Barbara Boothby
Name: Barbara Boothby
Age: 51
Where you were born (Hometown): Sandy, OR
Family: Husband, Joe (76), son, Jake (9), mom, Erma (88)
Career, business, volunteer.. Mostly, I am a stay-at-home mom running a pretty traditional household (how on earth did THAT happen!) and caring for my elderly mom who lives with us. But I also teach Sunday school and am a lay-leader and “green advocate” at the Beth Israel synagogue.Oh, and I’m also a WSU Master Composter/Recycler. I love worm bins.
Favorite music: Oh, that’s hard! I love classical, hair rock, a smidge of rap, reggae, feminist, Canadian, disco, pow-wow, Jewish praise music. My 9 year-old son has me listening to some current teen pop, which I find embarrassingly appealing.
Favorite book: The Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian
Favorite quote: “Getting there is half the fun” (Mary Poppins). Or maybe “Do or do not. There is no try.” (Yoda)
What do you like best about walking and/or running? The endorphins
What inspires you to keep a regular exercise routine?
Honestly….nothing. I am tragic in this regard, but when I AM on a routine, it makes me feel happy to exercise, and currently, spending time with Carol and my workout buddies keeps me going. Oh, and did I mention the endorphins?
What are some tips you have about eating a healthy diet?
I come from a long line of people who love truly good food–and way too much of it! But almost every day I have garden/salad rolls for lunch. They are filling, low in fat, and healthy, so I know I get at least one really good, reasonably-sized meal on board.
What is the biggest obstacle you have overcome (this could be exercise related, career related, or anything in your life)?
Depression. I worked at a job with crazy people who made life utterly miserable. Fortunately, I found a strong, thoughtful therapist who had done her own good mental health work for herself. She led me through it without medication, and left me with tools to deal with the rough patches–including exercising to straighten out the brain chemicals.
Your favorite place in the world you have walked/run/hiked:
I used to live and work out of Gold Beach, in the Siskiyou Mountains of Southern Oregon. It is an atonishingly diverse, rugged, and beautiful place. Good steelhead fishing, too. I worked for the US Forest Service, so I saw places others are very unlikely to see, and hiked miles and miles of beautiful trails and beaches.
Anything else interesting about you:
I have been blessed to never have had a career. I’ve done so many diverse jobs in my lifetime–some of them were better than others–a few of them were ones most people don’t even realize exist. Very few dull moments!
