Being neighborly

Earlier this week I decided that I would work in the yard today. I had to make the decision in my head and remind myself over and over again that was the plan so that I wouldn't procrastinate the work.

Then I heard the weather forecast for today.......high of 50 (at 5 pm) with 25-40 mph NW winds. Brrrrr. BUT, I would much rather work outside in the cold than in the hot, so after breakfast (sausage and egg bake made last night and baked this morning), I got ready to head out.

First order of business.....figure out what clothes to wear to stay warm! I intended to wear a pair of cotton leggings under my work pants ..... but apparently at some time in the past I got rid of them. Boo. So, I pulled out some shorts and knee socks to layer under the pants. Then a tshirt, long sleeve tshirt and sweatshirt. Finally, a headband I bought to go skiing in college to keep my ears warm.

As I was getting ready to go out, I heard a knock on my front door. I almost ignored it because last night about 8:30 my doorbell rang and rang.....and of course, when I got there, nothing. Some neighborhood kids must have been roaming around ringing doorbells and then running off. But I did answer the door this morning and it was my next door neighbor asking to borrow an egg. I've never actually had that happen before! This neighbor is the one that occasionally trims my front hedges for me and, when I met him shortly after I moved in, offered for me to borrow tools any time I needed something.

So, I handed over the egg and finished getting ready to go out and work. On the agenda for today: finish taking out the wood post flowerbed borders in the back, carry them to the curb for pickup and take up all the flagstones from the front flowerbed and move to the back for use in another way yet to be determined. (I'm hoping that my St. Augustine grass will fill in and take over that space.....)

I started carrying armloads of posts to the front and had a thought.....this sure would be easier if I had a wheelbarrow. Hmmmm. Wonder if my neighbor has one I could borrow? In the past, I probably would have had that thought and let my pride rule the day and not go ask (because if you know me at all, you know that asking for any type of help is rather challenging for me). BUT, because he had already come to me today asking for something, I forced myself to go next door and ask if he had a wheelbarrow I could borrow. And guess what? He did!

That wheelbarrow turned my much-bigger-than-I-thought job (which initially also included the first edging/mowing of the season) for the day into an actually manageable task. I spent about 2 hours loading, hauling and unloading......if I hadn't had the wheelbarrow, I don't think I could have finished AND it would have been a MUCH harder task. I also still got in plenty of exercise and sore muscles.....

I definitely learned a lesson today about being neighborly.....and how it tends to cause others to do the same. I hope that I will hesitate less next time before humbling myself to ask for help!

YMCA

I went with some girlfriends to the YMCA last night for yoga and I am very sore today! I had been thinking about joining the Y and the metro area where I live has a membership program where you can go to any of the locations under one membership. So, I can go to yoga with my friends for the cameraderie and accountability at the branch closer to their homes and also work out closer to my home other times. So today, I officially became a member!

Curves

I really don't like to exercise. But, I like food -- a lot. And not the really good for you food. I like fried stuff and chocolate. So, if I'm going to get healthy, I decided that it was time to start a real, committed exercise program. And I just found out that my company will subsizide a 12 month gym membership at any fitness facility (previously, it was only at a certain chain).

So, I joined a gym today. I've never done that before by myself. Yes, I joined onto my friend Jenny's YMCA membership for a little while, but I've never walked in somewhere and joined. I've always been intimidated by gyms. It's either a class at a set time period or you have to figure out how to use all the equipment by yourself. Neither of which is very appealing to me or fits well into my schedule.

So, today I joined Curves. It is only women. It is a set circuit of resistance training with cardio between. Two times around the circuit is 30 minutes. And I got a pretty good workout for the first time. I think I'll be a little sore tomorrow.

My plan is to go straight from work. If I come home, I won't want to leave again - plus they close at 7:30. One reason I don't do well working out at home is that once I'm home, I don't want to change and workout. So, going on my way home is really the only way I'll do it.

Or I'll get up and be there when they open at 5:30 am. Which would put me back home around 6:15 - enough time to shower and get ready for work to still make it pretty much on time. I'd rather do this option, but I'm afraid my snooze button might continue to call my name. Plus, I'm not sure how well my body moves first thing in the morning.

I think I'll alternate the options for a while to see which really works best, then settle down to a routine. Some of you out there, please email me in a few weeks and ask me how it's going. I'm gonna need a little accountability to keep it up.