Oh what a good day

So today was a pretty good day (not speaking in health and fitness terms here). Since Sunday DH and I have been planning to go to Costco because I had to pick up my glasses...in preparation for getting Lasik surgery. See, they actually make you take your contacts out for a FULL week prior to just having the initial exam. A full week, I haven't been without my contacts for a full week in about 6 years...not even if you added all the time up. Nope, I never take my contacts out. Bad bad Kristen!! Hence, why I am going to have Lasik! Anyway, DH and I had been adding things to the Costco list for the last 5 days, although I didn't write the glasses down because I wasn't going to forget those since that is the main purpose we went there. So we go to Costco, then proceed to go to Fred Meyer since we didn't need some of our groceries in bulk. We got through Fred Meyer and are driving home when my DH turns to me, slaps me on the leg and says "good thing we went to Costco", or something like that. I was still trying to figure out why he hit me. Then it dawns on me. We didn't pick up the glasses. Add this to the list of things about getting older. I'm not as sharp as I used to be!!

Also, while at Costco, we walked by the watch selection...I wanted to see if by chance they had that Suunto watch I mentioned below (they didn't). Then I jokingly ask DH if he had read my blog (he's not really into blogs...not even mine), and he says yes. Hmmm, surprising. So then he says, "so that's what you want for Christmas huh...that's a long time to wait." I could tell by the tone in his voice that this was not our normal conversation. So I asked if he bought me the watch, and he's so bad at lying (and surprises...really really bad at surprises) that he fesses up that he bought it for me! Yeah, what fun what fun, a new toy. Especially needed at this point since I'm 'off the wagon', and really need to get myself back on!!

I also spent about 3 hours editing (messing with) the Html for my blog template. The picture above I took in Cabo San Lucas in February....134 days till we go back WOOOHOOOO. I still have some things to modify, but I couldn't figure it all out today. Html is HARD to mess with when one doesn't know what one is doing!!

In other news, tonight Aaron (and cousin Ryan) all got our yellow belts in Karate, so that was pretty fun.

Here is a pick of my dear daughter Maree, who is 3 1/2. Today she wanted her hair like Auntie's, so I straightened it. This is for you Deanna!


As you can see, she can be a firecracker...gets it from her Auntie, because according to my mother, I was an angel child.

Anyone want to buy me a watch?

So I'm a bit of a gadget girl. I don't own a lot of gadgets because they tend to be spendy (at least the ones I like), but there is one in particular that I've got my eye on these days. Its a watch, but it's no ordinary watch. This watch tracks your heart rate, calories burned, "training effect", and other things. Training effect, woohoo, without spending money to work with a personal trainer, I can have a watch that will analyze my performance heartbeat by heartbeat, and illustrate the improvement of my body's aerobic conditioning with a 1-5 scale. What is this wondrous watch called you may ask. Drum roll please....
It's the Suunto t4.
The reason I think this would be so cool is because the "training effect" takes EPOC (Excessive Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) measurements, which is really what I'm trying to achieve with Turbulence Training, and interval cardio. So, if I have a device that tells me from 1-5 how hard I am actually working, you better believe I'm going to shoot for a 5 every time. I am a very visual person, so I think this would totally motivate me. It may not be the cutest watch, but it can't all be about vanity.

Anyone have a spare $199.99-219.99 lying around?? It's on my Christmas list! :)

Synopsis of this week

This has been a busy week! I decided after getting back from my Sacramento trip that I was just going to take the rest of the week 'off' from clean eating and exercise. I have felt nauseous since getting back (NO not pregnant), and I had so many things planned, that clean eating would have been torture. We had a family dinner on Tuesday, then Aaron turned 6 on Friday, and we did mostly a family celebration that day, and at the end of the day Aaron said "this is the best day of my entire life". So I think we succeeded in making it a fun day. Yesterday we had his party with all his friends, and he thought that was great too. Tonight we are going to Grandma's for hamburgers and stuff. Tuesday I plan on getting back on track!

In other news, I just want to share how distressing getting older is. Yes, I am 30.5, and already there are things happening that I really don't like.

1) It is no longer an option to color my hair...the grays are becoming more and more prevalant just in the last year. I won't dare pluck them out because my hair is fine enough as it is...I can't stand to lose even one.

2) Not only are the hairs on my head forgetting what color they should be, but they are also forgetting where they live. They seem to be getting confused, as they keep shooting offspring onto my chin, upper lip, inside of my nose. What the heck is that. This is a cruel joke. This morning was a particularly depressing day for my chin/neck. After paying close attention to this area for months...tweezers in hand, this morning I woke up, and before showering I was inspecting my face once again. There staring at me in all its glory is a hair on my neck that had to measure at least 1/8 of an inch. I swear, this monster was not there last night!! Where has this hair been hiding, and why didn't anyone tell me it was there. Kelly, you're suppose to have my back! Seriously when I first saw it, I thought there was no way it was attached, it must have just been clinging to my skin. Nope, had to get the tweezers to pull that menace out. Horrifying, absolutely horrifying!!

3) The girls...you know the ones I'm talking about. Well they are not where they were before and this does not make me happy. Everything seems to be wandering downward. Enough said.

On a happier note, I am going to have Lasik surgery sometime in the next few months, which will be good since I am a contact abuser. Hey, I have extended wear contacts...but apparently 'extended' does not mean 4 months....

Hmmm..maybe I need more coffee....

Your IQ Is 105

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional Your General Knowledge is Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Wii fit

This will be on my Christmas list....and Steve's, and Aaron's. I can't wait for it to come out.

Derailed

Well good morning! Obviously there hasn't been much to report over the last week! Over the weekend I went down to Sacramento with my boss who is also a friend. We only stayed for 24 hours, but we had a fun time. Since then I have struggled to get myself back on track. My previous routine of going to the gym everyday at the same time has just been completely discombobulated by Aaron's school schedule and by the Turbulence Training routine. For some reason it feels awkward to me to workout in the garage while my MIL is here watching the kids. I don't know why. Anyway, I'll figure it out.

A cardio epiphany and more...

So, I haven't been making it to the gym as regularly since Aaron started school. I've been working out regularly though, and have actually bought a few things so I can get a good workout in my garage. Anyway, thanks to Turbulence Training I've had a cardio epiphany. Guess what..I do NOT have to do cardio on a boring machine!! Why I never thought of this before can probably be attributed to the moderate cardio fad...where you had to sustain an activity for 30--60 minutes. Hard to do jumping jacks for that long.
Cardio is ANYTHING that brings your heart rate and breathing rate up. Interval cardio is bringing your heart rate way up to nearly your max, then bringing it down, then back up etc. I've discovered that I enjoy doing interval cardio (the only cardio worth doing for fast fat loss in my book) by mixing different activities. My last few interval cardio sessions have consisted of fast jump roping, jumping squats, mountain climbers, and fast jumping jacks. It is really challenging, but so much more fun than the machines at the gym.
Also, the other day my DH made mention that he needed to start jogging or 'something', and I mentioned that he should do cardio with me, to which he agreed...which I was a little surprised at since he usually wants NO part of my exercise stuff. So after I did my TT, I told him I was going to do my cardio (he had been busy disassembling our pool), so he disappears into the house, and much to my surprise, he came back out ready to go. He made it for 13 minutes. Considering he hasn't done any 'exercise' for nearly a year, that was pretty good, and I was just glad that he actually came out there with me.

On another note, I just got done snuggling with my son before bed like I do every night. Tonight when I walked in my room (he was already in his bed), I was holding my neck/shoulder because it was sore. Aaron asks, "mom, why are you holding your arm like that", and I said "oh, it's just a little sore", and he says "oh mom are you okay, do you want me to rub it?". Sweetest boy! I said "sure". So he rubs my shoulder/neck as good as a nearly 6 year old can. The next thing out of his mouth was slighting disturbing. He says, "mom, your skin feels a little loose.....(pause).....do you know why?". I said, "no honey, why". He says in a slightly sympathetc tone "cuz it's getting old". I laughed out loud at this, but deep down inside I'm cringing. OLD?? What, I'm 30....I feel like I'm still 23. OLD??
Now when people see me, they may notice a subconscious hand on the neck checking how taunt the skin is...... is it because I used to have chubby collarbones??