I'm also happy because I've only got 3 more sleeps til we jet off to Les Gets for our family activity holiday!!
I have now registered for my course entitled: Health Science introductory course, although I have to wait for the registration forms to come through as I've applied for an OUSBA (Open University Student Budgeting Account) which means I'll be able to spread my fees over the duration of the course :-)
I'm really looking forward to starting the course in October - here's the summary:
This course explores the scientific and social aspects of disease and disability in a global context through seven case studies: water and health in an overcrowded world; pain; alcohol; screening for breast cancer; chronic lung disease; trauma and accidents; and visual impairment. Each case study integrates the biological, chemical, and physical sciences with psychology, health statistics, and social studies to illuminate underlying causes and personal and societal consequences. You’ll develop skills in: evaluating evidence; understanding and using key scientific terms and concepts; handling numbers; and interpreting graphs and tables. You’ll also learn to study using ICT – including interactive DVDs, internet and online resources.
It sounds so interesting, I can't wait!! Who knows, if I enjoy working towards the Certificate in Health Sciences enough, I might change my study route to attain BA/BSc (Honours) in Health Studies, or a BSc (Honours) in Life Sciences instead of the Open Degree!
It's great to have the options available to me. I feel so priviledged living in this country with the rights, freedom and access to education that I do. It both saddens and angers me when I read about the appalling way women are treated in other countries.
I'm thinking of sponsoring a child, a very close friend of mine has done so for quite a few years and I think it would be a great idea. My own son wants for nothing... he lives in a big house, goes to a decent school, has all the food, medication, clothes, books, games etc that he could ever need and more (though he'd argue that he 'needs' more games of course but I'm not about to raise a spoilt brat!). He has the opportunity to be truly great if he puts his mind to it and studies hard. But there are those who just don't have that opportunity, and maybe never will. It would be good to help brighten another person's future though, I've been looking at a few sites and will think about it more over the week that I'm away. I quite like the look of ActionAid and SOS children's villages.
ahh, anyway, I've asked for info from ActionAid and SOS have their own sponsorship handbook that you can view so will look carefully over those and speak to Joe and Ryan about what they think as I'd like them to be involved too :-)
So today I haven't been able to get to the gym yet but will hopefully get there later tonight to do some cardio.
Monday was meant to be a 'punish oneself drastically in the gym to mitigate damage caused by a weekend of boozing at a music festival' day - but it didn't quite end up like that! The festival in question was bloody marvellous but the drinks were horrendously expensive... I didn't want to get beered up for the entire time and drinking wine in the day is a no-no for me as it dehydrates me to hell... as well as rendering me a drunken useless mess! So I decided to sneak a bottle of vodka into the grounds with me *slaps wrist* which I divided between 3 500ml bottles of diet coke - not quite as calorific as drinking umpteen pints and glasses of wine but still the equivalent of 14 vodka and diet cokes was drunk throughout the course of the day and I was a bit of a shaky mess on Monday!
I made up for it on Tuesday night though by going and working pretty hard on my upper body... here's what I did on the machine/cable weights:
Seated shoulder press - 22.5kg - 3 x 10 reps
Lat Pulldown - 50kg - 3 x 10 reps (whoop whoop!)
Pec Deck - 25kg - 3 x 10 reps
Internal Shoulder Rotation - 5kg - 3 x 10 reps
External Shoulder Rotation - 3.75kg - 3 x 10 reps
Triceps Pulldown - 15kg - 3 x 10 reps (have dropped the weight by 10kg to see if it improves my form)
Low Row - 45kg - 3 x 10 reps
I didn't get to go on the smith machine to do my chest presses which is a shame, but I ran out of time and had to dash back and help Joe with putting up a new cupboard in our breakfast room as we don't have much storage in the kitchen and we needed somewhere to put our normal cupboard food overflow (I always buy too much shopping when I go to the supermarket, I think it's a product of once being really poor and living on £28 a week as a pregnant 16 year old... now I just can't bear to have an empty cupboard!!) and our ever-growing supply of Maximuscle products!Just look at the bottom shelf, it's ridiculous!! There's Joe's Cyclone, Viper (which he loves and says really does the trick but I think tastes a bit odd!!) and Progain and my Promax Natural and Diet and some of the Maximilks !
Oh and by the way, my Thermobol stash arrived (you can still buy 2 packs for £22 from the Maxiwomen site). Although I have taken them before, I've only got through one packet in the past and that was spread out over weeks. The daily recommended dose is 3 per day, taken on an empty stomach and spread throughout the day... boy did I know I was taking them! Although it says to take on an empty stomach, I'd recommend you make sure you've eaten enough during the day/previous day beforehand as they give you serious jitters otherwise... I was WIRED! Was sat in a meeting jiggling away, leg twitching more than usual (I'm not good at sitting still for any length of time) and my thoughts flitting here, there and everywhere!
Today I have seemed to have gotten a grip on things as my body has got used to them - I think!
Will have to see if they help me 'melt away' the final layers of fat - I'm like a chubby onion right now ;-)
So yesterday I got up super super early and hauled both my and my boyfriends arses to the gym - double brownie points pour moi! I concentrated on my lower half and did this on the machines:
Double Leg Press - 90kg - 3 x 10 reps (I'm pretty bloody chuffed by this)
Single Leg Press - 40kg - 3 x 10 reps
Leg Curl - 40kg - 3 x 10 reps
Leg Extension - 40kg - 3 x 10 reps
Adductor - 55kg - 3 x 10 reps
Abductor - 55kg - 3 x 10 reps
I also did 20 mins on the stair-stepper on a reasonably hard setting and I ran 5km afterwards on the treadmill
My arse hurts SO much today!!!
Tonight I plan to row and use the eliptical trainer, can't wait :-)
Last night Joe and I went out with a couple of friends to this super restaurant in Oxford Circus called Ozer. I'd not been there before so didn't know what to expect. We had the 'healthy meal', I'm not sure quite how it got that name, don't get me wrong, the food was really fresh tasting and not at all greasy but I'm sure it wasn't the healthiest thing on the planet! The dishes were great though, and so many of them! I guess the 'healthy' thing was the price - less than £15, and the amount of food, plus complimentary yummy bread and hummus, that we received?
We all shared a bottle of Malbec and then went to a proper old man's pub, amusingly called The Cock (amusing for Joe that is as he's hugely immature ;-) ) and the boys had pints while my girlfriend and I shared a bottle of red... and then another one...!
I was a bit hammered... I challenged Joe to a walking race on our way home from Brixton tube station - I whooped his arse (I think it might be my awesome MBTs which really do propel you forwards!) and got a surprise this morning when I received an email saying that my friend had commented on my facebook status... which I have zero recollection of updating!!
oh dear
I slept well, despite my cat's best efforts to nibble/drool on my fingers, grrr - Solo!!!
feeling a little worse for wear from all the vino tinto and think I might lay off the sauce tonight when I'm out, here's hoping!!
TJx
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