Stop and Smell the Roses!

It's happening! The best time of the year.  The earth is waking up from its winter slumber and coming back to life.  You can hear it, smell it and see it.  I wake up to the sound of birds singing in the tree next to my bedroom, I love that sound.  The flowers and trees are starting to bloom, and the smell of flowers awakening hangs in the air.

Love flowers in the yard

Oregon is such a beautiful state.  Just walking in my neighborhood, I can see the Willamette River Valley in one direction, and the foothills surrounding Mt. Hood in another direction.  The flowers and trees are blooming all around me, and I can see the snowy mountain in the distance.  Words really can't explain the beauty, and I am thankful everyday that I am fortunate enough to be able to experience it.

This year, I have made a promise to myself to experience this beautiful state.  It has been a rough couple of years opening the gyms and living and breathing them.  We have finally reached a point that we can begin to relax....at least in small doses.  My plan is, to hike, camp, fish and relax whenever possible...and to stop and smell the roses.

One of the things I have discovered in the past week, I am in much better shape this year than I have been in the past.  Walking up and down steep hills used to get the best of me.  Seriously, when we moved here 4 years ago, I couldn't make it up the hill in our neighborhood without stopping for a rest.  Yet this year, I surprised myself with my strength and endurance.  I have to attribute that to my kettlebell training.  Working out with kettlebells, without any other form of cardio training, has increased my strength and endurance to levels I have not experienced in many years.  I am looking forward to hiking the mountain to test it out.

Later today I am going on a two hour hike with a friend.  I'm not sure where we are going yet, it looks like rain, but I will be taking pictures of my excursions to share with you.  In Portland, we are used to rain.  So I will suit up in my rain gear and enjoy the mild weather anyway.  Its kind of peaceful walking in the rain!

I will continue to workout during the week with the SKOGG System Kettlebell Training.  It clearly has changed my life, and is allowing me at 56 years old, to hike up a mountain.  Something I couldn't have done 20 years ago.  I am in the best shape of my adult life!!

If you would like information about the SKOGG System, offered on a 5 DVD set, or SKOGG Gym located in Portland, OR, check out our website. 

Have a wonderful spring day!!

You, only stronger,

Sue