Exercise This Week, March 21

Since retirement and more free time, I am focusing on getting more exercise. I give weekly updates here to make myself accountable and see my progress. 

This week was full of dancing, and a couple of gym classes were thrown in for strength training. I am continuing to challenge myself, but I seem to spend most of the time with sore muscles. My thoughts fluctuate between maybe I need to scale things back a bit or just keep doing what I'm doing. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will my fitness be.

Friday, March 21:

Strong and Balanced: This is a good class for me, and I am making an effort to get to it. It works at strengthening and stretching all parts of the body. It especially helps strengthen my back and shoulder muscles, which I have problems with. Today's class had two older women (80-something and 90-something.) who were hunched and had difficulty walking. To look at them, you would use the word feeble. However, they were both using heavier weights than I was. The 90-something sat for some of her exercises but has given me something to aspire to. 

Ballroom Dancing: Our ballroom dance class had a practice party tonight. We brought refreshments and danced for two hours, practicing what we had learned and trying to remember dances from the past. It was fun and definitely a good workout.

Saturday, March 22:

Free Day: Nothing much happened today, exercise-wise, not even yard work, because it was cold and windy. I was okay with that because I had two good workouts yesterday.

Sunday, March 23:

LIIT (Low impact interval training) This class continues to be the week's biggest challenge. I tried hard to pace myself with lower weights and a slower speed than the instructor, but it still wiped me out. But I went, and I consider that a win.

Monday, March 24:

Ballroom Dance: We reviewed the waltz, learned left turns in the rumba, and added to our samba routine. When we were getting all of the parts of the rumba, it felt good and was fun. I was confused during the new samba parts we "learned" at the end of class, but I will try to practice them. The class got my heart rate up comfortably. 

Tuesday, March 25:

Line Dancing continues to be the highlight of the exercise week. I've been going for over a month now, and I am learning some of the dances enough that I can occasionally give them some flair—more than just trying not to bump into anyone. We learned a new dance today, but I couldn't tell you what it was. Hopefully, it will look familiar next week. 

Wednesday, March 26 

Free Day: The day was full of other commitments, so I didn't do any extra exercise. 

Thursday, March 27:

Line Dancing: We went to a new-to-us venue sponsored by the same person we see on Tuesday mornings. It was not close by, but we went to learn some couples' country dancing. We learned El Paso, and it was fun dancing it together. We were there for three hours, and I danced about 1/2 of that time. It was a good aerobic workout; however, by the end, my knee was really hurting. I'm just beginning to understand ways to modify some steps to put less strain on my knees. 

Also, I'm starting to tire of these posts, but I will keep doing them for now. I need all the gimmicks I can think of to keep this fitness journey going.

Until next time...

Spring

Spring weather is definitely here.  And what would spring be on my blog if I didn't whip out Theo's spring poem he wrote in elementary school? So, without further ado, take it away, young Theo.

March 2018

Signs of Spring

The last of winter fades away

Icicles shed their tears

Borne upon a sunlit era

Life awakens once again

In this never ending cycle

Trees grow green, grass is showing

Robins and bluebirds appear

New plants sprout, old ones awaken

New infants to all animals

A time of plenty

Rejoice! For it is Spring!

Book Reviews-Kids

 I've been intending to write a post about some recently read children's books, but I keep putting it off. I figured I'd better do it before I forget what I've read. These are not all of what I read, but if I wait until I have a complete list, I'll never get it done. 

So, without further ado, here are some of the kid's books I've read recently.

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang. Fiction, 2023, middle grades.

Lina is 10 years old and finally joining her parents and sister in the US after a 5-year separation. Her parents moved to California with her younger sister and left her in China with her grandmother until they were established. The story tells of Lina's family's immigration struggles and her struggle to adjust to life in the US and fit into a family she hasn't seen for 5 years. 

The book is moving and does a good job of exploring Lina's emotions and perspective. The ending had me both cheering and moved to tears. I highly recommend this book. 

The author, Kelly Lang, has written several children's books exploring the immigration experience, including The Front Desk, which is listed among the 30 most influential children's books of all time. Lang immigrated to the U.S. when she was 6, and much of her writing comes from personal experiences. 

Finally Heard by Kelly Lang, Fiction, 2024, middle grades.

This is a sequel to Finally Seen and Lina's family. The book explores the problems of too much screen time and the downfalls that come with it. We see Lina gradually become addicted to her phone and watch as she, her family, and friends all have problems with social media. One of her teachers presents the brain science behind it all and gets the kids' attention, but that doesn't stop them from constantly monitoring their phones. As a side story, Nina is developing breasts sooner than her other classmates, causing her teasing and embarrassment. 

While I'm not obsessed like the kids in the book, it gave me pause to think about what instant feedback we get from our screens is doing to my brain. Finally Seen is not as moving as Finally Heard, but it is an important story all the same. I can see this book as a starting point for important family discussions. I also recommend this book.

Yang also wrote this book based on personal experiences with her kids. Despite doing everything right, her kids still got in trouble with their phones. At one point, Yang shut down her home internet and discovered that the kids were using their neighbors' internet. 

The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy, 2024, Fiction, middle grades

Fern is a 12-year-old who has just moved away from a cult that she had lived in since she was 6 years old. She does not like the outside world and plots to make it back to the cult. The book is a gripping and moving story that gives insights into the cult world. It has numerous awards, including the Newbery Honor, and I highly recommend it.

(Note: Ward says I should have written more about this book. For example, does Fern make it back to the cult? I think that gives too much away, so I left it out. Except for a general sense of what a book's about, I don't want to know too much about it beforehand. I want to discover things while reading. And I'm tired, so that's what you get for now.)

Exercise this week, 3-14-25

 Since retirement and more free time, I am focusing on getting more exercise. I give weekly updates here to make myself accountable and see my progress. 

This week, appointments and a migraine kept me from the gym more than I wanted. I tried to do something at home on those days (except the migraine day), but true to form, I don't push myself as hard as I do in a class. So, the classes are still an important part of the equation for me to achieve better fitness. 

I'm still pleased with my effort and am starting to notice that I feel better on the days when I go to a class. It's not dramatic, but it's there

Friday, March 14: 

Line Dancing. We went to a line dance at a local country club. We were not members, but the teacher of our Tuesday morning classes was hosting an event there, and the club let her invite some outside people. We were there for 3 hours, and I'd say that I was dancing about half of them. The dances definitely got my heart rate up, but it was an easy evening. And more importantly, a fun one. 

Saturday, March 15: Free Day

Sunday, March 16: 

Free day. I had intended to go to a LIIT class today, but I woke up with a migraine, so it was a no-go.

Monday, March 17: 

Strong and Balanced. This class involved weights and a step. While I got a good workout, the class was not too intense. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, at the end, we did relay races like we were back in grade school. Everyone had a good time, especially since we got chocolate at the end.

Ballroom Dance. Ward and I went to our regular Monday night ballroom dance class. We reviewed the waltz and tango steps we've been working on and started learning new steps for the samba. I had to demonstrate it with the teacher. It didn't go well, but I got good encouragement from my classmates. During this class, I got a gentle aerobic workout, and I won't mention the ice cream Ward and I get every Monday night after class. :)

Tuesday, March 18: 

Line Dancing. This is my favorite class of the week. The class was fun, and I definitely got a good workout. 

Gardening. I spent an hour in a flower bed digging and pulling weeds. I got some good stretching and strengthening for my hands and arms.

Wednesday, March 19:

Free Day. The day was full of various commitments, so no formal exercise was done today. However, I did do a little yard work.

Thursday, March 20:

Free Day. Another day, when appointments conflicted with classes, I was interested in at the gym. However, I did raise my heart rate by practicing dancing with Ward and cleaning another flower bed.

 Until next time...

Happy Spring!

Spring is officially here on both the meteorological and astronomical calendars. Here's what it looks like in our yard this week.

Daffodils are blooming in two spots. 

These daffodils and the ones above came from a friend. 

Crocuses are popping up everywhere. Last fall, I replanted them around the yard without trying to remember where. Finding them here and there is like an Easter egg hunt.

Something has been snacking on them in a few places.

Last year, I planted a few bleeding hearts. I am happy that one of them is coming back up, and I still hope for the others.

Crocus

Crocus

Forsythia along our back fence. 

Until next time...