Still Recovering & Buy Art From a Pirate?



Photo: "Mannequin on Deck"; Watercolor on 8" x 10" Paper. It and several
others will be at my art show this Saturday.

My body is still trying to recover from last weekend’s list of workouts I did.  Saturday, it was a hip-hop fast paced Zumba class where I’m sure I looked part idiot – part spasmostic.  It was a challenge to keep up and trying not to run into anyone else in the class but I will admit it was fun!  A good cardio workout too! 

Sunday came and I tagged along with Diane to a Boot Camp Work Out.  OMG!  During the warm up period, I found myself already in trouble.  1.5 minutes of “flutter kicks”?!!! (Flutter kick= lying on back, hands under small of back, lift legs off of floor and scissor kick without touching floor.)  The 1.5 minutes felt like 3 minutes of literally wrenching my gut. 

From there we stood up and did what I refer to as a “tsunami” of squats where we would “rest” for 10 seconds in the squat position.  Then as fast as we could go from squat to stand and back to squat in under 30 seconds.  We repeated this a few times and the “rest” was no rest no matter how much the instructor said it was.  My front thighs are still feeling this one today (4 days later.).  The rest of the Boot Camp went thru a series of dead lifting and “burp bees”, swinging kettle balls with push-ups, and arm press with 15 lbs. weight bar with jumping pull-ups.  By the time I got to the jumping pull-ups, my arms were saying NO MORE.  I had to opt out.

It was ¾ thru the day that I realized I was still signed up for reformer pilates early Monday morning and I was still very so sore from the morning.  But Monday morning came and I hated the thought of paying for a class and not showing.  So I went to class, but I’m glad I did because it ended up being a good thing.  The instructor took up some really good stretches at the end of the class that made all the difference to me walking half way decently.

I’ve been terribly stressed this last week getting ready for my 100 Salt Lake City Porches Art Show.  Click here to get the 411 on the art show.  I’m so stressed in fact that I have a sty in my right eye that seems to not be going away.  The last two mornings, I’ve woken up to almost not being able to see out of my right eye.  I’ve had to apply warm compresses on it to make the swelling go down.  I’ve been wearing my sunglasses quite a bit because I can’t wear eye makeup (I feel SO nude!) and my right eye is slightly swollen with red.  I just hope it goes away before my art show this Saturday.  I was teasing a friend that I may have to find a sexy eye patch to wear for the show.  “Want to buy a painting from a pirate? Argh!”    

Cranberry-izing!

I was rather sick this last weekend. Friday evening I felt a sore throat coming on. I thought I would do a workout in hopes that I could burn the sickness right out of me. I did a 2.5 mile run on the treadmill and another 30 minutes on the elliptical. Saturday morning, I woke up with a sore throat AND a headache. Well, the burning it out with exercise theory didn’t work.

Next, it was the honey with tea and just taking it easy. Earlier in the week I had been planning on going for a climbing bike ride of at least 50 miles but I decided against that. I stayed home instead. During the day, I divided my time between reading, painting, and watching movies. I even had a big bowl of chicken noodle soup for dinner. I was starting to feel better by bedtime. I thought I might have the thing beat.


Wrong! Sunday morning came and I could add chills to the list of maladies; and the headache had gotten worse. All I felt like doing was sleeping. So I slept most of Sunday away. I finally did get up when a lady called about purchasing a porch painting. I dragged myself up then showered and changed. I delivered the painting, and swung by a fast food place to eat something. Also, an ice cream shake sounded so good to me. Again, I was feeling a bit better by bedtime.


Monday morning, I woke and headache was mostly gone but sore throat was still there. I opted to skip the early morning bike ride, and slept a bit longer. On my way into work I purchased a HUGE bottle of cranberry juice; my fallback for getting better. I drank about half the bottle during the day making frequent restroom visits. It’s like when you are trying to drink more water; only in this case it was cranberry juice. It was like everyother moment I sat at my desk I would do something then take a drink of cranberry juice.  Do something else, and take a sip.  I was rather surprised my eyes weren't turning the color of cranberries!  BUT I was feeling much better as I left the office that night. Then, I went home and did a workout at the gym to burn the rest right out.

Today, I woke with just a hint of a sore throat. I’m finishing the rest of the cranberry juice just to be on the safe side. But I’m really hoping that all this “cranberryizing” will knock the rest of this sickness out of my system. Keep your fingers crossed!

Sick & Busy...(NOT a Good Mix!)

Hello!  I haven't written in here like I usually do.  I've been sick and busy... I feel like my life is on hold while I try to get my act together (if that's possible?).  Meanwhile, I will admit that I've been a bit of a grump, and I feel a bit like this cat in the picture or so I imagine.

I came down with the cold last Friday that's been making the rounds around the office.  YUCK!  Stuffy head, congested chest, and just general tiredness.  It came just in time so that I could enjoy the Memorial holiday in bed.  Sleep, sleep, and more sleep...I'm trying to get rid of the darn thing.  I went to bed on Friday afternoon after work and stayed mostly in bed until Sunday afternoon.  I started feeling a little more human then but only ventured from home to pick up another batch of NyQuil on Sunday night.  Otherwise, I was parked on the love seat underneath a blanket and going between watching a movie or reading a book.  Monday, I felt a bit like a hermit venturing out.  I went with a friend to dinner, a bit of shopping, and then coffee at Barnes & Nobles. 

My taste buds are still off... where they went---I don't know.  This morning I had to have one of the guys taste the coffee.  It didn't taste right to me.   He said it was my normal real strong brew as his face pucker up a bit.  Food doesn't taste right to me yet, and you would hope that maybe I would be losing weight because I'm not eating.  Nope, I'm not doing anything exercise either though.  So it's all a wash.  I will cough in spurts, usually when I need to talk to someone on the phone (Oooopps, sorry to cough in your ear.) or when I seem to have discovered I left all of the cough drops at home (Good old Murphy's Law at work).

But on top of all of this sickness, I've been pretty busy.  We had inventory at work last Friday.  Now everything that was on hold due to inventory needs to be done YESTERDAY!  Then things have stepped up on the Little Red Riding Hood ride with it approaching this Saturday.  The volunteers are pouring in or  volunteers that were set up are now unable to make it after all for whatever reasons, and then there's all of the working out the details and getting them to the volunteers.  I AM AMAZED that Diane did this all by herself last year and kept her sanity.  You are AWESOME Diane! 

So anyway that's why I haven't written in here in awhile...  I hope you understand.  Of course, that's figuring that anyone is actually reading my dribble...? ;-)

Good News & A Good Weekend!

The Good News... I went to see the doctor on Friday afternoon and I just need to do stretches before and after a run.  I've over stressed the connective tissue where the top of my thigh muscles connect to my hip area.  The doctor gave me a series of stretching exercises that I need to do before and after a run.  He also suggested to use Advil before I go on a run too.  He also laughed and just shook his head at me when I asked if I was okay to run a 5K on Saturday morning,"You push it to the limit, don't you?

Saturday a 5K Run....

Friday night was pouring and pouring rain...I was getting concerned about being able to enjoy a run on Saturday morning.  On Saturday morning, it was still raining a bit.  I showed up with the intent of just picking up the bag of goodies, but it started to clear up as the run/walk was supposed to start.  The were over 250 participants for the Utah Diabetes FUN Run & Walk 2010.  The course wove through the research park area of the University of Utah Campus.  It ended up being a wonderful course that I kind of "wogged" (walk-jog) my way through.  It felt good to be running again without pain and I rushed to get in line for a free massage afterwards.  Then I waited around for the raffle.  They had some REALLY good prizes, and they also did medal awards for the first three in each sex/age categories.  I was fifth in my category... out of 9!  It was a very FUN event and I'm putting it on the list for next year.

Saturday night...
I had a fun and entertaining dinner with the "Widow's" group: Laura, the Popette, Em, Not-So-Good, and myself.  Here's some photos of us...

Sunday morning...

It was a sunny but very chilly ride up Emigration Canyon with my friends, Diane and Kym.  Here's some more photos...

Happy P.O.E.T.S. Day!

As a friend who has a great deal of humor once emailed me and wished me a Happy POETS Day! POETS Day? I thought to myself," Is this a national holiday I don't know about?" No, it's not that came the reply and answered. It is...Piss- Off- Everyone- Tomorrow’s- Saturday! The idea has rather stuck with me since. So while everyone is saying the TGIF, I’ve got this other version of “It’s Friday” flag waving going on in the back of my mind. (Thanks, Jeffy!)

None the less, it’s always with quite a bit of relief that this day arrives each week, and I look forward to the release from the bondage of office work. Not that I really hate my job, per say. But it’s like the flood gates to the weekend open full and all of the possibilities of spending my time in other ways come flooding at me. Yes! I can bike, run, hike, read, paint, or lounge if the mood suits. Awww~! What a beautiful thing the weekend can be!

The weather looks good for the most part this weekend. Saturday I’m planning on catching a bike ride then later on catching a couple of birthday celebrations. By the way the Popette (Ms. Mary Patrick) turns 77 today. We are going to Mimi’s Café to celebrate her birthday tomorrow. (I will probably have pictures on Monday of the event.) Sunday, I’m hoping the weather holds out so I can catch a 5-6 mile run outdoors. Somewhere in there I hope to be able to work on an oil painting that has been floating around in my head—I just need to let it out before I go insane. Oh, that’s what weekends are made for! So what are you plans for the weekend? What ever you may do, I hope that you have an enjoyable weekend!