Another change in the pattern

Brilliant act on my part: I did something different the other day. I was feeling rather depressed, so I went to a (cool hip) bookstore to find something to read. There I met people who probably thought themselves cool and hip, though I would describe them as extremely rude. (Making disparaging comments about a total stranger's looks is not really the cool hip thing to do.)
So I was even more depressed. Usually the trend would be to eat some high-fat comfort food, or down a glass of red wine. Instead, on a whim I picked up a new exercise DVD and tried it out when I got home.

Note to self: Exercise is like comfort food without the calories. A steak pleases the taste buds for the moment. Exercise makes you feel good for an hour or more afterward.

Giveaway du jour: I'm heading in to the garage again. If I don't come back, send handsome men with leaf blowers.
Sigh... that damn garage is looming large on the guilt-o-meter. Craven fool that I am, I couldn't face it. Put it off until it's dark and cold and uninviting. Probably have spiders lurking under every box. I'll give away a book, anything, please don't ask me to face that garage tonight.

Exercise du jour: Think I'll try the Cardio Burn KickBox DVD again. It was kinda fun, actually. Even if I did start to cuss at the instructor (Patricia Moreno) towards the end. Don't tell her. She could kick my butt from here to Cleveland without breaking a sweat.
Done!


Photo du Flickr.

Nekkid Portland Cyclists

Quote du jour: Cycling naked has become a "well-established tradition" in Portland.

Fact du jour: I'm not planning to go 'traditional' -- certainly not in November.
(Hey, there's a thought. If I get laid off, I could make money another way. People could pay me not to take my clothes off in public ;)

Update: I don't know if I last weighed myself last Sunday or the one before that. Today the scale, a good doctor's scale, says I've lost six pounds since our last encounter.

Clearly, I should've being weighing myself on Saturdays instead.



Giveaway du jour: There's no escape. There are still storage boxes out there in the garage e'en yet undiscovered, filled to the brim with things that I could and should give away. And maybe I'll find some mysterious treasure while I'm at it. Probably next to Judge Crater and Jimmy Hoffa.
Sigh... didn't find anyone or anything exciting. Another book bites the dust.

Exercise du jour: Decided to switch my running days.
Week 5 of the couch to 5k. (Can't believe I'm into the 5th week!)

Photo du jour: Flickr

Enforced freedom

Poem du jour:
Nothing is ever really lost, or can be lost,
No birth, identity, form--no object of the world.
Nor life, nor force, nor any visible thing;
Appearance must not foil, nor shifted sphere confuse thy brain.
Ample are time and space--ample the fields of Nature.
The body, sluggish, aged, cold--the embers left from earlier fires,
The light in the eye grown dim, shall duly flame again;
The sun now low in the west rises for mornings and for noons continual;
To frozen clods ever the spring's invisible law returns,
With grass and flowers and summer fruits and corn.

- Whitman, "Continuities"

That poem caught my eye, though it doesn't really fit my current mood. To avoid actually laying people off, the company is ordering a forced shutdown for the week. Initially I was peeved, since I am under a lot of pressure to get things done at work. But on the plus side, all the project managers are slacking off on their deadlines, since no one can get anything done by the deadlines. So I've decided if the week off is inevitable, I'm going to lie back and enjoy it.

Giveaway du jour: Okay. One book. I think I can, I think I can... Hey, I've got a whole 9 days off! I can do anything!
Y'know, I don't think I'll ever feel the need to re-read Sean Astin's autobiography again. Been there, and back again. Another book gone.

Exercise du jour: Rania's Personal Trainer DVD, arms and abs.
On a whim, picked up the Cardio Burn KickBox DVD. 50 minutes later, I've definitely worked up a sweat, but I feel good. I hope this isn't too much legwork, considering the couch to 5k program. Oh well, if my knees hurt tomorrow at least I'll know not to do this again.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

'Tis a pity it's a chore

Poem du jour:

I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree...

Bah humbug!

Good: The leaves are off the lawn
Bad: That tree's just biding its time
Ugly: It's a talllllll tree

Giveaway du jour:Don't suppose I can give away a tree? No, thought not. Okay. Today I will give someone my full attention and listen to them.
Spent 10 minutes listening to my brother, who hasn't been in the best of health lately. We don't chat much, so it was good to spend time listening to him.


Exercise du jour: 4th week of the couch to 5k.
Good. Really went at it today, increased the pace. Felt good.

Life's a beach, or so I'm told

Cannon Beach, Haystack rock

Poem du jour:

maggie and millie and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and

millie befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.

- ee cummings


Giveaway du jour: Time for another challenge. I'm going to find a book that I can give away. I can do this.
I'm being flexible with this giveaway stuff. Gave away a vase. Wasn't using it, didn't have a place for it any longer, let it find a home where it will be loved and appreciated. Or at least used.

Exercise du jour: Rania's Personal Trainer DVD, arms and abs.
It's almost 11 pm and I've just finished writing up a post for Cranky Fitness. In other words, short kettlebell arm exercises sounded really good tonight.
Next day update: good idea to use the heavier kettlebell, Dickens, for the arm exercises. Definitely felt slightly sore the next day, so at least the quickie had some effect.

Running more but standing still

Poem du jour:
The autumn wastes are each day wilder,
Cold in the river the blue sky stirs ...

Though the autumn wind blows on my staff and my pillow,
I shall not weary of the North Mountain's ferns.
-Tu Fu


[Don't ask. I just thought it sounded interesting.]

Giveaway du jour: Oh, I'm bored with boxes, blasé about books, cloyed with clothes. Time to start giving away things that aren't visible. Damn. This requires actual thinking, not something I'm known for.
I don't have time to think today. I'll give away some clothes and worry about being thoughtful tomorrow.
One teeeeeny little giveaway, but I'll take what I can get.

Exercise du jour: 4th week of the couch to 5k.
Felt quite proud that I'd worked up a sweat... until I realized I'd left the heater on.
Still earned that star.

Walking the cheap motivational slogan

Poem du jour:
Easy to sense the trend in the drift of life,
Hard to compel one creature out of its course...
- Tu Fu

Gotta tell you, my motivation went for a walk and hasn't come back. So I'm going to make this short and sweet, just like me. Or short and sour. Something like that. Some days you gotta just fake it.

Giveaway du jour: I'm tired of giving away things. It's a pain to search through storage boxes, and it feels like I'm not giving. I'm going to try for the more imaginative. Okay, no I'm not. I can't think of anything imaginative. I'll go through my pantry and see if I can give something to a Food Bank.

Does canned food go bad? I have a couple cans that have been in the back of the highest shelf for... well, I think a couple of them survived the last Ice Age. Are they still good? Didn't want to risk it, so I donated some bags of pasta. It's not a lot to give. Why do I feel guilty? It's a lot better than not giving anything, isn't it? Sure hope so.

Exercise du jour: I've calculated that it's 2.5 miles to walk from my house to the Max station and then to work. If I commute to work rather than taking the evilSUV, I'll only have to do some arm exercises in the evening and I'm set.

The trouble with this clever scheme is that it is dependent upon my actually Getting UP in the morning. Good idea aside from that.
10 minutes hitting myself with a kettlebell, then 15 more minutes of a mish-mash of arms, legs, abs, and heavy breathing. Technically I suppose you'd call it dancing, or at least moving aerobically while music is playing. Thank God for drapes. Wouldn't want the neighbors to hurt themselves from laughing too hard.
Good enough to get me my star.

Halfway there, looking for Ninjas...

more animal

Halfway Status Check: Fifteen days of daily exercising and giving something away. Time to check on my progress.

Giveaway du jour: I do have less stuff than I did; other people have more compliments, quotes, or forgiveness than they did in October.
Do I feel any different? Well, not really. Not sure if I was supposed to. But it is nice to have less Stuff around the place. Haven't missed anything that I've given up, even though it's Stuff that I've been clinging to for several years.

Today, back to the garage. I will find something to add to the Goodwill pile. It's getting harder to find Stuff to let go of, but I Have Spoken. There has to be something out there that I don't need.
Hmmmn. Oddly enough, it's much easier to sort and give stuff away in the daytime. The garage is adequately lighted at night, but I'm much more motivated during daylight hours. Trying this on a weeknight is too depressing. One more box going to Goodwill.

Exercise du jour: 4th week of the couch to 5k.
Hmmn. I'm running more, longer, but since it's mostly on Orlando Manuel, not really getting anywhere. Probably I should be glad that I haven't injured myself or stressed my body until I'm sore. On the other hand, this might be a sign that I'm not pushing myself enough. Hard to tell.
Done!




Geez, what a blah status check. Need to add some zing to this.
Suddenly, three Ninjas burst into the house and raked some leaves for me...
(I'm just sure that's going to happen. Any day now.)

Glad for what I've got

Quote du jour:
“How could I have known how much it meant for her to see a patch of blue sky, to observe the flying seagulls, or how important that chestnut tree was to her, when she had never shown an interest in nature before. But once she felt like a caged bird, how she longed for it. Even just the thought of the open air gave her comfort, but she kept all these feelings to herself.”
- Otto Frank (Anne Frank's father)

Giveaway du jour: Today, I'm going to go through a storage box and give away anything I don't absolutely need.
I suppose I'm getting somewhere... clothes are going into the Goodwill box and I'm not going on a spending spree, so there is a net loss. Just doesn't look/feel like it.

Exercise du jour: raking, weeding, general gardening. Rather than bemoan the fact that I have to clean the yard amidst wind and rain, be glad that I have a bit of nature five feet from my back door.
My arms are sore
Raking's a bore
But for Fall it is warm
No rain, not a storm.

(Yes, I can too rhyme warm/storm. It's my blog and I'll rhyme how I want to...)

Friday! Finally!

photo: brkymantra

Quote du jour: Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. ~Edward Stanley

Giveaway du jour: Today I'm going to give up another child book. I can do it.
Okay, not sure where all the giveaway books are hiding. Braved another storage box to find a pair of pants that I'll never wear again. Does it still count if it doesn't feel like I'm giving something up?

Exercise du jour: Rania's Personal Trainer DVD, arms and abs.
Nothing else feels quite like the smug feeling you get exercising first thing in the morning.

Lucky 13th

Photo: miguel77

Quote du jour:
Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. ~Plato

Giveaway du jour: I've almost made it through the week. Therefore, the 13th is a lucky day. I'm going to give someone something positive. Positive feedback? A smile? Something that I can honestly compliment them on. I'll keep an eye peeled for the right opportunity.
Well, I gave a quote to another blogger. Does that count? It was a good quote, so I hope it counts.

Exercise du jour: 3rd week of the couch to 5k.
Third week, still standing.

Halfway through another week

Photo: ny156uk

Quote du jour:
Better to hunt in fields, for health unbought,
Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught,
The wise, for cure, on exercise depend;
God never made his work for man to mend.
~John Dryden

Giveaway du jour: Today I'm going to give up another child book. I can do it.
Methinks BCB cursed me -- this was hard to do. Finally found that I had two reference books on the same application, so one of them is now toast.

Exercise du jour: Rania's Personal Trainer DVD, arms and abs.
Four hours of sleep, twelve hours of work. There is no way I'm going to do a full workout. I'd like to find a way to blame BCB for this, but I'm too tired to work up a good rationalization.

Anyway, I did ten minutes' worth of kettlebell arms stuff. Thingies. Exercises. Yeah, that's the word. Knew it would come back to me.

Some have given a lot more...

Photo: ny156uk

Quote du jour:
Lord, bid war's trumpet cease;
Fold the whole earth in peace.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Some are still giving: The Sandbox -- military blog.

Giveaway du jour: Another storage box. Puts giving things up in perspective when you remember it's Veteran's day.
Bloody hell. Yes, I went through a storage box, and yes I found a book I could give away, but it didn't feel like giving. I have to hope that it counts even if it doesn't feel like I'm giving.
The sad part is that I wish today was yesterday. I got four hours of sleep last night; as a result, I drank several cups of coffee today in an attempt to remain vertical. And as a result of that, by the end of the day I was a hyper-caffeinated-bitch-on-wheels. I should really have shown a couple of people the 'benefit of the doubt' that I was so willing to give yesterday. Oi vey.

Exercise du jour: 3rd week of the couch to 5k.
Done! Except I'm starting to wonder about my treadmill. Surely it must be lying to me about the speed I'm going. Any slower and I'd have a negative rate of speed.

Benefit of the doubt

Photo: Kevin Eddy

Quote du jour:

Live out of your imagination, not your history.

- Stephen Covey

Giveaway du jour: Monday's are short days. I'm going to give something intangible. Today I'm going to give someone the benefit of the doubt. Probably a politician, but maybe someone who cuts me off in traffic, or even that dweeb at work who invariably takes the last cup of coffee and doesn't make another pot.
I'm going to give that project manager the benefit of the doubt. He's stuck with the near-impossible task of trying, like Sisyphus, to get his project up to the top of the hill. I give him the benefit of thinking that he wasn't trying to make my day harder just because his is near-impossible; he's trying to get the job done. No malice intended.

Exercise du jour: Getting a little bored with balance ball, kettlebell. Need to find new, different videos. Switching to Rania's Personal Trainer DVD, arms and abs.
Done. Not with a whole lot of enthusiasm... too much caffeine-fueled work... but done.

Just look both ways, okay?

Fact du jour: In Wales, another example of bilingual road signs gone bad. In English, the sign says pedestrians should look right. In Welsh, the sign says they should look left.

p.s. Healthbolt led me to this freaky post about broccoli.

Giveaway du jour: Back to the storage boxes. I'll venture into the garage (if I don't come back, send Mounties) and see if I can make Goodwill's day by giving them two boxes full of stuff.
Done. Now instead of several neatly stacked boxes of stuff, I've got several opened boxes of stuff scattered about the garage -- but the point is that they're not quite so full of stuff. I'm trying to see this as a positive, but the truth is I'm sick of looking at boxes. Argh.

Exercise du jour: 3rd week of the couch to 5k.
Done! Into the 3rd week, and not a gasp, not a wheeze. Has the asthma gone for good?

Taken for granted

Chief Kno-tah, Shute Park Hillsboro Oregon

Fact du jour: travel broadens the mind. Even if you're not the one doing the traveling.

When the Librarian came out in October, she asked what Native American tribes were in the area. That question startled me, because I'd never thought about it before. In Oregon, as in California, Native Americans are usually either integrated into the general population or else they live on small, isolated reservations far from any major city. And their tribes are not very large. It's not like the Southwest, with huge tribes like the Navajo. Casinos are run by Indians, but I don't think those are representative of the native culture. Apparently in Minnesota things are very different.

Giveaway du jour: another opportunity to go through storage boxes and donate things to Goodwill.
Gave away a couple of paperbacks. Hard to work up much enthusiasm over this. Need to get creative or heartfelt or schmaltzy re thinking up things to give.

Exercise du jour: raking, weeding, general gardeningYeah, if it ever stops pouring down the rain in sheets. On the plus side, no need to water the shrubs today. Might try getting out the brush and soap and washing the car. Free rinse.
30 minutes flexibility and abs with Rania's Personal Trainer DVD.
20 minutes raking sodden leaves.

Exploding head syndrome

Pumpkin pi

Fact du jour: Apparently there really is a medical condition known as Exploding Head Syndrome. (And even more amazing, House hasn't diagnosed it in anyone.)

Giveaway du jour: Today I'm going to go through a storage box and give away everything I don't absolutely need. (I have a LOT of stuff in storage boxes.)

Gave away a belt I've been holding onto for... oh, probably 20 years. Doubt I've worn it in the last 10 years. Time to let it go.

Exercise du jour: bell, ball, and balance (balance ball and kettlebell)
Done. Note: I really did not feel like exercising tonight. Couldn't face confessing that to you, yes you over there. *waves*

Vive la difference

Fact du jour: going 90% cold carrot for a month can affect your shape. The other day I put on a pair of jeans and walked around in them for a while before coming to the realization that these were my 'skinny jeans' that I hadn't been able to fit into two months ago. A noticeable difference! Success!

Give away du jour: Tempted as I am to give away all my larger clothes, I will restrict myself to giving away one outsize piece of apparel. For the symbolism of the gesture.
One less sweater in my closet. Even if the weather is getting colder, why keep something I haven't worn in a year?

Exercise du jour: 2nd week of the couch to 5k.
The gold star of success!

Reasonably Smug

Good: Took the lightrail to work yesterday
Better: Which meant that I got some extra exercise, i.e. 50 minutes of brisk walking
Bad: Along the route I saw that several people had already put up Christmas lights. Resist the urge, people! Put up Veteran's Day lights, or Remembrance Day lights, or Thanksgiving lights. Show some restraint already.

Smug Fact du jour: Above is a picture of the line I had to wait in to drop off my ballot yesterday.

Giveaway du jour: Today I will give time. I will listen on the phone while my mother bemoans the fact that the country is going down the sewer because the Wrong Person Won. And I won't play bubbleshooter while she's complaining.
Actually, she wasn't too bad. Though I was shocked to hear about the way people in the neighborhood reacted to her views. Yes, she's a conservative living in a deeply liberal enclave, but she does have the right to her views.
Someone slipped an anonymous note in the mailbox about 'how amused' they were to walk by her house and see her campaign sign in the window. She used to have them on the lawn, but people kept stealing them (though not her liberal neighbor's signs). Clearly, since they were frustrated about not being able to take away her opinion, they decided to share their contempt with her instead. For Heaven's Sake, people, get a life! Let someone have a minority opinion! We don't have to agree with her.

Exercise du jour: Bell, ball, and balance (Kettlebell and balance ball)
Again, left the evilSUV at home and walked/took the lightrail to work. Plus, I worked in a 20 minute brisk walk at lunch, so that give me a total of 60 minutes brisk walking. (Nothing like walking in a light rain on a chilly night to ensure a brisk walk.)

You have the power to change (things, yourself, the system...)

Lincoln memorial

Fact du jour: Voting gives you the chance to change the system.

Giveaway du jour: Today I will go through a storage box and give away anything that I don't absolutely need in my life.
Went through another storage box. Only found one thing (sweater) I could give away, but lots that I could throw away. How on Earth did I end up with six mismatched black pumps?
(Two right, four left, and no I couldn't mix and match. Different heights.)


Exercise du jour: 2nd week of the couch to 5k.

Bonus Exercise: 50 minutes brisk walking