Time for another health and fitness update. I finally did it! Last night, I moved up to five pound dumbbells for my evening routine. I did cut back on reps and sets, but I also switched up two of my lifts to dumbbell rows and dumbbell squats. 😁
I missed my Molly walk on Sunday, but I did shovel some HEAVY snow. I did the back landing and steps at about 6 AM when I let Molly out. Dan did most of the sidewalks and front steps, but I did go out and help.
The snow was about 6 inches up the back door and packed solid.
I also missed my Molly walk yesterday because she was at the vets getting spayed and today because she is still fairly medicated.
Molly on painkillers and sedatives. 🥳
Molly is doing fairly well, so we should walk tomorrow. That collar is about two feet across so it’s just a bit awkward for her to move around the house. It is also rather awkward when she tries to herd me around the kitchen. 🙄
We had serious wind and a bit more snow last night, so I have some more shoveling that I can get out to work on. Molly is finally taking a nap so I am just waiting for her to wake up so she can come outside with me – at least for a while.
Other than that I made some cinnamon buns on Friday – kneading the dough was a bit of a workout. 😊 They weren’t my best effort but they were okay if you didn’t actually know they were supposed to be cinnamon buns.
And… There wasn’t any fitness involved, but we did go out on Saturday to help celebrate great granddaughter Alaska Rose’s first birthday.
Alaska did an amazing job of opening her presents – with a bit of help from Mom and a couple of aunties. She could use some work on her cake eating skills. 💞
That’s it for today. Molly is awake so time to bundle up and go move some snow.
Still on the topic of mental and emotional well being and those that I turn to for inspiration, today my blog is highlighting Rasa Pura.
Rasa is a life coach and yoga teacher who posts guided meditations on You Tube. She is very new age, and I have to admit my personal beliefs do not totally mesh with hers, but her voice is SO soothing and her message is always SO positive, that I love listening to her meditations.
The guided meditation that I have been using regularly for the past few weeks is the positive affirmation “I Am” video above. My favourite line in the entire video comes at the end of the introduction “Energy flows where attention goes”.
I know that line embodies the truth because I have seen it – for better or worse – time and time again! I have seen it in others and I recognize it in myself. By repeating a negative thought ten times, I can convince myself that I am cold, tired, sickly, angry, sad, or miserable. By repeating, a positive thought, I can convince myself that I am the total opposite. Either mindset ultimately determines what I do and how I do it.
I have been listening to this particular video every day for a few weeks now (and have been working with positive affirmations for years). Is my life perfect? No, but my mindset is definitely better and improving all the time. I am generally more peaceful and happy and when I do have to deal with life’s rough moments, I am able to do so and move on – and back to a better place.
And my life is improving – my health is definitely better and I am more fit than ever, I am better at managing our finances and they are in better shape than ever – despite retiring and taking a significant cut in income, and overall my relationships are healthier. It is absolutely worth the time and effort that I have invested in learning to watch where I allow my “attention to go”.
And I am grateful to Rasa Pura for posting her guided meditations. They help me to keep my attention on the quality of life that I want and on the path to health and wellness – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thank you, Rasa. 😊
Twenty years ago, I discovered the potential empowerment of self-help programs. For me, finding an aged copy of Norman Vincent Peale’s “The Power of Positive Thinking”, was life-changing. It started me on a quest to discover the wisdom and inspiration shared by the amazing and insightful individuals who work in this field.
What never fails to amaze me in discovering a new brilliant concept, is the total simplicity and truth at the heart of it. The ideas that these gurus relate are so obvious! They shouldn’t be amazing and yet they ARE.
For the past eight and a half months, I have been sharing the progress of my health and wellness journey that I began in mid February. Most of what I have shared has been relative to my physical progress and the benefits that I have enjoyed. This month, I decided to share some of the mental and emotional progress that I have made over the past couple of decades, and which has been accelerated and enhanced by the improvements to my physical health and well-being in the past few months.
My biggest challenge today was choosing the subject of my first blog on this topic. There are so many and I love them all. After much consideration, I decided to go with James Clear and his book “Atomic Habits”.
I am sure many people who read this are familiar with his work. He is well known for his work with professional athletes and entrepreneurs – helping them to develop good habits that will lead them to success in their field.
The inspiration for his program originated from a devastating accident that he suffered on a baseball field when he was in highschool. In working his way through his lengthy, difficult, and ultimately successful recovery, Clear discovered the remarkable results of building healthy habits.
The concept in ‘Atomic Habits’ that grabbed my attention was Clears idea that habits are compound interest. He noted that, if you make it a habit to improve 1% every day, you can improve +35% over the course of the year. Likewise, if you engage in a poor habit and decline 1% every day, you can decline to virtually zero over the course of a year. This works for virtually anything in life that you may want to improve on, or anything that is gradually wearing away at the quality of your life.
Practicing one single good habit every day takes very little effort or determination, but over the course of days or months, it makes a huge difference. Likewise practicing one single poor habit a day, may not have immediate noticeable results and the results may be easy to ignore from one day to the next, but over the course of days or months – the results will be all too obvious! Stacking good habits on good, or bad habits on bad – makes things incrementally better or worse.
In his book, and through his program, Clear helps others to focus on their habits and teaches techniques for developing good habits and breaking bad ones.
From a young age, I was taught the importance of having goals. From focusing on my habits – I have learned that my potential is beyond any goal that I might set for myself – any goal, for improvement to my physical, mental, emotional, financial, spiritual wellbeing.
Our habits, big or small, good or bad, make a major difference in how our lives play out. We owe it to ourselves to deal with them – and fortunately I found James Clear to help me deal with mine.
This will be a health and fitness update but I cannot blog today without mentioning Halloween.
So… Happy Halloween! TBH I am not a fan of holidays and Halloween competes with Christmas for my least favourite of the lot – but my greeting is sincere for all those who are into it. 😊
This year, with our eight and a half month Pyreneese (who has all the social skills of a ginormous rabid squirrel), I thought Dan and I had agreed to forgo the festivities, dim the lights, pull down the shades, and crack open a bottle of wine. It turns out, I was wrong. Last night Dan brought it up and was concerned about the influx of kids in our neighbourhood and how he hated to disappoint them. I was willing risk their disappointment, but okay we will partake.
Our dainty dog, pretending she will be all chill about this.
Since we had no plans until last night, we had no treats to hand out so my mission this morning was to go shopping. Easy, peasy as our Maddy would say.
I headed out at 9, started the Jeep, and was greeted by the dashboard drama queen carrying on about the lack of air in my rear passenger tire. This is a regular occurrence, so whatever. I headed off to Walmart. The last time I was in Walmart was sometime in July and they had shelves overflowing with Halloween treats. Today, nothing! I picked up a few things we didn’t need and made my way to the cashier. There were two women ahead of me. The first was a frazzled young woman trying desperately to stuff her overflowing cart as the cashier rang her groceries through. I felt for her. The woman behind her was an elderly woman with two packages of chicken breasts and a bag of salt. She kept her salt in the cart and set her chicken on the end of the counter. She told the cashier (who was still running through the previous customer) about the salt and then proceeded to push her cart to the end of the aisle, whipped out her bank card, and pushed herself right up against frazzled young woman – who couldn’t even pay for her stuff because elderly lady was blocking her access to the debit machine. WTF? I was so busy watching the drama play out, that I didn’t notice the cashier across the way trying frantically to wave me over to her til. It finally got painfully obvious, so I hustled on over there.
I got out of Walmart and made my way over to Freshco – dashboard queen getting herself into a lather of red lights the entire time (which matched all the red lights that I was hitting). Did I mention, I dislike driving? A lot? So I get to Freshco and surprise they have no Halloween candy. I consider going to our Dollar Store but decide to just whip over to the Wholesale Club on 4th Ave – which OH YEA is closed for construction. After navigating the detour through hell, I get to the Wholesale Club and find that my best option would be a couple of cases of single pack potato chips. Massive cases. I am NOT one of those elegant, sophisticated women at the best of times. Carrying two big ass cases of potato chips through a busy store and across the parking lot to our Jeep, is not happening!
On to Northgate Mall. I did run in and check out Dollarama. They had miniature chocolate Santas and individually wrapped Easter eggs. I headed down to Safeway but took a quick detour (because they’re my thing now) and I went to Shoppers Pharmacy. Hallelujah – they had shelves of Halloween candy.
Score!
I grabbed an assortment of goodies and hustled up to the cashier. FFS! What kind of fresh hell is this. Virtually, every cashout is self serve. (I haven’t been to Shoppers for years). I go up to the sole actual living, breathing cashier and she points across the aisle and offers to help me ‘over there’. Over where? She tells me she is pointing at the self serve counters. Why? You’re here. I’m here. Why would we go over there? I said “No, I would rather help you keep your job”. 🤦 Unbelievable.
So I make my victorious way home, stopping at a dozen red lights, and crawling through three or four school zones. Despite all the ballyhoo about the air in my tire, all is well. I am still driving on four round tires. I should be super pumped about my successful venture, but I am kind of struggling to get past the entire episode. Which brings me to this week’s health and fitness update!
Thirty six weeks in and I am still excited about the health and fitness regime that I started in February. I talk mostly about the physical aspects of what I am doing but health and fitness isn’t only about the physical. We are not just physical beings, but also mental and emotional. It is all so intertwined that what affects one system affects all of our systems.
So yes, I am still excited about doing the physical work – my Zumba lessons, walking Molly, and lifting (light) weights. This week I am finally up to ten sets of ten reps of four lifts and I am adding a few wall push-ups (push-outs). But…
I am also meditating every day, working on developing general coping skills, and I have started (re)reading self-help type books. In my journey to wellness, I have come across a number of authors whose works I find to be particularly inspiring. In the days to come, I am planning to write some blogs highlighting some of these authors and explain what it is about their ideas that I personally relate to and how they have helped me to improve my mindset.
In the meantime, I have to sign off for today. Molly is impatiently awaiting her walk and I really need some fresh air and some quiet time out in nature to re-centre and work off my earlier shopping venture.
Our snow is pretty much melted, the sun is shining, and our temperature is warm enough to pass for late fall or early spring.
While Dan and I have seen enough of the white stuff for this year, Molly obviously loves it. I didn’t manage a You Tube worthy video, but I did get a short clip of her romping around the dog park. Mostly, she just liked to run around in the snow, which was a good thing. I forgot to bring her ball and all of the sticks were buried. I tried tossing some snowballs for her. She would run after them but kept losing them when they hit the snow covered ground. 🤦
We are keeping busy getting ready for winter these days. Dan finished cleaning up the yard yesterday and went out to get a new set of tires for the Jeep. I have been digging out winter coats and boots, and today I kicked off our fall indoor cleaning, starting with the kitchen. It is so nice being retired and having the time and energy to give each room a thorough cleaning. (I never get tired of appreciating my retirement. 😊)
That is about our life right now. Getting ready for winter in the daytime and relaxing in front of the fireplace at night. Despite Molly’s thick coat, she does enjoy being front row centre when the fireplace comes on. Preferably, as close to Dan as she can get.
That’s about as close as she can get. 😂
That is it for today. I will be back tomorrow for my weekly workout update.
After a week or so of questionable health issues, I have finally shaken off whatever was bothering me. The timing could not be better as yesterday we had our first blast of Saskatchewan winter. It was wet. It was windy. Fortunately, it was not terribly cold, with the temperature hovering at about the freezing point.
It was a perfect day to get out and practice some serious snow removal and to watch Molly zig, zag, and zoom through her first snow of the year. Unlike our little Kat who was not a fan of the white stuff, Molly loves the snow. She loves to slide around on our icy patios. AND… She loves to race into the house soaking wet and grinning ear to ear from her adventure.
As for my thirty five week update – I am back to my full workout, my meditation, and my weights (starting with the nine sets – again!). I didn’t walk Molly yesterday and today may be the same. We did get lots of outdoor exercise yesterday and there is more snow to move today, as it snowed off and on during the night. I am not sure how icy the streets and sidewalks to the park are, so we will have to see before I decide on a walk. By tomorrow, it should be safe enough, as we are due to see some sun and warmer temperatures that should clean things up to a safe level.
Genie and I did take Molly for a walk a few days ago, and for a run in the park. Genie put together a short video of our outing. It is a first effort, but she did catch a few of Molly’s runs!
That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day!💞☃️
Yesterday I wrote a blog about how I have not been feeling my best for the past few days. It didn’t seem that serious. I was coughing, tired, achy, chilly, and the like. It was nothing worth bothering our thinly stretched doctors about. Since my symptoms did not seem that worrisome, I have just been plugging along – working out, eating well, and keeping things in order around here.
At least I was until yesterday… Yesterday I was feeling fine when I got up and planned my day. I had a breakfast of bacon and eggs and toast. I wrote my blog. When I got up to do my workout, I just wasn’t feeling it. I felt tired and weak. I remembered that I am retired, so in a position to treat myself to a short nap before I worked out. Two hours later, I woke up and the house was spinning. REALLY SPINNING! I decided that I should make my way to my phone on the kitchen table. Maybe I would call Dan, maybe I would call the health clinic. I had no plan. I slid off the bed and carefully made my way to the kitchen, one piece of furniture to the next. I reached my phone and called Dan. He said he would be home soon. Since he still had several hours of his shift left, I thought it would be rather longer than soon. My next mission was to battle my dizziness and ever-worsening nausea to let Molly outside. Mission complete, but by the time I got back to the kitchen, my nausea had progressed to vomiting into the nearest wastebasket. This magnificent turn of events lasted until Dan got home a few minutes later (by which time, I was laying on the bathroom floor – my world was still spinning, and I was still vomiting). Dan helped me to the sofa and got me a glass of 7-up (which Molly knocked under the sofa at some point). I gradually felt better until I decided to call it a day and head back to bed. Dan helped me to check my blood pressure, which was considerably lower than usual. That was strange and had me rather concerned but not overly, as I was feeling much better than I had been.
After a difficult night, I got up this morning feeling fairly decent. I remembered my maternal grandmother having ‘spells’ and my mother suffering from ‘fainting spells’ every time she had a flu or significant illness. Maybe these episodes are relatively common in our family. I don’t know, but as long as I do not have a repeat, I am not going to dwell on it.
Today, I am taking another easy day. Tomorrow I hope to be back to my routine of working out, lifting weights, and walking Molly.
She seems to be getting bored. 🙄
Have a great day! Hope you are well and keeping so. 💞🌞
Thirty four weeks (or a solid EIGHT months) in and I am still on track and enthusiastic about my health and fitness journey. 🤸
For sure, some weeks have been better than others, and this last week has not been one of the better ones. After getting bit by a bug last weekend, and celebrating a quick recovery, I have struggled to feel really GOOD – or as good as I did before I got bit.
I am not sick – I am just not GOOD. My lungs feel congested, I am tired, stiff, and chilled. I am just a little achy, breaky, sluggish.
I have been getting out and about with Molly every day. Dan came with us a couple of times and granddaughter Genie joined Molly and I one day. Molly had two or three good runs at the dog park, plus we had some decent walks.
But, I have felt a bit like Molly looks. 😂
I have also been doing my dancing or Zumba and I have been meditating. I didn’t ace my weights every nights. That was my biggest struggle, so I decided to repeat my nine sets of ten reps of four lifts for this week. The last thing I want to do is hurt myself but pushing too hard when my body is not up for it! I have also been getting some good nights sleep and I have been focussing on fixing healthier meals. Dan and I made some real chicken broth last weekend, which we used to make an amazing pot of chicken soup.
Chicken SoupAnd we had some Baked French Onionsoup!
I also kept up with regular housekeeping chores, laundry, dishes, and made the most of our milder temps this week by getting some (quite a bit) of yard clean-up done.
And… I ordered a new winter coat. 🥳 I do have a decent Denver Hayes winter coat that I bought a couple of years ago. It is nice and warm, BUT it has two tiny useless pockets that I do not trust to hold my cellphone and keys. They certainly will not accommodate – Molly’s tennis ball, dog treats, poo bags, tissues, my Ventolin inhaler, my cellphone, and my keys! So, I ordered a new winter coat. With boots and toque and gloves and scarf, I will be ready to get out and about with Molly when our winter hits. 🏂
That’s it for this week’s update. My weights went great last night so I’m looking forward to a better rest of this week and a really inspiring update as I head into the next. 💪
Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞
I have also been busy keeping the squirrels, bluejays,sparrows, and finches in peanuts and sunflower seeds as they prepare for another Saskatchewan winter. 😁
I am running a couple of days behind here. Molly turned eight months old on Sunday. She can still be a handful but in some ways she is calming down a little.
Molly enjoying a peaceful nap after emptying three (large) flower pots on the sidewalk this morning.Molly changing up from flower pots to pails.She loves this one because she can carry it around by the handle. Dan hung it on the fence out of her reach because that’s just wrong. 🙄💩
Molly’s favourite human (Genie) came over yesterday. We went for a walk around the big block to Regent Park and spent some time in the dogpark. Genie took a few photos while we were there.
Stopped so fast she lost a leg! 😳Strutting her stuff…Having a rest with Bouey.Giving Genie some close uplove and attention. 💞She could be impersonating a bunny? 😂Ready to head back home.Back home and enjoying a fresh pail of water – before she dumped it. I love the water dropletsfrom her wet muzzle. 👍
This Friday, Dan and I are taking Molly to a dog wash station in a pet store close to us and in a couple of weeks she is booked to be spayed. Both should be an experience for her – and us.
That’s it for today! I should be back tomorrow for my fitness update. (Which I try to get done on Mondays, but what can I say? Our days are getting shorter so I am falling further behind. 😯)
Despite lower temperatures this morning and strong windgusts, Molly and I made our way around the neighbourhood on our daily walk.
Molly
I was somewhat concerned that following my recent health hiccup, our ever growing dog, and the strong winds, It might be a bit much for me today. Obviously, I am even stronger than I thought I was because the weather did not bother me a bit. When the windgusts hit me, which they did, they did not even have me struggling to breathe. I was good!
Molly, on the other hand, struggled. I have noticed her getting really edgy on our walks lately. She has seemed a little bothered by the crisp, dried leaves falling from the trees and hitting the ground – especially walking through the park where there is a constant snap, crackle, and pop of falling foliage.
Today with the strong winds, the leaves were not only falling, but drifting and piling up on the paths and sidewalks that we travelled. Molly tried dodging them, but since that didn’t work, she tried rolling in them and finally running her nose through them like a giant, white, hairy, truffle hog (or dog as the case may be). It might not have been a huge deal if I had not been on the other end of her leash, but since I was it was indeed a bit of an issue. I did more than my share of bumbling and stumbling as she tried to make her way through, over, and past the offending, ubiquitous leaves.
With no shortage of trees in our neighbourhood, Molly’s aversion to falling and fallen leaves may make for a long autumn.
Unfortunately, our only hope for an end to this season is the onslaught of the next – which will undoubtedly bring with it a barrage of falling and fallen snow. 🥺
We will get what we get when we get it! I just hope we find a way to bumble and stumble our way through it. Here is to hoping for an early spring!
That is it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🌞🌬️🍃🍃🍃🍃
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 