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My Profile
Gift from Hil Part 2 - 2014-12-30
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1:09 p.m. - 2010-09-10
Back to the gym. Turned out to be a 3 week hiatus instead of 2, but no matter. MIL and I met up in the parking lot for a 9:00am workout. Which is actually an 8:45am workout because MIL is compulsively early and I, after years and years of arriving places on time but breathless and out of sorts from the mad scramble to make it without being late, have learned to give myself more than enough time. So, knowing MIL would be there anyhow I took off soon as I had my Pumas tied. It was a good workout. Hadn't lost much as I feared. Was able to do my usual weight and reps, only my time for the mile was way slow. Something I'd anticipated and didn't beat myself up about. It'll come back. MIL, too, was surprised at how easy it was to get back into the gym groove. I think it's because we truly went at it hammer and tong for 8 months before we took the hiatus. We'd worked diligently enough that the muscle memory was there and we'd gotten into decent shape so the break didn't set us back too, too much. Of course my arms are rather noodly and my quads are quacking at me and I'm sure tomorrow morning my abs will be plenty cranky, but the temporary grumbles from my bod are a small price to pay for feeling this strong and rather proud that the break was a break and not a permanent vacation. I've let myself down too often in the past. It's good to know I didn't quit on myself again. Speaking of follow-through, as I type this I've got the last trays of a 14 day whitening treatment on my teeth. There's quicker varieties out there, but they're pricey. This is the store-brand of the traditional whitening stuff and with a coupon and my shopper's card discount the whole thing was just $15. When I bought it I made a promise to myself I'd see it all the way through and I have. Didn't miss a day. Helped that I kept the package right on the bathroom counter so I wouldn't forget to use it. Has the stuff worked? Yeah, pretty well actually. My teeth haven't become dazzling Chiclets or anything, but they are brighter and feel very smooth when I run my tongue over them. I'm not too worried over the potential long-term effects of tooth whitening. For one thing my chompers are stupid strong and I take good care of them. For another, with all the stuff that could and probably will break down as I age I think I can take a little enamel loss in stride. I'll just add it to the list with incontinence, osteoporosis, tri-focals, hearing aids, scary old lady feet, batwing arms, and gassiness. Just one more thing, you know what I mean? It was fun catching up with MIL. With one thing and another we'd not seen each other in a while so we had plenty to talk about. Family gossip mostly. Nothing mean, just who's doing what and such like that. We also talked about her new washing machine. She'd had to replace her old one recently. She doesn't like this new one much, but she admitted the new machine wasn't bad, it's just she'd had her old one for 25 years and missed it like a friend who'd gone away. 25 years! How amazing is that? I can't imagine such a long life for a washer. Of course when I was married to Mike I was going through washers in less than a year. It was his work clothes. He never emptied his pockets and washing machines tend to take it personally if you feed them a steady diet of crunchy metal things like roofing nails, bolts, and wire caps. Add in how much laundry a new baby generates, plus Alex and the exchange students and I can say in all honesty for most of a decade I was doing at least 3 loads a day. Every day. And it wasn't like hankies and lingerie, we're talking insulated cover-alls steeped in grease. Heavy denim and twill work clothes. Socks out the wazoo. And Wolf had an uncanny knack for barfing on the biggest target in range. He couldn't spit up on someone's shirt like normal babies, nope, this kid could shoot a projectile of steaming vomit across the room. I washed a lot of afghans and throw rugs and draperies. I'd have washed the sofas too if I could have fit them in there. So I never really had time to become friends with my washing machines. Mine were like indentured servants, or really more like prisoners in a Nazi labor camp, worked to death and then replaced with another which would also be worked to death, and so on and so on�brrr. Gruesome imagery that. But sadly true. My washing machines were doomed. Happily what is not doomed is my goal of besting the 15 minute mile. And of going 110lbs for 50 reps on the pec deck.
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