Dale vs. the Rings of Doom Part 2

I got my you know what kicked during my first suspension training experience.  At first I thought I would wait a while before I braved it again but I was determined to keep trying.  I went back for round 2 today and while it was still incredibly hard I managed to have a better attitude and push myself farther today.  I am going to be extremely sore tomorrow but if I keep going once a week I’m hoping that by this summer I can officially claim at least a tie with the rings of doom!

Morning Glory

Have you ever been watching a movie and been laughing about the quirks of one of the characters and then realized you are laughing because you do very similar things?  Kyle and I watched Morning Glory last night and I absolutely loved it.  I was also a little uncomfortable with how well Rachel McAdams character resonated with me.  Thankfully Kyle and I discussed that I would only be like that if I was on speed but there were definitely some strong similarities.  The movie covered a wide range of emotions and I laughed and almost cried and enjoyed every minute of it.  Becky, the main character, is a workaholic who is fired from her job and then gets hired to take on the huge challenge of saving a sinking morning show.  She learns how to stand up for herself, fight against the odds, and how to find some level of work/life balance.  

Sometimes you have to spoil yourself

Let me preface this by saying I worked 70 hours this week because of our big software release this weekend.  I have been doing really well in my new role as manager but this week absolutely exhausted my team (myself included).  We persevered and got through it and I’m really proud of that.  The big highlight to my week was that Friday was both pay day and bonus payout day!  I know that sounds shallow to have money be the highlight of my week but when you go so many days in your cubicle without sunshine you have to celebrate the reward you get for doing so.  Most of my bonus money will go towards our mortgage and the few small trips we have planned this year but I wanted to buy myself a present as a reward for all my hard work.

So here is my splurge purchase, note that even this splurge purchase for me involved the outlet store and an additional 30% off coupon but that’s just how I roll!  Here she is:

Rings of Doom

I am not saying I expected suspension training to be easy, that would be foolish.  However I did not expect to feel like crawling into the fetal position halfway through class.  I will say that I survived for 50 minutes although several times I was fighting the urge to puke or pass out.  This is a primarily a result of my new diet which didn’t set me up with enough calories to burn during such an intense class but also due to the fact that I am out of shape.  I am thankfully well on the way to fixing that but the class last night was torture.  We used the suspension trainer for a combination of upper body, lower body, and core exercises.  Some of the exercises made me feel like fire was pulsing through my veins.  Then we get a “break” by doing mountain climbers, sprinting, and up downs.  I am proud to say I survived but boy did I sulk like a little child to Kyle when I got home. 

I am sore pretty much everywhere but mainly in my upper arms, upper thighs, and stomach.  I am so glad I tried the class and I will go back just not until I have spent a little more time toning up in more humane ways like yoga and kickboxing.  I will for now call the suspension trainer the rings of doom.  One day we will meet again rings of doom and I will show you who is boss.  I would suggest this class for fitness fanatics or people who enjoy self torture!

Scorch Trials

I am a binge reader so I am either devouring books left and right or going a month or two without so much as picking up a book.  I really loved the first book in the series which was called the Maze Runner (I blogged about it a while ago) but true to my style it took me a month or two to pick up the sequel.  Now that I finally got around to it I was not disappointed at all.  It kept me on the edge of my seat and reading frantically just to find out what was next.  I stayed up until 12:30 AM last night to finish it which is several hours past my bedtime but I just had to know what happened.  At times I got frustrated by the constant peril because you just really want these poor kids to catch a break but I understand why it was so relentless.  James Dashner has a wonderful writing style and does a very good job depicting both the male and female characters.    My one qualm with young adult literature is that most authors can only meaningfully portray the emotions of one gender.  I had crazy dreams last night as a result of the book but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I would recommend the series to anyone who wants a quick read that tries to question what is humane and necessary when the world is in a wide scale disaster.  I am anxiously awaiting the third and final book which is set to come out in October of this year.  I am rooting for Thomas as he enters this third and final book.  I am also remembering why I like to get into a series after all the books have been published, waiting is agony.      

A Case of the Mondays

It was a really nice weekend.  I went to a dinner and concert with a friend on Friday.  As a result I have found a new music obsession, Brendan James is amazing.  Listen to his song Nothing for Granted on YouTube (I posted a link on my Facebook).   Then Saturday I spent most of the day working, relaxing and cleaning.  The cold weather made me feel rather reclusive so I stuck inside for most of the day.  Then we met up with my parents for dinner because my Aunt and Uncle were in town.  It was such a nice addition to my weekend to spend time with family and eat yummy Mexican food.  Our diet limited our choices pretty heavily but we split Fajitas and they were delicious, it felt wrong to go to Monterrey’s and not eat cheese dip but my weigh in this morning thanked me for my good behavior. 

Sunday I met with my small group and it is really hitting home that my girls are about to graduate.  We had some good discussion and I am really proud of them because they are really wonderful young women.  They still have some growing up to do but truth be told don’t we all even those of us like me who have their 26^th birthday looming.  Then Kyle’s parents came over for dinner and thankfully since they are also on a diet we all enjoyed yummy Tilapia and commiserated that Cake Boss was a bad choice of shows to watch!

After all the fun of the weekend it is back to business as usual as another week of work begins.  My new role is going well but today I couldn’t help but feel a case of the Mondays.  It’s going to be a very hectic week as we finish up in preparation for our release this weekend.  I am bracing myself and trying to keep a very positive attitude.  The best I can do is take a deep breath and tackle things as they come, wish me luck!

Stressful Week

This week has been crazy busy.  I am incredibly thankful that everything is going well but I feel like everything has been so fast paced this week that I am treading water just to keep up.  Kyle and I both came home exhausted last night and while we catching up I looked over by our kitchen cabinets and had to laugh.  I am usually a very organized person when it comes to our house but when I have a lot going on that goes right out the door.  The result of my stress and hectic schedule this week is a rather sizable shoe party near our kitchen.  I’m sure the first day I set down my shoes and then each day for about a week after I kept doing the same thing.  So I figured since I haven’t blogged all week I would help illustrate my hectic week the resulting stress related shoe party.  I am thankful today is Friday so I can actually have some time to tidy up our house before the whole work cycle starts again on Monday.