Cathe Fans Part 5

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did Fit Split Boxing BC w/u, S&S Ramped Up Upper Body Triple chest, Treadmill, Stretching. Thank God my work week is over and next week we're off to NH Thu-Sat. I'm only working Monday and Tuesday. It rained pretty bad today. Starting tomorrow and all of next week, temps will be pretty hot. Tomorrow's high 88 and then 90's through next Friday! YIKES!

DH ordered a new shower door. Hopefully, it will be here by the end of next week. DH also told me today that we may hear back from the financial advisor tomorrow. My mind and my heart (I think) are at peace with a NOT YET answer. It will be sad but I've at least prepared myself mentally. Thanks, ladies for sending good wishes for good news from the financial advisor!

Laurie, sorry your sinuses are bothering you. We already went through the thick, yellow pollen season. Thank God! Great job getting your leg workout in.

I forgot to comment on Rocket. Wow! What a good boy! You did a great job training him to walk off leash! I can't believe that his just sits there and watches other people walk their dogs!
Those Pomapoo doggies are adorable. I would love to have one now! Those skinnytaste salads do look good. I'm glad you liked the shrimp salad!
Wow, it's going to be really hard for your MIL and your DH to go through the process of figuring out what to do next. I imagine they will be better off at a facility that will take care fo them both though.

You may want to read these articles about shower doors
https://www.thespruce.com/glass-shower-door-shattered-by-itself-3972517
https://www.tesh.com/articles/your-glass-shower-door-could-shatter-without-warning/

Laurel, great job with your workouts today! What a great idea to do the Muscle Meltdown workouts during the rotation's last week before switching to STS!
I hope you and your DH have a great time with his parents. I bet you can't wait to see your sisters! You will have a lot of interruptions but you'll be fine given how hard you always workout.
Everything time I think I could've been showering when the door broke, I cringe but it would've been even worse if one of my aunts had been showering! OMG!

Tami, great job getting your workouts in. They really do help in keeping one sane during stressful times. Good job!

OMG, your poor mother having to endure that pain! So glad the medical team was able to get the biopsy done. I hope your sister is able to get the doctors to prescribe a stronger pain med. I'm sure you're very scared.
Thanks for those comforting words about the retirement dilemma we're going through Tami.
So glad your husba1nd is doing so much better. I hope his next scan will be a good one and that he is able to push through the fishing season.

Erika, I hope you're able to find the workouts that will get you out of the "blah" mood about workouts!

Wow, knowing that all those people are leaving your workplace has to affect people's morale. I hope you have a great week off and that you get to the cabin!
Thanks for sending those good retirement vibes my way!

Have a great weekend ladies!!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

I was able to do GS Shoulders and Biceps after work, this was me doing a little catching up. This morning I tried out a new RAW workout called Intervals #3, another winner for Kelly. Yesterday she announced that she is dropping the price of her Vimeo channel to $6.99/month for the summer. I'm going to be taking Kelly with me while I'm on vacation in August. I think I should be able to do these in any hotel gym.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts, even with picking to heavy of a weight. I think that your idea of going to the MM's is probably a good one. I'm still planning to be doing the CTX workouts. Sorry to hear that you had a hard time with your choice of cardio, it is interesting how the pollen can effect our bodies. LOL those temps sound wonderful to me, but I can imagine that your in-laws are used to much higher temps. Glad to hear that they will have a chance to enjoy seeing Alaska without the cloud of smoke. I have heard that Denali is very pretty to see. There is usually snow on the mountain top all the time right?

Tami, You, your mom and your sister are in my prayers while you all go through this. Have you signed up for FMLA yet? I think that you should probably look into that with HR, because that will protect you just in case you need to be off work. I have been encouraging DH to do the same thing, since his parents are needing more care off and on. Great job getting in those workouts, and glad that they are helping you with getting back to a little bit of that normal feeling. Take care my friend.

Erika, Hope that you are able to find workouts that will help with your blah feeling. Is there a reason that people are "jumping ship" as we term it around here. We are going to be going through a shake up in this next year, so it should be interesting. Enjoy your vacation at the cabin, we are going to my brothers in July. It is always nice to be at the lake. I don't envy you having to deal with the landscaping after getting all that concrete work done. I'm sure that the new driveway and sidewalk look great though. Love hearing from you when you are able. You and your family have a fun, safe and Happy 4th also.

Enjoy your weekend ladies!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! I finished the week with a super tough workout. I started with Muscle Meltdown Biceps and did the x4 premix. For cardio, I did what is now (at least for today ) my favorite Cathe Live combo ever......LIHI Live followed by Cathe 200. That latter workout (her 200th Live episode) has not gotten any easier since I first did it two weeks ago. So tough but so good.

Tami, I so understand your need for normalcy right now. I am glad to hear they were able to do the biopsy on your mom. That’s at least the first step in getting answers. But her back pain has to be excruciating and exhausting. Hopefully she can get some relief from that after these tests. Your stress levels right now are off the charts between your DH, your Mom, your job, trying to be there for your sister, etc. So I know I said this before.....but don’t beat yourself up right now. I know it is easier said than done when it comes to making tough decisions like going to see your mom. I hope the test results give all of you some more clarity and that allows you to make a decision you are comfortable with. There is nothing easy about what you are all going through right now. Wish I could send some comfort your way.

Erika, thanks for checking in. I understand the workout ‘blahs’ because I have been fighting that for a little while. I think a change might be good. Glad to hear the sidewalk turned out well but yikes on all the follow up work. Hope you enjoy your getaway for the 4th. Stay cool!

Thelma, great workout. All my fingers and toes are crossed for good news from the financial advisor. Wouldn’t that be a nice way to enter a holiday week! Enjoy your long weekend.

Laurie, great workouts. Love that you are already planning your workouts for your vacation! That means I am not the only one. Some days I think I am obsessed. Other days I know I am. But I suppose there are worse things, right? Yes, our temps right now are perfectly pleasant. I wouldn’t mind a tad warmer, but all in all, it is very comfortable. Denali National Park truly is a stunning place. You really get a good idea of the expanse of Alaska in that park. Hoping for a clear day because Denali itself really is a breathtaking mountain. And, yes, it is covered in snow year round. But, unlike the mountains of Colorado, where the elevation of the surrounding area is so high, in Denali you go from sea level to 20,000 feet with Denali. But, too often, you just can’t see it because of clouds. So fingers crossed for a clear sky!

Hope you all enjoy the weekend!

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~ I did get in workout last night …. Off the schedule a bit but I had about 40 minutes and so I did PHA Training, it was perfect! Made dinner and relaxed. My sister checked in with me that mom was doing good so I was able to relax a bit. No workout today. I did talk to my mom this a.m., she actually called me and said she was feeling really good and no pain. I think the extra Ibuprophen is a must right now, it obviously helped. PET Scan tomorrow. After we find out the results they will be able to medicate her better I guess. They don't want to cause harm on her organs without knowing exactly what they are dealing with.

Erika: Some weeks are truly just like that. “Blah” and that is usually when I look for a change as well. I am sure you will find just the right workouts for what is next. Thank you for the prayers. All we can get right now are needed. Have a great vacation at the cabin! Sounds fun.

Thelma: Nicely done getting in your Triple Chest! I am happy again for you having a 3 day weekend and then a short week next week too. YAY. What an increase in temps for you guys. We are holding in the 70’s but nice weather so it feels pretty good. Thank you as well for the prayers and kudos on my workouts too. They are helping me, last night was a perfect distraction.

Laurie: Excellent job with the Shoulders & Bi’s and getting caught up. I missed the part about you training Rocket to walk off-leash. That is so amazing. I love when I see people doing that. Maybe one day I will have a dog and train him or her to do that. I was definitely scared to hear from my sister what was happening yesterday and then to talk to my mom this a.m. and she sounded so good felt nice. I have not signed up for FMLA, I don’t even know what that is actually. Our office manager came and talked to me today …. He said he was sorry he didn’t know what was going on with my mom and if I need anything to just ask. (I haven’t talked to a whole bunch of people here other than a couple ladies who work near me). Time off is not going to be a problem he said. “We will work with you” so that is super kind. I have no idea what will be in the future but to work for a place that is understanding is amazing.

Laurel: Gotta love those MM workouts! Great job and then the Cathe 200 sounds like a killer. Thank you again for your kind words and understanding on my mom. I hope so much there is relief from these tests, whatever that looks like. At this point answers are better than the unknown forsure. I am trying to be as calm as possible in every direction and remind myself to just breathe deeply. I know I can hope for the best and pray for all good things but if it does not go the way we all want I have to try and be calm in whatever steps are next. My workouts may be just like last night … whatever I feel like in the moment. And when I go to LA we will see. But forsure moving and having those endorphins moving helps (as you know too well).

Have a great weekend ladies ~ Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did Fit Split Boxing BC w/u, S&S Ramped Up Upper Body Triple triceps, Treadmill, Stretching. Saturday Jessica Smith Pilates and Yoga Stretch and Fit Split Boxing BC w/u, S&S Ramped Up Upper Body Triple back, Treadmill, Stretching. I am going to do shoulders tomorrow and on Tue I plan to do a premix that has double biceps and double triceps so I can get them out of the way before we go away. On Wed Chest and hopefully some legs.

We heard from the financial advisor on Friday and he said we're about 90% ready for retirement. What the heck does that mean I asked! It means we have to work for at least 1 1/2 years more as far as I'm concerned. I had said 2 years ago that we needed to work till at least 56 and I was right! That is what it boils down to. DH is working every weekend on getting the house ready for sale. He is fixing whatever needs fixing that he can fix.

He still wants to move next year. His mind is set on it. He also thinks I can retire next year as planned. I've told him that we need to keep working once we move. He deals with a vendor from GA and when we went last time we met him and his partner for lunch. DH was talking to this guy on Friday and told him we wanted to move there. The guy practically offered him a job! He was about to leave with his family on vacation but told DH he would talk to him after his vacation. This could be a good solution for DH but it may involve traveling. I really don't want DH traveling.

We are dealing with very hot temps. 90's since Saturday and it will continue like that all week. Not fun when we're going to NH on Thursday for our getaway weekend! YIKES!

Laurie, awesome workouts! Great news about Kelly dropping her Vimeo channel price for the summer!

Laurel, great job with those tough workouts!

Tami, great job with the PHA Training workout! So glad your mom is feeling better. She clearly needed stronger pain meds. How did the PET scan go on Saturday?

Have a great week ladies!!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

We had really hot humid weather this weekend, but last night a storm moved through and it is beautiful today. DH is off work for the next three days, and I'm working. He is off to go junking for car parts with his friend today. Got in my GS Triceps done after work on Friday. Saturday I did some yard work, not much just to hot. I did get in Jessica's stretch recovery workout. On Sunday it was KCM RAW Kettlebell Kickboxing and a Jessica HiiT Walking workout. This morning was GHUTV Fat Burning Power Walk (warm-up) and followed that up with KCM's RAW Upper Body Blast. I'm going to combine GS Chest/Back for after work. I wanted to do this upper body workout, but figured that I shouldn't do chest work on Sunday and then follow it with this upper body workout today.

Laurel, Great job on the workouts, and enjoying the cardio! LOL about planning for our vacations, it is something that I need to plan for sure. I haven't looked at the picks on the hotel web page yet, just hoping that they have something useful. I will be bringing my band, just in case. I have all my apps ready on my phone and Ipad. I would think the hotel will have free wi-fi, but you never know. I hope that you have a clear day for your visit to Denali, it sure does sound wonderful.

Tami, Good job on the PHA workout. Glad to hear that our mom had some relief from the pain, I'm sure that really eased your mind a bit. When we had Cami, I could never have her off leash. Her prey drive was so strong, that she would have taken off after a running deer. I think it is a combo of daycare and me working with him, he listens so well. FMLA is the Family Medical Leave Act, which is for when a close family member needs care. You can take off of work without the fear of losing your job. Here at work they get the time off paid. Now I don't know if that is part of the law, never really check into it that far.

Thelma, Awesome job on all your workouts! 90% isn't to bad, but I understand you both wanting to get going with your retirement. I'm sure that you both will talk it out, and come up with the best decision for you both. I don't blame you for not wanting your DH to travel. I hope that you get the nice temps we are having right now move into your area by the weekend.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! We had kind of a rainy weekend, but we enjoyed it anyway. Saturday was golf....wet golf....but still golf. Yesterday we did some work in the garden and ran some errands. But we had torrential downpours in the afternoon and evening that had us sitting in the porch just enjoying the rain. Love being able to do that.

For workout, Saturday was Muscle Meltdown Shouldersx4 premix followed by Jessica Smith Yoga for Weight Loss. Sunday was Muscle Meltdown Chestx4 premix followed by Cathe Live LIHI Legs Live and the cardio and abs from Cathe Live Cardio, Barre and Core. Today was Muscle Meltdownx4 Triceps and Icy Core 1. For cardio, it was IMAX 3.

Tami, great choosing a workout you enjoyed. I think your plan to keep doing that is perfect. So glad to hear your Mom was feeling better on Friday. Hopefully just completing these tests will ease her mind a bit because she knows she will have answers soon. I also hope her appointment went well on Saturday and those results come in quickly. As you said, answers are better than no answers. But until then, as you say, just keep taking deep breaths as much as you can and pray for the best possible answers.

Thelma, great workouts! Well, I suppose it could have been worse news from the financial advisor. You will find 1 1/2 years go very quickly if that is what you choose to do. We have been in Alaska just short of 15 months....and I still feel like we are getting settled. So hopefully having a concrete answer and a goal in mind gives you some peace. And if your DH gets a job in Georgia....well, I suppose that will make for a tough decision. But I understand not wanting him to travel too much. Try to stay cool!

Laurie, great workouts! Sorry to hear about the muggy weather. It seems like so much of the country was blistering over the weekend! Glad you got some relief from it with a storm, though. Sounds like you have a good plan for your vacation! I, too, will be traveling with my bands. Even when hotel gyms offer free weights, I usually just end up doing band work in my room. My germaphobia kicks in sometimes in public gyms.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~ I had a very quiet weekend….. DH left early in the a.m. on Saturday so it was just Bernie and I. I did get some house cleaning, shopping and a little work on Sunday …. That was a good distraction for my mind. Saturday I did just a 30 min KCM Lean Body Circ workout and then yesterday I decided instead of “triple” upper I would do RWH Chest/Shoulders/Tris (xtreme premix). I have a feeling I am going to have a strange week emotionally and packing more than one body part into my workout will be good. So that is my plan for the week.
BootCamp tonight.

My mom’s PET Scan went really good as far as the limited amount of time it took compared to what they told her it would be. It was only 20 minutes after she was all checked in, IV in and on the table vs. 2 hours of scan. So I was relieved for her because I am not sure how her back would have held up. My sister was there of course for the whole thing and took some pics of her in waiting room and on the “tube table”. She looked so little. I think my sister has decided to start documenting some moments because that is just what she does and she posted them on her IG page so I could see. I don’t know, I was happy to feel a part of it from afar but just sad. She did take some darling pics of her and the 3 dogs who are with her all the time. Bruce, KoKo and Lizzie all snuggled up next to “baby bird” (my mom) so that was cute. Talking to her yesterday she sounded great but my sister said mentally she is struggling a bit. I will take the good days when I can get them and be able to talk to her …. I would be struggling mentally too.

Thelma: Great job with your RUUB Triple Tri’s + Saturdays Pilates & Yoga Stretch along with RUUB Back. Sounds like you have a great plan in place prior to leaving. I think that is positive news from your Financial Planner, could have been longer …. Right?!?! I know it wasn’t what you wanted to hear but you guys can do that much more time. You will have your eye on the prize and it will go fast. Yes, mom did need stronger meds and hopefully after we get the results we can get some more comfort for her. She had a tough night on Saturday waking up in pain and had to call my sister on the phone to have her come in to reposition her. ☹

Laurie: That weather sounds “sticky” forsure. Hopefully you will have nice temps for the holiday and into the weekend. Great job with your workouts! Sounds like a nice variety forsure. Thank you for letting me know about that medical leave act. I guess I have never heard of it because I haven’t been in this situation before. So suddenly to be dealing with a failing loved one. I may need to look into it. I know a lady here at work right when I started was just coming back after her daughter has passed away; she was gone for like 2.5 months and I believe was paid for her time.

Laurel: Golf, eventhough wet golf sounds great! I bet you both enjoyed your time together. We are having a downpour right now as I type. It could change by this evening but it is really coming down right now. Sounds nice to sit outside if it was warm enough. My DH loves rain storms with lightning and thunder and opens up all the windows, blinds, etc so he can see it. Pretty funny. Fabulous job with your workouts and combos you continue to put together! Breathing deep …. No news today so I we will probably hear tomorrow I would guess.

I will check in with you ladies tomorrow ~ Tami

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did Fit Split Boxing BC w/u, S&S Ramped Up Upper Body Triple back, Treadmill, Stretching.

Surprisingly the news from the financial advisor didn't hit me hard. Probably because I already knew what he was going to say. I was already mentally prepared. 90% is definitely not bad at all. We have been preparing for an early retirement for a very long time so it looks like it might have paid off. I won't believe it till we get there though! LOL

Laurie, awesome workouts!!!
Retirement can't get here soon enough for us. I hope we get nice temps before we go away because right now we're in the hot/humid mode!

Laurel, glad you got to play golf! How is your garden doing?
Fabulous workout combos!!

It definitely could've been worse news from the financial advisor. I can't believe you've been in Alaska almost 15 months!!!

Tami, great workouts an great job trying to continue with a normal life as much as possible. Great workouts!

Great news about your mom's PET scan and what a great idea your sister had to take pictures so you can at least see what how your mom is doing. AWWWW that picture with her doggies must be the sweetest picture! I am so sorry your mom is in so much pain. I think it's perfectly understandable for your mom to be struggling mentally. She is going through a lot and it must be very scary.
Hopefully, her doctors have enough information now to be able to provide a diagnosis and course of treatment.

I think 90% close to retirement is good news. I really think we have a good chance to retire early. I just wish we weren't so miserable with our jobs. I just don't know how to get out of this mental hole.

Good night ladies!!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Was able to get in the GS Chest/Back after work. This morning was Kelly's RAW Just Step, and I was dripping with sweat. It really surprised me. I was going to tack on something else, but that 24 min. was enough for my morning workout. I'm going to change it up and do Muscle Max Legs when I get home, don't think I want to do a long leg workout today after the step. My legs are kind of tired.

Laurel, Your weekend sounds like it was relaxing even though it was wet. Great job with the workouts, how are you liking going from the RUUB workouts to MM's? I'm sure that it is a different feeling. Are you able to go heavier than previous times? LOL about the germaphobia in gyms, that is one of the big issues I have also. I'm bringing my gloves along, that does help a little with that feeling. Kelly is really good with only using a minimum of weights for her workouts, so that should help also.

Tami, Awesome job on the workouts, and I think you have a solid plan going forward. It is so much easier on you when you know what needs to get done, when you mind is on other things. Nice that your sister is taking pics, it will help you to know what they both are doing. Glad to hear that the PET scan didn't take as long as they said it would. Do check into FMLA, because you never know when you will need to use it.

Thelma, Great workouts! I love the positive attitude you have with the retirement information, it is an accomplishment that you both have achieved. It will probably go faster than you expect, because I'm sure there is still a lot of things that you need to get together or organized.

Have a Happy 4th, DH and I will be home all week so I may check in. I'm off tomorrow and Thursday. Will be going into work on Friday, but there really isn't going to be anyone at work. I can get a lot of things "done" with no one here.

Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Today’s workout was Muscle Meltdown Back x4 premix followed by Cathe Live Pedal to the Metal. There was not an inch of dry skin on me after that latter workout. Love that feeling!

Tami, great job making the workouts work for you. No doubt this will be a tough week so keep doing whatever helps give you peace of mind. I am glad to hear the PET Scan went well and that your mom was feeling better. I really can understand why seeing photos would make it hard though. Such a mixed blessing because you can see what she is experiencing.....but it also emphasizes how far away you are. Hopefully you get some answers today and maybe can solidify a plan to visit. I was wondering about your Mom’s puppy and happy you mentioned all the pups are a good companion for her right now. Praying for some good news and answers today.

Thelma, great workout. I am glad the news from the financial advisor didn’t upset you too badly. At least this gives you a goal and time to figure out how to get there. But the really good news is you are in a great position to actually make your goal of early retirement. The garden is going well. We got everything in so late I don’t know if we will have time for it all to come to fully maturity. But we will definitely have lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, and some herbs. Peppers and tomatoes.....may just not be enough time. We also have a strawberry plant I hope we get something from.....but this isn’t a really good environment for growing strawberries, so we’ll see. We had nearly 2” of rain on Sunday which is a lot for up here in one day, but the plants seemed to love it so that is good! Hope you have a great trip to NH!

Laurie, great workouts! I hear you on the dripping thing today. Summer time and humidity....got to love it. Sounds like a great plan for legs. I love that Muscle Max lower body premix.....short and sweet and effective too! I am glad I switched over to the Muscle Meltdowns this week. No doubt they are just a little easier on the muscles than the RUUB premixes, despite what weight I am using. I think that is because of the order and pace of the workouts. I am definitely stronger, though. I have been lifting heavier than Cathe—sometimes pretty significantly heavier—in all the workouts and don’t really feel like I have challenged myself to the limit (which was intentional this week since I was using this as a bit of recovery). I will be really interested, though, to see how STS feels. Between the push/pull months and the RUUB workouts, I am curious how I feel about those longer rests in STS. But I must admit, they sound pretty good at the moment.

Erika, hope your week is going well.

Have a safe and wonderful 4th!!

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, Tuesday I did Fit Split Boxing BC w/u, S&S Ramped Up Upper Body Double Triceps & Biceps, Treadmill, Stretching.
This workout was really hard for me. My arms were fried! Wed I did Tripple Back and lite cardio. My post didn't post on Tuesday night because I needed to re-login and I didn't notice.
I hope you all had a great Independence day ladies! Ours was a quiet, hot day. One more day of the hots to go! At least it will be much cooler in NH! YAAAY!

I'm cracking up at the germaphobe comments because I am a germaphobe. I became one in 2010 when I was diagnosed with Lupus. You will never see me touching anything at work with my hands. I always have with me a couple of thick paper towels folded strategically to allow me to open doors. I don't care what anyone thinks and now I've seen a few doing it too.

OMG, it is super hot here! On Tue when I left work the temp was 96 humid degrees. You could cut the air with a knife! I cranked up the AC before my workout and I didn't even break into a sweat. My hands were ice cold when I finished my workout.
My boss let us go home at 3 PM which was very nice.

Laurie, great job with your workouts! It really is a big accomplishment to have saved for an early retirement all these years. I hope the time goes by fast. I still can't believe we are already in July! We do have a lot to do. Especially yours truly. I have to go through the attic where I store my different size clothes and everything we want to store. I think I'll be donating a lot of clothes and shoes.

Laurel, great combo today!! Are you doing a month of Muscle Meltdown rotation now> I'm starting STS on Sunday.
We definitely need time to figure out how we'll get there.
I'm glad you'll be able to enjoy some of those vegetables and hers==b this year! Good luck with the strawberries!

Hi Tami, thinking of you and your mom

Good night ladies!!
Thelma

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! Hope you all enjoyed the holiday. We had beautiful weather which meant another round of golf, and it was warm enough for a tank top and shorts! That is rare up here. To top it off, the course was surprisingly quiet so it was very relaxing. For workouts, yesterday I started STS with Disc 13/Chest. I went as heavy as I could and feel it today. For cardio, I did IMAX Live. Today was STS Disc 13/Shoulders, STS Disc 14/Legs and STS Med Ball Abs. That was a pretty long stretch of workouts, so I went down a few notches in cardio and did Shock Cardio Step Moves.

Thelma, hoping for cooler weather headed your way. Good idea on the paper towels and door knobs. I think I would be doing the same, especially during flu season. Great workouts. I must say, these STS workouts feel so different from the RUUB workouts! Because of the pace of the RUUB workouts, I always ended up with a burn in the muscles. In STS, because of the long breaks, I don’t get that. But as I said above, pushing the heavy weights, I definitely feel it today. I think I am going to enjoy the breather from fast strength training workouts! Anyhow, I just did the Muscle Meltdowns for a few days since I knew I had to start STS early to accommodate for my in-laws visiting next week.

Laurie, hope you are enjoying your time off!

Erika, hope you are staying cool.

Tami, thinking of you.

Enjoy the day.

Laurel

2BLean

Hi Ladies ~

I know you are all wondering and waiting for news on my mom and I am sorry I haven’t been able to share it with you until now. Sorry for my absence but the news came in on Monday evening from my sister and it has been unimaginable for me.

She has lung cancer that has metastasized into her bones, cancer in her thyroid, lesions on her spine, (why it broke), on her ribs, pelvis and liver. Basically, cancer is everywhere, and hospice has already been contacted per the strong suggestion of her doctor. My sister had to tell my mom the news which was on Tuesday. I spoke to my mom Tuesday evening and she was absolutely the beautiful and graceful woman she is. She told me the worst part for her is to see us girls go through the pain of losing their mother and the sadness it causes. She lost both her parents and she knows how it feels. She said if she could take that away she would. She said, SO BRAVE.
She is daily in a lot of pain but now that the nurse is coming to help I hope they can get her comfortable.

I moved my flight up to Sunday (which was as soon as I could get it moved because of the holiday) and so I leave Sunday afternoon and will come back 7/16. Her time according to Hospice is “weeks” not months they feel. The nurse assigned to her is coming today along with their team of people to set up a hospital bed, oxygen, etc. Her brothers are coming probably at the tail end of my visit and they are fabulous so it will be so good to see them both and my aunts.

I will check in with you ladies most likely when I return but maybe while I am there.
Thank you for support every day.

Tami

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Tami, I'm so sorry to hear about your mothers condition. Please know that you will be in my prayers for strength during this time. Take care of yourself, and enjoy the time that you have remaining with your mom. Always remember the wonderful woman that she has always been.

Have been doing great with my workouts. Got in the Muscle Max Legs on Tuesday, RAW Weights Circuit #1 and GS Shoulders on Wednesday, RAW 888 and GS Biceps on Thursday and this morning was RAW Strong & Lean and GS Triceps. Next week starts the CTX workouts.

Our 4th was hot, and we went to the car show that we always go to. Talk about HOT and sticky. I was happy to be heading home on noon when they allowed the cars to leave. I enjoyed my day off on Thursday, and now it is super quite here at work. Only one other person is in the office today.

Laurel, Great job with the workouts, it sounds like you are hitting the STS workouts hard. I love that you lifted heavier than Cathe on the MM workouts, but still felt that you could lift heavier. I'm enjoying incorporating the RAW workouts with the one body part, my jeans slipped on really well today. I also like that I don't feel like I'm down in my basement forever doing weight work. I'm really going to enjoy the stretch workout tomorrow though, I'm feeling it this week for sure.

Thelma, Awesome job with the workouts, and dang on the post. I can only imagine the arms workout and how they felt. Sounds like your 4th was a lot like ours, but today is beautiful. I almost didn't come into work this morning, but I'm going to leave early. I usually do the paper towel thing when leaving the bathroom. To many people don't wash their hands! Sounds like you will be busy with sorting for a while.

Have a great weekend!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies!

Tami, I am so very sorry to hear your news. My heart is just breaking for you. I am so glad they have already contacted the hospice personnel. I hope your experience with hospice is as good as ours was.....they were so patient in answering our questions, telling us what to expect in very realistic but compassionate terms.....and taking great care of our mother all the while. My mom said the same thing about putting my sisters and I through the pain of her dying and, two years on, there is not a single day I don’t think about her strength and grace during that time. I so wish there was something to say or do to ease your grief and pain right now, but I don’t know what that would be. So I think the only thing I can say is try to enjoy your time together. I know that sounds impossible at the moment. But I remember those last memories of laughter shared with my mom, and I will treasure them always. All my thoughts and prayers are with you right now. Huge hugs my friend. If you need anything......

Anyhow, on to workouts. Today I switched things up after a long strength training session and shorter cardio yesterday and did the opposite today. I started with STS Disc 15/Back. And, for cardio, I did the kickboxing from Cathe Live Kickboxing and Compound Weights into Cathe Live Warrior Kickboxing. This was about 85 minutes long but not too intense. I enjoyed it.

Laurie, great workouts. I am glad you enjoyed your day off but sorry to hear about the heat. Does not make for a fun day out, that’s for sure. I am with you on needing a good stretch tomorrow. That STS leg workout yesterday has my legs screaming at me a bit today. The kicks in the kickboxing workout helped ease that up a bit, but along with my usual STS DOMS I am also experiencing my usual STS tireds! Now I can expect for my usual STS hungries to kick in too. Never fails with me and STS, even just doing one body part a day.

See you Monday.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Dear Tami, I am so sorry about your mom's diagnosis. My heart is breaking for all of you. I just started to cry as I was reading your post. Your mom is indeed a brave lady. Like Laurie and Laurel suggested try to enjoy the remaining time you have with your mom. You and your family are in my prayers.

Ladies, I hope you had a good weekend. NH was great and the weather turned nice on Friday. Thursday was super hot so we just walked for exercise. On Friday we hiked up to the Arethusa Waterfalls. It was an uphill, rocky hike so it wasn't easy. It was 2 1/2 hrs round trip which was perfect for us. Loved the waterfalls. On Saturday I did LIS Yoga Relax. Tonight I did XT CBS w/u, STS #13 Chest, Jessica Smith HIIT cardio, stretching which I totally LOVED!
Our new shower doors arrived on Friday so DH picked them up yesterday after we came home and he started to work in my bathroom. He finished it today and it looks great!
Someone who just moved into our town was giving away their moving boxes: dish, wardrobe, mirrors, packing paper and I sent DH to pick up as much as he could fit in my Grand Cherokee. This should save us some money for when we're ready to start packing.

Laurie, glad you're doing great with your workouts! Good job! OMG, I can't imagine how hot it was at the car show! We did our walking at the end of the day so it wasn't too bad. I hope you left work early on Friday!

Laurel, wow! Great job with those workouts and trying to get ahead of the rotation on time for your in-law's visit. Are we doing this month's rotation for 2 months too?

Good night ladies!!
Thelma

lvnascar

Morning Ladies,

Such a nice weekend of weather that is was hard to come into work today. On Saturday I did RAW Stretch and then tackled more gardening around our new shed. I was really sore on Sunday morning though, probably should have done my stretch after all the gardening. I took yesterday off, got myself pampered by my dd and had my hair colored and highlights put in. I also think that I found a new foundation. We will see how this holds up throughout the day. It was nice, because the rep for the product was there to help. And my dd was saying that it was vegan. https://www.ulta.com/hydrafluid-water-serum-foundation?productId=xlsImpprod13641001 This morning was RAW Kickbox Contouring. Will get in my CTX Chest when I get home.

Laurel, Awesome job with the workouts! Oh yes the STS hunger, I sure hope that it doesn't kick in to badly for you. I could never control my eating when that happened. How long is the one body part for STS? I have never actually looked into the length for just trying it that way. I have been enjoying the shorter length for weight work, so will have a hard time going onto something that is longer.

Thelma, Your mini vacation sounds wonderful, and the hike even better. Great job with the workouts too. Nice that your shower doors where ready, and that you got some nice boxes for your future move. Hope your DH was able to get a lot in the vehicle. DH and I ate our lunch and dinner outside on Saturday and yesterday. It was so nice to be out there and not sweating or swatting mosquitoes away. Those are the type of days that I love here in WI.

Have a great day!
Laurie

StiringWendel

Hi Ladies! We had a nice weekend here. Saturday was a beautiful day so we hit the golf course. Yesterday was errands and the rare movie date. We saw the new Jurassic World movie and enjoyed it. We can count on one hand the number of times we have gone to the theater to see movies for the past decade (and have fingers left over) so it made for a nice change.

Workouts on Saturday were STS Disc 13/Triceps followed by Kari Anderson’s Angles, Lines and Curves. Yesterday was STS Disc 15/Biceps followed by Cathe Live Fitness Fusion. Today was STS Disc 16/Chest followed by To The Max Extreme premix.

Thelma, so glad you enjoyed your time in New Hampshire and you were able to get in a good hike! Great workouts this weekend. My current plan is to do STS for four weeks then move on to the next phase which will still be one body part.....but I will be doing Body Beast Bulk. The way I am doing STS is using the three week 1 discs (discs 13-15) one week, then the week 2 discs (16-18) for the second week and so on, which will give us a full Meso 2 rotation, but doing it one body part at a time. Hope that makes sense!

Laurie, so glad to hear you had nice weather this weekend! What a nice change that just have made. Sounds like you used it nicely in the garden too. The one body part lengths for Meso 2 vary from 30 minutes for back (including the warm-up) down to about 20 minutes for Triceps. I think this may vary a bit depending on what variety she adds to the lifting each week. For instance, week 2 introduces the back off sets, and that took the length of the chest workout down a couple of minutes, but next week is the double wave pyramids, so I think it will be a few minutes longer. But in the last week, these workouts should all be much shorter (15-20 minutes long) because she does those drop sets. So they aren’t any longer than the RUUB or Muscle Meltdown workouts I have been doing, which is nice. But they are probably a bit longer than GS. But, then again, there are no push-ups in Meso 2..... .

Tami, thinking of you.

See you tomorrow.

Laurel

ThelmaSW

Hi Ladies, tonight I did another great combo: Fit Split Boxing Bootcamp Just Cardio, STS #13 Shoulders, Stretching. I am loving doing STS as one body part workouts. Usually STS workouts are such a drag for me but not this way! Thanks Laurel!
I forgot to mention last night that I went heavier than the last time I did STS. I'm talking 6-8 lbs heavier on chest. On the shoulder presses I pretty much stayed at the heaviest I did the last time I did this workout. That was my max.

Laurie, great workouts! You definitely should've done the stretching workout for after your gardening workout! At least you know gardening IS a great workout! How wonderful that you have your personal hair stylist! That foundation sounds like a really good product. Let me know how you like it. I use Lancome everything on my face and use either of these foundations:

Lancôme Teint Idole SPF 15 24-Hour Ultra Wear Liquid Foundation or Lancôme Rénergie Lift Anti-Wrinkle Lifting Foundation

Our hike was wonderful. I can't wait till we retire so we can pick up hiking again. DH stuffed my vehicle with boxes and wrapping materials. So glad you had such a great weekend. It really is nice to be able to eat dinner outside when the weather is nice.

Laurel, wow! Awesome workouts! Great combos! Glad you had a nice weekend too!
Thanks for explaining how you've updated the STS rotation. The original plan was for discs 13-15 so I like the updated version very much!

Tami, keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Good night ladies!!
Thelma