Anyone remember the Weekly Reader from elementary school days? Or Highlights magazine? I loved those magazines! And the “Look-it-Up Club”…such happy memories.
But I digress…
First off, I must apologize for the absence of Rock Star tributes this week. I’m a bit behind in my reading and I basically have no idea who’s done what. I’ll get back on track next week, I hope. Meanwhile, feel free to nominate YOURSELF for the award. I know you did something awesome this week. You always do!
I’ve been positively ROCKING my exercise lately (more on that next week), but I tell you, it’s a good thing I got my gym workout in early this morning or I might have suffered a rock-free day. We’ve regressed a bit in our Springness and are having a cold and dreary spell that has me feeling sloggy and blech! (This is more mental than physical.) I’m reasonably certain that if a trip to the gym was still on my to-do list for today, I’d be trying everything I could think of to convince myself to avoid it, and I’d probably be successful.
In the event you are opting to stay in, or having it forced upon you by heaps of snow, and are looking for some interesting reading, here are a few items from my soon-to-be-defunct Google reader:
10 Reasons Why You’re Enough Just the Way You Are [Dumb Little Man]
Sneak peak: “Everyone’s a work in progress: Nobody’s perfect including yourself so stop putting so much pressure on yourself to be so.”
There’s a reason I listed this at the top. Each and every point was a gem, in my book.
20 Great Body Weight Exercises (and Why You Should Do Them) [Wisebread]
Sneak Peek: “[I'd] venture to say that being able to lift your own body weight — whether with your arms, your legs, or your core — is an important life skill. What better, more basic measure of fitness could there be? The best part of it is that most body weight exercises require little or no equipment of any kind, which means you can practice them anytime, anywhere.”
No reason to go to the gym at all with this comprehensive list of body weight exercises. If I hadn’t already worked out today (and have the jangly muscles to prove it), I’d be working through at least a few exercises from each group.
Or if I hadn’t been able to muster up the motivation for even that, according to the following article, I might have gotten enough of a workout just by taking care of a few household chores.
Stay Fit Without Ever Visiting the Gym [Yahoo Shine]
Sneak Peek: “Researchers from Oregon State University evaluated a federal survey of more than 6,000 American adults and their physical activity levels. All participants wore accelerometers to track their movement throughout the day. Part of the group took part in structured gym workouts, while the others simply stayed active throughout the day by doing simple chores around the house and running errands. After four consecutive days of wearing the device for at least 10 hours a day, the results were surprising: Small bouts of activity-even just one- and two-minute increments totaling 30 minutes per day-were deemed just as beneficial as longer bouts of exercise at the gym or elsewhere.”
The article doesn’t suggest giving up regular, or more vigorous, workouts for more comprehensive health benefits, but it supports the notion that virtually all movement is beneficial. I think many of us don’t realize (and don’t give ourselves credit for) how much we do every day just managing our life tasks.
Finally, here’s a fun little thing I found via MakeUseOf, a personality-type assessor based on your Facebook likes. I was up to the challenge (it was that or scrape wallpaper off the kitchen walls), and here’s what they had to say about me:
My first thought was that 3-out-of-5 wasn’t bad. They had the Openness, Stability, and Agreeableness parts right, but on first glance the other two seemed off. Further checking, though, revealed that their version of “well-organized” included planning, persistence, and reliability. They weren’t looking at my disheveled kitchen after all. 
As for extraversion, they blew it big time on that one. I do have some social anxiety, but I generally ignore it in favor of exchanging life stories with pretty much every one I meet. LOL
So, in the end, they were 4-for-5. Not bad for an unscientific, but fun, little “test”. (If you take the test, let us know how it worked for you. Unless you’re shy and reserved like me. LOL)
Happy Weekend, everyone! If you’re looking for me, I’ll be hanging around updating my FB likes, scraping wallpaper, catching up on my reader, and watching my March Madness bracket go up in flames. (Next year, no picking teams based on prior year grudges and/or team colors!)
What are you up to this weekend?
We’re having a cool snap (37° tonight!) and more rain, so if you’re looking for me, you’ll likely find me at home or at the gym. Or writing my AIM post for Monday. 
One of the topics discussed was asking for help. As you might expect, my thoughts went to weight management and why it’s so difficult for many of us to seek out support, whether it’s from friends, family, co-workers, or all of the above. I think Brené Brown is on to something with the vulnerability factor.