Last Session

My body is all types of sore I've never been. I have a pulling tightness in the shoulders, a stiffness in the neck and a sore back. Last night was my last free session with my trainer and it seems she went easy on me. (Until I woke up today)

Last night's routine:
Raised Rows 37.5lb, 3x15
Incline Push-Ups, 3x10

Knee raises on raised platform, 3x15
Tricpep Pull-down, 15lb on each arm, 3x12

Hammer Curls 8lb, 3x15
Leg Extension (Quads), 3x12

Abs:
Legs @ 90' Touch Toes, extend left, reach up/crunch, extend right, reach up/crunch, Regular Crunch, 3x20
Left-Right Knee Touches, 3x12
Bridges, 3x12

I was pretty exhausted after the routine and opted to drive home for an hour of rest rather than doing cardio while waiting for Max's session to finish. Overall I feel like these free training sessions helped me get back into routine and realize I can push my body a lot more than I have on my own. I'm starting to feel a difference in my core (especially at night) so even though there is no "lb" difference yet, I am starting to feel/see my body fighting the fat. :)

Now that I'm all done with these sessions, I'm going to focus the next 4 weeks to doing Linda's program (6x a week!) and hopefully start seeing more likeable results.

Co-Pilot on Bird Duty

Some Random Memories

On Monday night my paternal grandmother passed away. She was lovingly called "Meme" by her children and grandchildren, but my sisters and I called her Popo. (Not sure why we were the only grandchildren to do so.) She was my last living grandparent and passed away at 83, I was surprised to learn she is barely 10 years younger than Athai, my maternal great-grandmother.

I was reading a message on Gerry's blog that said "She has been part of my life for as long as I lived.." and it really got me thinking about my earliest or even most recent memories of her. I wanted to record some of those memories before my brain fails me and forgets them all. It's funny but most of my memories of my grandparents come straight from my childhood -- I don't have very many pictures that record my time with them.

So here we go, in random order:

• Playing on her rooftop, trying to chase all of the chickens off and getting in trouble for it. I did manage to send 2-3 chickens to a 3-story fall to the ground below. My punishment: no eggs for dinner.
• Sitting through a 2-hour lecture at the Elgers house when I was in college, listening to her describe what type of husband I should be looking for.
• Swimming for hours in the backyard with Yona when I was 8, to be greeted by a piping hot bowl of noodle soup. Amazing how hungry you get after you swim!
• Walking around the fish market in Hong Kong trying really hard to tiptoe over puddles of dirty water and blood, getting yelled at for dragging behind.
• Waking up at 6am in Indonesia to go to the bazaar for bakmie ayam (dry chicken noodles), eating it in the tiny dark space hoping I don't see a rat scurry across the floor, going home to sleep in until 10, then waking up to a second serving of the noodles. :)
• Shopping the streets of Hong Kong and watching her get frustrated as I ignore her pleas to dress more like my older cousin, offering to buy me Versace jeans, and showing interest in Giordano basics instead.
• Enjoying beef noodle soup in an alleyway in Hong Kong with her and Steven until I saw how the street food vendor washed our bowls: simply dipped in a bucket of dirty water.
• Helping her in and out of the car whenever she visited the states. Cars here are much bigger than in Indonesia.
• Our huge dimsum family reunions in Monterey Park -- the rare occasions all of the aunts, uncles and cousins would come out together for a meal. (With minimal bickering)
• Sitting for hours and hours at the "gold store" with my grandma and grandpa, sweating my sanity away as I played silly games in my head to pass time. (How many bracelets can I count in a minute?)
  
• The bumpy bajai rides together up the street to the store which graduated to an Indonesian language lesson as she tried to get me to ride the bajai alone on days I woke up late.
• The look of pride and love masked by an irritated grunt whenever we tried to hug her.
  

And my most recent, one that still brings tears to my eyes when I picture it, the day I visited her in Indonesia a couple of years ago as she was recovering from a stroke. She was in a wheelchair and wasn't able to move or talk but just sat there staring at me with tears gushing through her eyes when she saw me walk in. I think looking into her eyes at that moment, I listened more to her than I ever have before.

Getting There

It's been over a month since I've joined the gym and already my workouts are whittling down to once or twice a week. The original plan was 2x with a trainer, 1x boxing class, 1x basic cardio and 1x yoga per week... but things like dinner and weekend outings got in the way!

Anyways, last night was my second-to-last session with my trainer and I feel like my body is finally turning around and benefiting from the strength training. My energy level is still volatile, but I don't get as sore after workouts anymore and I think I'm starting to feel a difference.

Last night's routine: (3 sets of 15 each)
Incline Chest Press 10lbx2
Walking Lunges 10lb

Incling Facing Down, Open "T" 5lbx2
Hamstring Machine (?lb)

Medicine Ball (Yellow, 10lb) Left, Middle, Right
Tricep 12.5

Lower Back
Sides (5lb)

Abs:
Medicine Ball Twist
V-20 seconds

I was too tired afterwards to do cardio while I waited for Max so I just sat in the lobby for 15 minutes. I never realized it before but people give you a funny look when you are sedentary at a gym.

A Farmer's Market Meal

This is the second-to-last post about food, I swear. Tonight for dinner I made a meal almost entirely bought from the farmer's market. In fact, the only thing that wasn't was the lemon I bought at Trader Joe's.

Pictured here is flounder sole baked in a pouch with a compound butter. The blanched asparagus were "shocked" with ice water and served with a lemon herb dressing. To the top left is some fresh-squeezed OJ made from some tasty navel oranges. And on the bottom left is some freshly baked mac n cheese from Paddy Mac, a mac n cheese vendor from the Brentwood Farmer's Market. It was the "super mac" version made with carrot and cauliflower puree.

I actually impressed myself with the fish -- never realized it would be so easy (and tasty!) to bake fish. Definitely going to try out new fish recipes and use the oven more instead of my usual panfry solution. The more amazing thing? This meal cost about $9 a person and we were stuffed.