Over 14 000 Steps Yesterday and Already Over My Goal Today

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….the last two days have been good walking days

Yesterday I posted that walking 10 000 steps takes effort. By the end of the day I clocked in at 14 826. Most of those steps came from our morning walk where we covered about 5 miles or 8km.

This morning we did the walk again but went a little farther. By the time we got home I had walked 11 000 steps. Later this afternoon we’re visiting friends to see their new home and I’m hoping we’ll go for a walk to check out their new neighbourhood.

My fear is that tomorrow may not be a good walking day. It’s the day my husband goes to the hospital for his surgery but we’re hoping to get out early in the morning and get in some walking for the dog’s sake.

Here are a few more photos of things we saw on our walk today.

Walking 10 000 Steps Takes Effort

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….but it’s very doable

When I’m at school I normally walk anywhere from 4000 to 6000 steps during the day, just walking from room to room, walking around the yard during recess and walking around the library putting away books. It’s those last few steps to reach my goal of 10 000 steps that takes effort.

Yesterday I found myself doing a lot of errands, using the car. There was a lot of waiting involved and by the end of the day I had barely clocked 4000 steps. In the evening I took a walk around the block with the dog and then I drove to the mall to do a bit of shopping. I parked farther away from the store than I needed to and I tried to walk around the mall after my shopping was done but I had left it too late and the mall was closing. In the end I only walked 5380 steps.

This morning, as soon as I woke up, I put on my running shoes and went for a long walk with my husband and Frances. It was a beautiful morning, even though the sky to the west of us looked pretty ominous. We walked to our favourite park and instead of going back the same way we came we took a slight detour to add some extra distance. When we got home I was surprised to see that we had already reached my goal of 10 000 steps and it was only 10:30. Ideally, now I should be able to add another 4000 to 5000 throughout the day as long as I don’t spend too much time on the computer or with my renewed hobby of knitting.

Here are a few images of what we saw on our walk this morning.

When a Busy Weekend Keeps You From Walking

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Mama Cormier

…..3 days in a row of over 10 000 steps and then the weekend comes along

Usually the weekend is a great time for walking but this weekend proved otherwise. On Saturday I squeezed my newly pedicured feet into a brand new pair of high heels and wore them for the next eleven hours.

We left the house shortly after 12 noon and arrived at the church just in time for the wedding. The service wasn’t as long as we had expected and now we had 3 hours to kill before the reception. We thought about going home but opted instead to go to a restaurant close by and have a bite to eat. We ordered a couple of appetizers and sparkling water. Well that took less than an hour and we still had time to spare.

We decided to find some stores to browse through but we were in the middle of box store city with lots of pavement and parking lots to walk over. Not very good for someone in 3″ heels. In hind sight it seems ridiculous but we drove from store to store. My husband hates malls and box stores so we didn’t spend too much time ‘shopping’. We didn’t actually buy anything.

We didn’t have any coffee when we were in the restaurant earlier and we were now in need of a caffeine fix. Back in the car, we now drove around looking for a coffee shop. After a couple of missed turns we finally found a Star Bucks and sat down, again, for a cup of coffee.

We arrived at the reception hall exactly at 5:00 and there was no one else in the parking lot. We wondered if we had the right place but within minutes the families of the bride and groom showed up and slowly the guests stared arriving as well. I guess showing up on time is an old fashion custom. I couldn’t believe how late people walked through the door.

After the cocktail hour, dinner was served and for the next four and a half hours we were in our seats as the courses were served with speeches and formalities in between.

I was hoping we’d get to do some dancing but by the time the last speech had been delivered it was already 10:30 and we realized that our poor dog had been alone since noon. We said our good-byes and headed home. By 11:00 o’clock we arrived at the house and the first thing I did was take off those high heels. My husband took the dog out for a quick pee. I was just too tired to go for a walk. I had only logged 3400 steps.

On Sunday I slept in and then read my book for a couple of hours. I had booked an appointment with the Apple store to sort through some issues I was having with my computer and my iPhone. My husband came with me so that we could leave right from the mall and drive to Hamilton to have dinner at our daughter’s house. That’s right, my husband was in a mall, two days in a row. What a sport!

Unfortunately today was a very rainy day and when we arrived in Hamilton our plans for walking to a new area to explore were altered. The rain had let up briefly but our daughter didn’t think it was a good idea to walk to our destination because the odds of a downpour were pretty high. She was right. We drove to a quaint shopping area on Locke Street, parked the car and walked up and down the street. We stopped for coffee and a bite to eat because dinner wasn’t going to be early as we had anticipated.

There are some great little stores, coffee shops and restaurants in this area of Hamilton. I’ll be sure to return on a future visit. When we returned to our daughter’s house I went out for another short walk over to James street but most stores on Sunday close between 4:00 and 5:00, if they’re open at all.

When I returned to the house G had put out a lovely spread of cheese, dips and crackers and shortly after they served us a scrumptious dinner of ribs and a watermelon salad. I suggested going for a walk before dessert was served but it was decided that we would play a board game first and then go for a walk. Well we never did get out for that walk and in total I only logged 4000 steps for the day.

13 000 More Steps to a Healthier Me

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….after work I treated myself and my good friend L to a manicure and pedicure

I’m going to a wedding tomorrow and I really needed to get my toes done. It was L’s birthday last month so I decide to treat her to a manicure and pedicure after work today. Of course it made no sense to sit and watch her being pampered so I had to treat myself as well. Besides I’ve been wearing sandals to work for a few weeks now and it was a little embarrassing when my kindergarten students pointed out that my nail polish on my toes was chipping.

: Coca Cola Red on my toes

: Gel Polish

After about an hour of soaking, filing and applying colour we headed over to Marshall’s to try on some clothes. I chose nine tops to try on and left with two. When I got home my husband had just pulled out one of his homemade pizzas from the oven. Yummy!

After supper Frances was eager to go for her evening walk. Even though I was tired I knew that once I got going I would really feel better for it and I do enjoy it. The rain had stopped and it looked like it would stay away for awhile. I brought along my iPhone to snap a few pictures. Before I left I checked my Jawbone Up to see how far I had walked up to this point. It registered at just over 6000 steps.

Tonight we headed towards Col. Samuel Smith Park. I’ve been letting Frances dictate how far we walk and the direction she wants to go. When we got to the park I thought for sure she’d want to turn back but no she proceeded to head towards the lake and the naturalized area of the park. I kept my eyes open for some interesting shots and I think I managed to catch a few good ones. Here are a few things we saw on our walk tonight.

When we finally got home I checked my Up bracelet and discovered that I had walked almost 13 000 steps. This is the third day in a row that I’ve walked over 10 000 steps. Last week I averaged over 11 000 steps a day. I’m hoping that this increase in movement and watching what I eat will help me lose the pounds that I put back on. Luckily I didn’t put it all back on but more than I should have. I need to learn to get right back on track as soon as the first five pounds return.

Too Tired to Write

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Mama Cormier

….so I’ll post a few photos of my weekend

It was a somewhat busy weekend with running to clinics, grocery shopping (twice), painting, reading (but not enough), walking and running (yeah, I can still do it), blogging, laundry and helping a friend sort through 40 years of paperwork. I’m exhausted and need to get to bed before 11:00. Here is a gallery of my weekend.

Sure Signs of Spring

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Mama Cormier

……March 20th marked the first day of Spring

The snow has melted in this part of the world but the east coast of Canada has been hit with more snow storms and we’re talking about a lot of snow.

I’m thrilled that Spring has finally arrived even though the signs aren’t always obvious to the naked eye or to exposed skin. This morning when I woke up I could see that it had snowed last night. Nothing significant but enough to know that winter isn’t done with us yet and if that tiny bit of snow didn’t convince you, the cold wind certainly did.

Later in the day the sun did warm things up a bit but walking into the wind did make the trek a little uncomfortable. I, however, was on a mission to find signs of spring that I could record with my camera.

Much of the plant life still harbours the brown tones of decay but the sun added a certain warmth and brought out a richness to some colourful naked branches.

One of the signs of spring was the hidden treasure that lay inside the snow all winter and now appeared everywhere. Hardly photo worthy though. On our way home we looked up and I saw my first robin of the season. I have noticed that the birds are singing more brightly in the morning when I wake up and the squirrels are more active in the backyard.

I was hoping to see signs of new growth coming up through the ground but It wasn’t immediately obvious. When I returned home I walked up to the front garden and pushed aside a few leaves and lo and behold I found my crocus starting to push up through the ground. Spring is definitely here despite the cold and gloomy forecast for April.