Homemaking on the Homestead

When I turned 50 I decided it was time... it was time to get more fit. I decided it was time to focus on my health more than I had been doing. The easiest thing to do was to start walking. Of course that is when I realized how very out of shape I was! :) I did not let that stop me. I've been a big fan of walking because it can be done without equipment, no membership needed, and it can even be done in the home. I don't think there is anything wrong with equipment or gym memberships, I'm not knocking them, but they can also be obstacles when starting a journey to fitness. Something you have to wait for, or wait until you can afford it, etc. Walking can be done right now. One thing I would recommend is a good pair of shoes. If you start walking and enjoy it you'll put a lot of miles on and good shoes are a must. The other item I purchased to help motivate me to walk was a FitBit. I love the motivation it gives me. You don't need t...

Wednesday Snap Shot is a quick peek into my week. If you'd like to join in on my Wednesday Snap Shot.. copy and paste my post, add your answers (you can also copy the pic).. link your post to my blog and then come back and let me know you shared your week. I'll come and visit you and read about your homemaking week!! :) So Far This Week I'm very happy to say my daughter who has been living in S. Korea for the last 2 years, teaching, is now home. :) She finished out her last contract and decided she wanted time with family and to be home for a while. She arrived last week, with her new fiancé, in Los Angeles to visit his family. Very early this morning they arrived here. We were already in bed and now as I write this I am waiting for them to wake up and to give my girl a big mama hug. She is not quite sure what her next plan is but for the next few months she will be going to California to help her sister (my daughter Emily) with her new baby. S...

I have never viewed myself as a physically active person. As a child I detested P.E., I never enjoyed softball, soccer, or any other type of sport. I loved to read, go camping with my family, swim a bit and ride my bike. As I got older my dad started running and I would join him occasionally, but usually because he was asking me to. I did find I did not mind running but it was not something I was really drawn to at the time. As a young mom of 2 kids I took up running again. My dad, in an effort to encourage me, would come over to my house several times a week and watch the kids so I could run. I enjoyed that. As the years went by and I had more children the opportunities to get out and run were no more and I felt raising children was activity enough. I still never saw myself as a person who enjoyed getting out and being physical. I would make efforts now and again to try and get some exercise. I would take a class, or pop in a workout VHS tape off and on. But it was...

Well we are half way into January and I decided it was time to share an update on my fitness progress. One year ago I decided it was time to get up off the couch and start moving. I desired to be in shape. I was out of shape, and still am.. but the improvements I've seen in one year have been amazing. I posted my journey last year and added updates as the year went along. I am now one year into my fitness journey. So I wanted to update and give you a little bit more about my year. In January my main goal was to just .. move.. I did not like where I was at. I wanted to be more active. I began by walking. I still walk. And I love it. It costs me nothing, I don't need special equipment (other than a good pair of shoes!), I don't need a membership anywhere and I can do it in various ways any time and anywhere. My first goal was to walk a mile. When I step out my door, walk to the end of my driveway, down the road to where it meets the next road, turn ar...

I'm still walking!! And still making a point to get out and move every day. It has been great. I feel better than ever. My daughter Hannah and I have been getting together weekly to walk and hike in various places with the grand kids. Our goal is to get them able to walk more and more distance. Last week we walked over 3 miles.. and they did great. We had the stroller for the baby.. he has little legs that are not ready to walk that distance. I am so in love with walking. A friend said to me... you have to find your “soul mate” exercise. The one thing that you look forward to, not feel dread about. I have to say walking is that for me. Walking is amazing. It is free, it is easy, it does not cost anything. It is a fantastic way to take in God's creation. It is my think time, it is my prayer time, it is my sanctuary.. I walk.. any issues in life that were bothering me 3 miles ago.. no longer seem so bad. I feel energized. When I first started I'd walk a...

Quite often when I go out for a walk I do it with one of my children. But often, as they have busy lives, I head out on my own. The other morning when I went out on my walk I realized how much more I saw and heard. The wildflowers, the sound of the creek rushing down, birds, the cows mooing in my neighbors field. That quiet walk was so enjoyable. I had time to soak it all in, spent time praying for family and friends, and worked on getting more fit. All in all it was a blessed walk. A few pics from my walk.. The wildflowers... The creek I pass by... The neighbors cows...   No matter where you go for your walk.. stop to take notice of God's creation.. it is everywhere!!    

Just a few tidbits to share. Life with fewer kids at home is different!! But there is so much that I'm enjoying. Almost like rediscovering life in a new way. I've enjoyed the peace and quiet of the mornings. I'm enjoying the slower pace. I'm enjoying being able to have the time to focus on things like walking and striving to be more physically active and healthy. But one thing I'm really enjoying is spending more time with my daughter Hannah and my grandchildren. It has been a huge blessing to me. Last week we had our first 80 degree day and Hannah and I were very eager to get out and walk, enjoy the sunshine and work out the wiggles with the kids. We live near a small river (well, small compared to the Columbia River that we also live near) and at one part of the river there is a beautiful walking trail. It's a little over 2 miles. We took the kids and Hannah's new puppy and set out for an afternoon of fun. The kids loved it, Hannah and I lo...

I'm continuing to walk as often as possible. The weather here has been a mixture of sun and nice days and strings of rainy days. I'm not great at being motivated to walk in the rain. Ok.. the truth.. I'm terrible at it!! I dislike the rain and somehow going out for a 2 or 3 mile walk in the rain has zero appeal to me. When the weather can be rainy for several days in a row I really start to feel my lack of exercise time. My solution? Leslie Sansone Walk at Home dvd's. I love them. My preference is being outside in the fresh air and sunshine, but when that is not possible I use her dvd's. She's inspiring and the dvd's make walking in your living room fun. I have several of her videos and below I have links to a couple of my favorite ones. (these are affiliate links and I thank you for any support to my little blog)     So all my walking had me thinking about how much in a day do I actually walk? Not just my official walk times. The...

I'm working to get a bit more fit. I've never had a regular exercise routine. I have had a very busy life over the years... kids to keep up with, barn chores, animals to take care of, gardens to grow and harvest. One of the things I noticed as my life has started changing is that I'm not as busy as I once was and did not like the changes I saw in my own body. I decided it was time to spend a little more effort on my health. I've started my health quest by just simply walking. I've been walking about 2 miles a day. At first it was challenging. I will say that I live in an area that is pretty much all on a hill. I live in a Gorge.. this is mountains on both sides and a river that runs between it. So when I set out on my walk it is mostly downhill. I walk a mile and turn around and walk the mile back.. mostly all uphill. And my muscles feel it!! But it has been a good thing, given me more energy and motivation. I took a few pics today on my walk (and...