walk at lunch day

Yesterday was national Walk at Lunch Day. So we walked at lunch. But then we do that most days so it really wasn't extra special.

I've been absent from the blog for maybe 10 days. It's not that I haven't walked. I just haven't walked much. Still trying to get my mojo back. If someone could tell me where I left it I'd appreciate it.

Saturday there is a Volkksport walk at the Parkway. I'm considering it. Sunday Bonnie and I are doing the MS walk starting at Piggie Park. I guess we're going to tour east Allentown. I bet we head down toward the American Parkway and around the cemeteries.

Next Sunday is the Race for the Cure in Philly. We need to be there at 5:30 for the survivors breakfast. Yikes. Bonnie signed up Sunday and her race packet came yesterday. I signed up on Saturday, nothing yet. She say the timing chip is right in the bib. I also paid for the shuttle lot parking. The art museum will be nuts. Maybe that's what's taking so long. I'm hoping for under 50 minutes.

No walking today, it's raining, again. Can't complain. My sister in Louisville had 18 inches in about 3 days. Weather is crazy. Maybe tonight I'll do a walking tape.

holey-moley

Today at lunchtime we walked down to the square. (1.6 miles roundtrip)

College Hill, where the college is located (odd how that happens) is a fairly well-to-neighborhood. But their sidewalks are just as bad as everyone else's.

These photo were taken at lunch time as we headed down College Avenue, towards the Williams Visual Arts Building at the base off the hill. There's railings, and then a cliff, and then 611 and then the Delaware. But what would prevent a tiny leg falling thru these holes and down the cliff? I have visions of baby Jessica. (Anybody old enough to remember her?) What happens if you're walking and more of the sidewalk breaks away?

Thank goodness those horrible stairs are blocked by fencing but your average college student, or teenager could jump them.

With the gas explosions a few weeks ago there is lots of buzz about the state of our infastructure. I'm guessing the sidewalks will be last on the list to be fixed.

I don't know if anyone is keeping track, but I've walked every day since Thursday. Five in a row. Maybe I'm finally out of my lazy-butt rut.

how to tie your shoes

That they don't come open. Forget about baby knots. Use Bonnie's handy tip. We video taped it with Lyds phone. That's how excited I was about it. She learned it at the shoe store.

a little walk

Yesterday I went to the ballpark and to pick up my Diamond Diva gear. (Learning baseball is one of my challenge  activities for summer. The Diamond Diva group is having a martini event. Can you guess why I picked it?) While there I bought new walking caps for Bonnie and I. It's pink and grey argyle. With a pink Iron Pig logo. Most of the pink caps had gray pigs. We'll test them today.

Today will be Lydia's first walk in awhile. She's been sick and not walking with us. She even missed the 5K yesterday. We'll see how it goes. Maybe it will make her feel better.

Everyone is scheduled to arrive at 11 am. They we'll head out. I think we'll go out Sioux and cross Wyandotte. Then head out Sumner and thru Lehigh and back.

a chilly 5K

It's mid-April, right? Yesterday at the Strides for Shelter 5K it felt like November.

I did this 5K two years ago and I think the weather was worse. The lady at the registration table said the weather is always bad for the event. I'll have to keep that in mind for next year.

But before I go into the details I have to mention that I'm blogging from the parking lot of Planet Fitness. Sharon is inside working out. Since she switched her membership I can't go inside. I did a bit of a walk before it started to rain and dropped something off at my brothers house, and now I'm back in the car blogging. Modern technology. At one time I'd be reading a book or working on a crossword puzzle.

Back to yesterday.

Bonnie picked up Sharon and I at 8:10. The race started at 9. At home it was cloudy and cool, but not cold. I grabbed a sweater to put over my fleece for the standing around and waiting part. I was planning on leaving it at the start line. Sharon didn't grab anything extra. That was a mistake.

The race began at the Hanover Township Community Center. In what used to be a farmers field. Wide open and it was cold and the wind just whipped around. Sharon must have been chilled to the bone.

Bonnie and I tried to swing to keep warm, but it didn't work. Sharon was whining about the cold so I showed her how to hide in a tree. Like we did at gs camp. It didn't occur to me until later last night that the tree could have fallen over. Oops.

Not many people at this race. Maybe the curse of bad weather is well known. The runners went first, then about a minute later we went. The course is pretty easy. Bonnie and I thought we were going at a good pace but ended up finishing at 52:40 and 52:59. Not bad, but not our best.  Sharon finished in 62:49. But she finished which is all that's important.

Afterwards we went to Perkins for breakfast and planned out our walks for April and May. We're doing Joan's Run, The Run for the Cure, Tortoise and Hare, and MS at Piggy Park, I think. We're also going to get info on two Volkssport walks. Give them a try. Since we're not training, we have flexibility and don't have to do 8-10-12-15 mile walks that take half the day.

Speaking of long walks, Bonnie loves the idea Betsy had for October. Now we just have to come up with a plan. I'm thinking it should be a 5-10-15K walk. (3.1-6.2-9.32 miles.)  So that any fitness level can join. I need to come up with a fancy name and will advertise it under every two feet. I'm guessing Lyd and Kathy will do the 5K. And Bonnie, Betsy and I the 15K.

Stay tuned.

Keeping a promise ...
One of my former girl scouts Stephanie has a Etsy shop (stitching in socks) and is celebrating her 200th sale with a baby quilt giveaway. Go to her blog Jonquils and Ladybugs for details. The link is to the right. She's a contemporary quilter—no calicos here—and made my laptop bag. If you need great handmade gifts, especially for little ones,  check out her shop.

my inner girl scout yelled do it.

There is a lot of things that I don't miss about having a girl scout troop. Adult meetings. Paperwork. Permission forms. Endless red tape. But there are other things I do miss. Like the kids. And being outdoors on a regular basis.

A couple weeks ago I saw an ad in the paper for A Women in the Outdoors event. My inner girl scout was intrigued. By the third sighting I was on the net looking and found the brochure. It's at the Ontelaunee Rod and Gun Club. The site of one of my biggest failures as a girl scout leader. Fate is thumbing her nose at me.

I sent out an email to some of my friends hoping someone else was nuts enough to do this with me. My friend Betsy, also a girl scout, might join me. If not, I'll go alone.

There's a dozen or so thing to pick from. You get four. You have to give them a choice of 8 in order of preference. (Mine are starred.) The choices are basket weaving*, dutch oven cooking, gardening for wildlife* (but not skunks I hope!), intro to crossbows*, self defense, archery*, fly fishing (not patient enough to try that!), getting your bearings, handguns (no way!), wild edibles*, reading the weather, knot tying, outdoor cooking, survival skills, rifle marksmanship (no way), trapshooting (ditto), and making campers soap (citronella/Lemongrass) and calamine soap*. I really want the soap one. Weird, huh. Actually my first thought was this would be so cool to teach the girls. I guess I have girl scouts in my DNA.

Now you'll notice I only starred six. I can't remember what the other two were!  I know that. Probably had something to do with food.

It's a tad expensive. But you get 4 workshops breakfast and lunch and a membership to the National Wild Turkey Federation! Just what I always wanted. I'm guessing that's an insurance thing. Can't wait for my first copy of the Penna. Turkey Talk. My mail carrier will be so confused.

Speaking of confused. The YWCA might have a women's golf class this summer. Thinking of giving it a try. Walking golf course and lugging heavy bags should burn a couple calories!

coming up with a plan

Walking today with Betsy and Logan (her 4-legged grandchild) we talked about lots of stuff. (Ut oh. I think that's a picture of Izzy. Now I'm knee deep in doggie doo-doo.)

One thing we talked about was my lack of a goal to keep moving. So Betsy suggested one.

Perhaps we plan our own long walk on a Saturday near the 3-Day/Avon. Maybe 10-12 miles. Anybody can come that wants to. But with the stipulation they need to make a donation to a breast cancer charity. No stress. No fund raising.

It's a pretty good idea. I know they'll be three of us—Bonnie, Besty and me. Maybe we can get Kathy to join us. Perhaps even Lydia.

After dinner Sharon and I walked another 1.5 miles. Maybe  my drought is over. I hope so.

more television

I love television, but from my last couple posts you'd guess I'd watch it constantly. I have three jobs, I don't.

So while I was doing the last post, Extra was on. It's a entertainment "news" show.  So I hear "obesity in America" and it sounds a whole lot like "Sammi Brady" (Allison Sweeny). Because of the post I was doing, I thought Biggest Loser , glanced over and they were talking about a new program Walking With Walgreens.

It's another corporate program to track how much you walk and give diet tips ect.  You track your walks and post walks in your neighborhood. If you do, they give you coupons. Tiny reward. For everybody who registers they give a buck to a wellness charity.

They want you to set goals that are SMART: —Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound.

• Specific means you know what exactly you’re going to do: Walk in the park with my friend Lisa every Saturday morning at 9.
• Measureable means able to measure. In order to know if you’re succeeding, you have to be able to track it. Did I go on Saturday? How many Saturdays in a month did I hit it?
• Achievable means you can do it. Don’t promise to get up at 5a.m. every day rain or shine to begin with. That’s probably not realistic.
• Relevant means the goal has got to matter to you so you’ll stick to it. The Walk with Walgreens site is great for that because it can help you remember why you want to walk.
• Time bound means you create a time frame when you’ll check in on how you’re doing. For instance, I will do this for a month. A time limit gives you a chance to tweak and recommit.

I signed up. We'll see. I've signed up for others and haven't followed thru.

cross country 5K

I saw this last night on the Biggest Loser.

They flew the contestants to New Zealand and they did a Kiwi 5K. (Watch starting about 6:55.) They started on grass, went over a muddy trail, thru a creek bed, climbed a huge sand dune and finished on the beach. Now that looks like FUN.

The concept excites me.

I'm going to do an internet search to see if I can find something. Maybe they have one at the Jersey Shore. I could make a weekend of it.

looked good enough to eat

The last two days it rained. Another excuse to be lazy.

Today, however, I got my fat fanny up and walked...before class. I parked at the Oakland Road lot, and walked around the outer perimeter of the remote parking lots and out to Green Pond Road.  Then I headed out Green Pond to Moravian Academy. Didn't quite make it to Farmersville—the sidewalk ended.

That reminds me of a poem ....

Where the Sidewalk Ends
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Shel Silverstein

Then I walked back to campus—surprising about 2 miles round trip — and to class where I discovered I had sunglasses on. Then it was back out to Oakland Road and back. I know this is about 1000 steps each way because I counted them one day a year or so ago. Add in a flight of steps and it was a decent workout. I did it in about a half hour. This will be my new Tuesday/Thursday walk till the semester ends.

Northampton has a lot of property and in one section they are creating a garden. One part educational, one part growing food. It was soggy messy from the rain so I took the pix from a distance.

The other thing I noticed was the dandelion. I was getting hungry looking at it. Bacon dressing was calling my name. Maundy Thursday is next week. Mom always made dandelion on Maundy Thursday. Should I take a bag and knife next time? I wonder what they put on the lawns?

every two feet

I deleted the every two feet page from Facebook a few minutes ago. My lame attempt at getting people to join me walking was a huge failure. I can just message the two people who responded the most.

Maybe some time I'll try it again.

need motivation

I totally failed at exercise this week. I walked two days at lunch time, and did the stairs once. Period. That really stinks.

I know what the problems are. The first is no goal. I can do a 5K in under 50 minutes. There aren't any 10Ks for walkers. I'm not doing a mega walk. I need a goal. Badly. Losing weight doesn't cut it apparently, or I would have done that 2.5 years ago when I started this adventure.

The other big obstacle is no walking buddies. Bonnie bagged out on Sunday, she had a family event. Lydia hasn't walked since her dad died, and Mary Liz no longer walks in the morning. I used to walk alone. I should be able to do it again. I'm just not motivated. Meanwhile I'm probably gaining weight. Haven't checked.

Today it was beautiful and we walked for 20, maybe 25 minutes on College Hill. Someone had a metal flower box hanging off their stoop. I walked right into it and the pansy's were on the ground. It took two tries but we got it back up and the flowers in the pot. Oops.

I will get up tomorrow morning and walk. Alone.

----

I borrowed the pansy picture from the University of Oregon. No camera with me to take a pix of the spilled flowers

nice surprise in the mail

When I got home today I had a nice surprise in the mail. There was a letter from the lung association. I thought it was junk mail, and part was, but it was actually "real" pictures from the stair climb. Sweet, huh? I just downloaded all of the ones of our group from the site. I cost a whole 55 cents. Probably cost more than that to process the transaction.

Another cool thing happened today. In 2009 at the Turkey Trot I lost my school ID and  keys. Back in 2009 I chronicled that adventure right here. Today I found them! They were wedge between the seat of the car and the gear shift. I've cleaned that car a half-dozen times, why now? It was a great surprise.

So bad things come in threes. Do surprises come in threes too. It would be sweet.

Last night I checked out Weight Watchers online. I probably spent a hour poking around. It's $17.95 a month. Still not sure. Still thinking about it.

Have to go climb the stairs now.

national start walking day

Did you start walking today?

I never really totally stopped but I have to tell you it's a lot tougher to keep the commitment without a goal and a training book.

But I will try. I just need to get my rear in gear and get outside.

I've forgotten how hard it is to get up each morning and walk without a walking buddy—Mary Liz has retired from walking. Knowing she'd be on my doorstep at 6:30 am was quite a motivator to get my lazy butt up. But I must do it. I don't want to gain weight and I really want to lose weight. Weight Watchers has worked for Megan. I'm considering it. It's counting, but not calories. Maybe that will be easier for me. Just don't tell my roommate.

I also need to stop eating so much take out. It's really gotten expensive and I have big medical bills to pay. If I pack lunch the night before I don't do it. I just need to get into the habit again. Nothing at my house is really appetizing. The leftovers generally weren't good the first time. That's why they are leftover.

Today we went out walking at lunchtime for National Start Walking Day. We walked down the hill and up the stairs and then more campus stairs, and across campus back to the office. We call it the Lafayette 15 minute aerobic plan. I took off my jacket, but I was still wearing a sweater. I was hot.

The photo was taken on College Avenue looking down on Route 611, the Delaware and the troll bridge. Nothing is really blooming yet, we need a couple of warm days. It was this or the big hole in the sidewalk. The hole almost won.

great day for a walk

Bonnie arrived around 11:15 for walking. Sharon immediately left. She wanted a head-start because we walk too fast. The plan was to go up Bishopthorpe and then out Seneca. We left about 5 minutes after her, made two stops and waited for traffic on Broadway. We blew past her at Mohican Street. (photo one. Sharon would call this a big-butt shot.)

Then we headed back down to Uncas Street and out Ostrum/Brighton toward the bridge. One of the residents was still saving their parking spot. I wanted to leave them a note that said "winter is over. take your chair inside". Really. The snow Friday was really wet and sloppy. (photo two)

We crossed the bridge and Sharon rested while we checked out the new ramp construction. It will enter the bridge right before the black arch on the south side. (photo three)

Then we headed out Third to New, up New and back Fourth. At the Loose Threads Boutique there were some really cool fabric birds in the window. (photo four) We went inside. Here they were sculpture from ArtsLehigh. The clerk told us that there was art along Third street as part of this project. We had walked past the Banana Factory and didn't even know! Had we known, we would have gone the extra two blocks.. I need to go to Tallarico's for chocolate bunnies for my girls, so I guess I'll carve out some time to check out the art.

When we reached the five points, Bonnie and I headed up Wyandotte and Sharon headed home down Broadway. She beats us home.

Afterwards Bonnie helped me clean the mouse poop out of the high up cupboards and pulled all of mom's "good" dishes and stuff down. I have had many fine meals on those dishes. Bonnie even took them home and ran them thru the dishwasher. Now that they are out I'm using them at Easter. The food will still taste awful, but it will look good!

events for everyone!

Everyone knows how much I dislike wearing shoes, but I do know they have their place and I wear them. On Tuesday, I get to toss those shoes for the day. I can't wait.

One Day Without Shoes is April 5. They are doing it at NCC where I work, so that will be great. I can walk around campus barefoot legally! Except in the bathrooms. They are disgusting. I will also go to class early and participate in any of the activities they have.  It's sponsored by Tom's Shoes. For every pair you buy they give a pair to a child in a developing country. One Day Without Shoes brings awareness to the problems the children encounter not wearing shoes, like untreated infections.

On Wednesday, April 6, is National Start Walking Day. Allison and I will be walking at lunch time. But then we frequently walk at lunch time. The weather looks like the weather is going to be beautiful. 

I also posted both events on my every two feet FB page. I've pretty much decided to take the page down. I just need to get the courage to hit the delete button. I've already removed all the photos. every two feet was a huge failure. I'm not good at organizing. But I'm glad I tried.

I hope to go walking this afternoon. It's a beautiful day today. Then again with Bonnie tomorrow. Lydia can't make it again. I'm worried. She's been skipping too often. We need to get her moving again!

my first hawk sighting for 2011

Thursday I was driving, not walking, homeless people from a church on Locust Street to the library. It was the last day for shuttling until next January. The people in my car seemed more stressed than normal. For three months they've had a place to sleep and two meals. Even though the location changed from church to church every night.

When I pulled in about 7:30 for the first run, I noticed immediately that the huge 50-75 year old maple across the street had been raped. Someone with a chain saw took it back to the main trunk and two or three branches. It was maybe 7 or 8 feet tall. Why didn't they just take the whole thing down? I never understand this. It makes me sick.

When I came for the second batch of people I was parking and this hawk swooped in and sat right on top of the breakfast. Less obstructions I guess to find his lunch.

Bon Appetite Mr. Hawk!