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Category: Fitness, Health, Happiness

I Burned 10 Million Calories

Autumn is a second spring
when every leaf is a flower.

-Albert Camus

We have lots of autumn “flowers.”

Lots and lots of flowers.

(That’s an old photo. I forgot to document this year’s “garden” before we’d already started raking it.)

Every year, Jeff and I have The Great Leaf Debate where I argue that leaves are God’s mulch and by raking them we are interfering in The Master Plan and The Way Things Happen Naturally.

Brandishing my copy of Noah’s Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards, I contend that we’re disturbing all kinds of beneficial insects and salamanders and who knows what all from overwintering by removing their leaf cover habitat, and we’re depriving birds of protein-filled meals, and we’re making more work for ourselves by removing leaf litter which decomposes into humus which is good for soil. Which means we’re going to have to amend the soil to grow any vegetables in the spring.

At this point I always remember too late that I’ve overdone it, because now Jeff can remind me that he’s the one who does all the work amending the soil for the garden, and also weeding it once I’ve lost control. And it’s true. I just can’t seem to keep up with the dang weeds.

Dang. I lose again. Stupid weeds.

So I concede that the yard is his domain and since he never ever tells me how to keep house, I should take direction as to groundskeeping.

(Ha! That’s a joke. Jeff is always telling me how to keep house, but I just ignore him. And that’s how we’ve stayed married all these years.)

Anyway, he does the bulk of the leaf-wrangling too, so I really honestly can’t complain about the workload. And since I’m not going to win The Great Leaf Debate I choose to think of the whole endeavor as a really awesome outdoor workout.

I’m not stripping my lawn of its natural security blanket, leaving it naked and vulnerable and bare! I’m doing cardio! I’m getting my heart rate up! I’m feeling the burn!

According to CaloriesPerHour.com, raking leaves burns about 260 calories per hour for a person of my weight. More, if you’re raking very vigorously so you can get it over with and get your self-righteous ass back to the work you’re seriously behind in.

So by my estimate, if you spend two hours raking very vigorously AND you’re constantly chasing down the St Bernard puppy who keeps stealing rakes/unpiling leaves AND you’re making up leaf-raking choreography that involves high kicks, rake baton twirling and singing songs from A Chorus Line in a warbly falsetto? Roughly 10 million calories burned. Give or take.

If you’re raking leaves against your will, you may as well enjoy yourself. Next year I think I’ll give it a go in heels and a full-skirted party dress. And a beehive hairdo.

That is, if anyone asks me.

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This post brought to you by someone who has not had a lot of sleep all in one place lately, and genuinely hopes that her husband still has a sense of humor.

Seriously, don’t you think raking leaves is dumb?

November 26, 2011
Tidings of Comfort and Joy

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“Hear! hear!” screamed the jay from a neighboring tree…

“Winter has a concentrated and nutty kernel,
if you know where to look for it.”

-Henry David Thoreau

Spring, summer and fall are outdoor months. Months of frolicking and movement.

But as Thanksgiving arrives and Christmas approaches, a nip enters the air and we start to move inward. Mentally, as we reflect and give thanks for all that is good in our lives. But also physically, as we fight off a hibernation instinct.

Spring, summer, fall. Months of doing.

The winter months are ones of reaping. Of enjoying.

We yearn to come inside and bunker down. We seek warmth, comfort, security.

We don’t hibernate, but we snuggle. We watch holiday movies on couches armed with hot chocolate, blankets and nostalgia.

We bake sugar cookies and gingerbread to warm our kitchens and our bellies.

We cuddle into soft mittens and slippers and afghans we crocheted ourselves when we were children. (At least, I do.)

We take warm bubble baths before tucking between flannel sheets and under heavy comforters.

We dress in turtleneck sweaters and tall boots, light crackling fires to endure no chill wind tiptoes down our spines.

We bring nature indoors, decorating trees and wreathes made from their branches with construction paper, glitter, and glue, breathing in the delicious scent of pine needles and cold, brisk air.

These are a few of my favorite things.

I hate the cold and dread its return every year. I hate the stress of the holidays.

But I love the cozy comforts: the textures, smells and tastes of the luxuries we allow ourselves.

I love the sound and the particular scent of the heat kicking on.

I love the hustle and bustle of the season as long as know I can always step away from it, snuggle into my refuge and watch it go by.

This is the season where we really pay attention to the ways we make our house a home.

Today is Black Friday, and we’re using our day off to declutter, clean, and create space for the cheerful decorations of the holiday season ahead. And rather on focusing on the presents I need to buy, I’m spending the day considering the way I can provide memories of warmth and security for my kids.

Ways I can bring them comfort and joy.

What are your favorite comforts of the holiday season?

I’d love to add them to my list of things to be thankful for when the weather outside is frightful.

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Comfort is the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gift list, so be sure to take advantage of Tempur-Pedic’s Buy 2, get 1 free pillow offer! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

November 25, 2011
Fruit Drinks are as Bad as Soda. Don’t Buy Them for Kids
- 1 out of 3 kids are considered overweight or obese.
- Type 2 diabetes— a diagnosis generally reserved for the over 40 set— has been dubbed the “new epidemic” for its alarming rates in children worldwide.
- Over 4 million preschoolers suffer from tooth decay– an increase of 600,000+ kids in the last ten years.
Confession: I let my kids drink a (one, uno) soda on birthdays, holidays and special occasions (for instance, dinner at a restaurant with out-of-town friends).

This often earns me the skunkeye as other moms reach for the Capri Suns provided in abundance “for the kids.”

Today’s infographic illustrates what I’ve often suspected: that the occasional soda isn’t such a big deal in comparison to letting your kids drink fruit drinks all. the. time.

And it freaking makes me mad, because these drinks are really passed off as the healthier, “good mom” choice. I’m especially irritated by Nantucket Nectars, which is packaged (and priced) like it’s really good for you.

Do you let your kids opt for the Minute Maid juice when you’re out? Pack in their school lunches? Maybe it’s time to start reading those labels more carefully.

Created by: Health Science
November 17, 2011