Summertime is here. And I've been back blogging for almost half a year. I have enjoyed doing this so much and hope that I haven't overwhelmed anyone with the number of posts that I've shared. My idea was to write about all the books that I finished this year and I've done that. I've had a good time with the top 10 topics, the waiting on Wednesday previews, the occasional weekend cooking posts, and the first paragraph book teasers. I've related what happened at my monthly book club meetings and shared a bit about life and vacationing.
Summer is a hot time in my part of the country. A really hot time usually. Life slows down a bit, even for those of us that don't work outside the home anymore. Some things are more outdoors based, but again, the hot. I enjoy summer events, but I really like making my life easy and sort of unplanned. When I was a teenager this song was a big summer hit. It's Summer Breeze by 2 Texas guys, Seals and Crofts. Summer Breeze just says summer to me.
So, I've been seeing some summer reading planning going on at a few blogs. And good for you, if that's your thing. Good luck! There are lots of lists of beach bag books and what books you might take on vacation and such. This is my plan for this summer and my reading. <<<No plan>>>
Shocking, right? I have no plan. I'm going to go where the muse takes me. Maybe a little mystery (of course), a few old favorites, a bit of YA, a romance or 2, maybe even a little horror. I've seen some call this 'free range reading'. Well, yahoo for that! What I'm saying is that I'm still planning on sharing my thoughts about what I'm reading, but there is no telling what that might be.
OK, another thing I wanted to talk about was some health stuff. I shared at the beginning of the year that I was planning to eat less and exercise more and I've been sorta successful with that. However, I've still recently been informed by my doctor and my normal annual bloodwork that perhaps a titch more effort might be necessary. Maybe more than a titch. Maybe more like a lot. I've known that I was pre-diabetic for a while. Yeah, I'm about as close to actual diabetes as you can get. My regular doctor is a peach. She's been my doctor for over 20 years. And she's given me 3 months to get my numbers down or I'm going to have to take additional meds, which I do not want to do.
I've gone back to Weight Watchers, a program that I have had success with before, big success. It just hasn't made it through my head that really, the eating changes have to be forever and always. Not deprivation and saying 'I can't ever, ever have...", but mostly. Weight has to be lost and exercise has to be regular. If I don't, well, I'm going to have bigger problems. Maybe not right away, but certainly before too long. So, I say all this to say - thank goodness for books on audio! Thank goodness for summer fruits and vegetables! Thank goodness for cooking on the grill and thank goodness I'm getting a chance to turn things around this summer!
It's summer and I'm going to read easy and frequently. I'm going to eat easy and less frequently. I'm going to walk and move my body much more frequently. Let's all have a great summer!
We get very hot and humid weather over here. And June is the worst. As for reading, I know my progress will be slow since it's school holidays. Speaking of exercise, I need to buck up on that because I've been slacking. Hope you've a great month in June!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Melody! And here's hoping that you get a bit of 'me' time. :-)
DeleteYes, thank goodness for audiobooks... they make my long walks even more enjoyable. Once it started getting warm here (you'd laugh at what I consider warm!), I try to get started earlier in the morning.
ReplyDeleteI've embraced 'free range reading' too, and enjoy what I'm reading so much more that way. I still love a project (Trollope this year), an occasional read-along, and making those lists. Sticking to then is a whole different story.
I do understand, JoAnn, about the enjoying the 'freedom' to read whatever. And, yes, I'd probably laugh at what you consider warm. However, you have been spending time in Florida. Perhaps you've adjusted. I've always found that I sweat profusely the whole time I'm in Florida - the humidity, you know. LOL
DeleteHeat and humidity make retreating with a good book the best choice. Louisiana, like Texas, must deal with high temperatures exacerbated by high humidity. I never have much of a reading plan, although if I find an interesting theme in one book, I often pursue it. Since the summer heat drains my energy, I have to work at being active and often settle for my reading chair, instead. :)
ReplyDeleteYes, your state and mine share a lot in the summer. Humidity, heat, bugs...LOL.
DeleteGrrrrreat post!!!! All round!
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for doing your blog. You know, I really enjoy it. And I hope I remember to say thank you, regularly.
"I've had a good time with..." -- And that is the only thing any of us need to be able to say, about our blogging!!!!!!!! Tessa sezzzzzzz!
Same here.... My plan for Summer... No Plan!!!! We don't travel, and I never have a Reading Plan. :-)))
Health stuff..... I too, want to keep at my 'New Life Style'.... If you read my blog, you know about it. Basically organic-healthy. And yes, it hassss to be a Life Style. If diets worked, everyone would be healthy-thin, and the diet business would have gone out of business, years ago. :-)
Exercise too! We do need it! For some, it comes naturally. For me, nope!! It's w-o-r-k to get myself to do it. even though it does feel good. Duhhh me...
So, all in all, best of luck to both of us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For using this summer, to learn to live in a good way. 'Cause that's the only 'reason' for change, to be good for us.
hugs....
Tessa
Thank you for your most encouraging note, Tessa! Yes, for some exercise seems to be second nature - for others of us, it's not even in the ball park, at least naturally. LOL
DeleteGood luck with your health goals. I've been a weight watcher member off and on. I've had ups and downs and know how difficult it is to make life long changes. Enjoy the summer - stay cool. I like that song too. Summer Breeze.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to stay cool I have found an indoor walking track at my local rec center. They are a bit hard to find around here, but the temperature is right. You can work up a sweat without feeling like you will pass out. :-)
DeleteGood for you for working to improve your health and being so optimistic. I sympathize with the difficulty of making big changes in eating habits.
ReplyDeleteIt's really tough, isn't it? I know that it's a habit, for the most part, but so, so hard to change.
DeleteHere's to a great summer all around! I know what you mean about the weight and being more healthy. I haven't been good about sticking to regular exercise like I planned after my surgery. I was doing good before the surgery, but after . . . And I really do need to eat better. It's too easy though to dive into that ice cream after a tough day--or to celebrate. Having had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, it's a given I am at high risk for diabetes. Plus, it runs in the family.
ReplyDeleteWeight Watchers was good for me when I did it, but, like you, accepting it as a lifestyle change and not just a temporary way to loose weight was what did me in. I am thinking of going through my health plan this time around--there's an online program they have--a group--that might work for both my husband and I--and our busy schedules. I just have to make the call to see what I need to do to make that happen. I keep putting it off. :-(
Wendy, I think your plan to try the program through your health plan sounds good. We just have to find what will work for us and then determine that this is something to be almost all the time, instead of just for a while. Good luck to you!!
DeleteGood luck with everything Kay - as for the reading I love your thoughts and whether planned or not it is always good to hear your thoughts. I'm not a lover of exercise either (I was scarred by PE lessons at school - well that's my excuse) but when your health is at stake action is needed. Good luck and I hope your summer isn't too uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for air conditioning! And thanks for your kind words!
DeleteI never look forward to June and July and we don't get the kind of heat that you do. I think relaxing in the heat and reading is one of nicest ways to spend the summer months. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice, Cath. And thanks!
DeleteI hit lifetime twice on WW. It works. I wish I had kept it all off though. I am in the same boat as you but not because of diabetes. I wish you great success. It's a good program.
ReplyDeleteSummer reading. Everyone always thinks easy breezy but I always pick heavier reads. Ones I can really spend some time with. In a couple of weeks. I will be announcing a read along for Atlas Shrugged.
Good to hear your experience with WW, Ti. I know it will work - just takes a bit of planning. Atlas Shrugged. Wow. Now that's not a typical 'beach' read. LOL
DeleteSounds like a great plan, Kay. Too bad we don't live close by each other - we could go for morning walks together! I've been having so much fun with my walks - exercise has never been this easy. And hooray for free range reading (great term!)!
ReplyDeleteToo bad indeed, Belle. We could walk and talk books. But, thanks for the encouragement!
DeleteEnjoy your summer, Kay! And I wish you success with your weight and health issues. I'm another one who should eat less and exercise more - reading and sitting at the computer just piles on the weight. And as for reading plans - I make them and break them regularly. I like that phrase 'free range reading' - that's the plan that works best for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good thoughts, Margaret. Getting up from the computer is a first step, right?
DeleteI'm so with you on the "no plan" reading! It's been great for me to create stacks of holds at the library and pick and choose at random. Hope your summer reading and health goals go just as well!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Shannon! Your plan sounds wonderful too.
DeleteMedical stuff is such a drag....coming from a nurse. lol I am with you on the summer reading. My goal is MORE! Had too many non book issues in May.
ReplyDeleteHope you get lots of reading time in June, Gayle!
DeleteHi Kay! I'm back to blogging as well, just today!! I also just went back to weight watchers to focus on my health and losing weight the past week. Our journeys are similar!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Bonnie! Yes, our journeys are indeed similar. Good luck and know I'm rooting for you!
DeleteKay wishing you a lot of success with your health goals! It's hard to keep up with them but like you said, if we don't then we could be faced with bigger problems. I wish our weather was nice enough in the summer for outdoor walks but honestly in this heat I'm just stuck indoors trying to keep cool. Looking forward to hearing more about your free range reading :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm about to give up on the outdoor walking. It's just too hot, even in the mornings.
DeleteI missed this post first time around but found it on your archives list, hmm. Anyway, I second your thoughts for easy living in the heat of summer (it gets incredibly hot here, we're closer to the desert than to the coast in SoCal, so I can commiserate). I made it a "no-borrow, request, or buy month" for June and gave myself plenty of choices to pick from off a master list so I wouldn't "cheat". Otherwise I don't plan my readings in advance, nor more than one or two occasional blog posts. I like to go with my mood in reading and writing.
ReplyDeleteHere's to better health for all of us! I'm eating healthier, though not less yet, and walking more, though not as much as I'd like. But every little bit helps and that's what counts, so hope you can follow the same... just as long as you keep posting recommendations here-- I am always excited to see a "Kay review" up!
Thanks so much for your kind and encouraging words, Rita! It's a process to better health, isn't it? I'm hoping that my next tests will show improvement. And I'm enjoying my reading this summer so far, even though I've not been doing quite as much of it. I'll still share what I've read.
DeleteGood luck with the healthier eating and more exercising. It is a great time to get on that (although the heat can make moving even the least bit a nightmare). I tried Weight Watchers once and it really was the thing that worked the best for me, too. They are so much about making foods healthier, portion control and making room in your eating for treats.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, Lisa! Going to a WW meeting this morning.
DeleteI kind of love having no real reading plan in the summer time. I usually have a few books I hope to get to, but I tend to just read whatever sounds good in the summer.
ReplyDeleteI really don't have much planning to my reading life anytime. Just books for my mystery group. But, my mind keeps trying to make lists. I just try to turn it off and say, 'read what you want'. LOL
DeleteI'm right there with you in the health department except you've managed o lose weight! Stress is pretty much eating me alive, oh wait, no that's not right or else I would be a size 2! Good for you for getting back to WW. I've had success with them too. Good luck! I've agreed to read 2 books over the summer but after that, who knows?!
ReplyDeleteWell, stress hits us all in different ways. And I am so sorry for all of yours. The only wisdom I have is that we go through seasons in our lives. Some are very, very tough and some are easier. Take care of yourself.
DeleteI can never plan my reading. One of my great joys is, after I finish a book, choosing a new book off my shelves. Good luck on your healthy approach to life! You will feel so much better that you may not even feel the longing for the old ways.
ReplyDeleteI am already feeling better. My quest is going along well. I'll update at some point. And, yes, I already do that 'no plan' style reading and have for quite a while. Although I do have tendency to take myself down the same paths over and over in thinking I 'need' to plan. Why do I do that? LOL
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