An Open Letter to my Fellow Gym Members who need Ear-Splitting Levels of Music to Work Out:

Isn’t it great that we belong to a 24 hour gym? One that lets us in to work out even when there is no one there to supervise? Yeah, I think it’s great too. Keeps costs down, and hey, we’re all adults, right? Meaning we are responsible users of the gym and won’t abuse the privilege of being able to be there at any time we want. Right?

So how come when I go in during unsupervised hours, often the gym’s sound system is cranked to brain-puddling levels? So loud, that I have to dial up my iPod to the max just to hear my workout music, AND I CAN STILL HEAR the gym’s sound system playing thrash-metal over top of it.  I don’t think it’s particularly fair that I have to choose to between getting fit and keeping my hearing, do you?

Forget it. Don’t bother to answer. It was a rhetorical question, dumba**.  There is no good reason/excuse to damage everyone’s hearing, including your own.

Speaking of iPods/MP3 players…why don’t you get one and crank it till your ears bleed. That’s right…YOUR EARS…and no one else’s.

So, the next time I go to the gym and I feel like my head is going to explode as soon as I walk in the door, I am heading straight to the sound system and pulling the plug. Please try to keep your ‘Roid Rage in check.

This has been a public service announcement for/by sane people everywhere.

…I am seeing benefits of my renewed dedication to my health.

I have a significant increase in physical and mental energy.

My legs are firming up and regaining their shape, from the running and the walking I am doing.

I have been successful at integrating running workouts into my schedule. Just completed week 3 of a Couch – to – 5 K plan.

My weight training workouts  – well, I am not so successful there.  This is because it is not as easy and mindless as jumping onto the treadmill, tapping on my iPod to get the workout playing, and taking off from there.  I have to concentrate on proper form, and at this stage for me, it means referring to the print-outs of the exercises I carry in my gym bag. Plus it takes longer than my treadmill workouts. According to the Body Sculpting Bible, I am supposed to be resting for 90 seconds in between sets. So, I perform a set then…la di da di da ho hum la di da…I set up for, and read up on the next exercise. I wait for the time to pass… and fret just a bit about how my lunch hour is running long and I need to get back to work…and by that time my pretty little pink Gym Boss rings and away I go again.

So, when I feel pressed for time, I ditch the weights and jump onto the treadmill. For that mindless, feel-good workout. Yes, I do realize the stupidity of this. I am a big believer of strength training so this bugs me, that I can’t get into a regular routine with weights. I have to come up with a different solution – a faster workout to get me into the habit of lifting weights again as I am now in the habit of running again.

I have a lot of weight training DVDs that offer 10-20 minute workouts of particular muscle groups (legs and glutes, arms & chest, etc.). But I’m not really too jazzed about bringing my DVD player to the gym – I feel that would be like bringing my own personal trainer onto the gym trainers’ turf.  It just doesn’t seem too “nice” – rather rude, in fact. Like bringing a bagged lunch to a restaurant and eating it there. So I will have to be doing this at home or in my office since I am not willing to shell out for personal training at this time.  (Not that I have any thing against personal trainers – after all, it was through my former personal trainer that JD and I became re-acquainted!)

I will switch to DVD for now, and come back to the “Bible” once I am more re-acquainted with the exercises and the strength training is firmly established in my routine. There’s nothing like an exercise video to get the job done and do the thinking for you. 😉

My first strength-training goal – to be able to do a set of  12 full, on-the-toes, manly-man-type push-ups. Not going to happen soon, but it will happen! You read it here first. 🙂

Next week: I’ll be taking my measurements again after my weigh-in. (I plan to do this every 4 weeks – another measure of progress, perhaps even a better one than the scale.)

I really should be blogging about my recent trip to Holland and the ensuing reuniting with my far-flung relatives, and the even more recent reunion with my two sisters (also far-flung but still on the same continent as me), but those posts will take some time to put together as they are going to be picture-heavy.

And right now uploading pictures to the blog postings is more than my patience can handle, so it will have to wait until I am:

1. More rested
2. More interested in learning how to do this in WordPress without pulling my hair out as I try to figure out the best way (upload them all first, or write post first…hmmmm?)
3. More patient (not my strong suit, but I can dream, can’t I?)
4. Less inclined to suffer shoulder and neck pain from too much time spent in front of the computer. I see the chiro tomorrow night so that should help a bit. I live mostly in my mind as opposed to my body, so if it hurts enough for me to notice it, I am in a lot of pain.

Anywho….

I’ve been seeing a naturopath since I am not getting anywhere with my family doc in figuring out why I am so tired and in a state I call “brain fog” most of the time. Perimenopause, malfunctioning thyroid, anemia….all possible suspects. I had my blood tested for all manner of things in April and the doc proclaimed my results were “perfect”, so apparently there is nothing left to be done, according to modern medicine. Great doc, so why do I still feel like crap a lot of the time? Hmmmm?

I looked at these same results and saw my TSH levels were still high, according to newer thinking by medical professionals….although my doc says she can’t prescribe anything till my results get a tiny bit higher. So what do I do in the meantime, suffer? Hell no, I shall do my own research and be my own doc, says I.

And so I did. I learned an awful lot about hormones. And not just the female/male kind either. Adrenal and thyroid as well. And how all 3 (adrenal, thyroid and sex) glands work together to keep things running tickety-boom in our bodies. And how if one is out of whack, it puts extra pressure on the other two to perform and can burn them out too. And mostly I learned that I am quite possibly a hormonal hot mess.

During this time, JD cut an article out of the paper about a visiting speaker, Lorna VanderHaeghe, who just happened to be coming to the Village Hotel to talk about….Hormones. Mizzus J and I went to hear Ms. V, despite my initial skepticism/cynicism upon researching her online, that she was the modern day equivalent of a snake oil salesman. I was pleasantly surprised to find that she was warm, sincere, and made a lot of sense. So Mizzus J and I walked out of the seminar with several bottles of her products. I tried the Ironsmart drink  – it really does taste like a Werther’s candy, which is a welcome relief after Floradix – a great product that tastes yucky. I also started taking Estrosmart, and after a couple of weeks of this regimen I noticed something quite amazing. I had gone from experiencing 15-20 hot flashes a day to ZERO. Yes, my hot flashes are gone.

And I actually am feeling a bit better. But not 100% yet so the naturopath has given me a little bottle of pills that contains actual ground up porcine thyroid in it. It may be a bit soon to tell, but I think it is working.

Among the other things Dr. Dao did during her 90 minute (!!!!) initial exam (just try to get a “regular” Dr. to spend 90 minutes with you, without having to resort to having a medical emergency in the exam room), was an in-depth lifestyle interview. She also performed a body composition analysis. After my trip to Holland, I saw her again  – and again, a body composition analysis was done. I was pleased to find out that:

1. My weight stayed the same, despite enjoying many, many Dutch goodies. Stroopwafels,  I am looking at you. For example. One of many. 😉
2. I had actually lost 1 pound of fat and gained 1 pound of muscle, due no doubt to all the walking that was done while in Holland.

This has inspired me to see how much more fat I can lose and muscle I can gain before I see Barbara again, for another body composition analysis.

I have taken a long, hard and realistic look at one of the things I was hoping to accomplish this summer – signing up for, and training for another half-marathon. Ain’t gonna happen. Not this summer. Not ready for it.

This summer I am going to do the smart thing instead, and redo my Couch-to-5K running regime. I am also going back to weight training, as with my running program, as a beginner (yet again). I am starting off by following the workout plans in The Body Sculpting Bible for Women, a really great book on the subject I picked up recently.

Progress so far: on week 3 of C25K and really enjoying it. On week 2 of “The Bible’s” Break-In Routine #1, not minding that at all either.

I am also logging my food and exercise at My Fitness Pal.com, a website I  really enjoying using (and it’s all free!).

I’m feeling good about the changes I am making, and I think the changes I am making are making me feel good too!

I’ll keep you posted.

Hello Subscribers and Internet Surfers!

How do you like my new place?

The old place (The Next Year of My Life) was a very comfortable and cozy home, but I felt it was time to stop…ahem…”renting” (not really – it’s free but I think you get my drift) from Blogger, and “buy” my own place (really – I am the proud and happy owner of my first domain name.) The irony of the above statement is not lost on me:  now I am truly a renter, of hosted space on the Internet for my new home.

Those of you who know Dutch probably know what Hete Bliksem is and those of you who don’t know Dutch are probably wondering how to pronounce it and what the heck it is.

What it sounds like: “HATE-uh BLIK-sem”. Say it out loud. There. You spoke Dutch, and no phlegm was required. (If you’ve ever tried to speak it, or know someone who does, I hope you are laughing at this point.)

What it means: Hot Lightning or Hot Flash of Lightning. Not sure which translation is the most accurate and really, does it matter?

What it is: a hot dish made of mashed potatoes and cooked apples, with some kind of smoked pork product (like bacon) thrown in for extra tastiness! I’ve been told the name comes from the fact that the dish stays hot for a very long time. Recipes abound in many variations on This Very Internet. Google it!

What possessed me to choose this name for the blog:

• It’s Dutch.
• It’s a hot dish of tasty comfort food * – these are good qualities for a blog!
• I just came back from a trip to Holland to visit family, and having All Things Dutch on the brain, purchased a Dutch cookbook (Let’s Go Dutch, by fellow Canuck Johanna van der Zeijst Bates).  I saw the recipe in the book, and the rest is history.
• I could have called it Blote Billetjes in Het Groen (another recipe from the book), but “Bare Little Bums in the Grass” might send the wrong kind of traffic to my site, if you know what I mean. (What IS IT with these Dutch recipe names?!?!)
• I like watching lightning, from a safe, dry place of course.
• I am in the “Hot Flash” time of my life, though I am currently no longer experiencing them thanks to a herbal remedy I am taking.
• I think it’s a cool name. Did I mention it was Dutch?

*Nope, can’t recall ever eating it and I’ve certainly never made it. But every Dutch person I have talked to about this perks up at the mention and tells me it’s delicious. So now I just have to make it in the fall when the weather is right for this type of dish.

So here it is…Casa Hete Bliksem.  Come on in and make yourself comfortable.  Hope you like it here as much as I do!

Update on the Name (June 19/2011):

My cousin Peter informs me that Hete Bliksem is also a slang term for a “hottie”, an attractive woman who’s got it goin’ on. This usage is news to me and didn’t turn up on the internet when I was researching the name. Don’t feel it applies to me and don’t really need it to…but maybe someday, if  I get my mojo back…50+ mojo??? One can dream, I suppose. 🙂

Spring IS here, as evidenced by the change in Mizz L’s appearance.

Mizz Lucy, after

My little puppy is now 11 years old and still spry and active as ever. I hope to have her as my running coach again this summer because……

….I’m getting the fever to start running again….I already have a fall half-marathon race picked out:

Currently on week 2 of a Couch to 5K running plan to get back into form enough to start training later this spring…Wish me luck!

Ahhh me. I suppose the correct answer is living my life. But that might not be quite correct, if by living life you mean doing a lot of enjoyable and exciting things.

But it hasn’t been all that bad either. I am working away at my 2011 goals, and although I am not making progress as quickly as I would like, I am making progress.

Still aiming towards that MBA program starting next fall…however I made a major shift in the way I want to do it. Instead of attending a “bricks and mortar” school part-time in the evenings, I have decided to apply to an online MBA program. It’s even more highly regarded than the bricks and mortar program, and I will be in class with other students with similar background to me in terms of managerial experience. (And I don’t have to write the GMAT for this one either – WOOO HOOOOO….er…I mean, that’s cool…ahem.)

Still trying to live a healthier lifestyle too, and incorporate more physical fitness into my daily life. That is proving to be quite challenging, especially since we are having such bitter temperatures this winter, and my inner diva just wants to curl up under the blankets and nap and eat carbs all day!

So I keep trying, and keep trying new stuff. My latest thing is to have my little personal DVD player set up in my office at work, so I can follow some 10 minute strength workouts during my lunch or after work before I go home. Ten minutes might not sound like much, but if you are 100% focused on the exercise it’s worth much more than 20 minutes of half-a**ed lifting at the gym, while chatting to someone or watching TV.

My focus on creating and maintaining a healthier lifestyle is such that I have come up with an idea for a new blog that I hope to set up within the next couple of months. This has stopped me from more regular blogging here, funnily enough. I get an idea for something I want to write about, and then think – hey, that would be great for the new blog! So, since the new blog is just a gleam in my eye at this point, I do nothing. Hmph.

I’ve also been stretching myself somewhat. I did something I’ve never done before. I entered a recipe into a contest. I saw on the Eat -Clean Diet website (my new role model, Tosca Reno’s website) a promotion for the “Good Morning Eat-Clean Diet Contest”, asking for breakfast recipes. So I submitted the recipe I created for making a mixed whole grain porridge with fruit in my rice cooker. And today I found out I won!!!! By next week I will be receiving an autographed (by Tosca Reno herself!!!!) copy of her Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook. Swoon.

Me, and my Overnight Sensation Breakfast. The photo I had to submit with my recipe.

Bowl symbolizing my love of cooking good food. GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) study books symbolizing my goal of entering an MBA program this year. Vision Board symbolizing my health and fitness goals.

Post title taken from an article in Oxygen Magazine, and most recently clipped and taped onto my this year’s Vision Board (obscured by my nifty new yellow melamine mixing bowl).

I staged a little photo shoot this morning, after I assembled my Vision Board, to become the picture for my first post of 2011.

Like I said in my previous post, I am a helluva starter. Today already I have cleaned up (and out) my spice cupboard in the kitchen. A little end cabinet that was piled to overflowing with some very old (probably older than my kids!) spices and duplicates of spices (half-empty baggies of ground cinnamon anyone?). Now it is tidy and organized (savoury on top shelf, sweet on lower) and I dumped a lot of stuff that was ancient or contained MSG or too chemical-ly for my liking (like artificial whatever extracts).

Then I made the above Board, out of an old bulletin board that we were not really using. I think this may become a new tradition for me, to create a vision board at the beginning of every new year. It was fun to do, though I hated cutting into my Oxygen magazines to do so. But it was a necessary action.

Then I cleaned the upstairs bathroom and, as usual, I had a revelation. (For some reason, I have my best thoughts when cleaning bathrooms….you’d think that would inspire me to clean more often but….you’d be wrong, unfortunately.)

My revelation was this:

Lately I’ve been thinking back on the days when I worked part-time and worked out almost every day and I’ve been saying I to myself that I had more control of my life and time then and would rue that I didn’t have that much time and control in the present day.

But this morning’s revelation was that I didn’t have more control then. This was just a little bit of Mizz D mythology I was telling myself. If anything, I had less. I was at home, broke, with no car, a non-supportive spouse, and toddler and a baby to look after.

I was just making the best of the situation I was in at the time.

As I could do at any time of my life. Including NOW.

This is HUGE. A paradigm-shift of my thinking.

So:

I am going to become audacious this year. Take the limits off of myself and see where I end up. If I could figure out how to get fit back then, I have no excuses for the present day anymore.

No excuses.

Keep me honest please. If you read anything in this blog in the coming year that sounds like an excuse, call me on it!

Thanks,

Mizz D