Archive | September, 2011

Walking While You Work

8 Sep

I am walking as I type this.

No, really, I am. At 2 miles per hour.

I recently became the owner of a TreadDesk, which is a treadmill specifically designed to be used in an office. My employer raised my desk, and I now stand or walk the entire day, taking only short sitting breaks.

To say this has been life changing is an understatement. I truly felt that sitting all day in front of a computer was slowly killing me. My derriere literally hurt at the end of the day. As I recovered from my knee surgery, sitting also made my knee get extremely stiff, causing me to limp around for 5-10 minutes every time I got up.

In July, I was at our company headquarters in Redmond, WA, where I saw a coworker with a treadmill desk. I knew immediately that I must have one.

Our bodies were made for movement. I can already feel an amazing difference. I don’t get stiff. I don’t get energy drops, and it seems to have made my afternoon sugar cravings less severe.

But mostly, I found that work seems more exciting now, and that I can concentrate more and actually get more done. I am a natural fidgeter and multi-tasker. This treadmill desk allows for an outlet for such energy, allowing me to more fully concentrate on the task at hand.

I walked 25 miles last week in my office. For a working mother of two, this is an amazing shift for me. If I have a lunch meeting or my schedule doesn’t allow me to hit the gym during the day, I don’t feel guilty. Although I’m not really elevating my heartrate much, I’m moving — up to 6 miles a day.

It has also done wonders for my knee. I am no longer stiff, and my knee feels so much stronger, as the muscles surrounding it are engaged for the entire day.

I believe that I am at the beginning of a culture shift within corporate America. You should see the reaction of my co-workers. Everyone comes by to talk to me about my treadmill, and I have numerous people planning to join the trend.

New Beginnings

6 Sep

Today, both of my kids started new things. Little Miss started kindergarten today, which was a momentous occasion in our house. I saw her off to the bus stop this morning, and it wasn’t until that bus drove away with my little girl that the tears filled my eyes.

I have always heard of mothers getting misty eyed when their child starts kindergarten, and I didn’t think much of it. It definitely hit me, and for a good hour, every time I thought about it, I would get tears in my eyes. It was so strange to put her on the bus and not escort her directly into her classroom. I can’t wait to go home and hear all about it later today.

Little Man also started with his new caretaker today. He threw a fit this morning, and demanded to go to his new caretaker’s house. Evidently I wasn’t getting ready fast enough for his liking. He practically ran to the new sitter’s house, and when I opened the door, he bolted for the living room with all the toys, not looking back at me once. I talked to the sitter for a few minutes, and when I went to leave, I called his name… He called back “bye” from the other room. So much for a sentimental goodbye!

People always say that kids grow up too fast, but you don’t fully understand it until you witness it for yourself.

Is This Thing On?

1 Sep

Well yes, I am still alive! I’m just surfacing from a lovely 10 day vacation to Albuquerque, NM visiting the parents and my BFF and her family.

It felt like a whirlwind trip, but Mom and I had a list of activities we wanted to do, and all were checked off the list. Albuquerque has some amazing child friendly activities, we did something new and fun each day.

We hit the zoo, rode a train, fed the ducks at Tingley Beach, visited Explora!, explored the Bio Park, went to Cliff’s Amusement Park, did bumper boats and laser tag at Hinkel Family Fun Center… Every morning, we’d have some super fun outing, and then we’d come back to a lovely lunch made by my Mom, and my favorite, an afternoon nap.

Here are some pics of my kiddos at Explora!

After napping briefly, I’d usually venture to the YMCA to swim, which proved challenging every day due to the monsoon season bringing afternoon thunder storms. My kids had their first significant exposure to thunder, and it was fun seeing their eyes get big, and have Little Man exclaim, “BIG Thunder.”

My BFF took me out on the town in Downtown ABQ for my birthday, where we saw a highly entertaining burlesque show and then hit a few clubs. I got two birthday dinners out of my Mom, as well as a raspberry tart and a carrot cake. Needless to say, I’m working off those calories this week!

JB joined us towards the end of the trip, and we had a family outing to Cliffs, where Little Miss experienced her first “real” rides, as well as a lovely kiddo water park. That night after dinner, he took me to a movie, and let me choose, so we saw The Help. Great movie, but probably not the best for your hubby… I heard many deep sighs during the movie as he expressed his martyrhood for going to a bonifide chick flick.

And of course, we got some delicious New Mexican food. Here is a pic of Little Miss falling in love with sopapillas again…

On the last day of our visit, we went to the foothills, where we usually go trail running. I had to walk this trip, which had me longing for a good trail run. I’m going to run again. Just must be patient.

I was so thankful to have JB join the kids and I on the return flights home, especially during our 2.5 hour layover in Phoenix. It’s nice to have a teammate when you’re chasing a toddler around for that long!

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