When It's Time To Change...

In an effort to improve our health, hubby and I have purchased several pieces of exercise equipment. Our latest purchase was a recumbent bike. That joined our elliptical machine and the Gazelle in our family room!

Our house is a bi-level and the family room is long and partially divided by the hallway, so it is difficult to arrange furniture around it.

Especially since we have a built-in corner fireplace and bookshelves on either side. And, I need to watch television when I exercise!

So, today I did my workout by rearranging things to put all the exercise equipment on one side of the room, preserving the tv watching area for relaxing. But, with the tv angled just a bit, we can work out and watch tv, too!

I'm very tired and doubt if I'll be using any of that equipment today! Well, maybe I'll use the treadmill which is in my office...but that's another story!

Writers Beware--Sitting Decreases Life Expectancy

I watched Dr. Oz today and he said that inactivity and sitting reduces life expectancy by 11%. Boy, am I glad I retired! I never realized my boss was trying to kill me! I wonder if the treadmill desk would ever catch on in the office environment? Think of how much room could be utilized by removing office walls and installing rows of treadmill desks.

As of yet, I haven't tried doing editing on my treadmill. Right now, I'm editing about 45 pages on paper, so today I'm going to give it a try. Beginning tomorrow, I'm going to track steps and word count. Exercise increases blood flow and also stimulates creative brain activity, so it's a win-win situation for me.

Since I haven't tried working on the internet while walking, it's time to get off this desk chair and back on the treadmill.

Are any of you doing exercise to stimulate your creativity? Feel free to share!

Gardening, Sunburn, and Weeds...Oh, My!

Yesterday, I mowed the lawn, put down Scott's turf builder plus weed killer, trimmed back the ornamental grass around the pond, and sprayed home guard to let the spiders know they are not wanted in the house!

Today, I spent the afternoon picking up the spiny balls the sweet gum tree continues to drop. Clearing these from the flower gardens among the bark mulch was a killer! I looked very strange with my hubby's knee pads over my jeans, my "Welcome to My World" Elvis t-shirt, tan and black leather gloves, my once white-now green tennis shoes, and a black baseball cap. I crawled around in flower beds like I was looking for a lost contact. I did fill one of the large lawn and leaf bags with those sticky, spiny balls. I must say the garden area looks good. When I finished, I sprinkled Preem to detract any weeds from growing.

I've never been a gardner. I do NOT like crawly things which always seem to be on the attack when I'm outdoors. But with my full armor and leather gardening gloves, I'm getting braver. Just hope this early start on the gardens will help me keep them in good shape this year.

So, I have gotten my exercise big time the past two days...and I also received a nice sunburn on my arms! Not bad for mid April.

Now, I need to get caught up on my writing! We're looking at three days (at least) of rainy weather, so I can get back to work on my manuscript.
We've had two beautiful days in my area of the world. Sunshine, 70 degree temps. I just couldn't resist spending as much time outdoors as possible. I needed to get exercise, too, so I decided to begin weeding and preparing our flower beds for spring. Some of the hostas are already growing nicely. Also, when cleaning the front beds, I could see shoots for the cone flowers coming up as well. We have a number of knock-out rose bushes, and they are already growing and looking fantastic!

My New "Get Healthy" Regime

The steps I'm taking this year to get healthy:

• I've been working on removing all carbonated beverages from my diet. Water is replacing the cold cans of diet cola I've been drinking for years. I haven't reached the NO carbonated beverages yet, but I've managed to get down to one every day or so.
• The next major step is to stop eating after dinner. I've gotten into a habit of eating a package of whole wheat and cheddar crackers just before I go to sleep. The reason I'd started the habit is to make sure that my sugar level wouldn't drop and wake me.
• Dinners are becoming more healthy as well. We eat only frozen or fresh vegetables, no canned vegetables.
• We eat grilled fish at least once a week, sometimes twice. And with that we eat brown and long-grain wild rice.
• I'm adding exercise to my day, but not excessively. A half-hour on the treadmill or on the Gazelle while watching television. And adding the Sketchers Shape-Ups to aid with all the steps I normally take, I'm hoping this will also help with the toning.
• When I reach for a snack between meals, I am stopping to ask the FLAB question as seen on Dr. Oz show:  Am I...Frustrated, Lonely, Anxious, or Bored? If the answer is yes, nothing I eat will help!

So, are you on a diet or get healthy regime for 2011? If so, what are you doing?
I will give out another of my post it note holders to someone who comments on this blog post. (See picture on my 1/11/11 blog post.) I'll draw names next Tuesday and announce the winner here. I'm really excited to learn any new tips you might have which can help me on my goal!

Exercise, Patience, and Writing

I've been wanting a recumbent bike for some time. After reading reviews, I really want one. I need an exercise machine that is low impact and this seems perfect. Plus it will probably help hubby as well. Problem is, I'm not a very patient person and I need to wait until September to make the purchase. Other problem, they are HEAVY and require assembly. *sigh* I need to find one that is already put together and then convince my very strong son and son-in-law to carry it in.

I think riding the bike would be fun to do while watching television or reading a book. It's really hard to read a book while walking on the treadmill. I'd rather walk outside, but the weather is not conducive to doing that.

Hmmm. Looks like fall is going to be my time to exercise. Outdoor walking and recumbent bike. So, for now, I guess I'd better stop buying cookies, chocolate and ice cream. But, oh, they are so satisfying when I'm stuck on finding the "perfect" word for my manuscript.

It's amazing how long it takes to edit. That's the time when I find passages that need ramped up with body language or deep POV. After rewriting, then I go back and read from the previous paragraph or so to make sure it "sounds" good. I can pass an hour editing just a few pages! Amazing. And, all the while that crazy little muse is whispering to me to hurry up and finish. I've been looking for a muzzle that will fit.

Follow My Horoscope---No Way!!

So, I read my horoscope each morning on my internet home page. This morning it says:

Exercise could be on your mind -- spring is almost here, after all -- and your head is in the right space to get started on a new fitness routine. You should be able to make it stick long enough to count.

Um, not!! It seems every time I start an exercise regime, which consists of walking (usually on the treadmill) I wind up with something painful that debilitates me. A few years ago, I had a pain in my hip area, but I kept walking, pushing through the pain, and eventually wound up with bursitis that literally kept me in my chair for a week. I couldn't walk. Last year I tried walking on my treadmill and a pain shot through my foot which prevented me from doing any serious exercise walking for several months. Two months ago, I started walking on my treadmill again. Yep, pain in my foot. I tried to ignore it until I reached the point that I was limping so badly I could barely walk up our steps. Sigh. Finally, I went to the doctor and had an x-ray. Diagnosis...arthritis and bunion. So, what's a gal to do?

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Why I Don't Go to the Gym

I don't go to the gym to exercise. There are several reasons why.

• Do you realize that every few minutes someone working out in a gym pulls a hamstring muscle?
  
• I've gotten in touch with my body. It communicated to me that if I took my body to the gym and tried to keep up with the Latin Fusion class, I would die. So I stay at home, sit at my computer, and sway my body to the tune of Golden Oldies.
  
• If I wanted to dress my body in spandex and show it to the world, I'd just go on The Biggest Loser where I'd be surrounded by people who might make me feel skinny.
  
• I thought machines of torture were against the law, but there are a ton of them in the gym.

Share a smile with someone today! It's calorie-free and you won't pull a muscle doing it.

Happy Feet

I purchased a new pair of walking shoes. They are supposed to help circulation and balance. If you've never seen these, check out an Avon book. That's where I found them--in the Curves for Women section. They are strrrraaaaange looking shoes, and they felt weird when I first put them on.

Whoa! You know those exercise balls that you have to balance on...or fall off of in my case? Well, these shoes made me feel like I was standing on one of those balls. I can roll back on my heels and then forward on my toes. Look at me! Back and forth, back and forth. I felt like I was on one of those rocking horses for kids. Woo hoo!

Then I tried to walk. Uh-huh. Now I felt like I had rocking chair rockers attached to the bottom of my feet. My gait was kind of: step, roll; step, roll. I can only imagine what those workers at the new Fed Ex building next door thought. My hubby says I have a very noticable gait. Supposedly, my head bobs up and down when I stroll. Okay, so what was it doing now? I know with these THICK soles I'm at least two inches taller. Hey! That's a long way to fall.

But soon I had the rhythm. Now all I need is some music to complete my "Happy Feet."

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