You mean like acrylic sealant or a spray poly? Like this? Yes, it should be in the spray paint section of the hardware store. Maybe not that exact brand/line, but they should have an acrylic topcoat spray in various finishes from matte to gloss.

I see your Village People cow thong and raise you a kilt!

While I generally agree with the "they don't have to carry it" sentiment, the rest of us do have eyes, and no one should have to accidentally see a cow thong when they're grocery shopping. Or, for that matter, looking at a cute purse thread on the boards, farrarwilliams!! The Fossil, if you like it, you should use it and enjoy doing so.

Ah, but that is the beauty of yoga. You do not push stretches beyond the sticking point. And there are props to fill the gap between you and what you're reaching for (like the floor). In our gentle yoga classes, the majority of the poses are seated. I've subbed a couple of times and there was one regular in there who has some mobility issues so she uses a folding chair (along with the mat, blanket, blocks, wedges, etc. She sits in the chair for seated poses, then uses it to get down on the floor, as a prop to lean on for down dog and such (she puts her arms on the seat)... She is stretching within *her* range of motion. If your range of motion only takes you to hands on knees in a forward bend, then that's your stretch point. The goal at the end of class is to stretch the muscles you've used. There's nothing inherently beneficial in touching the floor; you just want to stretch your hamstrings. I'm sort of glad you couldn't find your weights for this class. Better you should find them and try the class next week when you're at a more reasonable level than get caught up in pushing to explore something new and jump in when your body just isn't in a place to do that. Sometimes, those things happen because we're missing the message that the timing just isn't right. ;)

I live Shirt Woot. Awesome t-shirts.

I think this is the key. One only stays as flexible (physically and socially) as one practices being. And when you're isolated, stuck in your own head, and only in touch with your own ideas, you grow more so over time, no matter how old you are.

I tend to err on the side of honesty, so I'd contact whoever the recipient is and say "I think sending this in may have fallen off my radar <insert reason as you feel comfortable sharing>. Can you look to see if you have a copy from me? If not, I will send it directly. So sorry to have overlooked it!" I mean, they've clearly dropped the follow-up ball, here, but I would acknowledge the one I dropped.

I used one like the over the shoulder one here with my twins. I wish I could have used it after, too, because my pelvis felt like it was actually going to fall apart walking up stairs and such for MONTHS after they were born. We have the same bath tub situation - my midwives recommended soaking for back pain, and my husband was stuck with a hysterical, wet, slippery wife in a tub of water that didn't even cover my legs, let alone allow "floating". (Again with the twins) I ended up going to a therapy pool (physical therapy place that had a heated pool for aqua therapy) and just floating with pool noodles. That was awesome for taking the pressure off and I had no idea they even existed until my OB recommended it.

..If that works for you and you feel good and are getting adequate nutrition, then I'd say enjoy it. I don't think diet is a one size fits all, so it's more about what works for your body, primarily for adequate nutrition (too many diet plans cut out too much quality food, IMO), and without making you feel like you're a prisoner to food. eta: The biggest thing to remember is fitness is a moving target. The goal is to keep the challenge level the same; once you reach a short-term target, you have to move it forward. When you're no longer struggling forward, you're just engaging in a fun, physical activity. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it's different than an activity with a fitness goal. ;)

I think this is a good decision. As I said on another thread, I am the trainer at my facility who is assigned the "medically complex" clients because I'm comfortable in that area. Listening to your body IS important. The thing is, you are the only one who can realistically decide whether you're traveling outside of your "normal" pain zone because of a routine. (It makes me sad to type that. No one should live in a "normal pain" zone. :( ) You will have a different scale of difficulty than someone else, depending on what sort of day you're having, and you will most definitely have a longer, and more pronounced, recovery period. I regularly encourage clients with pain syndromes to explore gentle yoga. I also make sure that they understand that all yoga classes are not gentle. Even those billed simply as "yoga" can be very athletic and not right for someone with pain, flexibility or balance issues, etc. OTOH, we have a just plain yoga class that is very gentle, so further investigation is definitely necessary, as is vetting the instructor directly for their ability/willingness to provide modifications. (as is true in any class) Don't worry about the weight. Many of the best strength training exercises are body weight based, and strength training classes focus on tiring muscles through repetition, not building them with heavy weight (a whole different paradigm than lifting). Your arms are the weakest part of your body. That is perfectly normal. Women tend to (relative for our size) have much stronger legs than men, but we are not known for our upper body strength. As a point of reference, I max out at 200 lbs (plus my own body weight, so somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 total) for squats (because I need to get a weight belt to stabilize my back), but I can. not. break 100 on the bench. And it drives me CRAZY. But I can also get to the point of complete jelly legs and the edge of throwing up from crazy body weight squats. (not that I recommend anyone take my personal, somewhat loony, approach. just sayin') I think, ultimately, you will be just fine. You ARE in tune with your body, you are willing to challenge yourself, you are willing to back off when you get to the over-challenged place, and you have instructors who are there to lead and support you.

So, the answer is really "whatever works for YOU". I tend to be the trainer who "specializes" in the "medically challenging" set at work; I'm comfortable with the groups that have graduated from cardiac rehab, have had joint replacements, etc., while some of my colleagues have more of a focus in competitive and sports training. (I, like them, am a generalist, but my other experience just makes me the trainer for that population) Anyway... the first thing I would ask is: what do you want out of your routine? Are you looking for overall fitness, toning, building muscle, increasing strength, competitive body building? All of those are products of lifting, but your primary focus will change how you do things somewhat. It will go from low weight with multiple sets of high repetitions, to high weight and a single or couple sets of 1-3 reps, or somewhere in between. The next thing I always ask is: how often do you want to do strength training? If you plan to be in 5 days a week, then your routine will differ from 3 days a week. If you are pressed for time, my advice is going to be different than if you have a solid block set aside a few days a week. I am a huge fan of the big, compound movements 425lisamarie described, especially when time is at a premium. Machines are great in that they are easy to learn how to use, neatly laid out in a circuit, and lock you into a single plane of motion. They are sort of rubbish for the same reasons. People tend to get into ruts on them. You can only do a biceps or hamstring curl one way on them. I can't tell you how many I see doing the same circuit, at the same weights, that I started them out on in their wellness consultation 2 years ago. It's not a challenge for them anymore, but they never move that pin to the next weight. As for cardio... well, I usually do 30-45 minutes before I lift, if I'm doing cardio that day. I (generally speaking) lift heavy, and when I'm done, I am DONE. So I do all the cardio first or it simply won't get done. Otherwise, a few minutes of warmup is fine, and you can do the rest after lifting. There are some great workout splits on bodybuilding.com. I use them when I get into a rut, or I'll switch up and do a Tabata session with much lower weights than I normally lift... It's always amazing how hard body weight drop squats are when you're doing them for 4 minutes (20 seconds on, 10 rest, 8 sets), even though I generally squat 150-200 lbs in multiple sets in the cage. It's just a different workout, and the muscles get t.i.r.e.d! So, really, the "right" workout approach is the one that meets your needs, both for goals and schedule, not mine, not anyone else's. If you give us an idea of how you want to work, and what you want to get out of it, I'm sure we can get you started with some ideas. (And try not to be too hard on the guy who did your consultation. My guess is that he's a "wellness coach", or your facility's equivalent, and just simply not qualified to give dietary advice. His job is to make sure you know how to handle the equipment safely. ;) ) eta: you may also want to check out FitnessBlender.com for their routines, which are all body weight or lighter hand weights (as opposed to BB.com, which generally is free weight)

From what I have read (and I have no first hand experience so take it for what it's worth), the kits that do not require a curing light are essentially super glue. Reviewers who have used the light cure or had gel coats done professionally seem to universally hate it.

Me, too. I tend to drink wine in the summer, though, so it's perfect then. I also discovered Mad Housewife sweet white this summer (because I love the label), which is like a Moscato. I can't speak to their other varieties, though.

I would agree with that. You may see some weight loss simply because you change up the way you're moving your body. There would definitely be toning. I would also encourage you to use lighter weights. Get a set of 1 or 2# to bring with you, if the lightest ones there are 3# (which is the case for us). And do not push yourself to do every rep. Just like Zumba, it's easy to get caught up in the class and go for doing everything. You'll want to see how you feel afterward, to gauge how much you want to push yourself. Also, know that you're going to feel it. Even when I was teaching strength training 4x/week, I'd feel it when I took someone else's class, or rolled out a new routine. A colleague who's been teaching for almost 30 years says the same. I'm saying all this so you won't feel discouraged, not because I want to warn you off. People new to classes feel like they should be able to walk through the door and do everything. No one expects that. But you should expect to feel it for a couple days after.

That seems to be one of those times to smile sweetly and say "aw, thank you. I hear that often." It's the appropriate thing to say when someone compliments you, and the truth. They can each take what they want from the statement (and my mother would certainly take it as affirmation!). If they press, you can say something (again, with all sweetness) about how fortunate she is to have friends who think so highly of her. I've learned that it's easier to let them believe in the fantasy of her awesomeness until that discover the cracks on their own.

I was just thinking the same... Wait! Aren't they the same? Obviously not, what with the different names.. Duh. :tongue_smilie:

Do you have stars now? I just rated the topic. I wonder if that has anything to do with it...

I dunno, but I apparently have no warning points. I'm clearly off my game.

Me, too! Me, too! And I detest Charlotte Church and her 4 note range. And I am overcome with a mad urge to slap Josh Groban whenever he appears. I don't know why.

yogurt and granola, (gf) pancakes/waffles/muffins, steel cut oatmeal, eggs (scrambled, over easy, in a sandwich...), dutch baby, leftovers, toast, bagels... It varies.

Yes. If you hit the cone, it's considered the same as hitting another car, and you fail. Other things (at least when I was taking the test) got you points off, which could add up to a fail, but parking was an all or nothing sort of thing. As was managing another sort of collision on the closed course.

Mine like the RL gummies, either the regular or sour multivitamins. Have you tried their gummy omegas?

AHA! I think I found the explanation to that BB cream situation. It seems that North American BB creams ARE just tinted moisturizers. Asian ones are actually thicker and provide more coverage and skin correction. They (at least the Skin79 that I use) comes out of the container like a very heavy foundation, but then totally melts into your skin and becomes invisible, other than evening everything out and whatnot. I liked the Garnier fine, but I ordered a sample pack of the Skin79 from Amazon and knew immediately I'd be ordering my makeup from Korea in the future. And now I'm off to MakeupAlley to find non-shiny goodies. :)

Count mine in, too. Plus the ever-so-clever returning about 40 seconds after they go into the bathroom, claiming teeth have been brushed. As if we a) can't hear them fighting all the way there and back and B) don't check. Every.single.time. Honestly, I sometimes ask them if they're new here. It does boggle the mind.

Don't be embarrassed. Parallel parking failed almost everyone I knew in high school, most of them multiple times. It's the bugger of the driving test. I don't know why it's so hard to park between those cones, but it is. Most of us, like AdventureMoms said, got good at it when we had to do it a lot, in less than stellar situations. I can park anywhere, but only because I spent years having to do it in weird places, with one-way streets and lots of traffic. You can do it if you want to. Really. We'll all cheer you on. :)