Yesterday's "rest day" saw a mile at the track, 24 situps and 24 back extensions.
Then today, morning yoga and acupuncture followed by a trip to the library after the gym and getting fruit and vegetables for the week.

• a mile on the track
• 32 inclined sit ups
• 32 back extensions
• 8@10#(dumbbell l,r) swimmers presses
• 8@7.5#(dumbbell l,r) fly
• 8@7.5#(dumbbell l,r) skull crushers

I think I need to update my definition of rest day.

Wow, what a great day.

This morning we all went to the gym. I was starting to really feel the effects of adding in squats, and weighted squats at that, so I kept it pretty light.

• 1 mile walk
• 32 inclined twist situps
• 32 back extensions
• plank
• 1 sun salutation
• bridge
• C100
• 2 jackknifes
• 2 plow
• 20 minute sauna meditation
• .5 mile walk while my partner swam

Then home for eggs, swiss, basil, tomato, shrimp and pepperoni brunch and a hand of cards before going to tinker cliffs for a hike with the family and the neighbors. It was good all around, and a mile and a half all told, so fun and not overly strenuous. The kids played in the creek halfway through, and were absolutely soaking wet and exhausted by the time we got back to the car, which is a beautiful thing. There was great conversation with the adults, too.

Now, I'm pretty tired, and I realized after the hike that I keep accidentally forgetting to eat any carbs, like at all (the meal above had less than 5g carbs -- that's just not enough to fuel a person). It's tough for me to eat enough. Even adding in a half cup of pistachios after the hike only brought the calorie count today to 800 something. Looks as though I need to start throwing rice in with the eggs after the gym.

Over 11k steps so far today, and I loved every one of them.
Life is good.

At the gym this evening we got to see the newly remodeled section that is nearing completion. The team is using some reclaimed wood for the wall panels and it is gorgeous. I was commenting on holiday w lovely it is and found out the person I was talking with is the CEO of the Y. How cool was it that the CEO hangs out and works on the project at 530 on Friday? Anyway, when I found out who he was, I registered my one-and-only complaint, a policy measure that he was completely unaware of. It was a great conversation, and was really connected instead of awkward or uncomfortable - he seems like a great guy - and then we went back to talking about the renovation before Harvey and I headed off to the track.

One mile.
16 inclined sit ups
20 back extensions
20 minutes sauna meditation

Forty five minutes of relaxation yoga with the family before bed.
Steps and water complete.
Age of Ultron in the queue

Life is good.

Take Two

Harvey and I went back to the gym and walked two miles on the track before heading into the Power Core class. Spoiler alert: it was pretty easy for us. That was new.

At the gym this morning:

• Walked 1 mile
• 32 inclined twist sit ups
• 32 back extensions
• 20@20#bar lift and overhead press (10 overhand, 10 underhand)
• 30 second plank

I have a bunch of head congestion, so I did 5 minutes of meditation in the steam room before 15 minutes sauna meditation
Weight: 134

Gym:

• Walked 1 mile, ran .1 mile
• 32 inclined twist sit ups
• 32 back extensions
• 10@10# kettlebell squats
• 20@5#(l,r) skull crushers
• 20@20#bar lift and overhead press
• 30 second plank
• 20@15#(l,r) glute curls
• 20 minutes sauna meditation

Gym this morning:

• 1 mile walk
• 48 twisted inclined sit ups
• 32 back extensions
• 32 skull crushers - 5 pounds each hand
• 32 squats, 10 pound kettlebells
• 32 overhead lifts from the hip, 20# bar
• 32 gunslingers, 5# kettlebells

20 minutes sauna
Signed Vivian up for summer camp beginning June 6.
Lunch and cards and now nap time.

Dropped Teros at the airport, received Vivian, went to the gym, walked a mile, lifted weights and did a sauna meditation.
Some household errands such as shopping and picking up forms was followed by a jaunt down a road. It was absolutely beautiful.
Afterwards, I rested and read some more before going to meet with my sponsor and then go to the women's meeting, both of which were wonderful and restorative.
At home, Harvey and I did basic stuff in the kitchen and made coffee before settling in to watch the Avengers, which I ended up falling asleep in front of.

Life is good.

A Different Way to Walk

Roaring Run

Early morning yoga at the library park with Harvey and Vivian. I swear i need to get someone to take pictures of this. Then we went on a hike with @Teros and the family -- Vivian was especially cute. We went to see the falls at Roaring Run, which are pretty spectacular. All told, the hike was almost 1.5 miles, and a great first hike for my new boots and new camelback -- I'm tickled to report that both came through excellently. There is a particular hike that I'm planning on taking in the twelve months, and good boots and a pack I can count on are essential.

After the hike, we went to Wildflour Towers, my other favorite restaurant in town, and ate lots, which was just what we all needed, and then naps were taken until Vivian got picked up for visitation. After that, Harvey and I were missing the sauna, so we went to the gym for Date Night, where we walked over a mile, then hit the weights room:
24 twisted inclined sit ups
24 back extensions
3 full extension pull ups
20@5#L&R swimmers press curls
20@5#L&R skull crushers
20@5# windshield wipers weirdness
Then meditation in the sauna and conversation in the hot tub afterward.

And now, at home, we are munching on homemade chicken noodle soup and market-fresh strawberries while the sourdough bakes and we watch another episode of Daredevil.

Went to Hollins this morning, signed up for a class, formally applied to the Certificate of Advanced Studies program (post masters level), and then went to lunch with Teros at Wildflour Fourth Street, one of my favorite spots in Roanoke. Looked at a house in the neighborhood, then went to the gym with the whole family. Now we are making burgers and Teros and Vivian are coloring and reading. I'm seeing some Daredevil in the future real soon now. I made my steps today, did 48 back extensions, 48 inclined twist situps, 12@10#L&R biceps curls, 12@15#L&R glute curls, a plank, and ten minutes of pilates leg work before hitting the sauna for meditation and the hot tub for general wonderfulness.

Life is good.

Went to the gym this morning and left my weird attitude (that was threatening to wreck my peace) at the door.
A mile on the track, 40 inclined situps, 32 back extensions, fifteen minutes of sauna and a shower.
over 4k steps, and we are sitting down with eggs, bacon, salsa, swiss and captain america.

Went to meet my sponsor last night, then to an evening meeting. Both were just what I needed.
I led the first Tuesday Morning YogaInTheYard at the community center today, and even though it was raining a bit, my family came with me, rolled out their mats, and did Sun salutation and warrior poses alongside.
We went to the local coffeehouse to pick up more tea, and I kept getting bumped. I mentioned it to my partner as we drove away, and he said, "I told you your ass looks good." It made me smile all morning.
At the gym, we met a radical named Betsy in the kid zone. She and Vivian got along famously.
Harvey and I walked a mile and then hit the weight room,where I ran into a professor, then did 20 back extensions and talked politics with a guy who remembered us from last week. I did 20@20 glute curls, each leg, and talked with Katie, a woman who had seen me on the track and wanted to know if "the guy with the great hair" was my boyfriend, because we make "such a cute couple."
Then 4 pull ups, some biceps curls, and we were ready to raid the fridge.
Betsy promised to visit for morning yoga when we picked up Vivian.
At home, brunch was tea, bacon, eggs, fresh basil, Swiss cheese and tomato with Trivial Pursuit, then we made a loaf of sourdough.
I scheduled Vivian's overdue physical, and am glad to have that off my list, and she and I took naps while Harvey went off to do some work.
He's still at it, and Vivian and I are about to leave for the market to get this week's fruit and vegetables. We had to cancel the meat and cheese share because it was way too expensive for what was being delivered, but everything looked wonderful.
Also on the list today is to go to the alterations lady and do a drop off and pick up.

Life is good.

Planted two types of basil, Genovese and Sweet, and some chives in the garden.
Planned the new hedge of roses, now that the scrubbery has been hacked down.
Finished the new capelet for Little Miss, and now I'm relaxing with coffee.

A Day of Silence goes a long way.

Taking today as a Rest & Indulgence Day.
Knitting and cookies this afternoon.
A salt cleanse this morning.
Maybe the sauna later.

I got my steps in and hit the sauna.

I spent time with a budding community center with farm, and I feel valuable.
The family and I did yoga at the park in the early morning.

Life is good.

Not smoking at this point (today marks four weeks) isn't a stressor in itself, but I have to develop a whole new approach to stressors, and I have to develop a new relationship with emotional discomfort. It's difficult, to say the least, and that's what makes this such a boss fight. Nicotine is 6 times more addictive than heroin, so this conversation I've been having at the lizard-brain level has been with me for a long time. Retraining it is difficult.

But not impossible. :)

Some of the hardest points have been letting sadness or hurt happen, something that I used smoking to distract me from or to deny altogether. And some of the sadness and hurt is really old, so it is difficult to give myself permission to spend my Now dealing with something that happened Then. Intellectually I understand that until I give the issue some sunshine it won't be released, but it's difficult to do so, and frankly, it seems that these shadow-lurkers have become friends and neighbors over the years, their keening cries of self-deprecation a familiar soundtrack, if a toxic one.

Got my 7500 steps in, but only because I know @T2sarahconnor is out there killing it. I would have stayed in bed all day if she wasn't challenging me. :)

Discovered that people are weird.
In other news, water remains wet.

Sauna meditation this morning, followed by breakfast, a trip to the possible new gym for information, and then a saltwater cleanse at home.

I'm wicked tired. It has been a very emotional week, and my partner and I didn't rest much all night before he left in the wee hours for work. Unfortunately, we are starting to develop a bit of Friday Night Blues before he leaves, and that is silly as well as counterproductive.

Made bread with Vivian this morning, then headed out to the gym with my family. What awesomeness.

Elliptical, walk, weights, pull ups, plank, sit ups,walk, hot tub.

Then a meeting followed by acupuncture.

Steak and sweet potato and navy beans for dinner.

Life is good.

Shenanigans are scheduled to ensue tomorrow.

More of the Walk2Jog1 repetition, and then some pull ups and a stint in the hot tub.

7.5k steps yesterday, but managed to forget to eat, probably because of all the weird emotional roller coaster stuff that has been going on internally since Monday evening.

Vivian and I played some this morning, and now she is working in her workbook while I type and catch up on threads. When I get tired or cranky, my parenting ability goes out the door along with everything else, and I am making a conscious effort not to fall back into the electronic babysitter habit that my lazy-brain wants to develop.

It's rainy and grey again today. It's my partner's turn in the sauna, and then yoga for me.

Yesterday marked three weeks of not smoking, and I can honestly say that the support here has made a huge difference. I've had great support in my real life too, but even so, sometimes more is needed, and you folks were there in my mind, so thank you.

Indulgence

self-care day of yoga, a meeting, errands, a long hot bath, some walking.
At the gym, I did:
-1.5 miles with some jogging thrown in 5@[walk .2, jog .1]
-glute curls 2x10@40
-chest press 2x10@15
-glute extension 10@70L,R
-inclined twist sit ups 16
-Plank to exhaustion (63 seconds)

Ended up with a scary amount of steps on Tuesday (15k+) because I was at the voting center all day (5 a.m. - 9 p.m.) and whenever there weren't any voters, I was walking around trying to avoid the other election officials. No plank yesterday, because that would have been too wried in the polling station.

So far today has been ok, though rough emotionally. I went to the library, contacted my professor, contacted the writing center to make certain I could get the essay printed on the right paper, contacted the farm shares to let them know i felt ripped off and hoodwinked by the meat share delivery, asked a library patron to either take his ten minute plus long phone call out tot he patio or to go rent an office somewhere, and now I'm off to go pick up the clothes I had altered and drop off another round of clothes for altering.

I'm feeling problematic, by which I mean that no one else seems to be having a problem with what is clearly wrecking my peace and serenity.

And I'm writing weird poetry, to boot.
O wait. All poetry is weird.

5k steps so far.

May the Fourth be with you

Over 7500 steps today (barely, but it counts).

Gave my partner a half pound of handmade chocolate for being awesome and putting up with my weirdness while I quit smoking.
Then sauna.
5500 steps so far.
Walking now before meeting with my sponsor.