October 30, 2015 · 11:15 am

Change in Seasons, Change in Focus

Our family is firmly in the grip of our second child’s college search process…and as he is planning his transition to college, I have begun to plan my own transition. At the beginning of the school year, a small, insignificant thought began to tickle a little spot in the back of my brain…”maybe it’s time for you to change things up, to tackle something new.” The more I examined this thought, the more I realized that it felt — right.

So, I have entered into a job search for the first time in ten years. During that time, social media and online search engines have firmly taken hold and become an integral tool for jobseekers. With the help of an employment counselor, I am working to learn and master the skills necessary to take advantage of these new tools. The process is stimulating and terrifying at the same time, but I guess that’s the point of this transition. It’s time to shake things up a bit.

As I explore new tools and techniques. I will share what I learn with those of you who might also be unfamiliar with the online job search world. Here we go…

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January 23, 2014 · 8:21 pm

7 Minute Workout

So in my quest to find the perfect constellation of workout apps, I decided to try “7 Minute Workout” which I promptly named 7 minute freakout. I am not the most coordinated of women so my first workout with this app resembled nothing so much as a seizure. The app which I’m sure works well for much more exercise-savvy and coordinated users,  leads the user in 12 exercises lasting for 30 seconds each with 10 seconds of “rest” in between. I started out thinking, “this will be a piece of cake” and “how bad could 7 minutes be?” I eagerly started the routine with jumping jacks. I felt strong. I felt powerful. Then I moved on to “wall sits”. I can do this. Next I moved to push ups. Still it felt manageable although I barely had time to get into position for the next exercise during my “rest” period. As the exercises continued, I realized I didn’t know how to do some of them. By the time I figured out what to do, it was time for the next exercise. After blowing through a couple of routines trying to figure out how to do “step-ups onto a chair”, I started to get out of breath and blew right through my rest to try to make it to the next exercise before time was up. Well, you get the picture. After my encounter with this app, I’ve decided that I am definitely more of a tortoise than a hare in the race to fitness. For me, I think slow and steady will win this race.

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January 8, 2014 · 10:10 pm

Couch to 5K

I said when I started this blog that I was going to spend a chunk of time on fitness and the technology I use to help me get active in 2014. So far I have leaned more toward the couch potato end of things, but this week I’ve finally gotten myself to the gym. One app has been very successful for me – Run 5K. The app is really simple which is probably why I like it. The nice woman in the app tells me when to stretch, when to warm up, when to walk and when to run. Each week I walk a little less and run a little more. I set up a playlist to listen to while I’m working out and when the workout is done my new best friend tells me I can cool down. Each training session is 28-30 mins and provides me with a realistic, structured way to get moving. If you’d like a slow, gentle way to get moving, I highly recommend it.

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January 4, 2014 · 10:52 pm

Netflix—friend or foe?

This year one of my gifts to the family was a subscription to Netflix. We are a very wired family but up until now have resisted buying Netflix because we had enough other types of media to satisfy  our video needs—or so my husband and I thought. However, the commercials on Hulu and the glitchiness of our DVR started making me rethink my position. When both video stores in the area went out of business, I knew I needed to do something.

And, I have to say it has been quite fun having Netflix during our winter break. Each member of the family has found a couple of shows that we want to catch up on and we have watched several family movies. But, now we’re heading back to school and I wonder how well we’re going to do with self control. Will Netflix be a much needed way to let off steam or a total waster? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I have a couple of episodes of Scandal I still need to catch up on.

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January 3, 2014 · 11:59 pm

Snow on snow

After snowing for much of the day yesterday and into the night, we woke this morning to over a foot of snow and cold clear sunshine. Later in the evening we hosted a last holiday gasp for a few friends from work. It was a combination wake, mourning the end of vacation, and celebration of friendship – enjoying each other’s company after a much needed rest. With the end of the semester approaching that calm will be short lived. Oh well, all good things must end. Now it’s time to look forward to the arrival of the seed catalogs.

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January 2, 2014 · 11:14 pm

We’re all in it together

As part of my January quest to start getting healthier and eating better, I made my way to a Weight Watcher’s meeting today. I’ve been attending off and on for almost 8 months now (most recently off) and decided to renew my commitment. Sitting in the meeting I found old friends, colleagues and neighbors. When you have struggled with weight loss for as long as I have you often forget that you’re not alone in this. It becomes such a symbol of your weakness or failing that you forget that many perfectly reasonable, accomplished people have the same struggle. That really is the power in the meeting, feeling like you are all in this together. I often forget that. I will try to be better about that in 2014.

Each year Weight Watchers tweaks its plan based on current food science, fashion and social mores. This year’s release features a plan called “Simple Start“, a two week quick start meal plan and nutrition guide. In recent years Weight Watchers has been developing apps and online tools to help members achieve their weight loss goals. I have to say, as an avowed techhie, I have found that the apps really help me a great deal. The new “Simple Start” app is fun, provides beautiful color photos of all the delicious food you can have on the plan, recipes and motivational tips. It looks promising, we’ll see if it helps me stick with it. After exactly one day following the menus included, I am optimistic. More to follow…

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January 1, 2014 · 4:10 pm

A New Year Begins…

As I look out the window on this New Year’s Day 2014, I decide to finally get going on this blog. I enjoy writing but haven’t been able to get myself into the habit of writing daily. This is my attempt to do that. The topics will vary but mostly I’ll write about the intersection of tech and home.

During the month of January I’ll mostly think and write about the inevitable – getting and staying in shape, losing weight. This year I’ve decided to use some digital tools to help with that. The next few posts will be devoted to taking a look at some of the tools I’m hoping to use in my quest for healthier living. Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a fresh start…

Pines covered with snow
Looking out the front door on a frosty New Year’s Day 2014

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