The Garden Is Growing

I spent a couple of hours out in the yard this morning with M, doing our best to chop through the overgrown bushes and rake up the leaves that have been hanging out on the ground since... October.  The time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time for lunch!  Although the dent in the yard work isn't a huge one, it is finally Springtime and so no longer is foul weather a valid excuse for failing to go outside and be in nature.

Today the bushes were conquered... tomorrow we head back outside for some paintball! :)

Rooftop Chores, Chutes and Ladders

Today's calorie burning adventure took place on the roof of my house.  As I was checking the mail a few days ago, I happened to look up and see that the entire north side of the roof was sprouting moss by the bucket load. Leaves were peeking out of the gutters, and the house magically added "home maintenance" to my weekly To Do list.

Mr. Kawaii and I headed up the ladder this afternoon when the sun peeked its head out from behind the fall cloud cover.  After a couple of hours of bending over to scoop sloppy leaves from the gutters, traversing the incline to sprinkle moss-killer across the shingles and hunting for loose or torn shingles we were left sweaty, soggy and proud that our rooftop is heading into winter prepared for Mother Nature's worst.

As much as I enjoy hitting the gym for a focused workout, I prefer the opportunity to burn calories while I work on an physically demanding project.  It makes me feel more accomplished, self-sufficient and proud of my own abilities.

So, how's your roof looking? ;)

Recognizing My Own Success Story

I realized this morning that I have been blogging about my exercise adventure for just about 6 months now, and what a journey it has been.  I've seen my share of highs and lows over the last six months, have been witness to great changes in M and K, and even a few in myself.  I spent the morning on a 2.5 mile walk with Pooch, and we spent our time out on the sidewalk reflecting on where I've been and where I'm heading.

When I started this blog, it was with the idea that if I had some outside accountability that maybe I'd be able to stick with the whole "lifestyle change" concept long enough for it to start working.  Work it has, although not in the way that I had expected it to.  I was seeking instant results on the scale, expecting to drop 40 or 50 pounds within six months and be back to a size 8 before Christmas.

Although those aren't the results that I've seen so far, I am confident that they are on the horizon and I am taking one step at a time in the right direction.  Unfortunately, in my past I have done a number on my body through 10 years of binge eating and starvation topped off with 4 years of eating fast food roughly 12 times a week.  Because of my past diet insanity, my body is still afraid to let go of the pounds although it has started shifting things around and transforming some of those former lumps into muscle that are so real you can see and feel them lurking under my skin.

All those trips to the gym, laps around the track and yoga sessions in the living room have given me results that are frequent and substantial enough to keep me going, and through blogging about the craziness of trying to jog with a dog who wants to paint fences every 50 feet and being attacked by flora and fauna in equal doses in the back yard, I have been able to share my experience with others.

This experience has reminded me that sometimes we just have to recognize our own success story instead of comparing ourselves to others.  We might not all be millionaire-triathlete-raceway-superstars, but we are all treading the paces of our own journey to shape who we will become in the years ahead of us.  And while yes, it is great when there are enthusiastic people like M and K to encourage us along the way, there will always be those days when we just have to get up and be our own cheerleader.

So, in the spirit of cheering for myself, here are my awesome results that have stacked up over the last six months:

• Gone from barely being able to zip up my size 18 jeans to comfortably fitting into my size 16 jeans and size 14 dresses.
• Lost 3 pounds since starting this blog, and 6 pounds overall.
• Have traversed the gap in my belt, going from barely able to get into the last notch on the belt to now being 4 notches in.
• Discovered that I have "tank top arms" for the first time in years, with muscular shoulders and emerging biceps.
• Went from walking a 22 minute mile to being able to walk/jog a 16 minute mile.
• Have slimmed to a point where my fingers are thin enough to wear my wedding ring every day, even to sleep.
• Can see my wrist bones for the first time since 1997.
• No longer feel like I am "spilling out" over the edge of chairs, car seats or benches.
• Have more energy than I know what to do with some days!

Sure, I haven't met my goals of losing 40 pounds and dropping to a size 8, but look at all the things I HAVE done!  Most of the things I have achieved are things that I never even thought of as goals, but they went ahead and showed up anyway.  The proof is in the fat-free lactose-free sugar-free pudding, and I know that as long as I continue avoiding the drive-thru lane and keep finding ways to be active that I will continue to inch my way towards the smaller bottom of my dreams.

Nearing the Finish line at the 2010 Great Columbia Crossing
October, 2010

My Final Day At Curves

(Yesterday) My third workout with Curves also marked the end of my week trial of their gym, and it was with a mixture of excitement and determination that I went into my workout feeling like I had no choice but to make the most of the workout.  I pushed, pulled, huffed and puffed my way through my final 30 minute circuit; halfway through realizing that my shoes were dirty and were leaving a trail of sawdust and paintball residue from walking the indoor field at Warpaint International on Tuesday... (oops)  And then I continued on working out as hard as I could without stepping, kicking or jumping too hard in an attempt to keep more gunk from falling off my shoes.

By the end of the workout, I had solidified that while I can see the value in the "sisterhood" at Curves and their ability to cram a low-impact total body workout into 30 minutes, I don't think that their gym is for me long term.  I get bored of exercise easily, and so I need a wide variety of activity to keep me engaged and willing to stretch beyond the comfort of my couch.

I do applaud the women at Curves for their dedication to changing their lives through exercise, and the people who have created the workout circuit for finding a way to help women get over the "scariness" of beginning a workout routine.  I am sure that I'll head back to Curves to visit in the future since I have met some great ladies there, and hopefully we'll all be a few steps closer to our weight and lifestyle goals!

(Today) The weather seems to be... maintaining... for the moment anyway.  Showers are in our future, and hopefully they will hold off long enough for M and I to spend some time in the garden.  K and I should be walking again tonight too, and I can't wait to hear more about the 10k she completed a couple of weeks ago!  Nothing makes you feel better about your decision to exercise than meeting physically challenging milestones head-on and coming out a winner!

They Call Me... The Rose Whisperer

Today I decided to take it light (at least I thought I was taking it light in the beginning) because it is my birthday.  I debated neglecting to mention that it was my birthday - but knowing my reader base, someone would have mentioned it anyway I'm sure. ;)

This morning I decided rather than undertaking a huge exercise endeavor, I would simply trim back the neighbor's rose-bush for her.  When we moved in several years ago, the neighbor had a very large rose bush on the property line between our houses.  Over time the bush has grown progressively larger, wider, thornier and deader.  As of this morning, it was roughly 10 feet tall, 12 feet wide and 8 feet deep.  With the permission of the neighbor I headed out with a hack saw, a pair of gloves and a set of clippers.

Very quickly it became obvious that my little "light" project was a labor intensive and difficult undertaking.  Close to two hours passed before I was done clipping, sawing and breaking throngs of dead, dying and overgrown bush.  Deep down in the center of the bush were four green branches, but it took a lot of sweat and blood to get to them.

Unfortunately, when I had hacked the bush to bits, I suddenly realized that the pile of dead branches was much larger than my already mostly full yard debris bin could handle.  So now, the neighbor's bush looks fantastic, and there is a huge pile of horrible looking dead rosebush hanging out in my front yard awaiting it's turn for disposal.

At least I got my workout, even if my yard looks like it got eaten by a rose bush.

   

Duplication Be Damned; Producti-wha?

I am going to do my best to not just completely copy yesterdays posting.  I have been astonished, astounded, amazed, some other 'A' word that means "surprised", that I have suddenly become able to conquer all.

This morning M and I had vowed to work in the garden after neglecting it for three weeks of holidays, birthdays and family crisis.  We got out all of our tools and gloves (M was itching to break in her new ultra-grippy gloves with Nitrile palms and fingers) and headed out back to weed between the vegetables.

Three and a half hours later.... yes... 210 minutes later... we finally wrapped up.  In that time we were able to not only weed the entire back yard, but also turn the mulch in the compost bin and dig out the good decomposed stuff.  We spread mulch around the plants, shoved all the weeds / vines / thorns into the yard debris bin and laid a plastic barricade where the eventual fire pit / brick patio is going to go.  We scooped all of Pooch's poo while he looked on stoically, and even remembered to water things while we were out there.

It is incredible to me that after weeks of only being able to work for an hour or two at a time, today we were able to push through so many projects with minimal breaks.  I've always considered myself a pretty active person (when I was able to talk my butt into getting off the couch) but the last couple of days of being able to keep active through the majority of the day has really shown me what "active" can be.

I've spent so many years struggling to fit 30 minutes of activity into my day that I had forgotten how awesome it is to spend an entire day outdoors, working with your hands and making your own little habitat a little better.  I feel encouraged with this whole exercise business... who knows... maybe I'll find myself a new career in botany.

On second thought... all the plants would probably die and we'd all starve.  Maybe I'll just stick to writing and keep gardening as a hobby.

The Driveway Monsters Have Been Defeated!!

We did it! M and I went back out to the North side of the house this morning and pushed ourselves to finish cutting back the gargantuan bushes, clean up the driveway, mow the front yard and sweep the pavement.  The first thing that we noticed when we went out, looking like members of the Green Thumb mafia with our gardening gloves and tools, was that our neighbor apparently reads this blog.

I haven't said anything to him since the day I went out and pulled several heaps of trash out of the bushes I had been able to cut back, but when we stepped onto the battlefield today we noticed that the back sides of the remaining bushes had all been cleaned out, trash thrown away and overgrown weeds pulled.  So to the neighbor I would like to say: Thank you, and I'm sorry that I have been too anti-social and full of chicken poo to be able to confront you about the mess these last few months.  Your yard looks SO much better and we really appreciate not having to look out on the trash from our dining room.

The second thing that we noticed was that the bushes I hadn't gotten to pruning yet had all had another wild growth spurt and that they had somehow learned to growl like rabid dogs.  We barked back and pounced them with the prowess of botanical ninjas, and two grueling hours later had beat them back into the neat and trimmed little row of plants they were always meant to be.  

M was surprised at how hard the whole endeavor ended up being, especially when she had her own personal battle with a rabid push broom.  In the end we got to take a minute to step back and enjoy the drastic improvement that was made with our efforts, and although it was exhausting the yard is much more enjoyable now than it has been since we purchased the house.  As M said, projects like this are always more enjoyable when you have someone else to do them with.

 

Workin' the South Side

While making progress over the last few weeks in the back-yard and North side-yard of the house (it actually looks like someone lives here who cares what their yard looks like... weird.), I have been obstinately refusing to work on the South side of the house.  Spending as little time on that end of the property as possible has become a relative tradition at our house.  We avert our eyes from the ugly mess of shrubs that overgrew themselves and then died leaving throngs of dead branches to claw at you while you get out of the car.  We've learned the avoidance tactics used by many when they see their Uncle Rico at summertime family reunions, and when forced to be on that end of the house we walk as quickly to the nearest door as humanly possible.


This morning I decided that before the heat of the day hit, I would head out with my clippers and prune (and tear, and saw) the bushes back to the few remaining live branches at their core and clean up all the debris caught in them as possible.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, and in no way did I think that doing a little yard clean up would end up making me so.... mad.


Here's my beef with the scraggly bushes.  Yes, I know that we neglected to cut them back last year and so they look less than pleasant.  Yes, I know that the mass of maple-leaf ground-cover from last fall' adds to the aesthetic of depression that the bushes exude (it's called "decomposition" and "mulch").  And yes, I know that the only thing that we do on the South side of our house is store our garbage / recycle / yard debris can and park our cars.  BUT... why does that give my next door neighbor the right to stuff his garbage in the ugly bushes?  Why?!?!


Now, I'm sure that if I bring up the discarded batteries, soda cans, cookie and candy bar wrappers, garbage bags, broken toys and newspapers that I discovered shoved between the branches on their side of the bushes this morning that they would probably tell me the monster bushes pounced them in the middle of the night while they were putting their garbage nicely in their garbage can, ripping the refuse from their arms, clawing at their faces with the scraggly fingers of prickly branches and devouring their trash piece by piece with the fervor and passion of a Creature From the Black Lagoon.  And if they told me that's what happened, I'd have no choice but to believe them seeings how I have also been attacked by the bushes in the dead of night, losing whole bags of groceries and a small child (someone else's, not mine, so it wasn't that big a deal) to their wicked appetites.  But it seems that if the bushes did attack them in the dead of night that they would have said something.  I know if their bushes ever attacked me I'd hurry over to ask them to put a leash on them or else threaten to call the county Arborist to come and put the bushes down before they hurt anyone else.


All right, enough of that vent.  Back to the exercise portion of this blog (it made me so mad!!).  After a little over an hour with the mutant bushes, I was able to cut down about half of them to reasonable size and pile all the dead branches to be burned later on.  I got some good upper-body workout done with the hand-saw on the thicker branches, and got a fair share of squats in as well with all the scooping up of fallen twigs and garbage.  I was going to continue down the line and finish what remains of the work, but it started to get pretty warm so I decided to save it for another day.  Maybe I'll be able to convince M to help me with them later this week... I'll be sure to warn her of the bushes down and dirty reputation beforehand though.  I'd hate to lose her in the bushy void.

Bark and Bite

You may have noticed that I didn't get around to posting on this blog yesterday, and sadly that is due to the fact that I also never really got around to exercising.  The day was dedicated to a variety of errands, and while there was some walking from one office/store to another there was little in the way of sweat or exertion.

I made up for the lapse today though by spreading red-bark by hand around my precious vegetable garden and chasing Pooch and Dummykins from their hiding spots behind the 3" tall Geranium border (neither of them have ever been very good at spatial relations).  I also managed to weed the full length of the flower bed at the front of the house, separate some stubborn clumps of ground cover and spread it out in the yard, and plant three Hastas by the front door to greet people where the big void of dirt used to be.  I even got the chance to lay out a brick walkway connecting the path on our property to the dog kennel, a feat in its own right.

Now that I have been successfully made sore and bruised from shoulders to toes, I feel that I've more than made up for my lack of initiative yesterday.  My calves, thighs and bubble-butt all agree!

In The Back Yard... Again

I've always dreamed of having a brown pressure-treated fence.  Those white picket things are far too "Stepford" for me.  And now, after nearly 5 hours of toiling away in the back yard, I have one!  Husband built it this morning while I played Tarzan and yanked out the last mass of weeds and M turned soil and planted flowers.  The fence has been a desperate necessity as it is designed for the rabid Honeysuckle bush to hold on to instead of destroying everything else around it.

This Honeysuckle bush is a very "Denise-Friendly" plant.  It thrives in spite of all I do to it; watering incessantly, neglecting it until the yard becomes a barren wasteland, over-fertilizing it, attacking it with hedge trimmers, etc.  Unfortunately, it doesn't just thrive, it goes "mutant plant"every summer and gets into a life-sized game of Risk with the blackberry bushes.  In an attempt to tame the beast, we have built it a series of stands, cages and climbing contraptions for it to adhere to and it has promptly grappled with and then broken all of them.  This year's solution was to build a fence anchored by cement blocks and covered in chicken wire for it to climb up and across in hopes that the structure will distract it from the delicious looking tomato plants being planted within arm's reach.

The fence is beautiful, and I am again in awe of my husband's building prowess.  We've got all the beds cleared and spent some time digging out the arbor that will cover the entryway (it's enchanted) to a yet-to-be-built private patio with a fire pit.  It's all coming together now, and the three of us certainly got our combined workouts done for the day.

Now we're all sweaty, tired and enjoying lemonade.  The perfect end to a perfect morning in the sun.

Super Sunny Swingin' Sounds

The sun is back! For real! Not just poking it's nose out between crowded clouds, but actually shining brightly in a mostly blue sky.  Pooch, Dummykins (one of the cats) and I decided to take advantage and headed back out to the back yard to continue on our progress from yesterday.

Using hedge trimmers, a set of giant branch clippers and a lot of overhead reaching, I got a 90 minute workout while unburying half of my fence from the thousands of feet of brambly blackberry bushes that had embraced the chain-link fence and then eaten it whole.

Blackberry bushes give me this fantastic upper body workout every year somewhere around the end of May or early June.  Every year, I vow that NEXT year I am going to start cutting them back in February or March so that they are easier to manage, and every year our schedule gets crazy and the weather is too wet and the whole project gets forgotten until the blackberry tentacles have consumed the fence and have started reaching their spindly fingertips towards the house in an attempt to eat us alive.

I have finally learned to wear long sleeve shirts, long pants and gloves when working in the bushes.  The layers  help to warm up quickly and produce sweat in amounts roughly triple what I normally have at the end of a workout (which makes me smell delicious), in addition to protecting me from painful scratches and thorn-slivers.  It only has taken 4 years of managing them for me to figure that out.  But I try not to complain about the bushes too much because mid to late summer they produce enough blackberries to keep us fed for several weeks.

As my shoulders began aching and the vibration of the electric hedge trimmer started making my carpel tunnel tingle, I sadly realized that the other half of the fence will have to be rediscovered another day.  Even still, after 90 minutes of clipping, trimming, pulling, pushing, tearing and dragging vines around the yard I decided I was going to do just one more section of trimming before calling it a day. I grabbed the big clippers, hoisted them overhead to clip a large vine trying to invade from 9 feet in the air, began to close the handles and prepared to hear the juicy "snap" of victory as a clean cut was produced and... a giant slug fell ON MY FACE.

Making the chaotic freak-out from yesterday over baby spiders seem like a timid shudder, I promptly smacked myself in the forehead repeatedly to get the damn thing off of me, yelled out a YEEEAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!! that made the neighbor's dog's start barking (Pooch and Dummykins just watched me in amusement and were no help whatsoever) and then frantically started wiping my face with the only dry and semi-clean part of my sweatshirt which was conveniently located on the inside-lower-back portion of the garment so I had to take the whole shirt off to make fabric-to-face contact.  After frantically rubbing as much slug-goo off of my face as possible, and cussing and stomping and throwing a general fit, I kicked the slug across the yard where Dummykins finally decided to "help" and pounced it.

I then realized I was not wearing an undershirt.

Isn't exercise fun?