Have a Lovely Weekend.
9 hours ago
Showing posts with label Challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Challenges. Show all posts
Saturday, October 29, 2011
I almost forgot!!!
It's been such a 'woe is me' kinda week that I totally forgot the best part of the week! I lost 4 lbs this month! Woot! That's 1 lb per week and I couldn't be happier about that. I've been eating WW meals for lunch and going to the gym (THANK YOU GROUPON!) 3x per week (Body Pump, Body Jam, and Body Flow). The gym pass will only be good until the end of November, but I've already bought one month of unlimited pilates class to use in December. That will get me through the first of the year and hopefully the gyms will start their New Year's specials at that point. Here's hoping I can keep up the 1lb per week loss for at least the next, oh, 16 weeks! Ha!
Saturday, September 17, 2011
I'm as American as apple pie
My first ever apple pie from scratch! Here's hoping it tastes better than it looks. My parents are coming for dinner tomorrow, so I figured they'd be good guinea pigs. I used a Pampered Chef recipe for the crust and the filling. Vanilla ice cream is at the ready!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Whirlwind!
It's been quite a week! Sorry for the silence, but I'm trying to get into the groove with the job and commute thing. It hasn't been easy and I've been exhausted when I get home. I bought a ticket to use on the MARC train, but it wasn't valid until Thursday. This meant I had to drive for about an hour, then get the metro the rest of the way in. All in all, it was about 1 hour 45 minutes. This sucked. THEN, I got to use my train ticket and I thought life was going to be grand! Well, Baltimore is hosting this stupid grand prix this weekend so all of these roads are closed in the city. It took me 45 minutes to get out of the city, I missed my train and had to wait another 25 minutes for the next one, so that day it took me 2 hours and 15 minutes to get to work! Yeah, that's right. Two hours and fifteen minutes. 2.25 hours. My normal commute time by train should take me around an hour and 15 minutes, door to door. The majority of that is on the train or metro, so it's really not too bad. The ride home is the really nice because the train I get is non-stop between DC and BWI. The best part about all of this is that my employer pays my commuting costs. Getting the train and the metro adds up (fortunately parking at the station is free for monthly ticket holders) and once I saw the cost I was slightly regretting making the decision to commute. But at orientation they told us about the commuter benefits, which was a huge relief. I worked for this employer before, but it was a different location and because parking wasn't an issue they didn't reimburse us for commuting costs. I had completely forgotten that they did this and was sooo happy to find this out! That saves us $230 a month!
It's been hard to try and figure it all out. It's a bit of a juggling act now that I have a husband. It used to be that I'd go to work, hit the gym on the way home, or go to my part time job, come home, eat hummus and crackers for dinner. Basically, it was all about me. Now I just want to get home because we would like to see each other! He's also reintroducing himself in the kitchen and has been cooking me dinner. :) I'd rather sacrifice in the morning, getting up early so I can get to work early and leave early. I haven't bought a gym membership yet because I'm waiting to get settled into a routine. Allegedly there is a gym in our office building and we get a discount, but I need to investigate that further.
With this job brings new things to the household! We bought a car last week and I LUURVE it! We ended up getting a 2012 Honda Civic EX and it's way fun to drive. I did quite a bit of research between some different types of cars, new vs used, etc. We were leaning towards a used one, but finding a used EX is actually quite difficult. Then Honda came out with 0.9% financing on new models so we got a really good deal on it. My favorite features are the fact that we average 35 miles to the gallon and the bluetooth. I love talking to my car! :) I never really thought I'd care much about having bluetooth, but it's definitely an awesome feature. It looks like this, we even got it in black (because that's what was in stock), but ours doesn't stay shrouded in mysterious shadows.
Today we FINALLY ordered a sofa! I'm pretty psyched about it! Coming home and not having a place to relax stinks. Frankly, the state our house is in right now is not relaxing at all, so I'm hoping that now I'll be able to get this sorted out. I'll do a longer post on the living room updates when the sofa comes in, probably at the beginning of November. It's a darker green color (not sage, but not evergreen either) and it has coordinating floral print pillows that I think will look nice with the striped chair. The legs match the ones on the chair. They had Labor Day sales going on, so we got a good deal. I'm hoping to paint in here before the sofa comes. Here's a picture:
Oh yeah, and lastly...we had to get a new roof. This is not fun, so I won't go into detail. The fun part is I was able to fix the water damage in the guest room and I bought paint for that today!
It's been an expensive week around here! Ouch!
It's been hard to try and figure it all out. It's a bit of a juggling act now that I have a husband. It used to be that I'd go to work, hit the gym on the way home, or go to my part time job, come home, eat hummus and crackers for dinner. Basically, it was all about me. Now I just want to get home because we would like to see each other! He's also reintroducing himself in the kitchen and has been cooking me dinner. :) I'd rather sacrifice in the morning, getting up early so I can get to work early and leave early. I haven't bought a gym membership yet because I'm waiting to get settled into a routine. Allegedly there is a gym in our office building and we get a discount, but I need to investigate that further.
With this job brings new things to the household! We bought a car last week and I LUURVE it! We ended up getting a 2012 Honda Civic EX and it's way fun to drive. I did quite a bit of research between some different types of cars, new vs used, etc. We were leaning towards a used one, but finding a used EX is actually quite difficult. Then Honda came out with 0.9% financing on new models so we got a really good deal on it. My favorite features are the fact that we average 35 miles to the gallon and the bluetooth. I love talking to my car! :) I never really thought I'd care much about having bluetooth, but it's definitely an awesome feature. It looks like this, we even got it in black (because that's what was in stock), but ours doesn't stay shrouded in mysterious shadows.
Today we FINALLY ordered a sofa! I'm pretty psyched about it! Coming home and not having a place to relax stinks. Frankly, the state our house is in right now is not relaxing at all, so I'm hoping that now I'll be able to get this sorted out. I'll do a longer post on the living room updates when the sofa comes in, probably at the beginning of November. It's a darker green color (not sage, but not evergreen either) and it has coordinating floral print pillows that I think will look nice with the striped chair. The legs match the ones on the chair. They had Labor Day sales going on, so we got a good deal. I'm hoping to paint in here before the sofa comes. Here's a picture:
Oh yeah, and lastly...we had to get a new roof. This is not fun, so I won't go into detail. The fun part is I was able to fix the water damage in the guest room and I bought paint for that today!
It's been an expensive week around here! Ouch!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
S/M/L
Just when I was getting the hang of what size I was in the UK and Europe, we moved. That's right, it only took 5 years. Now that we're in the US, I was falling back on my fail-safe knowledge of 8 US=12 UK, 10 US=14 UK, etc. I hit the shops and everything is in S/M/L. What the heck?? A large can be anything from a US 10-14! I think the only garment that still uses proper sizing is trousers. Not to mention it makes it a little difficult when you want to order something online. Personally, I find the European sizing charts the most accurate when it comes to clothing and shoes. A UK 14 could range anywhere from a European 38-42, which is a huge difference.
Has anyone else noticed this about the US? Is this a new thing that I missed while I was away? Is it because we're all fatties and seeing a number might make us feel bad? Personally, I'd just like to have proper fitting clothes!
Has anyone else noticed this about the US? Is this a new thing that I missed while I was away? Is it because we're all fatties and seeing a number might make us feel bad? Personally, I'd just like to have proper fitting clothes!
Monday, August 22, 2011
I baked!
Well, I bake things all the time, but today I actually baked a PIE! I've never baked a pie before. I'm afraid of them. I think I'm actually afraid of the crust. I need to just jump into it and realize that eating the mistakes isn't such a bad thing!
Since it was my first go, I skipped the fruit pie (which truly terrifies me) and decided to go with a chocolate pie. Specifically, this chocolate pie posted on Lovely Jubbly London's blog today. The thing I liked about it was that it was easy and the ingredients were all in my pantry. Well, all except the...erm...refrigerated pie crust I ended up using. Yeah, I wimped out!
The best part was that I got to use these!
It all looks brand new, right? Don't be fooled...I've owned this stuff for probably 6 years or so.
I had to blind bake the crust, which is something I've never done before. I felt very Martha Stewart with my beans.
I baked mine the full 45 minutes, but I think next time I'd stop at 40, like LJL did with her pie (I got caught up in a House Hunters International marathon). Her pie looks WAY better than mine! I need to practice crimping the edges and making it look pretty.
I served the pie with squirty cream (not nearly as nice as the Irish version of this), and Wes gave it the 'grand sure' stamp of approval!
Since it was my first go, I skipped the fruit pie (which truly terrifies me) and decided to go with a chocolate pie. Specifically, this chocolate pie posted on Lovely Jubbly London's blog today. The thing I liked about it was that it was easy and the ingredients were all in my pantry. Well, all except the...erm...refrigerated pie crust I ended up using. Yeah, I wimped out!
The best part was that I got to use these!
I had to blind bake the crust, which is something I've never done before. I felt very Martha Stewart with my beans.
I baked mine the full 45 minutes, but I think next time I'd stop at 40, like LJL did with her pie (I got caught up in a House Hunters International marathon). Her pie looks WAY better than mine! I need to practice crimping the edges and making it look pretty.
I served the pie with squirty cream (not nearly as nice as the Irish version of this), and Wes gave it the 'grand sure' stamp of approval!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Outdoor exercise in Dublin vs outdoor exercise in Baltimore
Dublin wins.
Unfortunately, my grand plans of joining the gym have to wait until one of us has a job. After a lot of sitting around on my ass, I figured I'd have to suck it up and actually go outside. The other day I was feeling motivated to walk/run and convinced Wes to go out with me around 11:30. It was already about 90 degrees and bright sunshine. We took a water bottle, slathered on some sun screen, and figured we'd go to the Inner Harbor, stopping at Barnes and Noble to cool off a bit before heading back. By the time we got there (about 25 minutes) the water was gone and my face was on fire. The annoying thing is my legs felt okay and while my heart rate wasn't great, I wasn't gasping for air or anything. I found a water fountain at BN to fill up our bottle and splash some water on my face. Did I manage to cool off? Uh, not really. We went back outside, where it was now probably 95 degrees, to determine our next plan of attack...lunch. We decided to walk/run back to Canton and go to Chipotle. Nothing screams exercise like a burrito bowl! By the time we got all the way home I had burned 638 calories, more than my lunch!
That same evening I had my first yoga class. They're on offer in Patterson Park and they're only $5! They supposed to be held in the rec center, but there is no A/C, so they have them outside if it's not raining. By that time it had cooled down to around 80 degrees and was actually cooler outside than inside the rec center. I had to laugh because it reminded me of the hot yoga class I took when I first moved to Ireland and this was just plain, old yoga.
This morning I went out for a run around 8:30 and it was already 80 degrees with bright sun. My legs felt like they were running through treacle and I was barely able to drag myself around the park. I know I'm terribly unfit, but when I think about how far I could run in Dublin it's a bit of a downer. The only thing that makes me feel not-so-bad is that Wes is struggling too and he's super fit. He tries to go out really early in the morning, but it's already hotter than he's used to. Add the heat onto the fact that he occasionally gets lost and ends up in an episode of The Wire, it makes for some interesting runs.
In totally non-related exercise news, my friend just started a blog and it's very funny so you should check it out! It's called Adventures of a Stay-At-Home Dad!
Unfortunately, my grand plans of joining the gym have to wait until one of us has a job. After a lot of sitting around on my ass, I figured I'd have to suck it up and actually go outside. The other day I was feeling motivated to walk/run and convinced Wes to go out with me around 11:30. It was already about 90 degrees and bright sunshine. We took a water bottle, slathered on some sun screen, and figured we'd go to the Inner Harbor, stopping at Barnes and Noble to cool off a bit before heading back. By the time we got there (about 25 minutes) the water was gone and my face was on fire. The annoying thing is my legs felt okay and while my heart rate wasn't great, I wasn't gasping for air or anything. I found a water fountain at BN to fill up our bottle and splash some water on my face. Did I manage to cool off? Uh, not really. We went back outside, where it was now probably 95 degrees, to determine our next plan of attack...lunch. We decided to walk/run back to Canton and go to Chipotle. Nothing screams exercise like a burrito bowl! By the time we got all the way home I had burned 638 calories, more than my lunch!
That same evening I had my first yoga class. They're on offer in Patterson Park and they're only $5! They supposed to be held in the rec center, but there is no A/C, so they have them outside if it's not raining. By that time it had cooled down to around 80 degrees and was actually cooler outside than inside the rec center. I had to laugh because it reminded me of the hot yoga class I took when I first moved to Ireland and this was just plain, old yoga.
This morning I went out for a run around 8:30 and it was already 80 degrees with bright sun. My legs felt like they were running through treacle and I was barely able to drag myself around the park. I know I'm terribly unfit, but when I think about how far I could run in Dublin it's a bit of a downer. The only thing that makes me feel not-so-bad is that Wes is struggling too and he's super fit. He tries to go out really early in the morning, but it's already hotter than he's used to. Add the heat onto the fact that he occasionally gets lost and ends up in an episode of The Wire, it makes for some interesting runs.
In totally non-related exercise news, my friend just started a blog and it's very funny so you should check it out! It's called Adventures of a Stay-At-Home Dad!
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Best reads of 2010
2010 Reading List
The one book from this year I'd be most likely to recommend is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
The most enjoyable quick read was The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
The biggest disappointment was Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.
The one book I'd never recommend was No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.
What books did you read this year? I love book recommendations, so let me know if you read anything interesting!
Looks like I read 19 books in 2010. That's an okay number, but not great. I would have preferred a nice, round 20. I should have been able to easily reach this number, but while I was in the US I was too busy eating and watching Hoarders to actually read anything. I don't like to set myself up for failure, so my goal for 2011 is 20 books.
The one book from this year I'd be most likely to recommend is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
The most enjoyable quick read was The Help by Kathryn Stockett.
The biggest disappointment was Julie and Julia by Julie Powell.
The one book I'd never recommend was No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy.
What books did you read this year? I love book recommendations, so let me know if you read anything interesting!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Thanksgiving PSA
'Canned Pumpkin Ireland' is the second most popular search phrase that diverts people to my blog. I understand the importance of this search! Now, I can't comment on the whole of Ireland, but I can confirm that Fallon & Byrne in Dublin has quite a bit of Libby's canned pumpkin. Unfortunately, they are out of Kraft Mac & Cheese, but that's neither here nor there. Other places I would check for pumpkin puree are Fresh Market (I've found it here in the past) and Donnybrook Fair (they have a decent selection of American goods). Of course you can order it online, but that really takes the fun out of the search, no?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The six week initiation at Curves has ended!
Unfortunately, these six weeks have not been great for me, healthwise (this is the ugly). The week before I went to England I did something to my back when I was bending over gathering up laundry. I self-diagnosed myself as having sciatica pain and it was excruciating. It hurt to sit. It hurt to lay down. It hurt to stand up. I couldn't really bend over. The only time it didn't really hurt was when I was walking. I found some stretches online and I've been doing those which has been really great. I still have some pain leftover, but it's totally manageable. It's amazing how beneficial some simple stretches can be. That whole experience had me out of the gym for over a week.
Then, last Monday we had finished dinner and watched some TV. My tummy was feeling a little dodgy, so I decided to go read my book (which is awesome, by the way) in bed. Cue the start of one week of not venturing further than 10 feet from the loo. This was not awesome at all. I knew something was seriously wrong when I craved an apple soooo much that I actually left the house (in my inside-only pants) and went to buy some apples. I didn't think it was physically possible to crave something as strong as I craved that freaking apple. Yesterday, I managed to make it out to a friend's house for a couple of hours and I felt really accomplished. That was one more week out of the gym.
Today, I made it to the gym! Woohoo! I'm still not 100%, but I'm feeling a lot better now and hopefully I'll be okay for the rest of the month. I'm not a sickly type of person, so this is all really frustrating to me. So, that's TWO weeks out of six that I missed due to illness and I also missed another week because I was in England. I only got three good weeks of workout in the six week period and that's the 'bad'. Today was the last day of the six weeks, so I asked to be measured.
The 'good' is I haven't gained any weight (but didn't lose any either), but I managed to lose inches off my thighs, waist, and chest. My % fat also went down slightly. My arms and hips stayed the same. They weren't huge numbers by any stretch, but for only getting three weeks of real workout, with those other three weeks spent either sitting on the couch nursing myself back to health or drinking wine with friends in England, I was really pleased! I've decided to continue going month to month. When I first joined she asked if I had anything coming up that I could work towards as an incentive. My life is so lame I was all, nope. Not a thing! Well, I've decided that thing I'm going to work towards is looking great for my friend's wedding in Pittsburgh this December! Hopefully I can make it through Thanksgiving in the US without doing too much damage!
Unfortunately, these six weeks have not been great for me, healthwise (this is the ugly). The week before I went to England I did something to my back when I was bending over gathering up laundry. I self-diagnosed myself as having sciatica pain and it was excruciating. It hurt to sit. It hurt to lay down. It hurt to stand up. I couldn't really bend over. The only time it didn't really hurt was when I was walking. I found some stretches online and I've been doing those which has been really great. I still have some pain leftover, but it's totally manageable. It's amazing how beneficial some simple stretches can be. That whole experience had me out of the gym for over a week.
Then, last Monday we had finished dinner and watched some TV. My tummy was feeling a little dodgy, so I decided to go read my book (which is awesome, by the way) in bed. Cue the start of one week of not venturing further than 10 feet from the loo. This was not awesome at all. I knew something was seriously wrong when I craved an apple soooo much that I actually left the house (in my inside-only pants) and went to buy some apples. I didn't think it was physically possible to crave something as strong as I craved that freaking apple. Yesterday, I managed to make it out to a friend's house for a couple of hours and I felt really accomplished. That was one more week out of the gym.
Today, I made it to the gym! Woohoo! I'm still not 100%, but I'm feeling a lot better now and hopefully I'll be okay for the rest of the month. I'm not a sickly type of person, so this is all really frustrating to me. So, that's TWO weeks out of six that I missed due to illness and I also missed another week because I was in England. I only got three good weeks of workout in the six week period and that's the 'bad'. Today was the last day of the six weeks, so I asked to be measured.
The 'good' is I haven't gained any weight (but didn't lose any either), but I managed to lose inches off my thighs, waist, and chest. My % fat also went down slightly. My arms and hips stayed the same. They weren't huge numbers by any stretch, but for only getting three weeks of real workout, with those other three weeks spent either sitting on the couch nursing myself back to health or drinking wine with friends in England, I was really pleased! I've decided to continue going month to month. When I first joined she asked if I had anything coming up that I could work towards as an incentive. My life is so lame I was all, nope. Not a thing! Well, I've decided that thing I'm going to work towards is looking great for my friend's wedding in Pittsburgh this December! Hopefully I can make it through Thanksgiving in the US without doing too much damage!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Ooo....Curvy!!!
Look at me! I used to be a hottie!!!
This picture was from the summer of 2006, right before I moved to England.
Look at me now! I'm a nottie!!!
WTF!!!????
Back in 2000 I did Weight Watchers, cranked up my VCR to do Tae-Bo and I lost 50, yes 50 lbs. It took 6 months. I managed to keep it off until 2006 when I moved to England. In the 4 years I have been abroad I have managed to gain it ALL back. This sucks. Apparently the fact that I walk, oh, I don't know at minimum 3 miles a day, has meant nothing. It makes me think though, if I didn't walk that much, how much would I weigh now?? That's too scary to think about. Quitting the gym 6 months ago probably didn't help things either, but it was just way too expensive and the classes available during the day were not great. Every couple of weeks I will reminisce to my husband about the wonderful gym I belonged to in Baltimore. The classes...the yoga that was included in the membership....the POOL! Oh, how I miss that pool. I'm tearing up as I type this.
You may remember last summer when I did Bootcamp. I really liked it, but the winter sessions are too far for me to access, so it that's a bit of a bummer. The spring/summer sessions are in the Phoenix Park, which is great, but I'm not going to lie, the whole 'no bathroom' thing really stressed me out. I'm my mother's daughter. Also, with this whole 'trying to conceive' biznaz, I didn't want such a hard core workout. If I did get pregnant, I didn't see how I could modify this workout. I'm sure the instructor could have modified it, but really, the bathroom thing was more of an issue.
You then may remember that I bought the 30-Day Shred video. I had high hopes, and actually the video is quite good, but I'm just not a video person. Apparently, I need to pay for my exercise in order to succeed. Way back in 2000 I did my videos, but then I joined a gym in 2001 and I've never looked back. I love going to the gym. I love doing classes, I love that stupid killer stair machine, I love the pool....ahhh....the pool. Kim, snap out of it!
So yes, I need to pay money to exercise, but I'm not willing to pay the ridiculous gym fees here. Even in the crap economy, gyms here are still charging rapacious joining fees. So ridiculous. Then the other weekend we were on a day trip to Wicklow (which is where the above picture was taken) and the bus passed a Curves. Now I've never been a huge fan of the idea of Curves. Mainly because one of my former coworkers went there and she was freaking annoying. Not to mention, she was my mom's age. I wasn't interested in working out with old ladies (sorry mom) and I like dudes at the gym. I don't really like them there, but I don't mind them so I never felt the need to go to a ladies-only gym. I have a friend here (who is not old) and she goes to Curves. She looks great and she's had success there, so the wheels started turning.
I looked it up online when we got home and lo and behold, they were having a great introductory deal: 6 weeks for 49 euro. I emailed up a friend and conned her into joining with me. Today was our first day and I'm happy to say it went great! Well, except for the part where they weigh and measure you. This is when I rediscovered those 50 lbs I previously lost. When I got home I pulled out the WW stuff I forced my husband to buy for me a few months back. Here's the thing about doing WW in Ireland. I find it more difficult to do than when I did it in the US. Basically, a lot of the things that really worked for me the last time aren't available here. I ate a lot of soup for lunch (don't get me started on soup here), the selection of ready-meals here is not as good and the ones they do have are boring/yucky, and there is no ground chicken available here. There are even restaurants in the US that have a special WW menu with the points already worked out and everything. Oh! And my biggest pet peeve are the nutritional labels on food. They usually list the information per 100g, even if the serving size is say, 15g (I'm looking at you, mayo). So yeah, I can do the math, but what's the point of nutritional information if it's not realistic? The worst is when they do it for 100g and there aren't even 100g in the package, like a small bag of crisps.
I'm hoping to rediscover some jeans in my closet. I'm hoping my arms will be less spongy. Mainly I'm hoping to rediscover the old Kim who is currently covered in fat. That Kim is a hottie!
Look at me now! I'm a nottie!!!
Back in 2000 I did Weight Watchers, cranked up my VCR to do Tae-Bo and I lost 50, yes 50 lbs. It took 6 months. I managed to keep it off until 2006 when I moved to England. In the 4 years I have been abroad I have managed to gain it ALL back. This sucks. Apparently the fact that I walk, oh, I don't know at minimum 3 miles a day, has meant nothing. It makes me think though, if I didn't walk that much, how much would I weigh now?? That's too scary to think about. Quitting the gym 6 months ago probably didn't help things either, but it was just way too expensive and the classes available during the day were not great. Every couple of weeks I will reminisce to my husband about the wonderful gym I belonged to in Baltimore. The classes...the yoga that was included in the membership....the POOL! Oh, how I miss that pool. I'm tearing up as I type this.
You may remember last summer when I did Bootcamp. I really liked it, but the winter sessions are too far for me to access, so it that's a bit of a bummer. The spring/summer sessions are in the Phoenix Park, which is great, but I'm not going to lie, the whole 'no bathroom' thing really stressed me out. I'm my mother's daughter. Also, with this whole 'trying to conceive' biznaz, I didn't want such a hard core workout. If I did get pregnant, I didn't see how I could modify this workout. I'm sure the instructor could have modified it, but really, the bathroom thing was more of an issue.
You then may remember that I bought the 30-Day Shred video. I had high hopes, and actually the video is quite good, but I'm just not a video person. Apparently, I need to pay for my exercise in order to succeed. Way back in 2000 I did my videos, but then I joined a gym in 2001 and I've never looked back. I love going to the gym. I love doing classes, I love that stupid killer stair machine, I love the pool....ahhh....the pool. Kim, snap out of it!
So yes, I need to pay money to exercise, but I'm not willing to pay the ridiculous gym fees here. Even in the crap economy, gyms here are still charging rapacious joining fees. So ridiculous. Then the other weekend we were on a day trip to Wicklow (which is where the above picture was taken) and the bus passed a Curves. Now I've never been a huge fan of the idea of Curves. Mainly because one of my former coworkers went there and she was freaking annoying. Not to mention, she was my mom's age. I wasn't interested in working out with old ladies (sorry mom) and I like dudes at the gym. I don't really like them there, but I don't mind them so I never felt the need to go to a ladies-only gym. I have a friend here (who is not old) and she goes to Curves. She looks great and she's had success there, so the wheels started turning.
I looked it up online when we got home and lo and behold, they were having a great introductory deal: 6 weeks for 49 euro. I emailed up a friend and conned her into joining with me. Today was our first day and I'm happy to say it went great! Well, except for the part where they weigh and measure you. This is when I rediscovered those 50 lbs I previously lost. When I got home I pulled out the WW stuff I forced my husband to buy for me a few months back. Here's the thing about doing WW in Ireland. I find it more difficult to do than when I did it in the US. Basically, a lot of the things that really worked for me the last time aren't available here. I ate a lot of soup for lunch (don't get me started on soup here), the selection of ready-meals here is not as good and the ones they do have are boring/yucky, and there is no ground chicken available here. There are even restaurants in the US that have a special WW menu with the points already worked out and everything. Oh! And my biggest pet peeve are the nutritional labels on food. They usually list the information per 100g, even if the serving size is say, 15g (I'm looking at you, mayo). So yeah, I can do the math, but what's the point of nutritional information if it's not realistic? The worst is when they do it for 100g and there aren't even 100g in the package, like a small bag of crisps.
I'm hoping to rediscover some jeans in my closet. I'm hoping my arms will be less spongy. Mainly I'm hoping to rediscover the old Kim who is currently covered in fat. That Kim is a hottie!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Pre-vacation preparations
The week leading up to a vacation can be a busy time. We're heading to Boston on Friday, so I'm trying to get things organized. The biggest thing is, of course, the laundry. Fortunately I don't work as doing laundry in our flat is a full time job. I also like doing laundry. First things first - decide what you want to wear on vacation and not wear it the entire week before packing for said vacation. This isn't hard if you're going somewhere with a different climate, but it's tricky when the forecast for your destination is 50s-60s and showers. Sounds a lot like Ireland right now!
In America, I had a tumble dryer and drying racks that were in a warm, dry room. In England, we didn't have a tumble dryer (at first), but we had a garden with a clothes line. We also had radiators that you could turn on when you wanted to throw a pair of jeans on there to dry fairly quickly. In Ireland, we have no tumble dryer (no room for one); no garden means no clothesline; storage heating instead of radiators, so there is no flipping a switch for immediate heating; drying racks in our bedroom which isn't known for being a warm, dry room; and a dehumidifier which I love and my husband HATES (he pays the electric bill).
Today would have been a perfect day to hang stuff outside. As I was flipping and rearranging my laundry for the 5th time today, all while cursing our lack of a garden, I was thinking I might be a bit OCD about laundry. I'm obsessed with getting it dry so I can pull it off the rack and throw in another load of laundry. I don't know if it's the sense of completion or what, but I get jazzed when I do laundry.
What I don't get jazzed about?? Pretty much all other cleaning. There is nothing better than going on vacation and coming back to a clean house. I discovered my husband doesn't share this love as after we were married and we returned to our new marital home it looked like someone had been there that morning cooking a full fry up with the dirty frying pan on the stove, dirty plate and half full coffee cup still sitting on the table. I'm sure the cat sitter was thankful to smell that treat when she stopped by. Our friend is stopping by to check on the cat, so I'm determined for her to not think we're total slobs! I cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen floor (which at 12 sq ft is no real accomplishment) and I actually dusted. However, reason #7,468,320,474 of why I hate this apartment means that you can't tell it's been cleaned. No matter what amount of cleaning you do, it never looks pristine. I don't like not being able to see the fruits of my labors!
Tomorrow's agenda: Defeat the mold.
In America, I had a tumble dryer and drying racks that were in a warm, dry room. In England, we didn't have a tumble dryer (at first), but we had a garden with a clothes line. We also had radiators that you could turn on when you wanted to throw a pair of jeans on there to dry fairly quickly. In Ireland, we have no tumble dryer (no room for one); no garden means no clothesline; storage heating instead of radiators, so there is no flipping a switch for immediate heating; drying racks in our bedroom which isn't known for being a warm, dry room; and a dehumidifier which I love and my husband HATES (he pays the electric bill).
Today would have been a perfect day to hang stuff outside. As I was flipping and rearranging my laundry for the 5th time today, all while cursing our lack of a garden, I was thinking I might be a bit OCD about laundry. I'm obsessed with getting it dry so I can pull it off the rack and throw in another load of laundry. I don't know if it's the sense of completion or what, but I get jazzed when I do laundry.
What I don't get jazzed about?? Pretty much all other cleaning. There is nothing better than going on vacation and coming back to a clean house. I discovered my husband doesn't share this love as after we were married and we returned to our new marital home it looked like someone had been there that morning cooking a full fry up with the dirty frying pan on the stove, dirty plate and half full coffee cup still sitting on the table. I'm sure the cat sitter was thankful to smell that treat when she stopped by. Our friend is stopping by to check on the cat, so I'm determined for her to not think we're total slobs! I cleaned the bathroom, the kitchen floor (which at 12 sq ft is no real accomplishment) and I actually dusted. However, reason #7,468,320,474 of why I hate this apartment means that you can't tell it's been cleaned. No matter what amount of cleaning you do, it never looks pristine. I don't like not being able to see the fruits of my labors!
Tomorrow's agenda: Defeat the mold.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Don't read Facebook before you have your morning coffee.
I learned my lesson.
My friend who is a youth pastor in the US posted a FB status that had to do with people (i.e. politicians) blaming everyone else (i.e. other politicians) for the problems in the country, when they should really take a look at the individual first. I couldn't agree more with this statement. I'm sick of the blame game, and that goes with politicians in Ireland and the UK too! My friend and I don't always agree on everything, but we've been friends a long time, I helped out with the youth group and confirmation at church, and we respect each other.
Some guy (that I don't know) posts that unfortunately liberals don't have any respect for morals and family values and all they want to do is make big government the family and take God out of everyone else's family. Yeah, this liberal didn't appreciate that statement. So, I responded and just said that in fact liberals do appreciate morals and family values and no one is interested in taking God out of the family. I told him that conservatives like to use the religion crutch to gain support, then are well known to fail when it comes to upstanding morals. I told him that just as I wouldn't assume all Republicans are like that, I would appreciate if he didn't make sweeping generalizations about the liberals. So he responds (I'm paraphrasing) that politically he does agree with some of their agenda but liberals support abortion, so they don't have family values and morals and if I believe that, then I have no place in church because God knows all (or something to that effect).
This. This really ticked me off.
So I told him I wasn't going to get into an abortion debate with a conservative male and I thanked him for judging me and millions of other people he doesn't know. And I agreed that yes, God does know all (implying that he'll see your judgemental ass when you get to heaven!).
So my friend ended up deleting the conversation and said something about posting a less controversial status update. I felt bad (it wasn't his fault), so I emailed him to apologize for arguing on his facebook. He sent me this reply:
Hey - you have nothing to be sorry about. The guy that's arguing with you is an a-one jackass, but he's also a member of my church and helps to pay my salary, so I felt compelled to but didn't want to get into it with him as well. He has a very simple-minded approach.
I totally understand why he had to delete it and I actually didn't think he was angry with me, yet I still felt the need to apologize. Being a liberal and Christian at the same time totally throws those radical conservatives for a loop sometimes! They can't make hide nor hair of it! I remember telling a well-educated woman I worked with that I was a Democrat and an active member of my church and I watched her head spin around on her shoulders. She honestly had no idea the two could co-exist!
Later that day I had to walk to the grocery store so I could buy the stuff to make Sunday dinner for my family (you know, all that family values and crap), I passed this church. The sun was shining through a back window and illuminated this bit of stained glass. All the times walking past this church I've never seen that before. It was a wordless conversation and felt like I was getting a hug.
It made my heart smile and put an extra skip in my step.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Funny shoes and exercise videos...oh my!
I have said in previous blog posts (here and on my 365) that 1.) I bought a very ugly pair of MBT shoes and 2.) I was going to start doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. A few people have asked that I do a review of these two things so here goes.
1.) I'll cover the MBTs first. I have been considering these for quite some time. Not having a car and living in the city means I walk. A lot. If I know I'm going to be doing a ton of walking I would wear either my Nikes, Sketchers, or sometimes my flats. No doubt by the end of the day my feet, knees, and/or lower back would be killing me. Funny enough it was most noticeable when I was standing at the stove cooking dinner. I think many years of wearing flip flops and non-sensible shoes when working my part-time job during which I could be standing for 8 hours, totally did me in.
The idea of the MBTs is that they're 'physiological footwear'. They're supposed to improve your posture, activate muscles in your legs and abdomen to help with stability, and reduce stress on your knees and hips. The soles of the shoe are very, for the lack of a better word, rolly. It reduces the amount that you step on your heel and you're actually distributing the weight around your food more evenly. The downside to the shoe is that they're stupid expensive. They are probably the most expensive pair of shoes I've ever owned. Fortunately, the pair I got were on sale and I had a gift card. They have cuter shoes like mary janes and black boots, but they weren't on sale.
I've had the shoes for about 2 weeks so far and I have to say, I really like them. I walk all over town with them and never use my Nikes anymore except for exercise. I feel like my posture is better when I'm walking in them. My lower back doesn't hurt anymore when I'm cooking dinner and I don't have pain in my feet. I did have some pain in my ankles at first, but that's gone away as my muscles are stronger. I do find that I'm very bouncy when I walk in them and if I'm holding Wes' hand while we're walking it's flying all over the place like we're 5 year olds skipping to school. My feet actually hurt less when I'm wearing my other shoes, so that's a huge bonus. The company claims the shoes will tone and shape your body. This, I'm not so sure about. If that happens, that's great, but if you're just looking to buy these shoes to get nice legs then I wouldn't spend the money on them. If you have pain in your feet, hips, or back and want to improve your posture, then I would definitely recommend them.
2.) The same day I got the shoes, I also got Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. So far, so good! I've read some reviews and I have to agree with other that this video is not for beginners. It's definitely geared towards intermediate/advanced level. I think a beginner doing this video, even the easiest work out, would be initimated and not likely to continue exercising. One of her assistants does the modified exercise in case you can't do the harder move, but I still thinks it's a bit too advanced for beginners. The video is set up so that you get 3 20-minute workouts of increasing difficulty. After you warm up you do 3 minutes of strength (you need weights), 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. You repeat this sequence 3 times with different exercises, before you cool down. The cardio portion is A LOT of bouncing (jumping jacks, jump rope, high knees, etc), so if you don't like to bounce, this isn't the video for you. We don't have a lot of space in our living room and this is a great video for that. She doesn't have you running all over the place kicking and flailing. The one really great thing about the video is that you can adjust it to your level (workout 1 with heavier weights, workout 2 with lighter weights, etc). This means you get a lot of workout possibilities in one video.
I did the first workout all last week and my legs definitely felt shredded at first! I decided to try the second one today just to see what it's like. Yeah, it was hard! Some of the cardio things she has you do in this one I wasn't comfortable with at first, so I just reverted back to a couple of the moves in the first workout. It's also really easy to remember the moves, so you can actually do a workout even if you don't have the video. All you need is a clock with a second hand. For example, I went to the gym last week, ran on the treadmill, then did the strength and abs portion of the video in the workout room there. It was nice to mix things up a bit.
One big con to this video, although honestly most exercise videos are the same, is the warm up and cool down are way too short, particularly the cool down. They never do enough stretching on exercise videos, so I would recommend doing some additional calf stretches and such at the end. I wasn't used to all that bouncing at first and my left calf muscle was KILLING me from the jump rope. I've been doing extra calf stretches on my own and it helped loads.
Do I think I'm going to lose 20 lbs in 30 days?? No way in hell. But I'm definitely feeling fitter already and I can see an improvement in such a short period of time. It only takes 20 minutes so no excuses for not having time. See, I managed to find the guilt factor I need to keep it going! :)
1.) I'll cover the MBTs first. I have been considering these for quite some time. Not having a car and living in the city means I walk. A lot. If I know I'm going to be doing a ton of walking I would wear either my Nikes, Sketchers, or sometimes my flats. No doubt by the end of the day my feet, knees, and/or lower back would be killing me. Funny enough it was most noticeable when I was standing at the stove cooking dinner. I think many years of wearing flip flops and non-sensible shoes when working my part-time job during which I could be standing for 8 hours, totally did me in.
The idea of the MBTs is that they're 'physiological footwear'. They're supposed to improve your posture, activate muscles in your legs and abdomen to help with stability, and reduce stress on your knees and hips. The soles of the shoe are very, for the lack of a better word, rolly. It reduces the amount that you step on your heel and you're actually distributing the weight around your food more evenly. The downside to the shoe is that they're stupid expensive. They are probably the most expensive pair of shoes I've ever owned. Fortunately, the pair I got were on sale and I had a gift card. They have cuter shoes like mary janes and black boots, but they weren't on sale.
I've had the shoes for about 2 weeks so far and I have to say, I really like them. I walk all over town with them and never use my Nikes anymore except for exercise. I feel like my posture is better when I'm walking in them. My lower back doesn't hurt anymore when I'm cooking dinner and I don't have pain in my feet. I did have some pain in my ankles at first, but that's gone away as my muscles are stronger. I do find that I'm very bouncy when I walk in them and if I'm holding Wes' hand while we're walking it's flying all over the place like we're 5 year olds skipping to school. My feet actually hurt less when I'm wearing my other shoes, so that's a huge bonus. The company claims the shoes will tone and shape your body. This, I'm not so sure about. If that happens, that's great, but if you're just looking to buy these shoes to get nice legs then I wouldn't spend the money on them. If you have pain in your feet, hips, or back and want to improve your posture, then I would definitely recommend them.
2.) The same day I got the shoes, I also got Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. So far, so good! I've read some reviews and I have to agree with other that this video is not for beginners. It's definitely geared towards intermediate/advanced level. I think a beginner doing this video, even the easiest work out, would be initimated and not likely to continue exercising. One of her assistants does the modified exercise in case you can't do the harder move, but I still thinks it's a bit too advanced for beginners. The video is set up so that you get 3 20-minute workouts of increasing difficulty. After you warm up you do 3 minutes of strength (you need weights), 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs. You repeat this sequence 3 times with different exercises, before you cool down. The cardio portion is A LOT of bouncing (jumping jacks, jump rope, high knees, etc), so if you don't like to bounce, this isn't the video for you. We don't have a lot of space in our living room and this is a great video for that. She doesn't have you running all over the place kicking and flailing. The one really great thing about the video is that you can adjust it to your level (workout 1 with heavier weights, workout 2 with lighter weights, etc). This means you get a lot of workout possibilities in one video.
I did the first workout all last week and my legs definitely felt shredded at first! I decided to try the second one today just to see what it's like. Yeah, it was hard! Some of the cardio things she has you do in this one I wasn't comfortable with at first, so I just reverted back to a couple of the moves in the first workout. It's also really easy to remember the moves, so you can actually do a workout even if you don't have the video. All you need is a clock with a second hand. For example, I went to the gym last week, ran on the treadmill, then did the strength and abs portion of the video in the workout room there. It was nice to mix things up a bit.
One big con to this video, although honestly most exercise videos are the same, is the warm up and cool down are way too short, particularly the cool down. They never do enough stretching on exercise videos, so I would recommend doing some additional calf stretches and such at the end. I wasn't used to all that bouncing at first and my left calf muscle was KILLING me from the jump rope. I've been doing extra calf stretches on my own and it helped loads.
Do I think I'm going to lose 20 lbs in 30 days?? No way in hell. But I'm definitely feeling fitter already and I can see an improvement in such a short period of time. It only takes 20 minutes so no excuses for not having time. See, I managed to find the guilt factor I need to keep it going! :)
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My brain needs a workout too!
As an end of the year recap, some people listed all of the books they read in 2009 and I thought that was pretty cool. I'm loving my library card, so I've decided to keep track of all the books I read this year. I've never done this before, so I'm curious to see how many I read and what types I tend to go for. I like to think my selection of books is fairly random, but each time I go to the library I do try to pick at least one book that has something to do with Ireland. The book is written by an Irish author, a biography, or a story based in Ireland.
The list is over on the right side of the page, with links to the books in case anyone wants to know more about them. I'm not the fastest reader and I actually don't read during the day (regardless of my current employment status) so don't expect this list to be updated on a daily basis.
Oh, and my favorite book for 2009? Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.
The list is over on the right side of the page, with links to the books in case anyone wants to know more about them. I'm not the fastest reader and I actually don't read during the day (regardless of my current employment status) so don't expect this list to be updated on a daily basis.
Oh, and my favorite book for 2009? Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
New Years Non-Resolutions
I don't do resolutions. I always just feel they're made to be broken and in my case will probably just lead to disappointment. I previously posted that I froze my gym membership to take boot camp, but I've taken things further...I quit the gym. Many people would be happy to do this, but this is huge for me. I've had a gym membership for 10 years and I'm one of those strange people who actually like going to the gym. I don't just like the classes, I need the classes to keep me motivated. I need to become friendly with the instructor so that when I don't show up I feel guilt. When I was in Baltimore I had to drive past my gym on the way home from work and if I didn't go, I'd feel guilt. Regardless of all the guilt (and I'm not even Catholic!), I really do enjoy going.
Gyms in Ireland suck. I've been told by more than one gym employee, that gyms here are about 30 years behind gyms in the UK and US. You still have to pay horrendous joining fees and often not all of the classes are included in your huge monthly membership, so if you want to take yoga or pilates you have to pay an additional 70 euro for a 6 week course. This is totally ridiculous. Such was the case at my gym, so I quit.
Now I'm trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do. My membership is up at the end of January and I'd like to not pay for anything additional while I'm waiting for it to run out. It is way too cold to do boot camp, but once it warms up a bit I'll most likely do another one of those in the spring. I may end up joining the Dublin YMCA which is cheaper than regular gym and has a decent selection of classes. You can pay by the class, so I may try some more out (I've been to one) before committing to a membership. Yesterday I bought Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I'm not as keen on videos (where's the guilt!?), but I've heard good things about it and it means I don't have to go out into the cold. Wes didn't balk at the price, nor did he suggest waiting to buy it online, further confirming he's on board with this decision. I need to get some weights, but I did the video this morning anyways just to see what it's like. It was pretty good! We don't have a lot of space in our living room, so doing videos where you 'travel' a lot, like Tae Bo, are difficult to do here. If it warms up a bit, I'll supplement this with *gulp* running. Don't hold me to that one.
I'm also going to be better about following the Weight Watchers stuff. I'm actually not too bad when cooking for Wes and I, making sure I'm eating the proper portions. I need to get my lunches under better control and of course there is the snacking.
Most of this is spurned on by the hopes that we will try to get pregnant this year (your welcome Mom and Sister!). I'm pretty terrified of being overweight if/when I get pregnant. The idea of gaining another 30-50 lbs scares me even more. I'm a short person, so it doesn't take too much additional weight to make me look and feel uncomfortable. Not to mention, it's not good for my health.
Oh yeah, and I want to get a job.
And I want to move to a new place with less mold. This is Ireland, so no mold would be impossible.
Gyms in Ireland suck. I've been told by more than one gym employee, that gyms here are about 30 years behind gyms in the UK and US. You still have to pay horrendous joining fees and often not all of the classes are included in your huge monthly membership, so if you want to take yoga or pilates you have to pay an additional 70 euro for a 6 week course. This is totally ridiculous. Such was the case at my gym, so I quit.
Now I'm trying to figure out what the heck I'm going to do. My membership is up at the end of January and I'd like to not pay for anything additional while I'm waiting for it to run out. It is way too cold to do boot camp, but once it warms up a bit I'll most likely do another one of those in the spring. I may end up joining the Dublin YMCA which is cheaper than regular gym and has a decent selection of classes. You can pay by the class, so I may try some more out (I've been to one) before committing to a membership. Yesterday I bought Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I'm not as keen on videos (where's the guilt!?), but I've heard good things about it and it means I don't have to go out into the cold. Wes didn't balk at the price, nor did he suggest waiting to buy it online, further confirming he's on board with this decision. I need to get some weights, but I did the video this morning anyways just to see what it's like. It was pretty good! We don't have a lot of space in our living room, so doing videos where you 'travel' a lot, like Tae Bo, are difficult to do here. If it warms up a bit, I'll supplement this with *gulp* running. Don't hold me to that one.
I'm also going to be better about following the Weight Watchers stuff. I'm actually not too bad when cooking for Wes and I, making sure I'm eating the proper portions. I need to get my lunches under better control and of course there is the snacking.
Most of this is spurned on by the hopes that we will try to get pregnant this year (your welcome Mom and Sister!). I'm pretty terrified of being overweight if/when I get pregnant. The idea of gaining another 30-50 lbs scares me even more. I'm a short person, so it doesn't take too much additional weight to make me look and feel uncomfortable. Not to mention, it's not good for my health.
Oh yeah, and I want to get a job.
And I want to move to a new place with less mold. This is Ireland, so no mold would be impossible.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Honeymoon decisions
Between looking for a job and cleaning mold off our walls, I think about where the heck to go for our honeymoon. Yes, we were married in April and we still haven't gone on a honeymoon. With the cost of the wedding and my moving to Ireland we decided to hold off for when we'd have a bit more time and money. Wes wants to go to Italy. This is a GREAT idea! I'm totally on board for Italy. But what about Romania?? Or a Mediterranean cruise, we've never been on a cruise?? Or, ooo! Someplace warm and tropical!? We have considered every single country in the world and at this point, the only place vetoed is Canada. Sorry Canada. My only prerequisite is a spa. I want to hang out in a bathrobe. Wes said we could go to a spa in Kildare. Umm...no. I would like to go further than an hour away for our honeymoon. To further complicate matters Wes has signed up for the Boston Marathon which is April 19th. This is great since neither of us has ever been to Boston! The downside is that now 'Practical Kim' is on the scene. Yes, there is actually a practical side to me. Should we go to Boston for our honeymoon?? We could actually go to Cape Cod which would be lovely, but cold since it's April. On the plus side we would rent a car and I would be comfortable driving around. My internal conflict about spending our honeymoon in Massachusetts is 1.) I'm an east coast American who lives in Europe. Why am I going to the east coast of America for my honeymoon? and 2.) If we end up moving to America we could go to Boston any old time. It would be nice to go somewhere that we may not be able to go to again. Then we thought we could fly to say San Francisco or something and spend time in northern California, but the cost of internal US flights is ridiculous. We could just as easily (and probably more cheaply) fly from Dublin to somewhere on the Continent.
Sigh....
I'll go clean some mold now.
Sigh....
I'll go clean some mold now.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Running Widow
You've heard of golf widows, right?? Their husbands are always out on the course and their wives never see them. Well, I'm a running widow. My husband goes for runs at least 4 times a week. Sometimes the run is a short 40 minutes, other times it's a long 2.5 hours. I know my running-loving husband would LOVE if he could share this hobby with his wife, but she's a running-hater. Oh, I try. I THINK I could maybe do a 5K (~3 mi) right now, but that's about it and I'd be struggling. Oh, and running outside and running on a treadmill are not the same. I discovered this when I started bootcamp. I could run 5K on the treadmill no problem, but I couldn't run around the Papal Cross twice without feeling like I was going to die. Suffice it to say, I will forever be a running widow.
Wes ran in the Dublin Marathon on Monday. His reachable goal was to get a better time than he got at the Connemarathon which was 3:10:25. His super goal was to get a sub-3 hour time. He's been training like a fanatic (even though it's pointed out to me numerous times that there are guys out there with FAMILIES who run more miles than him per week), so I knew he had a pretty good shot with at least the reachable goal. The marathon started at 9am and the weather was really perfect - mostly cloudy skies and cool temps. The route took him up through Phibsborough which isn't far from our apartment, so I went up there to cheer him on. There was a bigger crowd than I had expected and even cars that were passing the runners would honk and cheer them on. It was pretty cool! Anyway, it was only mile 2.5 and I have to say, he looked like he was struggling a bit. I was kind of worried, but I figured they had just ran up a hill to get there and if it were me, I'd already be walking, so I just headed off and prayed that he made it all the way around! The route for this marathon wasn't the best in that it made a huge circle around Dublin. I prefer routes where you can easily hop over a river or something and see them a few miles later. So, I basically had two hours to kill until I could see him again in the city centre. I did this with my book, coffee, and window shopping. I ended up seeing him again around mile 25.5, which was by Grafton Street. There was a really good crowd there since it was close to the finish line. He came around the corner and I checked my watch and knew he had a really good chance of meeting his super goal! I thought he looked pretty good, but apparently, that was a ruse.
In the end, he ended up doing 3:00:25!!! Just 25 seconds from his super goal, but he shaved off 10 minutes from his last marathon. I'm really proud of him! He said that around mile 19 he had to stop and stretch because he was cramping up. He only stopped for about 20 seconds because he knew if he didn't get going again he never would. Then, unbeknownst to me, right after I saw him by Grafton Street he was passing the 26 mile marker and it felt like a knife was driven into his calf. Come hell or high water he was going to finish! And he did!
And we hobbled home.
Wes ran in the Dublin Marathon on Monday. His reachable goal was to get a better time than he got at the Connemarathon which was 3:10:25. His super goal was to get a sub-3 hour time. He's been training like a fanatic (even though it's pointed out to me numerous times that there are guys out there with FAMILIES who run more miles than him per week), so I knew he had a pretty good shot with at least the reachable goal. The marathon started at 9am and the weather was really perfect - mostly cloudy skies and cool temps. The route took him up through Phibsborough which isn't far from our apartment, so I went up there to cheer him on. There was a bigger crowd than I had expected and even cars that were passing the runners would honk and cheer them on. It was pretty cool! Anyway, it was only mile 2.5 and I have to say, he looked like he was struggling a bit. I was kind of worried, but I figured they had just ran up a hill to get there and if it were me, I'd already be walking, so I just headed off and prayed that he made it all the way around! The route for this marathon wasn't the best in that it made a huge circle around Dublin. I prefer routes where you can easily hop over a river or something and see them a few miles later. So, I basically had two hours to kill until I could see him again in the city centre. I did this with my book, coffee, and window shopping. I ended up seeing him again around mile 25.5, which was by Grafton Street. There was a really good crowd there since it was close to the finish line. He came around the corner and I checked my watch and knew he had a really good chance of meeting his super goal! I thought he looked pretty good, but apparently, that was a ruse.
In the end, he ended up doing 3:00:25!!! Just 25 seconds from his super goal, but he shaved off 10 minutes from his last marathon. I'm really proud of him! He said that around mile 19 he had to stop and stretch because he was cramping up. He only stopped for about 20 seconds because he knew if he didn't get going again he never would. Then, unbeknownst to me, right after I saw him by Grafton Street he was passing the 26 mile marker and it felt like a knife was driven into his calf. Come hell or high water he was going to finish! And he did!
And we hobbled home.
Wes (in the blue shirt) around mile 25.5.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Unemployment
From the Irish Times:
THE RANKS of the long-term unemployed swelled by almost 25,000 people in the past year, while the overall unemployment rate more than doubled to 12 per cent.
Awesome.
Here is an article about a newly qualified teacher attempting to find work. He talks about a friend who got a temporary post at a school and felt like she won the lottery. When I read the article I felt guilty because it actually made me feel a little better. It was nice to know I'm not the only one!
Please understand why when you ask me how the job search is going and I say it's not, that I'm not holding back! Really!
THE RANKS of the long-term unemployed swelled by almost 25,000 people in the past year, while the overall unemployment rate more than doubled to 12 per cent.
Awesome.
Here is an article about a newly qualified teacher attempting to find work. He talks about a friend who got a temporary post at a school and felt like she won the lottery. When I read the article I felt guilty because it actually made me feel a little better. It was nice to know I'm not the only one!
Please understand why when you ask me how the job search is going and I say it's not, that I'm not holding back! Really!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Boot Camp
I just finished my first week of boot camp classes. The class is in Phoenix Park and I have to say, the setting is gorgeous. We've actually had decent weather so far which is amazing. On Thursday the sun was shining and with the Wicklow mountains off in the distance it was really gorgeous. Of course it's the one time during the week when I don't have my camera. When I registered the instructor told me the first class is always the hardest and she was right!
Not having a car is a total downside to this class. The first day I figured I'd get the Luas to Heuston Station, then walk up to the Papal Cross. Unfortunately, the shuttle bus has stopped running and there's really no easy way to get up there other than walking or driving. I knew it was far, but holy geez, it's actually about 1.75 miles! Of course I was running late so I had to power walk it. As my mom said, that's a lot of exercise just to exercise! And there's no toilet located anywhere near the Papal Cross. Well, I could ask Dan Rooney if he'd let me use the one in the American Embassy, but it's a long shot. I'd go in there waving my Terrible Towel, but then I'd be a Crazy. I have to say, the lack of toilets in Phoenix Park is a huge negative about the park. It's a HUGE place, bigger than Central Park, and there are three places where there are toilets. Hopefully Dan wasn't looking out his window on Thursday or he would have seen more than one full moon.
After that first night I've reassesed the bus situation cutting down my walk time to less than a mile and I've learned to use the facilities 'au naturale'. I'm not proud of that last one, but I blame the park for forcing me to do that. These two things combined have made my boot camp experience MUCH more enjoyable! For the warm up we have to run around the Papal Cross twice. This is only about a quarter of a mile and oh my god that first night were my lungs burning! I was definitely the last person and I had to walk some of it. By the third class I'm happy to say I can already see an improvement! I'm no longer the last person to finish the warm up, I can run most of it, and my lungs burn a little less.
This is only a 4 week session and I surprise myself by feeling little bummed about that. She does run a winter session, but it's at an athletic club that's too far away. Guess I'll have to find some other way to torture myself over the winter!
Not having a car is a total downside to this class. The first day I figured I'd get the Luas to Heuston Station, then walk up to the Papal Cross. Unfortunately, the shuttle bus has stopped running and there's really no easy way to get up there other than walking or driving. I knew it was far, but holy geez, it's actually about 1.75 miles! Of course I was running late so I had to power walk it. As my mom said, that's a lot of exercise just to exercise! And there's no toilet located anywhere near the Papal Cross. Well, I could ask Dan Rooney if he'd let me use the one in the American Embassy, but it's a long shot. I'd go in there waving my Terrible Towel, but then I'd be a Crazy. I have to say, the lack of toilets in Phoenix Park is a huge negative about the park. It's a HUGE place, bigger than Central Park, and there are three places where there are toilets. Hopefully Dan wasn't looking out his window on Thursday or he would have seen more than one full moon.
After that first night I've reassesed the bus situation cutting down my walk time to less than a mile and I've learned to use the facilities 'au naturale'. I'm not proud of that last one, but I blame the park for forcing me to do that. These two things combined have made my boot camp experience MUCH more enjoyable! For the warm up we have to run around the Papal Cross twice. This is only about a quarter of a mile and oh my god that first night were my lungs burning! I was definitely the last person and I had to walk some of it. By the third class I'm happy to say I can already see an improvement! I'm no longer the last person to finish the warm up, I can run most of it, and my lungs burn a little less.
This is only a 4 week session and I surprise myself by feeling little bummed about that. She does run a winter session, but it's at an athletic club that's too far away. Guess I'll have to find some other way to torture myself over the winter!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Fat Club
Marriage has done nothing for my waistline. Well it has actually, it's expanded it. Age isn't helping either. My metabolism has slowed to a crawl and I've started avoiding mirrors.
When I moved to England I really, really missed my Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore: Body Combat, the outdoor pool in the summer, yoga classes included in the membership price, and the stair stepper machine thingy are the main things I missed. I joined a new gym in England and it wasn't the same. It was okay, but it wasn't Merritt. Then I moved to Dublin and now I really, really miss my Fitness First in Bath/Bristol: I could use the locations interchangeably which worked well with my schedule, Body Combat, and my Saturday morning Pilates class which was included in the membership price. I joined the gym near us and well, the pool is beautiful, but other than that it's not great. Body Combat (the Les Mills one, not just one someone makes up) is very hard to come by in Dublin. There is only one gym in Dublin that I have found to teach Body Combat and it's not convenient to us. And, the yoga and Pilates classes at the gym are not included in the membership. On top of a monthly membership fee I'd have to pay an additional 70 euro to take yoga or Pilates. This is ridiculous.
In an effort to mix things up, I have frozen my gym membership and signed up for a bootcamp class in Phoenix Park. Yikes. People are going to be yelling at me and it will probably be raining. I think I'm actually more worried about the rain than the yelling. I decided to take an all-girl class, both because I've never done one of these before so I'm a little intimidated, and hopefully one person in the class will talk to me and be my friend.
Then to add insult to injury, I am joining Weight Watchers. I did WW in 2000 and lost 45 lbs. I didn't do the meetings, I just did it at home by myself. When I moved to England I was surprised how the girls were skinny, except for the 6-pack of beer they had sitting on their belly. I am now sporting my own mini-keg, muffin top, inner tube....call it whatever you want. The food here is different (i.e. less choice), the nutritional information on the back of food looks different, and well, I need a boost. I would have gone to the meetings this time (see above with the friend possibility), but the class that's up the street coincides with the bootcamp class. So, I'll do the At Home version. I'll have to buy a scale. Double yikes!
My goal right now is to be a solid US size 8 again. I guess that's a UK size 12. Fortunately, I don't have as much weight to lose this time around, but I also have a husband who has a metabolism that runs non-stop and doesn't need to lose weight. This is going to be the hardest part. Or maybe it will be avoiding scones. Or cheese. Or chips.
Oy.
When I moved to England I really, really missed my Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore: Body Combat, the outdoor pool in the summer, yoga classes included in the membership price, and the stair stepper machine thingy are the main things I missed. I joined a new gym in England and it wasn't the same. It was okay, but it wasn't Merritt. Then I moved to Dublin and now I really, really miss my Fitness First in Bath/Bristol: I could use the locations interchangeably which worked well with my schedule, Body Combat, and my Saturday morning Pilates class which was included in the membership price. I joined the gym near us and well, the pool is beautiful, but other than that it's not great. Body Combat (the Les Mills one, not just one someone makes up) is very hard to come by in Dublin. There is only one gym in Dublin that I have found to teach Body Combat and it's not convenient to us. And, the yoga and Pilates classes at the gym are not included in the membership. On top of a monthly membership fee I'd have to pay an additional 70 euro to take yoga or Pilates. This is ridiculous.
In an effort to mix things up, I have frozen my gym membership and signed up for a bootcamp class in Phoenix Park. Yikes. People are going to be yelling at me and it will probably be raining. I think I'm actually more worried about the rain than the yelling. I decided to take an all-girl class, both because I've never done one of these before so I'm a little intimidated, and hopefully one person in the class will talk to me and be my friend.
Then to add insult to injury, I am joining Weight Watchers. I did WW in 2000 and lost 45 lbs. I didn't do the meetings, I just did it at home by myself. When I moved to England I was surprised how the girls were skinny, except for the 6-pack of beer they had sitting on their belly. I am now sporting my own mini-keg, muffin top, inner tube....call it whatever you want. The food here is different (i.e. less choice), the nutritional information on the back of food looks different, and well, I need a boost. I would have gone to the meetings this time (see above with the friend possibility), but the class that's up the street coincides with the bootcamp class. So, I'll do the At Home version. I'll have to buy a scale. Double yikes!
My goal right now is to be a solid US size 8 again. I guess that's a UK size 12. Fortunately, I don't have as much weight to lose this time around, but I also have a husband who has a metabolism that runs non-stop and doesn't need to lose weight. This is going to be the hardest part. Or maybe it will be avoiding scones. Or cheese. Or chips.
Oy.
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