One of the biggest joys of our new 'hood has been our short stroll or ride to our lovely local elementary. And with this week's "Walk/Bike to School" push I got to really get into the spirit... by donning the day glo yellow vest of honor.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
My Crossing Guard Gig
One of the biggest joys of our new 'hood has been our short stroll or ride to our lovely local elementary. And with this week's "Walk/Bike to School" push I got to really get into the spirit... by donning the day glo yellow vest of honor.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Serious Therapy
Monday, August 23, 2010
A New Hill
I build my cycle classes around great music and the idea of a great hill...
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
My Top 10 Yoga Poses....
I'm a big fan of lists (I really love December for its abundance of "top 10's".) In preparing for this week's yoga class, I decided to build the flow of the class to include my favorite poses, or asanas.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Shoreline Dirt Pile, Part 2
For those who read my earlier post about the joys of Dirt Piles at Shoreline Park... here's the photo to go with it.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Fat, medicated… but safe.
Teddy was a truly cranky 6 year old. He never felt like he was good at anything. His brain raced along faster than his ability to engage with the world around him. He made a lot of mistakes at school, had a lot of conflict with peers, over seemingly trivial things... and was sent to the principal’s office a lot. He had intelligence to burn, charm when he chose it, and a loving family (admittedly with a bossy older brother) and caring teachers. But the only thing that delighted him was “screen time.” Especially the Wii.
Then one day… he discovered his scooter. It didn’t require the “get ready” steps that bike and roller blades did… just a helmet. He was as fast as his big brother. He felt like he could fly. It was always in the car, and could be parked wherever he was at school.
He would spend hours after school practicing his “short track times”. He was happy to get in the car and drive to school, since he could enjoy the scooter the ¼ mile from parking space to his line. He could do tricks and the other kids started to bring their scooters to school. He spent time outdoors. He ate more. He slept better. Other kids started bringing their scooters and Teddy taught them tricks he had first learned from Wii Winter Olympics. The playground became a merry mass of first graders in motion. Rapid motion :-)
A few weeks passed… Teddy was stopped on the playground one morning on his way to his line, and told he was not allowed to ride his scooter at school anymore. (He could walk it.)
His mom went to go ask the principal reason for this and was told “it was for safety”. His mom tried to explain this to Teddy. He promised that he rode carefully and would be extra careful from now on. His teacher tried to explain that in addition to caring about the safety of others, this was about respecting everybody’s rights by following rules.
But it didn’t compute in his brain. He figured he had done something bad. He became cranky, lost his appetite, and had trouble sleeping again. (In one of the last glimpses of humor and self awareness, he asked if the principal was a friend of Mrs. Gorf - of Wayside School fame -- who only liked kids to be quiet and still and round like apples.)
His pediatrician suggested that Ritalin would help him become more successful at school.
The playground is again empty after school – except for the neighborhood teens riding their bikes, and the nannies with toddlers.
Teddy is inside… waiting for screen time.
Cranky. Sedentary. But safe.
This is a true story. Names have been changed, but not much else.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wellness in the Health Care Bill!
As a corporate and personal wellness coach, I was thrilled to see that the health care reform legislation addresses the very common sense idea that prioritizing keeping people well will benefit us all.
Health Promotion Provisions in Health Care Reform Bill See details here: Included
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Monday, March 22, 2010
Shoreline Park, Picnics and Dirt Piles
Just when I thought it couldn't get better -- the dirt piles appeared. While perhaps appearing to be a girly girl, I've always enjoyed getting dirty and sweaty... imagine my delight in discovering mountain biking in my late 20s!)
And back in those same late 20's days, I was dating a cute guy, whose best friend lived by Portero Hill in SF. We'd frequently go and enjoy beautiful SF days with him. One day, as we finished a hike there, we amused ourselves by hopping and sliding "off trail" to get to the bottom of the hill. And friend, we'll call him Pookie, took great photos of this fun. I subsequently married cute guy and had babies which have now grown into small men.
Flash forward to today... said small men are 7 (hooray) and almost 9. Our friend Pooks and his lovely wife (we'll call her Clabber, after the cute girl on the baking powder can) have adorable 1 year old twins. So Pooks and Clab call us up to do something family friendly and we suggest Shoreline Park, and picnic by the kids playground.
Now Pooks used to live in Mountain View and enjoyed Shoreline Park as single grown ups do... an occasion roller blade outing, or a hike. But to see it through the eyes of a parent is to truly appreciate it. And as the parents of a7/9 year olds, we felt the joy that comes when your kids drop by the picnic blanket for some food, a brief hello and chat, and then scooter off to do their thing. (As we enjoy our David Bruce and the sunshine and the time with other people's babies.)
But after 2 hours, our kids have played in the park, scootered their share, have talked us out to the paddle boats... and then... they saw the dirt piles!!! (Insert Pooks photos here when received). Our kids took off in delight. (The 1 year old twins wobbled around the blanket, but stayed close.) Pooks followed, Nikon in hand. As our kids hopped and slid, and jumped, and Pooks snapped photos of the joy, I felt some serious Circle of Life.
What a beautiful day.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Took a Walk in the Wild Zone.
I was quite pleasantly surprised to meet both of the founders of the group, and they have quite a good system in place. They have a series of "play rangers" college students, mostly, who set up sticks, flowers, mud pits in a way to encourage cooperative (but messy) play. A big log over a mild dip becomes a bridge, and countless wigwams and tree forts were constructed and decorated.
My kids never once missed their video games the whole time we were there, and they ate and slept with nary a complaint that night. We'll be back! (They have them every 2nd Saturday in our area, and I'll be including them in the calendar of events for my Family Fitness and Fun meetup.)
Let the Wild Rumpus continue!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Random Acts of Nutrition
As many of you may know, my kids are veggie intolerant (and salad-lergic... is that a word?)
I was ready to print this out and tape it to the dinner table, when the boys were saved from my mania by a dinner guest. (I'm trying not to be embarrassing crazy mom until I need to be.)
But that being said - it shall guide me in my meal prep and hold me steadfast in my continuing mission to force good health upon my offspring.
Two other potent weapons have fallen into my arsenal this week...
1. Jamie's Food Revolution - the Book. So I enjoy the reality show, in all its cheese reality dramatic structure, but the book is just 100% awesomeness. Gets you excited to cook healthy food and he has an absolutely BRILLIANT section called the "evolution salads" starting from dead simple (head of butter lettuce with lemon olive oild dressing) that evolves better than a pokemon... yes, bacon features in many of the evolutions.
2. Kids Cook 1-2-3. Picked randomly from the shelves at Los Gatos Library Junior section. Really creative good recipes that honestly have only 3 ingredients. Tonights Pesto Parmesean Chicken Legs, as managed by Matthew, were a delicious delight. And tomorrows banana chocolate muffins (so self rising flour is a staple in the baking section :-) look to be a winner.
Stay tuned to see if we can fill the fruit and veggie side of the plate...
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
the Bootcamp lives!
Get busy living, or get busy dying...
Monday, February 1, 2010
Las Palmas Park, a few new wrinkles
As I "Julie/Julia" my way through the best local parks, I constantly wonder at how different things pop at different ages. And the creativity of kids.
Visiting Las Palmas in Sunnyvale last Saturday, we brought with us a school pal from Mountain View to see it through fresh eyes. Also, a best practice ;-) from a Mountain View park. Namely, we brought the cardboard snowboard practice - perfected at Rengsdorf park... again proving the ancient wisdom that the box is frequently more fun that the toy that came in it!
So, while a trip to Las Palmas on a sunny Saturday didn't jazz my kids, the chance to bring their shiny cardboard "snowboards" to surf down the Dragon's Back stone slide did. After this euphoria wore off (an hour, with few virtually no cuts or bruises, hooray!) they reveled in the pools of water left in the not quite drained lake area of the park. My eldest, initially convinced he could walk on water, if he just ran fast enough, eventually conceded he might need bigger feet. And a ski boat. And a lake.
The youngest, and his school pal, then became fascinated with the "post trail" - a feature unique to this park, and oddly compelling (I quite like the undulating walk from one post to another...)
Note for those that like getting the kids off the couch... I'm starting a meet up group to continue this Julie/Julia project... go check out on Meetup.com. Its free and I'd love to see you as we continue to explore our great outdoors, with our ungrateful offspring ;-)
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Golf Balls and Beer
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the
jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.
He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed..
'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff.
'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.
If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents.
Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand.
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.
The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'
The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers with a friend.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sunday Spin with Jen J
As I continue my reviews of the group ex classes at the wonderful YMCA where I work, I had the chance to attend Jennifer's Spin Class. Sadly, I only could stay for 40 minutes of the hour class before it was time to leave and attend to my spriritual wellness ;-) but got a great workout and had fun.
She did a great job of warming us up - both of the warm up songs were great. I didn't recognize them but they had nice beats and had a "ride" theme to them. I also liked her emphasis on warming us up in all three positions. She was able to cue on correct position in them (very useful for any new spinners) and continued to cue us on good form throughout the class. (as I say frequently, no sense in sweating off calories if you're stressing your back or knees!)
Yes, I'm easily tickled ;-) In addition to these musical high spots, she also incorporated mellow songs in between the high energy ones, giving the class a nice balance.
I was bummed when I had to leave, but got a great workout and a terrific start to the week.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Yoga and TV? An unlikely union... and yet....
Now, the classic texts of yoga do say that the purpose of the yoga poses are to build heat to purify the body and still the mind for meditation. But, these same sages say that yoga practices can help us find contentment, even if sitting in cold, muddy water.
Can yoga poses help me find contentment when my football team is losing, or watching Bear Grylls on Discovery Channel (and protect me from early death, as above?)
I have found this to be so. And let me share a few of my favorites, categorized by those you can do anytime (ie, when there is company) and those that look a little strange, but worth doing!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Livestrong improved
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Cornelius Bol Park - Then and Now
As you may have seen past posts, I have decided to Julie/Julia my way through the group exercise offerings at the wonderful YMCA where I work. (3 down, about 40 or so to go!)
Friday, January 15, 2010
Real Age - A Favorite for Many Reasons
This website is a favorite, and this morning's e-mail from them reminded me why. This morning's news item about the effectiveness of using podcasts has been one of my "secret weapons". I think they offer excellent suggestions about fitness overall, as well as offering good nutritional advice in actionable, bite size (pun intended) chunks.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Body Attack - A Blast from my Past
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Spinning With Shawn
Spinning classes at the YMCA are a great way to keep up the calorie burn, endorphins during these dark months, and Shawn’s early Sunday classes really rock. Let me count the ways...
1. As a fellow cycling instructor, I so love Shawn’s emphasis on form. No sense in burning calories if you are stressing your knees or lower back, right? He makes sure the class is set up/riding in good positions for their body and reminds us throughout to concentrate on this.
2. Secondly, you can’t NOT love Shawn’s music. He finds mixes (mashups) that use great, familiar music, but that is at motivating tempos. Last Sunday’s class featured a track with Kelly Clarkson, P!ink, and some hip hop artist that didn’t recognize (not my genre) but that really made it fun to pedal at a 92% heart rate.
One caveat… he only teaches 2nd and 5th Sundays at the admittedly early slot of 8:30… and get there well ahead of that earliness, his class sign-up will be full 15 minutes ahead of time!
Livestrong Really Rocks
My father in law mentioned this website/iPhone app to me early in the holiday season, and after a month of using it, I find myself enthralled. A huge fan. Mildly obsessed.
- The set up. Easy and free to set up, and so far, no overt marketing, spamming. Lets you set your goals for weight loss, maintenance, etc.
- The database of food and exercises is huge! You enter in any Starbucks, Trader Joe, Quizno, Subway item, and its all there… you just click to add to your “daily plate”. Same thing with exercise. I enter “yoga” and it lets you easily pick from an intensity level, number of minutes etc. and THEN SUBTRACTS THOSE CALORIES from your daily plate. (yes, I’m shouting, its really fun to see those calories disappear.) And the range of exercises is really huge.. I’m not kidding, Milking Cows is included! (both with machines and totally manually.)
- The Loops. I love to run and cycle outdoors, and the site works with Google Maps to easily let you map a “loop” complete with elevation, calorie count, etc. that you can save, share to facebook, add to your daily plate. You can see other people’s loops, so I now have new ideas for exercising in my neighborhood.
My (few) disappointments.
- When you home cook, you need to either create recipe and enter nutition info, or manually add all the ingredients (such as turkey, egg, breadcrumbs in a meatloaf.) Though, you can easily “save the meal”, so you only have to do it once.) I think once they get more users doing this, you’ll find more common meals already entered.
- The food entry process does not work well on a small screen (my lovely Acer Net book screen requires a lot of scrolling around.) Everything is optimized for the iPhone or a big monitor.
Coaching and Corporate Wellness Programs… Worlds Colliding!
Just reading Welcoa’s report on Coaching as a part of corporate wellness, and gave me some serious flashbacks to my past lives...
I spent 15 years as a senior marketing manager with big tech companies – and heartily concur that without the availability of a coaching presence, many corporate wellness programs go under utilized!
Pumping It Up
I am fortunate to be on staff at a GREAT YMCA but after the last staff meeting, it occurred to me that I have taken very few of the group exercise classes offered. What a missed opportunity for me! So I’ve taken a goal to try each one!
Get Busy Living...
…. Or get busy dying.” When Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) utters that in the movie Shawshank Redemption, for me that is the most profound moment in that great film.
Haven’t you?