A SpotsBug’s World

2 1/2 worth having around

It’s been a long time since I provided an update on the cats.  The last time I spoke of them I had mama cat (Casey) in the back yard with her second litter and was missing the two from her first litter, Bogey and Audrey.  Well, unfortunately, sweet, timid Bogey and Audrey never returned.  It has been nearly a year since they disappeared.  I do miss them.  I spent months looking for them, taking several trips to the animal shelter, putting flyers out in the neighbors’ mailboxes, and wandering through the woods with food calling out for them.  Never a response.  I am hopeful that they are together and have happily relocated to a quieter home where someone is taking very good care of them.  Maybe I was just their stepping stone, acclimating them to domestic life and then sending them on their way to their final home.  Whatever the case, doesn’t change the fact that I would take them back in a heartbeat if they ever returned.

On a happier note, the second litter (containing four kittens) lived on my back porch for about seven weeks.  I was successful at finding the two boys a home together.  It was hard letting them ago as it is so easy to get attached to the cute little furballs.  But I knew it was best.  It just wasn’t feasible for me to keep all the kittens.  They do eventually grow up and become cats.  I was still looking for homes for the two girls when I decided that Bogey and Audrey simply weren’t coming back, so I took the opportunity and kept the two girls.  I have named them Bella and Callie.  So I am currently a house with 2 1/2 cats.  Yes I count Casey (mama cat) as a half because I think I share custody of her with another neighbor down the street.  She’ll come, stay a few days, and then go on her merry way until she’s ready to visit again.  Important note however was that this time I was able to catch her and have her spayed… no more litters for her, or me!

As for Bella and Callie, I really couldn’t ask for better cats.  Since I was able to round them up at such a young age, they are totally cool with me and anything I do or noises in the house.  Big change from Bogey and Audrey who after a year still had major issues with noises, fast movements and anything out of the ordinary.

Bella and Callie are like night and day – literally.  Bella is a fluffy, gray and white and Callie is a dark, slick tortoiseshell.  Even their temperaments are different.  Bella is calm, cuddly, sweet and Callie is high-energy, feisty, and curious.  They are both smart.  Bella has learned she can fetch her toy rat like a dog and I’ll throw it the 75 times she requires until she gets tired.  (She has misplaced this rat the last few days and so I’ve had a small break – don’t know if we’ll find it again or not).  Callie is investigative.  She wants to check out everybody and everything.  This gets her into quite a bit of trouble because it leads her to places and into things where she, as a cat, shouldn’t be… she has become very familiar with the squirt of the water bottle as disciplinary action.  Callie also has a trick of her own.  She enjoys sitting on my shoulder like a parrot often times to my detriment.  You see, claws are sharp and don’t feel so great when she loses her balance or misses my shoulder altogether.

But they are precious, furry friends and provide lots of company and entertainment.  Yes they’ve scratched up the furniture a little, I have to vacuum more frequently, food and litter can become quite costly, the litterbox sometimes creates an unpleasant odor throughout the house, but it is so worth it to have these 2 1/2 around.

sore and tired

My first week at the gym has left me quite a bit sore and more than a little tired.  Using muscles I haven’t used in years and changing my schedule so drastically to fit in the gym has caused a whirlwind.  I do think though that once my body adjusts to everything this will be really good all around. 

The soreness is good, lets me know I’ve done something this week.  And the extra time in the morning has allowed me to do bible study in the morning and maybe a chore or two before I head out the door to work.  And a positive side effect is that I’m more easily getting to work on time (something I’ve struggled with) - go figure…

I did four workouts this week: two on Monday, then one on Tuesday and Thursday each.  Three of these contained about 30 minutes of cardio on an elliptical machine and about 20 to 30 minutes of strength training with weights and Tuesday was spent in a 45 minute spinning class.

The extra workout on Monday was with a personal trainer.  As a bonus for signing up at the gym, they offer one free workout with a trainer so I scheduled the appointment for the evening having already had my first workout Monday morning.  The trainer was nice and challenged me a little, but his manager, the one responsible for adding me as a client, was quite a jerk.  I hate to say that but its true.  The ploy of the free training session is to get you to feel incompetent in the gym and that you have no willpower to do this get-in-shape thing on your own so they can sell you their packaged services.  Obviously they have set marketing tactics for different demographic groups and they don’t sway from those.  The manager didn’t listen to anything I was saying.  Seeing I was a younger, single female he just marketed the package as a way for me to get myself back into a 2-piece bathing suit and attract a guy.  Lord help him he had no idea to which unmarried female he was speaking. 

First off, I’m so modest I probably wouldn’t wear a 2-piece even if I looked like Kate Moss or Cindy Crawford… and secondly, I am perfectly alright staying single for the rest of my life.  Not saying I’m not open to marriage, but if it doesn’t happen, well then it just doesn’t happen, and I’m okay with that.  Besides, if my only motivation for getting in shape is to look better and get a man, well then in my opinion those aren’t good reasons anyway.  I just want to be healthier and feel better.  Losing a few pounds would be nice but not absolutely necessary.  I mean if I’m gaining muscle then weight really isn’t an issue anyway as long as I’m losing fat because muscle weighs more.  Needless to say, I did not sign up for any personal training package.  I’m more confident in myself and my abilities than he wanted me to believe.

Another bonus is to have a free consultation with a chiropractor.  So I scheduled a couple of appointments with him this week as well.  I must admit, chiropractors freak me out a little.  I’ve never been to a chiropractor and the whole “popping” and “cracking” has always concerned me.  However, after listening to him and what the chiropractic plan would involve I’m beginning to think it may not be such a bad idea.  Yes, the focus is your spinal health and alignment, but other things are involved as well.  He also is doing a nutritional analysis with me to see what nutrients I’m getting enough of, too much of, and not enough of.  He’s checking my hydration and BMI.  He has asked me what my health goals are and he will help plan a diet and workout that will reflect those goals.  It’s an entire well-being plan.  I have one more session with him before I have to make my decision whether or not I want to accept his services.  Three free consultation appointments is not a bad deal. 

All in all my first week back at the gym went pretty well.  One or two more weeks and I’ll be over the most difficult part of this entire process – getting started.  Until then though I think I’m going to keep being a little sore and tired.

joining the gym

In my active youth I never had to join a gym.  I was always moving, always going.  Whether it was riding bicycles or horses, playing softball or wrestling with my brother, very few lazy days passed me by.  As I got a little older and started taking sports a little more serious I joined a gym to help strengthen and tone muscles.  Despite an ever growing list of new grown-up responsibilities, I managed to maintain a pretty active lifestyle throughout the first couple of years of college.

Somewhere about mid-way through my undergraduate degree a combination of events occurred that led to the ultimate workout breakdown.  Obviously I got more deeply involved with school as I got more into my degree program and the schoolwork load became burdensome and time consuming.  All-nighters working on essays and projects truly zapped the energy right out of me.  Secondly, I wasn’t happy with the school I was attending.  It seemed that no matter what I was dealing with, whether it be the administration or finance office or my professors and advisors, I had some sort of problem or difficulty that arose and caused chaos and stress in my educational pursuits.  I also had no time between school and work to enjoy fun activities that got me off the couch or out from behind a computer so I became sedentary.  This also included very little time spent with friends as well.  And as if this all wasn’t enough, I was also diagnosed with a very fussy thyroid problem that I still struggle with.

With no rest, the stress of getting an education at a school I didn’t like, isolation from friends and recreation, and a medical problem, I managed to create the perfect storm of all things negative.  And negativity in and of itself wreaks havoc on all areas of your life.  I lost my motivation, my desire to be active.  Ten years have passed since my world started spinning out of control and yet even though I no longer have the tough school schedule to contend with, I still have not been motivated to do anything.  What started out as some pretty sound reasons for not working out has really just led to a lazy lifestyle.  This is a tough confession for me to make and there are no excuses really.  Yes, I was/am tired – yes, I have a thyroid problem – yes, I have a very busy life… still there is no excuse for me to not take better care of myself.

So today I joined a gym.  I’m doing this for myself.  I’m doing this for my health, both mental and physical.  It will be tough getting back in shape again.  I know I will be sore and there will be days I think I’m crazy for trying, but no more excuses.  I’m ready to throw down the gauntlet and do this.  And my hope, my goal really is that this is just a first step.  That by starting here at the gym and building myself back up, that hopefully it will inspire me to do other things.  Maybe join a women’s softball team or ride horses regularly again.  Something that brings back some of what I had in my youth. 

But on Monday morning, bright and early, while the city is just waking up… my current, lazy self is going to be at the gym getting reaquainted with my old, active self.  Wish me luck!

Anything you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon must, absolutely must, come to pass. ~Skip Bertman (LSU AD)