12 May 2007

It;'s a beautiful morning.....

Don't ask me why I'm in such a chipper mood but I am.

It's only 9 a.m. and I have already; did my strength training and interval training, made a batch of dog biscuits, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned both bird cages, fed and watered all the animals, and gotten ready to go to work. I'll be leaving here as soon as I finish my breakfast. I like this having time in the morning. I wonder if there is some way I could work out my regular job so that I don't have to be in until like 9 a.m. That would be absolutely perfect and I would be a happy camper.

This weekend is the Pet Expo, that's what I'll be working for Nutro. It is a lot of fun. All the pet companies are there, toys, food, clothes, accessories, etc. All the pet clubs are there, bird clubs, breeders, etc. And the best part, all the people with their animals - I love that. Our booth is located right in front of the main ring so we get to see the dog show too - sweet.

Well, I guess I'll take my good mood and head off to work. Hope everyone has a great weekend. Anyone know WordPress??????

11 May 2007

That was close....

I almost succumbed to the pillow again this morning. Friday mornings hubby sleeps in so I'm the first one up. The alarm went off and I hit the snooze -- bad idea!! I was laying there mostly asleep thinking that I need to get up. The alarm went off again and I guess my subconscious won because I reached up and turned the alarm off. Once it's off I know I have to get up or I'll sleep all morning. So I got up and got my workout in. Yeah!!!!

My new blog is currently down. I'm changing things up over there so it will be down for a few days. After that I'll be pushing it - a lot!! I'm using WordPress and having major headaches. If anyone is good with WordPress could you let me know, I have some stupid questions.

Xena is back to her old, loving self. Apparently just being in the carrier (nest) and going through the motions of nest building set off her hormones. Thank god I figured it out Last night she was all lovey and cuddly, it was nice to have the old Xena back. Moluccans are known as the golden retrievers of the cockatoos.

That's all for now. I have to get to work since I'm leaving early today, it is Friday :)

10 May 2007

I have to hang my head in shame.

I did not get up to work out this morning and I have no excuse. I'm not sore anymore. I'm not overly tired. There's nothing wrong. I just didn't get up. The alarm went off and it was raining and I was all snugly in bed and I just didn't get up. So, in the case of do or do not, I didn't this morning. Oh well.

Since Sunday I've been having a problem with Xena, the warrior moluccan. She has been getting absolutely viscous with me. I mean racing across her cage and trying to bite me. It's been getting bad. I didn't quite know what was going on and was getting a little concerned about the way she was acting.

Yesterday I finally dawned on me. Sunday night she has started playing inside her carrier. I made the connection that she would try to attack me whenever I got near her carrier. It being spring and all, she was making her carrier into a nest and was defending her nest. Last night I removed her carrier and she was her normal loving, loud, self. Glad that mystery was solved.

09 May 2007

Paintball

is big here in Hawaii. We have lots of military and I guess it really appeals to them (ya think??). We have a bunch of friends who are really into it, I mean really into it. One of our friends ran a paintball game every weekend. He has all kinds of guns and gear, I don't know what most of it is. But I do know he loves Ultimate Paintball. Of all the paintball stores, he likes them the best. They sell all the necessary paintball gear for really good prices and free shipping. He's also a computer freak so does a lot of his ordering for all kinds of things online.

Paintball is really huge here. There is a place they play near where I used to live. They get packed on the weekends. There is also a huge field near the airport in Honolulu where they have monster tournaments. Apparently there are a couple of playing field on the military bases too.

I've never played paintball but I've always wanted to. When I was in school I tried to convince the professors to play the students, but they wouldn't. One professor had played once and whined that the paintballs hurt when they hit. Oh please!!! Anyway, I've never been able to find people who would play with me. So I've never gotten to play. Maybe someday.

Mother's Day

is Sunday!! Wow, that snuck up on me. It's always around this time, February - May, that I really miss my Mom. Well, I miss her all the time, but Feb. was her birthday and May is Mother's Day.
One of the things I used to like to do is surprise with flower delivery. Dot Flowers can send flowers direct from a local florist or field fresh, from the grower to your door. Flowers are a great Mother's Day gift. Everyone loves getting flowers.

Flowers not your, or your Mom's, thing? No worries. They have some fantastic gift baskets too in just about any theme you could imagine. They have wine baskets, coffee baskets, cookie baskets, etc. Or they have plants. I love house plants and they make awesome gifts. Send Mom a plant and she'll think of you every time she waters it.

This site has great ideas for whenever you need a gift. They are unique and will really make a lasting impression on whoever gets them.

So no workout this morning.

My butt hurts so much I decided that working out was out of the question. I know that it would help move the lactic acid out but you don't know how bad it hurts. So I passed. I would like to say that I slept in but I actually laid there hurting every time I moved, so that was not good at all.

The weather here has been really weird. It's really cloudy and overcast right now. Sure looks like it's going to rain. What's up with that?? We live in Hawaii, it's supposed to be beautiful.

Well, not much to say today. It's been a busy couple of weeks and I don't see it ending till next week sometime. This has just been crazy. I can't wait till it slows down a little. Part of the problem is that we are coming up on our certification at work. Every year we get inspected by the State to keep our certification and as you can imagine it's brutal. Everything has to be perfect. All the paperwork, all the instruments, everything. Most of our instruments need to be calibrated at regular intervals and so they all have to be sent off to be calibrated. That means weeks without a piece of equipment, ugh!!! Okay, nuff whining. I have to get ready for work.

08 May 2007

Sunglasses

When you live in Hawaii sunglasses are important. I usually have a couple of pairs, one in my car, one in the house, one in my purse, and a prescription pair. Over the past year or so though I've whittled my sunglass inventory down to 2. I got a pair of Maui Jim's that I just love. I use them for training and for driving and whenever I need them. They come with a nice hard case so I carry them everywhere.

The important thing with sunglasses, especially here, is that they be polarized. Polarized sunglasses are the only way to go. They provide much better vision and cut the glare a lot. The only problem is that polarized sunglasses can make some electronics impossible to see. When I'm riding my bike if my head is tilted a certain way I can't read my computer. I also have problem with my phone, I have to take them off to see my phone. But other than that, they rock.

The best part about polarized sunglasses is that you can see into the water. Considering we are an island that is surrounded by water, this comes in very handy.






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Evening update

Just thought I'd let you know, the soreness has reached new levels. I can't bend down or sit down easily. I swear to you I've been working out. I've been doing static lunges and split squats, why am I this sore??? I don't understand it!!! Work wasn't too bad since I'm on my feet all day and that was the only position that didn't hurt!!! Tomorrow it's intervals and I'm thinking some biking. I know that some exercise will help move the lactic acid on it's way out.

The following is political:

I was listening to a talk show on the way home and Mitt Romney was on. I really like Mitt but a couple things came up that made me think. First, he's apparently changed his views on abortion. I guess he used to be pro-choice and now he's pro-life. I guess that's a big deal to the conservatives. What it made me think about is this; if there is a candidate that you agree with on mostly everything, would you not vote for him/her because of their position on abortion?

I would still vote for them. The president doesn't have the authority to over turn Roe v Wade, he only has the ability to appoint Supreme Court judges who could. But that would only happen if it ended up in front of them again, that's a lot of ifs. I think there are issues that are way bigger than abortion; terrorism, Iraq, borders, illegal immigrants, the budget. Abortion is way down on the list of importance.

I've heard someone say that Rudy Giuliani has a good chance of winning the nomination. I believe that because I think his views are much more like regular folks. He's pro-choice (I think, I'm not positive cause it's not that important), he has experience - he cleaned up New York, he's for gun control which I disagree with but it's not a deal breaker. It seems that his views are a little more realistic and more like what real world people think.

Okay, that's enough, it just got me to thinking and I had to get it off my chest.

Ecotourism catching on in Hawaii

As you all know, this is where I live. For a few years I was a tour guide. I lead nature tours on hikes through the mountains. I really loved that job but it didn't pay a lot and you just can not rely on tips.

Anyway, I'm really glad to see that ecotourism is becoming so popular. It's possible to visit a place, enjoy all it's natural beauty, and leave it better than when you came. And it's not that hard. There are now places you can go to that provide ecofriendly vacations.

Kauai is becoming a real hot spot for that. Of course, Kauai is one of the last islands that hasn't been overdeveloped with tourist stuff. Kauai is much smaller than the other islands so hence a perfect place to promote ecofriendly tourism.

Kauai, the Garden Isle, is absolutely beautiful. The first time I came to Hawaii we spent 3 days on Kauai. We went swimming, snorkeling, rafting, hiking, it was wonderful. It's really so much nicer than spending your time here in Waikiki.






If you're coming to Hawaii you need to visit Kauai Ecotourism Vacation Rentals and visit the real Hawaii.
I learned in Girl Scouts, when you visit a place you should take only pictures and leave only footprints. Let's all start vacationing that way.



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I am sore.

I've been strength training for 9 weeks now (I know this because it's broken into 4 week blocks and I just started week 9). I thought I was doing well and getting stronger. Now I'm beginning to wonder.

Yesterday I started week 9 and really worked my legs and arms. I could feel my quads all day yesterday and my forearms were sore from a lame attempt at pull ups. But that wasn't too bad. When I woke this morning my butt was sore. I mean really sore!!!! Sitting hurts. Standing hurts. Walking hurts. Oh my god it hurts. So what do I do?? I workout again this morning. Yeah, that helped! Not!!! The good thing is there are no weights tomorrow. Because of the pain from the weights I was not able to do my intervals yesterday. I had thought I'd do them today but after my workout my muscles were so wrecked there was no way I could do intervals. I'm supposed to so them 5 times this week.. I'll do what I can and try to get my 5 in next week.

So that's me, hobbling around and yelling at random moments when I move wrong. This will be a really fun day.

Disney World

So every year they have the Disney marathon. I'm considering doing it. Okay, I should back up just a little. I'm kind of doing some long range planning. I want to do some traveling and I'm looking to build it around some racing. Since one of my favorite places on earth is Disneyland I've decided it's time to go to Disney World.

The attractive thing about Orlando is that it's not just Disney World. There are lots of other things to see there. There are water parks, golfing, dining, shows, everything. I think it would be an awesome place to visit. I would have to get some Universal Studio Tickets just because I love things like that.

I live in a tourist place and as a result tend to get cynical about tourist places. But face it, that's where the action it. I'd love to visit the Orlando area just once to check it out. It may be touristy but it has Disney World!!!

07 May 2007

I liket to think I'm a pretty decisive person.

Generally when I have to decide on something I learn all I can, think it over, weigh both sides, and make a decision. Rarely do I regret these decisions, and even more rarely do I change my mind. But this time I'm really stumped.

I decided to do Tinman last week or so and felt really good about that decision. I was looking forward to the race and figured out how it wouldn't be too terribly hard to add in the training for it. Well, the first obstacle was the swimming. I don't have access to a pool right now and swimming in the ocean is logistically a pain in the butt during the week. I had thought to swim on Sunday mornings but that is proving to not be working for me. Then today I started the next phase of my strength training and it's 4 days a week for 45 minutes. That means I'll have to be doing my interval training at night. Basically I have no time left in the morning to get anything else in. I'll be able to bike one morning and, if my plantar cooperates, run another morning. And I know myself well enough to know I end up taking 1 day a week off. That's 7 days and not a swim in sight. I may see about getting a swim in on the weekend afternoons but usually by then the beaches are so crowded it's insane.

So, bottom line, I'm rethinking my Tinman decision. My focus this year is most definitely weight loss and muscle building so I may have to pass on the Tinman to achieve those goals. I do have till May 28 to decided, after that the registration goes up.

So yeah, I started a new strength training segment today and it kicked my butt. This portion involves tough stuff, one legged stiff legged lifts, pull-ups, dip, my arms are still shaking. Now I'm on the hunt for a pull-up bar. My door frame just doesn't cut it.

Well, that's all I've got. Hope everyone has a great Monday.

06 May 2007

Sunday morning.

Well, here it is Sunday morning again. I do not feel like working out so I'm not going to. I have to work Nutro today at noon, so I'm going to get my house cleaned this morning. That will be my workout today :)

Not much to say this morning. I've been having problems with my stomach for about 3 days now. It's slightly upset and I can only eat a little bit before it starts acting up. As a result I haven't really been eating a whole lot and I know that's not good. I just don't know what's going on. Oh well!!

Okay, it's off to clean the house and watch soaps till it's time to leave for work.

Please visit my new blog and create a link : Flo's Place.

Conversation with Hubby

 So yesterday morning I presented my idea of working out at home to the Hubby. Once I presented it to him, he said he was in. I told him I h...