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Exercise – Rest – Exercise
Yes, I used the “E” word… Eeeeeekkkk!
I know that I have declared publicly that I am NOT going to Exercise however, for this post I need to use the e-word for the sake of clarity.
To recap: “Exercise” is any activity which produces a physiological effect that causes your heart rate to increase for a set period of time and causes your respiratory system to speed up.
In “Plane Anglish” = IF your heart is racing and you are breathing heavy, then it is exercise.
So to “exercise” you do not have to “go to the gym” you just have to “do the laundry,” or “mow the yard” or” go get groceries” or enjoy a “walk in the park”
The key is . . .
That your heart rate has to speed up and your breathing has to increase long enough for your body to say “uhmmm wow, this dude is serious about this.”
Your body is lazy. It does not want to work. And face it, anything that gets your heart going and chest heaving is WORK!
The “work” may be climbing the stairs at a baseball park to enjoy a great afternoon watching the Cardinals, but climbing those stairs still counts as WORK even if it is in the pursuit of fun!
It may involve rolling around on the floor playing with a passel of puppies, but when you get up, if your heart has speeded up and your breath is starting to make noises like an old-time steam engine then that is work! Even if it is FUN work.
For those of us in truly abysmal shape . . .
. . . like “Moí”
Just getting up from my computer and sorting the laundry leaves me huffing and puffing and making sounds like the proverbial big bad wolf.
Sad, but true.
The POINT, friends, neighbors, dearest readers, and the odd cuzin or two… It does NOT MATTER WHAT YOU DO AS LONG AS YOU DO SOMETHING!
For those of us who are either starting for the first time or climbing back on the “exercise wagon” after falling off, well a little goes a looooooooooooooooooong way!
Rest after exercising . . .
What really goes on in your body when you start an exercise program.
Just so you know, this information that I’m telling you can be verified from numerous reputable sources, but I’m saving you a lot of time reading… grin …by providing a much more entertaining version of what’s going on… Read the rest of this entry
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Coffee Kitty is NOT a Morning Cat… Uhmmm… Person
Given how sleep deprived I am this morning…
c2013 TxCowboyDancer Designs
…this design is somehow very appropriate.
Since this is only the second in this new series, here is a reminder about the format. Each post will have three parts:
- A large image of the new design (like the one to the right)
- A bit of background on how the design came about (just below)
- A few of my favorite products with the new design (just below that)
I hope you are enjoying the “back story” on the designs as I create them.
Even if you don’t visit the store and do some shopping, please hit the share and like buttons so that others can find out about my designs. Thanks!
Background on my latest design:
I don’t remember where I first saw this cat. I think it was either on Facebook or maybe it popped up in a Google search. I’ve slept since then… 😉
Following the trail back to the source of the image lead me to a website called Deviant Art; a site I had never visited before. Wow, talk about a different part of the Interwebz! LOL
This was the image that I first saw… I Need Coffee Original sketch by (by YTCyberPunk)
If you’ve never heard of Deviant Art, check it out. It is a lot of fun, but a lot of, well, deviant, in a good “artistic” way. Basically it is a place for artists and photographers to hang out and share their work, comment and critique, and take a peek at what other artists and photographers are doing.
Some of the work on the site is jaw dropping amazing. Some of it is amusing. Some of it, quite frankly, is awful. Not awful in the sense of lack of inspiration or effort but in execution—sorta baby works by artists who still have “training wheels” on their paint brushes or mouses. Mice? Miceses?
Whatever you call more than one computer mouse. But hey, art is in the eye of the beholder, and all of it is fun. Think “coffee house” in Soho with local artists works on the wall, and you get the idea… only without the coffee and it is on the Internet instead of in New York… but anyhoo…
Hmmm… coffee must be on my brain this morning… Slllllluuuuuurrrrrrrrpppppp…. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh….
You know you are truly hooked when you are only a third of the way through your first cup of coffee and there is NO WAY the caffeine can actually be hitting your system yet, but your body reacts physiologically to the mere promise of more caffeine hitting the blood stream soon. *SIGH*
I Need Coffee (by YTCyberPunk) Cleaned up Ink Version
But I digress.. I do that you know…
So… on the Deviant Art website, has a way for visitors to purchase a digital copy of the artwork for their personal non-commercial use like putting it on a computer desktop as the background. Or printing it off and framing it and hanging it on the wall.
But I didn’t want the image for personal use. I wanted to edit the design and I wanted to sell the design on products like t-shirts and coffee mugs. So, having never done this before, I said “what the hey” and took a chance. I emailed the artist and asked her if she’d consider selling me the commercial rights to her drawing, including the right to edit the drawing and add captions.
It turns out that the “drawing” was just a doodle she had done during class and that she’d never actually ever sold one of her works before and was very flattered that I liked her drawing.
Since we were both “babes in the woods” so to speak, we talked it through, making the contract up as we went. We eventually agreed that she retain copyright on the original drawing and that I would have copyright on any modifications based on her drawing.
I sent her a payment and in exchange I got a cleaned up copy of the drawing from her and the commercial rights to print the modified versions on t-shirts etc. Coolness! My first official bizness KNEE-go-she-Ayh-SHUN! Woot!
Storyline showing development of the design as I edited it
When I got the cleaned up “pen and ink” version, I decided that actually liked the original “messy” pencil version better.
So working with both the original “messy” file and the ink “clean” version, I took a bit of this and a bit of that and did a lot of clean up and editing of the “messy” version.
I added color to it a little at a time. I did some MORE clean up, adjusted proportions, shortened the height of the steam, and eventually after several hours of work with a graphics program…
Tah-Dah. I had a design I liked and that was ready to go onto products.
My favorite version is the cream colored cat. But I am playing around with the colors and will at some point in the future have a black and white version and a grey scale version as well. Watch for those. 🙂
Or I might change the color of the coffee cup or I might use the ink version. Who knows. But I’ll have to have more coffee first. LOL
I just LOVE the expression on this cat’s face. Especially since it is so close and contrasts so nicely with the big “smiley” face on the mug! Woot!
My favorite products with the new design…
I had a LOT of fun coming up with captions for the bumper stickers and mugs, etc for this design. I’m a coffee drinker and NOT a morning person AT ALL so this is a topic near and dear to my caffeinated heart. Read the rest of this entry
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In search of the perfect night’s sleep…
Perfect? Did I say “perfect”? I’d settle for “Mostly OK”
One of the items on my “10-Point-Plan” to “Transform Tony in 2013” is #1 Get plenty of sleep every night.
Easier said than done! However, talking about sleep is a good way to emphasis and reinforce the ongoing theme that Getting Fit and Healthy is complex because “EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED TO EVERYTHING!“
Sleep is important and most definitely connected to everything else in your life. Without consistent restful sleep, getting fit and healthy is almost impossible.
Without meaning to whine and moan, or act like a pampered diva…. But, since we’re mentioning “diva” could I please have some cheese with my Whine? Hmmm?
Oh, did you hear about that cheese truck fire that took days to put out? I kid you not!!!!
Holy Cheesus! Who knew?
Anyway in Norway where this cheese is made there was a truck accident in a tunnel and the load of cheese, called Brunost caught fire and burned for days.
But… I digress… Back to the whole sleep thing…. Read the rest of this entry
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“As the Boots Turn” #2, Sleep, Stress, and Number Two
[cue the intro music, roll the opening credits, cue the voice over]
At the end of yesterday’s episode, the hero of our tale had just paid a visit to the local watering hole. Feeling refreshed and generously buying a beer for the fella at the end of the bar, he left and headed off to deal with Number Two.
[cut the dramatic music with a screeching crashing sound effect; zoom in close on the face of our hero as he rides his trusty steed… …Uhmmm… drives his Toyota Tacoma about the streets of Dallas Texas]
“It is “Number two on the LIST! you idiot! Cut! Can someone get the voice over guy a script!?!? Maybe he can learn his lines before the next take?!?! Sheesh. Ok, everybody back to their start positions! Quickly, quickly, we’re losing the light and we’re over budget!”
Doth quoth our hero and director and screen writer! 🙂
Those who missed yesterday’s episode of “As the Boots Turn” and who want to catch up on the action so far, can find it here: A Disaster or an Opportunity? Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
Resting, Sleeping, and Repairing the damage…
When my life changed so dramatically and I was no longer going into work five days a week, the thing that hit me like a smack in the face, was just how tired I was. We’re not talking “oh, I’m feeling a little peaked.” We’re talking a… Read the rest of this entry
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I lost my job…and turned into a bear…kinda, sorta
I am now a statistic: I’m Unemployed.
Eleven days ago, I lost my job. And being unemployed affects everything including one’s health. Those eleven days have been a flurry of activity doing all the things that one does when one looses their job:
- Applied for unemployment benefits — I don’t know yet whether I’ll get them. When I log onto the Texas Workforce Commission’s website the status still says “TWC is reviewing your claim to determine if we can pay you benefits. If we need additional information, we will contact you.” *sigh*
..
Not knowing whether or not I’ll get any unemployment benefit checks, I assumed “worst case scenario” — that I won’t and started making plans:
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- Pre-paid as many bills as possible. — There are certain things that I’ll have to have if the worst happens I’m going to be out of work for a while: medications, rent on storage unit, cell phone, internet connection, car insurance...
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5-6-7-8 Dancing My Way to a Healthy Me! 