Just noticed I had not posted since Monday. It's been another busy week, apparently. Anyway, I've been making my step goal every day since then and doing at least a little bit of additional exercise. Sometimes, like this morning, all I can squeeze into the morning is 10 minutes with the dumbbells. Yesterday, though, I did two of the stackable 10-minute videos I like and still got out the door more or less on time. It requires waking up at about 4:30, which is earlier than I'd like, but it provides me enough time to walk at least 4K on my own at pace, take the dog for her preferred slow .5K ramble, feed her, do some kind of additional exercise, shower and dress, gather up lunch and my laptop bag and be walking out the door between 7:15 and 7:30. I took a tumble at work yesterday. No serious injuries, but I bruised both knees, the left more seriously than the right, and scraped/bumped my left shin. I also apparently smacked my rib cage on the left side, because I'm pretty sore there today, despite not seeing any bruises. Between the bruises and some swelling and general soreness, I'm moving a little slowly today. So, I only just barely made my 4K goal for walking this morning. It was still pretty hot when I got home from work, which may have contributed to the dog not being interested in much of a walk . . . all of which means I still have nearly 5,000 steps left to do to make today's count. I'm hoping that, by the time I force myself to get some schoolwork done and need a break, it will be cool enough outside to make another walk appealing. Otherwise, I'll hit the stationary bike. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 186.3 of 500KActivity Streak: 49

Two more weeks of assignments. I think the semester might technical run another week after that to accommodate exams, but neither of my classes has a final. I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this by choice. It's supposed to be "fun," as well as personally and professionally enriching. And it's definitely engaging a lot of the time, but between the ongoing family stuff and changing jobs and adjusting to the new routine of being back in the office a few days a week and playing catch up following the last bout of vertigo . . . I'm well and truly toasted and ready to have a little less to do.

Made my step goal again yesterday. In my never-ending quest to wake up early enough to do the full morning routine before leaving for work, I set my alarm another 10 minutes earlier for this week. The dog does seem to be sticking with the "Let me sleep while you go out on your own first" pattern, which allows me to get in a decent walk at pace before coming home and taking her slowly around the block. This morning, it was about 4.7K, total. I had some technical difficulties that slowed me down and consequently still got only a little over 15 minutes of additional exercise: 10 minutes of lower body work with an exercise band and about the first half of a 10-minute upper body dumbbell workout. More walking at work this afternoon and a short after-work stroll with the dog have me within 1,500 steps of my daily goal. So, I'll knock that out before bedtime. (At the moment, I have a quiet house because my husband is out at a work event, and I'm going to try and make use of it to accomplish some schoolwork.) Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 164.1 of 500KActivity Streak: 46

I did get out for a (dog-less) 3.7K walk last night, which pushed me up over my daily step goal. This morning, I took her with me, and she seemed enthusiastic about walking. I assumed we would end up at the dog park, but then she started stopping every few feet to smell things and dawdle along. I just felt like I really needed to move today, so as soon as it looked like she was running out of steam, I dropped her at home and went back out by myself. All told, it was about 4.7K. My husband recently reminded me that, as a Disney spouse, I have access to Grokker for free. I remembered I had set up an account some time ago, but had never really used it. However, I logged in and discovered that they have a whole bunch of yoga (and other) exercise videos, all of which I can watch without ads. I found what looks to be a nice series specifically for folks over 50 and did the first of those this morning. I'm still on the lookout for another local class, but I will try to keep doing these in the meantime. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 153.2 of 500KActivity Streak: 45

(Originally posted in the March thread, accidentally deleted instead of copying when I decided to move it over here.) The good news is that I made my step goal both Thursday and Friday and am on track to do so today, too. The not-so-good news is that I'm still not finding more than 10-15 minutes each day to do anything in addition to walking. Ever since I started this new job, no matter how early I get up in the morning, I find myself out of time to do more than that. Those 30-minute strength and stretching sessions out on the patio are just not happening (much to the disappointment of my cats). Today, I started with a short (2K) walk with the dog, then headed out with dog and husband for a ramble around a big craft fair downtown. I've been cooking, doing laundry and working on school assignments since we got home, but the plan is to get out for another walk in just a bit to finish off the day's steps. Earlier in the day, I tried to convince myself that I would do some yoga, too, but since it's now going on 8:00 PM and I still need to finish drafting this short paper that is due tomorrow evening and walk another 4,000+ steps, it's not likely I'll get to it today. I've been really, really missing my Saturday morning yoga at the lake. I still have Tuesday evenings, but I miss the twice-weekly schedule. I know there are plenty of videos online, but I appreciated the nudge that registering and paying for a class provides to follow through. If I can do something on my own schedule and am not accountable to anyone, it's all too easy to de-prioritize the activity. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 144.8 of 500KActivity Streak: 44

(Moved to April thread. Thanks, @Laura Corin for reminding me.)

I am a big fan of my BOB's shoes. Being a young adult in the 1980s, I am convinced that classic tennis shoes are perfectly acceptable footwear to go with casual dresses and skirts. And I love these because they look pretty much like your basic, classic Keds but are a lot more comfortable (for me, at least). I have worn the ones with cute dog and cat designs on them for several years, but now they seem to be releasing mostly solids colors. I am currently alternating white and grey pairs. https://www.skechers.com/technologies/collections/bobs/

Not sure when I last posted. It's been kind of a week for me -- busy with school and work, not sleeping well (or enough) and feeling like it's taking far too much effort to keep my head above water emotionally. I missed making my daily step goal both Monday and Tuesday, but did okay yesterday and am on track to make it today (fewer than 500 steps to go). I still haven't managed more than about 15 minutes a day of anything besides walking. This morning, I did only 10 and was still later than I wanted to be for work. In a burst of possibly unwarranted enthusiasm, I registered for a half-marathon at WDW in November. It's still walker friendly, but I have never done anything near that long at pace. (Oh, and, since I am apparently a glutton for punishment, I signed up to do the two-course challenge, meaning I will walk a 10K the day before.) And, having fallen off the exercise bandwagon as much as I have the last couple of months, I'm already noticing I have less stamina than I did not very long ago. I really need to get serious about training, but I feel like I'm only barely finding time to breathe right now. The only potential saving grace is that the event isn't until November and, since I will not be taking classes over the summer, I may have a couple of months (over the hottest time of the year here in fabulous Florida) to try and get prepped. In the meantime, it's just the new usual: trying for at least 4K of walking every morning, followed by as much strength/stretching as I can squeeze in before leaving for work. Yoga on Tuesday evenings. (My Saturday morning teacher is still on break.) A slow ramble with the dog after work and, when it is necessary to make my step goal and I have time and energy to do so, another walk or some time on the stationary bike in the evening. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 126.9 of 500KActivity Streak: 42

So, yesterday evening was a loss. In the afternoon, I napped, made my lunches for the upcoming week, then went out to meet up with my friend. We ended up going out for a snack and chat time after the reading, which meant I didn't get home until after 11:00. I ended up with only about 9,000 steps for the day, but I'm trying not to beat myself up about it. Managed only a short walk this morning, for a bunch of reasons, including a close encounter with the critted in the attached photo. The dog and I found him making his way across the street and decided to stand watch until he was more or less out of danger. And by the time I felt okay about leaving him on his own, I was warm and cranky and ready to be done with walking. I did go out on a tour of gardens in some historic downtown homes this afternoon, which was lovely but also honestly too warm for comfort. I'm currently a little over halfway to my daily step goal, but I need a good chunk of time relaxing in the A/C before I attempt another outdoor excursion today. Once it gets darker and cooler, I'll try for another walk. And if necessary, I'll hit the stationary bike for a bit. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 97.6 of 500KActivity Streak: 38

Yesterday: Walked a little over 4K in the morning, just a short jaunt with the dog in the afternoon, then a little over 5K of walking in the evening, followed by about 10 minutes on the stationary bike just to get me over the daily goal. So far today: Walked about 3.75K before it started raining on us. Then did about 30 minutes of yoga via YouTube. Not sure what the rest of the day holds. I'm meeting a friend tonight, which means I may not have time for much of an evening walk. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 92.1 of 500KActivity Streak: 37

High-waisted pants literally cause me pain. I am short (not quite 5'2") and currently about 110 pounds. However, no matter what my weight, I have always found high-waisted pants extremely uncomfortable. I do have a somewhat broad ribcage for my size, so maybe that's part of the problem? Whenever I sit or bend while wearing high-waisted pants, the waistband hits my ribcage. I like a pretty bland, mid-rise, straight-legged, full-length jean, personally. I can find them at Lands End and sometimes places like Loft and Ann Taylor. On a recent shopping expedition, I found some at the Old Navy outlet, although I am currently a small enough size that it's hit or miss to find a great selection at a physical store.

As planned, I rode the stationary bike for about 20 minutes last night to finish off the day's steps. Started this morning with a 4.25K walk. I skipped additional exercise because I was tired and short on time. I logged some more steps at work this afternoon, let the dog take me for a walk when I got home and then topped off with 15 minutes on the stationary bike. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 76.2 of 500KActivity Streak: 35

Took a decent walk this morning, following the new routine of letting the dog sleep while I head out alone first. I logged a total of a little over 4K. The only other exercise I had time for was a very short abs video. I allowed the dog to steer me to the dog park on our after-work walk, which brought me within a couple thousand steps of today's goal. I'll probably knock that out with some stationary bike time before bed. Tomorrow is another day of wandering WDW parks for work, although fortunately not for quite as long -- and not starting quite as early -- as yesterday. That should be good for a decent number of steps, though. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 59.1 of 500KActivity Streak: 34

I don't know how close this is to what you're looking for, but I'm an instructional designer. For the last three-plus years, I developed eLearning. Prior to my homeschooling mom years, I was an editor and technical writer. I transitioned to instructional design through a combination of work experience and training/education. I got a job as a technology trainer at the local library (which at the time required only a high school diploma) and got involved with some course development there. Meanwhile, I earned an Associate Professional of Talent Development certification through ATD, then moved on to a graduate instructional design certificate from the University of Central Florida (an online program). I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, if I can be helpful.

I finished off yesterday's "steps" with about 15 minutes on the stationary bike before an early bedtime. Woke up at 4:00 to have time for a walk (4K) and a short (15-minute) exercise session before leaving for an early work meeting. Work involved walking all over two WDW parks, including climbing up and down stairs in various backstage areas. I met my 15,000-step goal by about 2:00 PM. The dog requested her regular after-work walk when I got home (another 1K+). And I'll finish off the day with yoga class in a little bit. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 51.4 of 500KActivity Streak: 33

The dog seems to be pretty insistent about not getting up and out the door as early as I need to in order to walk and exercise before work, which is working out fine. This morning, I headed out and left her contentedly dozing in her crate, walked about 3.5K on my own at my own pace, then collected her for a slow ramble for the remaining .5K. I still had time for only about 15 minutes of additional exercise, so I did the short upper body workout video I did a couple of times last week. Lulu pup was extremely ready to go for a walk when I got home from work, however, and we logged a slow but pleasant 2.75K. This leaves me about 1500 steps to finish off my daily goal. I have some schoolwork I need to knock out, and I need to make it an early night because I have an early morning meeting tomorrow, but it should be achievable to do one more quick walk or some time on the stationary bike at some point before bedtime. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 42.5 of 500KActivity Streak: 32

I did make my step count yesterday, although it took an evening walk and some time on the stationary bike to make it happen. Started this morning with my first full 4K walk since the vertigo episode, then logged another couple of kilometers walking the trails at a local park with a friend. By the time I got home, I had about 4,000 steps left, which I knocked out by letting the dog take me for a walk. Back to the office tomorrow, so we'll see whether I can keep up the 4K+ mornings. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 35.6 of 500KActivity Streak: 31

@barnwife - Not sure what BBM is? Or what style/intensity of exercise you're looking for? I like gosimpli.ca on YouTube. Her videos run about 20 minutes, and I find them very easy to follow. I don't think they have music, although to be entirely honest, I almost always mute the video and listen to a podcast while working out.

It took the after-work, with-pup walk and one more solo to do it, but I made my step goal again yesterday. Today's not looking promising, but we'll see how much energy and determination I can muster. Did only a short walk this morning, because my husband and I had plans to go out and I had trouble forcing myself out of bed as early as I had planned. We did wander an art festival, which was fun but did not net me as many steps as I had hoped. Then I came home and took a nap. I plan to head out for another walk soon, but I have more than half of my steps yet to go. So, that's not great. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 18.3 of 500KActivity Streak: 30

Done! (And, congrats to your kiddo. There was only one question that made me pause and wish I could say, "with some conditions.")

I had a work event yesterday that had me out walking a bit in the afternoon. I followed that up with the becoming-the-new-routine after-work walk with the dog, then finished off my steps with some shopping in the evening. This morning, the dog made it pretty clear she was not ready to get moving yet when I tried to rouse her. I ended up closing her crate and going out for a walk by myself, which was actually great, since I was able to get myself going and moving at a brisker pace. I logged about 3.25K, then came back inside. By that time, she was perkier and happy to go around the block with me. No clue whether this will continue to be her preference, but it was good for me. I didn't have time for a lot of additional exercise, but did the same 14-minute upper body video I did earlier this week before I had to settle into work. (My new job is Monday-Thursday in the office, Friday work from home.) I'm on the hunt for another local yoga class, because my regular Saturday morning instructor is not ready to come back yet and I truly miss the twice a week thing. I still need a very gentle style and a teacher who understands and can accommodate my assorted limitations. But I'm starting to look around for options. Today has otherwise been more sedentary than yesterday, meaning I have about half of my daily steps still to do. I'm about to head out (with pup, if she's interested) for the post-work walk, but I may need to do more to meet my goal before bedtime. Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 9.5 of 500KActivity Streak: 29

I had to really put my mind to it, but I did make my step goal again yesterday, finishing off the Winter Warmup seasonal challenge. The Spring Start challenge began this morning. The dog was just not into walking this morning, so I let her ramble slowly around the block, then dropped her off at home and went back out by myself. Able to move at my own pace, I logged a little over 3.5K in the time I had available. I also did a 15-minute walking with weights video. So, still not back to what I was doing before the return to office life and the vertigo bout, but getting better. Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 517.4 of 500K - Complete Spring Start 2023 Challenge: 5.9 of 500KActivity Streak: 28

I did end up meeting my step goal last night, but only by the skin of my teeth and by finishing up with pacing the living room. Pushed my alarm back to 4:50, which (even after being held hostage by a purring, attention-demanding cat for 10 minutes or so) allowed me to walk a little over 3K, do a 14-minute upper body workout video and still get to work by 7:45. Most of my co-workers in the new job are early birds, arriving in the office between 7:00 and 8:00, and skewing my work hours earlier does provide the benefit of minimizing commute time. I walked with the dog when I got home, hung out with the dog and cat for a bit while talking to my eldest (who had their first day on the new job today), then ventured out for another, solo walk to finish off today's step count. Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 517.4 of 500KActivity Streak: 27

Well, I did a little better this morning, walking 3.25K and doing 15 minutes of assorted dumbbell and stretching exercise. However, it was a relatively sedentary day at work, and even after walking a couple of kilometers with the dog when I got home, I'm only slightly over halfway to my daily step goal. I'm headed out to yoga in a few minutes and will try to squeeze in one more walk before bedtime, but it likely won't be enough to get me to 15,000 steps. On the plus side, I met my seasonal distance goal this morning. Good thing, since the spring challenge starts on Thursday. Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 504.2 of 500KActivity Streak: 26

Made my step goal again yesterday, with a combination of theme-parking and a short ramble with the dog. The photo below is the best shot I got while exploring the butterfly pavillion at EPCOT. I had to be on-site at 7:00 AM today, which made for a pretty early morning. Even getting out of bed at 4:30, I squeezed in only about 2K of walking and a 14-minute upper body workout video. Fortunately, the work day involved more walking around WDW, which meant I was close to 13,000 steps by the time I got home. A 30-minute wander with the dog was enough to put me over 15,000 for the day (third time in a row). So, that's good. I backed up my alarm again in hopes I can extend the streak. Winter Warmup 2022 Challenge: 499.6 of 500KActivity Streak: 25