Thank Goodness It's Sunday... #161...

~ Air conditioning. A/C. Did I mention air conditioning? Our A/C needed the expert care of a specialist. Thank you to all those who take care of A/C. Blessedly, we had trouble when the temps were in the low 100s, and the wonderful repairman fixed things the day before it hit over 110 degrees.

~ Favorite authors who inspire me and lift me.

~ The joy of writing.

~ Discovered the contemporary Christian channel on Pandora. Love it!

~ I live smack dab in the middle of the city, not downtown, more suburb, but still city. My sister and I were out for our early morning walk and what do we see? Two horses in a front yard grazing. I'm guessing they were in transit to somewhere else. I don't care. It was fun. Everything inside me calmed and settled simply seeing them. They took up most of the space. Best self-moving lawn ornaments EVER!

My Heroes... Never Forget...

Over at The Unknown Soldier blog the concern was expressed that we are forgetting those who are lost in the war on terror:

http://www.unknownsoldiersblog.com/2013/06/dont-forget.html

The war is not over.

I'm on page 2 of keeping a record of the names the Department of Defense releases as "causalities."

http://ladyhawkhollow.blogspot.com/p/some-gave-all-2.html

http://ladyhawkhollow.blogspot.com/p/some-gave-all.html

I've only been keeping the list since October 2, 2011.

Yesterday was an anniversary. The story I read in Marcus Luttrell's book "The Lone Survivor" profoundly changed my life. I participated in the moment of silence. This was posted by Frog Performance on FB:

An Unexpected Benefit...

Wow has my exercise world changed.

I hate exercise. I've always hated the idea of exercise.

As a child, I loved running around, pretending I was a horse. Hey! Stop sniggering. If you're going to laugh, do it out loud, full out, no holding back.

Why I loved horses: There is a beauty and grace in the combination of power and fragility.

I tore all the ligaments in my ankle at eighteen. My doctor informed me I would have difficulty the rest of my life. He was right.

I'm clumsy. I always have been. Talk about an exercise nightmare.

Balance has also always been difficult for me if both feet aren't flat on the ground. I've been practicing walking on the cement curbs. I am doing better.

Why am I going through all this?

Exercise is not easy!

I hate exercise!

I do it anyway.

Every day.

No matter how lousy I feel.

Why?

Every day, I'm able to point at the exercise I must do first thing in the morning and say, "I did it. I may have screwed up everything else, but I did my exercise, however imperfectly. I did it."

Week One-Hundred Five of REAL...

REAL - Reduce stress Exercise Adequate sleep Lower caloric intake

What Navy SEALs are required to do to make it into BUD/S:

http://navyseal.s5.com/requirements.html

http://military-fitness.military.com/2013/01/the-spartan-300-workout-and-new-variations.html?ESRC=sm_fit.nl

RIght up front: Never in a million years could I do what is required. However, I needed to start somewhere. Considering how fit the SEALs are, I figured it was a good place to start. So my SEAL puppy reps (SEALp) consist of girls' pushups, crunches, and flutter kicks, a SEAL training basic. I started with doing one of each.

Hip lifts

PT ~ Physical therapy using 2-lb weights

UB ~ Upper body exercises
I've worked up to 50 and then 10 more.

BD ~ Belly dancing (my version of it, anyway)

The 21st: 2-mile walk. SEALp. PT. UB. BD.

The 22nd: 4-1/2 mile walk. PT. BD. Yard work.

The 23rd: Rest. 

The 24th: 2-mile walk. SEALp. PT. UB. BD.

The 25th: 1 mile. PT. BD.

The 26th: 2-mile walk. SEALp. PT. UB. BD.

The 27th: PT. BD.

The first picture was taken in February 2012. The second picture was taken in June 2012. Inspiration, at least to me:

Fighting my weight...

Okay, I stepped on the scale yesterday. This was me being honest with myself. I'm almost back where I started. I'm disappointed.

Something I know I need to change: I need to stop drinking so much juice. Starting today... well, starting yesterday, Tuesday.

I've done extremely well with my exercise. Go me! Particularly when you consider it used to be my weak point. I hated it. I often skipped days because I didn't feel like doing it. I don't skip anymore. I do understand I cannot let my guard down. I have some wonderful inspirational people I follow in blogs and on FB.

One of those bloggers posted an article that stated those who were the most likely to lose weight were those who varied their eating schedule. In other words, routines are good for establishing good habits, but you need to shake things up once in a while. You can do it yourself or God will do it for you.

I'm going back to eating twice a day, with occasional changes in my routine.

Medical recommendations changed, again...

Last week, they decided eight 8-oz glassed of water a day is the most convenient to remember, which works well for women but not men, since men need more. From the Mayo Clinic, it's recommended men drink 3 liters of fluids every day, for women it's 2.2 liters of fluid every day.

Now, what works for me: 6-8 cups of water a day, plus whatever else I have in the way of liquids. During the summer, I need more water. I need to do a bit of Gatorade once or twice a week during the summer. I also use more Smart water during the summer.

Last weekend, they decided the 5-6 small meals are making America fatter. Instead, eat 2 meals a day, and watch the calories.

Now, what works for me, I'm much happier on the 2 meals a day program. I eat a late breakfast and an early dinner. I've tried doing 5-6 small meals. I really hate it. I feel overfull all day and like I'm eating all day long, not to mention it interferes with what I'm doing. I've tried doing 3 meals a day, a good breakfast to start the day and then tapering the next 2 meals. I end up feeling hungry all day. When I eat 2 meals a day, I'm hungry by the time I eat breakfast. I'm hungry when I eat dinner, and then I'm done.

I know what works for me does not work for a lot of other people, but then I can't eat whole grains without being sick. I can't even eat a lot of vegetables or fruit, i.e., more than one or two a day, without being sick. Sort of says it all.

Listen to what your own body tells you.

Carpe Diem... Sonoma...

NASCAR ~ Carl came in 3rd!! Whoohoo! He is still #2 in the Chase. GO CARL!!

Writing, writing, writing...

Yesterday, I listened to an hour long blog radio show with David Rutherford of Team FrogLogic. He's a motivational speaker and exactly what I needed. I'm worried about finishing this book on time. I pull up the document and stare at it, unable to form a single thought. After listening to David, I pulled out a piece of college-lined paper and a pen and filled both sides. The last time I did this, a page and a half, I added over 2,000 words. I may end up writing the whole book this way. I'm okay with that. I'm learning about my style.

Thank Goodness It's Sunday... #160...

~ Fun lunch with my sister and one of her friends who is becoming one of mine.

~ An unexpected cool day! Whoohoo!!

~ Chatting with my BFF, keeping me grounded and laughing.

~ Friends who remind me to be gentle with myself, especially when I'm stressed.

~ Long walks and chats with my sister. It's amazing how many things are put to rights after walking a few miles.

My Heroes... Benjamin Franklin...

It's Benjamin Franklin. What more is there to say? I don't even have to read up on him. I know a lot about him. He was a remarkable man. He was born in America. He also lived in England and France. I was worn out simply reading about everything he did in his life. He tried several different trades before embracing printing. He didn't settle for printing alone. He was an avid reader and remarkably self-motivated. He was a busy man. He was sometimes penniless. My impression is that he did not work for money; he worked because to him it wasn't work. He grabbed every opportunity. Sometimes he regretted his choices, but it didn't slow him down. He kept moving forward.

I hate to think of all the restrictions I place on myself because I simply think I can't.

And this week's Unknown Hero:
http://www.unknownsoldiersblog.com/2013/06/the-rescuers.html

Food is not the enemy...

...even if it feels like it is right now.

I'm stressing, and my eating is out of control.

Having admitted that, it is still better than it used to be.

I want to go back to my healthy eating of a few months ago. I can't figure out how to revive it.

Week One-Hundred Four of REAL...

REAL - Reduce stress Exercise Adequate sleep Lower caloric intake

What Navy SEALs are required to do to make it into BUD/S:

http://navyseal.s5.com/requirements.html

http://military-fitness.military.com/2013/01/the-spartan-300-workout-and-new-variations.html?ESRC=sm_fit.nl

RIght up front: Never in a million years could I do what is required. However, I needed to start somewhere. Considering how fit the SEALs are, I figured it was a good place to start. So my SEAL puppy reps (SEALp) consist of girls' pushups, crunches, and flutter kicks, a SEAL training basic. I started with doing one of each.

Hip lifts

PT ~ Physical therapy using 2-lb weights

UB ~ Upper body exercises
I've worked up to 50 and then 10 more.

BD ~ Belly dancing (my version of it, anyway)

The 14th: 2-mile walk. SEALp. PT. UB. BD.

The 15th: 3-mile walk. PT. BD. Yard work.

The 16th: Rest. 

The 17th: 2-mile walk. SEALp. PT. UB. BD.

The 18th: PT. BD. Thought about going for a walk, but it's simply too warm!

The 19th: 2-mile walk. SEALp. PT. UB. BD.

The 20th: PT. BD.

The first picture was taken in February 2012. The second picture was taken in June 2012. Inspiration, at least to me: