Springing back to the gym.

It's the time of year again. We remember those New Year's resolutions. Oh Yea - it'll be time to wear bathing suits again. Everyone is trying to fit the trip to the gym into the schedule as well as the budget.

When will I have time to go to the gym? Where is the money going to come from for the gym?

Well neither happens for me right now. I fit exercise in all through out my day. Just Do It!! It's so easy.

Just like my business, IT'S ALL ABOUT POSTURE. Like those mothers say - Just Suck It Up. Just keeping good posture will improve your overall fitness level.  After 3 children, I had to learn to isolate and control all those vitally important core or powerhouse muscles. This can be really hard to do. The place to start is the posture. Previously, I recommended that you get a professional to assess your posture. DO THIS!

Now I do work at home. So I move all day long. I will walk while I'm talking on the phone whether I'm giving a presentation or a training call.

Any time I'm in a chair, I'll do leg lifts, or ankle exercises. In waiting rooms, doesn't matter whose if you are gonna keep me sitting waiting to se you then I'm going to be doing any exercise I can do in a seated position. Doctor's offices, car shops, school meetings, scout meetings -  you name it I'm there and exercising too.

Every time I'm in the car, I practice pulling my belly button into the seat back (Posture what else lol). I make games to see how long I can hold my stomach muscles tight. Whether it's while I'm typing this blog or sitting through a stoplight, in a drive thru I'm working on my fitness. Here's the deal when it comes to those baby stretched stomach muscles - YOU HAVE TO SHORTEN THEM - they way you do that is by tightening them. The more you do it and the longer you hold the muscle contraction, the muscles start forming muscle memory. You know you are getting there when you pull up to that stop light and your muscles start contracting before your brain really tells them to. One of the first times that this effect really impacted on my brain was 3-4 months after I started trail riding with my children. I was doing a walk at home program at the same time, that was really focused on strengthening the abs. We were on a trail more difficult than I was use too and was unfamiliar with when we had a small culvert we had to cross and before my brain registered that I needed to tighten up for the jump my body was already doing it. Muscle memory just like mental memory has to be developed and its takes practice.

With regained muscle control, I work my abs with mini crunches and the TA muscle with pelvic tilts in the car as well as the all important kegels. I do crunches, seated twists all the standard ab work that most all of us dread. As I have restructured my posture, I've found I don't dread these so much. They are easier to do and I no longer have back & neck pain when I do them. It's all about the posture - physical and mental.

Now if you are like me and had baby belly weight to go with those slack muscles. You need to understand that this is not going to cause the pounds to fall away as you breathe. Good old fashion cardio does that part of the equation. WALK WALK WALK.

I'll do arm work even if its with pretend weights (isometrics) while I'm on the phone, in the car and while walking. I make an interesting picture doing my laps on the track at the middle school. I bebop to my mp3. I hop, skip jump,walk backwards just everything I can do.

When I'm cleaning house or any tasks that require me to walk from one place to another, I'll stop half way and throw in a few squats or take 30 seconds and do a stretch. So STOP on the way to the washer and do 5-10 squats.

You're at home,  who cares if you crab walk to the kitchen for an Access boost. Are my children gonna laugh at me probably but who cares- laughing is good exercise too. I'm setting a fitness example for them too.

DANCE anytime you can even if its just a quick step to elevator music. I dance on the track too.

Anytime, Anywhere You Can Move! If you are moving you are improving your fitness. There are limitless exercises you can do quickly. You do not have to have a dedicated 30 minutes to an hour plus travel time to the gym and money for the gym to incorporate good daily exercise into your already hectic schedule.

One of the most popular methods today for losing fat and training/growing muscles is the BLAST. You are going to surprise your muscles by asking the unexpected. You are walking along at your normal pace and suddenly pick up the pace, push it for a few minutes and then go back to the regular pace - this is the blast. You will burn more calories and build more responsive muscles quicker.  This is some of the principle behind including exercise as part of your whole day. You are going through the day and suddenly skip through the house instead of walking. You have surprised your muscles and forced them to work unexpectedly and they will rise to the challenge and get stronger because of it.

Even if it's only a minute at a time, you can work a lot of exercise into your day. JUST DO IT!

Till next week
Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen and body fluids burned during exercise.

Are You Listing?

It's another Wild, Wonderful Wednesday.

Today I was going through my lists. You know them - to do, grocery, honey-do - the list goes on.

I've always been a list maker. The mere act of making a list, plants that info in the brain recesses some where.
Now  to find where it is stored when we need it.

I practice with my lists. When I make a grocery list, I go through the store and shop without the list. As I get ready to go to the register, I pull out that list to see if I missed anything or got something that wasn't on the list.
That's the other reason for a list - to battle the budget.

Now why would you do that? I do it to exercise my brain muscle. Just like all the muscles in our body, the use it or lose it axiom applies. I really didn't think about it when I was younger. Now having crossed over the half century mark, I think about it more. I do more puzzles, anything that will challenge that really hard headed muscle of mine.

Fitness is about a TOTAL Body & Soul. The core is our powerhouse for our bodies but the brain is the master mind ( well of course what else would it be LOL) and it needs to work to stay healthy.

Even the best worked brain can not always overcome the environmental damages that we are exposed to daily. Where are we exposed to the most environmental pollutants and toxins?
IN OUR VERY OWN HOMES. Yes, that's right and you can do the research to verify this. It's out there by the long ton.

Look under you kitchen or bathroom sink, in the laundry room every where you store cleaning products. Oh I know, we all sorta know about the cleaning products. But are you aware that your personal care products are culprits in the indoor air pollution in our homes.

There are many alternatives out there and no matter which one you choose -  YOU NEED TO CHOOSE HEALTHIER, SAFER PRODUCTS FOR YOUR HOME. Get to researching, find the ones that work for you and Green up your home and the environment at the same time.

Don't let your brain, or your ship, or your body list. The only listing needs to be on paper. Make that to do list now. Wednesday's are great days to over come procrastination - it's own list of to dos.

And now I can cross this off my To Do List.

Till Next week

Did You Know - Banana Trees aren't trees at all but perennial herbs. It doesn't have a true trunk but a single stem with many leaves wrapped around it. The stem emerges at the top where it produces edible flowers & fruits.

You're Really Gonna Hate to Hear This

I know - what a way to start a blog that's suppose to make you laugh - right?

Today's Tale - is about our back and rehabilitation.

The Beginning - or it should be. It was actually in the middle for me.

I started my 5 year quest to rebuild the - rode hard & put up wet - body. I had a bulging L5S1, bone spurs on all left cervical vertebrae, compounded by the onset of fibromyalgia due to Lyme's disease.

I am one of THOSE PEOPLE. You know them or maybe you are one. I am an uncooperative patient. I will not have back surgery until I'm crawling on all fours. I refuse steroid shots.

The body feels pain for a reason. To tell my inner dummy to STOP NOW!

I have never been as thankful as when my bulging disc herniated. No, I am not a masochist. Yes, after living with chronic pain for many years, I have developed a special relationship with pain. A bulging disc typically has swelling associated with it and this was the source of 70% of my sciatic pain. When the disc herniated, I no longer had any swelling.

Here's a tidbit I learned; the hard way of course. Not all sciatic pain is caused by the low back. Neck vertebrae out of place will cause the same sciatic pain.

My Favorite Pain Mantra is from the movie, GI Jane
Master Chief: Pain is your friend, your ally, it will tell you when you are seriously injured, it will keep you awake and angry, and remind you to finish the job and get the hell home. But you know the best thing about pain?
Lt. Jordan O'Neil: Don't know!
Master Chief: It lets you know you're not dead yet!

I know I'm alive and I have a job to do.

Where do you start, when your body is no longer doing the job you want or need it to do?

This is where you really aren't going to believe I'm saying this.


Your Mother was RIGHT. There I said it. Now that's eating a really green banana.


My mother, her mother, your mother, every mother and mother before - All Said It.


Stand up straight, sit up straight, don't slump, suck it in, good posture is everything.


You are getting the benefit of my 20/20 hindsight when it comes to rehab & recovery for back, joint, muscle injuries and pain.

The very first place to start is with your posture.

I thought I had good posture till I decided to ask a professional. It's about my 3rd or 4th trip thru physical therapy. Gee, if I had only thought of this the first time around.

Get a Professional to assess your posture. They will help you correct your posture.

I was standing to to wide - more like shoulder width and those are linebacker shoulders on this woman. I had to narrow my stance to about 5 inches between the balls of my feet. As soon as I did that, everything else had to change.

I came up with a plan to learn this new posture. I threw neon colored 3x5 cards all around my house and carport. As I walked through my day, each time I came to a card, I had to stop and strike THE POSE.

MY POSE 1. STOP - get feet 5 inches apart.
                  2. Soften the knees - DO NOT LOCK THOSE JOINTS.
                  3. Tuck the derriere under then relax the glutes
                  4. Suck the stomach in
                  5. Shoulders down & back
                  6. Sternum down
                  7. Chin down, ears over shoulders

How long does it take to restore good posture? It depends on the individual and how long they have had poor posture and the number of corrections they need to make. I spent about 4 months with the 3x5 cards and during the last 2 years have gotten where I only need an occasional posture check. You muscles will remember the more you practice and they will begin to self correct without conscious thought on your part.I just love it when I catch my body working when I'm not thinking about it. Just Practice, Practice, Practice, it will become a habit again.

With every injury - we compensate for the pain by adjusting the posture which throws even more parts out of whack. Regaining a correct posture as soon as possible is critical to any and all future recoveries. Correct posture also facilitates faster healing and muscle development.

I absolutely live by chiropractic care. and highly recommend it, even for those who have never had serious injuries. This is usually my first stop with a new injury. Improper alignment of your spine can lead to head aches, joint aches, neck aches, back pain and so much more. The core of the body, all those abs and back muscles,is the powerhouse for the body. And that powerhouse supports our spine. My children and I get regular chiropractic care as preventative maintenance for the body.

No discourse on correct posture is complete without taking about the other 2 postures we possess. I found that the correct posture for my body was linked to my mental and attitude postures. As I corrected the physical posture the other 2 followed suit. Now the mental and attitude postures require a lot more work in my opinion, since they are the ones that determine our success in life.

Once again the mothers were right.


Find your postures and work like crazy to improve and keep them.

Green bananas are safe to eat and they contain resistant starch which has less effect on blood glucose levels. This is great for those who need to control their blood sugar. The way to eat them is to cook them. Slice them or cut like fries and fry them in butter until browned.


A Wonderfully Blessed Wednesday to you all.

Spring Baseball Tales ReSpring

SPRING

All About the RE.

The greatest time of year.

Harbinger of

Rebirth, Renewal, Regrowth, Re-dedication, Regeneration, Rejuvenation, Recharging, Replenishment, Restoration, Revitalization, Revival, Reawakening,

REJOICING
 

I am so thankful for spring every year. I love the newness it brings.
New flowers, new greenery, new life - animals and children, new longer days - yes, I love Daylight Savings Time.

Then, of course, it is the harbinger of the Great American Past Time - BASEBALL

Each and every year since I moved to Sunny Florida, The University of Florida continues to impress me with their involvement in the community especially with the school children.

Our baseball tale begins with winning tickets on a radio contest to a Saturday game. It was the weekend between my birthday and my 10 year old son's birthday. What a great, unexpected thing to do with him for our birthdays.

We have not been to a Gator Baseball game before. High Adventure Here.
Needless to say it's been a very long time since I've been to a baseball game. I called a friend who has sons that play to find out how long a game lasts -she tells me anywhere from 2 -4 hours . Oh Boy!
What I remember most - long, slow, and Take Me Out To The Ball Park music.

We find the stadium and parking - another great accomplishment.
We of course have a snack bag - mother of 3 ya know.
An officer is at the entrance, who checks your bags for dangerous items.
We had 2 plastic bottles of sparkling tea, 1 can of soda and trail mix.
The officer says" I can't let you take the soda in because it can act like a missile. You are welcome to step back outside the entrance and drink it. "

Now I only drink one soda - Dr. Pepper and there is no way I'm gonna waste one. My son says he has never seen me drink a soda that fast. I was guzzling for sure. We contemplated a can versus a plastic bottle as missiles. They both get very hard when shaken. I guess the aluminum is considered more dangerous than the plastic lol. I think getting hit by either would be stunning to say the least.

Finally in the stadium, we ask an usher where to find our seats and a wonderful, gentleman calls the usher over to give him 2 tickets for the Sunday game for us. WOW. What a wonderful thing to do and we so appreciated it.

We had tons of fun together and the Gators won. There was no way we weren't going back for the Sunday game since they announced that there would be free T-shirts, autograph books and pins for the first 500 kids on Sunday. MOMS & DADS YOU WILL BRING YOUR CHILDREN. LOL

Now, we offered the girl child the opportunity to go to this game since the other boy was off camping with the boy scouts. She didn't think it was a COOL thing to do. No real surprise there - 14 and angst.

Sunday gets here pouring down spring rains. I say - Honey there is no way I'm sitting in the rain for a game. I have never in my life done that for anybody or team. The disappointment in those big, beautiful, blue eyes was enough to make me get on the phone and internet to find out if they were going to call the game due to weather. It's raining buckets surely they are going to cancel.  Guess what another of those times - I AM WRONG!! Dern my average is really getting blasted these days.

Off to the stadium we go. Now we are old pros. Right. No problems. An hour and 10 minutes before the 1 PM Start. My son gets his t-shirt and pin and autograph book. The rain starts to lighten up. Delay due to weather, game will start at 2:40. Oh my, what do we do for 2 hours and 50 minutes??? You hang out in the tunnels to stay dry. Actually the entertainment wasn't bad. Watching the team pull the tarp over to get the lake removed and put it back in the wind was educational and funny. Taking it off the field totally was even more entertaining as it whipped in the wind, 8-10 foot swells coming into the beach.

At the Saturday game, we were still uninitiated to all the goings on at these Gator games. Sunday we know and find the 4 boxes where you can register for different things, like being the Junior Gator Announcer, the Gator Races, the Gator Mystery box and the final Gator Runs for the game.  My son got picked to be the announcer. Sooooo Coooool. He was in the press box and announced the Gator batters in the 5th inning. He was awesome - could this be a career choice - maybe - he got to have the experience thanks to UF. Every time a Gator Pitcher strikes out a batter, they throw t-shirts into the crowds - we got 2 of those that weekend. He got all the stuff and got all the players to autograph his book too.
Now the other boy is home and even the girl's interest is piqued.

Here is a great reason to work for yourself from home. On Wednesday, I get an email that there will be $1 admissions to baseball game that night and $1 drinks, hot dogs and a few of the other concession items. SO I get my appointments covered and off the whole family goes to the game. Being able to do things on a moments notice - PRICELESS.

Once again UF provides my family with a great night at the ball game. My daughter was chosen for the Junior Announcer, the boys were picked to do the gator races - where they go on field and represent blocks of scorecard holders. The child that wins and all the score card holders in their group get Chick-Fil-La coupons.

My children are "like mom you need to calm down, people are looking at you, oh no she's dancing to the music, ack she does the loudest Go Gators" Could they crawl under the stands - well yes they could. My oldest son says "MoMMMM people are going to laugh at you!!!!!"

My Answer: Let them, I don't care, I'm here to have fun and that includes - I get to SCREAM & YELL and it's not at ya'll for a change. 

So the only thing we haven't gotten in these 3 games is a ball. Most go out of the stadium. A few hit in the stands. At the very end of the game, the oldest boy asks can he go out front to see if he can get a ball. Well lo & behold, the game ball is a foul out of the stadium and he got it. Then he got a couple of the players to autograph it.

I must say baseball games have changed. We had a blast. Cool music during all the wait times. Drawings held to win prizes during the game.  I hope you are near a school that offers fun like this. If not  - I would ask why they don't. As you keep reading, I will be giving you more examples of this university's participation in this community.


Hope you laughed with us today. Go See A Baseball Game, scream & yell like there's no tomorrow. 
REJOICE IT'S SPRING

Tylenol for the Eyeball

Good Day on this Wonderful Wednesday the 24th of March

Well, I had not planned this post but due to my last week and the things I learned, I just couldn't resist the title.

So here is an eye tale.

I woke up Thursday last week with my eyelid stuck to my eyeball which leads to corneal abrasions. I was uncomfortable but know our eyes heal fast, so I'd be good by in the morning. Was I ever WRONG that time. Yes, I was wrong. On Friday, I woke up to total light blindness in the right eye with sympathetic reaction in the left eye.

Now 2 of my children go to a school out of our zone and I have to drive them 6.5 miles to school. HaHaHaHa tears, tears, tears, HAHAHA

I kept everyone home from school. They should all be overjoyed RIGHT ?

WRONG AGAIN dern just knew I had that one right- my oldest - the girl child -oops young woman- pitches a bloody, hissy fit that she just has to be at school, she has 3 tests and 2 projects to turn in and she can't make any of it up, there are no make ups, blah, blah, blah.

Against my better judgment, with a Sunflower Bandana, pirate style over my right eye which wasn't working out to well and just ended up covering the eye with my hand, hi ho off to school we go.

Thank goodness everyone on the road survived our trip to school. I had the boys still with me to be my right eye. As we got to a shopping center, at the intersection where I have to turn into the rising Florida SUN to get to the eye doc, I was blinded by the light and just barely got into the parking lot without a wreck. We sat there about 40 minutes, waiting for the eye to settle down and the sun to get over the windshield, when my oldest son decides we need help and calls the school Deputy on the phone.

Next , we have not 1 but 2 deputies. One takes the middle school son to school and the other takes me and the youngest to the eye doc, drops me off, then takes my son on to his school. So now my car is stranded, my children are stranded at school and I'm stranded at the eye doc's.

When the doc comes in he wants to know how I am -Well, How many patients do you have arrive in police cars? He replies - well not many and those are usually wearing orange jumpsuits  lol lol.

Now you ask  - ok what's in here for me besides a few laughs.

Here are some of the things I learned from 3 different docs during this process.

Numbing drops are lifesavers but are still only available at the doc's office because people will tend to keep their eye numb and can't tell if things are getting better or worse. MANY years ago the drops were cocaine based therefore only available at the doc's. They say the new ones are no longer cocaine based but we still don't get them.

MY ANSWER - they have individual use drops of every kind - why not these, especially for those of us who have only one driver in the family. At least for the 20 minutes my eye is numb, I can get safely to their office and not in a cop car.

I got my first band-aid contact. Instant relief for most of the pain. Did you know such an animal existed?

The 2nd day and 2nd doc, I learn they do have a pain drop they will give you - described as "Tylenol for the Eyeball" now of course it's not really Tylenol so don't put any in your eyes.

Then the doc told me to take 1000 mg of Tylenol (for those of us who are not brand specific types, I believe any acetaminophen will do) plus an Aleve (naproxen) was the same as taking Tylenol with codeine but none of the side effects or addiction problems- WOW - didn't know that and it definitely goes in the good to know file.

Was there a preventative measure? Other than the ointments that I used at night since this started about a year ago - not really. Mine is due to underlying defects in my cornea.

Treatment options. Put lots of drops & ointments in my eyes daily and before bed for the rest of my life with times that it will happen anyway. Or there is a surgery - either scraping or laser type, EWWWWWW they remove the cornea down to the base and it regrows. And you know, for all these eye surgeries you are awake and seeing it - ACK.

Our eyes are truly miraculous organs, just the process that allows us to see is utterly amazing. They also heal very fast. With 3-5 days of totally incapacitating - not a chance in the world are you going to drive a car- pain a thousand times worse than what I've had and you have a new cornea. Pretty impressive.

This will reduce the dry eye issues and give clearer/cleaner/sharper vision. No it will not change your prescription.

I'll let you know what else I learn, as I go through the process.

Of course, Everything happens for a reason. As I arrived at the eye doc's, I got a call from a friend on her way out of town (ie NOT AT WORK), who came to rescue all the stranded of the day.

So a rather yucky eye tale  and a girl tale (Don't get me wrong, I am truly thankful she takes her school work so seriously but we need to work on a few reality based priorities - like they will let you make up work when there is a family emergency) are certainly covered for today.

A cluster of bananas is called a hand and consists of 10 to 20 bananas, which are known as fingers.
A green hand week - rather appropriate to follow St. Patrick's day wouldn't you say?

Don't forget to laugh - it's good for you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

 – the greatest birthday with the very best parties, I remember my 21^st in Savannah - Now that was birthday party.

 

St. Pat's Day Trivia courtesy of Wikipedia -"The phrase "the wearing of the green", meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from the song of the same name."

 

SO I’ve turned 50, and now I get to plan for the second act.

 

This is how all this started for me. What does it mean to be 50? It’s just a number right? Is there wisdom at 50? I’m so excited about the 50^th. I have had a few comments from folks, like- I’ve never seen anyone so excited about their 50^th birthday. Then some of my male buddies take it a step further with – I’ve never seen a WOMAN this excited about 50. My thought -WHY NOT. It is a great life milestone– there has to be a great celebration.

 

I’ve been getting ready for this birthday for 5 years. I’ve been working on several gifts to myself for this day. My number one gift to me is health. First, I started rebuilding a tired, broken down, rode hard, put up wet body. There’s been posture restructuring, injury recovery, karate, walking, biking, ect. Certainly no picnic and we’ll be talking lots about the process involved in future posts. Second, I started rebuilding a tired, broken down, rode hard, put up wet spirit. Even less of a picnic with more to come. Third, I began a business. Don’t we all?

 

Since January, the approach of this day has sent my mind in so many directions. Nostalgia – where are all those, I’ve lost touch with? Has life been good to them? And courtesy of this great electronic age, places like Face Book can make those re-connections happen.

 

I’m a tail-end baby boomer and the last of our generation is beginning to cross the 50 yard line. What an amazing age to have been born in. The things we have seen come to pass – science fiction come to life. Just take computers and the internet. When we were in high school, uh-oh here comes one of those when I was your ageisms - there was no such thing at home and hardly at college, no internet at all. We programmed mainframe computers with punch cards. All you young bloods have no idea what a pain in the rear that was. The computer languages we used are effectively dead like Latin you know, written but not spoken. And so many other advances, we’ll get to them as we go along.

 

I’m the mother of 3 – a girl & 2 boys (ages 10, 13, 14) what was I thinking??? - so there will be many tales, from them, about them, and parenting tales, too. 

 

Tall tales, wagging tales, annoying tales, cat tales-some tailless, wild tales, a few fish tales and a snakey tale or two as well - I probably have one just for you. LOL and bad poetry too.

 

Ahhh the trials, tribulations, the processes, the journey and joys, ultimately so many joys. 

 

The first half is done, now for act 2-shooting for the century St. Patrick’s Day birthday. What a blow out birthday that will be. Half time is ending, the curtain is rising, no turning back now, only great things to come. 

 

First, I hope to make you laugh. 

I hope to help you find inspiration, some courage and choices.

 

Why are we eating green bananas? Stay Tuned Right here every Wonderful Wednesday to find out -eventually lol, for those in the “JOB” Force that’s hump day and you know you are looking for anything but work to get you through the afternoon, so come on by and see the day’s tale. It might be yours.