Saturday, February 26, 2011

Amenities

The reason I changed gyms was for the amenities. In this case a swimming pool, hot tub, steam room and sauna. I'm a huge fan of saunas. Most days I don't have time to change into my swim suit and enjoy these amenities, but today being Saturday I had all the time I wanted.

I learned today that the treadmill will automatically stop at 1 hr 5 minutes. That is a 1 hr work out with a 5 minute cool down and if you aren't paying attention, it just slows down and stops. What a surprise to me to discover that I'd been on it that long.

That is what a good book does for me at the gym. I'm currently reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett on a recommendation from my daughter and I absolutely love it. (Soon to be a movie, how's that for a debut novel?)

After my time on the treadmill I put on my bathing suit and went first to the sauna. They have put a new thermometer in there and it was reading somewhere around 190. That was the first time I felt the tops of my ears getting kind of hot.

Then I rinsed in the shower by the pool and sat in the hot tub, it was barely at 100, it's usually at 104 or so. But it still felt very good.

Then it was on to the steam room. The steam room is a little bit tricky. Unlike the sauna where you can see how crowded it is through the window, the steam room is well, steamy. So when you walk in it takes a minute to see where people are sitting and where the open space is. And then because I hadn't been in the steam room for months, I had to learn how to breathe in there all over again. The others sit relaxed while I sit and pant and breath through my mouth. But I survived.

After I had showered and dressed I went into the shower area to retrieve my bathing suit and there were two women, looked liked a mother and daughter, they were fully clothed and did not speak English. It appeared they were asking me how to use the shower.

Really, how to use a shower? Well I humored them and stepped into the shower and showed them the pump for the shampoo and pretended to put it my hair and then I showed them the other pump and pretended to put it on my arms. I then stepped to the side and reached in and turned the water on. I think this met with their satisfaction.

I walked away thinking I really must have been on candid camera just then.

My daughter coined the term "gym drama" to describe the happenings of the recognizable strangers you see at the gym on a regular basis.

I have created my list of sauna etiquette, but so far the gym has yet to ask my opinion on it. If I ruled the sauna these would be my rules:
  • No talking on your cell phone
  • If you must listen to music turn down the volume
  • Don't dump your water bottle over your head when you are sitting next to me
  • Be gentle with the door opening and closing, don't throw it wide open and let the draft of cold air in
  • Be cautious when talking about your ex girlfriend, because I find it awkward when you show up with her 3 months later and you have talked about her to total strangers
  • No shaving

Happy exercising to all!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Four Day Weekend

My daughter flew home last Friday for a four day weekend. Although I see her once or twice a year, she hadn't been home since 2008. We had a great time. Here are the truffles we made. We made milk chocolate truffles and also semisweet truffles. We started them Friday and finished them on Saturday and probably made about 100 balls!
We didn't eat them all, we shared them with friends.


A quick recap of the weekend follows:
There was lunch at the
Banyan Tree at Kent Station, a movie. Lots of shopping at Westlake Center, and South Center Parkway. Lunch at Panera Bakery, dessert at Cheesecake Factory, a trip to Trader Joe's.
For her, dinner and a visit with high school friends.
A ride on the Link train to downtown. A walk to Top Pot Doughnuts, Pike Place and ice cream on the Seattle waterfront.
Trudy's Florist Shop, (much better than Trudy's Tavern). This is something we do, find places around town with our names on them. Like Wally Park and Wayne's Tires.


Waiting for the Link train.
Almost learned how to use the timer on the new camera!

Topped off the weekend with dinner at Wally's Chowder House.
It was a great weekend.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The First 8 Days

Last week, after working from home for three years we all returned to the office. What a big adjustment to my schedule that has been.

Here are some of the things that have happened in those 8 work days:

Carpooled - 2 times
Ate biscuits and gravy for breakfast from the cafeteria - 2 times (how can I resist?)
Bought lunch from the cafeteria - 3 times
Put coins in the vending machine - 2 times (both times on the way out the door before driving home, a really bad habit, in case you were wondering it was a Twix and red licorce)
Skipped the gym - 1 time
Took treats to work - 2 times (brioche bread and sugar cookies)
Walked at lunch time - 4 times
Ran into people in the building that I've known for years - many times

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Weekly Menus

Last week I returned to working at the office after working from home for three years. A return to putting on nice clothes, getting up early and commuting.

In order to keep things running smoothly at home I had to make dinner menus before grocery shopping on Saturday. That way I know exactly what is for dinner when I get home from work and I can look ahead to know when to take meat out of the freezer, or when I might need an quick trip to the grocery store.

This was last weeks menu:
Chicken noodle soup w/sandwiches (Cash n' Carry soup)
Chili and cornbread muffins
Leftover chili
Sausage, rice and veggies
Whole roasted chicken w/roasted red potatoes
Baked potatoes w/hamburger gravy

This is the plan for this upcoming week:
Pork stir-fry with noodles
Russian chicken with rice pilaf
Flank steak tacos w/all the fixings
White chicken chili w/tortillas, cheese and sour cream
Layered enchilada casserole
Pork chops

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