On my mind...

A few things on my mind lately...

For the dog lovers out there, check out Bark Magazine. I picked it up the other day & it's really great. Not a cheesy pet fancy kind of magazine, but a real-life one, packed with both enlightening and humorous articles.

Today was our last day of Boot Camp. We endured a grueling 45 minutes of running at a local high school track, backwards running, lunges (front & back), a sprint suicide drill, running stairs, hopping on stairs, bear crawls on stairs and lunges on stairs. Whew. I am happy to report that I won the "most improved push ups" award, achieving a +19 increase from our 1st class. Go, me!

I'm thinking of a new do... For the past few years, after growing out a pixie haircut, I have worn an all one length bob, varying in length between chin to below shoulders. I'm really thinking of doing the inverted bob, ala Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, last year's Nicole Richie.. not quite as short as theirs, but the angled look, shorter in the back. Anyone out there with a similar do & their experience?

Between work for Hubby and myself, working on the house, volunteer activities and a visit from my parents, we may not get a vacation in this summer. So, that may be my new goal - fitting in a mini vacation at some point before September, when I don't think I will see Hubby due to a new product launch.

Our computer is now home & up and running. Hallelujah! Even though I'm happy, I think part of my secretly wanted to take advantage of NC's tax free holiday and purchase something new.

I think I really want a pair of Stephen Bonanno's sandals. I have read about them over & over, played around with color combos on the website, and still can't make up my mind. Any recommendations to color, style, etc?

Oh, and how can Michael Vick plead not guilty? Argh. Hopefully, justice will be served at his court date in November.

Back to the Track

It literally felt like High School again this morning - for our Boot Camp cardio portion, we went to one of of the high school tracks for a rather intense workout. We ran, did walking forward & backward lunges, power skips, sprinting, bear crawls, etc... all on the long track. Plus, stair workouts, because you can't go to the track without those! It was hard, but fun. Glad to be enjoying my coffee now & getting ready for work!

Organization is my friend

Can I tell you how nice it was to come home from Boot Camp this morning, open the door, and smell the coffee brewing? Hubby went to swim this morning, but was thoughtful to feed the dogs and start the coffee. I poured a cup and sat down at the computer to finally organize my emails. I filed or deleted a zillion and only have 21 email in my inbox. It's quiet in the house and all I can hear are a few birds chirping and Zeus, snoring every so slightly. Now, all I have to do is shower, take my car to have the oil changed, and then I'm off to my mystery spa appointment. I'm also planning to reorganize and declutter my bathroom closet that currently looks like an explosion took place in Sephora, Target and Walgreen's, and the remnants landed in the closet!

Back to Boot Camp

Yes, I did it. I signed myself up for 8 weeks of torture, I mean training. I'm doing another Boot Camp at a local gym, 3 days a week from 5:15-6:30 AM. Yes, AM. Yesterday was our first day & I realized that taking 5 weeks off from the gym has done nothing but make me feel fat, lazy and completely out of shape.

We started off with push ups and sit ups. You do all you can for 1 minute and then we'll be tested again on this at the end of the session. I did OK on those.

Next, we did a series of cardio with a step bench and weights, including mountain climbers, squats, push ups, jumping on and off the bench etc. Then we went outside to do ten thousand walking lunges.. OK, probably not that many, but it felt like it. Next we ran, then we did sprints/running backwards. More mountain climbers and then back inside for bear crawls, running backwards, backward bear crawls, side crawls. Ack.

I'm a bit sore today and that is putting it mildly. Still a little mad at myself for letting myself get out of shape. I just felt so slow against everyone else and that I was struggling throughout. I know that it'll get easier & that I should concentrate on me and not everyone else, but that's a little easier said than done.

Ok, enough of my pity party and I'm gonna go look for a pillow for my chair now!

Boot Camp

Since my lazy ass has been such a slacker since the half marathon, I think I need to try something new, or at least something I know that works. Work has been so busy, I've found myself tired in the evenings that I would just rather sit on the sofa, eating multi-grain tostitos and convincing myself that they really are healthy, than go run or do something good for myself! Also, Hubby is training for a sprint triathlon, so I even feel like a bigger slacker as I politely sit on my arse! I'm really proud of him - he's been training, taking swim lessons to tweak his swimming abilities and has new swim/bike/run shorts that are kind of funny, but kind of cute!

Anyway, a new boot camp is starting on June 4 for 8 weeks. It's 3 days a week from 5:15-6:30AM and I think as much as I will hate the wake up call, it's really what I need to do to get back in the proverbial saddle. Hubby & I have also always done the boot camp classes together so this will be my first one solo... somewhat intimidating to me for some reason. OK, enough whining, but I could mention the fact that literally, I think I've only worked out once since April 28. Sad, very, very sad!!

Boot(y) Camp

Boot Camp ended last Friday.... whoo-hoo! It felt like a dream sleeping until 6:30 today. As far as my stats were concerned, I lost 1.6 pounds and 2 inches and completed 8 more push ups and 12 more sit-ups than on the day we started. As a group, we lost 52 inches and 42.2 pounds.

Even though I didn't have a huge loss, I feel a little more toned & inspired to keep up with my workouts. We are about 6 weeks out from the Half Marathon, so I have to really start focusing on running.

On a shopping note, I went by Stein Mart on my lunch hour today and found slim fit Ralph Lauren polos for $30-something each. So, of course, I scooped up a couple, in white and light blue, along with a couple of thin v-neck cable knit sweaters. Perfect for spring weather in NC, we had 40's over the weekend and it should be in the 80's this weekend.

Weekend Recap

It was relatively quiet around Chez Labrador this weekend. Hubby and I had date night on Friday for sushi. Saturday was spent cleaning, errands and somehow getting sucked into a marathon of America's Next Top Model. Geez. We did successfully book our hotel room for the Country Music Half Marathon in April. I didn't realize how quickly rooms would fill, so we ended up paying more than we expected, but it's a super deluxe room located in the downtown area.

On a cleaning note, and of course with our abundance of dog hair, I will say that my favorite cleaning tool is the Dyson. We have the Animal and it is great.

Also, an update on Let's Dish . We tried one of the dinners and a dessert over the weekend and they were both great. We tried the citrus tilapia last night. It consists of filets of tiliapa, drizzled with olive oil & cayenne pepper. There are also slices of lemons & limes between the filets. Before baking, you sprinkle a few spicy almond slivers on top. It was easy and very good. We also tried the individual molten chocolate cakes. Ooey-gooey chocolate and cake. Need I say more?

We also started Week 4 of Boot Camp today. Today we focused on arms/back for our weights and then tons of running outside. Backward running, power skips, pop squats, jumping jacks and squat thrusts. Whew.

This better lift my butt!

Today at Boot Camp, we did a 30 minute cycle/circuit class, then moved to the gym for numerous rounds of walking lunges, backward lunges, side steps, pop squats and squat thrusts, which are really evil. We also did some sprinting, agility work and abs.

I'm feeling good right now, but I'm sure by tomorrow, I'll be walking a little funny. We decided last night that are going to Key West in April, with two other couples, so I am hoping that these classes will get me bikini ready, or at least bikini/skirt/towel cover up ready by then! I have been scouring the new JCrew catalog for some appropriate FL gear!

Scooterville,here I come

This is Day 2 of Boot Camp and the soreness has definitely kicked in. Not to go into too much detail, but I just had to go to the restroom and I caught myself holding onto the bar as I sat down. I am thinking that I need one of those lifting chairs, like this so I can get up and down easier.

Today, we had a warm up with jumping jacks & stretching, three rounds of different weight stations - biceps, triceps, "skull crushers with a barbell", the "booza" ball, crunches, etc. Then we went outside to run that consisted of running backwards, sprints, pop squats, etc. Of course, this is in 30'ish degree weather - cold for this Southerner! I did feel better today - no lunch time nap necessary!

Mid-Day Nappage

OK, I don't think it was the best idea to start Boot Camp following Super Bowl Sunday. I'm sure I ate my weight in BBQ, potato skins, dips, meatballs, bruschetta and other assorted "crap" that isn't really healthy, plus I stayed up later than usual! Let's just say that 4:30 AM came early after the afternoon/evening binge session and the weigh in hurt. At least our trainer did tell us that the scale weighs heavy, but still!

I just actually took at 20 minute power nap in my car. Is that wrong? It's freezing here today, so the car was nice and warm... perfect for a cat nap! Now, I'm more refreshed & ready to go!

Preparing for sleep deprivation

Hubby and I have signed up, yet again, for Boot Camp. This is a 3 day a week, 6-week torture, um exercise program that is offered at our gym. We've done this class 3 other times, and it starts at 5:15 AM. Yes, 5:15AM for the non-morning person (that would be me). It's a great class - we run, do sprints, plyometrics, lift weights, do countless squats and push ups. You get the idea! I enjoy the workout, but I'm always glad when it's over. I will admit, as much as I loathe the early time, it's great to be done with a workout before I go to work.

The class starts on Monday, so I really need to prepare for my early 4:45 AM wake-up calls. For the past few weeks, I've had a hard time dragging myself out of bed at 7. Oy. Not sure what my deal is. Our dogs have had no problem waking up lately... they have been up and crying to go out by 5:30. Maybe they know our class starts next week!