Author: Mary Kiningham

I am so grateful for naps.

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Sophie at 3 months is a challenge. We are involved in a love hate relationship. She doesn’t listen to me very well unless she wants to. We go for multiple walks a day. I try my best to keep her head up and away from the ground, but most of my time is spent pulling rocks or sticks out of her mouth. She gets annoyed and starts pulling aggressively on her leash. If my husband is with us, he will say “off”, and she drops the leash. If it it just Sophie and me, she will growl at me and she tries to bite me. I will tell her no but she keeps at me. The other day, a man was walking past us on the street and I asked him if he had a deep voice. Could he please tell Sophie “off”? He wasn’t open to disciplining a cute puppy.

The Monks of New Sketes, the authors of The Art of Raising a Puppy, advise the owner not to yell or get angry at their puppy. I am really trying. Who is in charge here, Me or Sophie? My red Patagonia OutdoorFit jacket is now Sophie’s walking jacket. She loves nipping at my sleeves. I keep them taped up so the down feathers don’t fall out. Patience is a virtue.

I know Sophie will be an amazing dog and companion. I am committed to her training. She does bring joy and happiness wherever she goes. We have met many people walking in the neighborhood who probably would not have stopped to say hello. Sometimes I stop them because Sophie knows everyone loves her and she needs to say hello.

I am so grateful for naps and she loves her crate.
Peace.

Love,

Mary

Meet Sophie the Golden Retriever.

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We have a new puppy, and I am back into mothering mode big time. I decided to let some things go for awhile. I stopped 2 Grandmas and A Microphone and writing blog posts. I have not been posting much on social media unless it included a golden retriever puppy named Sophie. If you don’t care about cute puppies then it is probably best to sign off now.

This is the story of the arrival of Sophie. As many of you know, I have a special needs son named Thomas. He has always been around Goldens. We have had 4 Goldens and a wonderful dog named Kelly. Kelly was half golden and half Chesapeake Bay retriever. When Tom looks at dog books he is interested in Golden retrievers. 2 and 1/2 years ago, our last Golden, George died suddenly of cancer at the age of 7. It was very sad for all of us. Thomas talked everyday about how sad he was about George. My family and I had thought of getting another dog, but my husband wasn’t ready to move on from George. For me, there was something freeing about not having a dog. The house was clean. We could leave and not have to worry about George. Then the pandemic hit, and Tom is home all of the time zooming his programs. I thought this is the perfect time to get a dog. I told Tom that George is his dog angel and he needs to start praying to George to bring us Sophie. Thomas wanted a girl dog. He likes girls. There is a young lady down the street named Sophie. She got a golden a few years ago for Christmas and named him Tom. Tom the golden has the same birthday as Thomas. We thought Sophie would be the perfect name. Sophia means wise. It is good to have a smart dog. Tom started to pray to George, the dog angel and I started to look for a good breeder.

I found Jane Pappler from Redlion Kennels. I gave her a call and left a voice mail. I also emailed her to tell her about Tom and that we were looking for the perfect puppy. Jane called me back. Normally, I would not have answered the phone. I usually don’t answer a strange number. This time, I did. “Mary, this is Jane from Redlion kennels. Would you like to talk about Golden Retrievers ? ” She asked us if we could wait a year. She was receiving 30 calls a day since the pandemic hit. I said I could but I really wanted a puppy sooner. Well, guess what? She bumped us up on the list. George the dog angel was helping us find Sophie.

We picked up Sophie January 12th, at 7 weeks old. Our world has changed. I am so glad that I am not a single parent. My husband is in on the puppy parenting. She sleeps pretty well through the night and she is house broken. I don’t trust her yet but she cries at the door to go out. I started reading The Art of Raising A Puppy by The Monks on New Skete. I love their philosophy and it has been very helpful. The Monks are very grounding. It is so important to have a well trained dog and we are working on it. Sophie is sitting. She is a smart dog. I hope you get to meet her soon. She thinks everyone loves her.

Love,

Mary

Thank you George.

It went much deeper than how much money you want to make.

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It is the New Year! Do you do take the time to do an annual review? Do you set intentions for the upcoming year? How do you define success? Three great questions that I’m resistant to answer. Recently, I joined Andreea Fegan’s Little Bites of Joy community group. Sunday, Andreea led us through a vision workshop. We talked about how we define our successes and how we want to feel on a daily basis. It went much deeper than how much money you make, or how many followers you have on Instagram.

During the workshop, Andreea told us to write down how you want to feel during the day. How do you make other’s feel?

Here is my list.

  • I want to go through my day with Ease and Grace (I stole that from one of the woman on the call.)
  • Confident
  • Enthusiastic
  • Grateful
  • Grounded
  • Happy

Don’t you feel good when you are around happy, enthusiastic, grounded people? I did have peaceful, but I changed it to grounded. It feels more authentic. I love authentic people! I feel like I am pretty authentic already. I don’t know how to be any other way.

I define my success with numbers. If you run a business, it is important to know your numbers. I always check my monthly revenue, but then I tally how many people are in my OutdoorFit program, and how many people watch a video or read a blog post. I’m disappointed if I don’t reach a certain number of views. Some of my feelings of self worth appear to be tied into how many views I get. Andreea suggested going beyond the numbers and consider what kind of an impact are you making. You never know who reads your posts or watches your videos. Maybe when I encourage others to drink more water or do a round of mountain climbers I am having an impact. Are my viewers having a life changing moment? I hope so.

In my OutdoorFit membership group, we started A 28 Day Feel Fabulous Program. It is all about making small changes to feel better. Click here if one of your intentions is to feel fabulous in the New Year! I hope to see you soon.

Love,

Mary

Day 1
Feel Fabulous Program
Clean out the Fridge!

I want all of you to have a healthy mouth!

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Recently, I watched Bulletproof radio on You Tube. Dave Asprey interviewed Trina Felber, RN of Primal Life Organics. The episode was about dental care and the microbiome in your mouth. The problem with all of these health and wellness podcasts are that I want to buy everything they recommend. Trina’s company sells lots of products which I am sure are amazing. I need to watch myself, because I like to keep it simple. I don’t like clutter and too much stuff around. I decided to start with toothpowder and take it from there. During the podcast, Trina talked about all of the toxins in your typical toothpaste. I am especially concerned about fluoride. I have looked into fluoride, and I don’t want it in our toothpaste. Tom, my special needs son, has issues brushing his teeth. I want Tom to be as independent as possible, but I know when left on his own he doesn’t brush his teeth well. I am now brushing Tom’s teeth twice a day for 2 minutes.

Primal Organic Life’s tooth powder is very simple. It contains 3 main ingredients, clay, baking soda and essential oil.

From the Primal Life Organics website: “We blended cleansing, mineral-rich bentonite, kaolin, and French green clays with a touch of alkalizing baking soda and flavored it with essential oil for a WOW your mouth will love every time you brush. Your tongue will be amazed at how smooth your teeth feel! Brushing twice a day is something your mouth will look forward to! Dirty Mouth Toothpowder for stronger, whiter, and clean feeling teeth that leaves your mouth feeling fresh and alive!”

My teeth have changed since menopause. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, but they feel rougher. I also have had issues with burning mouth. I am interested in maintaining a clean, healthy mouth. I am really looking forward to trying the toothpowder. Update: The toothpowder arrived yesterday. I have used it twice and I already love it. It is very exciting to me that the powder is naturally anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-fungal. I know I am on my way to having happy microbiome, a clean healthy mouth and strong teeth. As a punishment for mouthing off as a kid, my mom would wash my mouth out with soap . Brushing my teeth with tooth powder is a much better option.

Here is 2 Grandma and a Microphone #12. Vicky and I talked about the tooth powder and brushing your teeth two minutes twice a day. We also covered buying Christmas trees, and Vicky’s feelings about being part of the book Corona City. This video was created on a cold December day. Make a cup of hot tea and enjoy!

Happy December!

Love,

Mary

Have a chunk of kimchi.

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Thanksgiving week, I was able to have a cup of coffee and take a walk with my niece Julia. We don’t get to see each other very often, and I am so grateful for our time together. She has inspired me to take some simple steps to feel better. I do take good care of myself, but the pandemic and having Thomas home has created extra stress. I was taking small steps to make things worse instead of better. I know it doesn’t sound like much. I like to make grain free cookies and instead of adding a squirt of liquid stevia to sweeten the cookies I have been adding coconut sugar instead. I was drinking a few more ounces of wine at night. You get the picture. It all adds up and I can feel it in my body.

Julia looks and feels amazing. She is an incredibly athletic, and is great to be around because of her positive energetic attitude. Of course, I wanted to know about Julia’s diet. I always love talking to people about what they eat. Julia eats a very clean diet. She buys raw milk and raw butter. She knows what the chickens eat that produce the eggs she buys. Somedays, she will cook a grass fed grass finished rib eye for lunch. She eats a lot of fermented vegetables, and loves kimchi. On my way home, I stopped and bought kimchi at the local health food store. I have been eating a chunk before each meal. It is so good for your gut and helps to eliminate sugar cravings.

Here is our latest 2 Grandmas and A Microphone video. We talked about kimchi, Julia enjoying a cold open water swim in a bikini and so much more.

Enjoy!

Love, Mary

 

Julia, 2 mile Alcatraz swim. 57 degrees!

Honesty, Integrity, Authenticity and a Project.

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Vicky Perry and I just completed the 9th episode of 2 Grandmas and A Microphone. What started out as a conversation on a bench by the marina grew into what we are now calling a project. I looked up the definition of a project. It is “an individual or collaborative enterprise that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim.” I love a good project!

Vicky and I are 2 Grandmothers having open and honest conversations. . Honesty, integrity and doing my best at being authentic have always been my priorities. Our talks the past 9 weeks have reaffirmed the importance of these qualities for me. I need to add kindness to list as well. I feel life works so much better that way.

I also know I expect honesty from people. I am hoping the leaders of this country will step up and lead with integrity. It is a real problem to me when individuals don’t act that way. As I mentioned in the videos, dishonesty and distrust literally makes me feel sick to my stomach. I am learning to manage all of the stress and agitation through meditation, breathing exercises and taking great care of myself. I eat well, and of course, I exercise. Have you heard of OutdoorFit?

Be Strong – Be Healthy – Be Powerful

I hope our videos are inspiring to you. Here is Episode 9 of 2 Grandmas and A Microphone. Vicky and I are learning the technical aspect of creating these videos. We will get better. We ordered microphones for episode 10!

Vicky uses washing her dishes as a spiritual practice. What a great idea… You feel better and your dishes are clean!

I would love to hear from you. What is important to you? How are you taking care of yourself?

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Mary

It is time for the healing to begin.

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“We each have our own part to do in the healing of our country. That’s our individual responsibility.” Victoria Perry

Vicky and I got together for 2 Grandmas and A Microphone #8! So many emotions have come up for me these past 8 weeks. I have spent way too much time feeling agitated and annoyed. I get triggered by other people’s opinions, especially when they don’t agree with mine. I can feel the agitation take over my body when someone is offended by what I have said. Hopefully I am done. I only have control over myself. I have committed to feeling better. This week, I began meditating twice a day. It has been so helpful. In the morning, I spend 10 minutes being quiet and asking God what he wants from me today. It is amazing the focus and peace it brings. In the afternoon, I lay down and do Wim Hoff breathing plus a 10 minute guided meditation. I am spending a total of a half hour a day activating my parasympathetic nervous system. There is still a part of me that feels like I am wasting my time. I bet I scroll through social media 30 minutes a day. Which one is a waste of my time?

Here is 2 Grandmas and A Microphone #8

What did the episode bring up for you? Do you have the same common grounds that Vicky and I do? Was there anything you disagreed with? Don’t worry, I know how to breathe through the disagreement.

How are you taking care of yourself during these stressful times? Exercise is always a great way to deal with your stress. I would love for you to come to OutdoorFit. We are online as well as working out outside. We just started an 8 point plank challenge. It is not too late to join us.

Love,

Mary

Be Strong – Be Healthy -Be Powerful – Be OutdoorFit

I have a gum chewing addiction.

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I am working on reducing my stress so I will feel better. I actually have been feeling nauseous at times lately, and I have gained a few pounds. Five years ago, I began playing around with intermittent fasting. I would drink bulletproof coffee in the morning, workout, then come back and have my breakfast. In the beginning, I would feel nauseous and a bit woozy before breakfast. It took about three months to adjust to my new protocol. Once I adjusted, it was actually quite amazing. I started to lose weight. I dropped ten pounds, which was the menopausal weight gain I was beginning to think was impossible to lose.

Back to now. I have been feeling off and have been wondering whether my bulletproof coffee, intermittent fasting routine was the cause. I reached out to my friend and creative Holistic Health Counselor Jessica Shepard. I have known Jess for years and we actually bonded over bubble gum at a health conference. I gave Jessica a call and told her what was going on with me. She asked if I had been doing my breathing and meditation. Usually, when I need it the most I stop. She felt that my issue was not my diet. I also talked to to her about my gum habit. I knew she would understand. It is not a pretty story. I love to chew gum. Usually after lunch, I pop a piece of gum in my mouth and get on with my chores. I might be outside for hours gardening and chomping on my gum. It feels like it is a way to get rid of tension. According to Jess, “The gum is an immediate distraction and deceptive tension reliever which actually causes more tension.” Who knew?

Gum chewing can also screw up your digestive system. Chewing sends a signal to your brain that you are eating food. Your body starts to produce enzymes to digest the food. After a period of time, you begin to overtax your digestive organs and they stop producing the amount of enzymes that you need. I am not going to get into artificial sweeteners in gum because at least I was chewing Pur Gum with Xylitol instead of aspartame.

It is so important to focus on being strong, healthy and OutdoorFit. I haven’t had a piece of gum since our call. I have been using Fennel essential oil instead, I’ve gone back to Wim Hoff breathing, meditation and a 30 second cold shower. I feel so much better. I feel like I just shared a deep dark secret with you.

Vicky Perry and I were live in our 2 Grandmas and A Microphone Facebook group. We talked about stress, agitation and coming in second in a spelling bee. Vicky loves words and has always enjoyed spelling.

We tried going Live on Instagram, which didn’t work as well. We will figure it out for next week. Please head over to the pages to like and follow.

Love,

Mary

“We will know what action is ours to do.”

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This election season, I took it upon myself to research the candidates and to know what is going on. I have talked to people whom I know don’t agree with me. I would like to better understand why they think the way they do. They have been difficult conversations, and very triggering for all involved. I certainly know we are not going to change each other’s mind. The whole experience has left me feeling stressed and agitated. Sunday afternoon, I decided I needed a break. I went outside in the sunshine and moved 8 of my At Last rose bushes.

Is gardening therapeutic for you? It is for me. I felt so much better. There is nothing like getting down and dirty. This is the time of year when I look at what has worked in the gardens and what I want to change for next year. I am always very inspired and motivated in the spring. I have visions of gardening, and taking care of my family with organic homegrown vegetables. I see myself in August, sweating while I am canning the tomatoes and pickling the cucumbers. Last spring, I planted cucumbers, zucchinis and tomatoes by my Lime Light hydrangeas. Bonus round, I had butternut squash that grew out of the compost that I had used to fertilize the soil. I love when God plants my vegetables for me. The butternut squash did well and I had a few cucumbers, but little else. I need to leave most of the food growing to the farmers. Next year, I will stick to my small vegetable bed. I will plant lettuce, herbs and maybe a tomato plant.

I harvested the vegetables and I decided to plant roses in the back corner. I hope they will thrive and flourish in a safe place. The were in my front yard and the deer were enjoying them as an appetizer. I am tired of spraying deer repellent. I hope they will be beautiful and have enough sun in the back yard. I will keep you posted. I have decided as you are my witness to make my gardens more permanent and not redo everything in the spring.

I am so grateful the OutdoorFit workouts enable me to pick up a shovel and plant pretty roses in my garden.

Love,

Mary

 “From a contemplative stance we will know what action is ours to do, which words we are called to say, and how our spirituality must be fully embodied in our political choices.” Richard Rohr

Pay attention, your body has something to say.

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Vicky Perry and I got together for 2 Grandmas and a Microphone #4. I have enjoyed our weekly conversations and I hope they have been helpful to you. This week Vicky shares how she was diagnosed in her 30’s with an ovarian cyst which was the size of an orange. Her Doctor wanted to schedule her for surgery. She told her doctor, “no way”. She went on a spiritual journey to heal herself. Push play to hear the whole story.

Body, Mind And Spirit.

Doctor’s are important. I listen to what they have to say, but I don’t always do what they tell me to do. A few years ago, I hurt my SI Joint. I was in so much pain and I was scared. I built a business around being strong and healthy. Was this the beginning of not being able to do what I enjoy? I went to see my Chiropractor who asked “how old are you now?” He brought out my X-rays to show me how screwed up my low back was. I will spare you the details. He told me I needed to stop sprinting, doing burpees, and mountain climbers. He told me to start swimming. I had gone that route before and it was not fun for me. So, I found another chiropractor who is certified in Foundation Training. He taught me how to get my life back and he believed it was possible. I am so grateful. Of course, I share these exercises with my OutdoorFit ladies. I end every workout with Foundation Training.

OutdoorFit women are Fit and Fabulous… Aging Optional! Click here if you would like to join us. We are outside and I am also livestreaming the workouts. You can join in from anywhere!

I would love to hear from you. Do you have a similar story to tell?

Love,

Mary