Ladybug Studio

My ailments…

Physically, things seem to be going downhill quite rapidly this week. I am hurting from head to toe today. It all started last Saturday when I apparently injured myself while playing tennis. I'm not sure how though, as I didn't have one of those Ow! moments. It was later, after my shower, when I noticed that my left shoulder was a bit tweaked. Then while riding my bike on Sunday, I noticed that my left hamstring was hurting. After a few miles that settled down and I was able to enjoy my ride.

Naturally, the whole return to CrossFit workout put a hurting on me and various parts of my body are letting me know of their displeasure. But the latest thing, and so far the worst, is my right elbow. That darned tennis got me again (such a dangerous sport!). My elbow started bugging me toward the end of last night's match and by the time I got home, I could hardly lift anything with my right arm. While sipping my coffee this morning, I had to either lift with my left hand or at least assist my right one.

I'm not sure it's technically tennis elbow though. From what I have read online the pain usually comes on gradually, over time. This was almost immediate. Hopefully the pain will go away just as immediately.

Welcome back…

After three weeks of not attending a single CrossFit class, I returned to the gym last night. It was great to see some familiar faces along with a couple of new ones. Because it was a rest day, I could choose whichever workout I wanted to do. I was at a loss, and Allie figured that out pretty quickly and suggested that I do the same one that another member had chosen.

It involved dead lifts, which I'm pretty decent at. But it also involved push-ups, which aren't a strong point. Not at all. We were to do 15 dead lifts (95# for women) followed by 15 push-ups. Not so bad, but here's the kicker: 10 rounds. That's 150 of each exercise!

The dead lifts weren't so bad. For the first few sets I was able to bang them out one after another. Then I started breaking them up into 10 or five at a time. As far as the push-ups, they were out to get me. I did three or four sets regular, then had to resort to knees. That was great for a few sets, then I had to break them up too. Somehow I completed the exercise, though my time was nothing to brag about (32:33).

I was sort of at odds with my 2012 CrossFit Resolution. (are we still talking about resolutions?) I'm tired of always being the slowest one in the gym. But in my defense, my exercise induced asthma causes me to take breaks in order to catch my breath. In all seriousness though, I doubt that my body would actually stop breathing if I continued on. It would be uncomfortable, maybe even awful, but I'm pretty sure I would continue to breathe. So my plan was to Keep Going! Breathe Later! Yet last night, my goal was to not suffer so much that I questioned my return to the gym. Guess I need to get my head around that new plan.

It's a new year…

I took an extra week to get the new year started. The first week of January is fraught with pressure, all of that resolution stuff going on. I actually did try to start eating healthier and getting more physical activity, but it didn't take. I have no real excuse regarding the healthy eating, but a darned good one regarding exercise. We were experiencing a cold snap and I all I wanted to do was cuddle up in a fleece blanket and try to stay warm. Of course, I didn't get to follow through on that marvelous plan because calendar freelance is still ongoing. But I did my best to avoid exerting myself in the chilly air and to that degree I was immensely successful.

But now it's the second week of January and it's time to get down to business. I don't know if the weekend activities count toward anything, but I did play tennis for about three hours on Saturday and rode my bike solo for 28.8 miles on Sunday. The weather was gorgeous and it was lovely to spend time outside. Though, when I wasn't playing tennis or bicycling, I was working on the computer. Okay, there was the matter of a nap on Saturday and some TV watching, but otherwise it was nose to the grindstone!

I don't know what other resolutions I'm giving myself over to this year. Avoiding procrastination is something I could incorporate. Handling small tasks right away, instead of waiting until there is a pile of small tasks causing stress and anxiety. I really should spend some time figuring out what to do with all of the stuff we're stashing on the back porch. And what I would REALLY love to do is go through every closet, drawer and cabinet and get rid of stuff we aren't using, clothes and shoes we aren't wearing, keys that appear to open nothing, books we're never going to read again, music CDs and DVDs we didn't enjoy much the first time around. But most of that involves Tom's inclusion and he's perfectly happy living surrounded by a ton of useless and unloved stuff.

I would also love to change out the kitchen decor and get rid of all the Coca-Cola stuff. The theme started when Tom and I got married and after 17+ years I'm rather tired of it all. Problem is, I don't know what I'd like to do instead. Not a theme, just a color scheme. I'd like to have a backsplash installed using some of the extra floor tiles, stay with warm colors (pumpkin?) but also include a contemporary look. The plant shelf area is a bit of a problem. They're great because you can fill them with all sorts of stuff! They also bite because you have to fill them with all sorts of stuff! What stuff? And at what cost? With Tom still unemployed, whatever I do has to be economical.

At the very, very least I'd like to either find a lightbulb that will work in the light fixture over the bar or replace the fixture with something that uses an ordinary, easy to find lightbulb. The trio fixture has been a duo for well over a year now. It's disgraceful, really.

So tell me - what are your new year's resolutions?

Packed and ready…

I've been smiling a lot while driving lately and it's not just because I love driving my car. Whenever I see a car going by with a Christmas tree strapped to the roof, my smile is almost involuntary. It's just such a happy sight. I've also been smiling at the cars with reindeer antlers and a red nose. Not something I'd do myself, but I can appreciate the holiday spirit.

My own holiday spirit is fairly low this year. Don't misunderstand, I'm not moping around depressed. In fact, I allocated my red nano as the Christmas Tunes iPod and have been enjoying Christmas music while driving around since Thanksgiving weekend. But I can't get myself to care much about the holiday while at home.

I have tons of Christmas decorations. A ridiculous and possibly embarrassing amount of stuff. It's usually strewn (tastefully) all over the house well before now. I even have themed sections. For instance, the dining room is Snowman Land. There's an area primarily Santa Claus related and another area for my growing moose collection. This year, other than our Christmas tree, I have a wreath on the front door, a wreath on the door to the spare bedroom, three moose in the dining room and Hula Santa on the counter by the bar stools. And that's it.

While in the attic yesterday retrieving our large suitcase (Joy and I are saving money by packing together into one case) I considered bring down a few favorites. But after looking over at the pile of neatly stacked boxes of decorations, I just shook my head and decided that I couldn't deal with it.

In other news, I managed to get my half of the suitcase packed this morning. Joy will come over this afternoon, add her stuff to it and then Tom will take us to the airport. I have to say, I am looking forward to having a companion for the trip up. I'm not super fond of flying anyway, but hanging around the airport by myself is kind of boring. And schlepping my carry on, purse and jacket with me into the restroom is always a pain. Fingers crossed that our flight is on time!

Legs?…

Oh my gosh, my legs are trashed today from yesterday's workout. The thing is, the workout wasn't exactly leg-centric, so I'm a little flabbergasted. As I've said before, CrossFit can be sneaky. We did a bunch of dumb bell thrusters, three sets of 21. I used a pair of 20 pound weights. With thrusters, you hold the weights at shoulder height, do a deep squat, then stand up and push the weights up, extending the arms and opening the hips. They were hard, I have to admit. I had to do sets of five, then stop to rest and catch my breath. Strength training involves a lot more cardio than one might think.

At any rate, last night I didn't realize how much I had worked my legs and while driving home, considered the idea of running a little bit in the neighborhood, just a mile or two while I enjoyed everyone's Christmas lights and displays. Naturally, by the time I got home, I had already shelved that idea. Which was a good thing. On the way back from retrieving our mail, I attempted to jog back to the house and was surprised at how wobbly and spent my legs felt.

I've thought about it and of course my legs are tired and sore, after doing 63 deep squats, but I suppose I considered thrusters to be more of an arm workout. Just goes to show that, as advertised, CrossFit is not about isolation, but functional movement.

Merry moose…

After much debate, I skipped the CrossFit workout yesterday. I had some errands that needed to be taken care of and it seemed like a good time. It was hit and miss with regards to what I was trying to accomplish however. First, I visited Cocoa Village. There is a new gift/home decor store called Sassafras and a few weeks ago I was there and saw the cutest Christmas place mats - quilted fabric, red with green holly leaves. They had plenty then, but naturally, they only had two left of the rectangular ones. They had a huge stack of circular place mats, but I don't think I'd really like circular mats. I did buy one, just to see, along with the two rectangles. I can always place a centerpiece over it or I can return it. I'm still in the consideration phase. All of their Christmas stuff was 30% off, so I also bought a moose decoration. He's so adorable with his silly pot belly and holiday sweater!

Next I went to Green Apples with plans to purchase a long sleeved Life is Good t-shirt. I practically live in LIG and could use a few more long sleeved tops. But they barely had anything and all were short sleeved.

Next I headed over to Avenue Viera because not too long ago I saw a Belk ad and they had the same place mats I had bought at Sassafras. Turns out I was wrong about that. They weren't the exact thing and they weren't place mats. They were pillow shams. Rats.

I left there and went to Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy some Pumpkin Spice K-cups. They were out. What was frustrating is that I had seen many boxes of Pumpkin Spice at Belk, but wanted to use my 20% off coupon at BB&B. It wasn't worth it to me to go back to Belk.

However, one good thing happened - the Hallmark store next to BB&B sells Life is Good! I saw a display through the window so I went in to check out their stock. Plenty of short sleeves, but not many long. I ended up buying a men's medium long sleeved shirt. It didn't look necessarily "manly", so I think it will be okay. I also found a short sleeved tennis themed shirt in the 50% off basket. Score! While I was at the store, I also selected Christmas cards. I may be addressing them while I'm up in North Carolina, but at least we'll get our Christmas greetings out this year.

On the bench…

I was so sleepy yesterday. All I wanted to do after work was go home and take a nap. And I seriously considered it. But I knew if I skipped a workout, I'd have to make it up at the end of the week, and I have other things I need time for at the end of the week. So I forced myself to go. I was motivated by the fact that it was a rest day and I could choose my own workout. Saturday's WOD was bench press, which interested me. Plus I knew it would be a fairly quick workout.

Bench press doesn't come up very often as a CrossFit activity. In fact, I've only seen it once in the six months or so I've been a member. I was curious to see how much weight I could press. The workout called for 10 sets of 2 reps. The general plan is to add weight every set, every other set or so until you max out. Some guess work was definitely involved, but the trainer started me out at 55 pounds and I made it to 95. I tried to do 100, but couldn't quite pull it off. At least now I know what my next goal will be. As an added bonus, I did better than two of the three women who have posted so far. By quite a lot! I'm so used to being at the bottom of the group as either the slowest (most often) or the one lifting the least weight. Apparently, bench press is my thing.

'Tis the season…

This is the strangest Christmas season of my life. Everything feels upside down or something. I've mentioned that we aren't buying gifts this year and on one side it's actually rather nice. But it's also rather disappointing. Whenever I find myself at the mall or at Target, I see all of these gift sets and glittering items and feel that I should be buying something. In addition to not buying gifts, I've put myself on a Christmas diet. Which means trying not to see all of the cute decorations, ornaments, gift wrap and all. Tom tries to help me by walking between me and the Christmas stuff to block my view. But I see it all the same.

We have our tree up and decorated, but not much else. The snowman light is down from the attic and I asked Tom to put it together today. I had planned on decorating over the weekend, but spent most of my time on the computer. I may go up and root through the boxes and find a few favorites, but there's no way I'm bringing it all down this late in the game. So our house won't look as festive as it usually does during Christmas. And to that I say, "Meh." I'm just not feeling it this year.

Besides all of that, I have a continuous dull ache in my tummy and my heart feels like it's beating too hard all of the time. I'm thinking it's due to the stress of Tom's job situation. I usually deal pretty well with stress, but this is something entirely new. It's even beginning to take me longer than five minutes to fall asleep at night and that's virtually unheard of. I can usually turn off the day and dive into dream land in no time at all.

A week from today, Joy and I are flying up to North Carolina to visit Ann for a couple of days. Then we will all drive down to Florida together. Yes, Joy is joining me on my annual trip this year. Maybe the change of pace and venue will bring me out of this gloom.

Run fun…

Finally made it to a CrossFit workout last night. It was a rest day so I got to pick which workout I wanted to do. Well, none of them looked particularly fun. Actually, they never do. One was strictly weight lifting and I thought I wanted to do something that would involve a little more running around and sweating. Both of the other workouts from this week involved running (ugh) so I picked the one with the shorter distance, 400 meters.

I also had to do 10 burpee box jumps (do a burpee, followed by a 20" box jump), 10 sumo dead lift high pulls (45#) and 10 thrusters (also 45#). Rest one minute. Then do it all again - for a total of 5 rounds. That turned out to be a lot of work and it took me 43:45. I was pleasantly worn out afterward.

…

Manicure yesterday - and another day without a workout of any kind. Once home, I got started on freelance. Had a brief dinner break, then back to the computer and that pretty much sums up my evening.

If only the rest of the day would go so calmly and event free. Our regular lead is out for the week and the acting lead is freaking out about everything and causing loads of stress in the office. I have had nearly a constant stomach ache from all of the drama. If I can just hang in there for two more days…