The dog that shall not be named

On Sunday morning, Bill went out to start the car to let it warm up. While he was out there, he saw a dog under the neighbor's truck. Bill looked at the dog and the dog looked at Bill, and the dog growled. Bill told the dog, "It's okay, I don't want anything to do with you". Then the dog took a few steps closer.

Bill looked at the dog and the dog looked at Bill, and the dog growled again. Bill told the dog, "It's okay, I don't want anything to do with you". Then the dog took a few steps closer.

Once again, Bill looked at the dog and the dog looked at Bill, and the dog growled again. Bill repeated, "It's okay, I don't want anything to do with you". Then the dog took a few steps closer.

I should stop here and say that Bill loves animals and has been begging for a dog for a few years now. I don't mind dogs, but our cats are not fond of dogs. If we get a dog, I would prefer only having a dog and not having any cats. So, at this time in our lives, I do not want a dog. Not to mention that you can't just leave a dog for a weekend like you can cats.

I would also like to point out that as a child, Bill was bitten by a dog. Severely enough that he had to have stitches. As a result, Bill is a little hesitant around growling dogs (as everyone should be).

Back to the growling dog on the street, by this time Bill realized the dog was just a puppy and was cold and scared. The dog did not have a collar. Bill talked to the dog and reassured the dog. Then Bill noticed how skinny the dog was. Bill decided he should at least try to give the dog some water. When Bill came in to get the water, I looked out the window (in time to see the dog putting its paws on Bill's car) to check to see if I recognized the dog. I did not. When Bill took the water out to the dog, the dog came up to the house. It was very clear that this dog was hungry, cold, and scared.

Bill and I had a quick conversation, in which we agreed the dog should at least come inside to be warm while we looked for his owner.

We posted the dog's picture on each of our Facebook pages, on our local neighborhood FB pages, the GR Police FB page, and on "For the Love of Louie" FB page (for lost & found dogs). Friends reposted the dog's picture. We were sure if someone was looking for this sweet puppy, we would connect with them.

Bill walked the dog up and down our street, two other streets, to the mailbox, to the store, and back. We asked our neighbors who have dogs if they recognized him from the park. No one had ever seen this dog before.

By Sunday evening, we started to realize that perhaps no one was going to claim this dog. Bill had taken Dog (that's what we started calling him) to the animal hospital where they checked for a microchip (he was not chipped).

While Dog is very sweet, and very cute, the cats weren't having any of it. They were self-quarentined to our bedroom. Atticus was angry with Bill (so much so that when we went to bed that night and Bill tried to pet Atticus, Atticus turned around, jumped off the bed, and hid under it all night). Bill stacked up three Christmas totes on the stairs to keep Dog downstairs (the first attempt used two totes, but Dog is very athletic and jumped right over those).

We both knew we couldn't keep Dog. We just weren't prepared to have a dog, let alone another pet in the house.

On Monday morning, I made a flyer to hang in the break-room. I couldn't remember if I needed permission to hang it, and I could have waited until Melanie arrived to ask her. Instead, I had a nudge to go ask Sara. There are several other people I could have asked, but Sara kept coming to mind. So I took my poster down to Sara's office and held it up. I asked if I needed permission to hang it and she said, "No. That's a really cute dog. We're thinking of getting a dog."

That was my cue to sit down and tell her how we came about housing Dog and why we couldn't keep him and how sweet he is. I didn't hide the fact that he would need to be neutered. She said she would have to talk to her husband and in the meantime I could hang the flyer in the break room. I also told her I would send her the pictures of Dog so she could send them to her husband.

About an hour later, Sara stopped by my desk. She asked if it would be possible if she could bring her family over to meet Dog later that night? I asked her if I should take down the flyer and she said yes.

When I got home, I took Dog with me on my run. He showed me how not-in-shape I am. He is fast. I am slow. He is very well-behaved though; he didn't stop to smell every tree. He did try to drag me along to chase a squirrel, but fortunately I saw the squirrel and held my footing.

That night, Dog met his new family. He warmed up to Sara first, then her kids. Since Dog had become pretty attached to Bill, Dog took a little longer to warm up to Daniel (Sara's husband). But pretty soon, "Can we keep him, please?" came out of the mouths of the children, who were sitting in front of our [half-decorated] Christmas tree.

It was a scene straight out of a Christmas movie.

Sara and her family collected the dog food, dog biscuit, rawhide, and leash and Dog followed them, happily out of house and into theirs. He hopped right into their car. He never looked back.

That is the story of the dog that shall not be named who is now called Kipper.

And also how I may, in the future after our cats have used up their nine lives, think about the possibility of getting a dog.

Place

I do not look at the words (and remember them) ahead of time. So when I sit down to blog and I see the word I'm going to write about, many things go through my head.

But I have to sort through them and decide what I can make sense out of and what needs to be discarded.

I have gotten back out and have been running/walking this week. The temperatures are warmer and the snow has melted (mostly) off the sidewalks. As Bill starts his new job, and I can convince him to go with me, we'll start walking regularly. I'm not sure what regularly will look like. I would still like to run three times a week. If I can get him to walk three times a week, I would make that work.

I digress, while I've been running I have time to think. I've thought of many things to write about, but so far none of them have had to do with place.

I could talk about where the cats' place in our bed is; right in between us or on top of us.

But alas, I just took a long time checking my email and now it's too late to write any more.

Believe

I believe I can make it through Lent, blogging everyday.

I believe that I will be able to run 2.5 miles again without stopping.

I believe in Hope.

I believe that believe is one of those words that stops looking like the word after you type it a few times.

I believe that Atticus will eventually kill all the mice living in our house. (Seriously, how many can be left?)

I believe in Faith.

I believe that God answers prayers.

I believe that Bill and I will finish the guest room this weekend.

I believe that Love wins.

2014 Shoveling and 5ks

I forgot, and I threw away my calendar before I tallied how much I shoveled in 2014. But since I kept track in 2013, I can only guess that it was at least the same if not more. I wrote about the snowfall in 2013 here.

If you read that, you'll note that I said I could keep track of it on my Fuel band. Except I wasn't very consistent because the numbers that it recorded made me feel like I wasn't really doing any work. I got a little frustrated so I just kept writing everything down on the calendar. I only kept track of shoveling twelve times on my Fuel band. I know I shoveled a lot more than that. I guess I could go look it up in my journal. I'm sure I kept track of it there.

So while I kept track of it on the calendar, I completely forgot all those numbers when I took down the old calendar and hung up the new. That wouldn't have been such a big deal because I could go fish the calendar out of the recycling. Except by the time I remembered and realized what I had done, we had just taken the recycling to the giant bin. The calendar, and all those numbers, are gone forever.

In that post, I also wrote about how many miles I ran in 2013. Well I did keep track of that on my Fuel band for 2014 and while it doesn't give me distance, it did keep track of time. I can tell you for sure that I ran eighty-three days and walked ninety-four. Which would average out to 360 miles (and that is a complete guesstimate). So that's ten miles further than 2013. At least.

And I didn't shovel (except the porch once) at all this last November because of my broken hand. Then, it didn't hardly snow in December. I have shoveled a couple of times this month, this week in fact.

I'll keep moving this year and we'll see how well I keep track of numbers.

I hope it motivates you to move!

better blog now

I'm enjoying my morning coffee before I enjoy my morning run. Or something like that.

Just last night someone asked me if I enjoy running. I guess I do. I enjoy it more when I'm finished. I enjoy it more when the scale and I agree. I enjoy it more when the humidity level isn't on "soaking". I don't loathe running. I don't have to make myself do it. I get more antsy when I look at my schedule and can't find time to run rather then being relieved that I can't find the time to run. I'm already planning on what I'll do this winter. My choice is an indoor track (bor-ring) or a treadmill (which I do loathe).

Huh, so I guess yes. I like to run. Outside. Rain, snow or shine. I do not like running inside on a treadmill.

Bill told me that the Farmer's Almanac was published yesterday. It is calling for a bitter cold winter with more then normal snow.

It's going to be another long winter. I better adjust my treadmill attitude or live with the consequences.

Or stop baking so many darn delicious cookies.

Ha! That is not going to happen. I may be facing death by treadmill. Has anyone ever died because they were running on a treadmill? I may be the first.

Have I finished my run yet?

the results

My official time was 30:58. My pace was 9:57. Under ten minutes. That is so great. I couldn't be more proud.

The people who did it in fifteen or twenty minutes, good for them. Don't rain on my parade though. I ran it in thirty minutes and that is good enough for me.

I was going to go back and look to see if I ever wrote about why I started running in the first place. I didn't get the chance, so in a nutshell I'll recap.

In high school, I could run the mile in twenty minutes. Mind you that was something like twenty laps around the gym and was the most horrendous task I had ever done. I would have rather mopped the floor.

Twenty minutes, I knew I could walk the mile faster then that.

Before I turned thirty, I had been walking almost daily. One day, I felt like running. I started out just running to the corner. But quickly added blocks. I finally came to the conclusion that I should try running a mile since I couldn't really do it in high school. After I could run one mile, I sort of kept going.

Then I made it my goal to run 5k. For a year I have been running that distance. Now it's official and I ran my first race.

That is why I'm so proud.

Sorry for gloating, but it is my blog.

just out for a run...

Today was the BIG day. The 5k. The Mitchell's Run Through Rockford for Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy. Lindsay ran with me. She has run in awhile. I told her not to worry that I'm pretty slow. My goal was to run it in 45 minutes. Yes, I can walk it in that time, but I had no idea what to expect. 

Would there be so many people that by the time we started it would take that long? 

I am not familiar with the course, would it feel longer and drag me down?

The only way to find out was to just do it. We registered, used the port-a-potty, and waited for the race to begin.

Which meant we took pictures. 

 Here's Lindsay. This is her, "I'm ready to run a 5k with no training recently" pose. 

I'm ready to go! 

 So was everyone else! Yikes.

We placed ourselves behind the 9 minute mile sign and ahead of the strollers and walkers (which always makes me think of actual walkers, the kind elderly people use, yet I know it means the pace at which people will be going… too funny). We decided not to stand too close to the 9 minute mile sign. Who were we kidding? 

The Michigan State women's volleyball team was there. That's not at all intimidating.

Along with cross-country teams from local schools. Good for them. We'll be back here. Pacing ourselves.

And so it began.

I started my FuelBand to keep track of our time. Of course I started it before we got to the start line. 

We started off strong, at a good steady pace. The State girls were in our sight for the first mile. We were passing people! I felt good. Around mile two, I asked Lindsay how she was doing and she said her stomach hurt a little, so we slowed our pace a bit. Mile three is along the river and is scenic, but it felt like a long stretch.

I checked my FuelBand. My normal pace is 42 (Fuel, I really don't know what that equates to… my arm movement???) and we were running at 45! Oh wow! 

It felt like a long time. 

And then we were at the end. I stopped my FuelBand. 32 minutes!!! Holy Cow! How did that happen? It felt so long, yet it did go by quick.

Deanna was great, she cheered us on at several spots along the route. She got great video. 

We did it. We survived. I have run a 5k. I will let you know my official time when that gets posted.

Then, after hanging out with Lindsay, Deanna, and Gary, I came home, showered and headed off to church for a wedding.

Just a typical Saturday.

one mil

I hit one million "fuel" points with my Nike Fuel Band today. (Disclaimer, Nike has no idea who I am and they are not paying me to say any of this.)

Yup. I guess it was a bigger deal when it happened.

Of course if you think about it, one million points is a lot. Considering I started earning points on Christmas Day, and here I am just over six months later at one million, that rocks! Also, consider that my daily goal is 2,500. At the rate of earning exactly my goal each day, it would have taken me four hundred days to hit one million. Instead it took me 222 (according to my Fuel Band). Does that mean I'll hit two million by day four hundred? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Very little

Maybe this is why I don't normally blog on the weekends; I got nothin'.

It hasn't rained in weeks. Bill hasn't mowed the lawn since I was in Cincinnati.

We've kept my flowers alive, which I've shown you here.

I'm working on my running. The 5k is in one week. My goal is to run it in under 45 minutes.

We've been working on the guest room, scraping and scraping paint. There are three double hung windows in the room. Bill pulled off the sashes of the two that are ganged together and striped those. He'll pull the third one off, strip it, and then take them to the hardware store for new glass.

See? It's a little dry on the writing front.

I'm really enjoying my book, "Clara and Mr. Tiffany". I especially enjoy looking at the Tiffany window in our church. I know the book is fiction, but when the author talks about the glass detail, I have to assume she did her research. Or I'm just being a romantic. Either way, it's good.

That's about all that's happening here. I'm too lazy at the moment to get the cord and the camera and show you pictures from Hell. I promise I will. Just not today.

Run, Emily, Run

I signed up to run a 5k.

What was I thinking?

I know what I was thinking, I've been running that distance since last summer. I may as well go for it and make it official. I'll get the sticker to put on the car and maybe even a t-shirt!

It's also for a very good cause. It's to raise money for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy which is the same cause as the .1k we "run". If you click the link above, you'll go to the race page. Once there, click on "Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy" and you can donate directly to them. I don't have a fundraising page. You can send me money if you feel moved. But I'm not doing it to raise money, that's what our team for the .1k is for. This is really just for me to run a 5k. I picked one that means something to our family.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Gulp.

I got it all done

My to-do list that is.

I can't believe it. Usually it takes me much longer and I panic and have to do things the following day.

I guess my time-management skills finally kicked in.

What all did I do today? Well, sit back and I will tell you:

I ran 3 miles, I did yoga and my exercises, I mowed the lawn, I trimmed the hedges, I weeded (which wasn't on the list), I planted three plants (bee balm, also not on the list), I ran to the store, I put gas in my car, I did two loads of laundry, I picked up stuff around the house, I balanced the checkbook, I paid bills, I made myself dinner, and I even had time to shower! Which was a really good thing because by then I was not smelling so pretty.

Also on my list was to run the vacuum, but I did that yesterday.

I'm ready for bed.

It's really not an amazing feat, all that I accomplished. I didn't cure cancer. I didn't end world hunger. But I can't look at it like that. It's the small things we do each day. I heard a radio DJ talking about a college graduation where the guest speaker was a four star general. He told the graduating class that no matter what they do each day they should get up and make their beds. That way, no matter what happens throughout your day, the one thing you accomplished was making your bed. And at the end of the day, when you look back at all you did, you crawl back into a bed that was the first thing you did.

I'm thankful for the ability to cross things off a to-do list.

Outfits and icebergs

I'm practicing to be someone famous only without the money or the talent. I had five outfit changes today. Yes, five.

The first outfit change was after the capri pants I was wearing met an untimely end (just got dirty) when my flip flops flipped and flopped muddy parking lot water onto my backside.

Outfit number two was changed when I went to go clean the basement with super duper cleaning product. I didn't want to ruin my "good" clothes.

Outfit number three was exchanged for my running clothes.

The running clothes were replaced by lounge clothes.

Also, in case you're wondering, there is still ice on Lake Superior. It has all broken up and is mostly icebergs floating around the great lake, but still… it's June 11th and there's ice. Here is the link to the Memorial Day post, my favorite is the beer siting in the ice on the beach.

And because it happens ALL the time, the Detroit Tigers catcher, Avila, just got hit by a ball (he's batting). We aren't laughing at his misfortune, but it is uncanny how often he gets hit. It's rarely because he's crowding the plate; it's from a foul ball, when he's batting, or other random wild pitches or hits. Seriously, it happens at least once a game.

I'm thankful that I wasn't successful at being a catcher in softball. Dad tried, but I liked first base or short stop. I could not get used to having the batter that close. And now that I think about it years later, I have really good depth perception. I shouldn't have been afraid, but I was terrified.

It probably would have helped if I'd kept my eyes open.

chapstick, energy drink, and a woodchuck

I went back and kept on digging out the grass at Lynne's. While I was digging, I found a "natural" (empty) tube of lip balm. I guess I can't say it was Chapstick because the label was missing. I threw it away.

I also found a crushed energy drink can. I recycled it.

Oh! I forgot to mention that yesterday I found a quarter. I have definitely earned it.

When I got home, because I'm slightly insane, I ran. While running I saw a woodchuck. He ran the opposite direction, into the woods.

There you have it. My day in three things.

I thought about writing a haiku. I'm too tired to think that much. You got this instead. We all win.

I'm thankful that I got the one garden dug out. It's ready for pretty flowers.

Early bird

It has been another busy day.

I spent the day at the office, finishing my hours for Pastor Tish and the Adult Education "hat" I wear.

I'm now done for the summer.

Jr. High is not over yet. Confirmation Sunday is this coming Sunday. Then, in August, we'll have our mission week. I have a little bit of planning and coordinating to get that all set.

When I got home I ran/walked. I ate dinner, swept the driveway, ran the vacuum, did my workout/yoga, made baked oatmeal, and washed dishes.

Now I'm working on a few things before I go to bed. I have two emails to send out regarding this Sunday. I could probably wait and send them in the morning.

It is getting late. I was up early. You really do get a lot done when you start the day early. My parents laughed when I told them that. They have done their share of getting up early. Dad is retired and Mom is semi-retired and they are enjoying it. I think it's great.

But for now, I have things to get done.

mane of hair

I'm letting my hair grow long. It's not the longest it's ever been. That happened seven years ago before I chopped it off and donated it before my 30th birthday. That was when we went on our cruise, and you can see how long my hair was in the pictures.

I don't often discuss my hair because, well if you know Bill and me, you know who wins in the hair department. He tells me I'm bragging. Truthfully, I'm very thankful. Every time I curl my hair, I say a prayer of thanks. I'm not rubbing it in; I know I'm blessed to have this much hair.

Every time I go to a new stylist, I warn them that I have thick hair. They always brush (ha! pun intended) that statement off and nod and smile. Then, about halfway through the haircut, they say something along the lines of, "wow! You really do have a lot of hair."

Yup. That's what I tried to tell you.

Since I have discovered that I can french braid my own hair, I have started wearing it that way when I run.

Yesterday, for a change, I decided to pull my hair back into a ponytail instead.

Oh, right. That's why I braid it now when I run.

First, I had to use two hair bands just to keep the ponytail in place. It still slid down the back of my head as I ran. Then, as I was running, the side-to-side motion of the ponytail started to make me feel like a horse. It was pretty dramatic given that I'm not used to that much swing. I felt like a pendulum.

I wonder what I looked like…

socks off

Bill has a time of day when it's time to take off his socks. We call it "socks-off time". Appropriate, don't you think?

I don't find it odd because I understand. I have quirks too.

Bill's time for socks-off usually happens in the early evening.

Which means if we go to visit friends, socks-off time is delayed. It can actually make him a teeny bit antsy.

As I said, I understand. Today I realized I may understand more than I had thought.

When I got home from my run I realized it was socks-off time for me. I thought about it for a minute and realized that warm weather is socks-off time for me. My feet are always covered up in the winter and I don't mind socks. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but I own enough pairs of socks to have fall/winter socks and spring/summer socks which I switch out with my other clothes.

But come Memorial Day/warm weather and it's no more socks. I'll wear them when I run, but then they immediately come off the minute I get in the house and take off my shoes.

Happy socks-off time. I'm thankful for socks-off weather.

Best day ever

At least according to my Nike Fuel Band.

If you move (your arm) for five minutes every hour, you win the hour. You hit a perfect day when you reach sixteen hours.

It's not as easy as you think. You have to have a swinging motion like when you walk. Sometimes I have to stand around swinging my arm. Some people say that's cheating. I say it isn't because I think of all the times I walk around with my hands full and my arm can't swing. I'm making up for those times.

Pushing the grocery cart? My arm doesn't swing. And if it did, I'm pretty sure someone would call the men in white coats. Have you ever tried pushing a grocery cart while swinging one arm? You look like you're having a seizure. Trust me, I tried swinging my arm once.

Carrying my work bag, purse and lunch bag to the car, into the office, back to the car, and into the house? My arm isn't swinging, it's loaded with bags.

Raking leaves? Not as much as you think. Again, you have to have a large swinging motion.

Shoveling snow? Same as raking. Only when I was shoveling snow up over high piles, did I get enough swing action to make it count on my Fuel Band.

Doing dishes? Absolutely not. Not unless I try ballet or yoga moves and that results in a broken dish, or two. (I did break a glass tonight, but not because I was trying to move my arm. It was slippery from the soap and I dropped it.)

Needless to say, reaching sixteen hours in one day requires focus. You have to actually remember to get up and move once an hour.

I've now accomplished this twice. I've won eight hours in a day, twenty eight times. That is much easier to do.

I've also earned 7200 fuel points today, and counting. I'm hoping to hit 7500 by the time I go to bed in a few minutes. The highest fuel points I've ever had before today was 6800.

I've reached my best month ever and I'm only a few thousand points away from 500,000!

This is really exciting for me. It's been a good, active day.

Catching up

Okay, look. I am way behind. I just wrote two posts and I'm still behind a day. I'm going to combine yesterday (Wednesday) and today. Mostly because the most exciting thing I did yesterday was unpack and eat dinner.

I also went to the grocery store.

Bill and I took a walk.

Today, I caught up on emails (for not having a "real" job, I had 150+ emails, yikes!), went to the pet store, bought toilet paper, and ran.

I'm also looking through my scrapbook stuff and trying to get ready to work on them tomorrow.

Because I've been posting so many pictures, I thought I'd show a few more.

 I don't remember if I posted these on Sunday, but here's Bill and me on Easter (also Bill's birthday).

 Can you tell that it was sunny? And windy?

 This was Sunday afternoon on our golf cart tour. No golf carts were harmed in the taking of this photo. Do you see the golf cart at the bottom of the twisting path? We went down and came back up!

Fun sculpture in a desert yard.

I am thankful to be back home.

Right, left, right, left

I know that not everyone feels the same way about running/walking as I do. I think it took me time to build up the endurance and the endorphins, or whatever it is, and that patience was the key. Now that I have worked up to a 5k, I can't stop. I also can't stop because, as I learned this winter, exercise will be the only way for me to maintain my weight. I like to eat too much.

As I was out on my walk (still working back up to running) this morning in the 34 degrees, with a light rain, spotting turkeys who weren't happy to see me, I felt at peace. My route is a routine. Ha, go figure. And if you know me at all, you know that I function best on a routine.

I stopped to take a picture of the wild turkeys. This one appeared to be trying to scare me. Since they are easily three feet tall, and I was very much outnumbered, I didn't linger. 

The entire time I was out, even though it was chilly and damp, it felt good.

You know, it's like that favorite sweatshirt. You take it out of the closet in the autumn and it smells clean. You pull it over your head and it warms you right up. It's familiar. It's comfortable. 

That's how I feel on my walks. I know the neighborhood. I watch the seasons change. It's comfortable, even when it's not. My hip and my foot hurt this morning. But I kept on going. I knew how much further I had to go, and it wasn't far. 

That's why I'm not interested in gyms or tracks. The monotony of both of those things doesn't motivate me. Going outside in 30 degree weather to walk through our neighborhood does. Maybe I'm strange. Maybe I'm normal. At any rate, I'm so thankful to be back out in the 'hood. Angry turkeys, hip pains, cold weather and all.

I will say, I am looking forward to warmer weather when I don't have to wear four layers.

marathons

We all enjoy a good marathon, right? A movie marathon, or a tv show marathon, maybe a dance marathon, you know the fun marathons.

Well, if I add up all the miles I have run in 2013, I have run 13 and a 1/2 marathons. Yes. I kept track and counted up all the miles I have run since January 1st. I ran 350 miles.

I could run to Cincinnati. I could run to Milwaukee and back. Which means I could stop off in Chicago. I could run to Buffalo, New York! That's how far 350 miles is from Grand Rapids.

Does it mean I'm going to run a marathon any time soon? Nope. I have my sights set on an actual, legit 5k. And the annual .1k but as far as running 26 miles all at once, like in one day. No thank you. Running the 3.1 miles is enough. Halfway through mile two I want to stop. I cannot imagine doing that twelve more times.

Now, to put a finer point on it, I also kept track of how much I have shoveled (and when I didn't do either of those and I ran inside, but since it was in place, I kept track of time, and that isn't impressive).

Are you ready?

925 minutes.

That's over fifteen hours this year that I shoveled snow.

Isn't that crazy? Half of that has been during this month. The other minutes added up in November, January and February.

I won't have to write it down on a calendar anymore. There's an app for that. And there's a fancy device too. It's called the Nike Fuel Band.

This is the Christmas present I received from Greg. It counts calories, steps, Fuel (Nike's version of keeping track of my activity), it has a clock on it, and when it syncs to my phone I can log specific activities, like shoveling! It's meant for full-body motion, so while I can wear it during yoga, it's not going to respond the same as when I shovel snow. It's the newer, updated version though, it noticed when I ran the vacuum! 

I'm really excited about this gift. And, as Greg pointed out, it was serendipitous because my phone died last week and now I have an iPhone. I can use the app and sync activities, which I would not have been able to do on the old phone. 

It's all about staying active. You don't have to have a fancy Fuel Band to do so. Make it your goal or resolution, just get moving.