Attention: Dear Readers, my blog seems to have been hacked. If any words show up highlighted in this post, please do not click on them. I did not intend for them to be links.  Thank you, Donna

Rather than curse around us when we were young, (that hesitancy fell by the wayside as we got older!) my Mom always said, “Balls!”  when something went wrong.  And, although it’s not in my daily repertoire of curse-words, every once in a while I say it, too.  Miss ya, Mom! And that’s what led to today’s blogs.  A useful pair of balls…

The first is this large exercize ball (I have one just like it). It is great for maintaining flexibility (or increasing it, if need be) by draping yourself over it and stretching. You can lie face down and roll forward and back, relaxing around it and getting a release  from your neck all the way down to your hips. Or you can lean back into it and roll up and down, doing supported squats, easing out kinks and strengthening legs, thighs and hip- flexor muscles. I also do sit-ups and practice the plank on mine.

Why do this?  Maintaining our balance, strength, and expecially our flexibility, will keep us agile longer. Which keeps us sexier longer – by keepin’ a little wiggle in our walk! Flexibility can help prevent those tumbles we all hear about in older women that result in fractured hips. Both flexibility, and agility, are crucial as we age. We’ve all seen older women who “waddle” along like Weebles, no flexibility in their hips…and it’s preventable. If you can’t bend over and touch your toes…time to get to work on that! 

I’ve been writing a lot lately – for hours some days – and I’ve found that my ball makes a better seat than my cushy, rolling office chair (which may make it into the next Goodwill drop-off). The ball is great for posture….and lets me wiggle, bounce or rock as I sit here. (When you’re a little bit ADD it certainly helps! And I tend to play music as I write)

Speaking of music, the second thing I have for you is an adorable little ball speaker for an iPhone, but it can be used with any mobile with a sync. My significant other brought it home as a surprise, and I adore this!  It is about the size of a peach, and has a sturdy little suction cup so it can stick to any smooth surface.  We took it out on the patio the other evening, (it was relatively cool for a July night in TX) stuck it to a window, and enjoyed my 007-inspired playlist!  Goldfinger, anyone? 

The volume and clarity were amazing for such a cute little thing that is also very wallet-friendly (Brookstone sells these for $29) .  Charge it fully, throw it in your purse, and when you get where you’re going, play some music that makes you want to dance!

Cha-cha-cha!

XO Donna