A little whine

Posted: March 31, 2008 | Author: Robin | Filed under: goals, health, home, life, Move2008, Spring, strength training, Walking, yoga | 4 Comments

(Mystery plant found near the wildflower meadow. March 2008)

I’ve had a rough week. My back went out again and the sciatica joined the party. There were a few days last week when I could do little more than crawl. Sleeping was almost impossible until I was so exhausted that I managed to fit in a few hours between the bouts of pain.

The doc sent me off for an x-ray last Wednesday. The doc’s nurse called this morning and said the doc wants to see me (presumably she finally got the x-ray results). I have an appointment tomorrow at 2:30pm. Thank goodness. I was a little worried about our trip to San Diego (we’re leaving later this week). I’m not sure I can manage the flight without a little help from some pain meds.

Things are better today. Not pain-free, but not as pain-filled. I’ve been exercising, using heat and ice, and just generally moving as much as possible since it happened. I learned last time around that it’s best to keep moving.

I’m looking forward to the trip to San Diego. We’ll be staying in Mission Beach again. Being at the beach ought to cure what ails me. At least I hope it does.

I’m hoping to meet up with TPGoddess while we’re out there (if you’re reading, TPG, I’ll email you sometime today with my cell phone number and all that good stuff).

Time for the Move 2008 — Week 13 update. I may not have moved as much as the previous weeks, but I still moved.

Mileage for Week 13: 18.16 miles
Total mileage for 2008: 270.76 miles

I did three strength/weight workouts. Only one was up to my usual (trisets with 10 lb. weights). I had to use lighter weights once my back went out and do fewer reps as well as skip a few things that are apt to cause more harm than good.

Yoga was almost impossible with the back pain, but I did do some gentle stretching every day.

All things considered, it was a good effort and a good week in spite of the pain and back and hip problems.

Move 2008: Week 12

Posted: March 25, 2008 | Author: Robin | Filed under: goals, health, home, Move2008, Spring, Walking | Leave a comment

Week 12 already?? Wow. Time flies when you’re having fun.

Here are my stats for last week:

Mileage for the week: 18.25 miles
Total mileage for 2008: 252.60

Only one strength training workout, and three yoga workouts to round out the week.

It wasn’t a great week. I started feeling ill on Thursday. I’m still not up to par, but walking anyway as I’ve learned that viruses don’t seem to care for exercise.

It’s finally starting to warm up a little here. Highs in the upper 40’s today. Perhaps we’ll experience spring after all.

It seems…

Posted: March 20, 2008 | Author: Robin | Filed under: Fun!, General wackiness, quizzes | 2 Comments

I am a
Daffodil

What Flower
Are You?

I was visiting Bookbabie today and she had a link to this quiz.

The description of the daffodil:

You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don’t need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard.

I’m not sure about the sunny disposition, and I’m usually late for a party because M is the “fashionably late” type, but yeah, I can take care of myself once I get a feel for the group.

Late Again

Posted: March 19, 2008 | Author: Robin | Filed under: goals, health, Move2008, Walking, weather, winter | 3 Comments

(Mogadore trail. December 2007.)

It’s been a while since M and I have been out for a hike. We might have to remedy that soon. It’ll be a bit like trudging through swamp land, though. The heavy snows of last week have melted and we’ve had two days of rain.

Nothin’ like slipping and sliding in the mud for a good time.

I’m late again with my Move 2008 update. Here are my Week 11 totals:

Total mileage for the week: 23.29 miles
Total mileage for 2008: 234.35 miles
Strength training: x 3
Yoga: x 5

I had a very good week. 🙂

Spring Fever

Posted: March 13, 2008 | Author: Robin | Filed under: goals, health, home, nature, snow, weather, winter | Tags: sunshine | 1 Comment

(Laurels Preserves. March 2007. © Robin)

Last year around this time M and I were hiking around at the Laurels Preserves which is part of the Brandywine Conservancy’s Environmental Management.

What a difference a year makes.

Today we have sunshine here in the Bogs. It’s windy, but the temperature is a balmy 50 degrees. I’m ready to pull out the shorts and tank tops it feels so warm. We still have about 6-8 inches of snow on the ground. Thank goodness it’s not all melting at once or we might have more flooding in our basement. A slow melt is a good thing.

I heard a red-winged blackbird today. It made me smile. Spring must be coming.

I’m way late on posting my Move 2008 Week 10 update. Not because I did poorly, but because I’ve been too busy (and slightly lazy) to post.

Here it is:

Week 10 mileage: 22.19 miles
Total mileage for the 2008 at the end of week 10: 211.06 miles
Strength training: x 2
Yoga: 15 minutes daily

Considering how incredibly sore I was after our brilliant cross-country skiing experience, I think I did pretty well.

This week is shaping up to be a good one so far.

The Passion of Mary Magdalen: A Novel

Posted: March 9, 2008 | Author: Robin | Filed under: books, reviews | 2 Comments

I recently finished reading The Passion of Mary Magdalen: A Novel (The Maeve Chronicles).

Eh. It was ok.

I had read a review of the book several months ago, and the premise intrigued me. The author, Elizabeth Cunningham, combines pagan mythology with Christian mythology in one of the oddest tellings of the Christ story that I’ve ever heard/read.

To be honest, I thought this book might fall prey to my 50-Page Rule. For those unfamiliar, my 50-Page Rule is this: If I’m not into or liking the book by page 50, I put it aside. Sometimes I can go back years later and find interest in the book. Sometimes I end up giving up completely and giving away the book without finishing it. I adopted this rule a few years ago when I got tired of wasting my time on bad books or books that just didn’t suit me or my taste.

I had a hard time getting into the book at first. The hip chick-lit style of writing in a story that takes place in ancient times was very off-putting. I’m not particularly fond of chick lit to begin with, and although I’m willing to accept anachronisms and such for the sake of a good story, I wasn’t entirely sure this was going to be a good story.

I did make it past page 50. The book managed to interest me enough to do that even if I did know how it was going to end. But I can’t get excited about it. It was just ok.

I doubt I’ll bother with the other books in the series.