For example, I want to finish editing some photos I'm using for an illustration of a book I want to create for my son's upcoming birthday. He wrote the story last year in 5th grade, having spent weeks typing it into his phone. When the project was due (it was a class assignment), he was disappointed that the teachers reneged on their promise to read each story aloud and print it in a compilation book. Because they had no time. Because they had to teach the test. Yes, the Common Core test. A friend suggested back in November that I could create a book from his story and give it to my son as a surprise gift. Too late for Christmas, but I still have a few weeks before his birthday.
But I'm still struggling with getting my website of photography up and running. I've finally selected a few dozen images representative of my work, and spent hours affixing watermarks to them. Now I've got to commit to a web host and actually download a website creator. I'm looking at Blue Host and WordPress, because, heck, everyone uses WordPress! I've signed up for an online class that starts mid-February, and I should have a short story finished by then. Except I hate what I've written so far and am thinking of starting all over again. I'm not good with third person. I'm much more of a first and/or second person writer. Which of course is problematic in itself.
And there's still the two back-to-back photo shows I have scheduled for this summer. But wait, it's tax season and I need to compile all my forms before mid-February too. That really shouldn't take too long, but it weighs heavy in the back of my mind... Every day that I get back from the gym there are the same basic chores that need addressing: laundry, dishes, dog, dinner and maybe my son needs help with his homework. It doesn't help that I'm usually so hungry by the time I get home that I can't think about anything except what I can stuff into my face. I really miss those old Ensure High-Protein drinks! Sometimes I scarf down a Quest bar, or make a protein shake. But I'd prefer something quick and mindless, without adding to the dish chore!
A friend of mine gets a lot done because she doesn't deal with household chores. They are relegated to the house cleaner, the dog walker, and her stepson who is friends with my son. Her husband is perfectly happy to eat Chunky Soup out of a can for supper. She tells me, "Well, it has vegetables in it, and he likes it." Uh, yeah, okay for you but I can actually cook nutritious food that tastes good, and my family will eat.
I do spend a lot of time typing this blog, and maybe this is one of the things I have to cut back on, in order to get other things done. I see AM in the locker room. She looks haggard, her arms skinny and limp. She teaches a few of the BodyPump exercise classes at the gym, but she says she's been sick. Too much stress this summer. Sick again this holiday season. She's skin and bones, and her diet-fad eating habits don't help. Another woman complains that she's suddenly developed cellulite on her upper arms and wonders if menopause is the reason. I don't know, but I'm glad that isn't my issue. At some point I'll discover something horrible has happened to my skin, that I have "old people" dingle dangle arms or thighs, but hopefully not in the near future.
The gym is crowded today, probably because I got here an hour earlier. I also finally remembered to get on my home scale before dressing for the gym. So my hair was dry and I hadn't eaten anything except for a cup of coffee. The home scale tells me 109 lbs and 15.7% body fat. A tad better than my last weigh-in back in November! I'd rather be closer to 14.5% body fat, but I'm not going to agonize over this. It's not as if I'm competing! I just want to fit into my pants better! Oddly, my waist is smaller although it's higher than where most pants situate their waistlines. At least I'm sort of proportional at 34-26-34. When I was in HS, I remember my measurements were 29-27-36. No chest or waist whatsoever. Just hips and thighs. Of course, I still don't have a bust... Those 5 inches are back and chest muscles!
I manage to snag my favorite cross-trainer for the 30 minutes of cardio. My toes go numb with 10 minutes to spare. My elbow complains during pull ups. My elbow complains during push ups. My shoulder complains during Bench Presses. Ugh. I'm happy to do just one set of pull ups today. The wireless ear buds make the music sound crunchy when I'm bent the wrong way. I might inadvertently be pressing buttons on the iPod? While I'm happy to see women in the weight area, too many of them get spacey and walk away from loaded racks, completely forgetting to re-rack their weights. My hubs left at 3:30 this morning to catch a flight to Houston. He texts me that he's arrived but got little sleep on the plane. He'll be back on Saturday, but has no idea when.
When I return home, the dog patiently waits for me to load the washing machine and retrieve my son from the school bus stop before I can take him out for a walk. I like to walk my son to the bus stop and back because it gives us a chance to talk without the distractions of TV, phone, laptop, gaming consoles. We discuss his homework and what's due tomorrow. Then I trek upstairs to write my blog post. It'll be dinner time when I'm done. I still haven't done anything about my website, the photo show, the short story, or the book. Sigh... I could just post my workouts, but I think that's kind of boring. And if I think it's boring, I'm sure everyone else will think it's triply boring.
Thursday Workout
30 min x-trainer
Calories 136
Miles 3.76
Average Speed 7.51
Average Pace 7:59
HGPU 31
Knee-ins 50
Push Ups 100
Crunches 3 x 50
Bird Dogs 2 x 60s
Side Planks 2 x 60s
Flat Breaker Bench (because a gal was using the Smith)
Bar (45 lbs) x 12
12 x 65
Smith Flat
Bar x 12
12 x 80, 100
8 x 120
25 x 90
Smith Inclined
Bar x 12
12 x 50, 70, 80
10 x 90
25 x 60
DB Laterals s/s Rev Incl Flyes
25 lbs x 12/15 x 3
Rip Skulls
40 lbs x 12 x 3
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