Getting Fit During Quarantine

If you didn't know, last December I fell while crossing a street near my house and broke my humerus (upper arm) into four pieces. This led to a two night hospital stay and surgery, and I am now the proud owner of a plate and 10 screws in my arm. (At the end of this post, I'll have a picture of my most recent x-ray, so if you're squeamish about that kind of thing, just be aware.)

So as you might imagine, fitness wasn't really happening for a while. Just before the great coronavirus shut down, I had returned to my local gym and got back to work with my trainer. I think I had gone about twice. And then the gyms were closed.

Luckily, my gym offered virtual training sessions, so I now meet with my trainer once a week for an hour using whatever equipment I have in my house.

That's all well and good, but what about cardio? I've never been a runner, and I don't even really like to walk. And the fact is that since my fall, Aaron is very nervous about me walking. Like, anywhere.

About a year ago, we purchased a Peloton bike. We used it a little, but not nearly like we had intended. With being at home all the time I figured it was a good time to get reacquainted with my Peloton.

Hello, bike!

At first, this was just to keep me moving in some way. Then it kind of became a necessity because thanks to various friends and family members, I'm eating more sweet stuff than usual. But I'm not complaining about that!

Pie for breakfast? Yes, please!

Be careful what you wish for! But also, yummmmm.

Now it's becoming a bit of an obsession, to the point that Aaron looks at me and says "who ARE you?" (Stay tuned for the post in which I bake bread when he REALLY wonders who took over my body.)

The week of the 6th I had to take a few days off
due to major leg work with my trainer which left me s-o-r-e.

If you have a Peloton, follow me - I'm GilaTick! I do mostly low impact rides, although I'm starting to get into Power Zone Training (!!!). Christine is my favorite trainer - she's inspirational and she drops f-bombs, which is a great combination in my book!

I have not been compensated in any way for this post, I'm just a fan. And now, I'm off to ride.






Now for the x-ray:

I was actually disappointed that I didn't set off
any metal detectors at airports.

Hair and other thoughts on this week in quarantine

I know I'm not telling you anything you're not all feeling as well, but DAMN, is time dragging or what? Here in Ohio, we have at least another three weeks of staying at home and honestly, while I love my home and I even love alone time, March was the neverending month so April will probably be infinity. But shout out to Ohio's governor Mike DeWine, who actually listens to his director of health, the amazing Dr. Amy Acton, when making decisions about what to do during a pandemic. What a concept!

Just to be clear (Treehouse sisters, you know what to do), I can't complain. People are still allowed to buy beer, and they are buying beer, so I'm still working - from home. Aaron's business is also still able to operate, and he goes to his office every workday, which is good for all involved.

But while I can't complain, if you know me, you know that I'll find something to complain about, and it will be silly and vain. So let's start with hair.

Many years ago, I did a post about my hair evolution as an adult (you can also find links in there to posts with pictures of my growing-up years *shudder*).

I follow a pretty strict schedule of getting my hair cut and colored every 5 weeks. My last appointment was March 2nd. So when the salons were shut down in Ohio on March 18th, I was still in good shape. I should have had an appointment last Monday, April 6th. And so begins the documentation of "just how grey will my hair get."

This is Wednesday (or Gwensday):

I made this my new profile pic on the Facebook. I like it. There's a hint of grey that is visible at my forehead. But the real test will be on the other side:

This is where the grey will eventually get really noticeable. It's certainly not bad just yet. And I can't wait to see how the asymmetrical cut will grow out. Stay tuned. (Also, as I was writing this post Aaron took the clippers to his hair because I told him I wouldn't do it. Hmmmmm...)


I'm super happy that I quit acrylics a while back so I don't have to worry about that. I'm now obsessed with Color Street nail strips (and if you're interested, I got a guy -- well, girl). And since pretty much no one will see my nails in person but I'm still going to do them, here you go:

Other stuff this week:

Fox Sports Ohio has been re-airing last year's first round of the NHL playoffs, in which the 8 seed Columbus Blue Jackets swept the 1 seed Tampa Bay Lightning. We've watched every game, and on Gwensday for game 1 we donned our CBJ gear.

We've been doing well making some yummy meals. Friday night Aaron made these chorizo and potato tacos (and he made the chorizo himself because we already had ground pork). Delish!

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Happy Easter / Passover / Saturday ... It's been so strange this week to not be singing at church every day and twice on Sunday.