Sweating Out The Toxins -- and A Grateful Giveaway!

Yesterday, I sat around a lot. 

(NOTE: you'll want to read all the way to the end of this post to find out how you can win the gratitude journal that I'm selling in my shop).

I wrote, I read, I watched some TV, I did a teeny bit of yard work, paid soe bills and got a little bit organized (though my house is still a disaster), but mostly I just sat around a lot.

And then at 4 PM I decided I was going to be VERY mad at myself if I didn't get the exercise I'd declared I was going to get.  Not guilty, mind you, but MAD. 

I set out thinking I'd just go for a 45 minute walk, and then could do a 45 minute walk today to hit my remaining 90 minutes to my monthly goal.  After all, it was 90 degrees and HOT out there -- but then I kept thinking about how awesome it would be to just get my 90 minutes DONE so that today I could take a rest day if I wanted to.  So I decided I'd do the approximate 90 minute loop that I used to run when I was training...

Except, duh, I'm walking now.  So 90 minutes was actually 2 hours.  And about 5.5 miles.  And 90 degrees.  And I not only met -- but exceeded -- my monthly goal.  A day early (with plans to walk at lunch today with a co-worker).

THANKYOUVERYMUCH.

And what a beautiful walk it was -- hot, indeed, but there was a FIERCE wind blowing, and much of my walk was shaded.  I started to kinda lose it in the last 20 minutes -- very thirsty and sweaty -- but mostly I just felt GOOD.  Like I was sweating all the toxins out of my body... I didn't even bring music, just my phone and my feet, swingin' down the pavement.

And what a beautiful walk it was -- the wind was quite powerful, as you can see from the sailboat picture below... but it was a very clear, sunny, blue-skied day, and I loved every minute of it. 

It had apparently been a while since I walked all the way around the lake, because I was thrilled to notice the Nokomis Art Walk, a project funded by the city as part of a park beautification project.  Every 50 feet or so there was a new piece of art with a sign explaining what it was, the artist who created it, and how to purchase if interested.  Very cool! 

Also, on the West side of Cedar, there is a giant mock dinosaur / Lochness Monster in the lake -- hilarious, except that I keep waiting for somebody to drive off the Cedar Avenue Bridge while staring at it.  Apparently her name is Minne -- and I saw her two summers ago when she lived in Lake Harriet (I actually saw her when Kath visited and we went for a walk around the lake), but I didn't realize that she was now living in my 'hood).  You can watch the video if you click on the link above -- I couldn't figure out how to embed it, so this is just a screen shot below. 

Anyway, just a few rare treats of a Minneapolis summer, which again remind me why I am grateful to live here.

And speaking of being grateful -- I'm really excited because I'm ready to do my very first OpenSky product giveaway!

Daily Gratitude Journal!

I've been keeping a gratitude journal for over a year now -- just a little place where I can jot down three simple things a day that I am grateful for.  At first it was really easy -- my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my house, my job, food on the table, money in the bank, a car that drives, a neighborhood I love.. but once you hammer out all the OBVIOUS stuff, it gets really hard - especially on a really bad day. I  find myself being grateful for things like... my favorite flowers were on sale at the market.  Or I made a really healthy, satisfying meal, or my favorite song played on my way home from the office.  I had a great workout.  a good night's sleep.  That sort of stuff.  BUT, what I love about this exercise is that it causes you to take a moment and pause and recognize the GOOD in life, rather than focusing on the bad.

The people at This Is It were kind enough to send me a sample of this darling little Gratitude Journal, which I'm selling here in my shop, and on Friday, I'd like to give it to one of YOU (because my readers are definitely on the list of things I am grateful for!)

So here's how you enter:
First of all, "Like" this post on Facebook (I think you have to be logged into FB in another window to do so), then leave a comment HERE ON THE BLOG IN THE COMMENTS SECTION telling me what you're grateful for this week.

On Friday, I'll enter all the names into a randomizer and pick a winner, and the cute little journal will be yours.  I will email you to let you know that you won, so make sure you enter your email address when you comment... Of course, if you still want one, you can buy one in my OpenSky shop.


FUN, huh?  I still think I'm not entirely doing this whole OpenSky thing correctly, but hopefully I'll figure it out soon!

On that note -- I'm wrapping this up just in time for an 11 AM meeting.  After that I'm going walking / having lunch with a co-worker... and the it is an afternoon of meetings and work before I head home to cook a healthy dinner.

B: Smoothie
L: Sandwich, baked chips, vegetables, granola bar
S: popcorn (if I need it)
D: shrimp & pineapple skewers, mango couscous, sugar snap peas

Off and walking,
~Jessica