Oh Yeah... HAPPY EVERYTHING!!!

How Awful of Me!

I almost made it to the end of the challenge... I think it was FINALLY selling our north Jersey home that put me over the top- it has been one of the most stressful things.. and yet, I had very little to do with it all hahahahaha...

The house has been for sale since.. ummmm... FOREVER.. we moved here in June 2007 (well.. I didn't finish work up there till October 1, 2007) but we've had the "south" house since that June and SOME of us lived here....

But that's all behind me now but for the challenge... I plodded along through the fun things... the articles to read... the "nothing after 8" thing and then flaked out at the end?!?!?!?!

I did do the service section... I've been doing websites for a few groups for no charge... it's lots of time spent, and nothing but satisfaction in return... the Berkeley Shores Homeowners' Civic Association and the MSU Diamond Club websites are 100% gratis on maintenance. I do it to help out- and it's a good feeling.

Guess I better go and read up on the STRESS sections again! It was fun... regardless... and maybe a little of the spirituality WORKED in getting the house finally sold... but it feels so good that I'm not going to worry about it...

I did what I could.. and what I did do... I did well.. or ok...

So now, I can use my blog for other things lol.. yeah.. like ummmmmm.... talking about having ONE house? Ummmm talking about my sister's blog lol....

Ah... it's a good outlet- when I think about letting it out!

:)

Happy "one house" Holidays!

The Previous Round...

Ooops... trying to sell a house is exhausting! I did not do well with the previous Service and Sprituality part of the challenge... or maybe I did OK.

I did get to "Host a movie night with a message" Our book discussion group met at my house for "The Secret Life of Bees" movie night... and there was a message... and we talked and talked about it- so I guess I completed this one!

We also just did a "craig's list giveaway" and gave away "1/2 a houseful" of furniture for free... so that was the donation part. My favorite donation was to my friend's son! He just bought a new home and was basically furnitureless... I gave him my mother's dining room set (among other things). We probably could have sold it, but I was so happy to see his face and know it was getting a good home... good for the soul- this soul anyway!

So, maybe I'm ok with this challenge section- just delayed, as usual.

Oh and PS.... this section, I ACED: Buy nothing for a week. Commit to going an entire week without buying anything that you don’t absolutely need. Rely on your own resources. Celebrate the fact that it’s possible because we’re already blessed with so much. I almost NEVER shop for anything - (it's highly related to having that extra house to sell lol... and well... you can figure it out).

HOORAY HOBBIES!

I was hoping I could use this line to post about my favorite hobby....

"I use multi-million dollar satellites to find Tupperware in the woods... what's your hobby?"

I saw this on a T-shirt and I must have it... I'm a 4 (going on 5 this November) year geocacher... I've released one travel bug that recently showed up in Oklahoma - he is truly LOST!! lol. My sister's bug has made it to Europe... we're currently watching him travel through Germany.

I have had THREE of my own caches... all named after the bug- GeoHenry... one was closed due to my move south, one was muggled and the final one is still going strong!

This is truly one of my favorite FUN FUN FUN activites!! I will write more on this as I peruse the challenge blog...

thanks- and get out there and GEOCACHE!

Visit http://www.geocaching.com/ for more info! My GeoHenry Cache is located at:

N 39° 54.630 W 074° 08.591

If you have a geocache account (it's free.. go for it!) you can find me at: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=ba9aa293-2158-45ea-b97e-98d809ca3b49

Fun Activities!

I LOVE these games!! I've played the vocabulary for rice game before... I've used it in my classes (in my former job)... good one!

I often "Lose yourself" in your hobby of choice...

Playing games on Facebook... or working on a website- Hours sometimes go by... WHOOPS! :)

Six Word Memoirs from Smith Magazine.. OMGOODNESS... I LOVED THIS... I go back OFTEN and laugh and try to come up with a 6 word memoir for myself... hmmmmm can't do it- but I LOVE THAT SITE!

Guess-the-google is an addictive guessing game based on Google's image search. It turns the mental activity of searching into a fun, visual and engaging game where people can enjoy the challenge of being the fastest and most efficient at making that connection between search terms and their results

AND WOWIE... If this is helping my health and wellness... I'm in quite a good position hahahaha... I spend a tad toooooo much time ... especially on rainy days or days when there's nothing on TV... which is pretty much ALLLL SUMMMER!!!!

Facebook is a great way to connect with old and new friends and family. A recent study said that checking social networking sites like this at work actually increases productivity! While the jury may still be out on that issue, it is still a fun way to reach out and socialize.

Having fun is the easiest thing so far in the challenge... I'm never at a loss for fun- most everything I do is fun to me! :)

It's great being "semi-retired"...

Back on Track

OK... so here we go. Been riding the bike again... even did a few laps swimming the last couple days... I need see what's up with the challenge now-

Have fun- I ALWAYS:

*Drive in your car and blast your favorite songs. Make sure you sing along!

I took a look at Cake Wrecks.. interesting-

"Plan a fun activity - it gives you something to look forward to and then a precious memory to look back fondly on." This was easy... I got together w/ 2 friends (friends I've known since KINDERGARTEN)... one visiting from Texas and one just finished w/ chemo and radiation... this was a FUN day filled with laughter and memories... and looking forward.

Next fun thing is getting together w/ 3 college roommates... to me.. this is the MOST FUN you can have!!!

I have an extremely positive attitude- and that's what gets me through the day!

I'll start looking for other places to have fun... but I pretty much have fun doing everything and nothing!

A bit of a setback

On Monday I was taken by ambulance to the hospital. Kinda tough going- not having a doctor here ... or knowing much about the place still, but it all worked out.

I had the worst pain since I've had my kids umteen years ago and the ER found that my gall bladder was useless- so it's gone! Removed laproscopically on Tuesday. Headaches and other pain are gone and now it's just a short trip to 100%ville!!

Feeling better and will get back into "moving" and getting back to wellness! :)

Since Last I Wrote

Several things have changed since June 16.

1. I am now a grandma of TWO, count 'em TWO grandsons! Jackson and Cole Dever were born on July 14 (were "scheduled" for today, but decided to do it on their own terms and came early).

2. I have been able to bike ride (at LEAST 3 miles each out.. usually 5 when I go alone) 4 out of the last 6 days EVEN WITH ALL THIS RAIN!!!

3. I'm beginning to NOT be exhausted when I get back from my ride!

Hopefully, I can stay motivated. I still can't get too excited about Round 9 as I'm OUT of the office more than I'm in... and on the days when I do work, I'm out on the road... carrying, lifting.. it's GOTTA count for something! My toughest challenge was getting away from web developing at home... computer potato????

Just gotta keep on.. keeping on...

Only work TH and FR... so I'm exercising @ home

OK... I can't be exercising at work when I only work two days a week...

Today: took a 3.9806 bike ride w/ the hubs... well he did the first mile or so and I kept on going.

So... I will read about the round 9 stuff... but am just plain old exercising...

And- I am a grandma of twins!!! Jackson Marshall and Cole Lennon born June 14 at 5:01am and 5:02am... Jackson was 6lbs. 4oz. and Cole was 6lbs. 3oz... and that's "alottababy" for one little girl to hold!!

So.. that's my blog for this round so far...

:)

Exercise

Today, I dragged out the bike... do I get credit for that? heh.

My back is finally GOOD... so I biked to the beach to take some pictures of the work just done on our community inlet. It was kinda clammy out... so I came a ball of sweat, but I guess that means I worked- at this age, like I mentioned above, just getting the bike out was work.

So. Total biked: 5.1419 miles. Total photos taken: 7. Total enjoyment factor: 10.

Neat little tool to measure your travels can be found at: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

It's a google goodie that is fun to use!

Thursday and Friday I get my exercise lugging books from the building to the car... from the car to the nursing home... return from the nursing home to the car w/ their OLD books... and from the car to the building... it's a LONG day w/ lots of lifting... so there will be no bike riding for two days!

That's all there is to report at this time. More to come.. Longer routes, hopefully.. but GRADUALLY increasing... I liked the route I took today. next goal.. FASTER.

Stress is over... on to the exercise section!

OK... so we all know how terrible I was at handling stress... I'm really glad that part's done-  it was SO STRESSFUL!!

I know I can do this exercise thing... I'm going to start walking again-  My back pain is finally gone and I am ready to get started.

I have visited the Sparkpeople.com website.  I've registered, but it's a bit overwhelming.  My goal this weekend is to spend some time really getting acquainted w/ the site.

I will be walking in the mornings on the days I don't work (which is MOST DAYS)

Back on the wagon-  I will also set a goal of writing more... but sitting less!

That's all for now... meet the mets.. meet the mets... 

Not Getting This STRESS THING!

OK... So I have been neglecting the challenge... I STINK AT STRESS ...

I tried the video "art therapy".. talk about stressful... Chrome didn't work... FireFox didn't work... The HORRIBLE IE is STILL not getting the video to play!  NONE of my browsers liked it!  I have to upgrade my video viewer.. come on.. THAT is stressful in itself!  SO>>>> onto the next stress reliever lol!

Aroma therapy-  can't do it... can't breathe!  

I image that the other Mayo Clinic "stress relief video" will also NOT WORK... oh well... I will put my feet up and read my book... THAT is my version of stress relief!

That's ALL I have to say about stress relief.

Amen.

S T R E S S E DDDDDD

I have found over the 18 some odd years that my children have been playing sports that by far, the most stressful time is when one of my children is the pitcher. Yesterday was no different as my youngest son took the mound in the MSU v. Rutgers-Newark game.

Besides the forecast of rain and being in Newark, this was my "Tommyjohn surgery recovered" son's FIRST collegiate start as a pitcher for MSU. He's had many innings to date as a reliever and even a WIN last year duing his "rehab period", but his first ever START!  Going all the way back through those early first grade games for my sons and daughter, my stress level RISES when they were on the pitcher's mound.

Yesterday was an absolute treat as Kevin pitched into the eighth inning (the most ever... and a LOT of consecutive innings since surgery) and was BRILLIANT (as the Newark website called him.) PHEW.. stress level back to normal.

:)

Interesting Link for Handling Stess

I found this interesting... and give credit to:
http://www.martinfrost.ws/htmlfiles/jan2007/handling_stress.html

STRESS ALTERS YOUR BLOOD CHEMISTRY

For years psychologists have concentrated on the behavioral symptoms of burnout: lost energy, lost enthusiasm and lost confidence. Now, thanks to new brain scans and more sophisticated blood tests, scientists can directly measure some of the effects of stress on mind and body--often with surprising results.

You are probably familiar with the signs of an adrenaline surge (racing pulse, hairs on the neck standing on end), which evolved to help us fight or flee predators and other immediate dangers. And you may have heard of cortisol, another stress hormone, which is produced more slowly than adrenaline and lingers in the bloodstream longer. But did you know that too little cortisol in your bloodstream can be just as bad as too much? Or that tucking into comfort foods, while soothing in the short term, can sabotage your long-term stress response by increasing the number of inflammatory proteins in your body?

What's emerging is a complex picture of the body's response to stress that involves several interrelated pathways. Scientists know the most about cortisol because until now that has been the easiest part to measure. "But when one thing changes, all the others change to some degree," says Bruce McEwen, a neuroendocrinologist at Rockefeller University who has spent decades studying the biology of stress, primarily in animals. So just because you see an imbalance in one area doesn't mean you understand why it is happening. "We're learning that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), burnout, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are all related in some ways," McEwen says. The next step is to figure out if there are any genetic predispositions that tip the response to stress toward one set of symptoms or another.

off topic just a tad... guess i must be thinking again

ok... so i've added a new post.. and BLAM... my Mets Theme song disappears! but worse than that... THEY LOST HORRIBLY.. so I have to put it back. it has nothing to do with being well, except it helps me be well.. soooooooooooo LET SO METS it is!!!

SOUND....

4) Sound has a profound influence on our nervous system.... Try a little silence, or more soothing music, especially at bedtime. See if it affects your ability to relax.

OK... so today I read this #4 and thought... maybe at lunchtime, between runs in the bookmobile, I will take lunch outside on this gorgeous day and TRY A LITTLE SILENCE!

I got my book, my sandwich, my glasses and a great place to sit and bask in the warmth of the sun... I got myself all set up on a bench, glasses on, opened my book AND THE JACK HAMMER STARTED 50 FEET BEHIND ME! Talk about the PROFOUND influence on my nervous system! YIKES!!!

So... I took off my glasses, closed my book, wrapped up my sandwich and went in search of a better place...

Tomorrow IS another day!

Relaxation Video

This is a pretty relaxing little ditty posted on the Mayo Clinic website. It was relaxing, but I found it a little long... lol Well.. I'll try it again tomorrow and hopefully relax the WHOLE way through!

http://mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/MM00623

Getting Right to it

OK... So I'm reading the new stuff about stress management... I'm thinking I don't have much- stress, that is. Well I took the quiz- it says I'm stressed... It was WAY HIGH! So... I decide to look for foods that can LOWER stress... that's another one of the activities... not liking many of those foods... but one... one on the list is.. PISTACHIOS!!!!!! Now... I think SOMEONE should be monitoring these sites... PISTACHIOS might lower your stress level.. but geeze.. they might KILL YOU!!!

Yeah. OK>>>> so I guess I'm stressed!

I will move along and see what other gems of wisdom there are... maybe I'll like another one of the activities!

I did notice one thing that I will NOT do... it says ... cut out caffeine... try it for a week and see how you feel... now, this is just a warning, but I did this once when I was at my former place of work... a place where I drank about 6 cups of coffee per day (I think it was mandatory for all IT professionals to drink that much caffeine... especially when you were a department of ONE)... anyway... when you eliminate caffeine for a week, you die. I stopped- on the first day, I felt fine.. GREAT even... on the second day I had a headache... on the third day I thought someone threw a javelin through my eye... I started drinking coffee again, I was fine. I won't do that activity to eliminate caffeine. Besides- last week I read that caffeine killed cancer cells that cause melanoma...

That's all for now... I'll read some more and see what I find out.

Visited another food/nutrition Page before time runs out!

OK- so there's only a couple more days in this round... to add to what I've completed so far, I've done the following:

Been to the link listed at the end of the paragraph... did some calculating for myself and my hub... now comes the hard part- trying to put this plan into action! GREAT PAGE! Thanks for this one... VERY informative

March is National Nutrition Month.
There is lots to learn about the nutrion facts on food labels. To learn more, take a look at http://www.nutritiondata.com/


I also took that quiz... interesting- it said: Your attitudes surrounding body image and food are healthy (in psychological terms, not necessarily nutritional). This is no small feat in today's society. Congrats! Don't let other's ideas about beauty get in the way of your own. Eat well, exercise, and stay healthy!

Not sure if I believe the results- yes... about not letting other's ideas get in the way of my own, but it didn't say much about my nutritional habits...

And now something completely different: it's 7 days, 0 hours and 57 minutes till METS opening day! HA. Can't wait!!

Should be Nanook DOESN'T think!! Sorry... I've been remiss.

As requested- for the second round of conscious eating I did this activity:

Activity 3. Try a new health food each week. Scared of tofu? Buy a flavored one and chop it into a salad. Curious about veggie burgers? Try Boca Burgers if you like somethings traditional or Dr. Praeger’s or a Garden Burger for something delicious and different. Never had a raw avocado? Passionfruit? Pomegranite Juice? Fennel? Try it! If you have any questions, give me a holler!

Changed from beef to turkey burgers.. not bad. Did try the tofu at the OCL, but have not tried it on my own.

Also: I've been eating apples rather than cake! Not quite the same, but a change for the better... and no video (don't have a player at home... yeah, I know)but I did read the vege article.... Activity 5. Read this informative article: “Vegetarian Foods – Powerful for Health” at http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vegetarian_foods.html

One of the things I've been working on this round is adding MORE veggies to the everyday diet... I have a GREAT all veggie NO POINTS (for those WW people) recipe to share... will share tonight.

These activities have been over the last two sessions... staying conscious of what I eat... BELIEVE me... I AM THINKING.

:)

Read the caffeine article

So... I've read the caffeine article... I have to say, I thought it was going to be BAD... I was pleasantly surprised! When I was an IT person up north, I drank coffee until I jittered... it was a bit scary sometimes, but usually good for a laugh. I have cut back on my intake but still get those eye-piercing headaches if I fail to have a couple cups of coffee for a day or two.

What a nice surprise that I am finally doing something GOOD nutritionally! Thanks for that article link... I think I will check out some more of them.

I now have progressed to "not even WANTING to eat after 8pm" HOORAY! Now, if I can keep moving forward that will be great.

With the warmer weather, I imagine more walking will be easy to do! My hub is also out of his cast, so he will be able to walk with me (much less lonely that way!)

That's all for now- I've got some reading to do.
:)

ok. it's been a while

It's been a while since I've posted. I was away for a fabulous "girls only, old co-worker's" weekend and got rather sick... sort of a bronchial thing, but it was great seeing old pals! I miss them so much... anyway... I have been sticking to the plan of "nothing after 8" and don't even have to think about it much.

I tried the tofu.. way back when it was offered in the library... and LIKED IT- MUCH TO MY SURPRISE!

I am following the plan to think before/while I eat. It does seem to be working somewhat. Probably the biggest aid in my new eating regime has been my husband's need to eat "nothing from a cow" as his doctor put it.

We've been eating some interesting incantations of chicken and turkey.. with LOTS of veggies.

If I hadn't gotten that bug from my friends, I'd probably be able to say I FEEL GOOD! hahahaha...

I will re-read the oclwellness blog and see what else I can do. Then post again... Sorry for the delay- but I'm really feeling more like myself now! PHEW! :)

ELEVEN DAYS!

Yahoo. I have NOT eaten after 8pm for ELEVEN DAYS (or evenings?) and it is not as much of a struggle as it was just a short time ago.

I don't have to think about it as much (and that's a GOOD thing).

I think I will peruse the list of suggested ideas on the main blog and add a new one to my routine. I was really happy to see that my idea of not eating after 8pm was on the list! YAY! Got a copy of the Vege thing today... has some good ideas, but I don't see myself w/o cowmeat.. oooh that's harsh.

I will post when I finally decide on a new "Conscious Eating" Activity. (I'm leaning towards #1 on the list. It seems like something that I can actually DO!

PS... 52 DAYS UNTIL METS HOME OPENER: APRIL 13, 2009 ... I do have to replace that song! FOUND IT! YAY EVERYBODY SING!

Ah, Monday

I made it through the weekend! We walked the boardwalk for about a mile. Ken is out of his air cast for his ruptured ACL... must go slowly. I also did some geocaching (and a bit of walking for that)

LATE last night I almost faltered on the food deal... I was making Monday's lunch for Ken and stopped JUST BEFORE I stuck the piece of rye bread into my mouth!

Another small victory!!

Again... I must come up with more ideas- maybe an exercise plan... ooooooh.. sounds dramatic. The challenge really hasn't started- I think I'll stick with my minor victories in my minor plan for now.

My older (non-wellness challenge) posts have been archived... I miss the METS song. It will be back soon.

Nantsà ingonyama bagithi baba

Lion King?

My serengeti.

It makes me smile.

OOOOOOh, Ahhhhhhhh, Pretty

Just an amazing sunset -  photo taken from my deck.  How lucky to be alive!!

5 Entire Days

So... I have made it through FIVE entire days (actually evenings after 8PM) without snacking myself to sleep!

May sound trivial, but it has often been one of my biggest downfalls.  I can control what I eat during the day - MOST of the time, but when evening falls and I am not at the computer- but in front of the TV instead, food just calls my name.

So today I say TA-DAH!  It's like a little bit of magic that I've made it through!  Now I just have to think of what to do next... can't wait for the actual instructions.

HOORAY!

HOORAY!  Another success.  Another fine result for "nothing to eat after 8:00"  (I really measure in very small bits of success)... I did forget to mention, and just mapped the distance, that I walked almost two miles on Monday in Double Trouble State Park ... and today I rode my bike a little over 4 miles back and forth to the bay and in the surrounding area.  This is not something I do often, but it certainly can't hurt!!

There is a great pedometer tool online created by google.... I have several pedometers, but they always seem to be home in a drawer when I'm out walking, so this tool is handy.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/

Check it out!  It's fun.

Good luck to everyone who has started the challenge already... and to those starting next week.

:)

Nancy

Well.. one day down... heh... I DID NOT eat after 8pm last night... I wanted to, but resisted.  HOORAY!

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  

First step DONE!

Still thinking about a long range goal.  I know it's to lose some poundage... I'm not sure how specific I care to be-  I'll keep working on phase 1 for now.

:)

Health Challenge

So-  I am still not thinking, but will use this blog (which I have NOT been using to its fullest potential--  actually, I barely use it at all) to document my progress in the Ocean County Library Health and Wellness Challenge.

The challenge begins next week.  I've been waffling about getting started.  

The oclwellness blog states:  Round One of the Health & Wellness Challenge begins Thursday February 19th. The focus will be on Conscious Eating. In the meantime, all participants should be thinking about and setting long term goals.

Here goes:

It's now official... my first short term goal is:  NO EATING AFTER 8:00 PM.  I hope this fits the focus for Round One.  I also hope whomever is the reader of the blogs understands my sometimes odd sense of humor!  I am what I am... but hopefully the H&W challenge will make a difference in the physical me.

Long term goals are bouncing around in my head-  obviously one is to FEEL BETTER... but I think I need to get more specific.  

Phew-  enough thinking for one day.  I will now go and be well.