Having "Me" Time

Six years ago on this very day my true love died.  Dyzio od Abruchy.  He was a miniature dacshund, rusty brown in colour with a fluffy tail and eyes that made you melt.  Born in Poland and raised in five different countries, Dyzio was a well-traveled dog who was loved by all who knew him.  He traveled on the plane. First class with a ticket and private box.  He was indeed a lucky dog.  He was my baby. He spoke not Polish his birth country, nor English, but spoke Thai.  He understood when I told him to go fetch his toy upstairs and bring it down to play with me.  He understood when we told him to keep quiet. I got Dyzio in Poland where I had been living with my parents at that time.  It was 1993 and the Solidarity movement in Poland had just won their first elections in a Communisty country.  For the first time, Poland was moving towards a free market economy.  Everything was changing, and it changed fast. I...

Today was the day for my yearly health check up at the office. I've been looking forward to it to see what improvements I've made during the last year with my workout. Employees lined up in front of various stations to get our weight and height, blood samples, EKG heart exams, and a Chest xray. The lines were long and the aircondition was cold, but it was time to take care of our health. Everyone wanted to see how they were doing. Although these exams aren't as comprehensive as the ones in hospitals where you can get the full checkup with ultrasounds and fitness tests, the basic preliminary tests are a great indicator. It's time for everyone to face the truth. Although we won't get results until next month, what results I know have been quite encouraging. My blood pressure is lower, and so is my heart beat. Since I can remember, my pulse has always been around 72. Today, my pulse was lower at 68. I was happily surprised. That means my heart beats 68 times per minut...

What type of exercise is best for weight-loss? Running. Before, if I went to the gym (which I hardly did), I'd choose either the elliptical machine, bicycle or the cross trainer. I did them but my weight never went down. I stayed big and even got bigger at times. I saw the treadmill machine but always stayed away from it. Running seemed too much of a hassle. It would be a pain to run with my weight and after trying it once, I felt dizzy and didn't want to ever do it again. I couldn't even remember the last time I ran..I might have been 10 or 11 years old. Anyways, it wasn't until Alex explained to me the benefits of running did I opt to try it again. My metabolism had been slow from my lack of activity for years and I needed to boost my metabolism so that it would burn more calories. Running burned the most calories and revs up your metabolism, so why not just run if you have limited time at the gym? For example, if you have only 30 minutes at the gym, you might a...