HIking out 2017...and Resolutions

Yesterday Mike and I went hiking, despite the fact that I was getting over bronchitis. I thought it would be good to push my lungs a little, try to open them up and speed up the healing.  Of course, the prescription of prednisone I was on didn't help the bloating but it did help me breathe, so I call it a wash.

Mike and I enjoy hiking, and I appreciate that he doesn't use hiking as a lead in to "...this will help you lose weight.".  I have my own love/hate relationship with my body, and one of the things I don't need is a guilt trip that I've 'put on some pounds'.  I know it all because I've said it all to myself. This time two years ago I was about 20 pounds thinner, but that was before I started working full time, 8 hours a day on my legs, being a full time mom, and making sure I hit all my deadlines. I could only hit the gym on the weekends.

That...plus having a good time enjoying an alcoholic mixture (or two) every night, didn't help.

During the summer months, the temperature can reach up to 120 degrees F in Las Vegas, putting a

damper on hiking, but during the winter...well, it was about 70 degree F on December 30th, so Mike and I decided to do one last hike to send off 2017.

He took me to the Kraft Loop near Red Rock. The first part of the hike is called Hell Hill, and with me having to use my inhaler every few feet, it was aptly named.  But, by the time we got to the top, I was breathless for a different reason. The harsh, barren landscape that dotted Hell Hill gave way to these magnificent rock formations, in striking colors of reds and orange, with rust striations heavy threading through the layers. 

The rest of the hike was on a downward trip, making it much easier on my lungs.  Large boulders for me to climb over. I tell you, the best exercise in the world is traversing boulders. The last part of the hike is always the worst, when you get done with the exciting sight-seeing and have to proceed to the car.  The last half hour was simply excruciating as we trudged over flat terrain, bypassing those people carrying mattresses so they can climb a big rock and not hurt themselves if they fall. I don't see the appeal in that, but to each his own.

The whole hike was about 3.3 miles and took about two hours because of my lung problem. But I felt proud of myself, and I was happy to end 2017 on a positive note.

Stupid bronchitis.

I am fortunate to have found a man who loves me for who I am, not for how I look. My resolutions

for 2018 aren't so cliche as "I want to lose weight", but rather finding a healthy balance between my working life and my resting life. I'd like to go horseback riding. Goat Yoga, because why not? I like baby goats. See Magic Mike...the live action, not the movie. Pay off my credit card. Publish five stories.

Have a wonderful and safe New Year's Eve. May 2018 find your ambitions and resolutions manageable and fulfilling. Let your romance take flight....