Freezing!

It is 59 degrees (Fahrenheit) in our house right now.  It had been beautiful, summery weather.  We turned off our heat and then got hit with a huge cold spell.  Good thing my container plants are in the sunroom, along with the flat of snapdragons I picked up to plant along the back wall of the sunroom.  I had a Groupon for a $30 worth of plants for $15 from a garden center not far from here.  With it, I bought the flat of yellow snapdragons (an annual), 3 coleus to accent the snapdragons, a houseplant, and one cherry tomato plant.  They are all sitting unplanted in my sunroom - keeping safe from the frigid indoor temperatures.

I am sitting in the living room, using the Association's laptop, and sitting with a cat on my lap (she's cold), wrapped inside a snuggy and under 2 blankets.  We will not turn on the heat again until November.  My hands are sort of blue.  Great sleep and snuggle weather.  Too bad Husband is working late in the back office.

Back on the Wii Again

I hate walking on the treadmill.  I do it because it's exercise and it's something.  The lame idea to have my son read to me while I walk turned a monotonous exercise into pure torture.  I began to hate to work out and would come up with all sorts of excuses to give my son on why I would not walk on the treadmill each night:

• I have a migraine
• You only have 15 minutes until bedtime, so just read to me in your bedroom.
• My back hurts
• I had a rough day at work
• I ate too much at dinner

I was forgetting one of the fundamental rules of exercise:  Find Something You Enjoy.  Otherwise, it's a chore just like all the other chores I have to do at work and at home.

This week, I decided to pull out my Wii again.  I loved my Wii.  The kids play it all the time.  I have lots of "games" for it, including Wii Fit (and Wii Fit Plus), My Fitness Coach, Just Dance, etc.  Over the weekend, the kids played the Smurf Dance Party game and I joined in.  The music was TERRIBLE, but the kids enjoyed it and we had some fun.  

Later in the week, I pulled out my balance board.  While the weight limit indicates 330 lbs., and I am under 330 lbs., I have found that when I am heavier that it often loses connection while I'm using it - particularly when doing my favorite Wii workouts.  My favorite is the rhythm boxing and the step aerobics.  I like step aerobics, but can never get the foot movements right because I am hopelessly uncoordinated.  The Wii shows me where to put my feet and I usually do really well.  I have also bought a riser for it, so it's a higher step than the standard Wii board, which I always thought was a joke for step aerobics with how low to the ground it was.

The first night, I lost connection 6 times and was frustrated and feeling fat.  So I moved to some of the yoga moves and stretching which should help with my back.  I enjoyed it, but I'm feeling it.  The second night, the weight (which is not as accurate when you're heavier) weighed me in 5 lbs. less than the previous night.  I was able to get through 20 minutes with only 2 disconnections.  Last night, I weighed in 7 lbs. heaver than the previous night (did I mention the unreliability at the higher weights?) and I lost connection about 7 times in the 22 minute workout I created using the Wii Fit Plus.  It was frustrating.

I only worked off about 146 calories.  But I was sweating like crazy (doesn't happen as much on the treadmill) and I was having fun.  I'm going to try to keep it up so I can get the weight down to where I don't lose connection anymore.  The main problem is the oldest won't read to me while I'm on the Wii because he wants to play the Wii.  I think he's going to have to start reading to himself in his bed again. . . . 

Small Update

Herb Experiment #4 is progressing.  Since they are in the sunroom, the basil, the rosemary, and the strawberries have not frozen.  The kids help me remember to water them (sort of).  They were super-excited to see one of the pumpkin seeds has sprouted.  Now I need to think of a container to grow the pumpkin in. . . I am also thinking of purchasing a planter to grow tomatoes in and a planter for green beans.  Not sure that will happen this year.

Mileage update:  Took a trip to Cleveland.  My average gas mileage is now up to 23.6.  Don't expect it to last.

Weight Watchers:  I had rejoined Weight Watchers at work and did well initially, but fell off when I had to remove the app from my phone because it took up too much space.  Now I just have to get back to logging on myfitnesspal - the app that doesn't take much space on my phone at all in comparison.

That's about it.  Busy at work.  And now I have to run because the oldest is "still hungry."  He's always hungry.  And he's not even a teenager yet!