An unexpected super long walk and trying to get my gizmos to be friendly

After our torrential downpours, so much so that they make the national news, I needed to get out and about. So much of the year is either too hot or too cold to enjoy walks, so I want to get in as many in nice weather as possible.

Last night I took a couple of walks, for about 3 miles total for the day. I first walked to and fro to get my son from school, but in the evening I decided to walk to a nearby intersection to investivate these trees that I have been trying to figure out what they are since we moved here 4.5 years ago. And I'm happy to say with a closer look, I know what they are -  Canada Red Chokeberry trees.

Of course, I found other interesting specimens along the way too. It was a very enjoyable walk for me. However, it was not so nice of a walk for my husband. I don't have allergies. My husband does, but they are moderate and recently developed. What that means is that sometimes he forgets to take his allergy medicine - like last night. So, we took this lovely walk (and it was lovely) and about 15 minutes after we got home my husband was a sneezing, sniffling, teary eyed mess. Oops! Some visine and an hour later with some allergy medicine he felt better, but I realized until these pollens dissipate, he's probably not going to go out that much for walks.

Still need to figure out what these pretties are.  No clue: Anyone?

So, after yesterday's fiasco with the allergies, I decided I needed to take walks by myself for now. I decided to take a walk to my son's school and then a big, long loop. I've taken this walk several times, but it hasn't been since last summer that I took the full loop. Sometimes I've just walked up and back down the same street. it would be about 4 miles.

And I thought I was smart for this walk. I had all my gizmos at the ready. I was wearing my Garmin heart rate monitor and watch. I had on my bodymedia Fit gizmo that counts steps and activity level. And I had my phone so that I could listen to the radio via headphones. Off I went.

The walk was very pleasant, but I was beginning to get tired of the radio. Only when I 'thought' I was getting close to home did I realize I should have listened to a podcast instead of a re-airing of what I had already heard in the morning (NPR, WAMU). But, since I was "almost home" I decided to just stick with the radio.

The turnoff to cut across a parking lot didn't come up though. I was surprised at how far it was. Well, only when I got in front of the golf course fancy house did I realize that I was WAY off course. I had walked almost a mile out of my way and the only way back was to turn right around and go back the same way I came. Ugh!  I was tired and thirsty! I hadn't had breakfast and only a small glass of water in the morning! Now I knew I had at least 2 miles to walk or more to get home. UGH!!!!

Here was my route and 'detour'. Thank goodness it was such a lovely day. In the end, I walked about 6 miles. I'll tack on another almost mile this afternoon when I pick my son up from school.

What irked me was that my Garmin Gizmo wasn't working properly and then I accidentally locked all the keys. I googled how to unlock them quickly when I was outside my son's school, but that didn't work. The entire walk it was pausing and resuming as it thought I was stopping anytime I slowed down. And not surprising as I can see now that it thought I was cross country skiing! And, I can't find the devise to connect it to my computer. I put it somewhere to be 'safe' and I have no idea where that is.

So, that was useless today - a very expensive useless toy.

Then, I tried to pair my scale/core band/blood pressure monitor. Yes, not so easy. They pair, but not completely. I can see "most" everything (after some work and googling) the phone with BodyMedia Fit and Withings. Not on the ipad and not on the Mac. I can tie MyNetDiary (where I track food) with Withings, but only that withings scale will report directly to MyNetDiary, not that any of the food stuff will go to Withings.  And while Withings connect to both my gizmos (and I think the Garmin watch too), the two other one won't speak to each other - MyNetDiary to BodyMedia Fit. As, probably, they are in competition with each other for food databases. Ugh.

In the end, I sort of got it to work and asked a question at Withings for details. We'll see.

This is what I see on my iphone for Withings:

My iPad:

My Mac:

See? Three different things and supposedly all the same "app". uh-huh. Only the iphone has the info about my sleep and activity (and an hour of sleep was 'cut off' as the thingee cut out - as it does sometimes, so I got about 6 hours and 11 minutes of sleep, not 5.

And yes, the scale went up today - go figure. Might be that I had a salty dinner. Or it might be that I'm gearing up for ovulation again... which would be the third month in a row after NOTHING for 3 months. Probably the thyroid coming back in line.

After my walk I spent over an hour just trying to figure out how to get these things to talk with each other. What a time sink!

But... in other news, it's a beautiful day and some things in my yard are growing and I didn't think they would. First, the traditional lilacs are starting to bloom and smell divine. This is their 4th year and their FIRST blooms. There's only 3, but hey... it's blooming! (I also have a Korean Dwarf Lilac that will bloom a couple weeks later). AND, after two failed attempts, the rhubarb I planted last spring took hold and is growing - 2 bunches! YES!!!! Lastly, I found two kinds of bleeding hearts. The pink ones I've had for a couple years, but last year I found some white ones and they are doing great!

And how can I forget? The baby birds. Mommy laid 6 eggs. 4 hatched. They are 6 days old now. They two outer ones are facing to the wall. The two inner ones are facing out:

I need a walking buddy

I love walking for exercise. I absolutely love it. But... I don't like to do it by myself very often. I get bored. I'm not a person who likes to just be stuck in my head for an hour or more.

When my husband swims laps (that's like the most boring exercise on the planet, IMO), he says he concentrates on one less stroke per lap. Or his breathing, etc. He's totally into his movement in the water - the entire time. He enjoys it. That is where he is showing his introverted side way more than me.

I need people. It's why I blog. It's why I use Facebook and forums. I need to interact with people, especially as a stay at home mom.  Exercise is no exception. I have too much time to be in my head - especially with kids with ADHD and Autism.

When I'm starting this exercise thing back up, I'm wanting to combine the gym with walking, but when?  My husband will walk with me once around the lake in the evening, but that's not enough. I need more.

I thought about starting a meetup group for walking, but it's a bit pricey. There is a Maryland hiking group where I can put in a request. If I'm the "leader" of that particular walk, then I would be obligated to be there - that's a good thing - forcing me to do it!

Ah, that's the other thing. When it's just me, it's very easy to talk myself out of it. I can say, "Oh, I should go for a walk." I get distracted and before I know it, it's time to go do something else. Plus, the idea of it, again, bores me. Even though I love the walk, I miss the company.

I have a local friend who is willing to walk once in awhile, but not often enough to make it a commitment. (though I should probably try and see if she would commit to once a week or something). And, overall, I just hardly know anyone and it feels odd to ask a near stranger, "Hey, want to take walks with me?" I always feel like a little kid that is asking, "Will you be my friend, please?" So, I'm sort of extroverted... but not really.

So... I need to do something about it. Sigh... but what? Maybe I'll start with the hiking group to see if that works the best.

Know what else would work? A long distance walking buddy too - someone to talk to WHILE I walk. Why not? Though... finding some local buddies would be a good thing. I'm tired of being a loner here.