Thoughts on a Cloudy Saturday 3-11-2023

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The forecast here is for showers this morning and storms this evening – cloudy in-between.

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As I sit here, happily typing on my computer, warm, dry, with coffee beside me, I DO realize how fortunate I am to be able to quietly gripe that my weather isn’t ‘pretty’ today.

2Unstoppable

My friend Marsha and I are happily encouraging each other to get off our duffs and exercise, each putting another star on our individual calendars. Marsha bought a pedaler she can use inside and is also trying to walk to the post office when the weather permits. She is encouraging me to at least do my session of yoga each afternoon, if not also to try an exercise video, do some time on my elliptical trainer in the garage, or get out and work in the yard. It’s nice to be able to compare notes with a good friend, knowing that we’ll each be stronger, more flexible, and healthier together.

The Mercury News

I heard there was yet another bill in Congress to do away with Daylight Savings Time. I couldn’t be more in favor of this. It is my understanding that we started this in order to “help the farmers. ” I think farmers and ranchers are strong, independent people who don’t need everyone to change their clocks . They get up when they feel they need to in order to do what needs to be done each day. If I’m wrong, I would really appreciate it if someone would set me straight so that I can stop resenting it twice a year.

I hope your Saturday is a happy one.

Friends

Clarity Clinic

A shout-out this morning to my good friend Marsha.

She lives across the country from me, but in my heart all the time.

We are helping each other be the healthiest we can be by each motivating the other to exercise every day.

She is walking to the post office daily and also using a new pedaler in her home so she doesn’t have to depend on the weather being good.

I am doing yoga practice daily and then ‘something else,’ including, but not limited to, at least one of the following –

• elliptical trainer in the garage
• online walking and/or weights videos
• yard work
• walking around the yard

We KNOW that exercise is good for us, but each of us is a master at making excuses for NOT doing it. We care about each other, though, and are now comparing notes daily.

If we have done what we promised each other (and ourselves) we would do, we put a star on our calendar. If not, we tell them we love them and encourage them to do better the next day.

Yesterday we both got a star! We’ll try to do it again today. :0)

Trying to Eat Healthy

Sent to me by my friend, Marsha

Two days ago I pulled a couple of salmon fillets out of the freezer. When I thawed them, I discovered I had FOUR, instead of the TWO I had expected. I went ahead and cooked them, serving them with some steamed veggies. I had never had salmon leftovers, so I looked on the net to find suggestions for using them. I hadn’t thought about making a salmon salad, like tuna salad, but I decided to try it. My husband was pleased with both dinners, and I got some other ideas of what can be done with the leftovers, so I’ll probably do it again – on purpose next time. :0)

My husband’s request is for spaghetti tonight. We used to enjoy a large pasta bowl of it with garlic toast. Now we eat in a much more careful manner, trying for moderation, rather than eating what probably amounts to 3 or 4 servings each at one sitting. Now I serve it in small bowls, with a salad on the side and maybe a dinner roll. I divide the leftovers into individual portion freezer containers, ready for us to heat and eat at other times.

I’m building a portion of cashews into my daily calorie count, particularly when MyFitnessPal.com concludes “I’m probably not eating enough” after I list my eating plan for the day.

We’re enjoying our lunches, comprised of fresh fruit, potato salad, a slice of ham or turkey, and maybe some cheese. It’s colorful and delicious.

I’ll get back to my exercising, warm-up and weights exercises online one day and my elliptical trainer on alternate days, plus my session of yoga in the afternoons – once my arm quits complaining.

I’m cooking more, but carefully, and am enjoying the ‘cooking once’ getting several meals out of each session.

And I’m hoping this, along with trying to drink more water, will result in a healthier, sassier me for 2023.

“Diet” vs “Lifestyle”

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I KNOW this, and yet, seeing this in writing really caught my attention. Since I’m a ‘sparkly-stars-on-my-desk-calendar’ type of gal, I DO tend to feel like a failure and lose momentum when I ‘mess up.’ It takes me a bit to get going again.

I also have to admit that I have been TRYING to change my thinking for a long time. If I had a gravestone, I guess it would be the truth if it said, “All or nothing.” My house is either ready for House Beautiful to come photograph it for their magazine, or looks like an explosion (or six) has occurred. I’ve either cleared out my garden and covered it neatly or it’s completely overflowing with weeds. I’m either eating exactly what I ‘should’ or have gone off the rails and am enjoying a bacon cheeseburger. I’m still on my ‘first husband’ after almost 54 years. Do you see a pattern here? :0)

A resolution I’m trying to keep this year is giving myself a break. Not only realizing that I’m not perfect, but ALSO realizing that it’s what I do MOST of the time that will make the difference I want. If I mess up, or I’m not feeling well, no one else CARES whether I did my yoga for the day, or ate more comfort food than I should have. What MATTERS is that each meal is a chance to eat in a healthy manner. Each day is an opportunity to be good to my body, giving it what it NEEDS, rather than what my mind might be craving at the time. Each day is an opportunity to keep my body moving, making my future full of what I would like to do, rather than only what I CAN do, given my limitations.

DAY 170

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Today is DAY 170 of my trying to make doing a session of yoga daily a HABIT. Since it’s a definite part of my afternoon now, I’ll TRY not to bore you with how many days it has been anymore. We’ll just call it a ‘determined effort’ and leave it at that.

To this I’ve added warm-up and weights videos on one day and a session on the elliptical the next throughout the week. I’ll never be old enough that sparkly stars on my desk calendar aren’t motivating, so I’ll continue that. :0)

My meals are such that MyFitnessPal usually says, “It looks like you’re not eating enough.” when I tally what I’m eating. Right now that seems to be a mental ‘go-ahead-and-stuff-your-face’ light, resulting in my scales being even more snarky than usual.

What I need here is a transformation to “exercise nut” who has to REMIND herself to eat, and then prefers nutritious, low-calorie foods that only build muscle and encourage the fat to fade away, never to be seen again. If wishes were fishes….

The only New Year’s Resolution I’m going to make for 2023 is to take ONE DAY AT A TIME. That will be my meme, my mantra. To spend each day well, as fully in the moment as possible, enjoying all the good stuff around me, handling whatever happens as best I can. BREATHING a lot. Taking the time to look around and SMILE. And try to give that smile to others.

1st Star of the Day 12-31-2022

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I’m patting myself – and my husband – on our heads right now. THAT -while typing this – is quite a feat! :0)

Because my husband found a new MP3 player and loaded some of my favorite music on it for me last night, allowing me to charge it overnight and have it ready for my elliptical trainer session today, I just finished 30 minutes of good exercise.

It had been quite awhile since I had been on the elliptical regularly, and the last two sessions I had to do it in complete silence, except for a squeak on my machine, making it just awful time. It seemed as if I had been on there forever, and it had only been a few minutes when I gave up each time. Just too boring and tedious. This old broad doesn’t need many excuses not to exercise…

So today, listening to songs I hadn’t heard for quite awhile playing on my MP3 player I had clipped to my shirt, was truly a pleasure. Doing my elliptical practice with my eyes shut, keeping time to the music, felt good almost all the way to the end. (Remember, I’m NOT an exercise nut and it had been quite awhile since I had done any real time on the machine.) I started peaking at the timer between the last three songs and then breathed a sigh of relief when I finished.

I thanked my husband again and put a sparkly gold star on my desk calendar. I giving myself one for the ellliptical trainer session or the warm-up and weights videos I’m doing in the mornings on alternate days, and a second star, this one silver sparkly, for my yoga session in the afternoons. Any other exercise I manage will be gravy.

Mirror, Mirror…

Source Unknown

Can you say, “yo yo” three times fast?

All the goodies are finally gone. My scales are not only smirking – they are guffawing.

guf·faw

/ɡəˈfô/

Learn to pronounce

noun

noun: guffaw; plural noun: guffaws

1. a loud and boisterous laugh. :0(

123RF

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This generates hostility and frustration, obviously. Since we’re not planning any more holiday stuff, I can hopefully get back on track. (I know. You’ve heard this before. Whine.)

SO –

today is a new day. I have not eaten breakfast yet, since I’ve been trying to reach a tech to work on our dishwasher. I also haven’t gotten out in the garage to do my elliptical trainer session for the day.

I’ll go do both NOW.

You OK Today?

Healthline

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My altered exercise plan is doing well so far. One day I’m doing a warm-up video and another with weights in the morning and then yoga in the afternoon. The following day I’m doing minutes on my elliptical trainer in the garage and then yoga. I did the elliptical for the first time in a LONG time yesterday. I can’t find my MP3 player yet, so I had to do the minutes in silence, making it seem like a really long time. :0( I’ll scour the house for it today so that hopefully, I’ll have it for tomorrow.) My arms and legs are slightly sore, meaning that my sweet old body is noticing that I’m doing something different – a really good thing.

With the weather finally warming up to ‘regular winter’ in Arkansas, I MAY be able to lop or saw more weed trees across our back yard soon.

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Since we don’t have any plans today, I’ll see what I can get accomplished on running the bulldozer through the house. So far, I’ve changed our sheets and started the laundry. Amber has shed at least a dog’s worth of hair in the past couple of days, so I’ll vacuum the tiled areas and see what I can do about scrubbing the kitchen some.

I hope you’re doing okay, too, and that you have a really nice Wednesday.

“Slow Progress is Better Than NO Progress”

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So says Lynn, my wonderful massage therapist who saves my life once a month. I’m kind of in “assessment” mode this morning, looking back to gauge lifestyle changes.

• This is DAY 162 of my effort to make daily yoga practice a habit. I’m definitely one of the hard-heads on how long it takes to make something a habit. I looked it up and found, according to some estimates, that it takes from 18-245 days to make something a habit. Day 162 finds me consciously making myself practice each afternoon – still finding myself quietly trying to make excuses for ‘missing-a-day’ and then just slogging around getting my mat, pillows and just doing it. It HAS become a normal part of my day, and I AM seeing some differences.
• I’ve added some new poses to my practice: Cobra, Downward Dog, ‘Basket,’ Boat, the Plank, and some abdominal exercises thrown in. My practice is about 45 minutes now, but it varies. Sometimes I concentrate on exercise numbers – other times the relaxation and stretching.
• I am listening to my body more since I started doing the daily practice. I’m aware when my shoulders and neck are ‘hunched,’ and I’m able to concentrate and relax more. I tell myself, “relaxing jaw, relaxing face,” and I can FEEL my shoulders GIVE, when I wasn’t aware how tightly I was holding myself. I’m able to stretch a bit farther now, breathing into the poses, holding them longer or doing a few more repetitions.
• I’m still putting the gold or silver glittery stick-on stars on my desk calendar. I guess I’ll never outgrow that being a motivator for me, but the emphasis is changing in my actual practice. I’m doing it for ME.
• I started trying to do the plank pose at the end of October. The first time I tried it, I held it for a quick count of 10. I worked up to holding it for a quick count of 45, but many times I couldn’t do much the next day, having strained myself. I found an article that said for for a woman of my ‘mature years,’ it’s actually more effective if I do the pose multiple times, holding it for a short while each time. Yesterday I held it for a count of 20 seven times.
• Since it’s too cold to work outside most days now, I’m going to try to add two things: (THING ONE – a short time on my elliptical trainer in the garage. It’s cold, but I think I can do several minutes out there every other day. THING TWO – I’m going to start doing the seated exercises with weights from Mike at MoreLifeHealthSeniors.com again. I’ll alternate these with the elliptical.

Know Your Meme

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I’m definitely making some kind of progress. It’s definitely slow, but it’s steady, and I’ll drink to that. :0)

Smirking Scales

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Beachbody on Demand

MyFitnessPal.com is helping me get through the holidays and not cause the scales to simply give up on me, though they ARE definitely smirking.

I really like this site because they do a lot to make it easy to keep track of what you’re eating. I particularly like their extensive data base of what others have added so it’s usually quick to find and list it. If you’re making a home made thing that is not on the list, you can add the ingredients once and then save it so you can easily add it again by name and others can use it, too.

Exercise can also be added, plus how many glasses of water you’re drinking, plus note about eating or exercise. I keep the tab open on my computer so that I can add things during the day, or plan what I’m eating and then modify, if needed, BEFORE I make a mistake.

The scales and the app are both doing THEIR part – I just need to do mine…

It’s Friday! 12-16-2022

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My computer says it’s 32, but my thermometer in the window upstairs said it was 25 when I was dressing awhile ago. BRRRRR! The high is supposed to be 45 this afternoon, so there is hope to get outside later.

I thought I would yesterday, but my plans got snafued by my husband taking on a couple of big projects. We created a fulcrum to pry up the center of some big shelves in the basement so I could move a 2×4 into place as an added support. Scary, but we did it with three tries. (This was after I was using a can of dried beans to try to pound the 2×4 in place and bashed one of my fingers. I have a black place on my fingernail and a really sore finger today. :0( )

The second project that took up much of the afternoon was that our truck has been making a noise as we put on the brake, like something was dragging. We’ve checked and checked, but haven’t been able to see anything. We backed the truck into the shop and took both back tires off. We checked, but couldn’t see anything. My husband said we could have a stone in between the wheel and the brake disc that might make a sound like that, but we didn’t find anything. We laboriously got the tires back on and drove the truck back to the garage. It DIDN’T make the noise, so maybe something fell out when we took the tires off. No more noise! (The air compressor wasn’t working the way it should, even after my husband put a new hose on it, so that may be one of his next projects.)

Today we’ll get our mail, meet our friends for Lunch Bunch, get an oil change, then hit Walmart and another grocery store on the way back home. Exciting stuff, huh!

My scales didn’t smirk as much this morning. I’ve lost a couple of pounds this week. Since MyFitnessPal.com concluded that I ‘wasn’t eating enough,’ I’m now eating a hard boiled egg as breakfast each morning and am eating 1 oz of cashews as a snack during the day. That brings my calorie count up to where they think it’s healthy and will help me lose the lard. I’m hopeful, since the scales have started to maybe take my efforts more seriously.

QuotesGram

Today is DAY 154 on my efforts to make daily yoga stretching a habit. I’m holding the plank pose now for a count of 30 three times during my practice, so a bit of progress there.

Make this a fun day!

Confused

Pixabay

Okay. I decided to list everything I was eating on MyFitnessPal.com and list the water I drink, my exercises, etc. to see how my current habits look. I basically eat the same lunch each day, but vary my dinner. I expected for it to tell me in no uncertain terms that I needed to cut back.

To my surprise, the result, when I listed everything for today, including the cottage cheese I ate after yoga, was that ‘it looks like you’re likely not eating enough.”

If that’s true, why am I sometimes gaining weight, and certainly not losing much?

I’ll try adding another veggie for dinner tonight to get closer to what they think I should be eating. I’ll do more research tomorrow.

DAY 149

Tenor

Today is DAY 149 on my trying to make daily yoga a habit. I may never get to the point where I consider my yoga practice ‘habit,’ but it’s a normal part of my afternoons now. I start thinking about when to do it starting mid-afternoon each day. I’m still putting a sparkly star on my desk calendar each time I finish and keeping track of the number of days. I’m so immature it makes me laugh. :0)

lifestyle.livemint.com

I’m doing the plank daily, doing several short holds of the pose, rather than trying to hold one long one. Yesterday I did three times, counting to 25 each time.

Then I’m doing my ‘regular’ yoga practice. I’m doing some extra poses and exercises for my abdomen and core, trying to build strength.

I’m noticing that I’m using the yoga more and more to loosen up and stretch out after working in the yard or doing something else that makes me stiff and/or sore.

As we get closer to winter and I can’t work outside, I’ll switch to doing a session on my elliptical trainer in the garage.

As for losing the lard, my scale is still laughing and smirking at me. It doesn’t laugh out loud as I walk up to it, but it’s close. I really wish I were the type of person who had to be REMINDED to eat….

Movin’ It

Honda UK

I just came in from 1-1/2 hours in the front yard leaf blowing. And that, apparently, is just the first pass. (The lady is this picture is PLAYING compared to what I’ve been doing.) Since the wind was blowing and I’m not stupid, I blew in the same direction as the wind. I was still getting blow-back and swirling, so I just decided to try to get rid of the big PILES of leaves, particularly on the steps around our front porch.

By the time I got to a reasonable stopping point, I was thoroughly pooped. Unless my husband ASKS, I’m not going to bother telling him what I’ve been doing. To an untrained eye, he might not be able to TELL how many billions of leaves I blew off the civilized part of our front yard. The wind is such that it now looks like we have a “lot of leaves in the front yard,” and I would get angry if my slaving away couldn’t be noticed with at LEAST a WOW!”

This morning we got two days of mail from the mailbox at the bottom of our driveway. On the way down, I told my husband about my idea of lopping off some encroaching branches each time we came up. We found an area pretty close to the bottom of the driveway that needed work, so started there. It will also make it easier for us to see if traffic is coming down the road now. We attacked one more area on the way up and then called it a day. I think, if we do that each time we drive up, we’ll have the driveway under reasonable control by the time we’re facing ice and snow. (The evergreens are awful about grabbing every snowflake or ice pellet that falls, and then drooping down into the driveway and finally making it impassable unless we’re proactive.)

So, with the lopping and hauling of branches this morning and then the leaf blowing I just finished, this old lady has been ‘movin’ it’ today. AND, as soon as I rest a bit more, I’ll try to do a good session of yoga.

Immaturity

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I’ve been a really ‘good girl’ lately. I gave up added salt. I’ve been eating healthy meals. I have not been eating between meals. I’ve been drinking water. I’ve been working in the yard and doing daily yoga sessions. I’ve started doing the plank pose. And are my scales impressed? THEY ARE NOT!

It’s been two weeks now, and one would THINK that the scales would at least wave a little in encouragement, but NOOOOO. Bah. Humbug.

I’m TRYING to be an adult about this, telling myself that it will take awhile for the scales to show anything. It will probably be a month or so before the measuring tape gives me any encouragement. I tell myself that changes take time, to give myself a break, to concentrate on other things. Do I listen? NOOOOO. :0(

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Sunny, Cold Wednesday 11-30-2022

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We’re back on the roller coaster Mother Nature has set up. Yesterday it was windy and 75. Today is 36 with a high expected of 49, and sunny. No wind. I’m hoping to get outside this afternoon. We’ll see. I’m very thankful the wild weather last night bypassed us. I hope the front goes on past the east coast and dies without causing further havoc.

Lifestyle.livemint.com

Yesterday during my yoga practice (DAY 137) I could only hold the plank pose for 20 seconds without a lot of discomfort. I decided that I would do the pose multiple times, so repeated it 3 more times for a total count of 80. (I have no real idea of how long I’m holding the pose, other than counting while I hold it, so I would imagine that I’m being generous with myself, counting pretty fast.)

I wondered if holding the plank for multiple short amounts of time would be the equivalent of one longer hold. I researched the question, finding opinions vary all over the place. Some people say your goal should be to hold the pose 5 MINUTES. Since this is an impossible goal for me, I continued to research. I found –

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“Search for: Are planks good for 70 year olds?

How long should a senior hold a plank?

Most experts suggest anywhere from 10 up to 30 seconds is plenty. “Focus on doing multiple sets of smaller amounts of time,” says L’Italien.Nov 13, 2019″

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Since I am 75, and there is no way in the world I’ll ever get to 5 MINUTES, I’ll go for this advice. If I do MULTIPLE repetitions of however long I can hold before I get really uncomfortable, I ought to be able to attain my goal of strengthening my core.

Bright Horizons

Our yard is finally starting to look as if someone cares. There is ALWAYS something more than we should or could do, but if I get the yard looking pretty civilized and the plants as protected as possible, I feel good.

Two days ago I finally got the planters on the deck cleaned out. There is still some stuff to do to prepare the deck for the winter, but the project is started.

I’m trying to tackle things of higher priority first. I’m going to put a set of loppers in the truck so that each time we come back from errands, we can stop on the way up the driveway and cut off some evergreen branches that are hanging out into the driveway. We don’t want these to be stretched across the driveway, blocking our way up and down after ice or snow storms.

I want to prune our rose bushes WAAAAAY down for the winter. I have two bushes left. Then there is one more planter that is totally overgrown, leaves to be blown from the front yard, weed trees to be cut down to open up our view in the back again …

My goals always exceed my time and energy….

Have a wonderful Wednesday.

27 Seconds

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I’ve added trying to hold the plank pose to my daily yoga practices. Opinions vary as to my efforts thus far.

GLASS HALF EMPTY: Pathetic that I’m only able to count to 27 while holding the pose. AND I’m probably counting too fast.

GLASS HALF FULL: I started with a count of only 10 and am now able to hold it to the count of 27 before collapsing. It’s all relative.

GLASS IS REFILLABLE: I’m slowly building a bit of strength in my core. Just like everything else at my age, it’ll take awhile to get to anything reasonable. I remind myself that when I first started with yoga stretches, I was unable to –

• Even THINK about bending over and touching my toes
• Put my hands over my head and onto the floor while lying on my back
• Get down on the floor and up again without the use of a crane (or some furniture)
• Get close to doing a sit up or other abdominal exercises or poses
• Even THINK about sitting on my knees

SO –

Today is DAY 125 of my daily yoga practice. I’m about to leave to get a glorious massage. I’m about the luckiest old lady on the planet. :0)

I hope that you are doing good things for yourself, too.

20 Seconds

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How fast time seems to go by definitely depends on what you’re doing. 20 seconds if you have your finger on something hot would seem an eternity. 20 seconds for a kiss is just really getting your attention and response. :0)

20 seconds holding the plank position for some would seem that they have just really gotten into position and that they’re concentrating on their good position and trying to relax into it a bit. For ME, 20 seconds in the position is absolutely all I can do at this point.

I can tell I really need to do this position in my daily yoga practice (DAY 117 today) because it is so difficult for me. I get into position and start trembling immediately. I start counting in my head, trying to make sure my body is straight. Maybe I could do a few more seconds if I were wearing shoes, but it seems like a silly thing to stop and do in the middle of my practice.

I’m hoping that if I just do the best I can each day, eventually my core muscles will strengthen. If my core muscles get stronger, my flexibility and balance and posture will improve, and that’s more and more important since I’m definitely getting long-in-the-tooth now. I’ve read about ladies in their 90s doing yoga, and they are my role models.

Down Dog Products

YO, HO, HO!

Plank Position

Can you spell “p-a-t-h-e-t-i-c?”

So far, I’m more able to WALK a plank rather than hold this position.

“The plank strengthens your spine, your rhomboids and trapezius, and your abdominal muscles, which naturally result in a strong posture as they grow in strength. Developing your posture can improve on a number of ailments, and prevent the onset of other ones. Good posture means you’re keeping your bones aligned.”

“Planks are perfect for burning belly fat because they engage multiple muscles at once, boosting the metabolic rate and benefiting core strength. All in all, a plank is an excellent choice to stimulate the whole body.“

What I’m HOPING at this point is that holding the position for ANY amount of time works to strengthen my core. The second I get into this position, my whole body starts to tremble, moving to shaking before I have to stop. (AND, the most embarrassing part is that all this happens within 15 seconds.)

The only good thing I can say about my efforts is that the 15 seconds is up from the 10 seconds I started with. I will continue trying this every day, HOPING that my poor pathetic muscles will get stronger in time. I’ll compare it in my head with the fact that when I started yoga, the hardest part of everything was getting down on the floor and back up again! It also took several months for me to be able to bend over and touch my toes. This is a strength issue – rather than a flexibility issue – though, so I’m not sure what to expect. I’m not getting any younger, though, so the time to be doing this is NOW.

Keepin’ Movin’

melsanie.tumblr.com – boredpanda.com

DAY 107 on daily yoga practice today.

Now that my practice is becoming a routine part of my afternoons, I’m trying to add to it a bit. Recently I added the cobra pose (above), and another that I call, “The Basket” where I’m on my back with my feet up in the air. I hold onto my legs with my knees bent, then hold my ankles and try to hold it. I’m doing a pose called, “Downward Dog,” where I’m on my stomach, then push up to an inverted “V” and hold it, trying to push my heels down toward the floor.

I’ve added some abdomen exercises – one where I’m on my back. my arms are on the floor stretched out behind my head while I do a modified bicycle motion with my legs for as long as my back doesn’t hurt. The other is where I’m again on my back, arms beside me, legs bent. I push the middle of my body up using my legs and abdomen, kind of like a push up, pushing my abdomen up as high as possible and then letting it back down again as many times as I can.

When I was at Lunch Bunch recently, my friend Patty (Linda’s daughter) was talking about her exercise. She looks GREAT, so I was eagerly listening. She said the biggest thing she did three times a week was THE PLANK. She said she held the position for 4 MINUTES! My mouth dropped open. That’s impossible.

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I’m now doing two versions of this – one with my arms like those above, but knees down (that’s the easiest form of it you can do), and then a second version, as you see above. Remember, I’m old, so I hold the positions as long as I can, but it’s laughable. I can hold the version with the knees down for about 1 minute. The position above I can hold 12 SECONDS. I KNOW, but at least I’m TRYING – every day. Also remember, I’M the lady who used to congratulate myself for getting down on the floor, AND back up again!

DAY 102

Giphy

As I look back to when I first started my old lady yoga stretches, trying to build a ‘habit,’ I see several improvements –

When I started, I –

• Had trouble getting on the floor on the mat
• had to wait a full minute or so for lying on my back to quit hurting
• could not put my arms behind me over my head
• could not bring my knees up high enough to grab them
• could not even THINK about touching my toes
• could not lift the front of my body up on my arms while lying on my stomach
• had trouble balancing while on hands and knees for any stretching

Et cetera,. Et cetera, Et cetera. (Like Yul Brenner in “The King and I.”

I’m still old – even older now, but I have made a lot of progress. Each day I feel I’m a bit looser than I was the previous practice. It’s not a miracle, but it makes me feel better – more flexible, with less pain, able to balance much better. Some of my muscles are getting stronger. It has started to offset any overdoing I do in other things, bringing me back to being able to relax.

Daily yoga is not a habit – yet. I seem to be one of the harder nuts to crack about how long it takes to make something a habit. But I’m definitely seeing a difference and determined to keep going.

Time to go practice!

DAY 82

One Green Planet

Today is DAY 82 of my efforts to make a habit of doing a daily session of yoga.

I will need to be particularly mindful in my practice today because I have pain on the right side of my back in particular today. I think I hurt myself yesterday evening trying to get the empty new trashcan in the bed of the truck by myself at the bottom of the driveway. My husband and I had a ‘discussion’ about it on the way back up the driveway. He agreed – since he doesn’t want to leave the new can at the bottom of the driveway – that he will get out and help me get the can in and out of the truck.

I discovered that the addition of another small pillow allows me to stretch the stiff part of my back safely. I actually felt better – much looser – after my practice yesterday.

My practice lasts from 30 to 45 minutes these days, depending on how I feel. Each stretch is still uncomfortable at first, but my body is beginning to actually look forward to the stretches, relaxing into the poses more quickly, as I feel so much better afterwards. :0)

The time to fully relax, taking as much time as I want, is a good time for me. I’m calm and happy when I finish.

Not a ‘habit’ yet – but therapeutic.

Breadth

arosetintedworld.co.uk

I’ve of two minds on our change to a more Mediterranean style eating plan.

MIND ONE:

Part of me is VERY happy that I feel better. I’m not eating Mediterranean recipes much – since my husband gets hostile when I talk about veggies and the recipes I’m finding lean heavily toward veggies he doesn’t consider ‘food.’ I’m basically just trying to focus on adding more veggies and fruit to our diet.

When I make beef stew, for example, I’m consciously adding more veggies than I used to, loading it up with less beef and more veggies. The same with casseroles.

I’M consciously choosing frozen dinners which concentrate on veggies, such as Healthy Choice “Steamers” and “Power Bowls” while my husband loads up on Pineapple Chicken or Sweet and Sour Chicken dinners. When we have the frozen dinners, or leftovers from my cooking, I add a side veggie, plus a fruit.

MIND TWO:

The other part of me is frustrated at my slow weight loss. I’m trying to watch my portions and track my calories on My Fitness Pal, but the scale is still laughing at me. I want there to be less of me. I am eating healthy, doing my daily yoga practice (DAY 73) and trying to be more active in general. I keep telling myself, “One day at a time…”

Good Housekeeping

Round Numbers are Satisfying

India TV News

Today is DAY 60 of my “trying-to-practice-yoga-every-day-no-matter-what” project. I LIKE round numbers (except when we’re talking about age), so today is a good day.

“What is the 21/90™ rule? Basically, we believe that it takes 21 days to create a habit and 90 days to make it part of your lifestyle. After you complete the 90 days, the habit will be as much a part of your daily lifestyle as brushing your teeth.“

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“It can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.”

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I’m not sure which of these is right. Maybe it just boils down to determination. Whatever it is, yoga is becoming a priority around which I plan my afternoons. I’m still delighted to put a sparkly star on my desk calendar after I do my daily practice, so I haven’t ‘matured’ much, but it DOES motivate me, and gives me a small pat on the head for doing what I ought to be doing anyway.

I’ve added 4 new poses to my basic routine lately. One is called, “The Cobra,” and another is called, “The Boat,”. I’m not sure what the others are called. They are still quite difficult, but they’re good for me. Slowly but surely I’m becoming a little less stiff, a bit more flexible.

Nice Thursday 9-8-2022

PopSugar

I simply melted into a puddle when I saw this photo. What a sweetie! I want to cuddle him.

We’re going to shop for supplies today, hoping that when we go down to the bottom of the driveway, our trash is gone and we don’t have to re-gather strewn trash all over. Time will tell.

Cheezburger

Today is DAY 55 of my daily yoga practice. Yesterday my husband remarked that he was “proud of me” for keeping up with the daily yoga. That’s the equivalent of an Olympic medal around here, so I’m feeling really good. :0) The stretching is helping me feel better – more energetic.

I spent much of the day yesterday bouncing back and forth between listening to music on my computer and reading. Lazy, wonderful afternoon after the morning’s yardwork.

Enjoy your Thursday!

It’s Wednesday 9-7-2022

popsugar

I’m not sure I’m ready to tackle the day yet.

We did take our trash down this morning – on our trash people’s holiday schedule. I’m HOPING the trash actually goes away, not strewn all over. I will be glad if I ever have confidence in this new trash company. So far, I feel jubilant when I don’t have to re-gather trash from the ditch and the road at the bottom of our driveway and call them…

Pinterest

I’m going to TRY to get outside and prune more rose bushes this morning. I got snafued by strong sun yesterday, making me feel as if I were on a griddle. Hopefully, getting out there earlier will help.

Giphy

Today is DAY 54 of my daily yoga practices. I’ve added three new-for-me poses to my original practice, and I’m feeling progress on some of my poses. I’m stretching a bit farther, holding the poses a bit longer, differences no one but me could tell, but satisfying, nonetheless. NOTE: See the way this young girl is sitting? THAT is something I’ve been trying to do for about a year now. I could sit TOWARD my feet, but my knees would hurt too badly to even think about actually sitting that way. YESTERDAY, my bottom touched my feet for the first time. I was only able to hold it for a couple of seconds, but… :0)

Happy Wednesday!

It’s Sunday 9-4-2022

Reader’s Digest-Getty Images

Our Sunday started off with a bang with Amber barking early this morning, waking us up. When I got downstairs, my husband was making coffee (thank goodness) and announced that ‘something’ had gotten into our garage overnight and gotten into the trash bag of stuff I had gathered Saturday.

Lowes

I got that gathered again and am considering whether we should close off the dog door we have in our garage door. Amber doesn’t use the door. When we’re awake and it’s not actively storming, our garage door is up. Amber sleeps on her bed in our utility room at night. I’m not exactly sure what we would need to do to close it off, but it looks like something we should at least consider. I really don’t want to regather trash in the GARAGE daily and THEN have to re-gather it AGAIN at the bottom of the driveway if the trash people don’t pick it up…

damndelicious.net

On a nicer note, I got the makings of beef stew into our crock pot first thing this morning. I put extra veggies in it and I’ll fix some garlic toast to go with it tonight. We’ll have enough for a meal or two after tonight. :0)

InstaShot – BoredPanda.com

Today is DAY 51 of my daily yoga practice. Yesterday I added “The Boat” Pose. Today I’ll add “The Cobra” pose and “Supine Leg Switching”

The Boat

Cobra Pose

Supine Leg Switches

My basic practice is about 30 minutes. I think I’ll be fine with eventually spending 45 minutes to an hour.

I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday and that you have Labor Day off.

DAY 50!

Tenor

My dog, Amber, doesn’t ‘yog’ with me, but she snuffles and nuzzles me each time I start my practice now, getting as close to me as possible, turning over on her back with her feet in the air, cavorting around, biting one foot, thoroughly delighting in yet another chance to be loved, make me laugh – and possibly get another cookie.

I can’t say I’ve built a ‘habit’ of daily yoga practice yet, but I’m definitely automatically making time for my practice each afternoon, choosing my yoga over other activities if I’m running short of time. If my husband is in his chair, I automatically bring him a throw as I flip the switch that starts the ceiling fan, turning it off when I finish.

Boat Pose

Yesterday I added another pose to my practice. It’s another pose that focuses on the core – or abdomen – specifically, called, “The Boat.” There are some other poses in that article that I’ll add as I go, but one new one at a time is enough for now.

I’m hoping that my daily practice will allow me to move as freely as possible, with as much flexibility and balance as I can without a lot of pain as I age. I would like to increase my stamina. Since I hope to live a lot longer, this is a really important goal for me. I want to be able to do what I’d like for as long as I can, enjoying freedom without a lot of fear of falling or breaking bones.

I’ve improved a lot on my stretching since I started my goal of daily practice 50 days ago today. I haven’t gotten any younger, but I’m able to stretch farther in each of the poses and hold the poses longer now, or do more repetitions. I’m able to do my ‘normal practice’ plus now look for a bit more to add. Good progress.

taolife.com

Hi! It’s Friday!

boredpanda.com

Hand-painted, One of a kind Memory Box

Yesterday I spent much of the day listing memory boxes I’ve painted on my Etsy site, HandmadeHavenByLinda Today I’ll try to finish the clean-out-and-reorganization of my bedroom bookshelves, fold and put away laundry, and other equally exciting stuff. :0)

Today is Lunch Bunch. I know that two of our friends won’t be there because of needing to see a doctor. I’m hoping that Kay, and her husband, Bud, will be there. We finally got some rain overnight and are supposed to get more today. It would be nice if it holds off until we’re back from Lunch Bunch, but I won’t complain if it doesn’t. My flowers are saying, “ahhhhhhh!”

Glenning Welhan-Yoga Journal

I’m feeling more in control lately. Our eating in a more Mediterranean fashion, with lots more veggies and fruits, using meat as a flavoring, rather than the main focus of our meals, is working for us. I’m continuing to find ways to sneak veggies in, since my husband is hyper-sensitive to that, already deciding the veggies or the recipe featuring them will be ‘awful’ before he even tries it, but I’m getting better at it. :0) Some of the meals are getting rave reviews! I’m still kind of on my own, since there are very few ‘Mediterranean Recipes’ as such, that DON’T feature things I KNOW my husband will throw up his hands about, but what we’re doing seems to be in the right direction.

I’ve discovered that either cottage cheese or almonds is a good, filling snack for me in the afternoons. I’m trying my best NOT to be up in the middle of the night, when NOTHING deters me from stuffing my face. I’m on DAY 49 of my daily yoga practice today. Although I’m still an old, stiff broad, the yoga stretches really help me feel better. Our yellow lab, Amber, looks forward to my practices now, running over to smile at me, snuffle me, and try to push me off the mat before I sternly order her to get in her “PLACE.” (Can you STERNLY order anything while laughing?)

Over the past week I’ve lost 4 lbs. I’m using MyFitnessPal.com to make sure I’m staying under my calorie limit for the day. The big thing is that I’m feeling more in control of what I’m eating, drinking, and doing. The fact that all seems to be coming together to result in my losing part of the lard is definitely motivating.

Enjoy your Friday!

Wednesday Thoughts 8-31-2022

lovethispic.com

We’re about to put this month to bed and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’m hoping we’ll get a cool-down soon – with more than a tease of rain chances – so I can enjoy being outside again.

IndiaMART

Even though my scales are still laughing at me, I saw improvement this morning. I found a new snack – 1 oz of Blue Diamond Lightly Salted Almonds with Sea Salt. The 1 oz is about 28 almonds. 170 calories. Filling and delicious. I’m enjoying them with a bottle of water after my yoga practice (DAY 47).

When we leave for errands today, we’ll change out our mailbox decoration. This scarecrow helps us welcome hopefully cooler weather with open arms.

Right Attitudes

I’m going to concentrate on my bookshelves in our bedroom today. I’ve moved a bunch of books out of there into the guest room, plus gathered a grocery bag of books to donate to the library. Today I’ll see if there is more to donate and then clean the shelves and reorganize the books.

Let’s make today a good one.

Is It Monday?

vetstreet.com

For some unknown reason, I had my life-long repeating nightmare last night. I’m late, lost, and I can’t get where I’m going. There is no one to help me, no one to ask. I just keep rushing around. The location changes, but the awful feelings are the same.

Happily, I have an antidote to my nightmare. I got up (my husband was already up and downstairs) so I took a long shower and dressed slowly. By the time I came downstairs, my heart had stopped racing and I could mostly calmly tell my husband about my nightmare (on a trip in a humongous hotel this time.) He loves me in spite of my weirdness. :0)

Shutterstock

My scales were a bit less snarky this morning, so that’s encouraging. And I’m on DAY 45 of my daily yoga practice! I now spend 30-45 minutes stretching in all directions. Amber, our 95 pound dog, and Abby, our cat, ‘help’ me with my practice in various ways each day. Sometimes Abby comes and decides to sit on my stomach while I’m stretched out on my back, trying to do several beginning stretches. When I laugh and push her to the side, she moves to my feet, where she tries to make a ‘nest.’ Amber either steps on me on her way to ‘wherever,’ or oozes up to me, snuffling my ear. When I start to laugh, she goes nuts, turning upside down, with her feet in the air, biting her foot, or trying to get as close to me as she can. My husband sits in his recliner, either smirking at me and my predicament or ignoring us, reading his Kindle.

Shutterstock

I gathered another grocery bag of books yesterday I’ll donate to the library. I’ll continue doing a bit of book re-organizing today. I’m moving some books to the guest room shelves. That will give me space in the shelves on my side of the bedroom for my main collection.

Foodmentary

I’m gathering trash to put out tomorrow, so I’ll use the opportunity to do a clean out of the fridges and a small reorganization while I’m at it. Since we’ve changed from low-carb Keto eating to a more Mediterranean style of eating, our storage needs in the fridge are different. I’ll do a bunch of cleaning and decide how to better store our stuff.

groovyPost

I spend time each day finding new things to share with you here. I truly love finding things I think are terrific and sharing them. There is never enough time to find even a fraction of all the talented people on our planet. It’s so inspiring to find some of them.

It’s Monday. It’s almost the end of August. It MIGHT rain here today. I hope YOUR Monday is at least as good as mine. :0)