Wake Up Legs!

A journalist-turned-exercise physiologist, I'm about cycling, fitness, & food. Oh and you'll see doggies here too. I live with an auto-immune disease called ulcerative colitis, which presents its own set of challenges, but my ethos is never give up & keep smiling! This is a personal journal with some reblogs. I follow blogs with personal content.

[mari-musing]

Time to move on

Hi Tumblr friends. I have decided to uninstall the Tumblr app on my phone. I currently find myself posting mostly from Instagram anyway, as Tumblr is such a glitchy app. Lately, I have become conscious of just how much time I fritter away on social media, so I am cutting back. Tumblr has been my journal for several years, so I will leave my account there, and may check in on the PC, but won't be active.

Thank you to the core group of people who read my posts; I've enjoyed yours too. I am mari.musing on Insta if you want to join me there. If your Insta URL is very different from your Tumblr one, shoot me a direct message so I recognise you. Cheers.

Mari 💜

[mari-musing]

My Tuesday has revolved around nuture. In the quiet morning I meditated and stretched on the deck; at lunchtime I prepared my stand-by wholesome mid-day meal; and in the afternoon I made protein bites and harvested fresh basil and parsley to whizz up homemade pesto. There was a fair bit of reading too - I am finding ‘This Naked Mind’ really interesting. It is about the unconscious mind, social conditioning, and neuro-linguistic programming as it applies to alcohol and societal/individual addiction. Something bizarre and unsettling also occurred. I was the target of a screaming online troll who accused me of being a violent hoodlum; the kind of person who endorsed mass shootings (I had made a comment explaining the context of someone else’s post.) It was laughably ridiculous, as anyone acquainted with me knows, but the tone and language was confronting nonetheless. I’ve successfully managed to avoid trolls all these years but it made me think how people in the public eye must have to grow hides of kevlar. Obviously I blocked the individual, as I had no desire to see his response to my redress. 🕊☯🍃

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The electricity was out for two hours right on dinner prep time as the sun was disappearing. I am glad of two things, a) I cook with gas, and b) I am married to a photographer with a suite of battery-charged flash units… And there was light, and it was good… (As was dinner). 🥑🍅🥒🍋🐟

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Isn’t it funny that you can see someone who lives in the USA more often than someone who lives only a few suburbs away? Gill & I became Facebook friends because I practised karate with her son-in-law. Gill lives in Florida but visits every couple of years and we catch up for a coffee and a chat. 🙋☕🙆

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Who read Enid Blyton’s Famous Five when they were kids? I had the entire series so was amused to discover Blyton for grown-ups by Bruno Vincent. I had to buy Five Give Up Booze (Julian revealed as a lush on Page 3), seeing as I have reached Day 35 alcohol-free! 😂 I should add that my waffles from @healthfreakcafe were sugar-free coconut flour creations with coconut cream, chosen because they are not something I’d make at home (and if I did, I wouldn’t be so miserly with the topping!) ☕🍓

[mari-musing]

Daily pool walking, diligent attention to my rehab exercises, hot-packs (yes even in the heat), and healing visualisation have brought me to a pain-free 5.6km trail walk yesterday and a 28km bike ride today. And yep; stretching and pool work are done! 🏊🚴🏃😊💙

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Did I ever mention that this is my favourite homecooked Sunday brunch? (Yes Mari you did.) 🤣🥓🍳🍅🥑🍄🥒

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This year I resolved to ride purely for fun, companionship and coffee! Today fitted the bill perfectly: a 28km riverside coffee cruise with my friend Gretta. 😊🚴☕

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What a wonderful feeling walking the local trails again on a beautiful Saturday. I took the opportunity to do my morning meditation in the peaceful, fresh-scented park. The sounds and smells of nature, the waft of a breeze, made it so much nicer; with just the occasional crunch as someone ran past. 🌳🌞🌿

[mari-musing]

TA-DAAAA! Two walks in three days and the most kilometres since I herniated my L5 disc five weeks ago. Today I tackled 5.6km of inclines and declines on the Zamia Trail; and on Thursday I took the pupper for a 2km jaunt around the local exercise park. Hopefully I soon can join my GLU running buddies on a Saturday morning. 💃🤸🏿🏃

[mari-musing]

Happy Year Of The Dog! 🎉🎎🐕 Dogs are loyal pack animals so it is fitting that my projects this year look inwards to body, soul and abode.

The plan is to declutter the home, which is a seriously mammoth task. For me, this doesn’t mean a minimalist house in neutral tones - I like my colour, objects of beauty and art works - but it does mean clearing out a ton of junk, starting with the filing cabinets! Work on the home of my soul - my mind - has already commenced with daily meditation. And if the body is a temple, then I have started spring cleaning by going alcohol-free and cutting sugar. I was a bit late with today’s meditation - 7.00am is the banging and crashing hour and they start right on the dot! But the noise-cancelling headphones worked a treat! 🙉🙏🐶

[fe-nomenallady-deactivated20210]

Thursday thought

“We cannot solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.” ~Albert Einstein

[mari-musing]

That beautifully-wrapped box is a gift, from me to me, and it is going to stay wrapped until my next 60 days alcohol-free are completed. The book is a ‘hollistic health journal’ - my 30-day AF reward to myself (which also happened to coincide with Valentine’s Day - vive self love!) I will use it to map my health goals and achievements over the next 60 days. I’ve always liked journalling; planning, writing things down, ticking off lists, reviewing my progress. Who else enjoys this form of order? 📖🖊🎁

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The guy at Mazda said, ‘be my Valentine’; I just accepted a chocolate. 😉 Out and about getting stuff done while the vehicle’s windshields get replaced. ☕🚘🍫

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Dragon Heart! Happy Valentine’s Day my friends! I arranged my breakfast to look like a soaring heart but I think it resembles a dragon haha! 🐉Spread love and kindness to those around you today and expect nothing in return. Kindness is its own reward. ⚘❤🕊

[mari-musing]

When your cooking looks like the recipe photo. 😀 Pretty pleased with tonight’s meal even if I say so myself. 😄 Mitzy is staring at me intently, willing me to drop something! 🐶🍗

[mari-musing]

When you haven’t been shopping and need to break out the emergency rations! 😄🍫🍵