Training with Billy

Check out our second bedroom. We lost the right to train with Billy at the last place back in December, we joined a different gym because our old one was terrible and we finally made a decision to modify our spare bedroom into a home gym so we could work out with Billy (our trainer). We have minimalist equipment but it's awesome.

We've both worked out 3 times each and can honestly say it's worse (ie better) than being in a regular gym. You can't escape and take a break by walking around the gym. We are now in a 12x12 room with no escape. We also have no cardio equipment so our warm up/warm down is by weights. Therefore it's constant for 90 minutes at a time. Here are some pics. All we have to do now is put stuff on the walls.

The weights are awesome. They're in 2 blocks....and have filters so you can go from 2.5lb to 50lb on each arm. We feel so much better already!

Another zero down!

Woooohoooo! So, I'm just loving this weight loss thing. I still can't figure out what I'm doing different this time, but it's working so who cares. I have officially gone past another zero - and since October have lost 21lb and since the beginning of the whole carb/protein diet 31lb. How exciting is it?

I can definitely tell you that taking each day/meal at a time, following a set of rules most of the time is working. In addition I have a regular exercise schedule that I follow - and it all is now part of my lifestyle. I miss it if I don't do it. It's only taken 4 years! About freaking time.

We're off to Mexico in May - I actually have to shop for clothes as none of my dresses, skirts or shorts fit. Now....that's what I call an excuse for shopping!

Who's more stressed?

It's an age old question right? Is it the person who goes out to work or the person who's at home looking after kids? Admittedly this article focused on the 2 parents, 2 children scenario but it's an interesting read.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1153566/Who-pressure-breadwinner-homemaker-Nick-Harding-wife-stress-test-.html

It does make you wonder though what a single parent goes through.... I bet their stress levels are double everyone elses. Penny, I'm thinking of you!

Billy's back, back, back!

If you remember back to the beginning of December when the girls came to visit I set them up with personal training sessions to kick start their diet and training program getting ready for Rach's wedding in November......and on the second session they got kicked out of the gym we used. We were using a gym attached to a building that a friend of mine managed (she's the assistant to the owner of the building) and said it was OK if we trained there.....well he was having a bad day - and kicked us out. We tried and tried to organize it to no avail... everything from "we need to open our own gym" to "why can't our 2nd bedroom be a gym".

We opted for the second option. It was a hard choice especially as it's important to me that when we have guests they're comfortable so I don't really want to rely on an inflatable bed - most people don't come for a couple of days, it's usually a week or more. So, what we've decided to do is sell on Craigslist the bedframe/headboard/chest of drawers and store the mattress and box spring in the hallway. Then all I have to do is buy a cheap bed frame that's easy to put together when we have visitors.

Yesterday was the first step in the process. We had ordered everything a week or so back and everything had been delivered (trust me...our apartment was covered in boxes!). I was sooooo excited I booked Billy's time for yesterday afternoon, which meant that the morning was spent unpacking all the boxes and putting everything together. I have to tell you by the time Billy arrived we were exhausted.

So, this is what we have:
- Bench and weights (powerblock.com - very consolidated set of weights. Awesome)
- Bosu ball
- Exercise ball
- Bands
- Mats
- Padded floor (arriving Tuesday)

Our first workouts went great. My butt cheeks are telling me that today - I hurt like hell. But that's good -right? I'm determined by the time I'm in Iowa at the end of March that I'm fabulous and not hurting anymore.

We have a few things to get like medicine balls but that'll come....I'm so excited that we are now in total control of our gym and personal trainer.....we don't miss our old gym, we love our new gym for all the cardio workouts so it's all working out well!

A Tribute....to Jade Goody

I can't believe I'm writing this....especially as it all started with reality TV, but I just can't help myself. Here's the latest on Jade http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1147323/Jade-Goody-earns-1-5m-magazine-TV-deals-Sunday-wedding-ceremony.html

Jade burst on the UK TV reality scene in 2002 or 2003. She was young and stupid. During the Big Brother season she was seen doing lots of weird things - like getting her geography wrong, or saying words incorrectly. She was common and always spoke without thinking. But, no matter how much you didn't want to watch, there was something about her that kept you interested. More recently she drew international notoriety a year or so back in a racism row during the UK version of Celebrity Big Brother. All of that said, what has happened to her over the past 6 months is just awful. I can't stop thinking about it.

Her children are 4 and 5. Over the years she's had unexplained health issues which has always ended with nothing. Until last August that is. After the bad TV exposure the previous January Jade had agreed to go on the Indian version of Big Brother to fix the race issues that had occurred. Can you believe that at the age of 27 with two young children this poor woman found out that she had cervical cancer.....on Big Brother. Over the past several months Jade has been undergoing chemo etc....and two weeks ago found out that it hadn't worked and that the cancer has spread. Today I read that she has a few weeks left to live. She's marrying her boyfriend this coming weekend and depending on which report you read there's not a lot of time.

Jade has lived her life in the limelight...and during her cancer battle hired a TV company to follow her treatments and her daily life. She has made it very clear that her focus is on her children and keeping in the limelight at this time is meaning she's securing their future.

Doesn't it make you think? How in an instant the plans for your life can be gone? I'd like to think that I have no regrets and I think that's the case. I do put things off until tomorrow, when I know I shouldn't and time passes so quickly. I also know, when weird medical things happen and there's no explanation you don't accept no result....Jade is testimony to that.

So ladies, if you haven't had your annual physical yet.....go get it.

The Lion's Balls...

Read this article.....this guy clearly has more gonads than I EVER EVER EVER would.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2246717.ece

Valentines Day

Apart from the fact that I have a terrible sinus cold we had a good Valentines Day. Trev arranged for me to have a facial at our local salon which was great - the steam really helped clear my head and over the whole hour I got to hear about how bad my skin was:) In St Louis I'd have a facial every few months - I considered it a luxury, but it did mean that zits were at a minimum. Here in NY I think that was my second facial in 3 years - that said, I do look after my skin so I don't consider it a necessity at all. Personally, I'd rather do it myself and then go get a massage:)

This morning though my skin does feel smoother and the dry skin not so dry. That's all good. The one thing I didn't like was this woman was all "so, we're going to put you on this regimen which means you should come and see me monthly....". Yeah..........right! That REALLY annoys me. I know she wants to keep her business going but don't make me feel bad for not wanting to do that every month. Quite honestly having the "extraction" bit done (where they burst all the zits) I can only handle every so often:)

Trev's gift had a couple of bits. First I had downloaded a couple of audio books for him for his iPod. He's just got into listening to spoken word so thought it'd be cool. Then, I booked dinner and show at a comedy club in the city. We went and saw Judah Freelander - if you watch 30 Rock he's the dude with the hat and glasses. Was pretty flipping funny. It was great not to hear about politics. He was very clever - spent most of the time asking people questions and talking, so not a whole lot of preparation. It was fun.

I have to say though, I'd fed up with this sinus cold. I'm really glad I have tomorrow off of work because it'll give me a bit of time to recover. I wish it was spring.

And another week been and gone...

Amazing isn't it? You look round and suddenly it's the weekend again! I can honestly say that sometimes I don't know where the time goes. Had quite an eventful week...so here goes:

1. My ankle. I decided that it was time to consult a different doctor. I haven't been to physio and yesterday I had my first appointment with a recommended surgeon. The other thing I've done is also included my left knee in this consult as it's been bugging me ever since I wore the bootee back in the summer. I've had oodles of xrays taken of both the knee and ankle/foot. The knee looks fine (whew!) and the ankle may have a chip of bone and some calcium deposits. What she has asked for is the MRI results that I had done last summer for her to look at more closely. She has recommended I do physio at a different facility, so I start that on Tuesday. So, I'm on the case - and I'm back to the lawyer on Monday to decide next steps.

2. An old friend. On Thursday we had a surprise when a friend of ours from England pinged me and was in NY for the week. So Thursday we met for drinks and dinner. We ended up in one of my favourite restaurants, Les Halles. What a great time....thoroughly enjoyed it. Even better it looks like we'll be working together for the next year or so.

3. Work. I've been having a tough time with someone at work...I think I'm most mad at the fact this guy manages to get me emotional and then irrational. I hate it. I've tried everything, but after 4 years of dealing with this guy I'm realizing it's that one in a million relationships that's not going to work. I'm OK with that. I've tried understanding what he's doing on this big ass project but he's so flipping secretive and has the "I know something you don't" attitude which is ridiculous given we all work for the same team! I think I hit my wall this week when staff and managers were starting to complain to me about him. Not only that but things that I had put in place and was working on I was finding out from these people that he was doing his own thing. Now, that's what put me over the edge - I really don't have time to a) listen to the complaints and b) do the same thing more than once. This made me start to doubt what my role was in this project. So, at my one to one with my boss on Thursday I asked for clarification. The complication is that my boss knows I don't like him, but this really wasn't a personal thing - it was how other people were feeling/reacting and the fact they weren't getting what they needed to kick the project off. Anyway......I asked what my role was. She asked for examples of why etc etc and then she made it very clear what my role was. For the purposes of this project, I'm her. And with those words the fuzziness disappeared, my annoyance and frustration disappeared and all became clear. Now I understand my role - it's dead simple. He works to my timetable, and my project plan, not the other way round. VERY cool.

4. Weight. I'm really not sure what happened but since October I've lost nearly 20lb. I'm doing what I've always done but suddenly it seems to be paying off. I'm so happy that I can lose weight, go to the gym and then splurge occasionally and it all works. I hope it continues - for the sake of all the weddings I've got this year.

5. Hair. So, I had it cut again - check out the pic, do you like it this short? I feel like a boy - but what's weird is that I'm getting lots of compliments. I can't decide if I like it or not. This isn't the nicest pic in the world, but it gives you an idea.

So, now I'm off to the salon for a facial, courtesy of Trev for Valentines....and then we're going to a show tonight. Happy Valentines one and all!

A new gym....

We finally did it. After all the let-downs and complaining, we quit the gym we'd been at for almost 3 years, and have moved. It's such a relief. It's been so nice the past few weeks being able to go to a friendly place, with clean towels that down smell, with classes that are a) plentiful and b) happen at the advertised time. It's close to home and we've transitioned very well.

The tipping point came when we turned up on a Monday evening for a spin class and they wouldn't let us into the gym because "there's something wrong with your membership, you need to see a manager". I was not happy, especially as we'd been there the previous day. Anyhow we waited a few minutes and after a little while I mentioned to Trev that we could still make our favourite spin class at the new gym for which we had a 7 day membership. With that I leaned over the counter and told them exactly that. Next day Trev called the gym to speak to the manager (who, of course, didn't proactively call us....) to find out the problem as we knew we were paid up to date. Anyway, they wanted to double our membership.....for all the BS and about a third of the classes they used to have.....yeah, like that was a good incentive to join. NOT!

During February we actually had our final month at the old gym and briefly considered not joining until March, but we decided for our own sanity and health we were going to run both memberships for the month. Anyway....it was a good job we did because Trev went last weekend for one of his favourite classes - and that instructor had quit. It must just be a matter of time until they go under.

It's costing $1 less a month each at our new gym and another cool thing is that there are unlimited guest passes for those who come and stay with us - which is just AWESOME!

Anyway, that phase is over and we are enjoying our new weekday haunt.

That's the first phase of our gym transition. The second is more radical. So, since the girls visited back at the beginning of December we've not been able to train with Billy. We both enjoy the kick ass routines he puts us through and we miss it. So, we've decided to focus on our spare room and turn it into a gym. The equipment is on order (bench, weights, bands, ball etc). The bedframe and chest of drawers is going up on Craigslist this weekend, I've already picked out a new desk (although don't really have the money right now). Just have to decide what type of gym flooring we need. And that is what Amazon is for:) I'm just soooo excited about this.

My one thing that has stopped us doing it before is what to do with the bed. When we have people stay they usually stay for a while rather than a weekend so I don't want to not have available a comfortable bed. That said, it takes up the whole room and that's ridiculous when 90% of the time no-one is sleeping in it. We have a couple of choices:

1) take the box spring and mattress and store it in the hallway outside. Two issues with this: firstly, I'm probably violating some fire code and second, it'll gather dust over time.

2) have a murphy-type bed built. That means I can have a frame, keep our current mattress and have it folded against the wall in the bedroom most of the time and then bring it out when guests stay.

I'm going with #2 at the moment, but it'll depend on the moolah needed to put a murphy bed frame on the wall. The builder is coming in on Monday for a few other things so am going to discuss then. Can't wait!

Woman goes to work after many years...

Over indulgences

Over the past few weeks I've had so much going on it's made my brain hurt. It's been like a whirlwind and while I've had a blast I'm taking this opportunity to sit back and update everyone on what's been going on the past few weeks.

Work. This has been driving me crazy - too much to do, not enough time, too many stupid questions and stress, stress, stress. I broke my cardinal rule this week (my gym schedule is NOT to be broken) and worked 15 hour days for 3 days this week. On the plus side, I'm much calmer now and have got things under control. It wasn't fun, I hated it but now it's all good. I will make up for that time some other way - and I've made the promise to myself that next week that won't happen.

Working Out. It's funny, I never remember how great I feel when I've done a class/lifted weights etc. Today was the first day since Monday that I'd done anything at all and I feel tremendous. As I've already said, I will get back to my schedule. I do miss Billy - but I have a plan.... I'm going to have a workout area in our apartment! I'll keep the bed, but I'll store it in the hallway! How cool is that??

Eating and Drinking. How I'm managing a very slow and steady weightloss after all the meals I've eaten (or drunk!) is amazing. I'm guessing that my metabolism is higher now, and I'm not complaining. It's the first time in my life that this isn't a diet....and it's great. You get spured on when you hear compliments. I'm also healthier....which is the whole point after all.

Travel. We've done our trip to Chicago and we have the following ones planned already this year. Here's the current list:
- early March we're off to see Peter in Boulder
- end March we're in Cedar Rapids
- April we're back to Chicago
- May off to Mexico for a friend's wedding
So now I'm realizing the year is flying by so my plan this weekend is to figure out when I can get back the UK - it's been ages and I'm not convinced there are going to be any work trips this year so I'm looking. Tickets cost a fortune....which sucks. I also wanted to get to Turkey this year to see Mum and Dad's house.....but not sure how we're going to fit that all in with Rachel getting married, but we'll figure something out.

OK, I'm off to sort out my short hair....it takes so much more effort now!

Chicago trip

Wow! We had such a great time - and soooo productive. Check out our pics below. We had two reasons to go - to celebrate Mike's 30th birthday (Rachel's fiance) and to start the wedding planning.

01-31-09 Chicago - Mike's 30th

We got a lot done:
- I met Denise (Mike's Mum), Eric (Mike's Sister) and her boyfriend (the "other" Mike)
- The guys picked out the tuxes with Rachel. Trevor and Peter have theirs ordered.
- The girls found their bridesmaids dresses - and we don't have to order for a few months giving everyone time to lose some weight
- We celebrated Mike's birthday several times
- Ate too much and did zero exercise

We had a blast.... and while it was rushed I wouldn't have missed it for the world!