Alaska Pictures!

Greetings everyone! I have some of my pictures loaded and wanted to share them with you. I'm not finished yet, but you can see me on a glacier, Terry on a zip line, and Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC Canada. I will get more loaded up later tonight or later this week.
To see what's up so far, go to www.snapfish.com.
Username: lauriegayle@gmail.com
Password: sassy
I have videos of a few things, too. You can get to those by going to www.youtube.com/lauriegayle
Enjoy!

What's News?

Bon Voyage Terry and Laurie!  By this time they must be on the ship, having gotten to Seattle I guess... I am piecing together that they flew up there to catch the ship then cruise to Alaska from there, otherwise Nana in the NW would not have been telling them what the weather's like where she is (Tacoma).  We hope they check in with us and give us an update soon!

Well, Jackie is back and has put up her first post, complete with a pic of her knee, which looks remarkably unswollen and not at all bruised. Click the link on the side of this page to see... after commenting here.

On TV season finales abound and a few are just starting up. Temperatures have been wacky all over the country. Places that are usually mild, like LA, Seattle and Portland have been in triple digits and places like Houston has been humidity free and even a little chilly at times.  And in places where people have had a looong winter they are not seeing the warming that is due to come by now.  I thought global warming meant just that... it got warmer everywhere.  

This is the time of year for season finales and summer shows to start up on TV, to pack away winter clothes and pull out the summer ones, to plan for vacations or anticipate summer movies. Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner.  What will you be doing for your long weekend?

GREEN GOSSIP

If you watched Mr. Rodgers you can sing along with me... "It's a beautiful day in the Neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor.... Will you be mine?  Will you be Mine?"

Have you noticed that more and more, the nation is going green... where are you at on the topic? 

Seems whatever our situation, there's something we can do.  Just thought this might be a nice place to say what little shifts you might have begun to make (or were already doing) to help our little planet. Also, please put down any tips you may have for good books, websites, ways to conserve, mulch, buy organic more affordably, burn less energy, etc. etc...<

Sisterhood of Support, continued

So many of us jumped on the bandwagon to talk about wanting to get support for losing weight and getting healthier, that I thought each week I'd put p a new post so there is a fresh area to talk about what we need to, rather than try to scroll waaaayback down.

So here's the newest fence post to lean over with your gardening gloves on and have a little chat about that!

How did you do this week? And what's on your mind today, as we start the weekend?

Summer's just around the corner...

Hi all- It's Sydney writing... While Laurie and TerryinCa are away, I will keep posting so we can continue our chats on successive posts, like we did at Jackies -- and at the same time, maybe the specific subject headings for things like books and movies can always be returned to. Whatever suggestions people have, whatever works in our little neighborhood.

OK, so the pedometer invitation went over like a lead brick, lol. What shall we talk about instead? Memorial Day is coming up three short weeks... can you believe that summer will be upon us?!?! On the East coast, it's an unspoken agreement that summer is boxed between Memorial Day and Labor Day. People go to the Cape, the Hamptons, The Jersey Shore etc.. in droves on the weekends for that brief few months. Suddenly Labor Day arrives and enmasse, everyone decides it's all over, packs away their canvas bags and swimming trunks and fits their still tan feet back into street shoes. Yet the weather continues to be summery for about 4 more weeks, so I would stage my own private protest each year. I decided it wasn't the end of summer til I stopped celebrating it. I continued to wear flip flops, capri pants, brightly colored tees and my straw hat traipsing around Manhattan. I'd make myself a picnic and would go to the park or sit out beside the Hudson River and enjoy the sun, though the quality of the light was certainly changing and the days got a bit shorter... Summer seems so fleeting when you live where the season change, while winter, after the holidays are over, seems to D-R-A-G.

Now I live in a place that does have seasonal weather changes but it's mostly warm and sunny... it's wonderful but not as sweet somehow. Wherever you live, I imagine we all have our favorite summertime rituals. What are yours? Traditions? Family gatherings? Activities you take up? Is there anywhere you regularly visit? Is there anything you're hoping to do this summer that you have never done before?

INCREASING ACTIVITY

In the spirit of continuing the SIsterhood of Support (SOS!!) with our goal of getting healthy, I'm going to post over the next few weeks to encourage us. This is a journey to make us feel and look better --not just for summer (just around the corner!) but for the rest of our lives. I've got a variety so if one isn't your cup of tea, hold on, because the next one may just be. Hopefully several can serve to motivate and inspire!

Having read everyone's comments, I saw similarities. Most say they know how to eat right but don't. Many say they're on the verge of conditions like diabetes, or know they could better their conditions if they lost weight and got more active.... that health is an even bigger priority. And almost all said that regardless, increasing their activity would make a difference.

I wish we could all start a walking club... but I figure we can do things as a group virtrually that might be almost as good. So I have a little suggestion.

Bob Greene, Oprah's trainer, has a really great book out called: The Best Life Diet.

It's great. It helps you go in do-able phases, so you can celebrate the success in each little part, which of course motivates you to keep going. And though it very much covers what you eat, it's not so much a diet but designed to help you make a lasting change in outlook and lifestyle. I highly recommend it!

I like to eat. I eat healthy for the most part, just a little too much of it. And my metabolism has changed recently. I'm not a big dieter. What I can do is look for the little things that have become habits that need to change (like bringing a bag of tortilla chips or pretzels to my computer and mindlessly eating the whole thing. They may be low fat and organic but I still have put on weight) and increase activity. We ALL KNOW it aids health, and burn calories BUT it also helps reduces appetite and gives you more energy... Exactly what we could use! Increasing activity is the way to get an edge and reap ALL these benefits. It's 100% win/win!!!

You have to know where you're at to begin making small, do-able shifts that start improving things. Bob had a chart (p.44) to determine how active you are, which covers Level 0 to 5. An easy way to figure out where you are is to use the number of steps you take per day over a few average days with a pedometer. I tried several and found a great one (listed below). I just put it on when I brushed my teeth in the morning and took it off when I went to bed. I made a note of it. I was at Level 0!

I did not add any judgement on myself -- THIS IS KEY!!!-- I just approached it with curiosity and it's actually great because the only way for me was up! From there it' was fun and easy to set small goals to increase it. I'd write it down in my day planner every night and felt pretty darn good about any increase. When I hit the same number, I'd find myself suddenly motivated to fit in a walk, or go 10 minutes longer. I went from zero to the 3rd level in about 9 months as I slimmed down for my wedding. I started to realize if I DID park a little further from the store or take a flight of stairs (even down rather than up,lol) it made a difference! The awareness it creates is great!!!

I wonder if, to support each other in our quest to increase activity, y'all would like to get a pedometer. They say deadlines help, so how about if everyone who is interested could pick up one by the weekend? There are many brands sold at sporting goods stores and maybe Target or Walmart. They run between $10-20. The one I loved was an ACCUSPLIT model AX120. Check it out:

http://www.amazon.com/ACCUSPLIT-Deluxe-Pedometer-colored-plates/dp/B0007ZGZMK

If you're in, let's just wear it for a few days as we do out regular activity and see what the numbers are. I will post the activity levels and number of steps on the comment area, and we can make notes there. We can add tips on how to increase our daily steps...whatever is fun... and at least try to help each other set and meet whatever increase we individually want!

Are you game???