Love & Sleep

My three words for 2018 are "love, serve, grow." Instead of a resolution, I'm living by these words this year. I will say yes to things and people that help me love, serve, and grow.

This morning, it really struck me how I have not been loving myself well in the area of sleep. I have been completely and utterly exhausted. In turn, my body feels achy all the time and I don't have the mental strength or desire to say no to cravings and make good food choices. I even wokeup this morning feeling like I couldn't "people." (And y'all know that's no good for an extrovert!)

This has got to stop!

I need to love myself better and protect my sleep time. I need to silence and put down my phone an hour before bed. I need to get on my jammies, meditate on God's Word and pray, and have some quiet time for me. I say these things to myself with a loving voice.

I know this, but I don't always remember this. So this morning I made myself a visual reminder that I can use as a phone wallpaper. (Or am I the only one slightly addicted to my technology?!?) If you want this reminder, too, hop on over to my Facebook page and grab my free wallpaper foryourself!

Silver Lake Hike

Silver Lake, I assume....

So this is my 100th post on the blog and what better way to celebrate than by posting about a hike!

Heading up the trail and looking down at the lake.

A friend invited me to go hiking on a weekday morning at 8 am. Now for a teacher on summer vacation - a SINGLE teacher on summer vacation - this is kind of early, but I accepted the invitation because I enjoy hiking and I enjoy this friend's company. I had no idea where we were going or how long the hike would be, so I over-prepared by packing two water bottles and three snacks.

When my friend arrived to pick me up the morning of the hike all they said is we are going up the canyon. I had no idea how far up or where - there are two main canyons and many hiking trails along both. This was a mysterious trip. (For all I knew, they were taking me into the woods to kill me! just kidding....)

The dammed lake at the top of the trail.

We drove past several popular trailheads. Past the Silver Fork restaurant and the trailhead to one of my favorite little spots. We were going pretty much all the way to the top of the canyon at Solitude and Brighton ski areas.

Just when I thought we were either going to run out of road or start down the canyon on the other side, we pulled into a little parking area at a little visitor center that said "Solitude" and "Silver Lake" on the outside of the building.

Still some snow up here.

The hike was about 3 miles round-trip. It was fairly steep in some areas and I was breathing hard, because of the elevation and physical exertion. But the views along the way were amazing. I'm so glad I got up early on a weekday morning during my summer vacation.

Green and beautiful against a clear,
blue sky without a cloud in sight.

At the top we came to a dam and lake. There was snow on the far side of the lake. We decided to stay on our side of the lake to just sit and talk instead of wander to the other side. It was a beautiful day with clear skies, and because we'd gone up in the morning, it wasn't too hot out yet.

After sitting and talking for a while, we headed back down the trail taking some slightly different routes, but still enjoying the gorgeous scenery. The views were breath-taking.

We saw some wildlife. An unidentified rodent of some sort - a little smaller than a beaver. There were also birds and ducks and even a few chipmunks along the way. Thankfully we did not see any snakes!

And thankfully, they didn't take me out into the woods and kill me because I lived to tell you all about it in my blog. Now, I wonder how many more hikes I can get in during my next 100 posts?... TBD!

Heading back down the trail.

Back at the bottom of the trail we circle the lake again.
A momma duck and her babies swim by.

Amazing views of God's beautiful creation.

(Sub)Urban Hiker Girl Sets Out

My favorite kind of flower grows wild here!

Urban Hiker Girl set out today on a suburban walk. It was a beautiful fall day and I just couldn't stand sitting around indoors all day, so I put on shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt, tied on my tennis shoes, grabbed my headphones, turned on my GPS to map my walk and set out. 

Along the way I sang along to the music, saw some beautiful sights, and did some thinking. 

Not a lot, but just a little.

I thought about how flat it is here. No hills, so the walk was pretty mild compared to my urban hikes in Seattle.

And I thought about how absolutely beautiful it is here, but in a different way from Seattle. I can't say that I have a favorite, but I am so grateful for my home here.

And I thought about what a beautiful day it was and what a beautiful sunset we will have.

I love my new home.

How Urban Hiker Girl Came to be

BEFORE PICTURE: at church in 2012

I started walking a lot when I was dog-sitting for several weeks in December. I realized I liked walking the dogs; it was a good excuse to get out of the house- even in the rainy, cold weather.

In December I also realized that I didn't like the way I looked on the outside. It didn't match how I felt on the inside and I needed to do something to change that. I started putting together a plan for the new me. I would change my activity (also known as the dreaded "e" word: exercise, I also call it fitness), food (also known as "diet"), my flexibility, and my strength.

There were things I wanted to be able to do again or try doing:

• jogging (granted, I hate running, and after several months of improved fitness, I still don't like it, but I wanted to be able to do it without feeling like a slug)
• climbing a rockwall
• chasing my niece and nephew around the park
• volleyball and basketball (the two sports I love to coach)

And I was sure there would be other things I would discover that I like to do.

I put started putting together a rough plan to get into better shape. Not to get back to a certain size, but to FEEL the way I felt when I was a size 8. I felt vibrant and full of life. I felt like I could do anything. I felt sexy, desirable, beautiful. I felt confident and comfortable in my own skin.

BEFORE PICTURE: at a family wedding in July 2012

I created a timeline for one year of several areas I could change and mileposts I hoped to reach. My goal for the year wasn't my end milepost but a part-way goal. Some things I included:

1. January: 10 minutes of cardio 5 times a week, stretching 2-3 times a week
2. February: strength- 12 reps with 1lbs dumbbells
3. June: try new veggies and new ways of preparing veggies
4. October: try new soup and stew recipes

I also included my weigh loss goal for each month. I thought 5 pounds a month sounded reasonable and I hoped to be under 200 pounds by the end of the year. (I started at about 265.) My end goal is to get down to about 175; I'll need to reaffirm that with my doctor, but I recall being happy and healthy at that weight.

I knew I would have to make some changes to my lifestyle. No more sitting around all evening knitting and watching MI-5 or Doc Martin. I also knew that I would have to find activities that I could do that fit within my budget. Since my "gym" budget was $0 I had few options: 1- walking, 2- jogging (quickly nixed because I hate running and knew it would be too hard on my knees at my current weight), 3- rent exercise videos from the library. I had good walking shoes and don't mind walking at all so I chose door number 1 as my physical activity (a.k.a. exercise or fitness).

BEFORE PICTURE: at a family wedding in October 2014

Other changes included cutting out sweets and carbs. Not just because they are "bad" for you (calorie-wise and nutritionally), but because I've noticed that my body doesn't like them; my joints get sore, my shoulders and neck get tense, I get headaches, and I get moody. I also cut out carbs for similar reasons; I eat less bread and pasta. I sometimes miss those things, but if I have a little then those side effects come back and I remember why I gave them up in the first place. I realized that I CAN eat a salad or soup without having a roll- it's amazing! And not eating those things allows me to fill up on other foods. I discovered that I love eating veggies and fruit! (And as an added bonus, I get to eat more of them because they have fewer calories!)

DURING PICTURE: Urban Hiker Girl on a walk
in Ballard, April 2014

Here we are near the end of April and I'm down about 35 pounds. Granted, the first two months I lost 10 pounds each month; January I was suffering from insomnia and anxiety which made it hard to eat (I had no appetite due to the stress- I don't recommend it as a weight loss plan). February I was so into my new routine and in the excitement about my great progress that I kept working hard. Things have slowed down since and I've lost 5-7 pounds a month the last two months, but it's moving in the right directions. My new goal is to be at the 200 pound mark by the end of June (my birthday month- I'll be 35!).

Each month I reevaluate my goals for the next month. Sometimes I meet a goal early (like the weight loss goal), and sometimes I need to give myself a little grace because life is crazy and I may need more time to meet my fitness goal. For example, I had thought about running a 5k this summer. I don't think that will happen; not because I don't have the stamina, but because I'm older now than when I used to be able to run and I've been carrying a lot of extra weight for a while so my knees aren't up for it. I'm keeping the "run a 5k" goal in the back of my mind, I haven't completely given up on it, but I am listening to my body to see if and when it might be ready to tackle that.

DURING PICTURE: Urban Hiker Girl goes rural
at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, April 2014

I can walk a 5k, though, for sure, and even a 10k. I have created several routes for myself that range from 2-7 miles around my neighborhood. When I first started all this walking back in January, I would post my trips on Facebook for my friends to see. That's when I started calling myself "Urban Hiker Girl." I used a stopwatch app on my phone and Google maps to track my route, but over the months I've tried a few phone apps that will do both. I'm now using one that links to the online app where I also log my food. It's been a great time saver and more accurate, I hope, than my stopwatch and map.

So, that's the story of how "Urban Hiker Girl" came to be. Thanks, Rochelle, for the idea to start a blog about my adventures. Keep reading and share my blog with your friends! Let's encourage one another on our journeys!