Elliptical, there are so many types, oh my!

Yesterday, Eddy and I went to 2 Canadian Tire's, Sears, Sportcheck and Walmart to check out their exercise equipment. We had no idea there were so many brands and types to choose from. Also, the price range was from $150.00 to thousands. After talking to several people and Eddy hopping onto countless elliptical machines. We found one that we felt would serve our purpose. That is to say the one we really wanted was way out of our price range, so Canadian Tire won our vote. They had one that was 50% off and it seemed to have all the info we were looking for. Calories, distance, time, pulse, etc... Eddy will install it downstairs in front of the TV on Tuesday when the new shipment arrives to the store. We can hardly wait!!! I want to pick up a table that the weights can attach to and can be used to exercise both the arms and legs. It is affordable and so are the weights. However, Eddy said he wanted to wait a bit, and not go overboard. He is always the voice of reason. I tend to go whole hog when something new comes into my life. He also said that I could pick up an I-Pod which is something I've wanted for over a year. The prices have really come down and are now affordable to us. (Yea!)

Today I went to the rec centre and speed walked 1 mile and walked another 1/4 mile to cool down. I was sweating up a storm. I felt really warm and energized when I left. I got my hair cut really short after that. This caused my grey/white hair to have that salt and pepper look and I am so pleased that I am starting to look my age. I really don't want to have to color my hair anymore. It is a bother and it isn't very healthy. My daughter hated it and told me I looked like I was on Chemo therapy. My son-in-law said, after looking at me, that he didn't know that Eddy was into little boys. Humm...I like it!

Tomorrow, Eddy and I will clean the house and then start laying the wood floor in the spare bedroom downstairs. After that, if we have any strengh left, we will go skating. I hope we have some strength left, because I am really starting to love skating. I got my skates sharpened this week from a little shop that caters to figure skaters and the skate sharpening person only sharpens skates for kids and adults that are in training.

Eddy and I had scrambled eggs and home fries for breakfast. (Hardly raw, but lots of veggies in the eggs and oranges and berries to decorate the plate). He went to work today, so I packed him a veggie wrap that had guacamole (which I made) as the sauce and tons of veggies and buckwheat sprouts (which I sprouted in the kitchen this week). I also gave him a huge orange and banana. That should hold him until he gets home at 9:30 P.M. tonight. He said he would bring home a pizza for dinner, except I had a huge salad about an hour ago (7:00 P.M.) and I don't think I'm going to be hungry. We'll see. When I was at my daughter's, she was baking chocolate chip cookies with chickpeas (from Seinfeld's wife's cookbook)and they were delicious. I had 2 (bad me!) My 11 month old grandson squeezed the second one until it was almost unrecognizable as a cookie, so consequently he got the most of it. (Ewwww)

Eddy is soooo sick

Yesterday night Eddy got up to go to work. He started to vomit, and vomit and vomit. Needless to say he didn't go to work. He did however sleep like a baby. Which translates to me not sleeping because I have to roll him over from his back to any other position, in order to stop him from SNORING!!! Bummer. We got a call from his boss at 8:30 A.M. announcing to Eddy that the overtime O.K. came through from Head Office and will start in the New Year. Eddy was very excited. Since the start of the recession, Eddy's hours were cut to 4 days a week, and then sometime down the road increased to 36 hours a week. It has been a struggle, especially with me not allowed to work. I got up and and started to run outside. It snowed two nights ago and last night was so cold, the ground froze to ice. I almost fell so Buffy (the dog) and myself came inside, most dejected. (Me, not Buffy). Eddy was up, bright as a bunny and fit as a fiddle and ready to rock and roll, baby. He suggested that we go to the rec centre and walk the track. Great idea! So off we went. Eddy and I speed walked about 3/4 of a mile and did our cool off by walking the last 1/4 mile. I felt great. Eddy was sore. Then we talked about getting some kind of equipment in the basement to help us stay in shape, but not break the bank. Also, help us to eliminate the need to join a gym, at least for the this winter. We had to shop for Christmas gifts for the kids and grand kids, so while we were doing this we checked out some equipment and some prices. My daughter suggested that a treadmill might not be the best idea for people our age. She felt the walking might cause pain in the joints. She suggested an elliptical machine. She thought it might be lower impact. I didn't know what one was, so we we talked about it. She tried to describe it, but I didn't get it. Today Eddy was pumped about getting a stationery bike. I tried one once and my back became sore after about 5 minutes. So we went to Canadian Tire. Eddy got on the elliptical machine and said that he immediately felt it in his thighs. I tried it and it was O.K. He looked at the tread mill and the stationery bikes and while pondering, he decided that he loved the elliptical machine. So we went to Wal-Mart and looked at one that seemed as good but for $200.00 less. Tomorrow we will take a look at Sears and The Bay and see what their story is and then make a final decision. Eddy is all stoked to get some second hand hockey goalie equipment. He used to play for some super duper team when he was younger (much younger!) and got paid to tend Goal. We discussed him getting back into shinny or pickup but first I want our doctor to say it is OK. I know of an older man that decided to, all of a sudden, start jogging and he died of a heart attack within minutes of starting to run. I never forgot this and Eddy is going to speak to the doctor before we make the investment into equipment. We have an appointment on Tuesday in the morning. I will see her also so she can give me the go ahead to start working again, after my episode of Atrial Fibrillation. I've been home since August 27th, and I'm very restless. Christmas shopping was fairly easy this year. We have very little money. The big ticket items we are purchasing will come from our RRSP which we will cash in when we know how much we will need. The Christmas presents will come from monies we can afford to spend. So our four children and their spouses will share a mitt full of scratch and win tickets. Eddy's grand kids will get gift certificates to Walmart, so they can choose what they want. The oldest is almost a teenager and you know what it is like to buy gifts for that age group. And of course the younger one will have apoplexy if we don't give the exact same gift. My grand kids are easier. The 3 year old is into Batman and Spiderman. (The other day he told me that he is also a super hero. I asked him what his name was. He replied, "Super Fast!") We bought him a Spiderman long sleeved shirt and Batman PJ's complete with black cape. He will be thrilled. For the 11 month old we will purchase a tent that looks like a car that he can crawl into and out of. Both my kids loved having a tent in the play area at that age. Mostly I think they just wanted a private place to pick their noses. Ewww. I know, but kids will be kids.

We are sort of off the "healthy" diet of late. We will get back into eating properly sometime in the next few days. At least we are exercising some and burning the calories. Eddy is down a few pounds which he finds encouraging and helps him stay on the exercise track. I haven't budged an ounce, which is really the good news, considering the stuff I'm eating.

I know I have muscles, because they hurt!

I had to rush through my morning exercise routine. I ran outside 10 times around the backyard in the dusting of snow we had last night. It was really pretty and I felt good when I finished. Then downstairs to do some balance and strength. No stretching, no time. I will see how I feel tonight before bed. The computer technician was coming to take my home computer away as it is about to crash. Total bummer! He had to fix a few bugs in the business computer also. Good for him, not so good for Eddy and me. Oh well. After the technician left I had to go out. I grabbed my skates and off I went. I visited our local gym and got some prices. Got the tour and it is really a nice place, but it is rather expensive. Eddy said we would revisit the possibility in January. Next stop is the recreational centre in the town south of us. I fast walked 1/2 mile on the track in about in about 11 minutes. I did sweat some, but I didn't feel my heart, so it was just gentle exercising I think. Next I went to the seniors skating. There were 9 of us. I was the only one holding onto the boards all the away around. I did notice some improvement in my balance, ability and time. I was able to complete 5 go arounds in 12 minutes, which is an improvement of 4 minutes from Sunday night. Yea! Baby steps. I was really hungry. I only had a bowl of fruit with some almond yogurt that I made yesterday. It was delicious, but it didn't stick to my ribs. I am proud of myself for not grabbing something unhealthy in order to stop the hunger pangs.

When I got home, Eddy was awake and his stomach was feeling ikky. We had to go out to the hardware store. They were having this sale of heating units that looked like wood stoves. They are supposed to heat 400 square feet. With the cost of oil these days, we decided to invest in 2 of them (one for the main level and one for the basement) for a cost $89.00 each. They were sold out, so they gave us a rain cheque for next Tuesday. When we got home I made Eddy a chicken soup to make his tummy feel better. The rest I will take to my daughter tomorrow. The grand kids love my chicken soup. I made a rice pilaf for me with some Cajun catfish. (Not raw, bad me!) I noticed that when I eat raw food I don't have much of a sweet tooth, and a piece of fruit usually satisfies it. Well when I eat cooked food, fruit ain't gonna do it. So Eddy (sick as he was) managed to drive to Dairy Queen and get us Sundays. (BAD ME!!!) It did taste so good. My rationalization is that I burned a bunch of calories today. Although the crap I ate wasn't so good for my body. I guess it is a good news, bad news, thing! Never mind, tomorrow is another day. I will try to do better. At least Eddy, my kids and my grand kids love me.

What to Move First?

Yesterday, we spent the bulk of the day moving and sorting junk in the basement. I went through some papers and we put a pile of junk for the dump and a pile of junk for Goodwill. Ed ripped up the carpet in the spare bedroom and cleared it right out. He swept and put in the dehumidifier. He wants to let it run for a few days to air it out. Then his dad will come next weekend and together they will lay the wood veneer floor we purchased from Ikea. After a day of moving and lifting and sorting we were both pretty sore in the muscles. So what does Eddy suggest? He wanted to know if I was game to go skating. I said absolutely. So off we went. Neither of us has been skating for 2 years. I found out that in 2 years my balance isn't as good as it once was. Also, because I have only been skating a handful of times in my life, and I'm still wearing the skates my mother purchased for me in the 1950's, I not very agile on my feet. (When the skate sharpener guy sharpened my skates 2 years ago, he started to laugh and asked me if I was aware that my skates were antiques). Never mind, they work for me, sort of! So at 8:00 P.M. we started our skate. By 8:16 P.M. I had skated around the rink 5 times while holding on to the boards trying desperately not to fall. I felt my heart start to beat quickly and my sweat starting around the end of the 3rd go around. I was so excited. I was thinking. "CARDIO, YEA!" After the 5th round, I was ready to go home, and so was Eddy. (Think baby steps). When we got home, Eddy had a sore back. We took a hot bath and just lay there together, enjoying the heat, relaxation and being together (albeit in pain).

When Eddy woke up this morning he was really in pain, so I gave him a rubdown on his back and then put some ice on it. In the meantime, I ran around the backyard 10 times. Buffy sat at the back of the yard, getting a closer look I think. Then I came in and Eddy was ready to discuss our plan for today. I explained to him that my muscles are warmed up and I needed to start my exercise routine. So downstairs I went and did some balance, strength, and stretching for the next 30 minutes. At that point my son-in-law called and asked me to baby-sit for the grand kids from 11:00 to 3:00 P.M (while my daughter was at the spa). Not what you think. No lah de dah here. This is her first time ever, and she so deserves to be pampered. She is pregnant and has a 3 year old and an 11 month old, and she never complains. She is such a great mother. I couldn't be more proud of her. So much for any plans working downstairs moving more junk! Eddy totally understood. He redefines the expression, "good natured." Of course I made some breakfast for him before I left. He was happy.

When I got back from babysitting, Eddy had delivered the whole pile of junk to the Goodwill, and taken the other whole pile of junk to the dump. He also gassed my van. He is such a good guy. All this with a very sore back. He went for a nap while I prepared dinner.

We had a nice big salad with chard, kale, red leaf lettuce, watercress, cucumber, green onion, tomato, celery, blackberries, nuts, and hemp nuts, with an oil and vinegar for Ed and ginger sweet and sour salad dressing for me. I also made guacamole, pesto which I put on zucchini squash spaghetti strands. I also made some sprouted wheat tortilla baked chips to compliment the guacamole. There was also some raw broccoli and cauliflower to dip into some ranch dressing. We were very satisfied afterwards.

Where to Start?

Eddy and I have started to work towards our long term retirement plans. We have 3 main areas that we have discussed working towards. First is getting this tiny 3 bedroom house in order so we can put it on the market and sell it. (After this is done and the house is sold, hopefully, we will then discuss where we will spend the rest of our years together). Secondly (and just as important) our diet. We got into some really poor food choices over the last few years. Eddy has now ballooned into a rather large lad and I gained some weight also. (I shall never admit how much though)! I have been a vegetarian for over 10 years. So now I am virtually vegan and raw, to boot. Eddy still likes his meat, but he is down to one meal a week and eats what I eat for the rest. (He is really a good sport). He has portion control issues so he is not loosing as much as he could if he followed this diet exclusively. However, he is slowly losing some weight and that is nice for him. He really wants to take the weight off. I know he will work this out for himself, eventually. And the third thing we have prioritized into our life is some sort of exercise routine. When I awaken, I run around the backyard 10 times to warm up. The dog sits by the deck looking at me wondering what the hell I am doing? It would be nice if she ran with me. (Fat chance)! Then I come in and do 30 minutes of strenght, flexibility, balancing and my cool off is some stretching. I am currently using 2 1/2 lb. weights for my feet and hands. Eddy and I went to the local recreational complex today to pick up some literature on pool and ice times this winter. Eddy loves to skate and I love to swim lengths. (About 7 - 8 years ago I used to go the the pool 5 days a week, or more, and swim 40 lenghts in 30 minutes. I would like to build myself back up to this routine, because I felt wonderful). I am hoping that together we can find a middle road that we can each do each other's loves and double our leisure experience as well as our cardio experience. In the spring we will purchase a new bike for Eddy and together we will ride our bikes. We have some wonderful bike trails near to where we live and we are so looking forward to this.