Month: November 2013

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I work out!

I’ve never been the type to commit to working out, and have always relied on the fact that I’m skinny to avoid doing much about it. Of course, like many women, there are things about myself I’d like to change (and I certainly recognize the value in being healthy), but I never had weight issues as an incentive to get to the gym and actually do something about it.

Now that I’m not working and the gym is free and 2 minutes away, I really have no excuses left. I’m officially letting Chuck be my personal trainer for the remainder of our time here in Georgia. He studied fitness a good bit during his ample free time in Afghanistan this past deployment, and he’s convinced he can help me attain aspects of the body type I want, without turning me into some sort of muscle guru/gym rat…

Half my problem is I don’t even know what I’m capable of! I know I want to be toned, build some muscle, and feel healthy and strong, but it’s not like I am a heavy person who was once thin and has a mental image of what I need to work towards. I have no tangible realization of what I can or want to look like, within the limitations of my body type.  No target weight, no concept of what I’d look like with muscles, etc. So, this could be a very enlightening piece of work!

Yesterday Chuck started me with chest, shoulders, and back. I did dead lifts and baby bench presses, among other things. This morning, I am crazy sore in all of those places, and if there’s one thing I do love about “working out”, it’s being sore! It’s not so bad now that I have someone to guide me. I hate going to gyms alone – everyone watching everyone else, and here I am not having a clue on how to work the crazy looking machines…

Wish me luck!! We will see how this odyssey goes..

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International exchange

I think I’ve mentioned before that I am on a website that allows you to communicate with “penpals” from other countries in an effort to learn about cultures and practice various language skills. One French girl I communicate with encouraged asking each other what is “weird” about our respective cultures. I wrote her and asked for her view on the U.S.! Her response was precious:

“Yes i was in US (NY, Brooklyn) for a month and a half during end of May, June and July. And NY is a crazy city. I am in love with that city.

What was crazy ? Haha you’ll not believe me but two people propose me to married, have american nationality and see if we will want to have a future. BUT in my head it was the contrary haha,  first you know the person and after you marry him haha (of course if you like him)

Hmmm Cotsco is BIG and crazy for us. I also saw Diet Burger haha.

I was near sunset park (*I think she means Central Park*) and there was asian people who practiced tai chi, juwish was running in suit, Porto Rican people was with their kids playing or eating food (smell so good) and at night every old guy of all nationality played chest together.
In that moment, i realized that i can see that, only in NY.

I was very happy to live in that area.”

I’m not even from New York and this oddly makes me kinda proud!

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Beautiful Beautiful Day Out!

Today is one of those perfect, sunny, energized days when I really wish we had a porch or a patio (if not more outdoor things to do around here in general.) It’s 70 degrees and 100% cloud-free outside, and there’s no way to enjoy it. We already went for a long walk around the neighborhood. It was glorious.

In NC, I had my little patio out back, with our crappy little lawn chairs and a lattice cover and a fenced yard where the Bean and I could bask and relax in the fresh air and sunshine. Friends nearby had adorable front porches with rocking chairs, where we could sip wine and people watch from a safe distance. We don’t have either here in GA, and our “back yard” is about 10 feet from the windows of another house…awkward. 

Someone  with a better setup than ours needs to host a football BBQ or something!