Our Weekend

Steve is home and that makes life good at the Banderman house! :) (lol) He'll be home until Wednesday and only have to work 2 days next week! :) I am so excited that I don't have to say 'good-bye' on Monday morning this next week! Yeah! Although we're thankful he currently has a job -- it's been so hard to not have him here and working out of town so much. We've missed him so much! I'm grateful for some more time together! :)

This morning we went to the Y and worked out together. I have been recently talking with a trainer friend who has been giving me 'pointers' as to how to better my workouts. Since moving and being diagnosed with PCOS and Hypothyroidism -- all this working out stuff that I used to love has been sooooooooooo frustrating! For so long I had zero energy, then couldn't sweat, and then after figuring out some medications, recently things got 'stable' enough to where I could sweat some, which was so exciting.....but I just haven't felt like I've been able to 'get it together' on a consistent basis and figure out what is going to work for me now. So I have a friend here, who is a trainer, who I began to ask about it, just to pick his brain and see if he had any ideas. He's been a trainer for about 16 years and is so much more knowledgeable than I! Wow! He asked me if I'd ever done 'heart rate training' -- I was like, "sure" and went on to explain how I'd done it. After he looked at me cross-eyed, he then he asked me if I'd done it with a real 'watch' -- lol -- and although my old trainer had me do it a few times a long time ago, I'd never really watched it that much, but rather just went by how I felt. So, I had to confess that no, I didn't really know that much about it. So, he told me a lot of different things and the next day, he brought me 4 different workout ideas for cardio. He explained it to me and told me to 'give it a try' and thought I'd be amazed at the difference. Although skeptical, I agreed to try it.

Well, I have done it two times now and I am already sold! Wow! On Friday I did a combination cardio session w/some weights and was sweating like crazy just by paying attention to the heart rate on my watch and increasing or decreasing as necessary. Then today -- Steve and I went to the Y and worked out together and he wanted to try doing the interval training one together, so we did. It took a little adjusting to figure out what was going to work, but wow -- I was sweating and felt GREAT afterwards! Steve said it was challenging for him, too, and we just adjusted it however we each needed it.

It's hard to explain if you're not really into this type of stuff, but I think this is going to revolutionize how I've worked out. I am soooooooooo excited. I know, I'm a little wierd, but this stuff intrigues me. He also gave me a bunch of stuff to read. I'd read a little bit when doing my personal training certifcation stuff, but the stuff he gave me is a lot more, so it's really exciting. I love learning new stuff like this! And, I think it's really going to change the way I've been trying to work out! Just in trying to follow these and seeing how I feel, I can tell where I've gone wrong for awhile now. And, so many things from the past in Des Moines, are beginning to make sense! No wonder I felt like I did at certain times -- either good or bad. It's all making so much sense! It's a way to get me 'on track' and it's a way to fine-tune all I've known and loved in the past! I love it and I'm excited about learning more and training like this more!!! And, Steve's willing to do it with me, so that makes it even more fun! Chrissy wants to try it, too -- so, yeah -- I'm excited about working out again! :)

So, anyway -- that's a long way of saying -- Steve and I worked out together this morning! lol Although I MADE him do some stretching afterwards, and he wasn't real thrilled with that! :) He hates to stretch, but as his loving wife, who happens to be a personal trainer who firmly believes in that, I insisted! lol

After that, we came home and got showered and ready and then Steve, Nate and I headed out to the Lenexa BBQ Battle. Lenexa is known for it's festivals and this is one that we missed last year. Basically, it's the Kansas State BBQ Championships! It's a BIG deal here and roads are blocked off -- kinda crazy. There are over 150 contestants and 240 judges! It's in a park near our house, so we walked and walked and Nate and Steve sampled a bunch of BBQ! I'm not a huge meat eater, so it didn't really interest me, but it was fun to be in the festive atmosphere and enjoy each other. And, we did bring some yummy Kettle Corn home. :)

There were also some fun kids' activities, and Nate got to ride a mechanical bull! He LOVED that and actually did really well and stayed on for quite awhile. We then went to a nearby museum and walked around and learned more about how the city of Lenexa got it's name and all that 'history stuff'. It was quite interesting. :)

This afternoon Nate played with the neighbors, running through the sprinkler as it's so hot and humid here, and Steve and I took the opportunity for a quick nap. :) Tonight we're playing some board games and just enjoying each other.

It's been a nice, low-key weekend of just being a family. Tomorrow Brennan FINALLY comes home -- I can't believe we haven't seen him in two weeks! It'll be so great to see him again. We've missed him terribly, but it sounds like it's been a really good time for him to get away and that God has done some pretty awesome stuff in his life! We are excited to hear all about it and I'm sure that listening to his heart and looking at pictures and the 'memories DVD' will take up the rest of our weekend here. :)