working out for Disney

[Songbird76]

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day

Friday wound up being an unconventional workout, Saturday was a rest day, and yesterday was a semi-normal workout (a medium pace 13.30 miles on bike, barre and arms, twist plate for obliques).

On Friday, my husband reminded me that he wanted to remove part of a tree. It's technically an ornamental, but it's split off into three medium sized sections, each which is about as tall as a 2-story house and a heavy amount of canopy. Stage 1 was sawing and guiding. He sawed while I manned the ropes and played tug-o-war to guide the limb away from the street and mailbox...so basically shifting it in the complete opposite direction it would have gone if allowed to fall in its natural growth direction. This took about 20 minutes. Stage 2 was unplanned, but it was helping him get the chainsaw unstuck from the tree. I still don't understand how he got it stuck, but he had tried using a hatchet to carve out the area to get it to break free, but insisted it was jammed in place. I used an ever-so-scientific method of tugging and kicking. After about 10-15 minutes, I got it out of the tree. Even more impressive was that I did it without destroying it. Stage 3 for me was to process a seemingly never-ending sea of branches as he broke down the big parts of the limb. I spent over an hour and a half using the snippers and shears to break down the large branches into smaller pieces for bundling. He eventually needed a break from processing the big parts and I needed a break from using the snippers and shears. So we moved to Stage 4, which was bundling. We spent about 30 minutes putting down twine, gathering bunches of broken down branches and I'd hold them down while he tied. Then they'd be moved to the curb. Stage 5- since it was getting dark and we were exhausted, was about 20 minutes of dragging and carrying everything out of the driveway and edge of the street that we didn't finish (which was A LOT).

On our way out to softball the next day, I took pictures of the disaster area in our yard. My husband admitted that he didn't realize there was so much to the limb he wanted to remove and may have bitten off more than we could chew with the time that we have. He started leaning towards hiring someone to do the rest, but didn't want to pay an arm and a leg. I suggested he ask our lawn guys to see if they had any suggestions. They actually said they could do it, their price was really reasonable, and they said they'd also lighten up some of the remaining canopy to help allow in more light. When we got home from softball, it was like a fairy tale where yard fairies came and cleaned up the entire mess and then some. Now if they could just help with all of my mosquito bites from Friday!

Yikes! That sounds like quite an undertaking!! Glad it's all taken care of!! Is K still at her retreat thing?

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Yikes! That sounds like quite an undertaking!! Glad it's all taken care of!! Is K still at her retreat thing?

It was a lot!

Nope, they came back last night. The never really got to compete. A lot of coastal and central TX has been hit with some ugly weather. A tornado (killed 1 - injured 11) took out part of the road to the school where the competition was being held. They were the only group that didn't formally withdraw, so they won by default. Still, the bad weather was too close for comfort. Her hotel is the red point near the upper right and the tornado impact area is at the end of the mapped route. Thankfully, all of the kids and adults on the trip were OK and things were patched up enough for them to make it home yesterday.

 

[Sans Souci]

It was a lot!

Nope, they came back last night. The never really got to compete. A lot of coastal and central TX has been hit with some ugly weather. A tornado (killed 1 - injured 11) took out part of the road to the school where the competition was being held. They were the only group that didn't formally withdraw, so they won by default. Still, the bad weather was too close for comfort. Her hotel is the red point near the upper right and the tornado impact area is at the end of the mapped route. Thankfully, all of the kids and adults on the trip were OK and things were patched up enough for them to make it home yesterday.

View attachment 716527

Wow. Glad she is ok and was spared the worst of it.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with a "dynamic full body" workout yesterday and an upper body+treadmill sprints today.

Had a nice Mother's Day. I ate way too many treats. I loafed around and we got ramen for dinner.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning

Checking in with a lower body workout. I did a YouTube video. I liked the workouts I was doing before, but they were taking over an hour to complete. When the weather gets warm, I like to do shorter workouts. This was around 40 min, so I saved about 20-30 minutes.

I ordered 2 dresses online from a company I never tried before-- they boasted "easy returns". They are not tight at all, but I have a long torso, so they are much shorter than they should be. I went to request a return, but I have to submit a photo of myself in the dress to process the return. I really don't want to do that. I was going to exchange them, but I am going to return them and delete the app from my phone. I really don't want to send a photo of myself in a poorly-fitting garment to process a return.

 

[MinnieM123]

Good morning

Checking in with a lower body workout. I did a YouTube video. I liked the workouts I was doing before, but they were taking over an hour to complete. When the weather gets warm, I like to do shorter workouts. This was around 40 min, so I saved about 20-30 minutes.

I ordered 2 dresses online from a company I never tried before-- they boasted "easy returns". They are not tight at all, but I have a long torso, so they are much shorter than they should be. I went to request a return, but I have to submit a photo of myself in the dress to process the return. I really don't want to do that. I was going to exchange them, but I am going to return them and delete the app from my phone. I really don't want to send a photo of myself in a poorly-fitting garment to process a return.

Wow, that's a bizarre return request from that company. I would also have a huge issue with submitting a photo. (I wouldn't do it, and might try to contact the company to see if there is any other way to just simply return the dress for credit.) As a side note, it would be funny if you did send a photo -- but wore a big face mask of maybe, Mickey Mouse, for example. That would protect your privacy. Anyway, hoping you didn't pay much for the dresses.

 

[Sans Souci]

Wow, that's a bizarre return request from that company. I would also have a huge issue with submitting a photo. (I wouldn't do it, and might try to contact the company to see if there is any other way to just simply return the dress for credit.) As a side note, it would be funny if you did send a photo -- but wore a big face mask of maybe, Mickey Mouse, for example. That would protect your privacy. Anyway, hoping you didn't pay much for the dresses.

Yeah, I'm just going to take the photos and scribble out my head. I don't feel comfortable taking my photos in these dresses. They are both too short and the waist of the dresses hit the bottom of my ribcage. I was considering keeping one as a swim suit over up, but I already have one. I'd rather use the money towards something else. No need to keep something I am "meh" about.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning.

Checking in with a full body strength training I found on YouTube. It was pretty good. It was part of a series and I might do day two tomorrow. Who knows?

I was planning on going to the shore tomorrow. I am not so sure. It's only going to 65 there. But I never go to hang out on the beach and swim. I go to get some lunch, walk around and get some fresh sea air. I'll see how I feel about it in the morning. It was my husband's idea.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello-

Checking in with a hamstring and glute work out. We went to the shore and the weather was pretty nice and very sunny. We have a little tradition of going to this small cafe for lunch before we go to the boardwalk. We got there and they were building a condo where it used to be. We ended up getting lunch on the boardwalk, which is essentially state fair food. But over all, it was a pleasant day. I almost didn't go because I was worried about the weather, but was much more comfortable than I thought it would be.

 

[MinnieM123]

Hello-

Checking in with a hamstring and glute work out. We went to the shore and the weather was pretty nice and very sunny. We have a little tradition of going to this small cafe for lunch before we go to the boardwalk. We got there and they were building a condo where it used to be. We ended up getting lunch on the boardwalk, which is essentially state fair food. But over all, it was a pleasant day. I almost didn't go because I was worried about the weather, but was much more comfortable than I thought it would be.

Sounds like a pleasant day. Bummer though, about the building construction that took over your favorite small cafe. (That's frustrating when you have a special place, that doesn't exist anymore.) At least the rest of the day was fun, and glad you had nice weather.

 

[Songbird76]

It was a lot!

Nope, they came back last night. The never really got to compete. A lot of coastal and central TX has been hit with some ugly weather. A tornado (killed 1 - injured 11) took out part of the road to the school where the competition was being held. They were the only group that didn't formally withdraw, so they won by default. Still, the bad weather was too close for comfort. Her hotel is the red point near the upper right and the tornado impact area is at the end of the mapped route. Thankfully, all of the kids and adults on the trip were OK and things were patched up enough for them to make it home yesterday.

View attachment 716527

Oh I'm glad they are all ok!! I suppose something like this isn't easy to reschedule, either. It's sad that they didn't really get to do what they went to do.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning.

I did a leg workout this AM. It was pretty decent, not boring at all and it moved at a good clip. I am going to go for a walk later on, too. My husband's gone up to his apartment, so I am making cooking a big batch of General Tso's Tofu in my air fryer. I always prepare meals for myself he isn't crazy about when he's gone.

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start.

 

[Sans Souci]

Good morning

Today I did an upper body strength training w/o. Upper body workouts are never my favorite, but I got it done.

We were supposed to visit my MIL in August, my husband decided last night he wants to go the back end of June now. I am not sure the airfares are going to be great a month out, but I am not going to worry about it. I'll let him sort it out. My son is arriving after us because he wants to make sure someone is around to feed the cat. I think it would take a long time of not feeding her for her to get the message. The only thing that concerns me is airlines no longer do nonstops to Manchester, so he has to transit through Heathrow and that is an ordeal. He has to get on a bus when he gets off of the plane, go through security, get on this crazy steep escalator, get on a train, then get on another escalator to get to the terminal for domestic flights. It takes forever and he gets overwhelmed in crowds. I don't like these escalators, they're not normal. They are steep and it's a long ride. I think I am going to look at European airlines and have have him transit through a less convoluted airport.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Hello! I'm hoping to find the energy this week to get back on track with workouts. We went to TN for 4 days for softball and everything before, during, and after the trip really wore me out. We had K come with us because we're still building up to leaving her home during softball travel. We just weren't quite ready to be 800+ miles away for several days, but at least having her along gave us an extra driver. She and David covered all of the driving to TN. She put in another 2 hours in the early part of the drive on the way home, which was incredibly helpful since we had to pull an all-nighter and that added rest during her driving turned out to be really important. Between David having an allergy attack and later getting too drowsy to drive, I was called on to take over and it ended giving me enough rest to get us through the worst of it. We pulled into the driveway about 4:15am Monday morning, but hey- the kids got some sleep during the ride and made to school!

While the hotel had a gym, I just wasn't up for gym time while we were away. I did play team photographer during the trip, so I was at least on my feet, twisting, turning, repositioning around the field and crouching for hours on end for two days of the trip. Saturday was a rainout, which altered the entire structure of the tournament. It hurt with the amount of playing time the kids got, but it afforded us a day to have a little fun. We drove into Nashville and spent a chunk of the day hanging out at this neat German bierhaus and then went over to the Gaylord and walked around all of the interior gardens and water features. So basically, we retraced some of our steps from our July 2020 vacation to see what things were like in more normal times. At least it got us moving around for several hours. We also had some time Friday night to walk around downtown Columbia. We didn't get to explore too much and I wasn't in a good spot to get pics of some things, but we did get to see the home of president, James K. Polk among other things. On our drive to Nashville, we even saw some not so wild wildlife. In all of our national parks trips, I've gotten really good at spotting the silhouette of bison. It must have been a bison farm, but I spotted a large bull on a hill.

Most of my pics were softball related, but here are some non-softball pics. Not most exciting stuff, but a change of scenery.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Oh I'm glad they are all ok!! I suppose something like this isn't easy to reschedule, either. It's sad that they didn't really get to do what they went to do.

I believe the trip was planned back in October or September. There isn't as much flexibility when it's group trips tied into school functions. As it is, they had to rework some of it because they had a lot of kids back out after the holidays. I am a little worried because K has told her choir director that I'm good at trip planning, so I may be tapped to help with next year's trip. They may go to WDW, so I'd probably help plan and chaperone if that's the case.

 

[Sans Souci]

Hello! I'm hoping to find the energy this week to get back on track with workouts. We went to TN for 4 days for softball and everything before, during, and after the trip really wore me out. We had K come with us because we're still building up to leaving her home during softball travel. We just weren't quite ready to be 800+ miles away for several days, but at least having her along gave us an extra driver. She and David covered all of the driving to TN. She put in another 2 hours in the early part of the drive on the way home, which was incredibly helpful since we had to pull an all-nighter and that added rest during her driving turned out to be really important. Between David having an allergy attack and later getting too drowsy to drive, I was called on to take over and it ended giving me enough rest to get us through the worst of it. We pulled into the driveway about 4:15am Monday morning, but hey- the kids got some sleep during the ride and made to school!

While the hotel had a gym, I just wasn't up for gym time while we were away. I did play team photographer during the trip, so I was at least on my feet, twisting, turning, repositioning around the field and crouching for hours on end for two days of the trip. Saturday was a rainout, which altered the entire structure of the tournament. It hurt with the amount of playing time the kids got, but it afforded us a day to have a little fun. We drove into Nashville and spent a chunk of the day hanging out at this neat German bierhaus and then went over to the Gaylord and walked around all of the interior gardens and water features. So basically, we retraced some of our steps from our July 2020 vacation to see what things were like in more normal times. At least it got us moving around for several hours. We also had some time Friday night to walk around downtown Columbia. We didn't get to explore too much and I wasn't in a good spot to get pics of some things, but we did get to see the home of president, James K. Polk among other things. On our drive to Nashville, we even saw some not so wild wildlife. In all of our national parks trips, I've gotten really good at spotting the silhouette of bison. It must have been a bison farm, but I spotted a large bull on a hill.

Most of my pics were softball related, but here are some non-softball pics. Not most exciting stuff, but a change of scenery.

View attachment 718159View attachment 718160View attachment 718161View attachment 718162View attachment 718163

View attachment 718164

View attachment 718165View attachment 718166View attachment 718167View attachment 718168

My father lives in Nashville. We used to go to the Opryland Hotel when I'd visit because I thought it was so over the top and kind of kitsch, but I thought it was fun. I haven't been there since Opryland USA closed, so it's been a while. I used go to watch this harpist who was so extra and there was a light show accompanying his music. I should visit the Gaylord in Orlando the next time I am down there.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

My father lives in Nashville. We used to go to the Opryland Hotel when I'd visit because I thought it was so over the top and kind of kitsch, but I thought it was fun. I haven't been there since Opryland USA closed, so it's been a while. I used go to watch this harpist who was so extra and there was a light show accompanying his music. I should visit the Gaylord in Orlando the next time I am down there.

I know a number of people took their kids downtown, which is something I've never experienced beyond a quick drive-thru. The general feedback on that experience was a country version of Bourbon Street. We took our kids onto Bourbon during the day, but if the night atmosphere is like NOLA...it's probably best that we skipped it. I guess each Gaylord has atriums themed based on the resort's location. I see the Orlando one is themed after places like St. Augustine, Key West, and the Everglades. I've heard that the holiday decorations make it worth a visit.

 

[Songbird76]

Good morning

Today I did an upper body strength training w/o. Upper body workouts are never my favorite, but I got it done.

We were supposed to visit my MIL in August, my husband decided last night he wants to go the back end of June now. I am not sure the airfares are going to be great a month out, but I am not going to worry about it. I'll let him sort it out. My son is arriving after us because he wants to make sure someone is around to feed the cat. I think it would take a long time of not feeding her for her to get the message. The only thing that concerns me is airlines no longer do nonstops to Manchester, so he has to transit through Heathrow and that is an ordeal. He has to get on a bus when he gets off of the plane, go through security, get on this crazy steep escalator, get on a train, then get on another escalator to get to the terminal for domestic flights. It takes forever and he gets overwhelmed in crowds. I don't like these escalators, they're not normal. They are steep and it's a long ride. I think I am going to look at European airlines and have have him transit through a less convoluted airport.

Do they have a service where someone will help him transfer? Like they do for people in wheelchairs, etc, but someone just to guide and tell him where he needs to be?

 

[Songbird76]

Hello! I'm hoping to find the energy this week to get back on track with workouts. We went to TN for 4 days for softball and everything before, during, and after the trip really wore me out. We had K come with us because we're still building up to leaving her home during softball travel. We just weren't quite ready to be 800+ miles away for several days, but at least having her along gave us an extra driver. She and David covered all of the driving to TN. She put in another 2 hours in the early part of the drive on the way home, which was incredibly helpful since we had to pull an all-nighter and that added rest during her driving turned out to be really important. Between David having an allergy attack and later getting too drowsy to drive, I was called on to take over and it ended giving me enough rest to get us through the worst of it. We pulled into the driveway about 4:15am Monday morning, but hey- the kids got some sleep during the ride and made to school!

While the hotel had a gym, I just wasn't up for gym time while we were away. I did play team photographer during the trip, so I was at least on my feet, twisting, turning, repositioning around the field and crouching for hours on end for two days of the trip. Saturday was a rainout, which altered the entire structure of the tournament. It hurt with the amount of playing time the kids got, but it afforded us a day to have a little fun. We drove into Nashville and spent a chunk of the day hanging out at this neat German bierhaus and then went over to the Gaylord and walked around all of the interior gardens and water features. So basically, we retraced some of our steps from our July 2020 vacation to see what things were like in more normal times. At least it got us moving around for several hours. We also had some time Friday night to walk around downtown Columbia. We didn't get to explore too much and I wasn't in a good spot to get pics of some things, but we did get to see the home of president, James K. Polk among other things. On our drive to Nashville, we even saw some not so wild wildlife. In all of our national parks trips, I've gotten really good at spotting the silhouette of bison. It must have been a bison farm, but I spotted a large bull on a hill.

Most of my pics were softball related, but here are some non-softball pics. Not most exciting stuff, but a change of scenery.

View attachment 718159View attachment 718160View attachment 718161View attachment 718162View attachment 718163

View attachment 718164

View attachment 718165View attachment 718166View attachment 718167View attachment 718168

Oh wow, I love the pictures of all the water features and such! Where is that?

 

[Songbird76]

I've been getting my exercise in. I walked to the Centrum on Sunday because I needed to get a couple of things, so I got over 10,000 steps in. I didn't get much done Monday because my husband got a bee in his bonnet. We are making our home more energy efficient, and they were supposed to do the floor insolation today, but it fell through because they got under the house and realized there are some pipes in the way and they can't get to a certain spot, so they have to come back another day because it's going to take longer than they thought. Anyway, so since they were coming in to do the floors, my husband isn't happy with our wifi and he wants to lay some cable, but needs to get under the floor to do it. He asked me to clean out our closet so he could drill a hole through its floor to run the cable into our room. It's a closet we only use for storage, not for clothes, so it was packed full of stuff collecting dust. It took me a couple of hours to get it cleaned out. I guess that's exercise, but not really intense. Tuesday I walked to the centrum again because I needed to take back a dress I got for E, and she asked me to get her a USB stick for a school project. So I got more than 10000 steps again. Then because the drill wouldn't go through the floor on Monday, he asked the floor guys to do it today, so I had to schlep all that stuff out of the closet again, but they didn't bring a drill with them, so then I had to put it all back. But I discovered a need for some storage containers, so I guess I'll go back into the centrum again today. And I work tomorrow and Friday, so then I ride my bike for half and hour each way on those days....so I'm getting the exercise in. I'm hoping I can lose a couple of pounds and build up my stamina for Disney this summer.