2/24/16

Fit as a Fiddle

It was a beautiful sunrise this morning, and I'm hoping it will lead to a beautiful day.


It's forecast to be cloudy today, but so far, so good. A few clouds won't bother me, and I'd like to get outside for another walk. 

Have I said how much I'm loving my Fitbit? I bought it more because I found myself in a teenager's frame of mind to be a part of the "In" crowd...which I've never quite managed in my entire life, especially when I was a teenager. But, hey, how hard can it be to join in the "In" crowd when all you have to do is strap a Fitbit to your wrist? So...dollars away...and now I'm one of the popular kids. (Note to self: Consider redefining the word "kid" and the word "popular".) So anyway...

One of my Fitbit friends issued this challenge on Monday called the Workweek Hustle. Some of my other Fitbit friends are doing it too. I've never done one of these challenges, but the goal of this one is to have the most steps during the Monday through Friday work week. I'm sure a kingdom of riches awaits the winner. Certainly, the winner would be featured on a box of Wheaties cereal. But I'm putting that aside for the moment. It's actually just plain fun. There's a ticker where you can follow along in the "competition" in real time. Here's what it looks like:


When you have a teeny tiny little brain like mine, and almost no excitement in your life, it's surprisingly fun and motivating to follow along.  Then, you can also see the standings in real time.


And, whoa. I'm in third place now. I'd better get out there and get going! Because I really, really, really want to win the aforementioned kingdom of riches. As if. 

If someone had told me how seriously I would take all of this, and how it would motivate me to move more, I would have laughed out loud. And yet, here I am. The best part is that I'm optimistic that it's actually making my knee stronger. I've been experiencing less knee pain, using less Aleve, and feeling a need to ice less often. My knee still feels a little unstable, but perhaps that will improve over time as well. One can only hope.

So with all that exercise on the sunny horizon, I'm needing me some calories, right? Along with my urge to get out for a walk, I'm feeling an urgent need to try this double chocolate banana bread recipe I found on the Smitten Kitchen. 


It's got bananas, and so it's healthy, right? And besides, I have bananas in my freezer, and you can't just leave those puppies in there forever, right? So, having thoroughly rationalized that, I think the die is cast. Besides, I was totally taken in with this thing I read on the Smitten Kitchen Facebook page:

"The 5 Stages of Double Chocolate Banana Bread Acceptance/Obsession: 
1. I don't need another banana bread recipe. 
2. Why does Deb keep taunting me with this?! 
3. Fine, I'll make it ONCE. 
4. Ugh, why is it sooo good? I'm ruined for all other banana breads.
5. I will now regularly buy too many bananas for the express purpose of letting them soften to the point that I will have no choice but to make more Double Chocolate Banana Bread."
I rest my case.

This morning, I finished up Kaelynn's block for the Live, Love, Teach quilt. Here is Kaelynn's original submission.


Here it is rendered in fabric, floss, and crayon.


And that, my friends, is block #44 of 56 blocks. It seems as if the finish is within my reach.

Today I have a little bit of housework to do, and then I'll get back to work on the "Be Mine" table runner I started on Monday.


But first, breakfast, and then a walk. What's on your agenda for today?

6 comments:

Cathy Smith said...

I wanted to be part of the "in crowd" also and bought myself a FitBit. My only problem? I can't get the dang thing latched on my wrist! No matter how hard I try I just can't those little nubs into the other half of the strap. So, in the meantime, a wire twist tie from the trash bags makes a substitute strap buckle!

Quilting Babcia said...

That banana bread has to be doubly healthy because everyone knows chocolate is good for you! I'll have to try that recipe.

Dana Gaffney said...

More active and part of the in crowd, that's a win win, LOL. I like what you did with the block, she looks less like a zombie which is what I thought when I saw the drawing :)

quiltzyx said...

I like how the challenge stats make it look like you took 23,335 steps in ONE MINUTE!! Way to go Barbara!!! I was carrying my phone in my pocket at work to count my steps, but now that I've lost some weight, it just made me have to pull up my pants too much! But am still moving more & have been able to shop in my closet for a smaller size - hooray!
My guess about Lisa's mouth/teeth in the drawing is that Kaelynn wanted her lips AND teeth to show, like a smile, but wasn't quite sure how to do that. So...see-through lips! You did a fine job with it too.

Kate said...

Good for you with the fitbit challenge. I got one for Christmas and have just not gotten into it.

Brown Family said...

I wanted a fitbit because I felt like I was waking up every hour. Come to find out, I'm not! However it is not fun to realize you only slept 3 hours and 15 min. last night. How can a little band on your arm motivate us to walk more.. I'ts crazy!