Category Archives: exercise

Thoughts on a Saturday 8-15-2020

We had a bad storm overnight and into the morning hours yesterday, with a LOT of wind and rain. My husband says it was the worst damage we have had since we have lived here – over 30 years now. We lost a shutter beside one of our second floor windows, and there are branches and leaves EVERYWHERE.

The main loss is our greenhouse.

 

We have decided to take it down. The cost to repair it, plus our labor on it, is just too much at this point in our lives. We couldn’t afford to heat or cool it, so the ability to get seeds to sprout, grow plants for the garden, and over winter plants was disappointing. We will salvage what we can and dispose of the rest.

I am concentrating on cleaning up around the house and the yard first. I spent over an hour yesterday picking up branches and throwing them off the edge of the civilized part of our yard. My back is telling me about it today. I will concentrate today’s efforts on using the leaf blower to clean off the deck, sidewalks, driveway pad and front porch.

Lowes

I am giving myself a gold star for this work, counting the exercise in the heat as my elliptical practice. Today I will do the leaf blowing and then do my yoga to try to stretch things out afterwards.

 

I was so hot and tired yesterday I didn’t get up to my art room to work on the new earrings I have started. I will try to make sure I make time to get up there today. I have the basic solid colors on both sides of the wooden earrings, and am eager to start the decorative fun part as soon as possible.  I will post pics when they are finished.

I told you recently that we bought a new filter system for our aquarium.

It has a three-medium system to filter the water: charcoal, foam, and a stuff they call biomax. The three media are changed at different times – charcoal every month, foam every two months, and biomax every three months. I have had to resort to putting these on my calendar as recurring items with the time differential to keep up. What I have learned to this point is that I will need to change the water once a month to keep the water as clean as I would like it. It has been a MONTH this time (!) instead of every week, but the water is getting cloudy now. This is quite a change and I am grateful. I want to take good care of my fish, but cleaning out the tank and changing the water is not one of my favorite activities. Once a month seems like a luxury!!!! :0) It’s on my list for today.

GMW.cn

 

Due to the South Beach diet and my exercising, I have now recently lost 9 pounds. (A total of 37 pounds and 41 inches since my lardiest.)  I am hopeful to be able to report more poundage and inches lost by the end of Month # 2 on the commercial stuff. I am re-learning portion control and the fact that I don’t need to eat until I don’t want any more at each meal. I am re-learning to serve a SERVING – either as measured by the South Beach stuff, or in my recipe books on servings on my DIY meals each week – reminding myself that there is a snack coming mid-morning or mid-afternoon and I probably won’t starve to death today. ( I DON’T remind myself often that I could live off my lard for MONTHS, if needed, as I am trying to think positively.) :0)  I am carefully planning DIY meals for each week, and my husband is cooperating by not throwing as many poor choices into the cart while we’re grocery shopping.

I hope you have an enjoyable day today.

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Filed under DIET!, exercise, Gardening, getting the lard off, greenhouse, Housekeeping - Maintenance

Thoughts on a Tuesday 8-11-2020

Soul Alchemy

We were very lucky not to be affected by the derecho storm that hit yesterday. So many good people are dealing with damage from the hurricane and now the derecho. I hope that you came through both well, too. We have the possibility of strong, gusty winds and hail with storms this afternoon and evening. Hopefully, they will just be the ‘normal’ summer variety. Mother Nature seems to be in a snit – and on top of the pandemic problems and troubles in some of our big cities. It seems we are having more than our share of character-building exercises lately. May we give each other strength.

Today is one of our DIY dinners for the week on the South Beach eating plan. I got some stew beef in the crock pot this morning. I will serve this with a bit of rice for my husband and spiralized squash for me.

We have several errands, plus appointments this afternoon. By the time we finish those and my exercises (elliptical and yoga), the day is almost gone before it starts. I will check for ripe tomatoes (fingers crossed) this morning and will try to get up to my art room this afternoon to at least start my newest earring blanks with my new design ideas. (Fingers crossed on THAT, too.)

I hope that you are feeling strong, healthy, and full of enthusiasm for this day.

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Poofy

memesbams.com

This poofy lady has lost pound # 8 via South Beach – (37 pounds via various methods since my heaviest). I still have more to lose before I hit ‘new territory’ on my weight loss efforts, but I feel that I am on a roll now. I don’t care how long it takes for me to lose it. I feel good that my scale numbers are going in the right direction now.

My measuring tape is showing positive signs, too, as there is less of me now – 40 inches less – than when I was at my lardiest.

 

 

 

 

 

I am going for gold stars # 13 and 14 today for the week – for my elliptical exercising and my yoga practice. I am feeling less like a fool that I ‘exercise for stars’ as if I were a little kid. There are lots of ways I haven’t really grown up, and if this works – RUN IT! :0)

-ClipartLibrary

We are on Month #2 of South Beach. I will figure out on which days I will fix DIY dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and snacks (morning and afternoon) – 2 of each during the week.

Fingers crossed the progress continues.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Earning Gold Stars

Penn Fitness Warehouse

My first gold star for the day was my practice on my elliptical trainer.  I made it to 35 minutes today! This is the first time in MONTHS that I have made it this long, so I’m feeling good about it. I have a box fan attached to the wall in front of the trainer, so I don’t melt into a puddle out in the garage. I also have my MP3 player, with some of my all-time favorite music on it, to listen to. Pretty nice set up, except for when it’s really hot or really cold.

 

 

Bored Panda

I am about to go do my yoga practice for my second star of the day.

I do about 30 minutes or so, mostly of old lady stretches, but also abdominal exercises of various types. I am beginning to feel a difference in how my body is reacting to my practice, after about a month of practicing daily.  I am still fighting general stiffness everywhere (I AM old, you know) but I feel looser, and I have less discomfort. I definitely feel more relaxed after I finish.

I am happy about my daily exercising now. I’m trying to stay motivated, listing elliptical and yoga on my to-do list each day now.

Time for my yoga practice!

 

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Month 2

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Hahahahahahahaah! I love this picture. :0)

Our South Beach orders for Month #2 arrived yesterday. I have been DIYing most of our meals, since we were out of most everything, using up the dregs of what was left in our boxes from Month #1 when possible. So we started in with lunch yesterday on our renewed supplies.

I called in and cancelled our subscriptions/memberships/auto-delivery orders yesterday, once our delivery came.  She tried to change my mind. Asked me how much weight we had lost. Why we were quitting. I didn’t want to list the reasons, so just told her we needed a reboot, and were pleased that they provided it for us.  I got confirmation emails that our subscriptions had been cancelled, and there was a chance to do a survey. I tried, but it wasn’t working.

I know the coronavirus has caused big problems for everyone, and that this will continue. I’m assuming the problems we experienced were due to that:

CONS –  

  • The variety of foods from which we could choose was small.
  • I kept up with trying to change our next order for month # 2 to not get certain things we didn’t care for again. Each time I went online, (and I did this several times before the cutoff date) they had discontinued something else we liked, or had marked it with an asterisk that indicated we needed to choose something else because supplies were low and they would substitute something else when they filled our order. We ended up choosing nothing from the frozen selections for Month # 2. The things we liked weren’t available.
  • The website was annoying. Each time you change from one page to another, you had to sign in again. Some pages got 404 messages. The page where you input what you ate was great when South Beach foods were eaten, but the DIY section was next to impossible. Since you fix 2 dinners, 2 lunches, 2 breakfasts, 2 afternoon snacks and 2 morning snacks DIY each week, this is really annoying. I gave up and just logged my weight changes.

PROS –

  • We like their shakes a lot. We like a lot of the snacks. We like their cheeseburger soup and the white bean chili in a bowl. We like their pancake mix.
  • We like the convenience of just standing in front of our boxes and choosing what we would like to eat for many meals each week.
  • We got what we wanted from the two-month membership: a reboot on our efforts at keto; a reminder of what a ‘portion’ is; a chance to get our heads on straight about how long it takes to lose the weight versus how easy it is to put it back on; a redoubling of efforts to exercise as we eat right; motivation to continue our good habits when the 2nd month is finished.

I am happy that my husband will have probably met his weight goal by the time we finish this second month. (He only has about 10 lbs to go.) I wish he would exercise, but at least he is encouraging about MY efforts.

My goal is another 30 or so. I’m also using this ‘reboot’ to remind myself that just because something is in the pantry does NOT mean I have to listen to it call to me or eat it. I’m HOPING that my husband won’t go back to putting a lot of frowned-on foods into the cart, but if he insists on it, I don’t have to give in and feed my face. I will make it a priority to keep DIYing what I SHOULD be eating – including some good snacks – and hopefully that, plus my exercises will make ME healthier, too as I pursue my goal.

I love the recipe book Simply Keto by Suzanne Ryan. She doesn’t use a lot of ingredients you need to scrounge to find. The recipes are simple – and to me, the less time spent in the kitchen, the better. They taste really good. My husband’s reaction when he learns I’m cooking one of our favorites, or trying a new one for us, is “GREAT!”

Here’s to Month #2!

 

 

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Getting the Lard off Progress Report

Early Morning Showers

I’m feeling good that I am “back in the saddle again” on my efforts to get the lard off and get stronger. I fell off, using everything excuse from the pandemic,  to my husband going to the store with me, and back again, but the fact was I had stopped exercising and I had gained some of my lost weight back again.

We signed up for the South Beach Diet Plan, deciding we would try that for two months to get back on track. It was the closest to our keto eating plan and would remind us how we are supposed to be eating, hopefully giving us a boost. The second month’s order should arrive any day now.  It’s a good thing. We are down to meat sticks and some shakes, so I am DIYing a lot now.

 

To date – since my lardiest – I have lost 36.6 pounds and 40.45 inches. I’m working my way back down to where I was before, and I feel really happy about that.

My exercise regimen – motivated by gold stars on my desk calendar – is helping me feel stronger, a bit more energetic, and definitely looser and more flexible.

Penn Fitness Warehouse

I’m trying to do my elliptical in the mornings, since my trainer is in the garage. I won’t get it done in the morning today, but I can do it when I get back from errands. I started a couple of weeks ago, at 10 minutes. I’m doing 20 each day now.

 

You Tube

I am doing about half an hour of yoga stretches plus abdominal exercises each afternoon. I have no clue why I tend to ‘hunch up’ during the day, but I’m almost looking forward to my yoga sessions now, where the first thing is to lie flat on my back, trying to get my back muscles to relax. Thankfully, this is accomplished more quickly now and I am seeing progress in my ability to push a bit farther into the positions, breathing into them. I feel relaxed when I finish, and pleased with my efforts.

By the end of this next month on South Beach, my husband will have probably met his weight goal. I would like to lose another 30 pounds. I am seeing progress on both the scales and the tape measure, plus I feel more in control.

taolife.com

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Choose-Day

Unique Teaching Resources

The weather is beautiful here today. Right now it’s sunny and 66 degrees F. Just couldn’t be more perfect. We’re enjoying low humidity today, as well. I will make sure I spend some good time outside. We have doors open and ceiling fans on. It’s SMILING weather!

I will leave in about an hour to take the trash down to the bottom of the driveway, get our mail, and go to Rags & Roses Collective, the wonderful local Greenwood shop where I share a booth, Blasing Bright, with my friend Carla. I will change out some stuff, pay our rent, and visit a minute with the owner, Joanna Brandt.

We are having a quiet day so far, for which I am thankful. Yesterday brought a couple of ‘episodes’ where my husband was unable to speak, but he seems to be fine today. He is calm and seems to be upbeat. We will do the best we can each day, thankful to HAVE another one.

My exercise efforts are going well. I am feeling better – a bit more energetic – and looser. I am earning two stars on my desk calendar daily, one for my elliptical trainer in the garage and the other for yoga stretches and abdominal exercises.

I will see how our garden is doing later and check if we have ripe tomatoes to gather.

I’m not sure what my project for the day will be yet.

I hope that YOUR Tuesday is a nice CHOOSE-DAY. :0)

 

 

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Frustration

tvoydosug.com

We are about to begin Month # 2 on our South Beach Diet. We have not yet received notice that our orders have shipped. We are down to meat sticks and shakes, and we will use these up while waiting for our new food. I did the DIY meals in the program (2 dinners, 2 lunches, 2 breakfasts, 2 morning snacks and 2 afternoon snacks each week) but I will be doing a lot more until we receive the next shipment.

One good thing is that my husband appreciates my cooking even more now, since we are eating strangely most of the day. :0)

Another good thing is that I am VERY aware of portions. Example: I cooked Suzanne Ryan’s “Bacon-Wrapped Cheesy Chicken” (Simply Keto) last night. We each ate one half of one chicken breast and some fresh tomatoes on the side.

A third good thing is that my exercise efforts are going well. I have done my elliptical trainer every day this week, plus a session of yoga stretches. I will finish off the week today, earning two more gold stars for my desk calendar (a total of 14 stars!)

On the 5th I will post a progress report on my efforts to lose the lard. Hopefully, we will have our new food order, and I can post some good results!

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Yoga Progress

doyouyoga

Tomorrow I will finish three weeks of doing a 30-minute-or-so session daily. I think it was last year when I discovered SixtyandMe.com   That led to me finding and ordering the “Gentle Yoga” DVD with Cat Kabira teaching basic stretching techniques for ‘mature’ women – even though who had never tried yoga before. I wasn’t interested in trying to fold myself into a paper airplane or tie myself up into a pretzel shape, but I WAS stiff, sore, and feeling pretty brittle. I worked through it, and then decided to simply do the poses that seemed to help me the most rather than having to find time to play the DVD. Cat stressed that it was the PROGRESS that mattered – not whether you actually aced the pose to PERFECTION. I did well for awhile, and then just quietly stopped doing it. My reasons are stupidity and lack of sufficient motivation.

Three weeks ago, when we had decided to do the South Beach Diet plan in order to ‘reboot’ our efforts to commit to the keto eating plan, relearn ‘portions,’ smarter choices, etc., I also decided that I would get back into my yoga.

 

 

After three weeks, I am starting to feel some progress!  I am 73 and RELAXING is a difficult thing to do. Just lying down flat on your back on the mat doesn’t sound like much. It IS – when several areas in your back are clenching. After a minute or so of CONSCIOUS focus on relaxing and breathing, the discomfort and clenching goes away. I am also seeing progress in several of the stretching positions. One came just yesterday. I’m lying on my back with my arms on the floor above my head. I pull up my right leg, bend the knee, lay my leg to my right side. I can DO that on my left. On my RIGHT, that was really uncomfortable. I’ve been doing it anyway daily for 3 weeks, breathing into it and not pushing myself, just breathing into the discomfort and trying to relax. Yesterday I was able to let the leg down almost completely onto the floor without pain! HOORAY!!!!!! I feel better when I finish my stretches, so that’s a wonderful thing, too. Even my husband is trying to encourage me, asking me if I’m going to ‘yoge’ today.

I’m giving myself a gold star for every practice. Likewise on my elliptical trainer session in the garage. I’m going for stars 11 and 12 for the week today.

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Raccoon # 8

Live Science

We caught raccoon #8 of the season last night. We have just come back from relocating him where he will hopefully find the rest of the “gaze” of raccoons we have driven to their new home out farther in the country. Even though Amber barked at him obnoxiously, he didn’t lose his cool.  It looked like rain was coming soon, so we relocated the raccoon before having breakfast or doing anything other than feed animals.

Now we’ve had breakfast and I’m enjoying a cup of coffee as I type this.

We have doors open so far this morning, enjoying a nice breeze through the house. We are due for storms today, with a bigger chance this evening. I will get out, check the garden, and see if we have more ripe tomatoes to bring in soon.  Of course, now that we are home for the rest of the day, the sun has come out. :0)

I am doing well on my efforts to exercise this week so far. I have done my elliptical trainer in the garage, plus my half hour or so of yoga stretches and abdominal exercises every day. This is a 6-gold-star week so far! I will try to earn 2 more today.

The wonderful person from Tri-Hill Pest Control in Fort Smith is due here at 12:30 today. 1308 Zero St, Fort Smith, AR 72901. (479) 782-2847. He is a super nice man – PLUS since he has come and treated the house quarterly, we haven’t had a bug or pest problem. (Other than my husband.) This is a wonderful company.

Today’s project will be my kitchen desk. We use this, and the shelves above it, to have medicines and first aid stuff on hand, too, so it’s a busy area. I will try to get this area cleaned out and reorganized today.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

 

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Happy Start to the Day

There is little that makes me as happy as someone buying some of my work. It’s the highest compliment there is when a person wants it for his/her own. Last night I received an order for this hand-painted “Daisy” cruet. I just got back from mailing it at the post office. I’m still grinning, hoping the customer loves it, and happy that my work has a new home.

We’re supposed to have off and on ‘heavy downpours’ today, so I’m happy we have a nice, dry house. My husband is frowning because the rain will bring an end to his favorite ‘brown, crunchy’ grass.

I’m not sure what my project for the day will be. I will do my session on the elliptical trainer in the garage and also my half an hour or so of yoga stretches and abdominal exercises, but I’m open to what the rest of the day holds.  I will hope for a quiet day.

I hope you are somewhere safe and comfortable today, and that at least one thing makes you smile.

 

 

 

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Tuesday

Inspirationfeed

In a few minutes I will drive down to get our mail and put out our trash. When I get back, I’ll spend some time on the elliptical trainer in the garage. I’m HOPING to do 20 minutes today, but I’ll do what I can and call it a win for the day. My motivation is high today. I was planning to do the elliptical MWF this week, but I’ll see what happens. :0)

My husband wanted to eat some of the South Beach pancakes this morning. The last time was a disaster, so we decided that the NEXT time we tried them, “I” would be the one who caused it. I mixed up the two packages (one for him and one for me) according to the directions. The batter was too thick. I added 2 more tablespoons. The end result was good. We used a little butter and some sugar-free syrup. It was a nice way to start the day.

I will check the garden and also see if we have ripe tomatoes to gather. It has been so hot that I have spent the minimum amount of time outside as possible. We have a 50% chance of rain today – particularly this afternoon – so I’m hopeful for a bit of a reprieve.

I am trying to choose something in the house that needs ‘healing’ (cleaning out, reorganizing, cleaning) each day. I’m not sure what today’s project will be yet. So MUCH to choose from! I’m working on large leaf bag #3 of things to donate to the Disabled Vets.

I’m re-reading book # 47 (out of 49) of the J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) “In Death” series. #50 in the series has been ordered and will arrive soon!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

 

 

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Muggy Monday

Attack of the Cute

My husband and I did a few errands this morning and then I got on my elliptical trainer for the first time in umpteen months. My trainer lives in the garage and it’s really hot out there. I managed 15 minutes this morning – better than nothing. I’ll try it again on Wednesday and see if I can do 20. I will, of course, do my 35+ minutes of yoga stretching and abdominal exercises this afternoon. (I gave myself a star for the elliptical and will earn another with the yoga this afternoon.) :0)

One of our errands this morning was refilling our sweet Molly’s prescriptions for antibiotics and pain/inflammation relief medicines. I’ve told you she has malignant cancer. It’s in one side of her jaw. She has quite a sizable, firm lump there that is growing. The vet and I talked frankly. Molly was 15 in February. We decided to try to keep her as comfortable as possible, giving her as many happy dog days as we can in the time she has left. She is still able to eat and drink, and enjoys demanding to go out, and then come in again – for a treat. I’m making sure we have PLENTY of the two treats she loves, and am VERY freely dispensing them. She has been with us since she was a small puppy. We are cherishing each day.

My husband is grinning because our grass is at the PERFECT stage, according to him – brown and crunchy! He wishes it would stay that way the rest of the summer. We are due for some rain this week, though, so he’ll have to enjoy it while he can. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday forecasts show a good chance of rain, plus a little bit of relief from the humidity.

I made Suzanne Ryan’s (Simply Keto) recipe for keto chili yesterday, and we ate a bowl last night. My husband sighed with pleasure. We will enjoy a bowl for the second DIY dinner, plus one of the DIY lunches this week.

I haven’t decided what my next clean up project will be. I’ll look around and decide priorities, planning on taking a donation to the Disabled Vets in Fort Smith by the end of NEXT week.

I hope that YOU are having a good day today.

 

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Diet Progress

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Weight comes off MUCH more slowly than it goes on. The older you get, the harder it is to get the lard off.

 

Lovethispic.com via Pinterest

 

In our current quest to get ‘back in the saddle” of the keto eating plan, my husband and I have signed up for two months of the South Beach Diet. That is the closest plan of prepared meals to how we are trying to eat. We are about 2/3 of the way through the first month.

So far, we have each lost 5 lbs. We are not very pleased with the number of choices on the food plan, or the taste of many of the entrees. We DO really like anything they offer that comes in a small cup and the shakes. My husband really likes the candy bars ( both snack and entree) and I love the small bags of nuts. Otherwise, it’s a very good thing we have fresh, ripe tomatoes to eat alongside the entrees for lunch and dinner.

That said, the first month is helping me re-realize what a “portion” is. We were eating many of the right things, but we glossed over – or ignored – the portion amounts. When we are doing the DIY dinners, lunches, breakfasts, and snacks each week, I am trying to pay particular attention to how much I am serving.  Also, my husband is saying he will cooperate with not throwing things we shouldn’t be eating into the grocery cart. If they aren’t around, they can’t call to you from the pantry…. “Linnnnnnnn dahhhhhh!”

By the end of the second month (approximately mid-September) my husband may REACH is weight loss goal. We have talked about the fact that his ‘cooperation’ will need to continue so that he can KEEP the weight off. I have consoled him by pointing out that he can increase enjoy some fruit then, and that we may buy the candy bars he likes A LA CARTE from South Beach to tide him over, or to simply keep a supply for him. He also readily admits that he really likes many of the recipes we have found by Suzanne Ryan in Simply Keto.

For example, I have Suzanne’s recipe for Keto Chili in the slow cooker right now for one of our DIY dinners tonight.

I will earn Gold Star # 7 this afternoon with my yoga practice.

Next week, I will TRY to add a few minutes of my elliptical trainer to each day. It’s very hot here, and my trainer lives in our garage, so I’ll have to get out there early and limit the minutes I spend – Maybe I’ll try Mon, Wed, and Fri to start. I figure that even though I won’t be doing 35 minutes out there, anything I’m doing is better than none.  AND, if I do the time out there, I’ll give myself another Gold Star!

My weight loss journey will be much longer than my husband’s. That’s okay. If I am seeing a reasonable amount of progress – either from the scales, the measuring tape, or my flexibility – I will try to “keep on keepin’ on. “

Wish me luck?

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Today’s Project

Leaderonomics.com

I have told you that I am a championship level procrastinator.

This time, I’ve been giving everything else priority over updating our important spreadsheet records and ignoring the monthly bookkeeping – just shoving the paperwork in file folders and watching glumly as the pile grew.

This week I’ve been working hard on the important spreadsheet updates. I make copies of everything for our files in a couple of secure places in the house, plus copies for the safe deposit box. I will also arrange with our son for him to have access to the updated versions. I try to do this every six months. Sometimes it’s amazing how many things change in that period of time. Things happen one at a time and you just don’t really notice. Anyway, I feel good that those are up to date now. :0)

The monthly bookkeeping paperwork was piled up from APRIL. Yeah, I know. I should be flogged.

Now all of THAT is up to date, with all of the filing that goes with that!

And, finally –

Pets | Animals

Clipart Library

I just earned gold star #6 for the week on my yoga practice! I’m starting to actually FEEL some improvement now. I’m taking things slowly, stretching things out and breathing into the poses, taking as much time as I need to relax as much as possible, or to do as many repetitions as I can in order to breathe into the poses. I spend around 30 minutes daily on the mat. I’m trying to combine the stretching with abdominal exercises.

Today, Abby, one of our cats, joined me. She WANTED to lie down on my stomach while I was stretching out on my back. When I discouraged that, she moved to my side. I finally got her to get up on the couch and stare holes through me as she watched my practice. :0)

I’m feeling victorious in my efforts to actually get something significant done today.

Happy Saturday!

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Thoughts on a Saturday July 25, 2020

New Animalbook

  • It’s frustrating when your child is across the world from you and hurting. Thankfully, we chatted today, and our son is doing much better after a doctor’s appointment. There is 12 hours difference between us, but we got to chat a bit before he headed for bed. I am relieved.
  • I’m also relieved that my husband is doing much better after a stroke-type episode while we were at Lunch Bunch. He is also doing MUCH better this morning.
  • Our Lunch Bunch friends are all healthy and happy. It’s wonderful to have good, understanding, caring friends.
  • Our sweet dog, Molly, who has cancer, managed to eat half her breakfast this morning. She is resting comfortably now in her bed just behind me as I type.
  • All is calm and quiet so far today – and for that I am truly grateful.
  • Our lawn is turning brown and crunchy – my husband’s favorite – and our irrigation system is working to keep our veggies and flowers alive.
  • Since it’s very hot, we are thankful for good air conditioning and the ability to stay indoors today. We will get the mail, but that’s it, I think.
  • I’m working on updating important information spreadsheets today. If I finish that, I’ll work on bookkeeping.
  • I will get my 6th gold star for the week for doing my daily yoga practice.
  • I have lost 5 lbs.

I hope that your Saturday is a good one. Take care and stay safe.

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Relaxxxxxxing Jaw – Relaxxxxxing Face…

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I failed to make time on Thursday, but I did 35 minutes or so of Gentle Yoga stretching every other day last week – earning 6 gold stars for my desk calendar.

I don’t know why the actual silly gold stars are motivating, but they are for me. I’m not sure what that says about me, but – hey – it’s working.

My biggest problem in getting back to my “old-lady, not-REAL-yoga-as-I-think-of-it” practice (standing on your head, folding yourself up like a pretzel) is that I am all hunched-up, stiff, and creaky again.

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I don’t know what it is about getting older, but I have observed that people seem to ‘draw up’ as they age. Hunching over, taking smaller, hesitant steps while walking, moving more slowly, turning inward. The tendency is to end up in a ball.

Right now one of the things I’m working on is relaxing when I lie flat on my back on the mat. That doesn’t sound like much, I know, but it is for me. I have to start with a wedge pillow under my neck. I breathe into the position, trying to concentrate on relaxing my jaw, relaxing my face, actually letting the wedge pillow support my head. Yeah. I’ve gotten that bad.  I then trade the wedge for a sofa pillow and do the same relaxing. Finally, I can lie flat on the mat with no pillow. Each position is like this, with parts of my body either clenching up or yelling at me as I try to get into the stretches. I am concentrating on just doing what I can do, trying to push just a tad more with each day of practice.

I’m making progress after the six days of practice last week. I’m still stiff, but I can relax more quickly now into each pose. I keep reminding myself that Cat Kabira, the lady on the Gentle Yoga DVD, stresses that ATTEMPTING each pose, and holding while you relax and breathe into it, does your body good. As long as you are doing the best you can, your body will eventually ‘yield’ and release the muscles.

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I’m going for 7 stars this week.

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Getting the Lard Off “Progress” Report?

We are ‘regrouping’ on our weight loss and exercise efforts. I say ‘we’ – my husband and I are on two months of the South Beach Diet Plan now, trying to reboot our efforts to lose weight. Excuses abound, but the bottom line is that we have been regaining the weight we lost previously and are trying to get our heads back in the game and remotivated.  “I” am exercising. He encourages me in my efforts, but won’t do any himself.

To date, I have now lost 33 pounds and 28 inches from my most ‘zaftig.’ I’m disappointed that I allowed myself to gain back pounds and inches, but that is in the past now. I am again losing weight and exercising. So far I am walking 10 minutes twice a day, morning and evening. It is too hot in the middle of the day. I AM working in the yard, and I think that should count toward my “30 minutes of exercise each day” goal. I am also doing another 30 minutes of Gentle Yoga stretches daily.

Our initial impressions of the South Beach food are mixed.

Anything in the small cups is good. That includes soups so far. The shakes are fine. I like a chocolate nut bar snack, and my husband likes a toffee bar.  The dinners are okay. We are eating them with a lot of fresh tomatoes from our garden. We have changed our coming order to try to find something we like…

The big thing we are getting is a reality check.

  • portions do matter
  • eating a small amount of the right things several times a day works well on keeping hunger down
  • saving something nice for after dinner snack is good for the morale
  • tracking what you are eating and drinking is a good way to stay accountable
  • watching the scales show general downward progress is a nice thing

I am personally learning (again!) that if my husband slips things we shouldn’t eat into the grocery cart, that doesn’t mean that “I” have to heed the voices calling me into the pantry. I am responsible for what I eat.

My initial feeling is that our decision to do a two-month reboot was a good one.

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Folding Myself Into a Paper Airplane

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As part of my ‘get-my-act-together’ effort lately, I’ve started to do yoga again. I do “Gentle Yoga” stretches from the DVD “Gentle Yoga” with Cat Kabira through SixtyandMe.  Due to stubbornness and stupidity, I don’t make time for it as I should, even though it makes me feel better. That said, I’ve gotten started again, realizing that over the time I HAVEN’T practiced, I’ve stiffened up again and am feeling sore. DUH!

The fact that the pounds I’ve gained during “COVID-19 stay-at-home-mostly ” are starting to come OFF with our South Beach Diet makes me feel more like exercising. It’s as hot as an oven outside now, so the walking for 10 minutes three times daily they suggest to start is actually twice a day – in the morning and before dark.

It was really hard to get started with the yoga again. It took me several minutes to relax enough to actually lie still and breathe into lying on my back on my yoga mat. Whatever the muscles are behind my shoulder blades were screaming and not wanting to let go. Once I got THAT done, the rest was just moving through the poses I know help me, SLOWLY stretching me out and breathing into each pose, doing what I can do now.

I felt better – plus fairly virtuous – afterwards, so I’ll go back to putting a gold star on my calendar each day I complete the yoga and see if that keeps me going.

Less lard, more flexibility, gold star, and a happy face from me. A good way to spend part of the day!

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Swimming Through the Confusion

I told you that my husband and I are doing two months of the South Beach Diet in an effort to get back on track on our keto eating plan. Yesterday I finally figured out that we should be eating PHASE 1 foods for two weeks (until the end of next week.)

I went onto the website in order to ask a question about the snacks and the soups. Some of the snacks didn’t have any stripes and said nothing about what phase they were, plus the soups said nothing. They are short-handed there, I guess due to the coronavirus, so it took a long time to reach someone. After the chat, I am more confused than ever.

She said, “We aren’t doing the phases anymore.”  All the stuff I read and printed the day before stressed staying on Phase 1 for two weeks, so I asked again – getting the same answer.

I am still going to mainly try to stick with stuff marked Phase 1 until all is gone, but won’t stress over eating a Phase 2 thing, when needed.

If you read what is provided on the website, there are a number of other discrepancies; one example being the use of salt. In one place it stresses you should look for “low salt” canned veggies. In another, it says ‘feel free to use salt liberally.’  I am watching my salt, so I will continue to use it the way I am now.

So far, I’m happy that we are trying to get back on track with our keto eating plan. We are getting a much-needed wake-up call regarding ‘portions.’ We are learning to plan ahead better so we have healthy snacks. (My husband was happy with his DIY celery and cream cheese snack yesterday afternoon.) I made a salad to go along with our ‘Texas Chili” entree last night.

I am hoping that by the end of the two months on the program, we’ll be better able to handle things on our own again, having received a boost from the good people at South Beach.

 

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AHA!

 

I told you yesterday that I felt dumb because I finally noticed – after 2-1/2 days – that “Phase 2 and enjoy with Phase 3” was printed on my husband’s package of pancakes.  Intelligent woman that I am, I thought, “Maybe we’re screwing up.” I spent a half hour or so finding some information on the South Beach website and printing it. I spent another hour or so reading the information, discovering that

  • Amazingly, we are in Phase 1
  • We are only supposed to be eating/drinking Phase 1 stuff until the end of next week
  • We are right that the DIY part (2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, two dinners, and two days of snacks each week) started at the beginning of the program

I separated the aqua-striped packages (Phase 1) from the purple-striped stuff (Phase 2) in my husband’s box, and then did the same in mine. I did the same with our frozen foods. There is a bit of confusion, as the soups don’t say what they are, and it is unclear about the prepared snacks, but I will see if I can reach someone to talk to on the website today.

I told him we are only eating and drinking BLUE stuff – except for DIY meals and snacks – until the end of next week. (Actually, we’ll continue until all the BLUE stuff has been consumed -whenever that is – before going on with Phase 2.

My husband is still upset that so much chocolate stuff was included in his box, when he carefully ordered what he wanted. He really doesn’t like chocolate, and has no patience with the coronavirus causing supply chain problems.  I have given him the vanilla stuff they put in mine – also not ordered. He will have to make do with some of the chocolate stuff if our supplies don’t last until the end of the month.

I have gone onto HIS account page and MY account page, making sure that he has no chocolate ordered and I have no vanilla – with high hopes.

My husband only has about 10 or 15 pounds to lose to get to his goal, so he is much more cavalier about the diet than I am. He wants to cancel after the next month’s order is confirmed as shipped.

I have more to lose than that, but I’m hoping that this two-month ‘pay attention’ time will remind us of things like eating something sensible every few hours to avoid hunger, to eat reasonable portions when we do eat, and to avoid things we know we shouldn’t be eating.  I will continue to use the carb tracking they provide, whether we are eating the prepared foods or not, as I am more likely to keep with the program doing that.

I am trying to walk for 10 minutes 3 times a day, as they suggest. I’m also doing a half hour of “Gentle Yoga” stretches daily. (I think that the 70+ times I have to get up and go to the bathroom each day, due to all the water I’m drinking, should also count as exercise. :0) )

Fingers crossed.

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1st Impressions

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Our first shipment of the South Beach Diet was delivered this afternoon – right after we ate lunch.

1st impression – there was a lot more frozen food than I expected. I apparently didn’t read carefully enough, so I was scrambling to find an organized way to store my husband’s choices in one place and mine in another. My husband immediately wanted to know what he could have for a snack. We had JUST finished lunch, so I firmly told him I needed some time to get my act together, and that we would have our ‘afternoon snack’ around 3 pm.

2nd impression – we will be eating more TIMES each day than we have been. We have been doing intermittent fasting and then eating lunch and dinner (with an occasional dessert) before bed. This obviously hasn’t been working – though we have helped the failure along by eating stuff we shouldn’t and not paying enough attention to portion size. Now we will eat 6 times each day – having breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, dinner, and a dessert type snack each day.  I will be doing ‘do-it-yourself’ meals and snacks – 2 of each spread out over the week. I’ve gotten out my calendar so I can do some planning. One regular ‘DIY’ lunch each week will be Friday’s Lunch Bunch. Since we’re starting Wednesday afternoon this week, I’m doing the best I can to get in as many DIY’s as seems reasonable.

3rd impression – We have just enjoyed our first ‘afternoon snack.’ My husband had a vanilla shake and I had a chocolate. They seemed a bit ‘thin,’ but the flavor was good.

4th impression – This is not as much ‘just heat up the food and eat it’ as the Nutrisystem we tried quite awhile back. There is cooking even on the meals provided in the program. (For example, I have tried to prepare my husband that he will be mixing and cooking his breakfast pancake mix.) I really think this is a good thing. We will be constantly aware of what we are eating, preparing much of it, actively engaged, rather than just nuking something and taking no responsibility for it.

5th impression – we are supposed to be eating 3 non-starchy veggie servings each day. (I’m happy because we’ll include tomatoes from our garden and some salads, as well as small servings of other good veggies.)

6th impression – I may have to live in the bathroom! We are supposed to drink half our body weight in fluid each day. I will make every effort to drink more, but my eyeballs are already floating, trying to drink 64 oz of fluid each day.

7th impression – they suggest that you keep your exercise routine to a minimum during the first week since your body is adapting to a new way of eating. They suggest walking 10 minutes 3 times a day. I will plan to add my old lady stretching yoga routine to that, since that is not at all strenuous, and is relaxing.

 

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Help is on the Way!

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As you can see, I have gained weight over the course of the last couple of months. I can blame it on lots of things, but the truth is, I ate the wrong things and ate too much, and didn’t exercise enough.

We ordered the first shipment of what we plan to be a two-month “get-back-on-the-horse,” “shot-n-the-arm” course of the South Beach diet,

the closest to the keto plan we have not been following closely enough lately. We are hoping that once we see the results on the scale, we will be re-motivated to act like adults and eat responsibly.

One aggravation is that we ordered on June 22nd and we still have not received our order. I got on the chat part of the website and talked to a nice lady who tried to find out what the problem was. She told me that they were waiting for parts of our orders to be delivered to THEM. I know that everyone is having problems with shortages, slow shipments, etc. due to COVID-19. They are probably trying to work with a skeleton crew, and they can’t ship until the orders are complete.

I found out recently that MY order had finally shipped on the 6th, but my husband’s had NOT. That is upsetting because if HE is unhappy, MY life is even more of a challenge. I checked this morning and found that HIS shipment was shipped on the 6th, too – apparently the his account had not been updated when I checked last time. HOORAY!

They use Fedex, but their track your order link isn’t working. I’m hoping we will get the delivery this week and can get started. Fingers crossed!

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Thoughts on a Saturday – June 20, 2020

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“A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.” — James Dent

The sun was out earlier here, but now it’s overcast. We have an 80% chance of storms today – the first day of summer. All people and animals are good today, and we’re hoping for a quiet weekend.

I pre-ordered the latest paperback “In Death” series book by J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) awhile back. It comes out in July.  To celebrate this, I’m enjoying my dive into the world of Eve Dallas, Lieutenant in the NYPSD in the year 2058+.  I’m picking up details I missed the first time, as well as just enjoying inhabiting her world – so different from mine. I’m re-reading book # 23 right now (out of 50) and will be ready to add the newest book to my collection when it arrives. (I’ve also pre-ordered the paperback of #51 which will be out at the end of December.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are due for a rainy weekend. I’ve been working hard in the yard, trying to keep the weeds at bay. I see evidence that the ‘wild’ would simply take back the land we have enjoyed for over 30 years now if I lost my determination to win the war. The civilized part of our yard looks pretty good now. My next focus will be on weeding my veggie garden and my flower planters around the yard. I’ll enjoy it if I get a bit of a break from the work this weekend.

I heated up the leftover spaghetti with meat sauce I made this week for dinner last night. I used the spaghetti made from chickpeas (brand name Banza) that has half the carbs of regular pasta. It’s still a splurge, but I sure enjoyed it. I made garlic toast for my husband with hot dog buns, and used the keto bread I made for mine.)  My husband said, “This was delicious. Thank you!” :0)  We will have leftover pork chops tonight with a side salad.

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I will continue the longer, slower sessions of gentle yoga I started yesterday. I’m concentrating on relaxing – harder to do these days – and S_T_R_E_T_C_H_I_N _G everything I have slowly and thoroughly. I’m feeling better because of it.

I hope your first day of summer is a nice one, too. ENJOY.

 

 

 

 

 

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Earning My Salt Today

Where did the phrase originate – The expression to be worth one’s salt, which means you’re competent and deserve what you’re earning, is most often said to have its roots in ancient Rome, where soldiers were sometimes paid in salt or given an allowance to purchase it.

I just came in from filling our 2-gallon container of KillzAll weed killer twice and spraying it around the civilized part of our yard. I’m making progress. I can tell where I have been, and that’s a good thing. My husband continued to work on repairs to our irrigation system for the yard while I did that. We’re both pooped now, having ‘earned our salt’ for the day, and will relax with lots of cold water and our comfortable recliners.

We are lucky. Our temperatures are pretty warm, but the humidity isn’t lethal yet. Hopefully, we can get the irrigation system working the way it should before the really hot weather hits. We have one system that waters the front planters first, and then switches to the back on a timer so we don’t have to get out and hold hoses every day like we used to do.

One of my goals with the weed killer is to make it so that there isn’t so MUCH to weed whack every time we mow. I don’t mind doing SOME, but it takes me two DAYS or more to weed whack everything now, and it all has to be done again the very next week. We have a lot of poison ivy bordering the civilized part of the yard, so one of my missions is to get that killed off as much as possible, too.

As far as exercise today, the carrying the heavy container and spraying is one part. As soon as I cool off some, I’ll do some nice gentle yoga stretches.

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Trying to Lose the Lard

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Actually, I’m feeling encouraged that I am back on track since yesterday.  I am planning what I will eat using MyFitnessPal.com, trying to get as close as possible to my macro percentages again today.

We came through another tornado warning last night with no damage that I have seen so far. I’m am truly thankful. This is one of the days that we are thankful we live on top of a hill because flash flooding is forecast. I will be glad when this mini-monsoon season we’ve been having is over.

To celebrate that, I’m planning to get on my elliptical trainer in the garage after lunch and do at LEAST 15 minutes. I’m hoping that I will be able to do my ‘regular’ 35 minutes;  but since I’ve been a slug lately, I don’t want to push it too hard. I also plan to do at least 30 minutes of my “Gentle Yoga” stretches before the afternoon is over.

I am again planning to bake a loaf of keto bread, plus a Twice-Baked Cauliflower Casserole” by Suzanne Ryan. My husband isn’t fond of cauliflower, but I’ll just serve him quietly and see what he says.  We will have a hamburger patty and a salad, so he should have plenty to enjoy even if he isn’t fond of the casserole. We’ll see.

It feels good to have a plan and feel in better control. Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

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Denial

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I’m going to have to switch gears for the coming week, starting today – hopefully.

I’ve been working outside, whacking down weeds, cutting back trees, spraying weed killer and ant killer, etc., in an effort to keep Mother Nature from reclaiming the totally wild, wooded land we bought around 33 years ago now. (We built our home on top of this ridge line in 1987.) This is a full-time, never-ending job, and I have to say that we grow some really healthy, impressive weeds here. Some of them are taller than I am!

Last night, while my husband and I enjoyed a much-appreciated evening on the deck while grilling our dinner, we talked about the fact that the ‘weed trees’ were again encroaching on our view of the valley below. The slope of our land is impressive, too, and there are totally rocky places where it is treacherous to even think about walking. This is where the weed trees are. I am going to attempt to cut these down, a few at a time, over the coming weeks to try to reclaim our view.

This gives you an idea of what we can usually see.

 

That said, here is the 10 day forecast for our area –

 

Maybe I should be trying to built a raft or boat instead of thinking about weed whacking….

The end result of a forecast like this is I want to take a nap. I feel super lazy. I can’t even get excited about playing in my art room right now, though that could change once I’ve finished my coffee.

The only thing I PROMISE I will do today is make a ‘sausage-egg-and-cheese bake’ for our dinner tonight. This is a wonderful keto recipe from Suzanne Ryan of Simply Keto.  My husband grinned and gave a happy thumbs up when I told him what I planned to make today.  Actually, I’ll promise another thing – I will do at least 35 minutes of gentle yoga stretches today.

Otherwise, I’ll have to fight my natural inclination to stretch out in my chair in the living room under my snuggly throw and take cat naps (with at least one, if not two, actual cats!) today.

I hope you have a happy Sunday.

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Diet

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Excuses abound. I’m setting the excuse bar at a higher and higher level. (Everyone has to strive for something! )

The pandemic. Staying home. Cold, rainy weather. Husband asking for comfort food.

Then the real reasons – my laziness, my lack of motivation, my weakness.

All combine to add lardage when what I INTEND to do is to continue my efforts to lose the lardage and exercise regularly.

Now I am trying to re-lose previous loss in order to get where I was before so that I can enter new territory on the scales and with my tape measure.

BUT WILL SHE REALLY DO IT?

Hopefully, the answer is “yes.”

Right soon now.

Maybe tomorrow…

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Progress in the Garden 5-9-2020

I spent most of the day in my veggie garden today. I started weeding and harvesting the lettuce, brought that in and rested. Then I went out again and did the same, bringing in another full basket. I then weed whacked under the garden boxes, and finally sprayed weed killer under the boxes and around the inside perimeter.

Our weather forecast for next week is rain every day except Thursday, and we have a 60% to 80% chance each day. That’s a LOT of rain. We may need a boat by the end of the week.

 

So that meant that we basically had today and tomorrow to try to get the yard and garden under as good control as possible before the rain starts. My husband mowed the yard.

 

I got the garden under control and will do a lot of weed whacking and clean up tomorrow.

 

My plants are doing well so far. Everything is looking healthy and happy.

 

I took this close up to show you that the lettuce, as well as providing lots of leaves for salads, is starting to form heads!

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Thoughts on Folding Myself Into a Paper Airplane

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Yesterday I was really sore from working in the yard, so I settled down to do some yoga in the afternoon.

It had been awhile since I practiced. I’ve admitted before that I’m really lazy and use every excuse in the world to avoid exercise, even though I KNOW I need it.

I live with the illusion that I’m still young most days, doing what I need or want to do, paying the price for that later – when my body laughs at me, and then turns the screws by going on strike for a time, adding insult to injury by making me walk around like a really old lady, creaking when I get up or sit down.

Yesterday was the first day in quite awhile that I got down on the mat. I could immediately tell that my body was in ‘snarky mode,’ when I started to creak just getting down to start. Suffice to say that the stretching positions did not come easily and that I have lost ground on flexibility since I last practiced.

I resent the fact that doing yoga and doing my elliptical trainer in the garage seem to use different muscles than I use in everything else I do. I kill myself working in the yard, for example, but THAT exercise doesn’t translate to keeping me flexible or allowing me to walk longer distances without feeling it in my hips.

My practice lasted a lot longer than usual, and my stretches weren’t near as good as I HAD been doing when I was practicing every day.  I DID feel better when I finished, though, and I slept better last night.

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Keeping Moving

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Today instead of formal exercising, I put on my ‘Weed Murderer” cap and went out to the garden. I’m doing a combination of pulling the weeds I can, weed whacking others, and then spraying weed killer to try to at least slow new growth.  A little of this activity goes a long way.   I do a bit at a time, then come in, rest, drink a bunch of water, and then go out again. My body is well aware that I have been moving by the end of the afternoon.

One thing that helps a lot is my “Gentle Yoga” stretches. I learned this from a DVD I ordered from Sixty and Me. The instructor’s name is Kat Kabira. She emphasizes taking things slowly, listening to your body, breathing into the poses. She doesn’t ask you to fold yourself into a paper airplane. She is very encouraging about whatever you can do. I can’t say enough about her.

Keep moving!

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