Back in the Proverbial Saddle

I went swimming for the first time today since last summer, and man, was I surprised at how HARD it was to keep my endurance! Now I'll be the first to say that I'm not the most athletic person - swimming is about the only form of exercise that comes naturally to me. I've never really struggled with swimming. I love being in the water and it's just so easy for me! So I was a little surprised this morning when I went to the gym pool and lasted about 15 minutes before I was plum worn out! It made me wonder how I ever passed my lifeguarding certification so many years ago. Just goes to show how out of shape I've let myself become. Very disappointing, to say the least, but I'm planning on beefing up my workouts to help counteract this. I

I really do enjoy working out, my problem is that I get to the gym and I feel overwhelmed by all of the different workouts and exercises that are available to me. There's just so many to choose from! But I still don't know, after all of the years of working out, which exercises work the best for me. I know what I don't like (not a big fan of the elliptical - doesn't seem to be effective), but I'm not sure what's best for me. All I know is that I like to run, and I like to swim. But what I really need to do is incorporate more weight, resistance and balance training into my workout, and switch up my routines. I like routine because it helps keep me scheduled, but I dislike routine because my body adjusts and I end up plateauing, which make me not want to work out anymore.

I've been thinking about putting together a binder full of fitness magazine tear-outs, so that I have a compilation of different workouts and exercises to choose from. However, I can't seem to remember to actually start putting one together. Guess I'll have to add that to my to-do list.

Speaking of to-do lists, I've been utilizing writing down my to-dos lately, since I am so forgetful, and it seems to be helping me accomplish more of my smaller goals and stay on-task. I definitely struggle a little bit with following through on tasks that I've started, and I really want to get better at this. I'm hoping I'll get into the habit of writing things down, and I'll be able to accomplish much more and not feel so overwhelmed by all of the mundane, every-day tasks that I have to do.

Family History

So I'm currently browsing through the 1940 US Census data that was released last week, and came upon some interesting information! I looked up my paternal grandfather, who lived in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, and was able to find his family's information. Now, as I understood it, he was raised with 2 brothers and his mom and dad. However, when I looked up the information, his father and mother had 8 kids listed, and my grandfather's two brothers were not listed as children! Now I can't remember, if my grandfather was the youngest of his brothers or not. He's listed as being 17 years old on the census form (which is slightly inaccurate - he was born in 1921, which would've made him 18 or 19), and if his brothers were both older, they would've probably left the house by then. I'm really curious who these other 8 people are listed under my great-grandfather's name! I'm definitely going to ask my dad tomorrow and see if he knows anything about this!