Barefoot & On The Mat: January 2022 Happy New Year!

[YogaGal]

We started watching Don’t Look Up the last week of December. I already knew the basic plot so it wasn’t anything surprising and just seemed ok. I was tired from cleaning house all day and fell asleep about an hour into it. When I woke up DH was bored with it and ready to watch something else. We may go back sometime to watch the ending, or not. I started recording Around the World yesterday (got both episodes 1 and 2), but we haven’t seen them yet. DH and I became fans of David Tennant after watching Broadchurch on Netflix, so I am generally interested in anything he is in. We both enjoyed Maid on Netflix recently. Sad topic about a young mother who leaves her spouse due to emotional abuse and deals with her mother who has her own issues, but also very good performances and a good ending.

Today I started Kassandra’s week-long Yoga and Meditation challenge, doing Day 1 today, preceded by Jessica’s Fit in 15 Upper Body Burn on YT. Yesterday DH and I enjoyed a nice mid-day bike ride (about 8 miles) to enjoy our sunny 70-degree weather (don’t hate me; we have highs in the 100’s in October) and to celebrate his birthday. We also had Linner eating outside on a restaurant patio.

Sandra: Snuggling with a warm throw, a cup of hot tea, and a kitty on your lap sounds like perfection. My fur-babies sometimes sleep on the couch next to us, but aren’t into laps just yet. What is your work schedule like these days? Working more or less hours?

Pat: I saw that you recently did Kassandra’s Evening Day #7 and I did that with DH last Saturday. It was a good practice for him since he somehow hurt his foot a few weeks ago and is trying to stay off of it as much as possible while it heals. This being a mostly supine practice made it a good option. Hope your weather warms soon.

Linda: I hope you can start gaining some weight, but I understand that is difficult given your limited food choices. Glad to hear that Meow and your man are taking good care of you.

Beth: Those migraines of yours are proving quite the conundrum! When trying multiple remedies, you aren’t able to isolate which one is helpful and it sounds like the right “cure” might vary depending on the day. I hope you are feeling better soon. At least you are enjoying some work-free Fridays! I start back to work on Tuesday, Jan. 18.

Margot: Sorting out pension issues does not sound like fun. In March I’ll be signing up for Medicare as I’ll turn 65 in June. Thanks for your recommendation on 'Around the World in 80 Days.’ We’ll start on it later this week.

cyana: Thanks so much for sharing that chickpea recipe from the Spain on a Fork website. I have never heard of it, but will be checking them out for additional recipes. LOL at the cats and the blender story! Those are some determined cats!

Paine and cyana: My DH also controls the remote most of the time and he doesn’t care much for medical shows. We watched ER years ago, but in the meantime, he’s had to deal too often with personal medical care and doesn’t want to watch much of it on tv for entertainment.

Pam: Hope you are enjoying your vacation!

Sending some Arizona Sunshine to everyone who needs it!

[JustSandra]

Hi everyone!

A workout yesterday didn't happen.

Today's Workout: For Margaret Monday I did Sections 3 and 4 of Good For You. Margot, I hope you enjoy these!

Linda: That's a tough decision re your doctor.

Carolyn: I currently work 20/hours a week -- 5-hour days Wednesday through Saturday. Now that the holidays are over, though, I'm starting to think again about choosing a retirement date. I'll be 67 in May. I love my library and my co-workers, but I also do want a retirement. Over the years a couple of my co-workers passed away without ever taking one day of their retirement, and I don't want that to happen to me!

Cyana: That was a funny story about the cats and the Vitamix box!

Paine: Thanks for mentioning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I definitely want to see the latest season.

Waving to all!

[toaster]

Carolyn, I don't think of the recent head pain as migraines because they don't have the traditional one-sided throbbing migraine pain - my actual migraines have been much better! I agree about trying multiple remedies at once making it hard to isolate what is working/what's not. Although I'm working 4-day weeks this week and next, classes don't start up again until 1/26, so my schedule is fairly relaxed until then. Love that you are enjoying great weather and that you had Linner outside! (We had Linner at Panera Bread after shopping today, LOL.)

Pat, to answer your question about sinus pressure, I don't think so, but I guess I'm not sure. I think of sinus pressure being in the nose and cheeks. When I get what I call pressure headaches, it's more like a traditional tension-type headache in that I can feel it across my forehead, but there's not really any throbbing or pounding, just more of a sense of tightness in that whole area. Maybe my terminology is off; that's just how it feels to me, and it feels very distinct from when I get a migraine.

cyana, I hope your work schedule has been more manageable. Are you off next Monday for MLK Day? I actually have to work then (we get it as a holiday, but for some odd reason our department is open, and so we need coverage), so I'm taking next Friday off instead; I'm off this Friday as well. I do appreciate being on a college calendar schedule!

Sandra, I think you are smart to start thinking about retirement; I hope you are able to work that out soon.

I think DH has become more addicted to Goodwill than me, haha. We enjoyed our little outing there today. Our next outing is going to be less fun (at least for him) - we need to set aside a time to finally go out and get our smartphones.

[yogapam]

Good morning!

Yesterday’s offerings:
~Go Easy (Kate V. YouTube) + a few extra hip stretches
~long walk, racked up over 22,000 steps

Paine - We’ve watched all of The Marvelous Mrs Maisel & loved it.

Sandra - I hope your retirement plans work out.

Carolyn - We also enjoyed Maid, although it was a sad story. A lot of it was filmed in our area so we saw some familiar landmarks.

Waves to all!

[Margot]

Hello everyone!

Yesterday's workouts:
- HealthBarre Day 1 of Day 10 Challenge, which is 10 x 1 hour workouts with 2 days off in between at the weekend. We'll see how far I get!
- David-Dorian Ross AM Chi (YT). Thank you for the link Cyana.
- Yin Yoga Challenge Day 1 - Dragon Pose
- Body Groove Elevate Day 4 (15 mins)

Today so far:
- HealthBarre Day 2
- Karin's Hand to Heart
- Short Neighbourhood Walk

I may be biting off more than I can chew, but I'm thinking of starting Kassandra's yoga and meditation challenge tonight with Day 2 of the Yin Yoga Challenge (Saddle Pose). At least these are only around 10 minutes long.

Beth - Hope you'll eventually be able to figure out the root cause of your pressure headaches. Seasonal allergies are really common, especially coming into the Fall. I've been getting sinus symptoms for the past couple of weeks and thought it might be wool, as I've had problem wearing woollen sweaters before but when I tested yesterday, it turns out to be moulds and mould spores. Not surprising, considering how damp it has been lately.

Sandra - I'm looking forward to getting back to Margaret. Good luck with making your decision. You'll know when it feels right.

Carolyn - The first 2 episodes of 'Around the World' were good but from episode 3, DH and I were both hooked. Thank you for recommending 'Maid' on Netflix. It sounds like something we'd like and I do like a happy ending. I'd love some 70 degree weather at the moment.

Cyana - I don't understand this 'cookie cutter' prescribing either. My DH's surgeon wanted him to take some meds, even though his blood test results were excellent and there was no need to take them. When DH read that one of the side effects was 'death', then it was much easier for him to make up his mind!

Linda - Thank you for recommending David-Dorian Ross. I'll have to check out 'The Great Courses'. So far, I'm really liking his work and it's interesting to see how similar some of the moves are to Qigong. Hope you can get your energy back soon.

Waves to Pat, Paine and Pam.

[Paine]

Flow and Yin with Donna Helm-Yost (first 40 minutes of Yin Yoga practice)

Carolyn, I took a look at Jessica’s Fit in 15 Upper Body Burn on YouTube and bookmarked it--thank you for mentioning it.
My DH and I saw another episode of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and we are really enjoying it. It makes us laugh a lot.

Beth, I hope you love your new smart phone.

[YogaGal]

Today was Jessica Smith’s Energy Boost Walk from 5 Mix & Match Miles followed Day 2 of Kassandra’s Yoga and Meditation challenge; today was a nice Yin stretch for the hips and lower back.

Beth: I neglected to mention that a trip to Goodwill was included after our Linner on Sunday! DH likes to look for books to sell on eBay.

Sandra: Planning to retire at 67 sounds about right. I’m working about 25 hours/week now and I think that 20- to 25-hour work weeks for a few years is a nice way to transition into a full retirement. It is sad and scary to hear of people dying in their 60s or early 70s with little or no time to enjoy retirement.

Pam: It’s fun to watch films/tv filmed in locations you are familiar with! We used to live in Albuquerque and looked for familiar sights when watching Breaking Bad which filmed there. I was halfway or more through Maid before I learned that the mother-daughter in the show were mother-daughter in real life!

Margot: DH and I ended up watching those first 2 episodes of Around the World in 80 Days last night. We both enjoyed it and DH is bummed that we have to wait until Sunday for another episode. We like it now, but it’s good to hear that it gets even better.

Paine Glad you liked the Jessica workout; I plan on doing the Fit in 15 Lower Body set tomorrow. We would probably like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, but don’t have Amazon Prime. I think we will have to rotate subscriptions from different platforms (Paramount+, Prime, etc.) in order to catch some of the series we’d like to see.

[toaster]

Carolyn, so cool that we both did Linner/Goodwill! We always look at the books last before we go.

Paine, I'm sure I will love having the iphone! DH is more hesitant but I think it will grow on him too.

Margot, I think seasonal allergies are a factor for me too, especially when I get more congested. You got some good workouts in there!

Pam, I like that several people here are now using Kate Vantucci's YouTube routines. I know you said that she's a little overly goofy for you at times, but I feel like she's a kindred spirit, haha.

It's less than 10F here too! I'm working remotely, which is nice, but I do have to go out to teach yoga later...brrr!!!

[Paine]

Beth, my DH is addicted to his iPhone! I've noticed that a lot of people are addicted to their smart phones but I am not although I'm thankful to have one.
It's 77 degrees F and sunny here!

[toaster]

Paine, DH is pretty addicted to his desktop computer - but he doesn't go a lot of places, so it's unlikely that he will shift that to the iphone. I am similar in that I use my laptop a lot and much prefer it to my ipod (although I think I will get a bit more use from the iphone).