Thursday, October 05, 2017

Pain and Stuff

There is a gym pretty much across the street from our place, The Alaska Club.  We checked it out and it's one of their bigger sites with an indoor pool, tennis courts, etc.  We thought they had the basics we wanted in a gym and even more so we signed up.  With that sign up we got to meet with an trainer to do an initial assessment which we did on Monday.  I'm STILL not walking normally and it' Thursday!  The guy, Roman, talked us about our goals and gave us some education.  He also put our information into a computer and gave us our "current age" based on our health.  I am at 48 :( it's not terrible but I knew I had work to do!  He did our BMI and all that fun stuff and again, I'm not in a crazy unhealthy zone but I got a few pounds to loose to get back to feeling healthy.  After all that fun stuff he took us not he floor and walked us through some exercises, just three of them and we are both waddling around like 90 year olds.  He started us on a machine for squats, he didn't add any weight to mine but the bar itself weighs 105lbs!  We warmed up and then two sets of 10.  I was hurting.  Then we did bench presses, again I was just using the weight of the bar and that was enough but I managed to do more than I thought I could.  Then we did dead lifts with the kettle bells.  He tried to sell us the personal trainer thing and we told him we'd keep it in mind.  
The weights and machines are upstairs.  The first step I took down stairs I thought my legs were going to buckle under me and I was going to fall down stairs!  Have I mentioned we are on the top floor of our condo place?!  UGH. 
We ended up meeting Adam and Michelle for dinner and I was managing the discomfort and it wasn't too bad.  The next day OMG!  I was sore BUT we found out that our household goods would be delivered on Wednesday so we were stoked about that.  It was a low key day for me and Joe did some errands and shopping for new tires on his truck.  I managed the stairs slowly and with a firm grip on the railing.
Wednesday, we get our stuff!  I'm STILL in pain but I popped some Excedrin and pressed on.  Alaska continues to impress us.  We both have moved numerous times and dealing with moving companies we get "we will be there between 8-5" and there is a lot of waiting involved.  These guys were calling us probably around 8:30!  We both drank what we could of our coffee, I ran to the store to pick up bottle water and donuts for the movers, and when I returned they were already there! The two guys were efficient and quick!  They had unloaded us by 2 I believe!  Now we are living in an apartment with boxes and chaos but we're happy! 
With this delivery it gives us ample time to get settled before I start work. Tux is happy he has the couch back and we're happy he isn't sleeping with us all night!
We downsized before coming here and we lost a little bit of room in comparing the two places but we lost a lot of space in our kitchen :(. So more downsizing is in order!  I tend to downsize better when unpacking.  I'm looking at stuff, not finding a place for it and ask "when did I actually use this last?"  and if I have to struggle to think of an answer... it's gone/donated/sold!  We are staying busy that's for sure!
One thing that I have been and am concerned about here in Alaska is my depression.  I already have a vitamin D deficiency that I take supplements for and here I am moving to a state that has months of limited sunshine!  Right now the sun doesn't actually poke out over the mountains till around 8:30/9!  I've been taking my supplements religiously (need to take them today) but I also bought some things to help out.  In our bedroom I bought one of the alarm clocks that wakes you up by mimicking natural light.  Not only is it a gentler way to wake up but it will aid me in getting in a positive gear in the morning.  I then bought a light box to sit in front of in the mornings when I'm having my coffee and breakfast.  The thing is BRIGHT and we've used it a couple of mornings so far.  I didn't use it this morning because it's a lazy day, Joe is still in bed hangover, and we all need a cozy low key day.  I haven't seen the sun yet (it's 10:53am) and looking outside it's grey, mist over the mountains, and low clouds.  I've been nursing my coffee all morning but I got a massage scheduled at 2 that I'm looking forward to with my sore legs! In addition to those lights the gym has tanning beds.  So I'm going to incorporate regular tanning to my "to do" activities to keep my sanity during the winter months!
I ordered a work out notebook so I can schedule and plan my weeks.  I know it will be important for me to stay on task with my workouts, tanning, vitamins, etc. to avoid a depression or resurgence of my PTSD symptoms.  I feel that I have been managing these things well but here in Alaska, I think that I have to be more aggressive with my self care for my mental health.
We will see how everything works out.

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