February Recap 2011

Books
I read 4 books in the month of February. Not great, but not bad. I started 4 more before the month was over. I'm hoping I can finish those 4 and move on during March. I feel behind in my goal to reach 50 books in 2011. I'm also lagging behind in my points during the Winter Book Challenge.

Finished

Hunger (library)  - 2 Stars

Room (Ebook) - 3 Stars

Together for Life (on shelf) - 3 Stars

Day After Night (audio CD) - 4 stars

Started

The Book Thief

Juliet

Save As Draft

Vision in White

Savings 

I spent $5.24 this month on Room. I saved $50.23 for the month of February. I used the library for the other two and read one off my shelf.

Year-to-date savings: $90.81

Book Journey

I travelled to the Western United States, Mid-West United States, Calgary and Israel this month. Can't wait to see Where I'm reading next!

Movies

Pretty slim pickings at the theatre again this month. We ended up seeing only one.
March looks a little better, but we will see how things go.

The Fighter

Fitness

I have officially quit the P90x.

Teaching still rocks as always.

Pole is getting a little better and I'm finally enjoying my classes again.

I wrote my final exam for the AFLCA and now await my results.

Fitness Friday: P90x Fail

I have to admit it. I failed. I'm done. No more P90x. I made it to week 7 before I fell off the wagon. I would like to say that I'm sad about not finishing, but that would be a lie. I'm a little disappointed, but in all honesty, I'm bored! And because of my wrist problems that are getting increasingly worse, I can't do half the exercises anyways. Pushs and anything to do with the forearms causes pain, so what's the point. Most of the weeks I have pole classes when the plyometrics day is.

In other fitness news, (forgive me if I'm whining) I am having to tape my wrist for pole classes as well as for work. I found this week that if I used athletic tape and gave my wrist some support, I was able to pole without having a lot of pain in the hours afterwards. This will work in the mean time until I can figure out what is going on with it. I definitely do not want to quit dancing, and I'm very careful to only do/learn moves that have very little wrist pressure in them.

I'm excited for spring to come soon (although you'd never know with the ice crystals we have in the air today). Running outside with Beta is really fun on the weekends and after work. I look forward to long walks with her and generally just getting outside for some exercise.

Fitness Friday: P90 Week 7 & Pole Pics

I did a bad job of the P90X this week. I only did 2 lifting workouts and did not do any of the cardio. I don't plan on the cardio anymore simply for weight reasons, but I should still do the lifting. I can't say that I didn't do any exercise though.
Wednesday I started teaching 2 new intro classes and finished off the last week of another. I also attended my own class and learned a new move! I didn't get any pictures of me doing the moves yet since I keep forgetting to bring my camera. Next week I will remember and hopefully get them posted by Friday.

I do however, have 2 pictures of my pole shoot I did a few weeks ago. I got a shoot done by As I See It Photography. Shelley is also our wedding photographer. She is a blast to work with and I can't wait for the wedding. The work she does is amazing and I am so happy that we booked her. I took my stage to her studio and set it up.


Cross Leg Release
http://www.asiseeitphotography.ca/

Catapiller Crawl
http://www.asiseeitphotography.ca/

January Recap 2011

Books

I started off pretty good this year.

I read 5 books in January and started 2 more before the month was done.

Finished

Outlander - 5 Stars

Anna and The French Kiss - 5 Stars

The 5 Love Languages - 4 Stars

My Horizontal Life - 2 Stars

The Body Finder - 4 Stars

Started

Room

Hunger

Savings
I spent $0 on the books I read. I previously owned or borrowed all of them.
I saved $40.58 this month. (I use the current Amazon price for all the books I read)

Book Journey
I have travelled to Scotland, Paris, North Carolina, New Jersey and Washington in my book journey.
I love keeping track of where all the books are set.
See my map updated with every book on my side bar.

Movies

The movies at the theatre weren't all that great to start the year.

I'm hoping things pick up since I love going to movies.

The Mechanic

Fitness

After an odd start to the P90x, we are in week 7. So far I'm seeing a difference in weight and in measurements. I'm excited to keep going on with my own modified version. Skipping the cardio since I don't need to lose anymore weight. Just build strength.

Pole is getting good again. I learned two new moves last week and have trophies (bruises) to prove it. I'm glad I signed up again for classes.

Teaching is going great. I have 3 introductory classes a week to teach. It's a long and fun night.

Fitness Friday: Should be Week 6 of P90x

I titled this should be week 6 because I haven't actually done anything this week. Other than 3 hours of teaching pole and one hour for myself.
I'm going to be doing the P90x a little differently. I won't be doing any of the cardio workouts. Only the lifting days. Let's review my goals for doing this program before going into more reasons.

1. Gain some muscle. I want to be stronger and have that toned look.
2. I would like my 6 pack back, but a stronger core and back is key.

I have lost 5 lbs since starting the program. For most people this would be a good thing. For me, it's the opposite. I don't like losing weight. I don't particularily like gaining either, however, losing has always been a big thing for me NOT to do. I'm naturally thin and have always had a dancers shaped body. When my butt starts to jiggle going up the stairs I don't start running, I do squats and lunges. I do all those things that help tighten the muscle, because that is more effective and actually works that particular part.

What does losing 5 lbs mean for me? Most of these are superficial and shallow, but they are reasons. Let's face it, we all have them.
It means that my clothes doesn't fit. I bought a new pair of pants and the tags are still on because they're too big. My tight jeans that show off my butt are baggy. This could be an excuse to go and buy new pants, but I'm not a shopper and spending money on clothes that will only fit for a few months seems like a waste to me. I now have 3 bins of clothes. Stressed out Me. Normal Me. Lazy Me. Those are my 3 sizes.

It means my wedding dress is too big. I still have 4 months, so I have time to either take it in, or put some weight back on. Thank goodness it is a lace up so it's not a huge deal. The V in the back will either be tied up close, or not.

It means I look skinny. I HATE the word skinny because it has a negative meaning. I was always made fun of as a kid for being thin and it was horrible in junior high. By high school, everyone had figured out that I didn't gain weight and ate whatever I wanted so that stopped. (Anyways, enough digging up the past).

It means that I'm very underweight for my age and height. This never used to bother me, but for some reason, now in my mid-twenties, it does. I think I'm just more conscious of it now than I ever was before.

Long reasons short, as much as my cardio system isn't super great and I can't run long distances, doing the cardio portions of the P90X isn't doing all that much for it. I'd be better off running outside to get my cardio system better. The purpose of the cardio workouts is to be in the fat burning zone. Not really what I need right now.

So, until it turns nice outside and it's not dangerously icy to start running, I will only be doing the lifting workouts and the stretch dvd. I think instead of doing the cardio, the stretch DVD should be the way to go. Flexibility is not my strong suit and I think it would do a lot more for me than cardio. I'm still doing pole twice a week, so that will definitely help me build more strength.

Fitness Friday: P90x Week 6

Frenchie and I are almost done week 6. We're halfway there!!

We are into a new set of the lifting dvd's. I'm liking these so much more than the first 3rd of the P90X. They are more my style. Perhaps it's because I was sick for several weeks and couldn't push myself as hard as I would have liked, but the first 5 weeks didn't seem to do much for me. My 30 day photo says otherwise, and so do a few pairs of pants. (I'll post pics at the end of the whole 12 weeks.)We forgot to measure, so hopefully do that this weekend to see if there are any inch changes.

I'm noticing that my abs are getting more defined. (yah almost 6 pack!) My butt is a little firmer so less jiggling up the stairs, which is my biggest pet peeve about my body. I feel like I'm getting stronger. Lifting myself at pole class is getting much easier.

I finally convinced Frenchie that we needed to remedy listening to Tony talk through the entire dvd's. I brought a portable speaker down to the basement, made a playlist and we now only play the cues on the dvd. Heaven!

I feel like I should also give a pole update since it's been a while.

I'm still taking classes.I have more off days now than good days. It's all related to my wrist. I'm having issues again with it. Certainly makes it difficult to do some of the advanced moves when I can't support myself with my wrists.

I'm teaching 3 intro classes at the moment. We had a deal on a 4 week intro class and it generated a lot of interest. I've had a blast teaching the newbies. There are always a few that get it very easily, and then a few that don't. I find the first class is always tough. Everyone is so quiet and nervous and I try so hard to get them to laugh, or even crack a smile. After I get a giggle they warm up and start to have some fun. I <3 newbies!!

Fitness Friday: P90x Week 5

Christmas always throws a wrench into working out. There's tons of family, travel and food. Unless you're me, then there is travel, family and the flu!

I missed a lot of week 3 of the P90x due to a terrible head cold I had going on. I was going on 4 weeks with it and it finally did me in. I missed working out, but my body was more inclined to cough, sputter and lay on the couch than to lift some weights or jump around. I listened to my body and took week 3 off. The tail end of week 3 coincided with Christmas. I, lucky me, had the flu for Christmas day and Boxing day. So Week 3 was pretty much a wash. I must say I'm very proud of Frenchie for bringing the DVD's to his parents and actually finishing out week 3 over the holidays.

Week 4 should have occured right after Christmas, but do to travel, we postponed starting it a few nights. We also condensed it once we did do it. We skipped the yoga sessions and the extra rest day since we had extra rest during traveling.

So, after all that, here we are at the start of week 5.
I am teaching Wednesdays and Thursdays so Frenchie has graciously switched Yoga and Kenpo in the week 5 layout so that I only miss the first workout of the week and Yoga. I'm still working out by teaching one night and having my own dance class the next. (I guess the true P90x lovers would argue I'm not truly doing the entire program, but this is what works for us.)

How is your fitness program going? Are you reaching your goals?

Fitness Friday: P90X Week 2

Frenchie and I have finished week 2 of the P90x.
Since starting this program, I've adjusted my work/dance schedule to coincide with the Yoga and the Kenpo workouts. I go to dance instead of doing those two. It works out really well.
I'm starting to see a little improvement. I'm also noticing small changes in Frenchies arms.

I've been sick for about 3 weeks now with a lingering cold. Tuesday I didn't go to dance or workout. Wednesday I stayed home from work and didn't workout that night. I went to dance Thursday, but it was pretty futile. I couldn't invert without getting light-headed or a resulting headache. Very frustrating!
I'm hoping that tonights XStretch will help. If I could just get over this cold, I'd be back going full out. I'm hoping to still get good results even with this week being off and next week getting back into it slowly.

I absolutely love the P90x. Yes, even the plyometrics dvd. Everyone says they hate it, but I find it fun. Call me crazy, but it reminds me so much of a fitness class.

On a good note, the last time I did the Ab Ripper X, I did 202/349 ab exercises. I'm improving! By the end of the 12 weeks I want to be able to do them all.

Fitness Friday: P90X

Frenchie and I are doing the P90X.

I write that as a statement so it's out there and fact. He has already done it once and reached his goal weight (for that point in time). Then he went away to a camp and worked for 6 months effectively undoing all the hard work he did. It's hard to get a workout in and eat healthy when you're working 14 - 16 hour days, looking for a new job and having to eat in a cafeteria.
I have a photo shoot in January and with the wedding coming up, (really the honeymoon) we both want to get in shape. Our goals to get that are different, but the P90X will satisfy them both. He wants to lose weight and slim down; I want to gain some muscle definition. Win-Win.
Today is day 7. I am pretty much a ball of hurt right now and I don't anticipate that going away at any time in the next 12 weeks. If it does, it's time to push myself harder. Today is a rest day, but we are going to do the X-Stretch DVD because we are both pretty inflexible.
I did take "before" pictures of myself but I won't post them until I take the "after". It's not that I'm embarrassed, or think I'm overweight or anything like what you'd think. It's because I have a pretty good physique already and I typically get criticized for wanting to have a 'better' body. Most people I know don't understand why I work out at all. I'm already "skinny" as they say. Well my friends, I work out because I want more muscle. I want to be stronger, healthier and have better posture. I want to relieve some stress. These are all the secondary reasons people get out of a work out, but never have the intent of accomplishing.
My thoughts so far:

I dislike Tony and his stupid comments and how proud he is.
I dislike the hurt he gives my body after a good workout.
I love that the program makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something.
I love that Frenchie and I can work out together.
I love that the exercises really aren't that complicated and the workouts themselves aren't that big a time commitment. An hour out of the day is minor in comparison to what you get out of it.

Only 11 more weeks to go!!