Friday, May 7, 2010

An award! A challenge! A return from the abyss!


I feel like it's been forever since I've posted, though it was just Wednesday. I've had so much stuff going on between work and friends that it feels like I've got 2 weeks worth of life to report on! Where to begin?? I got a wonderful award from a great blogger, but I'm saving that for further along this post's path.

First, I've started another challenge of sorts - NOT EATING RELATED thank goodness! It seems all I need to do is join a food challenge and every cell in my body starts shrieking for high sugar high carb items in mass quantities. This challenge was created by Karen at Fitness: A Journey Not A Destination. It's called Boredom Busters and you can read about it here. Karen's blog is great, if you haven't read it; and in the process of joining this challenge, I discovered she also has a design blog called Strictly Simple Style that's about decorating without breaking the bank. It's also good. But I digress. Again.

In her Boredom Buster post, she talks of how boredom in day to day life can make us vulnerable to bad habits - like overeating for one. Her challenge is to make a list of 5 things you'd like to accomplish this week that aren't sedentary activities. They can really be anything you've been wanting to get to but haven't yet - and not just exercise or fitness related. You list your five things in Karen's comments section, and then write a post of your own about your list and whether you've accomplished the 5 things this week. The deadline for writing your post is Monday, May 10. She wrote her challenge post Monday this week, the 3rd. I didn't see the post until Wednesday but signed right up after seeing what some people listed, because they gave me ideas and reminded me of things I've been wanting to do but have put off.

My 5 things are:
1. Return several items of clothes to Boscov's and Kohl's that I've had sitting on my dining room table for 2 weeks
2. Take an old changing table to Goodwill. The "baby" is 21. It's time.
3. Plant the $60 worth of annuals I bought last weekend in pots and garden as planned but haven't yet done.
4. Cultivate and mulch my front yard perennial bed.
5. Find and hang a mirror to go in my newly redone powder room. The first one fell and broke 3 months ago, leaving a wooden cavity that used to be a medicine cabinet uncovered and gaping.

I've already underway with these items and hope to complete them all over the weekend. When I do, I'll do the requisite reporting post by the 10th, and hopefully make it to the Boredom Busters Hall of Fame that Karen will put on her sidebar.

Another item on my agenda is that I've gotten another clear jolt about exercising with my still funky knees. (Had I written a post yesterday, I was going to title it, "My knees suck and my vacuum doesn't", because my knees have been ridiculously achy and stiff this week, and my vacuum cleaner decided to go on the fritz. Don't know which of these dilemmas was more annoying, but the knee issue is getting OLD. Oh wait...it's my joints that are apparently getting old. I mentioned earlier in the week that while in Avalon last Saturday, a friend and I walked almost 4 miles on the beach, much of which was in wet moving sand that required an element of toe gripping of the sand in order to have adequate purchase and not be walked away by the surf (being the little slip of a thing I am). It felt great! My knees and feet and assorted other parts held up well, but for the next few days my knees both had different kinds of shooting pains and such and this was very discouraging. My response was to not do much other than short walks with La Dog as a means of trying to rest them. Well, they weren't feeling better or worse with the rest, so yesterday a friend and I did a 3 mile brisk walk with our beasts and my knees feel better today than they have in 2 weeks! They NEED movement. The CRAVE walking and respond with happy and looser bending. I've probably written about this before, but the writing is now on the wall for me about this, and I'm delighted, because the exercise is as good for my mental health as it is for my physical well-being. It they're going to be stiff and stubborn either way, I choose the way of walking and biking. No more rest. IT DOESN'T HELP.

Also - I got a wonderful award from Deb at Deb Will Be Free. She's another awesome gal who writes a wonderful blog that you probably already know of. If not, check it out. She presented me with this:

This award was created by Sheilagh at Sixty is Good as part of her celebration of the anniversary of her blog. She presented it people who touched her at one level or another during her first year of blogging, citing 12 bloggers (one for each month of her first year). Deb was one of her original 12, and now Deb has kindly passed it on to me! I'm thrilled and delighted, and would absolutely pass it back to her if she hadn't already received it.

The only requirement of this award is to pass it on to 6 people who have inspired me in my journey to this point in Blogdom. There are about 6 thousand of you who have made a real difference for me in countless ways, but I will abide by the "rule" and list 6.
Lyn @ Escape From Obesity
Stacia @ Swimming It Off
Tammy @ From Fat To Fab
Biz @ Biggest Diabetic Loser
TJ @ TJ's Test Kitchen
Helen @ Doing a 180

Thanks again Deb. I can honestly say that virtually every blogger I read has been significant to me in some way. Blogging and you wonderful friends are a great addition to my life.

Finally - GUESS WHAT ROSE FROM THE DEAD??? The cell phone I lost a month ago! A gal at work came into my office today and asked if I'd ever found it...I said nope. Then she asked what it looked like? I replied, "umm, like a cell phone?" She held something up and it was my phone! She found it behind a chair outside the offices of the social workers with whom I work. I go up there sometimes to hang out and shoot the breeze. It's entirely possible (obviously) that my phone could have fallen out of the pocket onto the thickly carpeted floor underneath. With the ring volume turned to zero, it was inaudible when we tried calling it a thousand times. And finally, of course, the battery went dead. So - it's back and I' have a decision to make over keeping either my Go Phone or the old new phone! I've certainly had harder decisions!

I hope everyone has a good weekend. Husband and son will be rolling in tonight so I'm excited about that. I have to shop after work for Mark Chow - what I lovingly call the mass quantities of college boy food he goes through on a daily basis. I just have to not go through it myself!

18 comments:

  1. Leslie that is too funny about your cell phone! I am *blushing* to think that somehow my mental wanderings and meanderings inspire you but I will graciously accept the award and regift it next week. Have a great weekend and Mother's Day!

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  2. I might be first! I might be first!

    "Take an old changing table to Goodwill. The "baby" is 21. It's time." LOL!!!

    What about your future grandchildren? Do you see a diaperless generation ahead?

    Knew that phone would turn up. Dang thing.

    Happy Mother's Day to you!

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  3. Or... I might not be first.....

    Dang it!

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  4. Anonymous07 May, 2010

    Thanks for the kind words, Leslie. I appreciate it.

    Your posts are always great--a nice mix of humor, everyday life, insight & the occasional pathos. All calorie-free. Who could as for anything more? :D

    And, needing the changing table for grandchildren did occur to me, too. I had to buy one along with a crib--but I found a used set in exellent conditon for $40 total for both. So, I guess it depends on your storage space.

    Deb

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  5. Not sure I'd take in that changing table; that's tempting the Gods too much. As soon as you get home, you can expect "Mom, I've got some news..."

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  6. what I loved about your list of things to do is that they were things that were sort of already out there, hanging. So it wasn't dreaming up things to make your life complicated. It was taking care of things that were do-able and staring you in the face. I think that was very smart, positive and empowering.

    (I have read to do lists by other bloggers which were things like write a novel while climbing a mountains backwards - total self sabotage).

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  7. I have found great mirrors (in the past) at TJ Maxx if you have one of those or any other overstock type stores. Also Home Depot and Lowes have good ones fairly reasonable too.

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  8. Congrats on the award!

    That looks like a good list to bust the boredom.

    I am working on a to do list as well. The chores never end do they?

    Enjoy having your son home!

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  9. Happy Mother's Day sis!

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  10. I just discovered your blog. It's great!!!

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  11. How cool that you have your phone back! I guess now you have a spare? And I loved "the baby is 21" - um, yeah...I still have my high chair, and my baby is 20!

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  12. Fitness Tip: Use variety - The body is very adaptive. Performing the same routine over and over is not only boring, but your body will get used to the routine and quit responding. Change your exercises, the order in which you do them, the number or sets and reps, or change the weights. In one workout you may use weights, another you may use resistance bands, in another, machines. Make every workout different in some way.Exercise of the day: Ball Side Kicks - The Ball Side Kicks will help develop a stronger core region as you also work your lower body while working your lower body small stabilizer muscles with the use of your fitness ball.

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  13. Thank you so much for passing on the award to me :) I appreciate your support! :)

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  14. You're hilarious. And you're going through a lot. I hope your knees feel better, and that you get your ambitious list done this weekend. I know that you can do it!

    Good luck! Have fun. And keep us posted when you can.

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  15. Hey thank you! :) you inspire me too! Have FUN with your son! whoooo hoooo

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  16. congrats on the award, enjoy your weekend!

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  17. Hi Leslie. Wow about that changing table. But Jack Shit's right - you've kept it so long now it'd be a shame to chuck it just when your kids are gonna need it ....

    Great that your knees respond so positively to the exercise. Walking on sand is very hard going for anyone, involving your joints and muscles being thrown in different directions with every step. So probably not that surprising that your legs wheren't feeling so great afterwards.

    I'd definitely keep both phones - you never know when you'll need a spare!

    Hope your weekend is going well.

    Bearfriend xx

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