Day 3

Squats! Gotta love them. A squat has got to be the one exercise that will make you mad that you ever stopped doing them in the first place. They are a reminder that you will be punished if you ignore them. My first indication of pain was Monday morning when I went to sit down for the morning business. I could have probably used a Life Alert or done a commercial "Help I've sat down and can't get up". It's a good thing that we have a counter right next to the toilet otherwise I may have been stuck there for some time.
As the day went on the pain lessened. I actually did a few half squats at work to try and loosen things up a bit. Monday night was right back at it and though the pain was less, it was still there. Tuesday morning was an easier morning and I went right back at it Tuesday night. Now there is just a slight presence of pain. It's a good pain. It means I moved some muscles that haven't been used so intensely in a while. I think it's now time to increase the reps.

All in all I have to say I am pleased with the EA Active so far. I may be looking into the expansion pack soon.

Way To Go

In true form Brett came out and lost the game for the Vikings. At my house there were some doubts whether he'd come back in the game after being helped off the field. I knew he'd come back out. I felt a little bad for him at that point because he was getting beat up and you could see the pain in his face. The ever present smile was gone. I was pulling for the Saints and received some lectures from in-laws about it but it was never for resentment toward Favre, it was all for dislike of the Vikings. It was a good game and I'm sure within the next week or so when Brett heals he will make his announcement for next years plan, and will change his mind several times. The question is...who will he play for?
I felt a little like Brett this morning. Over the weekend I started a new workout routine and with the amount of squats I did I knew I'd be feeling it. It's a good pain (I keep telling myself that). Getting out of bed this morning was a little painful but it's easing up the more I walk around. I may have hit it a little strong but it felt good while I was working out. I broke down and purchased the EA Fitness program for the Wii. The personal trainer is no where near as annoying as the Fitness Coach program. The EA allows you to set up your own program and mix up sports, cardio and fitness. I tend to enjoy boxing a lot. A great stress reliever. The only problem I had was getting the controller into the leg band the right way and getting the leg band positioned correctly. That would be part of the reason I had to do so many squats because until I got it positioned right it wasn't counting the squats. There were a few words to my trainer until I got things set up and reading right.
I probably should not have sold off our second Wii because all of a sudden everyone wants to play something. I can't discourage it as they're on the Wii fit or programs where they're moving around. I am using my seniority and getting my hour a day in. Once I'm done they can play away. In the future we may be purchasing one for the basement. I'm not about having an audience while I work out. I'm nice enough now to do my walking while my husband enjoys his nightly viewing of Wheel of Fortune. I walk, we watch the Wheel. Good bonding time. Then I kick him out of the living room.

It's Performance Review Time

Our company has implemented a new system for performance reviews. We now have to complete our assessment of our performance for the past year and set goals toward the following year. New to us is assessing our direct supervisor. This system was in place when I started here and then dropped off for a few years. Granted there are only 2 questions. "What do I do to support your job" and "What can I do to assist you in obtaining your goals". Seeing that QC in our department consists of my boss and myself my only answer is "help me out as needed". There are some days that I do have to call on him for help but they are few and far between. The most he does is cover for me over lunch on occasion and cover for me when I have a day off.
So in 10 minutes I am off to a meeting to discuss my performance over the past year and come to terms on obtainable goals for the next year. We receive these reviews now, with no indication of a pay increase until maybe May. Should be fun. The meeting is scheduled for one hour. I give it 15-20 minutes at the most.

Lazy Girls

Yesterday was a lazy day at our house. That is for everyone except for my grandson and I. We were all up pretty late Saturday night but him and I were still up by mid morning. He's like his Grandma..hates to waste a day.
By the time the rest of the family decided to greet the day we had already played a few games, made some breakfast and had a few discussions. By noon when the game started my sore throat hit. A little scratchy at first but progressively worse through out the day. I curled up on the couch with my warm blanket and settled down to watch the Cowboys kick some butt. That didn't happen. I'm not quite sure what happened. I thought they could take the Vikings. Romo looked scared every time he had the ball. I'll admit I dozed off a few times but I blame that on the medicine I took, not the nightmare of the game.
After dinner I decided it was time to work out. The twins were all pumped to work along with me. I didn't know it was possible to do Yoga while laying on the couch. I explained the lack of benefit by not doing the exercise correctly and finally got them on the floor, but then a incoming text message prevented one of them from going on. So tonight we shall have no interruption. We are getting dropped off 2 miles from home and walking. No phone, no couch, no snacks, just us and the open road.

Hoarders

Last week I was given the task of cleaning up the 2 labs I work in. This is all part of a new program which hit the lines last year. I was a part if the initial start up of this program and remain on the "team" so I had a good idea of what had to be done in the labs.
Now I will admit that I am a pen hoarder. I need to have one at each area I work in and have taken to carrying one in my pocket so I am never without pen. I lose a lot of pens to people who come in the lab for a quick test and take off with pens. That and post-its. I have a stock of each in a drawer (hidden). My little pen hoarding is nothing compared to what I have thrown out or returned to the supply cabinet this week. Tablets of paper, two full boxes of print paper (why?) rulers (12) scissors (10 or more) enough tape to probably get to the moon and back and 4 hole punches to name a few.
At one time there were up to 4 people per shift in the lab so they must have felt the need to stock up. Did I mention the supply cabinet is very close to the lab? Part of this program is to only keep what you need on hand. To rid the excess or not used items. This is going to take a while. I just need to find a good place to hide my pens.
My husband has taken up his hobby since leaving his part time job. He has spent the past few nights going through all our family videos and transferring them to DVD and doing a lot of editing. I think he is now perfectly happy in his man cave. Got the big screen down there and his sound system working well and a stocked fridge. My only problem now is that I do not need to fall asleep every night to the sound of Elvis.

That's All Folks

Silence..mouths hanging open..utter disbelief..That's what happened at the end of the Packers/Cardinals game yesterday. Bottom line is..the Packers should have played better. They should have never been in the position they were in. My thought is they totally under estimated Arizona. Why did some people think they were going to breeze through this game? I knew it would be a tough one to win and the Packers would have to step it up.
It was a good game. They managed to come back and tie the game. There was the missed face mask penalty that everyone is talking about today. We saw it, but the ref's didn't and that's what matters in football. I give them a lot of credit for fighting back, but there were once again missed opportunities. Thanks to the Packers for an exciting season. On to next week when I will cheer on the Cowboys against the Vikings and see how the Cards do.

The Tailgator

I expected to see a lot more snow this morning. From the newscasts last night it appeared that we would be buried. Knowing I had to put in four hours at work today I slept in a little longer and then volunteered to take the girls to school so my daughter wouldn't have to dig out her car. I took a different route which put me on the city streets rather than the freeway. Traffic was moving along pretty good despite rush hour and the slightly snow covered roads.
I took the road toward Miller Park (gee I miss baseball) and turned up Greenfield Avenue. Made the drop off and proceeded. I noticed the guy in the station wagon in front of me seemed to be tailgating the truck in front of him. He was taking up two lanes by driving down the middle of the road looking for a chance to pass. I stayed back a little ways because he looked like an accident ready to happen.
This went on for a good mile or so when he must of thought he could make a break for it and pass on the right. I saw the car turning into the right lane just as he made his break. Needless to say, he is now probably waiting for the tow truck to get him out of the snow bank he ended up in. Stupid is as Stupid does. I was already past him and watched from my rear view mirror. If he was hoping to not be late for work in the first place then he's later now. BTW, he appeared to be uninjured as he did get out of his car. Didn't hit that hard, just skidded into it.

Earl & Merle

My husband quit his part time job right after Christmas. This was supposed to be a temporary job when he started almost 9 years ago. He used to like going there until they changed hands and things got a little unorganized. Another winter season of being on the cold docks was just not to his liking, so quitting was prompted by me also. I just didn't want to go through another season of him complaining. His time was up there and his "to do" list was growing.
What was I thinking?? It's been almost three weeks now and I'm ready for him to go back. I need to compile a list of things he may enjoy doing. The new TV kept him busy for a few days and moving the other one downstairs (a separate post in its own) has kept him occupied for a day or so.
Tuesday and Thursday nights were my time to catch up on chores and just have some peace and quiet. It's not to much fun having someone "watch" you work out. I offered to get another Wii fit so he could actually join in rather than sit on the couch and watch. He's good at telling me I'm doing something wrong. You think he'd actually answer the phone when I'm working out?
The other night he decided to do laundry. This consisted of throwing a load of towels in. That was the extent of it. The nice part of him being home is that he's now here to carry in groceries as I usually shop on Thursdays. He also has to have a break after dinner to watch "his show". I thought it was something really interesting at first and then discovered it was Wheel of Fortune, when I heard him yelling out answers and telling the contestants they were wasting their money. Maybe he'll try out for the show.
Tonight I was talking to Nanette, who was also a little fed up with her Ben. We were discussing the tearing up of their carpeting. She suggested that she may tear up the carpet and roll Ben and Barney in it. From the back ground Ben says "Who, Earl and Merle". Perfect nicknames for the two buddies.
Ben wants to know what I'm going to do when we're both retired. Well as much as I'm looking forward to the day I don't have to work again, I figure I'll have three years of time to myself for 8 hours a day. By the second week I'll probably be waiting at the door for him to get home.
I think the problem is that he has so much that he wants to do and just doesn't know where to start. He's enjoying the freedom of not having to rush home, eat and leave. I'm sure in a month or so we'll settle in to this change. I just need to hold on that long.