.  Luckily I got over it today,  – I am SOOOOO done having kids, but I will knit her some blocks in the primary colours. Maybe I could do a letter “I” block with some pink wool.  Would that be weird?

6. I am browsing campsites for our next camping trip. The BEAUTY of camping is that it is so cheap and this would mean that I can do it a lot more than once a year. I SERIOUSLY can’t wait for some downtime again.

7. I have loads of stuff to do this week:

Take down Christmas tree

Get in touch with the woman who is making me a couch.

Finalise some goals for 2012 (shall I blog about this?)

Finalise stationery (can you believe I forgot to order the pack from the school?)  and check if all school uniforms still fit.

Clean my desk

Organise craft stuff, do an inventory and plan for the monthly link-up.

Try to complete at least 2 unfinished crafts i.e. Christmas gifts which will now become Happy New Year gifts. Yes, I know I am bad like that.

READ every night for 30 minutes – have to say that this went so well during the holidays. Can’t believe how much I’ve neglected it during 2012.

I am signing off now so I can tackle at least two of the items that I’ve listed.

How was your Wednesday? And when do you go back to work?

Updates on a hump day

1. A few days ago a stunning young man who I had the privilege of knowing died in a horrific car accident. He was in his early 20s and in the prime of his life. The accident was a head-on collision and happened on his way to work. His girlfriend was also in the car with him and has survived but  is still critical in hospital. I haven’t spent much time with him these past few years but his death affected me profoundly. I keep thinking of how nasty and impatient I can be in the mornings with my family.  I have become very conscious of our goodbyes because one just never knows if that will be the last one ever.  RIP Lorenzo. My heart just aches for your family.
2. It has been decided. We are going camping. It’s our first time so any tips are welcome. I have made arrangements to hire a tent (am not going to rush out and buy one just yet) and am trying to find a nice place at the moment. I fear that I may have left it too late but, all that this means is that we will postpone our camping vacation to early in 2012. I am nervous and excited at the same time. Would it be OTT if I hired a porta loo for us to take along? The only thing seriously putting me off is sharing ablution facilities. I am not even remotely perturbed by the possible lack of comfort.  Am I just being silly?
3. I attended my first Zumba session this week. I can’t say that I loved it (am very un co-ordinated and have two left feet and  so on) but I definitely can’t say that I hated it either. In fact, I actually think it could grow on me if I give it a chance so I’m currently looking for a class close to home that I can occasionally attend. Was good fun and an excellent work out and  I sweated like a pig! The instructor was a vibrant and hyperactive and zany and a ball of energy. I LOVED her!
4. I have been listening to my favourite BoneyM for most of the week. It puts me in such a good mood EVERY SINGLE TIME! Thank you Shayne.xx
5. I am rather jealous of a pregnant woman in my office. Is it wrong that I want to be pregnant and NOT have a baby EVER AGAIN???
6. I went into the Bead Shop close to where I work (I don’t normally go to this one btw because apparently they are a bit expensive)  and I got the most awesome gift idea just by looking at a few pieces! So excited. Bought some stuff and will be making a sample on Saturday to see if it will work!
7. I have been 90% good at going to bed at 21:30. I am trying VERY hard to keep this up but it is difficult as I am a natural-born night owl. I do feel a lot more in control when I have enough sleep so for the moment (until I can figure out how to deal with my inner night owl) this habit has to stay.
8. A woman came to our office today to talk about Colon Cleansing. Apparently we all have loads of dirt in our colons and need to have a cleanse every so often. We also need to be drinking husk and clay stuff and for breakfast we must have a nutty milky drink which is essentially a full meal.  This is all to maintain cleanliness in your colon. When it was question time I told her that I have doubts that the nutty milky drink would be enough for me because I am usually STARVING when I wake up and it is so bad that I could probably eat a cow (I couldn’t exactly say I want to eat a pig because she is a Muslim and it would have been rude). She then proceeded to tell me that the reason I am so hungry when I wake up is because I am malnourished. Seriously people. I am 10 plus kilograms overweight and malnourished with my Low GI  lifestyle.  I didn’t even brag about the fact that I exercise because I was most unimpressed that she could tell me that in front of people. And she kept looking at me funny afterwards! Am not going to her for cleansing.  She doesn’t even have a website! Have any of you ever had colon cleansing?

How was your Wednesday?

 

Fatty Boomsticks hits ROCK BOTTOM

I’m not quite sure when my weight issues got out of control – I guess it happened over a period of time.Until recently, I never really saw myself as an emotional eater and one thing that I absolutely CAN’T do is to eat when I am stressed out. I usually lose my appetite during times like that.

I lost all the baby weight after Child1 mainly due to breastfeeding. My weight was OK for a few years and then at some point I started to pick up weight. It happened so slowly, almost sneakily. I wasn’t at my ideal weight when I got pregnant with Child 2. I don’t pick up a lot of weight during pregnancy and this time was no different – I honestly didn’t worry about it because I figured that I would lose it once again with the “breastfeeding diet”. Well, the breastfeeding diet didn’t work the 2^nd time around and the weight stayed like it was part of the furniture.

Thinking back, it seems like my weight issues got completely out of control during my husband’s period of unemployment. We were having to be very creative about stretching meals and saving money on food. There was lots of pasta eaten during those months. Lots of fry foods like eggs and burgers. Lots of bread. Lots of rice dishes like breyani etc.  I was literally living in carbohydrate HEAVEN. These things are cheap to buy and they do stretch which at the time helped us a lot.For someone like me who was already overweight AND not exercising it was a VERY BAD IDEA.

I knew that I was overweight (I do look in the mirror and I know the number on my clothing label) but I can’t say that I felt obese or anything like that. My clothing still fitted me (mostly) though they felt a bit snug side. I also knew that I was overweight because people were forever passing comments which really stung. I mostly managed to ignore them (or be downright bitchy right back) and it was only when my Mother spoke to me at the beginning of the year that I decided to do something about it.

I went to WL and when I climbed onto the scale and saw how much I weighed and how much I needed to lose I was in shock and somewhat overwhelmed by the magnitude of what lay ahead for me, but I can’t say that I was deeply and profoundly affected by how fat I was. Even though I was overweight at that first weigh-in, I still wasn’t classified obese according to my BMI calculation though I was practically borderline. Somehow this fact reassured me.

Overweight people usually hit a “rock bottom”  of sorts, very much like addicts. This is involves getting to a VERY LOW point where they realise that some changes have got to be made and they usually come to this decision by themselves (whether it is to lose weight, stop taking drugs, drinking alcohol etc) when they hit their rock bottom.

Up until now I  haven’t had a rock bottom moment. I had my DH telling me that he loved me EXACTLY the way I was and that I looked HOT and on the other hand I had my mother telling me that she saw me as a walking heart attack. I felt bad after that conversation with her but I honestly can’t say that THAT was my rock bottom.

Well. My rock bottom came last week.

We had a guest trainer at Boot Camp. We could choose if we wanted a session of Tai Chi or Zumba Dancing. We chose Tai Chi thinking that it would be a nice change to the hardcore exercise we were doing 3 times a week and joined up with another beginner Tai Chi class at the venue where we do training.

WJ took pics of us during the session which she emailed us the next morning. I looked at them and I wanted to cry. I’m not sure if it was shock or disgust at the image of myself but I was completely grossed out when I saw those pictures. I literally felt nauseous and wanted to puke!

I haven’t had any pictures (except for the occasional head and shoulders shot) taken for many, many years so truthfully, I didn’t really have an accurate idea of what I look like (except for the picture in my head where I was only about 7kg or so overweight).

I saw those pics and realised just how FAT I am. I haven’t weighed myself since July (I’m trying to NOT obsess about the numbers) but I have lost 10 + kg so I was  more in shock at the fact that I was even FATTER than that recently. The pics tell me that I need to lose at least another 14kg to look even remotely proper. Ugh I am just completely grossed out by myself.

I responded to her photos via email. This is what I said:

From: Julia

Sent: 19 October 2011 10:26 AM

To: Wendy-Joy

Subject: RE: TAI CHI

Thank you for these pics which were quite an eye-opener. I haven’t had any pics of myself taken for many years and I never quite realised how fat I was!

And to think that I was FATTER than this? Yikes!

This was her response back to me:

From: Wendy-Joy
Sent: 19 October 2011 10:29 AM
To: Julia
Subject: RE: TAI CHI

You are most certainly THINNER now than you were when you started running and attending my sessions so focus on that Fact and that what you’re doing is working! 

You know, I know that she meant well with her response but I wasn’t feeling it. I’m still not feeling it.

I love that I am fitter. I love that I can run 5km without stopping. I love that I am still losing weight (albeit cm’s). I am not loving that I look like THAT!

I have hit my rock bottom. Better late than never. It really doesn’t feel good. IT feels almost overwhelming.

I know that I can’t lose the weight overnight. After all, it took me YEARS to get to this point so if I want the weight to stay off then I need to be a lot more serious about this lifestyle change.

I am going back to WL and I will be obsessing about the numbers. I know that they don’t shouldn’t define me but unfortunately they do. I need the numbers on the scale to drop. Significantly.

I wasn’t sure if I should post the pics here but have decided to post one of them. I am the one in the red t-shirt and the black tights.

Forgive the quality. They were taken with a BB.

 

The quality is actually rather poor so maybe I’ll mail the whole lot to whoever comments. If you want.

On being a sucker/glutton for punishment

I really don’t like Boot Camp. It’s too busy and sore and hardcore.

I lose all my brainpower, I forget what is left and right and  I often feel stupid doing the exercises.

I can’t seem to co-ordinate the opposite sides of my body – must be those vestibular issues that the OT’s are forever diagnosing in the kids – so glad I saved my parents hundreds of thousands of dosh when I was at school and there was no OT.  As an adult I still cannot cross the midline. Imagine that!

It doesn’t allow me to clear my head in the way that running does. I don’t like that I can’t run as much when I’m doing boot camp.

Having said that, Boot Camp is generating results. I am WAY fitter and stronger and more toned in my upper body and in my core and truthfully, I don’t feel that running is truly working these areas. So based on this and the fact that I redid my assessment and saw the improved results, I have decided to stick it out at Boot Camp until the end of November. I manage to do two smallish runs every week (that’s all that I can fit in at the moment) and for now I’m learning to live with this.

These were some of my results from the last assessment:

At the beginning of September when I started this I could only manage 19 push ups. At the end of September I did 52 of these in one minute.

At the beginning of September when I started this I could only manage 14 sit-ups. At the end of September I did 39 of these in one minute.

I also improved my running time for 2.8km by 6 minutes! Seriously. This makes me VERY happy.

Much as I hate it, I’m getting results. And whether I want to admit this or not, it is probably the closest thing I’m going to get to a personal trainer.

I am continuing with this up to the end of November and won’t be signing up for the December cycle. I will be on leave during that period and have no intention of coming all this way to torture myself. In December I plan to run every day and I will be signing up for a yoga special. Clearing my head and mind space seems like the perfect way to end the year.

So. I am a sucker for punishment. But. Ultimately it’s for a good cause. A cause called ME.

How is your exercise routine going? Is it even going? What exactly is your exercise routine?

What a difference a year makes – September 2010 vs September 2011

On Monday last week when the Sadness took over I got a call from my guy BFF – I really should blog about him sometime.

He spoke to me about a lot of things and in his quest to encourage me he reminded me where I was last year this time while I was in the midst of the Sadness.

Of course I was not in the right space last week to think rationally about it but today I thought about where I was at last year this time.

And the more I thought about this, the more I smiled. Because I have come such a long way.

Last year this time I was literally rock bottom with the Sadness. I had gone for help (only because my DH forced the issue) and I was slowly starting to feel better – but there were many, many unresolved issues that I was still dealing with.

I literally had no interests in my life except for the occasional book that I was reading – and I wasn’t exactly reading riveting stuff or anything. It was all mindless.

I didn’t have a single goal.

I was hardly stepping out of the house except to go to work and to visit my darling Mommy.

I was not exercising.

I was fat and eating lots of fresh white BREAD with peanut butter and jam! And I was living off Coke (not the powder, the drink) – I was drinking 1.5 litres per day.

My house was a mess.

I was sick ALL THE TIME!

Certain relationships had fallen apart and I wasn’t coping so well.

Honestly? I had checked out of life and was coasting along. I knew that death was not an option because I had kids and a spouse and my parents.

I knew that somehow I had to find the courage to pick myself up. But knowing that you have to do something and actually doing it are two very different things.

Well. Fast forward one year.

This year has been tough in many ways but at the same time it is turning out to be one of my best years yet. I have had the privilege of befriending the most wonderful people who have changed my life in ways that even they could not have imagined.

This year I actually have interests. I have set some goals for myself which I am working on.

I exercise and I see myself as an athlete! I am losing weight and feeling so much better about myself.

My health issues are practically resolved – it’s just a matter of being consistent with looking after myself.

I knit. And do crafty stuff. I am even going to buy a laminating machine next month.

I try to keep my house clean and in order and for the most part I manage this really well. I am constantly looking for ways to improve on maintaining order in my home. I even work out a budget and am going to grow vegetables soon.

I am learning a new musical instrument.

I write a blog post or three every single day (even if I don’t publish it).

I am taking care of my skin and doing basic things like drinking lots of water.

When my friend put all this to me on Monday I was in tears. Today I am thinking about it and I can’t stop grinning to myself.

What a difference a year makes.

For the first time in a very long time I am actually OK. Not 100% deliriously happy all the time but 100% OK most of the time.

I am so very blessed to have gotten to this point and I am in awe of the fact that I really have come such a long way.

Where were you in September 2010? Where are you now in September 2011? Are you happy with where you are at now?

Week 37/52: Things I know

-My friends in the computer are Rock Stars. I love them. A LOT.

-My Tween boy has truly benefitted from OT. He even gives hugs now! This   is HUGE as his tactile sensory issues have never allowed him to be     affectionate. He was the type of child who never liked being held and once he started walking we could not touch him in any way without first asking permission. Well. Nowadays I don’t have to ask for hugs. He dishes them out freely and accepts them without resistance. Only from my DH and I though. Everyone else MUST ask. Including my 4-year-old who just takes everything without asking!

- I miss running.

- I hate boot camp.

 - I miss yoga.

 - I love learning new musical instruments.

 - Roald Dahl is a phenomenal children’s author. I cannot believe that I only discovered him as an adult when I started buying his books for my kids!

- Writing children’s literature is NOT AS EASY AS IT SEEMS!

- My hair needs to be straightened, highlighted and cut because it is currently DISGUSTING!

- It is not in my little boy’s best interests to change schools right now. He is thriving and it would be an injustice to him to move him. The move will have to wait until January.

- I love people who are funny without realising it.  Few adults can get away with this but kids are AWESOME at it. LOVE IT!

- The media sometimes gets things wrong and because of the fact that we often forget this, I do think that we are sometimes too quick to judge a situation. I hate when that happens.

- Having your Dad request your friendship on FB is awkward. Even if you love him lots and have nothing to hide. It’s just weird and I don’t know how to handle it.

 

What do you know for sure today? Join up and link here

Exercise: a summary in bullet points

• I am not particularly enjoying boot camp and will go as far as saying that it’s really not my thing.
• I miss running.
• I can’t clear my head in boot camp while doing lunges and abdominal crunches etc. because I am too busy trying to stay alive!
• I miss running.
• I am stopping boot camp when this month is over because it is a bit of a logistical nightmare with my DH working some evenings. I have to fetch my kids and they have to watch me exercise and only once I am done do we all go home for the first time. This means that I can’t add a run to my workout.
• I miss running.
• My body is also craving yoga which is essentially in conflict with boot camp. In yoga we don’t believe in hurting our bodies. Boot camp = no pain no gain.
• I miss running.
• So far I have discovered my stomach muscles (Abdominals) and the muscle under your bum – not sure what that one is called but it is VERY sore today and I could barely sit!
• I miss running.
• My Tween boy asked if he could run with me. Of course I said yes! I am working on a plan for the two of us. I think he is going to give me a run for my money though. He is FAST!
• I miss running.
• Ugh did I mention how much I hate Boot Camp?
• I went for a short run after work and was really gentle with myself. It was AWESOME!
• I am so going to run this weekend!

 

Tuesday bullets

• Thank you for your lovely comments on my post yesterday. A conversation between myself and the party involved is definitely in order. Looks like he is off this Saturday so I am cautiously excited about us having some alone time together.
• I had my first boot camp session today. For the first time in a while I was ready to die!   WJ made mincemeat out of us but I do feel like I had a serious workout.  I’ve just about given up on those endorphins.
• I attended the Love Languages for kids talk this past Saturday. I LOVED it and gained so much insight into the Love Languages of my kids AND my DH. Much of their current behaviour started to make sense and I actually walked away feeling positive and like I had a plan. I usually fall asleep at stuff like this (am VERY easily distracted) but I managed to pay attention for the full two hours. THAT is how good the facilitator was. If she has one in Cape Town again I will post the details here for whoever wants to attend. I would highly recommend it.
• After the LL workshop I attended my first knitting tweet up. It was at Tania’s house (her kids are even more gorgeous and divine in real life) and I got to see Sally, Carle and Carli. Was great fun. We knitted, chatted up a storm and I ate the most delicious, moist carrot cake. I had a really good time and am definitely going to the next one.
• This past weekend I finished knitting something for someone. I can’t post it because it’s a gift but I just LOVE how it turned out. It’s the most complicated thing I’ve knitted to date and I am really proud of my effort. I was VERY tempted to keep it (that’s how much I love it) and had to give myself a stern talking-to. Do you ever make/buy gifts for people that you end up keeping because you just love it too much to give away?  Will pop it in the mail this weekend along with the present exchange gift (am excited about what I’m making for this as well) that I am currently working on. I REALLY wish that I could put the pictures up…
• My Tween boy wants to attend a Judo workshop thing that will take place every day during the holidays. I told him that I am not too sure at this stage as it is a bit expensive, but that I would see what I could do. He offered to pay for it himself using his birthday money. Something really broke inside me when he offered to do this. How did I get to this point where my son feels he needs to pay for stuff that is essentially my duty to pay for? Ugh. I need to get my act together ASAP
• I do feel better today than I felt yesterday. Am about to get into bed. Will read for an hour followed by some knitting.

Hope you all had a lovely Tuesday. How was your Tuesday?