More Natural Movement

It has been four months since I started making changes to add more natural movement to my day-to-day activities. I wrote about my efforts and reasons in a post titled "Healthy Sitting". 

I continue to sit on the floor at home when using my laptop. We have not gotten rid of any furniture, but I have a set up a couple areas at home (living room and gym) where floor sitting is comfortable and convenient. I love how floor sitting encourages me to stretch more often. I also love how standing up from the floor has gotten easier over time. Floor sitting is a great way to improve strength and flexibility with very little effort. My current favourite place to sit is in the gym where I can stretch and take regular movement breaks.

I have transitioned to wearing almost ALL flat shoes, and a few are flexible enough to qualify as minimal footwear. I want shoes to mimic barefoot to strengthen my feet over time. I bought a pair of FitKicks in basic black and grey at a store in Bayfield this summer. They are perfect minimal shoes to wear while walking the dog. Unfortunately they are not very durable. Already there are a couple small holes in the spandex from catching my toe on the sidewalk and from a poorly sewn edge on the elastic. Luckily my Nike water shoes are almost as minimal and much more durable. I bought ballet flats in both black and beige for a dressier look plus simple black canvas Dream Slip-Ons by AirWalks (not shown) for work. I am happy with my current small selection of shoes.

Flat, flexible sandals are proving more difficult to find, as are winter boots. There are cool options available on-line, but I refuse to buy anything I can't try on. I will keep looking until I find something suitable. In the meantime, I still have my old sandals for summer and a pair of old Bogs for winter boots.

I continue to sleep very comfortably without a pillow. This was an easy change for me as my pillow was relatively flat. We still sleep on a comfy pillow-top mattress. It seems silly to ditch a perfectly good mattress and bed frame just because a firmer mattress on the floor might be healthier. Besides my husband has not bought into the whole "floor-sitting, pillow-ditching, barefoot" lifestyle - so the bed stays.

Over the years, I have suffered through a few shoulder impingement episodes, so didn't think my shoulders would ever feel normal. To work on shoulder flexibility and strength, I have been stretching up to grab and hang from door frames and practicing handstands daily. These two simple exercises have helped improve my shoulder range of motion and function. There is absolutely no pain in my left shoulder and my right shoulder is almost totally pain-free. I am amazed at how much better I feel.

To further improve my muscle strength, I started lifting dumbbells about a month ago. I do two sets (10 reps each) of eight different moves three to four times a week. It takes about 20 minutes. I'm loving lifting weights and so glad we invested in a set of dumbbells for our gym. 

I also started working on my balance since I discovered I can't stand on one leg with my eyes closed. I've been practicing for a couple weeks now. I'm getting better, but it's still not easy. I also want to start practicing yoga. I have a book and a few DVD's. I tried some of the moves. There is so much to learn, it might be fun to join a class this winter. 

All these changes have been small, but effective. It doesn't take extra time to sit on the floor, sleep without a pillow or wear flat, flexible shoes. I am happy with my efforts to add more natural movement to my daily activities. I feel like I have made a lot of progress in just four months. 

If you're interested in making similar changes, check out Katy Bowman's website on Nutritious Movement where you will find lots of free information and resources to get started.

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Lifting Dumbbells

We bought a set of dumbbells at Costco on Saturday. It was a good deal at $229 for 200 lbs total (2-10 lbs, 2-15 lbs, 2-20 lbs, 2-25 lbs and 2-30 lbs) including a somewhat sturdy rack. Excited to get started, I assembled the rack as soon as we got home. I love how it looks in our gym.

I have been thinking about adding some sort of weight training to my routine. OK, to be honest, I don't actually have a routine. I ride my bike to work, sometimes ride a bit further on weekends, walk the dog, sit on the floor (you can read about that here) and practise handstands. I finally feel strong enough to work at getting stronger.

These dumbbells are perfect. I am starting sensibly with the lowest weights and watching videos on how to avoid injury, so far so good. Getting stronger lifting dumbbells will be fun. 

 

 

 

I love how our poodle watches from her comfy cozy bed ... adorable.

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Organizing Spices and Stuff

It started with the spice drawer this morning. This spice drawer has been bothering me for ages. It was disorganized and full of duplicates - a proper jumbled mess in desperate need of cleaning. 

We have a LOT of spices and more were stored elsewhere because this drawer was full. We had planned to bike, but with rain in the forecast, I decided to tackle the spice drawer instead.

I took everything out, wiped down the shelves and combined duplicates into bigger containers. In the end, ALL our spices fit into this one drawer. 

I moved the blender from the counter to the drawer under the spices beside the casserole dishes. One less thing on the counter - yay!

 

The pots and pans have their own space in this cabinet now. They are easier to access when not stuffed in with the ceramic pans which have been moved to another cabinet.

The ceramic pans are in this cabinet which used to hold jars of dry goods. Pans are easier to reach in this space than jars.

Dry goods, canned goods, oils, vinegar, sauces, condiments and honey are all stored together in this cabinet now. Everything is easier to see and reach because the drawers pull out for easy access. 

It took a few hours of concentrated effort to sort through, clean and organize everything in these few cabinets, but it was well worth the effort. I love the results.

Organizing Spices and Stuff was a great way to kick off our long weekend. Tomorrow we ride, no more excuses. Have a great holiday weekend.

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First Car Love

Our son bought his first car this week. He got a 2007 Toyota Matrix XR hatchback with automatic transmission and 211,000 km. It has a few small scratches and dents, but is mechanically sound and runs like a charm. Our son is head-over-heels in love with this purchase. 

He named his car Shakira. Why Shakira? Because her hatchback makes a great booty. Hugging Shakira is tougher than you might think. Our son has fun posing with Shakira. His smile says it all. He's truly in love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our son appreciates Shakira's reflective side. His Dad spent hours with a polisher to make her shine and look her best.

 

 His Dad explains how to keep Shakira happy.

First Car Love is real. I expect it has to do with mobility and freedom. I imagine our son will enjoy many happy adventures with his Shakira.  

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Happy Birthday Mom

Today is my Mom's birthday. Usually we celebrate with a family dinner, but my parents are going to a neighbour's 50th birthday bash tonight, so we invited them for coffee this morning instead.

Our son drove to show what he got this week. My parents were suitably surprised and impressed. Our son is over-the-top excited to have bought his first car. I'll tell you more about that in a separate post.

My Mom was happy with birthday hugs and kisses from her only favourite grandson. She was also happy to ride in front with our son in his new car as a special birthday treat. 

Where did we go?

We drove back to our house where my husband made cappuccinos using his fancy dancy new espresso maker. Birthday candles on blueberry coffee cake and singing Happy Birthday made this birthday simple yet special.

Last weekend I took my Mom shopping in Port Stanley. I had birthday money to spend and hoped to find something for my Mom's birthday too. We visited ALL the shops trying on ALL the things before selecting our favourites. My Mom picked a pretty top for her birthday gift. I didn't take a photo, but I can tell you, it looks amazing on her.

Birthday shopping success was toasted with refreshing apple cider and tasty appetizers on the patio at Port Stanley's Tapas Bar and Grill. We thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon together.

Happy Birthday Mom - I hope you enjoyed your birthday celebrations and wish you a year full of similar simple pleasures. 

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My Happy Birthday

I've said it before - I love celebrating birthdays with family. This year for my birthday, my parents invited my in-laws and us for dinner. 

I can cook, but tend to resort to quick snacks most nights. We keep plenty of essentials on hand - nachos, crackers, grated cheese and hummus plus home-brewed wine and beer. It works for me and my husband doesn't complain too much. 

Eating a proper dinner mid-week was a special treat for my birthday.  My parents are fabulous cooks. They served barbecue beer can chicken, roasted baby potatoes, green beans, sweet corn on the cob and chocolate mousse cake. Everything was delicious. 

I blew out my candles while everybody sang Happy Birthday. 

I opened gifts. Look what my husband gave me - dark chocolate with sea salt (1 kg), a rechargable flashing red light for my bike, Kahlua and a new suitcase weighing only 3.5 kg - all perfect choices. My parents and in-laws gave me money to buy whatever I like. I will enjoy figuring out what to get.

I also celebrated reaching a personal blog goal of sorts. Two weeks ago with total pageviews on my blog sitting at 94,444, I realized it might be possible to reach 100,000 by my birthday. My blog is not monetized, so 100,000 is just a number I consider big enough to be cool. I mentioned it to my son and daughter, made a wish and crossed my fingers.

The day before my birthday, I received 250 pageviews bringing the total to 99,466. I would need another 534 pageviews on my birthday to reach my goal. It wasn't looking good.

Miraculously with 805 pageviews on my birthday yesterday, I was surpised and thrilled to surpass my goal. I don't know what caused this sudden jump in traffic, but it sure made my day.

Thank you to my parents, in-laws and husband for making my birthday special. Thank you to my son and daughter and friends for all My Happy Birthday wishes. I would also like to thank my readers for helping me reach my goal of 100,000 total pageviews by my birthday. 

What a wonderful way to celebrate My Happy Birthday.

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Sensible Sort of Suffering

We haven't been riding our bikes much this year. I blame a combination of poor weather, weekend obligations and a general lack of enthusiasm. This weekend, we decided to make an effort. 

Our first overly ambitious attempt yesterday failed. I wrote about that here if you missed it. This afternoon, our goal was more sensible.

We rode out through Poplar Hill towards Ailsa Craig looping back until we reached Hyde Park Road and home. We rode a sensible distance (71 km) at a sensible pace (avg 24.5 km/hr). 

As cyclists, we're used to suffering. We ride until it hurts then keep going, sometimes for hours. As I've said before, that's what cyclists do. It's this Sensible Sort of Suffering we've been missing lately.

 

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