Springtime and a Wordle...

I have a couple things I want to write about today...

1. I took Alina's advice and spent some time outside. This weekend I had a chance to go to the White House Spring Garden Tour, which allows people to go on the White House grounds and check out the gardens. I think the most impressive of the gardens was the Kitchen Garden. They had quite the collection of food! The only problem is that the garden is a little walk from The White House (poor Michelle, who has to walk all the way down to the garden to get her veggies...).

 The day was originally a little cloudy and a bit chilly, but by the afternoon, the day turned out to be really nice. My friends and I walked down from The White House to the Capital to get some lunch and it was such a pleasant walk! It was only about 2.5 miles, but in good weather and great company, a very enjoyable experience.



2. Have you heard of Wordle? It is a great application that allows you to create word clouds out of text, and makes the words you use the most the biggest. I was interested to see what words I used the most when writing on this blog. I am very pleased that some of the biggest words were know, good, work, get, going, Weight Watchers, and healthy. It amazes me that we have been working on this blog for 10 months!

Gardening, Squared. [Part I]

Have you ever heard of Square Foot Gardening? It's a system of gardening invented by Mel Batholomew that promises to grow more veggies in less space with less work than traditional row gardens.

I recently bought his book on Amazon and am totally impressed. Each raised bed is either 2' wide or 4' wide, depending on its placement. If you were to grow something along a fence or wall, you would build a box 2' wide. 4' wide boxes are for those with space to walk around the entire box. The idea is that the average person has a reach of about 2'. The box is then divided into squares. Each square is for a different crop. The growing medium inside the box is a special mix of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 compost, and 1/3 vermiculite. This mix is soft and friable and full of nutrients. Because of the high amount of compost, there is no need to fertilize. And because you're not using any of the existing soil, the weeds will be at a minimum (the verdict is still out on that... I'll let you know how it goes).

Here's how we got started:

1. First we picked the only spot in our backyard that gets 6-8 hours of sun a day. This spot is at the far back corner, not ideal. If you have a good, sunny spot closer to your back door, use it.

2. Boxes. We used 2"x6" untreated lumber to build our boxes. We built 3 4'x4' boxes, so I bought 6 2x6 boards and had them cut in half (at Home Depot they are 8' long), totaling 12 boards. I also bought some thin wood for the grid on top and had that cut as well. You need 6 4' pieces per box.

Each box is held together with 3 3" wood screws at each corner.

3. Placement. Find your best spot and move your boxes around until you're happy. Make sure to leave at least 3' in between each box for you to walk. After finding the right placement, remove all the existing weeds and grass (or have your husband do it for you). We used a hoe and metal garden rake for this task (yes, WE).

4. Weed cloth. Lay a piece or two of weed cloth under each box to guard off any invaders. This job is easier with a baby cooing in the background.

5. Mel's Mix. This is the name for the growing medium. 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite. You can find this at just about any garden center, however you may need to go to a REAL garden center or nursery for the larger packages (this will save you a money).

When selecting your compost, try to get as many different ones you can. Don't get all Black Kow or all mushroom compost, date around.

Peat moss will come in 3.7 cu ft compressed bales, that's what you want. Not the smaller bags.

The vermiculite is sold in 4 cu ft bags. Don't buy the small bags, go big or go home.

For our 3 boxes, we needed a total of 24 cu ft of Mel's Mix. We bought 8 cu ft of compost (each bag will say how many cubic feet it is, if it doesn't, compare it to a bag that does), 7.5 cu ft of peat moss, and 8 cu ft of vermiculite.

We laid it all out on a tarp and mixed and mixed. This tarp thing was the method Mel Bartholomew recommended in his book, however, if I could do it all over, I would pour my components directly into the boxes and mix individually.

Once mixed, shovel a layer at the bottom of your box and use a hose with a soft spray nozzle to wet it down. Do this 3 more times, filling the box.

6. Once filled, build your grid by using a measuring tape or yard stick to mark off each foot and nail or screw in place.

Next week I'll show you how I planted my boxes and what we decided to grow.

Meet Teacherbaby

Teachergirl and her husband welcomed baby girl Margaret Joan (Maggie), 7lbs 5 ounces, on Wednesday, April 6, 2011, at 9:38pm. 

As you can tell, she is absolutely gorgeous. 

Mother and baby are both home, healthy, and resting. 

Wildflower Bike Ride

Wow! So much good news on this blog! Congrats to teachergirl on the baby and meghan on the new job!

I would also like to add my praises to Zumba! I actually did two classes this week and introduced two different friends to it - they loved it. It is just too dang fun! Try it - I bet you would like it too :)

Today my husband and I are taking a mini trip to Cuero, TX - a very small town about 2 hours outside of Houston. Cuero is famous for having captured the Chupacabra (this is true) and for AMAZING wildflowers (I took this pic when we were there this time last year). This weekend they are having a Wildflower Bike Ride - it's set up like a race, but it's not competitive. Proceeds go to a local high school service organization and you get a free t-shirt! You could sign up for a 10, 23, 32, 48, or 58 mile ride through country roads. We signed up for the 23 mile ride.

Now, we have REALLY crappy bikes that we bought off craigslist a few weeks ago and we haven't really been training for this, but it's supposed to be very relaxed and I honestly can't think of a better setting for a bike ride (at least here in Texas...). I'm looking forward to the exercise, time with my hubby, fresh air, and the beautiful flowers! Thanks for letting me share! Perhaps I will post pics of the adventure next week...

April Already?

A lot has been going on the last few weeks.

1.     However, the most important recent news at “So Maybe Mom Was Right:” Teachergirl welcomed a baby girl yesterday! Pictures and details will be posted as soon as we have them. I am sure that Teachergirl and her husband are busy fawning over their new bundle of joy. In the meantime, we are praying that mother and baby are happy and healthy!

2.     At the end of the last two weeks, I have been out of state interviewing with two different companies for summer positions.  It was my first time traveling (i.e. being flown and staying in hotels alone) for interviews. Both companies set up multiple interviews per day. Talk about stressful and exciting all bundled up in a neat package.

3.     After much though and consideration, I accepted a position with a well-known company in Louisville, Kentucky for the summer. I leave in six weeks. I plan to have a mild panic attack in 5.5 weeks.

4.     4. I started a strength training challenge created by Kyra of The Get in Shape Girl called the April Fool’s Challenge. Four days in and it is already kicking my butt. It’s amazing what a change in routine can do. I’m excited to see the results at the end of April (aka my 27^th birthday).

5.     As a tribute to Ashlee and Adriana and to knock something off my 101 in 1001 list, I am going to try Zumba in the next week.

Links to Health:

10 Exercise Equipment Red Flags

For Best Exercise, Don’t Be Lonely or Late

Candy Eaters Surprisingly Slimmer

            Home Workout Tools for Every Budget

Warning for Food Colorings to Be Considered by FDA Panel

           

What's Zumba?

(image credit)

Have you heard of Zumba? I would be surprised if anyone reading this has not. There is a class in just about every health club, Zumba video games, and even Zumba infomercials. But even with all that, I still didn't *get* Zumba.

"Zumba Fitness is the Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music and contagious steps to form a 'fitness-party' that is downright addictive." (Zumba-Fitness)

Okay, so when I first heard this, I was like, "Eh. Sounds like Jazzercise." But it's downright amazing (unlike Jazzercise). In a typical class, you'll dance to about 8 different songs. The moves aren't so much counted as they are just set to the music. When the beat changes, so does the move. And it's not leg lifts or punching the air kind of movies, it's real dance moves that can be modified to fit the person doing them.

Zumba at the YMCA here has a bit of a cult following. All the hardcore "Zumbaritas" where their Zumba outfits complete with Zumba shoes, Zumba bracelets, and even carry their water bottles in their Zumba purses. Then there's me, in my workout pants that are at least 5 years old and my husband's T-shirts. Those "Zumbaritas" are awesome. They know every step and do it perfectly. Then there's me... not so perfect. But you know, I still have fun and I still burn a ton of calories. I tell you all this to emphasis a point, and that is that ANYONE CAN DO ZUMBA. Don't be scared!

My Zumba class is taught by a guy named Kyle. He's the best. He's so good, people wait in line for over an hour to take his class. We start with a good warm-up dance and then progress into the harder stuff. But it's never impossible or dreadful, it's fun... while it's hard. The cool thing about changing your moves as the music changes is that music is ALWAYS changing, so if a move feels especially difficult, there's motivation in knowing that it will change soon. While we dance we sing along and hoot and holler at Kyle while he gets down in front. We end with a cool down and stretches, all set to a beat. The whole thing flows so well, you don't notice the clock. When it's over, you'll be dripping sweat, but I bet you'll be smiling.

Since starting Zumba in January, I've noticed a huge increase in my stamina and endurance. Running is now no where near as difficult as it once was. I've also noticed my own dancing ability getting a lot better... well... at least I'm enjoying dancing around the house with my toddler more than I used to. And the best thing that's happened since I started Zumba....

I've lost 22 pounds.

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!!

Tell me about your Zumba experiences. Who's tried it?

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I just wanted to say thanks for all the responses last week. I read them all and am actually trying a few. Things have been better this week, no crib incidences!

Women and Strength Training

So I've bought a discounted trial membership to a VERY nice LA Fitness close to my place and I also bought 5 Zumba classes for $20 on Groupon, but both will be expiring soon and I only have a couple more weeks before I have knee surgery (which I may not have mentioned, but will elaborate more on later...). Anyways, I'm desperately trying to get my money's worth of these things and I am LOVING the variety!!

I have really grown to love strength training. Again, with my knee, I've been limited in what I can do for exercise, but there are still a lot of options - especially with the weight training.

Now, I find that it is typical to see more men taking advantage of the free weights and weight machines at the gym than women. Maybe it's an image thing - the idea that that's not for women. Maybe it's a confidence issue - worried about looking silly. Maybe it's a lack of knowledge - how to use the machines, or what exercises to do. I'd like to give a few tips I've found helpful in overcoming some of these obstacles...

1. OBSERVE - while you're warming up on the treadmill/bike/whatever, watch someone use that machine. Look at how they move and how the machine moves so you know what you're headed for.

2. START SMALL - If you don't know what weight to start at, start small. If you want to get real technical you can look up the ACSM guidelines about repetitions, sets, etc. Personally I think the main thing is to push yourself - whether you're doing 3 sets of 20 reps at a low weight or 2 sets of 5-8 reps with a heavier weight - as long as you're feeling the burn you're getting stronger. And don't try a bunch of new things all at once - just add a couple new exercises at a time to what you're already comfortable with.

3. HAVE CONFIDENCE - I know it seems like everyone is just watching eachother at a big gym, but I don't believe that's the case. Sure, people notice eachother, but at least for me I'm too lost in my music or thoughts to really care about what people are doing. And even if everyone was watching me make a fool of myself on a new machine, they can't blame me for trying something different to improve myself. Besides, it won't take long before you get real comfortable several machines.

4. ASK - Ask someone who works there for help. You'll have to pay for a personal trainer, but most likely any employee would be happy to show you how to work a machine or two. Especially if it would prevent any injuries.

I've heard (and I've found it's been true for me) that if you're stuck in an weight-loss rut, try some weight training. It really makes your body stronger, more efficient, and it prevents osteoporosis. Plus you don't get as sweaty or hungry as with cardio :)

Anyways, I hope this helps anyone who feels intimidated by the weights!