Entry 76 : Fitness Fridays – Haters Gonna Hate

There are two types of people who annoy me:

1. One – Uppers : The people who are always trying to one-up you out of no-where. You’ll mention how you went to a concert, and they’ll tell you how they’ve already seen that person in concert 5 times, 4 times of which they were backstage and met a bunch of famous people. Or you’ll casually mention how you got some wine from Total Wine, and they’ll talk about how they’ve been to Italy 10 times where they had better wine than you’ve ever had in your life. And if you mention you’ve never been to Italy ::Gasp:: You’ve never gone to Italy? Well, that’s a shame, you really should sometime if you ever can afford it
2. And secondly… Haters Who Hate : These are the people who have something negative to say, especially about people they don’t know because it makes them feel better about themselves, or something psychological like that.

A few weeks ago, Husband was doing a conditioning challenge that required him to use a squat rack and the space around him.  As it is with the gym we go to, there are only 2 squat racks for use, so you can imagine how ‘in-demand’ it is, especially when everybody’s at the gym, and it’s everybody’s leg day.

“Are you using the squat rack?” this dude asked Husband during one of his rest times. He was catching his breath after doing a round of something like 5 conditioning exercises for one round. Husband ended up letting them use the squat rack while he moved to another area to finish his rounds, but I overheard the guy say to his friend … A conditioning exercise? 

I would like to say that he said it out of wonderment, like huh, that’s interesting. But I think it was more of out annoyance because he gave this look of Why would anyone use the squat rack for anything other than squats when someone like me needs to do squats? 

So If he was hating…

oh hell no

A. It’s first come first serve. That’s generally a rule of life

B. Maybe he should look at his gut before hating. Husband is in amazing shape, and if Husband wants to use a squat rack as a human jungle gym, well…maybe said hater should take some notes because obviously what he’s doing is not working, and driving in his Benzo can only do so much overcompensate.

Maybe that sounds a little mean, but that’s what he gets for hating.. That is, if he was hating.  If he wasn’t, I take it back.

Now, I’m not going to lie. I can be a hater sometimes…. I used to hate a lot more, but have been trying catch myself when negative thoughts start to enter my mind. I’ve been trying to remind myself that being concerned with other people or putting them down, even if they are strangers, to make myself feel better (because that’s ultimately the root of the reason)  takes time… time that could be used on self-improvement. Besides, you don’t burn calories by hating.

Workout thing of the week.

I think my shoulder muscles have improved. Last week husband and I painted the 3 exterior walls of our house, and I was lifting ladders like no one’s business. I wish I had pictures.

One of favorite exercises is shoulder lifts with a plated weight. I only use 10 lbs and even though it’s somewhat of a light weight, before you judge me… try doing a shit load of these and then judge. It gets hard. Plus, I’m not trying to look like a bodybuilder, I want to tone my body.

I do 3 rounds of the following:

10 – plate verticle lifts over the head
10 – plate lifts figure 8s
10 – plate verticle lifts over the head
10 – plate lifts figure 8s

Vertical Lift

 

Figure 8s

You could do 20 verticals and 20 figure 8s, but… I find it’s easier to split the reps because my shoulder muscles be getting fatigued.

Tips:

1. Exert energy going up, when you reach the pinnacle of the lift, hold for pause, then slowly bring down, fighting gravity when bringing down. You want to have as much control in the motions as possible.
2. Breathing helps: breath in as you’re going up, out as your bringing your weight down.

Anyways, I hope everyone has an excellent weekend. Husband is coming home tomorrow and so I’m excited. There’s been a few times he’s asked me what I’m doing and to which one time, my response was….

Getting Swole.

I crack myself up. Until next time .. have a great weekend 🙂

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Entry 75 : Adulting… I suppose I should.

It’s been a hot minute since I last wrote a post, and I know a ton of you were probably hanging your head in disappointment when you discovered there was no new entry and clicking the refresh button to see if something new would magically generate, but let me explain. These past couple of weeks I’ve been doing the all-important task of adulting.

Ahhh, I can see you saying, nodding your head in understanding, perhaps having flashbacks of the last time that you had to deal with something that you secretly wanted to run away and blanket burrito from. That was me these past few weeks dealing with pool stains and painting 3 out of the 4 exterior walls of my house. Well, more so with the pool stains. Painting was okay, it just took a long time.

I realize I could’ve avoided the stress of it all by hiring a set of illegal immigrants who would’ve gotten the job down in a tenth of the time. It would’ve been priced a little more than the cost of goods plus whatever half the minimum wage is per hour, but… we didn’t and as a result, I racked my head over what could possibly be wrong with the pool, and during the past week Husband and I painted from dusk til down. At the end of each day, there was paint all over my hands and hair, and I developed a sports bra tan line. It was not cute and I found myself constantly looking at the mirror thinking I need a facial. And a manicure

The feeling at the end of the days

After a walk in the desert, Coco is like I cant even.

A post shared by Winter Amplayo Roberts (@winterris) on Apr 22, 2016 at 12:20pm PDT

But all is good. We got it done and house is not the freshest house in the block, pool likes it wants to be swam in, Husband and I bonded over a project, and I discovered / rediscovered that I have more grit than I give myself credit for.

The clean pool!

The life lesson? Do the adult things first, and then treat yourself with the fun stuff. I know I felt really productive, and my facial felt well deserved.

Things I like This Week:

My Fresh Looking House and Clean Pool

Spiked Arnold Palmer – During our painting project days, husband I drank this during our lunch breaks. It’s only has 5 % alcohol so it doesn’t even taste like it’s liquored up.

Old Episodes of Rosanne – The reboot of the show happened a few weeks ago and had huge numbers. I haven’t seen the new episodes yet, but I’ve started to watch the old episodes on Amazon Prime… and it’s great. I don’t know how I never watched this as a kid. Some show’s comedy is only relevant to the times, but 30 years later, I find that the jokes that they make is still relevant to today. That’s how you know the writing is good, when it can transcend time.

Things I Don’t Like This Week

Conor McGregor is a Dick – I’m a big fan of watching UFC, and was a big fan of Conor McGregor, until he attacked a bus that injured some UFC fighters that were supposed to fight last Saturday. I don’t know if I should have expected it ? or… I don’t know.

That’s all for now. Nothing new is happening with me. Husband is away in Spain this week, but it’s supposed to gloomy and rainy the whole time he’s there so I’m not jealous. Other things: I have made some life decisions that I’m going follow through, like getting a fitness certification. I just got to follow through.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a good rest of the week. Until next time….

Entry 74 : When Life Gives You Lemons

…Make a Facial Scrub.

Seriously. I mean, you can make lemonade if you want, but in case you didn’t know, lemons make an excellent DIY face scrub when you want to give your skin a little TLC. Just cut up a wedge, coat it with sugar, and scrub away all that dead skin. Some people might find it a little rough especially if they have sensitive skin, but I like it.

I know, I know….the quote is a metaphor and relates to when life starts raining down shit on you…

Which – for me – brings up the question: why do bad things happen? Why does God let bad things happen? Why do we experience pain? Heartache? And all the bad things in life? What it something we did? Are we being punished? Was is Eve? (Dangit Eve!)  Or is it something completely different?

Okay, that’s a number of questions, all of which I do not know the answer to.

What I do know is that pain, sadness, heartache, death – and everything we consider negative in life is a part of life. I know, I’ve experienced it. Everyone I know has experienced it. Whether you’re rich, poor, a hot model, or an average Joe… shit happens. But then the question becomes – What type of person am I going to be when it does happen? At least that’s what I try to ask myself, after my Why God, Why? moment. Am I going to cry about it ? or face it head-on?

What is also a fact is that along with all the shit that life gives us, there is also smiles and laughter, good times, good friends, and everything positive that you can think of. But sometimes, in order to get there, in order to become a better and wise person, you got to deal with the bad too.

When life gives you lemons… make a facial scrub. Or something along those lines.

Things I like this week:

The Darkest Hour – Movie was a Historical drama about Winston Churchhill and the hard decisions he had to make during WWII as Prime Minister. I find British History fascinating, so of course I like it, but it had me thinking, what if Britain had conceded to Hitler in those early years? Would the outcome of the war ended up differently?

It’s Holy Week – Meaning, only a few more days of Easter. Even though it’s the most sad week in the Catholic year, I love it. It makes me more reflective of how Jesus just went in, knowing he was going to die for us.

Things I don’t like this week:

Sally Hansen Design 3d –  Don’t get this. It looks cool on the picture, but once you apply it on your nail, it doesn’t look as nice. I should’ve read the reviews before buying on the whim.

Pool Owning – So I own a pool, but it sucks trying to get the right chemical balance. It’s great during those days when it’s really hot, especially in the desert, but right now – it is the bane of my existence.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week. Until next time…

 

 

 

 

 

Entry 73: Where Are They Now……Ludacris, Ja-Rule, Ashanti

According to the Pima county fair website, there are 33 days left until the Pima county fair. Okay, wait…. 30 days.

Whooo’s excited?!?!

It’s kind of a big deal here, along with the local rodeo. Like if you ask locals what to do for fun in the desert, they’ll name off rodeo week ::check::, hiking ::check::, and the Pima County Fair.

I found myself looking on the website to see what it was all about. I mean, I haven’t been to a fair in years. But apparently its like a carnival with games and rides, and horses, and musical performances by artist like

…. brace yourself…

Ludacris.

and JaRule and Ashanti?!?! Say what?!?

I know! when was the last time you thought of those guys?!? For me, it was high school/college. Their music was the soundtrack of my coming of age, even though now that I really listen to the lyrics I’m like… hmmm…

Circa 2000. When I listened to Jarule/Ashanti and Luda…all the while wondering, why don’t boys like me!

But yeah.. Luda and Ja-Rule and Ashanti… so if you are ever wondering whatever happened to them? They are out doing stuff like county fairs in the desert

Which brings me to some advise that I have for the younger folk. Just wait until the artists no longer are popular to go to their concerts; before you know it – Justin Bieber and other such artists you like now will be playing in casinos and county fairs. I mean, you’ll be in your 30’s, maybe 40s, but it’ll be half the price.

Random… did you know there are 98 Now! This is What I call Music albums? And they’re advertising the 99th one? Do people really buy these albums? Because I feel like they don’t. Maybe they should stop at 100.

Things that I like this week.

“Money Maker” – Ludacris. Hearing that Luda was coming to the desert made me look up all of his songs. This is definitely my favorite and gives me flashbacks of my early 20’s.

Sally Handson Nail Decals – I bought these from Target the last week. I initially saw them at Ulta, but they were sold out and so when I saw them at Target, they automatically went in my basket with no hesitation. I haven’t tried it yet because I got some housework that might potentially ruin them, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited.

“Let it Be” – Bebe Rxha feat Florida Georgia Line – This song has been on repeat for me recently. It’s got Florida Georgia Line, who I love since my newfound love of country music. But it’s a super chill song.

Anywho, that’s all for now. I hope everyone has a good week. Until next time!

Entry 72 : Fitness Friday – Ease up on the Axe Spray… Please and Thank You

People sweat at the gym, even stink. It’s bound to happen when you have a good, hard work-out, and sweat beads are rolling down your forehead and soaking up your dri-fit shirt.

But you know what doesn’t help? Overdoing it with the Axe-Spray/Cologne/Perfume.

The other day, I was at the gym, getting done with a set when this guy who overdid it with his spray, walks by me to grab some dumbbells. Now, I don’t have a very good sense of smell, but with one inhale, I took in some Axe-saturated oxygen and turned away, almost afraid I was going to get light-headed and pass out with a few more breathes.

Gents… Ladies… less is more when it comes to the scents. I feel like it’s something you learn in middle school when you’re going through puberty. Your body goes through things, you break out like nobody’s business, and you frantically put random stuff on to hide your adolescent ignorance, until someone… your mom, a girlfriend… says something somewhat along the lines of… Can you not like… put so much on? I can’t breathe.

I get it, being stinky is embarrassing even when you’re at the gym where having a bad odor is half expected. But in my opinion, when you’re in an enclosed area where everyone’s body heat is up, where sometimes it gets muggy if there’s no proper ventilation, and everyone’s gasping for air…. over infusing your body and clothes with sprays is not the answer. It just makes it worse.

I do have some suggestions to try out before thinking about over-spraying yourself to go to the gym:

1. Find some quality deodorant. I just switched up my deodorant to this Degree Ultra one, and I don’t know why I didn’t do so a while ago. I used to use Secret, the kind that markets itself to make you seem like you’ll smell like flowers or Paris, but when working out, for me it’s ineffective.
2. Wash you’re clothes correctly, especially workout clothes …and especially dri-fit stuff. Don’t leave them in the washer to mold because mold = gross stink, even if you use 4 dryer sheets in the dryer to hide the smell
3. Actually take a good shower. Daily. Use some soap, scrub, and exfoliate your skin.

Maybe your sweat is a medical thing? I’m not a doctor so I don’t know if that happens, but if that’s the case, but maybe ask the next time you see one?

But first and foremost, ease up on the Axe spray… Please and Thank you.

Workout thing of the week. Jump Rope

I saw this video of Floyd Mayweather, jump roping :

I mean, I thought I was good at jump roping, but this a whole different level.

In a previous post, I wrote about switching up cardio once in a while so that you’re body doesn’t become efficient in losing calories in that one cardio exercising, but lately, when I do jump rope as my cardio, I’ve been trying to tap into my inner Mayweather.

Usually my jump rope cardio session includes 3 sets of the following:

50 Single Unders

50 Side to Side, Two Legs

50 Side to Side One Leg

50 Side to Side, The other Leg

50 Boxer Skips

20-25 Double Unders

Boom. Cardio, done.

I can never really complete 20 double unders in 1 try. I usually mess up by the 10th one, but a few things I’d like to critique about my form that I saw only after I recorded this…my jump when doing this should be the same height as single unders, or a little higher. I should also be aiming to land in the same spot and on my toes, not sporadically all over the place. I find them hard to do, but that’s why I like to record myself doing certain exercises – so I’m not training myself to do an exercise wrong.

Anyways, I hope you all have a great weekend and all that jazz…

Until next time…

Entry 71: WTF Wednesday – Joy Behar say whaaat?

I don’t watch a lot of mainstream news. I mainly listen to a few podcasts that give me the details of what I need to know, one’s that don’t lean too far one way or the other.

But the other day, I heard about Joy Behar mocking Mike Pence on hearing Jesus talk to him, suggesting it as a mental illness.

The Catholic in me was like Say Whaaat?

So of course, I had to take a look at this video and see what was up, and honestly, I can see where people might think that hearing voices, even from God or Jesus is seen as crazy. But there are millions of Christians who talk to God/Jesus or a higher power and claim to hear Him, does that make them crazy? As a Catholic, while I personally don’t expect a verbal response, I feel like often times what pans out in life is what I interpret as Jesus talking to me. So.. if Mike Pence is mental, then I must be mental too.

And okay, she apologized… but did she mean it?

I get that Mike Pence is a super conservative Christian who won’t eat alone with another woman other than his wife, but I don’t think people should give him crap for that. It might seem odd, but his heart is in the right place. With all the hashtagMeToo stuff, you really going to be hard on the guy who’s being faithful to his wife when there’s so many other men in power who are complete sleezeballs who masturbate in plants?

Also, one last thing – Oprah made a comment about running for President if she got a sign from God, after which Stephen Colbert did a skit where God was telling her to run for office.

Does that make her crazy too? Because she just heard the voice of God….

Anyways, that’s all for my rants and raves. Let me know what your thoughts are. If I’m by myself with this one… there’s so much craziness going on.

Entry 70 : That’s Like… Somebody’s Daughter

Husband and I were at this restaurant bar in the University, people watching the people across the street, when we saw a group of females go into this bar with bikini tops and short as short shorts.

The more we watched, the more we saw college girls scantily clad, along with bros in douche tanks entering the establishment.

What is going on? I thought, while I stuffed french fries in my mouth. I never was a person confident enough to wear bikini tops out in anywhere other than a beach, so this was interesting to me. Is this what kids nowadays wear when they go out?

And then my next thoughts…

…. That’s like… somebody’s daughter. I wonder if her daddy knows ….

I know, I shouldn’t judge. I too had a period of time where I partied and had slutty nights out. My dad would sometimes ask me where I was going and I would name off specific friends that I knew he liked who were (maybe) going to be there.

“Jane”, “Betty”, and “Sally”…You know “Sally” ! She’s lives down the street…

And before he could protest… Gotta go. BYEEEE!

At some point, I got old. I think it started when my friends started having kids, and I started becoming a Godparent and forming affections towards them… I don’t want to see any of them grow up!

But it’s inevitable. Kids grow up, and before you know it… they’re off to college, majoring in Social Justice Warrior, and wearing bikini tops on the daily. But even if they don’t…they’re going to be in a crazy/arguably crazier world than the one that already exists.

I don’t have kids, but I know it’s probably the toughest job to raise a child so they dont end up becoming horrible adults, but instead becoming decent human beings with good morals and values, and individuals who are able to face the crazines and not fall down. Because craziness does and will exist. So props to the parents out there doing the right thing. If the time ever comes for me, I will probably be asking you a plethora of questions… including Why does my child keep drawing boxes with their eyes?!?

Things I like this week

NYX Glow Stick – I bought this on the whim since Ulta gives you $3.50 off for spending $15, but this has been my glow stick since I bought it. It’s super quick if you want to get your glow, but only have 5 seconds to swipe on your face and blend. Possibly Best Drug Store Brand of glow stick I’ve tried?

Heart Defensor Elf Highlighter So Heart Defensor is one of the beauty gurus I follow on YouTube and she collaborated with Elf Cosmetics with this highlighter. I would say the packaging is really cute, although fingerprints go on quite easily. but the highlighter is …okay? . Maybe if I hadn’t gotten the NYX glow stick, I would like it more…

Costco Beauty Online – Costco.com doesn’t have a lot of beauty products, but I like to check it from time to time to see what they have. Occasionally, they have really good deals on products that I love. One time I bought Mac Strobe cream there for $20 (I think normally it’s $30. They had Laura Mercier’s Translucent Powder another time for half the price it normally retails. Now, they have Tarte Amazonian Clay Palette for like $30ish when normally it’s like $54, and some other good skin care brands like Tatcha, and Clinique. So if you’re a Costco member, I definitely recommend going on Costco.com and checking out their skincare/beauty stuff from time to time to see what they got.

Anyways, that’s all for now. I hope everyone has a great rest of your week!

Until next time…