Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. Also belated Yule greetings and an early wish for a joyous Kwanzaa.
Whatever you celebrate (or not), may today be a peaceful one with minimal obligations, and shared time with family and/or friends if that is your wish.
If you feel like moving, a quick search will turn up many themed workouts from low-impact through to intense multi-day challenges. If the weather is right, a walk, ski, or bike ride might be more your style. Enjoy!
After you’re done, join me for a beverage of your choice. I think I’ll have a hot chocolate.
A marshmallow snowman relaxes in a hot chocolate hot tub, while Pandora the kitty looks on
In case you were wondering, there is zero overlap between Dancing with Christine and Dancing with the Stars.
I mean, unless you count all the gold stars that I have hanging up in different places in my house. Technically, dancing in my kitchen is dancing with stars…or near stars.
ANYWAY!
I like dancing in my kitchen when I am cooking, baking, or just hanging out and here are a few of the songs that I have been flailing around to lately.
I’m offering them to you in case you feel like flailing around in your kitchen right now, too. Flailing in other rooms of the house is also highly recommended, I just tend to flail in the kitchen most often,
A few years ago, we came across JD McPherson’s Christmas album ‘Socks’ and I have been dancing around to it ever since.
The song All the Gifts I Need is linked below but consider also giving Socks and Ugly Sweater Blues a try. Or just dance to the whole album – you won’t regret it.
Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree is an obvious choice but still a VERY fun one.
And again, I am not breaking any new ground here but All I Want for Christmas Is You gives me a ‘put bells on my sneakers because I’m a cheerleader in the Santa Claus parade’ feeling (even though the didn’t come out until I was several years past my cheerleading days.)
If you can’t stand Christmas music or if you don’t celebrate Christmas, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Here are some totally non-holiday songs that I also like flailing around the kitchen to.
The second song in this list refers to a funeral and alcohol consumption, and the third one also refers to alcohol consumption. If these things are sensitive topics for you please take good care of yourself and avoid clicking the links.
Charming Disaster’s Baba Yaga is not only a fun song, it has all kinds of great folklore in it.
Great Big Sea’s The Night Pat Murphy Died may not sound like a good dance topic but my sisters and I have baffled many other dancers at weddings while flailing around to it.
And finally, Spirit of the West’s Home for a Rest will always get me into full-flail.
Do you already flail around to these songs? If not, give them a try and let me know what you think!
Also, please feel free to put your songs to flail along to in the comments.
In January, a dear friend of mine set a very fun resolution for 2024 – to try a bunch of different types of tea to find one that she enjoyed. Previous to this resolution, she would happily drink coffee or hot chocolate but she had always found tea kind of bland and dull.
I’m happy to report that her resolution has served her well. She has found a variety of teas that she likes and she highly recommends taking on resolutions of this sort – the kind that lets you try new things with little or no risk.
My friend’s resolution came to mind this morning as I was thinking about the fact that there are only about 6 weeks left in the year and that I am, once again, planning to Finish Soft instead of trying to hustle through to the end of 2024.
I think I would like to take on some sort of end-of-the-year resolution that matches the low-key spirit of my friend’s tea explorations but is about movement/meditation /well-being and that will add a bit more fun into my day-to-day without feeling like another big project on my to-do list.
For the record – this is my cup of tea, it isn’t part of my friend’s tea adventures. Image description: A cup of tea in a white mug with a red trim that has an image of a grey-hatted gnome in a red robe standing in a forest of grey tree trunks on it. The mug was given to me by my friend Elaine and it is resting on multi-patterned mug rug that my Mom made for me.
So, in a tea-sized end-of-year resolution, I’ve decided* that I am going to do 3 minutes of fun movement every day between now and December 31st.
What will that include? I have no idea!
I’m going to have to take it day-by-day – an plan that both delights and terrifies my ADHD brain – and let anything count.
And to add to my fun, I’m going to make a visual record of teeny drawings and text to keep track of what I did.
Got any ideas for me?
*I literally decided this while writing. The initial draft of this post said that I hadn’t decided yet – What a daredevil I am! (bahahaha – I assume you can read the sarcastic tone there.)
Okay, these workouts aren’t spooky at all but since I’m a fan of Halloween, of costumes, and of anything that really leans into a theme, I thought it would be fun to share a few Halloween-inspired workouts.
If you want to celebrate Halloween in a fitness-y sort of way, these YouTube videos and Instagram posts will let you mix some extra fun into your workout.
You could even try working out in costume – but maybe hold off on the facepaint until it’s time to trick or treat, I don’t know if sweaty makeup would be very much fun.
Anyway, here are some ideas for you to try:
This 30 minute video features Ella, the host of Ella’s Wheelchair Workouts, and she’s wearing a witch hat, a cape, and she has a spider drawn on her face. Ella uses a wheelchair and her videos are filmed in her living room.
This Halloween Chair Workout from Chair One Fitness features three people in costume (two in witches hats, fitness clothes, and stripey socks and one in a red wig and fitness clothes) sitting in chairs for their workout.
This Halloween Hits Dance Workout video from MadFit has the instructor in slightly spooky workout clothes – black shorts and a black top with a skeletal rib cage printed on it.
Adriene from Yoga with Adriene posted this ‘Yoga for Lizards’ video earlier this week and seeing her in her lizard costume cracked me up. She also has a Halloween Yoga playlist that’s an interesting way to explore a Halloween theme.
This post from Anderson Town Leisure Centre provides a list of HIIT exercises related to the letters in the word Halloween for us to try for one minute each with one minute rest between rounds. H- High Knees, A- Alternating Lunges, L – Lateral Jumps, L- Leg Raises, O- Overhead Press, W – Wall Sit, E – Elbow Plank, E- Explosive Burpees, N – Narrow Push-ups.
This post from Get Fit with Jess has a Halloween-themed circuit to repeat three times. 1 minute walking lunges, 30 sec tricep dips, 1 minute squats, 30 sec pushups, 1 minute jumping jacks, 30 sec bicycle crunch, 1 minute elbow plank, 30 sec mountain climbers.
This post from Impulse Rehab Wellness has a funny reason for us to do each exercise in their “Halloween Survival Workout – Zombies! Run! – 30 seconds fast feet, Flying bats, better duck! – 15 squats, Hold very still – 30 second plank, Zombies again! – 30 seconds fast feet, Jump over the graves – 10 tuck jumps, Stay low to the ground – 10 push-ups, Try to sneak by – 20 lunges. Oh no here it goes again! – Repeat three times.
I get that you might not want a silly theme for every workout (but I think *I* kinda do) but it could be a good way to shake things up and add a little extra enjoyment to your fitness plans this week.
Apparently, today is National ‘Just Because’ Day so this is your official permission to do something you’ve been waiting for a good excuse to do.
For example, for my own amusement, I can post this picture of my nephew’s Guinea pig, Powder, in full drama mode.
Image description: my nephew’s white and black Guinea pig looking through the squares on the side of his cage. Powder has his front paws on a ledge and he is looking slightly to the side. His long hair is flipped back over his head so his large black eyes seem to be emphasized and he looks oddly dramatic and glamorous.
Maybe you can use today as a reason to eat your lunch outside.
Or as a reason to text a friend to join you for a walk/for a new class/for an afternoon on the beach.
Perhaps it’s an excuse for extra rest. (Not that *need* an excuse but it can sure as hell feel that way sometimes.)
Maybe you can spend extra time reading.
Perhaps you can challenge someone to a race or to a dance-off.
Maybe you can try a new-to-you meal or play your favourite music or watch a movie you love.
Or you could spend extra time playing with your dog (technically National Dog Day was yesterday but let’s be realistic here, every day is National Dog Day!)
You could say you’re going to meditate ‘just because.’
You could journal or draw ‘just because.’
On Saturday, my friend Mary and I represented our community arts organization and hosted a table at a local art crawl held by an artist-run gallery. A lot of people took us up on the invitation to try squiggle art…just because! Image description: two monster drawings on index cards taped to the side of a red box that contains markers. The box is sitting on a purple tablecloth in the sun.
Whatever you decide to do on Just Because Day, I hope you have a grand time with it.
Because you deserve some ease and some rest and to have the joy of moving your body and you deserve to enjoy a challenge and you deserve good things.
I took a really fun dance workshop over the weekend.
The instructor Vanessa combined elements of Samba and Capoeira to create a class that was the good kind of challenging – difficult enough to keep me focused but relaxed enough to make me laugh when I messed up.
After the workshop, I swear I could feel every muscle in my body, I was sweaty, I had a huge smile on my face, and I thought ‘I need to do this more often!’
And then I had a good laugh at myself.
There is literally nothing stopping me from dancing for fitness more often except that I keep forgetting how much I like it.
So, this post is a note-to-self:
More dancing = More fun.
A GIF of a kid in a blue dress and pink sunglasses dancing in a hallway.
PS – My YouTube search for ‘fun dancing’ provided this marvellous video. Enjoy!
A YouTube video from The Fitness Marshall called ‘Throwback Dance Workout with Mom and Grandma: Whip It.’ The still features three dancers in green t-shirts and black pants against a purple background.
Yes, I know the joke in the title is ridiculous but I couldn’t resist.
Let’s just roll with it, shall we?
I find goal setting a tricky business overall.
The process of breaking things down into small steps and prioritizing is valuable but my brain does NOT want to do it. In fact, that type of thinking is my brain’s least favourite thing.
It likes to generate all kinds of extra factors and complications and ideas and it wants me to account for EVERY SINGLE ONE so I can PROVE that this goal/plan is the ONE RIGHT WAY to get where I want to go.
Is this helpful?
It is not.
Can I stop my brain from going into that loop?
No, I cannot.
Can I try to find a workaround?
I can try!
In order to work with my brain and ensure that it won’t fight me every step of the way, I have to find a healthy combination of specificity and flexibility – specific enough so that my brain registers the idea as an actual thing that is happening and flexible enough that my brain won’t revolt at the idea of being trapped in a plan that past me made.
This kind of sums up my brain’s feelings on a lot of my plans. image description: a screencap of a tweet by Marly (@VerbsRProudest) from Oct 3, 2014 that reads ‘I hate to cancel. I know we made plans to get together tonight but that was two hours ago. I was younger then, and full of hope.
And while I bristle at the idea of ‘making the most’ of summer (or of any season or event, really – the pressure! Ugh!) I do like the idea of making each season feel a little different by doing things that feel like they belong in that time of year.
So, to summarize (summer-ize? ha!) I want to do some seasonal things to kind of anchor myself in the moment, I want to have loose plans that help me actually do those things, but I want enough flexibility in those plans so my brain doesn’t get cranky and stubborn.
Here are a few categories of fun/ideas/goals/plans that I am playing with at the moment.
Cycling – I’m looking into buying an ebike but it’s not in the budget quite yet and I also want to make sure that I will actually use it so I am trying to use my regular bike more (and yes, I see the conundrum here – an ebike would increase my likelihood of riding more but…yeah) But the vague goal of ‘use my bike more’ is not helpful so I need to get specific – two 20 minute rides per week for the next three weeks and then reevaluate?
Patio Yoga – I love doing yoga on my patio either in the sunshine or in the evening with the little patio lights on. I want to say that I will start or end each day with yoga on the patio but I also know that I will get thrown off from this plan. So I think I will aim for daily outdoor yoga but with the idea that 3-5 times per week is more likely.
Hiking – I’m not inclined to do long hikes at the moment but perhaps that will change. For right now, I plan to do two short hikes (2 hours or less) in July and 2 in August. At least one of these hikes will involve a picnic and some reading in the middle.
Swimming in a pond – Last summer, I only managed to swim in a pond 2 or 3 times. This year, I am conspiring with a friend to ensure that I am going to *at least* double that.
Hula Hooping – I really *want* to be good at hula hooping but I never practice consistently enough to get the knack. I’m committing to bringing my hoop outdoors with me every time I hang out in my yard to write and I will practice for at least 5 minutes per writing session. Will this help me improve? Maybe, maybe not, but I definitely won’t improve if my hoop stays propped against the wall downstairs.
This photo is from a few years ago but it’s the mental image that arose when I thought about bringing my hoop outside to use when I take a break from writing. Image description: a blue, green, and gold hula hoop rests against a long table covered in a blue table cloth with an ipad and some art supplies on top. The table itself is on some long-ish grass under some trees and there is a mix of sun and shade.
Deep relaxation – I’m going to follow daily, deliberate relaxation practices and hopefully get some of this lingering stress out of my brain and my muscles. (I know this one isn’t summer-specific but summer is supposed to be relaxing, isn’t it? Let’s say deep relaxation is thematically appropriate )
Sounds like some fun stuff, right?
Specific but not super-detailed?
Now as long as I keep below my brain’s ‘Oh hell, no!’ radar, I’ll have a great time this summer.
The photo below is largely unrelated but it made me laugh all over again a few minutes ago so I thought you might like it, too.
Yes, the joke in my title is kind of recycled. I made this card during my first year doing the Index Card A Day challenge. I’m not sure what the prompt was bears? summer? summer bears? Hawaiian shirts? It could have been anything. All I know is that in brainstorming the prompt, my sons and I ended up saying ‘Summer bears (and summer not)’ which kept us laughing for ages. That should tell you a lot about our sense of humour, right there. Image description: a drawing on an index card shows a brown bear in a Hawaiian shirt and a yellow bear in a green and white jersey standing on either side of a round container filled with ice with glass bottles of drinks sticking out of it. It’s a summer day and there are puffy white clouds in the blue sky.
This Fall my friend Aimee decided to give underwater hockey a try so I decided to go watch a game. I watched the game, I looked up the rules, and I’m still not sure what the heck was going on!
It is similar to ultimate frisbee in that it’s a mixed gender game, with a minimum of two women per team. There wasn’t an obvious coach or referee. You try to move a round object so it goes through a goal marked by a couple of bricks or similar objects on the ground (or bottom of the pool). There is no goalie. You can have extra players who sub in. People of all ages and shapes seem to play. It’s officially a no -contact sport.
There is minimal protective equipment: goggles with ear protectors like water polo players use, a gardening or similar glove to protect the “stick” hand is optional, and some players appear to have a mouth protector thingy on their snorkels.
Aimee is in the water at the side of the pool. She is wearing her black cap, goggles and blue glove. There are three little “hockey sticks” on the deck along with her red water bottle and a construction cone I cannot explain.
I looked up the rules and that’s where things got wild. Some rules say 6 players per side with two spares per team. Others say four spares. There can be two 10 minute halves with a 5 minute break. Or two 15 minute halves with a 3 minute break.
The puck weighs about 1.5 kg apparently, but I never actually saw it in the water. Instead, what I saw was something that looked a bit like a fish feeding frenzy moving around the pool. Does the puck get passed? I have no idea! Who won? Also no idea, and judging by how the players came out of the water, winning was the least important part of the sport.
A group of swimmers in a swimming pool. Some are floating, others are diving with their flippers in the air, and at least one is completely under water.
Update: cleanup afterwards involved a bunch of poles that maybe marked boundaries and to keep the puck from sliding out of bounds? The pool was shared with a fitness class on one side and a swim class on the other. The metal things in the picture below are used for the goals, and the red discos with handles are the pucks. Why did they have so many? I haven’t a clue.
It looks like fun though. I’m always up for a bit of goofiness in the water. It looks like I can sign up for three trial sessions before making a commitment, so I might just do that in the Fall.
To help you celebrate, here are seven Halloween-themed workouts for you to choose from.
Why so many?
It’s like my new favourite T-shirt says ‘Witches Gotta Have Options’
A close up photo of the front of an orange T-shirt that has been place on a flat surface. There are the silhouettes of six brooms of different styles and below the brooms there is black text that reads ‘Witches Gotta Have Options.’
(If you don’t celebrate Halloween, you might find these fun anyway.)
Bu the way, these videos are NOT about ‘working off your candy’ * they are about maximizing your fun.
So, don’t be scared, just pick whichever one appeals to you and do as much or as little of it as you want.
A Halloween workout video with dance choreography set to the Addams Family theme song. The still image is a blonde woman standing on the left side of the image facing to the left with her arms crossed. She’s wearing a black lacy shirt.
Next up, a waking workout to Halloween music from Kyra Pro
A walking workout from Kyra Pro. The still image features the instructor in the center facing forward with her arms held out in front of her in a ‘zombie’ pose. The background is mostly orange with a yellow moon in the centre and black bats all around. The word ‘Halloween’ is written in black at the top.
This is another fun workout from Wheelchair Wellness 4 U . She has a whole Halloween playlist too.
A Zumba dance workout from Wheelchair Wellness 4 U. Still image is the of instructor from the shoulders up, she has long blonde hair and is wearing a tank top that says Zumba in pink letters. The edges of the image are decorated with cartoon Halloween things, spiderwebs and a Haunted House.
And here’s Bride of Plankenspine from Yoga with Adriene – bonus points for a kooky name!
A yoga workout for back pain from Yoga with Adriene. In the still image, she is in yoga clothes doing a side plank and her hair is in ‘bride of Frankenstein’ style – stuck up high on her head with a white streak down one side.
A set of Halloween themed movements from Pediatric Therapy Essentials. still image shows a cartoon image of some kids in costumes (dinosaur, ghost, skeleton, mummy), black cat, and a dog in a ghost costume. There are three cartoon pumpkins in the centre.
This video from Dance Along Gal is a seated workout to Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett. Still image shows the blonde instructor seated on a chair surrounded with cartoon Halloween images of pumpkins and bats.
Yo-yo’s Halloween Freeze Dance for kids is pretty cool, too.
Halloween Freeze Dance from Yoyo. Still image shows her in front of a Halloween image of a full moon and a spooky house and in the foreground there are a variety of goofy cartoon monsters.
I hope you had fun with these.
Gertie the ghost is offering you this gold star in celebration of your efforts:
A cartoonish drawing of a happy ghost holding a gold star with a speech balling above their head that reads ‘Go you!’
Doesn’t that sound all science-y and official? Fellow blogger Catherine Womack would be horrified, since my data set is just me, with nothing but anecdotal evidence.
I recently went to the dentist, who commented that I have a lot more plaque than usual. She said that a possible cause is mouth breathing (whether from allergies, snoring or something else), since that creates a perfect environment for plaque bacteria to grow. What had changed since my last cleaning six months ago?
I have mild allergies. And I sometimes snore. Both those things have been true since I started seeing my dentist 30 years ago. Those can be eliminated as probable causes.
What has changed is the amount of time I spend on my bicycle, and the joy I get from riding. I have been a 3 season bike commuter for 20 years, but those rides were generally 5 km or less. I never rode for fun and rarely to do errands.
This year I have ridden my bike everywhere. My goal has been to use my car no more than once a week. I also ride just for fun, with various groups. Safer cycling infrastructure has turned my rides from harrowing to pleasurable.
I ride with a huge grin pasted to my face, just like one of my favourite Twitter cyclists, Miss Omar (@AuntieKay28). She has written about the joy, happiness and freedom she gets from cycling, and how it puts a big smile on her face.
Miss Omar with her Brompton and a huge smile. Photo taken from a September 22 post on Twitter.
Since the plaque diagnosis, I have been trying to ride with my mouth closed, reserving big grins for pedestrians and other cyclists. But it’s hard because I’m smiling so much on the inside that it wants to break through to my face.
