To Do List

8:00 am.....Hike the "M"

9:15am......Take Chloe to the Bark Park

10:00am...Weed

11:00am....visit with Molly and Gracie

1:30pm......Weed

3:30pm......Blog

after that.....cold beer

Ah, life is good.

Get Moving

Walking gets the feet moving,

the blood moving,

the mind moving.

And movement is life.

~Carrie Latet

Gorgeous day today. Walked with Allison and Chloe. We went a new route, up and around some windy streets and cul de sacs and then down a very quiet road, passed some cows and too many dogs. It was 50 minutes. Just right. I feel full of energy, happy, and ready for the day. We talked about our walking options after school gets out next week. We made some plans for new routes for our walk and a few hikes. Should be a fun summer

Bring on the Rain

Boy did they ever!! Days of rain. Gallons of rain. So much rain we almost floated away. But today was good and tomorrow is supposed to be even better. So, after a few days of the stairs, I"m back to walking. I want to do the "M" again and there is a nice trail up Waterworks hill with fabulous wildflower sightings and the view is beautiful.

The true charm of pedestrianism does not lie in the walking, or in the scenery, but in the talking. The walking is good to time the movement of the tongue by, and to keep the blood and the brain stirred up and active; the scenery and the woodsy smells are good to bear in upon a man an unconscious and unobtrusive charm and solace to eye and soul and sense; but the supreme pleasure comes from the talk. ~Mark Twain

Walking Buddies

Allison has been getting up to walk with me in the mornings and the other day I got an email from Sally (a worse walking buddy than me) to see if I wanted to walk in the early mornings when school gets out on the 13. Yes, and yes. I love having a buddy to walk with. I'll walk farther this way. It's working out great with Allison. She brings Chloe, of course and we all just trot around. A new direction every day. We go for about 45 minutes right now, but that might bump up when school's out and we can leave earlier. Anyway, I'm still hoofing it on shanks ponies and I have company for now. Good and good.

The Reward

Last Thursday Allison and I took a hike up to the "M". The hillside was full of wildflowers. When you go later into the summer you don't see much, but this time of year the reward is stunning. I hadn't hiked the "M" since last summer. I didn't know how I'd do. The trail zig zags up the side of Mounta Sentinal and there are 13 switchbacks. The first leg is always the one that kicks ass. It's the longest and steepest. I told Al that I was going to go painfully slow so that I wasn't a quivering puddle before switchback #2. It worked. Slow and steady really does win the race. It was perfect weather, not too hot and not too cool or windy. The only downside was we had to go straight to work and I was all loose and wobbly the rest of the day. Its almost like that feeling after you've had a massage. Not as enjoyable during, but the loose feeling is very much the same. Anyway, first hike is firmly under my belt and I'm ready to go again later this week. Hopefully we'll be able to do it weekly. That would be a huge benefit to my hind end.

Is it a dumb idea?

Laura asked, "The bad thing is that I've been eating like crap, craving fatty salty sweet things. I'm thinking of doing a fast of sorts doing only bland, boring nasty foods for a few days and really clearing off my palate. Is that a dumb idea? "

A: Its not a bad idea to go on a bland diet for a few days to cut those cravings. Its like smoking. The more you smoke the more you want to smoke. Those salty sweet things do the same thing. They trigger something in us that makes us want more. I'm that way with sugar. Give me one chocolate chip cookie and I want 5 or 6 more. But if I cut out all refined sugar for a few days, I don't want it as bad. And the weirdest part is, I don't like it as much. A trick, if you like fruit, buy a bunch. A large assortment of different fruits and have them at the ready. When you get a sugar craving grab a piece of fruit instead. Drink lots of water too, and I can't remember if you like pickles or not, but a big old dill will cut your sugar craving right at the quick. After a few days you'll notice that you really don't want that stuff as much. Then the trick is to keep on that path. So if you find yourself looking at a piece of cake or brownie or whatever, take a tiny tiny bite. Then ask yourself, 'is this the best thing I've ever tasted in my life?" It usually isn't. It's usually just a poor substitute for something else. If it doesn't rock your world, don't take another bite. It's not worth it. Not worth it meaning, that sorry little piece of brownie is not worth an hour of your blood sweat and tears to work it off again. Now, if it is the best thing you've ever tasted in your life, like Belgian chocolate hand delivered by Jean Claude Van Damme himself, then eat the whole thing and savor every bite and really enjoy it like you've never eaten before and will never eat again. Then go for a walk and take a cold shower. Cuz that's worth it.

A Different Kind of Workout

When struck with inspiration, one must act swiftly, lest that moment pass. I was struck. I acted. And have spent the better part of this week (that 1.5 hours daily between the school bus stop and work) working on my scrap ROOM. I've moved furniture, cleared out the "under-the-stairs-closet", moved more furniture, built utility cart, cleared out the furnace room, hauled big black bags o'shit upstairs, vacuumed, cleaned and worked up a general sweat. So, not a lot of walking, but I dare say, I've put in my bit. I have half a room to go. Today is trash day. I have to leave the boys a little something for their efforts. Then, when round one of crap is gone, I'll work on round two. Isn't it weird how getting rid of junk has this freeing feeling? Its not even junk that you could see. You would never know it was there unless I showed you. But for me, it was this heavy weight around my neck. I still have junk. More than I care to think about...cover mouth, cough (garage). But this junk is outta here. So, I'll walk, but today I'm hauling and cleaning more. And feeling the burn and loving every minute of it. Shout out to Laura. You go girl. When you get here, maybe we'll give the hill a whirl. Or what about the "M"? No pressure. Oh, and we can do part of it. But you should see the view from up there.