Day 46- Oh, so tired. Rotary, rotary tired...

Okay, today I got up at 5 to wake my kids up at 6 so we could go stand in line at 7 to run for wanted items at possibly the world's largest garage sale--5 acres!--and then I stood with my stuff for 3 hours until my ride showed up. I'm whomped, and I'm typically one of the last to wither.

For those of you not local, the annual Bainbridge Rotary Auction is 5 acres of estate sales, tag sales etc, to raise money for Rotary's projects. People line up hours ahead of opening bell, then run like crazed spiders to get the item they want. I wanted a new elliptical trainer. Since husband has bum foot and can't run, young Jackson my son did, instead. I'm so proud of him. He outran grown-ups and claimed his momma's prize. What a kid! I'm so proud of his belief that he could do it.

We had to walk 1/2 mile just to get to the sale, and then we walked all day. But I still went out and did a small walk once we got back home, to keep my streak unbroken. 

However, I'm so tired that I almost laid down during the walk. 

So. There. I. Walked. A lot. 

And as much as I want to sleep, tonight is the launch party for the new Bainbridge Island magazine, and I got to write a few pieces for it, so I'm excited to go. I'll muster up the last bit of get-up-an-go I've got left today, and try not to look like this at the party:

'cuz that's how I feel...

gurbelmurblemummelmurf, 

Dani

Day 45--And the beat goes on...

Change of plans, everybody...the blog's name has been changed to "Walk the 44 Days". Okay?

At least that's how I felt this morning when I was wedged between a hot chihuahua and a warm, strong poodle, their combined weight pinning me down onto the bed like a canine act of civil disobedience. HELL NO! WE WON'T GO!

But then, I realized that it might be the only time today I have to get that leisurely walk in, and I DO love these walks...so I peeled myself from my warm, steamy bed-nest, stretched my dog-smothered legs, and we were off!

And that is how I walk. Leisurely. There is no wacky power-walking during this blog experiment. This is not me on these daily jaunts:

Really. That's not me. My bum is rounder.

Nope, that used to be what I considered healthy walking. Now, after some alignment study and learning more about biomechanics, I know that the above Über-strider is not putting her best foot forward. 

Nope, I walk more like Shaggy, but with better posture:

That's not even two of me. But that's how I walk. Except with funnier shoes.

Arms swinging by my side, in a natural, reflex-driven motion. Not hitching up my shoulders and pumping my arms, nor clenching my fists, nor bending my elbows at my side. I definitely pay attention to my gait when I walk, and my alignment/posture. Not doing so would be silly--the machine should be working right when you run it. Otherwise this happens:

I just read that Paula Deen, an obese TV chef who willingly ate sugar and carbs with abandon for 3 years AFTER she'd been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes, has finally lost 30 pounds. Yay! Then I read that she walks a little every day, and "hates" it. WHAT?! For reals, you hate it, Paula? Reading further, I discovered that she still smokes. With Type 2 Diabetes? So, you like your ciggies and you hate walking. Go figure. I had that moronic outlook when I was 16 and had an entire lifetime of body abuse ahead of me--now, I'm more realistic about the housing I was given. It's the only place I have to live. How can she hate walking? That's irresponsible for her to say that in an interview.

Paula, here is your alternative:

Very tasty. Very.

As always, walk today so you can tomorrow, 
Dani
 

Day 44-Morning has broken, so has the husband...

Morning is my time. I'm a morning person, happy to be an early riser. Although, the last two weeks since summer started, I have been sleeping in a little until 6:30 AM. Today was my usual 5 AM roll call, and I made it, no problem.

Mornings are special for many reasons, and you early risers know what I'm talking about--birds, quiet, smells...the special baby nursery colors of the sky.

For years, I lived with a someone who despised mornings and didn't get up until 1 PM. I wasn't allowed to talk to him until 2 PM and he couldn't function fully until 4. Blech. It was not a match made in heaven, for sure. He got the boot. 


I traded him for this:

And this:

I got a good deal. 


Fortunately, my fella likes mornings, too. And, he also has a boot!

He fractured his foot last Friday, and walked around on it like Quasimoto for almost a week. Finally went to see Trapper John, MD, and got this neat shoe.


I feel bad for him, and lucky for me. That boot was NOT made for walkin'. I'm glad my feet aren't fractured. I LIKE my walks. A lot. 

Poor guy. I'm going to buy him a cane at the Rotary Auction this weekend. 


So, by now you've made it this far and realized "Holy cow, this blog is truly about nothing today!"


You are correct. 


I was going to try for the profound blog post, but it's not there today. I walked. It was good. The sky was pink, blue and orange and we're lucky that we've lived another day. Please, go outside and talk your walk. I guarantee, you will benefit. 

Adios, 
Dani

Day 43-Melt my cares away...

 Blossom, smile some sunshine down my way
Lately, I've been lonesome
Blossom, it's been much too long a day
Seems my dreams have frozen
Melt my cares away
Send the sunshine down my way whenever you call my name

-James Taylor

Think back to when you were 8 years old, and it was the beginning of summer. Every day held possibility, promise and potential. 
Remember that? Take as long as you need to remember that feeling and memory. 

Now, go out into the sun---even if you're inside, move to a window so that the sun can shine onto your face. When the rays touch your face, close your eyes, relax your shoulders, and access that feeling.
Possibility, promise, potential. 

When did you lose that feeling? 

And don't you deserve to feel that everyday? Don't write it off to adulthood, jobs, or responsibility. You deserve that feeling, that belief every single day, rain or shine. 

Because that's what it's all about, right? The possibility of what can be. 

See you later, Sunshine, 
Dani
 

Day 42-Don't ever ask me about my business again, Kay.

Day Forty-two 

and there's nuthin' really new

Except I really wanna say

That I did my walk today. 

I thought a lot of things

And my thinkin' came with wings

Which set my mind to race

At a terrifyin' pace.

But it really wasn't scary

Because the thoughts began to marry

Now I've got a nifty plan

Can I do it? Yes, I can. 

I almost ran, but didn't

'Cuz running kills, and I ain't kiddin'

Though I finally made it home

To corral ideas from my roam. 

Bless your heart for reading my silly, sometimes stinky poems. Today I concocted a plan to move an old idea forward. I'm so psyched that I could pee, but fortunately, because of all my work, I don't squirt in my pants any more. 

Anyhoo...I can't tell you the idea yet, because then I'd have to kill you. 

However, it shall soon come to light, and then you'll either think, "Wow, Dani's a nutter!", or maybe you'll think, "Wow, I should walk every day because you get really good ideas when you're perambulating!"

Smooches!!!! (but not the 'you're dead to me, Fredo' kind)

Perambulatin' Dan

Day 41-Frackin' Word Problems? Math? Wha'?

1)  Dani is a 41-year old female. For the past 41 days, Dani has only been wearing shoes with a neutral heel. She has not been contorting her skeleton with shoes, thereby allowing her natural, proper alignment to restore. This is represented as a.

She has also been walking every day for 41 days, allowing her negative-heel- wearing-ass to experience more complete and natural leg, gluteal and foot muscle development. This proper muscle use also allows lymph and blood to properly move through the body. Her strong, aligned legs are represented by b.

Dani began a part-time job yesterday at a local cafe. She did this to pay off some bills and foot the rest of her Restorative Exercise Institute tuition. This belongs to a whole other math problem, so disregard that. However, this new job entailed a standing on her feet for 7 hours, wearing her silly monkey-toe shoes, and never once letting her keister hit the wooden seat of a chair. This is represented by c.

For the last 30 years, the typical result of c is aching back, stiff, sore legs and burning, semi-crippled feet. This will be d.


The equation:

 

c  ≠ d, because a + b

And if that weren't cool enough, after completing c , a was able to go grocery shopping, then clean the house for 2.5 hours, and never once felt like sitting down and resting her legs. 

Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too? It does not take a genius.

Yours in barefoot goodness, 

a

Day 40. Day 40!

Hello Walkers and Readers, 

Today is 40 days of Walk the Year. Mind you, that's not just 40 days of walking every single day, which feels amazing. It's also 40 days of writing in a row. Both of these accomplishments have never before been achieved by me. 

The magic of walking every day, according to Henry David Thoreau, produces so much more than good health and physical well-being:

But the walking of which I speak has nothing in it akin to taking exercise, as it is called, as the sick take medicine at stated hours--as the swinging of dumb-bells or chairs; but is itself the enterprise and adventure of the day. If you would get exercise, go in search of the springs of life. Think of a man's swinging dumbbells for his health, when those springs are bubbling up in far-off pastures unsought by him!

Moreover, you must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking. When a traveler asked Wordsworth's servant to show him her master's study, she answered, "Here is his library, but his study is out of doors."

Henry David Thoreau 1817-1862

So, walking has made my legs stronger, my pants fit better, my lungs clearer, and my pelvis more aligned (trust me, we all want this. Think of where your pelvis is in relation to the rest of your skeleton. If it's out of whack--and it probably is if you're not walking daily and sitting for more than 30 minutes--then everything falls out of order.), and I just FEEL better. 

But when I walk, I also ruminate, and come home and write this blog. It's opened up my reality to getting back to work on unfinished books, and opened up my mind to greater possibilities within. 

Aloha, 

Dani

 

Day 39- Walk Like an Egyptian

" Everything is within walking distance if you have the time."
—Stephen Wright (1955—)

Today, we're heading into to the big city to see the Tutankhamun exhibit. I'm super excited! When I was 8, my parents traveled all the way from podunk Lewistown, Montana, to see the exhibit in Seattle when it came through the first time. We kids had to stay at home, but I poured over the booklets and pamphlets they brought back, determining that being an Egyptologist was the coolest gig ever. 

I didn't go that way, as you know, which probably helped me avoid all sorts of curses and flesh-eating scarabs. 

Whew. 

Last night, in my SuperGeek fashion, I was doing a little pre-exhibit research in some library books, and I learned that the young Tut had images of his enemies and captives inscribed into his leather sandals, so that he could squash his foes with every step. 

That's a little unhealthy, I guess. HOWEVER, I was looking at his sandals, and that is some REALLY healthy footwear! Check it out: flat bottoms, neutral heel, wiggle room for toes to move, bend, be fully functional, and straps to hold the suckers on so his toes didn't have to grip with each step. 

Way to go, my man! 

I mean, my boy king!

However, it's likely he spent a lot of time on his tuchus, being carried in a litter or perched on his throne, handing down edicts and popping dates into his royal pie-hole.

But...

how did we get places way back in ancient Egypt, if we were not royalty and carried in a litter? Scooter? Bike? Drive the ancient Prius to Giza?

Um, no. We walked. Yeah, yeah, maybe we camel-hopped if we could, but walking was the primary source of locomotion for human beings. In fact, it's built right in! You can go anywhere, walking. 

Think about how much you walk now, compared to how much your past-life Egyptian counterpart walked. Think about how much Laura Ingalls Wilder walked with how much you walk. Think about how much Abraham Lincoln walked. Think about...okay, it's even annoying me, but we truly are giving up the way we were designed to move around the earth. 

Forsaking it, if you will. 

Eeesh!

Today, you do not need to carve those whom you wish to smite into your shoes. However, a good walk will clear your mind, open your lungs, help your skeleton jiggle into alignment, and improve your overall well-being. You can either wander, or you can use your tool to go from one place to another. 

Just walk just like an Egyptian.

(Walk!), 

(Dani)

Day 38- When does someday come?

"How we spend our days is indeed how we live our lives."-Anne Lamott

"Decide what to be and go be it" -The Avett Brothers, from the song "A Head Full of Doubt"

Today I watched a land snail stroll across the road, and he left a shiny trail of slime across the pavement. 

I forgot my camera so I couldn't take a snapshot, but it looked exactly like this:

It got me all philosophical-like, thinking about the trails we leave. We leave physical trails in the spaces we inhabit. We leave emotional trails in the souls we spend our time with. We leave written trails in our writings, and visual trails in our arts and crafts. 

We also leave trails in our deeds, both good and bad. Everyone's done both, so don't ever feel bad about any you're not so proud of. As long as you don't keep doing it, it's all good. Learn and move on.

What sort of trails do you leave? I love the above quotes, both by writers I admire greatly. Anne Lamott is saying the reality is, sweetheart, that what you do during your day is really how your life is--not the "someday" you're living in your head. What you do now matters. 

And the Avett Brothers lyric is awesome--Make a decision about what you want to be, quit f*cking around and go be it.  You want to be a writer? Go be it. You want to be a juggler? Go be it. You want to be the best pie-baker in the universe? Go be it. 

What trails will you leave today? Because what is happening today is how life really is. And if you don't like how the trail looks, the reset button is at your command. 

Decide what to be and go be it, 

Dani

Day 37-Birds Kanban, Bees Kanban, Even Educated Fleas Kanban...

13-year old: There's nothing to do!

22-year old: I can do whatever I want!

41-year old: There's too much to do!

Can I get an "amen!" ?

There IS a lot to do. I'm the worst culprit of taking on too much. I am: 

• A mother of two, wife of one
• Running a household
• Running a sole-proprietorship business
• doing a year-long course of study at the Restorative Exercise Institute
• writing two novels
• writing one non-fiction how-to book
• the principal and director of a religious school 
• a freelance magazine writer
• a Hebrew school and Sunday school teacher
• a daily blogger
• hula-hoop fitness instructor
• an active volunteer at my kids' school
• a Girl Scout leader

I know. It's enough to make a person want to inject something into her vein, right?


Despite the fact that I am a highly organized individual, I also fall victim to overwhelm. I look at the pile of never-ending tasks in front of me and I freeze. 

Such a pickle! Millions of things to do, and I can't move forward on even ONE of them, because I'm mired in overwhelm. 


At times like this, I simply say "Blurg". 


It helps. But doesn't really solve the problem. (However, I recommend you try it sometime. Just a calm and passive "blurg" expresses so much. Plus, unlike the f-word, you can say it around wee ears.)


So, I had to find something that could help me, and the simplest way to term it is "break it down". 


Duh, right? Of course, breaking something into little tasks IS the easiest way to get things done. I always tell the kids to break it down when it seems too big.


But what if you've got way too many frackin' little tasks? Doesn't that lead to more overwhelm?


You bet it does. 


Enter a solution:


Kanban. 


You say it khan bahn.


I'm not going to bore you with the details, because there AREN'T ANY! 


Yeah!


It's simple.  Some sticky notes. A pen. Three columns on paper or white board.


Ready (to do). Doing. Done.

Seriously simple. You write each task on a sticky note and put it in the READY/TO-DO column. Then move a couple into the DOING column. The only rule you must follow is that you limit your "doing" tasks to only a few. Once you're done, you move that sticky note over to DONE, because your brain loves seeing accomplished, completed things. Truly. It's good for your brain self-esteem. 


Here's mine:

You may notice I have some additional areas: the PEN, for things that depend on someone else to help complete, and BACKLOG, which is all the stuff that I think of that needs to be done but can't get done right now.

Once it's on the board, you don't get overwhelmed. You pick ONE sticky note in your "Doing" column and you do that one AND ONLY THAT ONE. No, you don't get up and do something else while you're doing that sticky note task. You are only allowed to do that one. If you're OCD like I am, this works quite well.

Our brains love the simplicity of one task. We do it better. It's nearly zen. When it's done, it's done, we have a small brain ceremony of completion, and you move forward, tackling the next task and only that task. 


A good tutorial, if you like, is here.


So what does this have to do with walking? 


Wellllll...I was walking this morning and beginning to wig out about the above-listed bullet points of my life, and then I realized that I did not need to wig out, all I needed to do was wait until I returned home, then I could pull out my little pad of sticky notes and make it all Kanban.


Nifty. Overwhelm faded away, air flowed through nostrils and filled lungs, and walk was thoroughly and simply enjoyed. 

For those of you that are not organizational geeks like myself, I apologize for the absolute bore of today's blog. While you're out walking, perhaps you can think of some snappy retort to Kanban. There's got to be some wordplay in there somewhere. 


Yours in 3M, 
Dani

Day 36-Happy Solstice, Walkers!

Today there's nothing new to say

Except that it's the longest day

It's solstice time...yes, sun, sun, sun!

The longest day is the mostest fun!

Especially when the day is sunny

A rainy solstice isn't funny. 

Time now to go play in the grass

And get some rest time for my ass!

I meant my other ass. 

Happy Solstice, Walkers! Today's a day you can walk all day long, and it'll be light until super late!

Have fun, and remember:

Walk today, so that you can tomorrow. 

Luv ya!

Dani

Day 35---Old Boots and all.

I almost always take my walk before noon. Don't know why, it's just how it works out. Today I didn't. I slept in (!), worked some, ran Kamp Momma (it's what my kids do all summer instead of going to pricey camps!), and worked some more. As I was driving home after errands, I realized that SOMETHING was MISSING. 

Oh. That. 


So I grabbed the mutts and hit the pavement and did my walk, a little freaked out that I almost forgot. I mean, c'mon, I've got to walk every day for a whole year! How lame would that be if I blew it at Day 35? 

Back to the walk: I'm walking and walking and all of a sudden, I feel easy and soft, like I just slipped my favorite jeans on. The freaked-out-I've-got-to-get-this-done feeling fell off me like hair falls to the barber shop floor, and I felt terrific. Hey, I'd already felt good to begin with today, but that walk was like slipping on soft, old pliable leather boots that are perfectly broken in--it just felt right.


Which leads me to this very absolute and scientific conclusion: if you're not walking every single day, you're missing out on the cheapest, most wholesome, best way in the world to feel good.  

I didn't take this picture, but I'm going to pretend I did. 

Forget the spa, forget the pedicure, forget your iPhone, forget the vodka, forget shopping, forget Cheetos, forget anything that you think you need to feel good and just try replacing it with a nice, old-fashioned walk. If you do not feel markedly better after 3 days of walking, then I will give you your money back. 


Walk on, Hard Walker!
Dani

Day 34 - Save Your Pennies, You Don't Need Brazilian Butt Lift!

A song for you, to the tune of the Bellamy Brothers "Let Your Love Flow":

Oh, when you're walkin'

You know it feels good

No need for talkin'

Just get out in the 'hood

And let your lymph flow

It don't matter if you

Don't have a reason 

chorus:
Oh let your lymph flow, 

And just let your arms swing

Yes, let your lymph flow

It'll make your heart sing

Stay off the treadmill,

It's not a nat-u-ral thing

It's for stroke vic-tims...

Uh-huh. For reals. Did you know that?

You know that lymph flows best when you're in a natural walking state, arms swinging in a relaxed, reflex-driven motion. 

You might not know why I want you to NEVER walk on a treadmill. 

When you walk outside, you extend a leg behind you (using your gluteal muscle, or butt), and then push off on that leg to take your next step. 

Easy-peasy, rice and cheesy, huh?

But, when you use a treadmill for walking, you don't extend that leg and push off, because the ground is already moving underneath you. You CAN'T push off. You have to LIFT your leg. Which makes you walk more like this:

When you are on a treadmill, you are PICKING UP your leg each time. Instead of using your butt muscles to extend a leg to walk, as nature intended, you are using your hip flexors, which are these:

WHOA! These suckers are already completely overused for the other stuff you do all day! Like this:

And this

And this

And this

And even this

So you want to get on a treadmill and overuse them some more? And under use your B-U-T-T? 

Why?

You want a nice caboose? Get out and walk. 

Can I get an "AMEN"?

A fact you may not have known:

Treadmills--the relative of the kind we use in gyms today--were developed to aid stroke victims who could not walk well (or at all) on their own. It was a device that could help retrain the muscles/brain for perambulation while securing the patient in a safe, upright position. 

Great for stroke victims, but not for you. You are working the wrong walking muscles when you're on that treadmill. You are not promoting proper muscle development. Same thing with running on one, if you feel you must run. 

Personally, I believe we should only be running when being chased by tigers. 

 

Okay, I'm done. 

As a side note, I don't "hate" many things, but I do hate marionettes. Those of you who know me, know that there is little I fear. However, I've had this inexplicable fear of clowns and marionettes ever since I could remember. Recently, I found out that when we'd stay at my grandparents' place, my big brothers used to chase a 4-year old me around the dark, musty storage barn with a CLOWN MARIONETTE, chanting "I'm going to kill you, Dani, I'm going to kill you!"

That explains a lot, I guess.

Don't walk like a marionette today, please.

Dani

Day 33--Home again, Home again, Jiggity Jig!

We had to tear down camp today and head home, which was sad. Three days would really be better, but there are things like jobs to work and bills to pay that bring us back after just a couple of nights in the woods. 

We retired our lovely, ginormous tent this trip, too. I felt all old and accomplished like, having to go buy a new tent on the way home today! 

I've been with my fella long enough to burn out a tent! We bought it when we had one toddler and one dog, and now we've got two big kids and three pooches. 

We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun...

We had to retire it---it's had holes for years, but last night, the door tore out. 

Yes, the entire door, just as we were getting ready for bed. The mosquitoes out on Marrowstone Island are the size of sparrows, so we had to do a real "thar, I fixed it!" quickie job in order to go to sleep safely. 

Classy!

Then the kids and Jeff had some fun and put some bear-attack special effects in the side, for yucks. 

Grrrrrrrrroooorrrroooowwwwlllll!!!!

After we broke camp, we went on a walk out on Mystery Bay. Jeff took this picture of me. I love it, and not because I look good, because I absolutely do not. In fact, normally, this is the sort of photo of myself I would burn. 

No, why I like it is that I look entirely evil---like the Hansel & Gretel witch, like a spurned James Bond villain, like Scar if The Lion King characters were human. It's surprising how evil and ticked off I look, since I'm really enjoying the walk. It must be because I was freezing my @ss off at the time and the wind was pummeling me? Who knows, but I had no idea I could look that terrifying---I'm going to practice that one in the mirror. If someone looked at me the way I look in this picture, my bowels would let loose involuntarily. That's the sort of look that plots revenge, successfully. Yikes. 

Dishes to do, bags to wash, new tent to waterproof for the next trip, gotta go!

XO, 
Dani

 

Day 32--Looking for Rocks and Feelin' Groovy...

Today has been an excellent day! We're camping at Fort Flagler, on Marrowstone Island. I'm taking a little break from the rain that just hit to run down to the little store that has free wi-fi and blog a wee bit, so there's less catch up tomorrow. 

We walked on the beach, for hours. Ambling. Searching for super cool rocks, of which I found a few. Lola found a couple. Jackson found tons, including three agates. We all found nifty walking sticks, too, with the intent of taking them home to Bainbridge, sanding and burnishing them out on the porch like a bunch of old people. 

We'll see if it really happens. 

 

Regardless, we're outdoors, it smells incredible, we love this campground, I wish I lived in a yurt out in the woods like a crazy woodswoman, and life is grand, ain't it? 

Why yes, Baby, of course we can move to a yurt in the woods!

Walk on, 
Dani