Have I Seen You Here Before?

The day I stopped going to bars:

From allisimpson.com; click picture for post on pick up lines.

After doing the ‘pretend I’m looking for a friend’ walk, through three other establishments, I landed at a place determined to get a good drink, if not a flirtatious moment.  While sipping on my iced down vodka tonic, enjoying a warm breeze on the patio, a fellow approaches.  “Hey can I talk to you? Oh wait, I need another drink…just a second.”   After taking two steps towards the bar, he turns on his heel…maybe he will ask about my drink.   “I have to go to the bathroom and then get my drink.” He slurs:  “Don’t go anywhere, will ya?”  Of course I did not leave, until he was out of site and I had downed the last swallow of my drink.

Cloud Gallery

Ever since I was a child, clouds and the the sky in general have fascinated me.  Sometimes the colors of the canvas are just so brilliant and awe inspiring.  Sometimes the shapes and dimensions project a story across the sky.  They may conjure feelings of hope or fear.  Each moment in life happens but once.  Each sky portrait is to be seen but once.

As I was organizing some photos, I noticed that I had many photos of clouds.  Therefore, I thought they deserved their own page.  A new gallery was formed.  If you enjoy clouds, take a peek and I hope you enjoy.  All of the photos in this first batch were taken from my neighborhood.

Versatile Blogger and Photos

Thanks so very much to Shelby at www.100poundsin1year.wordpress.com.  She has been so very kind as to nominate this site for the Versatile Blogger Award.  She is on a terrific journey to shed 100lbs and shares so many wonderful things about her journey beyond the exercise and food.  Her recent post about the RPE scale altered my perspective on some of my own health adventures.

There are some rules with this and I will try to not color too far outside of the lines.

Random stuff about me:

Probiotics, Beyond Yogurt

Last year I knew someone who contracted salmonella poisoning.  Part of the treatment included taking Cipro.  After a week in the hospital and finishing her antibiotic prescription, she developed a C. diff infection to go along with the Salmonella that was still there.  After another 2 rounds of taking multiple medications (including a new C. Diff medicine, Dificid) and then starting probiotics, she has been doing well.  Another lady I know has a stubborn H. pylori infection.  She has been taking multiple medications for a long time but still has some horrible symptoms.  She started taking probiotics and, although she still has some symptoms, she is doing significantly better.  This got me to start taking probiotics. I started taking it everyday for several weeks and now take it 1-3 times a week.  That is what works for me.  I know people who take it everyday.  I favor the brand pictured, but I think important points are that it contain several different types of bacteria and that it is stored in a refrigerator.  They are alive!  Refrigeration helps to keep it that way.

In an effort not to reinvent the wheel, here is a link that has a lot of good information about probiotics:   http://www.medicinenet.com/probiotics/article.htm

What’s in a List?

I crossed paths with this list on the way out from the grocery store.  I wondered, did someone lose it on the way in or on the way out?  Did he/she remember everything on the list?  If not, did they go back for the item or do without?  Lists are a great way to organize your thoughts and activities.  Perhaps, many of them turn into brainstorming diaries that need to be edited for accuracy and relevance.  I found yet another washing machine crumpled wad of paper in my pants’ pocket yesterday.  Had I written a vital piece of information on it?  Was it someone I planned to call? …something I needed to get at the store?  I will never know, and have chosen not to care.  If the universe needs me to address something, it will come back to my attention.  So, sorry if I promised to call you.

140+ Squat Workout

Part of my Mothers’ Day present was moving some landscaping stones.  Each one had to be placed in the wheelbarrel and then back down in another area.  I was concerned that I may strain my back, so I took special care to bend my knees, keep my back in neutral and use my glut and leg muscles to power up.  It was a fabulous workout.  Sure my legs and lower back muscles felt like they had been asked to do more than they were accustomed to, but what I had failed to consider was the 140+ bicep curls that I also did.  Those babies cried for 3 days.  I credit Zumba for the lack of soreness in my legs that I had expected.  I am now motivated to work more on my upper body!

 

My Feet’s Favorite Shoes

I am lucky enough to able to wear any kind of shoes I like to work, well, maybe not flip-flops or

open-toed shoes.  For years, I wore nothing but New Balance cross-trainers.  Over the last couple of years, either my feet have changed or New Balance has changed the last in their shoes.  I have tried various styles and brands with no luck.  I even went to a specialty running shoe store and they videotaped me walking and worked with me for about 2 hours trying to find the perfect pair.  I have also tried several inserts.  Nothing had been working.  Princess and the Pea, shoe style.

I did, eventually find a pair I loved: Asics T154N running shoes. A stability shoe.

Almost every shoe company has 3 basic categories of running shoes:

Juicing Clutz!

So, I was all excited about my frozen berry juice this morning.  My shirt and counters are covered with yummy vitamins.  That is almost expected with this type of juice for me.  The important lesson of the morning?  Don’t drop the bag into the juicer!  It works much better when you take the berries out of the bag.  Just another opportunity to laugh at myself.

Too funny not to share.  Happy juicing!

New Book on Fitness and Health

I caught part of an interview broadcast on NPR on the way home tonight.  The interview was with Gretchen Reynolds, about her book The first 20 Minutes.  It covered topics ranging from the dangers of sitting at a desk all day to chocolate milk having the right protein to carbohydrate balance for a recovery drink after a workout of an hour or more.  It also touched on how exercise is good for the brain.  If you have the time, it might be worth a look.

http://www.npr.org/2012/05/09/152336802/stand-up-walk-around-even-just-for-20-minutes

Prepare for Nutrition

Watch out! Katie is in the kitchen.  My cooking style seems to have landed somewhere between dorm room cuisine and Food Network fan.  To eat well during the week, I need to cook on the weekend.  Today’s preparations were inspired by fellow bloggers and Dr. Oz.