Freaky Friday

I'm bored. It's almost time to go home. So to pass the time:

Toss the Turtle. It's bloody, but lots of fun.

Bubble Spinner. I like the pretty colors. Beena does too.

Flood It. I play this on my iPod. And NEVER win.

Wizard's Notebook. Nice graphics, and almost like Harry Potter!

Gold Miner. Another one of my favorite iPod games.

Have fun! I have another half hour to go...

The Countdown Begins

Aaah! There are 100 days left until Christmas!

Just thought you'd want to know.

Results Not Typical

Today was the first day in three weeks of training that I wanted to call Mike and cancel. My time of the month started last night, and I'm crampy and irritable and was NOT happy that I had to get up at 5:00 to be out of the house by 5:30. But I did.

I did a minute and a half on the Elliptical. My knees were burning too badly. Good thing I got the Glucosimine yesterday and started taking it. Hopefully soon, my joints won't hurt when I work out. I did 6 minutes on the treadmil at 4.5 (still don't know what this means...) Mike was ready by the time I finished.

Downstairs we go.

First stop is a huge machine to help with squats. Straight up, no weights, 2 reps of 12. The bar goes behind my head, and I squat, almost sitting on the bench. Mike adds 5lbs. on each side for one more rep of 12. After that he adds 5 more lbs. on each side for another rep of 12. Thighs are screaming....

Next is dumbell triceps kick backs. Kneeling on the bench, 4 reps of 12.

He then takes me to a machine that does chest presses. With no weights, I can't even lift it. He knows this and helps me get the press up. I do 2 reps of 8- the machine itself must weigh 100 lbs. I'm not sure what I like better- free weights where I have to concentrate on even moves or the machines that keep the moves even.

Into the little room for work on the ball. 2 reps of 12 back curls while balanced on the ball. I almost fall off.

Then he makes me sit on the ball, with my feet up against the baseboard. He has me lean back and do crunches. I do three and...

I fart.

Now, when I was doing yoga, we would "release the toxins" and nobody cared. Christine was really good about not saying anything. And Mike was great- he either didn't hear it, or he totally ignored it. I did say excuse me, so he should have had a clue that I did. But...I was mortified. Thank goodness there wasn't anyone in the room with me. I guess this is a normal thing when you're working out, right? Right? Oh, please say right!

After that I think he felt I was done. We stretched then I did the recumbent bike for 10 minutes. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. This is the next shirt I'm getting. So appropos.

A Poem

I see right through you.

Your actions and intentions like clear glass,

Prettily etched by the acid lies dripping from your mouth.

I see right through to your soul.

You do not see clearly.

The husks of past relationships

Strewn behind you as you stumble through life, blind to recognize.

You do not see life clearly.

I have lived a million lives before you.

I am a font from which others sip my experience.

But you would rather splash and stomp than taste my clear water.

Now, for you, my font runs muddy and opaque.

Leaving bitterness behind.

September 16, 2009

Results Not Typical

Another workout with Mike this morning. I got there and he was still training someone else- at 5:00 am! I did 3 minutes on the Elliptical until my knees started to burn, then 2 minutes running and 5 minutes walking on the treadmill until he was ready. Then we went downstairs to the little room.

Dum Dum Dummmmm (eerie music)

I hate/love the little room downstairs. The last time we worked out in the little room, I was sore for days, but it was a good kind of sore. We worked on that bouncy ball and I totally underestimated the workout that I got. So when Mike said we're going downstairs, I was a little apprehensive.

We started off on the straps that were attached to the steel column. 2 reps of 10 pullups with my body at a 45 degree angle. Then on my back with the squishy ball between my heels and my hands over my head. Alternate grabbing the ball and raising it over my head then bringing it back to my feet (situps.) 1 rep of 15. Laying on my back with a 10-lb. weight in each hand- raising it to the ceiling then pushing it further and twisting up, working the obliques. 1 rep of 15 for each side. Holding the bouncy ball against my lower back up against the wall and lowering to sitting squat. 2 reps of 15. Pushups- as many as I can do- which was 13! Twice! This is 5 more than I did at the evaluation. One heel on the half bouncy ball and the other leg in the air- pushing up with the bent leg- 2 reps of 15. This is where I pulled an inner thigh muscle and had to stretch it out. Leaning sideways on the squishy ball and raising my leg toes down for 1 rep of 15 each leg. Not as easy as it sounds. In fact, none of this is easy for me- I'm grotesculy out of shape, spastic and not flexible since I stopped yoga. Which I'm going to do every night at 11:00 pm. Just so that I can sleep well and move better.

After all this I did the inclined bike- Mike was concerned for the pulled muscle. 10 minutes on the bike and my legs turned to jelly. Going up the stairs at Penn Station almost had me in tears. Which proves to me I CAN'T go 4 days without working out...

Monday Tidbits

Instead of boring you with a play-by-play of my kids soccer games, or the most exciting things I do on the weekend, (laundry, dishes, soccer games) I think I'll feed you tidbits of some of the events and musings of the weekend.

Tidbit 1- Zombiegirl's team won their first Travel game of the season, 3-1 against Valley Stream. Off to a good start!

Tidbit 2- I convinced small children that a) the people in the low flying planes that flew over our soccer field can see us and were waving. At one point there were eight people waving at planes and not watching the game. B) If you spin around really, really fast, you'll lift off the ground, c) if you flip your hands up at a 90 degree angle when you're running you WILL slow down and d) that my house is haunted.

Tidbit 3- My husband is a much better cook than I am. This is evident by his meatballs. Which I HAD to taste.

Tidbit 4- Apocalypse Now (director's cut) is NOT my favorite movie.

Tidbit 5- Strange people use the laundromat. And it's expensive to wash a comforter.

Tidbit 6- I now know how to kill a maenad. I just have to change into a bull and convince her to marry me.

Tidbit 7- Time truly flies when you watch end-to-end episodes of the third season of Dexter. Which I DO love.

Tidbit 8- After 12 years of marriage, I would do it all over again with my hubby.

Tidbit 9- If I hear one more of my friends/acquaintances back out of doing something because "I work..." I will have to bitch slap them. I've been working full-time for 24 years and I have managed to: get married twice, have three kids, own a home, car and pets, have numerous yard sales, run two businesses, be a Girl Scout Leader, Sunday School Teacher, Soccer Mom and Class Parent many times over, write a blog, take pretty damn good care of my family and house AND go to the gym. Yes, I have flexibility at my job and a good support system at home. That does help. But I am just really SO very tired of the Primadonnas making excuses.

Tidbit 10- I am secretly married to Dan. My Facebook friend told me so.

That was my weekend in a nutshell. Comment if you're interested in any of the backstories!

Results Not Typical

I can't move. The ONLY thing that doesn't hurt on my body are my fingers. I'm sure my trainer, Mike C. will excersie those soon, too. My brain even hurts! I thought working out was supposed to clear the cobwebs out of your head. Oh, wait. I'm not working out right now...I'm in pain. Pain clouds the thought process, right? Right?

I'm going to list here for posterity the workout I get every time I go to the gym. This way I can remember what to do when my training sessions are over and maybe glean a little sympathy from you. Please? Just a little?

Okay, here goes. And it hurts to relive this...

• 5 minutes on the treadmill to warm up. I can't figure out how to read how fast I'm going- I just know it's on "3.5." I'll check next time I go.
• 3 reps of 12 bicep curls with 6lb. weights in each hand.
• 3 reps of 12 shoulder presses with 6lb. weights in each hand.
• 3 reps of 12 lateral raises with 6lb. weights in each hand.
• 3 reps of 12 low row on rowing weight machine using 30lbs.
• 3 reps of 12 Ab crunches using a 10lb. medicine ball. Alternating twisting then handing off to Mike.
• 3 reps of 12 Ab crunches, legs raised, reach for toes.
• 2 reps of 10 pull ups on this monster...The Gravitron.

(After a few reps on this, I couldn't even raise myself. Mike was lifting me with one hand...)

Followed by 6 minutes on the Elliptical machine. That's all I could take, my knees were burning.

I'm not complaining. (Well, a little.) I NEED to do this. I'm sick of my flabby body. I just haven't exerted myself this much in many, many years. Most of the time the pain feels good. I know it's doing SOMETHING. I just never expected the ache to be this bad. And I know it goes away. Usually just in time for another torture session.

Bask in my Awesomness, Please?

Look what I made. Go ahead, study. I'll wait.


Oh, and I made the messenger bag, too.


Thanks Heart of Mary for the awesome Tutorial. And thanks, God, for giving me Zombiegirl.


Happy first day of 5th grade!

Labor Day Weekend 2009

Oh! The intrigue. The backbiting. The alliances. The lies. The gossip. The scandals. The slander. The suspicion. The tyranny.

No, it's not another episode of Survivor.

It's kids soccer. And it's not the kids acting this way. Well, mostly not. It's the parents.

There's always one (or two or three) rabble rouser/trouble maker. The one (or two or three) that takes everything as an affront and tries to stir up discord. The one (or two or three) that irritates unneccesarily and causes grief for the rest of us.

Can't we just watch our kids play? They play so well we should be rejoicing in their talent, not on the sidelines plotting and scheming. I'm not saying I'm innocent in this, either. I get caught up in the bullshit very easily. But from here on in I'm going with the flow and I'm just going to be there for my kid. She deserves my full attention and support. So if you get in my face again, I'm stepping aside and ignoring you and cheering for my kid and her team. Go take your chicanery somewhere else.

(I've found www.thesaurus.com. Wondrous, isn't it? See? I didn't use the word awesome!)

So "Zombie #6" and her team played four games over Saturday and Sunday. 2 wins, 1 loss and 1 tie, which put them into 3rd place. This is the first time these girls have played together as a team since being picked for Travel. They were all wondrous but our new defensive player really stood out as the most exceptional. Pooda Girl #8 blew us away. Congrats, Nat! Keep up the good work!

We went out to the beach house after the games on Sunday. My in-laws and the kids were all there- the first time in years all the siblings (MR and his sisters) and their families have been out to the beach house. It was great spending time with the nephcies (nieces and nephew) at the beach. This is what went on while I was in bed with a migraine...

That's a bluefish. The blue Uncle Ray caught was even bigger.

After the beach Zombiegirl and I went to the outlets to pick up a few outfits for school. Tanger Outlet is 10 minutes from the beach house. It took two hours for us to hit two stores- parking was crazy, the customers were crazy and no one spoke english. But thanks to the cute boy in Justice for helping us find Z-girl's sweater. Next time we don't wait for the last minute.

All in all, it was a great weekend despite the bickering, the migraine and the crazy foreigners at the outlets. I got sunburned while at the soccer tourney, and when I got to the beach house, I noticed that my little frowny lines between my brows were white- I was scowling all day and sunburned that way. Lovely. Those kind of tan lines I don't want...

I Never Finish What I Start...

"By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer’s best of weather

And autumn’s best of cheer."

- Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

So I missed the last day of August blogging. So sue me. Things came up.

So I missed the first day of the month to update my 101 in 1001 Days. Things came up. So sue me.

I can never seem to finish what I start. Crafts, home improvement, life improvement and, recently, books, all seem to never...quite...get...finished. I have the best intentions then BAM! I get bored or sidetracked or distinterested. So I said here that I was going to use September to be anti-procrastination month. A new beginning or rather cleaning up some of the things I never finish.

So, audience who complains that I don't blog every day, here is my update on my 101 in 1001 Days. I'll only comment on stuff that I've accomplished/started:

3. I started back at the gym (yay!) I'm sore, but it feels so good. I actually laugh when I hit that rep that makes me feel the muscle work. This is a good start. I'm not afraid of the gym anymore. And a bonus! I have 17 training sessions! Seems they gave me 12 instead of 6, and I had 5 left over from two years ago. The manager that helped me was a total tool and told me the past training sessions were expired. So this will bring me into October working out 3 days a week! Bring on the sexy Halloween costume! Oh, and my trainer's name is Mike, and he's awesome!

4. Three days a week at the gym is a go! Just need to maintain it.

6. So far no cheating with any meat.

7. Have been having some sort of greens once a day.

8. I've only had one veggie burger at Cheeburger Cheeburger so far!

17. Am getting quotes, but haven't made a decision. Seems that our home isn't eleiglbe with a lot of insurance companies because of our closeness to the ocean. We'll keep trying...

21. The arrangements have been made to scatter mom's ashes and place the rest into their vault at Pinelawn. We'll be doing a beach thing on their 50th Wedding Anniversary and then two days later do something out at the cemetary. I have to find some pieces to read besides the one Mom requested Beena read from Desperate Housewives.

22. Been spending time with Dad- about once a week!

29. Made this week's meal plan and have been sticking to it. Just enlisted MR to make the meatballs for tonight. I'm going to make the meal plan every Saturday, so I can shop during the weekend.

33. Went camping with the soccer familia. Still need to blog about it.

41. I sold something on ETSY! I will definitely blog about the conclusion of this!

46. Started cleaning out sewing room. Yard Sale!

67. Got one tattoo.

90. I started my 100 list. Soon to be posted.

93. I started my sketchbook while camping. Notes on recipes and drinks as well as sketches.

I think this is a good start. And I'm going to try to post everyday, but at least I won't feel guilty if I don't. That was the whole point of NaBloPoMo. To get used to blogging every day. I have a lot of crap in my head I need to get out so there is enough fodder for a fresh blog post on a regular basis.

Now back to work...