This blog is about little things which thankfully are the very things that make life grand. I count my blessings that big news is scarce and it's the day to day activities currently making our summer pleasant and memorable. We all have friends, or we read in the news of individuals experiencing tremendous hardships and loss. More often than not however we witness their resilience and determination to seek the positive even with the difficult hand they have been dealt. These circumstances always make me pause, pray, and express thankfulness for the simple, the mundane, the status quo as most of life's blessings are not presented with confetti, or expressed with fireworks, or delivered by limousines but rather life's blessings are found in the kitchen, with friends at the ball diamond, cook-outs, or relaxing on the porch with a book. Being aware of the blessings in everyday circumstances creates a sense of gratitude and abundance in one's heart.
Which leads me to the simple abundance of spiralized vegetables! I purchased this kitchen gadget a few months ago when I attended Karen's Energy cooking class. My kids love spaghetti and spiralized zucchini and squash can almost pass for spaghetti noodles. It's a simple tool and the antagonist to Ron's GoDaddy Fat Fryer which I shared in a previous post, "Til Death Us Do Part!"
Which leads me to the simple abundance of spiralized vegetables! I purchased this kitchen gadget a few months ago when I attended Karen's Energy cooking class. My kids love spaghetti and spiralized zucchini and squash can almost pass for spaghetti noodles. It's a simple tool and the antagonist to Ron's GoDaddy Fat Fryer which I shared in a previous post, "Til Death Us Do Part!"
Last week Auburn, Trey and I rode the Amtrak to Chicago to visit a dear high school friend. Laura has been living in Sweden the past four years with her husband and two children where she works as a college professor in the field of psychology and childhood development. She was in Chicago for work then traveling on to see her family in Homestead, Florida.
Laura's daughter Sarah has the most beautiful European accent. She is expressive and witty, curious and insightful. It was fun to eavesdrop on her conversation with Auburn as she asked, " Do you have those girls in your school who are all like, 'boys boys boys, and make-up, make-up, make-up...they think they are all popular and posh?"
With my sister and her two kids on their way from North Carolina today I have been motivated to complete a few home renovation projects. I spent one weekend painting the basement guest room which up until last month had resembled more of a men's locker room than a guest room. I added a sand-dollar paint color, removed a few random sports pictures and replaced them with Marco Island snapshots of sunsets, beaches, and docks. The next weekend I decided to surprise Auburn with a room redesign while she was at basketball camp. Don't ever ask me to paint your house...my work is rather sloppy and you risk having paint splattered over your most beloved stuffed animals and furniture. She appreciated the effort as I even painted the ceiling. My neck required intensive assistance from Lisa Joy, massage therapist extraordinaire after my marathon painting session.
My cats are always ready for mat class! We have had super attendance this summer in Home Training mat classes as well as at Pleasant Valley. I notice a recurrent theme of individuals working out at such intensity that they are creating injury and pain rather than health and wellness. Some of these individuals are thankfully finding their way to restorative exercise like Pilates and yoga. Remember, unless you are a professional athlete training for a specific sport, then your sport is life. Training for life is not about overuse, fatigue and pain. To train for life we need strength, flexibility, endurance, healthy posture, and pain free movements. I noticed this even with my painting quest. My neck got tired, my shoulders were sore, my hips ached from working in cramped corners. The last thing I needed to do was crunches and overhead presses. My body was stressed just from the prolonged painting tasks and needed restorative exercise to balance and stretch. I hear it from friends working in their yards...hauling mulch, pulling weeds, planting vegetables...it is exercise and your body recognizes it as such. Select exercise methods that complement your life experiences rather than detract from them. If you workout at such an intensity that it becomes hard to cast your fishing pole or pick up your child or swing your golf club perhaps you should re-evaluate. Is your exercise selection adding joy or pain to your life? Like a vehicle we need our body for the long-haul---keep it in healthy condition with routine maintenance rather than overuse and running it into the ground.
Thank you for reading!
RSS Feed