Monday's Meditations: The Daily Grind

Our visitors left, and the Stainbrook casa seems quite empty. After 2.5 weeks of playing tour guide we are now back to the last 6.5 weeks of our time in Korea land.

As much as I love visitors and would give up my daily routine at anytime for anyone that chose to come over and visit us, I really do enjoy our daily routine. I really started to miss our day to day happenings and all that, that entailed.

With that said, I feel like we aren't doing things that are quite "day to day." We've been looking at booking hostels for Europe, figuring out some plane tickets, and spending A LOT of time on the computer and the Wii. But that's ok, they are all things that need to get done and with school starting next Monday I'm pretty sure our daily grind will be back into business.

With all this routine stuff going on we've also picked back up our workout routine. As boring as it may be for some of you to read about it, it's one of my passions, it's my blog.. and you can quit reading this now if it's that bad. :)

Jon has decided to start up his own workout routines with running everyday and figuring out some good resistance training with the new resistance bands my mom brought over. I'm really proud of him for creating his own schedule and hopefully sticking too it :) It hasn't always been easy to motivate him, but he seems really excited about creating his own plan, so maybe that's the key...letting him create it! I'm excited for him and anxious to see how it goes!

As for me I'm back at Insanity. I started month 2 today and quite frankly I was terrified. All the reviews I read made it sound like Jon would need to resuscitate my dying body afterwards.  I knew I would need some....

Oh Korea...only you would come up with something like this.

But quite frankly I did have to keep asking myself if I was ready for the craziness that was about to ensue. I decided I was and gave it a go! It. was. HARD! But I made it through without having to be scooped off the floor. I actually did better than some of the others in the video... which always makes me feel like a champ.

Along with the Insanity I'll also be doing 2 days a week of P90X arm weightlifting, and still testing out my barefoot running skills 3 days a week! It sounds like a lot, but truly it won't be. Actually... after such a long workout hiatus I'm pretty pumped to get back into the grind. I was only able to work out 7 times in the 2.5 weeks we were vagabonding around, which is better than what I'd hoped for... but still not enough for me!

Needless to say, we are happy to be home living life at a relaxed pace, soaking up the rest of our limited time left here. 

Are you a routine person? Or do you like to change everyday? I think I'm a mix of both... I need some structure and some flexibility just to keep me on my toes!

Exhaustion

It's been hot here in Korea land.

I mean reeeeeeaaaaallllllly hot.

Like, I have the AC on, a fan blowing, and all I'm doing is typing on my computer yet I'm sweating bullets...hot.


Now that the rainy season is pretty much over, the humidity has set in and let me tell you... it's a treat.

Despite the heat Jon and I have still been trying get our workouts in and this week it has been a bit of a struggle. Jon was biking to and from school (one of those bike rides at 12), then we were heading to the gym and playing with my students for an hour...and then coming home to do p90X or and Insanity workout. Talk about some serious sweating.

yes... this is after 2 games of badminton and some jumping rope in the gym. And it gets worse.

and yes... it does get worse than this.

I didn't realize until I sat down on the gym floor just how sweaty I was. My legs were slick... like just taken a shower slick. The students gathered and were beyond confused. They had all been spraying water on each other... and yet I (who had, had NO water sprayed on her) was wetter than the students.

It was slightly uncomfortable. I wish I was lying, but the students were actually touching my legs and hair feeling the sweat, trying to figure out how someone could possibly expel that much water from their body. And just be thankful I didn't take a picture of my head. It literally looked like I came out of the shower.  My students were fascinated with my copious amounts of sweat. 

I'm cool like that.

Now I handle heat pretty well, and it hasn't really effected me in quite the same way... but as for Jon...

This was him "getting ready" for P90X....

Attractive honey... attractive :)

He also managed to get heat exhaustion and has spent the last 3 days taking cold showers, feeling dizzy, having major headaches, muscle fatigue, and has not been able to function at a normal level.

Honestly as much as I enjoy the heat and the sun, I'd be ok with a little rain for a day. It is bloody hot here and I don't think my husband can take much more of it :)

Monday's Meditation: Pipe Dreams

I have a lot of dreams or goals that I'd love to accomplish in my life.

First of which is figuring out what flower this is!!! Seriously... it was gorgeous and on a tree in our neighbors yard. I WANT these flowers. I NEED these flowers. and I MUST have them.

I also have dreams of having kids, staying at home with them, traveling, and just having a lovely long life with my husband.

And most recently I'm coming closer and closer to reaching my dream of grad school for psychology. It's been a goal I've had for years. And I'm so close to getting there, and yet I've found a new dream creeping up on me.

As many of you know, I really enjoy working out, exercising, and being healthy in general. I spend the majority of my free time at school looking up fitness tools, and researching different theories, aspects of training... etc.

Really I love it.

I enjoy watching the biggest loser, I enjoy reading fitness blogs, and weight loss blogs. I love to see people transform and I thrive and feel proud of complete strangers when I see the whole process of their weight loss or reaching their fitness goals.

So, even though it may just be a pipe dream, I really want to be a personal trainer. That, or teach some sort of fitness class at a club. And quite frankly I think that psychology fits in perfectly with this dream.

I have always love helping people with issues in their lives. I enjoy helping others find clarity and peace in their lives. And I think that being a personal trainer would just emphasize that in a different way. I'd be physically seeing those changes and people dealing with those issues.  There is just so much more to fitness and weight loss than the actual weight. So much of it is emotional and mental and the fact that people just have to work through issues. And that's where I come in :)

I'm not sure if this will every happen, or if it's just something I'll always think about. But right now I'm strongly considering looking into it while we are out in CO. It could be the perfect part- time job I would need while getting my Masters.

In other fitness dream news... I finally finished P90X... woo hoo!!!! And of course now I'm on to the next insane schedule :)

Oh and if you know what flowers these are ... please let me know. I'm dying here!

Something to think about: What are some dreams or goals you've had? What would you like to accomplish in life?

Muffins of Amazingness

I feel that I should be writing something epic for my 100th post... but really it's just a fantastic recipe :) Sooooo do me a favor... make these. right now. do it. they will rock your face off!

I got this recipe from my friend Fallon and made a few tweaks (not many) but I think you can do a lot with these, and truly they are so good.

Butter Free Oatmeal Muffins
Makes 12

1c. oats
1c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla ( I usually add a smidge more)
1tsp. Honey
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1 tsp. Nutmeg

Soak all of this in a bowl for 10 minutes

1 medium banana (mash it up!)
1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (if you can make your own, it's really pretty easy)
2 egg whites

Mix these three together in a separate bowl


1c. whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp. Wheat Germ
3 Tbsp. Ground Flax Seed
1/4 cup brown sugar
1tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup raisins or craisins... or both :)

Mix this together in with the oats and then add in the banana/applesauce mixture.


Pour into greased muffin pan.

sprinkle a mixture of 2 tsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon on top of the muffins for a little crunch on the top!

Bake at 400 degrees and take out when a toothpick comes out clean, and the tops are nice and brown.



I think you'd also be able to add in dried apricots, blueberries, different types of nuts... etc. These muffins are really filling and pretty healthy.

ENJOY the amazingness of the butter free muffin :)

And I MUST give a shout out to my amazing hubby... as of Sunday he finished P90X!!! 90 days of intense weight lifting etc. He did it and I'm so proud of him for sticking with it and making some changes :) 

Monday's Meditation: The Break Up

After my half-marathon this past May running and I decided to take a break. I realized throughout all of the training, and preparing it felt more and more like a chore... not an enjoyable activity.

I felt pressure to do well, and afterwards felt that to some people I hadn't done well enough, or that the way I went about the whole process wasn't right. Or that the only reason I did semi- well was that I trained a lot (which 3 runs a week felt too little). It just made me feel like I could've done better or that I should've. Don't get me wrong, I am beyond proud that I accomplished this race and at a decent time, but I let others take that from me and it made me hunker down more in my decision to not be running.

Then I picked up Born to Run by Christopher McDougall... and I'm forever grateful that I did!!

(Source)

If you are/were a runner, athlete, or someone that just likes a good story... I highly recommend it!  I'm realizing the longer I read, the better I feel about my decision to take a break with running.

I want to run because I enjoy it, because it makes me happy, because I feel good when I'm out there. I want to run with JOY!!! I want to run for ME! And right now... it just ain't happenin'.  Running shouldn't be some painful experience, our bodies should love it! (After all they were built for that purpose) but as a society we've completely lost our dependency on our bodies, feet, and what they can accomplish!

I'm hoping that soon I'll find my love of running again, and when it comes I'm just going to go out there and have fun :) Do I still want to run more races? definitely. But I want to leave all pressure and expectation behind me and just love it! So until that happens it'll be Insanity and P90X for me, which I'm ok with.

So I won't say goodbye to running... we'll just say "see you later" and remember that absence makes the heart grow fonder :)

Yoga

As if I haven't mentioned it enough, Jon and I've been doing the P90X program. As a matter of fact Jon has only 3 days left until he is officially finished!!! Woo hoo!!!

As part of the program there is a Yoga day. And I have ALWAYS hated it. It's 90 minutes of horror.  The first 45 are solid sun salutations, upward dogs, downward dogs, vinyasa's....etc. And it sucks.  I've kind of always avoided this day and just done the stretching video.

I only wish I looked this calm and cool during yoga...I'd be tipped over on the floor.

Now for a little disclaimer... I actually don't usually hate Yoga. I actually took my first Yoga class in Korea. Now you'd think learning a sport in a different language would be hard... and it is. But Yoga is a series of sometimes complicated positions and learning it in Korean was a bit of a treat.  I'm sure I did the majority of it wrong, but I enjoyed being part of a class and the instructor was always super excited that I came :)

And that is exactly why I was sort of surprised that I actually really disliked the Yoga X video. But after reading why it was part of the program and how beneficial yoga really is to your body I decided to give it another go, same instructor but only 45 minutes and a lot faster paced.

Here's Tony... doin' his thing. (He's the P90X guy)

Buuuuuuut, during this 45 minute video Tony said a little something that made me realize why yoga is so dang difficult for me!

"The vast majority of Americans don't like yoga, because they have to be calm in an isometric posture that is uncomfortable. And, that is working on joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles. It's also working  patience and your breath. It's an atypical exercise, and if there is any society that needs it more in the world it's America just a chance to chill, learn how to chill out and be in the moment and be present and undertake time to breath and understand the physical pain. If you breath and clear your mind you become more open not only phsycically, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually."

Nailed it right on the head Tony. I have issues with chilling out, being calm, and being uncomfortable. I'm used to exercise that is fast paced, gets my heart rate going, and I'm mooooooving so pain doesn't last too long. Yoga ...hmmmm I'm still moving, but the pain is there because you are stuck in that position. But the great part is I sweat almost as much with Yoga as I dod anything else. It's tough and really does rely on your strength in more ways than a lot of other exercises. It works EVERYTHING and really does keep you limber.

I seriously need to learn how to do this... sweetness.

And to be honest I really do feel that yoga makes you more aware of your body's limitations and abilities. I've been able to focus more on what my body is feeling like that day and certain areas that are tighter than others. I like being more aware of my body and I like being more "in tune" with what's going on. 

I'm starting to approach yoga days differently now. I'm trying to focus on the many benefits my body will get from it and really trying too look at it in a positive light! And I actually enjoyed my yoga this morning! We're making progress!

Do any of you enjoy yoga??? Why or why not?

(Oh.... and if you want to see some REALLY amazing shots go to my friend Laura's blog  she took some fabulous photos of our other elementary school friend, Haley... who is now a yoga instructor. Seriously amazing shots :) )

Yes, I am crazy

I never thought I was a self-destructive type of person, but I'm beginning to re-evaluate.
Today I started the P90x workout regimen.... and on top of this I'm also still training for the half marathon in Busan.


Why?? 


I can't say for sure. Maybe it's the fact that everyone and their mother (and by this I mean my husband and our neighbors) has recently started it up and I'm feeling a little left out. Although I will say recently I've heard of about 25 people that are into p90x or are just starting, etc.  I was going to start doing the  p90x when I was done training for the marathon, but apparently it just wasn't soon enough. 


That and come the end of May it's going to be getting unbelievably warm in Korea-land. And I wouldn't be able to finish until like August... and I just want to be done quicker than that. So now I'll be done at the end of June... just before the humid, rainy, monsoon season sets in. 


I also have a theory that I'm way too much like my mother. I mean this in a semi-good way (love you mom :) ). She has the inability to sit still, and to give herself some down time.  And I have the same issue. I think I can always be doing more, always one more goal to reach. I'm way to antsy and goal oriented for my own good.


So now I'm doing chest, back, shoulder, leg, arm, and ab ripper exercises and still running... I'm either going to get in amazing shape or kill myself trying.


Pray for the first, I know I am.


Do any of you have a favorite work-out, DVD, or exercise regimen? And if any of you have any nutritional tips or general sanity tips that'd be swell :)

A day in the life...

Today I figured I'd give you a little glimpse into our daily lives. I'll give you a little play by play of my very typical day...

7:20 a.m. Alarm goes off, I tell Jon to turn it off, I go back to bed for another 20 minutes then ask Jon why he didn't wake me... it's a loving relationship. Especially in the morning.

8:30 a.m. Head off to school. Drop Jon off at work and arrive at school.

9:00 a.m. As I look around for my co-teacher I realize that she once again is not there. Yesterday it was too windy for the Ferry and apparently today it is too. So she'll be here half way through the morning. This means I have two classes without her, one on which I wasn't planning on having. Hooray....

10:15 a.m. Co- teacher calls and lets me know that she'll be around for the 11 o'clock class she has. Then I see that the other teachers have changed the classes so it starts at 12. So I'm for sure not going to have to teach it.

11:50 a.m. I realize my co teacher has still not arrived, so I call and ask where she is. Apparently she will not be making it to the school until 12:30 . But decided not to call and let me know I had to teach... hmmmmm. Thank goodness I called.

12:45 p.m. Nasty crap lunch. The picture below isn't actually my lunch today, but it gives you a good idea. Basically all I had today was some rice and two pieces of persimmon... look at me go.

1:15 p.m. I asked my co-teacher to call the physical therapist to ask if there were any exercises at home I could be doing to strengthen my shoulder. I was told that during the winter peoples muscles tighten and that's why my shoulder hurt. riiiiiiiiight. After living in Minnesota for 22 years of my life I'm just now having issues with the cold. And apparently there isn't much I can do with physical therapy so it's up to me if I want to keep going. I realize it's crazy, but I am going to keep going... for many reasons.

1. I get to leave the school at 3

2. I get to lay on a warm bed for an hour and read

3. I get to see a lot of randomness, including the one worker cleaning his ears at the table today... it was a little gross.

3:00 p.m. I leave to go the physical therapist office. I then get to wait 20 minutes in the driveway of our school because soooomebody decided it would be a fantastic idea to park in the middle of the driveway of the only entrance to the school.

3:25 p.m. I get to the physical therapist and go through the routine and then I get this little gem...

ummmm.... does anyone know what this says? seriously I have no idea. I'm reading this while the physical therapist is explaining something to me in Korean, and he seems to be proud that he wrote in English, and thumbs up, but... uhhhh... I don't know what it means. If anyone can decipher it that would be greatly appreciated.

4:15 p.m. as I'm leaving the PT office I go to my little bed to get my jacket. There are three women standing around my bed and I feel something on my back. I think maybe one of the women is grabbing a string off my back... then I feel more hands. And soon they are all stroking my side, rubbing me down. Then they proceeded to tell me that I have a nice body shape... the sad part is that I didn't find it that shocking. *sigh* what has Korea done to me.

4:30 p.m. get home and go for a run

5:30 p.m. decide that I hate my abs enough to do the ab ripper x from p90x ugh.
6:30 p.m. had some FANTASTIC broccoli, chicken alfredo pasta.... hmmm so good. My abs soon forgave me for the slaughter an hour before.
7:30 p.m. Watch Lost because we are now addicted....
10:30 p.m. Go to bed ahhh what a lovely day :)

So now you all know that when I get back if I start parking in the middle of roads and driveways, letting you know everything last minute, cleaning my ears at work, and rubbing your body with my hand and complimenting your body you'll know I've just been in Korea far too long.

Back to School

I've meant to be a lot better at blogging lately since its been almost a week, but since I've been at school and this site is blocked it's been harder to blog during the day.

We have officially begun a new school year in Korea. All the students are back, there are new teachers, and as usual it's kicking off with a lot of randomness. The first day back started with a opening ceremony. 5 parents came (at least to mine) and then some students won scholarships, and the teachers were introduced. All of this took at least an hour, as a bunch of random songs, bowing, and talking were thrown in the mix.

I am extremely lucky this year, my co-teacher from last year stayed! We weren't sure if she was going too, but she did and for this I'm eternally grateful. If she hadn't come back I'm not quite sure how I would've made it through the rest of this contract. So far I haven't taught... at all. It's is apparently happening this week, but I doubt it. Last year in Haenam I don't think I had a class until the third week in March, because it is just that disorganized.

Jon isn't as lucky. Is old co-teacher left and in her place there is a brand new teacher. As in just passed her test a week ago, never taught before, we have more experience kind of new teacher. So far she barely talks to Jon and hasn't done much to help with scheduling, so it'll be a bit interesting for Jon's main school.

Other than meeting some new teachers and saying hello to all of our old students it's been a really low key week. It's been rainy, cloudy, and overcast. And quite honestly I'm ready for some sun! We have been able to keep up a good work out schedule which has been good for both of us. I've been training for a half-marathon, that I made up and am hosting out here on the islands, and Jon has started the p90x and it...is...intense! I did one work-out with him and i was sore for the next few days. I'm so proud of him for really pushing through and workin' it!

Tomorrow I'll fill you in on my lovely adventures at the physical therapist... it's been a treat to say the least.