Four paragraphs, for lack of a better title

I put all my layers on and went out to walk but the wind gusts and cold temperature made for a very short walk. My weather app says it feels like 17° with the wind chill. The hood of my coat kept blowing down. Time to buy a real hat. The wind made interesting patterns in the fallen leaves. Sparky loved chasing them. I'll rake or leaf-blow in earnest the next nice day. This isn't a picture near my house. My entire backyard is covered in leaves. It's covering moss, not grass, so I'm not in a hurry to get the job done.

Clients are gearing up for the holidays and we stylists are hopping. I think it takes being one to even understand how hard it is to deal with the stress of staying on time without showing that stress. It's sometimes impossible to even take a bathroom break when you're running late and your next client is shampooed and waiting for you. No one likes to wait, and I take pride in staying on time. One late client can cause you to run late for the next 5 clients. I'm not complaining, really. Most days run smoothly without anyone having a clue. Besides, I try not to sweat the small stuff and it's mostly all small stuff. I love my job. At least half of my clients leave with a hug.

I'm really sore from my workout on Thursday, especially around my lower ribcage, of all places. I meant to get to the gym and swim this morning but I didn't. I'd like to do it now, but don't want to leave my house. I was going to say my warm house, but it's not warm. And that's with my walking layers still on. I wonder how much money I'm really saving by keeping the thermostat low. It just doesn't make sense to me to heat the whole house when I use a small portion of it. My daughter has a portable heater in her bedroom. I just bought one for the family room. I'm about to turn it on and cover up with a blanket and try to read my bookclub book.

I went on a date last night. We started at a restaurant; I love to eat out. Then we went to Middleton Tavern in Annapolis to see a band, Sweet Leda. Lots of dancing and camaraderie. It was a fun night out. This morning I met my friend Kit at Starbucks for oatmeal and coffee. We get together most every weekend. It's great to have long-time friends. Kit and I have known each other since high school. She's retiring next month. I hope she joins my gym so I have a workout partner.

Hasta la próxima ...

(I love Google Translate)

Part of the present

The best part of having Sparky in my life is that he got me walking. Getting the SportsTracker app on my phone helped a lot too. It made me competitive with myself. I walk Sparky 6 mornings a week, at least 3 miles each time. Back when it stayed light like it should, I walked him at night too and would often wind up walking 6 or more miles a day. The app on my phone tracks any activity that can be tracked by GPS. I rode my bike a lot, kayaked 4 or 5 times, hiked and swam. My goal for the year is to complete 1,000 miles. I'm up to 934.32, but who's counting? I didn't think I had it in me. If I get up and get dressed right away and get out, I'm good to go. I can't procrastinate or it won't happen. I do a lot of thinking when I'm walking. Right now, I think about relationships past and present. It's just what my mind goes to. I listen to music and most music is about relationships, right? I haven't come to any conclusions about my feelings on relationships except I miss being in one. It's interesting being my age and dating. The first guy I dated from an online site read all kinds of books about being successful in relationships. I found that intriguing. One was how to clean up your looks. Do you have a good haircut? Any unnecessary facial hair? How about whitening your teeth? Trimming your nose and ear hair. Etc. He read the Five Languages of Love and other books on relationships. That was all good, but he was intolerant and judgemental and talked a blue streak but didn't listen. The good thing about him was he got me into hiking and we biked and walked together and he was a good cook. Too bad he was also a jerk. I went out with him for 3 months that should have been 3 weeks. How did I go from walking to dating? There's a segue in there somewhere. 

Did you hear the one about...

I should just jump in and pretend it's not been ages. I will. To start anyway. I went to a gym, my new gym. LA Fitness. I haven't gone to a gym in ages. In the 80's I was talked into buying a lifetime membership with no dues ever at a gym that became Bally's. I went for a while, but payed for my membership for much, much longer. I moved and it wasn't convenient to go and that was that. I went a few years back when I was looking for an indoor pool in the winter, and it was OK, but not convenient. I need convenience. I've been pretty active since April and started thinking of a gym again. I knew there were none with pools that I could afford, but thought if I could find one with classes, I'd participate. One of the gyms I checked out was LA Fitness. It has a pool! Lots and lots of classes. Big and clean. As the salesman was showing me around it popped in my head to tell him about the lifetime membership I have at Bally's. He stopped, looked at me and said, I think I have good news for you. LA bought Bally's two years ago. I now have the same exact benefits at LA that I did at Bally's. I could have done a dance! I went today for my fitness assessment. My BMI and other stats are all good. I've been feeling very fit and healthy. Well, my 'trainer' took me to the matt to do some core work. I was humiliated. Let's just say I have no core. She told me I did great because I didn't give up. Anyway, she really did a hard sell on personal training. I completely see the benefits, but there's no way I can add that into my monthly budget. When I was done with her I worked out on some of the machines. The ones with directions I could understand. Then I went swimming. That is my love. I only swam a half mile. My ususal in the summer is a mile. I know I need to work up to it. It felt awesome. I went in the hot tub, and then in the sauna. Then I showered and got ready to go. My goal is to go 3 times a week. That may not happen during the busy holiday season, but it's definitely doable. Yay!! 

Life is good, as per usual. Things are calm around here. My daughter turned 20 last month! To think she was only 13 when I started writing. She's living at home and working hard. Work is still great, and the perfect job for me. I never tire of it. Not to say that I don't enjoy my days off and vacation. Speaking of vacation, I had a very busy summer. I went to Myrtle Beach in June for a week with my sisters. 

I went to a resort in Southern Maryland on the western shore of the bay 3 times. Twice were overnight trips and once was for two nights.

 I went to Ocean City, MD for 3 nights and to Stone Harbor, NJ for 2 nights.

 In September I visited Happyone in Accident, MD.

In October I went on vacation by myself to Deep Creek Lake for 6 nights. I stayed in the same house I was in last Christmas. The house I love. I hiked, walked, read, used the outdoor hot tub and ate a lot of pizza. Time went by way too fast. That's all the trips I have planned for this year, though I'm really looking forward to seeing Happyone and her husband again sometime in the near future. I love spending time with them.

I've been dating, but I'll save those stories for another day. Ladeda!