Gonnachange

Indeed. Between the mild fall and low energy prices I'm not cringing when my heating bill comes. Last year it snowed on the first day of Spring and was 75F on Xmas Day here. Crazy.

Gonnachange

Exercise today is going to be the strength and stamina class I've been attending the past few Wednesdays. My triceps are fried from the past two days so any exercises involving them, and there will be some, is likely to be ugly. My wife is going to yoga, but my daughter will be joining me.

For dinner tonight I'll be serving the turkey broth I made a couple of days ago and adding in shredded chicken thigh meat and vegetables. I'm also making a whole wheat bread.

Gonnachange

My daughter and I had a very good workout tonight. One hour of ten timed exercises. Three circuits of five and then a switch to another five. Forty five seconds on and fifteen seconds to get to the next station. Only rest time was one minute between changing between the switches and then a short indeterminate time before we did some agility/sprinting stuff to finish the hour.

I can't remember the entirety of what we did or the sequence, but some of the "fun" included:

Burpees with mountain climbers
Pushups with shoulder touches
Db weighted backward lunges off a step
Db squat presses
High planks with reach outs
Heavy rope fun
Jump squats
Ball slams
A couple of other core exercises that I don't know the names of

As I wrote earlier, I knew that anything that focused on my triceps and to some extent my shoulders was going to be problematic and I was not wrong, but I was very happy with how I did so all was good.

No exercise yet today; I'm thinking of going to the gym for a solo free weight workout this afternoon.

My son is taking my daughter out to dinner for a belated b'day celebration so it's just me and my wife. I'm going to be making shrimp seared in garlic infused EVOO and steamed broccoli that will be served over cauliflower rice. I've also been given my revised marching orders for the NYE party we're going to. Too bad I didn't get them before I went shopping this morning.

I'm tasked with making two dips. One is a hot crab meat dip I've brought to their house before and the other is going to be a modification of a shrimp salad I've brought to their house. Modifications are that one of the hosts wants it made without celery and also turned into a spreadable dip.

Gonnachange

It's 37F and raining and as I was driving earlier coming back from an errand I passed a runner. I've never spoken to him, but from afar, based upon his gait, I knew it was him. I don't know anything about him, but he always seems to be moving fast. And that's when I decided to run instead of going to the gym. So I did. The result was 4 miles at a 9:39 pace. The first mile or so was a bit dreary, but once I got going I was fine. Obviously it helps to have the proper gear, which I do.

SoberLeigh

Good for you, GC!!!!! Sounds like a very good run.

Gonnachange

Thanks SL. I've been consistent about going to the gym, but haven't done much pure running in a while so I was probably better off making the decision I did. I'm going to move some iron tomorrow by myself, pretty much doing what I planned to do today, and Saturday AM I'll be at a NYE strength and stamina class for my last workout of the year. My wife and daughter will be there also.

Today

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that a friend sent out a feeler to see if me and some other friends would want to run a particular marathon in the beginning of April. Today I informed him that while I would consider another marathon I would not be participating in that one with the biggest reasons being that it's tiny (~250 runners) which means I'd essentially be going on a very long run by myself as the runners split up and reviews have mentioned that there's virtually no crowd support so essentially I'll be paying for a weekend away (2 nights at a hotel, meals, race fee, transportation, etc.) to run around an admittedly pretty area for 4.5 hours. Sounds like an expensive training run. The race I was targeting in the back of my mind turns out to be the same weekend as my son's college graduation so that's a no go.

In other news I started my book club book this afternoon. Our next meeting is next Friday and I'll have no problem finishing it.

Gonnachange

I was at the gym this AM to do a 5x5 (five sets of five reps) of bench presses, squats, and deadlifts. Compounds for the win!

Yesterday's dinner at home never happened because at the VERY last minute we were invited to the dinner my son was taking my daughter to. Consequences of that were:

• We spent time together.
• We had a tasty dinner.
• For the first time ever our last meal of the year together was at a restaurant.
• I paid which means my son's b'day present to his sister changed to being a jet ski experience when they go to Florida next week.

Unless something changes I'll be making the dinner I planned for last night tonight. After that, since it's the last Friday of the month, we'll be going to a local tavern with a group of friends to watch the band that plays there once a month.

SoberLeigh

Sounds like a wonderful evening, GC!!!!!

Gonnachange

It truly was SL. It was gratifying that my two kids were going to dinner together, but when they asked us to join them it became even more special. We got home relatively early from dinner and afterward we lit a fire, listened to tunes, and talked in the living room.

We'll be apart for NYE so it was a very nice way to end our year as a family. My son is currently working and afterward is driving directly to his apartment at school, my daughter will be leaving tomorrow afternoon with some friends to visit mutual friends in Philadelphia, and my wife and I will be going to a friend's vacation home about 2.5 hours away to celebrate the incoming new year. It gives me peace of mind that none of us will be on the road once we reach our respective destinations until Jan. 1 when the odds of meeting up with a drunk driver is diminished. Amateur night and all that.

Gonnachange

I'm off to the gym for my final workout of 2016.

Happy new year to all.

Gonnachange

First post of the year so lets start off with important stuff. I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's celebration.

Next, I want to share is that I came in second place in my football pool among 71 teams. I won two weeks during the season and between them and the prize for my cumulative point total I netted $1800 for my $100 investment. Not too shabby, but since I had to pay dear son's tuition today I somehow have a negative cash flow for the day.

We had a fine time at our friends' house for the holiday, but as I've mentioned before they and a number of their friends are chain smokers so I had to take frequent walks outside to get away. Brutal.

I was at the gym this morning for my usual Monday session with my trainer and given how my breathing was impacted I did much better than I thought I would.

Two rounds of:

30 Jumping jacks
20 squats
10 pushups

Three sets of:

Renegade rows with pushups
Turkish get ups
Russian twists
Ab wheel roll outs
Push up up/downs
Ball slams
Heavy rope singles
Planks

My first cook of the year is a suggestion by dear daughter. Tacos because her boyfriend is coming today and he likes them. So it is. One personal twist is that I'll be using smoked cheddar that I recently made. Keeping with the food theme, I'm currently smoking 4 pounds of pork bellies that I've been curing to turn them into bacon.

Dee74

Hope 2017 is a good year for you GC

D

Gonnachange

Thank you Dee and I wish the same for you and your family.

SoberLeigh

, GC.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Gonnachange

Thank you SL and I wish you and your family a very happy and healthy 2017.

SoberLeigh

Thanks very much, GC.

Gonnachange

The day started with a short walk to meet a friend for breakfast. My plan was to hit the gym after that, but upon returning home it was evident that I would be going to the vet instead. My dog scratched her eye last night and it became very irritated and swollen. Fortunately we were squeezed in and taken relatively promptly, but the whole process still took about 90 minutes. Now that I'm back from that I'll shortly be taking my son, my daughter, and her boyfriend to the airport. We're flying them to Florida to spend a week with Grandma. If all goes well I'll get some exercising done after dropping them off.

Dinner tonight is presently undecided.

Gonnachange

The 20 somethings are at the airport awaiting their flight to sunny Florida while me and my wife are in 40F rainy weather.

We'll be going to the gym in about 2 hours and then out to dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant in town.

Gonnachange

Life...last night as my wife and I were getting ready to go to the gym and then out to dinner we received a phone call from our next door neighbor telling us that her father, the one who fell last month down a flight of steps, was being taken to the hospital, and she wanted to know if we could take care of her two distraught teenagers. So, of course, we changed our plans. Since I had no intention of cooking, there weren't too many leftovers in the house, and I had no time to defrost and cook dinner we ordered pizza and a large antipasto. After dinner we hung out in the living room talking, listening to music, and enjoying a fire that was blazing the fireplace.

As it turns out our neighbor's father was bleeding internally between his skull and brain and it was causing pressure that has to be relieved through surgery. Depending upon how stable he is that will take place either today or tomorrow which also means that we'll be watching the kids for at least a couple more days. That's okay.

My plan is to hit the gym for the Wednesday class I've been recently taking. So that we can eat once I get home I'll be making chicken cacciatore and a side salad.

Gonnachange

Moving on to the fifth iteration of this thread to avoid going over the max limit. Same title, except with #5.