Tornado Alley

Welcome to Oklahoma City and Tornado Alley!

Check out the hail coming down in the middle of a tornado that came through OKC last night! It was reported to be up to baseball and softball sized in some areas!

The stadium staff even had to put their “shelter-in-place” emergency plan into effect and moved all fans to the service level of the stadium.  In all my years at Camden Yards, we planned for such emergency situations to be prepared but were never actually faced with one so it was actually kind of cool to see it all put into action.  Although I’m sure here in Tornado Alley, it’s not a rare occurrence.

Luckily I was able to get my first baseball game soft pretzel in before the clouds moved in and the bad weather took over the stadium.

Workout

I started the morning off with a workout in the hotel’s fitness center. I mixed strength training with one mile runs to make a full cardio/strength circuit workout.

Circuit #1

• 1 Mile Run
• Chest Press
• Push Ups
• Flies

Circuit #2

• 1 Mile Run
• Shoulder Press
• Anterior Shoulder Raise
• Lateral Shoulder Raise

Circuit #3

• 1 Mile Run
• Bench Dips
• Tricep Kickbacks
• Overhead Tricep Extensions

Each strength exercise was performed for 15 reps and 3 sets.

I haven’t lifted in a little over a week and my arms have been shaking since I finished my workout!

Breakfast

The hotel has complimentary hot breakfast so we hit that up as soon as I was done my workout. The options are abundant; yogurt, cereals, waffles, sausage, french toast, omelets, oatmeal, muffins, pastries, bagels, coffee, etc.

I actually was able to contain my cravings for a little of everything and filled my plate with an English muffin, cheese omelet and maple sausage.

And then made a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich!

I also grabbed a banana and apple with some peanut butter packs for quick snacks later in the day!

Off to find a place to live in our new city!!

Question:

Have you ever been through a tornado before?

Back in Aggressive Form

Ever since I got to Korea and even more so after I started experiencing more stomach issues after my arrival, I haven’t had that much of an appetite and when I do have one it hasn’t been sticking around past one meal tops. However, today, that has suddenly changed.

My appetite is back and it means business in a bad way. It has come back in aggressive form!

Morning Snack

A few hours after breakfast, I was struck with a hunger for a morning snack, something that hasn’t been the case at all since I have been in Korea, so I ate the second half of my cinnamon raisin bagel toasted with some peanut butter and honey.

Lunch

A couple of hours later, after workout part II and a skype chat with one of my best friends back home, I was back in the kitchen whipping up a chocolate covered blueberry protein smoothie.

I threw tossed the following into the blender and let it do its thang.

• 1 cup soy milk
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
• 1.5 cup frozen blueberries
• spinach to the brim

This ended up making so much smoothie that I had two glasses full. Hopefully it fills me up through some afternoon studying!

Workout – Part II

Workout part II on the day was Body Revolution, phase 2, cardio 2. I’ve actually come to memorize this cardio routine since this was my fifth time doing it so I didn’t even need to turn the DVD on.

I just set up an online tabata clock for 16 thirty-second circuits with only two seconds rest between them and repeated the 8:32 minute cycles (including the 2 seconds to switch exercises) three times through as in the workout DVD.

So much easier than going through the hassle of turning the DVD on and even made the workout go by faster and kept me going at a faster rate since Jillian tends to talk a little between exercises and circuits! 😉

Off to (finally) shower and get my afternoon cranking!

Question:

When you have a raging appetite, do you go with it or try to suppress it? Often times I will try to drink more water or eat more filling meals to keep me full but after not eating much food of substance since I arrived and with feeling better now, I know my body needs the nutrients so I’m not fighting it!

Does Guilty Mean Closure?

The verdict was announced last night in the George Huguely trial.  He was found guilty of second degree murder and of grand larceny.

The jury recommended 25 years in jail for the murder charge and 1 year for the larceny. The sentencing date is set for April 16th…more waiting.

So now that Huguely was found guilty, does this mean that there is closure for Yeardley’s family? It’s a question that you can only hope the answer to is, “yes”. For their sanity and their future happiness.

But I think the answer is really two-sided.

There will be closure.  There will be no more days sitting in the courthouse.  There will be no more listening to witnesses recount the circumstances of the days leading up to the death of Yeardley.  There will be no more details being repeated over and over of the final outcome on that awful May morning.  For all of that, there will be closure.

Unfortunately, that may be the only closure to this tragfic event.  The odds that closure from the repercussions of this lovely young woman being taken too soon are slim to none. Sadly, that’s one of the lingering effects when someone is taken unfairly or unexpectedly. Those left behind only get to grieve their loss with no closure, no real answers, no easy comfort.

Again, my heart goes out to the Love family. Hopefully the meaning behind their family name can help continue to pull them through this unbearably hard time.

1♥

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Workout

This morning I wrapped up my first week of Body Revolution with Jillian Michaels. I completed my second day of the phase 1 cardio DVD. Again, the 3 circuits of 1 minute reps of 8 different exercises has me sweating.

It’s okay though, I had my biggest fan cheering me on.

Apparently my workouts bore my little buddy.

Sleeping seems to be more exciting.

After the cardio workout I did a quick ab circuit just to give them a little work.

Gotta use ’em so you don’t lose ’em, right?!

Or you gotta work ’em to just simply get ’em?!?!…I think that’s a little more accurate for my current ab situation… 🙂

Breakfast

Breakfast this morning was a plate full of egg scramble.

One egg, 3 egg whites, spinach, black olives and goat cheese.

Delish!

Day 7 left in the office…off to make it count!

Question:

Where do you think closure comes from after the loss of a loved one?

Long Workout Saturday

It’s the weekend. Ahhh, and a three-day one at that! 🙂

Workout

I started this Saturday morning off at the gym to get my workout out-of-the-way early. After a quick 8-minute-mile to warm up I hit the free weight section for some strength training.

I did the following circuits each twice through:

Circuit #1:

Circuit #2:

Circuit #3:

I then headed back to the treadmill for a sprint circuit:

• 1 minute run at 8.5 mph
• 50 seconds of recovery

Which I repeated through until I reached 1 mile.

Next up was some toning work for my legs:

And finally stretching!!

Breakfast:

I had a Luna bar before heading to the gym so when I came home I put together a mixed cereal bowl.

Fiber One Honey Squares and Special K Pecan Crunch with almond milk.

I enjoyed my bowl of cereal while this face pleaded next to me for a bite.

Eventually he got distracted by his toys and outside so I could finish breakfast before cleaning up after him.

I swear this dog has too many toys that he spreads throughout the entire house.

And God-forbid we try to clean them up and keep them nicely in his basket.

Fat chance Mom and Dad!

I’m off to get ready for a busy day! Brian and I have some wedding stuff to get done today before heading to dinner with friends tonight! I’m excited because it’s fun wedding stuff too!!! 🙂

Question:

Do you tend to get in longer workouts on the weekends?