So far in this 31 day adventure, I’ve covered diet (specifically, no wheat), household chores, the backyard and reducing waste.  These are all areas where I’ve danced around committing to a consistent routine that would bring lasting, significant results.  I often wonder why it’s been such a challenge.  Is it that I’ve been too busy/bored/lazy/overwhelmed???  Who knows, probably a combination of all those things and many more I haven’t thought of.

Before I launch into today’s post, I thought a little update would be in order.
1.  No-wheat.  It hasn’t been a real struggle saying no to wheat this week.  Mostly because we haven’t had it in the house and we’ve eaten at home all week.  The real test will be when we’re in a situation where we have to choose to say no to a sandwich or a piece of bread with dinner.  Next week, we’ve been invited to an Octoberfest party and that’s going to test our resolve!  But that’s life and we have to learn how to make good choices no matter the circumstance.
2.  Household chores.  I’ve been following the Clean Mama schedule.  It’s really good because it covers all the high traffic areas.  I will be modifying it a bit to meet the uniques needs we have like vacuuming more than once a week.  Dog hair accumulates rapidly especially when Ellie and Woody have friends stay over.  And it’s not taking me all day like I thought it would :-).  I spend about 30 minutes each day and eventually I can see whittling that down to 20 minutes.  Totally doable.
3.  Yard.  I raked leaves this week, ordered wildflower seed and smoothed out a section of yard that we’re going to  lay bricks on today.
4.  Reducing waste.  Granted my small contribution may not save the world, but it certainly saved a 1/2 bag of spinach from being tossed.  I pureed the spinach, froze it into spinach cubes and are using them in my morning smoothies.  It’s really silly, but I felt soooooo good about that.  Next up, knitting a collection of dish cloths for use in the kitchen and whipping up a batch of dishwasher soap.

Okay onto today’s commitment to change.  Daily Exercise.  This is another area where confession is necessary.  I am more of an athlete in my mind than I am in real life.  Oh I make sure the dogs are walked every day (hence the name of this blog), at least 2 miles and every now and I then I train (I use the word train loosely) to walk a half marathon or marathon, but daily exercise?  Not something that happens.

So, yesterday when I was walking the dogs, I bumped into a lady in our neighborhood that I’ve seen pretty much every day for the past 20 years.  She walks her dog every morning and then goes out herself.  I would guess she’s in her late 60’s, early 70’s now, but she told me she’s 82.  82!  I was astounded.  She’s not sure of her secret, probably a bunch of things, but I’d bet money that daily exercise and healthy eating are in the mix.

And it’s not like I have to exercise all day.  When I’m faced with a daunting, joy-lacking task, I tend to think that it will be all-consuming.  The experts say 30 minutes a day, a mixture of cardio and strength exercises it all that is required. I can do 30 minutes.  The dogs take about 40 minutes, but it’s not cardio when you stop every 5 minutes to sniff every blade of grass in the neighborhood.  Oh, sure, we put miles on our legs, but they’re really slow miles.  I’m not knocking the movement, just the end result.  Besides that’s their time, not mine.

I’m going to commit to 30 minutes, 3 days and week and eventually work up to 5 days a week.  I have a variety of DVD’s and a subscription to Daily Burn (an exercise website).  I also have a bike that is home to a spider family at the moment, but I think they’re going to be getting an eviction notice!

What are ways you incorporate exercise into your life?  I’d love to hear.

“Just so you know, we’re totally willing to go on longer walks, or even more than one walk a day.  Just wanted to put it out there as an option.”