I got through the workout and even walked extra, since Connie and I were visiting. But alas, I left my notebook with all my stats sitting somewhere at her house. But I got through the scheduled couch to 5K and did some Nordic Rider stuff.
Oh, and by the way, we've decided that trying to improve balance while on the treadmill is not a good thing. You know those balance exercises for which you first get balanced and then close your eyes and maintain balance. Yeah, well, don't try it on the tread mill. It's, uh, not a good thing.
Connie, who at that point had been doing her wii workout upstairs, came running down to see what the racket was...
"I'm fine, Connie. Just fell off the back end of the treadmill. Don't mind me."
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
More Girl Time
After I showed the girls how to do a blog post, they wanted me to show them how to put a picture on. I asked what kind of a picture they wanted and they said, "Of us!"
Hmmm. I'm not much good a the whole digital camera stuff. I can click a picture, and all, but to actually get the picture onto my computer,...that's where the hold up would be.
So I helped them make avatars of themselves.
First we have Stella.
And then we have Sophie.
And here's Donna.
And finally, Inge.
And that, girls, is how it's done.
Hmmm. I'm not much good a the whole digital camera stuff. I can click a picture, and all, but to actually get the picture onto my computer,...that's where the hold up would be.
So I helped them make avatars of themselves.
First we have Stella.
And then we have Sophie.
And finally, Inge.
And that, girls, is how it's done.
Here with my Girls
I have my little Sophie home from school today. She contracted this dumb influenza type bug some of my family have battled in the last few weeks. Fever and aches for her yesterday and recovery today.
Inge is feverish today, but not so much so that she can't sneak out to sit on our front porch and talk to the kitties. She and Donna are out there, now.
Sophie asked me what a blog is and how it works, so I am writing to demonstrate the process to her. She is leaning on my right shoulder and reading as I type.
Sophie asked if a blog was like a diary and I said that yes, it is. But that I can choose whether or not to allow others to read it and if I want, I can choose to allow only certain people to read it.
Stella is here also, leaning on my left arm. Stella does not yet read fluently, but she reads enough to asked why I kept writing Sophie's name. So now here is a "Stella" for her to read. She's already noticed and counted the previous two in the paragraph, but has not yet noticed this last one.
I love my girls and although I don't like when they are sick, I like the snuggles they give when they are.
I love you, Stella and Sophie.
Lest any others read at a later time, I also love Jeremy, Matt, Louisa, Elsie, Clara, John, Donna and Inge. And of course, my husband, Joe.
Inge is feverish today, but not so much so that she can't sneak out to sit on our front porch and talk to the kitties. She and Donna are out there, now.
Sophie asked me what a blog is and how it works, so I am writing to demonstrate the process to her. She is leaning on my right shoulder and reading as I type.
Sophie asked if a blog was like a diary and I said that yes, it is. But that I can choose whether or not to allow others to read it and if I want, I can choose to allow only certain people to read it.
Stella is here also, leaning on my left arm. Stella does not yet read fluently, but she reads enough to asked why I kept writing Sophie's name. So now here is a "Stella" for her to read. She's already noticed and counted the previous two in the paragraph, but has not yet noticed this last one.
I love my girls and although I don't like when they are sick, I like the snuggles they give when they are.
I love you, Stella and Sophie.
Lest any others read at a later time, I also love Jeremy, Matt, Louisa, Elsie, Clara, John, Donna and Inge. And of course, my husband, Joe.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Mary's Modified Grapefruit Diet Plan
I've started a little diet thing. I'm really pretty much philosophically opposed to dieting. I think it messes with one's mind and starts the habit of fretting about food. The last time I was on a diet, I was 18 years old. I really didn't need to be losing weight, but I really wanted to be a size 8 instead of a size 10. I've always been big boned and even when in good shape, I'm not a tiny person. Huh-uh, not me.
That said, I am sick of carrying around all this extra weight. Grr. So I'm attempting to "jump start" my "fat burners" with a modified grapefruit diet. Such words we use. It seems silly to me even to put them in print.
I call it the modified grapefruit diet because I'm adding a few carbs and some extra dairy. And I'm only doing it for 7 days. If I like it, if it seems to work or help, I may do it once a month or once every few months.
Interesting to me is the accusation that the grapefruit diet is very unhealthy because it is considered a "very low calorie diet." But I've been to about 6 web sites that describe the grapefruit diet and it seems to be so vague that anyone could eat most any amount of most anything but carbs. And even that, if someone was not cautious, the carbs could sneak in, too.
For instance, at the noon meal, one is to eat a salad of any kind. It specifies, "of any kind." Now probably they mean lettuce. But up here in Northern Minnesota, a salad is loaded with mayo or cool whip; jello, cookies, or even candy bars.
Besides that, the diet specifies that one may use any kind of dressing on one's any kind of salad. So even if I am eating a nice leafy lettuce salad, which I did today, I could put any kind of dressing on it. Something loaded with high fructose corn syrup or whatever junk, in any amount. I stuck to just leafy greens, a scoop of grated mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Also one can eat as much meat as one desires at the noon and evening meals. So how could this be low calorie?
I don't get it. But nor do I quite understand all they low-carb stuff or the heart healthy, or whatever type trend one listens to and relies upon. I mostly eat what I want and try to eat reasonable amounts. I try not to keep stuff around the house that is not healthful and nourishing. Then anything we grab is likely to do us little harm.
But I like grapefruit. So I'll give this a try.
I'm also doing another thing, probably just for the week, but perhaps an additional one just to see what I see. I'm recording my food intake. I'm using the fitday website. When you enter what you eat, it calculates all these cool things for you, such as nutritional values, total calorie intake and percentage of calories from protein, fat and carbs. After tossing this grapefruit diet idea around for awhile, I became curious to see how much of the various components I would be taking in.
So far today, on the grapefruit diet, with the only modification being 1/2 c of rice with 1 tsp butter at breakfast, I'm at 885 calories and 17% from protein, 20 % carbs and 62% of them from fat. I'm not just satisfied, but full and content. This fat % might sound kind of scary, except that I'm a pretty strong believer in the necessity of "good fats" for strong immunity and emotional health. See Nourishing Traditions
or Eat Fat, Lose Fat
for more information on the good versus bad fat issue.
I might continue the fitday thing for a week or so after I'm done with the grapefruit diet, just to see what the numbers are for my regular eating style.
I think, however, that I might not quite like what I find out about my normal eating habits...
That said, I am sick of carrying around all this extra weight. Grr. So I'm attempting to "jump start" my "fat burners" with a modified grapefruit diet. Such words we use. It seems silly to me even to put them in print.
I call it the modified grapefruit diet because I'm adding a few carbs and some extra dairy. And I'm only doing it for 7 days. If I like it, if it seems to work or help, I may do it once a month or once every few months.
Interesting to me is the accusation that the grapefruit diet is very unhealthy because it is considered a "very low calorie diet." But I've been to about 6 web sites that describe the grapefruit diet and it seems to be so vague that anyone could eat most any amount of most anything but carbs. And even that, if someone was not cautious, the carbs could sneak in, too.
For instance, at the noon meal, one is to eat a salad of any kind. It specifies, "of any kind." Now probably they mean lettuce. But up here in Northern Minnesota, a salad is loaded with mayo or cool whip; jello, cookies, or even candy bars.
Besides that, the diet specifies that one may use any kind of dressing on one's any kind of salad. So even if I am eating a nice leafy lettuce salad, which I did today, I could put any kind of dressing on it. Something loaded with high fructose corn syrup or whatever junk, in any amount. I stuck to just leafy greens, a scoop of grated mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Also one can eat as much meat as one desires at the noon and evening meals. So how could this be low calorie?
I don't get it. But nor do I quite understand all they low-carb stuff or the heart healthy, or whatever type trend one listens to and relies upon. I mostly eat what I want and try to eat reasonable amounts. I try not to keep stuff around the house that is not healthful and nourishing. Then anything we grab is likely to do us little harm.
But I like grapefruit. So I'll give this a try.
I'm also doing another thing, probably just for the week, but perhaps an additional one just to see what I see. I'm recording my food intake. I'm using the fitday website. When you enter what you eat, it calculates all these cool things for you, such as nutritional values, total calorie intake and percentage of calories from protein, fat and carbs. After tossing this grapefruit diet idea around for awhile, I became curious to see how much of the various components I would be taking in.
So far today, on the grapefruit diet, with the only modification being 1/2 c of rice with 1 tsp butter at breakfast, I'm at 885 calories and 17% from protein, 20 % carbs and 62% of them from fat. I'm not just satisfied, but full and content. This fat % might sound kind of scary, except that I'm a pretty strong believer in the necessity of "good fats" for strong immunity and emotional health. See Nourishing Traditions
or Eat Fat, Lose Fat for more information on the good versus bad fat issue.I might continue the fitday thing for a week or so after I'm done with the grapefruit diet, just to see what the numbers are for my regular eating style.
I think, however, that I might not quite like what I find out about my normal eating habits...
2nd Go at Week 4, Day 1, Couch to 5K
Yes I got through. Barely. I did walk a little long for one of my intervals, since Connie and I were gabbing. But I think I made it up alright by shortening the middle 3 minute walk interval. I really couldn't say for sure how accurate I was, but I think I did all the running I was supposed to. This is my best guess as to how I did.
5 minute warm-up walk
3 minute run
3 minute walk
5 minute run
1.5 minute walk
3 minute run
1.5 minute walk
5 minute run
I also did 10 minutes on the Gazelle.
5 minute warm-up walk
3 minute run
3 minute walk
5 minute run
1.5 minute walk
3 minute run
1.5 minute walk
5 minute run
I also did 10 minutes on the Gazelle.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Refreshed!
My dear husband is so good to me!
He must have sensed my need for time away from the rigmarole, so he watched our three littlest ones today and took care off several household matters so I could be AWAY. So necessary for a stay at home mom at times.
I went to town and indulged myself. I had just a few groceries to get, so few really that if one item was not diapers and another coffee, I probably would not have been able to justify the gas for a trip to town to pick up the other things. After my exercise this morning, I got cleaned up and left home at about noon. After I got to Thief River Falls, I quickly picked up groceries and got gas. Then my necessary errands were done and my fun began.
I made a quick stop at the library for some lazy reading. I picked up a Sue Grafton novel, since I needed G is for Gumshoe and since they also had H is for Homicide and I is for Innocent, I picked those up, too. Just out of curiosity, I also picked up a western that was right next door on the shelf. Matt and Elsie kind of like to read westerns now and then, but I'm so out of touch with today's writers that I like to preview a few to know whether or not the kids ought to be reading them or what things we might need to discuss afterwards.
To get back to my day away, after I was done with my errands, I stopped at Fraser's and bought myself a nice lunch. The waitress asked where I'd like to sit and I didn't really have a preference, so she seated me near the south facing windows. Even though it was not terribly sunny, I did enjoy the filtered sunlight that peeked through now and then. I had a Bacon/Bleu cheese Burger, which was very good. I also had a salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette. I had my nose in G is for Gumshoe all the while I was waiting, and in between courses. I told the waitress that she should kick me out if she needed the booth, but that I was just relaxing, so not to worry about rushing for me.
About twenty minutes after the waitress had cleared away my dishes...drumroll please...I even ordered dessert and coffee. The coffee just the right temperature for enjoying with the dessert and was served in a very cool mug. The Caramel Apple Pie was interestingly delicious. The crust was more of a moist cake layer which was topped with a caramelly custard and apple filling, all baked together into a smooth and creamy, not-too-sweet concoction. It was artfully served with a drizzle of some sort of fun sauce zigged and zagged across the plate. I'm not sure what the sauce was, because it was more creamy than sweet and about the color of a coffee ice cream. Perhaps yogurt or sour cream with a bit of caramel sauce mixed in.
After this indulgence of such a peaceful and delightful meal, I eventually pulled myself away from my book and got back in the car. I drove to Red Lake Falls to the library there to pick up my Azure Standard order, a movie Joe had on hold, a few books at a variety of reading levels, and to have a nice visit with my good friend, Laura, who is librarian there. She was not too busy, so we were able to have a cup of tea while we visited and she told me all about her recent family vacation. About which vacation I rejoiced to hear, since they are a farm family with animals to care for; so as some of you can probably imagine, a family vacation is a vary rare occurrence for them. I was so glad to hear about their travels, all the things they saw and did, and they good times they had sitting around their campfires throughout the American Southeast.
And finally when it was time for Laura to begin closing the library, I loaded my things into the car and headed home. But first I called Joe, since he was planning to cook supper for us and needed the frozen shrimp I was bringing home for his jambalaya. He wanted a heads' up on my return, so he could have everything else ready.
What a guy. I returned home, glad to see all my kids, and patient with their helping to unload the car, and with the littlest ones helping to put away the groceries. I was so glad to be home and see all my kids. I was refreshed and able to easily handle all the stories they had to relate and all the questions they had for me.
What a difference a day makes!
He must have sensed my need for time away from the rigmarole, so he watched our three littlest ones today and took care off several household matters so I could be AWAY. So necessary for a stay at home mom at times.
I went to town and indulged myself. I had just a few groceries to get, so few really that if one item was not diapers and another coffee, I probably would not have been able to justify the gas for a trip to town to pick up the other things. After my exercise this morning, I got cleaned up and left home at about noon. After I got to Thief River Falls, I quickly picked up groceries and got gas. Then my necessary errands were done and my fun began.
I made a quick stop at the library for some lazy reading. I picked up a Sue Grafton novel, since I needed G is for Gumshoe and since they also had H is for Homicide and I is for Innocent, I picked those up, too. Just out of curiosity, I also picked up a western that was right next door on the shelf. Matt and Elsie kind of like to read westerns now and then, but I'm so out of touch with today's writers that I like to preview a few to know whether or not the kids ought to be reading them or what things we might need to discuss afterwards.
To get back to my day away, after I was done with my errands, I stopped at Fraser's and bought myself a nice lunch. The waitress asked where I'd like to sit and I didn't really have a preference, so she seated me near the south facing windows. Even though it was not terribly sunny, I did enjoy the filtered sunlight that peeked through now and then. I had a Bacon/Bleu cheese Burger, which was very good. I also had a salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette. I had my nose in G is for Gumshoe all the while I was waiting, and in between courses. I told the waitress that she should kick me out if she needed the booth, but that I was just relaxing, so not to worry about rushing for me.
About twenty minutes after the waitress had cleared away my dishes...drumroll please...I even ordered dessert and coffee. The coffee just the right temperature for enjoying with the dessert and was served in a very cool mug. The Caramel Apple Pie was interestingly delicious. The crust was more of a moist cake layer which was topped with a caramelly custard and apple filling, all baked together into a smooth and creamy, not-too-sweet concoction. It was artfully served with a drizzle of some sort of fun sauce zigged and zagged across the plate. I'm not sure what the sauce was, because it was more creamy than sweet and about the color of a coffee ice cream. Perhaps yogurt or sour cream with a bit of caramel sauce mixed in.
After this indulgence of such a peaceful and delightful meal, I eventually pulled myself away from my book and got back in the car. I drove to Red Lake Falls to the library there to pick up my Azure Standard order, a movie Joe had on hold, a few books at a variety of reading levels, and to have a nice visit with my good friend, Laura, who is librarian there. She was not too busy, so we were able to have a cup of tea while we visited and she told me all about her recent family vacation. About which vacation I rejoiced to hear, since they are a farm family with animals to care for; so as some of you can probably imagine, a family vacation is a vary rare occurrence for them. I was so glad to hear about their travels, all the things they saw and did, and they good times they had sitting around their campfires throughout the American Southeast.
And finally when it was time for Laura to begin closing the library, I loaded my things into the car and headed home. But first I called Joe, since he was planning to cook supper for us and needed the frozen shrimp I was bringing home for his jambalaya. He wanted a heads' up on my return, so he could have everything else ready.
What a guy. I returned home, glad to see all my kids, and patient with their helping to unload the car, and with the littlest ones helping to put away the groceries. I was so glad to be home and see all my kids. I was refreshed and able to easily handle all the stories they had to relate and all the questions they had for me.
What a difference a day makes!
Maybe I AM Worse than a Couch Potato
I kind of punked out today. I did exercise. I did 45 minutes, so I got to move my ticker. But, well, let's just say I'm in the "hate" stage of my love/hate relationship with the Couch to 5K program. I had to walk the last 3 minutes of the final run interval today. Didn't make me feel very good. That, and the fact that I was already running so slowly that when I finally gave into temptation to just stop jogging and walk, I didn't even have to slow down the tread mill. Grrr. I don't know. I"ll probably end up stuck on week 4 for another three or four weeks before I'm able to move on.
At least I'm up and moving.
Sometimes I ask myself why I'm so doggedly trying to take up running again. And I have no really good answer. Especially when I'm going slower than I could walk. But I think it's simply that I want to be able to say the even after ten kids I can still do it.
Well that's all I'm going to report today. I did 45 minutes of exercise and some of it was Couch to 5K Week 4.
And some of it wasn't.
Is there a "Bad attitude" index tab for this blog?
At least I'm up and moving.
Sometimes I ask myself why I'm so doggedly trying to take up running again. And I have no really good answer. Especially when I'm going slower than I could walk. But I think it's simply that I want to be able to say the even after ten kids I can still do it.
Well that's all I'm going to report today. I did 45 minutes of exercise and some of it was Couch to 5K Week 4.
And some of it wasn't.
Is there a "Bad attitude" index tab for this blog?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)