Tag Archives: nrolw

NROLW and more Beck on getting back on track.

Last workout of Stage 3 for New Rules of Lifting for Women today!

  • Dumbbell cuban snatch: 3 x 6 with 20 pound dumbbells
  • Dumbbell single-leg deadlift: 3 x 6 at 25 pounds
  • Barbell bent-over row: 1 x 6 at 55, 1 x 6 at 65, 1 x 6 at 75
  • Dumbbell  squat 3 x  6  25#
  • Dumbbell incline bench press: 3 x 6 at 25#
  • Planks: 90 second holds 3 times
  • Reverse woodchop: 3 x 6 at 50 pounds
  • Bodyweight matrix: 3 times.

I also did some track walking and then spent 15 minutes doing some stretching.  While my legs didn’t feel really tired or anything from my run yesterday (really surprised here), they were a touch stiff.   Have a feeling they will be more sore tomorrow (damn matrix!).  Met John at Ridge street again for the usual Wednesday morning eats!

bagel2

coffee

This is always such a nice post workout treat.

Had the same lunch as yesterday (yogurt,cereal ,and blueberries!)

lunch2

These blueberries are good, but not as good as the ones I picked myself!  Can’t wait for Friday!

John fixed me a latte for an afternoon snack, although it is getting a bit warm for that.  We only have AC in the bedroom, so unless I move up there to work, I won’t be having the hot lattes much!    Forgot to thaw out any meat for dinner, so ate veggie tonight!

Scrambled eggs with feta cheese – I love feta (well, I love pretty much any cheese, really).  It goes really well with eggs.  Delicious strawberries, too!

dinner1

Not pictured are the blueberries I am snacking on as I type this post 😀

Seems there are some struggling bloggers out there with getting back on track, so thought I might post some ideas from the Beck book about getting back on track.  Of course, it helps to have the book and start from step 1.  I am still working through the book.

Anyhoo – here are behaviors you can do to get back into the groove:

  1. Acknowledge that you went off track.  However, do not beat yourself up.  I read too many blogs with people being way too hard on themselves.   Self-loathing is just not healthy, so don’t practice it, okay?
  2. Recommit yourself to your plan.  That list that I mentioned the other day about the reasons you want to be healthy?  Read it – and if you haven’t written one out – do it now!
  3. Draw a line in the sand to stop whatever you are doing.  Stop the binge and don’t let yourself  “restart tomorrow.”  Start right at this moment.  (This is so key – there is a big difference between going over by 500 calories and 2500 calories).
  4. Get back to your scheduled eating plan.  This is really important.  If you happen to fall face first into donuts in the morning, don’t skip your food for the rest of the day to atone.  That’s only going to keep you teetering off plan.
  5. Once you get back on track, think about what was the problem that got you off track and try to find another way to deal with it or give yourself another option.

Question:  Are you really hard on yourself when you get off track?

NROLW and Beck Diet Tips

Monday, Monday.  Although I have worked one day already 😀

I felt full when I got up this morning, so decided against eating prior to workout.  Not too common for me, but I decided to listen to my body after putting too much food into it the last couple days.

Got to the Y and hardly anyone there.  Guess everyone is on vacation.

NROLW   Stage 3  (final week)

  • Romanian deadlift with row: 1 x 6 at 45#, 1 x 6 at 60#, 1 x 6 at 70 #, 1 x6 at 75 #
  • Single leg partial squats 3 x 6
  • Widegrip lat pulldown: 1 x 6 at 50#, 1 x 6 at 55#, 1 x 6 at 60 pounds
  • Back extension: 3 x 6 at 90 pounds
  • YTWL: 3 x 6 at 8 pounds
  • Stability ball crunch: 3 x 6
  • Reverse crunch: 3 x 6
  • Lateral flexion: 3 x 6
  • Prone cobra: 3 holds x 90 seconds

2429_heart_eyes.gif I love the deadlift/row combo!  I was a little nervous doing the single leg squats, as that is how I hurt my hammie last week, but no problem today.  I don’t know what I did before to cause the problem.  YTWL is so hard with the 8 pounds weights.  I was doing a bit of quiet grunting LOL!

Came home and had some pumpkin oat bran topped with cranberry preserves:

brekkie1 Uber yummy.

Then came lunch after a slow work morning.  Monday mornings are always slow as the clinic I transcribe for is in CA and I am in NY and it isn’t open on weekends.   I made another tasting plate – also known as party leftovers!

Tuna with hummus, carrots, strawberries, pita points.

lunch

I really love to cook, but lately I have been all about super easy/throw together meals.

Dinner was one of those.  I had some leftover brown rice, cooked chicken, broccoli that I stir fried with coconut oil and a mixture of a couple sauces from the fridge for an asian style sauce.  Served with a side of black grapes.  Another winner!

dinner

I did eat a few other things today (Amazing Grass bar, latte, crackers with nut butter), but wanted to get to the Beck Book rather than posting more food.

On day 33, the chapter is about eliminating emotional eating.  Since I had been doing some stress eating, I am reading this chapter again.  I think she makes a good point that it is okay to have the negative feelings.  I think so often we want to bury them or at least be distracted from them (by using food).

Try these things next time you are feeling the need to emotionally eat:

  1. Be specific in the feeling by labeling it. “I am upset by x”.
  2. Do not give yourself the choice of eating when you are upset.  The more you practice this and not give in, the easier it will get.
  3. Imagine the aftermath and how you will feel if you give in.
  4. Distract yourself in other ways like reading, taking a walk, calling a friend.
  5. Try relaxation techniques such as deep breathing.
  6. Make a list of all the reasons you want to be healthy and read it.

Dr. Beck points out that it will become easier to deal with the problem itself once you have calmed down the emotions  you are experiencing because of it.

So, I am going to practice these if I feel the need to stress eat this week.  And maybe even just do some of these things as practice.  It can be very hard to just try them in the heat of the moment, right?

Question:  What are your stress busting techniques?

Think I am doing the big run tomorrow – 7 miles (gulp!)

NROLW and Food Should Taste Good Coupon!

Hitting the Y today for the last weight workout for the week.  We are running a 5K Saturday morning, so not lifting on Friday to rest.  Started off with some dates and hazelnut butter preworkout:

dates

NROLW:

  • Dumbbell cuban snatch: 1 x 6 15 pounds, 2 x 6 20 pounds
  • Dumbbell single-leg deadlift: 3 x 6 at 25
  • Barbell bent-over row: 1 x 6 at 55, 1 x 6 at 65, 1 x 6 at 75
  • Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat 3 x 6 (using 10# and 20#)
  • Dumbbell incline bench press: 3 x 6 at 25#
  • Planks: 90 second holds 3 times
  • Reverse woodchop: 3 x 6 at 50 pounds
  • Bodyweight matrix: 1 time.

I noticed my hamstring felt funny on Monday, but then it didn’t bother me yesterday.  Today it definitely felt funny during the workout and after 1 time through the leg matrix it started to hurt – not good.  I decided to not do any more of the matrix, as I have the race on Saturday.  It feels uncomfortable right now.  Never had a hamstring problem before.  Think I’ll be doing the Tylenol PM tonight.

Had John meet me for breakfast!

bagel7

Stopped to take a picture of the little fountain near the parking lot.

fountain

Today has felt really snacky.  Not sure if it is the heat or the humidity (or both).

One of my favorite chips are Food Should Taste Good brand.  Here is a link to print a $1 off coupon good through the end of August!  Stock up!  My favorite flavors are the sweet potato and the multigrain.  I wish our stores stocked the lime.

Here is a video of the dumbbell snatch for those that are curious.  I actually jump a little bit as the weight nears the top from push off, this woman does not.  It’s a great whole body exercise.

I have graduated to the 20 pound dumbbell with this one.  Not sure I want to try the 25# one or not, it is a little scary LOL!

Had cereal and yogurt for dinner.  Dinner of champions!

dinner11

And – some of these:

chips2

Not a great eating day.   Seems like I have a day like this about once a week.  Can I call it a refeed day??  Calorie cycling, that’s it!  😀

Question:  Are you a lurker on a lot of blogs or do you only read and interact on  a few?

NROWL and pizza!

It sure feels like summer around here now!  Hot and humid.  Didn’t sleep well because of that (even with AC).  Dragged my butt out of bed and grabbed a snack before hitting the Y.  Had a piece of Ezekiel bread with hazelnut butter.  I kind of forgot this was in the freezer!  Ooops.

toast

NROLW Stage 3:

  • Romanian deadlift with row: 1 x 6 at 45#, 1 x 6 at 60#, 1 x 6 at 65 #, 1 x6 at 75 #
  • Single leg partial squats: 3 x 6
  • Widegrip lat pulldown: 1 x 6 at 50#, 2 x 6 at 60 pounds
  • Back extension: 2 x 6 at 85, 1 x 6 at 90 pounds
  • YTWL: 3  x 6 with 8 pound DBs (really hard)
  • Stability ball crunch: 3 x 6
  • Reverse crunch: 3 x 6
  • Lateral flexion: 3 x 6
  • Prone cobra: 3 holds x 90 seconds

I have to say that I don’t really get the prone cobra.  It doesn’t feel like it does anything except make my arms tired.  Otherwise it is just laying on the floor LOL!

Came back to oat bran today!  Wanted to mix it up a little bit.  This bowl was made with a mashed banana, cinnamon, and chocolate PB2 cooked in.  Num.

p7270003

It’s hot, so I wanted a cool lunch:

shake

Cantaloupe smoothie!

  • 1/2 cup cantaloupe
  • 1 scoop vanilla pp
  • 4 ounces 1% milk
  • 3 ounces POM wonderful juice
  • ice cubes

Tasty!  Served with a bowl of baby carrots.

carrots

The  ecchinacea  is a plant I got from Wayside Gardens, and it is called Razzmatazz.  I don’t know why I started calling it doppelganger, but I still do that.  I think they developed this plant sterile, as none of the seeds sprout, which is really unusal for coneflowers.   They are expensive and one of the reasons I took the plant with me from IL.  It doesn’t seem to get big enough to divide, but I am hoping for that soon.

It was pretty cool to see the Adirondacks and Lake George featured on TV at the Y today.  Lots of us just watched the tube during those segments – lazy butts!  Video intro

John must have read my mind or something, because he didn’t read my earlier post about the pizza, but he started making the wheat crust and used the pasta sauce on it!  I ran out and grabbed some basil from the porch before he put it in the oven.  So delicious.  John is awesome!  200 calorie slice.  I was working while it cooked, so I didn’t do any broccoli to go with it.  Just being lazy here.

pizza1

Regarding my goals from last week, here is how I did:

  1. Stay within calories.  Did really well here.  Just on Friday with some extra.
  2. No cereal snacking!!!  I mean it!!  Success!  Keeping the cereal out of reach did the trick!
  3. 3 weight workouts.  Done.
  4. 2 running days.  Did 3.
  5. 3 biking days.  Did 2 outside and 1 on the recumbent.
  6. Take time to congratulate myself at the end of each day for the positive things I accomplish.  Yes!

Goals this week:

  1. Stay protein bar free, which I did last week.  Must break addiction.
  2. Do a 6-mile run.
  3. Control myself with cashews – they are back in the house.  I released them from banishment 😀
  4. Possible 5K race this weekend.
  5. No cereal snacking again.  Let’s see if I can make it 2 weeks!
  6. Take time to congratulate myself at the end of each day for the positive things I accomplish.

NROLW and Blueberry picking at Winney Farm

First day of my weekend.  Started off with a good strength workout.  This doesn’t look like much on paper, but it takes a while to get through at the gym.

  • Dumbbell cuban snatch: 2 x 6 15 pounds, 1 x 6  20 pounds
  • Dumbbell single-leg deadlift: 3 x 6 at 25 #
  • Barbell bent-over row: 1 x 6 at 45, 1 x 6 at 55, 1 x 6 at 65
  • Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat 3 x 6 (using 10# and 20#)
  • Dumbbell incline bench press: 3 x 6 at 25#
  • Planks: 90 second holds 3 times
  • Reverse woodchop: 3 x 6 at 50 pounds
  • Bodyweight matrix:   3 times  – I actually graduated up to 14 jump squats on each set from 12.

Awesome thing today – there were 4, count ’em, 4 ladies working with free weights today while I was there.  And only 1 man.  The ladies weren’t messing around either – I think one of them could kick my ass big time, she looked great and lifted really heavy (more proof that you don’t get bulky lifting).

I have been totally obsessed with blueberries as of late (you think??) – so I decided to go pick my own today on my day off.  Drove to Winney’s Farm in Schuylerville.  This is a blueberry only farm on 20 acres with 14 different varieties of blueberries and something like 14,000 plants.  Let me start by saying that I did not even notice which type of blueberry I picked today, wish I had made note, though.

The blueberry bushes were in long rows, and you just park in a grassy area by the place you want to start picking and go in with your bucket.

bluefarm

The bushes were anywhere from 3 feet to 6 feet tall.  What I found interesting was that each bush had everything from tiny white berries all the way to ripe ones, all in the same cluster.

blueberryfarm3

I don’t know how a machine could ever pick blueberries.  Here is a bush that just formed its berries and is all white:

bluefarm2

My bucket of berries (I actually filled it to the brim):

bucket

I had to taste test them from each bush, though.  Had to make sure they passed the taste test!

Berries go in here....

Berries go in here....

You would think it would have been very tranquil there, but to protect the crops, a  constant recording of hawk screeching is played, which is a little weird.   I honestly don’t know how they keep the deer out of this either as there are no closed fences.   This was fun, though and I would do it again in a heartbeat.   $2.25 per pound (which is a lot more berries than a pint).

Of course, as if eating a pint of blueberries wasn’t enough – I had to have more with lunch when I got home!  This was an awesome bowl:

  • Oikos FF vanilla greek yogurt
  • Total Blueberry Pomegranate cereal
  • Fresh blueberries

lunch7

Have a fabulous day!

NROLW

Bonus post!  Work is slow right now, so thought I would take time to post my morning workout.  My evening posts can be really long, so I am thinking about splitting them into a morning fitness one and an evening food one.  If I have time.  Might play with that.

New Rules of Lifting for Women Stage 3 B workout:

* Romanian deadlift with row: 1 x 6 at 45#,  1 x 6 at 55#, 1 x 6 at 65 #, 1 x6 at 75 #

*Single leg partial squats 3 x 6
* Widegrip lat pulldown: 1 x 6 at 50#, 2 x 6 at 60 pounds
* Back extension: 1 x 6 at 70, 2 x 6 at 80 pounds
* YTWL: 3   x 6 at 8 pounds
* Stability ball crunch: 3 x 6
* Reverse crunch: 3 x 6
* Lateral flexion: 3 x 6
* Prone cobra: 3 holds x 90 seconds

My new favorite combo exercise is officially the romanian deadlift/barbell row combo.  I have always liked the R deadlift (also called a stiff-legged deadlift) better than a straight dead lift because it works the hamstrings more.  I love the combo of that with the row!  Yay!

I need new gloves.  Here are my poor gloves that I use for lifting and biking:

sadglove

Stretched out with holes.   Some of the weights and handles have a rough surface, which is eating up my gloves (better than my palms, though!) Gotta love it!

Did 15 minutes on the recumbent bike and then it was time to meet John for breakfast out!  I won’t post the bagel picture, but I will leave you a picture of the nice view of downtown from the coffee shop:

coffee1

Do you treat yourself midweek?

NROLW and a blueberry day.

Nice workout time this morning, even though I was up too early because I couldn’t sleep!  Mostly cardio bunnies at the gym today and I was all by myself in the free weight area for almost all of my workout (yay!).  Then someone came in and got on the Smith machine, but I don’t care about that.  Mornings all the way for weights!

  • Dumbbell cuban snatch: 3 x 6 15 pounds
  • Dumbbell single-leg deadlift: 3 x 6 at 20
  • Barbell bent-over row: 1 x 6 at 45, 1 x 6 at 55, 1 x 6 at 65
  • Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat 3 x 6 (using 8# and 15#)
  • Dumbbell incline bench press: 3 x 6 at 25#
  • Planks: 90 second holds 3 times
  • Reverse woodchop: 3 x 6 at 50 pounds
  • Bodyweight matrix:   3 times

My variant of this is to do alternating lunges for the 3rd item and not jump with them, then to do the jump squats.  I could only do 12 jump squats on each repetition, though!  :O   It took me about 3 minutes to get through each set.  Gee…. I wonder what I will feel like tomorrow.  Video of someone doing the matrix at the end of this post – This lady rocks!

Came home hungry!  Protein pancakes with blueberries.

brekkie2

Here are my goals for this week:

  1. Stay within calories.
  2. No cereal snacking!!!  I mean it!!
  3. 3 weight workouts (1 done)
  4. 2 running days
  5. 3 biking days
  6. Take time to congratulate myself at the end of each day for the positive things I accomplish.

Lunch was like a little tasting plate:  Tuna mixed with 40 Spice Hummus, FSTG Sweet Potato chips (amazing!), more blueberries, baby carrots.  This was fun and interactive.

lunch4

I have managed to consume a whole pint of blueberries by myself since yesterday!  John said I was going to need to get another job to support my fruit addiction 😛

Afternoon latte.  I think our machine is on its last legs.

latte5

I had even more hummus for dinner.  I cooked up some ground turkey and rolled it up in a wrap with the 40 spice hummus and spring mix. Yum!

dinner7

I normally don’t have a bread-type carb at dinner, so this was something different.

Body weight matrix video – warning, lame music ahead!

And for kicks, here is someone who isn’t doing so well with the matrix – I will just put the link up because I don’t want to embarass him LOL (although he did post this on youtube).  And truth be told, I am a lot more like him than the woman above!

Questions part 1

It’s the first day of my weekend!  The NROLW meeting with my sis did not happen last night after all.  I was getting ready to leave the house and gave her a call.  The power was out in Saratago from the storms that just rolled through and the Y was closed.  So, we have a raincheck.  John and I went out for a run at home instead and I really had to slog through it.  It was hot and humid and my legs were sore.  Not sure why I really bothered to finish, but I did.  I hate workouts like that.  Here I was all soaked in sweat and crabby:

sweaty

I also slept very poorly, so decided to forgo the Y this morning and go later.  Had some blueberry blintzes with blueberry sauce for breakfast.  Different, eh?

blintz

I have decided never to hit the gym between noon and 2.  Too many weight lifters that have no clue how to let others work in sets and just hog the weights.  You would think this guy thought he was the only one who used the squat cage – it was like he set up camp.  And he refused to let me work in, can you believe it?  All because he didn’t want to have to set up his barbell again inbetween his *5* sets.  Weenus.

So, I had to do the workout out of order.

NROLW  Stage 3 Workout B

  • Single leg partial squats  3 x 6
  • Widegrip lat pulldown:  1 x 6 at 50#,  2 x 6 at 60 pounds
  • Back extension:  1 x 6 at 70, 2 x 6 at 80 pounds
  • YTWL:  2 x 6  at 5#,  1 x 6 at 8 pounds
  • Stability ball crunch:  3 x 6
  • Reverse crunch:  3 x  6
  • Lateral flexion:  3 x 6
  • Prone cobra:  3 holds x 90 seconds
  • Romanian deadlift with row:  1 x 6 at 55#, 2 x 6 at 65 #

I am going to split the questions into today and tomorrow, since I don’t want the post to be overly long.

Are you glad you bought the triathlon suit? Yes!! Yes!  I am one of those people who get very distracted by little things, like the way a shirt sticks to me when I get sweaty or if my shoelace flaps funny.  With the trisuit – it was clingy, so I never had to adjust it or even think about it.  No wedgies!  I am going to wear it often for bike rides and runs.

What caused you to decide to do this? What’s your best piece of advice? Are you returning to youthful athleticism or is this an entirely new turn for you? I am not returning to youthful athleticism.  I was pretty much always overweight.   Hitting the number 250 was kind of what really pushed me over the edge.  For whatever reason, that was a concrete number to me. I think my best advice to someone is to not overlook the simple things in living a healthy lifestyle.  It doesn’t have to be fancy.  Eat fresh fruits and veggies, lean proteins, healthy fats, whole grains and move some.  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  Or maybe I think the best piece of advice is to be patient.  I am set up to live this way for the rest of my life, so it makes it easier to look at than hitting a scale number on a certain date.  I don’t do well with time goals.  I see a lot of impatience on blogs, which really can lead to disappointment and beating oneself up (never good).

What work do you do from home? My husband and I actually have a business we run from home, although I have stepped away from that to work as a medical transcriptionist  so that I could get us covered with health insurance.  We are very lucky to both be able to work from home.

Do you ever suffer from body perception issues? I mean, do you ever still think of yourself as a heavier person? Yes, I think I do have body dysmorphia frequently, even though I have been at my current weight for pretty much a year now.  I see the pictures of me from the tri and my mind sees me at 250 pounds, which obviously isn’t true.  I don’t know how long (if ever) it will take for my brain to catch up.  I still get surprised at times by my own reflection in mirrors or windows or seeing a picture of myself.  There are times when I feel “normal-sized” and times when I don’t.  It is very strange.  However, I notice things differently and with joy, like fitting into airline seats or going on an amusement ride and not fearing that I won’t fit.  I don’t take those things for granted at all.

What is NROLW? New Rules of Lifting for Women.

Ideas as to how I can do the twisting exercises and the seated row at home with only barbells and a weight bench? If you can pick up some resistance bands, you can do seated rows and woodchops easily at home.  Otherwise, for the rows, I would just do bent over rows with dumbbells.  Same principle really (check http://trainwithmeonline.com for moves).

I’ll answer more tomorrow!

I will leave you with a picture of dinner.  The wrap has pan sauteed broccoli in coconut oil with chopped chicken breast and 40 spice Tribe Hummus.  It was delicious!  Plus a nectarine that was not as good as last week’s.

dinner6

Bagel Day and back to lifting!

Excited to be back to working out again!  I decided to bike to the Y, which is around 7-8 miles or so from home.   Since I didn’t have to swim, I just biked for the cardio as I was only going to use the weights at the Y.

Fueled up with a wheat english muffin with a bit of almond butter;

muf

The workout:

New Rules of Lifting for Women (NROLW) Stage 3:

  • 1-arm dumbbell snatch 1 x 6 at 10, 1 x 6 at 12, 1 x 6 at 15#
  • Dumbbell single-leg deadlift:  1 x 6 at 15, 2 x 6 at 20# (or is that 40?)
  • Barbell bent-over row:  1 x 6 at 45, 1 x 6 at 50, 1 x 6 at 55
  • Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat  3 x 6
  • Dumbbell incline bench press:  1 x 6 at 20, 2 x 6 at 25#
  • Planks:  90 second holds 3 times (dying on these!)
  • Reverse woodchop:  3 x 6 at 50 pounds
  • Bodyweight matrix (kicked my ass!!)

This was a really hard workout.  The bodyweight matrix included 24 squats, 12 lunges on each side, 12 jumping lunges on each side, and 24 jump squats.  Do 3 times.   HARD!!! OMG.  I actually am going to modify this, because I do not think plyometrics (jumping lunges, jump squats) are all that great to do, and I am very sensitive about what I do to my knees.  I actually did the matrix later in the day because of the biking to and from the Y – cheater, but I wanted to make sure I got home!

Met John for bagels, which was on the way home.  Multigrain with maple.  It was soooo good after the workout.

bagel2

Lunch today was something new.  I have been in a very pumpkiny mood this week, so I mixed some pumpkin with vanilla oikos and stirred in Post Cranberry Almond cereal.  Yum!

yogurt

Worked hard today as I got a late start due to a lazy breakfast 😀

John made lattes (which he liquored up with a shot of creme de menthe!)

latte4

He even dusted it with cocoa powder, what a gourmet!

Plus a bar – I couldn’t help myself, I was hungry!

zone2

I won’t bore you with the dinner picture, as you have seen chicken,broccoli,and strawberries so many times already!  Tasty, though.

Might do some running tomorrow, first time since Sunday.

Question:  Do you often modify exercises to fit you?

What’s blooming and geekage

Did a short jog today for the first time since Monday.  I walked a mile and jogged a mile.  My legs feel fresh and fabulous!  Yay!  Came back for some Nutrigrain waffles and blueberries.

How  does a young,hip,modern, GenX couple eat breakfast?

comp

Okay, we are nerds….

(and John better keep his hands out of my brekkie or he is likely to lose a finger or 2!!!).

Here are the latest blooms in the garden:

Latana

Latana

Snapdragons

Snapdragons

White Swan Coneflower

White Swan Coneflower

Trillium???

Trillium???

I don’t know what this guy is.  We have them on the side of the house, and one somehow migrated to the front, and it is blooming quite late.  The other ones were done last month.  It looks like a trillium, but anyone else know for sure?

Who can name what this snack is?  One of my new favorites!

pine

Have to shop today for a birthday gift.  My BIL’s birthday was yesterday and we are having a pizza/cake gathering tonight!