Hang with me on this one dear readers!You know the little hand held game where you have equal rows and columns of interlocking/sliding squares with only one of them vacant? That is how my book project is going as I move books from bookcase to bookcase. Naturally, before one can undertake such a project, there must be some sort of 'scheme' for grouping books. Let's just say that this scheme is evolving.
Most of my books are non-fiction, so that eases things a bit. I have several bookcases--one being a very deep bookcase. So there is opportunity to place books 2 deep. The occulted books should be those that I don' reference often. I'm electing to put my business/strategy books back there there. Once I get things lumped together, I'll go through the trouble of creating a database for them. Hopefully, I'll not have any insights into yet another scheme that would involve another migration.
I have a pitifully small pile of 'why do I have this?' books. I'll give that to the library. I don't have a library card anymore, so I cannot buy the damn book back for .99 after I've already donated it. I'm always afraid that if I go to a Goodwill, I'll see one of my donated articles of clothing and buy it back. Though I like to think that I'm not attached to things, clearly I've developed some an unhealthy affinity for some of these things. Somewhere between an aesthetic and a hoarder, I'll find some reasonable balance. My husband is even worse than I am.
While, I'm quite sure that I'm not pregnant, I cannot really explain this restless, nesting compulsion. Perhaps, like investing, 'stuff' in my home has suffered from my lack of attention. Frankly, I'm just coming to realize the dual edge of focused will: focus and determination in one or two things can lead to a dozen things languishing. I hope I don't have more than a dozen things languishing.
As I grapple with the 'stuff' problem (and what an embarrassment it is to say that when there is so much want in the world), I realize the great wisdom of B. Franklin's aphorism: "A place for everything; and everything in its place." There should be an exclamation point there. I at least have a moratorium that we are not to build any more storage space! (I'm still trying to figure out where my 'ethics' books go).
The project, though, is quite satisfying. I've squealed in delight in having put my hands on a few books that I had forgotten about. I started a 'must-read' pile, but I realized that it was growing too rapidly. All things in moderation....I'll just put them on a shelf of their own.
Fit by Fifty Update: I almost went a opened a bottle of wine--I'm writing, and that act seems to 'call out' for a glass of wine. I limited my foraging for dog food, and fed all of the anxious looking canines and felines.
I continued my reclamation efforts of the 'next door' 'upstairs' room (the room over the garage). In doing so, I found my old Callanetics book as well as an extra chest strap for my heart rate monitor (the one that I was using, was a little sagged out). I did some of the Callanetics exercises (which were hard), AND I did my trail running. (Confession--I had to get up, and I was thinking about that glass of wine so now I have it!).
Already I'm seeing/feeling muscle definition in my arms and legs. I'm sleeping better, and I have more energy. I think that my husband is waiting for all of this energy to be channeled into another type of energy!
I did uncover an old fitness binder in my bedroom that I had from some years ago. It had all of my measurements from a point in time--but I don't know what point in time. I think that they are 10 years old--before I was forty, so I would not have been very fit. Yes, the fitness binder traveled downstairs to then go upstairs into the fitness room (yes, I have book storage up there too!).
I was inspired by Doug's recent comment to visit Covert Bailey's website. You can find it HERE.
He (CB) has retired, but there's some great stuff on his website. Do take a moment to read through some of his articles, which you can find HERE. I note that he has a an article entitled, Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Protein?. Do read it. I'm finding that since I picked up my Sharkey book and modified my protein intake on my diet that I'm exceeding my protein goa--an interesting intersection between Sharkey and Bailey.
Since I've been measuring every frickin' thing that I eat, I've become very aware of periods of hunger as well as the profile (calories, prot/carb/fat) of my meals. I'm not starving myself, mind you. That's a foolish way to lose weight. However, I'm very MINDFUL of WHAT I eat and HOW LONG the gas lasts in the tank. (I've several 'mindfulness' books, too!).
Our bodies really are our temples (my Mother always impressed upon me that worthy concept, but I think that it had more to do with premarital sex than anything else. I was a skinny kid, so it surely did not center around food). Nevertheless, I think that it is a useful message to young girls as there seem to be a lot of would-be temple worshippers along the way--they are omnipresent!
Why don't you keep your own food diary for a week? Note your total intake and the amount from fat/carbs/protein. Also, ask yourself, "What am I doing to either get fit or maintain my fitness?" Here's an easy, free way to do it: http://www.thedailyplate.com/ I use my Crosstrainer, but it is not a free service, though it is inexpensive.
I worked in healthcare---and on the ugly side of what the cost of chronic diseases cost. Trust me when I say this: The most beneficial thing you or I can do to help this country's finances is to ensure that we both arrive to Medicare age as healthy as we can be.
The cost of chronic disease is staggering. I know, because I had to work with the data. You cannot change your genetics, but YOU can CHANGE your habits. Proper nutrition (I did not say diet) and appropriate exercise are two habits that can make a huge difference in your future healthcare costs (that taxpayer dollars pay for). I'm a baby boomer, maybe you are too. We're the bolus of folks that are going to hit Medicare and likely bankrupt it if we have metabolic syndrome (which a staggering amount of our population has).
Have you not heard of metabolic syndrome? Well forget the terrorists, metabolic syndrome will do this country more harm than the terrorists! Trust me on this--it will bankrupt Medicare. Metabolic syndrome is obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), hypertension (high blood pressure). It is epidemic in this country. And hypertension and diabetes combined are the 80% contributors to chronic kidney disease. Hyperlipidemia is a contributor of coronary artery disease in addition to diabetes. Uncontrolled blood sugar affects your organs--your heart and kidneys are your crown jewels of organs (sorry guys!). Hyperlipidemia affects your heart while hypertension destroys the delicate vascular structure of your kidneys.
Oh...and for the guys...why do you think there is so much erectile dysfunction? Your kidneys have delicate vascularization to remove waste from your body; your penis has delicate vascularization to have and maintain an erection--blood pressure and diabetes control will mitigate this epidemic. If the amount of money was spent to educate people regarding their kidneys as there was to educate regarding erectile dysfunction, we'd be so much further along! Priorities! Sex vs. blood cleansing. Sex always wins! (That has to do with the tenacity of life, so I understand that, though I've no books on it!).
So if you value your heart and kidneys (and if you are a guy, I know that you really value your penis, and please know that in my own way I value it too), then join me by beginning your own personal fitness quest. Like the market, everything is relative. So do something tomorrow that will make your health relatively better than today. Our health investment is an easy one. There are only two choices: diet or exercise. A concurrent choice would be the penultimate.
No comments:
Post a Comment