Finding RB

[FinallyMeRB]

Tried posting this last night but had internet issues:

Today was lovely so I got out into the garden after work. Spent two hours transplanting strawberries, up potting nettle, and tending to the potato patch. I also started out on my Treasure Hunt to the ruins and got a total of 240 march steps in. 360 of those and 100 climbers to go before I get there!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Today I finished my Treasure Hunt trek to the Ruins! I paired those exercises with some general stuff I needed to work on:

5 sets, 1 min rest between each
72 total march steps
5 pushups
20 climbers
10 side lunges
10 calf raises, pause on last rep

And in a MEGA SURPRISE TWIST, Husband also participated in the Treasure Hunt! He used his HIIT day to knock out all 600 march steps/high knees (via 5-minute Rehit) and the elevated mountain climbers (*shakes fist at acid reflux*) all in ONE GO!

Hope everyone is having a great Wednesday evening!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Happy Friday!!!

Yesterday I worked late, but I got some great time in the garden in the cool evening.

Today was PT, but we focused on my hip pain. Still got me out of breath and sweaty. Some of those deep pressure points hurt!

As my warmup, I finished off my spring cleaning list by hand-scrubbing some of our floors.

Husband isn't feeling well today, so he plans on doing his strength day tomorrow. We're both looking forward to a nice, relaxed weekend.

I hope the same for all of you!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Today was a hard one, Bees.

It didn't start that way. Last night, I decided I wanted to get up and do a walk right after chores. I actually followed through and got a 30 minute mile done while Husband got a little extra sleep. I was really happy with that.

Sometime mid-breakfast, I received a follow-up call from my doctor's office. I had my fasting insulin, fasting leptin, and fasting glucose checked. As a point of order, when I had the blood drawn, it was immediately after that week of no-added sugar eating. Unfortunately, all the levels were high, even my glucose, which had been within limits when I was on a previous medication (that I haven't taken since November-ish). Their advice was to eat no more than 1/2c of any starch and sugar total per day, as well as exercise, and manage stress. I am physically active, and shit like this doesn't help with my stress; but overall, I enjoy my life and have much less stress than any point previous. I don't know how they can give that nutrition recommendation so casually, as if it's not unrealistically restrictive.

I already eat pretty clean. Whole foods, home cooked, moderate portions, desserts are rare, protein and fiber focused...

I'm at a loss. Where I sit, my choices are: Restrict my food even more while trying not to trigger an eating disorder relapse and lose quality of life due to increased stress in the process; or stay fat and try to be happy in a body that the world constantly judges and demeans while also accepting that this insulin resistance will negatively impact my overall health and longevity.

I don't have any answers. I'm damned either way, so I'm sitting with it until I can clarify my priorities. This emotional turmoil was difficult to work with, but it is strength day. After a crying jag and a light nap, I did the dynamic warmup from a previous post and Savage Strength as my main routine.

I did the squats, RDLs, and chest press with 20lb dumbbells (the heaviest weight I own). I had to slow down the RDLs to get good muscle engagement, and I did the chest press on an exercise ball for added balance training. I dropped down to 15s for the row. I only did 1 set of the reverse lunges, but I used 10lb weights. Reverse lunges are particularly hard for me, so I modified to split squats after a couple reps. I could have finished them body weight, but I just didn't have the oomph and willpower after everything else today.

Husband has strength day to do, as well. He said he's going to do Beginner Dumbbells again.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

I woke up feeling less actively emotional, but I'm still not sure what to do about nutrition decisions. So, I'm taking things one meal, one decision, and one day at a time.

Today was a rest day. I felt like walking again this morning, and I accidentally tricked myself into walking a little extra distance because I couldn't see how fast I was going. 30 mins, 1.1 miles. Work was busy, so I took some time this evening to catch up on some housekeeping.

Yoga with Adriene dropped a video right up our alley today. This evening after his chores were done, Husband and I did Yoga for People Who Sit All Day:

(Follow-up from yesterday, Husband did do his strength routine as promised.)

 

[FinallyMeRB]

I was feeling sore today, but I wanted to walk again and get it out of the way. After some technical issues and delays, I got in another 30 min 1.1 miles. I thought about doing just 1 mile, but now that I know I can do more, I don't want to do less unless I need to.

I was dreading doing any of the same moves I'd done Monday for fear of overdoing it. Instead, I took a different approach and combined Moonbow (warmup) with Haul and Rise Level III 20lb dumbbells (main routine).

Moonbow was perfect because it let me get some stretching in, but I also used the baby cobras as a way to work on my lats/upper back. Instead of holding them for 30 seconds, I did them like a press-up for that time. Haul & Rise kept things simple but effective and relevant to my daily needs. I still got sweaty and felt my muscles activating just without the overwhelm of a more explosive routine.

It's Husband's HIIT/Cardio day, but his back is hurting. He's going to do back pain yoga instead, and I'm very proud of him for pivoting and listening to his body.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Today I walked 31 mins 1.2 miles and did some light gardening and walking the property.

I also had a realization about this nutrition/health dilemma last night. My blood work was looking good and I was losing weight living a less active, more carb-heavy lifestyle than I do now just 6 months ago. The only change for the worse that I've made is to be removed from my insulin-controlling medication. The doctor's most recent treatment plan made no mention of that, which insinuates that my problems are behavioral. Given the medical issues I have, there are anatomical and physiological reasons why my body does not respond appropriately with insulin. I realized I was being told to try harder without the right tools. It's like taking glasses from someone and then wondering why they can't see.

I feel a lot of emotions about this, but my main goal is to advocate for myself and not let someone else's bias control my narrative. It was scary to call the doctor's office and communicate these things. I've scheduled a follow-up call with the doctor for next week. This assistant is the doctor's husband, and it was a relief that he listened and took detailed notes for the doctor. I wasn't rebuffed; the world didn't end.

Husband's shoulder is acting up randomly today. He did a truncated version of Tom Morrison's shoulder health video right before bed.

I've got personal training tomorrow, we have some trees to plant, and we're shoveling out a significant portion of the barn this weekend to prepare for a building project. Our two goat does are due at the end of May-ish, and we need to get some better pens built that are kid-friendly. It's gonna be a busy one!

Good night, Bees. Remember, when it seems like every option is a dead end, be patient. Other avenues will appear with time.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Today was personal training day.

Husband got his strength in by moving ~570 lbs of cement pavers from the car to the garden and around the potato patch. As well as moving some heavy flower pots. Unfortunately, he threw his back out several hours later. I hope the frustration will help motivate him to strengthen his back proactively once this flare is over. I think he's starting to become more willing to consider it.

Personal training focused on loaded balance and mobility. I also ended the evening with a 30 min 1.2 mile walk. I've been upping my speed daily by 0.1 mph to find my upper limit, and I think 2.4mph is it right now. I'm happy with that since my joints aren't giving out like they would have in the past.

Happy Friday, and I hope you all have a good evening.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

In a slightly funny and definitely inconvenient turn of events, my back also started to give me warning signs yesterday. We had to significantly dial back our manual labor plans so that we both weren't completely down. Husband helped me move the stuff that was light but awkward (like the big rabbit cages), and I got the most important ones shoveled out and a little pile of bedding that was blocking a walkway. That took about 45 minutes.

After a break, we went into town to try a new-to-us BBQ place. It was definitely a hole in the wall experience but SO TASTY. And the portions were massive. I love getting enough of a good thing to have leftovers. Afterwards, we did a couple little errands that remained from the day prior, and I treated myself to a little stop at the plant store.

Which is how it came to be that I spent another hour (carefully) shoveling grass out of an unused flower bed, filling in an old armadillo hole in another bed, and planting several new flowers in said beds.

Yes, I have a sickness, especially when the weather is nice. It's called busy-itis. LOL

But, dear Bees, Husband and I did both do the full 30 minute video for back pain yoga before bed.


Today was technically a rest day...but it was the perfect weather to re-dig our wonky mailbox and straighten it out. I also still had 10 trees to plant. The mailbox took about 40 minutes. Then I took a nice, long break, and spent about 1.5 hours planting the trees in the evening.

After Husband got home from work and we had dinner, he helped me carry small buckets of water around to each tree to get them watered in. Because it gets hot here so fast and is fairly dry, I'll be doing that frequently for the remainder of the Spring, Summer, and Fall. Worth it.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Good Monday, everyone.

Today was an ambitious workout day and one I did not want to do (but technically I didn't want to do anything, so no fault to the plan.)

Since my back has decided that it doesn't like twisting, I decided to make it do that somewhat.

I started out with Overdue Level I for my warmup.
Then I did Body Patch Level I for my strength. Lunges are always hard, and the plank variations were hard. I did the raised leg plank at 5 sec each leg to modify for a total of 10 sec, and I did the side planks from my knee.

Here's a photo of Finn, my helper, who made sure I was squatting and lunging low enough to pet him during my last round.

Then I did Bend, Don't Break Level III for my cool down.

This is the first time in a long time I've felt able to do a three-part routine outside personal training. That's a mental toughness win as much as a physical health one.

Afterward, I did barn checks and spent about 30 minutes shoveling out some more bedding. That wasn't in the plan, but I realized I could get it done more reliably over many short spans. Then I came in, made/are dinner, and rested. The end of the day was animal chores and hauling water to all my new trees. I also had to water my new flowers and the garden.

It was a very full evening.

Husband is more serious about taking care of his back, so we reviewed workout options. He did a round of Lazy Abs as a warmup to work him into core work again. Afterward he did his standard Beginner Dumbbells Level I for strength day.

He brought up maybe going to the personal trainer completely on his own. I tried to play it chill, but I definitely felt

Slowly but surely he's starting to take agency for his health. I'm so proud of him.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Yesterday was a rest day, so of course I spent an hour in the garden. We were supposed to get a good rain, and I had a bunch of leek starts I could plant and take advantage of the weather to water in. I also dug up several pecan tree seedlings that squirrels had planted in my raised beds and repotted them. Taking care of all of that was fun because we had sustained winds in the 20mph range with gusts into the 30mph range. Unfortunately, the rain bypassed us, so I then also had to water all those things in said gusts, hahaha.

I ended up not watering any of my new trees or flowers since it had been overcast all day, nor did I shovel the barn. Monday plus gardening had left me pretty sore.

Today started on a good note. I had the much anticipated conversation with my doctor. It went very well and I believe has strengthened our professional relationship. She does think I'm a good candidate for some other medications to replace the last one that I did not tolerate well. And given the lifestyle changes I've made and continue to perform, she thinks those medications would have long term positive effect. I've agreed to do a couple more tests to rule out some outlier conditions and get a baseline of some levels while I'm not on medication, and she will also be consulting outside of her practice with specialists about myself and other complex cases on her caseload. I am hopeful that we will soon find balance with what she needs scientifically to investigate and with what I need to maintain quality of life.

Today is a strength day for me, but my hip was acting up again. I perused Tom Morrison's Youtube catalog and found this video that was helpful:

I like that he teaches how to think about pain and diagnosing possible causes. I took the info from the video and turned it into a routine as a warmup.

10 each side, 3 sets, medium band
Hip Flexors
Adductors
Abductors
Hamstrings

My band has handles so I couldn't get it up my leg for the internal/external rotations. Gonna have to get a different kind so I can do all the angles.

For the main workout I needed something simple, well-rounded, and quick. I went for Body Basics Level I. I upped the difficulty of the squats by making them goblet squats with a 20lb dumbbell. The squat holds I did bodyweight. Let me tell you, by round three, my arms were shaking like crazy during the plank positions. I mixed my cooldown in between sets with some more hip mobility/yoga- reclined 90-90s, reclined twists, happy baby, and cobblers pose in various order.

After dinner and evening chores, I flowed into carrying water bucks to everything and then had to water the garden in full. I'll be really happy to upgrade to a hose splitter and a sprinkler when we can, at least for the main garden.

Husband did Lazy Abs level I with some grumping, but he did have a good mood during. I think that means he's getting used to these things.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

And by "get down" I mean personal training, haha.

Yesterday I did about an hour of barn shoveling broken up over two rounds.

Today in training we focused on strengthening my hips. I think these pains are a mix of over and under-use depending on the day. I might have to give lower body work a break for a few days.

In the meantime, I think I'll keep core and ankle strength on the list and pepper in arms/shoulders as needed. It rained all evening here, so I have a break from watering for a few days. And we don't have any strength-based projects this weekend. I'm looking forward to the rest.

Husband's colon has been upset all day as well as some general fatigue. He's going to make up his strength day tomorrow if he feels better.

Have a great weekend, Bees!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Ah, Monday. I fully enjoyed taking the weekend off, and my glute does feel mostly better. We had excellent rain on Friday, so I didn't even have to water anything until today.

I had a lot of kitchen work to do this evening. I tend to find that draining, and did have that experience today. I had grand plans for exercise that I pared down to two simple moves:

3 sets
12 calf raises with 20lb dumbbells
10 ea side seated twists with a 15lb dumbbell

Husband's energy never really got better over the weekend, and that has extended into today. He did do Haul & Rise level I today, and I'm glad he compromised to do what he could.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Ugh, is anyone else having the hardest time motivating themselves this week? I feel like I've given a disproportionate amount of my life to screen time and couch rotting than usual, and I'm not super happy about it. Like, it would be fine if there was some threshold I could reach and then be happy to get up and do other things. But it seems to sap all motivation to do anything, even and especially when I'm tired of looking at a device.

Yesterday I at least got a 30 min mile walk on the treadmill done.

Today I warmed up with 1 round of Sonic Boom and Get Back Up Level I. Modifications as follows:

• Split lunges instead of reverse lunges, and I held onto something for balance. Did 5 each side for a total of 10 because these are hard on my knees/ankles.
• Calf raised with 20lb dumbbells, and I made a point to go slow and steady.
• Bicep curls with 20lb dumbbells instead of bicep extensions. I did 1 round of 10 each side and then dropped back to 5 each side for the last two rounds.

Positive notes are that the calf raises felt more natural and the plank holds were very doable. And I only felt the need to take a 60 second rest between rounds.

Husband took a walk on the treadmill for his cardio day. Very unlike his norm, but he's newly intrigued by the health benefits of walking. I can get behind that! He capped out at 30 mins 1.3 miles.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Time dilated again, friends, and although I've been doing the things, I have neglected to log.

Thursday was a bad mental health/emotional day. Thanks, PMS... I honestly can't remember if I did anything, but I have the vague impression I just rested. I remember enjoying a long phone call with my dad and that Husband had to dodge a tornado on his way home.

Friday was personal training. The trainer made me use my upper body-- first of all, rude. He had me doing moves I'd normally avoid, like high-pulls (my traps are overactive and give me a lot of pain sometimes. We've been practicing engaging them appropriately) and bent over rows (30lb dumbbells on those :0 Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could do that weight.) There was some other stuff, and I woke up Saturday feeling the -itis in both my arms with the left one feeling the worst. Oh, and we also had to chase a skittish goat across 3 acres... that was good cardio.

Saturday was another errand and kitchen day so that Friday didn't have to be so crammed. Sunday was some outdoor work in various flower beds.

Today was supposed to be a strength day. Being on my cycle, I wasn't going to do anything (I feel like garbage), but I got my new resistance bands in the mail. I did 22 steps each direction (forward, backward, left, right) with a medium band around my ankles. The side-butt burn was real! I'm realizing now that engaging those muscles that much has actually really helped my left hip pain. Yay!

This evening, Husband and I carried water to various and sundry plants. I consider all that good enough.

Also, is anyone else participating in NaPo/GloPoWriMo- National Poetry/Global Poetry Writing Month? It's almost over, and I'm a very late participant, but I've written 11 poems over the last 2 days working toward catching up. It's been quite fun and educational following the prompts and seeing how others interpret them, too. I'd love to connect with any of you that are doing it.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Today was a rest day, and I kinda sorta did that. I spent the first half of the afternoon writing 5 more poems. Some of them were pretty intense and my brain was fried by the evening. I felt spacey and disconnected from the physical world so I decided to put my outdoor shoes on and see where they took me. I did a spot of gardening to rescue another pecan seedling from a garden bed. I also had some insidious bermuda grass to get after. And then I spent about 30-40 minutes shoveling out the trailer. I got 2/3 of the barn cleanout spread out on the field before I called it. I think I'll be able to get it emptied in another go so I can pull it back up to the barn and start refilling it with the bedding that's blocking where we need to build the new pens.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Today was the strength day that almost didn't happen. I woke up feeling off, and by afternoon that had progressed into a migraine. I managed to trace it to tension in my neck that was radiating up into my temple- all thanks to my shoulder injury tightening up. Some Excedrin helped enough to get me back into the game. I did a little puttering in the garden so that the sad spinach would finally be planted, and when I got done with outside chores, I came in and worked on my shoulder and hip pain.

Earlier in the day I did the banded walks ( 22 steps each direction [forward, backward, left, right] with a medium band around my ankles. This evening I broke out my new resistance bands and used a medium one to do the Tom Morrison "Fix Hip Pain" video/routine. While I was there, I also did parts of his rotator cuff/shoulder maintenance video, specifically dislocates and retractions. 2 rounds, 10 reps each exercise. Before that I had warmed up with a truncated version of "5-Minute Mobility."

Given that I'm preoccupied with writing poetry and wasn't feeling great, I'll take that as a win. Speaking of, I'm 23 poems in over the course of 3 days. Most of them are pretty decent, too, if I do say so myself. To finish on time, I'll need to write 8 more poems tomorrow. That would be the most I'll have done in one day, so hopefully I'm feeling the inspiration!

Husband did 30 minutes of walking on the treadmill for his cardio tonight. He's really been struggling with energy lately, so he hasn't felt like he could be consistent. I'm glad he chose an accessible option tonight instead of all-or-nothing thinking.

I'm not sure how into poetry anyone else is, but I've been thinking of posting them here to share as well. What do we think- obnoxious or interesting? Let me know!

 

[AgileGrrl]

Heck yeah! Post some poems. There is a thread in the Hive devoted to writers called the Bardic Circle. Might be the place to just go for it if you don't do it here in your log.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Thank you for the encouragement, @AgileGrrl. I'll reach out and check with them on the etiquette of posting an avalanche of poetry, hahaha. I may cross-post for posterity as well.

I was consumed most of today with finishing the last 8 poems, and I did it!

31 poems in 4 days felt insane, but I'm really proud of the attempt, my follow-through, and the prizes I created. I did have to take a break mid-evening to connect with my body again so I finished shoveling out the trailer. I got it done just in time to fill it up again this weekend. RIP lol

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Friday I ended up cancelling personal training due to an event that would have caused a parking issue. Instead, Husband and I spent about an hour shoveling out the barn and loading it in the trailer. It was so nice to work together, and everything went so fast. It would have taken me days to do by myself.

Saturday we spent another hour spreading the cleanout into the field. By that point, I was wrecked, but it was also a watering evening. Thankfully, Husband took care of most of the bucket hauling while I focused on the borders around the house.

Sunday was a rest day, but I had D&D. We had a great time, and I was able to Chekov's Gun one of my players with a detail I'd seeded over a year ago. Delicious pay-off!

That all took enough energy that I didn't feel rested, so yesterday I woke up feeling fairly burnt out. I absolutely had to shovel some more barn cleanout to mulch the brassica garden bed with. Normally when I fill a new bed, I like to put the mix of manure, shavings, and hay on the bottom, but with these two beds I didn't have the energy that day to make it happen. Therefore, the plants have been struggling and needing much more nitrogen and it's reached critical status. So for my strength I did some more shoveling and lifting/carrying of heavy tubs of manure as well as all the bending, balancing, and scooping required to spread it out. Then I capped off the night with some Yoga with Adriene:

Husband has realized exercising when he gets home from work isn't in his best interest sleep-wise since we go to bed soon after. He rallied yesterday and did Beginner Dumbbells in the morning before he had to leave.

Today is a complete an utter rest/rot day. It's dim, cool, and cloudy; perfect couch weather. I may do some stretches before bed if I'm feeling froggy.

And I haven't forgotten about uploading my poems! I've been too distracted and/or exhausted to make it happen, but they're coming. Promise. ^_^

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Oh, boy. I better log Wednesday and yesterday before I forget again.

Wednesday I was improved but still fatigued. My shoulder and my hip were hurting, so my original goal was to do a routine for both. I made it through the shoulder routine and was too worn out, so that's what I did Thursday.

As before, my go-to shoulder routine is this one:

And the hip routine starts out as this video:

After doing 1 round of that (sometimes I'll do three but not yesterday) I moved into using a band above my knees and did:

24 steps left
24 steps right
5 each steps forward
5 each steps back
10 bodyweight squats (these felt so stable and pain-free with the band)
5ea lunges (also more stable but still awkward)

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Boy-oh-boy, today was a full one. The only way I won't feel the consequences tomorrow is if I wake up dead. x.x

My pre-workout for the day was shoveling out the last area of the barn that we need to clean up before we can start marking out where the new stalls are going to go. This area was almost twice as much as the previous one. I think the dimensions were 10 feet x 16 feet x 1 foot thick. It was...a lot. Even with taking a brief break for a work meeting, it took 2 hours. And we still have the very last corner to do. It has some heavy stuff we have to excavate but our backs said, "No more!" I also had to hard stop so I could rinse off and change to go do actual personal training and Friday errands.

Which, by the way, as an aside while we were in town, I dropped off a bag of garden seed packets for the local library's free seed library. They were so happy for the donation and it made me feel so connected and happy for them. I kind of expected a more neutral response, so it was great to be received so positively.

Even though I was essentially pulling a two-a-day, my trainer gave me no quarter. He upped the weight on EVERYTHING today. I loved him and hated him for it in equal measure, hahaha.

elevated situps on a bench, but with I think a 15lb dumbbell. High rep x3 sets
leg press machine, single leg 180lbs (HOLY EFFBALLS!!!) 5 each x 3 sets
cable machine kickbacks, single leg 50lbs (!!!) 5 ea x 3 sets
farmer's carries on my tiptoes with 20lb dumbbells 3 sets there and back
50 TRX rows ( -.- )'

Guys, I'm so much stronger than I thought I was! Some of those numbers are absolutely insane for me to think about. If I'm this good now, I can't wait until I get on the new medicine and my body actually starts responding the way it's supposed to.

OH! And that's not even the best news!!!!!

HUSBAND HAS AGREED TO PERSONAL TRAIN WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, with the same trainer at the same appointment so we can save money and be time efficient, but this is still such a huge deal. His back started trying to go out on him again after simply sleeping all night and not getting up...it makes him so frustrated that he's needed and that he keeps having to limp along. It's the best thing ever that he's finally ready to channel that frustration into improvement. He also shoveled today as his strength day. Lighter loads, frequent breaks; we got it done together. ^_^

I plan to do as little as possible this weekend except try to cook a brisket, start marking stall outlines; and I have a road trip to go pick up some new rabbit breeders planned. I hope you all have an excellent weekend!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Unfortunately, I was not able to do as little as possible over the weekend. Or at least, the things I had to do were more draining than accounted for by being a number on a list.

I did make the brisket Saturday, but (like a complete newbie) I made the mistake of starting it at 12:30 p.m. So it wasn't done until 1 a.m. and then it still wasn't 100% done. I would still give myself a B+ for my first one. Only a very small amount was a bit chewy still, and we've been eating it every day.

Anyway, because of that I was deeply tired for the drive I had to make the next day. Talk about being wiped out, but my new rabbits are perfection.

I was still tired today, so I kept my strength day concise. I used a medium band around my knees and did the following routine:

3 sets
10, 8, 6 dumbbell squat to hammer curl to Arnold press with 20lb dumbbells
tip-toe banded farmers walks across my house, there and back = 1
2 min rest

The squats I could do more of, but my right arm was the bottleneck for that part. Still, it felt good to be able to do the compound movement with my heaviest weights and the band.

Husband is also very fatigued. I've actually been pretty worried about him. We're both still waiting on bloodwork, and I'm hoping that his provides some answers. He did part of his vacuuming tonight after work and that was his limit for exercise for the day.

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Yesterday I had a lot of physical energy but not a lot of motivation. I managed to do a 20 minute walk after dinner. I got really hot and sweaty just from that mild movement so I guess I really needed it. Husband got his bloodwork back. Thankfully there's nothing yet that they could see other than side effects of chronic lack of sleep. If he kept on like he has been it wouldn't be good, and I think it's hitting him that he can't take his health for granted anymore. He's agreed to start some medication that will support his overall system and has a side effect of causing better REM sleep. In the meantime, he's been resting.

Today I had some of the same physical sensations about needing to move, but I also had the willpower to make it happen. I feel like the clothes I wear really influence my motivation. If I dress comfy, I want to stay comfy. If I dress for movement, it feels easier to move. I spent an hour outside string trimming the garden, harvesting garlic scapes and more friggin pecan seedlings, and also harvesting some opium lettuce to dry for the goats. The girls are going to kid in a couple of weeks and I thought it would be nice to have some natural pain relief available for them to munch on afterward.

I also decided to kick the turkeys out of the house and into the brooder room in the coop. I had to make a few trips to get them and their supplies set up, and that coop was hot today! The chicken hens (1 brooding on eggs and 1 with new guinea keets) weren't happy about having new roommates, but I think they'll all work it out. There's plenty of room.

After a cooldown and water break, I put my exercise plan in motion. I've been wanting to do another 2-routine workout day, and I was surprised at how strong and responsive my body, particularly my legs, felt while I was working outside. Seemed like today was a good day to give it a try.

I started with Durability +1 Level I for the warmup.
I used the medium band above my knees for the squats and squat holds.
Being on my wrists was the hard part for the plank/plank holds, and I swear the shoulder taps got my cardio levels UP.

Then I moved into Grind House Level I for the finisher.
I used 20lb dumbbells for everything, which is a big improvement! Especially for my upper body. I'm glad my trainer showed me I could do it.
40lbs for deadlifts isn't challenging for me, but those are the biggest weights I have. I compensated by making sure to go really slow. Definitely felt the burn build up.
I don't own a bench, so I did chest press on the floor. I wanted that extra range of motion, but something is better than nothing.
I used the medium band again for the goblet squats. After all the leg stuff in the warmup, I definitely went to fatigue if not close to failure.

I was winded and covered in sweat at the end and so excited that I actually did everything I wanted to do! It took me an hour. I'm shaking like a cooked spaghetti noodle in the wind. It was awesome.

Hope you're having a kickass workout today, too!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

I'm back! We've had so much going on the last two weeks, but don't worry; pretty much all of it's good! Husband and I have had 2 personal training sessions together. Both of them have been very fun! His Polar Assessment showed extremely poor cardio health, so the trainer has been working him into improving that. Husband has also been allowing himself to relax and have fun with the social aspect which we've both enjoyed!

The most notable gym thing for me is that I was able to use the Vertical Knee Raise station and do 3 single leg knee raises per side! When the trainer suggested I even try I was so nervous I almost cried. To give some perspective, I'm 320ish pounds, and I just didn't think I could. It was very difficult to hold myself up, and I'm still shocked that I was able to do it at all! How exciting and emotional!

We haven't been doing standard workouts, but that's for a couple of very good reasons. Husband got so exhausted early on that he just needed a break. This was confirmed with his follow-up bloodwork, and he's finally starting new medication soon to help him sleep and recover better.

We also had a fire lit under us to finish the new goat stalls because we thought our widest goat was going to kid early. We spent one weekend shoveling out the remaining deep bedding and spreading it in the field and then immediately had to roll into hauling materials and starting construction. That's how we pretty much spent last week. We even took a couple of days off work to make those big pushes. We managed to get everything framed out and the main large pen finished Thursday morning before he went to work. And good thing, too- the other goat kidded 2 days later. We left the goats in their pens in case of bad weather while we went on a day trip. Came home to a perfect little doeling completely dry and fluffy. The big goat still hasn't released her hostages, but it should be any time. We're expecting multiples.

From there the plan was to finish out the other two stalls. One will be my milking space and the other a weaning/quarantine space. But, the little goat will only eat from the left side and mom wouldn't let her eat from the right side which means I'm milking the right side twice daily. I've learned that I really love milking, BUT...have you ever milked a first freshener by yourself without any kind of restraint device? Thank goodness my vet tech restraint training was useful. It's definitely doable but NOT FUN for either of us. lol

So Husband has pivoted to build a stanchion for me. It's 2/3 finished, and I'm hopeful we can get it finished soon. Until then, I've recruited him to be my holder.

Let me just say, I love having our own milk. I made some shampoo bars before, and with the milk I'm going to make face/body soap. Plus there's all the edible options. I'm getting 1 pint 2x/day just from that one side, so I think I'll have plenty to work with between the two girls. I've also been using the milk to nurse a newborn rabbit kit. We harvested the mom thinking she wasn't pregnant, but I found 1 sausage-fat kit inside her that would have been born in a day or two from then. All the timing/circumstances aligned, plus my previous experience (it ended sadly but I learned a ton), to where this new one is doing very well so far.

As far as my personal health, my doctor got back to me that my follow-up bloodwork further corroborated the insulin resistance diagnosis. I'm making a more conscious effort to eat mostly low glycemic foods, and she's started me on Berberine. They also made a point to specify no more than 3-4 days per week of resistance training, which made me actually laugh out loud on the phone considering how tired and sore I was from all the construction. Once things calm down, I'll be very excited to follow that recommendation. I'm learning to really appreciate solid rest.


How has everyone been? I've missed it here. ^_^

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Hello again!

Last week we realized we had to pivot from stall construction to building a milking stanchion. We finished it up Wednesday after my last post, and it's made a huge difference! We have been running ourselves absolutely ragged trying to get everything done. We wanted to take what time we could to rest last week, but we weren't able to just yet. Thursday I had to take my elderly cat to the vet first thing, and my day pretty much revolved around that since we live so far from town. Friday husband had to last minute go to the doctor's office to pick up his new medicine. I was in a fugue state from exhaustion, so wasn't looking forward to doing chores on my own. Thankfully, I got up late enough/he got back early enough to help me.

I haven't had so many exhaustion and tension migraines in one week in a really long time.

The trainer took it easy on us Friday, thankfully, but we did get our heart rates up enough to make it worth it. Other than various errands and D&D Sunday, we absolutely had to dedicate time to cleaning the house, especially the kitchen. That took all weekend and is still a work in progress because of meal prep and sausage-making, but it looks a ton better. We were able to take things slow for the most part, and while I could use more rest, I do feel much better going into this week.

Unfortunately, the rabbit kit got a GI infection and passed over the weekend. It seems without access to antibiotics, it's really hard to hand raise them. That was hard, but I know I did my best and did better than the first kit I tried to save.

It's been getting really hot here the last couple days. We spent some time last night after husband got home from work setting up an electric netting paddock in the front yard for the does and doeling. The big goat still hasn't kidded, but even if she does it in the grass, at this point that's still better than a 100F degree barn. And the little doeling is loving life, bouncy, and vigorous. Her mom is giving us almost a quart of milk per milking just from one side, and I'm having to finish out the quart with the other side to relieve pressure since her baby isn't able to eat enough to keep her empty. It's a lot of milk but a great problem to have! I didn't get a chance to make body soap over the weekend, but it's on my list!

Tomorrow I start my next round of sewing classes, and Wednesday I have my first voice lessons since I left college more than a decade ago. For exercise today, I'm going to shovel out the doe pen in the barn. In the winter, we do deep bedding, but it's too hot for that now. Normally they'd be outside except at night, but once this big girl has her babies, everyone will be in there full time for probably a week +/- a couple days. Excrement can build up really quickly in those conditions, so we want to make sure we clean out what accumulated during the first doe's postpartum time and get everything fresh for this next round.

If the weather cooperates, I'll also need to do the same to the buck pen. Not only did it just get pretty dirty from all 4 goats being in there during the construction, but we had a massive downpour that just soaked everything. And it's time to clean out the deep bedding from the cold/cool months. It just needs done overall. The next thing after that will probably be garden maintenance because the grass has loved all the rain and heat. We did take a few minutes to harvest the garlic and lay it out to cure, but I just haven't had time to do much else in there recently.

It's busy, but it's a life I love. Hope you're all well!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Hi, friends.

The last couple weeks have been good and busy. Our final goat kidded big twin boys, so all of us have been settling into the new milking routine. I got the barned cleaned out as described, we've rotated the nursery pen around. The garden finally got some much needed attention, and I did some weeding in the south flower bed and grape bed. The end of last week I came down with a stomach bug that husband brought home Monday. Up to that point I had been trying to rest between appointments, projects, and work. Well, being sick forced me to do some extra resting. It was a little frustrating but ultimately beneficial.

It's been about a month plus or minus a couple weeks since I did a specific workout routine on a Monday or Wednesday. A lot of the physical stuff that we were doing is slowed down or wrapped up, so I have capacity to get back to it. I'm planning on doing PUMP-kin as a nice fully body reintroduction that I don't have to think too much about.

Husband is also still recovering from all the busy-ness and adjusting to his new medication. We need to have a conversation about if he feels up to starting his routine again. He's been doing well in personal training and being very consistent with that, though.

Oh! And I finally have some mental space and time to post my poems. So expect them soon!

 

[FinallyMeRB]

Okay, I did 1.5 rounds of PUMP-kin before my arms hit failure. I probably went a little too hard using 20lb dumbbells to start. By the time I dropped down to 15s for round 2, I made it through the first iterance of chest rows and my arms went numb. lol My cardio recovery was great and my legs considered it a warmup, but I decided to not push my luck just getting started back. I'm happy with it and proud of myself for doing any exercise in the first place.

And as long promised, here are some of my poems. They're out of order, but I wanted to start off with some of the lighter ones that I felt proud of and personally enjoy. All of them have some kind of inside joke, although it would take a musical theater fan to maybe get the sub-theme for the AI/Data Analyst one. Just know that it's in the tempo and form of a patter song when you read it.