No Reason Why

"There is no reason why...You can't be safe," my mom would say to my children as they climbed on tables and the back of the sofa.

So, this year I am saying to myself. There is no reason why.. I can't be fit and healthy.

Of course, I can come up with a lot of excuses for giving into late night cravings:

Hormones - this worked when I was younger, too many hormones and now that I'm older, not enough hormones.

Cravings - I have no willpower.

Metabolism - My metabolism has slowed down. I  don't eat half as much as I use to and I am gaining weight.

Emotional Support - I am bored, tired, anxious, happy, sad, etc.

The good thing is I am in the majority. In 2011-2012  the Center for Disease and Control stated the percentage of overweight adults, including obesity is 69%.

So, the first week of having my vision board has not cured my cravings, increased my willpower or sped up my metabolism.

But, what has changed is I am working on posture, balance and breathing.

I am going to build a good foundation for my fit and healthy body.

My vision for the future does not include me as a rounded old woman who can not hold her head up,  a woman with increased hip, knee and neck pain, or a person at increased risk for falling.

This week I will continue to correct my posture when I walk and incorporate some floor/wall exercises to correct my poor posture.

And of course I will continue to walk because with a Jack Russell and a beach there is no reason why I can't walk 10,000 steps a day.

My Vision....for health

My motivation isn't to look like the past - 

It's to change the future... Twenty years from now, I don't want is to be squirming in bed with my thumb continuously pressing the call light, wondering if staff will come before I pee the sheets.

I am not a patient person.

I won't wait for help.

The nursing home staff will catch me ambulating unattended. They'll put alarms on my bed and on my chair and every time I try and get up the bells and whistles will go off...

This is not a good vision. I prefer to imagine myself wearing a blue plaid housedress with pockets stuffed with tissues, flask and ciggerettes and joining others on field trips to casinos, shopping malls, light houses, plays and ...

So, I am not going to think of my journey as a diet or a fitness program. I am going to think of this as prevention, creating good practices and correcting some less desirable habits

My plan for the future does not include a long term care policies...but I did make my daughter promise, if I go to a skilled nursing facility to tell them I can have a two glasses of wine daily and I smoke. (Which I currently haven't done for over twenty years, but I might want to take it up when I'm sitting around in my plaid house dress.)

Monday's blog will be about My Vision....for Health 

I know there is a lot of talk about evidence based practices...

So, how will I know if the vision board makes a difference.

For 2 years I have been using a FitBit app and an app to count calories and I have gained 5 pounds, so instead of 10 pounds to lose I have 15 pounds.  

And you don't have to be a mathematician to figure out gaining 5 pounds a year x 20 years is 100 pounds.

I also have some pain and stiffness. I can not sit cross legged on the floor and I can not get up off the floor without using my hand.

So at the end of 2016, if I weigh less than the weight I wrote on the back on my vision board and if I can sit comfortably cross legged and can get up off the floor with out assistance of my hand, I am going to conclude the vision board was effective.

If not, I will have to begin research on how to disable alarms.  

My Health Vision Board is a work in progress and I am currently displaying my my art work on the refrigerator.

A Year of Vision and Luck

2016 A Year of Vision and Luck 

Besides a Rainbow in my backyard the universe has been giving me signs.

Let me back track… When I worked for CenterPointe Energy in Leak Detection (2002-2007) 

I had a Vision Board.
We also had a Vision Board in Robbinsdale, La Crosse and Waukee, IA.

Now when we packed the truck to head west - the Vision Board didn’t make the cut.


So, then the Universe sent me a message on creating another board by way of an invitation from a woman in Rockaway Beach who has invited people to come and make a Vision Board or to color.

While looking for photos of my Vision Boards I ran across a couple of old emails.


Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 5:40 PM

I wrote my wish was….
living life with no fear and no regrets...


Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 8:45 AM
Subject: Decided to create a 5 year plan...

My Five Year Plan….

At 55, I’m going to sell my house, quit my job and rent a place on one of the Hawaiian Islands for a year and try to make a living from writing. After one year I’ll decide if I like life on the Island – I’ll purchase a place to live. If not I’ll try Texas for a year, if not Florida…If I can’t make a living writing – I’ll do office work or ? – whatever…


The best thing about vision and goals - sometimes it’s not exact…but it can be pretty close.

I am not in Hawaii, but I do have an ocean a block away, I am writing and 56.

So, we have Vision and now for Luck. I won a free class “What Career Do You Want?” taught by Indie Publishing Specialist Maggie Lynch.

I will be posting a picture of my "New Vision Board"

What if...

What if.. Do you ever wonder where you'd be if you made different choices.

For 27 years, I worked for CenterPointe Energy and one day my boss said, "You're not happy here. You should quit."

And I did.

Four years later my daughter said, "you're not happy working in an office, you should be come an occupational therapy assistant."

So, I quit my job at the City of Golden Valley, sold my house, moved in with Rich in La Crosse, WI.  and became a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant.

I worked with children with Autism in La Crosse, until I received an email with an job offer in Waukee, IA.  I worked for over a year in a skilled nursing facility until Rich said, "I'm not happy in Iowa. We should move to the coast and you should write."

So, we did.

2016 is all about writing.

I have been writing my whole life. I love writing, it makes me very happy. I have previously dabbled with writing and have had success with getting published, but writing is no longer easy and I struggle to get the words on the page.

I am not sure if it is because I do not have a routine.

Do I need to establish a schedule?
Do I need to join a writer's group?
Do I need to find a critic partner?

But I never wonder, "What if..."