Cats and Paper

Christmas morning was a delight for the cats in our home.  It was our first Christmas together, in our home, with our cats.  I think they were appreciative.

Sidious loves paper....and curly ribbon, so we had a ribbon ban this year.

And, as with every year prior, Dooku got a new toy from his grandparents.  Of course, it was given to both him and Sidious, but Sidious doesn't get as much love from the family because she focuses all her love on Mr. Higgins alone.  Ha!

 It was a good Christmas for all involved!

FitnessGlo Challenge #2: Week Eight

Okay, so things are getting pretty busy as we get closer to the holidays.  Work is also a nightmare so I'm just barely holding things together.  Sigh.

Let's hope I can get in all my workouts...

Monday: Petra's High Intensity Drills + Ilyse's Easy to Follow Dance Moves

As I started moving this morning, I realized I was really sore from Sunday's workout.  My bum and thighs were not happy!  Ha!  But those muscles got a good workout today...  Petra's Drills are not easy but I made it through in one piece.  Next up, Ilyse - so much fun.  I really enjoy her dance videos, this one included.  It was a nice finish to the morning!

Tuesday: Ilyse's Your Best, Sweaty Self + Dance Intervals 101

I wanted to work just a bit harder this morning, so I tuned into one of Ilyse's toughest workouts.  Dang!  You definitely get sweaty in this one, since you never once stop moving!  It was a relief to get to Intervals.....but you never stop moving in that one, either!  Wow!  I jumped, jogged, and jacked all morning long!

Wednesday: Denise's Endurance Challenge + Amy's Combo Strength Conditioning + walk

Today, I wanted to take it down just a notch.  I've had three days of very high intensity workouts so my feet needed a bit of a break.  I kept Denise's workout mostly low-impact and only jogged lightly in place when that came around.  This one is a lot like her Interval Sweat - very, very similar.  After that, I did about 10 minutes of Amy's weighted workout.  At lunch, I walked outside for about 20 minutes - and got a lot of steps!

Thursday: Michelle's Calorie Burning Cardio Blast + HIIT - Breathless and Energized + Scott's HIIT - Sports Inspired Intervals + walk

It was time to work hard today.  So, HIIT!  Yay!  Sigh.  I started with the lesser of Michelle's two evils.  Cardio Blast is fun and it definitely got my heart rate going.  Next up, her HIIT always gets me struggling for breath.  But talk about effective!  And last, Scott's Intervals are fun and not quite as intense, mainly because you get a longer rest period.  At lunch, I walked outside for 20 minutes.  

Friday: Jari Love's Get Extremely Ripped! 1000 Hardcore

I'm off for the holidays, as of today.  Yay! I celebrated by working out for longer.  Ha!  I did all of Jari Love's video - which alternates weights and cardio.  It's definitely not an easy workout.  My arms and legs were dying with all the weighted compound exercises.  Dang.  And the cardio is not at all easy.  That lasted for an hour.  I then did the ab work and finally stretched.  Nice!

Saturday: Peak 10 Cardio Interval Burn - Fat Blaster + Ilyse's Just Dance

Since I won't work out on Christmas Day, I wanted a good workout today.  So, a CIB it was!  This one is so much fun.  It's also very tough.  But I love it!   I did all the peaks and felt good afterward.  So, then I tuned into Ilyse's dance workout...  I love her fun dances.  This one was good to do after a CIB as it's a bit lighter.  That made for 70 minutes of cardio.  I then did some sit-ups and stretched.

Sunday: REST

After You

Last year, at this time, I finished Jojo Moyes' Me Before You.  It was purely coincidental that I took the sequel on the same CO trip this year as last.  After You was not as good as the original, but I still enjoyed it.

My Goodreads review:

While reading Me Before You, I really grew to like Louisa Clarke and her family.  This is her story of growth and transformation after Will Traynor's death.

Louisa is, understandably, not the happiest of souls in this novel: she's struggling with Will's death.  Her parents are struggling with feminism after her mother catches up with modernity and decides to abandon some of her wifely obligations.  This is the comic relief of the story.  


But the real story of After You occurs when Louisa meets Will's daughter, Lily.  Together, they help each other grow emotionally by dealing with their "issues."  I can't say that I enjoyed this book as much as the first, but Louisa's journey is one that I find intriguing and heartwarming.  

FitnessGlo Challenge #2: Week Seven

After going out of town and eating horribly, I need to get back on track this week.  There will be goodies in the office but I need to be good whenever possible.  

That means working out hard!

Monday: vacation

Tuesday: Amy's Metabolic Meltdown + Scott's Multi-Level Cardio Drills + walk

I wanted a slow progression of intensity this morning so this was a good combination.  I did all of Amy's workout which is a level 2.  Whenever possible, I upped the intensity without overdoing it.  Then, I switched over to Scott's Drills and managed some lunge jumps before it was done.  Yay!  At lunch, I walked at the rec center with a co-worker.  After that bout of cardio, I did some sit-ups.  

Wednesday: Amy's Intervals + Dozois' HIIT - Breathless and Energized

Today, I needed to step it up a notch.  So, I started with Amy's workout - which is not at all easy.  Eight 20-second intervals with 10 seconds of rest in between.  Whew!  Then, Michelle's HIIT which is extremely hard after another HIIT routine.  Dang!  I definitely felt like I got a great workout this morning.  And a good thing since it was my only workout today.

Thursday: Cathe's Intensity + walk

Cardio, cardio, cardio.  That's my mantra this week.  Cathe's workout is so good if you want to move and keep on moving!  I did the step routine and then the Lo-HIIT, which I made as high-impact as possible.  My head was pounding this morning so this was tough to get through - but I did it!  At lunch, I walked at the rec center again - and again with a co-worker, which makes the time pass so quickly!  Awesome!

Friday:  Peak 10 Cardio Interval Burn Remix

I knew this CIB would not get done tomorrow so I did most of it today.  And it is tough at 5:30am.  Whew!  I was able to get through most of it - peaks and all - before I had to quit, 15 minutes before it was over.  But it's such a good workout!  I love this one!

Saturday: REST

Cookie baking day with my mom.

Sunday: Peak 10 More Cardio Strength

I got home at 9:30 from my parents' house and worked out shortly thereafter.  This CS is so hard...it's a struggle to get through.  And I had to modify bits of the last circuit...  My energy was lagging and I felt gross.  But I got through it.  I then did the last 15 minutes of CIB Remix from Friday....and then 10 more additional minutes of cardio, for a total of 75 minutes.  I was exhausted.  I managed 5 minutes with the 12-pound weights and then ab work.....and then a stretch.  Sigh.  

Calorie Counts:

Bad.  I had a few good days but all the holiday treats are just too tempting.

Estes Park in Winter

We're back from a long weekend in Estes Park, Colorado.  It's one of our favorite places along with the neighboring Rocky Mountain National Park.  

We got one good day of snow over the weekend so we decided to drive into the park and see what was going on at a higher elevation.  

This is what we encountered at Bear Lake.  The snow was blowing like crazy and the lake was iced over.  How incredible is that!  We somehow managed the hike around the lake, though the snow came up to our knees in spots.  

But the cold hike was worth it, for perfect pictures like this.  It was truly gorgeous, all around the lake.  And we didn't encounter any souls as crazy as we were, which was really nice.

It was our very own winter wonderland!

FitnessGlo Challenge #2: Week Six

It's that time of year.  There's food everywhere!  I'm not going crazy, by any means, but I'm eating worse than usual.  

So, as always, that makes me super motivated to work out.

Monday: Ilyse's Dance Intervals 101 + Groovy Dance Party + walk

Cardio time!  I love Ilyse's Dance Intervals - it gets you going hard and fast.  You jump, jog, and jack for quite a while before you get a break.  And then you keep coming back to it with intervals.  Whew!  After that fun, I did another favorite, Groovy Dance, which I always make as high-impact as possible.  At lunch, I walked the track at the rec center, wanting to burn as many calories as possible.  For some reason, at the end of the day, my bum was aching.  What did Ilyse do to me?!

Tuesday: Amy's Cardio Intervals + Sports Sculpt

Amy got me going this morning with Intervals.  This workout is tough because the intervals are 30, 60, and 90 seconds long.  90 seconds is always longer than you think.  Dang!  After that, Sports Sculpt was a bit lighter but I kept going hard.  There was no lunch-time workout but I went to hear our nutritionist talk, which meant a long across-campus walk.  Then, I had to walk to the other end of campus (literally) for a meeting. So, lots of steps!

Wednesday: Shape's Bikini Body Camp Transforming + Scott's HIIT - Sports Inspired Intervals

I was ready to work hard this morning after a semi-bad dinner last night.  First up, Michelle's cardio from Shape's Transforming workout.  I love this one - it works you hard without killing you - burpees and lunge jumps included.  Dang!  After that, I finished up my morning with Scott's HIIT - always a good choice.  No lunchtime workout but more walking around campus, so that was something.

Thursday:  Ilyse's Your Best, Sweaty Self + Denise's Interval Sweat + walk

This morning started out okay but I soon started feeling very bad. I got through these workouts but it was not easy.  I like Ilyse's workout but it's definitely one of her most intense videos.  Dang.  I skipped the tuck jumps because I felt so bad, I couldn't physically do that.  Instead, I did high knees.  After that fun, I did Denise's workout, which at least alternates all the high impact with some squats.  At lunch, I walked outside in the blistery cold wind.  Fun.

Friday - Sunday: weekend getaway

Quick Getaway

Soon, we're off to one of our favorite places for a quick getaway with friends.  I can't wait.  Yes, there will be bad eating but it's worth it.  January comes, every year, for a reason.  Ha! 

FitnessGlo Challenge #2: Week Five

It was nice having two days off from workouts at Thanksgiving.  I didn't really want to do that but, oh well.  My body got a break.  

Now I'm motivated to work hard whenever I can.  There's always so much going on during the holiday season but we must take time for ourselves to stay healthy and happy.  And, amazingly, I'm always happier when I'm eating right and working out consistently.

Monday:  Amy's Intervals + Kickboxing Skills and Drills

After a horrible night of little sleep, I was very uncertain about these Intervals.  I made a few of them a little....less intense....but managed to get through all of Amy's workout.  The treat, afterward, was tuning into her kickboxing workout.  At its start, there's a lot of cardio and jumping so at least I felt like my hard work continued.  So, a very good morning, despite a sleepless night.

Tuesday: Scott's Boot Camp Burn

This morning, I felt so much better after a good 8 hours of sleep.  It's amazing how much better one can feel!  So I was ready to do weights this morning!   My feet have been protesting all the high intensity, though, so I decided to keep this one low-impact today.  I walked for a while at lunch, but just outside and only for about 10-15 minutes.

Wednesday: Ilyse's Work Hard, Have a Great Time + Dozois' Calorie Burning Cardio Blast + walk

I wasn't looking forward to Ilyse's workout....but thankfully it wasn't as bad as I remembered.   My least favorite move: jumping knee touches.  I don't know why, I just hate those.  After that workout, I tuned into Michelle's quick Blast - always fun and super effective!  I felt well worked after all this.  Ha!  At lunch, I took a 20 minute walk outside, enjoying the crisp (finally!) air.  

Thursday: Cathe's Intensity + weights

Today, I wanted cardio.  Cathe seemed like a good idea and she definitely got me going this morning!  Whew!  After the step section, I did the Low HIIT but made it as high-impact as possible.  And it was a good workout, for sure!  At lunch, I went to the rec to do weights, despite a better invitation involving food.  Ha!  Talk about resolve!  And I felt better - if not full - afterward.

Friday: Crunch's Fat Burning Pilates

My only light day for the next three weeks.  I better enjoy this one - and I did!  Ellen Barrett is so much fun and I love this workout.  You will plie yourself to death - but that's a good thing!  I skipped a bit of the standing section to be sure to do all the ab work.  It was a nice, productive morning!

Saturday: Cardio Strength 2 on Glo + Ilyse's Fun and Easy Cardio Dance + weights

I was not looking forward to this CS - but I really wanted to work hard.  So I suffered through it.  Why is it so hard?  There's a lot of tough floor work.  Sigh.  Despite feeling fat and eating too much, I think my fitness level is still up there.  So, yay!  After that 50 minute workout, I tuned into a new-to-me workout by Ilyse - Cardio Dance.  And it was fun and easy!  So, 20 minutes of that followed by five minutes with the 12-pound weights.  Then, finally, a stretch!

Sunday: Cardio Interval Burn on Glo + Amy's Total Package

Lots of cardio today!  CIB was first up.  This Glo CIB gets progressively tougher so there's no point at which you feel better.  Ha!  But it's good - and effective.  After that 55 minutes (ouch!), I tuned into Amy's unique workout just to take it down a notch (my feet were hurting).  Amy works you hard without killing you - nice!  After twenty minutes of that, I did a nice stretch and ab work.

Calorie Counts:

Awful.

Cat + Tree = Love

Dooku is ready for Christmas.   

Every year, the darned cat eats the tree bristles on the first day the tree is up.  And every year the darned cat throws up bristles two to three times.  And then he seems to learn.  And remembers that he enjoys his spot under the tree.

Cats are hilarious.