Mistr

Congratulations on the PR and the upcoming trip. They make skin patches with slow-release anti-seasickness drugs. I have not tried them but when I was on a smallish cruise ship in the Galapagos islands a few years ago a lot of passengers swore by them. One advantage is that they work if your stomach is too upset to keep pills down. I bet you will get a lot of work on the stabilizer muscles in your legs just walking around on a ship. Something like burpees or Turkish get-ups might give you an aerobic HIIT workout without taking too much space.

Enjoy your vacation! Hopefully you can do some nice easy walking around instead of your usual running and jumping. And you get a break from most of the Adult tasks because vacation.

Good for you paying off your student loans. My partner still has grad school loans and it limits his choices in unhappy ways. Have fun doing stuff with Company this week! I expect she will keep you honest about working out and make sure you take care of your wonky knee and shoulder.

I can second what Sara said. My laptop is vastly faster running Linux than it was running Windows XP. I never tried Windows 8. Sorry to disappoint you but the standard view looks very much like a Windows desktop. You could run it from the command line if you want to. You could even set it to make your screen black with green characters for that hard core old school look. It is a flexible system. Sounds like you are keeping busy with work, exercise and doing fun stuff. Have a good week!

I'm glad that you are getting more judo time and enjoying the summer weather. Also that you are feeling calmer about the upcoming grading. Good that the examiner will let you do a sensible version of the technique. This is one of the places where the differences between judo and aikido come out. Smaller people have an advantage in aikido. The key is that aikido uses the attacker's momentum. The more mass the attacker has, the more momentum. Smaller nages have an easier time getting under uke's center of mass. That said, there are some techniques that just don't make sense to do when there is too much size difference between uke and nage.

I have an extensive and eclectic liquor cabinet. The good stuff is Scotch and Armagnac. There is quite a bit of rum ranging from very cheap to pretty good. Some of the stranger bottles date back to my grandparents. Apparently they used to throw parties and serve mixed drinks. I am assuming that creme de cacao never goes bad. I don't think I have cherry liqueur. I might have a cherry rum. I know I have Grand Marnier. That might work.

Love the NASA video. Tabatas are hard core. I can see messing around on the rowing machine. Especially if it is in an air conditioned gym. Kudos for helping Kishi with his damaged laptop. You have amazing life skills in addition to the charm and good taste you share here.

So nice that your senseis appreciate you. They are amazingly tolerant of rude behavior by Goober and the new guy in the dojo. I think my sensei would be having a private talk with anyone who acted like that. I completely understand why you are happy about the two jerks avoiding you. Does your area have friendship seminars? These are ones where several instructors from different styles of aikido are invited to teach so that the students can all meet each other. They seem to be encouraging positive interactions in my part of the midwest. Sounds like doing stairs with a rucksack on Wednesday was just a warmup for the real event on Saturday. I'm glad you have more Nerds nearby to socialize with.

Week 2 Monday: - 8 hours sleep - PT at lunch - 1.5 hours aikido after work. Friends from a neighboring dojo joined us. Their space is being remodeled and they are homeless for several weeks. They are fun people to train with. I hope they visit again soon. - I did not get my project done and my boss did not even ask about it. She got on my case for another task that is behind schedule. I already knew that was a problem and was working on it last week. My priorities are rearranged for the next couple weeks. Overall I'm happy about this. Tuesday: - PT at lunch - 6.5 hours sleep. This was not a staying up late fail. Nope. This was a waking up at 2:30am with my brain running through all the things I wanted to get done before work. I did the math and figured out that my brain was not making stuff up, there was no way to fit in everything on my wish list. At the same time my knees, toes and wrist ached and the cat was way too warm sleeping on my legs. I got up instead of lying in bed and stewing. From 2:30-4:00am I washed and chopped veggies and did the dishes. Then I was able to fall back asleep. Still weird dreams but not obvious stress ones. I finished putting together a salad to bring to work for lunch and cut up cantalope in the morning. The cantalope is overripe. I'm thinking about making it into ice cream using coconut milk and some kind of liqueur. Any suggestions on what would go well with cantalope? After work I finally got the vegetable garden planted. A part of my brain wants me to feel guilty for doing this so late in the season. I'm getting better at hitting that little voice over the head with a big stick. The vendors at the farmer's market were still selling starter plants this past weekend. That has to mean I'm not the only one who is still planting a garden in the middle of June. I even planted seeds. If I get one bunch of kale and chard and three or four tomatos I will make back the cost of the plants and seeds. I planted pumpkin seeds on the porch in May and they all sprouted. Three of them are now in the garden. Those are totally bonus plants. The new garden bed still needs the brick edging installed. The weeds are taking over all my other garden beds after the rain last week. All those things can wait until the weekend. Right now I have done what I wanted to finish this week. I can put away all the planting stuff on the porch and have a pleasant area for socializing again.

Week 1 summary Exercise: 100% success. I did all my knee exercises, shoulder/core PT plus extra core for the minichallenge. My knees are marginally less cranky. Stress management: Use non-food rewards - um, not so much. I have been eating all the things. I'm glad I discovered cacao nibs. All the psychoactive ingredients of chocolate without the added sugar. Between the stress eating and not enough sleep my weight is up a couple pounds. While I'm not thrilled, I know how to get rid of it and I'm not worried. This week will be better. My partner is coming back from the second week of back-to-back out of town trips. He promised to take over the cooking. I know, I know, we've heard that before. However, he made a point of doing all the laundry in the two days he was home last week. I think he is actually going to step up and do what he says this time. Buy food to save time - yes. I did this several times. Not so great on the healthy eating front but a relief on the stress front. Listen to music - not at work but I did play piano twice at home. Work has been too busy for listening to music. Sleep - Major fail. I did not get 8 hours any day during the week. I made up some time over the weekend. On Sunday I came home from dancing early and went to bed on time. At least I started this week at par. Meditate - pretty good. I meditated Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Under other circumstances I would be critical of how short some of the times were. For this challenge having any time at all to meditate is a win. Sitting still and doing nothing is a big plus in my day. Practice aikido - Good. Monday, Wednesday and Friday plus extra weapons practice on Wednesday morning. As planned. Bonus for taking care of dreaded and neglected tasks on the weekend. Pretty good balance of getting things done and goofing off.

I hope your new people work out and the current people work better with the troublemakers gone. I'm amazed you have time to do your regular job between interviewing new people and disciplinary talks with those on their way out. I know what you mean about wanting to prove the chiro wrong about what you can do. May that mean that you heal faster than he says rather than having limitations. I made granola last weekend too. Yogurt with fruit and granola is my go-to summer breakfast or lunch.

I used to wash my white belt. I don't wash my belt often anymore because it rarely needs it. It is protected from sweat by my gi and a layer of hakama. It probably gets dirtier from being next to my sweaty shirt in my gi bag than it does from being worn. There are students in my dojo whose white belts are getting gray. I think that is a sign that they don't do laundry enough. As opposed to the black belts that are so worn and faded they are getting white. Those are scary.

I am totally sold on circuit training. Not only does rest between sets take too much time, I would get distracted and wander off. As a professional you have some insights on why other styles are better in some situations. It would take a LOT to get me past that time differential. I'll be sending positive vibes to reinforce your Force Healing spell. I made the switch to Ubuntu on my laptop earlier this year. The learning curve was easy. As Sara said, the only downside of Linux is gaming. Yay for training wins and getting caught up on cleaning! I know those bad falls. That might be an area where you want to spend some extra practice time. You need your body to fall correctly when you are exhausted. Bad falls are where injuries happen. Practicing at 90º is challenging but doable. Just don't try to go straight from no humidity to high humidity. I prefer to train with a heavy gi. No matter what happens I'm going to be sweating like mad. The judo gi soaks up more sweat before it gets nasty.

Really? I can go much deeper with a wide stance. Gardening totally counts as exercise. Especially with appropriate music.

I'm glad your back is feeling better. You might get your employees to help with the trucks for the next couple weeks, just so you don't strain your back before it is completely recovered. Thanks for posting the recipes. When I get time to cook again I am going to come back here and read them all.

Actually, no. The knees hold up better with the extra layer from the hakama. I find my gi pants wear out at the waist. The fabric gets frayed from being gathered so much. Last summer I did a major resurection of two pair of gi pants. I used a third pair as a fabric donor. I took out the frayed waist area completely and replaced it. My older gi tops are getting pretty ratty too. The fabric is just starting to fall apart. My partner says that wearing a tattered gi is a sign of practing a long time and commands respect. That may be true. I think it is a sign of doing laundry regularly. Unlike certain dojo members who should know better. When my belt fades to grey that will be a sign. It only gets washed a couple times a year.

I just finished finances and filing and am giving myself NF time as a break. Aikido wrist exercises just happen to include a lot of the exercises recommended by the nurse. Funny that... I have been wearing a wrist brace at night and part of the time while I'm at work. That seems to be helping. I found them! Turns out they were on the shelf in my closet where they should be, just all the way in the back. Hiding. They are being punished by steaming in my gi bag in the back of my car for the weekend. Friday: Things went sproing at work. For some reason our instrument customers seem to have problems on Fridays. By the time I left (an hour and 20 minutes late) I was debating between drinking and killing something. I went to aikido for the last hour of class. That did exactly what I was hoping. I was feeling great by the end of class. So good that I gave the last piece of fancy cake to my housemate. Good thing: one of my team won a spot in the immigration lottery! We get to keep him! This was the reason my boss picked up a fancy cake from the bakery. I also did PT at lunch. This is my second week of getting back to regular knee exercises. I am starting to feel like I am making progress again. In April and May I felt like I was treading water or backsliding. My left knee is still twingey for no obvious reason, but it is no longer aching at night.7.5 hours sleep.No meditation.Saturday: 8.75 hours sleepFinished PT exercises for the week15 minutes meditationmany tasks: Made hot fudge sauce from scratch (Ben & Jerry's recipe). Time consuming but worth itgrocery shoppinglaundry. Finally washed the pillows that have been sitting on the weight bench in the laundry room for months (which shows how much use it gets )Got out a bottle of sparkling wine, a card and a gift for a friend's housewarmingsoaked shower curtain in bleach and vinegar. Scrubbed and rinsed it, then scrubbed bathtub. Victory over mildew!Made double batch of fruit salsa with 4 mangos, 4 peaches and 1/2 c fresh pineapple. All the fruit had been on the kitchen counter for days and needed to be used. It took me 2 hours to cut it all up.Got a burger from Culver's for dinner. See all cooking time spent making salsa above.Washed dishesPlayed piano for the first time in ages.I struggled with feeling like I had not gotten anything done. I had to remind myself that in fact I got done two cleaning tasks that had been bugging me, cooking that needed to be done before the food went bad and regular weekend chores (laundry, groceries and dishes). I played sudoku a few times. I still have mixed feelings about that. At least it is not addictive like regular computer games. Playing piano instead was a big win. Sunday (so far): 8.5 hours sleepMeditation 24 minutesBaked bars and made iced tea to take to dancingMade hard boiled eggsMade a smoothie with the last two peaches.Set up a pork butt in the crock pot to make pulled porkGot fresh lettuce at the farmer's market.Got chicken and cole slaw at the deli to save cooking time.Packed up papers and gifts to send to my brother in Boston. Turns out the local UPS store is closed Sunday. This still counts as a big guilt item crossed off the list.Updated finances, filed papers and paid bills. Another guilt item crossed off.Have not started the project from work yet. The sun has come out and I would much rather go work in the garden. Blah. Under other circumstances I would skip dancing tonight. I have to go because I signed up to bring treats. Tonight is social dancing with no teaching. My plan is to leave after the break and work on my project then. The astute among you might notice how many other dreaded tasks I am getting done while putting off doing the project from work. Weeding in the hot humid garden is looking better and better. Sorry I am totally behind on reading and comments on your threads. I am saving that for a break at work tomorrow.

Week 1 so far I am taking time to post as one of my fun things for tonight. My cat approves of the lap time. Monday: Meditation 20 minutesKnee exercises (inside leg raises, floating lunges & side-steps)Mini-challenge leg raises 3x10Aikido 1.5 hours7 hours sleepminimally productive at workTuesday: 7 hours 40 minutes sleepShoulder/core workout. Counting toward mini-challenge were 6 x 60seconds planks (1-arm)Productive day at workFinished digging a new garden bed. Not quite done, still needs raking and edging.Wednesday: 7.25 hours sleepAikido 30 minutes weapons practice before work, taught 2 hours in the eveningKnee exercises (heel raises, Pilates clams 5x5, blindfold ankle circles, Cheechoe's hip stretches & kicks)Mini-challenge 4x10 leg raisesAdult task - saw the nurse at work and found out that the funny tingling in my right thumb is the start of carpel tunnel. Got a wrist brace. Wore the wrist brace all night.Thursday: 7 hours 20 minutes sleep (wrist brace helped)Fairly productive at work considering how tired I was. Caffeine helped.Meditation 11 minutes at lunch instead of working out. I could say it was because of time constraints but really I had no motivation.Food - made popcorn for supper because there was nothing decent I felt like eating or cooking. Enjoyable but not a win.Adult task - did laundry so I would have a clean gi for tomorrow. One pair of my gi pants have gone missing. That is a mystery because I'm sure they were in laundry that I washed and put away.Yeesh, have things gotten busy at work. This is scary because no one has actually left yet. There was just one person out on vacation today (plus the one on maternity leave). July is going to be beyond imagining. I hope most of our customers decide to take vacation then. I have a project due next Monday. At this point it looks like I'll have to do it over the weekend. Grrrrr. Normally one of the nice things about my job is that I can work a 40-hour week and leave it at the office. Good thing it is supposed to rain so that I won't feel conflicted about working in the garden.

Hi Lou, great to see you again! You have gotten back into the swing of things with a vengance. He sounds like a wonderful coach. Absolutely, rolls and breakfalls are your friends. One idea the someone shared recently - when you don't have access or time to train, watch a video of an expert doing the thing you are learning. It will help reinforce the pattern in your brain. Yay! You are your usual inspiring self again.

I love pastries too. I have a two-pronged solution to that problem. Part one: eat a filling breakfast that includes a lot of protein. Part two: bring high quality treats to have as part of my lunch. Some ideas for increasing the calories and protein in your meals and snacks: Sweet potatos are a good source of carbs and vitamins. They can be added to curry, salads, hash, or eaten baked like potatos.Hummus with veggies is a tasty snack with a lot of protein. The veggies add fiber and some carbs. Hummus can have quite a bit of fat - make it yourself or check the label. Fat might be a good thing if you are short on calories.Egg bake (crust-less quiche) is good for breakfast or any time. Saute veggies you like, add bacon or sausage if you are eating meat, and put it in a greased baking pan. Beat some eggs (6 for a 9x9 inch pan, 12 for a 9x13 inch pan) and add buttermilk or milk and seasonings. Pour over the veggies. Top with shredded cheese. You can also stir in more cheese with the veggies. Bake until set and the top is browned.Chia seed pudding. Add chia seeds to yogurt or almond milk with flavoring or fruit and let swell for an hour or more.Dates and almonds. I like the salt of the almonds with the sweetness of the dates.Switch to full-fat dairy products. The fat will help you stay full, they taste better and add only a few more calories.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your mobility work. My knees feel terribly tight when I try to sit in seiza. Not exactly painful. More like I'm at the limit of how far I can move and they just won't go any further. I used to be able to sit seiza so I know this is a loss of flexibility, not some natural limit. One of the sports medicine people said that it is possible to regain that mobility with hard core massage and stretching. He did not give specifics because I was seeing him for my shoulders instead of for my knees. Clues much appreciated. My dojo also has several people working towards 2nd and 1st kyu this summer. We are doing a lot more swari waza practice.

Yay for a strong start to the week! I love the image of you walking in sunglasses and neon blue leggings. I need to buy some fun leggings before they go out of style again.

I'll go with hanging leg lifts and planks. I've got a variety of planks in my training plan. This will be more motivation to increase the time a few seconds.

So many good things in this post. You are clearly at a better place in your life. You are planning ahead and doing things the way you want to. Yay Kishi! Don't worry about writing ADD. Every professional writer I know has a different process. Keep working on your projects and making them better. No one will ever care how you did the writing. They just care about the final product. If it makes you happy to have 10 stories going at once to let you work on different things, do that.

I love your description of the trip to Japan. So much awesome. Good for you speaking up to the board member from your dojo. Getting people to communicate and follow through in a volunteer organization is a common problem. Add on the seniority traditions you get in a Japanese martial art and it is no surprise that a newer member is not hounding the senior people. I hope that things improve from now on.