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Feb 22, 2011

The Right Gear Helps (Jockey Active Review)

February 22, 2011 By

Bootcamp is still going well. After the end of week 2, I’m down to 176.5 lbs, although considering how much I ate in the 24 hours AFTER weigh-in, that number has little chance of going down this week.

When it comes to working out, I’m very picky about my gear. I want clothing I can move well in, my hair has to be tied up using a certain ponytail holder so it won’t slip, and my shoes have to be lightweight and easy to move in.

At Blissdom this year, Jockey was one of the sponsors and in the expo area they were showcasing their new Jockey Sport line of activewear for women. We all had codes in our conference gift bags that we could enter at their table for the chance to win free activewear.

I had already browsed the Jockey website long before I arrived at the conference, and I was excited to see the Jockey Sport line in person. While I have a few sports bras and tops that I like, I am lacking in workout pants. Most are either too heavy, don’t wick away sweat well enough, or simply don’t fit a woman with curves.

In the expo area, I first admired the bright, colorful tank tops, each with a built-in sports bra. The tone-on-tone stripes are pretty, and the way they fade from light to dark makes me think they’d give me the illusion of a smaller waist. I’ll happily accept any illusion I can get!

Then I began looking more closely at the pants. They offer three styles of pant: relaxed, modern and performance, in both full-length and cropped. The relaxed pant felt more like cotton, soft and loose in design. The performance pant was fitted and sleek, clearly designed for maximum wicking. And the modern pant was somewhere in-between the two: semi-fitted, but fabric that was more similar to the nylon performance pant.
The code I received awarded me a pair of pants – my choice on style. I picked the modern crop pant and nearly sprinted up to my hotel room to try it on. At first, I worried it was too small as I wiggled it over my hips – turns out, they just know how to make pants for women. The waistband was small, but once past my hips the pants were amazingly comfortable – plenty of room in the hips and seat without any gaping at the waist.

I’ve since worn these pants to a couple of my bootcamp sessions and they’re wonderful. They’re lightweight, easy to move in, wick away sweat quickly, and they have a neat little zipper-pocket at the back of the waistband just big enough for a key.

Overall, I’m happy with the Jockey Sport modern crop pants. They’re comfortable, they’ve held up well through a couple of washes, and they look great when I wear them.

Full disclosure: I won a free pair of Jockey Sport pants at Blissdom and decided to share my experience here. No review was expected or promised, and no further compensation was received. All opinions expressed are my own.

Filed Under: reviews


Feb 21, 2011

The Pioneer Woman, Ice Cream, and a Sick Kid All In One Weekend

February 21, 2011 By

Some weekends are short, and then some fly by so quickly that you barely had time to process everything that happened before you found yourself sitting at your desk at work again.

This weekend was one of the second.

It wasn’t a wholly bad weekend. And it wasn’t a wholly awesome weekend. But somehow it was a combo of both, with no hint of mediocre anywhere to be found.

First, the bad:

Friday started off with a beautiful afternoon and the promise of spending a few hours with my husband before the kids got home from school. That plan vanished when the school called to report Mira had thrown up and we needed to come get her.

Let the Vomit-fest 2011 commence!

Mira was fine the remainder of the day. Ate dinner, was mostly herself, went to bed with no problems. Then at 2:30am I heard her crying and found she had vomited in bed. Stripped & remade the bed, changed her, calmed her down and put her back to bed. 3:30am – lather, rinse, repeat. And then 5:00am, when I was out of sheets for her bed, Aaron took her downstairs to sleep on the couch while I started the laundry and then got a little more sleep.

It’s now Monday, and Mira just got off that couch. Other than going to the bathroom, she didn’t leave that couch for 48 hours. Poor kid seemed better on Saturday morning, but then by mid-day made it clear that even small sips of water couldn’t be kept down. Saturday was nothing more than fitful periods of sleep and vomiting. And like a bad, bad mother, I missed most of it, because I had a full day already planned. (In my defense, Aaron insisted I keep my plans for the day and he’d take care of Mira.)

Sunday morning was difficult, because I had to weigh our options of what to do for Mira. Take her to an urgent care, where they might insist on IVs, blood tests and meds that would leave us in major debt thanks to no health insurance, or keep her at home and take the risk that she might not get better on her own? Money is no factor if she genuinely needs help, but I’ve been through my share of stomach bugs to know that many times you just have to wait them out. And, well, I’m a nurse – I know what the danger signs of dehydration are and when we can’t wait any longer.

So we waited. I stroked her hair as she slept with her head in my lap, and I waited for her to guide me towards which direction I should take. And by Sunday afternoon she was keeping down small sips of Pedialyte and behaving more like herself. By Sunday evening she was asking for food, although we kept to the Pedialyte regimen. And then she slept through the night with no more vomiting. Whew.

Two things. One: I never want to repeat that again. Two: why do kids always seem to get really sick on the weekend, when the doctor isn’t in her office?

And then the awesome:

Momo had tweeted me earlier in the week that Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, was coming to town for her book signing, and she was organizing plans for dinner afterward. We know a lot of the same people, but I’ve never had the privilege of talking with Ree, so I was thrilled to be invited along.

I was also secretly terrified that she’d hate me, because she’s all…uh…domestic, and I’m, well, not. I burn water, people.

But the truth is, Ree is funny, smart, and so very easy to talk with. Not once did I feel uncomfortable around her. (OK, maybe a little jealous of her tremendous flexibility – she can get her leg behind her head!) She blended right in with the local gang as we talked, laughed and drank wine late into the night.

Oh yeah, we’d had some wine by this point…

We all had a fantastic dinner at Northstar Cafe (omg, try their veggie burger!), followed by dessert next door at Columbus’s own Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, with a personal tour by Jeni herself.

Ree is in awe of the ice cream goodness. I’m in the back about to pass out from so many yummy choices.

Side note: I am completely in love with Jeni’s ice cream, and was crazy proud that we could introduce Ree to our hometown best. Not only is it delicious, it’s all-natural, with many ingredients locally-sourced (including milk and cream from Snowville Creamery), and every flavor is safe for Cordy to eat. She’s not just limited to vanilla at Jeni’s, even if she prefers vanilla.

Columbus locals, if you haven’t had Jeni’s yet, you are hereby ordered to report to your nearest Jeni’s location and eat ice cream. Meyer Lemon Yogurt is my favorite, but if you hurry you might get to try Ylang Ylang Honeycomb before the season passes.

Dinner and ice cream and hanging out with some amazing women made it one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time. It all went by too quickly, and I already miss those conversations and all of that laughter. I’m glad to have met Ree, and thankful to her for giving us all a reason to gather and share an awesome evening together.

Love.
Filed Under: being a mom, me me me, Mira, plague Tagged With:


Feb 14, 2011

Behaving Badly

February 14, 2011 By

Over the weekend, I made my weekly pilgrimage to Target, shrine of everything-you-need and even more that you probably don’t need, but hey, it’s cute and in the dollar bin!

The first game at Target is always finding a parking spot. I cruised down one aisle, but all of the spots were taken, so I decided to take a right and try the next aisle over.

As I made the turn, a middle-aged couple were walking from the store out into that aisle. They were walking right down the middle of the aisle, to be specific. I wasn’t in a hurry, though, so I slowly inched forward behind them. The woman drifted over to the far left side, but the man remained in the middle of the aisle, clearly planning to keep his course.

He did start to drift to the right side, though, leaving the middle of the road open for me. I guessed that they must have different cars, since they were on different sides of the aisle and he had fallen behind her in pace, so I slowly drove between them (with plenty of room on each side) and then pulled into an open space on the left, pausing to make sure the woman wasn’t going to cross the open space. She instead went to the car just before the space.

As I put the car in park, out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of the man beside my window. Apparently they were taking the same car. He was opening up the passenger door of his car, and in that side-glance instant, I caught him peering into my window, his eyes attempting to bore holes into me with hatred.

I was immediately uncomfortable and turned my head to the passenger seat, taking extra time to gather up my purse and put away my keys. Did I really see that or was that side-glance misinterpreted? Confused, I turned back and prepared to get out of the car, knowing he was still likely right there.

As I opened the door, my eyes trying to remain anywhere but near a human being, I was aware that he was already in his car. But my eyes again drifted up and there staring right at me from the passenger seat in the next car over, was a man I’d never met before, with a look on his face like he was about to jump out of his car and beat me. In that quick glance, his eyes, his body language communicated that he hated me. I’ve never seen so much negative energy coming off of a person before, especially towards someone he didn’t even know.

I quickly closed my door and walked away, still unsure of exactly what happened and not wanting to wait around to give the guy a chance to speak. What could I have done to make this person so angry? I kept my car well behind them when they were walking to their car, never wanting to be pushy. And if he was upset that I was somehow pushy for trying to drive down that aisle, did that infraction truly deserve that severe of a response? Even if he was just having a bad day, why take it out on me?

I’d like to think this was an isolated incident, but I’ll admit I’m seeing it more and more every day.

Like the person yelling at a customer service representative because they didn’t ring up the right sale price at the register.

Like the guy weaving through traffic, nearly causing accidents because he’s more important than anyone else on the road and deserves to get there first.

Like a parent blowing up at a neighbor for having the nerve to ask her child to please not walk through her flower garden, screaming that no one tells her child what to do but her.

People – we’re losing our ability to interact with each other.When the world around you feels more like a reality TV show and less like actual reality, something is wrong.

Our society is teetering towards a loss of all civility. It’s like people are rebelling from the politically correct atmosphere of the last decade and swinging to the polar opposite. Maybe all of the power of anonymity on the internet is spilling over into our day-to-day behavior? (Note to offenders: when you act like an internet troll to the people in your community, we actually know who you are. And then don’t like you.) 

We’re becoming a Jerry Springer culture, zero-to-pissed-off-and-swinging in 2.3 seconds. If someone does something that inconveniences you, clearly they meant to do it and therefore deserve to be punished. Giving someone the benefit of the doubt is unheard of, and if done generally means that you’ll be the loser when the other person chooses to strike first in the war of angry words.

 I’m so sick of it.

Look, I’m socially awkward, but even I know the basics of how to behave in public. Be nice to people. Give them the benefit of the doubt. If you’re upset, bring it up to the person calmly and rationally and give the other person a chance to explain or make it right.

People who get angry all the time intimidate me – I never know when they’re going to blow up next. My coping mechanism is to conjure up the image of screeching chimpanzees: out-of-control and primitive, which is really how these people are behaving. And when you imagine them as chimps, they look ridiculous.
My challenge to all of you is to practice kindness this week. Do something nice at a moment when no one expects it. If you feel like you’re about to yell, pause and ask yourself if it’s really worth it to pummel the other person with all of that negativity. Slow down. Make others smile.
And for goodness sake, show some understanding and love to all of the random people you interact with in public each day. Don’t be the chimpanzee in the room.
Filed Under: daily life, love, rant Tagged With:


Feb 14, 2011

My Week In Hell (Er, Bootcamp)

February 14, 2011 By

So…bootcamp.

Yeah. Wow.

I knew going in that it wasn’t going to be easy. And for a program designed for people to lose weight, I was a little intimidated by all of the thin young women I saw in the class. But I showed up for my first class, took my place (in the back of the class) and was determined to do my best.

It was hard, but it wasn’t impossible. The instructor started off with some basic cardio moves involving the step, and I easily followed along. It wasn’t until near the end, when we began switching into more strength moves that I started to struggle a little. Still, I finished strong, and not once did I feel any lightheadedness or urge to vomit.

Actually, all urges to vomit came the next night, when a stomach virus hit me out of nowhere. Ugh. Once again, I’ll say a stomach virus might just be the quickest way to lose weight, but certainly not the most pleasant or one I’d recommend.

By Thursday night (24 hours later) I was able to stomach some solid food again, and by Friday I was nearly back to normal. Which is good, because my second day of bootcamp was Saturday morning.

This particular program features 2 classes a week. One class is the traditional “bootcamp” with a mix of cardio and strength training. The second is what they call QVR (for quick, visible results), which is completely a strength training class with weights. I had been warned by a certain someone that QVR was harder than bootcamp, so I was prepared for the worst when I arrived on Saturday.

It was crowded when I arrived. Due to the success of the Groupon deal, they had more new recruits than they could handle. So they had to split the class into two. I was a little disappointed, because I’ve never worked with a weight bench and really wanted to, but my class was sent to the other room to work with free weights.

The instructor asked everyone to get a dumbbell, but she chose the weight for us. When it was my turn, I flashed my best pathetic smile and said, “Hi, I’m a newbie and a weakling,” as I eyed the 5lb weights. She took a hard look at me and handed me a 10lb weight. I tried to argue, but she was already on to the next person. Huh, maybe she knows something about me that I don’t, I thought.

The class started with lower body strength training and it didn’t take long before I broke a sweat. Lunges holding the weight, wide-leg squats dangling the weight, calf raises, dead lifts…they were difficult but not impossible. But that 10lb weight…it was getting heavy already.

When we moved into upper body routines, I started to lose any confidence I had. I normally use a 3lb weight for videos, and a 10lb weight felt damn near impossible at times. My arms trembled, I had trouble even lifting the weight from starting position at times, and I didn’t do nearly as many reps as the instructor was counting out. I was panting, grunting, whining, and my shirt was completely damp from sweat. A 10lb weight was WAY too hard for me.

For the last 15 minutes of class, I kept noticing the lights flickering in the room. That’s odd, I thought, why do the lights keep flickering? I finally asked the woman next to me, who confirmed that no, the lights weren’t flickering at all. Ah. So this is what it feels like when you’re close to passing out.

I grabbed my Gatorade and tried to give my body a little sugar to help with the stress I was putting it through. It gave me just enough energy to finish. In the cooldown, I was hit with nausea, but I focused on my breathing and it passed after a few minutes. I barely had the energy to haul my sorry self off the floor and put my hated 10lb weight back on the rack.

I left feeling broken. My arms felt like limp spaghetti, my legs ached. But an hour or so later I felt…good. Energized. Powerful. I was tired, but it was an exhaustion from solid work.

Yesterday? Oh, I hurt. A lot. And I still let out a small groan when I sit down sometimes. But I’m totally going back this week. If they can force me to work harder than I usually do, then I expect some awesome results when it’s over in 11 more weeks.

Oh, and current weight: 177. Lowest I’ve seen in a while!

Filed Under: motivation, ow Tagged With:


Feb 8, 2011

Confession and Penance

February 8, 2011 By

OK, first the confession: my plan to join in on the morning fitness scheduled at Blissdom? Didn’t happen. I have no one to blame by myself for that, too.

The first morning, I mistakenly set my alarm for PM instead of AM, so it didn’t go off and my body took full advantage of the extra sleep. The second morning, I was feeling unwell after a night full of rich foods and way too much wine, so I chose to sleep in and rest my poor angry stomach.

In my defense, I do work third shift, so mornings are usually the worst time ever to ask me to be awake.

The good news is that despite the lack of formal exercise, and despite being surrounded by a non-stop array of delicious foods (Blue Bunny ice cream! Lobster bisque from Red Lobster!) I didn’t gain a pound while in Nashville. I did eat plenty of good food, but the Gaylord Opryland is practically a city within itself, so you have to walk a mile to get anywhere. I may not have been in a group fitness class, but I logged a lot of distance in my shoes!

But this week, oh, I’m gonna be served some serious penance. You see, last month Groupon ran a special for a 6 week bootcamp program offered by Body by Todd here in Columbus. It includes two 1-hour sessions a week, with the promise of serious results if you stick with the program. The deal was too good to pass up (seriously, it was like 90% off the usual price!), so I bought it.

On Saturday I went for my “fitness evaluation” which was really more an orientation of the facility and how they operate. It was a little frightening. I mean, the facility is very nice, and the trainers seem dedicated to helping people reach their goals, but it sounds…hard.

Everyone has to bring a Gatorade to their first three sessions in case we feel any nausea and need to get our blood sugar up right away. We also bring our own towels and were told that we will be dripping with sweat. Wet with sweat and a threat of vomiting – sounds like lots of fun, right?

I’m aware this will be hard. However, I rarely make enough time to take care of myself, choosing instead to let other things get in the way of my needs. For the next 12 weeks (I bought 2 of the Groupons), I have two classes that I’m scheduled to attend, and I will attend them because I’ve paid for them and won’t let that money go to waste. At the bare minimum I will have two hard workouts each week, with the hopes that I’ll squeeze in some workouts at home in addition.

And during the fitness evaluation, the trainer was reviewing my materials and saw my goal weight listed. My weigh-in weight was 181, and I wrote 155 as my goal weight. She looked me up and down for a moment, then said, “Hmm, you want to get to 155? Well, I’m going to list your goal weight as 155-162. At 155, you’ll be SKINNY!”

I nearly laughed. 155 is considered the top of the “normal” BMI range for my height. I’ve always seen it as my “wouldn’t it be nice, but not dreaming too big” goal, because I figured I’d still be heavy at that weight, just not quite as bad. Hearing her say I’d be skinny at 155 made me feel really good about that goal, or even getting near it.

I’ll report back after my torture tonight – it’s my first bootcamp session. Here’s hoping I don’t vomit or pass out!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,