I hate having a desk job.

Sit, sit, sit all day with no movement from the waist down.

And other than walking (very minimally) from point A to point B, I don't utilize the greatest exercise opportunity that i have within myself. (I'm working on changing that.)

Simply increasing the steps you take per day can really have a drastic affect on your life.

According to Wendy Bumgardner, walking blogger extraordinaire, you should begin by increasing "your pedometer steps by 2000 per day, up to a goal first of 6000 steps per day and eventually to 10,000 steps per day."

Be sure to warm up before you walk. You need to wake up your muscles and let them know you'll be needing to use them for awhile. Go at an easy pace for 5-10 minutes or so. About.com says "this will tell your muscles they can't just sit back and burn up the available sugars in your body; they need to call on the fat reserves." Consider this an exercise primer.

For the next 30-60 minutes, you should walk at a "determined" pace.

(You remember that one time you were late for that one thing, and how you walked as fast as you could to get there? The sense of urgency in your step? Yeah, kinda like that.)

I like to use the talk test.

Taken from the center for disease control and prevention, the talk test is a simple method of measuring activity intensity. "A person who is active at a light intensity level should be able to sing while doing the activity. One who is active at a moderate intensity level should be able to carry on a conversation comfortably while engaging in the activity. If a person becomes winded or too out of breath to carry on a conversation, the activity can be considered vigorous."

Be sure to give your body a cool down time by walking at a slower pace for five minutes. (It's also recommended to finish off your walking excursion with some stretching. I'm not there yet.)

Something new I learned today: it is not recommended to add outside weight to your body while walking. If you do, you should add no more than 10 pounds and wear it in a backpack or at your hips so your body can remain balanced and your posture is not thrown off. Walking with poor posture or adding weight to your arms or legs can lead to injury.

Oops! I occasionally use ankle and wrist weights to add intensity ... this is a no-no now.

Even if you don't have time for a regimented exercise plan, try implementing a few of these in your life:

And finally, what would an informational post be without calculators?

In an all-consuming relationship for the past few years, bestest had focused on her freshly-graduated life and guy. It was a mostly long-distance thing, so I understood when evenings out or weekend jaunts were pushed aside in order to spend time with him. She was happy, so who was I to question it? After all, husband and I had a fairly lengthy long-distance portion ourselves, so I KNEW what it was like to miss each other.

When guy started becoming wishy-washy, though, we warned her that it wouldn't end well. Being blindly in love, she held on. It's easy for outsiders to say we'd just leave in situations like that, but honestly, I'm sure I would have tried to salvage the YEARS put in to something that was mostly good. Nevertheless, we took a step back and withdrew our advice—she needed to figure this out on her own.

After a few months of back and forth, she reached her limit. She was tired of watching friendships and LIFE opportunities flit past while she waited for guy to get on the same page as her.

This strong woman stood up for herself and reclaimed her life. She is ready to move on, and we are ready for her.

I love you, bestest.  

 

A few months ago, I felt as if I would break under the pressure of it all—job, money, health, family ... LIFE. Yes, I complained once or twice. Despite all the positivity I possess, It's hard to just get past the crappy hand dealt, you know?

 

The wallowing didn't last for long, though. In the downpour, I had a simple decision to make: sink or swim. I strapped on my arm floaties and paddled for the shore. It's taken MONTHS, but I finally see land. Things are still sucky sometimes, but I think KNOW I'm going to make it. 

...

I wasn't going to say anything yet, but I interviewed for a new job today. It's an internal position; a decent step up my own career ladder ... I have fingers, toes and everything else crossed for it (so you should, too!). Plus, after swearing it off completely, I'm taking on freelance projects again. (It just didn't make sense not to, really.)

My friend often says "payback is a bitch." If that's the case, I'm happily saying "yes, please!"

Husband seemed to enjoy my miniature "ode to him" last night ... so much so, he sent me a lovely note a few minutes ago. He attempted to brighten my day, and TOTALLY succeeded.

I really didn't have much to say in the way of a general "catch-up" for you all—sorry about that. Life has been crazy and tumultuous and wonderful, all at the same time. Through it all, I can't lose sight of the person who loves me—not because he has to, but because he wants to. A man who sees my beauty through the tears, and the simple side of a complicated situation. He is my rock, and the main reason I get out of bed every morning to achieve things I never thought possible. To my cheerleader and best friend, this post—and everything I do—is for you.

Today is my first day off in almost two weeks. I hardly know what to do with myself, to be honest. I've quickly fallen into the "work is life" mindset, considering I'm there almost every waking moment. When I'm not there, I'm still thinking about it. UGH.

At it's core, my job is wonderful. It's a high-profile position at a high-profile company. I get to be creative by writing about and advertising our goods. Things I say matter, and those thoughts are shared with consumers daily. Because of the economy (and new processes/people), it has been a challenge for us to get everything done in our 40-hour window. Because of that, this salaried gal has been working 60-some hours to do my part in keeping it going. We'll get it together soon, but in the meantime ... I'm consumed.

I miss interacting with you all, but I need to do what I can to survive this crazy time in the real world. Some of you understand that, some of you don't. At the end of the day, I'm okay with that.

I still have a major update in store, but I want to hold off a few days on it (can't go jinxing things, can I?). Perhaps a protected post is in order. We'll see. 

Loves.

A REAL update to come soon ... big things are in the works. Wish me luck!

A familiar voice crooned over the radio airwaves this evening.

I flashed back to a Valentine's day from more than a few years ago. I was absolutely head over heels in love with the "man of my dreams."

I recall how excited I was when the phone rang that afternoon. "I wonder what he has planned tonight!?" I thought. Dinner? A movie? After a few moments of chatting, it was clear an evening of fun was planned ... it just wasn't an evening with me.

Instead of spending Valentine's day together (as we had planned), he'd be going out with his buddies. "Jennifer, don't be so upset. It's just one night." In the grand scheme of things, he was right; it WAS only one night. Despite the hurt and disappointment, I gave him the space he craved. Looking back, though, that night was the beginning of the end. His bastardly actions grew to be more heinous over the next year, but that didn't matter. I knew he was it for me. I begged God to help me keep him, and I cried for months when He didn't grant my wish.

And then, God brought me Alex. I thank Him every day for that.

A local store put up a creative Valentine's Day display in their storefront windows. The display was a giant red heart, fashioned out of wrapped condoms. The intent is to promote AIDS awareness and safe sex, under a "give love, get love" tagline. The news story asked several people their thoughts on the display (mostly teenage or 20-something girls, way to spread the interviews around) and the general consensus -- reached amidst the naive giggling -- was that while being a good message, it was inappropriate for kids to be exposed to.

What?!?! First of all, unless you knew what a condom was, it would simply look like a giant heart.

Second, In today's world, kids are exposed to sex at a younger age than ever. We are at a place where we have sex, but don't discuss the repercussions of our actions. We aren't being honest with ourselves. What's wrong with being honest about protection? I don't know that I knew much about condoms or sex until my mid-teens (shameful, but I was sheltered and blissfully unaware. Because of this, I've struggled with speaking about sex through the years. Times are different now.) I think the marketing was impactful and more honest than most of America is willing to be with our children.

No, this shouldn't be a person's first introduction to a condom, I realize, but dammit, it should serve as a reminder of what COULD happen when you have sex without thinking. People die from not using one of those. Initiate the dialogue.

Also worth noting, I wrote this whole thing on the iPhone (the need to blog about this was overwhelming. You're welcome.)