Okay the formatting on that last post was nutz. Don't know what is up with that.
First day in LA was marvelous. Had dinner with ex and it was actually fun. I still love him as a friend and am grateful that we are not together anymore. He is too high maintenance. He aged a LOT in the past 4 (or so) years. It was good food and good times.
Gwen and I are having a great time together. I am actually staying with her in her tiny studio apt just off the beach in Santa Monica. I have no car and no luxury suite. It is a bit weird for me but it is also sort of fun. Kind of like girlfriends might do. We went to the boardwalk during the day and bought dresses together. I will post a pic of that a bit later.
Today I get to meet Kathy and a surpise to me was that Elizabeth also rang me last night to potentially meet. If things go right she and I will be chatting in 2 hours with one another. I am so excited and honored to meet some of the women from this board. Elizabeth, Kathy and I have a lot in common right now so we can talk through some of those things and I hope it will be a healing and fun time for all of us! Tonight I am going out to dinner with Gwen, my adopted daughter Trinh (Gwen's best buddy growing up) and one of Gwen's admirers is joining us too. It should be a really good time.
Tomorrow morning I am home in Portland to get back to normal routine and life.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
It sounds like you are having a great time. I hope that I get to the point you are at with your ex. We are doing our divorce in a friendly enough manner and we are trying to be civilized, but I don't think we could set down to dinner together.
You sound like you're in a much better place than you were a day or 2 ago... I often marvel at what we take for granted now, what my kids have, that we couldn't have begun to imagine as kids. I remember tv remotes with wires attaching them to the tv and thinking what an amazing invention that was! Heck, my master's thesis is on a 5.25" floppy somewhere... and my first computer in college had no hard-drive, just the floppy boot disk.
What netbook do you have? I just got one (yay!) to replace the ancient laptop that picked up a virus (which I never figured out how to cure properly), since it's only really used for travel anyway. Got the Asus 1000HE and it's TINY compared to what I had before! I think I'm going to like it...
I am back in Portland finally!!! Will catch up with all the posts and logs this week guys. (I see some of you were having a party in here while I was gone) LOL!
This is a recap of the trip to Santa Monica to visit my oldest complete with pics.
On Friday I landed at 12:30 and went immediately to El Pollo Loco for chicken 'cause I was hungry. Gwen laughed at my choice of restaraunt but we don't have this chain in Oregon and it really is yummy. After I ate protein, we went to her house and changed into summer clothing and went for stroll on the boardwalk. We walked along the beach and stopped in various shops. We bought some raw chocolate (and ate it) and Gwen convinced me to buy her and me matching dresses to wear out the next night. I NEVER wear dresses but was in the mood for some chang'n so I bought the dresses for us and then planned to wear them out on Saturday.
We walked for some time and finally reached the heart of muscle beach. The cage area with the weights had been updated since I had lived there and there were regular people working out in there. I remember just real muscle heads and really old school equipment.
After several hours of walking and shopping and talking, we showered and headed to my ex's for dinner. It was actually a fun time and no worries at all for me.
The next day was packed. I had appointments to meet two people from this board! Elizabeth learned I was going to be in the area and asked to meet up with me. I was blown away and humbled by this and, of course, accepted. I woke up at 8:00 with a 10:00 late breakfast planned with Elizabeth. The sun was shining, the wind was cool and the palm trees and sand were calling me. So I got into my running clothing and took a little run. It was a fasted run (whoops) and it went quite a bit longer than I thought it would. I have no excuse except that I was so enjoying the run, the scenary and the fact that I had 45 year old wisdom and wealth and my health was better than when I was 20! I felt so blessed and wonderful. I got lost in the rythm of the run and my thoughts and had to call Gwen to come rescue me so I could make the 10:00 appointment.
We were only late by a little while and since she had to drive me there Gwen decided to stay and eat and hang with us. I met Elizabeth at the door. She had her very darling (and BIG) 15 year old son there. He declined to sit with the girls for food and opted to take a walk instead. Elizabeth looks just like her Avatar. I was blown away by how solidly built she was. I was also completely blown away by the quality of person she was in every single way. We talked easily and after two giant glasses of chocolate milk, a chicken breast and some roasted tomatoes, we took a nice stroll down 3rd street promanade.
Now here is where things got a little weird. Elizabeth insisted at this fountain that we do a mini pose-down. (That's my story and I am sticking to it) I felt a bit awkward about the request, but I could not really decline the request since she had come all the way from beyond the Valley to meet up with me so I did it. Once I saw the pic, I know why she had to do this with me. Just look at the guns on that girl will you!!??!! I would kill for her muscle!
After breakfast, Gwen and I went to the store to get shoes for our dresses and then she had to go to the Accupuncture appointment while I went to Santa Monica to meet Kathy. I met Kathy at this trendy little cafe on Main near Pico called Urth Cafe. She too looks just like her Avatar except she was lower bf% than I remembered. She actually looked really HAWT. Both she and Elizabeth were HUGE inspirations for me as they are both near or over my age and both exceptionally healthy and happy women. I concluded after our converstation that they are also wonderful Mommies as they spoke with love and adoration about their children. Kathy and I ate a wonderful salad piled with meat and some bread and butter. I had some of the best Moracan mint green tea I have ever had in my life. The we took a nice long and slow stroll along Main and talked about everything. Again I felt as though I have known her forever and the conversation was easy and fun. What an amazing human being... Since we are going to be roomies, it is a good thing, eh? I did not take pictures of us (though I meant to) but we'll make that up at the Summit.
After I said my farewell to Kathy, I look at my phone and Gwen has texted me that I had only 45 min to leave for dinner. I was 1.5 miles from home so I sprinted there, took a shower and pulled on that new dress. We drove a few miles to a Sushi place in Venice that is one of the finest Sushi restaraunts anywhere. There we met up with Gwen's old Jr High friend (and a woman I consider an adopted daughter) and a new friend of Gwen's named Zach. Zach is an actor and he had only been out with Gwen for one night but claimed he was smittened enough to come have dinner with her Mother and friend. He was interesting to me because he was into MMA and also very fit. Gwen made me flex in my dress and Zach applauded and we all laughed. After the laughter all died he asked me very serious and pointed questions about body recomp and how I approach it. He gave freely some of his insights then the food and drinks started coming and the night kicked in...
The food was delish and the conversation flowed easily again. After several hours, we decided to go to a nice quiet place to continue the fun. At the new place we found a couch area to sit and induldged in several martinis (my carb up night). It was 2:00 AM before we got in (I was pretty drunk by then) and my plane left at 7:00 AM so I think I got about 3 hours of sleep.
See? Not only had I bought a dress but I actually wore it!
When my plane touched down in Portland, I had to rush to make an early lunch appointment with a dear friend and his girl. We had to reconnect and talk some business. I only had about an hour with them so I made plans to meet up again next weekend for longer. I then had to rush over to the local university to visit another friend (from San Fransisco) who was performing here in Portland. This person is Alan Perlman and is also the maker of my handmade classical guitar. There was an instrument show in town at this college and he was playing his artwork at the show. It was important I be there to support him. He did an amazing job and I was thrilled for him. He hung out for several hours talking guitars and showing them to people at the show.
Also at the show I met up with countless people I hadn't seen for awhile due to my busy schedule the past few months and the travel. It was really nice to get caught up again but it was also crazy as there simply wasn't enough time to spend with everyone that I wanted to. I promised all of them I would be at the next guitar event and made some other appointments and promises. I then spotted world reknown harp guitarist John Doan and gave him a giant hug. He asked if I would honor him with my presense at dinner. I agreed happily, ran into another friend and invited him too and that is how the whirlind weekend ended. Over amazing food (rich and yummy) with attentive/polite service, talking with John, and my close friend Brent about all things music, history, theory and instruments. Besides being a very accomplished musician, John is also a historian and professor at Willamette University. Our conversation was nothing short of magical with him doing most of the talking and Brent and I listening with wonder and delight.
My reports to Alan have been pretty funny the past few days. I don't really believe in doing anything half-assed including falling off the wagon. Yesterday I had a few confessions. One of them was that I was drunk. Here is the snippet from my log
"For my nightly confession, I did do a fasted run this morning (1 hour long but did drink chocolate milk after), did not drink even one drop of water today, did a second run without feeding it before or after, and did not take my pills the past two days, but other than that.... I was really doing well until the margaritas.... "
Today my report started with "Forgive me Alan for I have sinned. I shall say 50 hail Arnolds and will be back 100% on plan tomorrow..."
Even though I was off on macros I think I was pretty close for calories over the days. I expect we'll see some bloating going on from the little drunk night episode though...
Ahhhh... Life is good and everyone needs to take some time off now and then. Tomorrow it is back to the schedule and workout and discipline.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
It was fun reading your report of your weekend--I was thrilled to be a part of it. Meeting you was awesome. Thank you so much for the lovely lunch, the conversation and the wetsuit! LOL. I am really looking forward to hanging out at the Summit in just a few weeks. I'm going to try to hook up with Elisabeth next weekend since I wasn't able to join both of you Saturday. Love your reports to Alan! He's got to appreciate your honesty.
Just wanted to stop in and say hi. I have been reading your log but have never posted because I am such a mainstream amateur I never feel like I have much to add. But, I wanted to say how absolutely stunning, healthy and happy you looked in your pictures. You have such a tiny waist and are so well proportioned. I know you've been having a hard time with reaching your goals but I hope your fun-filled weekend gave you some perspective. I'm rooting for you!
The one thing I want to add back into my training is pilates or possibly yoga/stretching. I like pilates okay but deplore stretching work for some reason. I always feel better after I do it but it is hard to be disciplined enough to do it.
Putting in your log for reference. I'm taking you seriously
I know a yoga studio in Hillsboro that is good if you want to go to a class.
Given your active schedule, for stretching I'd suggest one of the following that you can do at home:
Buy the excellent book The Anatomy of Stretching then map out a full-body routine: select 1 or 2 stretches per body part, do a warm-up, then using a 20-30 sec timer (GymBoss is good), get into a stretch then change every time it goes off until you are finished.
OR
Buy the excellent DVD A.M. & P.M. Stretch and do one a couple of days a week (these are approx. 30 min routines)
I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
Karla, what a great weekend! The pics are wonderful and you DO look great!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceDiva
Putting in your log for reference. I'm taking you seriously
I know a yoga studio in Hillsboro that is good if you want to go to a class.
Given your active schedule, for stretching I'd suggest one of the following that you can do at home:
Buy the excellent book The Anatomy of Stretching then map out a full-body routine: select 1 or 2 stretches per body part, do a warm-up, then using a 20-30 sec timer (GymBoss is good), get into a stretch then change every time it goes off until you are finished.
OR
Buy the excellent DVD A.M. & P.M. Stretch and do one a couple of days a week (these are approx. 30 min routines)
How fun to read your fun-filled but crazy busy weekend report
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Originally Posted by foodfromafar
Karla, what a great weekend! The pics are wonderful and you DO look great!!!
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Originally Posted by JustineCognito
What a fun weekend. LOVE the pose down! I like the dress too.
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Originally Posted by Bytsi
Great weekend, wonderful pics! Love the dress and the pose-down!
Thanks girls for reading and for the compliments. It was a very good time. I get two more vacation type layoffs in May (one of them being the Summit) so am gettting a feel for how that will work with my overall goals.
Quote:
Originally Posted by msmogreen
Hi Karla--
It was fun reading your report of your weekend--I was thrilled to be a part of it. Meeting you was awesome. Thank you so much for the lovely lunch, the conversation and the wetsuit! LOL. I am really looking forward to hanging out at the Summit in just a few weeks. I'm going to try to hook up with Elisabeth next weekend since I wasn't able to join both of you Saturday. Love your reports to Alan! He's got to appreciate your honesty.
I think I provide some decent entertainment for Alan in my logging. Last night I PR'd in Deads (did 4 sets by 8 at 185lbs) and in the "comment" section of my log I wrote "Who's yo Momma?" which caused him to crack up. I can't wait to hear of your visit with Elizabeth. She is an amazing being. I wish she could make it to the Summit too. Hope the Shorty fits you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandy
Just wanted to stop in and say hi. I have been reading your log but have never posted because I am such a mainstream amateur I never feel like I have much to add. But, I wanted to say how absolutely stunning, healthy and happy you looked in your pictures. You have such a tiny waist and are so well proportioned. I know you've been having a hard time with reaching your goals but I hope your fun-filled weekend gave you some perspective. I'm rooting for you!
Well that is an awesome first post to my log. I am so grateful that you popped in. Feel free to comment all the time. I don't care if you are a beginner or not. It is funny that you mention my waist being tiny. I actually have a 30 inch waist. It is my growing lats that give the impression of smaller waist. I am very happy with this. Both Kathy and Elizabeth told me they were suprised at how small I was. I have been thinking about that because it happens all the time when people see me and I cannot explain it. People often either see me by picture (Internet, newspaper, magazine, etc) or on the stage (Keynote, lecture, guitar performance, etc) before they meet me in person. The comment almost always is that they thought I was bigger. I am so little that I had to have a guitar custom made (shrunken down) to fit me correctly. Somehow I come off as a big person in other mediums though...
Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceDiva
Putting in your log for reference. I'm taking you seriously
I know a yoga studio in Hillsboro that is good if you want to go to a class.
Actually I do yoga with Brant whenever I take the time to do Yoga. Just that I generally do not take the time. I work from 7-5, go to the gym until 7-8 and then get home to an hour of guitar practice. I do this 4 days a week and the other day I just don't wanna go anywhere really. My weekends are spent tilling the farm. So it just hasn't made it up in my priorities to where it is a common thing yet.
Thanks for the reading material though. I can probably find some down time for that and perhaps a home routine can be made up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willie
Karla, sounds like a fabulous weekend!
And like I always say, "go big or go home!"
Nice one! Go big and get sore or go home maybe?
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Scale says 133 today. Not great but I am also not looking bloaty or fat today so all is okay. I told Alan in my daily report that I made the calories for the day but felt like I was stuffing myself. He wrote back and told me to drop carbs some more!! I immediately wrote back to him to make sure he understood that I log ALL carbs because at 100g a day I am sure on workout days that I would not be able to get vegetables in. He was not aware of the fact that I logged my vegetables so he nixed that idea and suggested instead that I cut out some fat.
Now we're starting to talk up my alley! If I cut out 10g of fat a day or a bit less I can affect the program by 700 more calories a week. I know this doesn't sound like much but it is something and he is suggesting it so yeah!!! I have been stuck at this weight now for more than a month. There are changes happening (good ones) but I really do want to see things move a bit faster if we can manage that. I told Alan that if he can get me to 15% that I will be happy and he can go as slowly as he wants after that.
I have already given up any hopes of being ript for the summer but it would be great if I could at least be not fat. LOL!
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Brant's too froo-froo for me. Marie is fine (until after class she goes froo-froo too). I <3 Laurie (Sunday).
Lol. I can honestly say that the only other time in my life that I have heard the term "froo froo" when was someone was discussing my own yoga-teaching style.
As in, "Kate, I like your class because you don't do that froo froo yoga crap that other teachers do."
My response: "Is it the yoga in general that's froo froo? Because this IS yoga class, you know, and I am teaching it."
Her reply: "No, you don't do the froo froo kind of yoga. You do... bad ass yoga."
I'm still not sure what "bad ass" yoga is, but I've since quit teaching so I may never figure it out! (I suppose this also fits with the theme of "go hard or go home"?)
I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
Hah. No, I wasn't talking about his yoga style -- I like both traditional and modern, I was talking about his interactive style. To me he acts as if the study of yoga is just so serious & he comes across as a yoga snob.
OMG you totally know that place. I actually have only ever taken from Brant and don't really like it exactly for that reason. I guess I should try Marie. So now I have to ask how it is that you know Hillsboro so well and when is your next visit? I totally want to have a meal with you.... Perhaps you can talk me into doing a yoga class. LOL!
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
IMO you should go see Laurie. She is very ethereal, however, she really relates well with analytical high-maintenance thinkers (re: pot/black).
I got to Yoga Hillsboro because of the Tualiatin Hospital Community flier. I took a 2-3 hr seminar on hip-opening yoga (with Marie). After that, they started sending me their calendar in the mail. That's how I met Laurie and how I entered my journey into Nia.
I used to live in "dead man's land" -- Aloha, so going in either the Beaverton or Hillsboro direction was equal distance.
I don't know when I willl be back in that area, but if it happens, I totally expect to spend some time at the farm. It is definitely too bad that we didn't take the opportunity to do it when I was there but given how seemingly differnt our journeys were and strong our personalities are, I figured it was probably for the best. Looks like we missed out on some good stuff.
I don't know when I willl be back in that area, but if it happens, I totally expect to spend some time at the farm. It is definitely too bad that we didn't take the opportunity to do it when I was there but given how seemingly differnt our journeys were and strong our personalities are, I figured it was probably for the best. Looks like we missed out on some good stuff.
May this strong personality invite herself along? I would LOVE to see both of you and would drive down to Portland on a moment's notice
I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
You betcha!!! The more the Merrier AND I have a 3 bedroom 2 bath farm house in the middle of nowhere to kick back on when you come.
I am so sorry we missed the chance. I come off a LOT stronger in forums than I am actually. Mostly that is because I am short on time when I am in here and don't take enough time to compose my thoughts/words. Sometimes when I read it back it is so abrupt that even I feel it is strong. At least I think that is what it is.
In any case people are always surprised by how little I am and how chill when they meet me. LOL! There is actually very little in this world that I take too seriously anymore in my old age.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
God Gawd... Weight today up to 133.7 lbs! That is 4 lbs of loss since March 01. I should be discouraged by I somehow am not right now. Yes, I look at bit soft and I know I am going through a bit of a bloat BUT I am vascular as can be in my arms and legs. I had visable veins running up my thumbs yesterday. LOL! My back is KILLER awesome right now. The wings are so cool. It actually looks like I workout.
Yesterday at my normal 1:1 time with my boss he teased me about this pink hoodie I was wearing. Said it was pretty girlie. I showed him the pic I took this weekend of me and the girls and me in a dress. He just looked at it for some time and his eyes went up and he said, "Daaaaymn. You look amazing!" And I could tell he meant it. I blushed then and replied that I do workout and I do sport some sort of body underneath all these layers of clothing I wear. I just don't do it here at work. He then thanked me for not showing up like that for work because then we'd be having a different conversation. LOL!!! It was pretty funny and it also was a good thing for me mentally to hear and see.
I am back on workout schedule and completed both upper and lower strength workouts so far this week. Today I feel as if I have been run over by a truck. I am wondering right now if I will ever feel normal (no pain) again. I am experiementing with my rest week directive right now (I have permission from Alan just an FYI) and am taking mini-rests of 4-5 days instead of a full week. The result of my first one was great in that I did not lose any strength or mojo when I came back. Unfortunately my body is not recovering from the crap that I am putting it through still. I lifted 185lbs 32 times on Monday. My shoulders, back, hammies, butt, quads all ache. When I take a full week, it seems to be the case I can actually recover. It may be the case that I am not super human and actually need to take a full week of rest. Damn...
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
How often are you taking 4-5 days off?
Your workout routine , just like the rest of your life is pretty hectic. If you're only taking that much time off once every 6-8 weeks, a week is better.
I'm generally skipping just 1 workout every 3-4 weeks and that works out well most of the time.
My plan was to do it by "feel". My goal is to learn to listen to my body and when it shows signs of slow recovery then it is time to skip a few workouts. Alan said he would roll with this plan because of my goal of learning to listen to my body. I took 5 days off last week and I don't think it was enough time. Either that or I am just sore due to coming back at it. Don't know yet. I will experiement with it a bit more to see where this all goes.
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The BIGGER I get the smaller you look
Now here is where things got a little weird. Elizabeth insisted at this fountain that we do a mini pose-down. (That's my story and I am sticking to it) I felt a bit awkward about the request, but I could not really decline the request since she had come all the way from beyond the Valley to meet up with me so I did it. Once I saw the pic, I know why she had to do this with me. Just look at the guns on that girl will you!!??!! I would kill for her muscle!
Ahem. Not sure how to respond to this, except you know this story to be true if you believe that Karla is NOT COMPETITIVE aat alllll!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
It is funny that you mention my waist being tiny. I actually have a 30 inch waist. It is my growing lats that give the impression of smaller waist. I am very happy with this. Both Kathy and Elizabeth told me they were suprised at how small I was. I have been thinking about that because it happens all the time when people see me and I cannot explain it
It's your personality. My father used to be a minor celebrity in Seattle (disc jockey/concert promoter) and is 5'8"; people would meet him for the first time, look him up and down and say "I thought you'd be taller."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Willie
My response: "Is it the yoga in general that's froo froo? Because this IS yoga class, you know, and I am teaching it."
Her reply: "No, you don't do the froo froo kind of yoga. You do... bad ass yoga."
I wish you taught yoga at my gym! I could use some bad-ass yoga. : )
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
I am so sorry we missed the chance. I come off a LOT stronger in forums than I am actually. Mostly that is because I am short on time when I am in here and don't take enough time to compose my thoughts/words. Sometimes when I read it back it is so abrupt that even I feel it is strong. At least I think that is what it is.
In any case people are always surprised by how little I am and how chill when they meet me. LOL! There is actually very little in this world that I take too seriously anymore in my old age.
I can vouch for this. Tiny and relaxed and funny--although chill? A little too energetic for that. : )
Quote:
Originally Posted by kfisherx
God Gawd... Weight today up to 133.7 lbs! That is 4 lbs of loss since March 01. I should be discouraged by I somehow am not right now. Yes, I look at bit soft and I know I am going through a bit of a bloat BUT I am vascular as can be in my arms and legs. I had visable veins running up my thumbs yesterday. LOL! My back is KILLER awesome right now. The wings are so cool. It actually looks like I workout.
LOOKS like you workout!? Snicker. Funny lady. I think you should post pics of your calves! They are gorgeous! : )
Anyway, I loved meeting you Karla(even if you keep spelling my name wrong) and if you're ever around again, give me a ring. I'm bitter about missing the summit but maybe next year....
He aged a LOT in the past 4 (or so) years. It was good food and good times.
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