Fun Time in Ventura

It's hard to believe we are back home in Colorado and our trip to California is now just a memory.  We had a fantastic time visiting with Holly, Erich, Zoe and Ezra!!!  It was quite nice to spend Easter with them this year!  I loved seeing the excitement in Zoe's and Ezra's eyes when they colored eggs the night before--and also on Easter as they searched for eggs inside and outside!


I was so glad we fit in a visit to the beach to just walk around.  At Carpinteria Beach, luck was with us...the tide was out so we got to check out the tide pools...lots of interesting creatures, shells, etc.


Took a drive to Lake Casitas...another beautiful, relaxing place!  Poor Ezra took a spill and landed on his face; a bit bumped up and two teeth slightly loose, but okay.  Quite an end to an otherwise nice day!


The Ventura Charter School's biggest fundraiser, the Ventura Eco Festival turned out to be a bust (for the vendors) due to the high winds which kept the crowds down.  It was a beautiful sunny day, in the mid-60s and despite the lack of "business", I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with everyone there!  I was very happy that Greg and Michelle stopped by, too, to wish me a Happy Birthday!  (Yes, the Eco Festival was on my birthday!)  And, speaking of my birthday, I was trying to remember when was the last time that Holly was able to celebrate with me; I think it's been at least 12 years!  So, I definitely enjoyed this one!


I also had fun going on the Wheeler Springs hike with Holly, Ezra and Zoe, too!  We had to be careful to avoid the new growth of poison oak, particularly at the start of the hike.  But it was so pretty walking among the trees.


And just doing the everyday things was extra special...fixing Zoe's hair as she gets ready for school, taking Ezra out for ice cream, playing a game of Scrabble with Holly, Erich, and Mark, dinner at Ferraro's, lunch at In-N-Out Burger...the list goes on and on!  


Now we get to look forward to July when they will come out to Colorado for a visit!  (Erich has to work, though...we'll miss him.)  I'll be counting the days until then!  Can't wait for them to see Sophia, too!  They last saw her as a newborn almost a year ago!  She'll love playing with Ezra and Zoe!

Fun in California

It seems like we've waited so long for our visit to California and now it's here!  We had a (too short) two day visit with my brother, Tom and sister-in-law, Mona before we made it to Ventura to visit Holly, Erich, Zoe and Ezra.  It was so great to see them again as well as Jack, Joleen, Maelee, and Earky!  We hope to stay longer on the next visit!


We are now having lots of fun seeing Zoe and Ezra every day and love spending time with them and Holly and Erich!  (Too bad Erich has a business trip next week to Tuscon.)  


I've managed to get in a couple of exercise classes at the YMCA thanks to Holly and Erich's guest passes and hope to have a few more opportunities before we leave here to return home.  (I'm trying hard just to maintain the weight I've lost these past 3 1/2 months...21 pounds!)  


The weather has been quite nice during the day...sunny and in the mid 60s!  I'm hoping it stays this way for most of the time we are here!  I especially hope it's sunny and warm on April 14th, my birthday and the day of the Earth Day Festival here in Ventura.  We will be vendors along with Holly and some of her friends at this festival.


More on our Ventura adventures a bit later...

Another Great Hike!

Mark and I went on our second training hike yesterday and again, it was a fun hike!  (Click on the photo at the right to see pictures from the hike.)  We started at Horsetooth Mtn trail head and finished at Arthur's Rock trail head in Fort Collins.  It was a 7 mile hike with about a 1,000 feet gain in elevation; we got up to about 6,800 feet.  It took us 5 hours and 45 minutes (those 45 mins were our breaks).


This hike was more difficult than our first as the trail was more rocky and we had a lot of uphill climbs.  But despite the greater difficulty, I actually felt better after this one than the first one!  Must be getting in better shape.  Saw a few hikers and joggers on the trail until Horsetooth Falls. After that, hardly anyone!  Very nice!


During the last 30 minutes of our hike, the wind kicked up and blew sustained 20 to 30 mph with wind gusts above that!  We really lucked out on our timing because it got a lot worse shortly after we finished!


Our next hike is scheduled for Monday, March 26th and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will be good.  I want to get one more hike in before we leave to go visit Tom and Mona and Holly, Erich and the kids.

Fitness Progress Update

Today marks 3 months since I decided to refine my eating plan and begin in earnest working out 6 days a week.  Thanks to my trainer, I've come a long way in just 12 weeks!  I know over the past year, there have been multiple reports, TV shows, etc. stating that we should work out 5 to 6 days a week (for the rest of our lives).  And my trainer gave me the tools as well as the accountability to get me on the right track.  As a result, so far I've dropped almost 2 pants sizes!


I've lost 18 pounds and lost 18 1/4 inches overall.  That's 6 1/2 inches in my waist, 4 inches in my hips, about 3 inches in each thigh, and dropped a bra size!  It's no miracle, that's for sure.  It's the result of a lot of hard work but it's well worth it;  I was able to come off of my cholesterol medicine for the first time in 4 years!  


I will continue my workouts forever, and will modify my workouts the days I'm on vacation.  It can be done as I proved it to myself in January when I was back East.  It's working for me because I finally changed my mindset.  I was tired of my (excuse the expression) "half-assed" efforts.  Diet, lose weight, inconsistent exercise, gain it back.  


There is no easy solution.  I have to put in the effort, 6 days a week.  And, I proved to myself that even in menopause, I can lose weight!

Updates

Gene's hernia operation went well although not everything is back to normal yet.  He has an appointment on March 12th to see a urologist.  Hopefully, things will be better by then.  He is quite weak still and on pain medication.  Mom says he seems a bit better today.  More prayers needed for his recovery.


We spent yesterday with Sara and Sophia.  Sophia was so cheery and having fun with a new walker toy that her Mommy got her at the store.  She seemed to be doing much better!  Still some sniffles but not bad.


I continue to have success at my weight loss and fitness plan.  I'm feeling stronger every day.  I really hope I can get off the statin drug so that I don't experience any of the side effects.  I'm concerned about the recent warnings about memory loss, high blood sugar levels, and muscle pain!  I'm taking a blood test on Tuesday to see how my cholesterol levels are since I've been working out 6 days a week for 3 months now.  The numbers should be much better now.


So, here's a quick recap on my progress...I've lost 17 pounds, and just over 14.5 inches overall. This includes 5.5 inches in the waist and 3 inches in my hips and about 2.5 inches in each thigh. I've dropped one whole pants size and the size I'm in are loose now.  Hope to lose another 8 pounds so that I can fit comfortably into size 12s.  

Operations

Little Sophia came through her ear procedure fine this morning, thank God!  She had to have tubes put in her ears.  My brother, Larry had a knee replacement operation about a week ago and seems to be progressing quite well with his rehab!  And now my step dad is having a hernia operation tomorrow morning.  I pray all goes well for him.

We've Selected the 14'er

Grays Peak (14,270 feet) and Torreys Peak (14,267 feet)...these will be our first 14'er challenge this summer!  We (Mark and I) will start our training with high altitude hikes on March 5th (if the weather is good).  One of our friends (Paulette) hikes with a lady (Eileen) who is an expert hiker and she is willing to train us, too.


We need to get some really comfortable hiking shoes along with some other gear.  So, I'm researching what we need to get now.  


When I first started working out with my personal trainer this past December, he asked me if I had any specific goals that I wanted to achieve.  And, along with losing weight and dropping a couple of sizes, I said it would be nice to hike a 14'er.  He keeps asking me if I've selected one yet.  He'll be pleasantly surprised when I see him tomorrow morning to know that I now have a plan!


I'm excited about this!  The mountains are so beautiful and breathtaking and to think that I may be able to HIKE up a mountain (or two) that size is incredible!  These two mountains are rated "moderate" difficulty.  The round trip is 8 to 9 miles and the elevation gain is 3,000 to 3,600 feet.  It should take 6 to 8 hours to accomplish.  


This is an interesting and fun challenge for us!  I'll write more updates on our training progress once we begin.