Gesundheit

Some languages seem to have embraced the magic of single, compound-noun words.*

For example, in German (should I know how to speak German, that is), I could claim that several people have exhibited Freundschaftsbezeugung ("demonstration of friendship") for me, even though I am Dreikäsehoch ("three cheeses high").**

In Welsh, I could take a train from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch ("St. Mary's church in the hollow of the white hazel near to the rapid whirlpool and the church of St. Tysilio of the red cave").

And in Iceland, I'm sure I would help look for vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur, ("a keychain ring for the outdoor key of road workers shed in a moor called Vaðlaheiði"), should it go missing.

So, surely, someone could have come up with a better phrase than Kauf einer neuen Anlage / prynu planhigyn newydd / kaup á nýju álverinu ("purchase of a new plant") to capture the complicated feelings of I'm-so-happy-with-your-lush-greenness-and-full-of-hope-that-you-will-transform-my-living-space-but-already-feel-guilty-that-you-are-going-to-wither-and-die-but-maybe-you-won't-even-though-I'm-repotting-you-into-the-Pot-of-Death***-which-has-already-claimed-too-many-victims-to-count.

Willkommen in Ihrem neuen Zuhause, sterben Sie jetzt!
("Welcome to your new home, now die!")

* If I have misspelled a word or phrase in your language, please blame wikipedia.

** SO much more dignified than three apples high.

*** New pot, same outcome.  Sigh.

Adulting

v. to adult; the act of acting smugly responsible

Today was another long day, in which I accomplished attempted so much.  Chris is away this week, so I'm juggling the home/family/dog/work/ME-stuff alone, and really trying hard not to just be lazy as a backlash to the 2-week half-term that somehow happened to me again. 

Today, I think I rocked it, but one thing stood out more than any other.  Can you spot it?

7:00-8:05
Kids:  Up on time, fed, brushed, clothed, sent to school (although Ailsa's sports uniform was still damp from the wash, it was clean)
Me:  Healthy breakfast, glass of water, took my vitamins
Dog: 10-minute walk around block

8:20-10:00
Me:  4.75-mile run (speed day with my running group), then a lovely, leisurely coffee/tea

10:15-12:30
Dog:  20 minutes each way to the dog park in beautiful weather with Maya, his favourite doggie playmate, and a good, long, very active romp
Me:  Great conversation with Maya's "mom"

12:30-1:30
Me:  Shower.  Lunched on leftover chicken and grapes.  Prepared dinner: tried out a new slow cooker recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Honey Balsamic Glaze

1:45-3:35
Work:  Blog/Twitter/Insta, research for new article, sorted out details of new contracts

3:40-4:20
Kids:  Home from school, snack (popcorn!) and drink, supervise homework, make cheesy noodles, add with corn and tenderloin to thermii*, pack up juice boxes, forks, and swimming gear

5:00-6:30
Kids:  Into pool at required times for lessons (punctual for once!), out, dried and dressed again
Me:  30-minute weight workout while smallest has lesson

6:30-7:00
Me:  Drive home
Kids:  Eat warm dinner in backseat

7:20-8:10
Kids:  Swim gear hung to dry, jammified, brushed, washed, stories and bed x 3
Dog:  Quick outing

8:15-8:30
Me:  Dinner (reheated version of thermii), kitchen cleanup, snack prepared for tomorrow

8:45-10:45
Work:  Boot camp planned, more research and outlining, this post

The gaps in the timing were lost to reading hilarious threads on WhatsApp, I think. 

I am now heading to bed (I swear I'll get there by 11 tonight!), and I feel like a mature, responsible person...not for my exercise-, children-, food-, work- or dog-management, but because I took my vitamins.  (I am slightly disgruntled, however, that my "big accomplishment" was pretty much over by 8:05.  I should have gone back to bed to savour the feeling.)

#Adulting!


* one thermos/many thermii

Fit, Quick! (An At-Home Workout)

Yesterday was a long, busy day, but I made time for a really quick, at-home workout: strength, endurance and plyos for legs, core, shoulders, chest, back... I've hit every major muscle group quickly and (somewhat) easily, with only a yoga mat, fitbands, and 5-lb dumbbells, all optional.

Take out the jumps and dumbbells if you need to, but give it a try!

***
1 - plyo squat jumps x15
2 - single-leg deadlifts with lateral delt holds x 12 each side
3 - plyo lunges with biceps curls x 15 each side
4 - pushups with plank jacks and bird dogs x 20
5 - side planks with reverse flyes x 15 each side

REPEAT.

Videos of exercises are here.

#workout #homeworkout #fitathome #sweaty #fitgirl #exercise #squat #lungesandsquats #plyometrics #pressup #pushup #plank

Did you try it?  What did you think?  Let me know!

#MarchBloggerCountdown

It's coming...




(stay tuned!)

New Year's Resolutions 2019: Check In (and Feel Shame)

Since 2015, the year that I finally succeeded in my New Year's Resolution to floss every day, I have been unbearably cocky.  After all, I already worked out regularly (because it was part of my job), ate well (food is fuel!), and frankly, once I added in daily flossing to the mix, I was ridiculous.  There was literally--literally--nothing else I needed to achieve in my life.

Three years down the line, I must be honest:  I floss every second day now (unless corn, ribs or pineapple), but I still think it's pretty impressive.

SO, this year, I struggled to find something that was resolution-worthy AND plausible.

I resolved to be in bed, lights out, by 11 pm every night.  And to take my vitamins.

So far, midway through February, I have met the first target twice:  once in January, when I was feverish and sniffly, and once last week when I suffered from severe jet-lag.

I routinely stay up too late.  The fitness app on my phone reminds me to go to bed every evening, and checks in with me every morning, and I always feel guilty and exhausted.  Almost every morning, I would trade my first-born child (who, coincidentally, wakes up by 6 am every day) in order to go back to bed for an hour or two.  I almost never get this luxury; unless I have a sick kid at home, I either have a running-group date or clients to train, and then there's the dog, writing, cleaning, kids' activities, and dinner, so I'm tired a lot.

I know that I, in theory, feel great when I get a good night's sleep.  And tomorrow is another day.

(But tonight, I want to finish watching SuperBob.  And last week's SNL.)

Regarding the second part, involving vitamins, let's just humblebrag that my amazing inconsistency with vitamins is pretty solid.  I have over half-a-year's-supply bottle of prenatal vitamins left, and my youngest child is six.

SIX.

I also (sometimes) take a prescribed iron supplement (when I remember) (at least twice a year).  I have waxed poetic about the transformative power of iron supplements, how they turn you from pale-and-lethargic zombie-person to super-woman almost immediately...especially if you take them last thing at night so that you sleep through the related abdominal discomfort.

But honestly, I know that I could feel better, more energized, less tired, and that it's (mostly) my fault if I'm not.  I know that adequate rest and proper vitamin-and-mineral top-up will make a positive difference in my life, and help me deal with the stresses of my far-too-energetic-and-dynamic-and-sassy children, my creative blocks, the physical demands of training and running, and my needy dog (in no particular order).

So, with that, I proudly declare, 41 days into the year, that my New Year's Resolutions will be met.

Eventually.

If I remember.

Maybe.

And if not, hey, remember that year that I flossed, like, every day?

This Magical Life

There are moments when I look around, amazed at the life I'm so lucky to live. And hours/days/weeks when I am horrified.

I don't often share our "perfect" moments (probably because there aren't many), and also, in an effort to turn the lifestyle-envy-inducing feelings that twitter and instagram and facebook propogate, I'd rather share the hilarious and real moments.

But those real moments, hilarious and absurd, are often my favourites.

Like at our wedding, waaaaay back in ought-seven.  Seated at the head table, Chris and I could barely talk above the cacophony of kazoos, which I, in my quasi-unhinged state of wedding planning, had ordered online so that our friends and families -- to prompt a kiss -- could serenade us with love songs via kazoo. Each was printed with our names and wedding date, and I had splurged on the extra-fancy "Bugle Bell" ends.

(I do hope that they are still kicking around out there... and that our friends pick them up once a year on our anniversary.  If that's not happening, don't worry, you still can:  we have a whole bag of them left over.  Call me.)

So yes, at one point, I looked over at my groom, laughing SO hard, and I said, "This is just how I pictured it."   He looked completely dazed, as if to say, you planned THIS???  Of course, it was too late for him by then.

Anyway, as I see it, it was a great investment.

***

Last September, we took a quick 2-day trip to the Isle of Wight, which was somehow missed in my "blogging about travel" schtick.  Possibly because it was wet, it was windy, and we stayed in a damp 2-star hotel with the dog.* And it was fantastic.  

#QuestionableParenting

We went down to the beach, and Chris looked at me incredulously when I said, "Go ahead and play, kids, but if you choose to go into the water, I don't want to hear you complaining later."  So, they did.  Shoes, socks and all, they chased the waves, shrieking and laughing, and Ziggy raced up and down the beach, and we were all cold and wet and windblown.  For dinner, we swept into a pub, grabbed a table, and had the best pub night ever:  we did karaoke on my phone (just the five of us), played Heads Up, and laughed and laughed.

On the way back from the pub...smiles all around!

Again, I was smart enough to step outside of myself for a moment to see the magic and truly appreciate my weirdo, bizarro family as they shimmied and sang in the booth.

***

The latest contender in my collection of weirdly magical moments occurred on the weekend.  We have a somewhat-regular lax-parenting pizza-and-playdate with friends, in which the grownups sit around and drink wine and talk, and the kids... well, we don't know what the kids do (because we're sitting around drinking wine), but there are six of them, and they never seem to want to go home, so we assume they have fun.

At some point, I turned around, and saw Chris and Ailsa standing on the coffee table, playing Just Dance.  To Fraggle Rock.**

It's another moment that stood out to me as absolutely brilliant and perfect, but one that I didn't know I had always wanted till I saw it.

It was magic.


* "2-star" is pushing it.  We couldn't bear to leave a review; the owners were so nice, but the hotel was so terrible.

** Have you ever tried to explain Fraggle Rock to someone who's never heard of it?  Go ahead and try - you can't do it without sounding like you have a serious drug problem.  

Official Declaration: I am a Freelance Writer!!!

I just got curated!

One of my articles, A Hot Metabolism on a Cool Day, has been picked up and put behind the paywall (a high honour!) at Medium, and they sent me a "friend link" to share (above), so you can read it without having to subscribe.

If you like it, please share it.

Also, go for a walk in the cold. The research (sort of) says it's good for you.

Love,
Karen
Freelance Writer (!!!)

I investigate the research behind those clickbait claims about the benefits of exercising in the cold.

You can also read it here.