Take me out to the ball game

Or, take yourself and your parents out to it.

Today Mum and Dad got to see their first real life, in the flesh game of Baseball at Safeco Field in Seattle.  It was cold, it was loud, but it was fantastic.

To celebrate the event I bought my Mum a giant foam finger to wear and cheer the Seattle Mariners on as they played against the Texas Rangers, beating them in the end by 2 runs.

Of course, being their first ball game, we also ensured that they got to try ALL the healthy and I use the term very, very loosely, ball game food.  Crackerjacks, Fruit-kebabs, Garlic Fries, Pretzels, Nacho’s etc…
Tonight is going to be a Swagman’s dinner for everyone; a glass of water and a look around.

Time to go, there’s some quiet time with a book set aside in my schedule to be had.  Sunday is officially a NO WORKOUT day.

Hooroo!

Non-stop

Wow, I really do have to get back into a regular blogging routine.  These entries are getting later and later.

Today has been another busy day.  I was up at 6am for no other reason than my eyes opened, and decided after chatting to Alex that an early morning game of racquetball was in order.

So 8am saw Alex and I at the gym bashing a ball around for an hour and sweating profusely.

Post racquetball it was a quick dash home to shower and change, load the family and Mark into the car and head off to a property inspection for a house we’re considering renting.  It certainly suits our requirements for amenities, and my requirement of being closer to Mark’s office to save fuel, and so close to the gym that I can walk/run/bike there.
Wish us luck, we’re up against 4 other applicants.

Post application and lunch we drove into Seattle to the Arboretum to the Japanese Garden to witness and take part in a Japanese Tea Ceremony.  It was brilliant, colourful, intricate, tranquil, you name it.  I loved ever second of it.

Home again, change and back to play another game of racquetball with Alex, and this time Cliff and Mark joined us, before dashing home yet again, to shower change, and meet the guys for dinner at Mi Tierre, a fantastic Mexican restaurant in Woodinville, which is just down the road from us.

Now we’re home.  Stuffed to the eyeballs with good food, and ready for yet another shower, and some time snuggled up on the couch in warm pj’s to watch some telly.

Hope you’re all having a great weekend!

Awww sad! :(

Today was officially my last day working with Milla my personal trainer.  We’ve been working out together since early January at least twice a week, when in April I commenced the 20/20 Lifestyles Fitness program and we increased our sessions to three times a week.

Starting Monday, she starts her new job after being promoted.  Congratulations Milla! … and thank you!
I’ve had an awesome time working with you, while there were days I was hurting and wanting to quit, you pushed me in a manner that was both fun and generally laughter filled.  My whole outlook on working out has changed immensely, due in a large part to our sessions together.

Who know that from the early days where you had to try and convince me to work out more than 2-3 times a week, that you’d ever reach a stage where you’d have to tell me to stop working out and take a break occasionally.  I’m trying, but I’m just enjoying myself so much.  Not to mention the physical changes.  Granted I put in most of the hard work, but you were cracking the whip over me! *grin*

Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you!  Congratulations and good luck with your new role, and I’ll be seeing you upstairs.  You’re not rid of me yet!  We’ve got more squash to be played, and who knows, one day I may just join you in a triathlon.  One day…   I may live to regret typing that, but it’s a goal to consider.

You’ve one more promotion, and one I’m happy for you to make and accept, and that’s going from being my Personal Trainer to a friend.  I see a lot more Squash in our future.

Monday I start with my new trainer, who is also Mark’s trainer; Aaron.  6.30am training sessions twice a week.  Insanity!

Hooroo!

Oh man…

I seriously can’t believe that it’s Thursday night already.  The week has flown by, as has today.  I’ve not been home for more than 30 minutes since I left for the gym at 8.30am this morning.

Mum and Dad are back from their latest trip, and have dozens of stories about their antics in the ‘Wild West’ and Las Vegas, they’ve certainly had the time of their life.
No million dollar wins though, they didn’t gamble.

Happy Birthday Nicci!  Hope you’re having an awesome day.  Luff you long time luv!  Love, Luv!

That’s it, I’m exhausted it’s 10pm, and I’m calling it a night.

Hooroo!

I love my dentist!

I honestly never thought that I’d ever go to the Dentist, and enjoy the appointment.  Okay, well perhaps “enjoy” is a little bit of an overstatement, but I can honestly say that I’ve never been more relaxed at the Dentist than I was today.

This morning was Part 2 of my “root scaling and planing” treatment.  It really is as horrible as it sounds, but in the hands of the lovely Heidi, of Bellevue Smiles Dentistry and Dr Dodi Nov, I’ve never felt happier about a dental visit.  High praise from me indeed, as I’m of the ilk that usually spends the entire visit in the dentist chair, with every muscle taught, tendons protruding, hands clenched while I’m arch backed.  Until I realise, and physically make myself relax, something which usually only lasted 30 seconds before the original position was resumed.

On my last visit I was told I could bring my iPod along if I wanted to.  So I did.  Now, I’ll be honest, there are some portions of any procedure that are not entirely pleasant, I did feel a tiny bit of discomfort when the initial injection went in, but it was very manageable, and again when my mouth was being rinsed and cold sensitivity kicked in, but all in all, I was completely relaxed, enjoying my music, adjusting the volume from time to time to drown out the sound of the Sonic Scaler.  The appointment was over in no time.  Well time enough for me to be able to leave with a quarter of my face being utterly painless, and unresponsive.  The sort of unresponsive where for fear of drooling all over yourself, you simply avoid drinking.  Pretty!

Would I recommend my Dentist?  Darn tootin’!  But, one request, if you do go, and you do it from my referral, please let them know.

Now, it’s back to cleaning the house.  I’ve already managed to fit in a training session this morning at the gym, and lunch with friends, now the house has to be sorted.  Mum and Dad are back again tomorrow.

Hooroo!

Seeing less of me

Back in March I travelled across the country to celebrate my friends 40th birthday with him.  It was at this party, where I was under the impression that I “looked pretty good”, that a certain photograph was taken.
The very same photo that once I saw it, I was sufficiently horrified that I ran (not walked, actually I drove, but it was fast) to the gym and enrolled in a 32 week fitness program.  The 20/20 Lifestyles program at ProClub gymnasium.

Well, it’s been 22 long weeks, I still have 10 more weeks to go, and so far the results have been pretty astounding.

As I’ve mentioned previously, I wasn’t going to release photos.  I’ve sort of changed my mind, a little.  What I will do is show you the face portion of the photo that got the ball rolling, and a face photo that I took a week ago.

See the difference for yourself.  Even if I do say so myself…  I’m impressed!

Cheerio!

Chariots of fire

All that was missing this morning, other than the beach and the dated white outerwear was the music.

As always Monday is a personal training day at the gym, today was no different than any other Monday, other than that I was determined to go for a run with my trainer.

Previously we’ve only run in intervals, 2 minutes run, 5 minutes walk.  Today I decided it was time to run a full mile.  It mightn’t sound like much to anyone who runs a lot, but it was certainly something I’ve not done in many years, so on having made it, and in 8 minutes, without dying, I decided to press on for a full 10 minutes, much to the horror and delight of my trainer, who once I hit the 10 minute mark made me walk.  Ohhhhh.  Oh well, moderation is key.

So I’m on my way.  Which is a bonus as in the next night or so I’ll be starting to run with my friend Corby who’s training for a Marathon in November.  I won’t be running it with him, well at this stage I’m not, so unless there’s a miracle in my near future, I’ll be sticking to racquetball.

Incidentally I played 3 games of that this morning too after my workout, I lost today 1-3, but in my defense they were very close matches, 2 points difference in one, and one point in the other.  Close, but not enough.

That’s cool though, as my partner was starting to get a little “huffy” from being beaten.  I’ll let him have these ones, lull him into a false sense of security then whomp him good!

Hooroo for now, I really do need a nap!

Not enough hours in a day

Sorry, this post is one of the latest I’ve had in a VERY long time.  I got carried away with all the fun we’ve been having.

The morning started off nice and lazy, until 10.30am when we hit the racquetball courts again with Alex and Cliff for 90 minutes, then a nice leisurely lunch with them before we all went our separate ways.

Our’s being straight across the 520 floating bridge across Lake Washington to meet some other friends that until today, I’d been chatting to for nearly 2 years, but had never met; Kris and Reid and their son Markus.

This meeting had been in the planning stages for quite some time.  To give you an idea, I’d purchased a t-shirt for their son back in Melbourne, Australia on New Years Eve of 2006 just before we left to fly back to the USA.  Luckily I bought a larger size, as it’s taken so long for us to finally catch up.

Not only did we get to meet them, but I got to meet their dogs.  Weimaraners!  Woohoo!  My favourite kind, although, and especially as I know that they’re reading my blog now, I am very partial to Cliff and Alex’s dog; Sascha (apologies if the spelling is wrong) too!

All in all, it’s been a pretty fantastic weekend, with only one draw back. We’ve done absolutely nothing at home, so the housework and chores have backed up a little.  Oops.  Oh well, I’m currently searching for a new house anyway, so hopefully I’ll only have to scoop it all back into boxes and unpack it elsewhere in the near future anyway.

Of course there’s one extra consideration to make now, and that’s to not move too far away from our new friends.  The search just got that little bit harder.

Hooroo!

Double Datin’

We’ve just arrived home and we’re exhausted after spending a morning at the gym with some new friends, another couple; Cliff and Alex.  We’ve been chatting for quite some time now, and last night the four of us finally caught up in person to go out for dinner, then catch a movie in their FANTASTIC home cinema.  Mark was very jealous, on the upside, well for him, he has the larger movie collection.  I can see a win-win situation here.  Especially as they only live 2 minutes away by car.

This morning we booked 2 racquetball courts and played a few games, obviously not enough, as we ended up making a couple more bookings to play longer, before stopping for lunch.

It’s nice to have another couple to socialise with again.  Jamie and David, YOU ARE NOT, I repeat NOT being replaced, merely supplemented, we still miss you heaps and heaps and heaps and heaps etc.

I’m pretty sure that the immediate future will see us spending more time together, and I believe a standing date for racquetball every Saturday.

After all that fun though, I’m exhausted, so it’s time for a nice hot shower, and a nap.

Hooroo!

Friday already?

Man, this week has flown by.  I could have sworn it was only Wednesday, and yet it’s already Friday afternoon.

It’s been a very busy week, lots and lots of gym and racquetball, I’ve managed to shed nearly 6lbs (2.7kg) since Monday, so I’ve officially broken through my plateau/set point, and we’re on the downward weight spiral again.  *happy dance*

I won at Racquetball again today 3-0, which makes me pretty happy, and I’m starting to consider about joining the league at the gym for some more competition and see how I go.  I’m still not a professional, and have a lot to learn, but I’ve found I’m a fast learner.  Which given my old days of being “sport-phobic” has been a pleasant and welcome surprise.

That’s it.  I’m home, I’m officially exhausted, need a shower, and a rest.

Cheers to youse all!