Beware of GURUS.

Posted by walkhikebike

A few years ago when I was learning about this new to me blogging world, I wanted to attend a conference that to my surprise was happening in my city. As usual, I was late to the game. To my chagrin, I had no ticket to attend this event where the new age cool people were that week. Even if I had a ticket, would I be comfortable with these cool people? No. Instead, I went to watch what I could with my young children in tow since part of the event was outside in public. It was a hot day. We hung out on the periphery because the cool people didn’t use to have kids. (Now, children are incredibly useful tools for instagram pictures.) We eventually treated ourselves to some great Mexican food and went home. Fast forward, I was recently checking the blog of the GURU who created that event. Though I have read a few of the organizer’s books, I’m not super knowledgable about this person. The blog had turned negative. Every post was now a post about how things were NOT awesome. What a letdown. This person was mortal just like me! J/K ha ha.. Unless your GURU has moved on from this life, (Muhammed, Jesus, Buddha, Insert whoever) then life will always be filled with obstacles and be wary of the guru. (The get rich like me kind, get ~~healthy~~/SKINNY off my product kind, get awesome like me kind…..) I hope things turn around for this blogger. I did learn a lot from the author’s books.

Chinese New Year recap

Posted by walkhikebike

Stuff shuts down in China for their new year celebration. We had no idea what to expect. We heard that stores would be shutting down and people would be going home to their hometowns and villages. We figured it was a good idea not to plan on doing much. I tried to get all of my groceries for awhile to avoid holiday shopping. I avoid stores in the USA during holiday times too so I figured it could be a thousand times worse here. My husband worked from home for the first few days of their new year. New Year’s Eve was preceded by random fireworks going off all the time. (Fireworks go off here on any old day too.) We knew it was going to be bad. LIKE A LOT OF FIREWORKS! However, nothing could have prepared us for hearing in one night a total culmination of seeing and hearing more fireworks in one day than in my entire life of +4 decades. AND…. That was just in my neighborhood of about a 10 block radius. We don’t even live in the city center. We worried at times that our house would start on fire and we wouldn’t have anywhere to seek refuge since everyone was literally celebrating. Luckily, we awoke the next day intact. I am very happy all the festivities are over. It was quite the ordeal and the country practically shuts down for a whole month. If you live for fireworks then you may enjoy finding yourself in China for this event, if not, STAY AWAY!!!

Walking with family

Posted by walkhikebike

When we arrived in China, we had little to do. We immediately checked things out and walked a lot, but it got hot. I walked the dog at night and it felt like a sauna. We preferred to stay inside with the a/c. Then, school started and family walks took a back seat more often than not, but school is out for Chinese New Year this week.

Walking is free.

Walking is healthy.

Walking gets you outside.

A walked dog is a good dog.

2019 just doesn’t feel like 2019

Posted by walkhikebike

Because….. I have not written one single check with 2018 on it. The last check I wrote was in July so that’s why. I was in safe territory for not messing up a check in month 7 of a year. Luckily, I slowly started banking online a few years ago. I just felt as if electronic transactions somehow felt less REAL so I put it off. Would I then fritter away money if it felt less real? I was an early bird onto the internet, but some stuff I just didn’t jump at. However, living in China, I had to fully embrace electronic banking. So, here I have had no constant reminders that oh ya it’s a new year when I have to rewrite a check for the 5th time.

Otherwise, how is everyone’s cleanse going or not going? Eating clean for 2019? That rhymes!!!! A blog name in the making….. Getting super thin for bathing suit season?? I love to see transformations of people who change their lifestyle, but yoyo diets are a joke. Don’t yoyo diet! Eat healthy in MODERATION and MOVE.

twenty18 is over

Posted by walkhikebike

I’m not a new year’s resolutions kind of person. It’s a good time for gyms to make a lot of money, but I have no interest in paying for a gym pass and not using it. When I have had a gym pass, I used it regularly. I don’t want to get ripped. I just want to be physically fit every day of my life. When I was on the track team in 1990, I was ripped. I didn’t know it at the time. All I knew was that all my friends were faster than me and I could not keep up. Do you want to get fit? You don’t need to do something extraordinary. You don’t have to win any races or beat anyone. You just need to move. Walking is a great form of low impact exercise. Hiking is also a great form of low impact exercise. Biking is too!!! If you have weight to lose, it will come off if you stick to it. If you don’t have weight to lose, it will still benefit you. Make 2019 AWESOME!!!!

Christmas time

Posted by walkhikebike

78595B75-36AE-4E89-882C-07F90D88BF2B I didn’t really want to spend Christmas in China. You can get cheap flights to Australia from there if you look, but I didn’t want summer for Christmas either. My Christmas dreams include a foot of fresh falling snow so Australia was out. We came to Europe where cold temperatures and Christmas markets would put us in the Christmas spirit. We took some long flights and ended up in Prague. The winter chill was definitely there. Was my coat up for the challenge?

Sausages and meats cooking makes you hungry and yes we enjoyed. The kids couldn’t get enough sausages.

European toy stores are so much more interesting than toys at big box places.

Puppets are huge in Prague

Good King Wenceslas’ memorial

Lots of walking

A building is a piece of art in Europe.

Utah hikes

Posted by walkhikebike

Emerald Pools in Winter. This hike is for most abilities and you won’t find a better one. Occasionally, I choose a different hike for a longer workout, but you cannot improve on this hike. It has a little water year round. It is currently partially closed due to a rock slide. Hopefully it can be fixed by spring 2019.

A few Zion locals

Virgin River near the exit of the famous Narrows in Zion National Park

I’ve just spent a week at home in Utah, USA. I was there to visit my family, but I always manage to get in some nature hikes. I flew into Las Vegas and it was funny how small the skyline appeared in comparison to my Chinese city. I have been to Vegas innumerable times, but never really for any of the stuff it’s famous for. **usually just hitting the airport** Or… before internet shopping it was for actual shopping other than the small town stores’ slim pickings. Las Vegas is not just for losing money, it’s a great launching pad for awesome destinations. For me, it’s pretty much my airport of choice. It’s closer to my home and the famous Southern Utah parks than Salt Lake City.

Bored with my walking path

Posted by walkhikebike

I have been growing tired of my daily walking path. It’s pretty. I walk to the ocean. There are people who are starting to get very used to seeing me EVERY DAY. Ever since school started up around the beginning of September, it became a lot of old folks and some of their grandchildren too. They don’t interact with me. Some are super afraid of my sweet dog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Soa3gO7tL-c I prefer walking alone. I love it. My path was growing stale though. This week, I invited a friend to meet up and walk the dogs. I had to go near her house and it’s like 40 minutes away. She was busy, but then I figured why not take the dog there anyway and walk there. It was super fun. Totally different and just what I needed. I think I’ll start doing it regularly. Today, I’ll be back to my usual spot though.

I bought a bike 🚲 .

Posted by walkhikebike

Our bikes are in storage while we are in China. All over there are people who ride these really old bikes. I actually wanted to buy one cause I think they’re so cool. I don’t know where to find one that doesn’t have a person attached to it though. So…. the other day, my daughter said she was missing her bike. I knew where to find normal newish bikes at a sporting goods store so I decided to get one for her since it’s her birthday today. It works for me too. The guy thought I’d want a gear bike, but I didn’t. This one looks pretty plain like the local bikes too so #woohoo. Pretty close!

I love the rack on the back. Now, I need to find some bungee cords.

In the city

Posted by walkhikebike

Tokyo is a big city is an understatement. I’m not really a city person though I’m living in one in China at the moment. Tokyo is made up of massive buildings that seem to go on forever. We have not scratched the surface there, but this was our second glimpse. It’s an expensive place, but there is a good website called : www.tokyocheapo.com I used their information on both my visits. We were able to get a 24 hour subway pass though for a pretty good deal. We allowed my 16 year old to choose our city itinerary and it was fine. We travel a fair amount so I rarely get set on must see stuff cause there is stuff to see everywhere. I think you could really enjoy some amazing food there too if you want. We really just end up eating where we are when we get hungry. We had watched some YouTube people showing us what to eat in Harajuku so we planned that. We had ice cream for breakfast, but I couldn’t wash that down with more crazy sweets like they do so that was the extent of our wild foray into YouTube recommendations.