40+ Club - Summertime Fun

Don't worry about it singfree. Message boards bring out all types of people. I was in a dust-up on this board a few weeks back. While the person I was responding to doesn't seem to be here to make the board a joke, I've since realized she is most definitely looking for a reaction is what and how she posts, so I simply choose to avoid any thread she posts in now. It's kind of sad, but I suppose a message board community is just like any other community where not everybody is going to have the same purpose.

Regarding Jon and Kate, I wonder if their lives would have been any different had they not opted to go on TV. Personally, I can't think of any good reason why somebody would want to have their life turned into a reality show. And, for me, money isn't a 'good reason'. I feel very sorry for those children. I've never watched any of their shows (I never heard of them until this latest fiasco), but I think the whole thing is sad. Unfortunately, how they are handling the situation makes me think they are both more enamored with their own publicity than they are anything else. I could be wrong, but that's how it comes across to me right now. Very, very sad for those children.

annaliza, good to see you back! I'd been wondering where you were. A 14-hour day? Yowza!

cardigirl, I'm sorry to hear about your divorce. Hugs to you.

Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. I know I will be fine. I've got two great kids and lots to look forward to. If there is such a thing as a "good" divorce, I think mine will be, because we are able to be kind to each other still and we will always care about each other. He just wants something different, I guess.

annaliza, 14 hour days? Whoa! And teaching at a prison? You just amaze me! Thanks for the encouraging words about moving on. Support from someone who's been through it is always a big help.

Stiring I couldn't agree with you more on your take on the Jon and Kate situation. I just wish the news wouldn't treat entertainment news as hard news. Seems silly and sad to me.

alf, surely a little caramel popcorn would be okay, wouldn't it? Just a smidge? But, goodness, 102°? That's too warm! Hope it cools down for you.

Sing, I think you should keep on speaking your mind, when you feel moved to do so. You weren't rude at all, I thought those other people waaay over reacted.

Well, I like what I see on this string! Let's see if I can get in all the responses I want.

Overall, thanks for the humorous comments about my family situation. It's nice to laugh it off.

Stiring, the hand held body fat measuring gizmos are similar to the scales and they do get poor to good measurements (in other words it's accurate some of the time and ballpark the rest of the time). Even if it's "ball park", you did great! Celebrate! As I recall Consumer Reports did an article recently say they reason why they don't rate body fat measuring gizmos is because they are all to inaccurate. But Consumer Reports is going to want more than ball park EVERY TIME! I go to a place called Fitness Wave periodically. It has hydrostatic body fat measuring (www.getdunked.com) where you get into a pool (completely underwater) and they see how well you float (or don't). Muscle sinks, fat floats. It's supposed to be the most accurate, but not terribly portable. Also, the range for 40-49 year-old women who are "athletes" is about 14-20%. So, assuming your test was somewhere in the accurate range, you're in the high end of Excellent.

Cardigirl, sorry to hear you're having a tough time. Try to work out to work off frustration rather than do emotional eating (if that's your thing). I find I like different work outs depending on my mood. I like yoga when I want to focus on me. I like working on footwork in ice skating to be quiet and meditative. I like working on jumps in skating when I'm ANGRY (are we allowed to say "pissed" around here). Just an idea if it helps.

As for all of you who commented on the woman eating 700 calories. I think that was my first day on the website and I commented on it too. I did manage to restrain myself and NOT say, "Pull your head out of whatever dark place it is in and ..." but I did... express myself!

Not a fan of Jon and Kate but it's hard to NOT hear about it. I totally don't get the people who want to be on reality shows, especially the long-term ones and the dating ones. Why would you want that kind of intrusion into EVERY THING YOU DO OR SAY? I think you have to be part exhibitionist from the start.

Well, yoga class is calling. Time to get my bike and go!

Annaliza: teaching class at a prison? Wow! What class?

I teach computer science at the prison (well, I only teach computer science...sometimes a few low level business classes but my main job is in computers/IT). That is included in my 14 hour work day though....not 14 hours working and then go and teach lol.

Actually, my prisoners are a captive audience :happy: (lol, I know I know...but I had to say it hehe). They are much easier to teach than my normal just-out-of-high-school students though.

Thanks for asking

:drinker: :drinker: :drinker: For our birthday boy!!!!! :drinker: :drinker: :drinker:
Sing, I do spend/waste money on plants. :laugh: :laugh: It is very challenging to keep them from wilting/dying. We are on water restrictions, level 2. That means there is only watering with sprinklers once a week and only during certain times, no later than 8am and no earlier than 8pm. We can only use our sprinklers on Mondays. The rest of the time we can water by hand. Our backyard is pretty big, it is not looking that great. The front looks decent. It is crazy!!!! :noway: :grumble:

I am proud to say I resisted the temptation of eating the caramel popcorn last night. I went out and planted my flowers, they look so cute. I hope they last. :laugh: I increased my calories by a hundred. Kickboxing tonight. I calculated how much I would burn according to what I burned last time so I am supposed to eat almost 1900cals today. :noway: I am having a hard time planning for that. I've averaging 1500-1600 for a while so 1900 cals sound so much!!!

"Captive" Audience :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: I love it!!!! :laugh:

Have a wonderful day!!!!! :flowerforyou:

Congrats on the weight loss, annaliza! :drinker: You are doing really great!

keppick, thanks for the information on the body fat measurement devices. This is the first one I've seen that takes the measurement through the hands, so I didn't know what to think about it. I'm just going to press on for right now and not really worry about my body fat percentage too much. Maybe someday I'll try to water method, but, for right now, I'm just going to work on being fit and such. I'm, clearly, not in a dangerous area as I have way too much cellulite for that. :happy:

TxMs, 116?!? Yikes, that's hot. And I don't care if that's in the sun or out of the sun....it's hot! I'd never watched the Jon and Kate show, so it is kind of interesting how they portrayed the language development. See, that's something I can think of as being beneficial for people to see if they have questions about their own children and language development. But at the same time, I think their are better ways of getting information to people without having real families and real children opening up every element of their lives to the prying public and media. I guess I just don't have the 'fame' bug, because if somebody ever wandered over to me with a camera, I'd run the other way! So going on a reality TV show, especially one focused on the more private aspects of life, really baffles me.

singfree, enjoy your pizza day and enjoy your birthday! As you all know, I've been listening to and reading many books about food over the past five months. I just finished 'In Defense of Food' by Michael Pollen. And in there, he had what I think is a great perspective on food. His premise for the book is pretty much to tell people to eat, but eat real food and not too much of it....but enjoy what you eat. Anyhow, somebody did this survey of Americans vs. French (because of the 'French paradox' where they, as a culture, eat what Americans would consider to be such unhealthy food but where, as a culture, they don't suffer the obesity issues Americans as a culture suffer) where they asked what they thought of when they hear 'chocolate cake'. The majority of the Americans answered 'guilt'. The majority of the French answered 'celebration'. Frankly, I think the French have got it right. So if today is a celebration day for you (and tomorrow SHOULD be since it is your birthday), I say 'celebrate'! And don't feel guilty and wrong for doing it. I figure if I only splurge for celebrations and not simply because I have a craving, I will be good to go for the rest of my life. Someday I will want to be celebrating something, and I'll want to do it without any associated guilt. That's my aim at least.

alf, we're on water restrictions here too. Thankfully it hasn't been that hot so not everything is dead yet. But it is supposed to warm up this weekend so that could be changing soon. I'm actually pretty concerned about what is going to happen this fall when the winds from the desert start up again, and we get the fires. It could be horrible.

Off to do some cardio! Hope everybody has a great day.

Yesterday I did my wii fit step exercise for 45 minutes. I bought a regular step to put my wii step on top of so it makes it more challenging and sure enough my calves are a little sore today. Thats good because I like the step program but the wii is so low you definitely need to make it more challenging or whats the point right.:happy:

annaliza.... You work in the prison? How do you like it? I know a few people who are prison guards and it kinda hardens their personalities. I can understand why because of all of the things they have to experience. And yes, your hubby should be getting you coffee. But I dont work, haven't for the last 5 years. So I think thats the least I can do considering he works 80+ hours a week. My husband is a workaholic. I think they need to set up a program for that.:laugh:

sing... Happy Birthday!! And dont stress about the pizza, cake, or anything else that comes your way due to your celebration day. After all you ARE an inspiration to all of us. You know how to exercise hard, eat in moderation as well as healthy, and have the occasional (and I do mean occasional) treat once in a while. Take a good look in the mirror, you are what most men aspire to be like (or at least should) Sorry if that sounds "gooshy" but heck, your in great shape and you know how to take care of yourself so.... ENJOY!

cardigirl... Sorry about the divorce. Glad to hear that you both are being kind to each other during the process. Thats not an easy thing to do and speaks volumes about the both of you. Still take care of yourself during this stressful time and we will be praying for you

Alf... Thats the one thing I dont like about Texas... The heat. But the humidity just loves me. I dont drink a lot of water so when I have gone there on a road trip my body just sucks in the moister threw my skin. And I'm not even joking. My husband told me to stop drinking so much water because we had to take a lot of "pit stops" along the way. I just laughed and told him I was still sipping from my first bottle. Aldo my hands looked terrific.

Texs, LOL, I laughed so hard when I read about your husband!! That's good though...it shows that he's a nurturing, caring kind of guy and I think that's a great quality. I am envious, too. I so wanted a garden this year but just had no time for it. Maybe next summer.

Tron, I only teach a class at the prison on Tues and Thurs evenings (for this summer, at least). I work for a college so my teaching goes per semester. I enjoy teaching at the prison because my students are so engaging. It might be the fact that I'm a woman in a mans prison (and they get to look at me twice a week) or it might be that they are really interested in computers (yea, right LOL). Either way, I know that they are learning something, so that makes me proud. The prisoners I teach aren't the "hard core" ones...meaning that most of them are there for tax evasion, fraud, drug abuse, narking on thier buddy for a easier sentance etc. I have no murders, rapists, and the super violent crimes (lol, that I know of). It can be scary...I have to watch everything I say and do. There are a lot of rules to follow and I can never forget that they are inmates.

You know, I work a lot and I am proud of my accomplishments....but it makes me sad that I do, too. My little ones cling to their dad (he's the primary caretaker and works very little) and ignore me a lot. Mostly because they just don't know me like they know their dad. I'm always hearing "no, I want daddy" though I do everything I can to show them how much I love them.

Im sure that theyll understand that I work like I do for them later in life, but for now, I just have to work through the pain and hurt feelings. Everyday it feels like a knife in my gut when my child shys away from me and I reget working.

But without my job, we would be living in the streets (especially since my husband hates to work),....and I work the extra jobs because we are slowly sinking (diapers arent cheap). It's hard...especially when Im also expected to clean and cook and do laundry too (along with child care every minute I am home).

I just sometimes feel like I'm going to one day go "poof" and blow up. And asking my hubby to help out more would be mute....since he is always right....and knows no other way of life (his father, who is also crippled, does nothing while his mom works (I mean nothing...wont even get up to pee even though he can), so this is normal for him).

Anyways, sorry for my long rant. I just had an episode of the "I want daddy" so my feelings are still stinging a litte bit.

Take care all!!

:drinker: :drinker: FELIZ CUMPLEANOS, SING!! :drinker: :drinker:

You are going to get carded a lot when you ask for your senior citizen discount!!! :laugh: That is better than being offered a SC discount assuming you are older. :noway: That happened to a lady I knew. We were at a restaurant and we pretty much ordered the same thing. When she got her check it was less than the others and we wondered why. So she asked and the waitress said that she got a senior citizen discount. :noway: She was about 51. Yikes!! :embarassed:

I did my lean circuit today, shoulders ouch!! But it was great!! Taking the day off, no work, taking my son to eat pizza and play some games at Incredible Pizza. I guess I will celebrate for you Sing! :drinker: :laugh: I will try to limit myself.

Have a wonderful day!!! :flowerforyou:

Happy Birthday, singfree! :drinker: Enjoy your warm weather, your bike ride, and anything else you want to enjoy today (within reason, of course! :bigsmile: ) I hope you have a great day.

annaliza, you are in a tough situation. It makes me admire you all the more for taking the time to take care of yourself and your health. I know your children will recognize that and be proud of their mom when they are old enough to understand all that you did not only for them but for yourself. That latter point is so important because if you weren't taking the time to take care of you, you eventually would not be able to do things for them. My heart goes out to you. You are one strong lady!

Must run to get my workout in. I'm doing shoulders/biceps/triceps today.....my favorite body parts to work. Hope everybody has a great day!

singfree, I don't plan on starting P90X until the last week in August. I'm really looking foward to it. I've got three weeks left in my six month rotation of STS. This week is the heaviest lifting I'll do in this program....and it has been heavy. Today was 90% of my one rep max for six reps. Killer. I'm surprised I can type right now. Drying my hair was a challenge! :laugh: I'm taking six weeks off between STS and P90X since they are similar in style. I figure those six weeks would be a good time to work on circuits/full body workouts and then P90X will shock my system again with a more structured weight rotation. I'm looking forward to it, especially seeing how my body responds to P90X in light of having done STS.

tron, your trip looks great! I want to take a similar trip now that we live in this area. I love Zion in Utah, but it has been something like 35 years since I was at the Grand Canyon (and my husband has never been!) I love some of the events you have planned. Sounds like so much fun.

Hoosiermomma, great to see you back. Happy to hear you had a good trip. I'm not so sure there is much you can do for the...um....arm issue....you've got going on over the next two weeks. It is impossible to spot reduce, and that's just one of those areas that is really hard to work. I say just keep on doing what you're doing (because you are doing wonderfully) and be proud of how you look and feel. And enjoy the wedding! :drinker:

I got my new bread machine today. I know, the craze on those passed years ago. I'm a little behind the times. But I can't wait to start making my own bread and eliminating that source of processed...stuff...from my diet. This should actually be easy since I'm the only one in the house who eats bread with any regularity, and that's just two slices a day. I bought a very small machine, and I figure just a couple of loaves a week will do it for me. I'm still looking for salad dressing recipes I like, and then I'm going to move on to making my own protein/granola bars. For somebody who used to be allergic to the kitchen, I certainly have gotten ambitious!

Hot times in North Texas! My husband's work has free baseball tickets to a semi-pro game on Saturday night when the heat index is supposed to be around 107. Don't think we will make it.

Annaliza: what a rotten situation to be in. I went to school at night for 5 years starting when my son was 2 and had my daughter during the time and my mother-in-law moved in with us during that time. I could not have done it without my husband pitching in. When I first started back to school, I would rush home fix dinner for my son and husband, throw a load of clothes in the wash and dash to class. That lasted about three weeks. I looked at my husband and said you are a grown-up. I don't need to come home and take care of you. Of course, my husband was willing to pitch in and did lots of the in-town running around while I worked 40 miles away during the day and did school at night. I know you need to take care of the little ones, but do you have to wait on the husband too? Bill loves going to the grocery store; I hated it and he went all the time anyway so I quit doing the "weekly" shopping. Bill did not always feed the kids as I would have or bathe them as thoroughly, but everyone made it. My one secret: three weeks supply of socks and underwear for everyone and all socks match all other socks! You are doing a great job taking care of yourself and being a good role model to your kids. We are here to support you. And you teach a class two nights a week at the prison? Wow! What an inspiration.

Tron: I am so jealous of your trip. (Sing's trip too). Have a wonderful time and bring bath salts to soothe your aching post hike muscles. Do you know about blister bandaids? Sort of expensive but put one on as soon as you get a hot spot on your foot and it can stay for a couple of days: no blister. Learned that from my daughter when she was in ballet.

Hoosiermamma: Good luck with the wedding preps and CONGRATULATIONS on the dress fitting so well. I had a cousin who came to me with her size 10 bridesmaid dress and size 14 body two weeks before a wedding. (I don't think she wanted to be in the wedding...) Luckily the bodice was fully lined with the same fabric as the rest of the dress so there was fabric to add 2 inches to each side and a gusset under the arms to make the sleeves fit.

Stiring: have a great time with the bread machine. I love rosemary bread but I cheat and buy frozen bread dough and work it in before baking. (Great holiday gift: cheap and relatively easy) The rosemary outside is evergreen and available all year.

Sing: Guys don't hit on me at the gym, maybe because my husband is always with me. The lifeguards at the water park all know my name but that may be because I bring them cookies often. (Started when my kids were lifeguards and there is always a returning guard the next year who will ask when are the cookies coming... These are in-shape kids who work long hours in the sun so I don't feel bad bringing them cookies. Also bring them fruit too.)

Got to go unload and reload the dishwasher and admire the plant children with the farmer hub before going to the river and stop and get guard cookies before the river. Also, wore clothes today I have not been able to get into for at least two years! Take care all! TxMs

Well, my first loaf of bread is in the machine. It smells good. I keep looking through the little window to see if it LOOKS good, but I can't see anything yet. I'm hoping to enjoy my first homemade bread in a couple of hours. 'Hoping' is a key word in that sentence.

singfree, I don't blame you with the German bread. I still miss it! I don't care if it is good for me or not. There is nothing like brotchen (in my opinion, of course). And then there are the German pretzels. Mmmmmmm.......I do miss the good German food.

And don't feel guilty about your week! As long as you have enjoyed what you've done and how you've spent your time, it is all good. :flowerforyou:

TxMs, congrats on the clothing! Be careful in that heat.

Well, I'm down a little more weight this week. I am 102.9 this morning, down over a pound since last Friday. I talked with my husband about this for a long time last night. I'm at the point where I think I actually need to gain back some weight (trust me, that's the first time in my life I've ever uttered those words!) I don't want to go overboard the other way, but this increasing 100 calories a week (as is so often recommended by specialists in the field of nutrition) is not working for me right now. I'm actually toying with increasing about 100 every other day until my calories are sitting at about 2200-2300 (at least) and seeing what happens. That would only take about a week. I'm just thinking if I'm still losing an average of a pound a week (and I am), then my deficit is still in the 500 calorie a day range. So going up to 1900 next week isn't going to stop me losing more weight. Any thoughts on this? Does anybody think going up that much that quickly would do me any harm (like storing all the calories as fat?) The one thing I don't want to do is stop eating healthy, so I'm working hard at making sure all the calories are healthy calories. But I would be lying my teeth off right now if I didn't say I wasn't tempted to go eat a big piece of cake! I am enjoying wine and chocolate periodically (and already have a lovely bottle of German white wine in the fridge for tonight!), so I have my less-than-ideal indulgences. But I feel that is reasonable. 1000 calories of carrot cake? That would be unreasonable. I need help staying reasonable!!

Off to do some plyometric legs this morning. These workouts are so tough.