my opinionated week....ha!

Workouts:
Those days where I have a lot of energy out of “nowhere” are odd to me. You know the days where you seem to bounce off walls? Maybe it’s my coffee intake lately? The last 2-3 days I’ve been Ms. High Energy & not sure why. I’ve had problems sleeping for weeks but I’ve come to the conclusion that 6 ½-7 is ok for me for a few days anyway. I don’t need a straight 8 hrs to survive every single night but it’s nice to have 8 hrs at least one day a week. I actually got up early enough to do the 43 minute P90X Cardio workout Thursday morning. Lately I’ve been struggling to get up early enough to allow for 30 minutes of exercise. (Good ole Jillian Michael’s yoga fits well into those mornings.) I do like getting in the 2 workouts a day some days, especially if one is cardio & the other is weights and/or yoga. I’m only logging 12.5 mi this week running, next week 15...the slow build up…ah, patience, grasshopper! (I had a really nice 6 mi run with Pam, Marc, Kim, & Michele right after work today. My first 6 mi run since Dec 18th & it felt great!)

Books:
“Anne Frank”…I had forgotten that she addressed her entries “Dear Kitty”.
Wow, I had also forgot how insightful she was & how depressed this book can make you feel but at the same time, GRATEFUL! Her character analysis of the people around her cracks me up. Truly amazing that Anne’s father is the only one who survived out of the 8 in hiding. The pain that man must have carried in his heart is unthinkable to me. If you skipped it as a kid, read it. Makes me VERY glad that I was born in this country & that’s putting it lightly. I regret terribly that I didn’t get my butt over to the “Secret Annexe” in Amsterdam during my 2 yr stay in Germany in the early 90s. One day I’d like to cross that off my bucket list. (Yes, I went from reading a book Kristin Armstrong wrote to reading “Anne Frank” & I’m totally losing myself in it. Ha!) I feel naked these days if I don’t constantly have a book going.

Elizabeth Taylor:
I wasn’t a huge fan but did admire her spunk. Her work with AIDS was remarkable.
Like the news says, she brought the disease to the forefront when nobody else would.
She was a gorgeous young woman, who could act but she managed to break up at least two marriages. That…I’m not a fan...(Eddie Fisher-Debbie Reynolds & Richard Burton-Sybil Williams…yeah, I had to google it!) I do remember watching a movie she did with Montgomery Clift a very long time ago. It’s the one with a young Shelly Winters in it. It was called, “A Place in the Sun”. Shelly played the pregnant girlfriend of a guy that really wanted to be with Liz’s character. Apparently, it was nominated for quite a few Academy awards (I just googled that too. Ha!). I’d love to see “Giant” with James Dean someday. Speaking of Debbie Reynolds, I am SUPER EXCITED that she’s playing “Grandma Mazur” in the movie, “One for the Money”. (Attention: Janet Evanovich fans!)

Facebook:
Finally they’re trying to figure out how to delete under-aged users!
Shouldn’t this have been a priority in the first place?
I’m ALL for it. I don’t think it’s necessary for anyone under 13 to be on it, especially if they have access to tons of personal video games anyway.

Tennessee:
I heard on the news this morning that TN ranks #1 in the country for being the “laziest”.
(We’re also #1 in meth labs.) Incredibly Sad & appalling! When I travel & people ask me where I’m from I guess I will feel the need to throw in there that I fall into the % that does exercise. We have one of the greatest areas in the country for hiking, running, swimming, biking, etc… I don’t understand why Tennesseans don’t take advantage of our great state parks.

Something Joe found online this morning:
This is a scary statistic for the entire country in only 10 short years...
During the past 10 years, rates of obesity (defined by a body mass index of 30 or higher) have increased dramatically around the country.
In 2009, there were nine states where more than 30% of the population was obese, whereas in 1999, there were none. In 2009, only Colorado and Washington, D.C. had obesity rates below 20% of population, when only 10 years earlier, 32 states had that distinction.  (WAKE UP, AMERICA!)

My heros:
I have always admired those that encourage & set the example of leading a healthy lifestyle. Those that get out the door early in the morning (before the kids wake up) to run or hit the gym (in most cases before they have to get to work), you’re my inspiration. You tell me I have no excuses without saying the words with your actions. You may have unfolded laundry, you may have some dirty dishes in the sink, & sometimes you may have to skip/postpone your workout but you still get it done somehow. Even if it means running around the ball park while your son has practice or showing up in the grocery store sweaty because you had to run at a certain time…keep at it!

Whew, I need to shut up now & "veg".  ;-P