Busy Times And Smart Kids

Whew! It's been a busy couple of weeks; I will spare you all of the details. :)

I've nearly finished Phase 2 of the Pull Up Challenge Workout. I didn't look too far ahead and so I didn't realize that Phase 2 has 16 workouts, instead of 12 like Phase 1. I'm not sure if I was supposed to do all 16 workouts in 4 weeks, but I decided to keep my same schedule and did Phase 2 in about 5 weeks. I was going to finish this past weekend; however, I still have 1 workout left and then the final pull up test. So far, my best score is 3.5 pull ups from my toes.

After I finish Phase 2, I am going to take about a week off and then I'll be starting my triathlon training. There is a Phase 3 as well, but I think I'm going to have to wait until the fall to complete it.

Instead of my final workout yesterday morning, my daughter and I went to the store and bought her a new bike. Then when we got home, she had to try and ride it right away. :)

After that, I started making lunch. My daughter has decided that she wants a "healthy lunch" on Sundays, so we have been making lunch instead of going out to eat. I think she is just tired of "chicken and french fries", which is the only thing she will eat when we go out. I've tried explaining to her that she can choose a healthier option, but she insists that we should "eat healthy" at home. Who am I to argue with that?? PS. She was reading this over my shoulder as I was typing and corrected 2 typos. Smarty pants. Not that I am a proud mom or anything like that, but I think I found an editor. :)

So after lunch, I spent the afternoon cleaning the house because I knew that the plumber would be stopping by this week. Our house is experiencing multiple system failure. First, the dishwasher was acting funny, then the water softener went kaplooey, and now the dryer isn't heating properly.

In addition, my kids have started swimming lessons and a cooking class (which is pretty cool), so life has gotten pretty busy. :)

Have a great day!


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An "Udderly" Random Post

See the end of this post for the "udders". :)

So this is totally random. I was riding into work earlier this week and Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" started player on my mp3 player. When it got to the part when she whistles, for some reason I was reminded of some VH1 special that I had watched (either I Love the 80s, or Best Songs of the 80s, or something like that) and it had said that the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" was the only song with a whistling solo. I'm sure VH1 said that as a joke, but every time I hear "She Bop" I always think, "So there, VH1! The Bangles don't have a monopoly on whistling solos!" (I warned you that this was totally random.)

On that musical note, I saw this cool video the other day on YouTube and wanted to share it with any of you who are Michael Jackson fans. I think this guy was on Oprah recently.




And now the udders...My kids and I set out to build a snow horse yesterday, and well, it ended up looking like a snow cow. LOL


Also, my daughter kept sticking her hand in the snow about every foot. I asked her what she was making, and she said, "Mitten prints." :)


For Christmas she got a little toy baking set with an apron as a gift. One day she couldn't remember what the apron was called so she started calling it her "baking suit". I thought that was pretty cute, and the name stuck. We still call it her baking suit. :)

Have a great day!

Whew, What A Day!

Today definitely took it's toll on me. It was my son's first day of kindergarten! :)

I started the day at the gym, as usual, but got to sleep in (all the way to 5:45am)! I didn't go to work at my normal time so that I could make breakfast for the family (promised my son pancakes) and to take my son to school for his first day.

My workout went well. I did the TT intervals, which, in this particular program, were quite similar to what I had been doing on Tuesdays to improve my running. I warmed up, then ran 2 minutes followed by walking for for 2 minutes. The first 4 intervals I did the 2 minute run at my target "race pace" which is 9:00/mile (6.7 mph). For the last 2 intervals, I used an 8 minute mile as my target and ran the 2 minutes at 7.5 mph. I think next week I will do more intervals at 7.5 mph!

When I got home, I started making the pancakes for breakfast. I was using the recipe from the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook. I beat the egg whites, and mixed the other stuff in the food processor. The last thing I added was the canola oil. I blended it in and then, as I was pouring the mixture into the egg whites, I remembered that the canola oil had gone rancid. Why I hadn't thrown it away yet I have no idea.

I had to scrap those pancakes. There was no way I could serve them to my children. My husband, maybe. ;) Just kidding!

So now I have no pancakes, and I promised my son pancakes, and I'm looking around my kitchen for stuff to make pancakes, because I used up the last of my packaged egg whites in the rancid pancakes, and don't have enough eggs to start the recipe over, and the kids are sitting at the table waiting for PANCAKES!

Whew.

Then, I remembered I had a box of Bisquick baking mix in the back of the fridge. Well, it wasn't EXACTLY what I had in mind, but it makes quick pancakes. I tried to "healthy it up" by adding pumpkin, blueberries, wheat germ and flaxseed. My son liked them anyway. ;)

We went to his school and took the prerequisite photos out in front of the school, standing in front of his locker, etc. Then we went back outside and stood in line with the rest of his class. As the class filed in, I tried my best to let him walk in by himself, but he was getting farther behind, and looking more and more lost, and the hallway was quite busy with kids, and I could see him becoming disoriented, and I wanted him to be able to do it by himself, but really wanted to hold his hand too. It was very overwhelming. For him too, I mean. :)

We dropped him off in his classroom and I went to work and bit my fingernails for 3 hours. Then we went back and picked him up from school.

Me: "How was your day today?"
Him: "Good."
Me" "Did you do anything fun?"
Him: "Yes."
Me: "What did you do?"
Him: "I don't remember now."

Since I left work early to pick up my son from school, I had a brief amount of time to do a little shopping before dinner. After shopping, I was near a tanning salon and thought I might stop by and tan for 5 minutes. I thought it might be relaxing after my stressful day. LOL

Upon arriving at the tanning salon, I heard either my conscience or my dermatologist's voice (tanning bad, tanning bad). So instead, I used the...Hydration Station! From their website: The Hydration Station™ is a combination of topical radiant heat and steam, LED color technology, and a vibratory bed in an advanced capsule.

Well, I turned the vibrating part off right away. That was highly annoying. The rest, however, was quite relaxing, and I felt refreshed afterward. It was like being in a steam room, but while lying down. I think I may have even dozed off for a minute...

Then I went home and started dinner - pork loin, fingerling potatoes, and musk melon. Yum! I cut the fingerlings into halves and quarters, baked them in the oven, and called them french fries. To my surprise, even though they weren't "french fry" shaped, the kids loved them! Hurray!

Got to get the kids off to bed soon. It's a school night! Boy, it feels weird to say that! :)