Category Archives: Exercise

Stretch First

Aging, All About Me, body positivity, Exercise, health, Leg Muscles, self care

Hey friends!

I have another birthday this week and it’s a good reminder not to do stupid things!

My co worker (probably 15 years younger than I and parent to a young girl on cheer squad) on Friday said “I’ll give you $50 to do this”… and she straightened out her leg and propped it on top of the front desk in our office entryway (counter is shoulder height).

Of course I can’t resist a dare and did so with my left leg, while she is saying “you have to straighten your knees”! Then I tried it with my right leg (seriously what was I thinking??)

I got a huge cramp in my right thigh that immediately made my nonsense stop but since then have been having terrible pain in my hip (maybe my hamstring?)

I couldn’t sleep most of the night and am thinking how silly I was to take a dare! (I did do it though-she owes me $50)! At least I could have stretched first!!

LESSON LEARNED

Parking Lot Shenanigans

Adventure, affordable fashion, All About Me, Bag/Purse, Black, Clothes, Contrast, edgy, Exercise, Express, fashion, Friday, Grandchildren, graphic, JCPenney, makeup, Movies, Shoes, Stripes, trends, Uncategorized, Weekends, white

Hey Everyone!

Happy Friday and weekend! I wonder if any of you have sweet plans this weekend? I’m on call, so I’m staying close to my cell phone but hopefully things will be smooth 😉

Yesterday I WAS NOT ON CALL, so me and hubs lived it up with some of our married children and grandchildren! Our married son and daughter in law gave hubs an evening of bowling and so that’s how our fun started out! There were six of us in total, and I ended up winning (121)- still not a great score but it’s better than I did last time so that’s good!

Then we ate at Costa Vida which has a location right at the bowling alley. After that the little kids were getting pretty tired and they called it a night but I talked hubs into taking me to a movie! Jurassic World! Whee! (I didn’t like it as much as the previous Jurassic Park movie but really I got out and did something so that’s most important 😉

Although we had some struggles in the parking lot! We couldn’t find anywhere to park and so I suggested hubs drop me off and I would check in on our MoviePass app with both our phones….interestingly enough after I got out of the car I realized I left my phone in the car but spent the next ten minutes chasing after hubs car in the parking lot but he never did see me! He is driving away and I’m running behind him trying to catch him….he didn’t see me and turned down another lane, I went through cards and tried to get his attention but he didn’t see me again and this happened about four more times until he parked! Picture this woman running up and down the parking lot waving her hands and yelling! Yeah that was me! Hubs needs a new windshield if he can’t see me chasing after him! LOL

Running through the parking lot, I blended in with the asphalt with my black/white/gray/edgy outfit! It’s my high waist-wide leg striped pants by Express, my graphic Beatles Tee, my gray mini shoulder bag, and my white wedge sandals by JCPenney (at the movie theatre I had changed into flip flops-thus I could run hahaha and I got about 1000 steps so there’s that) and a new edgy eye shadow look inspired by an advertisement I saw on Instagram!

Hope your weekend is wonderful friends!

High Waisted Striped Cropped Pants

Holiday Adventures

Adventure, Death, Emotions, Exercise, family, Happiness, Holidays, Relationships with adult children, Saturday Self Care, Traditions, Uncategorized, Weekends, Zip Lining

Hello friends!

How was your Memorial Day weekend?? I hope you had a wonderful time!

I had a good day on Saturday and Sunday, even Monday was technically good but unexpected.

Saturday hubs and I went zip lining down Provo Canyon which was an amazing experience. We went with Provo Canyon adventures and went on five zip lines (did the first one twice) just to get the hang of things. It was a beautiful day and we had great time. I tried to spin a couple of times and almost ended up coming into one platform backwards which kind of freaked me out, but it all ended well. Afterwards we drove into Heber City and dined at Granny’s Drive In which was soooo good. I might have been really hungry but it was very good LOL!

Sunday was kind of laid back; we went to church and then some of our children came to visit. We then took a trip to the cemetery to visit the grave of my youngest son, he would be 20 in October of this year. It was a somber visit but we talked about him and how old he would be and how my daughter probably wouldn’t be as spoiled because she wouldn’t have been the youngest. It was nice despite the situation.

Then yesterday started out wonderful; I woke early and got ready for a morning bike ride. I rode down Provo River Trail to the lake and around the trail on the east side of the lake. I then decided to ride up to the University Parkway underpass because last year it was closed due to the road construction and I wanted to see if it had been completed. Amazing, it is completed and if I wanted, I could go farther but I already had gone about five miles so I turned around and headed home. On the way I crossed a wood bridge with a sharp 90 degree turn off the bridge with a fence on one side and a drop off to the river on the other. A young woman and her son were at the turn (stopped) with his little bike/training wheels; I didn’t want to run them over and almost stopped, but they completely blocked the trail and I fell off the edge, flipped over my bike and fell down into the weeds and rocks. It really hurt, no lie- my right knee is scraped pretty bad, I pulled the hamstring in my left leg and I managed to smash my face into my handle bars. It was no fun and I had to ride my bike all the way back home with my hurt knees (waaaaaa) I spent most of the day icing my knee although I’m still sore today and a little annoyed that some people on the trail do not know the rules of the “road” so to speak.

Later in the day all the (adult) children came over and we had a BBQ which made the rest of my day fun! I sure love spending time with all the kids and grandkids!

Ups and downs for the holiday weekend but I think this is life and normal. Usually the positive outweighs the negative in my experience.

Thanks for reading friends and enjoy your four day work week!

Summertime

Adventure, age positivity, Aging, Beauty, body positivity, David Archuleta, Exercise, Relaxation, self care, Travel, Tuacahn, Utah Mountains, Weekends, Zion National Park

Hello friends!!

How is everyone this fine Saturday?? I’m having a lovely four day weekend with my hubby! We drove to St George Utah for our anniversary and are just hanging out, visiting Zion National Park, went to a concert at Tuacahn (David Archuleta!) and are having a good time 😍

Yesterday before the concert we drove to Zion National Park and hiked a couple trails- (at one point we passed a couple girls taking selfies and one said to the other- “that shows your chubby arms”?? as I walked by them I told her”you do not have chubby arms”!-be positive about your body friends!) seriously people I’m in heaven -it was gorgeous! I’ll add some pictures!

Anyway we got to the concert; before it started we discussed what to do the next day and I want to do more hiking- hubs does not and I ask him “do u want to live”?? At our age (hubs is older than me) we need to keep active so I figure I’m extending and improving his quality of life by making him hike when he would rather sit! 😂😂 oh my goodness!

So at Tuacahn we saw David Archuleta and I had so much fun! He really has a beautiful voice; he did some of his new album “Postcards in the Sky” some of his older songs, a medley of “Greatest Show”, a song from Lion King II, “If I Could Only Imagine”-originally by Mercy Me and it was a wonderful concert (thanks to my son Connor for tickets!)

Today we are headed back to Zion, do some more hiking, get some grub, stop and visit family, and then maybe hang out at the pool.

It’s a beautiful morning friends! Have a great weekend!

(It’s SNOWING now, sooo glad we’re leaving) Packing in Earnest/And We’re Off!

Adventure, Clothes, Exercise, makeup, Packing, Shoes, Swimwear, Travel, Vacation, ,

Hello friends and happy weekend!

I’ve finally started packing for my trip! But before that, I made a few stops to pick up: Dramamine, ear plugs, small hand lotion, vitamins, hand sanitizer, cash, and gas in my car! Just normal stuff really.

Since I’ve been home, I’ve washed my clothes, got down suitcases, set out each of my outfits/work out clothes and brainstormed shoes/jewelry to wear on each day (not working out of course)…and my swimsuit bottom finally arrived! It fits and for the most part is cute with the top (that was cutting it close right??) Tell me what you think of my choices??

I have to make another decision-there are two fancy dinners to attend and here are the choices of dresses: silver/taupe sparkly, red velvet, and black/white striped. Which do you like better?? I will end up taking at least five pairs of shoes, I don’t see any other way around it now LOL

So now I just have makeup and hair stuff to pack which will have to be done in the morning-there’s just no other way to do it!

Our flight leaves at 1:50pm tomorrow!

The Adventures of a Middle Aged Woman

Adventure, age positivity, Aging, body positivity, Clothes, Exercise, fashion, Swimwear, Uncategorized

Hello Friends!

I think the title of this post should be my new tagline! It’s been quite the week!

First I had a traumatic experience at a kick boxing class and then shopping for a swimsuit is also traumatizing! Not to mention a curling iron malfunction today!! There is a lot of trauma going on in my life! LOL and that’s why I thought I should share!

I’ve been increasing my physical activity lately (It really helps me feel good and I sleep better at night) and so I thought I would join a kick boxing class at my local gym. I got all dressed up in my fun exercise clothes (striped pants and tank by JCPenney) and the class started. I immediately knew I was in trouble… the instructor started barking out instructions for the next “set”- “1, 2, 3, 4 double punch, sway punch, step back kick punch, rear kick in each corner, 1 punch, 2 punch, 3 punch, etc….’Does everyone have that’ as she points in my direction??? UH NO! SOMEONE HELP ME! At one point during one of the “sets” there is a step where the a participant will stomp her legs quickly as if she is a football player, then pivot to the right, stomps again, pivot again to the right, stomps again, and pivots back to center…only yours truly is a BEGINNER and is standing there stumped when the whole class pivots to FACE ME! Seriously kill me now…this is the worse evening EVAAAAA! It’s right up there with high school…how is this possible?? Most of the 60 minute class I am just stepping to the right and left trying to keep my heart rate up while thinking WTF?? There weren’t any prerequisites for this class? I mean if I was to take college Trig, there would be information letting me know if I was prepared or not…but not this kick boxing class….it was a sad and pathetic but somewhat amusing/memorable experience.

Yesterday I went swimsuit shopping with my good friend Sepideh and really we had so much fun talking and shopping but hardly found any swimsuits until the end of the day. We drove to Park City in super bad weather- heading to Park City there was an accident the other direction and my car slid in a couple spots so I was way careful and slow (which is a bummer because it’s a super fun windy road that I’ve drove probably 1,000 times and is fun to drive fast) We went to Tanger Outlets and hit Tommy Bahama cause I was sure they would have a swimsuit (let’s be honest, it’s hard to find a swimsuit in Utah in January, actually this was Mission Impossible not mission difficult 😉 hahaha and we went to about seven stores but no swimsuit….that isn’t to say I did not buy anything (that’s another blog) haha On our way home we hit Shops at Riverwoods and tada! Lime Ricki has some fun darling swimsuits! I totally forgot they were there, so we got all excited and popped in (braving the freezing rain). I found several tops/bottom combinations to take in the dressing room but soon figured out the sizing is small….Sepideh and I are both trying on suits so how do I get out of the dressing room half dressed and switch sizes?? I try calling the cashier lady…”Help?? Please help”??? Finally she  heard me calling and got me other sizes…I found two real cute swimsuit options although the red one was difficult to manage in the smaller size (basically my bust was trapped above the suit and I couldn’t move it without breaking my shoulder)! I almost called for help again! Help my (*****) are trapped, I can’t get it off”! Thankfully I finally got it off without breaking my arms or leaving my bust trapped…(Does this happen to anyone else???Seriously??- truth be told my friend almost called me for help as she was struggling with the same thing!!) I was sweating by the time I got out of the predicament! This is real life people! I know (first world problems)….lol

Then today as I began getting ready for church, I grabbed a section of my hair to curl and NOTHING…. hmmmm yeah it’s plugged in, yeah it’s switched on, that’s odd the heat setting is on high….what is going on?? I try again and nothing…this is not my week is it??First the kick boxing, then the swimsuit, then the curling iron?? It all happens in three’s right? LOL so I get out my curling wand which I’ve never mastered and try to get that to work in time to get to church….of course my hair is not cooperating because this is just different, it’s a dirty hair day, now I’m in a hurry, and let’s all be stubborn and make my life hard! And I put together something super cute for today and my hair is doing this?? Really? Isn’t it a weekend? Can’t we all work together?? Oh my gosh, I just had to let it go and realize that no one really notices what I’m freaking out about. I do KNOW THAT FOR SURE…MY INSECURITIES ARE ONLY MINE, NO ONE ELSE KNOWS…. 🙂

So I hope you had a laugh with me over the last few days. LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE.

To complete my post, here are some pics of my outfit today. I matched a metallic pleated beige skirt (WhoWhatWear, Target) with my ruffle sleeve gray sweater (WhoWhatWear, Target) and my Target fishnet hose along with my Target ANewDay leopard booties. I added my chunky necklace I’ve had for years from Burlington Coat Factory? Isn’t the whole thing fun?? I think it helps to make up for all the trauma this week LOL!

I’ve added a picture of my new swimsuit from Lime Ricki! This is a real risk for me as I’m not super stable in my body positivity in a swimsuit yet…

New Year Unresolutions

Clothes, Exercise, fashion, health, Movies, Nerd, New Year, Resolutions, Uncategorized

Hello Friends!

Some of you might know I’m a therapist in my paid gig and honestly New Years Resolutions have always made me kinda crazy. Even in my pre therapist days. I remember being in high school and watching the Miss America pageant and worrying about my weight and always having a goal to lose weight in the New Year or a list of 20 things I wanted to change about myself. I think that was unhealthy for me.

As a therapist, I work with my clients to identify three or four “measurable and specific” goals to work on in therapy…I don’t have my clients make lists of 20 things they will accomplish or change about themselves because almost all the time this is unreasonable.

When I reviewed my progress as an employee in early December with my supervisor, I listed three specific goals to keep in mind all year- these are usually methods of treatment to obtain more training or supervise an intern. I’ve met my goals in years past and my clients always meet their goals if they stay in treatment.

I’m sharing this because I haven’t really made a list of “resolutions” this year. I will keep doing things I love as I’ve explained in previous blog posts: I started a workout video after Christmas and do that every morning, I read my scriptures daily, I pray daily, I started a blog last September and will do that consistently this year because it makes me happy, I usually rededicate  daily to eat healthy (gluten free-due to Hashimotos, low sugar and low simple carb, no processed foods) ….I say rededicate because this is a daily back and forth. In the last year and a half since I’ve been gluten free- I’ve ate gluten twice and was terribly sick (doesn’t make my body happy), so that’s a big motivator not to eat it LOL

I try to keep a set sleep/wake schedule…I’m more happy that way. I make spending time with friends a priority-it fuels my soul. I have a consistent date night with my husband every week and enjoy spending time with my children/grandchildren whenever our schedules permit (hopefully at least once a month or more). I love to fuel my nerd by watching movies such as the new Jumanji or Star Wars. There are a couple Marvel movies coming out later which I look forward.

I do all these things regularly but nothing is really a goal to change my life, I think slow and steady (doing the things that make me happy like walking or riding a bike or laughing) works better for me than sprinting or running or setting goals that are unrealistic….I’m not a runner anyway! LOL!

In conclusion, fashion always makes me happy! I love doing something new and today took a risk with a pair of flowered, flowy ruffled pants (Target) and paired with a jean shirt and my bejeweled velvet black mules (again Target). I matched this with my pink/blue jewel earrings and bright pink bag! I think it’s a fun change from my normal. Usually I wear fitted clothes and this is a more chill look so let me know what you think 🙂 Happy Wednesday!

Musings on Exercise and other random thoughts on makeup

Clothes, Exercise, fashion, health, makeup, New Year, Rosacea, Shoes, Uncategorized

Hello Friends!

So I worked out yesterday and today! Yay me! I do feel better when I work out. It was interesting though. At the gym I rode the stationary bike for eight miles…felt very accomplished and strong…I love bike riding although it’s more fun outside, same with hiking/walking. Although there is snow and ice out there now so I’m not taking any chances.

I got a bicycle for my birthday this year and I love it…except for the seat. One day I rode 10 miles and it wasn’t hard except my pelvis was in super pain, seriously I felt like something was broken every time I went over a bump. That’s not good right??

Yesterday when I rode eight miles, I’m not even sore today. Not my legs and not other parts, so I’ve decided gotta get rid of that seat on my bicycle or get some different shorts. My son told me about bike shorts that have cushion in them, to get them at Big 5. I’ll do one or the other, cause I’ve gotta ride my bike 🙂

I also talked with my cousin about her Maskcara line of makeup to cover my rosacea and she is getting me a kit to try out. Sometimes I think my foundation is so dark to cover my rosacea that I look like I have a spray tan LOL! I normally have fair skin if it wasn’t for my rosacea, although I tan easily (before rosacea also). So when I get my kit from Maskcara, I will be excited and I’ll make a video putting it on….then we can all see which foundation looks better on me!

Before I sign off, I wanted to add some pics of my clothes and makeup today. I’m wearing a shirt and jeans from Express, jacket from JCPenney, and check out these cute shoes from Target!! My son/daughter in law got me a Target gift card and these are so fun! My makeup is a new color by Stila- Magnificent Metals-Smoky Storm on my lids and I used a green shade from Urban Decay above that…although it turned out red? I was like WTF?? Why is this red? So here it is….I didn’t take it off cause that would take too long and my day is a wasting…LOL! Tell me what you think 🙂

These are my New Years plans….new seat for bike and new foundation..then my daughter and I are doing makeovers on New Years Day! Doesn’t that sound like fun? What are your New Years plans?

I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable New Years! See you all in 2018!

An exercising heart for Christmas!

Aging, Christmas, Coordination, Exercise, Uncategorized

So I got a set of DVD’s for Christmas; T25 BeachBody work out and some workout clothes from OldNavy. I used the first DVD this morning, the Cardio workout…I was super pumped…for a couple minutes. Then I got sweaty and tired and somewhat confused about the direction to kick my foot! haha I will not give up!

The cardio workout has a couple of tricky steps and I have to tell you, I’m not super coordinated. A couple months ago, I participated in a neighborhood Zumba class directed by a good friend about 30 years older and more coordinated than I. She kicked butt and I moved the wrong direction several times in five minutes.

The last ten years I’ve weightlifted on and off (shoulder injuries and health problems in general interrupted at times) but I don’t have to be coordinated at all to be able to weight lift. I want to be one of those older ladies that can still walk when I’m 90 years old, so I will persevere in my workouts!

My grandpa turned 96 a few short weeks ago and he’s still moving around…the key is staying active when you don’t have to….going up and down the stairs when there’s an elevator, walking up the escalator; even forgetting something upstairs at home is not a bad thing because I can run up and downstairs as many times as I forget something (which is often, FYI)

So I thought I’d share my daily experience getting back into an exercise routine and my workout clothes from Old Navy. The cross cross ankle detail on these pants is super fun (Fashion can motivate me to exercise don’t ya know!) if there are any of you thinking of getting more active, there is never a bad time to get moving! Let me know if you want my support or encouragement! It’s never too late to get moving and get your heart muscle beating regularly 🙂 Even if you are coordinated or not! Join my un-coordinated club! 😉