February 16, 2008

Recycling!

I Don't See a Slot For Blog Posts

[By Crabby]

Don't worry, this isn't a post nagging you to clean out your funky-smelling milk containers and save your used tea bags for the compost heap. I know you folks are green as all get-out and you're all over that stuff already.

(I keep having these nagging recycling questions myself, like: used napkins-- are they paper or garbage? Does it depend on what food they were used for and how disgusting they got? But never mind--like I said, this isn't actually about that kind of recycling).

So I just wrote a comment in an attempt to win a contest at Blogher, which is a pretty hopeless quest but I figured what the hell. And then I thought, why waste what's essentially a short post? So I decided I'd "recycle" the darn comment here.

For other Blogher folks who may be interested in entering the contest and spoiling my chances, the contest is about Your Plans to Live Healthier in 2008.

Note: the deadline is soon and there is a harsh and punitive WORD LIMIT of 250, which made it really hard for me because I do not tend to shut up about anything after writing a mere 250 words. I can't write a grocery list that short even if all I need is milk.

The competition looks pretty stiff, because everyone wants an all-expense paid trip to the Blogher conference in San Francisco this summer, which is the prize. (I'm assuming they know I will no longer be living near SF by then and hate to fly. I'm guessing if I win they'll send a very patient limo driver to Provincetown MA to pick me up and ferry me cross-country. Right, Blogher?)

Unfortunately, lots of the other contestants actually went out and did a bunch of cool new healthy things, which puts me at a decided disadvantage. But here we go anyway!

Crabby's Three Awesome Health Resolutions for 2008:

1. I'm going to run my very first MARATHON! Hooray for me!
1. Oh wait... my knees are pretty trashed. But I'm gonna do lots of healthy stretching and strengthening, and work up to running 5-7 miles five times a week!
1. Err, strike that. How about three to four miles, five times a week? That's still pretty darn healthy!
1. Ouch. Ow ow ow.
1. Sigh. I'll go running ONCE a week and return to dorky race-walking and elliptical like before.

2. I'm going to eat nothing but fresh organic produce, lean protein, whole grains, nuts and seeds and olive oil and I'll never touch another evil cupcake or eat another plate of nachos ever again!
2. Plus maybe a little dark chocolate and red wine, too. Those are good for you.
2. Okay, only ONE cupcake a week, as a treat.
2. Oops. Well maybe some weeks two cupcakes... But definitely only one order of nachos a quarter. Err, per month... Okay, per week.
2. Um, so lets say I resolve to eat pretty healthy MOST of the time, like I was doing already.

3. I'm going to resolve to keep improving my physical and mental well-being in every way possible every single day!
3. Um... most of the time, anyway.
3. Oh dear. Well, maybe I'll just try my best to be as healthy as I can. Life's too short for perfection!

So it's a holiday weekend for a lot of people, and I know you're all out playing and I hope you're having a great time. But if you're doing something healthier in 2008, Cranky Fitness would love to hear about it, especially if it keeps you from going over to tell Blogher about it and stealing my all expense paid trip.

Have a great weekend everyone!

22 comments:

  1. "I'll just try my best to be as healthy as I can. Life's too short for perfection."
    That's the best way to look at it.

    I refuse to do anything healthier in 2008. I do fine as it is. If I did anything else I'd resent it.

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  2. You could sign up to walk a marathon, you know. Lots of folks do. :-)

    I have no special plans for 2008 except quit slacking on core and upper body work. I like how my arms look when I'm being consistent with the weights and they don't look like that right now.

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  3. Bunnygirl and Leah, if you two did anything radically different in 2008 I'd be totally freaked out. You guys are already role models for physical & mental health.

    And good point, bunnygirl, I could think about WALKING a marathon, it sure wouldn't kill me and might be a really good idea.

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  4. I'm training to run a 5K, hopefully in April, but definitely one in May.

    I'm following Weight Watchers and trying to eat lots of veggies and fruits. I'm not going to say anything about cutting down on chocolate or sweets, cuz as soon as I do, I'll go on a sugar binge. Better to focus on eating more healthy foods than lie to myself and say I'll eat less (or, god forbid, no!) junk.

    Anything on top of that is considered a definite bonus!

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  5. Xenia those sound like really healthy goals, and I'm with you on the sugar thing--no use pretending I'm NEVER going to have sweets 'cause that just ain't happening.

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  6. The Bag Lady ..... well, umm.... agrees with your list. And um....bought a workout ball!! And, er....as soon as the Cowboy goes back to work, she'll blow the dust off it and try it out. Yeah, that's it...
    And have no fear about her trying to steal your trip - you deserve it!!

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  7. I'm trying to have at least two vegan meals a day. I figure it's good for the environment, definitely much better for the animals, and can't hurt me any...

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  8. lol your list looks very realistic - it's in the bag!

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  9. I am trying to inject variety into my workouts. I have learned yoga things like "The Sun Salutation."

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  10. life is too short for perfection.
    WAY TOO MANY people try and encourage me to run and I always tell them I DO!
    if chased.

    C.

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  11. In response to the question you asked me in your last post...glass tile. I have seen it on a couple of decorating shows and the effect is stunning. You get a more subtle coloration due to the transparency of the glass. I have seen them do it with small tiles (kitchen backsplashes, tiled showers).

    If that isn't your taste I would go with natural colors. I think they will hold value and trend the longest. You can put your "trendy colors" in your accessories.

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  12. My goals for 2008? After my year as Shape's Weight-Loss Diary columnist and being completely obsessed with the number on the scale, I'm hanging on to all the great lessons I learned about healthy eating and exercise and letting go of the obsession part. If I eat right 90 percent of the time and move my body in some way every day, I'll be just fine.

    You're so right -- life is too short for perfection and really, does perfection exist anyway?

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  13. Hi Crabby,

    This year I am working on decreasing the amount of meds I take by increasing my healthy habits.

    Terrie

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  14. Well Bag lady, have a ball! (sorry).

    And Jen, eating less meat is definitely healthy and nicer to the animals--and I think vegans get a lot less saturated fats so that's good too. So good for you.

    Thanks Cactusfreek! Though I suspect the folks at Blogher probably have something less smartass in mind.

    Hi Bluest Butterfly! Variety is a great idea, I need to remember to mix it more myself.

    Carla you crack me up, as always.

    And Holly, thanks! I LOVE glass tile--not sure it's in the budget or not, as the places we've gone charge a fortune for it, but you definitely have good taste. We're struggling on whether to use "happy" versus "natural" colors for the master bath. The rest of the house is going to be pretty calm and muted and it might be our one little area to go a bit beachy with some blues or greens. Glass would be awesome but we'll see...

    And Dara, sounds like a really healthy approach--I'm a believer in the 90% rule too! If I try to go above that and cut out the other 10% of treats I get too cranky and tend to act out.

    Great idea Terrie--good luck with it!

    (You all would have a much better chance of winning the blogher contest with all your healthy changes, but I believe the deadline may have just expired, sorry...)

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  15. Crabby,

    Now that you're living in MA, you could do the Walk for Hunger, which I think is in May (I haven't walked it since high school, but that's my recollection). It's 20 miles, starts on the Boston Common, walks out to the reservoir around through some unknown suburban places, then back down the Esplanade. A good walk, and definitely along one. My feet always used to hurt after I did it!

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  16. Sounds like a great idea Leth--though I'm always better at the walking part than the asking people for money part!

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  17. Hey Crabby! I guess we've switched places; I grew up near Boston and now live just south of San Francisco.

    My live healthy goals are to go back to my foodie ways. I've been a bit of a slacker in the cooking department. I'm also going for my pilates teacher certification next month. (Yikes! Yay! Yikes and yay!)

    Plus, I want to work on strength. I want to be able to do a pull-up, darn it!

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  18. Hey Azusmom, I grew up just south of SF. I don't think I could move to Boston though. Has anyone warned Ms. Crabby about that Winter thing they have going on six months of the year? (Or was is nine months? All the ex-Bostonians I know tell fearsome tales about snow and ice and Patriots fans ;)

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  19. Actually, it's almost 60 degrees in Boston today! Raining cats and dogs, but we'll just conveniently ignore that little fact. It should start to get nice sometime in April...

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  20. Well, my plans for this year include trying to eat healthier and do something called.... exercise, I think? Yeah, that's the right word.

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  21. Speaking of cupcakes Crabby, have you been to the TeaCake Bake shop in Emeryville near IKEA. Oh my, their devils food cupcake is like my kryptonite. I MUST eat it. When I'm in the vicinity I get pulled in by some magical magnetic force and the brainwash kicks in... Must eat cupcakes...Must eat cupcakes...hehehe...PS. I entered the BlogHer thing too. Yours is much more fun than mine ;)

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  22. azusmom,
    I wanna be able to do a pull-up too! I have to use the machine that helps you. I could do 'em when I was little, but ever since boobage, no way. However, I'm not sure I actually want to do the amount of training that would get me my unassisted pull up, so I'll just have to live vicariously through you.

    Merry: yeah, that winter thing. I think we're planning to leech off of err... provide invaluable assistance to the Lobster's mom at her sunny California home during those months of the year.

    Leth: April? Well, that's not too bad...

    Reb, I bet you'll do a great job with the E word, as yucky as it sounds.

    And Stephanie, I don't know whether to thank you or curse you for the cupcake tip! Probably both. (And your entry was WAY more inspiring than mine!)

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