outdoorfit

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!

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!

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

2 Grandmas and a Microphone # 3

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I almost quit. I felt agitated all week, like I had a few too many cups of coffee. I don’t like all the conflict and hard feelings between my friends, and with the political scene as a whole. The presidential debate Tuesday evening was the icing on the cake. It would be so much easier to forget all of this. Why did I think I needed to be so aware? I was thinking this would be the last Grandmas video to wrap it up and say goodbye. After a phone conversation with my fellow Grandmother Vicky Perry, I decided we need to carry on. Creating Grandmas videos has been very helpful to me. I am researching about how I feel about the issues and then expressing myself.

My intention with OutdoorFit is for women to feel empowered through health and fitness. I know when you are strong, healthy and fit you are able to show up in your life in a more powerful way. I hope these videos inspire you to think about the issues and express how you feel.

Vicky Perry and I got together for 2 Grandmas and a Microphone #3. We talked about the importance of having conversations with people you agree with and also disagree with. It is important to set the intention to listen and not to try to convert them or change their mind. I am not a tactful person. This is not easy for me.

Vicky and I had a great discussion. We covered fracking, abortion and the importance of doing your own research. Stop and think about how you feel about things and then speak your own truth.

I think it is time for all of us to slow down, and show respect for one another. This is the perfect season to bake an apple pie and God Bless America.

How was your week? What has been coming up for you? I would love to hear from you.

Love,

Mary

A Touch of Craziness!

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I have been feeling antsy lately. Is what I am doing important? Is this how I want to spend my time, or should I be doing something else? Sometimes I feel like I want more for myself. When I stop and really think about it, I realize I do want more. I want to create more space in my life. I want more quiet time. I have decided that following my joy is the answer. I love to stay home. I enjoy doing my own work. Painting the kitchen different shades of white makes me happy. It feels like a work of art to me. This week, I washed and ironed our linen bedroom curtains, composted, and made roasted pepper and tomato soup. I also taught 3 OutdoorFit classes. I have a great group of ladies, all over 50, who show up in crazy weather to workout. A cold and windy OutdoorFit workout brings me joy and happiness. I love the touch of craziness.

Earlier this week, I went to my friend Diane’s  house  to pick up 2 bags of composted leaves. Does that sound like an odd way to spend your time? Diane sold her beautiful home.  She is moving to an 11 acre lot to build a passive home and grow organic vegetables.  She didn’t think the new owners would appreciate her large composted leaf pile. She sent me a text, inviting me to stop by and help myself. I was so excited.

I went back the next day, and picked up 2 galvanized tubs full of compost. Why does this make me happy?

  • I love the connection with my friend.
  • I love the touch of craziness about it.
  • I love that the composted leaves will attract earthworms to my gardens. They are an indicator and creator of healthy soil.
  • I love the efficiency of using leaves to make compost for your gardens.

Gardening season is coming soon, but I really would love a good snow storm first.

Embrace your joy, step aside and watch what happens! It is contagious. What do you love to do? How do you like to spend your day? Would you like to connect with amazing women who love a touch of craziness? Come try an OutdoorFit workout! There is a fun class Saturday morning at 7:30.

Love,

Mary

My pitchfork is over 70 years old. It belonged to Dan’s Grandfather. A treasure!

 

 

Is a quiet simple life mediocre?

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I read an article last week. What if All I Want is a Mediocre Life? I am not crazy about the title, but it caught my attention on Facebook. It was written by Krista O’Reilly Davi-Digui.

Krista writes, What if all I want is a small, slow, simple life? What if I am most happy in the space of in between? Where calm lives. What if I am mediocre and choose to be at peace with that?”

What if all I want is a simple life? I went back and read my post from November 26th. What do I really want? The things I listed are quiet and simple. A few examples are a clean uncluttered house, more time in nature, and my intention around OutdoorFit  to being more than a typical boot camp.

This morning, I made DHH roasted pepper and tomato soup. I am going to sew linen napkins this afternoon. I know I could just buy soup and new napkins, but there is something very satisfying about making your own.

There is part of me that feels my quiet simple things are not enough. I have a sense of resentment and agitation lately. Why? I have a good family, close friends and a group of ladies that will work out with me in the winter time! Isn’t that enough? Actually, OutdoorFit is more than working out with friends. I have seen wonderful changes in the women’s balance, strength and flexibility.

Do I need more? Do I need to create a virtual program and build a six figure business?  Do I need more likes on Facebook or hearts on Instagram to feel good about myself? All that takes time and effort that would take away me away from my creative projects. I wouldn’t have time to sew napkins and make soup.

There is a part of me that wants to move. I think about moving to Vermont. We have spent a lot of time there. I didn’t  feel the pressure to be more, do more or dress better when I was there. I would go to the Northshire book store in Manchester, Vt. and buy books about simplicity. That was vacation time though. Would living there bring me joy and happiness, or would I have the same type of day that I have now in a different location? I think I need to focus on being grateful for what I have and find contentment in my daily quiet life.

Krista O’Reilly Davi-Digui says, “What if I just offer the small gifts I have to the world and let that be enough? ” As I am writing, I don’t consider my gifts small. What if I offer my fabulous gifts to the world and know that is enough? Now, that feels better!

This blog was helpful to write. I hope you enjoyed it too. What gifts do you have to give to the world? What brings you joy? Please share. I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading.

Love,

Mary

The 28 Day Fit and Fabulous Program starts on January 24th. I hope you will join me. We can make great soup and do mountain climbers together.

Click here for more information.

What do I really want?

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Step one to Feeling Better in last week’s blog was to get clear on what you really want.

1. Get Clear About What You Really Want And Journal. It is very powerful to start writing your thoughts down. I have been listening to Marie Forleo’s Everything is Figure Outable. She has an exercise in her book where she has you answer the question; What do you really want? Every day for 7 days, finish this sentence in writing. I really want… After the 7 days, go back and circle the ideas that repeated for you. I have gotten a clearer picture on what I want.  Being focused is an energy saver

I thought it would be powerful to share what I really want.

This is what came up for me. I really want. I want to be calmer, feel more fulfilled, and happier. My plan is do the following to help me reach my goals.

  • A clean simple natural home.  I love to come home to a clean orderly house. The beds are made. The kitchen sink is clean. The bathrooms are orderly with towels neatly hanging. I use natural cleaning products.
  •  OutdoorFit to continue to be more than a typical boot camp. Being Fit and Healthy is an act of personal power. It creates independence and self reliance. I want my OutdoorFit ladies to continue to be strong, healthy, fit, and empowered regardless of their age.
  • A better relationship with my husband.  Dan and I have been married for 42 years and have a good relationship. It is always a work in progress.
  • More Creativity. I want to keep writing a weekly blog post. It feels like an important exercise for me. I have been enjoying adding my colored sharpie art work. I love being around creative people. I need to be creative too!
  • More time spent in nature. We had a family house on a lake in Vermont which we sold. I really miss being in the country. For now, I intend to hike in the woods and take walks on the beach.
  • Better self care. I take pretty good care of myself. I get massages and chiropractic adjustments. I would like more of it and to commit to daily meditation.
  • More coffee dates with friends. I love Jerry Seinfield’s Comedians in Cars getting Coffee. It feels like the perfect thing to do. Pick up your friend in an old car, have coffee, laugh and take a walk. This morning, I picked up my friend Ivone in my Honda CR-V drove to the beach, and walked the boardwalk. Afterwards we had a delicious breakfast. You always laugh with Ivone. I am working on the idea of having an old car.

I am sure this list will change. For now, it feels right. My hope is that I will feel calmer, more fulfilled and happier. I will be able to perform at a higher level and to create a better life for myself and the people around me.

What do you really want? I encourage you to spend time to figure it out. I would love to hear what your list is.

Love,

Mary

 

 

How to Feel Better?

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I enjoy inspiring women to be strong, healthy and fit so they can live empowered fulfilled lives. It is important to put your body first. How do you feel in your body today? Are you cranky and agitated? It is important to lead from a calm and centered place. I have so much extra energy at times which is not always a good thing. I love working out because it calms me and I feel so much better when I am done. Over exercising is not a good idea though. There are other ways to ground yourself.

10 Tips to a Balanced Grounded Life.

How to Feel Better?

1. Get Clear About What You Really Want And Journal. It is very powerful to start writing your thoughts down. I have been listening to Marie Forleo’s Everything is Figure Outable. She has an exercise in her book where she has you answer the question; What do you really want? Every day for 7 days, finish this sentence in writing. I really want… After the 7 days, go back and circle the ideas that repeated for you. I have gotten a clearer picture on what I want.  Being focused is an energy saver!

2. Go Outside. Garden, Compost, Walk, and of course OutdoorFit is an excellent option.  Have you heard of Forest Bathing? The Japanese consider it plant medicine. It is called shinrin-yoku. Forest Bathing is walking in the woods and breathing in the forest air.  It has amazing health benefits. It improves your gut biome, boosts immunity, reduces stress hormones, blood pressure and heart rate. It just makes you feel better!

3. Eat Organic Food. Focus on vegetables and protein. Buy the highest quality food that you can afford. What you put in your mouth truly matters. I love starting my day with a cup of organic bulletproof coffee and ending it with a lovely glass of organic wine.

4. Practice Gratitude. It is easy to practice gratitude when life is going well. It is also so important to find blessings in the struggles. Life will feel lighter when you practice gratitude.

5. Read Daily. It is an effort for me to sit down and read a book. I am now committed to reading at least 10 minutes every morning. I’m currently reading Dave Asprey’s Game Changers. I have picked up a lot of great ideas from the successful people profiled in the book, just by reading 10 minutes daily.

6. Meditate. I am working on meditating 20 minutes a day. It has been very helpful.  I am calmer. Meditation activates the  parasympathetic nervous system. Leading from place of calm instead of having a fight or flight response is very powerful.

7. Declutter. Start getting rid of the things that you no longer love or serve a function for you. Check out my post about my closet. I feel so much better with less!

8. Create a simple cleaning schedule. This has been so helpful to me. I spend a little time everyday cleaning.  It makes me happy to come home to a clean simple home.  Dust your baseboards once in a while. You will sleep better.

9. Say Something Nice To Someone. Be a cheerleader!  Stop talking about yourself and start asking questions. Pay attention to how it makes you feel.

10. Get a good night sleep. This is always a work in progress. Shut off the electronics, have a cup of tea, or take an epsom salt bath before you go to bed.

How do you practice self care? What is important to you? I would love to hear what is working for you!

Love,

Mary