The weekend starts here

So this morning I finished off HiitMax 9 & 10 and now I'm here at work trying to get thru friday so I can head home. J works all night so I'm gonna head home and attack the yard (I love to play with the weedwhacker...and the yard needs some serious love at the moment to beat back the jungle). I hope to make some weird baked supper full of things J doesn't like and then relax and try and finish the Stand...altho I'll likely just nod off in the chair with the cats and wake up to J getting home, but that's OK. It's the weekend. Thank frog.

I'm looking forward to a few days off. Lots to do in the yard and we're having a big potluck welcome back party for a friend at our place on sunday so it should be a full weekend but not as overwhelming as last weekend. My sister arrives to visit my Dad tomorrow and I get to go see her next weekend on friday so I'm in the midst of planning for that as well so my bags are packed before surgery to head up to the lake for a few days. I hope to go see Heather and her little one at some point as well...altho that might have to wait until next week. We'll see.

Just needing some weekend. Definitely.Only 6 hours to go! :)

Victory dance

Well the washer is indeed fixed.
Bwaha.
The drain motor still runs a bit loud so I think the rock was not kind to it.... I'll order a replacement and swap it out eventually since I think it might eventually cack out after running with a rock in it...but I did a load of laundry last night and it worked just fine.
*smug mode*
Last night was a lazy night with early to bed and it was lovely. I needed it. I would have loved to sleep more so tonight may be another early night. Tomorrow J works all evening so I can do some yardwork and tuck in early if I need to. Me and my rockin friday nights!
I seem to be getting weird allergy throat tickles (the pollen is crazy this year) so I want to make sure I rest up and look after myself. I don't want to overdo things just because I can do more and wear myself down and get sick again. I'm just trying to be consistent with my workouts...but I am honestly looking forward to a few weeks off after surgery to heal. I'm supposed to just walk then as much as I can, so I'll do my best to heal up well and be good to myself. It's easy to get wrapped up in the now and push yourself too hard...I have so much to look forward to. I promised myself to take the time to enjoy the journey in this reboot I've been given and I intend to do just that.
This morning I got up to do HiitMax 8&9 and walked to work with J this morning. It's a bit drizzly and grim so it wasn't the best morning walk, but it was nice to have company this morning. Hope it clears up a bit by the afternoon. My brother and I are gonna prep his raised garden beds for planting after supper tonight so if the rain stops it'd make things much easier.

Anyhooo....I should dash and get to work. Have a great day everyone. Just think - almost the weekend :)

cue the mission impossible theme

Yesterday was crayzeee. Hiitmax 6&7 and then in for a long full busy day at work doing about 2 days worth of stuff in one. Then a nice walk home to make some chili and after a rest I attacked the washing machine. With the help of a repair video on you tube I was able to dismantle the machine to get the top and front off, drain the remaining water and remove the drain pump. I found a big rock in it so I took that out and the pump seemed to spin freely so I hooked everything back together and put all the bits back on. I'll give it a go tonight. I'm hoping that is all it takes to get it working again. If I have to replace the actual pump that'll be easy peasy now that I know where it is and how to get to it through the back of the machine. When I was done it was 11 so I figured Id save the victory test and dance for tonight. If you see disco lights in the distance tonight coming from the north it's me celebrating my home repair ninja skills.

This morning I got up to do the HiitMax 7 & 8 and had a nice walk to work with some tasty leftover chili for lunch. tonight I have a whole lotta nothing going on so I'm hoping to get a bit of yard work done and just relax in my oh so quiet and mostly clean house with no company. Just us.
Ah. The sweet sweet silence of home :)

It's been great to have the screened in deck ready for use again. We've been living out there and eating out there and I've enjoyed watching the cats check it out. Dax loves it. LOVES it. She's almost like a different cat out there -all perky and chittery and hunting flies and watching birds happily until we bring her in at night. Widjette is a little more unsure - she'd like to relax but there are so many new smells and sounds - I think it'll take a week or so before she doesn't start at any sounds and really relaxes out there. Sitting out there after supper with a drink listening to the birds and just relaxing after a long day is wonderful. I am looking forward to a whole summer of it :)

laundry ninja to the rescue

I survived the weekend. Whew.
House warming parties and company in the house and dim sum and dance recitals and wedding showers and a stagette and then clearing out my deck to make it summer worthy to relax on all the rest of the summer. I managed to pull out of the stagette at a point that made my recovery bearable (I just cannot keep up with my cousin and her friends...and my lovely husband who rescued me is beyond wonderful). I would really like another day off to just nap and recover though. It was good to visit with J's aunt and uncle - they had their grandson with them and he was a little ball of energy...kids are exhausting. Parents - I tip my hat to you. I don't know how you do it. :)

Best of all my buddy Heather had a lovely healthy baby boy on friday afternoon - 6Lbs 2oz. Little Xander has so much hair and is such a little cutie. I was able to visit with them for a bit on friday and am hoping after they've settled in for a bit at home I can pop by for a visit in a few days. The labour went really well for her and she is so deliriously happy. It's wonderful. :)

This morning I started the week's HiitMax by doing #6 again and a blogilates 5 minute butt workout and now I'm trying to get a bit of work done before i go in for my pre-op appointment this morning at the hospital. After this things should all be set up for my surgery next thursday.

My washing machine stopped draining thursday night but I think I can fix it. It happened right before family came so I haven't been able to look at it yet. I'm hopeful I can fix the pump myself...if I can just get in there to check it. It's a front loader so you might have to take the whole front off to get to it. We'll see. If it was cheap I'd have someone else fix it but I really don't have the cash to pay someone $300+ to fix my washer when I can likely do it myself for the cost of parts. I'm hoping it's just the drain that's clogged and that I won't even need to replace the pump but we'll see. Laundry ninja to the rescue.

Busy week though huh?

I just realised I haven't been by in a while. Sorry. Life has been busy and will continue to be busy all weekend. Our house is full of family and it's been a busy week. I've been good with my workouts all week and been working to tidy up the house for guests. This AM I did HiitMax #6 and #7 together and have started up a log book for myself of workouts to track my progress so I won't have to bore you all with all the technogubbin details of my workouts as much. I did all real pushups! I did switch lunges! I was so pleased. I still can't do ninja tuck jumps or divebomber pushups but I'm well on my way. Hee hee. It's neat to see progress here and there as I go along and get stronger :)

This weekend I've got family dinners, a wedding shower and stagette, my little nieces dance recital and getting our deck ready for the summer, along with visiting with the company staying at our house at the moment.

But (!!!!!) most awesome of all - my best pal Heather is in labour RIGHT NOW! Hee hee. Very soon there will be a new little boy to celebrate. She's a week early and it's all very exciting - she's been in since 4 AM so I'm hoping to hear about a new little guy in the next few hours.

Yes my friends life is good.

Have a great weekend!!

Sleep - that's where I'm a viking

Well I felt better yesterday and after a good supper I just relaxed and was asleep by 9. I slept all night until 6 when I woke up on my own. Other than a stuffed up head I feel pretty good, so I got up and did 2 rounds through of my lower body exercises and made myself some oatmeal with an egg and hung out with the cats for a bit. After a walk to work I think I can get through today. It's a long weekend so I have monday off which will be nice. JJ works on a TV gig all day tomorrow so I'll have time to relax and sleep if I feel poorly still. I'm hoping to sew up a boba fett BBQ apron for my cousin who is having a wedding shower next weekend (she doesn't really need anything so this seemed like somehting fun).
And nap.
Yes there will be much napping and neocitrin. I also borrowed my brother's copy of the Stand to read so I can curl up with that in the recliner and just enjoy reading. There is some yard work to be done, but I have to remember that my last real sickness was chemotherapy related and just because I don't feel THAT bad I still am sick and need lots of rest and care to get better. It's funny how it's all relative :)

sniff sniff

Well it's official. I am rather sickly. Yesterday after work when I got home I was totally exhausted, stuffed up and sniffling. I had some soup and then napped for an hour or so...and after a lazy evening I went to bed early. This AM I slept in instead of working out (I figure if I can't really breathe it's not a good idea to work out). I felt OK enough to come into work and still walked to work, but I'm thinking it's gonna be a few lazy days to try and kick this head congestion and start to feel a bit more human. It just seems to have come down out of the blue...and I'm annoyed.  But, I suppose it's better now than later I. The last thing I want is to be coughing after abdominal surgery! I have a bunch of yardwork I need to do over the weekend so I'm hoping I feel a bit better by then. We shall see.
For now I just want to munch and nap the day away...

Feels Good

Ugh-I can't tell if my allergies are going nuts or if I have some sort of sinus thing going on. Oh well...I can still do my thing. I'm just sniffing a lot.

This AM I followed orders and did the HiitMax 1 and 2 and 3 workouts together in a row. Oh man. Tough. I had to do skipping for parts of the cardio instead of burpees and mountain climbers for some intervals, and most of my pushups were on my knees, but I made it through. 45 minutes of sweat. You're supposed to do 1-4 tomorrow but I really don't think I could do that, so I'm gonna do 2-4. I don't have more than 45 minutes in the morning for exercise...and I'm still walking the ~3 Km to work, as well as home after, so I don't want to be ridiculous about it. I'm sure that will be more than enough to do for a workout. I feel awesome.
It is spring time beast mode. I know I'll have to take a few weeks off at least after my surgery so I'm trying to get in all I can for now and hope that being in good shape will help me heal up well. I've been so happy that I haven't had any lymphedema issues and I seem to be able to workout just fine.

It feels good to feel good :)


movie popcorn is the best

How many avengers can you fit into a movie? A lot it would seem. I liked it - except for the ultron having lips part. Robots don't need lips...but I digress. Other than that, getting to see Thor, Black Widow and Captain America fight like in my imagination as a kid was awesome...and I've always liked Scarlet Witch so to see her do her thing was mighty cool too. Add in some movie popcorn and it was a good time. I admit I liked the second one a bit better, but I liked the character development in it this time.We so rarely go to the movies that popcorn was definitely needed. Nom. :)
This AM I was good - I got up and did the Day1 and Day2 of the Bodyrock HIITMax workout. They're supposed to get longer each day by adding them together over the 5 days. So yeah...tomorrow is Day 1 and Day 2 and Day 3. Yoiks. I made it through this morning...I had to switch out some of the cardio burpees with skipping but I made it through and pushed hard. I had sweat trickling down my face when I was done. It's been a long time since that happened. Mee hee. Cool beans.
A nice smoothie and I'm good to go for another day in the lab.
Have a good one y'all.

I'm back baby

Good morning peoples. How goes?
I had a great weekend. A lot of fun things and a bit of chores as well so I don't feel so guilty. And tonight we're finally going to see the new Avengers movie. Yes.
This morning I started into the Bodyrock HIITMax workout series. I did day 1 today and will keep going with it as long as I can until my surgery date. So far so good. I'm actually back to my old style of workouts. I cannot tell you just how happy that makes me. Yep. I'm back baby!
My surgery date is set - I'm booked in for my salpingectomy on June 4. Not the most convenient time (I had it booked off for a holiday visit to my dad) but I should feel OK enough to heal up and relax on the couch at the lake in the few days after and still get in some visiting with my Dad and my sister and her husband who should be there visiting that week. My OBGYN recommended not just tying my tubes but actually removing them all together since the tubes are the main area where any malignancy related to your ovaries can start. So, it'll be a slightly longer surgery but it should (I hope) go well. It's laparoscopic so I should heal up relatively quick and be able to be back at work in about 5 days. I have a few days booked off work and plan to just relax and visit my family. My brother might be up there as well and my sister in law (who normally makes us all wait on her up there...grrr) can wait on me for a change :P
For now, it's time for some Red River cereal I made up earlier (I love this stuff!) with some blueberries and I'm off to work.
Have a great day everyone!

bodyrocking

Busy busy day but I made it through. Last night I was up late playing with lasers and so I slept in a bit, but I still was up in time to do an old school bodyrock bodyweight HIIT interval workout .
It was only 13 minutes. No excuses when you can do a quick but solid workout in 13 minutes. I had to change the switch lunges to backward lunges to make my knees happy but other than that I rocked it. Felt great after.Then a quick shower and walk to work with a fruit smoothie and a hectic day began of of much much to do.

But, I am now done and packing up to head home to some sort of deliciousness and some relaxing with my luv. This weekend I've got tickets to go watch my old belly dance troupe perform their actual community show with my bestie and later that night a friend's band is playing here in town...and another old friend is home for the summer too and we'll likely see him there. Sunday is family meal stuff and I hope some painting and relaxing...it's all good from here :)
I hope you all have a great weekend!

driving me to drink

Yesterday was a comedy of annoying errors trying to pack up a previous researcher's biologicals and send them to their new lab across the country. 4 hours, 5 huge boxes and 20 Kg of dry ice later I filled out a crap tonne of dangerous goods forms ...and then battled with the Fedex website for booking shipments for the next 2 hours. Yup. 2 hours. In the end the courier came and we just did a few old school paper waybills and thankfully they were taken> I am crossing my fingers they arrive and all is good after all that. Apparently they were having issues with their website that day. Gee I would never have known.... I got no breaks and a 5 minute lunch yesterday and even had to run to the hospital in the middle of it all for an echocardiogram (because hey I didn't have enough to do). Ugh. In the end J met me on the walk home with a rum and coke. Yup - that kinda day.
But, once free of the lab the day was much much better :) We went out for vietnamese at the nice little place that just opened by our house and then I baked some cookies to say thanks to the people who helped me and put up with my insanity yesterday. Peanut butter surprise cookies. Mmmm. We relaxed and went to bed early. Reboot :)
This morning I picked a random 30 minute workout off youtube. It was supposed to be an intermediate all body workout. It was Ok. You just did 12 reps of a whole tonne of exercises so it seemed a bit easy in spots, but I did it all, and after some Red River cereal I'm good to go for the day.
Here's to a day today that will be much better than yesterday!

Cuz I'm the tax man

Yeaaah I'm the tax maaaaaaaan...
Just finished up our yearly income taxes last night. The day they were due. Of course. Why would we start earlier...? Happily surprised at the results. With me being on disability I had no idea as to whether they would be taking off enough taxes (my employer is stellar in it's financial f*ckwittery when it tries hard enough), but thankfully they did their job this time and I don't owe anything...even a slight return, which is always nice. We celebrated with a dram of 10 year old Aran Isle scotch and that was that.
After a bit of an indulging weekend I've been good with my workouts so far this week. Monday was upper body day and today was lower body day. I'm grateful for the walking to work now more than ever - the university bridge in the city is closed all summer for major repair so getting to where I work is a gong show by road. Being able to walk most days makes it simple. I suddenly have a LOT of company in the mornings though. It's strange. Usually it's just me, the unhappy guy in chef's pants, the man who looks like a skinny overcaffeinated version of the quaker oats man, the guy who looks like Paulie Walnuts from the Sopranos (complete with track suit) and the sweet old austrian man with the moustache who always greets me with an enthusiastic good morning and wide grin as we pass. There are also many geese and gophers back for the spring and the pelicans are back at the weir.
Spring is really here :)

Off to science land. Have a great day :)

Oh my god there's a mountain lion in your fridge

Someone in a cancer group I'm a part of posted this the other day and it's funny...and very true.

“What’s it like to go through cancer treatment? It’s something like this: one day, you’re minding your own business, you open the fridge to get some breakfast, and OH MY GOD THERE’S A MOUNTAIN LION IN YOUR FRIDGE.
Wait, what? How? Why is there a mountain lion in your fridge? NO TIME TO EXPLAIN. RUN! THE MOUNTAIN LION WILL KILL YOU! UNLESS YOU FIND SOMETHING EVEN MORE FEROCIOUS TO KILL IT FIRST!
So you take off running, and the mountain lion is right behind you. You know the only thing that can kill a mountain lion is a bear, and the only bear is on top of the mountain, so you better find that bear. You start running up the mountain in hopes of finding the bear. Your friends desperately want to help, but they are powerless against mountain lions, as mountain lions are godless killing machines. But they really want to help, so they’re cheering you on and bringing you paper cups of water and orange slices as you run up the mountain and yelling at the mountain lion - “GET LOST, MOUNTAIN LION, NO ONE LIKES YOU” - and you really appreciate the support, but the mountain lion is still coming.
Also, for some reason, there’s someone in the crowd who’s yelling “that’s not really a mountain lion, it’s a puma” and another person yelling “I read that mountain lions are allergic to kale, have you tried rubbing kale on it?”
As you’re running up the mountain, you see other people fleeing their own mountain lions. Some of the mountain lions seem comparatively wimpy - they’re half grown and only have three legs or whatever, and you think to yourself - why couldn’t I have gotten one of those mountain lions? But then you look over at the people who are fleeing mountain lions the size of a monster truck with huge prehistoric saber fangs, and you feel like an asshole for even thinking that - and besides, who in their right mind would want to fight a mountain lion, even a three-legged one?
Finally, the person closest to you, whose job it is to take care of you - maybe a parent or sibling or best friend or, in my case, my husband - comes barging out of the woods and jumps on the mountain lion, whaling on it and screaming “GODDAMMIT MOUNTAIN LION, STOP TRYING TO EAT MY WIFE,” and the mountain lion punches your husband right in the face. Now your husband (or whatever) is rolling around on the ground clutching his nose, and he’s bought you some time, but you still need to get to the top of the mountain.
Eventually you reach the top, finally, and the bear is there. Waiting. For both of you. You rush right up to the bear, and the bear rushes the mountain lion, but the bear has to go through you to get to the mountain lion, and in doing so, the bear TOTALLY KICKS YOUR ASS, but not before it also punches your husband in the face. And your husband is now staggering around with a black eye and bloody nose, and saying “can I get some help, I’ve been punched in the face by two apex predators and I think my nose is broken,” and all you can say is “I’M KIND OF BUSY IN CASE YOU HADN’T NOTICED I’M FIGHTING A MOUNTAIN LION.”
Then, IF YOU ARE LUCKY, the bear leaps on the mountain lion and they are locked in epic battle until finally the two of them roll off a cliff edge together, and the mountain lion is dead.
Maybe. You’re not sure - it fell off the cliff, but mountain lions are crafty. It could come back at any moment.
And all your friends come running up to you and say “that was amazing! You’re so brave, we’re so proud of you! You didn’t die! That must be a huge relief!”
Meanwhile, you blew out both your knees, you’re having an asthma attack, you twisted your ankle, and also you have been mauled by a bear. And everyone says “boy, you must be excited to walk down the mountain!” And all you can think as you stagger to your feet is “fuck this mountain, I never wanted to climb it in the first place.”

Dumbell instead of a kettlebell

This AM I did the 30 day shred it with weights level 1. Tough but I made it through with a 8 Lb dumbell (I don't have a kettlebell).
Gotta run. Just wanted to log. I'll be back when I have more time. Have a great weekend!