Wellness sisters, welcome! The third Sunday of May means it’s time for Wellness Weekend 05.2020. Sharing an update on my wellness goals and talking a little bit about commitment. This time last month, we were a month into the stay at home restrictions. In April’s post, I updated my wellness goals and talked about water sport. If you missed that post, click here to read it. Then let’s see how I’ve done in the past 4 weeks toward improving my wellness. Still committing to all 5s by the year’s end.
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WELLNESS WEEKEND 05.2020 GOALS UPDATE
Staying at home, wearing a mask have become the new normal. And have meant some revision to my goals for Wellness Weekend 05.2020. Have a look.
PHYSICAL HEALTH – 3.0 (Up .5)
- Stretch and work out 4x a week , Weight Watchers to maintain weight – we’re still enjoying these very do-able HASfit workout videos and running a mile 3-4 times a week. Some evenings at sunset, we take a quick 2-3 mile bike ride before settling down in front of the TV. And we’ve opened the pool. Swam laps yesterday!! And the kickboard I mentioned last month has arrived. Time to put it to use. But Weight Watchers, not so much. Although, I’ve kept my weight right at my WW lifetime goal. That counts, yeah?
- Get 7200 steps and 3 floors a day – my daughters and sons-in-law gave me a new fitness tracker. And I have had to learn to use it. Have upped my steps to 7500 and my floors to 5 but couldn’t always see my progress on my new watch face. Finally, this week I have found a face that allows me to see my steps and floors. Not getting 5 floors or 7500 steps most days but will start trying harder.
- Walk in nature for 30 minutes a day, 5x a week – yup, back to walking more often. We have combined walking and jogging about 4x a week. And now that I am Cami/Cia-sitting, I almost always take those babies for a walk M-F. In doing so, we have discovered that Lucia is quite the ladybug whisperer.
NUTRITIONAL HEALTH – 4.5 (Up .5)
- Cook meals at home 4x a week – in El Paso, most restaurants are open only for pick-up or drive through. We don’t have a huge assortment of restaurants, other than fast food, in our area of the city. So most days I cook. Sometimes, it is only something simple like a sandwich or soup. Last night it was quiche. Our favorite mom and pop Mexican restaurants is offering pick-up and we’ve had that once.
- Eat 1 fruit and 1 veggie every day (sad, I know) – are you finding it harder to keep fresh produce on hand? I am shopping only every 10 days or so, and things get eaten or go bad before I get to the store again. We are doing better at this, though. Oranges, apples, salad.
- Indulge in alcohol and sweets on weekends – well, this week was a tough one. I have indulged in a beer several nights. But never more than one light beer. Tried this blonde pale ale. Also made this coconut cheesecake cream pie for my spring recipe swap and blog hop. It was more decadent than the beer! And so much more delicious.
SPIRITUAL HEALTH – 4.0 (Up .5)
- Develop a morning routine M-F – one of the weekly themes for the 52 week organized home challenge 2020 I am following is finding a morning and evening routine. I’ve always had some sort of routine but with my PC teleworking from home, my routine looks different. Also watching the babies now, so that has my mornings switched up. Looking into creating a Covid-19 morning routine for the time being. Thinking of checking out Make Over Your Mornings/Evenings. And have gotten away from my to-do list in the past couple of weeks. Might try Google Keep or Samsung Notes (both get 4.4 out of 5 stars on Google Play) instead of my usual paper lists.
- Enjoy quiet time M-F (devotional, writing, reading, moment of silence and prayer) – yes. Continuing to hit snooze every morning then using that extra 10 minutes to say my prayers. Finished reading Vertical Marriage and Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God is Holding You Close since my last update. My BFF has always supported my spiritual journey by gifting me the best devotionals. Wouldn’t you know, just as I finished Embraced this week, here came a new one, Devotions from the Beach. Can you say mind reader? Anxious to start it!!
- Use aroma therapy during my morning routine – now that my desk is cleaned off in my loft, I am doing my devotional up there some mornings. And I turn on my diffuser when I do.
MENTAL HEALTH – 3.5 (Up .5)
- Get dressed every day (not active wear), wear a dress or skirt to church – there’s no getting dressed for church, of course. Because there’s no church! But I have been wearing real clothes to take care of my girlsies. Nothing to write home about but jeans and tees or shorts and tees.
- Weekly artistic activity; word games, journal – had been playing word games on my phone but when I took a social media break, I also deleted Words with Friends. Might reinstall, might not. Have been journaling, and scrapbooking with my sister. Just about have some rocks painted to satisfy an activity on my spring bucket list. Stay tuned for an update to my progress on this season’s list coming out on Thursday, 05.21.2020.
- Read 3 books a month in order to meet my Goodreads goal (are we friends on Goodreads yet?) – while I haven’t been able to keep my new goal of visiting the public library once a month, I’m still reading. Just finished In Five Years by Rebecca Serle and Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown. Enjoyed both. Title talk post coming!! Mid-way through Pearls of Wisdom by Barbara Bush, hoping to finish Educated and The Scent Keeper, 2 books I started awhile ago but set aside. Then there’s the title my online book club “Come Read with Me” selected as our second book for May. We read In Five Years so quickly that we were ready for another book even before the middle of the month. Our latest book is Truths I Never Told You by Kelly Rimmer.
RELATIONSHIP HEALTH – 3.0 (Holding steady)
- Unplug at 8:30 pm, implement evening routine – my break from social media helped me to get started doing this again. One evening I organized my Pinterest cooking board for hours. Last night we started watching “The Great” on Hulu. Enjoyed it. Looking forward to tuning again tonight.
- Date night with PC 2x a month (bucket list activities) – what date nights? The only places we have been together in the past month are Lowe’s and Walmart. Looking back over my bucket list, there are a few activities we have completed. Might be able to squeeze another one or two in before my update on Thursday.
- Me time, develop friendships, take a class or do something for myself – not much. My ‘me time’ has involved painting rocks, spring cleaning, listening to books on Audible. But developing new friendships or taking a class are not possible right now.
PREVENTATIVE HEALTH MAINTENANCE – 2.5 (Down .5)
- Improved skin care, routine facials – realized today that I haven’t done anything in this category other than applying sunscreen. Really want to start using my complexion brush. Need to make that happen. Did a little research on an affordable but effective night cream. According to this article, RoC Retinol Correxion night cream is an excellent option. Have added it to my Amazon cart.
- Weekly dry brushing – having forgotten to do this lately. Even though the brush is hanging there by the shower door. Will do better.
- Regular manicures – Cia has taken over responsibility for my manis. Which is great fun. But I probably need to give myself one. Will get after that tomorrow.
FINANCIAL HEALTH – 3.0 (Holding steady)
- Continue saving each month – opened a teensy baby money market account, and have made a monthly deposits, bought a teensy baby bit of stock using Robinhood last month and a teensy bit more this month.
- Save for birthdays and Christmas – saving a little each month.
- Keep spending under control – went kinda crazy in April but have that better under control this month. Looking for a new bathing suit. One I can swim in.
Monday is the magical day that El Paso begins to reopen. While typing this post, I have received an email announcing the reopening of our gym that day. Now, do we strap on our masks and start back right away? Or give it a bit? This interesting detail offers a perfect segue to our optional theme this month…
Commitment
The optional theme for Wellness Weekend 05.2020 is commitment. My immediate thought was commitment to staying well.
When I created my 2020 wellness goals, Covid-19 was relatively unknown to us. It has certainly turned my wellness plan upside down. However, in my commitment to maintaining and improving my health, I’ve come up with ways to work (out) around the virus, if you will. Video exercise, desert runs, more home cooked meals. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I am still committing to earning 5s in every wellness category by the end of the year.
Our cases of the virus continue to increase, with a large up-tick this weekend in number of El Pasoans contracting and dying with Covid-19. Those increases have me strengthening my resolve to continue to:
- wear my mask in public
- remove my shoes before coming into the house
- use hand sanitizer after being in a public space
- wash my hands longer and more often
- stay home as much as possible
On almost every website or online store I visit, there is a Covid-19 policy. This one at Loft.com: “We are taking extra precautions to get you your orders safely, causing shipping delays. Learn more.” Or this message on Walmart.com: “Shop smart, stay safe: Our latest response to COVID-19. Learn more.”
What are you committing to during these extraordinary times?
YOUR TURN
How you established some kind of work out routine while being quarantined? Have you been cooking more at home? Begun getting dressed for your day more often? Do these days seem shorter or longer? Please share in a comment below or link up your wellness weekend post.
My week away from social media and blogging was much needed. And I am not going to allow myself to return to endless hours online. Which means I am going to have to work smarter on blog writing and reading. Looking forward to reconnecting with everyone, though!!
Enjoy a peaceful Sunday. Thank you for coming by!
P.S. After this post went live, it occurred to me that blogging is a commitment. I have committed to host certain series like Wellness Weekend and my bucket list posts. But I have also committed to recounting my experiences in rediscovering life after retirement. For myself and for those of you who faithfully support my journey. It feels good to be writing about that again.
Hugs and kisses,
Nancy
Hè Leslie! Am Inmistaken? I thought you stoped blogging? I am glad to see you back!
Karen
Yes, me too, glad it was only for a week.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you!!
Deb
How lovely to see a new blog post from you! I think this whole Covid thing has affected the plans of every single person in every country. I am exercising probably about the same as I was, one half hour dog walk every afternoon and one class of Zumba (done via Zoom now) a week. Definitely cooking more, and planning meals in advance. Making better use of my freezer too. Sticking to meat twice a week, chicken twice, fish twice and vegetarian once. However, before I sound too virtuous, we are having wine with our dinner more often although we try to save that for the weekend (which starts Friday and ends Tuesday right?)
Enjoy your time with your grand babies! x
ShootingStarsMag
I think you’re doing a great job on your wellness goals. I know some you can’t do right now, but it seems like you’re focusing on all the ones that you CAN accomplish! I take a shower and get dressed everyday, but I wear comfortable pants. LOL I was doing well with exercise and moving – Zoom dance classes, walking, etc. – but then I got sick (I’m still sick) and I can’t do much without getting really out of breath. I am ready for my pool to open up though so I can start swimming again, and I’m so thankful that we have a pool this year (we didn’t have it open at all last year because we needed repairs, etc.).
-lauren
Joanne
I think being at WW goal weight totally counts! I am up a couple pounds and while I have gotten better about tracking I’m still not tracking everything everyday. I was so disappointed too that we just went grocery shopping and so many of my WW staples are still not be found. I know that means I need to really start using that app and figuring out a new way to eat that will work for me and let me stay within my point range. My exercise is waaay up though so I’m taking heart that I’m at least being more active.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Well, we have fallen off the WW bandwagon again. I am up only a little bit but PC has gained back most of the weight he last spring. I am tired of cooking and thinking of what to fix! We are exercising, though. But just not enough!
Retirement Reflections
That was a short blogging break. Welcome back!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I felt bad about leaving Natalie to host Wellness Weekend alone! Not that I do a thing in the hosting! But I just felt guilty for disappearing on her and on the gals you join me for bucket list posts. I did enjoy being away for a little bitsy.
Natalie
Hi Leslie, You’re doing great. You have many commitments and you’ve met or made progress on them all. Be proud of your efforts. Thank you for linking up with me on this Wellness Weekend. Yes it’s a commitment. Have a wonderful week! #WW2020
Laurie
Hi Leslie. Welcome back! Good to read your post again. You certainly are committed to healthy living! I loved reading about the variety of fitness activities you do. And that coconut pie! Wow! I have to try it. Looks decadent. Restaurants here are open only for takeout too. We got our first takeout meal in 2 months on Saturday night – sushi! I am so tired of eating only what I cook. Hope you have a wonderful week!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I am ready for some sushi, too! But PC isn’t crazy about it. Actually doesn’t eat it at all.
Jennifer Jones
Hell Leslie So much to comment on here. I love your commitment to your health snd how organised you are. I’ve found I’ve needed to change things around a bit in order to cope with Covid stress and the restrictions. I’m more relaxed than ever and trying to be kinder to myself
Jennifer Jones
Sorry Leslie first word is hello!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hello, Jennifer Jones. So nice to meet you!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Yay, you!! Glad you have found a way to be more relaxed during this extraordinary time.
Kellyann Rohr
Happy to see you back Leslie! You did a great job. I am way over my WW goal. Ugh, it hurts. Hope to be back at it soon!
xo,
Kellyann
Leslie Roberts Clingan
You certainly don’t look the least bit over your WW goal. That is just a number and you look sensational.
Dara
Good to see you back on here.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I hope you know that you are one of my faves!! XO
Joanne Tracey
Glad to see your absence wasn’t a long one. It’s tough maintaining balance and healthy activities at the moment, but you’re doing pretty well. Staying at your goal weight absolutely counts! Date nights are a problem at the moment – some of our restaurants are beginning to reopen (with limits of 10 diners only) but we think we’ll wait a little while longer.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
I felt badly about abandoning some of the series that I host!! Like a quitter. Now I want to learn to temper myself some and balance my blogging time better.
Shugunna Alexander
Hi Leslie welcome back from hiatus! I’m still on mine, but should be back soon. Stopping bye to see how you were doing. Glad to see you are still busy and your list.is keeping you going. I need to put real clothes on again, lol, I’ve been deep in biker sc shorts and gym pants. Hope all is well, stay safe.
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Thank you, dear friend.