Thank goodness we’ve made it through another week.  It’s Friday and my afro is all picked out and looking pretty marvelous today, if I do say to myself!  I was fortunate to get to Pick My Afro before I picked out my ‘fro this morning.

I had time and opportunity to drive my son to school this morning.  Prior to the first grade, he’d always run into his daycare or classroom and never had a regard for Mommy.  Since then however, he’s had a love for the time we get to spend in the car in the morning on the way to school, and then waiting in line until he can get out and begin his day.  Even being the non-morning person I am I’ve always loved it too.  I don’t have a schedule that allows me to do it every day like I used to, so it has become even more special to us now more than ever.

Have you Picked You Afro today, or this week? What did you do that was special and meaningful just for you?

Listening to CNN on the way into the nine to five this morning, I was not surprised that McCain’s age and health are still a subject of concern.  Dr Sanjay Gupta shared that he’d had an opportunity to spend three hours pouring over McCain’s medical records from the past eight years.  Political views aside, its pleasing and reassuring that a man of 73 years is reportedly in such good health.  Dr Gupta also revealed that he has an advantage of having a parent still alive, well and kicking at 96 years, as living healthy to a ripe old age is hereditary.

Heredity is a great advantage to have; however, those who do not have that certainly can still take advantage of what they do have control over.    Time can be our ally or our adversary depending on the given situation.  In today’s society, having 30 minutes to ‘spare’ is a hot commodity, so making the best use of it is crucial.

Finding 30 minutes
There are ’30 minutes’ just laying around waiting for you to put them to good use.  You don’t think so? Take a look:

• You favorite television show – Get on the treadmill or elliptical to watch and burn calories

• Lunch – Most people have a hour for lunch, instead of going out to eat, pack a healthy lunch and eat it after your workout at the gym

• Quality time with your kids – Chasing your toddler is easily 30 minutes a day (if you’re lucky). Have kids that are in sports? Walk or run while they practice. Include them and make it a family work out, dance around the house, pop in an exercise video and let them follow what you do, they’ll love it.

What to do with them
In Barbara Russi Sarnatro’s WebMD article, she gives example of types of exercises that allow you to  work smart and hard to get the most out of your valuable 30 minutes.  Here are a few of them:

• Lower-Body Exercise Targeting the Quadriceps  – Squats and lunges can be done almost anywhere, anytime; look for places to incorporate it into your day

• Lower-Body Exercise Targeting the Hamstrings – Sarnatro makes two suggestions: a dead lift which is rather dull, boring and well…dead; or a doing a bridge, which I always thought was fun as a kid, so why not wake up the kid in you and opt for that (for those who don’t remember what that is or how to do it, it’s outlined in the article)

• Upper-Body Horizontal Pushing Movement – Pushups will do the trick; look for uncommon ways and places to do them for variety

• Core or Abdominal Exercise – Yoga, Pilates, crunches, sit ups, the list goes on

With so many things in your life that require time and commitment, your health is no exception.  Use the time you have to its utmost ability and you’ll increase your life expectancy beyond what heredity has in store for you.

Where is your ’30 minutes’? Are you already using them as your workout time? What workout regimes do you recommend to accomplish the most in the least amount of time?

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

- Proverbs 27:1

In the song ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately’, Janet Jackson goes into a tirade about what her man is and isn’t doing for her, and why she needs to give him the boot.  However, before giving him the blues about not showering her with love and diamonds and glitz, you have to wonder ‘Had she been doing anything for herself? Or did she just expect him to do all the work for her?’

Pleasing yourself

Earlier this week I received my weekly UNnewsletter from Charlon Bobo at editcopyproof; she posed the question to her readers “What did you do for yourself today?”.  I loved the question because it was a topic that had been swirling around my life for the past few weeks.  I’d posed a similar question to a good friend of mine who does so much for the people in her life and was finally hitting a wall.  Just days before that, I’d given similar advice to another very close friend who simply needed to do some introspective thinking.

Friday is ‘my day’.  It’s ‘my day’ to do something for myself.  Just a tiny something that doesn’t cost me a dime; just a few minutes out of my day.  I wear my naturally curly hair picked out into an afro.  I wear it rather conservatively Monday through Thursday when I am in the office; however, Friday’s are most often work from home days and I love to see my hair picked out into a glowing afro.  Sometimes I adorn it with a colorful headband; sometimes I just let it have a mind of its own.  This one tiny gesture of love to myself bolsters me emotionally and contributes to my ability to love, encourage, and appreciate those around me.

My Afro Idol - Jill Scott

Introducing…

Starting today, Fridays will be now be Pick Your Afro Friday.  This is the day for you to show us what you do that makes you happy.  Is it wearing your favorite pair of jeans to the office?  Is it having a ‘splurge’ meal that you worked hard for all week?  Is it taking your doing something special with someone you love?

When was the last time you can remember something that was purely for your enjoyment?  Something that put a little pep in your step.  Something made you smile inside and out.  What did you do and how often do you do it?  Share your ‘Afro’ with us.