I definitely did something new today. I admit, I was kinda burned out from the fire - mwhaha - and the lack of routine and the total drudgery of the workout routine that I did have, so I didn't work out, like really workout, for two weeks. Sure, I played tennis once or twice, went for some long walks, went for a swim in Whistler, but unless the sweat is pouring out of me, and I feel like Guantanamo Bay would be a better fate than the one I'm imposing on my body by my workout, then I'm not working out. So by today, I was absolutely excited to workout.
Usually, when I workout, it's because a) I want to lose weight and b) I want to be healthy. Though I will admit I'm feeling lumpier than usual, and so recognize the need and desire to get back on the weight loss wagon, today, I worked out for neither of those reasons. Today, I kicked my own ass on the treadmill and the weight room because I wanted to. And no, that's not some messed up self-masochism. I wanted to feel my muscles exhausted, I wanted to pant for breath, I wanted to burn. Okay, that sounds kinda pervy. Or, like I'm too stupid to figure out that great sex would provide the effects described above. Nope, not stupid. But, unfortunately for me cause I'm lazy and sex is easier than a hard workout, sex and a hard workout just don't produce the same endorphins.
My workout today was everything I hoped it'd be. I was so damn happy to be able to work out, that I had the opportunity to do it. I ran harder than I've run in at least six months, my resistance training was challenging and kept my heart rate up in the training zone, and I had to walk home from the gym on wobbly legs. It was fucking awesome.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Getting away, just because we can/should/need to and not feeling guilty about it
Let me tell you, folks, that's a new one for me. Usually, when I get away, my life has gotten stressful to the point that if I don't go away, things in my brain will start to crumble and break. This time, I recognized the stress before it got to the stale-cookie-like crumbling level. See previous post regarding fire.
Our good friends Mike, Stacey, David and Jenny got us a weekend at their condo in Whistler for a wedding present, and Chris and I both agreed that now was the time to use it. We left after work on Friday, and had a kind of harrowing drive through the rain and construction-confused roads, but got to Whistler safely at about dinner time that night. We had a nice dead-animal dinner at the Keg, came back to the condo, and enjoyed the heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi. That was QUITE nice. Saturday we did some hiking, shopping, and brunching. It's absolutely gorgeous up there this time of year - the trees are all turning, and everything was green and yellow and red, against a bright blue sky. We got home early Sunday afternoon, and spent it putting our house back together. Between the mini-vacation and just having our living space back in order, my brain and body and soul felt a helluva lot better.
Usually, after a trip like this where I spent too much money eating out and gas driving and twice as much on a new memory card as I would have at home because I'm a moron and left my other memory card in the computer, I am wracked with guilt - I should have spent this money elsewhere, I shouldn't have wasted, etc. This time, I was like, "Yeah. We needed that. It was good."
So... we're going to Vegas in November. The Grand Canyon is kind of close to there. I really want to go, but since we're only there for four days, I don't want to drive. So a friend (a much wealthier friend) suggested a helicopter tour. Mike looked it up (he and Stace and a bunch of others are also going to Vegas in November) and couldn't find any for less than $300 per person. My eyeballs almost fell out of my head. I started making excuses for why it wouldn't work, which really boiled down to the fact that I'd feel guilty for spending the money. Then I thought... when will you ever get the chance to see the Grand Canyon from the sky, and land in the middle of one of the crevasses? What if you NEVER get the chance to do that again? And I decided in that moment that Chris and I are going to do it, without guilt, because experiences are worth a helluva lot more than material shit is.
Please remind me of this magical thinking mindset if I can't afford groceries in December. Thanks.
Our good friends Mike, Stacey, David and Jenny got us a weekend at their condo in Whistler for a wedding present, and Chris and I both agreed that now was the time to use it. We left after work on Friday, and had a kind of harrowing drive through the rain and construction-confused roads, but got to Whistler safely at about dinner time that night. We had a nice dead-animal dinner at the Keg, came back to the condo, and enjoyed the heated outdoor pool and jacuzzi. That was QUITE nice. Saturday we did some hiking, shopping, and brunching. It's absolutely gorgeous up there this time of year - the trees are all turning, and everything was green and yellow and red, against a bright blue sky. We got home early Sunday afternoon, and spent it putting our house back together. Between the mini-vacation and just having our living space back in order, my brain and body and soul felt a helluva lot better.
Usually, after a trip like this where I spent too much money eating out and gas driving and twice as much on a new memory card as I would have at home because I'm a moron and left my other memory card in the computer, I am wracked with guilt - I should have spent this money elsewhere, I shouldn't have wasted, etc. This time, I was like, "Yeah. We needed that. It was good."
So... we're going to Vegas in November. The Grand Canyon is kind of close to there. I really want to go, but since we're only there for four days, I don't want to drive. So a friend (a much wealthier friend) suggested a helicopter tour. Mike looked it up (he and Stace and a bunch of others are also going to Vegas in November) and couldn't find any for less than $300 per person. My eyeballs almost fell out of my head. I started making excuses for why it wouldn't work, which really boiled down to the fact that I'd feel guilty for spending the money. Then I thought... when will you ever get the chance to see the Grand Canyon from the sky, and land in the middle of one of the crevasses? What if you NEVER get the chance to do that again? And I decided in that moment that Chris and I are going to do it, without guilt, because experiences are worth a helluva lot more than material shit is.
Please remind me of this magical thinking mindset if I can't afford groceries in December. Thanks.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
2-? Lots of Stuff
So I haven't been posting regularly. That's what happens when you procrastinate. By that, I mean this: I procrastinated putting up new posts, thinking I could just get to it, you know, whenever, the next day or the next day. And then OUR FREAKING HOUSE CAUGHT FIRE. We are fine, and most importantly, our material possessions are fine, but it's been a damn stressful time dealing with the landlord's insurance company and blah de blah blah, I won't bore you with the stresses. I'm sure you can all imagine. Well, okay, maybe one thing. The stench of smoke and fire-killing chemicals was AWFUL for about 10 days. Better now. But I'm pretty sure I killed some healthy cells breathing in that shit air. That is all.
On to the new things I've tried since my last post. I have to admit, I haven't done something new every day, but close. Every other day, maybe? In no particular order of date, cause I can't remember dates anymore:
1. Hosted a wedding shower - it was made clear to me from this experience that you only ask people to be your bridesmaids if you hate them.
2. Made crafty little takeaways for said shower - which I sucked at, but did anyway.
3. Tried new pasta salad recipe - yeah, that was a mistake. It was a crappy recipe.
4. Ate at awesomely cool college-town restaurant in bellingham - OMG, best hash browns EVER!
5. Went to a Mindemporium, this place where a local geek built all these miniature science-world type exhibits and only charges people 2 bucks admission. It was pretty damn cool, actually, to know that someone cares enough about science to build all that shit and write the blurbs to explain wtf was going on to dummies like myself.
6. Tried new torture device in the dungeon, ahem, tried new exercise equipment at the gym. I think the closest approximation is the Gazelle, by that guy with the long pony tail. I wasn't a fan.
7. Convinced a border agent not to arrest my mother. Long story short, she was not arrested, but she did not come to Canada.
8. Thanks to Margarita, developed an obsession with True Blood. You must watch it if you enjoy wonderful writing, directing and acting. Best show on TV right now, period. Yes, even better than Project Runway, or that work of artistic genius, Hole in the Wall.
9. Was in a wedding party. New one for me. All my best girl friends are single! People should not drink and do emotional things on the same day. It leads to drama. I don't do drama, unless it's acted out by good looking people that I absolutely do not know and can be turned off when I get sick of it.
10. Tried a new... ah... erotic aid? Is that what they're calling them now? Anyway, we had a presentation at Nikki's stagette and I bought it cause I've been wanting it for a while now. I'm not selfish! I'm not! It's called a "We", so Chris likes it too. ;)
11. Went to a gourmet cheese store. Hard to believe I've never done this, given my love affair with hard, moldy cow's milk, but yet... it's true. The cheese was fabulous. I want to roll in it. And build an apartment in the shop.
12. Cleaned up after an upstairs fire. Learned A LOT about insurance companies. Dear reader, please please please check your policy to see what is covered and what is not in terms of alternative living arrangements, who gets to decide whether to replace or just clean, etc. My landlord is getting SCREWED.
I think there are more things, but I feel guilty typing because my husband is doing the dishes, and I feel useless. I promise, now that we are getting more settled after the fire, I'll be posting more often. I also promise that I have learned my lesson about procrastination - don't put it off cause you never know what will happen tomorrow!
On to the new things I've tried since my last post. I have to admit, I haven't done something new every day, but close. Every other day, maybe? In no particular order of date, cause I can't remember dates anymore:
1. Hosted a wedding shower - it was made clear to me from this experience that you only ask people to be your bridesmaids if you hate them.
2. Made crafty little takeaways for said shower - which I sucked at, but did anyway.
3. Tried new pasta salad recipe - yeah, that was a mistake. It was a crappy recipe.
4. Ate at awesomely cool college-town restaurant in bellingham - OMG, best hash browns EVER!
5. Went to a Mindemporium, this place where a local geek built all these miniature science-world type exhibits and only charges people 2 bucks admission. It was pretty damn cool, actually, to know that someone cares enough about science to build all that shit and write the blurbs to explain wtf was going on to dummies like myself.
6. Tried new torture device in the dungeon, ahem, tried new exercise equipment at the gym. I think the closest approximation is the Gazelle, by that guy with the long pony tail. I wasn't a fan.
7. Convinced a border agent not to arrest my mother. Long story short, she was not arrested, but she did not come to Canada.
8. Thanks to Margarita, developed an obsession with True Blood. You must watch it if you enjoy wonderful writing, directing and acting. Best show on TV right now, period. Yes, even better than Project Runway, or that work of artistic genius, Hole in the Wall.
9. Was in a wedding party. New one for me. All my best girl friends are single! People should not drink and do emotional things on the same day. It leads to drama. I don't do drama, unless it's acted out by good looking people that I absolutely do not know and can be turned off when I get sick of it.
10. Tried a new... ah... erotic aid? Is that what they're calling them now? Anyway, we had a presentation at Nikki's stagette and I bought it cause I've been wanting it for a while now. I'm not selfish! I'm not! It's called a "We", so Chris likes it too. ;)
11. Went to a gourmet cheese store. Hard to believe I've never done this, given my love affair with hard, moldy cow's milk, but yet... it's true. The cheese was fabulous. I want to roll in it. And build an apartment in the shop.
12. Cleaned up after an upstairs fire. Learned A LOT about insurance companies. Dear reader, please please please check your policy to see what is covered and what is not in terms of alternative living arrangements, who gets to decide whether to replace or just clean, etc. My landlord is getting SCREWED.
I think there are more things, but I feel guilty typing because my husband is doing the dishes, and I feel useless. I promise, now that we are getting more settled after the fire, I'll be posting more often. I also promise that I have learned my lesson about procrastination - don't put it off cause you never know what will happen tomorrow!
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