TWIST AND SHHHH, DON'T SHOUT, PLEASE!

In my unending quest to find interesting ways to keep myself active, I recalled a device that I had seen years ago but never used. Naturally, I began surfing the 'net to find one. Didn't even know what to call it. It's a device that one stood on and twisted. The idea is to take off some weight around the middle OR strengthen the abs. Might do both.

It took me some time to find such a device. I found a site that purported to sell these devices that are manufactured in China. Isn't everything? So, I placed an order for one - about $25 with free shipping. I waited, and waited, and waited. I emailed and was reassured that my order would be filled but they were back-ordered. Finally, after 4 months, I cancelled my order and was refunded my full purchase price. Good so far, but still no 'Twister'. It's not a Twister. That's the name of a game from the 1970's, I think, that results in a lot of compromising and embarrassing contortions of the body. Not for me.

Finally, I found one of the 'original' devices for sale on ebay. I ordered it (and paid about half what the 'new' one cost) and received it a few days ago. It's pretty much fun. No idea if it'll result in producing any of the benefits originally claimed. Probably not or it'd still be marketed, right? But, it's easy to do and is another small, inexpensive device to add to my slowly increasing array of gadgets to keep me moving.



***************************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.

SPRING INTO FALL

Call it Global Warming, call it El Nino or La Nina, or just call it crazy. We're having Spring weather in Fall in St. Louis. I know this to be true because I typically have Fall allergies and my husband always has Spring allergies and we've switched seasons. This is conclusive proof that we're Springing into Fall this year, 2010.

What does this have to do with walking? Let's be clear. I'll walk in most any kind of weather, so long as there's no ice underfoot. But, wind slices right through me and, just like that, triggers my Fall allergies, making me sound like a cheese grater looks. No fun either. There have been years when I was hoarse for as long as three months straight.

So, in the Fall, when the winds and rain start in this part of the world, I take care to keep my throat out of the path of said wind. This means, I can walk, but I can't walk and talk. My voice is muffled under layers of fleece to prevent the wind from reaching my vocal cords.

Actually, it's fairly well documented by medical research that exercise such as walking aids greatly in preventing allergies. I have found this to be true in my own life. The more I walk, the less likely I am to get sick - whether it's from an allergy or a virus or a bacterium. Walking supports a healthy immune system.

Obviously, there are times when one shouldn't exert. The doctor's rubric is that if you're sick from the head up, you can exercise. If you're sick from the neck down, it's time to take rest, take fluids, and baby yourself. I pretty much agree with this. So, let's all go walking and build up our immune systems to fend off the flu and such that assault us each winter.



***************************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.

PUZZLING NEW PLANT

I spend a lot of time admiring the well manicured lawns of the houses I walk by on the streets near my house. So many people invest lots of time and money to make their lawns attractive. Me? I typically take the path of least resistance. I appreciate the beauty of these lawns but refuse to invest either the time or money into creating such an oasis in my own yard.

I also 'collect' interesting plants I see along the way. I don't steal them. I just find ones that attract me and try to learn more about them, usually by calling my green-thumbed mom. Yesterday, I found a real beauty! And, cannot identify it. Maybe a reader can help.

It's a bush on the southeast side of a southeast facing house. It's low to the ground with slim limbs that bow, arcing from the center out. The leaves are the shape of a human eye with the pointed end facing farthest from the limb. The leaves are bright, almost chartreuse. BUT, the coolest thing is the fruit/nut/whatever on the limbs at the leaf intersections. They are the size of a sweetgum ball, are a deep orchid color (I'm very color impaired, so I can tell you that they're not red, not pink, not maroon, not mahogany, not purple - but a sort of reddish purple that I call orchid). The neatest thing about the fruit/nut is that each one is round but consists of smooth, little bumps, making it look somewhat like the inside of a pomegranate.

Not a very good explanation. I have no idea what to google. I've never seen any signs of life at this house, but I plan to knock on the front door next time and ask. In the meantime, if anyone has any ideas of names of plants that I can google to find the right one, please let me know.




***************************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 A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Today was unseasonably warm and sunny, so I skipped out of work a bit early (as it gets dark by 5 PM since the loss of DST) so my pup and I could walk a bit. I got home, changed into my walking shoes, watched Jeopardy with my daughter, then put the leash on Lizzie (my 4 legged child) and headed for the park.

I was amazed at how few people were at the park. There were two or three kids at the playground but only 2 joggers on the track! So, Lizzie and I were unhampered in our walk. One child on her teeny bike was on a collision course with us, but, at the last minute she changed course so we all survived unscathed.

Later this year, I'll be able to walk at the park closer to dusk. There's one corner of the track where the trees are especially dense. The track is sort of a plateau, the high point in the neighborhood, surrounded on three sides by schools and homes but on the third, there's a nice stand of dense woods. At dusk, if we're quiet, we can see the deer sticking their noses out of the leaves to see if the coast is clear for their turn on the track.

However, as soon as the deer see the dog, they hide back in the woods. Apparently dogs and deer don't go well together. We've actually had deer in our backyard. Our house is in a subdivision where most of the houses are on about half-acre lots. Most yards have a nice line of trees at the back of the lot. My back yard, due to years of benign neglect, has a nice patch of trees with dense undergrowth at the back property line. Fences keep the deer from meandering through the neighborhood, but they do find their way to our yard and to those of our neighbors.

It's really exciting to see a group of deer when I'm on a walk. There are several patches of dense woods in the neighborhood where they can hang out without fear of being bothered. They're a real pain for drivers - a true road hazard. But, I enjoy seeing them on my walks. One more thing to add to the list of things that one can enjoy better on a walk than any other way.



***************************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.

RECONNECTING

Had an afternoon off last Friday and took my mom to the mall to get some of her favorite Panda Chicken egg rolls. While there, we ran into my friend Kathy G (a reader here) whom I hadn't spoken to or walked with in quite a while. Since we both had the rest of the afternoon off, we planned a walk together.

I dropped mom off at her apartment and drove home, called Kathy, and laced up my walking shoes. Kathy and I met and got to walk and catch up on news of family and friends for about an hour. By then, I was zapped. Kathy's walking pace is a tad quicker than mine, so I try to keep up. She wasn't aware of that - and I purposely didn't make her aware til I finally, inadvertently, said something about it near the end of that walk. She was surprised!!

Well, she's about 10 years younger, about 40 pounds lighter, and a real go-getter and she's surprised that her pace is quicker than mine!! Guess I'm flattered. But, main thing is, I enjoy walking and talking with her.


***************************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.

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

At the park by my house, there's a nice, blacktop 1/3 mile track, mostly flat, that traverses around soccer/baseball fields, next to other fields and a playground. This is my 'default' walking location - when I have little time to walk, when I walk with my husband as with 2 adults and 1 dog we're wider than the sidewalk, where I walk when there's too much traffic or it's too close to dark to be safe on the street.

Recently, every time I'd walk at the park, I'd see the same woman walking. Finally, being the shrinking violet that I'm NOT, I introduced myself to her and asked if she'd care for us to walk together. Her name is P (we'll just call her by her first initial), and, of course, our lives have had many previous intersections but we'd never met before. We ended up walking 3 times together over the next few days, then my schedule got busier and I haven't seen her in a week or so. But, I'm sure our paths will cross again. One lap around, we picked up E (her first initial), a very pleasant lady known t P from the track. Nice conversation and I walked lots farther than I had planned.

Turns out that P hasn't been walking that long, but she walks for 90 minutes every day! She walks for an hour on the relatively flat track then walks the last 30 minutes on the adjacent trails that include some brief but steep hills. Good for her!

Can't wait to run into P and E again! Almost always more fun for me to walk and talk than to walk alone.




***************************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.

RECENT WALKS

While walking recently, I've planned blog articles in my head, but haven't followed through with actually writing them! Sorry 'bout that. Here's what's been going on lately:

Made two new friends at the track in the park near my house.

Reconnected with Kathy G. for a walk.

Found a really neat plant in someone's side yard that I'm trying to identify.

Enjoyed the 'Spring' weather in the Fall. Where have all the allergies gone??? (probably shouldn't say that aloud!)

Twist and Shout

More dance news.

So, here come the articles about these topics. Hope you'll enjoy some of the reading and will be inspired to get/keep moving. Keep reading.....



***************************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.