Monday night's workout

Last night I did 3 sets of a 3-exercise mini circuit. Each exercise was 15 reps.

• Take a lunge step forward. With the other leg, step up onto a bench and into a hop. Step back down into a lunge. Repeat for each side.
• Reverse push-ups with the bar on the Smith machine set at about waist level.
• Push-ups with the bar on the Smith machine set at the lowest level, lifting the hands off the bar on the pushing up part.

Not-so-smart cat?

Lawrence and I joke sometimes about Muffin being a rather dumb cat. If I leave the bathroom door slightly ajar, she doesn't know how to get out. She'll just stare at it and mew at us.

Yesterday, Lawrence got the idea to try sticking the medicine in her food. He mixed in the laxative paste and put the pill in the food. She ate it all up...and there we had a stupidly easy solution to the problem of medicating our cat.

I love my kitty...but she is definitely not the brightest. :)

Yayayay

It's funny what a little bit of communication can do for you.

I forgot my cell phone at home, and given the events of this morning didn't want to call Lawrence even though I wanted to check up with him on how things were going. My boss asked if Muffin got her medicine yet and I thought, screw it, I'll call. So, I talked to Lawrence and he seems much calmer. The cat got her pill at the vet, we got more instructions on how to do it correctly (squeeze from above the head, like headphones).

I just finished demoing the site I'm working on to my boss. All the stuff that needs to be done for it has been bouncing around inside my head all day. He really helped to reassure me and re-prioritize for me what needs to get done. It's especially important because he's much higher on the totem pole than me, so with his approval I can lower the priorities of a lot of the stuff I was stressing over (mostly the consistency of font styles from content I copy/pasted from the old site). I also got an e-mail response from the IT people about certain issues I had with the site, so I've got a better idea of what I need to do with it. Things are going better, yay!

Now, my only concern is to contact IT about when we go live because even though I still have content to fix, we need to stay on schedule.

Urhghghg

I'm feeling very high strung right now, and I have to force myself to take some deep breaths.

I'm so busy, I probably shouldn't even be posting this right now but I need to do something to release the pent up stress.

Muffin, my kitty, threw up a few times on Friday. Twice in the kitchen, and once all over the bed. Lawrence threw away the blanket cover because it was too nasty to try to clean up. She didn't eat anything until Sunday. Yesterday I took the day off from work to take her to the vet. We went to the Pasadena Animal Medical Hospital on Colorado Ave. where they took x-rays and told us she has a hairball blockage. It figures that's why she's only hacked up one hairball since we got her last August. They gave us some laxatives - 4 pills to take twice a day for 2 days and a tube of paste to give her once a day. Because she had a slightly higher temperature than normal, we need to take her back in a week for the regular shot she's overdue for.

At the vet, the vet tech showed us how it was "easy" to open her mouth and pop in the medicine. Just squeeze at the sides of the jaws and her mouth opens. Well, we spent at least 30 minutes this morning trying to holder her still and open her mouth. She struggled a bit and mewed very sadly. I was up for trying it until we got it right but Lawrence felt we were doing something wrong. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay home from work today so he took her to the vet himself to they could show him how it's done.

It turned into a big argument this morning because he was very frustrated. He was also up all night and didn't get into bed until 6am...after which he got about an hour of sleep. I don't like to nag at him about this stuff but it just frustrates me so much because it seems like there's nothing I can do. Yesterday he got up late, at like 1pm and wasn't hungry so didn't eat (even though I told him he should). He got really frustrated around dinner time when I mentioned that I hoped the chimichurri sauce I made was still good (raw garlic in olive oil = botulism). We didn't eat dinner until around 8pm.

The reason he stayed up so late last night was because he was trying to fix our 2nd computer. He still couldn't figure it out at 6am, and couldn't decide what to do because every option was a bad one. Buy a cheap motherboard that isn't forward-compatible, and that may or may not be the problem? Potentially buy a new CPU for that new motherboard and end up with an old system that costs almost as much as if he just replaced all the parts with new, forward-compatible parts? Wait another 3 months for when prices may drop by 25%? Not to mention, with Muffin's vet visit, we really don't have the extra money to throw on all this? But, if we don't we only have [potentially] 1 working computer that can run WoW, meaning we can't play together?

He also has a lot of work to do today for the business - printing cards, designing things, submitting forms and ordering signs. He can't run illustrator or photoshop until he gets one computer working too. It's times like this morning that I wonder at what we can really do. I can't handle it when he puts himself in a situation where he gets irritable and frustrated. I wouldn't want to subject my kids to that and I guess I wouldn't consider kids until it gets addressed. The sleeplessness and frustration only increases when you have a kid.

Lawrence's ability to focus single-mindedly on a task is great and very useful. However, just as I have issues with playing computer games to the neglect of all other household tasks, he has to figure out how to make himself stop and pick up again at a later time. ::sigh:: He knew he had business work to finish during the day today too. WHY stay up till 6am? I guess he was right when he said he wouldn't sleep in late today. Lawrence - when you read this, remember that I love you but I think this is an issue.

So, that was a stressful start to my day. Once I get to work and go over the stuff I have to do, I realize that I really probably should not have taken yesterday off. I've got a LOT of stuff to do and it needs to get done by Thursday when things need to go live. It's not brain-intensive, but time/effort intensive. There's also some old stuff that needs to be addressed by this weekend. I have to meet with my boss this afternoon too, to go over the progress. URGHGHHGHGH.

This is one of those times when being a calm person helps, I suppose. At least I have mechanisms to deal...take deep breaths, clear the mind, and focus on one thing at a time. I have no problem staying late to work on this stuff, but I think they shut off the lights in the building at 7pm. That certainly makes things more difficult.

Monday night workout

Last night's workouts were using the cables (the ones not connected to any weights).

15x of each exercise...I can't recall at the moment but I'll list them here once I have time to think about it.

Kungfu Panda

It's one of the best animated films ever, seriously.

Sandbag Exercises

Monday I didn't see Melody because I felt nauseous, so it's only today for training this week. Today we worked with the sandbags.

25 lb sandbag
15x - Lift from ground to drop onto outstretched forearms. Lift from there straight up above the head. Drop onto forearms, then drop to the ground.
15x - Hold the sandbag by the middle with one end touching the ground. Lift the end up to one shoulder, back down to the ground, and then up to the other shoulder.
15x - Hold the sandbag by the middle, resting it on one shoulder. Lift it up and over the head to the other shoulder.
15x with sandbag over a shoulder - Lunges on each side, repeat for other shoulder (haha, that's 60 lunges total).

20lb sandbag with handles
15x - Rows on each arm.
15x - Swing the sandbag in a circular windmill type motion, repeat in the opposite direction.
15x - Sandbag snatches.

15x - With hands on the sandbag, jump feet back into push-up position. Do a push-up, jump the feet back in and stand up holding the sandbag.

Health scams

I wish there were a group of scientists devoted to debunking health scams. I'm constantly hearing stuff about "cleansing" and "detoxing" using combinations of liquids and foods...and it bothers me so much that there are so many people that just lap it up without question. Yesterday, Lawrence's brother came over with a female friend who was on the "Master Cleanse". It's like a fasting diet where you drink a mixture of water, lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. Variations involve also taking in laxative teas. Some people report getting better skin and lots of energy - but both of those effects can be obtained by drinking copious amounts of water and ingesting large amounts of sugar as your only source of nutrition.

What also bothers me is the people who say they searched and there wasn't anything debunking the cleanse. Tthere are websites that debunk it by explaining the effects from the standpoint of basic medical knowledge, but no there are no research papers one can point to that tests and "officially" debunks it. The issue is, no scientist is going to get funded for research on something like this. Thus, there's no way you'd ever find any real studies - they cost lots of money and require funding. That doesn't stop me from wishing there was a way...

Good times at work

It's great when you go out for lunch with your bosses, because then you never go back to work late. It's also pretty interesting being buzzed all afternoon trying to get work done. For the record, I so do not feel like doing any more work. I just want to take a nap.

It also doesn't help that I'm already sore from my workout yesterday. I just feel like sprawling out on the ground and not moving for a long long time.

Thursday workout

Yesterday night was killer...

leg exercises, no breaks in between~
15x - squats
15x - jump squats
15x each side - lunges
15x each side - jump lunges (I was near falling over at this point...could barely get up from the lunches)

15x in each direction - circular partial pull ups on the Smith machine

push-ups from the knees~
5x - regular
5x - move one hand to the side for a wide stance
5x - move the same hand forward
5x - move the same hand backward
5x - bring hands together to make a diamond
-repeat all of it for the other arm

20x each direction - holding onto a 10lb. double handled medicine ball with both hands, swing up up above one shoulder and diagonally across the body near your opposite hip. Swing it back and forth like that fairly quickly.

15x each side - using a 12.5 lb. weight, balance on one leg with the other extended behind. With arm hanging straight down, do a row. From there, bring the back knee up and forward. Lift the weight to the shoulder and press up.

15x - using a 2kg medicine ball and leaning forward on an inclined bench, bring it to the left, right, and then up above the head (that last one is pretty killer).

pewpew

Reading about the vaccination-autism debate makes my head go 'splodey.

Up

I went to watch Up last night with Lawrence and Phillip. That was a great movie - I cried and I laughed. It was very touching, even though I was annoyed with myself the whole time that I couldn't stop thinking about the physics of it all.

I loved the pre-movie animated short as well. That one almost made me cry.

BTW, Kenrick, I SAW YOUR NAME IN THE CREDITS! :D w00t!

Monday night, back at Melody's

Tonight's workout was at Melody's house. It was nice to exercise outside because the air isn't stale and you're not cramped for space between a bunch of machines.

6 lb. sledgehammer:
30x on each side - circular swings - swing behind, up, and then back down on one side

sandbag exercises (I don't remember how many lbs this sandbag was):
lift a sandbag above the head and walk across the yard with it
15x - lift sandbag with both hands and onto forearms, lift from there above head, drop back to forearms and then the ground
15x - hold sandbag in the middle and squat so one end is touching the ground; stand and lift that end up to one shoulder, touch it back to the ground and then up again to the other shoulder
15x - lift sandbag over one shoulder, then lift it straight above the head and lower to the other shoulder...and back

12kg kettlebell:
20x - 2 handed swings
20x on each side - 1 handed swings
20x total - alternating 1 handed swings
15x - suitcase squats (2 kettlebells)

heavy ropes:
20 seconds alternating waves

more of the 6lb. sledgehammer:
30x on each side - straight swings - lift straight up and over head but being careful not to slam yourself in the back, and then straight up over the head and back down

lever exercise with a small hammer (for grip):
15x - extend arm straight out in front and grip the hammer towards the bottom of the handle, letting it lean away from you and then back towards you

Coffee

Can a person enjoy coffee without becoming addicted to it? I realized the other day how much I enjoy the taste of French-pressed coffee and I wanted to get my own coffee press.

At HK and Vietnamese restaurants, it usually comes with what I found (yay for Google) to be called a Vietnamese coffee press. It's small and used for single cup servings of coffee. You put about 1/4"-1/3" of condensed milk at the bottom of your cup and place the press right on top. The press itself is shaped like a top hat. You put the coffee grounds in the center and a place the metal plunger filter on top. Pressure is applied either by gravity or by screwing the plunger to the correct tightness. Fill the thing with hot water and let it drip directly into your cup. Once all the water has gone through, stir the coffee with the condensed milk and enjoy! It's also great poured into a tall glass of ice for iced coffee.

Yesterday's workout

Bodyweight exercises:

- 15x - lunge forward with one foot, use the other foot to step up onto a bench and into a hop while the first knee is bent.
- 15x - one-legged squats.
- 15x - kind of a reverse push-up on the Smith machine. With the bar set at a little lower than waist level, grab onto the bar while under it and pull your chest towards the bar.
- 15x - one-legged inchworm push-ups.
- 15x - Squat thrust push-ups - Didn't finish all of these as I was getting a little too dizzy and nauseous at this point. Squat until your hands touch the floor and place your hands on the ground by your legs. Kick your legs out behind you so you're in push-up position. Do a push-up and pull your feet back under you so you're in squat position. Thrust upwards in a jump so you are in a standing position. Rinse and repeat.

Note to self: Eat *lightly* before working out, and if it's heavy, make sure it's at least 2 hours beforehand.