Weekly Workout Thread 2 April till 8th April

[KimberlyH]

Date: 4/8/2007 1:39:42 PM
Author: gailrmv

Date: 4/8/2007 1:28:50 PM
Author: Modified Brilliant

Date: 4/8/2007 1:21:20 PM
Author: KimberlyH
At the work party last night we learned that a couple we are friendly with is expecting their first child. we are really happy for them of course. It got my wheels spinning though, as usual. I do finally feel ready to have a kid in that I know I would do a great job, and we could afford to provide a good life for him/her. But I don''t really feel excited about having a child yet, and neither does my DH - we both have things we want to do as a couple first. So we have decided to wait until we both feel really excited about it. But seeing so many of our friends start their families makes me think hmmm, am I missing something? I am probably over-thinking the issue, but whether and when to have kids is probably the biggest decision a couple can make!

Gail, I just wanted you to know you are not alone in this quandry. John and I still haven''t come to a decision regarding whether or not we''ll have kids. It''s an extremely hard choice to make. We love our life as is, traveling, nice dinners out, time spent alone together, which doesn''t have to end when kids enter the picture, but becomes more difficult. And we are both extremely busy and fulfilled. We won''t make the decision for at least another year (I''m in the middle of a master''s program, and we''re contemplating a move cross country, there''s no way I''d want to be pregnant now!). We''re both 75% sure we want children, and I know I don''t want to have them past the age of 35, so we have 5 years to decide if and when. It will be one of the hardest choices we will have to make as a couple. Two of my closest friends have had babies in the last 3 months and another is 10 weeks pregnant with her 2nd child. While I adore these kids, they do not spark the ''I must have babies now'' feeling in me. And I adore children. Once again, you are not alone!

Hi ladies,
Your coments really hit home! I just turned fifty and I have a son 22 and a daughter 23. Obviously, I dedicated most of my married life to my kids and
still do, in a way (my daughter lives with me). I am starting a new phase of my life called ''Part 2.'' I love having adult kids and now i can enjoy my life
to the fullest and start doing things for ''me'' without feeling guilty. My advice: do as much together as a ''couple'' without kids...once you have them, you will dedicate your life to them financially and emotionally. Best Wishes whatever you decide!

Thank you both for your comments! Jeff, I am glad you are enjoying Part 2!! Kimberly, I remember you mentioning on a previous thread the way you are feeling about kids. It sounds like we are having a lot of the same thoughts about it! I agree with everything you wrote. DH and I are also pretty sure that we want kids eventually, but the time just does not feel right now. we really enjoy our couple time, and don''t feel like we get enough time together due to work/school demands! I go around and around about the pros and cons of kids, and have driven my DH about crazy with all my thoughts. I think for some people it is clear, they either want to be parents or they don''t. For me, I see both sides and I honestly think I could be very happy as a mom, but also very happy without children. It is a HUGE, irreversable decision to have children, so it''s been on my mind a lot these last few years (I''m 28, DH is 30, and many of our friends have started families recently or are talking about it, so it''s really been on our minds!)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jeff. Everything you said weighs heavily on our decision.

I totally understand where you''re coming from, gail. And we do think alike. For some people it''s a given, get married, have a family. For me it''s not. I also wasn''t set on getting married either, though. I figured if the right person came along, awesome, if not, I had created a nice life for myself and have a great family and friends, what more could I need? Just a different perspective, neither is right or wrong, just what works for individuals.

Perhaps I should have moved this to a different thread...sorry for the hijack to all the WWTers.


To stay on topic, I burned 200 calories, and 2100 total for the week. Now I need to get in gear, I should be dressed and ready to go by now! Ooops!

 

[mrssalvo]

Happy Easter all.

today we ate a light breakfast and lunch and I''m having about 14 people over for a BBQ around 4:00 for dinner. Our gym is closed today due to the holiday so no workout today. I plan on hitting it big time in the morning though since both my girls are in school and I don''t have to worry about leaving them in the nursery too long.

my sister is bring some blueberry muffins with cream cheese icing she got from Cooking Light. I''m so excited to try them and if they are good I''ll post the recipe here.

hope everyone enjoys their day!

 

[Mara]

kimberly and gail, your thoughts echo ours re: kids..we think we may want them but are not entirely sure, and we really enjoy our lifestyle the way it is now. but we don''t want to regret it later if we don''t do it. so we are thinking about it as well. but for now we are just enjoying life. i am 32 and i would like to have our first one by 35 if we do have them...so i have a few more years but not many to figure things out. i think this generation is much more aware of the positives and negatives of having children esp since this generation is tending to have them later (well many people) than our parents did. there''s much more ''awareness'' and ''do we want to do this''...but i think that is good to be sure.

anyhow...on topic, went to the gym and burned 580 cals in 64 minutes on the elliptical. so all my workouts this week including our extra walks and workout yesterday....total 4800 cals burned!!! that''s including a 1.5m walk later with greg and portia. that is insane for me, talk about a new record. but i did a lot of eating this week too!! truly enjoyable. anyhow with work starting again i am scheduling more walks than gym next week since it''s easier to fit in a 1-2m walk than a full gym hour...but hopefully i can stay very active!

so after the gym i went and did my grocery shopping for easter lunch, and some of this week. just had a cup of corn bran and a toast with SB and jam to tide me over til we go to my parents in a few hours. now gotta get ready and make my few items and then head off. have a great easter afternoon everyone!!

 

[Rod]

Not that I know anything about havng children, but we have these really special friends in Tampa and at 49 (her) and 57 (him), they had a baby. It wasn't easy and it cost them an absolute fortune, but the baby (now 4 years old) is perfect. I do think when he says one day that he'll have to ask "his old man" for the car keys, he won't be kidding. I also worry that he will be parentless at a very early age. So, I guess the point of my comment is if you're really serious about having children, think about how old you'll be when he or she graduates from high school. And Jeff made a comment earlier about entering his second stage of life at 50 and his kids are now adult. I think it's great that he has the opportunity to start his second life at such an EARLY age (afterall, I'm now 52). Anyway, please forgive me if I've entered a conversation I have no right to enter. I've never had, nor will I ever have children. Which is really a shame when you think about it, because Charlie and I would have been terrific parents and offered children a really well balanced life and we'd have been able to offer advantages few children get to have, but such is life.........

I had a really nice workout this afternoon. I was surprised by how busy the gym was on Easter Sunday, but I'm guessing there are lot's of not particularly religious people or people without families nearby, like me. So, having the gym to go to on Easter Sunday, for people who are fitness minded, is really a good thing.

Then, I came home and had Maine lobster and hearts of lettuce salad with Russian dressing (made of course with Vegganaise and catsup, for a super healthy dressing). Now, I'm heading back to do more packing. Honestly, I think our stuff breeds when we sleep and there just seems to be a never ending supply of stuff to pack.

Good luck on your first day of work again Mara. I'm sure this time, you'll not only make ooodles of money, but be so much happier than the last psycho situation you had.

For those of you who were with your families on Easter, I hope you all had a nice day. I also hope you had a nice day if you weren't near your family or Easter isn't a holiday of particular importance to you.

Mara: Don't forget that if Lorelei doesn't have the opportunity to start the thread tomorrow, you have been dubbed the WWT Thread starter for the week!!

And finally Lorelei, hope all's going well with you son and if the operation has already been, he sailed through with flying colors. Lot's of thoughts and good wishes have been sent your way.

 

[KimberlyH]

We''re home from Easter, what a fun day! I haven''t spent time with my cousins and their 3 sons in a long time. I babysat these boys, the oldest is now in his second year at UCSB, the middle child is graduating from HS and the baby is 11. CRAZY! I had about 2 oz. of ham, a helping of potatoes, and fruit and green salad. I''m at about 1200 calories for the day and aware that I''ll be wanting dinner in about an hour.

Rod, Your input and insight are welcome in any and all conversations! John is 38, if we have a child when I''m 32 John will be 61 when he/she graduates from HS. It''s definitely something I''ve considered, and part of my self-imposed age cap. People having children is a societal issue, it affects everyone, whether or not they have kids (property taxes is one of the many ways!). Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

Hope everyone had a lovely day and is enjoying their evening.

 

[gailrmv]

Rod and Mara, thanks a lot for your thoughts on the kid thing. And Rod, I am really glad that you entered the conversation! I''m really sorry that you and Charlie won''t be able to have children

It does sound like you would have been terrific parents.

So, I had a great run and burned 550 calories (if my ipod pedometer is to be trusted). I ran briskly for about 45 min, so I believe it. I''m still really sore from yesterday''s ab workout as well! I ate really light all day but totally blew it at dinner. we went to chinese with some friends, and shared our entrees around so I didn''t keep track of my portions as well as I should have. (Small victory: I did not order an eggroll!) Then we went for ice cream after! I did split my ice cream with my friend, but it was still more calories than I should have eaten. It was the perfect time to go grocery shopping though - i wasn''t even tempted by junk at all. My grocery cart was filled only with fresh fruit and veggies, and low fat dairy.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Date: 4/8/2007 8:36:40 PM
Author: Rod
Not that I know anything about havng children, but we have these really special friends in Tampa and at 49 (her) and 57 (him), they had a baby. It wasn''t easy and it cost them an absolute fortune, but the baby (now 4 years old) is perfect. I do think when he says one day that he''ll have to ask ''his old man'' for the car keys, he won''t be kidding. I also worry that he will be parentless at a very early age. So, I guess the point of my comment is if you''re really serious about having children, think about how old you''ll be when he or she graduates from high school. And Jeff made a comment earlier about entering his second stage of life at 50 and his kids are now adult. I think it''s great that he has the opportunity to start his second life at such an EARLY age (afterall, I''m now 52). Anyway, please forgive me if I''ve entered a conversation I have no right to enter. I''ve never had, nor will I ever have children. Which is really a shame when you think about it, because Charlie and I would have been terrific parents and offered children a really well balanced life and we''d have been able to offer advantages few children get to have, but such is life.........

I had a really nice workout this afternoon. I was surprised by how busy the gym was on Easter Sunday, but I''m guessing there are lot''s of not particularly religious people or people without families nearby, like me. So, having the gym to go to on Easter Sunday, for people who are fitness minded, is really a good thing.

Then, I came home and had Maine lobster and hearts of lettuce salad with Russian dressing (made of course with Vegganaise and catsup, for a super healthy dressing). Now, I''m heading back to do more packing. Honestly, I think our stuff breeds when we sleep and there just seems to be a never ending supply of stuff to pack.

Good luck on your first day of work again Mara. I''m sure this time, you''ll not only make ooodles of money, but be so much happier than the last psycho situation you had.

For those of you who were with your families on Easter, I hope you all had a nice day. I also hope you had a nice day if you weren''t near your family or Easter isn''t a holiday of particular importance to you.

Mara: Don''t forget that if Lorelei doesn''t have the opportunity to start the thread tomorrow, you have been dubbed the WWT Thread starter for the week!!

And finally Lorelei, hope all''s going well with you son and if the operation has already been, he sailed through with flying colors. Lot''s of thoughts and good wishes have been sent your way.

 

[aljdewey]

AG - yeah, the chocolate was KILLER. Thank goodnes the vultures got to it in short order.

Kimberly, Dee, Rod - SO sweet of you all to pass along wishes for hubby's b-day!

Hubby's b-day was actually on St. Pat's day, but my folks were DEATHLY sick with flu for nearly 3 weeks!!! , so this was the weekend we postponed to.

We went to this FAB steakhouse about 25 min from our house. It's been around for about five years, and it's located in an old train depot. The menu is incredibly extensive. We did spinach/artichoke dip and bacon scallops for apps (mom and hubby had the scallops).....we all did steak all around. I had an INCREDIBLE filet oscar topped with grilled shrimp on a bed of asparagus with the BEST bearnaise sauce I've had in EONS. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Yep, it was a lethal splurge night.

We all split a single dessert - this wonderfully lemon mouse in ladyfingers......w/raspberry sauce. Just a bite or two, thank goodness, and a KILLER good cup of joe!

I'd go back again in a second. My father was uber-impressed; said it's been a looooooooong time since he's gone out where EVERYTHING----start to finish----was done to perfection, including the service. The gal who owns it stopped by our table a bit and was really charming, too.

Brunch was delicious too.....fluffy scrambled eggs, sausage, TONS Of fresh fruit, and the cinnamon/raisin baked french toast. YUM.

Now it's time to get back to regularly scheduled programming.....and behave!

Oh, and Rod......congrats! You are almost home!

 

[Mara]

yay for yummy easter lunches and dinners! sounds like everyone had a great day.

rod, we definitely think about our ages now and later...i wish that greg and i had found each other and started a family when we were younger but this is just how things work out! so now we are already in our 30s' (greg will be 39 in july) and so we know our clocks are ticking re: timelines. and sometimes we think, gosh do we want to be 55 and sending the kid off to college when we should be thinking about how close retirement is. what will life be like for us and our child in 15 or 20 years? how will things change? i also see how different kids are now from when i was a kid and how the world has changed and sometimes i am not that jazzed about bringing a child into this world the way it is now, the way it might be going. it's just such a big decision. we talk about how our parents, while young and poor really had ignorance on their side...ignorance is bliss and they just had kids. there was no other way. you had them then figured it out along the way. our generation is almost TOO educated and knows positives and negatives and really weigh one against the other, the veritable outpouring of almost too much information. also add in things like the potential increase for something like autism as you age and wait to have kids and it becomes even more intimidating sometimes.

so we definitely DO think about it all. i'm not sure we are totally on board with it. but neither are we off board with it either. as greg sometimes says, he feels like his parents brought him into the world, he tends to feel at times that he is obligated to somehow continue that. but neither of us wants children as an obligation or to feel we HAVE to. the beauty of our lives is that we don't have to do anything. but yeah, we don't want to regret anything either. i know we'd make wonderful parents...we both have great elements within us...and this may sound silly but portia, our dog, is such a great pet..and so many people say they think that is because we are great parents to her and she is a product of what we teach her. it's miniscule compared to having a child i know but we have a bit of practice at least. hehee.

anyway...def lots to think about. but in the meantime it's just us and our pet rat, enjoying life!! our easter lunch with my parents, sisters, grandma etc was very fun. we had a ton of food...lamb, beef, pasta, deviled eggs, green salad, potato salad, spanish rice, toasted rustic bread, glazed carrots and spring veggies. i ended up eating some pasta, eggs, salads, rice, bread, and some veggies. my mom is not the best cook with the beef and lamb so it's always overdone..pasta was the safer bet. then dessert was chocolate covered madelines and cherry pie with ff whipped cream. also i got my mom some truffles yesterday at this specialty choco store so we shared some of those. earlier greg brought home a donut for each of us...so today has definitely been a hodgepodge of eating, but amazingly enough even with all the eating i have been doing this week, because of all my workouts and added walking, my cals consumed are still under...so that's good.

i contributed the deviled eggs, which i made with lf mayo, dijon and regular mustard, a bit of horseradish and some center cut bacon fried up then patted dry and then shredded into the mix. they were a huge hit...we always have deviled eggs but i decided to mix it up a bit and add the horseradish and mustard and use lf mayo this time and they came out FAB. total hit....and healthier too. i was really pleased to see that the lf mayo made no diff in flavor.

i also made the green salad, which was chopped strawberries and red delicious apple, low-fat bleu cheese, walnuts, and then fat free raspberry vinaigrette dressing. again a huge hit and sooo yummy and springy...pretty with the reds and greens. there was some leftover which i gladly took home and can re-mix with fresh spring greens. plus i have more strawberries in the fridge so i can make the salad again later this week.

poor greg is still really sick, he sounds so congested. i think it might be a mix of allergies and a head cold..i hope he feels better soon and i hope continuously that i don't get it!! when we got home he went to rest on the couch and i went for a 2.5m walk around the neighborhoods before the sun went down...and now am having a cup of ginger tea with honey. we brought home some leftovers so we'll heat those up a little later and have a pre-bedtime dinner snack.

tomorrow is the new job and i am pretty much ready...my mom is off this week so she'll be watching portia mostly so i don't have to deal with daycaras much, which is a nice plus...one less hassle in the morning. and i didn't make it to TJ's today but we have a bunch of stuff in the fridge and freezer that we can eat for dinners for at least a few days...so we are good to go. i mapped out my gym schedule and eating plan for this week...i'm going to try to make it a lighter week after this week of indulgences on most days...but i think on wednesday we might go to this german restaurant that greg and our neighbor are DYING to go to...so that might be a fun weeknight outing. they have polish sausages which i like...but i am not the hugest german food fan, so we'll see how that works out.

anyway hope everyone had a wonderful sunday...!!! a new week...and yes rod i will try to start the new thread tomorrow morning...it might be a bit crazy for me though as in hectic...so if i am late in doing it, please anyone else who comes along and wants to post, please start the thread!! otherwise i will try to do it when i come along. just don't want to hold anyone up since i am on the West Coast which is 3 hours behind some of you earlier posters!!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hi everyone - I was going to be done posting for this week, but the conversation about having kids vs. not and what age to do it at and the effects on your children caught my eye. I''m a child of people who were much older when they had me (my mom was 43, my dad was 45). I was definitely a surprise (or as one doctor said, a "physical impossibility"), both my conception and my healthy, normal birth. I just wanted to share a tiny bit then from that perspective as a child who had parents who are the age of most of my friends'' grandparents. I can honestly say it hasn''t made a huge difference. I do think that my being the age I was compared to my parents and especially when I went to college wasn''t ideal timing financially, but I think there have been some good things too - I''ve definitely benefitted from my parents increased experience as people during their longer lifetimes. I think it was probably a little harder for them to relate to me and to handle me when I was younger, but correspondingly, I think it can, as in my case, lead to a more adult relationship now that I''m grown up.

Honestly though, I think that it really didn''t make a very big difference in the scheme of things. It has never been something that particularly bothered me, or that I even thought very much about. I think now that I am thinking about it, I honestly much prefer that my parents had me at a time in their lives when they really wanted me, and felt they were ready to have me, than if they had had me before they felt ready.

Anyway, I realize those aren''t very profound thoughts, but for what they''re worth for those of you considering having children later in life and what the effects might be on their lives, I thought it might be interesting to have a perspective from the other side of the question.

 

[monarch64]

MARA, hope it''s not too late, although I know you mentioned being in bed early...but best of luck to you going to your first day of your new job tomorrow!

See you all in the new week! I''ll save my weekend report for tomorrow!

 

[Mara]

Thanks Monnie! We are just off to bed ...10pm here...super early typically as we get to bed at 11:30ish typically but I''m tired, and Greg is sick, and 7am is coming fast so here we go! I already laid out my outfit for tomorrow hehe.

Hope everyone had a fabulous evening!