March 15th

Hello Hello

Ok I admit I have been procrastinating but it hasn't been a total loss..Took a break from the treadmill on Monday. The long run did take a toll and I got a little lazy:) But since the weather was gorgeous, I went out for a run that evening with the kids riding their bikes. It was a short one: 1.5 miles in the neighborhood. One entire loop all the way is about a mile and a half. I have to bring myself to do 3 rounds each time or at least 2.. That's a goal I want to meet at least once this week.

Tuesday - I ran a mile in the morning on the treadmill but my calf muscles were hurting and I just couldn't push myself. Took a break and ran all my errands..In the afternoon, I walked 2 miles..that kind of helped.

Wednesday - a total bust..Did absolutely nothing..exercise-wise..a real bummer but it has motivated me to really get back with a vengeance.

Thursday - ran 3 miles at a 12:30 pace so am quite happy. Want to do another 3 this afternoon if possible...Tried out a new pair of Nike shoes..super light but I used it without any insoles so lets see if there are any effects because of that..I think I will alternate my ASICs Gel with this one but will probably use the ASICs for my final run.

Whew!!! Fun day ahead.. Lots of grading and also event planning.. Enjoy!!!

March 11th - Long run

Fun fun morning!!

Had a great night yesterday, hanging out with friends! So blessed to have so much laughter in my life!

Got ready for my long run this morning..7 miles..
Watched an interesting and humorous movie - a good friend's recommendation..

Cooking with Stella...Totally enjoyed it..

Kept me going for all of 7 miles!!!

21 miles this week..6 more weeks to the half-marathon!!

March 10th workout

Good Morning!!!

Workouts feel great when you have a good night's sleep before..Slept for a good 8 hours last night..

After getting breakfast for the kids and grabbing a bite myself, I got started this morning..

Started with Laura Londons' ab workout - 10 exercises

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acVU6HGmyVk&feature=fvsr

Then did her standing up Abs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK6mKUEY09o&feature=relmfu

Then did her Booty Workout

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNSo8v84efQ

Finally did this fantastic weights and abs workout

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxwD8pmZ-jI

Although there are a lot of intro information, once you go through it a couple of times, you can skip to the exercise. I am planning to now make checklist with the sequence of exercises so I dont need to use the youtube videos anymore...although it is super motivating to hear them speak and do the exercises as I do it..

Ok so after that, I finally got my run in ...4.3 miles..Feeling superb and ready for the day!!

Now my little ones are taking turns running on the treadmill:)) Never too early to start..

March 9th workout

Hello World!

Couldn't wake up at 4:30 today although hubby tried his best to motivate me..

But anyway -- aaal izz well..Got my 5 mile run complete in 1 hour 7 minutes...Still hovering on the 13-minute mile..

Hopefully will be able to shave off a few minutes in the actual run!!

Off to do a 10 minute ab routine..

March 8th - back to blogging and logging my training:)

Hello World
The queen is back after almost 4 years!! Yikes...Really need to get my act together with this blog!

Anyway, was inspired to share my new passion.. More than sharing this with the world, I'm just using this space to record my progress and workout schedule.

I'm training to run my 3rd half marathon on April 22nd with my child-hood friend - my best friend since ages..Super excited!!

Started training a while ago but these last 7 weeks are particularly important. So here goes:

March 7th - 1 hour abs and weights..Love the Laura London youtube videos - really keeps me motivated. Also found a good upper body workout video - "urbanog"

My new treadmill came in as well..Yipppeeee!!! Got 4 miles on it in 2 installments.

March 8th - Woke up with hubby at 4:30 and started my workout.
2.5 miles followed by 40 minutes abs and weight..
I am ready for the day!!! Bring it on!!

Royal Trouble!

In my books, the telephone has been the greatest invention ever. I love the phone, always have and always will. I remember even during my school and college days, I'd get back home and within minutes, get on the phone with friends I'd met just an hour before. It used to get on my mom's nerves; maybe that's why it was more fun:) Anyway the love has sustained over the years although the opportunties and free time to enjoy conversations have lessened. Another major obstacle in the way of my time on the phone is Aishu, my 2-year old.

Aishu is a lot like DH in many ways; cute, stubborn, independent-minded but has taken after me in this one regard - Obsession with the phone. She adores talking on the phone, to herself, her dad, grandparents, anyone!! I normally sneak to a corner of the house while making phone calls to avoid the confrontation and the physical struggle, that is normally followed by a sprint all around the house.

I dont mind her saying a quick" hello" - there's a cuteness factor there for sure. However, once the phone is in her hand, that's it. She'll subject the listener with woes about her mom, updates on what the "guys" (her sisters) are fighting about, or serenade them with her newest musical accomplishment, the latest being: "baar baar deko, zaar baar deko". Occasionally she'll also break into dance, not realizing that her mom has an age-old phone that doesn't have video transfer capability. Her latest pastime has been to share a joke that borders on funny and obscene. It goes like this:

"Shake your booty, shake your booty, shake your booty" In a musical tune , followed by the question:

"You know what booty means? BUTT!" Followed by hysterical laughter.

I laughed the first time I heard it, I'll admit, but after the 100th time, I think the humor factor has worn out for me. Her sisters, of course, find it hilarious and keep encouraging her. Sigh..I figure the fascination with butt-jokes will wear off soon BUTT then again who am I kidding:)

Anyway, after the morning chores and getting lunch ready, I usually call DH around 11:00 to catch a quick conversation and positive energy transfer over the telephone lines. If the kids are around, they'll sometimes catch me updating him on the goings-on at home: who did what, to whom, with what, when, where, why and so on. If the call was preceded by a major event, then the guilty parties involved will overhear in anticipation to see what is being reported.

After acute observations, I guess Aishu really has caught on on this typical routine. This morning, after making sure all three had had a snack, and reading a couple of books to Aishu, I picked up the phone to call DH with Aishu sitting right next to me. Our conversation:

Aishu: Who you calling?
Me: Appa
Aishu: Why?
Me: Because.
Aishu: Why, coz i tubble you?

Queen's Afternoon Out!!

Weekends are for family, friends, and fun!! Well, not always!!
Sometimes it's more fun without the family or friends (ouch, I know it hurts but come on, every once in a while, everyone likes their space).

Since the end of June, my 3 gals and I have been on summer vacation; they've been free from their teachers and I've been free from my students!! A perfectly ideal situation, one might say, BUT put 3 hot-headed, hyper-active and loud females (oh alright, I’ll admit, 4) together for too long, and you end up with a very volatile and close to catastrophic situation. Weekdays are spent almost entirely at war but come Friday, we don our pretty smiles and pleasant demeanors for Daddy Dearest, the peacemaker of the family!! We all know that if you make Daddy happy, the chances of having your way are very high! It’s not as easy as it sounds though, and the competition around here is getting very tough. I feel like a novice compared to our gals who play him like a violin and every other instrument!!

Anyway. Back to my story.

After a particularly exhausting week and tiring day out at an amusement park on Saturday, I had just about had it. Come Sunday and I really had to take a break or act on my urge to break something!!! Sensing the intense storm brewing within me, DH volunteered to tuck the kids in for a nap. Well, that wasn’t really enough!! More, more, I needed more.

Obviously at his telepathic best, he realized that his peace and serenity depended on shelling out a lot more. The romantic, sensitive soul that he is, he held me in his arms and whispered the three magic words:

“Honey, go shopping”.

Instantly, my scowl vanished like a pair of fake moustaches the heroes wear in Hindi films. Two seconds later, I vanished from his arms only to reappear in 60 seconds, well-dressed and done, purse in 1 hand, twirling the car-keys in the other. The fastest makeover ever, externally and internally! I looked and felt great!!

I happily got in the car and raced out the driveway lest he changed his mind. Once on the road, I heard something I had never heard before in the car – Nothing. Wow! Can’t imagine why jerks driving alone get so worked up on the road. Ha!! It’s a cakewalk, guys!

I turned on the CD and happily sang along – “and on his farm he had a pig, E-I-E-I-O!!”
Aaaaaw. I’d just heard that with the kids yesterday. I wondered what they were doing.

“Anandi - It has just been 2 minutes. Pull yourself together”, my inner voice screamed.

Nah, I couldn’t miss them already. This afternoon was all about me, and my need to get recharged. I reminded myself that enjoying an afternoon off was well-deserved, and anyway I was going to be back in a couple of hours. I had to stop thinking about them for a bit and focus on myself. Selfish? Maybe but definitely needed!!

As I walked from the parking lot into Macys, I made a mental note of all the things I wanted to pick up. I didn’t need a written list, I decided. As I didn’t have the kids with me, I could rely on memory, right?

Wrong!!

Once inside, I was lost! I had no idea where to start. The mental list was unretrievable and I had to improvise. Alright, I could do this. I was there to do my back-2-school shopping. When I teach, I have to painstakingly work on my appearance to look professional. College students typically don’t take professors wearing oatmeal-stained, faded track-pants with hair shabbily held together in a pony-tail too seriously. Duty beckoned - my reason to be at the mall was justified!

I browsed through racks of clothes from India, Pakistan, China, Mexico, and a half-dozen other countries other than the US. What a treat, where else could I find such fine international smorgasbord of haute couture!! Of course, each country has its own sizing charts which meant I had to head to the fitting rooms.

It was so peaceful in there – for all of 30 seconds! At the most unopportune moment (I leave that to your imagination), I heard persistent slamming at my door, accompanied by inexplicable cacophony. I knew it!! The kids had woken up, screamed their lungs off, and now DH had brought them here…Aaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrgh!!!

Quickly changing back into my clothes, I opened the door. Standing in the hallway were three little girls, probably 6, 4, and 2 along with their frazzled Mom!! The girls (thankfully, not mine) had found a way to engage themselves as their mom tried on stuff – knocking and slamming on all the doors in the fitting room!! How cool!!

The clock was ticking away and I really needed to get home, or so I thought. In all honesty, the family was probably having a whale of a time without me but in my mind, I had to get home soon. After all I was the glue that held everything together. Hey, nothing like a little self-glorification here and there!!!

My thinking was getting warped, my vision distorted. I looked through aisles of purses and bags and wondered: “could it accommodate 1 pull-up, pack of wipes, 1 change of clothes, and a sippy-cup”? I perused the shoe section to see if I could afford a pair that looked chic and savvy but could also withstand a 100-feet dash in record-breaking time at the park. My mind and feet started wandering towards the kids section to see if I could pick something that they needed. When did the afternoon that was all about me cease to be? Or did it even start?

As I quickly paid for my chosen loot, I mentally computed whether I had time to stop quickly at Shoprite to pick up J’s favorite cereal. No, maybe I should just go home straight. What were we having for dinner? Oh God, I didn’t put the laundry in the dryer. Did we have enough milk? Ironing!! Had forgotten all about that. Aaaaarghh!!

Trust my DH to thoroughly turn my routine upside down by making the most ludicrous suggestion: "Honey, go shopping". What was he thinking?

I sped back, just managing to get through every orange light, glaring at slow drivers, and muttering at the fast ones. So what if I was alone in the car, I had tons on my mind and so much to do. Get out of my way!!!

I pulled into the driveway and as the garage door opened, I saw my gals!! They seemed to be doing some sort of celebration dance with smiles a mile long. When I got out, my little one said in a happily-surprised tone: “Ma, you came back!!” Of course, honey.
My 6-year old asked if I had a good time. How thoughtful.
DH looked worn out but he smiled in anticipation. Hmmm.
Finally, my 4-year old asked: “Ma, did you think about us?”. More than you know, honey.
In fact, I've re-written the old saying to “Out of sight, A lot more on the mind”.


Disclaimer:
My motherly emotions, please dont doubt.
I ADORE my kids, even when I shout.
A lot has been written on Queen-"Highs"
Which is why my blog is about Queen-"Sighs"!!