SNOW TIME

Reflections from Christmas Eve, 2010.

I don't know about you, but I love to walk in the snow - so long as there's no ice under it, so long as I'm bundled up nice and warm, and so long as I don't have to look presentable at the end of my walk.

It's been snowing in St. Louis all day. All day! That seldom happens here. It began sometime before I arose this morning. By the time I had to drive to a meeting at 9 AM, there was about 3 inches on my car. By now, 12 hours later, there is twice that outside and more on the way. It's not windy, not particularly cold, and I'm tempted to put on my boots, hook up Lizzie's leash, and hit the street, but....

I can't walk out in this stuff because my sweet husband is home and he pretty much forbids it. Now, he's not one to forbid me much. Good Luck with that. Forbidding me is almost a guarantee of what psychologists now call Oppositional Defiant behavior. In this case, I do respect him enough to not want him to worry about me.

So, despite the dizzying Christmas rush at the mall, I met a friend there and we walked. She really needed a walk as her work week has been Hellish. I just needed to get my derriere in gear. There are quite a few malls in the St. Louis area. Kathy G. mentioned one that is no longer a true retail mall (Crestwood Court formerly Crestwood Mall). Most store fronts have been given over to theater companies, art studios, and, lucky for me, the dance studio (Studio 41) where I dance. The other mall where there are seldom enough shoppers to be daunting is the upscale Plaza Frontenac. This mall has the added bonus of underground, heated parking AND wooden floors.

You might ask why I don't walk at Plaza Frontenac more often. It's location is not perfect for my friends and it's small enough to become totally boring by the time we've walked the first half hour. Feels like I imagine that hamster in a cage on that Ferris Wheel type thing. I hate hamsters and those Ferris Wheel things look really boring to me. Plus, the window shopping is limited to designer garments, expensive jewelry, and other posh home furnishings and accessories. Not my style.

But, walking at the mall beats not walking at all. Steph and I walked and talked for an hour. We both finished the walk in a better state mentally than we began it - as is usually the case. Take care of yourself and find a safe place to walk. It's an investment in yourself - and YOU'RE WORTH IT !



***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

I JUST CAN'T FOLLOW THE GAME

I've tried learning those dance steps on Sweating to the Oldies. I've tried to learn the routines in Zumba. I've tried remembering the dance steps in Dance Aerobics. I'm hopeless.

Okay, I linedance. You know that because I've written it here. So, you might ask, what's the difference. At my linedance class, I have a teacher. A very patient teacher. He cheerfully goes over the dance steps 287 times til I get them right. Then he turns on the music. Fortunately, it's not just ME who needs all those rehearsals.

So, why do I put the Sweating to the Oldies in my VCR (my ancient VCR) anyway? Well, just because Richard Simmons moves right doesn't mean I can't move left. He can't see me! No one sees me - unless you count the dog who is still trying to figure this out.

The beat is there. The encouragement is coming from Richard's mouth. I can groove to the beat, swing my arms, push my tush, step right and left, do knee lifts and side steps all I want even if the folks on the screen are gracefully following Richard to a T.

I still get the workout. I still get to sweat. I still feel great when I finish the workout. You can too. Don't worry about getting it right. Just do it the best you can. Do it for 20 minutes if you can. If not, just do what you can. You'll feel better, too.



***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

WHEN YOU REALLY CAN'T

There are just some days when getting in a walk just isn't possible. Whatever the reason, there's no time, and you just want to collapse after a day at the office, or chasing after kids, or cleaning house, or running errands, or just cuz.

Plan ahead a bit on such days. Try to speed up your walk from car to grocery store. Walk faster down that hall at work. Climb the stairs rather than take the elevator. Offer to run an errand for the boss or push the wheelchair for a patient. Help a kid pick up the twenty things you want picked up before the timer goes off. Set a 9 minute timer rather than a 10 minute one to motivate you to scrub the shower.

You get the idea. Whatever physical activity you have to do, push a little. Do it a little faster, a little harder, a little more energetically.

Such effort adds up. AND, don't forget. After you've collapsed for the day, you still have to get up to get a drink or hit the bathroom. So, stay upright and walk around your house the entire time the commercials are on. Time it if you don't believe me. There are at least 20 minutes of commercials in most 60 minute TV programs. If you walk for ONLY that 20 minutes, you've given yourself a healthy edge.

Then, sit, read your book, pet the dog, have a snack. You've gotten a bit of a workout in - and some days, that's good enough.


***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

A CHRISTMAS STROLL

Christmas and New Year's are upon us. Weather may be rotten where you are. Schedules may be busy. The to-do list may increase exponentially. The cooking and cleaning may overwhelm you. Expectations will NEVER be met 100%. Just not a possibility.

What's a person to do?

Go for a stroll. Not a walk. Just a stroll. After your large holiday meal, grab the hand of the kid closest to you and ask him/her to go for a stroll with you. The dishes will wait. Remember, no one will do your work while you're gone. Have no fear. It'll all still be there when you get back to it. So, do something relaxing as a treat. Stroll.

Taking an easy stroll after a large meal is good for you. It makes room for dessert more quickly, after all. And who doesn't want that?! It's also a time to bond. Maybe with your husband. Maybe with your grandchild. Maybe with that sister in law you don't really like very much. There is not much that can't be improved by taking a stroll.

Make it at dusk or just after. Marvel at all the pretty lights. Breathe in the crisp, cold air. Be grateful that you are alive and able to walk. Think of all the things to be grateful for. Most of us could easily rattle off ten things we're grateful for. So, bypass that list (which includes the good health of your family members and the roof over your head) - not because you shouldn't be grateful for them, but because we're ALL grateful for such gifts and we need to be grateful for them EVERY day. But, on this holiday - whatever holiday you celebrate or whenever your family gathers - find TEN MORE things to be grateful for. Think about them on your stroll. Tell your SIL that you're grateful for her presence. It won't hurt anything if it's not the absolute truth and you'll probably shock her (in a good way).

Later, once the house is quiet and the dirty dishes have been tended to, WRITE down your gratitude list. Write down TEN THINGS you're grateful for TODAY. Write down those ten and stash your list somewhere you can get to it in a couple of days, weeks, or months. You'll need it more then than now.

What are you grateful for now? Here are some that come to my mind (after the health of my family, etc):
that I can walk despite my hip pain
that I have a job to go to and work that's important
that my dog is such a great walking companion
that my husband likes the very imperfect hat I crocheted for him
that I found enough bags and crepe paper to handle all my presents
that my house looks great with its new siding and gutters
that my mom and MIL are still alive and healthy (okay, they're 88 so I can double dip here)
that my younger son has found his 'calling' in law school
that I can afford a mani-pedi if I really want one
that it wasn't me who fell yesterday and broke an ankle (altho' it was a friend and I'm sorry for him and you call me self-centered if you want)
that no winter storm has deprived my house of electricity (thus warmth and hot water)
that I have enough matching dishes to feed the whole clan
that I was introduced to the idea of a Gratitude List 13 years ago
and, finally, just for me - THIS HOLIDAY IS OVER!! (call me a Scrooge. I admit it!)

What's on your list?

When you're having a bad day. Pull out the list you made this holiday and read it. Guaranteed to improve your mood. Gratitude is right up there with walking for making any day better.





***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

A MALL HAZARD

One might think, based on my previous articles about mall walking, that I find shopping to be a potential hazard. I'm really NOT a shopper, so that's not often a problem for me.

What is a hazard at the mall? Those darn food courts, Cinnabon's permeating aroma, and the See's sample basket in the weeks before Christmas. Those things can derail the best laid diet plans!

Not that I follow a diet. I do not. This ain't about dieting. If I talk about a diet, it's typically referring to money. I go on money diets all the time. Probably 3 - 4 times a year, I feel the need to realign the budget and go on a money diet. That's a whole different blog.

But, I doubt there is anyone who is not tempted by those freshly baked cinnamon rolls, the sizzle of the wok in the food court, or the insidious call of chocolate when the See's salesperson holds out the sample basket. I'll have a mint crisp, thank you.

Here's my trick. I chew gum the whole time I'm walking. So, when I get that sample, I hold onto it until my walk is concluding. Then, I ditch the gum and have the little treat from See's. BTW, See's lollipops are great. One lollipop will last about an hour's walk. Really!

So, don't worry about being overrun by a triplet stroller or sideswiped by a Hoveround or not being able to balance the bank account at the end of the month. Worry about the smells from the food vendors and the allure of foil wrapped candy. Much more hazardous.



***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

THE CALL OF THE MALL

Pre-Christmas is a tough time to be a mall-walker. It might be better if I was one of those early birds for whom the malls open their doors at 5 AM. But, I'm not. Ten AM is a much more pleasant time for me to walk - crowds or not.

You can learn a lot by walking at the mall. You learn what styles are in fashion by looking at all those mannequins in the windows. You find out what toys are hot. You can see how many different phones are being marketed. And, inevitably, you'll discover that there are more shoe fashions that are incompatible with life as you know it than at any time in human history.

I am a huge fan of Carlos Santana. Wish he would stick to the guitar. Jessica Simpson should keep her mind on her Daisy Dukes. Coach should figure a way to share some of their huge asking price with those folks in the sweatshops OR lower their prices. And, Steve Madden, well, he should just get some better designers.

What about cosmetics? Want to know what's 'in'? Walk the mall. High-tech devices? Learn all about them at the mall. You'll also discover that the mall is the new park on rainy days. Every SAHM has her stroller and kids at the mall. There's even a little play area for the tots at most malls. Nothing wrong with that.

But, in those weeks before Christmas, EVERYONE and her grandma is at the mall. They make it a bit difficult for us walkers. I mean, who needs their priorities realigned? What are all those nice long halls designed for? Everyone at the mall must walk (unless in a wheelchair or scooter). Shopping is just a necessary impediment to all the walking that needs to go on there.

So, I say. Stop shopping and get walking! Actually, if you don't want to ruin your budget, leave your purse, credit card, and checkbook in the trunk and just walk. I used to be tempted to pull out my credit card (in the days before debit cards) when I'd see something enticing in those mall windows. Now, I'm just a walker and do little in the way of window shopping. I know I'll be at the mall at least once a week in the very cold and the very hot seasons, so if I need something there, I can take advantage of my walking addiction and take my debit card with me for the occasion.

So, no excuses. Get walking. If you can drive, you can get to the mall. Also, note that Home Depot even allows you to bring your dog into the store with you. And, I swear, there are seventeen miles of concrete walkways in every hardware store. Way more than at the mall. I'm just saying......


***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

THE WALKING WOUNDED??

Months ago, I wrote that I was enjoying Zumba. I loved the rhythm, the beat, and the movements. The harder the work out the better for me. Not so for my hip. I dropped my twice weekly Zumba class with sadness. But, I continued my linedancing at the same studio.

Weeks went by and the hip got worse not better. So, off to my Favorite Orthopedist I went. I pointed to the two spots that hurt, he took a picture, looked, filled a syringe with the marvelous elixir that removes all joint pain (if you're lucky), and stuck me. He said that this fixes the problem 80% of the time. " If it's not better in a few days, come back and see me. " His actual words. He spoke those words. I heard them.

Days go by. One of the painful parts of my hip is CURED. Glory be! ONE of the sites. Not the other. It got worse. I was in denial. Continued to walk and dance and pop the Tramadol.

Finally, I went to see my Favorite Orthopedist again with my sad tale. An MRI was ordered. An MRI was read. No hip arthritis - this is a good thing! But, there is a tear in the Gluteus Minimus. The where??? Who knew we have three (count them, THREE) butt muscles that come off the hip (maximum, medialus, and minimus)? Who cares? Only someone who has a tear in one and swelling in another.

Why? I asked. How? I asked. No one ever knows. He said. It'll get better. He said. Don't worry. He said. Easy for him to say.... Then! We figured it out. Remember that little device I told you I had purchased on ebay?

This is the culprit. Know how many times I used it? Wanna know? TWICE! This inexpensive device from an earlier (low tech) era has now cost me over $600 and any amount of pain.

But, will I be defeated? NO! I'm still walking (well, read my recent post). I have taken a break from dancing for the month of December, hoping that this brief respite will aid in healing. There is a surgical repair option - but not for me unless it gets lots worse. There is also an option of another of those miraculous injections - but they don't assist in healing and could actually mask pain caused by worsening the tear.

So, I'm laying back. Sticking to walking alone. Anyone want this little device? No, I won't sell it to you or give it to you (or charity). I'm destroying the darn thing. No one needs any help getting injured. Even those of us who are not 'jocks' can get injured by exercise. In the future, I'm sticking to my walking, dancing when I can get back to it, and my stationary bike.





***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

LESLIE, RICHARD, AND ME

It's been terrifically cold in St. Louis this past week. And, the weather has been so bad that I've been 'under it'. Last Thursday night, while I was minding my own business, I was stricken by some ailment that left me on the sofa for 4 days and with no appetite for 6 days. I lost almost 10 lbs! Better now, but tomorrow will be ONE FULL week since I've gone for a walk.

What have I been doing in the meantime? Well, Leslie, Richard, and I have been hanging out. That's Leslie Sansone (Walking Off The Pounds) and Richard Simmons (well, you know who he is!). Yesterday was the first time I felt I could go for a walk of a mile or so, but the weather was just too cold once I returned home from work. So, I popped one of Leslie's tapes in my aging VCR and walked, after a fashion, for 2 miles - or 30 minutes.

Today, it's warmer but still not suitable for walking outside because of the icy patches, so I dug out a really old Sweatin' With The Oldies and worked out with Richard Simmons. I actually do not do most of his dance steps. I do most of Leslie's maneuvers while singing along with Richard and his crew. Big Girls Don't Cry - at least not this Big Gal.

I'm really hoping that the predicted ice storm tonight will clear out enough for me to meet my walking buddy at the mall for our usual Thursday morning hour long walk. I NEED it.

But, if that's not possible, I'll boogie with Leslie or Richard.



***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

WANT TO LIVE TO 100?

Do you want to live to 100 years of age? I'd like to if I'm healthy. Maybe that way, I'd actually live long enough to see grandchildren. I know, I know. Be careful what you wish for!

But, back to living to 100. In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of October 21, 2010, there's a long article containing the sage advice of a woman who is a healthy centenarian. How did she get that way?

I glossed over most of the very long article til I got to a sub-headline stating 'A Walking Example'. Whoa! Now, there might be something good in this section - something I'd actually enjoy doing other than eating my fiber and living a 'good life'. LOL.

The woman who is the subject of this article does an hour of yoga (no, not for me. You have to get on the floor. Then you have to be able to get back up.) After yoga, she goes for a half hour walk before breakfast.

Now, a half hour may not seem like much, especially after a full hour of yoga, but I'm liking this part of the 'cure'. But, maybe that's just me. Give me an assignment that I like, and I'll do it nicely for you.

Okay, what other good things must I do to live to a healthy 100? Give up chocolate? Eat only 1,200 calories a day? Do yoga? None of these seems likely. But, I will keep walking. What about you? What would you be willing to do/not do to live to a healthy 100?


***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

YOU KNOW THE OLD SAYING....

Dance like nobody's looking? I love that saying, especially since I love to dance but have all the grace of a galumphing brown bear. Ask me if I care. NO!

I dance in public pretty much like nobody's looking. I try not to do any stripper type dances in public. I promise. But, I LOVE to dance, so I just go for it.

Here's a thought. Turn on some 'happy' music - salsa, disco, whatever floats your boat - and DANCE at home, all alone. Do the twist. Do that one where you pretend to be wearing a scuba mask under water. Do the 'chicken'. Do the 'Limbo' - how low can you go??

Do this when you can't get out to do anything else like if the streets are icy. Do this when you're feeling crabby. Do this when you're antsy. It's a cure for all three of these things. Really!

And, there is the plus that, well, if you're home alone, no one is watching. No critics. No embarrassment. No such thing as the wrong way to do a dance.

I have personally fallen in love with a waltz called Wonderland Waltz from the Johnny Depp movie version of Alice in Wonderland. It's by the Plain White Tees and is an energetic waltz. It's not what I'd call a 'happy' song - but it's a fantastic dance and I'd do it 27 times a day if someone would play the music for me. As it is, I have to wait for my twice weekly dance lessons and bug the teacher (who also loves this particular dance) to play it more than once. While one might not think of the waltz as being a strenuous dance - not like the Forbidden Lambada - it's quite a workout.

And, I don't care who's watching. I'm gonna dance that dance anywhere, anytime I hear it!

Note: Refer to this article for more on this dance:
http://ewalkandtalk.blogspot.com/2010/11/dancing-with-johnny-depp.html



***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

HOW CAN I GO TO WORK AND EXERCISE?

Figuring out how to fit a walk into one's daily work schedule is a persistent problem. An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of November 18, 2010 addresses this issue nicely.

Here's what the brief but pithy article says. (I just love being able to use 'pithy' in a sentence!)

*use weights at your desk - store a small hand weight (a full can of soup works fine) and use it to do biceps curls up to 3 times a day. (If you're not familiar, check here to learn the proper way to do biceps curls. Ignore the 10 second advertisement and be patient til you get 57 seconds into the video. You can do them sitting down just fine.)

*take the stairs (do I need to explain this? UP as well as down.)

*do triceps curls while the microwave is heating coffee or lunch - back up to the table or counter, grasp it with you hands, bend elbows, and dip thighs.

*do squats. Stand at your desk every now and then, extend your arms and bend those knees. Go down only as far as you're comfortable which may be only an inch or so at first. Up and down. Hold for a count of 5, working up to a count of 20.

*(and their best hint) walk when you can - around the block, to another cubicle or department, to the printer even if you can roll your chair there.

AND - I'll add these two:

* get up from your desk as often as you can.

* stand up to do some of your work. Nothing says you can't stand while talking on the phone or thinking. You can think and stand at the same time, right??

Doing these little things regularly really adds up. Don't start quantifying it until you've been doing one or two of these activities for a few weeks. Add one new movement each week. Once you've gotten comfortable with a few of them in your routine, start taking note of how many minutes each day you're able to move your body. When you get up to 20 minutes of these activities each day - in any combination - consider this - YOUR BOSS IS PAYING YOU TO WORK OUT and you are very likely increasing your productivity.



***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.

WALK OR NOT??

Had an MRI today (don't ask) and didn't realize how tense I was about it. It only lasted 20 minutes and I knew what to expect (some claustrophobia, lots of noise). But, when I got done with it, I was a mass of pain. I must have been tensing every muscle in my body in an attempt to remain perfectly still for the full 20 minutes while lying on a hard flat surface which is supremely unpleasant for me.

Drove home right away, feeling slightly sorry for myself. As I turned onto my street, it occurred to me that, at 4:30 PM, I had a choice. I could either shed my shoes and sack out on the sofa watching mindless TV after taking some Tylenol for the pain OR I could take advantage of the remaining 30 minutes or so of daylight, please my 4-legged child in the shortrun, and walk away my tension and pain.

I made the right choice! I rushed into the house, laced up my walking shoes, leashed the dog, layered myself for the chilly weather and hit the street 15 minutes later. We only walked for about 30 minutes, but that was enough time and exercise to release all the stress from my muscles and alleviate a lot of the pain!

Hooray for nature's pain relievers, endorphins!

Remember that you, too, have this choice each day that you're tense, in pain, or crabby. Do you go with those feelings (physical and/or emotional) or do you do what's best for your body and spirit and work those bad things out with a little walk or other physical activity? Do the right thing!


***************************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. You can trust the information you find here. It's from a dedicated walker. Trust me and your life will get better! I promise.