WALK ON

Despite the often rainy weather, I have been walking almost every day. As I've written about here, Spring has definitely sprung in the St. Louis area. This is the year of the redbuds and dogwoods - both of which are lasting longer than usual because they haven't lost their beautiful flowers to heavy rains and winds that we usually have in the Spring.

Today, even tho' the weather is fair, I ended up mall-walking. Why? Because that's the only good location where a certain friend and I can meet. I'd much prefer to walk outside, but geography doesn't always work out that way. I cherish the times I can walk with good friends, so I make that trade-off - mall rather than trail - to get to walk and talk with a buddy.

I've gotten my longtime friend Betsey back to walking. She's a real outdoorsy type so walking with me is an easy job for her. She breaks and trains thoroughbred horses, raises dogs, and tends to a 5 acre homeplace in addition to having a job outside the home. Whew! Makes my life look like a breeze -and I'm ALWAYS busy.

Usually, Betsey and I walk with another friend. But, that friend is walking in Peru as I write - trudging up the path to Machu Pichu! She's in very good physical shape and she and her husband, also very fit, often have the opportunity to take trips where they hike and climb. If it weren't for our frequent walks, she'd definitely not be in as good shape for her treks ;-). At least, I'd like to take credit for some of that. LOL. She's one of the reasons I got interested in walking 10+ years ago, so I really can't take credit.




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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO GEOCACHING

It has come to my attention that the 'official' geocaching website I wrote about require a GPS, a relatively expensive device that may not be within the financial reach of all. I know I don't have one!

A great alternative to geocaching is letterboxing. The idea is the same. The fun remains. It's just less involved and cheaper to participate in. Visit one of these sites for more information:


http://www.letterboxing.org/ and http://www.atlasquest.com/



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

ONE MORE IDEA FOR YOU

Did you like scavenger hunts when you were a kid? I did.

Here's a thought for you. You don't have to actually hide anything from yourself or create a long list of items to find. But, you can create your own scavenger hunt in several different ways.

First, pick an object to look for on your walk - red cars, dogs, flower-laden mail boxes. Keep your eyes peeled for these items.

Or, when you walk, count how many sweet gum trees you find. You have to avoid those dratted sweet gum balls or you'll break an ankle. So, they're easy to identify and count.

Find something that you'll be eager to see and go looking for it. You might be surprised how much you'll look forward to your walk.

An even better idea is to take a child walking with you, in a stroller or beside you, and try to see the world of your walk through the child's eyes. That's a wonderful way to look at the world.

Please don't count your steps. That's a job for a pedometer if you want one. Remember that 6,000 steps are recommended each day for all of us.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

ANOTHER IDEA

http://www.geocaching.com/about/

Have you heard of geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing)? It's a neat concept that might intrigue you. Go to the website above for more information. It's totally free and might be something you would like to participate in alone or with other members of family or friends.

I became familiar with this activity when I was still homeschooling my kids. Now, I just consider myself being 'homeschooled' as I'm a lifelong learner but I don't attend school. So, I won't discuss it at length here because the website above is quite thorough.

Today, despite the beautiful weather, I chose to walk in the mall since it's the only practical location I can meet up with two particular friends. We have such a good time walking our hour together that it's worth it to walk on that hard mall floor.

If you live where it's Spring now, get outside and check out the beautiful blooming trees!


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

SOME NEW IDEAS??

How about keeping a walking journal? You know how we try to entice kids to perform and continue good behaviors by placing stickers or stars on the calendar? Well, we can give ourselves some of the same encouragement. We can keep some sort of record of our walks so that we can track where started and how far we've come - not just today but over the course of weeks, months, and years.

You can use a simple notebook, use the calendar you have hanging on the pantry or refrigerator door, buy a fancier planner or journal, or go to a website like www.pocketmod.com to create your own for cheap.

However you make one, it's nice to have the record of your progress. Set yourself some goals. When you meet the goal, reward yourself! No, not with a hot fudge sundae. Maybe with a nice new pair of walking socks. Maybe with a nice bubblebath packet. Maybe with a $5 bill in the piggy bank, saving up for something better.

I have a few other ideas for enticing ourselves to walk. Stay tuned for those ideas.


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

IT'S NOT ALL UPHILL

From my last post, a couple readers seemed to get the idea that I'm not used to walking hills.

That's not the case! I walk hills often. Steep hills. Just not the Nemesis Hill that I walked on Easter Sunday!

I encourage everyone to try hills - slowly at first - and not the steep ones. Walking up hills is more taxing than walking on a level surface. Even placing a treadmill on an uphill grade is not the same as walking them outdoors.

Do Not Try To Overdo the hills. You may well get discouraged if you find your first few hills to be challenging, if not downright unpleasant. Hills are good for you. And, they can be fun.

Remember, once you get to the top, it's all downhill from there.

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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

STRAIGHT UP

I had a bright idea today. The whole family was coming over for dinner, but I had things under control and wanted to go for a walk. I needed to return a Blockbuster rental and the store is within walking distance, so I decided to walk there and drop off the DVD. Here's where I went wrong. The store is straight down a steep hill from my home - a really steep hill. Bad enough going down and far worse going back up.

I had a plan. I would veer off course a bit to walk up the hill through the park. Good plan, poor execution. There was an Egg Hunt going on there. My plan had been to climb the hill diagonally, as it were, to minimize the steepness. Not wanting to interfere with the kiddies and their search for bunny droppings, I walked straight up this hill.

It's also a Frisbee Golf Course. It's a steep hill. It's about the size of a football field. Now, I walk at a pretty good clip. So, off I go up that hill. Had to stop about 2/3 of the way up to take a breath. By the time I got to the top of said hill, I was seeing stars and out of breath. This is very unusual for me. Considered calling my husband to come pick me up, but felt foolish. Of course, climbing a hill is heavy labor. Of course, I was hot and out of breath.

So, I strolled on the approximately 1/2 mile to my house. Boy, was I pooped. Usually, after a walk, I have great energy. This time, I had to sit down for a while before I could resume the day's activities. Had to cook and do a bit of cleaning. Had to drive to pick up my mom.

It all turned out fine. I was fine. But, I ain't walking back up that hill again! I can't imagine having to walk up the hill on a typical summer day. Today was cool and breezy. So, no more walks to Blockbuster for me!




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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

WHAT'S BLOOMING IN YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS?

For a change, in Missouri, we are having a 'real' Spring. That is, we usually go directly from freezing winter to sultry summer with only a few days of transition each year. This year, we have had a more prolonged transitional season, which most people would choose to call Spring.

The advantage of having Spring is that we have redbuds, dogwoods, bradford pears, and flowering crabs all bursting with blossoms. Lawns are greening up nicely. It's wet most days, but not too cold. We aren't used to this strange season in these parts.

Walking outside in this delightful season is very pleasing. I enjoy all those trees and the few tulips and other green bulb plants that are peaking up from leaf-laden flower beds. Why do they call those trees redbuds anyway? They're purple! Whatever their name, they're lovely to look at!

This sort of weather makes me want to blow off work - not really a possibility - and shirk housework - a true likelihood - and get outside to walk around the neighborhood to see what new shoots, sprouts, and blossoms are to be found. What's blooming in your neighborhood?


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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

WHAT ELSE QUALIFIES AS A 'WALK'?

In addition to the other ways we might like to vary our routine to keep our walks interesting, there are a few other things that might qualify as 'walks'. Biking is an activity that quickly comes to mind. Most of us who can walk can also bike safely. Maybe on a stationary bike rather than on a street or trail somewhere. There are also those stands upon which one can rest the rear bike axle on so that you can use your street bike as a stationary bike.

Linedancing is an activity that I sometimes substitute for walking. I suppose any kind of dancing would qualify - and might well be more challenging than walking. There are all kinds of dancing. From linedancing to jitterbug to swing to jazzercize. They are all some form of dancing and serve the same purpose that walking will - putting one into a great frame of mind, aerobic exercise to benefit the body, energy building.

Other stationary activities like stairsteppers and rowing machines might interest me on a day that walking holds no appeal. A stairstepper is not a great machine for me since I've had two knee replacements. But a rowing machine is fine. I just have to tailor the depth of the rowing to suit my body. This incorporates more upper body and might be a bit harder on the back. Not an activity to overdo.

There are far more strenuous activities like jumping rope and jogging that are not on my list because they are high impact and, again, not well suited to arthritic joints or other health issues. Water aerobics are safe for everyone if done properly. If you have easy access to water, I recommend this. Find a good teacher and work those joints out under water. You actually sweat underwater!!

What other activities are on your list?



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

MULTI-TASKING......

What else can one do while walking?

Somedays I can't even walk and chew gum at the same time! Most days, however, I walk and talk or listen to my Ipod and sing along.

What ELSE can you do while walking?

Do you walk and talk? Walk and read? Walk and knit or crochet? Walk and push a stroller? Walk and jog (yep, that's 'allowed'). Walk and dance? What else??? I gotta know these things.

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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

WIGGLE WHILE YOU WALK??

The other day I was walking by myself. It was a fine morning for walking and I was happy to get in several miles before heading off to work. My Ipod has a small but juicy selection of good walking songs on it. My walk was long enough that I was near the end of my play list.

Suddenly, forgotten by me for some time, a great walking song began to play. The song is by Michelle Branch with a title something like 'It's All in the Game of Love'. It was a big hit for her and has a great beat for walking.

There I was, walking only two blocks from home, when I began clapping along with the music! I always sing along, usually low enough so as to not embarrass myself or others with my innate inability to carry a tune. This time, I was just belting it out, clapping along. I just didn't care!

As I've written before, I'm pretty brazen. I'm often oblivious to what others might think about my antics when I walk. I even aspire to be more of an exhibitionist, remembering the gal named Tiger who used to walk in my old neighborhood, stopping to dance on each major street corner. Cars honked at her, people waved. She brightened many a day.

Can I be the person who will brighten someone's day with my singing, clapping, and walking? At least, it makes my own day brighter!



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

I'M HONORED!! and, I love lemonade.....

http://wiseherb.blogspot.com/

Kathy G. of http://kathys-second-half.blogspot.com/2009/03/if-life-gives-you-lemons.html
has honored me (big time!!) by nominating this blog as one of her favorites! I've never participated in anything like this and don't quite know how it works, but I'll copy the rules and we'll see how it goes.

Here are the rules as established (or discovered) at this blog http://wiseherb.blogspot.com/.
If you're interested in nominating other bloggers for the award, here are some guidelines:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.


2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!


3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post and let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.


4. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

MY NOMINEES ARE: (in no particular order)


http://palocalvore.blogspot.com/ because I LOVE FOOD and wish I loved gardening. Willa is a friend who is very talented and whose universal outlook often coincides with mine.

http://kathys-second-half.blogspot.com/ because Kathy G. is such an upbeat person, a friend, and someone from whom I always learn something.

http://recycledcrafts.craftgossip.com/ because I wish I had the time and energy to perform all the magic that is written about at this blog that combines two of my favorite things - art and recycling.

http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ because Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors of all time and because this site taught me to make my own mozzarella cheese! There is a lot of valuable, practical knowledge here as well as inspiration for my recycling 'adventures'.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/index1.htm because on this site I learned how to easily, quickly, and cheaply make my own perfect 'Wendy's Chocolate Frostie'. Really! Lots of other down home wisdom here.

http://kimguzman.wordpress.com/ because I'm totally addicted to crochet (Can I nominate my own crochet blog???) and Kim is one of my favorite designers. She makes me WANT to do Tunisian Crochet even tho' I find it boring. And, despite having a teen and a toddler and a grown son, and all the life-drama that goes with that, her writing is always upbeat.

http://www.blisstree.com/hankeringforyarn because Noreen is so creative, has a wonderful sense of whimsy about her work, and writes in a very engaging manner. Another crocheter whose work I appreciate immensely.

http://margaretshooksandneedles.blogspot.com/ because crochet is meant to have fewer rules than other needle arts and Margaret takes freeform crochet in all kinds of directions. She inspires and dazzles on a regular basis.

http://working-tigers.blogspot.com/ because it's written by my daughter, her first attempt at blogging, and she has an important message for twenty-somethings as well as the rest of us.

http://www.dinamic-crochet.co.cc/ because Thata Pang is one of the most prolific and inventive crocheters I've ever had the good fortune to meet online. Her work is always an inspiration. She's the only person I'm in touch with in Indonesia. I love that the internet allows us to share so much information so easily across natural and artificial borders.

#11 - Sadly, there is no other crochet blog I've ever read that is any good. There are several other walking blogs, but I find them boring and technical, speaking far more to the marathoner than the every day person who needs/wants to take a walk!

To keep this walking-related, I'll ask who among the readers of this blog ever had a Lemonade Stand when you were a child? I don't recall ever having had one, but I certainly have come across them in my walks over the years. I look forward to walking through densely populated subdivisions this summer to determine if child entrepreneurs are still out there trying to make a few bucks selling their mom's lemonade!













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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.

MORE ON KITES

I did it! My daughter and I took our Dollar Store kites to the park and ran around (I use the term 'ran' loosely since I can't run and NEVER could run any faster than I could walk!!), throwing our colorful kites into the air. We weren't expert at the job but we did get our kites aloft. My daughter had never flown a kite and wasn't terribly interested in the whole thing. She's a rather sophisticated 23 year old and thinks such things childish. Boy, did she change her mind! She's now hooked and wants to get a 'real' kite.

The kites of my childhood were paper with flat balsa wood struts - balsa or something similar - with tails made of our old shirts. We didn't actually make the kites ourselves, but did have to supply the tails and assemble the struts. In St. Louis, there are only a few days really suitable to fly kites or drive convertibles. We've had several such days lately, altho' today was a bit cold. But, sunny and breezy is sufficient for a good kite fly.

While my daughter and I were flying our kites, my husband was taking my walk for me ;-).
The dog enjoyed that too. Nobody made fun of us attempting to get our kites aloft, although I feel sure that the Dads who were attempting to coach 6 year olds playing baseball could have done quite nicely without the distraction of two crazy women trying to fly their kites. Well, that's just too bad!



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Remember my 100% GUARANTEE. Should you decide to stop walking and resume your old habits, I personally guarantee that you'll get back 100% of your former life - your pain, your lifestyle, your attitude.