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!

Week 13

Arrghhh . . .  still sloughing off and being BAD and lazy.  I need to continue motivating myself . . .  still have some outfits i want to squeeze into and still have quite a ways to go . . . 

week 13

M - 0

T - 25 mins, 45 - - 

W - 25 mins, 

Th - 25 mins, 45 - - 

F - 0

Sa - 30 mins, 45 - -

Sun - 25 mins, 45 - - 

I had two days off this week -- and as can be seen above, haven't lived up to my goal of doing squats, crunches, and pushups every day.  I wish I weren't such a lazy mofo, but it's a bad trait of mine that needs constant attention.  Vanity is the only thing that works . . .  so I need to picture myself on that beach in Thailand, prancing around in  my teeny triangle-top and string bikini -- looking sleek and svelte of course -- just need to hold that thought and follow through on my plans!!

I think also I need a day or two to just allow myself to be lazy . . .  or is that an evil slippery slope that I'm heading onto?  Should I aim for seven-days-a-week workouts or try for five or six? Which will I be least likely to flake out on?  Hmm . . . decisions, decisions . . . 

to make it worse, here I am in week 14 and feeling super puffy and bloated . . . just a horrible feeling, I did a stats weigh in but since I'm retaining major water the numbers were depressing . . . aarrrgghhh . . .  can't menopause just come already???

Well, I'll keep slugging away at it, things are bound to improve. . .  need a better strategy though for my workouts.  I hate spending too much time on them, if I can devise a way to hit all major body parts AND do the elliptical, I'll be elated . . .  more on that later . . . <3!

Aaiiiiieeee!!! Week 12

I haven't gotten around to posting my weekly workouts 'cos frankly these last two weeks have been BAD.  In Seoul, where I live now, there is a seasonal condition called "hwang-sa" -- meaning "yellow dust".  This is a pale yellow, hideously grey and choking dust cloud which has been swept across the sea from China and deposited onto the Korean peninsula.  It often reaches Japan, and has been found in small amounts on the US West Coast.  Anyway, this hwang-sa is one of the most miserable things about living here -- you can't go hiking, running, in-like skating, etc. and it's even nasty to go outdoors during a bad bout of it.  We shut all our windows and just hunker down, but we still have to go up to our college campus to teach . . .  so there is no escape.  It gets in your hair, lungs, teeth, everything -- a horrible hollow, wheezy feeling deep in your bronchial tubes . . . and we just had to endure it for two weeks.

My Korean students say they didn;t notice it, but I had classes filled w/ red-eyed, sniffling students so I think they're in denial.  Perhaps my lungs are just extra tender and fresh, having lived in quite nice areas of the world and have been lucky to grow up in natural surroundinds w/ plenty of fresh air . . .  but then again i wouldn't want to have corroded, toughened-up lungs either.  

So, my workouts have sort of sloughed off recently. . . 

week 12

M -nothing, choking and gasping from dusty air

T - 20 mins, 45 squats

W - 15 mins, 45 squats

Th - 15 mins. 45 squats

F - 10 mins

Sa - 0

Su - 0

I'm so ashamed.

It's Early Christmas for me!!!!

I just made a huge order for some basic outfits online, sooo excited -- here in Korea the fashions are super frumpy or frilly or just thin and shabby looking.  That, or I could go into the older dragon-lady section of the store and come out looking like my Great-Aunt Eustace.  

I've gone shopping, I do go shopping a lot here in Seoul, but the value and styles just aren't there.  I don't think paying $40 for a skirt is so dirt-cheap that I deserve to have it fall apart in the first wash, and it's exhausting to schlepp around trying to find things w/o frills and bows and furbelows -- or w/o scrawly text all over them.  I like simple, clean lines, close-fitted but not tight, somewhat basic but flattering to my body shape.  

Anyway, my colours are hard to find here too -- basically I wear pinks of all shades, greys, white, a little lavender . . .   not much else.  I do have a yellow skirt w/ pink stitching, and a brown skirt w/ pink floral appliques (from Australia), and a few black skirts (w/, yes, correct, pink detailing!) -- so there is a narrow range of what I'm looking for.  

Another thing that pushes me to online shopping:  sales!  I can't believe some of the great bargains out there now,  my MIL is always bugging me to visit outlet malls w/ her (YAWN  there's never anything good for me) but w/ some of the sales I;ve found it's better than outlet malls!

I'll have to post pics when i get my stuff . . .  actually I should post the pics I already have of my outfits and such . . .  bad blogstress!  

Week 10

OK, I slipped up a wee bit this week . . .  but at least I managed to do something each day -- that's the important part.

M - 10 mins, 45 squats/ 60 crunches/ 10 pushups

T - 25, 45/60/10

W - 20, 45/60/10

Th - 20, 45/

F - walk from Yonsei University to Yeonhui (up and over the mountain, perhaps 45 mins total) (and wearing heels too!)

Sa - 25, 45/120/10

Su - 45/120/10

So I didn't do anything aerobic on Sunday -- but "the flow" started this weekend and it's strangely made me feel tired and lethargic, and pale.  Now, having a natural cafe latte complexion and being washed out does not look so good -- a weird zombie-ish look.  *sigh*   My mother hit menopause early, I keep hoping it'll happen to me early too but apparently not yet!  I have friends who are outraged/aghast when I tell them this, but really, but this age, if the urge were to hit me then it would have.  

Anyway, back to my workout:  I've stared upping the crunches, since they are fairly easy for me to do and doing 60 wasn't doing anything -- that is, I couldn't feel it the day after.  When I upped it to 120, however, aye yay yay, I felt it, so that's good.

Week 9

Wheeeee!!!!  Another good workout week.  I'm really starting to feel "like I used to" before the I let the chub pile on . .  . I don't feel that hideous, depressing spare-tire around my middle when I bend over or lean over to get something -- it used to be this big wad of fat that just oozed over, nowhere to go, like a balloon animal squeezed on one end.  That's what I felt like!  Now, the fat is still there, a smaller pad of it, but it's smaller for sure.  I'm so excited to be seeing actual results!

Here's Week 9 workouts:

M - no elliptical/aerobics but 45 squats/60 crunches/5 pushups

T - 25 mins / 45/60/10

W - 20 mins / 45/90/10

Th - 25 mins / 45

F - 20 mins / 45

Sa - 15 mins / - - 5

Su - rested  (I think I deserved it but still feel a bit bad!)

I'm still wanting to work on my upper thighs -- the backs are still ripply, and my rear -- but will continue this squats/crunches/pushups regimen for at least this month and then in Nov. see if I need to ramp it up a bit. . . . 

Such a Shameless Hussy

Tra la la la la!!!  I was extra giddy today 'cos my husband picked up our new passport photos today, and they actually looked GOOD!  Last time we tried getting them a few weeks ago, at a hypermart (Asian/European version of gigantic Targets but even better!) the pics were sooooo lame . . . .  they (Korean photo clerks) mistakenly forced us not to smile, since this is the Korean official photo style -- srsly -- high school/college photos, passports/visas, they say not to smile . . . 

well, the first attempt made my husband look as if he'd be on the Wanted by Homeland Security list, and in mine I looked about to burst into tears.  

We finally returned to the photo studio that took our passport pics ten years ago -- why didn't we go there first?  We live farther away now, and it was just a hassle (whine!) -- but we got our comeuppance for venturing somewhere cheaper/closer, that's for sure!

The photo studio did a great job, accepted our smiles, my hair accessory, and the pics look quite nice, we are inordinately pleased w/ them . . .  why all the brouhaha for some passport photo pics?  Because we have to see them for the NEXT TEN years!  So they'd better be good!

Also, my glee at finally having a half-way decent pic must have shown on my face since several random strangers said "HI" and smiled at me -- 

AND the first two batches of English Cafe (this lame free-talking thing we have to do at our college as part of our "counseling duties" as instructors -- balderdash!  The only bearable thing about having to work for one hour w/o pay each week is how fun and personable the students are, but that's another topic) --

anyway, the first two batches were all Physical Education and Recreation majors . . .  they were a bit shy, and when I asked what their favourite sports were they all said "basketball" -- and they liked/played nothing else . . . hmmm . . .

but to get to the point, they all asked me how old I was.

GASP

That's just not done, and i'm still not used to it -- but the first group said "21?" whereupon I laughed and said, no, I'm probably the same age as your mother -- one guy said "but she's 50!"  I hastened to say, no, not that old, and he stopped, looked at me again, and said "are you 30?"  No, I said, I'm 42 -- and, it makes me blush to remember, but I was tickled pink to hear this.  Sure, he's Korean, and only 19 yrs old, but STILL.  

Then the next pair of students come up, this time a guy and a girl, and they immediately ask  the same question!!!  I was curious -- was there something about me today that screamed "INQUIRE ABOUT MY AGE NOW" ???  The guy said "so cutie!" -- TEEHEEHEE!!!!  So I told them my age, and blushed some more . . . 

I think I was having an extra cheerful day . . .  that, or I was actually wearing some "taupe" eyeshadow, could that be it???