Day: April 3, 2012

Life at the Gym

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PROGRESS AND GOALS

So just got back from a tough workout with Coach Dave- 1500 yards in 300 intervals each time going faster. My best time was 7 min 14 sec which I feel really good about.   I’m going to keep training and working hard for the Great Salt Lake Swim that which is coming up on June 9th.  Its a 1 mile swim but the water will be pretty cold so it will be a challenge.

I have also signed up for the 5K at the Deer Creek Open Water Swim!  This is the longest I have ever attempted but I have close to 6 months to prepare and I know I can do it.  I figure most of my friends did the 5k last year and I can hold my own with most of them.  My Dad might be able to come and be my paddler which would be a great experience together.  Its so motivating to have a race to look forward to.  Thanks in advance to all who are working to make both races happen.  They need volunteers for simple tasks if anyone is available June 9 or August 11th let me know.  Can’t wait!

I also am determined to get below 250 if it kills me.  Ok maybe not kill me but you get the idea.  I’ve worked so hard and last week I had a weight gain.  Was totally bummed out but I’m using it as a catalyst to try even harder.  I decided to sign up for a fresh meal delivery service here in Salt Lake that will help me get a better idea of portion controls and limit my diet with greater ease (with my new freezer this is even easier).  Its not something I would want to do forever but I think to help me get ready for the race it will be worth trying out.  Plus, the company does not have auto-renewal so to try it out for 2 weeks can’t hurt.

I’m also continuing with the bountiful baskets and between my freezer, portion controlled meals and lots of fresh produce I figure I will be doing all I can to eat right.

I know its weird but I love post work out photos. Its like a way of saying to myself- yes I did that! Don't you love the goggle eyes and swim cap line!

Sometimes in my quest for greater success I can forget how far I’ve come.  Take a look at these 2 photos one is from 2010 and one taken today.

2010 with my awesome trainer Michele. She has been with me through literally thick and thin! Weighed around 305 lbs
Michele and I today. Weigh around 260

I admit in 2010 I had hoped for a more dramatic before and after but I can tell a difference.  I certainly can feel the difference. It feels good to be able to say I tried as hard as I could to take care of my body and despite what felt like the gates of Hell opening up after me last year I am still pushing forward.

NEVER JUDGE

I also had a good experience today at the gym.  There is a lady who is in my ward who also goes to my gym.  She seemed sweet but on the surface not someone I would have a ton in common with (wears a ton of make up, dresses in designer clothes etc).

I was just in a good mood and went up to her and said ‘we should work out together sometime.  I’m sure you’re way ahead of me but it might be fun.  I’m kind of a lone warrior here.”  She said she would love that and asked if I did other things besides swimming.  I said ‘I’m not the most coordinated person in the world (huge understatement) but I will give most anything a try. I like kickboxing, yoga, spinning, working out on the machines. “

She seemed really happy that I talked to her and afterwards texted me saying “Can’t wait to work out with you :)”.   Just goes to show you shouldn’t judge by appearances. You lose out on a lot of friends that way.

She also said ‘you always seem really positive at the gym.  I think it would be great to work out together.’ This made me happy that people are watching me and maybe even a little inspired despite all my moaning and groaning!

BIKE

I’m also thinking about buying a bike.  The idea is to find a bike that I can tottle around Draper on turning everyday experiences into an active experience.  I need a bike with a seat that is large and frame that’s easy to mount.  Most bikes I don’t feel balanced enough on or that it can support me but this one looks very interesting.  Its called a Trek Navigator 2.0 and has 21 gears, low frame, big seat, front shocks and the local bike shop price is actually lower than I’ve found online.

So far the reviews I’ve read online are really good.  Thoughts?

SPRING WALK

One last thing.  Yesterday I was without a car because I have a company car and on occasion the company needs to use it!  My friend Jill was super duper nice to let me use her car so I could make my voice lesson (which was awesome.  I’m learning Defying Gravity and it is so thrilling! I’ve come so far and feel the song encapsulates the last  couple years of my life. ) .  Anyway, after dropping her car off I got to walk home in the beautiful Spring weather.  Everything is lush and smells delicious.

I snapped this quick pick with my camera phone (all of these photos were taken with my camera phone.  Not bad hah!). I’m so grateful to live in such a beautiful place and that God gives me glimpses of His grandeur on occasion.

Sometimes I forget how beautiful Utah is and how stunning the mountains are. Often I have to look up and remember that they are there and it takes my breath away. I'm so lucky to live here and I never want to move.
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Sophie Kinsella

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I would like to send a shout out to another wonderful read by the British author Sophie Kinsella, which is a pseudonym for Madeline Wickham.  When I first read Confessions of a Shopaholic in an airport delayed I thought ‘here’s this silly story’ and then I found myself laughing once, and then again and again.  Plus, I related to the way Rebecca shops and rationalizes her money away.  It gave Rebecca a warmth and familiarity from the start because dealing with money, debt and the temptation of new things exists for all of us.  There is also a slight message to the Shopaholic stories that things are just things and that it is the people who matter most.  (the movie totally got the character of Rebecca wrong, mixed around the great story and set it in Manhattan instead of London.  Big mistakes.)

Just as Rebecca deals with shopping the character in the Undomestic Goddess must confront the over-work in her life, or lack of life.  She can’t have time to meet with her family for her birthday or learn how to use her vacuum and then crisis, the lawyer becomes a housekeeper in a grand house.  She must learn to cook, clean, and live. Can a hard-edged city lawyer learn to appreciate the needs of a house? The story has lots of humor and romance. I love it!

Undomestic Goddess is probably my favorite Kinsella novel. I love anything that is about work, why we work, why we over-work, work vs. family etc. Especially interesting is the contrast of old vs new work.

In I’ve Got Your Number is her newest novel and it conquers smart phones.  Through admittedly ridiculous turn of events a man and woman must share 1 phone (think the movie Pillow Talk in the modern era). They go back and forth exchanging each other’s emails and becoming more involved in their lives.  Its a very good book and great romance. I laughed out loud a lot and her lead character Poppy felt like one of my best girlfriends.  Kinsella also knows how to make a setting humorous and without being gaudy, slapsticky, or over-the-top.

Its easy to criticize the plots of Kinsella’s books.  They are thin on plot but her characters and situations are spot on.   Yes they are predictable and obvious but they are also funny, relatable and speak in an authentic way to real problems.  Whether its conquering housework, shopping, or managing 2 phones, the characters feel funny and real as they go about the experiences of their novel.

Well, I’ve hid it for months because it seemed like ‘dumb chick lit’ writing but I’m coming out and saying it- I like Sophie Kinsella and think she is a good writer.  She makes you laugh and question your own habits.  It is great! It is easy to dismiss someone because of the genre they write in such as chick lit, but are there not always authors that succeed in a genre, or despite a genre?

I’m no longer going to be a closeted Sophie Kinsella fan.  Silly, romantic, fluffy they may be but they make me laugh, pause to think and smile at the characters happy endings.

I hope that she continues to write more stand-alone novels because I’ve loved all of them that I’ve read- Undomestic Goddess, I’ve Got Your #, Remember Me etc.  The shopholic books were great for the first 3 and then got a bit tired, as most series do.

Although being British there is a bit of language in her books particularly the F word so you’ve been warned.

What books do you like despite not normally loving the genre? Do you think genres stop you from reading certain books? Have you been surprised when you gave a new genre a shot?

The comments have been a bit dry lately.  Make my day, make a comment!