Yoga For Breast Cancer Recovery ....Free DVD

I have a wonderful friend that I've never met in person. She lives out in Washington. We "met" through Craigs List and an errant e-mail. Nancy and I have become soul sisters over the past couple of years. When we met, she was battling breast cancer. After her surgery, she knew she needed to find something else to occupy her mind...something other than cancer and treatments....so with the help of friends and donations, she was able to produce a DVD called "Yoga Support for Breast Cancer Recovery".

I have two of the DVDs left and I would love to get them into the hands of people that could use them. If you could use one, or know of someone that could....just leave a comment with your e-mail and I will contact you for your mailing address.

The DVD's are free. If more than two people want one, I can get more. Just let me know.

Make it the best day ever, and do something nice for yourself today!

Beating Osteoporosis.....Day 1

Today is the first day of my new diet and supplement plan. I am so ready. I spent so much time this weekend figuring out things I can eat and what supplements I take when and when I want to drink this shake thing and so on and so on....

I spent a lot of time in the Osteoporosis forums chatting with people that have been doing this for years. I have learned a lot. One of the things I've learned is that just like with every other "hot" topic......you will get lots of different advice from people with lots of differing opinions.

I read many times....no yoga forward bends and no yoga twisting. Then my new doctor said....it's fine. Then some very knowledgeable people in the forums said....don't do it. Then someone else in the forums said.....I've been doing them for nine years. What it boils down to is that I have to do what is right for me. That yoga DVD has made me stronger, more flexible and improved my posture. I think I will keep doing it. The moves in yoga are slow and thought out. I don't think about it when I bend over to pick up something off the floor or twist to back my car out of the drive way. If my back is going to fracture....it's going to fracture.

I am going to see if I can make an appointment with a Physical Therapist that is trained in osteoporosis. I would like some professional help with my exercise program. I really need someone to tell me exactly what I should be doing each day. If I'm going to spend 30-60 minutes every day working out, I want to be sure that what I am doing is going to help. I'm not qualified to do that.

The hardest part of the new diet is the no sugar, no dairy and no gluten. That's a whole lot of no-no's. The no sugar means no Starbucks Chai Lattes. The no dairy means no pizza. The no gluten means no bread. I've done this before, I can do it again.

I just have to think about how awesome I am going to feel when I am not putting things into my body that it doesn't need or want....and when I am putting good things into my body that are going to help it function the way it should. It's all a matter of mind over matter and a good positive attitude.

Make it a great day and be sure to do something really nice for yourself today!

Just Do It!

Have you ever tried Yoga? I have always been intrigued with it. It just looked so calming...the way they went from pose to pose...it just flowed so smoothly. I started doing a little Yoga many years ago. Then I quit which is what I usually do. Then I bought two more Yoga DVDs, did one of them for a little while and then quit again.

I am happy to say that I have been doing Yoga regularly for two full months now and I feel awesome. I know it is the perfect workout for me. That and walking on the treadmill. I know some people hate treadmill walking, but I love it!

My sister loves her recumbent bike. She rides about five miles a day on it.

I know people that love going to the gym.

There are some women in my office that are doing Weight Watchers right now. They were talking about how much weight they have lost yesterday and they were so excited. I was so happy for them.

I think it's important when we decide to take charge of our health, that we find the program that works the best for us. If we find something we really enjoy doing, I think we are more apt to stick with it.

What kind of program do you like best? Healthy eating? Exercise? What type of exercise do you like?

The Breakup

A tear was hanging there in the corner of my eye and then slowly it tricked down my right cheek. I looked longingly at the building as I drove by on my way to work yesterday. I even thought I smelled a familiar aroma....but alas....I didn't. It was just my imagination playing tricks on me.

As I walked in to the office, I clutched the small Starbucks Chai Latte in my hand. I put down my tote bags and started to remove my food for the day....Total cereal, blueberries, strawberries, soy milk, leftover quinoa pasta with zucchini and spinach pasta sauce, raisins, celery and peanut butter. I placed the cold things in the fridge, left the rest in the bag and sat down at my desk. As I took a sip of my chai latte.....I smiled.

YOU DID IT KATHY!!! YOU REALLY DID IT!!!! It's Friday and you did NOT stop at Dunkin' Donuts, and you are NOT eating a fattening, salty, cholesterol filled egg and cheese croissant that is going to turn the pH of your blood upside down and make your body steal calcium from your precious little bones!!! Chee Hoo!!!!

Friends even though I feel like I broke up with the love of my life...if I can say NO to that egg and cheese croissant, I can say NO to most anything...and today that included cookies, candy and cake that filled our lunch table. I didn't have a single bite.

On the serious side...this change in diet is not easy. I feel hungry a lot. Before if I was hungry, I knew that I could reach in my tote bag for some chips or crackers. They would fill me up. They would make me happy.

Now when I am hungry and I reach in my bag, I find things like dried apricots. If I go to the fridge, I find things like carrots. Those things do NOT fill me up, nor do they make me happy.

After eating like I did my entire life, I think it just becomes a habit. I think you learn to love the taste of certain foods as well as that feeling of being just perfectly full. It has to be an emotional thing.

Now I am in the process of "unlearning" those habits and creating new ones. I have discovered that I can live without the sweets except for my chai and that's okay for now. What I am really missing are the salty, filling snacks. I love things like cheese, crackers, pita chips and corn chips. It's funny because I don't like my food salty. I even buy salt free soup and put in a little dash of my own salt....but salty snacks were my "thing".

Salt is bad, bad, bad for our bones, so I am trying to avoid it. That isn't to say I will never have another salty snack, because I will...just not every day like I was.

I really did an awesome job this week, but it was tough. So much thought has to go into what I'm buying and eating right now that I find it more like work. I am keeping up with my pilates and my yoga and my new treadmill is a dream come true. I am on that thing for 30 minutes every morning before work and I actually like it! I find it challenging and I love a challenge.

I hope that all of you are getting up and doing some walking or some kind of exercise. Making some small changes now might keep you from having to make major changes later.....besides your bones will love you for it!

Make it an awesome day for yourself!

City Kitties

Sunday morning Irv and I were out the door at 7:00 and headed to Chicago. It's about an hour drive without traffic. We had to stop for gas and I decided to treat myself to a chai latte at Starbucks. I wanted to try it made with soy milk which would be a better option for me with my new bone building diet plan. The first few sips were yucka....the middle sips were acceptable....and the last sips were disgusting. I don't think that is going to be an option for me. Bummers!

Tresa and Chris are going to be putting their condo up for sale as soon as they make some minor improvements. They needed Irv's opinion on some things, so they asked us to come in. They treated us to a wonderful breakfast at a cute little cafe. I was wondering if it would be difficult to find something that fit in with my new diet....not at all! I had a wonderful egg white omelet with spinach, goat cheese and tomatoes! Man was it good!

We headed over to their condo and got to meet their newest kitty, Harley. They are always telling us what a bad, bad boy Harley is....and I think they are full of it. He is the cutest and sweetest little guy you would ever want to meet. He is charming and playful and just as happy as can be.

Their other kitty, Casey is such a pretty little Princess. She loves to just lay around, and only moves when she wants to move. She has a pretty normal kitty personality. :)

They have huge windows all along three sides of the condo and the view is awesome!

Irv went over a number of things with them and made some suggestions. They plan to purchase some things and we will head in again to give them a hand. Then it was back to the "country".

I managed to still find time to take the dogs for a nice little walk, do my yoga and walk for 25 minutes on the treadmill. I enjoy walking outside, but man was it nice to throw on some workout clothes, turn on some golf on the TV and walk! I think I am going to really enjoy it.

It was a busy day, but I had decided this morning that this would be one more day off from my etsy shop, FourDogDay. Instead of getting rattled because I didn't work in my shop all week, I told myself that I took a much deserved week off....that way there was no guilt, no stress and let me tell you....I had an awesome day today! Tomorrow I will be back in my workshop and I am so ready to start creating again!

Oh, and on a little side note...Michael and Bernadette have set March 6th for our next family get together. Michael said we are going bungee jumping...I wonder what we will REALLY be doing?

Chee Hoo!

It's FRIDAY! It's my no work out day. It's my no walk day. It's my eat whatever I want day. It's jeans day at work. It's Starbucks day. It's Dunkin' Donuts day. It's even PAYDAY!!! I actually couldn't wait to get up this morning!! Chee Hoo!

I cannot believe I have been working out and walking and eating healthy for three weeks. That has to be a record for me. Yes, there are some mornings when the last thing I want to do at 5:30 a.m. is yoga or pilates...but I'm doing it.

There are plenty of days when I get home from work and the last thing I want to do is change my clothes, bundle up and head out into the frigid air to walk....but I'm doing it!

Many evenings I have no interest in preparing a healthy balanced dinner for myself....but I'm doing it.

I am not to the point where these things are a positive habit for me yet. In fact, I still find it all a big pain in the butt....but I'm doing it.

My neck and upper back issue has caused me to rethink my workout. If I didn't, I might have quit. Instead I took out the arm and shoulder dumb bell workout until my neck and upper back are more tolerant of the yoga and pilates. Once they are, I will add the arm work back in. I did add some leg work on the days I do pilates too.

I am really looking forward to spring when I can be working out with the doors and windows open, and I can pile on the sunscreen, throw on my hat and walk until I want to come in rather than having to come in because my eyes are tearing, my nose is running and my face and everything running down it is frozen solid!

If you made some changes....healthy eating, working out or other changes for the New Year...how are you doing? Need a Chee Hoo or some encouragement? I'm here for you. :)

Oh Happy Day!

Well as crazy as the weekend was, Monday made up for it. What a great and productive day filled will all kinds of good stuff!

I started out doing my yoga and it felt good. It's getting easier each time I do it. Then I took the dogs for a mile walk. We all enjoyed that even though it was cold and damp. We had some of that freezing frost stuff this week and some of the bushes and trees are still a bit white. They look so pretty.

Back home for breakfast and some clean up and a phone call to Comcast. When we disconnect our cable TV on Saturday to get Dish Network, we will be left with just Comcast Internet. That means our special little rate goes up to the ridiculous regular rate. I didn't want my special little rate to go up so I pleaded my case to three different people and my rate will stay the same for six months and then it will go up. I figured by then maybe something else will be available out here where I live, if not, I pay the higher rate. Oh well.

Then it was etsy time. I put on my Adam Lambert CD and got to work. I listed this pillow in FourDogDay.....

and this new Itsy Bitsy Tote Bag too. Kind of a fun one.

I am still using up fabric that I have on hand for these, and that is so awesome....especially after working on my taxes this weekend and seeing how much I spent on material this year! OUCH! I have two other Itsy Bitsies done and they are my absolute favorites so far. I'll show them to you as soon as I get them photographed.

I even managed to iron all of my clothes for the week today so I don't have to worry about that every night. I hate it when I don't iron and have to do it on a nightly basis. Such a pain! Do you iron?

What do you keep busy with in the middle of January? It's back to work for me today, but I love the four day work weeks!

Make it an awesome day and be sure to do something nice for yourself today!

Mish Mosh

I made a trip to the chiro yesterday and did not work out. :( It's the first day I've missed. Maggie and Wrigley road with us. Sparky doesn't like the car.

I have a real messed up spine and one of my shoulder blades sticks out more than the other. When I do arm and shoulder exercises it starts to get very uncomfortable as it did on Friday. On top of that, I took one of those quick little "oops" slips on some ice Friday. I didn't fall, but it was just enough to cause my muscles to all tighten up on me. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up where I left off some time today. I am tweaking the yoga and pilates exercise plan to include some leg exercises. I am really enjoying the workouts right now.

My healthy eating is going pretty well also. I'm just watching what I eat and trying to make better choices where my snacks are concerned. I'm also making sure that one dinner a week is a nice big salad like this one I had last week so I'm getting some greens. Yes, that whole thing was for me and I ate every last bit of it!

I have my shopping list and coupons ready and we are about to head to the store. Hopefully we will come back with a few dollars left so we can get our favorite Friday night carry out!

I snapped this shot of our icicles right before Irv went out to knock them all down. If you leave them they can actually cause your roof to leak. I think they are so pretty though.

One last thing.....do you have cable TV or dish? We pay a ton for our basic cable and are considering taking one of the special offers for Dish Network to save some money. We have always had cable. Your thoughts?

Count 'em Up Kathy

As I packed up my bag yesterday morning with my lunch and snacks , I started to wonder how many calories I was loading into that bag for the day. I really already knew the answer and it was TOO MUCH!

Even though I tend to eat fairly healthy, I also tend to eat way too much. Add that to the fact that yesterday was the first day in ages that I walked the dog, and add to that the fact that I am stopping at Starbucks every day again.....it's no wonder that the pants I put on that morning were a bit on the t-i-g-h-t side.

There is such a simple solution to this issue, I don't know why I don't do it. On Sundays I use to pack up daily snacks in the proper serving size for the week. That way when I packed up my lunch I could just grab what I need. I would make a couple of small salads and put them in containers ready to grab.

Another easy thing to do is when I put leftovers away that I know will end up being a lunch for me during the week, I really should divide them and put them in a couple of small containers instead of one big container. Like yesterday, the one container held WAY MORE than one serving of pasta and low fat Alfredo...making it an unhealthy, fattening lunch.

I also like Greek yogurt for a snack....that would be an awesome snack, but I also like to add some fruit and granola to it making it not so low cal. I am thinking about making that my breakfast a couple of days a week instead of a snack.

I wouldn't even mind the Starbucks every day if I could get the rest of my eating under control. Even healthy low calorie snacks becomes unhealthy when you eat more than the proper serving size or when you consume 3-4 snacks a day rather than two.

So, today I will do better. I packed my lunch and snacks last night, and paid close attention to the serving size. I am only taking two snacks with me...one for the morning and one for the afternoon. I will walk the dog when I get home from work before I even turn on the computer, because once I turn that computer on....neither the dog nor myself will get the exercise we both so desperately need.

I am going to try to get up when the alarm goes off and get back to my yoga and pilates in the morning. I can't believe how limber I feel when I am doing those things regularly. I stand straighter and just walk taller. It's pretty awesome and I need it.

Truly, no matter how many times you have tried to exercise and eat healthy and fallen off the wagon....it's okay. When you can, just get back on and try again. Even eating healthy for a while now and then is better than never eating healthy at all. Same goes for working out and walking.

Well, now that I have myself so totally psyched....I think I will go grab a snack...all that talk about food has made me hungry! Just kidding!

The Man By The Trees

I have a really nice big window next to my desk at work. It looks out past the parking lot to the track and the basketball courts. Past that is a small grassy area, a line of trees and beyond that houses.

My Office Window

Many days when I glance out my window, I will see a man doing Tai Chi. He appears to be "older", he is small in stature and he dresses in the traditional baggy white pants and shirt. He usually starts in the grass by the trees and then he moves over to the basketball courts.

There are days when I almost have to close the blinds, because I am so distracted by this man....but in such an awesome way.

His continuous flow of movement reminds me of the constant motion of the sea. He'll do the same motion 30 or 40 times in repetition first on one side and then on the other. He bends and stretches, but rarely stops moving. The movements are gentle and controlled, and they look so natural as he works his way through his routine. He never seems to be in a hurry to finish.

Wikipedia Photo

I've never actually seen him arrive at the spot, and today was the first time I ever saw him leave. He just walked down the paved path that leads off of the school property.

I could sit and watch his entire "performance" if there weren't other people around. I find it so soothing and relaxing.

I'm guessing that what he does is wonderful for stress relief, balance, flexibility and it probably lowers blood pressure.

It reminds me of the ease of which yoga "guru" Rodney Yi moves so effortlessly through the poses on my yoga DVD.

Do you do yoga or Tai Chi? If not, have you ever really watched someone doing either of them?

Watching him today made me want to learn how to do that. I think I am going to add "Take Tai Chi" to my "Someday I want to..." list right below "Be on a Rowing Team" and "Take Ballet Lessons"!

Maybe some day.....

Yoga On The Beach

Right before Christmas I received an order in my etsy shop, FourDogDay, for my Yoga On The Beach photo from a really nice lady in Australia. She was purchasing the photo for her "sister" in Arizona for her birthday. She asked if I could send it directly to her sister with a note describing the photo.

Yoga On The Beach was taken by my son Matt when he and his best friend Brett were volunteering at a bio dynamic farm in Costa Rica. The photo is one of my favorites.

The customer told me that her sister is very into yoga and is hoping to move to Costa Rica in a couple of years. She and her fiance already own some property there, so the photo couldn't have been more perfect!

I took the photo and wrapped it up in pretty tissue paper and tied it up with ribbon. Then I took one of my photo greeting cards and wrote Happy Birthday from Michelle in it. I included a description of the photo including exactly where it was taken.

I received a wonderful e-mail and really nice Feedback from Michelle telling me how much her sister loved the photo and that she commented how nicely I had wrapped it for her, and then the other day I received an awesome convo from the recipient of the photo. She said that she cried when she opened it and read the description. She said that she featured the photo on her blog and plans to hang it in her studio. Then one day it will come full circle when she hangs it in her studio in Costa Rica.

It made me feel so good to know how happy one of our photos made someone else. It was also so nice that both of them took the time to let me know. They really made my day!

It's Happened....Already

Well, I knew it would happen at some point, but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Unfortunately, it has. You see, I am already sick of my little "Trying To Get In Shape" plan. Yep, I am. I was really hoping I could be excited and entusiastic about it until my daughter's wedding in March, but oh no, not me. I hate having to do something every day. I hate the time it takes to do it. Sure, I know how important it is for everyone to exercise. I get all of that.....I just don't feel like doing it any more.

With that said....I will keep doing it. I made myself a promise and I plan to stick to it. It is really hard though. It was easier when the weather was nice. I would head out at 5:45 a.m. and walk the dog once around the neighborhood..briskly. Then after work I would alternate yoga and pilates. I do enjoy them both, and I can really feel myself getting stronger and more flexible. I just don't like having to sacrifice precious time right now to do it, and it's darn cold out there at 5:45 a.m.

Do you work out? If you do, what keeps you going? I have done this so many times. I get really excited and do really well for a short time and then I miss one day, and then another and then that's it. I'm done..until the next time I try again.

On Saturday I am headed into the city (Chicago) to spend the day with my daughter, looking for my dress for the wedding. I was trying to lose some of my belly before this outing. Even after all of the walking and working out....it doesn't look any smaller to me. I even weighed myself last week and I haven't lost a single pound. I think that was what started this downward spiral. I thought I would have lost a pound or two. I am not overweight, but I am out of shape. I want to get in better shape, but just can't seem to find the one thing I need to get me to stick with it.

Well, tomorrow is another day. No matter how cold it is in the morning, I really need to walk. If I don't, it is hard to make the time to walk and workout when I get home knowing I have my etsy business to take care of.

So, if you have any really great ideas as to how on earth I can stay motivated until spring with this wonderful plan of mine....let me know. I'm going to need all the help I can get!

Actually, I feel a bit better just having written about this little problem I am having, but I am still open to suggestions. :)