We Can Do It Wednesday

Musing on a shower or swim? #iPPP

After typing all morning, that little tight stress ball of pain under my shoulderblade had grown into a tetherball.

It was after lunch and I had yet to shower.

If I was going to get wet, why not swim and try to work my tetherball down to a manageable baseball buck-shot of pain in the left upper quadrant of my back.

Okay, it’s not exactly the same as showering. It would take more time and require at least 20 minutes of hard cardio activity.

And as much as my husband likes to claim, that has never happened in our shower.

Even though it’s messin’ with my usual morning swim mojo, I ventured to the Aquatics Center.

Soon it became very apparent that the mojo was a no go.

Arriving at the pool,

Forgot towel.

No problem. They have towels at Aquatic Center. I’ll just pay a dollar and get one from Andy Dunston, the Director.

No towels.

I was slightly freaked to see Andy at the front desk. Usually if he opens in the mornings, he’s sitting in the office with his coffee.

But I wasn’t carrying my coffee either. The problem came when he said,

“We are out of towels.”

That messed with my afternoon swim mojo.

With visions of dabbing myself with paper towels dancing in my head, he offered his towel.

“It’s only been used three or four times — just when I got out pool.”

Yes, probably only used when he dove into save a life or or retrieve a lost hair bob.

A towel. Who said that chivalry was dead?

So with gently used towel in hand, I got ready to swim.

Only one flip flop found in my bag.

This never happens in the morning.

No towel, one flip flop. This kind of stuff never happens in the morning. But I had come too far to turn back now.

There was one big problem though.

No Emily.

When I stumble on the pool deck at 6:10 with my coffee disregarding the “No Drinks on the Pool Deck” sign, Emily is already 300 yards into her workout.

Her cute little goggled head pops up right there.

Nope. She wasn’t there.

I did all the backstroke of the workout, Emily.

Mornings or afternoons, I never have the backstroke mojo.

Halfway through (as always happens), I started feeling good.

And that’s why I swim.

That's why right there. You see that little sliver of sunlight.

Because out there are children and responsibilities and manure. All things that give me buck-shot pain behind my left shoulder blade.

Andy’s towel worked just like my towel.

I swam, showered and got back in the car feeling so much better.

Witchy-Poo was waiting for me. The sun kept her coffee warm.

Yes, I had raccoon-goggle prints around my eyes and a smile on my face just like Witchy-Poo.

And the tetherball in my back was about the size of a half-inflated kickball.

How do you get rid of your tetherball of stress?

iPhone Photo Phun

Wednesday’s Inspiring Woman ~ Roselyn “Lulu” Anderson. No matter how busy, she’s learned to take time for herself.

Lulu with her grandsons Karmel and Davion.

Meet my friend Roselyn.

Though Roselyn is a lovely name, I know her as Lulu.

I got to know Lulu working out at the Fitness Center. We’d be up there at the same time — early in the mornings. Early like when it is dark outside early. Then we started taking a cardio weights class together and we’d do spin.

You can observe a lot about a person spending an hour or so with them every morning. (Like when it’s dark outside early.) And I’d hear about her on the job adventures.

Then one day the group of us compared ages. Women eventually do that when we become comfortable with each other. I guessed Lulu was 35.

I was really off.

She exudes youth and humor. And she is one busy lady. The kind of person you want to know better…or her secret for doing so much, giving so much and looking so fabulous. I really want to know about the looking fabulous part.

Where did you grow up?

I was born here, raised here and plan on dying here. I went to primary school at the Pearl Street School and graduated from Morgan County High.

Lulu and with her daughter, Robin. Davion and Karmel.

Please give me some scoop on your family life?

My husband, Delane, and I have been married for 28 years. We have a daughter Robin who works at the Wal-mart in Putnam County. Her son Karmel Ward is three. My son, Delane, Jr., is 23 and he works for the county. Delane’s son, Davion, is my newest grandson at three months.

Tell us about your business…

My business is Anderson Domestic Services. We specialize in elder care and child care. If a child gets sick, I can come stay with them so mom and dad can go to work. We also clean as well. But I don’t do pets. Well, I guess asking you to take our cats on an extended holiday is out. Besides I remember you have lots of fish. The fish might not like our cats hanging around.

Her husband, Delane.

I’ve seen your truck up at the school — often before school starts?

I mentor two children. One child is in the sixth grade at the Middle School and the other is in first grade at the Primary School. I go once a week. I love that time and they look forward to me coming. So you wake up early, workout..then go to enjoy time with your mentees — all before your work day begins. Wow.

Now what is your workout routine? How do you stay so youthful?

I workout every Tuesday through Friday. I’ve tried about every class they’ve offered. This includes Zumba and yoga. I’ve do cardio/weights and spin. When I’m not doing a class — I do cardio on the bike or elliptical, then weights and resistance training.

With workout buddy, Karen before the last Madison in May 5K.

I notice you at the pool early in the mornings. I enjoy going to the pool (Morgan County Aquatics Center). I started going because I was scared to death of the water. I’ve come along way. I’m still not comfortable with putting my face in water. But I’m getting there.

I meet friends up there in the mornings once a week and we do our workout before work. It’s been harder to get up there with the cold weather, but I hope to get back there soon. I agree with you on the pool. It’s a great workout…but hard to get there on those cold mornings. Though I have to admit they keep the Aquatics Center very toasty.

I also enjoy participating in the local races. I don’t always have a partner joining me…but I have a great time out there with everyone either way.

Son, Delane, Jr., with his son Davion.

What would be a perfect day?

A perfect day for me would be to come home from work to my house clean. There would be no dishes in the sink. No children or children’s noises. It would be quiet. Just a peaceful day at home by myself. Clean and quiet. Sounds like heaven. That’s part of the reason I get up so early too…it’s quiet. It’s also dark…which helps with the not so clean part (around here).

What is your favorite age with children?

I would have to say nine months to two years. After three years you just want to… I’d rather deal with the little ones than the big ones. In our conversation Lulu said this with much laughter…but I had to ask if it (raising children) gets any better. She laughed, “Never.” Oh dear.

Do you have any advice for woman trying to do it all — and feel some days like they are coming up short?

You always have to take time for yourself. I always did. Even before there was a gym to workout — early in the morning I would go up to the track. My husband would fuss at me for going up there so early but it was my time. I’d talk with God. Sing praises and no one would be there to tell me to be quiet. Everyone needs time alone to think.

Thanks Roselyn. I couldn’t agree more with the need to take time for yourself, even if it means setting that alarm extra early.

Your life stands as a beautiful example of positive, God-filled energy. Age can’t place boundaries on that attitude and spirit. What more can anyone ask?

Take care and God Bless…Be seeing you at the gym.

Wellness Wednesday — 5 Comments
5
May 10

“How many drinks do you have in a week?” Do I have to answer that one?

Does your pen ever hesitate on the question “How many drinks do you have in a week?” on those forms in the doctor’s office?

Do you pull out a calculator because you were never strong at math?

I try keep posts up, positive and funny because that is how I like to look at life.

But I am not naive enough to think that life is always up, positive and funny. Reading something yesterday, the feeling that I should share it with you has not left me. So I shall.

I follow a woman @HeatheroftheEO on Twitter. She’s a talented writer, blogger, wife, mother living in Minnesota.

Her post yesterday was about coming to grips with drinking too much. Way too much.

I drink. I hope that doesn’t offend some of you. I love having a glass of wine with my husband on the porch in the evening.

While I sipped some wine the other evening, my nine year old daughter said to me, “Mama, Dr. Pamela doesn’t drink alcohol.”

“She would if she was around you long enough.”

Telling that to Pamela, she laughed saying that she enjoys an occasional beer.

But I have drank too much at times. Times when I wasn’t just having a glass of wine for enjoyment, but to quell deep anxiety and how-can-I-get-through-this kind of drinks. The good news is alcohol is a depressant and those periods ended up making me depressed and heck, that didn’t help anything. So I stopped. But if you drink, you know the times you drink for the wrong reasons.

Here is the link to Heather’s guest interview on “Marketing Mama Blog” ,

http://www.extraordinary-ordinary.com/2010/05/series-on-motherhood-and-drinking-in.html

In her words, “The thing is, I wanted to do right by my children and that became a twisted form of perfectionism that made me crazy because it’s so obviously impossible. I wanted utopia for these amazing little creatures that are such a gift to me. I wanted to protect and keep them always from hurt. I wanted that like I wanted wine, like a drug. Knowing that I couldn’t ever protect them, that I shouldn’t always protect them from everything hurt and I drank it away.” Heather.

It’s easy to abuse alcohol. Hey, it’s legal, easy to buy and inexpensive. You can be a most resposible alcoholic. A dear friend I’ve known my entire adult life has more taxis take him home each evening than rides in his own car.

Life is tough sometimes. But quashing pain with unbriddled bouts with the bottle, food, sex or HGTV on a continous loop never made anyone or anything better. Though with HGTV my bathroom got a fresh coat of paint and new shower curtain.

Many of you tell me that you stop by the blog on occasion. And I care about you, darn it. I care that we all live the best life. The life we were created to live. Sometimes that means facing things — no escaping.

It’s scary, but it’s so much better that way.

Trust me and God bless your Wednesday.

God Found in the Everyday / The Music of Life / Thought for the Day / Wellness Wednesday — No Comments
14
Apr 10

My new favorite song…by Sanctus Real.

This is my favorite new song.

That song you hear on the radio twice in one day. Download to your iPod and listen to over and over — while you make dinner (while everyone else has fun) and clean up after dinner (while everyone else has fun.)

The message is the central teaching of the New Testement — but honestly, I like the music first.

The melody and arrangement draw me first to any music from pop to classic.

I’m a simple girl that way.

And I’m forgiven.

Thought for the Day / We Can Do it Wednesday — 4 Comments
4
Nov 09

Not a laughing (or texting) matter.

Texting while driving is serious stuff.

I’m guilty.

Now, I’ve stopped from actually texting while moving – but if honest, I do check e-mails and text messages while driving. It’s horribly wrong.

If you are doing it while driving, things can go horribly wrong.

This doesn't usually happen when I turn into my driveway.

Studies show that one in five text while driving (They are the ones that admit to it). That figure rises to one in three for drivers between the ages 18 – 34.

Most of us won’t get behind the wheel of a car after too much to drink, but texting while driving more dangerous than driving after drinking.

This from Car and Driver…“Alterman (The test driver) fared much, much worse. While reading a text and driving at 35 mph, his average baseline reaction time of 0.57 second nearly tripled, to 1.44 seconds. While texting, his response time was 1.36 seconds. These figures correspond to an extra 45 and 41 feet, respectively, before hitting the brakes. His reaction time after drinking averaged 0.64 second and, by comparison, added only seven feet. The results at 70 mph were similar: Alterman’s response time while reading a text was 0.35 second longer than his base performance of 0.56 second, and writing a text added 0.68 second to his reaction time. But his intoxicated number increased only 0.04 second over the base score, to a total of 0.60 second.

As with the younger driver, Alterman’s slowest reaction times were a grim scenario. He went more than four seconds before looking up while reading a text message at 35 mph and over three and a half seconds while texting at 70 mph. Even in the best of his bad reaction times while reading or texting, Alterman traveled an extra 90 feet past his baseline performance; in the worst case, he went 319 feet farther down the road. Moreover, his two-hands-on-the-phone technique resulted in some serious lane drifting.” http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1076338&topart=safety

Most adults realize manipulating a keypad while driving is unacceptable behavior. As tempted as I am to think, it’s just a “<” and a “3” to my husband; I’m not doing it any more. People die in car crashes.

When you are young, that kind of stuff happens to someone else.

If the thought of your teenage getting behind the wheel with their cell sends you running up the side of overturned vehicle, what about this idea? There is a new application for cell phones that will prevent texting and driving.

Textecution works like this. When the phone is traveling faster than 10mph, Textecution disables the phone’s texting feature so text messages cannot be sent or received. Once the phone is at rest, or traveling at a speed slower than 10mph, the driver can send and receive messages. http://www.textecution.com/

I am going to look into it — for my teenage driving son…

and for myself.

A Jacksonville, Florida local news report on how Textecution works..

We Can Do it Wednesday / Wellness Wednesday — No Comments
30
Sep 09

Wellness Wednesday. It’s all about the shoes..

What is the most important facet of a healthy, sound, long-lasting life as a runner/walker? Without a doubt, it’s the shoes. That’s what I love about running. To run for exercise, you don’t need a partner, fancy clothes, any kind of equipment; just open the door and out go for immediate stress relief and heart-pumping health.

The only thing that can really mess things up is running day after day in the wrong shoes.

Take it from me. I almost crippled myself running in the wrong shoes and other than goofy missteps that resulted in twisted ankles, every injury I ever had running wise can be traced back to my shoes. Most often, these injuries were a result of wearing a pair of shoes for too long. Shoes wear out long before you can see the wear in the sole. The cushioning in the midsole breaks down – and that can create lots of problems. Especially the older you get — when cushioning is key.

When I started training for my first marathon, I asked Madison running guru Michael Naples for advice. He asked, “How many of running shoes do you have?”

About a billion.

All stuck in the closet somewhere. But those are old shoes. Even I knew enough at that point that I needed to change my shoes often. But I only had one pair I ran in every day.

BAD.

Michael advised getting at least two pair, better three, that you feel comfortable running. Different brands too. (Don’t just have three pairs of the same Asics). He explained when you run your foot strikes in its own way, over and over in the same position. Your foot will strike differently in different shoes. That’s good. I followed his advice and was able to train without any serious injury and complete my race.

Keep track of your mileage, 300 to 500 miles and they’re toast. Once again, long before they look worn. This means for a 25 mile per week runner three to four months.

And in my stupidity file, it took me 30 years of running before I went to a specialty store to have my running gait evaluated. Overpronate (roll to the inside of the foot), Supinate (roll to outside) or just normal – all makes a HUGE difference as to what shoe you should be wearing to keep injury free. After my visit to Phidippides last fall (http://www.phidippides.com/blog/), Sam pulled out dozens of shoes and watched me run back and forth. I found three pairs I loved! And rotated them through my successful marathon venture. I was so ecstatic after my shopping experience – I gave Sam a hug saying I feel like I have been healed. (Or heeled.)

Best part was that I told Sam I was on a budget and he got me into three pairs of awesome shoes for less than I had been buying two pairs of the wrong type of shoes online. This was me – the 30 year runner. Finally getting smart.

Good shoes are the best investment – next to time on the pavement – that you can make in long-lasting, healthy running. And nothing, I mean nothing feels like a run in new shoes. Especially, shoes for your running gait. I just get all warm and fuzzy thinking about it. If you’re a runner, you know exactly what I mean. I hope.

Have a great Wednesday.

We Can Do it Wednesday — No Comments
23
Sep 09

For Your Health, Go Sit in the SUN..

It’s officially fall.

For us in the northern hemisphere, Earth has started its tilt AWAY from the Sun.

BAD.

Well, not so bad but that does mean our time of sun exposure is declining each day.

What gives?

Frigid nights, wind chills and sobs each morning I awake?

No, silly.

Well, if honest it might mean some of those things, but what I’m most concerned about is what that will do to my Vitamin D intake?

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low bone mass and osteoporosis because Vitamin D is needed to absorb calcium from the diet. Low levels of vitamin D have also been linked with poor muscle strength (What will I do to be prepared for Emily Buck’s boot camp each morning?) and other chronic conditions.

Vitamin D not only helps our bodies absorb calcium for strong bones, new research suggests it may also help protect against chronic diseases such as cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases. Wow.

But what if anything might this have to do with the rapidly declining amount of SUNLIGHT we are experiencing?

Many adults are deficient in the amount of Vitamin D they need. Why? Because (crazy I know) it doesn’t seem we can get enough from food. Vitamin D is most easily acquired through exposure to sunlight and multivitamins.

If you live in the southern U.S., try spending 15 minutes a few times a week with no sunscreen.

Oh, btw it’s also very hard to overdose on Vitamin D, unless you really are into taking in abnormally large amounts of cod liver oil.

Yum.

Okay. To be at optimum health, go spend a few minutes in the sun today.

That’s an order. Because I care. (a little. I really do.)

We Can Do it Wednesday — No Comments
16
Sep 09

Change…Weak or Strong? Or Where’s Our Strength?

So you want to change. Maybe do something a little different.

• Learn to surf.
• Run/walk a 5K.
• Run a marathon.
• Lose 15 pounds.
• Spend less and save more. (boo hiss)
• Make a difference.

Starting a new venture we often buy books, ask questions of people with knowledge in the area. Do lots of looking around, thinking about how we are going to change our life, waiting….waiting. Often the most difficult challenge in conquering a new goal or life plan has nothing to do with shedding weight, running faster or looking younger.

The hardest thing to change – is within the depths of the mind.

We have to believe.

Now this doesn’t mean that one can just sit on the bed and think really, really hard, click our heels and *POOF* we’re standing up on the board with our head in the tube. Looking so cool like we’ve always imagined. (Please tell me everyone imagines themselves doing that). No, to get fabulously large on the board — one must practice for hours and hours.

If we haven’t done anything athletic in years, one can’t buy new running shoes and expect to run 3 miles. It happens step by step. Literally. First walking 30 minutes then running a bit during the subsequent 30 minute walks. Gradually you find you’ve run the full 30 minutes. Looking behind, one can say…I started back 3 miles and now I’m here. Wow.

No change of any consequence happens if there is no belief one can accomplish the task. What is it you want to do?

• Photography
• Start an outreach program in your community
• Swim the English Channel singing “Frere Jacques, Frere Jacques, Dormez-vous? Dormez-vous?”

We can do anything we dream with a plan and a hook buried deep in our heart.“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13

Commit that dream to God and believe. He pressed desire down into your soul. When doubt comes, cast it aside and press on. Laugh at doubt. Scoff at the scoffers…for they will come. Just because you are fulfilling a calling or desire sanctioned by God, it doesn’t mean the road will be easy. “If you only do what is easy, you will always remain weak.” Joyce Meyer

What is it you want to do? Well, one thing’s for absolute sure – I don’t want to remain on the weak side of things in this lifetime.

BELIEVE then act. Don’t turn back when things get tough.

We (with God’s help) can do anything! Get going…Have a great Wednesday!