AK Catdogs Journal (comments welcome)

[Alaska Catdog]

I notice that exercising is not a choice anymore. If I don't exercise I really notice it. My bones creak, I get wheezy and the world takes on a hopeless grey tinge. Contrairily, if I do exercise I get a spring in my step, my energy level is high, I don't get wheezy and only my knee creaks. I looked into a cruise for our trip at the end of February instead of visiting the parks but DH would rather do the parks and we already have ph's so we'll stick with the original plan. I exercised today. I am up to 25 minutes on the nordic track. Well the pets are driving us crazy and we need to get out of the house so we are going to brave the after thanksgiving shopping craze and go to the store.

 

[Alaska Catdog]

Got sick right after the holiday. Somethings going around. My family has it but they are 2000 miles away so I didn't get it from them. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow. DH has it now too. Trying not to move too much as he is trying to sleep on my arm. TTFN

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Welcome back!
Your trip sounded wonderful, I'm so glad you went swimming. That's my goal for April, I want to swim in the hotel pool without feeling self-conscious.
Yippee! You are going back. How exciting! I bet you will have lost even more by then.
You will build back up on the Nordic Track quickly once you get back into the exercise groove, don't worry. In the meantime, give yourself time to feel better. Between the trip and the holidays, your immunity can take a hit, so go easy till you get better.
Have a great day!
Jean

 

[Princess Michelle]

AC, I'm so sorry you are not feeling well! Take it easy, I hope you are feeling much better very soon!

 

[Alaska Catdog]

Ahhhh. My calendar for the past week and half (where I track my exercise) starts out with sick, sick, sick, sick sick then goes to back ache, back ache, back ache then moves on to lazy lazy lazy. At least I'm honest. No, I was sick for about a week and I did pull a muscle in my back (either trying to squeeze into a pair jeans that are too small or trying to unjam a photocopier at work. I like to think it is the the photocopier, for some reason that is easier on my ego.) So I am down to 13 minutes on the treadmill and I've gained two pounds BUT I am rededicating myself and feel confidant I can get back into the exercise groove.
Aurora- If you are still reading this, I wanted to let you know that I was very concerned about swimming at the resorts- just the thought of it brought up deep fear but I plunged in (ha ha ha I love a bad pun) and it was great. Nobody said a thing about it, I expected some child to say "Wow! Mommy look at that fat lady" but it either didn't happen or I didn't hear it. I think everyone is just into their own experience there. I was so comfortable that I am actually looking forward to swimming when we go back in February. And let me just say that I am big enough that it would be entirely within the realm of possibility that it would surprise some folks to see me in a swimsuit. Do swim at the hotel- you'll have a great time.

 

[Alaska Catdog]

Well all that time off exercising I gained two pounds and my weightlifting calusses went away. So, I am taking this seriously and I exercised today 20 minutes on the Nordic Track and the full complement of weights. It does always feel better when I exercise. So I will from now on. At least that's what I am thinking.

 

[Strings]

Great job getting back at it!

I am so glad to hear that you were comfortable at WDW in the swimsuit. I know you were worried. I am happy to hear that you went for it. I am so proud of you!

Have a great day!
Beth

 

[Princess Michelle]

Hi AC, just stopping in to see how you're doing! I hope you are giving that nordic track a run for it's money! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZSxdm31547US' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/18/18_3_110.gif' alt='Running' border=0></a>

 

[Alaska Catdog]

Thanks for asking Princess Michelle. I have had major motivational problems the last month but I did exercise today and yesterday. I am hosting Christmas in Alaska for 13 close friends and family members and I am beginning to stress out. Exercise seems to help but it is also the very first thing I scratch off my to do list. I am hopeful that tomorrow I will have the inclination to exercise too.

 

[Strings]

Christmas for 13! I don't blame you for being stressed. Exercise will help the stress though, so try to keep at it. have a good one.
Beth

 

[Alaska Catdog]

Well Christmas 2004 was horrible. This is what we had to contend with, I will list it in bullet format to keep it short-ish.

1 broken brother (slipped on the ice and separated his clavicle)
6 cases of the flu (just a 3 day bug)
2 days of rain on top of 6 weeks of snow (hence the broken brother)
3 days of sub zero temperatures causing ice rink like road conditions
1 rental van full of mommies and kiddies slipping quickly toward the edge of an enbankment stopping just in time to get ditched instead
1 car (the rescue car for the van full of mommies) stuck on the hill
2 snowstorms
2 days of sub zero degree sledding because "the kids never get to sled at home, a couple of minutes out in the cold won't hurt them"
2 warring mother-in-laws
1 revelation of a parents pre-alzheimers condition.
1 wiley mouse in the house (not the good kind)
3 Late arrivals (airplane) cause 1 sleepless night
1 moose/car accident (not ours but it delayed us an hour on New Years Eve)
3 raw prime rib dinners (New Years Eve at the fancy schmancy restaurant, NOT)
1 father with possible prostrate cancer (revealed super special secretly to DH, as far as Dad is concerned, I know nothing)
1 sick pukin' dog
Never again. I am in awe of my parents ability to pull this off with twice the people every year. I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy. So what did I do? Christmas morning I got right up (at 4 am) and after playing elf for several hours and making 3 Quiches and a batch of cinnamon rolls, we put a deposit down on a Disney Cruise for next christmas.
On to the exercise. I just got over my helping of the flu and I was way too busy to exercise while our guests were still in town so today I got back on the program. I've gained 5 pounds and I've resolved not to cry about it. That's what happens when 13 people each bring a box of really great chocolates to your house. I'll be back in Disney in 3 weeks and I want to lose the five pounds and then some. All I can do is try. I rode the nordic track for 8 minutes today (8 is the number of new beginnings) and did my full complement of weights. Yay. Hopefully I will be posting again tomorrow. I have every intention of it.

 

[CarolA]

WOW! What a holiday! Not to mention that it is pretty dark in your neck of the woods this time of year.

Welcome back and don't beat yourself up. Sounds like life has handed you enough punches without you hitting yourself!

 

[Alaska Catdog]

OK. I'm taking this one day at a time and today I am celebrating that I actually exercised. Yay. I have been having the worst motivational difficulties but today (as per our pre-arranged agreement)DH turned on the light when he left the bedroom and it woke me up enough to get me out of bed and on the exercise equipment. Carol is right, it does get really dark up here this time of year and the inclination is to hunker down, eat ice cream and sleep in a warm cozy bed. Though I can tell you how wonderful that feels it does absolutely nothing for my aching bones and wheezy lungs. Only regular exercise has helped with those problems. So, yet again, I am back on track. The good news is that I lost 5 lbs, the bad news is that is the weight I gained durring the holidays so I am right back where I started. Unk. I'll just look at the positive here and think of it as a victory. YAY!

 

[Alaska Catdog]

But forgot to post. I neglected to get up in time to exercise this morning. Every cell in my body is screaming to conserve the fat I have because it's been -15 degrees outside the last two mornings. It's a biological imperative not to lose weight in this kind of weather. I have plans to exercise this evening after returning home from work after which I plan on posting my report right here.

 

[Strings]

Hi AK,

Personally, I think you should be exempt from the holiday weight gain with the horrible time you guys have. Good for you ensuring that next year will be a Very Merry Christmas. I hope the prostate cancer is a false alarm. I too am dealing with the pre-demtentia thing with my dad. Maybe we can lean on each other. Great job losing the holiday weight. Keep up the great work.
Beth

 

[Alaska Catdog]

I'd love to lean on each other regarding the pre-dementia thing. I have four brothers and father and nobody wants to talk about the fact that our mother is no longer dealing with a full deck. My dad does a great job of protecting my mother from potentially embarassing mess ups but when he is not around she can be downright dangerous and hurtful. At first I thought she was just being mean but then realized that she really didn't remember certain events in our lives. This past holiday she made a cake and used a bag of rice instead of a bag of coconut and argued with me for about 15 minutes not admitting that it was rice. Now that was a wake up call but nobody in my family wants to talk about it and my father just says "If you were losing your mind, would you want to know about it?" YES! How about you? It's hard when a parent ages poorly (harder for the parent I am sure) but for me the hard part was recognizing that it was a real medical problem and not just a continuation of a dysfunctional relationship. Anyway, I got on a soapbox here. I've been in a funk about exercising but it is warming up outside and I have hopes that my funk is on the way out the door, I have two weeks before we go to WDW so I better get on it.

 

[Alaska Catdog]

I did exercise today and let me tell you it was excruciating. I wanted to do anything except exercise but I felt my blue mood getting worse and worse and the only thing that makes it better is exercise. The problem with the blue mood is that it causes me to focus on all my characteristics that I consider flaws and then I get lost in the hopelessness of ever fixing these flaws. I must always remember exercise helps.

 

[Princess Michelle]

AC, I'm so sorry for what you are going through with your mom.

I'm glad you got your exercise in today, good job. Blue Mood BE GONE!

 

[Alaska Catdog]

One wave of your wand and an hour exercising and the blue mood is done gone. Yep I exercised today although I really tried to do anything else (my house is clean, I made stoup (a cross between stew and soup), I did all my laundry, I helped DH replenish the drinking water supply and I almost finished knitting a scarf all before I found time to exercise. The blue mood is lifted and I am back on track. Yay.

 

[Strings]

Hi AC,

I think you should check out www.alz.org It is an alzheimers site. There are meds that can slow the progress of the disease, so the earlier it is caught, the better.

Great job getting back into the exercise routine. Keep it up.

Take care,
Beth