I'm so glad my work place has a gym, because if I had to breakdown and join a more public arena of fitness it would not be pretty. First of all, I do not have a plethora of "cute" workout clothes since I really just decided to get serious about this. Secondly, I am a "sweat slinger." There is nothing cute about sweat spraying from the various parts of my body onto the objects or folks around me. Am I exaggerating? Maybe a tad, but this was the first thing that popped into my head when I noticed the numerous droplets on the treadmill today. This was I, I was this.
Sidenote: this little water contraption right here, ruled my summer of '82.
I'm well on my way to achieving what I believe is my ultimate foxiness. I done threw up the dueces to ten pounds already, my pants are looser and I find myself saying things like "Oh. I didn't know I had a mole right there." Too much? Anywho, I am very proud of myself for sticking with my 45- minute/3 mile treadmill workout (because that's the only thing I will stick with) which I do 5 days-a-week and sometimes on Saturday.
Well, now that I'm feeling all Marion Jones-like; I decided to raise the bar a little. (and by bar, I mean the incline on the treadmill) That incline definitely makes a helluva difference. While I didn't feel it right away, I had a rude awakening a couple of nights in the form of excruciating pain that can only be created by beelzebub himself. The freakin' Charley Horse. I mean really? I was like W.T.F?! Is my leg giving birth to another leg?
It then occurred to me that I wasn't doing the one thing all the exercise know-it-all's tell you to do, stretch. I don't stretch before and I don't stretch after. I just hop my happy ass on the treadmill and start rolling. No warm-up, no nothing. When I'm done, I jump off, wipe down the treadmill, throw my hat on over my sweaty bandana and say "I'll holla" to whoever's in the gym and hit the door.
So.. if I plan to keep this train moving I guess I better stretch-it-out before I work-it-out, because those leg cramps are some b.s. For real.
Whoop there it is! Summer vacation for the kids has started. While I love the fact that I can sleep an hour later or hit the treadmill in the morning (wait..rewind..who am I fooling? Sleep later, definitely); coming home after work to the smell combo of bagel bites, popcorn and unwashed arm pits, not so much. (Any mother of boys will know what I'm talking about.)
Like many full-time working, single moms, I have the dilemma of "what the hell to do to keep these children busy over the summer?" Fortunately for me I don't have the issue of finding day care, but the thought of my kids sleeping until noon then playing video games until the wee hours of the morning bothers me every year. It bothers me so much that by August I'm swearing that this will not happen again the following year and I will make sure my children are not laying around all summer, yet here we are. (**side-eye** to myself)
Now I did make an effort to find a summer camp program for my 10-year old; however, the thought of paying a "day care center" $120 - 199/week so my child can do arts and crafts and go on a field trip or two just was not going to fly in my world. I know I want my child to interact with the outside world during the summer, but that's some bullshiggedy right there. So I'm back to square one.
This is that moment when you wish you had the option to ship your children off to that relative who lives in the country where the only options they have is to climb trees, ride bikes (without brakes) and play kickball. Oh my bad, that was my childhood. I forgot we don't "do" those type of summers anymore. (sigh)
