Kauri's Keep

And I STILL have not remembered to measure myself! You're supposed to do it on a rest day, so really I should have done it yesterday prior to exercising. I guess I'll just try to remember this Saturday. Phooey.

I officially claimed another lost pound, which felt awesome.

Tonight we did leg raises, leg curls, leg extensions, and calf raises. Usually we alternate doing either the front of the leg or the back of the leg, but Pres Man is still sore from moving stuff on Saturday, so we did it this way to save his back from some of the stuff we normally do. Between my knee and his back we're quite a pair.

I took my leg extension down to almost the minimum. It was just enough to feel resistance, like if you were using one of those stretchy bands. It did not hurt at all. I did leg curls with the same amount of weight I used last time and that went fine. I about died during the abdominal leg raises, which just shows we skipped those for too long an interval. And the calf raises were okay.

I did the recumbent bike before and after and had no pain. I did feel pain going up the stairs, but it was minor. I was wearing my knee brace tonight.

I tried my foam roller tonight! As expected, it was unpleasant. But in a way that makes me feel hopeful, because if it hurts, that is supposed to indicate that YES, your IT band is tight, and the roller should really help.

I'm going to ice my knees for 20 minutes and go to bed.

I miss this place like crazy, and catching up in the evening is not the same. I get home and my mind is dead and I cannot remember all the things I wanted to say. I'm pretty sure not journaling is going to be detrimental to my brain long-term.

I could also be braindead because Pres Man has taken to watching Piers Morgan (mainly to make fun of him, I think, because he's an awful person and a terrible interviewer), and that's what's on right now and it's draining my brain juice.

It finally rained here which was awesome. It was a lovely thunderstorm. Piewacket had to make a hard choice; hide downstairs from the thunder or tough it out upstairs so he could shun our workout. I'm pretty sure his offense at our workout won. Cats are so funny. He cannot stand it when we do something that does not, even peripherally, involve him.

I got the fabric that I ordered! It was here when I got home and it looks perfect. It's exactly what I had in mind for Pres Man's Hobbit vest. Hunter green with a leafy design. Bootiful.

This week is the Dog Days sale in my town, so I may go to the yarn store and see if there's anything I need. I do not need more stash, but a really good deal may be irresistible.

Our cicadas are singing here. I don't think it's a brood year, so these are probably Tibicen cicadas. They don't take years and years to mature.

Huh. While looking that up, I think I figured out what it was the scared a fellow knitter and myself on Dyeing Day. We thought it was a giant wasp that wanted to kill us, but it was probably a Western Cicada Killer, which are not very agressive toward humans and who reportedly have a mild sting despite their horrific size.

Kind of a relief.

We're not gaming this Saturday so maybe I will be able to start a sewing project. Or two. I'm looking forward to getting back to sewing; I have not done it for so long.

Pres Man came up with an idea for hobbit feet that may work really well. It would involve brown fun fur and flip flops, and it's way more doable than anything I came up with, as well as probably a lot easier and faster. He's so smart.

Tonight is a leg night and I'm afraid of it because it would normally be quads and that's what bothers my knees. But I printed out a knee strengthening workout and I will probably do that instead of squats/lunges/leg extensions with weights.

Maybe we'll do leg raises. I can do those.

I don't think I posted much about the baby shower I went to on Saturday. It was a Hogwarts themed party, which was awesome and the hostesses did a great job with decorations. They even had lots of little ornate frames with pictures of Hogwarts teachers in them! I was supposed to make my wine charms (like I did for my Harry Potter Party before) but between trying to finish the Nemo mittens and not getting a headcount (had to know how many for each house) until pretty late, I did not get them done. However, they are mostly done and I am hoping to finish those this weekend and get them delivered soon after.

I did have one done already, because I made too many Hufflepuffs last time I did this, so I gave away the best one to the Hufflepuff at the party. Come to think of it, she may be the person I had in mind when I made them originally!

We played one of the best games I've ever played at a shower. One hostess wrote a story, incorporating some passages from the Harry Potter books and involving the shower participants and the guests of honor. THEN she took out strategic words and we had to fill them in Mad Libs style. It was awesome when we all read them aloud in order.

Most people had on some kind of Harry Potter garb, and those who wore civvies had pins indicating that they were muggles, which I thought was cute. I took my paper and hot glue wands and they went over way better than I thought they might (better than last time I tried to show them off, for sure!). I think I gave all of them away so that made me feel good.

Miss Miah was the honoree and she looked really good. Some people really do shine when pregnant. I hope that will happen for me when I get there. More likely my hair will go limp and my skin will break out. LOL

It was fun to see her because I did not really get to be friendly with her until she moved away and I started interacting with her through mutual LJ friends.

Also, it was really fun to have an excuse to wear my HP costume again. And I took my official wand that Koganei got for me at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

So yeah, that was fun.

I guess my brain woke up after all. Maybe because Piers Morgan is over.

Oh, and in case I forgot to mention it previously, today's scale reading was Down a total of 28.5 pounds. And I totally blanked on taking my measurements Saturday, because of the shower and THEN because I had another gathering to attend which was like a tupperware party but NOT because they sold toys that need batteries if you know what I mean. So that was an experience and a half. But I had the best cookies I've ever had in my life, and I'm going to receive that recipe on Monday. Awesome. And in case you were wondering, yes I did buy something. Turns out they sell flavored lip gloss, so I could support the hostess without buying something embarrassing.

I got some weights today! I am really happy with them. They are a set of dumbbells that came with enough weight for a total of 20 lbs. I am doing way less than that (in fact I am using the set of tiny plates we already had), but it's nice to have more weights that can work on my dumbbells, Pres Man's dumbbells, and our barbell.

My new dumbbells are the type with screw-on ends, which I really like.

The cardio tonight started out a little rough for me. I felt stiff when I got on the elliptical and my quads started complaining right away. I just kept going steady and worked it out, no cramping and no real pain. It got better and after the weights, I was able to finish strong on the recumbent.

I did bench press, hammer curls, wrist raises, and bench flies. I increased my weight on each exercise. It was a good workout. I'm tired, but I feel good.

It was satisfying to get back to working out after missing one night last week (we never made it up due to the dinner thing and getting ready for dyeing day).

I also did really well on my calories today, so I'm just very pleased all around.

Tonight was leg night and I did a little more weight on my squats. I'm beginning to think I may need to do exercises specifically to strengthen my knees, because those are my weak spot. Or maybe I'm just afraid those are my weak spot and I am babying them. They used to (the right one especially) give me trouble going up and down stairs. That does not happen anymore (Yay), but sometimes they'll still pop funny or feel really strained when I'm working out. I try really hard not to bend them out over my toes and keep them straight above my heels, but maybe I'm failing. I don't know.

Anyway, it was a decent workout. My quads were burning at the end of the last squat set, the leg extensions were not impossible but felt resistant enough, the calf raises were easier, and the bent leg hip extensions (donkey kicks) were fine.

We partially took apart the elliptical and made the squeak better, but we need to get back in there because it started coming back at the end of the night. Or maybe it just doesn't like Pres Man as much as it likes me. ;)

I took a nap tonight. I wish I would stop doing that, but I am just so danged tired when I get home.

Tomorrow (today, really) should be a pretty good day. I will have time to work on the house/yard and maybe I will get my own set of dumbbells.

Oh! And my new pajama jeans arrived! They fit, so that's awesome. Now if my new work pants will get here and also fit (they have shipped, so I'm hoping it'll be this week yet), I'll be super pleased.

Compared to last week:

Neck - up 1 inch (WTH??)

Bust - down 2 inches. Woe.

Underbust - down 1.25 inches

Left Upper Arm - same as last week

Right Upper Arm - up .25 inches

Left Forearm - down .5 inches

Right Forearm - down .25 inches

Waist - stayed steady

Hips - down 1.25 inches

Left Thigh - same as last week

Right Thigh - down 1 inch

Left Calf - down .25 inches

Right Calf - same as last week

And I was a pound lighter this morning than I was when I measured last week.

For the past two days, my morning weigh-in has indicated a total loss of 27 pounds. I'm going to claim 26.

I'm so proud of us (Pres Man and I, not the Royal Us) for doing this. Like I said earlier, I am happier overall and I love feeling that little bit stronger and fitter.

But not so much stronger and fitter as to want to go out in extreme heat. We did not hit the zoo for a walk today because it was too friggin' hot.

I have decided that if I don't find a good stretching or yoga video on Netflix tonight, I will just hop on the elliptical. I doubt it would hurt me much to not have any cardio today, but I think I will do some anyhow. It feels kinda good.

So far today I am doing awesome with my calories. I listened to my body and only ate half my sandwich at lunch. Now I have some for later.

I'm still so jazzed about those jeans yesterday. I need to go jeans shopping for real sometime.

The lawn is mowed, the sprinkler is nearly finished running, and in about an hour I'm going to do some arm-focused working out.

I mowed the freaking lawn in 100 degree weather. I hydrated like crazy and I think it's all gone already. I downed another huge glass of water when I got back in and ate a bunch of ice.

I had a really good day today. My back was hurting (same place it started hurting last week) so I called the chiropractor and he got me right in. I'm feeling lots better and I will endeavor to NOT pull that rib out again. It's the same danged rib that always goes out when I get more active. It seems like it may be a family thing, since I can name three other people on my mom's side who have the exact same problem. We are mutants!

I got some exercise gear tonight. Several cheap tops and a pair of capris. They are great. I could not wear this sort of thing in front of anyone but Pres Man, but for working out at home they are perfect.

I also got some headbands; I pull my hair completely back when lifting and parts of it are short enough that they can't reach the ponytail, so I need a band to keep the rest of it back. They were on sale. Bonus!

I was very good for dinner. If I complete my normal workout tonight I will be way under my net calorie goal. I may reward myself with grapes and babybel cheese.

I'm beginning to feel my triceps more now. Oh yay! Tonight is an arm night. If you hear someone howling in pain later on don't worry; it's just me.

Tomorrow night's workout: Inclined Bench Press, Overhead Extensions, Lat Raises, and Tricep Kickbacks.

I am disappointed in myself because I did not do yoga tonight. I found my DVD and book, but when I read through the book and watched the DVD, I found myself wincing at some of the things she did and the speed at which she was doing them.

Also, and this is so weird of me, but it's a thing: she has an accent that turns me off. And what is weirder is that this is the second time this has happened! It is the same thing that turned me off my Yogilates DVD and that was a different person. Same accent, though.

I went to Amazon to find recommendations and you know what? I think I may do better with "stretching" DVDs than with straight yoga. Or maybe do that for a while before getting into real yoga.

I found myself kind of wanting to work out today. If the gamers had not been here I might have hopped on the elliptical. I think that's a really good sign, that I was craving exercise.

I am looking forward to next Saturday because that's when I decided I will take my measurements every week. I am really hoping I'll see some kind of difference. Today I saw my shadow while we were out and I thought my hips looked slimmer. I also caught my reflection in a shop window and thought the same thing. Woo hoo.

Today I got a text from Pres Man. It said "The good news is that I put the cover back on the basement window. The bad news is it was a day late."

Yes, we had water come in through a basement window in last night's downpour. We had taken the cover off the window well when the plumber came because he had to replace the spigot, which is normally under the window cover.

Annnnnd then we did not put it back. We keep thinking we'll find a different type of window cover, because Pres Man thinks the ones we have look ghetto. But our house apparently has a bigger than normal escape window or something, because all the ones we can find in the home stores are not big enough.

Anyway, it's back on now and Pres Man had already pulled out the stuff and sucked up the water by the time I got home. He also set up the dehumidifier, and everything looks like it's okay now.

Man, I think I'm going to sleep really well tonight. I am already feeling a little sore. But happy. I worked out! Again! And I was under my calories by a significant number.

Tonight we did our first workout. We did bench presses, straight curls, wrist curls, and bent over dumbbell rows. We started with 10 minutes of cardio and after doing 3 sets of 10 on each lift, we did 10 more minutes of cardio.

It might not sound like much, but it was a good start. We'll see how sore I am in a couple of days.

Tomorrow night we'll work on legs (squats, lunges, leg extensions, and calf raises) and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be rest days.

I made Pres Man take my "before" picture and OMG it's so awful. I am really hopeful that someday I will be far enough away from that person that I will be proud to show it off next to my current shape.

I also measured my upper arms, forearms, thighs, calves, waist, hips, neck, chest, and bust. So now I'll have a record of where I started. The recommendation I'm seeing is to measure yourself once a week on a rest day (the same one every week).

I'm really pleased with us. I had a good time (Really! Which surprised me somewhat) and I feel optimistic about making this a permanent part of our lives.