A killer day

I live in the Middle of Nowhere, so when I shop, I have to drive a ways to get to a store. And when I really shop, I drive farther and take care of several errands at once. This saves gas, time, and wear and tear on the car.

It does not, however, save wear and tear on me.

Yesterday was one of those big shopping days. I walked four miles early in the morning, played with the dumbbells, drank a lot of water (bad idea when you're traveling, but hey, I managed), got organized and left the house around 11:30 a.m. Which was an hour later than I'd hoped to leave. With all the chores on my list yesterday I didn't think I'd make it home until dark.

Here's what the day looked like:

• Lowe's for a roll of fencing for the blackberries
• Local mall to see if my black Clark clogs could be repaired. The couldn't. Had to buy new black Clark clogs. Grrr.
• K-Mart to check the price on sheer curtains, which I would buy if they were less expensive per yard than tulle.
• JoAnn's for fabric and notions to make my younger granddaughter's Halloween costume. She's going to be a bride. Tulle is cheaper than K-Mart sheers. Yeah! Don't have to go back to K-Mart!
• Sam's Club for coffee beans and a whole bunch of other stuff.
• Wal-Mart for the rest of my list.

I got home at 5, amazingly, and dinner (chicken fajitas) was on the table by 6. I am woman, hear me roar.

By 8 p.m. the roar was a whimper, and by 8:15 I was asleep. Seriously! I usually read for an hour or so before I nod off, but after only a couple of pages I was done for the night. Woke up around 5:45 this morning and feel like a new woman.

The power of restorative sleep.

Gingersnapper posted a few links yesterday for body-weight exercises, as she promised she would do in a comment. That's the kind of advice I love. I know I need to do some strength training. Her comment that moving the dumbbells from one place to another counted as a workout made me laugh and encouraged me to actually do it. I ended up carrying two fives and two threes and then actually doing real exercises with them, as you know if you read the Stats post yesterday afternoon.

Yesterday's work was upper body, so today I'll do lunges and squats. I don't see Squat Thrusts (Mountain Climber) happening in the near future, though. That looks hard!

The way to manage this new plan of attack is to take it a day at a time and to get it done early in the day. My motivation and energy level are highest in the morning. Once it's done, I can lay around the shanty the rest of the day.

Or do laundry. Take your pick.