Bread or Cupcake delivery cargo bike

This bike was parked outside the Grocery store.

Who Am I? What is WITH VIGOR all about?

Taking a tour on a cold dreary day in Connecticut, the tour guide would send us to our next destination by saying and we'll do it "with vigor!" A cute old man, you could not help but smile and do as we were instructed, even though we continued to trudge along, we had energy with each step. In my first internship, my advisor said to me "work like there's a fire" - in the moment, I found no reason to do anything of the sort, but I loved the expression. I move with little urgency, but I do have a love for the feeling you get with these expressions. Whether an increase in anxiety or the rush to really get things done, it will depend on the day. I've created this blog as putting down a little bit of me.

 I've had the hardest time putting a name to it or even putting a "what's this thing all about" because I have varied interest that I'd like to share. For one, I'm interested in providing assistance and education about sports medicine injuries and just helping people understand and reduce pain in general in the body. Two, I enjoy fitness, movement and getting others energized to move. Three, I like crafty and creative things. Neither of which lead me to either doing the projects or getting any better at being an "artist," but I will start here by posting them. Three, I like bikes, the various types of them, how people use them, the increase of biking for commuting, biking long distances, and I sort of like the idea of the community of people who bike (not so much the hard-core of any biking group, but the identity that we all have because we have a common connection). Four, creative food creations. I'm not a normal eater, I do what I want, when I want. I love flavor and I love trying new things out -or I'm so desperate for not having the same thing twice, I'll try any new combination of anything once. That said, I like trying healthy things, but I enjoy sweet things too. Lastly, I like coming up with creative solutions to everyday problems and I ideally want to find a second use for everything I own, or someone else own...try to reuse first then consider throwing it out. From umbrellas to old clothes.

 As a person who guides others on their health behaviors, I want others to have fun with life while doing things that are good for them, and I love to solve people problems and find solutions to them. I'd like to see this as being a problems solving forum from exercise to home storage and crafting. While I may not "work like there is a fire," my energies towards all of my topics of interest are pursued with equal vigor. So, part one: What should you do to keep/contain all of your re-usable grocery bags? I live in a city and usually walk to the grocery store. This means the bags come into the house and once unloaded they need to be stored somewhere. I came up with one solution.

Brooklyn Wedding

This outdoor wedding in Brooklyn was set in a bit of green space between two warehouse buildings.

  

  

Simple flowers and tea lights - and am amazing cilantro sauce.

Nothing says wedding light a white tent with lights.

Organizing Jewelry, unusual spaces

A spare wooden ladder becomes a jewelry holder.


I had a loft which needed a ladder to get up to it. I found a ladder which was meant for a bunk bed at a thrift store and thought I had all of my problems solved. Unfortunately, the ladder is too tall and is now taking up space. It has hooks at the top that fit nicely over a door.

The back of the closet door has about the same amount of space as the thickness of the ladder and it hooks over this closet door. Because stairs to the ladder now angle down, I couldn't use the ladder as a regular shelf, but it can be used to hold jewelry! At the moment I have just a few necklaces on it, but with a few hooks, nearly all of my jewelry can be arranged so that it is visible when needed, but hidden away behind the closet door. See my unique solution to the all of my bulky bracelets

U define Beauty

This graffiti/message was seen on my walk to one of the local parks.

I am volunteering to rate the parks in the city I live in. There are at least 350 some parks that need to be viewed and rated for ambiance, sporting ability, cleanliness, safety among other factors. A doctors group will be using these rated parks, along with how you can get to them with public transportation as "'scripts" to prescribe a patient to spend time outside, along with their other doctors orders. This is a pilot study, but I do think it will have a great public health impact. Not only an ongoing log of what the city has to offer, but a medical provider checking in with how a person is doing beyond their medications. I hope this small program finds a way to be used across the city amongst a variety of health care providers. I feel fortunate to be able to get the ball rolling with a fair assessment of these parks.

Cargo bike

Cargo bike

Organizing Reusable Shopping Bags

If you are like me, I have had in my possession many, many reusable shopping bags. These are one of the only interchangeable, transferable items among friends that you don't mind losing because you know you'll get another one soon enough. Whether you bring things over for a dinner and leave the bag, or your friends leave three at your house after a dinner party, these reusable bags seem to pile up and they don't store easily.

I am also of the opinion that these cheap-to-make bags that are given as free give-aways at every event you can think of are going to be the new forbidden plastic bags of the 2020's since we probably already have too many in the world for our own needs...they are going to pile up in landfills just like today's plastic bags.

With the piles at my feet and a nice sturdy basket/bag, I created a nice space to keep our reusable bags organized, in one central location and tidy...and at the front door!

We had another bag that is rather cute that holds it's shape and it is now hanging right next to the front door. I have rolled up each of the bags into tight rolls. They key is to teach everyone in the household how to roll the bag so they keep wanting to put them back inside the cute holder by the door.

Starting from the bottom, roll the bag toward the handles. The handles can be pulled around the tight roll to keep the roll secure. We have removed most of the semi-rigid plastic bottoms of these reusable bags...mostly since they are well used, but I have also out of concern that foods particles might sit inside the bag - like meat juices or other gross things you don't want sitting in a dark space. 

Reusable Shopping Bag Storage Solution Solved!
What are your thoughts on this? Have you come up with other helpful solutions to the reusable-shopping-bag-storage dilemma?

Car Camping Packing List

Here is a nice list of camping supplies to have on hand when heading to a weekend of car-camping.


Wine bottle opener
Can Opener
Headlamp
Pillow
Air Mattress or Camping Pad
Tent
Tent footprint or tarp for below the tent
Camping stove
Propane for the stove
Tongs
Pan
Pot
Spatula
Sponge
Soap
Hand-wipes (baby wipes)
Paper towels
Hand towel
Beach towel
Camping/Folding Chairs
Matches and/or lighter
Cooler
plastic cups or reusable cups
mugs
reusable plates and utensils
Bug spray
Long Pants
Sweatshirt
After-bite (post bug bite spray/lotion)
Ibuprofen
ear plugs
sleeping bag or sheets/blankets
Water!
Aluminum Foil
knives & cutting board
garbage bags
rope

DIY Jewelry Organizer

I've seen homemade holders for necklaces out there, but I have been struggling with what to do with my bulky beaded bracelets. They have stayed piled up in a way that I don't see them and then don't access them as often as I should.

I also have discovered that my umbrella needs to be updated (i.e. I was getting rained on under my umbrella), but I didn't want to just throw the thing into the garbage. I came up with a solution to recycle the umbrella into something more useful, since it was doing a terrible job keeping the rain out.

This is a small pocket umbrella that I removed the fabric from with a small cutting blade.

Closed umbrella with assorted beaded bracelets.

I added one bracelet to each prong, with the the narrow bracelets stacking together on one prong. 

Open Umbrella with access to bracelets.

This can hang nicely in the closet, or on a door handle, or on any hook in the bedroom.

30 day fitness challenge

In 2012, not only will I talk the talk but walk the walk. I have started a 30 day fitness challenge for myself with bodyrock.tv. I am on Day 3 and am super excited to see my results and hope to find other challenges this year. There is a book out there that I read that says: why not see just what your body is capable of. I loved that expression, but now I will try to live up to it.
Here is what I completed today: (the whole workout with demo videos can be found at the bodyrock website). I don't have the ugi ball, dip station or sandbag, but made due with things around the house.
Lisa’s 12 Minute Cardio, Core & Resistance Workout
Set your interval timer for 12 Rounds of 50/10. Modify the following exercises as needed for your fitness level as shown by Lisa in the video.

Superman Push-ups

Elevated Push-up’s & L&R knee to elbow touch with the Swiss Ball

Squat & Press with the Pink Sandbag

Ugi Clean & Press + Jump Forward + 3 x Squat Jumps

Reverse Pull-Ups on Dip Station

Side Jump Burpee + 2 knee to elbow Oblique Abs + Tuck Jump Centre (Alternate Sides)

Forward Lunge + Side Lunge + Knee Lift. (Alternate Legs) with the Pink Sandbag

Ugi Ball Push-up & Burpee + Sumo L&R Knee Touch.

Tricep Dip + Kickout V Abs with the Dip Station

Overhead Abs with the Pink Sandbag

Sandbag Shoulder Lift + Squat + Switch Shoulder Press with the Pink Sandbag

Speed Run

Seans Shoulder & Legs Time Trial Weighted Workout
Low Jacks Press

Single Arm Lateral Raise/Lunge

Firemans Lift x 30 (15 each side)

Single Arm Press Lunge