{Not} Living Vicariously

Greeter Falls Feb 2011

What a fabulous day it was on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and we spent about 4 hours down in the Savage Gulf Natural Area hiking and enjoying the day. We left M'boro around 8:30 and got to the parking lot for Greeter Falls around 10 am. Warning: this one does not have a restroom nearby so go before you go if you need to . . .

 
Lindy is saying "enough with the pictures, let's go!" so off we went. First we did a short spur to an old watering hole - but we were not brave enough to take a dip. It is February after all.

 
After that we headed off to explore some of the other trails. We spent about an hour heading over to Alum Gap, and then part of the Laurel Trail before sitting down and making some lunch. After all that, we started back the way we came, stopping to chat with various other people on the trails. There was a very nifty suspension bridge (which Lindy hated) that I made Aaron take a picture of us on, even though it was traumatic for the pooch.

 
And even though we did not finish the Greeter Falls trail loop, we did hike down to the falls themselves.

 
Aren't they pretty . . .

Even after some ibuprofen and more walking yesterday, I'm definitely sore today. But I can't wait to get back in shape after a winter of not doing much.

And we will definitely be back. There are so many more trails in this area I'd like to do, especially the 15 mile Big Creek Trails. Who knows, we might even camp out there!

Tomorrow's Plans

I'm celebrating right now our plans for tomorrow. Originally we were going to have a paella event, but there was a conflict in schedules and we didn't feel like making paella if there would be just two of us. So, since the weather is supposed to be decent, we've decided to throw caution to the winds - forget the chores - and take the dog on an adventure. We're planning on a half day hike and now we just have to decide the following:

• Where to go?
• What time of day do we want to start/end?
• What meals do we need to take with us?
• Will we geocache along the way?
• What is the back up plan if the weather turns bad?

I can't wait! Amazing how a little bit of sun makes my mood 150% better than it has been. Think about it, what has you celebrating right now?

Feeling Puny

So much for that optimism of my last post. I promptly turned around and got sick . . . being the fifth of at least six people in my department to fall victim to the "crud". It seems like I've been fighting something or other ever since we got back from CA so I did go to the doctor this time and they prescribed an antibiotic. I don't like taking antibiotics, they usually do a number on my system. However, in this case, I was showing signs of infection so I agreed to be a good girl. I was out of the office both Thursday and Friday, plus pretty much out of commission Saturday and Sunday. I did go back to work today, and let me tell you I could not wait for the day to end. We'll be eating dinner soon and then it will probably be time for me to curl up in bed with my book. I lead an exciting life y'all . . . I'm hoping to be fast asleep prior to 8 pm tonight!

While I was at home, and after I was no longer able to sleep 22 hours of the day, I did indulge in a little playtime. We finished putting together a puzzle - I love doing puzzles in the winter and this was the first one we'd pulled out this year. Santa brought it for us.

 
I also watched a bunch of movies from a set borrowed from a co-worker: The Great Detectives Anthology from A&E Home Video. If I have to be sick . . . I don't want to use my brain in the ways I use it for work, but I don't want it to get lazy. Puzzles and mysteries, my idea of fun!

Now if I can just kick all of this and actually be healthy again, my husband and my dog (probably even the cat) will be happy and I can start practicing my "word" again - CELEBRATE.

Sunny Day - update on trees

We actually had a sunny day this past Saturday. It was so wonderful. It got up into the 60s and while out walking the dog, we got hot! We also took some pictures of our trees to show their growth.

 
And if you look closely (and past the fuzzy quality of this picture) you can see some bud growth as well. I'm not sure if I should be happy or nervous about that. However we're just enjoying the trees as they are. No pressure!

 
Unfortunately we're heading back into some colder weather so I'll be struggling to get the dog walks in, but at least it is staying light a little bit later. This too shall pass . . . right?

Things I Love - Day Hikes

I may not yet be ready to hike the AT, but someday I hope to do at least portions of it. In the meantime, on a beautiful day like today, it makes me very happy to go hike someplace new. We decided to try one of the hikes in the book 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: Nashville. We have a few Tennessee hiking guides, and this one is the one we turn to again and again. We thought we were doing a 6.3 balloon shaped hike, meaning to eat our picnic lunch about halfway through, named the Old Trace/Garrison Creek Loop.

 
However we parked at the wrong area on the Natchez Trace and only did the loop. It was absolutely beautiful and by the time we were back at the car it was definitely lunchtime! That would be in part due to some "random detours" we took along the way . . .

 
towards a b&b along Leiper's Creek Road?

However look at the trail along which we got to walk:

 
and the tree under which we lunched:

 
and the view from the parking lot:

 
After we finished lunch, we realized we weren't ready to go home yet. So we pulled out the guide book to find another close hike and decided to attempt the Burns Branch There-and-Back. Hopping back on the Natchez Trace Parkway, we went down the road about another mile. When we got there . . . we found a sign which let us know this was the parking area for both the hikes we attempted this day. Now we know for next time . . .

 
This was a much shorter hike, 1.4 miles and 1.4 miles back. However about one mile out we discovered they were doing some sort of work and a detour had been set up. Not knowing where we would end up . . .

 
. . . we opted to head back to the car instead, happy and a bit worn out.

 
Hopefully we'll have a few more days like today we can take advantage of before it gets too cold . . . since we did little hiking over our extremely hot (and busy) summer.

Things I Love - Murfreesboro Greenway

I used to live up in Davidson County where they have a greenway system, however not much of it was convenient to where I lived other than the Mill Creek greenway which had a one mile loop and a one mile spur. Lindy and I spent quite a few afternoons on it and enjoyed getting to know some of the other regulars as well as walking with our friend W. After W got married and moved away . . . our walks there weren't quite as entertaining. However after I got married and we moved to Murfreesboro I discovered a much better Greenway system. With ten miles worth of trails (and critters) to enjoy, Lindy is happier than ever when we take her out. Some is along the river, other parts are are around lakes, and there are even wilderness trails to enjoy. My one regret about our new house is that it is no longer 5 minutes from the greenway and it takes us closer to 30 minutes to hit any of the trailheads. However it is still worth the drive and for any locals who have not yet enjoyed our Greenways down here, I highly recommend them. You can also become a friend if you so choose. I think it is a wonderful way to help out our local community! This definitely goes on the list of things I love!

Trek Sport Shoes

I have suffered foot and leg cramps most of my life. There have been times in which both my shin and my calf cramp at the same time, allowing neither of them to stretch without aggravating the other. Same with my feet - I'll have a cramp in the top and the bottom fighting with each other. I've tried the "eat more bananas" approach to adding potassium to my diet. I've tried taking magnesium tablets knowing that stress can leach magnesium from your body leading to more cramps. I've tried every trick someone has suggested over the years (and I'm still listening to new ideas - got any?). Today I finally convinced myself to splurge on something new. I've done a lot of research on the Vivram FiveFinger shoes and how they are supposed to help with . . . I'll call them presnickety muscles for lack of a better term. I even almost bought a pair several months back, but they didn't have my size in the store and I wasn't confident enough to buy them online. After all, these shoes are just weird! And my toes are somewhat particular about how they fit in shoes, plus I have a wide toe box and a narrow heel. So I waited. And today, when we went in to REI, they had my size. Ten minutes later we walked out the door with them.

The packaging clearly states that "If you are wearing FiveFingers for the first itme, we encourage a very gradual transition, as you will be using new muscles in the feet and lower legs. We recommend wearing FiveFingers for 1-2 hour intervals the first few weeks. Gradually increase usage as your body strengths and adapts." Well, I have just returned from my first walking the dog while wearing them. I made it 30 minutes before my feet started to protest, plus the heel is a little tender where I'm getting used to it hitting in a different spot than my normal walking shoes. And yes, I feel my muscles. But I haven't cramped so my fingers are crossed (well, not literally as I am typing right now) that this will help and I will have fewer issues on long distance days. If you haven't seen these shoes on anyone yet, keep your eyes open. They are definitely becoming more popular!

 

PS - I did finally get a new pair of Mary Jane Crocs and they are what my feet are in now. Still love these as well!

Things I Love - Geocaching

One of our favorite hobbies is that of geocaching. I really like that it gets us out and about. This past weekend it got us out to the state of Arkansas. We were over in Memphis and decided to add a new state to our map. Heading over the bridge, we found eight caches in West Memphis and took some pictures to explain geocaching to some friends at dinner. The smallest cache we found is known as a nano:

 It really is that small! We also got a wonderful view of the Memphis skyline from one of our spots (click on the picture to enlarge).

 
And can you spot the cache where we discovered it?

 This one was a magnetic key holder, hidden in the sign post. Next is a larger one, that of an Army surplus ammo case. We made it a bit easier to spot in this picture, we did hide it better than found.

 
And the one that takes the prize for my favorite . . . a book drop!

 Yes, the librarian in me is thrilled!

Some fun and then chores

We have been so busy lately with the two houses, the move, the party, everything . . . that we haven't spent much "us" time lately. Well, today was our day to remedy that. At least in part! The heat broke last weekend, we had a torrential downpour the day of our Open House last Saturday, and it has actually been almost pleasant for August. Highs in the upper 80s, lower 90s.

After we got up this morning, we grabbed the dog and headed off to Barfield Crescent which is a local park with some wilderness trails. Three miles and an hour later, we were happy folks.

 
A little stinky perhaps, but that was remedied after we got home. And then it was time for some chores (in other words, I had laundry to do!)

Not such a good day

Deep down I know that what the scale says truly shouldn't matter. However when I'm up 4 pounds due to me being lazy, well, it is hard for me to snap out of it. As a lifetime WW member, I know what I should be doing. And yet, with everything going on right now - house and all - I'm not doing it the way I should be. Then I feel guilty as I'm not only sabatoging my own lifestyle, I make it harder on Aaron when he too is trying to lose weight. And I'm so proud of what he has done in the past year! I need to stop tempting him just because I'm in a "mood" that isn't where I should be. So maybe tonight was my wake-up call. We can make great food that is good for us and I love what we cook. I love what we cook more than I love what I can get in a restaurant. So we just need to stay home and cook.

Now if someone could just explain to me how to do that and work 50 hours a week and paint a house and stay on top of chores and . . . okay, enough whining. There are plenty of people who do all that and more. Time to change my attitude!