My foot is feeling better...

So a swim in the pool Friday night and, probably more specifically, a dip in the spa afterwords, did wonders for my foot. It stopped hurting completely for a little while. Good sign. Saturday a.m. I went back to the gym (partly to retrieve my key-card which I left in my locker- not sure what the cost is to replace a lost ID) and did a 40 minute mystery workout. I say it was a mystery workout because I have no idea what the machine was. Kind of like an elliptical, but kind of not... You could control your "stride" and there was a little diagram of a man with highlighted muscle areas letting you know which particular muscles you were using. I found that I had to concentrate A LOT to do this machine. And it was a similar feeling in the legs as when you stand out of the saddle during a spin class. It was a good workout with no impact on the heel, but I don't know if I'll do it again. I really felt like if I became too engrossed in a music video on the TVs for a split second, I could dislocate my knee.

I've been wearing my gym shoes around the house more too, and stretching a few times a day. As Jamie reminded me, I need these feet for England!!

Studio update: we have a microwave! Love it. Did I mention this already? If I did it's just because I'm so excited! Simple pleasures.

And this morning has been interesting. Hopefully slightly entertaining to those who continue reading... Bad experience #1- took the computer 7 or 8 times to start. Not good. I think I'm going to have to make a trip to the mac store, as this has been happening lately, but never this bad. It's like it needs a new starter or spark plugs, if it was a car. Then I had to go to the bathroom which was bad experience #2. Uh...no pun intended. Without too many details, the toilet was clogged (I blame the extra thick toilet paper) and the plunger must have come original with the building. Its plunging abilities were, on a scale from 0-5 with 5 being the most effortless beautiful plunging experience you can image, a big fat 0. Perhaps it was the age of its rubber material or perhaps I'm just a weakling, but I had to put ALL my weight on the thing to make it work. So I bruised my hand pretty nicely! Yes that's right- bruised my hand from plunging a toilet. I even tried to employ a small votive candle that was on the back of the toilet to protect my hand, but all that ended up doing was getting wax on the end of the plunger which was then transferred to my shirt after I gave up on the votive. It's a Monday I guess. Hopefully the rest of the day will go better!

My foot is not feeling well.

Bad news for me. I have a foot pain that is keeping me from running (and walking really). It's the bottom of my heel. I'm pretty certain it's plantar fasciitis (PLAN-tur fas-e-I-tis). Looking back over the past few weeks, I've just started running again, stood for many many hours barefoot on our hardwood while doing the closets (an acknowledged how sore my feet were), and took an intense cycle class. OH! And dancing in heels at the FRCH anniversary party- I almost forgot how sore my feet were after that! After reading the Mayo Clinic link, I'm pretty sure this is my problem.

:(

So, it's time for me to learn how to swim! That will be a good break for my heel. And though the Mayo Clinic site says you can replace running with cycling also, I think I'll steer clear of the intense classes. I do think I kind of strained my Achilles tendon during the class. I could probably just do the regular stationary bikes and control my own intensity while still trying to build up my leg muscles.

The good news is it does seem very controllable and it's not like I'll never run again. I just need to take more care in stretching and paying attention to how my feet feel. I want to say I've had this same pain before, but in such a light way that I didn't pay much attention to it, as it certainly didn't hurt so bad I couldn't walk right. I think I'll be wearing my shoes in the house for awhile too. I should invest in some Crocs- every year I say I need a "house shoe" because my feet always hurt from the hard floors.

So, swimming... I loved going to the pool in college! I don't really know what I'm doing though. That breathing to the side thing is really hard to do without taking a drink. I'll try to read up on some pointers online that might help. I don't think the gym offers free swim lessons for adults.

Cycling for 60

So at the gym.... LIFETIME FITNESS ~cue thunderclap~ ..... they have "spinning" classes which they call Cycle 60, and Studio Cycle. I assume Spinning must be a trademarked name, not unlike Kleenex, Rollerblades and Google. You need safe replacement words... from: "I think I'll go rollerblading after I google a new route- oh crap my nose is running- quick, give me a kleenex!" to: "I think I'll go in-line skating after I search on the web for a new route- oh crap my nose is running- quick, give me a 2-ply facial tissue!" The same must apply for super-intense-cycling classes that don't use Spinning®™© bikes.

Anyway, I took the Cycle 60 class this morning at 9:45. It's an hour (Cycle 60) and my legs were slightly jelly-like by the end. But more sore than my legs was the tush. My road bike has a women's specific seat, while Lifetime's bikes have nonspecific fit-any-ol'-butt seats. Padded cycling pants were worn to no avail. It's just going to take time and pain.

I really enjoyed the class. I will probably try the Studio Cycle next. It's only 45 minutes, but I've heard it's more intense. There are a lot people from my previous job that belong to this same gym, so I have some resources to get the low-downs on classes. For example, Erin said that since I've missed the past 2 Pilates classes with her, the instructor hasn't made them do the horrible plank exercises that I can't do. So, looks like I'll have to go back to ensure the torture for others.

40 minutes!

So I just wanted to see how I'd feel past the 30 minute comfy zone... and 40 minutes wasn't a problem. A SLOW 40 minutes, let's not forget. But I'm happy and it felt good the entire time. The rest of the week I'll probably just do 30 minutes and continue to let my body acclimate. I'm skipping pilates tonight due to work, so I'll have to see about doing some push-ups, or mush-ups which better describes my form, tonight when I get home.

I ran from the studio down to the trail again. It was a gorgeous afternoon. I ran most of the run on the side of the trail in the horse path covered with leaves. I was looking for large piles of horsey-poo. Easy to spot those mounds. However, dog poo is not. Totally uses the leaves for camouflage. I barely missed a fresh looking pile. That would have made for a stinky remaining run.

After talking to Erin today on IM, I decided I'm going to do the Jingle Bell 5K (Erin's going to do it with me). It's a very fun run where you get little bells to wear on your shoes, so the masses sound like a huge sleigh. Some people, of course, take it even farther, dressing as reindeer or wearing sleigh bells. I did this race 2 years ago I think? There was a guy who happened to be my pace wearing a full sized sleigh bell harness, like what you'd put on a horse. It drove me mad. Some people don't like repetitive pen tapping? Or gum cracking? I don't like to hear my steps echoed by a loud obnoxious sleigh bell wearing runner.

Voila! A new closet!

Greg and I now have a huge walk-in closet. It used to be our "third" bedroom. But, if we've made it into a closet, well, that will give you an idea of its size. Huge for a closet. Small for a bedroom.

After I moved so much of my art and graphic stuff over to the studio, that freed up a lot of space in the house. We thought long and hard about how to reorganize our rooms. We never used the 2nd bedroom for a "sitting/reading/drawing" room like it was laid out to be. The fact is when we're not sleeping, we're out in the living room/dining room/kitchen. We've never had enough closet space, so the decision was easy. I'd post pictures but it's really not that exciting. Just some racks and carpet squares. Then we're turning our old closets into other closets like a linen closet and a "miscellaneous" closet. That was our weekend. Closet building. Hopefully improving our fung shooway!I always comment that our house is like one of those sliding picture puzzles: You have to move everything else around in order to get one thing where you want it. Mr. T not included. (awwwww)

No run for me this weekend. :( The days were just long spent doing these freakin' closets, but I'm glad they're done. Saturday night was FRCH's anniversary party (pic below). Fancy shmancy evening fun. And Sunday we got to hang out with Pat while he was in the states for the weekend.
















Another day in the 60's! I have my stuff and plan to do a nice fall jaunt out on the trail!

Another 30 minutes

Yay! Another 30 minute comfy run. After I got home last night, I put the dogs outside, changed really quick and headed out the door. It gets dark so early now, I began at dusk but slowly lost the light. I did the "dusk" part first in the neighborhood that butts up against ours and has street lights, then came back onto our street where the lighting was from people's garage lights- some better than others! It was a nice evening. The wind only kicked up in the first neighborhood around the humongous homes.

When I had about .25 left to go back in our neighborhood, a car passed me, then stopped- it was Greg. So he "paced me in"! It was funny - his car creeping along side me as I jogged. We talked about his day and his job and the dogs. I think I was running a bit faster than usual. I've never had a car as a running buddy before!

Dare I say what I plan for the weekend? Another run. Hope that didn't ruin its possibilities of happening.

Finally...a run from the studio

I finally got a run in from the studio! This is something I've wanted to do since I've been here so I'm happy!

It was a nice "stroll". Greg probably could have walked beside me as I "ran", but I went for a comfy 30 minutes without stopping, which is all I wanted to do. My weather widget says it is 44º in Loveland, and it certainly was windy. I ran down to the trail, a little on the trail to the first road, and then back. All without stopping, which proves the mental anguish I experience after a mere 5 minutes on the treadmill at the gym is just that- mental. And something else that doesn't happen on the 'mill- I saw a couple of little girls roller blading with their greyhounds in jackets (the entire party in jackets that is) and a couple of girls doing cartwheels outside of a karate studio. Is that what they're called? Karate studios? As I ran past Moondance Design, they were cleaning off their lovely porch of dead plants. They waved and said hi, and the solo, lonely designer in me wanted to shout back, "HI! I'm a graphic designer TOO, and I LOVE this little house you're in and really want my own studio like this some day!!!!" but of course I did not. Instead, I snubbed my nose in envy. :)

Here's to more runs and being back in the routine.
Back to work.

Holy $#^!

I'm so BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But at least I get to get a hair cut today.

Craptastic Buffet

I just ate at the worst Chinese buffet ever. I would say the quality parallelled that of mall Chinese food and was just below the quality of frozen mystery-meat egg rolls.

So far the only Loveland hot spots for lunch are the Veg Head, the Works and El Picante. But the Works is a little much for the pocket book for lunch. I still need to try Angelo's pizza- not sure if it's take out only. Other than those, I'm not sure what else exists. It's nice to get away out of the studio once in a while.

On a side note, they finally turned the heat on in the building! Yay! It's actually down right toasty in my studio. I do have to keep the door closed now to keep the heat in.

Sorry, no pictures of the craptastic meal.

George - first sketch

Here's a first sketch of capturing George. I think he'll be on dark orange and red pillows.
I have been trying to do the 3/4 portrait but can't get the proportions right yet. I think the 3/4 would show off his little protruding tongue the best.

Foreclosure Cats

I have my first real art project. Pixel Paul (owner of Remy- cat in window from earlier posts) forwarded an email about an art show that is going to be in our studio's gallery in January. It's for Foreclosure Cats. Back in early 2007, some guy foreclosed on his house and walked away without telling anyone there were about 60 cats trapped inside without food and water. They were found, some alive some not, and most with major health problems. Those that are recovered are up for adoption. A woman who is an artist in Loveland organized the art side of it- getting artists to do portraits of the cats. The art will be auctioned off and the money goes to the rescue groups, vet releif, etc. Prints of each cat will go to the person who adopts the cat. Pretty neat!

So I've signed up to do George. He's not adopted yet, but probably will be since he seems to have less major health issues. When he was found though, his gums were so diseased, all of his teeth had to be pulled.












I think I'll just do a regular portrait of him, showing his little tongue that hangs out a bit. But I'd also like to do something more illustrative, if I find the time. I will update my progress as it becomes visual!

Pumpkin Time

Today it is raining, and it is supposed to continue the rest of the week. Bleh.
I didn't buy a pumpkin (nor many pumkinS) this year. However, I did buy a Pumpkin Spice Coffee at Starbucks and found....floating in my coffee.....
THE GREAT PUMPKIN!!!!

Workin' on Sunday

Not my idea of a good time, but I came in today for a couple of hours to get some stuff out of the way for Monday, and this is my break-time. I like to think of it as compared to Summer School... took all those classes so I could have an easier year and room for art AND music.

Nothing to say, but thought I'd post pictures of the Studio Cat, Remy. Not MY studio cat of course (I'm as allergic to cats as the Pope is Catholic). It's Pixel P's cat (aka Paul) who is 2 doors down and a very nice graphic designer. I let him crawl around my studio- the cat, not Paul.

New Loveland Lunch Spot

Here's my desk in the a.m.

Today I went down to Veg Head, a restaurant with absolutely the minimum amount of awareness signage a business could have. I stumbled upon it when I was walking back from the yummy Mexican restaurant the other day.

It was hippie day at Veg Head. It might be Hippie Day EVERY day at Veg Head. There was a group of three female hippies (I didn't think to check if they had burned their bras or not, but my guess is hell yes) who were going on and on about how the food was so good. Good sign for me, who had just ordered the bean and curry wrap. I sat down to read Vegetarian Times (or something like that) while I waited for my food. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation. ---Please read in your best hippie voice---
"In this (oh-so-awful) country we are supposed to have ONE god and ONE boss and ONE person we're supposed to just let RULE US, but we're given hundreds of cereals to choose from at the grocery store. Simply madness!" according to FH#1 (female hippie number 1). But then a male hippie who had walked in commentated how the only madness was having one god. Then the FH#1 shouted out the cashier's horoscope after he told them what his birthday was. In case anyone cares, Mr. Veg Head cashier is supposed to go backpacking across Europe to really discover his true self because he's in a time where he's letting people dominate him.

ALRIGHTY!

Here's my lunch. It was DEEEEElightful! The burrito was chock full of yummy flavors. I don't even know what all of them were. Some bites did taste like Old House though, which was weird.















And it came with a side of cabbage, that I tried to take a picture of:














Small hands... smell like cabbage...

It's Fall

It's fall because the leaves are falling off the trees. They aren't turning colors first, just falling off and becoming crunchy ground covering.

Last week I was a bit under the weather and had to take my computer to my house to work on my files while intermittently taking naps. This "working from home" experience has confirmed that the studio is the place to be! It's really hard to get up, take a shower, get dressed and then go sit in your dining room all day. To compound the feeling, Greg was traveling the last part of the week. So it was me and the dogs. Dexter and Harley DEFINITELY loved having me there. I even think that Dexter and I bonded. I never had the urge to throw him across the room... I do think he benefited from the extra attention. Today's my first day back IN the studio, so when I get home tonight, hard telling what I'll face.

I've noticed my blog is greatly lacking in pictures. Especially when compared to the only other two blogs I visit (you KNOW who you are!!!) I need to work on that.