warrior goddess

. . . or something.

So, the story of me and exercise.  In general, I'm not really into "exercising."  I like to walk and bike, hike in the mountains, stay active, etc.  I like being fit.  But I like to stay fit by having a more-or-less active lifestyle.  When I was canvassing for North Carolina PIRG (i.e., walking 20 hours/week), this worked well.  Very well.  But working in an office, even though I bike or walk to work and am constantly running up and down the stairs at the office, does not quite cut it.  Being over 30 may make a difference, too.  (What?  I CAN'T eat whatever I want and not gain weight anymore?  HUH??)  The challenge, of course, is motivating myself to exercise.  Last year my friend Beth and I started running together several times a week, which was great.  We got to the point where we could run 5 miles fairly easily . . . and then we stopped.  Life got busy, our schedules changed, yadda yadda yadda.  This past spring, I decided to have a daily yoga practice for Lent, which worked out marvelously!  I did yoga every day for 47 days and it was fantastic.  Lent ended . . . and so did my yoga practice.  Sigh.

But now I am 32.  And right now, that is enough motivation for me to have a fitness regimen.  I'm rather amazed at myself, actually.  I wake up in the morning and think, "I'm going to do my workout today, because I AM 32!"  And it works!  I get out of bed, put in my contacts, move the coffee table out of the way, and do my exercising.   Who knew?

We'll see how long this lasts, I guess.  There's always the possibility that I'll get unmotivated and just drop it all.  Then again, I will be 32 for an entire year, and that may very well be all the motivation I need to keep this up.

For the past week and a half I've been doing an online workout called Warrior X-Fit.  My good friend Tricia recommended it to me a couple of years ago, and I finally decided to check it out.  I'm enjoying it, though the workouts are absolutely.  kicking.  my.  butt.  Limp, limp.  It's a well-thought out system.  First off, it's free.  Secondly, you get a completely different set of exercises to do every day of the month--that is, you never do the same exercise twice in the same month.  These exercises work every single part of your body, including muscles you didn't know you had (and trust me, two days after doing this workout, you wish you didn't have those muscles).  Thirdly, the only thing you need to do these exercises (if, that is, you need anything at all) is a resistance tube, which you can buy for ~$20.  Lastly, it only takes about 20-30 minutes, and, at the end, a voice proclaims in stentorian tones, "You have fought like a warrior!" Yes, I AM a warrior goddess!

The one thing I've learned, though, is that I can't do it every single day.  Thus, I alternate between Warrior X-Fit and yoga, and it's proved to be a good balance.  I certainly appreciate a morning of calm stretching, balancing, and breathing after a morning of jumping around and sweating. 

In other news, Greg and I have been enjoying an incredible tomato crop.  We haven't yet had our first frost (though we reached 33 degrees the other night), so the tomatoes are still going strong, their well-being assisted by the hoop house that Greg built last year (nicely done, eh?).

As you can see, the tomatoes are pretty happy.  Isn't this one a beauty?

We ordered the variety below from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, and are we ever so happy with that decision.  This is a chocolate striped tomato, with gorgeous green and red stripes that looks not quite ripe but is actually fully, deliciously ready to be eaten.  The taste of these tomatoes has nothing whatsoever in common with the taste of the hard, flavorless tomatoes you buy from the grocery store in January.  Biting into one of these delectable fruits is like reaching tastebud nirvana.  Mmmmm.

And, the eggcitement continues . . . with our first BLUE egg!  Isn't it gorgeous?

In non-food news, we have a couple of new acquisitions.  The first was inspired by a Saturday of cleaning, when I decided to wash some of the cat blankets.  Our dryer hasn't worked for months--we rarely used it, anyway--and we've been line drying all our laundry.  However, one of the few times I find a dryer handy is when I want to get all the cat hair out of a blanket, rug, etc.  Additionally, our washer is rather old, a top loader with an agitator, so we decided to go to Vann's and get an energy-efficient washer and dryer.  And hey, if it's a pretty red color at the same time, all the better!  Now we just need to update the basement . . .

Our second new acquisition was free, which is always a bonus.  Driving home from church a couple of weeks ago, we noticed a lovely purple loveseat on a neighbor's lawn.  We walked over to inspect it, deemed it in good condition, and carried it the two blocks home (receiving offers of help from two people on the way).  Basil has already laid claim to it . . .

Here's a view of the Missoula valley and the lovely autumnal hills from the Mount Jumbo saddle last Friday, when Kara and I took a long looping walk through grasslands and forest, and even startled a fat black bear in the underbrush!

And, because such cuteness MUST be shared with the world, Nutmeg and her Buddha expression (and yes, she is sitting on Greg's shoulders, per usual).  Mreow!