How have I been exercising lately?

Some of you may be curious abut my workout regimen, now that I'm in a weight-loss process.  Especially given the fact that I was diligently recording my Jillian Michaels workouts last year.

Well, I can't do as many of those videos these days, because of our neighbor downstairs.  I may speak on that in a separate blog post later, but we are so annoyed with her, it's hard to put it into words (hint: she's a nurse that thinks that everyone else should be quiet during the day while she's sleeping). So, once a week or so, Curtis and I look out the window, see that her car is gone, and put in a video.  

I actually just got a new JM Video - Kickbox Fastfix.  Curtis wasn't crazy about the kickboxing, but I loved the fact that it is only 20 minutes (from warmup to cooldown), and gets you a decent sweat.  Each workout on the video focuses on a muscle area, one lower body, one upper body, and one abs.  I've only done the abs so far but am looking forward to trying the other workouts, tomorrow perhaps. 

The other days of the week, we go to the gym. 

Thankfully, our gym has 5 cardio machines, and it isn't hard to get a free treadmill, which is both of our workout of choice for the moment.  I am focusing on decreasing my 2 mile time.  I try to go 4-5 days a week (this week I went Monday-Wednesday, and tonight (Friday), and plan to go a lot more while Curtis is away). 

I don't exactly remember where I started, generally anything under 28 minutes (for two miles) I'm happy with.  But the last two times I attempted it I was able to get just over 25 minutes, or 12:30/mi.  I'm quite pleased with that. I'll likely try to keep under that time, and then do another push in a few weeks after I've lost a little more weight. Running has always been something difficult for me, and it's nice to have a good routine and something that I now look forward to. I have ideas of a half marathon next year on the horizon, but right now I really need to focus on getting into a healthy weight range, and I still have a long way to go.

The other issue is injury management and prevention.  I'm trying to go easy on the treadmill because often it doesn't take long for things to go wrong.  I'm a little concerned about shin splints, as well as my right Achilles ankle. Tonight for example I walked the two miles instead of running/walking them, so that I can do some speed over the weekend hopefully without straining it.  I don't mind the daily aches and pains (well, I do actually, but the alternative of not exercising isn't great either), but I've been lucky to avoid major injury so far and I'd like that to continue while I'm losing weight, since exercising is a crucial physical and emotional component of my life.

I'm also considering joining a local crossfit gym for a segment of my weight loss. It's expensive, and I think if I do it I'd only commit to 6 weeks at first, it's open Monday-Friday for classes that I can go to after work.  I'm trying to decide when to start, probably mid-April at the latest, otherwise I'll have to wait until after summer, since I have a lot of after-work summer events at the firm this summer. But it is something that I have at the back of my mind. Right now it's just nice to regain a running stride and have my clothes fit better.

I weigh-in tomorrow morning and am hoping for a good loss! Will update my sidebar after I find out.  

The Kenny and Christine Show

Curtis is on his way to Hamburg, Germany, for at least the next week for work. He is scheduled to return next Friday, but they might have him stay another 5 days. He got his new iPad from UPS literally minutes before he had to leave for the airport, so that was exciting.

Kenny and I have many walks planned, including a trip to the Fairhope art fair. He is getting groomed tomorrow, so I'll make sure to post before and after, that's always fun. We're due for beautiful weather so I'm excited to be outside. And there's this whole March Madness thing going on that I love to watch, so I think we'll survive without Daddy (but just barely).

Have a good weekend!


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Facebook

Being without Facebook for Lent has actually been an interesting study on how I and my friends depend on it.  I have had to jump back on my account for information a few times so far.  Each time, I promptly go on, find the information I'm looking for, look at a few news feed items (I can't help it), then re-deactivate my account.

The first time, I was looking for someone's contact information for a family member, someone I didn't know but I thought I might find on Facebook.   I've had at least one person ask Curtis where I went.  Just today, I wanted to make sure that someone hadn't put something on Facebook before I contacted them.  It's hard when you're so active on Facebook - friends (including me) depend on the information that is there.  It's just assumed that when you post something, all of your friends find out about it.  I've had to tell at least one friend to make sure to email me when something big happens in their life (today - medical residencies are announced) - because I won't find out on Facebook.

Aside from that, I actually haven't missed it much.  I don't yearn for the information - I continue to get the news I'm interested in on Twitter.  But I'm looking forward to my return so I can see everyone's baby pictures and other family news. I'm looking forward to sharing pictures from Juls' wedding and seeing the other pictures people post. And I'm looking forward again to being able to share my own commentary on current events and discuss these issues (serious and silly) with my friends.

Alabama Voting and Politics

In case you were actually born yesterday, you should know that Alabama is not politically similar to California...

First, the voting experience. I arrived at Rockwell Elementary, just down the street from my house, and was immediately asked by the ladies checking me in after I gave them my ID, "how did you find yourself in Alabama from California??"  I explained that we got jobs here, yada yada yada.

Then, I was asked if I wanted a Republican or Democrat ballot. In Alabama you don't register with a party, but rather choose a party when you show up to vote (one of the few things about Alabama politics that I like).  But the way they asked me was funny, it was like "Republican. Or, Democrat?" as if they knew that everyone was voting Republican (anyone who votes with a Democratic ballot shouldn't even show up, all the candidates, left or right, except for Obama for President, run as Republicans).

Then I sat down at a table, with these wooden dividers to make sure we had "privacy", and I stared at my ballot for about 3 minutes to figure out what I was supposed to do (it was one of those where you have to draw the line from the arrow to the box of each candidate you want, at least that's what I hope the instructions meant). I then waited in line to put my ballot through an optical scanner that looked like it was lucky to have survived the 70's.  Then of course I got my sticker and was excited that I had just voted for the first time in a place like Alabama, for republicans.

Turning to the results, some folks in the office here felt ashamed that our state went for Santorum.  Thankfully it's proportional so he didn't actually gain any ground on Romney (the only sane electable one I think is still in the race, who won Mobile County).  But the bigger news is that the Republican winner for Chief Judge of the Alabama Supreme Court is crazy. And, the "democrat" (who isn't really) that will run against him in November is just as, if not more, crazy.  Here's what he said about undocumented immigrants:

[Harry] Lyon said if elected, he would sponsor a law to get all illegal immigrants out of the state within 90 days, or be hanged in public. “It would only take five or 10 getting killed and broadcast on CNN for it to send a clear message to not set foot in Alabama,” said Lyon, a Pelham lawyer. “Anybody that breaks into my home is a threat to my life. I remember the Alamo.”

So there is quite a bit of concern among the lawyers here about the state of our judicial system.  If I wasn't already careful about not finding myself on the wrong side of the law, I am now. 

Pinterest Update

I just took down my Pinterest site.

Why? In the craze of it all, I hadn't considered the Copyright ramifications.  Pinterest is a great idea, but the reality of it is, there is no control over what happens to the photos you upload, and you have to be very careful about violating copyright law.  Without saying what I had put up there, I'm not sure that I had legal permission to pin or re-pin ANYTHING, and could have been sued by any number of people for what I re-pinned.

And when you sign up, the site tells you that they will not be responsible for any kind of liability, and that if they get sued because of something you pin, you have to pay for their legal defense.

So, to my friends, please be careful about what you Pin on that site, that you actually have permission to share any photos you upload, and that the photos you re-pin are also posted with permission.  Or, be like me and get off the site or just become a passive observer.

I may be overly paranoid, but:
1. I am a lawyer, so this is kinda in my wheelhouse and we're naturally paranoid AND cynical.*
2. I read a few articles that convinced me. See Here and Here if you're interested.

*Note that this blog does not constitute legal advice!  (I know it's silly but I have to say it)

St Patrick's Day in New Orleans

I drove to New Orleans and back today to spend the day with my good friend Samantha (who was in town from Montreal) and her mom. We started the day by going to church at Rayne Memorial United Methodist Church in New Orleans, a beautiful old church that had sustained 5 million dollars in damages from Katrina but had since rebuilt, and is a beautiful facility.

After church we headed over to a crawfish boil! Yes I tried it but it was just okay - I'm not a big fan of seeing the eyes on my food before I eat it. But the location was perfect - it was located along the St Patrick's day parade route! So we spent some time catching throws of course. Here are the pics!












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The view from my room

I had a firm retreat just east of Destin, FL this weekend. It rained all day yesterday, but I woke up to this today:



More to come:-)

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