Just another Monday in the life of Wellness Whiskers Silverballs!
Some Mondays ease you into the week.
And then there’s THIS Monday. 😂
Today included a 2.59-mile Starbucks walk, Jazzercise #68 with a familiar face from my past, a whole lot of sweat, and enough cat-related chores to qualify as a second workout.
Oh, and I got to enjoy some beautiful Arizona scenery along the way. Because apparently my Monday needed a side quest.
☕ Walk 1 of 5: Starbucks, Here We Come!
The morning started with my usual Starbucks Carrot Method. The weather in North Phoenix was a beautiful 61 degrees and sunny. Yes, I actually needed pants. In Arizona. In October.
I know. What a time to be alive. 😂
The walk to Starbucks and back home took a little over an hour, with my Fitbit recording 2.59 miles, 5,841 steps, and an average heart rate of 101 bpm. I spent 33 minutes in the moderate heart-rate zone.
Walk Receipts
No scorching temperatures. No sweating buckets. Just a nice, cool morning walk.
I’ll take it!
🌵 The Cactus That Refused to Give Up
One of my favorite stops along the way was the big cactus near Starbucks that produces those gorgeous white flowers.
The recent hailstorm left it looking pretty beat up. It had taken a beating, and I wasn’t sure how it would fare.
But guess what?
It’s still blooming!
One beautiful white flower was opening among all those battered cactus arms. The plant might look a little rough around the edges, but it’s still doing its thing.
I love that.
Sometimes you don’t have to look perfect to keep showing up and doing what you’re supposed to do. Sometimes you just keep growing and blooming, even after life throws a bunch of ice balls at you.
If that isn’t a wellness metaphor, I don’t know what is. 💜
I also spotted a raven perched high in a palm tree, some cute Halloween decorations, and the neighborhood dog-walking champion: a woman wrangling SEVEN dogs while pushing a stroller and eating a donut.
Seven. I counted them.
Ma’am, you deserve a medal. Or at least a second donut.
I also ran into Sulma, my regular crosswalk acquaintance. We said hello, exchanged our usual recognition that apparently we’re going to see each other every day, and went on with our respective exercise routines.
There’s something lovely about becoming a familiar face in your neighborhood just by showing up consistently.
🐈 A Lionel Richie Cat Encounter
I promise I wasn’t wandering around trying to look through people’s windows for cats.
One particular house has a yard flag featuring Lionel Richie that has his picture and “Hello”. I think that’s fantastic, and I noticed it had survived the hailstorm intact.
Then I looked up.
And there was a black cat staring right at me through the window.
Naturally, I took a picture.
That’s when I discovered a second cat stretched out along the window frame, apparently enjoying the view and a little sunbathing.
These are NOT my cats, for the record. I was admiring the Lionel Richie flag. The cat encounter was a bonus.
Now I’m wondering whether the two cats are named Lionel and Kenny, in honor of Lionel Richie and Kenny Rogers.
Because if you’re going to have a black cat and a white cat, you might as well give them names with a little musical history behind them.
And speaking of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton, You Can’t Make Old Friends has officially earned a spot as my future funeral song. Andrew and I have been friends since seventh grade, and that song just feels right.
Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere today. I’ve got cat boxes to clean. 😂
💃 Jazzercise #68: A Blast from the Past
After my walk, it was time for Jazzercise.
Today’s class was Jazzercise #68, and it turned into a surprise trip down memory lane.
The instructor was Melanie, someone I used to take classes from approximately 25 years ago. Back then, my daughter Dailey was around 18 months to two years old, and Corbin was somewhere around six to twelve months old.
I would leave the kids with my mother-in-law and head to Jazzercise.
Fast-forward a quarter-century, and I now have a grandbaby around the same age Dailey was back then.
Excuse me while I contemplate the passage of time. WHAT?!
Melanie had been doing the summer routines online with Darlene, so today’s class was full of choreography we already knew. Her plan was to help everyone get comfortable with her by using familiar routines instead of making us learn a bunch of new ones.
That was a lovely idea.
There was just one tiny problem.
We all knew the routines. So there was absolutely no slowing down!
It was go, go, GO!
Melanie was occasionally muttering to herself about not being Darlene, not knowing all the same music trivia, and not dancing exactly like her.
And I thought, None of us are Darlene! We’re just trying to keep up!
Darlene is basically an L.A. Lakers cheerleader trapped in a Jazzercise instructor’s body. She’s a powerhouse, and she’s an absolute blast.
But Melanie brought her own energy, and we had a wonderful time.
It was so much fun to reconnect with someone from my Jazzercise past and realize how much life has happened since those days.
The Fitbit Report
Today’s Cardio Sculpt class lasted 63 minutes.
– Average heart rate: 130 bpm
– Time in the vigorous heart-rate zone: 46 minutes
– Cardio load: 67
– Zone minutes: 104
And yes, I was SOAKED.
Today’s class was a reminder that fitness doesn’t have to mean doing the exact same thing forever. You can revisit something you loved years ago, discover that you still enjoy it, and find yourself working just as hard as ever.
Also, Angie is 73 years old and still jumping, dancing, and doing full Cardio Sculpt.
Seventy-three!
She is strong, sweet, fun, and an absolute inspiration. I have trouble keeping up with her, and I’m 50. So apparently I have some goals to work toward!
🐾 The Great Cat Reset Cardio Circuit
You’d think that after walking 2.59 miles and doing an hour of Jazzercise, I’d be finished exercising for the day.
Oh, you sweet summer child.
I came home to the Great Cat Reset Cardio Circuit.
Five cats don’t maintain their own facilities, unfortunately. And the cats in this house apparently expect a full-service operation.
Here’s what the next hour involved:
Round 1: The Three-Box Circuit
All three litter boxes in the cat-box condo got a complete changeout. I cleaned everything up, washed down the outside area, refilled the boxes, and put everything back together.
Round 2: The 70-Pound Litter Carry
I hauled two 35-pound bags of cat litter from the garage, through the house, and into the backyard.
Seventy pounds.
Apparently, my workout plan now includes a farmer’s carry with household obstacles.
Round 3: Four Dining Halls
We have four cat dining stations, and every single one needed attention. I took them apart, washed the feeders, restocked the food, and reassembled everything.
Round 4: Fountain Maintenance
One cat fountain got changed out, refilled, and plugged back in.
Hydration stations matter when you’re a five-cat household.
Round 5: Mr. T’s VIP Dining Experience
Mr. T’s feeding station got its own cleanup, restock, and full reset.
Because the only boy in this house apparently deserves his own dining arrangement.
The whole operation took just over an hour.
And when I checked my Fitbit, I had accumulated another roughly 2,300 steps during the cat chores.
Come on. Literally and figuratively.
That’s a lot of cat poop. 😂
Wellness Is Not Always Pretty
Here’s the thing: none of those cat chores looked like a formal workout. I was wearing cute gym clothes, but I wasn’t following choreography. I was lifting, carrying, scrubbing, bending, hauling, and cleaning. Playing music the whole time helps make it doable. 🤪🎶
Incidental Exercise Receipts
But it was still physical activity.
Between the walk, Jazzercise, and the cat reset, my day included plenty of movement. My Fitbit doesn’t have a special category for Feline Sanitation and Infrastructure Management, but perhaps it should.
And the best part? The cats now have clean boxes, fresh food, and a clean fountain.
They’re welcome.
I’m sure they’ll show their appreciation by making a mess again approximately twelve minutes from now.
💜 Just Another Monday
Today’s reminder is simple:
Movement doesn’t have to happen in one place, look a certain way, or fit neatly into a fitness app.
• Sometimes it’s a chilly walk to Starbucks.
• Sometimes it’s a high-energy dance class with an instructor you haven’t seen in 25 years.
• Sometimes it’s hauling 70 pounds of cat litter and scrubbing out litter boxes.
It all adds up.
Today I got my first walk of the week done, completed Jazzercise #68, reconnected with a familiar face, enjoyed some beautiful Arizona scenery, and reset the entire cat operation.
Eventually, I still need to write this blog post, so here I am. 😉
Wellness without perfection. Movement in real life still counts.
That’s Walk 1 of 5 in the books.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a shower, some water, and possibly a union representative to negotiate better working conditions with five very demanding feline supervisors.
Happy Monday!
Still counts. Always!💜
Read more.
Carrots for a Cause – American Cancer Society 62-mile October Walking Challenge
Starbucks Carrot Method – North Phoenix Walking Series and Jazzercise
Incidental Exercise Receipts Hub