Active without running

Hi there,

I’m emerging from my funk and lack of activity and have been active without running.

First there was the blizzard a week ago that dumped about a foot of snow here. I shoveled a ton. My arms got a very good workout!

shoveling is the new cross training

shoveling is the new cross training

Last weekend, Mr. SOTSS, his girls and I went sledding! Walking up to the top of the hill multiple times worked my leg muscles and sledding down worked my face muscles…I was laughing and smiling so much.

What a great invention

What a great invention

Working my face muscles

Working my face muscles

sledding-2

On Monday I took a brisk walk through the neighborhood while listening to podcasts.

On Tuesday I returned for a yoga class and last night I joined my hiking group for 2 solid hours of hiking in the snow. We covered about 4.75 miles and boy am I sore today.

It was 7:30 pm but the snow allowed us to see well even without our headlamps

It was 7:30 pm but the snow allowed us to see well even without our headlamps

I also dusted off the old Wii Fit and did some Hula Hooping. Geez, my abs are killing me after only 6 minutes, two days in a row.

wii-fit

Not activity related but Duncan is feeling better and got groomed too.

grooming

On a scale of 1-5 what’s your activity level like these days? Have you ever gone sledding? 

Some ups and downs so far 9 days into 2017 🙂

Here’s what’s been going on in the last week…

We’ve got lots of cold weather and snow happening here on the east coast….both inside and out.

mmmm....snowsicles are yummy

mmmm….snowsicles are yummy

Yep, on Friday morning Duncan took one last rest on his pig (that Mr. SOTSS won me at the Washington State Fair last September) and then discovered a little hole big enough to de-stuff the pig and before we knew it, it was snowing in the house!

Such a comfortable pig

Such a comfortable pig

it's SNOWING!

it’s SNOWING!

It was also snowing outside and I decided to go for a 4 mile walk to get in a good amount of steps before the snow really accumulated. I walked for over an hour and really enjoyed every step. The neighborhood was quiet and magical with all the powdery white stuff falling.

being the first to step on fresh fallen snow is almost as fun stepping on (and popping) those sheets of packing bubbles!

being the first to step on fresh fallen snow is almost as fun as stepping on (and popping) those sheets of packing bubbles!

I love Winter!

I love Winter!

This is where things went south. I decided to pull out my trampoline and jump a bit for a little extra calorie burn and also to warm up and get the chill out of my body. As I went to push the trampoline in the center of the living room floor I kicked one of the metal legs so hard accidentally and next thing I knew my toenail was split into 3 pieces. Just like in the cartoons, I saw stars. I manually pulled off the two pieces that were hanging by a thread and covered the toe with antibiotic cream and a bandage and continued about my day. (no photos because I want you to continue to read my blog 🙂 It wasn’t until the evening when I tried to put a shoe on to take Duncan for a walk that I realized how painful the toe was and how hard it was for me to walk.

I was feeling rather down on myself because of a multitude of things. First, I had been tracking my calories and trying to eat healthier all week. I hadn’t had sweets and was going through major sugar withdrawal. I also hadn’t run all week because my hamstring has still been bothering me. Combine that with the fact that my workload at the moment is really too light for my liking (read….typical freelance worry about cash flow and paying bills) and I really spiraled.

Luckily yesterday I was able to get out of the house and go have fun in the snow with Mr. SOTSS and his girls (and the dogs). I tried not to let the toe pain get in the way. We spent a few hours outside. But not before we all got bundled up.

Superdoodle

Superdoodle is not super happy about this getup.

Duncan hated me for putting him in his snowsuit and boots but it just makes life easier on both of us not having to deal with the snowballs that stick to his fur.

Best angle ever! #doodlebutt

Best angle ever! #doodlebutt

Happy despite the snowsuit. Also happy the paws were set free. Those booties didn't last long.

Happy despite the snowsuit. Also happy the paws were set free. Those booties didn’t last long.

so happy when he's being a kid

so happy when he’s being a kid

Chester likes big sticks and he cannot lie

Chester likes big sticks and he cannot lie

LOL. The face says it all.

LOL. The face says it all.

Does this snowsuit make my butt look big?

Does this snowsuit make my butt look big?

Things were looking up when I weighed myself this morning and I was down 1.4 pounds. But more importantly I’m really proud of myself for sticking to eating healthier for a week straight and I’m determined to keep up the good work. I know the number on the scale will fluctuate but if I can be more conscious about my nutrition throughout the year then I can consider myself ahead of the game.

Then I realized if I take my sock off before putting my boot on the toe pain is reduced and I can walk a little better. I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get out for a slow walk today and sweat out the small stuff. Hoping a few more days will bring me enough relief in the toenail AND the hamstring area that I can run a local 5k trail run this Saturday. We shall see.

And I just got a new work assignment! Whew!

Moral of this story. Toenails are heavy! (LOL!) Seriously though, my point is that it’s so easy to spiral but if you give it some time, things can always improve.

Have a great week!

Anyone else have stubbed-toe-war-stories???? Any tips on healing the tender toenail bed?

The Blizzard of 2016 recap. Nope it isn’t a race.

Warning: a ton of pictures of snow and dogs. 🙂

I am doing my best to type this as the hours of shoveling on Sunday have rendered my body sore beyond belief.

Mother nature dumped over 2 feet of snow on us over the weekend. It was awesome! Well, except for the shoveling.

blizzard

I drove over to Mr. SOTSS’ house Friday night when there was only a few inches on the ground. I figured if I was going to be housebound for a bit it would be more fun spending the time with him and his girls. We completed a jigsaw puzzle…

we counted....1008 pieces....that's 8 more than the box said!

we counted….1008 pieces….that’s 8 more than the box said!

And made Shrinky Dinks…

I made the rainbow, pencil and shooting stars....The other beauties were done by Mr. SOTSS' 10 year old. She's quite the budding artist. Love her evenly spaced sprinkles and watermelon seeds

I made the rainbow, pencil and shooting stars….The other beauties were done by Mr. SOTSS’ 10 year old. She’s quite the budding artist. Love her evenly spaced sprinkles and watermelon seeds

And during the peak of the storm when they had a travel ban we just took the dogs and the sleds around the neighborhood streets. Chester actually pulls the sled. He’s pretty talented.

blizzard-neighborhoodBoth Mr. SOTSS and I tried out our snow shoes too.

G-snowshoe

Just snow shoeing around the hood in the middle of a blizzard

Just snow shoeing around the hood in the middle of a blizzard

my new snow shoes!

my new snow shoes!

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