June 21, 2010
Somehow I’d almost forgotten that starting today, my office will no longer be a convenient, single train ride location. It’s not that I’d forgotten about the move, just the consequences of it such as having a new address, new business cards, and horror of horrors: having to navigate a new public transit route.
There are two options: taking the old route plus a bus (adding another 20-30 minutes)
or
taking a new route via BART and subway (almost the same total travel time).
I’m trying the first option first today since I still have Caltrain passes to use up and should only pay an extra $2 for the bus (and $3 today since I’m driving myself to the station). Sometime during the week I’ll start testing the BART routes. BART plus subway is projected to cost $4.50 each way and I might be able to take a free shuttle to and from the station depending on their and my hours of operation.
Much as I’m tempted to gripe about the doubled commute time, it’s still shorter than my former commute of an hour and twenty minutes. I do wish that San Francisco had better public transit, though, the systems are all really pricey, don’t really seem to work together all that well and the fare and schedule information aren’t clear at all. 511.org was not all it’s been touted to be.
Here’s hoping there’ll be at least one bank and one library branch within a really short walking distance.
The great thing is I happen to be moving practically next door to the temporary workplace of one of my high school friends. We might even get to see each other!
May 6, 2010
I love it, you all are both supportive AND game!
Team $5K/5K
Finance
Frugal Scholar with a goal TBD
Cody and Candace with a goal of $500 for debt reduction
Jersey Mom with a goal TBD MochaTrina with a goal TBD
Serendipity with a goal of $250
Doug with a goal of $500
Divorcing Debt with a goal of saving all Amazon/eBay sales money
Fitness
Single Ma running all five Ks
Chele
nofearingthemoney (no blog)
Tazzee
mzinspiredmind
Funny About Money with a goal to lose 10 lbs
BOTH
Tired of Being Broke with a goal of $5K and losing 7 lbs
Ciawy taking on both with a goal of $500 bringing lunch everyday to work, and signing up for a 5K race
BK Diva
Here’s the plan: I will be updating weekly so send me your updates by email or post a comment, or send me the link to your blogged update on Friday to be included in the post Saturday.
I’m so excited to see how this works out!!
May 3, 2010
In one month, Single Ma of Fabulous Financials fame is going to take the leap into her first 5K race! Having blazed the trail to financial success in her life, she’s refocused her intensity on a new frontier. If you’ve missed her fabulous (of course) tweets in the past few months, she’s been making major changes in her lifestyle, overhauling her eating habits and kicking the crud out of the Couch to 5K program.
She starts official training for the 5K today, Sunday May 2nd. Starting at the same time, I will be “running” alongside her in the saving spirit – I will aim to save $5000 between May 2nd through June 5th.
Will you join us in Financial and Physical Fitness?
Stay tuned for the details!
January 28, 2010
It’s official: I’ve been sick for over a week. Dear friends, I’m a terrible invalid. I whine. A lot. Between racking coughs, I whine and mentally grumble about how much money’s been wasted on those elephant pills that haven’t done a lick of good. The really gross, wild-cherry flavored Robitussin has finally alleviated the cough enough for me to cook again.
But this morning? The sun literally and figuratively came out: it’s gorgeous outside, and half my coughs don’t sound like a dying warthog. Glory be!
I’m getting back on the exercise horse ASAP. Every time I moved faster than a slow shuffle these past several days, I’ve keeled over with the cough so I’ve neglected the Daily Exercise Regimen sadly.
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Dogfood Provider linked to this beyond-awesome pasta sauce recipe posted at Smitten Kitchen.
I modified the recipe like so:
28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with peppers and onions
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste
Combine the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 50 minutes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste.
I actually didn’t add any salt as both the sauce and the butter contained salt. The rich, melty melding of flavors was absolutely perfect with the modified Garlic Lemon Chicken recipe. (Besswess, I used the juice of ONE lemon, ditched the herbs and rind, and baked with plenty of garlic. It turned out sans bitterness. Might be worth another go if that was your only objection.)
Sauce: $4, 6 generous servings
Chicken: $4, 6 servings
Asparagus: $2, 2 servings
Surprisingly my love affair with asparagus is suspended – I’ve got to find another veggie to round out the meals for a while.
January 17, 2010
Daily exercise update, Friday: Ankle weights were not the death of me but they were put up for the day. No use tempting fate, after all. Walked many many blocks in kitten heels post-meeting searching for the perfect grill pan, and even did one set of these stairs. Never found the pan and was pooped the rest of the day.
Daily exercise update, Saturday: Walked to an enormous park with muddy hills and watched dogs chase each other and other various oddments for hours. Stopped at a mall and discount store afterward and logged a few more almost leisurely miles.
Helping abroad: The devastation in Haiti breaks my heart, and the ensuing chaos of trying to get aid to the island and set up infrastructure has been frustrating.
After much contemplation about the donation options available, I’ve decided to support the Haiti cause by donating to Doctors without Borders. I’m skipping the quick and easy donation options like texting because I need to know the money is being sent directly and immediately to the right people. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to minimize the time and maximize the money. To further stretch the donation dollars, I’ve asked a friend whose company matches donations up to a certain dollar amount each year to donate through his work for me. It’ll be in his name, but that’s a worthwhile trade-off of a tax deduction for essentially doubling the pot.
Doctors without Borders on Charity Navigator.
Things to consider: I love The Lost Goat’s timing and thoughtfulness on this subject. She covers some essential concerns I had to address before making my donation decision. Number four is why I’m not donating to the American Red Cross and several other charities during this time.
Also, be sure to check Flexo’s post on Safe Donations to Victims of the Earthquake in Haiti.
January 10, 2010
Well-Heeled’s sort of convinced me to join her small army of Jillianators. Almost. There’s something creepy about the name “Shredders.” Oh, right, Shredder a la hunter of Ninja Turtles! No no, I can’t be part of that.
I don’t have any interest in losing weight, or getting toned ’cause I’m happy with the shape of my body. I am interested, however, in regaining some of my lost stamina. Y’see, I just realized that I’ve been saying, “when I was in shape, I could ….” for ten years. That’s right, this year is my ten-year reunion. Not that I’m going ….
My physical activity’s just fallen off a cliff since high school. I did martial arts, I rode horseback, I ran track, and I remember being 17 years old, swearing that my workout routines would not change one iota once I started college.
I meant well, and hung on for a few more years. Then life got in the way. Between my joints, which had been steadily deteriorating, and 80-hour work and school weeks, I couldn’t keep up the active lifestyle. After graduating, work consumed my life, and the constant joint pain meant high impact was off the table. All I knew was high impact, I was the fishy not allowed to swim anymore! [Ironically, I can’t swim.] I blinked, and my ability to exercise for three hours at a time was just … gone!
It felt like it happened overnight, but that’s not the case. It’s taken this long to accept that getting back to exercise means starting at the very beginning like I’m a freshman in high school but with the joints and fatigue of an 75-year-old and finding a new level of fitness. Not acting like I can do everything just like when I was 18. That was the key to my failure every other time I worked out. Haunted by ghosts of What I Used To Do, I’d push myself far beyond my abilities and end up flat on my back.
Older and wiser, I’m going to join the periphery of the group by taking up my own challenge of working from 20 up to 30 minutes of free form cardio activity each day. It’s nice to have a sense of solidarity, even if it’s virtual.
As a tester, I did 20 mins of wind sprints with a dash of free weights yesterday. I’m going to hang at 20 minutes for a while because my knees were like jelly afterward. But I didn’t reach the point of severe bedridden pain.
As hard as it is to start over, I can’t wait to experience the joy of exercise again. The endorphins, the hard-earned sweat that clears out your pores, the yellow cake I’d bake from a 99 cent mix and eat afterward. Awesome.
If anyone is interested in the Shred, head on over to Well-Heeled’s and join the group! If you just want to hang out and chuckle at my geriatric efforts, you’re more than welcome. Chime in at any time if you have low-impact activity suggestions to add to the mix.
Oh, and don’t be surprised if my daily updates all start with “I almost died.” I’ll mean it, every time.
December 28, 2008
During a GChat last night, I realized that I’m now in the worse shape of my life, starting from the time I actually built up actual muscle mass. Probably age 13?
Have to say, I swore up and down that this would never happen. During the high school years, I was so active that it was nearly impossible to imagine that nothing of the track/running/horseback riding/biking/martial arts regimen would survive through (and past) the college years. As my martial arts teacher predicted, however, nary a hobby made it through the gauntlet.
There was a brief period of yogaing last year, in an attempt to alleviate stress, but there’s really nothing like a high-impact, exhausting routine to really get the endorphins flowing. At least, that’s what I always thought so if I couldn’t have it all, I wouldn’t bother.
Now, though, older and completely weak, I have no choice but to start slowly, and with low impact exercises; I don’t want to cripple myself with one walloping exercise session and ruin the rest of the month. Been there, no fun. Luckily, my conversation was with a member of the military who immediately instructed me on stamina and core building exercises.
Of the ten or more drills, I picked three to five that sounded the best: wind sprints, bar hang, the plank (extended version), leg lifts and crunches. Actually, I hate leg lifts and crunches because I thoroughly stink at them, but they can be done anywhere and there’s soooo much room for improvement.
Of those five, I’m going to do the plank every other day because I want to work up to the 2 minute time limit, bar hang on the in between days as my wrists allow, and seed the running, legs and crunches throughout.
The plank’s most intriguing because it sounds SO challenging. Holding your back completely straight and staying in each position for two minutes: you start in a plank position on your hands (push up position), then lower to forearms. Rise up and balance weight on right arm, hold, switch to left arm. Return to right arm, shoot left arm underneath right arm to flip over to back without ever releasing plank position, holding arms at 45 degree angles, knees bent, feet flat on ground, hold. Extend right leg parallel to ground, level with body, hold. Switch to left. Drop to ground, and lift head two inches off ground, looking straight up. And done!
In only 20-second holding increments last night to get a feel for it, my muscles were shaking halfway through… this will be fun!!
It’s not a New Year’s resolution to go to the gym or anything, but I’m pretty sure that this will stick better than the other would. (And it’s free!) It’d be even more fun with a buddy. Volunteers, anyone?
