Still working on my 10 minutes walks through out the day, and despite the absolutely gorgeous weather, the black flies have moved in for their seasonal visit.
They are enough to keep me indoors even though I am striving to walk more.
But there is one thing that really keeps me wanting to go outside many times a day.
It's the beautiful lilacs that have begun to bloom in the front and back yards.
I usually cut some of the flowers off and bring them indoors so they can share their fragrance with us.
But I haven't done that yet this year. They are a great motivation for me to go outside and take a walk so I can enjoy their smell as I pass them by.
I have to walk a bit faster so I can stay ahead of those bugs, but it is worth it to catch a scent of those lilacs.
They will be here for another week or so, and I will leave them outside this year so I can take advantage of the motivation they give me.
Just taking advantage to nature's beauty to give me some free and much needed pushes to move around.
A specialty this time of the year in our area is a little fern that grows wild along side the riverbeds.
They are called Fiddlehead Ferns, and are harvested for only a few short days before they have totally unfurled.
Besides being the most beautiful shade of green, these delicacies are a powerhouse of vitamins and minerals.
High in Vitamin A and C as well as providing a great boost of iron and potassium, they are low in fat and cholesterol.
Their fiber benefits are unbeatable.
The only bad thing about them is that they are getting harder and harder to find.
Shrinking habitats and overpicking are not faring well for these wild plants.
Taking only enough for a meal, we walk about a half mile to where they are growing, thanking Mother Nature along the way for this special treat.
I have seen them offered in the supermarket. There condition isn't as vibrant as these freshly picked ones are, and the price is ridiculously high.
We will keep our picking location secret and will hopefully enjoy them for years to come.
The little walks during the day are really starting to add up on my pedometer.
During the winter I was averaging about 2500-3000 steps a day.
These last few of weeks have seen a great improvement in the numbers increasing.
I am now up to an average of 5500-6000 steps a day.
My goal is to get to 10,000 steps, and it is seeming a more possible accomplishment to reach.
Since mid-April I have been tracking my mileage at the Beewellmiles.com site which will make a donation to the Breast Cancer Network of Strength for our miles walked.
They are running this promotion through the end of October, and I will be tracking my steps the whole time.
So far I am up to 48 miles. I'll keep it posted as I go along.
I must admit - I spend way too much time in front of the computer.
Being self-employed for the last 10 years is the main reason for this, and if we do not work, we do not get paid.
And getting paid is getting harder and harder to do these days with the economy as it is.
Working from home though does have its benefits when it comes to time.
Taking 10 minutes each hour to get up and walk around outside the house is easier to do when there is no boss hanging over your shoulder.
And these short spurts of movement really wake you up and make your feel more energized.
The ability to concentrate is renewed and you can actually feel your metabolism still in gear after you have returned to work sitting in your chair.
I took my last walk for the day a few minutes ago.
It is almost 8:00 pm and the twilight is moving in. I hear the peepers in the distance. The robins are protesting my walk, and the cool air from the edge of woods caresses my arms and legs as I pass by.
These walks are not good for just the exercise they give - the spirit gets a boost too.
All the senses are enhanced and it all works for a more healthy person in all aspects - body and soul.
I discovered this new fat completely by mistake.
Since I always read my food labels, I purchased a box of graham crackers for a recipe, and was happy to see no partially hydrogenated oils as I scanned the ingredients.
Once home, I was interested to see what they used for a fat substitute in the crackers, and I came across a new term - Interesterified Oils.
Thanks to the good old internet, I was able to find out what exactly this new ingredient was in about 2 minutes.
And was I surprised.
The first thing that came to my mind was a line by Shakespeare:
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
Only it isn't sweet - and no matter what they call it - it is still a trans fat.
To make this "new" fat, they take fully hydrogenated oil and mix it with liquid polyunsaturate oil.
They claim fully hydrogenated oil is healthier than the partially hydrogenated variety.
My thought: If the partially one is bad, then the fully one has to be doubly bad.
So, like lambs to slaughter, the food manufacturers keep leading us down the wrong path, again.
Take an minute to read your labels, and keep this new term in mind as you scan them.
After all, we are what we eat.
