Treadmill Distraction

I am not one of those people who love to walk on the treadmill, I need some type of distraction or I go nuts trying to make myself walk.  I constantly am checking to see how far I have I’ve walked and how much time has elapsed, counting down so I can stop for the day.  I discovered  a year or so ago that my laptop computer sits very well on the ledge behind the controls and I could walk and watch videos. It helped to distract me from the actual walking time/distance as I would get focused on the video not realize how long or how far I had walked.I decided to subscribe to The Quilt Show a few weeks ago and that is a wonderful distraction for me now.  I am not letting myself watch it unless I am on the treadmill.  How is that for incentive to walk?  I had resisted subscribing for a long time but since I don’t subscribe to any quilt magazines anymore I decided it wouldn’t be anymore expensive than a regular magazine subscription so went for it.  I have learned lots and have thoroughly enjoyed the programs and extras I have watched so far.Here is my view as I walk the miles away.  You see I have more than The Quilt Show to watch.  This photo was taken a few weeks ago when we still had snow on the ground and our cows were in the field across the highway.  Love watching them as they graze. They take a bite, chew, walk a step, take a bite, chew and walk another step....back and forth across the field.  Once in a while one gets behind the others a ways and runs to catch up as if they might just miss something.The shows have been very interesting and I am really glad I subscribed.  There is so much information to be gleaned from from this website I am glad I am a Quilt Show member and recommend it as a good buy and worth the price.

Until Later,
Lynn

I Must Have A One Track Mind…Or Maybe Two

I seem to have trouble thinking and doing more than one or two things at any point in my life.  Right now I am concentrating on weight loss and learning about my camera (Canon EOS Rebel T2i)  and Photoshop Elements 11.  I have found a way to combine the two things I am focusing on and do them at the same time.

Update on weight loss – I am approaching a 25 lb. loss and am thrilled.  I spend time each day planning and cooking foods to keep on plan.  Before joining Weight Watchers I cooked higher fat/sweet/starch foods and have had to re-learn how to cook and find new favorite recipes to make lower point meals.  (Weight Watchers uses a point system that calculates using the fat content, carbohydrate content, fiber content and protein content to figure how many points foods contain and members are given a maximum number of points to eat each day.)   It is getting easier and quicker to make meals for us and am getting a few new recipes I can fall back on when I can’t think of what to fix for dinner. Since it is so cold outside I walk on the treadmill most days and walking everyday on the treadmill in our bedroom has gotten less boring too as I have been watching a DVD titled “Learn Photoshop Elements Today!” from the editors at Photoshop Elements Techniques magazine to help pass the time and to learn the program one tool at a  time.  It was one of the free gifts for subscribing to the magazine and this alone is worth the price of the subscription.   It is a great DVD with videos on all the tools, how to use them, what they do and showing examples of the tool being used.  It is very easy to understand and I find I am gradually learning about the program as I walk away the miles.  I even plan to watch it more than once to learn all the nuances of the program as this brain of mine doesn’t always remember everything the first time around. I found I can place my laptop computer on my treadmill and watch a few videos during each walking session.  There is a lip of plastic that overhangs the little shelf and this keeps my laptop from falling off as I walk.  I think it is just a design feature on the treadmill but it works great.  Actually walking on a treadmill can be boring….very boring and watching these videos has been a good distraction for me, plus I am learning something at the same time.

I want to sew but just manage to get to my sewing machine infrequently if at all.  One of these days I will be changing focus so stay tuned.

Lynn