Month: August 2019
What the…?
Hello? Who’s there? What time is it? What year is it? What’s my name? What planet am I on?
Maybe I am exaggerating how disoriented I feel after last week, but only a smidgen. I am not sure I can really put into words how hectic, crazy, exhausting, and completely draining last week was.
Now, it wasn’t a bad week. Nothing horrible happened. It was just like a million things needed to be done at work, and they all needed to be done at the same time, on a tight timeline. Preferably yesterday, for most things. Being on full-speed-ahead all day long, five days straight, burned me out fast. By the time I got home each evening, I didn’t want to think, move, or exert any energy whatsoever if it wasn’t crucial to survival.
Needless to say, my workouts last week were non-existent, at least, if you don’t count sprinting hysterically around the office like a chicken on crack with its head cut off. Meal planning, packing my lunch, or anything else that required activity on the part of my frazzled brain were just impossible.
I left work early Friday afternoon for my younger stepson’s football game, and I counted down the minutes all day until that precious time to race out of work and head home for a weekend with my family. There’s not much better therapy than yelling and cheering at a football game.
The kids were home for the weekend, and it felt like a million years since we had seen them. We didn’t have any stellar plans, nothing wild and crazy going on, and I like it that way. I like just staying home, enjoying the weekend with them, listening to my husband transform into a big kid himself as he wrestles with, plays with, teases, torments, and laughs with the kids.
Almost forgot! Last week was crazy, but in the middle of it all, I got the written report of my annual evaluation. I always read it for the first time with a bit of hesitancy, waiting for a piece of criticism, but this one was so positive I nearly blushed. My supervisor said everyone just had good things to say, and she called me a leader at the company. Someone from another organization we work a lot with even added the comment that they hope I don’t go anywhere else, which was nice to hear.
Now, I am hoping for a calmer week this week, with maybe some time to breathe and sleep and fit in some workouts! Time to get back to some semblance of a routine.
Review: Jillian Michaels Cardio Kickboxing
Almost a week ago, I mentioned I had tried a new workout, said I would write a review of it…then almost immediately forgot all about it. It’s called “getting old”, though I prefer to think of it as “delightfully scatter-brained”.
The workout I tried was Jillian Michaels’ Cardio Kickboxing:
I’m not a huge fan of Jillian Michaels, but I came across this workout online for free, saw it was about 25 minutes long, and figured, what the heck? Why not give it a try?
Right off the bat, I started wondering what Jillian Michaels had to drink, smoke, or otherwise consume before this workout. She is very giggly, silly, and loopy, to the point it gets a bit annoying. Barely 30 seconds into the intro, she bleats into snorting horse laughter for no apparent reason. It all comes off as a bit forced and fake.
The workout is basic choreography, no complicated steps, and moves along in a drill format: for example, 30 seconds of this move, 20 reps of that, repeat a few times, move on. There’s nothing wild and crazy here, simple punches and kicks, cardio moves like knees to elbows, but very little information and guidance about form, so if you don’t already know how to throw a punch or execute a side kick, it might be better to start elsewhere.
The workout got my heart rate up, and I was lightly sweating, but I had no issues keeping up. (Given my fitness level these days, which is something close to zero, that means it isn’t a very intimidating workout at all). I would label it as barely intermediate, not quite beginner, but definitely not advanced either.
I would do this workout again if I can still find it for free online, but I doubt I would spend anything on it to own it on DVD. It’s an old workout, nothing spectacular, and more than a little on the odd side. But if you want a quick workout that’s not on the gasping-and-wheezing level of intensity, it’s worth a shot.
Protected: Mother of the Year
Excited and Happy
I don’t usually write on weekends, but I am too excited to wait until Monday. Yesterday at work, I had a very good meeting. We have a lot of changes happening here, and since we are a small office, I have had to take on extra work and responsibility over the past year or so. To show their appreciation for me pitching in without complaining (at least out loud), and for doing so well, I was awarded quite a nice raise.
I would like to treat myself to a little something, but I’m not sure what. New shoes? New purse? Something I would usually tell myself, “Oh, I don’t really need that.” Something that my practical side normally would say “no” about. Perfume? I need to think about it. Any suggestions?
I also went running the other night, or more like it, shuffling very slowly and painfully on the treadmill, while I huff and puff and turn various shades of red. But each step is one tiny nudge closer to getting back into shape, and it would be much easier to not do it at all, so I am proud of myself for pushing myself.
We have a busy day planned today, but the most important thing was first: watching my younger stepson’s football practice! I love football and can’t wait for the season to kick off. In fact, just the phrase “kick off” gets me all excited and ready to start cheering and yelling. I am happy my husband and I got to hang out at the game, see the kids, and got the day off to a nice start before setting off for a hectic day.
We have a date night tonight, and I am looking forward to that. We are celebrating my work accomplishments and just spending some time together.
And, last but certainly not least, I weighed in this morning to another loss! I know no one can tell yet that I am losing weight again, but it makes me happy to have these little successes.
All in all, I am just in a really good mood today, and excited about the changes taking place all around me. School starts next week, which still makes me nervous and excited. I hope the kids have a good year.
Sweat & Sparkle 