An odd week, indeed, GC.

Indeed! Beyond what I already wrote we have a high note ahead of us on Sunday. My FIL turned 85 last week, my MIL will turn 80 next month, and my youngest BIL turns 50 next Monday so on Sunday we've arranged for a private room in a restaurant that my inlaws like and with the exception of two college kids who can't make the party the whole family will be together for a fun afternoon.

I'm purposely making today an active rest day; I'm going to limit myself to walking and maybe some pushups.

Sounds like a wonderful celebration all 'round. Enjoy, GC!

Good plan, GC!

Yeah, it's nice to get together for celebrations.

Thanks; it's not my favorite thing to do, but I know that sometimes it's necessary.

Exercise for the day is going to be a strength and stamina class at 6:30 tonight.

Before I leave for the gym I'm going to prepare breaded chicken leg quarters and instruct my wife to turn on the oven so the dish will be ready when I come home. I'm also going to cut up a salad.

It's going to be a very low key exercise day. I've walked about 3 miles so far with another couple to go and that may be the extent of what I do today.

Dinner tonight is going to be pork stir fry served over rice.

Just like a few months ago we are watching our neighbor's 13 year old daughter until Sunday because our neighbor's father fell again, whacked his head, and wound up in the hospital. Our neighbor's brother spent the past week there and while the father has been released from the hospital he essentially needs 24 hour care in his house, so until suitable arrangements can be made his kids are taking turns being with him. Obviously not a sustainable situation yet the good news is that the father finally agreed that he has to move from the house he's been in for almost 60 years. Doing everything that needs to be done to make the house saleable and physically move the contents of the dwelling is going to take many months and I'm not sure if the family has nailed down a plan for that.

Guess who will be making breakfast and a brown bag lunch tomorrow AM.

I did 5 sets of 5 reps of LIGHT squats and deads this morning.

I'm not sure what's going on for dinner tonight. My son is coming home today so that he can attend a party we're throwing on Sunday for my inlaws and he wants to go out with my daughter. My daughter invited me and my wife which also means bringing along our neighbor. My wWife is going to want to go to the gym which means we won't be at the restaurant until after 8. I'm thinking if my kids want to go out they should and I'll cook dinner for me, my wife, and our neighbor. I'm also factoring in that tomorrow afternoon we're likely going to be visiting a friend who had major surgery and is still in the hospital so it may be more expedient to go out to dinner tomorrow night. Lots of moving parts, but not exactly heavy weight decisions.

My wife and I were at the gym at 9 this morning for a tough class that was harder for me than it should have been due to a low energy level. I'm not sure why; I was properly fueled and had a good night's sleep. Whatever, I'll be back at it tomorrow.

Dinner last night was a rump roast that I cooked in my Kamodo grill with some mesquite wood thrown into the mix and twice baked potatoes. Nothing's been decided about tonight's dinner.

My son came home from college yesterday so that he can attend the joint birthday party we're throwing for my inlaws tomorrow and unlike last night when he went out for a sushi dinner with my daughter he's home tonight and I asked him for dinner suggestions. He wants linguini and clam sauce and a salad. Guess what we're having for dinner. :-)

My low energy day is continuing and I'm torn between taking an extremely rare nap and walking in the unseasonably great weather I'm experiencing.

For some reason I had a lousy sleep so even though I went to bed early I'm not feeling energized today. Hopefully I'll rally because in about a hour I'll be at the gym and after that the balance of the day is going to be dominated by the joint birthday party we're throwing for my FIL, MIL, and BIL.

The party celebrating the birthdays of my FIL, MIL, and BIL was great. Ironically, I found out this morning that while we were at the party my 99 year old great aunt passed away, further cementing the idea that it's important to celebrate with friends and family.

This morning I was at the gym for a training session.

2 rounds of warmups:

30 jumping jacks
20 squats
10 pushups

3 rounds of:

Db bench presses
Db flyes
Db chest presses
Bb skullcrushers
Pushups
Bb curls
Bench dips
Heavy rope fun
Planks

As I was leaving the gym I came across something I've never seen before; a guy was on one of the machines and he was vaping. I had to do a double take and I know I paused long enough for him to notice that I was staring at him.

Dinner tonight is going to be pork chops and a salad.

I laced 'em up for a short run and despite stretching realized that my right hip flexor/hip, which was slightly bothering while I've been walking the past couple of days, was not going to loosen up so I did the walk of shame home to hopefully be ready for another day. Bummer.

Dinner tonight is going to be a variation of sausage and peppers; I'll be substituting cut up chicken leg quarters for the sausage and will serve the dish over rice.

Exercise for the day is going to be a few miles of walking and then going to the gym for a strength and stamina class at 6:30.

Dinner is going to be lentils and braised beef served over a to be determined grain.

It's unbelievably beautiful out, especially considering the date on the calendar. A mighty fine day for a run or a bicycle ride, but my lower back is really stiff (again), which made my workout last night extra difficult to get through, and my hip is still not feeling 100%, so I'm taking the conservative route and will do nothing more than walk and some foam rolling at home. So that's it for fitness.

Dinner tonight is going to be an assortment of sautéed wild mushrooms in a tomato cream sauce served over penne pasta with a spring mix salad on the side.

What a difference a day makes. I'm still not 100%, but felt good enough to go for a 3 mile run this morning in once again unseasonably warm weather. I may not have helped hasten my hip's recovery, but I don't think I did any damage either.

Due to last minute changes in family scheduling, the mushroom and pasta dish I wrote about yesterday was not made and instead I made hamburgers with a side salad. If things go according to plan I'll serve the pasta entrée and a spring mix salad tonight.

Since it's the last Friday of the month, me and my wife, and possibly our daughter and her boyfriend will be going to the local pub to watch our friend's band. As always, our plan is to stay only for the first set because we have an early start tomorrow at the gym.

Have a good weekend GC - Hopefully Leigh will be around again soon..I hear she's not well.

D

Dee thanks for the good weekend wishes and for letting me know about Leigh. I'm going to reach out to her via PM.

'Twas a fun night with the band and although we stayed out a little later than anticipated we were still home before midnight. This morning saw me and my wife at our regular strength and stamina class and because it's so nice out we plan on going on a hike with our dog later today.

Guess what we did NOT have for dinner last night. Pan seared shrimp served with grits and a spring mix salad instead. Dare I write that those mushrooms will be eaten tonight? No promises this time. :lol:

A short while ago me, my wife, and dog came back from a 4.5 mile walk. At one point dear dog thought it would a good idea to roll around in the grass at one of the parks we walked through. Fun for her, but not for us because she was rolling in geese poop. Guess who got an outdoor bath when she got home. The upside is that it went better than expected and it gave me an opportunity to put on a bathing suit for the first time this year. FWIW, I peaked in the mirror and did not like what I saw.

There's a conspiracy afoot in the house and once again the mushroom and pasta dish will not be made because me, my wife, my daughter, and her boyfriend are going to an Indian restaurant for dinner. Essentials of the conversation:

Daughter: Me and mommy thought it would be nice for us to be together tonight and go for Indian.

Me: We can all be together around our table.

Daughter: Yes, but we want Indian; we'll have what you want to make tomorrow.

^^^^ :lmao - love it!!!!

It's A Girls' World!!!!

Sometimes it's like the lunatics are running the asylum. :lol: That written, the dinner was good and I just had some of the leftovers for lunch. :c011:

This Morning

One hour of:

Mountain climbers with a push up every four knee thrusts
Step ups with a knee thrust
Ball slams
Ab wheel rollouts
TRX mid rows
TRX Supermans
Rowing machine fun
KB sumo squats with an upright row

Today is the tenth anniversary of my father's death so me and my wife will be taking a trip to the cemetery this afternoon.

Given what's gone on the past few days I'm reluctant to write about dinner, but I'm planning on making the multi time postponed mushroom and pasta dish.

I wasn't sure how much I had in me, but my workout went just fine.

2 warm up rounds:

30 jumping jacks
20 squats
10 pushups

3 rounds of:

Bb incline bench presses
Db incline flyes
Bb incline skullcrushers
Bb standing curls
Pushups
Bench dips
Db bench rows
Planks

For dinner tonight I'm going indirectly cook a rump roast on my kamado grill and serve roasted cauliflower as the side dish.

The heating pad is becoming my friend. After walking dear dog last night I foam rolled and stretched my back then applied heat for about 45 minutes. Upon wakening this morning I felt pretty goo, but on my walk back from breakfast with my friend the discomfort returned. I repeated yesterday's routine in the late morning so I'm feeling better right now, but I'm sure I'll have to do it again later this afternoon.

Dinner is going to be salmon baked with Dijon mustard and topped with crunchy bread crumbs. The side is going to be a spring mix salad.

Stretching, foam rolling, stints with my heating pad, and now Icy/Hot applications. Yep, that's my day, but it's not going to stop me from going to the gym. My wife is opposed to the idea, but my position always has been if I'm not going to further injure myself I'll deal with the discomfort/pain. In the past dozen years I've fractured my ankle, tore my rotator cuff, tore tendons in my wrist, and injured my hip flexor. None of them, as well as much more minor sprains and such, have kept me from exercising albeit with some accommodations. So I'll be at the gym tonight.

Dinner tonight is going to be chicken lo mein.

I had a solid workout yesterday with only minor twinges on some of the exercises. I foamed rolled and stretched afterward and after dinner applied heat for about 60 minutes. I've done the rolling/stretching/heat thing this morning and will do it at least one more time today.

Exercise for the day is going to be walking.

Dinner tonight is going to be marinated grilled shrimp with a side salad and a to be determined carb.

enjoy the coming weekend GC :)

D

Thanks Dee and the same to you. My daughter and her BF leave for Ireland tomorrow and the only plans me and my wife have are on Sunday when we're going to our annual first St. Patrick's Day party of the season that is hosted by a friend of ours and a parade that passes a couple of blocks from her house about one hour south of us. Always a fun time; nobody in our crowd gets stupid, but we certainly see some nonsense at the parade. For me, water, seltzer, corned beef and cabbage. I'm good to go. Speaking of going, I'll be hitting the gym both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

More rolling, stretching, heat, and Icy/Hot last night and this morning. Things are moving in the right direction, but I'm not going to doing anything strenuous until tomorrow AM when I'll be at the gym.

Even though we're temporary empty nesters because my daughter left for Ireland today it's going to be a quiet evening at home tonight. Dinner is going to be baked flounder seasoned with EVOO, fresh lemon juice and zest, minced garlic, and black pepper. I'll figure out a side dish later.