*gasp*

I'm so ashamed.... has it been actually one whole year since I last updated? *gulp* well, no time like the present! Today is May 1st, an apt time date to pick this thing back up & start anew. MAYDAY!!!! I'm in my early 40's and time waits for no (hu)man, and the longer I slothfully sit around, the more deeply the blubber & bad habits will become ingrained in me... ugh...

well, today I went hiking up the small mountain for the first time in prolly a year. This sounds pretty uneventful, but hiking in Korea is... shall I say... "interesting". More on that later, but now that I'm home my ankles and lower legs are TIRED. Can't believe the muscles used are so different from everyday walking...

but that's good, it means at least I got a workout today already. I;ve been trying to maintain a smidgeon of fitness by some combination of pushups & crunches... apparently it hasn't been very effective 'cos my legs are definitely smooth & lardy, like twin pillars of jello... not good!

An explanation is in order... just found out yesterday I have asthma. Strange to get it as an adult, but there it is... living in Seoul is hard on me but here is where I live/work & that won't change anytime soon. I have to use a daily inhaler every morning/night and also have the traditional inhaler for emergencies. Ever since last Oct. I've been feeling run down, always tired, arms & legs no strength-- bad complexion (as in a grey, withered face w/ no colur) and difficulty breathing. I finally went to see the doctor yesterday, some tests, and now I belong to "them" -- the people who have asthma. Actually more ppl are telling that they have it too... in the past, I used to think asthmatics were somehow just sickly, or weak, not eating/exercising properly... very, very humbling to have it happen to myself & realise that it's just something that happens.

But onward! It's a new month, and tomorrow will do a photo/stats check, to give me a foundation from which to start. Can only go up!!

Fell Off the Bandwagon (actually down a few stairs)!

Wow, I've been absent from my little corner of the internets for quite some time . . . no frittering away time trying to figure out how to be healthy w/ a minimum of effort, no obsessing over every ripple of flab I spot, no more posting pics of my booty . . . oh blog, how I've missed you!  

Well, here is what happened:  about one month ago I sat down hard on my foot to keep myself from tumbling clumsily down the stairs at school, in a sad attempt to keep my paper cup of tea safe . .   I kept the cup upright (although the tea mysteriously disappeared) at dreadful cost to my foot, which got juggernauted down two steps and curled under me like an instant Chinese foot binding.  OUCH!!  

I had to cancel my two classes the next day and my husband took me to Severance hospital in Seoul.  I got to be pushed around in a wheelchair by a nurse smaller than me, wheeee!!  The x-rays showed no serious damage but the doctor said it would be several months before it would be fully healed.  *GASP*  But it's been a month and it looks almost normal, I'm going to start on the elliptical slowly . . .  can't stand the idea of getting doughier and more slothful . . . as long as go carefully and gently it'll be ok . . 

note the humoungous purply-green bruise

compared to my normal foot which also got a bit bashed(after about three weeks)

the puffer fish foot after two weeks (puffiness came first, then bruising)

frozen veggies in a bag for two weeks really helped!

had to wear longer skirts and sturdy sandals at work --note the Storm Trooper ankle brace, a lovely accessory to any ensemble

After an entire month not doing anything, I thought I'd majorly regress but the stats from Dec. 1 weren't that bad, plus got new booty pics for the photo check too -- I guess I've been coasting, which won't last so I'm motivated to get back on track!