I've had quite a few people ask me what I'm doing regarding my health, and I've promised to post the formula. Yes, there is a formula. You're not gonna like it, folks. It's rough. It's tough. And I've made the commitment to do it. So, for the brave... here it is.
Nutrition (Notice I did not say DIET.)
I keep my nutrient ratios as close to this as I can:
30% protein (lean meats and NOTHING CURED)
20% fat (olive oil, avocado, peanut butter)
50% complex carbohydrates (you know, the kind found in nature)
Yes, calories DO count. So count them back. There is a great little program out there that you can use online for free. Yes, I said FREE. Free is a magic word to me. The site is www.fitday.com. There you can record all your food and activities. AND your weight. You cannot post your calipers there. If anyone needs help with calipers, I can do it for you. What is a caliper, you ask? It's a bodyfold measurement of your fat. Yeah, it's ugly, I know. But in order to go somewhere, you've got to know where you've been. There is a magic caloric number for every person. Mine is 1667. So I stay below that most days.
Activity
You notice I did not say exercise. People freak out when I use the "E" word. So we're going to call this "activity".
I activate 6 days out of 7. I make myself rest on the 7th day, just usually because I'm sore by then.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays... these are my long gym days. I will spend 2 hours in the gym doing activity.
Five minutes of warmup on the treadmill. This is NOT optional, folks! You have to warm up! Your body will thank you, and I won't have to nag you.
30 to 40 minutes of circuit training. I variate between the two. This is weight training. Yeah yeah, I know... you think you'll look like a muscle man... it hurts... blah blah blah. Don't talk to me about how it hurts. I'M doing it! I work every part of the body I can. And it ain't pretty. I sweat, I grunt like a pig, and I'm exhilarated when I'm done.
15 minutes of core training. Again, not optional. Your core is what holds you in and makes you strong. I use The Bean and run the workout on my laptop while I follow along. Don't laugh. That extra cushioning that The Bean gives me is just enough to keep me from hurting my spine.
30 minutes of cardio. There. I said it. Cardio. Yuck. I hate cardio. So I turn on some tunes and get on my hurricycle. Ever see one of those exercycles with the big fan on the front and the handles that alternate going up and back? That's my cardio demon machine. I do it. So should you.
30 minutes of yoga. The slow, stretching kind, not the power yoga that seems to be so popular. Those people are crazy. Hatha yoga... just stretch every part of the body that you worked. Start with the toes and work your way up. Ladies, we spend money on pedicures. Work the feet! Stretch them out! They're so integral to your life. I know what it was like not to be able to walk for 6 months. Treat your feet special.
Now... for those of you who are still following me...
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays... Okay, most Saturdays...
Cardio and yoga. Sometimes I will use my Saturday for outside work in the yard. That's okay, as long as you're not pulling a couple of weeds and then looking for someone to mercifully save you from the rest. DO IT! I did. This weekend, we put down mulch and I weeded 2 flower beds. Then I transplanted a lot of plants in one of those beds now that it was nice and clean. I spent at least 3 hours out there and I was still at it long after the rest of my house inhabitants gave up.
Think all of this is tough and I'm just a glutton for punishment? Oh hell yeah, it is... and I'm not. When I was younger, I got up two hours earlier just so I could get in a workout before work. If I don't do it in the morning, I won't do it. So I make this an appointment with myself now. It's an appointment I won't break because I'm worth it. I'm worth all the sweat it takes to get my health back. Aren't you? Did you know that 80% of women over the age of 70 can't lift a bag of groceries? I don't want to be one of those. So who's with me? Take your vitamins, and let's get started.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Monday, October 26, 2009
Chasing the Iron Bunny
For those of you who are following my health and weight loss journey, I have encouraging news. First of all, I was completely cleared by my pulmonologist when my CT scan came up clear. He saw and heard no trace of the infection that has plagued me for so long. That said, I went on a fitness program that I designed from my training knowledge of days gone by.
I first started this journey on October 5 of last year. I had plugged all my numbers in (as ugly as they were) and then had a setback when I was told that my father had passed a couple of weeks later. So now that the setback is over, and after getting off the meds for the lung disease, I am back on track. So let me post what I've done so far.
Starting scale weight was 231 (Ugh) and starting bodyfat % was 44.75%. Lean weight was 127.32 and bodyfat was 103.68.
Today... scale weight was 219 (still ugh) with bodyfat % of 33.93%. Lean weight is 144.69 and bodyfat is 74.31.
The tale of the tape is also encouraging. Waist measurement is down 2 inches since starting last year, with most of that loss coming in the last 11 days since adding intense cardio and core workouts in with weight training. Waist to hip ratio is still not where it needs to be, so there is a lot more work to be done.
Things I've noticed: My energy is coming back. I sleep better most nights. I can breathe better. I can focus my mind better. I get more done around the house and in my life. I can walk better. I still feel like I'm dragging my left leg some days (the leg that had the clot in it), but I push through it and then rest it. I no longer JUST push through. I know that rest is an integral part of my well-being and don't intend to be without it ever again.
Changes I've made:
1. Detoxifying my environment. It's ongoing and it's hard. But I feel it is something worth doing. You have no idea how many foods are packaged using plastics, which are dreadful for the body and the environment.
2. Challenging everything that goes into my mouth. That is also difficult, especially when others in the household are having everything from tortilla chips and cheese dip to ice cream. It's okay. You keep eating that. I'm not.
3. Preparing foods from scratch. I do that a lot more now. I've stopped eating out for the most part, making that the exception instead of the rule.
4. I get active every day. I feel like I'm slacking off when I'm not active. I used to be able to climb a rope to the top of a gymnasium and back down. I used to be on the gymnastics team. I may not be able to do those things again, but I'm gonna get close. REAL close.
5. I take much better care of my grooming now. Sounds silly to most of you, but when you're not feeling well, it reflects in your grooming and when your grooming is bad, you feel worse. It's a vicious cycle and I've stopped it.
6. I take pictures of myself much more often. I want to see this journey in pictures. My body has a story to tell.
7. I don't let anything keep me from my workouts now... not even procrastinating like I'm doing right this minute. Don't worry... I'll be in the gym within the next half hour or so and spend 2 hours workin' it.
8. I open up to other people a little more. I'm still very introspective, but am trying to change that.
I know there are more, but for the sake of the workout I'm trying to ignore, I'll leave them for another time. I've got my music picked out for the gym today, and I've got to get out there. It's not gonna happen by itself.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
I first started this journey on October 5 of last year. I had plugged all my numbers in (as ugly as they were) and then had a setback when I was told that my father had passed a couple of weeks later. So now that the setback is over, and after getting off the meds for the lung disease, I am back on track. So let me post what I've done so far.
Starting scale weight was 231 (Ugh) and starting bodyfat % was 44.75%. Lean weight was 127.32 and bodyfat was 103.68.
Today... scale weight was 219 (still ugh) with bodyfat % of 33.93%. Lean weight is 144.69 and bodyfat is 74.31.
The tale of the tape is also encouraging. Waist measurement is down 2 inches since starting last year, with most of that loss coming in the last 11 days since adding intense cardio and core workouts in with weight training. Waist to hip ratio is still not where it needs to be, so there is a lot more work to be done.
Things I've noticed: My energy is coming back. I sleep better most nights. I can breathe better. I can focus my mind better. I get more done around the house and in my life. I can walk better. I still feel like I'm dragging my left leg some days (the leg that had the clot in it), but I push through it and then rest it. I no longer JUST push through. I know that rest is an integral part of my well-being and don't intend to be without it ever again.
Changes I've made:
1. Detoxifying my environment. It's ongoing and it's hard. But I feel it is something worth doing. You have no idea how many foods are packaged using plastics, which are dreadful for the body and the environment.
2. Challenging everything that goes into my mouth. That is also difficult, especially when others in the household are having everything from tortilla chips and cheese dip to ice cream. It's okay. You keep eating that. I'm not.
3. Preparing foods from scratch. I do that a lot more now. I've stopped eating out for the most part, making that the exception instead of the rule.
4. I get active every day. I feel like I'm slacking off when I'm not active. I used to be able to climb a rope to the top of a gymnasium and back down. I used to be on the gymnastics team. I may not be able to do those things again, but I'm gonna get close. REAL close.
5. I take much better care of my grooming now. Sounds silly to most of you, but when you're not feeling well, it reflects in your grooming and when your grooming is bad, you feel worse. It's a vicious cycle and I've stopped it.
6. I take pictures of myself much more often. I want to see this journey in pictures. My body has a story to tell.
7. I don't let anything keep me from my workouts now... not even procrastinating like I'm doing right this minute. Don't worry... I'll be in the gym within the next half hour or so and spend 2 hours workin' it.
8. I open up to other people a little more. I'm still very introspective, but am trying to change that.
I know there are more, but for the sake of the workout I'm trying to ignore, I'll leave them for another time. I've got my music picked out for the gym today, and I've got to get out there. It's not gonna happen by itself.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Saturday, October 24, 2009
My Own Marley
I just finished watching Marley and Me, and I ended up in tears. Anyone who doesn't cry at the end of that movie just doesn't have a heart. And it brought up some memories of my own Marley... a black and tan coonhound named Rebel.
Rebel was a beautiful dog. And kind natured. He was the best. He came into our lives when Jason was just about 4 years old and Rhys was a baby. We had just moved into our house, and I immediately said that no house is a home without a dog. We went looking for one.
I saw an ad in the paper for coonhound puppies, and took the long trek out to some God-forsaken place in the country, which I now know to be Shelby Forest. I had really wanted a bluetick, but these were black and tan, with a touch of bluetick. There were several puppies running around in the open on the property, but I took notice of the one off to the side all by himself. I went over to him, and saw the sad look in his eyes. It was clear that his brothers had been taken long ago, and he was the only boy left. I rubbed his head and asked him if he wanted to come home with me. He licked my hand, and stole my heart.
I put him in the cat carrier, which was the only restraint I had at the time, so he could take the long journey home. Once he got out, he was never small enough to get back in. He grew by leaps and bounds, and when all was said and done, he was a whopping 82 pounds of sleek, shiny black and tan. From the outside of the house, he looked like a pitbull to anyone approaching. He was menacing to intruders, but had a heart of gold.
Rebel used to love his weekly outings at the park. They have open leash day on Saturdays and we would put him in the back of the truck, where he would proudly howl his greeting to the people at the park, who would laugh and point at the beautiful black beauty who was so eager to announce his arrival. Once at the park, he was King. King of the Park. He took control of the track and field. He wouldn't venture into the water though. Coonhounds, by nature, do not go near the water, where a raccoon would drag them to drown them. True to form, he wouldn't go there. But oh, how he loved to run and have fun with the other dogs.
Once home, Rebel would eat, drink and lie down on the kitchen floor to rest. That floor must have been nice and cool compared to the summer heat, but I have a very small kitchen, and he took up the whole floor! I tripped over him more than once on many occasions.
Rebel began to have some health problems in his later years. Some cysts grew on him, and we took them off to make him comfortable. His beautiful coat scarred, we got the news that he had cancer. My poor, beautiful baby... and nothing could be done to help him except to keep him comfortable. And I tried. Really I did. He got weaker and weaker, but still he was happy.
The day after Valentine's Day, February 15, I came home to find Rebel out in the cold, wet weather, and called to him. He tried to get up, but sank back down. I ran over to him and called him again. His eyes told me the story. He had had enough. I called the vet immediately to ask if he would perform a euthanasia in a half hour. He agreed, and we took Rebel to the vet for the last time. He was in the back of the truck, where he loved to be, covered with a blanket to keep the rain off him.
On the table, the vet stroked him and said, "this was a good dog". I said "The Best" and gave him the go-ahead to put him down. I petted him and talked to him softly as the vet struggled to find a good vein. They had all collapsed. He slipped quietly away. My life hasn't been the same since.
Godspeed my beautiful, loyal friend. Here's to you. Thank you for all the love you gave me. Save me a spot. I love you.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Friday, August 21, 2009
You Gotta Learn to Laugh
After a relatively sleepless night, in which my mind went restlessly over who I should torture in Mafia Wars and how to strettttttch those last few energy points, I was awakened by that human torture device, the alarm clock, set to 4:30am so my husband could make his daily jaunt into corporate America. Today is going to be my feel-good day... the day in which I find affordable health care for less money that we have been paying for the last 20 years, the day when I make Adwords work for our businesses, and the day that I finalize some orders so I can get paid next week. With the economy in such a downturn and my family feeling the pinch, I have reached out to some friends for some laughter and comraderie, and they have responded in droves.
One good friend sent me this:
Seriously though, today I am going to find a way to make the businesses pay off like they've never paid before. That's going to take a lot of research, and a lot of brainpower that I don't possess after a sleepless night. It's at times like these that I wish I still smoked. Caffeine and nicotine... the two major food groups. Since I don't do that anymore, I have to find another way to awaken my sleepy brain and get something productive done. The boys will start back to class at the end of next week, so I will reclaim all that time as my own and possibly (finally) be able to get some things done around the house. There is still a buttload of wallpaper to strip, as well as 10 coats of paint to come off the woodwork in the dining room, and generally bringing this house into a more modern era than "Early 20th Century Rent House". It's an exaggeration, but there's a lot that needs work. I'm sure a renewed vigor will hit me once the guys are back in class and not hanging around the house all day every day.
So what's happening next... what's on the horizon... ? I don't know. But whatever it is, I'm going to be looking at it with a child's wonder because if I've learned anything from all the problems this country is experiencing, it's that "You gotta learn to laugh. It's the path to true love." (John Travolta as "Michael")
Music playing... coffee in hand... it's time to get started.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
One good friend sent me this:
Things to do when you're bored at Wal-Mart
1. Set all the alarm clocks to go off at ten minute
intervals throughout the day.
2. Put M&M's on layaway.
3. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official
tone, "I think we've got a Code 3 in housewares,"
and see what happens.
4. Tune all the radios to a polka station; then turn
them all off and turn the volumes to "10."
5. Challenge other customers to duels with tubes
of gift wrap.
6.Make a trail of orange juice on the floor, leading
to the rest rooms.
7. Move "Caution: Wet Floor" signs to carpeted
areas.
8. Set up a tent in the camping department; tell
others you'll only invite them in if they bring
pillows from Bed and Bath.
9. When someone asks if you need help, begin
to cry and ask, "Why won't you people just
leave me alone?"
10. Look right into the security camera, and
use it as a mirror while you floss your teeth.
11. Take up an entire aisle in Toys by setting
up a full scale battlefield with G.I. Joes vs.
the X-Men.
12. Ask other customers if they have any
Grey Poupon.
13. While handling guns in the hunting
department, suddenly ask the clerk if he
knows where the antidepressants are.
14. Switch the men's and women's signs
on the doors of the rest rooms.
15. Dart around suspiciously while humming
the theme from "Mission Impossible."
16. Set up a "Valet Parking" sign in front of
the store.
17. Sit on a chair and read a book for hours.
18. Hide in the clothing racks and when people
browse, say things like "pick me! pick me!!"
19. When an announcement comes over the
loudspeaker, assume the fetal position and
scream, "No, no! It's those voices again!"
20. If the store has a food court, buy a soft
drink; explain that you don't get out much,
and ask if they can put a little umbrella in it.
And last, but not least...
21. Go into the dressing room and yell real loud...
"Hey, we're out of toilet paper in here!"
Seriously though, today I am going to find a way to make the businesses pay off like they've never paid before. That's going to take a lot of research, and a lot of brainpower that I don't possess after a sleepless night. It's at times like these that I wish I still smoked. Caffeine and nicotine... the two major food groups. Since I don't do that anymore, I have to find another way to awaken my sleepy brain and get something productive done. The boys will start back to class at the end of next week, so I will reclaim all that time as my own and possibly (finally) be able to get some things done around the house. There is still a buttload of wallpaper to strip, as well as 10 coats of paint to come off the woodwork in the dining room, and generally bringing this house into a more modern era than "Early 20th Century Rent House". It's an exaggeration, but there's a lot that needs work. I'm sure a renewed vigor will hit me once the guys are back in class and not hanging around the house all day every day.
So what's happening next... what's on the horizon... ? I don't know. But whatever it is, I'm going to be looking at it with a child's wonder because if I've learned anything from all the problems this country is experiencing, it's that "You gotta learn to laugh. It's the path to true love." (John Travolta as "Michael")
Music playing... coffee in hand... it's time to get started.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Fourth of July, Simple Pleasures, and The Homemade Marble Game
Happy Fourth of July, everyone!
Today, I reflect on my Independence Day memories as I sit enjoying the simple pleasures with my family.
My first family had a swimming pool in the backyard when I was young. We spent many happy hours in the pool, as did our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors. I wanted to give our boys the same experience, and we have had above-ground pools in the past, but were never able to take care of it properly due to massive amounts of leaves that fell from our backyard trees. That changed a few years ago when a dureche (straight line tornado) took one of our trees down and split the other in half. The leaves diminished greatly, and gave us a big open space with lots of sun AND shade to enjoy.
It gets hot in Memphis. Hot. Not just hot... the fires of hell hot. I used to like summer until I moved down here. But I have been miserable in the 100+ degree Memphis heat for years. Our boys have been wanting us to put a swimming pool in the nice open space in the backyard. However, we can't afford one right now, as I have been out of work for such a long time. So I began to look for a way for us to cool off this summer without breaking the bank, so to speak. I would have been satisfied with a wading pool to cool our feet off. But the heat has risen in Memphis, and is due to go on much longer than we would like. I remembered having fun in the sprinkler when I was very young in the days before our backyard pool, and wondered if there was a way of doing something similar, only on a "grown-up" basis. I couldn't see the four of us frolicking in the sprinkler, but had an idea which we put into action yesterday, and it turned out to be one of the best ideas I've ever had.
We constructed an outdoor shower from a short hose, a watering arm and some brackets. I didn't want to have to change the hose out when I water the outdoor plants, so we installed a brass pipe splitter (for want of a better term) for the spigot. This wonderful invention allows me to hook up more than one hose and direct the water to whichever one we want to use at the time. So we hooked up a 6 foot hose and attached a watering arm to it. We secured it to the house using some plant hangers, and put down some paving stones to give us a firm place to stand and to help drain the water away as well. Eureka! It works like a charm! When I got under the water yesterday, I had been working in the yard, trying to get some tomato seeds planted and was as hot and dirty as I had ever been. When the cold water hit me, all I could say was "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". I think the guys thought I had lost my mind, but honestly, it was the closest thing to heaven I had felt in a really long time. The whole project cost very little, and the payoff was huge. This little invention of ours is going to save us this summer. I'm sure that my parents and grandparents would be proud of my innovation.
So today I enjoyed the outdoor shower once again, as Steve fired up the smoker and put the pork butt on for a long day of smoking. We don't often have days of pure leisure, so this day was a real treat. We stood under the shower, then sat in the sun with our feet soaking in the wading pool, watching the dogs circling us, wondering why we seemed so peaceful and happy. At one point, we took the babies (Gizmo and Gidget) and let them cool off as well. They weren't as pleased with the water as we were, so we let them dry off and go in the house. Rhys put Rocky in the pool and she liked it so much, she sat down. Then she laid down and stuck her head under the water to cool off. What a funny sweetie she is. She jumped out and went to chase something. We sat in the sun for a while, just relaxing. Sitting in the sun was wonderful. I don't often have a chance to do that, but I have a feeling we will be relaxing much more often now that we have a way to cool off.
I guess we're not going to do any fireworks tonight. We have a few morning glories and maybe some bottle rockets. Maybe we'll still do some. Tucker would be pleased. That silly dog loves to chase after them and barks his fool head off. He and Rocky get into trouble sometimes with chasing things. Yesterday, they chased some bees, which chased them back, and we ended up having to shuttle them all in the house while we killed the suckers. But I digress. It's illegal to shoot off fireworks in the city limits in Memphis. Not illegal to buy them. You just go to the next county to get them. But who's going to arrest you for it? Certainly not the police, when the one down the block is shooting them off as well. I remember a time when fireworks weren't illegal and were very common on the Fourth of July. When we lived on Oglesby in Calumet City, I remember going out in the front yard with my Dad, and watching him with firecrackers and cherry bombs. The most we kids could do was to play with sparklers. But the image of the entire street being lit up by fireworks thrown by our neighbors stays with me. Those were good times. Simple, but so good. Our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would all come over and we'd "barbecue" outside, with coolers of drinks in the garage, and lawn chairs everywhere. Sometimes there was a badminton game going on in the field behind the garage, where my father had mowed down the field and "claimed" a piece of it for us as long as there wasn't a house behind ours. Many many times, there were some injuries to my father's ankle, since playing a game during our gatherings was serious business and we went all out.
After everyone had eaten all they possibly could, the party would move from the backyard to the inside of the house, where the adults would play cards or the "marble game" that my father had constructed out of a piece of wood and some marbles. He had drilled holes in the wood, and the holes were a little smaller than large marbles, which we called "pierzies". We would roll the dice, and move our marbles around the board, to end up in the "home" position. The person whose marbles were all at "home" first won the game. It wasn't until I grew to adulthood that I realized that our "marble game" was actually Parcheesi in disguise, and my father had made that game for us to play because we couldn't afford to buy the actual game at Bargain Town (which became Toys R Us). He was innovative, and I'm glad I am able to appreciate that quality now. I loved playing the marble game, as did everyone else who played it. I wish I knew what happened to that old piece of wood. And as I played Parcheesi with my family today, I remembered playing the marble game, and hoped that my boys would love it as much as I still do. I wonder if I can do the same with a piece of plywood... and if I get some marbles...
The pork roast was wonderful. So was the rest of today. And so were the memories. It was nice to be able to remember them now with sweetness. Many other memories surfaced as well, which I will write about in another blog. But for now... I have grapes to harvest. Peace to all of you. Please remember those who died so we might live with freedom.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Today, I reflect on my Independence Day memories as I sit enjoying the simple pleasures with my family.
My first family had a swimming pool in the backyard when I was young. We spent many happy hours in the pool, as did our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors. I wanted to give our boys the same experience, and we have had above-ground pools in the past, but were never able to take care of it properly due to massive amounts of leaves that fell from our backyard trees. That changed a few years ago when a dureche (straight line tornado) took one of our trees down and split the other in half. The leaves diminished greatly, and gave us a big open space with lots of sun AND shade to enjoy.
It gets hot in Memphis. Hot. Not just hot... the fires of hell hot. I used to like summer until I moved down here. But I have been miserable in the 100+ degree Memphis heat for years. Our boys have been wanting us to put a swimming pool in the nice open space in the backyard. However, we can't afford one right now, as I have been out of work for such a long time. So I began to look for a way for us to cool off this summer without breaking the bank, so to speak. I would have been satisfied with a wading pool to cool our feet off. But the heat has risen in Memphis, and is due to go on much longer than we would like. I remembered having fun in the sprinkler when I was very young in the days before our backyard pool, and wondered if there was a way of doing something similar, only on a "grown-up" basis. I couldn't see the four of us frolicking in the sprinkler, but had an idea which we put into action yesterday, and it turned out to be one of the best ideas I've ever had.
We constructed an outdoor shower from a short hose, a watering arm and some brackets. I didn't want to have to change the hose out when I water the outdoor plants, so we installed a brass pipe splitter (for want of a better term) for the spigot. This wonderful invention allows me to hook up more than one hose and direct the water to whichever one we want to use at the time. So we hooked up a 6 foot hose and attached a watering arm to it. We secured it to the house using some plant hangers, and put down some paving stones to give us a firm place to stand and to help drain the water away as well. Eureka! It works like a charm! When I got under the water yesterday, I had been working in the yard, trying to get some tomato seeds planted and was as hot and dirty as I had ever been. When the cold water hit me, all I could say was "ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh". I think the guys thought I had lost my mind, but honestly, it was the closest thing to heaven I had felt in a really long time. The whole project cost very little, and the payoff was huge. This little invention of ours is going to save us this summer. I'm sure that my parents and grandparents would be proud of my innovation.
So today I enjoyed the outdoor shower once again, as Steve fired up the smoker and put the pork butt on for a long day of smoking. We don't often have days of pure leisure, so this day was a real treat. We stood under the shower, then sat in the sun with our feet soaking in the wading pool, watching the dogs circling us, wondering why we seemed so peaceful and happy. At one point, we took the babies (Gizmo and Gidget) and let them cool off as well. They weren't as pleased with the water as we were, so we let them dry off and go in the house. Rhys put Rocky in the pool and she liked it so much, she sat down. Then she laid down and stuck her head under the water to cool off. What a funny sweetie she is. She jumped out and went to chase something. We sat in the sun for a while, just relaxing. Sitting in the sun was wonderful. I don't often have a chance to do that, but I have a feeling we will be relaxing much more often now that we have a way to cool off.
I guess we're not going to do any fireworks tonight. We have a few morning glories and maybe some bottle rockets. Maybe we'll still do some. Tucker would be pleased. That silly dog loves to chase after them and barks his fool head off. He and Rocky get into trouble sometimes with chasing things. Yesterday, they chased some bees, which chased them back, and we ended up having to shuttle them all in the house while we killed the suckers. But I digress. It's illegal to shoot off fireworks in the city limits in Memphis. Not illegal to buy them. You just go to the next county to get them. But who's going to arrest you for it? Certainly not the police, when the one down the block is shooting them off as well. I remember a time when fireworks weren't illegal and were very common on the Fourth of July. When we lived on Oglesby in Calumet City, I remember going out in the front yard with my Dad, and watching him with firecrackers and cherry bombs. The most we kids could do was to play with sparklers. But the image of the entire street being lit up by fireworks thrown by our neighbors stays with me. Those were good times. Simple, but so good. Our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would all come over and we'd "barbecue" outside, with coolers of drinks in the garage, and lawn chairs everywhere. Sometimes there was a badminton game going on in the field behind the garage, where my father had mowed down the field and "claimed" a piece of it for us as long as there wasn't a house behind ours. Many many times, there were some injuries to my father's ankle, since playing a game during our gatherings was serious business and we went all out.
After everyone had eaten all they possibly could, the party would move from the backyard to the inside of the house, where the adults would play cards or the "marble game" that my father had constructed out of a piece of wood and some marbles. He had drilled holes in the wood, and the holes were a little smaller than large marbles, which we called "pierzies". We would roll the dice, and move our marbles around the board, to end up in the "home" position. The person whose marbles were all at "home" first won the game. It wasn't until I grew to adulthood that I realized that our "marble game" was actually Parcheesi in disguise, and my father had made that game for us to play because we couldn't afford to buy the actual game at Bargain Town (which became Toys R Us). He was innovative, and I'm glad I am able to appreciate that quality now. I loved playing the marble game, as did everyone else who played it. I wish I knew what happened to that old piece of wood. And as I played Parcheesi with my family today, I remembered playing the marble game, and hoped that my boys would love it as much as I still do. I wonder if I can do the same with a piece of plywood... and if I get some marbles...
The pork roast was wonderful. So was the rest of today. And so were the memories. It was nice to be able to remember them now with sweetness. Many other memories surfaced as well, which I will write about in another blog. But for now... I have grapes to harvest. Peace to all of you. Please remember those who died so we might live with freedom.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Friday, June 19, 2009
For All True Americans... Pass It On
This is from Glenn Beck's site:
GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Paczki Puta
GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
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Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
Paczki Puta
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
For Those of You Who Came In Without a Program.. The Last Two Weeks in Digest Form.
For those of you who are following my blogs, so much has happened in the last few weeks, I thought I'd better put this in digest form so I can pick up and move on.
Uncle Jerry and Aunt Pat's visit
They came in on their way to Texas, stopping to see us on the 31st of May. What a delight to see them! We had a few beers, talked a lot, sat in the sun and crisped... and then it was time for dinner. I had one remaining ring of kielbasa from Misch's in Calumet City, and some pierogi in the freezer. I couldn't think of a better opportunity to serve it than to bring it out when they told us they were coming to visit. When I went in to check on dinner, I found the sausage was ready and all I had to do was to lightly fry the pierogi in butter. I did that while the guys got the table ready. I called everyone to the table and brought out the platter of pierogi. I heard an audible "Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" come from Uncle Jerry, and I swear his eyes glazed over. He mentioned how "we" never got pierogi except at Christmas, and I had an idea. I went to the kitchen, where I keep the leftover aplatek from Christmas. I told them that since no one ever comes to visit us, and they had made it Christmas for me by coming, I would like for them to break the aplatek and pass it around. I think they were genuinely touched by the gesture, and Uncle Jerry said, "Well we can't say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, so let's say to good health, good fortune and a safe trip." I couldn't have said it better.
Park Lane Jewelry
During the next week, I met up with Charlette, who is now my director in Park Lane. I decided to try selling Park Lane, since it is so new to the Memphis area and I have been having such a hard time finding a job. I love the jewelry and it's very reasonably priced. I was never much of a jewelry person before because I had this view of having "real" jewelry instead of costume jewelry... "real" diamonds vs. cubic zirconias, not using swarovski crystals but "real" ones. The hell with that! I wasn't getting anything new by sticking to that philosophy. I have a few pieces of "good" jewelry, but I will probably put them in the lockbox, since I love the new stuff and don't want the old stuff to get lost or damaged.
I am having my kickoff party this Saturday and am hoping for a good turnout. At the very least, this venture is showing me who I can count on, and who I can't, and that has proven interesting. The people that I have never been able to count on are being excluded from my life permanently. It's time to get rid of all the old energy and replace it with new. Old energy just drags me down.
The Blue Monkey Society
Speaking of new energy... the following weekend, Steve and I went to the Blue Monkey to meet up with some friends of his from high school. This gathering usually happens on the first Sunday of the month at 5pm. There was a quite a turnout! There were about 15-20 people there, including one of their old English teachers. Amazing. People came in from Little Rock and Nashville for this. There were numerous conversations flowing around that big group, and I'm slowly getting to know them through Facebook. What a good group! I didn't get any bad vibes from any of them, and felt very welcome. They all wanted pictures at the end, and I stuck to my camera-shy ways and stayed mostly out of them. Maybe next time I'll jump in.
Tucker
Then there's our 72 pound bundle of dynamite who has been suffering with a cyst hanging off his body for about the past year. He started chewing at it and it got to the point where we had to take him in to get the cyst removed along with all the hanging skin. He came through the surgery fine and is strong as an ox. He's had a cone around his head for the better part of a week, and I had to finally take it off today because he's destroying everything in his path, going along as if the cone weren't there. I can only hope he doesn't chew his stitches open. Oh, the word on the cyst (with tumor) is that it was benign. Looks like he will be around for a long time to come and I'm glad. The house was really empty without him in it.
Chasin' It
With these things all coming at me at full throttle, I thought it was time to kick up my exercise (cardio) a notch, and have done that in the last week. My doctor told me I could get off the cholesterol meds if I added cardio (LOTS of it) to my program and watched my nutrition. I usually ride my exercycle to some music, and yesterday it finally kicked... I reached the endorphin release. Ahhhhhhhh... Been chasin' that booger for a while now. And now that I've hit it, I want to hit it again. I didn't quite get there today, but will go out in the gym and hit the weights in about an hour. Let's see if that gets it. I'm excited, because my energy is getting better and I'm getting stronger. I want to go for a walk later. Maybe I can talk Steve into it as well. I know, it's 95 in the shade today. So maybe we can walk in the shade.
Back At It
I've got to get back to painting now. I'm making some improvements in the house and have to put a second coat on my bedroom door. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Uncle Jerry and Aunt Pat's visit
They came in on their way to Texas, stopping to see us on the 31st of May. What a delight to see them! We had a few beers, talked a lot, sat in the sun and crisped... and then it was time for dinner. I had one remaining ring of kielbasa from Misch's in Calumet City, and some pierogi in the freezer. I couldn't think of a better opportunity to serve it than to bring it out when they told us they were coming to visit. When I went in to check on dinner, I found the sausage was ready and all I had to do was to lightly fry the pierogi in butter. I did that while the guys got the table ready. I called everyone to the table and brought out the platter of pierogi. I heard an audible "Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" come from Uncle Jerry, and I swear his eyes glazed over. He mentioned how "we" never got pierogi except at Christmas, and I had an idea. I went to the kitchen, where I keep the leftover aplatek from Christmas. I told them that since no one ever comes to visit us, and they had made it Christmas for me by coming, I would like for them to break the aplatek and pass it around. I think they were genuinely touched by the gesture, and Uncle Jerry said, "Well we can't say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, so let's say to good health, good fortune and a safe trip." I couldn't have said it better.
Park Lane Jewelry
During the next week, I met up with Charlette, who is now my director in Park Lane. I decided to try selling Park Lane, since it is so new to the Memphis area and I have been having such a hard time finding a job. I love the jewelry and it's very reasonably priced. I was never much of a jewelry person before because I had this view of having "real" jewelry instead of costume jewelry... "real" diamonds vs. cubic zirconias, not using swarovski crystals but "real" ones. The hell with that! I wasn't getting anything new by sticking to that philosophy. I have a few pieces of "good" jewelry, but I will probably put them in the lockbox, since I love the new stuff and don't want the old stuff to get lost or damaged.
I am having my kickoff party this Saturday and am hoping for a good turnout. At the very least, this venture is showing me who I can count on, and who I can't, and that has proven interesting. The people that I have never been able to count on are being excluded from my life permanently. It's time to get rid of all the old energy and replace it with new. Old energy just drags me down.
The Blue Monkey Society
Speaking of new energy... the following weekend, Steve and I went to the Blue Monkey to meet up with some friends of his from high school. This gathering usually happens on the first Sunday of the month at 5pm. There was a quite a turnout! There were about 15-20 people there, including one of their old English teachers. Amazing. People came in from Little Rock and Nashville for this. There were numerous conversations flowing around that big group, and I'm slowly getting to know them through Facebook. What a good group! I didn't get any bad vibes from any of them, and felt very welcome. They all wanted pictures at the end, and I stuck to my camera-shy ways and stayed mostly out of them. Maybe next time I'll jump in.
Tucker
Then there's our 72 pound bundle of dynamite who has been suffering with a cyst hanging off his body for about the past year. He started chewing at it and it got to the point where we had to take him in to get the cyst removed along with all the hanging skin. He came through the surgery fine and is strong as an ox. He's had a cone around his head for the better part of a week, and I had to finally take it off today because he's destroying everything in his path, going along as if the cone weren't there. I can only hope he doesn't chew his stitches open. Oh, the word on the cyst (with tumor) is that it was benign. Looks like he will be around for a long time to come and I'm glad. The house was really empty without him in it.
Chasin' It
With these things all coming at me at full throttle, I thought it was time to kick up my exercise (cardio) a notch, and have done that in the last week. My doctor told me I could get off the cholesterol meds if I added cardio (LOTS of it) to my program and watched my nutrition. I usually ride my exercycle to some music, and yesterday it finally kicked... I reached the endorphin release. Ahhhhhhhh... Been chasin' that booger for a while now. And now that I've hit it, I want to hit it again. I didn't quite get there today, but will go out in the gym and hit the weights in about an hour. Let's see if that gets it. I'm excited, because my energy is getting better and I'm getting stronger. I want to go for a walk later. Maybe I can talk Steve into it as well. I know, it's 95 in the shade today. So maybe we can walk in the shade.
Back At It
I've got to get back to painting now. I'm making some improvements in the house and have to put a second coat on my bedroom door. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Smoke On The Water, True Friendship And An Angel To The Rescue
Wow... what a day/night we had on the riverfront! My hubby and I were invited to the Memphis in May BBQ Fest and decided we would take a chance on going. Generally, when you go to one of these things, you have to know someone in order to eat at any of the booths. There are vendors available, who will be happy to sell you their wares, but the fun is in visiting people you know. There is a LOT of walking, which is extremely difficult for me. I was soon to find out exactly HOW difficult it would become.
Before we left for the BBQ, I had my doubts as to whether I could make it, but I wanted to do this for my hubby. We had received an invite from some fraternity brothers of his, and there were friends that we hadn't seen in 30 years. Okay, 30 years for him. Probably 25 for me. Anyway, when we first got there, we sought out the booth that his brothers were in. They weren't there at the moment, so my dear hubby decided he wanted to walk around a bit. That was bad news for me. I was already having trouble walking. But I went with him, trying to keep up, and having to stop every couple of booths to let my hip joint rest. We caught up with the Parrotheads, who we had met years ago when our friends Pat and Tim still lived in Memphis. A quick story about the Parrotheads... we also ran into them in Chicago! At the Billy Goat Tavern! It was shear luck that we ended up there that night. What a group! They were wonderful and we resolved to be lifelong friends.
So back to the BBQ... We stopped at the AT&T booth which, thankfully, was air-conditioned and had internet access set up! I was shocked. We quickly went in and checked our Facebooks. Ha ha! Can't get away from that, it seems. It was a good thing though, because I saw that some other friends of ours were there as well, and we made a silent note to visit them before we left. We found some funnelcake vendors, which is one of my favorite greasy treats. We quickly found shade and gobbled up the sugary mess. I was getting really hot and tired, and I didn't want to take any chances, so I asked if we could please stop at the First Aid station. I'm so glad we did! We met two really nice nurses who took my blood pressure (normal), gave me some ibuprofen and an impromptu ice pack made from a rubber glove. As we sat and talked, I made a mental note of the proximity of the exit gate and where the EMT's were located. I was on dangerous ground, and I knew it.
We finally went to the Earthquake BBQ booth, sat down and got some water. We sat for a really long time, talking to Phillip, who was cooking the butt. After numerous references to "do I want some of his butt", Steve and I decided to see how good it was. I was totally shocked at how moist and flavorful the meat was. Phillip kept asking me what I thought it needed, and although I'm not a connoisseur of pork barbecue, I couldn't help but think it needed more hickory. Phillip asked me "You could taste the hickory?" Yes, I could, but it needed more. I've never... EVER tasted such good pork. And the conversation flowed... he told us all about Huntsville, where he lives and works, and about how the judging is done at the fest. We were completely enthralled at how it all worked, and how much preparation and planning went into not only having a booth, but the entire festival. I regret that we had to leave suddenly, when a call from home made me realize that we had some medical matters to tend to.
As I went to find Steve (who had conveniently disappeared from view), I ran smack into his old classmate, Greg, who welcomed me with the biggest hug I had ever had. Tears filled my eyes as I realized that this was the kind of welcome I had hoped for when I first came to Memphis. Greg and I talked for a while, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. When we found Steve, the guys talked for a while longer, and I knew I had to get home or die. The pain I was feeling was getting intense. Reluctantly parting, we all agreed to get together next Tuesday at Cafe Ole' and headed for the exit. What came next was the biggest surprise of the evening.
I knew I was in trouble trying to head up the hill. It can be brutal if you have any kind of leg trouble. And boy, was I having it. We asked an EMT if she could give me a ride in the cart, just to the top of the hill. She said no. We ventured a little farther and spied a woman getting into a cart just ahead. I begged Steve to ask her if I could ride. By then I was starting to cry. She didn't even hesitate when she said "get in". She told me to sit in the front and kept asking me if I was all right. She wanted to take us directly to our car, but there was some trouble at the south gate, with a tach squad and multiple grey cruisers blocking the streets. She was on the horn immediately to find out what was going on, and apologized to us for holding us up. Good heavens! She wasn't holding US up... she was helping us! I made a note to look at her badge and found her name... Diane Hampton. She dropped us off at a gas station not far from our car and apologized for not bringing us all the way. I was crying and impulsively hugged her... thanking her and telling her she had earned her way into heaven tonight. She smiled and Steve gave her his card, letting her know who we were. And then we found out exactly what her position was... The Executive Vice President of Memphis in May! I was FLOORED!!! I couldn't believe this person of SO much importance was helping ME! We thanked her again, and she went to handle the emergency at the south gate. What an angel. I'm going to write a letter to let the whole city know what a wonderful person she is.
We finally got to our car, after having to stop quite a few times to soothe the pain in my legs. Steve had been begging me to stay at the gas station, but I insisted on going to the car myself... slowly... slowly... and I made it! All the way home, Steve and I talked about his friends, our lives and how much I have needed the generosity that was shown to me that night. I cried almost all the way home, realizing how much goodness and friendship I had missed in my life. This is just the start of making it better.
Oh, the pain? I'm going to try and get in to see my doctor on Monday. The left leg feels like it did when I had the clots in it. I may have to go back on coumadin, but it's better than having another embolism. Wish me luck and good health!
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Before we left for the BBQ, I had my doubts as to whether I could make it, but I wanted to do this for my hubby. We had received an invite from some fraternity brothers of his, and there were friends that we hadn't seen in 30 years. Okay, 30 years for him. Probably 25 for me. Anyway, when we first got there, we sought out the booth that his brothers were in. They weren't there at the moment, so my dear hubby decided he wanted to walk around a bit. That was bad news for me. I was already having trouble walking. But I went with him, trying to keep up, and having to stop every couple of booths to let my hip joint rest. We caught up with the Parrotheads, who we had met years ago when our friends Pat and Tim still lived in Memphis. A quick story about the Parrotheads... we also ran into them in Chicago! At the Billy Goat Tavern! It was shear luck that we ended up there that night. What a group! They were wonderful and we resolved to be lifelong friends.
So back to the BBQ... We stopped at the AT&T booth which, thankfully, was air-conditioned and had internet access set up! I was shocked. We quickly went in and checked our Facebooks. Ha ha! Can't get away from that, it seems. It was a good thing though, because I saw that some other friends of ours were there as well, and we made a silent note to visit them before we left. We found some funnelcake vendors, which is one of my favorite greasy treats. We quickly found shade and gobbled up the sugary mess. I was getting really hot and tired, and I didn't want to take any chances, so I asked if we could please stop at the First Aid station. I'm so glad we did! We met two really nice nurses who took my blood pressure (normal), gave me some ibuprofen and an impromptu ice pack made from a rubber glove. As we sat and talked, I made a mental note of the proximity of the exit gate and where the EMT's were located. I was on dangerous ground, and I knew it.
We finally went to the Earthquake BBQ booth, sat down and got some water. We sat for a really long time, talking to Phillip, who was cooking the butt. After numerous references to "do I want some of his butt", Steve and I decided to see how good it was. I was totally shocked at how moist and flavorful the meat was. Phillip kept asking me what I thought it needed, and although I'm not a connoisseur of pork barbecue, I couldn't help but think it needed more hickory. Phillip asked me "You could taste the hickory?" Yes, I could, but it needed more. I've never... EVER tasted such good pork. And the conversation flowed... he told us all about Huntsville, where he lives and works, and about how the judging is done at the fest. We were completely enthralled at how it all worked, and how much preparation and planning went into not only having a booth, but the entire festival. I regret that we had to leave suddenly, when a call from home made me realize that we had some medical matters to tend to.
As I went to find Steve (who had conveniently disappeared from view), I ran smack into his old classmate, Greg, who welcomed me with the biggest hug I had ever had. Tears filled my eyes as I realized that this was the kind of welcome I had hoped for when I first came to Memphis. Greg and I talked for a while, and it felt like the most natural thing in the world. When we found Steve, the guys talked for a while longer, and I knew I had to get home or die. The pain I was feeling was getting intense. Reluctantly parting, we all agreed to get together next Tuesday at Cafe Ole' and headed for the exit. What came next was the biggest surprise of the evening.
I knew I was in trouble trying to head up the hill. It can be brutal if you have any kind of leg trouble. And boy, was I having it. We asked an EMT if she could give me a ride in the cart, just to the top of the hill. She said no. We ventured a little farther and spied a woman getting into a cart just ahead. I begged Steve to ask her if I could ride. By then I was starting to cry. She didn't even hesitate when she said "get in". She told me to sit in the front and kept asking me if I was all right. She wanted to take us directly to our car, but there was some trouble at the south gate, with a tach squad and multiple grey cruisers blocking the streets. She was on the horn immediately to find out what was going on, and apologized to us for holding us up. Good heavens! She wasn't holding US up... she was helping us! I made a note to look at her badge and found her name... Diane Hampton. She dropped us off at a gas station not far from our car and apologized for not bringing us all the way. I was crying and impulsively hugged her... thanking her and telling her she had earned her way into heaven tonight. She smiled and Steve gave her his card, letting her know who we were. And then we found out exactly what her position was... The Executive Vice President of Memphis in May! I was FLOORED!!! I couldn't believe this person of SO much importance was helping ME! We thanked her again, and she went to handle the emergency at the south gate. What an angel. I'm going to write a letter to let the whole city know what a wonderful person she is.
We finally got to our car, after having to stop quite a few times to soothe the pain in my legs. Steve had been begging me to stay at the gas station, but I insisted on going to the car myself... slowly... slowly... and I made it! All the way home, Steve and I talked about his friends, our lives and how much I have needed the generosity that was shown to me that night. I cried almost all the way home, realizing how much goodness and friendship I had missed in my life. This is just the start of making it better.
Oh, the pain? I'm going to try and get in to see my doctor on Monday. The left leg feels like it did when I had the clots in it. I may have to go back on coumadin, but it's better than having another embolism. Wish me luck and good health!
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Saturday, May 2, 2009
So How's The Exercise Program Going?
I just peeked in here and realized I had not written in a couple of weeks. I guess the pull of daily life got a little stronger lately.
I have had a lot of things hit me lately, and am trying to figure out how I used to do this dance of cleaning house, running all the errands, doing laundry, ironing, mending, cooking, shopping, raising two children AND holding down a full-time job. As I get older (and weaker), I realize it's no mean feat! How in the WORLD did I do all that? By myself? Are you kidding me??? Nowadays, the boys help me out with a lot of it, but dayum... I didn't realize there was SO much to do. I have an upcoming visit from my aunt and uncle at the end of this month, and now the heat is on! I know they don't care about how things are in my house, but *I* care. I'd like to have the hallway finished by the time they get here, and have some of the clutter organized. I have been in the "Let's get rid of all this clutter" mode, but there is so much of it, especially since I got sick 6 years ago. My health has gone up and down since then, and it's become painfully evident that I can't do everything I used to be able to do, and that things have gone to pot.
But I digress...
We have been working on stripping the paint off the woodwork in the hallway so we can redecorate. We have lived in this house for the past 20 years, and have never redecorated. With raising the family and working, there was just never time or energy to do it. So I'm doing it all a little at a time with the guys' help. Last weekend we started stripping the paint in the hallway. This weekend (if they ever wake up... since it's raining, they're all still in bed) I want to finish that chore. Then we can sand... then prime... then paint. We did the study already (did that when I came home from Chicago in November). In the meantime, Rocky has decided to start tearing up the blinds in the dining room, so I will have to replace some of the slats today, along with everything else I have to do. Bless Steve... he works so hard during the week and only has the weekends to rest, and I make him either go on a bike ride or help out with these extra chores. I try not to overtax him, but he does everything at 200 miles per hour, so it's hard to make him slow down. Case in point... when we (and by "we" I mean Steve and I) started on the hallway last weekend, I wanted to just take it slowly and do a little at a time. He started putting stripper on all the doorways, not realizing how much work was involved in the scraping and sanding. So we pushed really hard to get it done, and all the refuse cleaned up before the dogs or cats could eat it. And they would have. Needless to say, it didn't all get done, and the hallway looks like it has cancer. Today, I'm going at it slower, whether he likes it or not. There's something to be said about working with your hands at a slow rate, focusing on quality rather than quantity.
I also have to work on the aquarium. It sprung a leak in the last few weeks, and I have to figure out where the leak is, patch it up and get a new glass top for it. Ugh... when do I have time for work? Oh wait... this blog was supposed to be about my workouts. That's going all right, I guess. With everything else coming at me, who can tell? I get up in the morning, have two cups of coffee, have some oatmeal, and then MAKE myself do my weight training. Or my yoga, if it's one of those days when I wake up in pain. Weight training is getting easier though. Okay, not easier. I'm sweating up a storm while doing it. I added a couple of extra exercises yesterday, so that's a good thing. But I'm still weaker than a newborn kitten. Okay, so maybe not THAT weak. But I'm a whole lot weaker than I used to be, when I used to go at this with guns blazing. I'm becoming aware that maybe I'm not as young as I used to be. But I'm trying. Watching The Biggest Loser this week put my mind right again, so my nutrition is back where it needs to be. Yeah, yeah, I know... The Biggest Loser is an unsafe program and not realistic for anyone who doesn't live on a ranch, all expenses paid, with nothing to do but eat and workout 8 hours a day. It's not that. I can identify with the pain the contestants have been through that got them in their present state of dis-ease. That helped me to get my focus back.
So how much weight have I lost? Practically none, if that's what my gauge is. But it's not. I'm all about gaining strength so I can get through the last third of my life without having to have someone help me lift a bag of groceries. And I want to be able to tend my garden out in the country. Yes, you heard it here first. We are moving to the country in the next two years. I have picked out a community that's about 30 miles east of here, and I love it out there. No water really, but lots and lots of fresh air. My doctor wants me to have lots of it. And I don't think civilization will catch up for a while. It's far enough that I will have to travel for about 20 minutes before I find a grocery store. We are looking for about 10 acres. That will give me enough space to have a vegetable garden, plant fruit trees and bushes, and landscape a flower garden with a path and bench (I've always wanted to do that). And most of all, I can BREATHE!!! Those of you who don't have trouble breathing have no idea how much cleaner the air is in the country. Once I get out there, I don't want to come back in the city for ANYthing. I'm afraid I might miss a bunny or squirrel.
Anyway... the crew is stirring, so I guess I'd better make breakfast. Oatmeal with raisins. Yeah, I know... but it's healthy.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
I have had a lot of things hit me lately, and am trying to figure out how I used to do this dance of cleaning house, running all the errands, doing laundry, ironing, mending, cooking, shopping, raising two children AND holding down a full-time job. As I get older (and weaker), I realize it's no mean feat! How in the WORLD did I do all that? By myself? Are you kidding me??? Nowadays, the boys help me out with a lot of it, but dayum... I didn't realize there was SO much to do. I have an upcoming visit from my aunt and uncle at the end of this month, and now the heat is on! I know they don't care about how things are in my house, but *I* care. I'd like to have the hallway finished by the time they get here, and have some of the clutter organized. I have been in the "Let's get rid of all this clutter" mode, but there is so much of it, especially since I got sick 6 years ago. My health has gone up and down since then, and it's become painfully evident that I can't do everything I used to be able to do, and that things have gone to pot.
But I digress...
We have been working on stripping the paint off the woodwork in the hallway so we can redecorate. We have lived in this house for the past 20 years, and have never redecorated. With raising the family and working, there was just never time or energy to do it. So I'm doing it all a little at a time with the guys' help. Last weekend we started stripping the paint in the hallway. This weekend (if they ever wake up... since it's raining, they're all still in bed) I want to finish that chore. Then we can sand... then prime... then paint. We did the study already (did that when I came home from Chicago in November). In the meantime, Rocky has decided to start tearing up the blinds in the dining room, so I will have to replace some of the slats today, along with everything else I have to do. Bless Steve... he works so hard during the week and only has the weekends to rest, and I make him either go on a bike ride or help out with these extra chores. I try not to overtax him, but he does everything at 200 miles per hour, so it's hard to make him slow down. Case in point... when we (and by "we" I mean Steve and I) started on the hallway last weekend, I wanted to just take it slowly and do a little at a time. He started putting stripper on all the doorways, not realizing how much work was involved in the scraping and sanding. So we pushed really hard to get it done, and all the refuse cleaned up before the dogs or cats could eat it. And they would have. Needless to say, it didn't all get done, and the hallway looks like it has cancer. Today, I'm going at it slower, whether he likes it or not. There's something to be said about working with your hands at a slow rate, focusing on quality rather than quantity.
I also have to work on the aquarium. It sprung a leak in the last few weeks, and I have to figure out where the leak is, patch it up and get a new glass top for it. Ugh... when do I have time for work? Oh wait... this blog was supposed to be about my workouts. That's going all right, I guess. With everything else coming at me, who can tell? I get up in the morning, have two cups of coffee, have some oatmeal, and then MAKE myself do my weight training. Or my yoga, if it's one of those days when I wake up in pain. Weight training is getting easier though. Okay, not easier. I'm sweating up a storm while doing it. I added a couple of extra exercises yesterday, so that's a good thing. But I'm still weaker than a newborn kitten. Okay, so maybe not THAT weak. But I'm a whole lot weaker than I used to be, when I used to go at this with guns blazing. I'm becoming aware that maybe I'm not as young as I used to be. But I'm trying. Watching The Biggest Loser this week put my mind right again, so my nutrition is back where it needs to be. Yeah, yeah, I know... The Biggest Loser is an unsafe program and not realistic for anyone who doesn't live on a ranch, all expenses paid, with nothing to do but eat and workout 8 hours a day. It's not that. I can identify with the pain the contestants have been through that got them in their present state of dis-ease. That helped me to get my focus back.
So how much weight have I lost? Practically none, if that's what my gauge is. But it's not. I'm all about gaining strength so I can get through the last third of my life without having to have someone help me lift a bag of groceries. And I want to be able to tend my garden out in the country. Yes, you heard it here first. We are moving to the country in the next two years. I have picked out a community that's about 30 miles east of here, and I love it out there. No water really, but lots and lots of fresh air. My doctor wants me to have lots of it. And I don't think civilization will catch up for a while. It's far enough that I will have to travel for about 20 minutes before I find a grocery store. We are looking for about 10 acres. That will give me enough space to have a vegetable garden, plant fruit trees and bushes, and landscape a flower garden with a path and bench (I've always wanted to do that). And most of all, I can BREATHE!!! Those of you who don't have trouble breathing have no idea how much cleaner the air is in the country. Once I get out there, I don't want to come back in the city for ANYthing. I'm afraid I might miss a bunny or squirrel.
Anyway... the crew is stirring, so I guess I'd better make breakfast. Oatmeal with raisins. Yeah, I know... but it's healthy.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Friday, April 17, 2009
DOMS or "Why I Hate Exercise"
DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness
How could I have been so dumb? I knew fully well that my workouts were going to result in a sudden onset of DOMS. So how is it that I ignored that so completely when I started working out again this week? Of COURSE I was going to be in pain!
So after 5 weeks of the flu (and still suffering the after-effects of it), I set out on Monday to do a short strength-training workout. And instead of taking it EASY, like I knew I should, I did full stability ball crunches, floor to floor. My transverse abdominus (abs down the front of the body) have been screaming ever since.
Okay, okay. So maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do. But I was prepared to be sore. I just wasn't prepared for the pain that I experienced when my husband and I went for a walk around the block. I thought, "It's a beautiful day, and Steve is getting off work early after a tough week. We should go for a walk." How humiliating it was when the pain in my hip flexors was so great, I had to stop quite a few times to rest. Thank God we didn't go to the park or hit the Greenway on our bikes. I'd never have made it.
And here's something else... it wasn't my lungs that held me up this time. I suppose I should be grateful for that. So of course, I had to come home and look up the musculature involved in what's commonly called the "hip flexors". I have a kiniesiology site I'm fond of: www.exrx.net That's the site I go to whenever I want to know something about musculature or exercise in terms I can understand. I found the numerous muscles that comprise the hip flexors and I understand that this pain goes deep into those muscles. What I don't know just yet is what I need to do about it. Yoga tomorrow? More walking? Complete rest? Ibuprofen? I have refrained from taking anything for the pain if I can help it.
Something further... the pain in my arm is back, which usually tells me that there is something malfunctioning in my spine again. *sigh* I guess tomorrow is going to include a long, painful session of yoga. I'm going to have to stretch until my spine loosens up. I don't know what's worse... knowing that I have this ahead of me tomorrow, or knowing that if I don't do it, there will be an even greater price to pay the next day.
Maybe I ought to just get a head start on it tonight.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
How could I have been so dumb? I knew fully well that my workouts were going to result in a sudden onset of DOMS. So how is it that I ignored that so completely when I started working out again this week? Of COURSE I was going to be in pain!
So after 5 weeks of the flu (and still suffering the after-effects of it), I set out on Monday to do a short strength-training workout. And instead of taking it EASY, like I knew I should, I did full stability ball crunches, floor to floor. My transverse abdominus (abs down the front of the body) have been screaming ever since.
Okay, okay. So maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do. But I was prepared to be sore. I just wasn't prepared for the pain that I experienced when my husband and I went for a walk around the block. I thought, "It's a beautiful day, and Steve is getting off work early after a tough week. We should go for a walk." How humiliating it was when the pain in my hip flexors was so great, I had to stop quite a few times to rest. Thank God we didn't go to the park or hit the Greenway on our bikes. I'd never have made it.
And here's something else... it wasn't my lungs that held me up this time. I suppose I should be grateful for that. So of course, I had to come home and look up the musculature involved in what's commonly called the "hip flexors". I have a kiniesiology site I'm fond of: www.exrx.net That's the site I go to whenever I want to know something about musculature or exercise in terms I can understand. I found the numerous muscles that comprise the hip flexors and I understand that this pain goes deep into those muscles. What I don't know just yet is what I need to do about it. Yoga tomorrow? More walking? Complete rest? Ibuprofen? I have refrained from taking anything for the pain if I can help it.
Something further... the pain in my arm is back, which usually tells me that there is something malfunctioning in my spine again. *sigh* I guess tomorrow is going to include a long, painful session of yoga. I'm going to have to stretch until my spine loosens up. I don't know what's worse... knowing that I have this ahead of me tomorrow, or knowing that if I don't do it, there will be an even greater price to pay the next day.
Maybe I ought to just get a head start on it tonight.
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Tough Road Back
Anyone who has been following my blogs here or in other places, knows that I have been down with the flu for about 5 weeks. It has really taken a toll. I'm hocking up things that shouldn't be mentioned, and I would not be the least bit surprised if I saw a lung in the sink the next time I cough. However, I feel like I have finally taken the turn for the better and am taking the long, tough road back to health.
I started this road again today, with a short, half-hour strength workout that would have made me shake my head and say "wimp" earlier in my life. I had to stop several times to make sure I would get each rep in. Mind you, this is a NOTHING workout. But afterward, I felt like I was going to puke my guts out. Those 2 sets of 15 crunches on the stability ball just about did me in. I watched Gidget sleeping right next to me as I grunted and groaned. The sweat was so intense that I had to wipe it off several times, and wonder if maybe, just maybe, I was taking it a little too fast. TOO FAST??? Geez. This is not the "me" of several months ago, when I was adding to my workout, and it was not the "me" of several years ago, when I spent at least an hour daily hitting the iron. But I had to start somewhere, right?
And I hate cardio. God, how I hate it. I'm not going to do any until my strength gets a little better. My heart was already pumping like I was running a marathon. And now I'm tired. You know the feeling after you've pumped iron for a while. You want to collapse. At least I do. I'm gonna love tomorrow. Yoga. Ahhhhhhhh... stretching to beautiful, calming music.
So here I start the tough road back. I know it's not going to be easy. But I've got to try. Sistah, you there with me?
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
I started this road again today, with a short, half-hour strength workout that would have made me shake my head and say "wimp" earlier in my life. I had to stop several times to make sure I would get each rep in. Mind you, this is a NOTHING workout. But afterward, I felt like I was going to puke my guts out. Those 2 sets of 15 crunches on the stability ball just about did me in. I watched Gidget sleeping right next to me as I grunted and groaned. The sweat was so intense that I had to wipe it off several times, and wonder if maybe, just maybe, I was taking it a little too fast. TOO FAST??? Geez. This is not the "me" of several months ago, when I was adding to my workout, and it was not the "me" of several years ago, when I spent at least an hour daily hitting the iron. But I had to start somewhere, right?
And I hate cardio. God, how I hate it. I'm not going to do any until my strength gets a little better. My heart was already pumping like I was running a marathon. And now I'm tired. You know the feeling after you've pumped iron for a while. You want to collapse. At least I do. I'm gonna love tomorrow. Yoga. Ahhhhhhhh... stretching to beautiful, calming music.
So here I start the tough road back. I know it's not going to be easy. But I've got to try. Sistah, you there with me?
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Easter Traditions
Today is Easter Sunday, and with the world celebrating the traditional Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead, I had time to reflect on the Easters past and thought I would share a few of them here.
Last night while I was making the makowiec (poppy seed cake) for my family to share, I remember the time when my grandmother Sophie taught my mother to make the very same cake with a prune or apricot filling. Sophie was right-handed, and my mother was left-handed, so it was a comical learning experience for both of them. Sophie was mixing the dough with her right hand, and my mother was mixing with her left, both on the same side of the table. Flour was flying everywhere, and before the task was done, both were covered with flour and laughing as I had never seen them laugh before or since. The resulting cakes were wonderful, and knowing they had been done in tandem made them all the more delicious to me.
To my knowledge, no one in the family continued making those cakes after my mother passed, so I took it upon myself to learn how. What I thought was a simple task turned out to be very complicated, and I suddenly had great respect for the reasoning of making the cakes ahead of time. By ahead of time, I mean starting the cakes early the day before serving. It took a VERY long time to put this cake together, and my creation was finally completed at about 10:30 last night. I put about 4 hours into it, all told. If all goes well and it doesn't suck, I will, in all likelihood, make it again for the holidays, but will make it with prune and apricot filling.
In researching Polish Easter traditions, I came across some practices that I had forgotten. For example, I had completely forgotten that we used to take our filled Easter baskets to church to have the priest bless them. This practice is called Swieconka. Baskets were filled with cakes, fruits and candy. Also, the coloring and writing on the eggs is still practiced today. The eggs which are painted in one color are called "malowanki" or "kraszanki". If patterns are etched with a pointed instrument on top of the paint, the eggs are then called "skrobanki" or "rysowanki". The eggs decorated with the use of treated wax are called "pisanki".
Later on today, we will be having a baked ham for dinner, complete with sweet potatoes, creamed spinach, peas and carrots, and whole kernel corn. I suppose I should make some biscuits or cornbread to go with it, but honestly, after cooking last night and this morning's breakfast treats, I feel like I've done enough. Oh, the verdict on the poppy seed cake? Thumbs up!
Nazdrowie'
Packzi Puta
Last night while I was making the makowiec (poppy seed cake) for my family to share, I remember the time when my grandmother Sophie taught my mother to make the very same cake with a prune or apricot filling. Sophie was right-handed, and my mother was left-handed, so it was a comical learning experience for both of them. Sophie was mixing the dough with her right hand, and my mother was mixing with her left, both on the same side of the table. Flour was flying everywhere, and before the task was done, both were covered with flour and laughing as I had never seen them laugh before or since. The resulting cakes were wonderful, and knowing they had been done in tandem made them all the more delicious to me.
To my knowledge, no one in the family continued making those cakes after my mother passed, so I took it upon myself to learn how. What I thought was a simple task turned out to be very complicated, and I suddenly had great respect for the reasoning of making the cakes ahead of time. By ahead of time, I mean starting the cakes early the day before serving. It took a VERY long time to put this cake together, and my creation was finally completed at about 10:30 last night. I put about 4 hours into it, all told. If all goes well and it doesn't suck, I will, in all likelihood, make it again for the holidays, but will make it with prune and apricot filling.
In researching Polish Easter traditions, I came across some practices that I had forgotten. For example, I had completely forgotten that we used to take our filled Easter baskets to church to have the priest bless them. This practice is called Swieconka. Baskets were filled with cakes, fruits and candy. Also, the coloring and writing on the eggs is still practiced today. The eggs which are painted in one color are called "malowanki" or "kraszanki". If patterns are etched with a pointed instrument on top of the paint, the eggs are then called "skrobanki" or "rysowanki". The eggs decorated with the use of treated wax are called "pisanki".
Later on today, we will be having a baked ham for dinner, complete with sweet potatoes, creamed spinach, peas and carrots, and whole kernel corn. I suppose I should make some biscuits or cornbread to go with it, but honestly, after cooking last night and this morning's breakfast treats, I feel like I've done enough. Oh, the verdict on the poppy seed cake? Thumbs up!
Nazdrowie'
Packzi Puta
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Rain, The Park and Other Things
Anyone who was around at the end of the 1960's or early 1970's, will recognize the title of today's entry as a song by the Cowsills. The Cowsills was a family singing group from that era. I think of that song every time we have had weird weather that prevents me from getting outside and doing what I want to do, namely going to the park or riding my bike. We've had so much strange weather this year. I really hope it goes to being blistering hot soon, like it's supposed to. The family and I have been wanting to go ride our bikes at what we lovingly call "The Greenway", which is a strip of bicycle path, 2 1/2 miles long at this writing, which winds along the Wolf River. There was a time, a couple of years ago, when we went riding every evening. Last year, I couldn't make it even a quarter of the way.
When we were going regularly, I was feeling strong... stronger than I had in a long time. I wasn't working outside the home at the time, but was spending most of my time getting healthy. (That was undone last year when I got this lung thing, but I digress.) We would use our daily bike rides as our cardio exercise, and boy, was it! The trail we ride isn't a straight shot. It's a long, winding, up and downhill asphalt trail. There are several hills that are hard for me to get up, and one that is impossible if you're not ready for it. Well guess what! I'm not. At the time, it took me several weeks before I was able to get up that last hill, and it wasn't without extreme effort on my part. That hill just wasn't gonna lay down and die for me. I had to work up speed from the two previous hills, and even though my quads were screaming by then, I had to push them even harder. Making it to the top was always an accomplishment. I was always the last one to make it up the hill, and was always the last one to meet back at the truck afterward. Sometimes, Steve would go further than than the allotted 2 1/2 miles. I wish I were strong enough to do that. I'll be glad just to make a mile the first time.
Along the path, there was always something of nature to witness. I remember the time the boys saw a bobcat on the other side of the river, and the time I almost ran over what I thought was a stick on the path until it moved! God, I hate snakes. Last year, I knew there was something wrong when I couldn't go very far on our rides. Once I even had to turn around very close to where we parked and go back. It wasn't long afterward when I was diagnosed with this lung thing. Even though I'd love to go riding, I realize it may not be possible for a while. I wish I didn't do everything as if a marathon was riding on it. I'd like to go riding just for the fun of it. But there's no where to go riding just for the "fun" of it. It's not like when we were young, and we could go riding in our neighborhoods, testing out the newly laid asphalt, racking up the miles as we sped back and forth. I'm not sure my lungs would hold out. I'm not sure my thighs would hold out.
Why is it everything I do has to have a "purpose" associated with it. When did we forget how to play? I haven't played in so long that I really don't remember how. I guess being a mother has made me forget. I've been making sure the boys have a good time for years. Maybe it's time I started having a good time too. Maybe when it gets warm, I can get Steve to take me paddleboating on the lake some weekend. I miss the years when we used to take Rebel (our black and tan coonhound, now long passed) to the park for "off the leash" hours. Rebel would howl all the way into the park, and people would point and laugh at him. But people loved him. He was a good dog, and made friends at the park easily.
Steve and I also used to take weekend morning walks at the park, taking the long trail (3 1/2 miles) from one end of the park to the other, where it winds back into itself and back to the parking lot. We would bring a couple of water bottles with us, and they were usually gone within minutes of returning. Steve was running at the time, and although I could never run, I never begrudged him his time with himself. I just trudged along as best I could, with my short little legs hauling me around. There was a time in my life when I used to go walking with a girlfriend every evening. The friend has long since moved away, never to be heard from again, and I never got my love of walking back. I was pregnant with Rhys when I had to stop; for some reason, that pregnancy just didn't sit right with me for walking. I always had a stitch in my side and had to stop early on.
I miss the times when my body would obey my mind and move freely and gracefully. The years of damage and disease are taking their toll. I do the best I can just to make it from one day to the next, trying to keep my mind sharp in the process. I keep trying to learn new things. After all, why would I want to keep doing the same things over and over? Didn't Einstein say that was the definition of insanity? I struggle now with giving myself new challenges that actually spark my interest. I want hobbies and I want to play. Anyone want to join me?
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
When we were going regularly, I was feeling strong... stronger than I had in a long time. I wasn't working outside the home at the time, but was spending most of my time getting healthy. (That was undone last year when I got this lung thing, but I digress.) We would use our daily bike rides as our cardio exercise, and boy, was it! The trail we ride isn't a straight shot. It's a long, winding, up and downhill asphalt trail. There are several hills that are hard for me to get up, and one that is impossible if you're not ready for it. Well guess what! I'm not. At the time, it took me several weeks before I was able to get up that last hill, and it wasn't without extreme effort on my part. That hill just wasn't gonna lay down and die for me. I had to work up speed from the two previous hills, and even though my quads were screaming by then, I had to push them even harder. Making it to the top was always an accomplishment. I was always the last one to make it up the hill, and was always the last one to meet back at the truck afterward. Sometimes, Steve would go further than than the allotted 2 1/2 miles. I wish I were strong enough to do that. I'll be glad just to make a mile the first time.
Along the path, there was always something of nature to witness. I remember the time the boys saw a bobcat on the other side of the river, and the time I almost ran over what I thought was a stick on the path until it moved! God, I hate snakes. Last year, I knew there was something wrong when I couldn't go very far on our rides. Once I even had to turn around very close to where we parked and go back. It wasn't long afterward when I was diagnosed with this lung thing. Even though I'd love to go riding, I realize it may not be possible for a while. I wish I didn't do everything as if a marathon was riding on it. I'd like to go riding just for the fun of it. But there's no where to go riding just for the "fun" of it. It's not like when we were young, and we could go riding in our neighborhoods, testing out the newly laid asphalt, racking up the miles as we sped back and forth. I'm not sure my lungs would hold out. I'm not sure my thighs would hold out.
Why is it everything I do has to have a "purpose" associated with it. When did we forget how to play? I haven't played in so long that I really don't remember how. I guess being a mother has made me forget. I've been making sure the boys have a good time for years. Maybe it's time I started having a good time too. Maybe when it gets warm, I can get Steve to take me paddleboating on the lake some weekend. I miss the years when we used to take Rebel (our black and tan coonhound, now long passed) to the park for "off the leash" hours. Rebel would howl all the way into the park, and people would point and laugh at him. But people loved him. He was a good dog, and made friends at the park easily.
Steve and I also used to take weekend morning walks at the park, taking the long trail (3 1/2 miles) from one end of the park to the other, where it winds back into itself and back to the parking lot. We would bring a couple of water bottles with us, and they were usually gone within minutes of returning. Steve was running at the time, and although I could never run, I never begrudged him his time with himself. I just trudged along as best I could, with my short little legs hauling me around. There was a time in my life when I used to go walking with a girlfriend every evening. The friend has long since moved away, never to be heard from again, and I never got my love of walking back. I was pregnant with Rhys when I had to stop; for some reason, that pregnancy just didn't sit right with me for walking. I always had a stitch in my side and had to stop early on.
I miss the times when my body would obey my mind and move freely and gracefully. The years of damage and disease are taking their toll. I do the best I can just to make it from one day to the next, trying to keep my mind sharp in the process. I keep trying to learn new things. After all, why would I want to keep doing the same things over and over? Didn't Einstein say that was the definition of insanity? I struggle now with giving myself new challenges that actually spark my interest. I want hobbies and I want to play. Anyone want to join me?
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Speak ENGLISH!
I was sent this in e-mail and thought I would post it. I have always loved Bill Cosby and his common sense.
Dr. William Henry 'Bill' Cosby, Jr., Ed.D.
WELL SAID, BILL
It's NOT about color...
It's about behavior!!!
'They're standing on the corner and they can't speak English.
I can't even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain't,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be...
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk...
And then I heard the father talk.
Everybody knows it's important to speak English
except these knuckleheads.
You can't be a doctor with that kind of crap
coming out of your mouth.
In fact you will never get any kind of job
to make a decent living.
People marched and were hit in the face
with rocks to get an Education, and now
We've got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up
their end in this deal.
These people are not parenting.
They are buying things for kids.
$500 sneakers for what?
And they won't spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.
I am talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit.
Where were you when he was 2?
Where were you when he was 12?
Where were you when he was 18 and how come
you didn't know that he had a pistol?
And where is the father?
Or who is his father?
People putt their clothes on backward:
Isn't that a sign of something gone wrong?
People with their hats on backward,
pants down around the crack,
isn't that a sign of something?
Isn't it a sign of something when she has her dress
all the way up and got all type of needles
[piercing] going through her body?
What part of Africa did this come from??
We are not Africans.
Those people are not Africans;
they don't know a thing about Africa...
I say this all of the time. It would be like white people saying they are European-American. That is totally stupid.
I was born here, and so were my parents and grandparents and, very likely my great grandparents. I don't have any connection to Africa, no more than white Americans have to Germany, Scotland, England, Ireland, or the Netherlands. The same applies to 99 percent of all the black Americans as regards to Africa. So stop, already! ! !
With names like Shaniqua, Taliqua and Mohammed
and all of that crap ..... and all of them are in jail.
Brown or black versus the Board of Education is no longer the white person's problem.
We have to take the neighborhoods back.
People used to be ashamed.
Today a woman has eight children with eight different 'husbands' -- or men or whatever you call them now.
(Babydaddy)
We have millionaire football players who cannot read.
We have million-dollar basketball players who can't write two paragraphs. We, as black folks have to do a better job.
Someone working at Wal-Mart with seven kids,
you are hurting us.
We have to start holding each other to a higher standard.
We cannot blame the white people any longer.'
WELL SAID, BILL
It's NOT about color...
It's about behavior!!!
Nazdrowie'
Paczki Puta
Paczki Puta
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sacrifices
As I was going over some pictures and funeral home prayer cards yesterday (a favor I am doing for the "lost" portion of my family with the same last name), I had a good cry and reflected on the effects of my life decisions. I have decided to share a few of them here. I have been persecuted by members of my birth family for these decisions, and they don't even know the reasons for my decisions.
First, my decision not to turn my father in to authorities for abusing me:
This decision was not made lightly. I knew that my father would be thrown in jail, and maybe killed there, as a result of his actions toward me. My mother would be left without an income. My brothers and sisters not yet of legal age would be sent off to live with other relatives or foster homes. They would not know each other, or would not want to know each other (as in the case of my mother's brother, Joe). Their lives would be irretrievably broken. I left them to my parents' devices and, as my husband and I have often remarked, they were willing followers of my father's indulgences. So my early life was sacrificed so that the rest of you could have all the advantages and you could go on with your lives.
Second, my decision to leave home at the age of 18, never to return:
I had to get away from the abuse. I was the family scapegoat, so they would have to find someone else to take the abuse. I'm sure chores were dealt out after I left, and I'm positive that my brothers and sisters were told to never have anything to do with me again. Thanks Mom and Dad. This is how someone who is "different" was treated in my household. I didn't just sit there and take it. I left to save my sanity. I was doing all the chores (well, not all, because my next sister did some), AND working full time, AND making the meals, AND being abused by my father, AND paying rent... I could do better somewhere else. You cannot possibly understand the betrayal I suffered at the hands of my parents and now from my siblings. And also, it is impossible for anyone to understand how heart-wrenching it is to make that decision... to walk away... and to know that you will never have a relationship with any of them again, unless you have walked that walk.
Third, my decision to tell the truth about my father:
It was time for all the pretense to stop. If I am to go forward with MY life, I had to tell the truth. My birth family doesn't like it, but that's not my problem. I know the truth and so do they. They could not possibly understand that kind of betrayal.
Fourth, my decision to not keep up with birthdays, etc.:
I used to call, send cards and send gifts for birthdays and Christmas. I used to call for Easter and Thanksgiving. That all stopped one year when I made slippers for every last person in my family and not one of them even let me know that the package had arrived. I made 35 pairs of slippers. It took me 4 months. Not even one acknowledgment. I wasn't looking for a thank you... just "it arrived". I decided that I would never do it again and I haven't. I don't keep up with your birthdays and won't be writing any more cards at Christmas. I'm not bitter, just realistic.
There are people who read my blog who have been extremely abusive toward me because I chose to write the truth... a truth they didn't "want to hear" or know.
Let me say this to them:
You had all the advantages that I didn't have, as a result of my life being sacrificed for yours. As one of you pointed out to me, you have the education, you have the career, etc., and I don't. And you are right... about the education. Everything I have ever had to learn for my career is something that I had to learn on the fly... on the job... and I had to teach it to myself because I couldn't afford the money or the time away from my kids to go to school. I have an IQ of 141, and learn VERY quickly. Without the paper behind my name, it has been difficult. However, my career and life experience DOES count in place of a degree. I have always had a job up until the last few months, when it was decided for me (by God) that I could not do the physical aspects of my job any longer. I have been in the process of changing gears and working toward a "sit-down" aspect of my profession... software programming. I highly doubt that any of you who have been so judgmental of me could do what I am doing.
As for the comments made to me about my sanity:
I am not mentally ill. That has been proven for me and my family over and over again. I doubt that any of my siblings would be as sane as I, given the same circumstances. I know of other abuses in my birth household and may go into those at a later time. But for right now, I won't. And to my brother-in-law Mike, I would like to say this: Thank God you were always in my sister's life. I know for a fact that if you had not been there, she was next on my father's list.
For those of you who have turned your backs on us/me:
You don't know me, and you don't know my family. My husband and I have decided to go with the rest of our lives with the knowledge that we will not be seeing most of you again. It works no hardship on us. If ever there comes a day when you want to get to know me, I hope I'm still around and am open to it. But life moves at an extraordinarily fast pace and I will not waste one more minute of it. When my husband and I move to our new house, we won't leave a forwarding address or phone. When I or my husband passes away, most of you will not even be told. We are going to have very VERY private services and only people who have kept in touch with us will be invited to come. Our ashes will be spread at a private location and only those we choose will know where.
Congratulations. You've lost a sister, aunt and friend.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
First, my decision not to turn my father in to authorities for abusing me:
This decision was not made lightly. I knew that my father would be thrown in jail, and maybe killed there, as a result of his actions toward me. My mother would be left without an income. My brothers and sisters not yet of legal age would be sent off to live with other relatives or foster homes. They would not know each other, or would not want to know each other (as in the case of my mother's brother, Joe). Their lives would be irretrievably broken. I left them to my parents' devices and, as my husband and I have often remarked, they were willing followers of my father's indulgences. So my early life was sacrificed so that the rest of you could have all the advantages and you could go on with your lives.
Second, my decision to leave home at the age of 18, never to return:
I had to get away from the abuse. I was the family scapegoat, so they would have to find someone else to take the abuse. I'm sure chores were dealt out after I left, and I'm positive that my brothers and sisters were told to never have anything to do with me again. Thanks Mom and Dad. This is how someone who is "different" was treated in my household. I didn't just sit there and take it. I left to save my sanity. I was doing all the chores (well, not all, because my next sister did some), AND working full time, AND making the meals, AND being abused by my father, AND paying rent... I could do better somewhere else. You cannot possibly understand the betrayal I suffered at the hands of my parents and now from my siblings. And also, it is impossible for anyone to understand how heart-wrenching it is to make that decision... to walk away... and to know that you will never have a relationship with any of them again, unless you have walked that walk.
Third, my decision to tell the truth about my father:
It was time for all the pretense to stop. If I am to go forward with MY life, I had to tell the truth. My birth family doesn't like it, but that's not my problem. I know the truth and so do they. They could not possibly understand that kind of betrayal.
Fourth, my decision to not keep up with birthdays, etc.:
I used to call, send cards and send gifts for birthdays and Christmas. I used to call for Easter and Thanksgiving. That all stopped one year when I made slippers for every last person in my family and not one of them even let me know that the package had arrived. I made 35 pairs of slippers. It took me 4 months. Not even one acknowledgment. I wasn't looking for a thank you... just "it arrived". I decided that I would never do it again and I haven't. I don't keep up with your birthdays and won't be writing any more cards at Christmas. I'm not bitter, just realistic.
There are people who read my blog who have been extremely abusive toward me because I chose to write the truth... a truth they didn't "want to hear" or know.
Let me say this to them:
You had all the advantages that I didn't have, as a result of my life being sacrificed for yours. As one of you pointed out to me, you have the education, you have the career, etc., and I don't. And you are right... about the education. Everything I have ever had to learn for my career is something that I had to learn on the fly... on the job... and I had to teach it to myself because I couldn't afford the money or the time away from my kids to go to school. I have an IQ of 141, and learn VERY quickly. Without the paper behind my name, it has been difficult. However, my career and life experience DOES count in place of a degree. I have always had a job up until the last few months, when it was decided for me (by God) that I could not do the physical aspects of my job any longer. I have been in the process of changing gears and working toward a "sit-down" aspect of my profession... software programming. I highly doubt that any of you who have been so judgmental of me could do what I am doing.
As for the comments made to me about my sanity:
I am not mentally ill. That has been proven for me and my family over and over again. I doubt that any of my siblings would be as sane as I, given the same circumstances. I know of other abuses in my birth household and may go into those at a later time. But for right now, I won't. And to my brother-in-law Mike, I would like to say this: Thank God you were always in my sister's life. I know for a fact that if you had not been there, she was next on my father's list.
For those of you who have turned your backs on us/me:
You don't know me, and you don't know my family. My husband and I have decided to go with the rest of our lives with the knowledge that we will not be seeing most of you again. It works no hardship on us. If ever there comes a day when you want to get to know me, I hope I'm still around and am open to it. But life moves at an extraordinarily fast pace and I will not waste one more minute of it. When my husband and I move to our new house, we won't leave a forwarding address or phone. When I or my husband passes away, most of you will not even be told. We are going to have very VERY private services and only people who have kept in touch with us will be invited to come. Our ashes will be spread at a private location and only those we choose will know where.
Congratulations. You've lost a sister, aunt and friend.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Snow Casualty or "Why We Should Build a Room Onto Our House"
We got hit by a freak snowstorm yesterday and awoke to 9 inches of snow on the ground and everything in sight. A nice ending to the month of February but really freaky, since it was 70 degrees 2 days ago, and we expect to see 70 degrees later this week. What could be really upsetting is that not only is the south not ready for this type of weather, but there was nothing we could do to prevent the destruction that awaited us this morning.
We have a canopy over the patio in the backyard.
Correction: We HAD a canopy.
The weight of the snow weighed down the canvas and bent the bars holding the canvas up. The result is an inverted canopy with lots of snow and ice still on it. Fortunately, we are not panicking about it. Casualties are to be expected during weather of this kind. I related to the boys how the roofs of shopping centers have been known to collapse under this kind of weight, and that we were lucky to have escaped serious damage to our house and garage. In fact, we were fortunate not to lose power and heat.
Memphis is known to be ill-prepared for any type of extreme weather. We lose power in the cold, in the heat, during storms, and for no reason at all. We had an ice storm here February 11, 1994 and it collapsed trees onto power lines. We lost power and heat, but we were lucky. We were only out of power for 40 hours. The rest of the city and suburbs were out for up to 3 weeks. When we found out the extent of the damage from that storm, Steve and I traversed the mangled city streets to get to where he works to borrow a generator. We were able to run 3 things from the generator. We alternated between the tv, lights, heat and the refrigerator. The Winter Olympics were on tv, and we sat watching them, while I made sweaters for the boys with my knitting machine. I made sweaters for both of them during that storm, and when the boys outgrew them, I put them safely away in the attic as memories.
Another storm gave us straight-line winds that toppled several thousand hundred-year-old trees in the city, and took down 2 of our own trees. Again, the city streets were a snarled mess. We were fortunate to escape that storm without damage to our vehicles. Down the street, a neighbor wasn't as lucky. Their large tree rested in the middle of their smashed car, right in front of their house. If the tree had fallen the other way, it would have collapsed their roof. Again we were out of power, but the weather was warm that time, so we could do without a generator for the most part. But we drove to West Memphis to take our showers at my husband's mother's house. The area has still not quite recovered from those winds. The forest at Shelby Farms looked as if a buzz saw had cut off the tops of the trees.
So back to our canopy. This is the second time we have lost a canopy over that patio. Since we tiled over the old broken concrete, the time may soon be arriving when we will put up a solid roof and walls there. It would be a nice addition to the house, and would add a weather-proof path to our workout room (garage) as well as about 200 more square feet. We could add a free-standing fireplace to the room or a hot tub, and my plants would have a nice sunny place to grow without taking up all the floor space in the rest of the house.
Or we could just move.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
We have a canopy over the patio in the backyard.
Correction: We HAD a canopy.
The weight of the snow weighed down the canvas and bent the bars holding the canvas up. The result is an inverted canopy with lots of snow and ice still on it. Fortunately, we are not panicking about it. Casualties are to be expected during weather of this kind. I related to the boys how the roofs of shopping centers have been known to collapse under this kind of weight, and that we were lucky to have escaped serious damage to our house and garage. In fact, we were fortunate not to lose power and heat.
Memphis is known to be ill-prepared for any type of extreme weather. We lose power in the cold, in the heat, during storms, and for no reason at all. We had an ice storm here February 11, 1994 and it collapsed trees onto power lines. We lost power and heat, but we were lucky. We were only out of power for 40 hours. The rest of the city and suburbs were out for up to 3 weeks. When we found out the extent of the damage from that storm, Steve and I traversed the mangled city streets to get to where he works to borrow a generator. We were able to run 3 things from the generator. We alternated between the tv, lights, heat and the refrigerator. The Winter Olympics were on tv, and we sat watching them, while I made sweaters for the boys with my knitting machine. I made sweaters for both of them during that storm, and when the boys outgrew them, I put them safely away in the attic as memories.
Another storm gave us straight-line winds that toppled several thousand hundred-year-old trees in the city, and took down 2 of our own trees. Again, the city streets were a snarled mess. We were fortunate to escape that storm without damage to our vehicles. Down the street, a neighbor wasn't as lucky. Their large tree rested in the middle of their smashed car, right in front of their house. If the tree had fallen the other way, it would have collapsed their roof. Again we were out of power, but the weather was warm that time, so we could do without a generator for the most part. But we drove to West Memphis to take our showers at my husband's mother's house. The area has still not quite recovered from those winds. The forest at Shelby Farms looked as if a buzz saw had cut off the tops of the trees.
So back to our canopy. This is the second time we have lost a canopy over that patio. Since we tiled over the old broken concrete, the time may soon be arriving when we will put up a solid roof and walls there. It would be a nice addition to the house, and would add a weather-proof path to our workout room (garage) as well as about 200 more square feet. We could add a free-standing fireplace to the room or a hot tub, and my plants would have a nice sunny place to grow without taking up all the floor space in the rest of the house.
Or we could just move.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
Thursday, February 26, 2009
A New Day and 4% Body Fat Loss
I was feeling pretty low about my body weight today because yesterday, a muscle between my shoulder blades decided to clench for absolutely no reason at all. Great. Just when I was starting to feel good about my exercise program. But then I remembered something from my training as a personal trainer and sports nutritionist. I hadn't taken my calipers in some time. So I got out my trusty body fat calculator program, calipers, measuring tape and blood pressure cuff and went to work.
First was the calipers. If you've never had your calipers taken, let me tell you that it can be an eye-opening experience. You come face to face with exactly what is going on in your body... the good, the bad and the ugly. What I saw today was not exactly ugly, and it showed progress. In comparing the calipers of today with the measurements I had taken last October, it was shown that I had lost 4% bodyfat since then. It stunned me to see that the last time I had taken my calipers was on the day my father died. It must have been before I got the news. I remember not really caring what happened to my body from that point until just before the holidays. I was pleased to see that the concentrated effort I have been putting forth since that time has borne fruit.
Tape measurements came next. I was pleased to note that my measurements had gone down. And by looking the history of these measurements, I was able to see exactly where I had gone off track. Between 2005 and 2008 I had put on 43 pounds! I think it's safe to say that I wasn't putting on muscle during that time. I had started working a horrible shift at a new place, and it was obviously taking its toll. I had the PE's in 2002, but was still on that horrible rat poison in 2005, and then shattered my foot in 2007, which didn't help my health any. I believe that was when my weight skyrocketed. I was stuck in bed for 6 months. The foot still isn't right, but I deal with it.
Blood pressure was the next stop on my list. I could plainly see that my blood pressure had gone from being healthy to being borderline hypertensive.
In view of all this, I am re-developing my program to kick myself into gear. I have a project coming up that has to be done at the client site, so will have to work around that. So far, I have been doing hatha yoga and vinyasa yoga, to help my body to adjust to the changes I am making. If that muscle in my back unclenches for tomorrow, I will begin the program I am outlining here.
Since I have about 130 pounds of lean body weight, I will need approximately 1700 calories to keep my basal metabolic rate working properly. That's the easy part. The hard part will be forcing myself to do cardio. So... I'm bringing in some dumbbells from the gym in my garage and going to use that to help my upper body strength. I wish I loved cardio. It would make this so much easier. But my lungs won't tolerate much right now, so I will have to increase my cardio slowly. I used to go walking for hours. I don't have anyone to walk with now (and the streets aren't safe), so I have to come up with an alternate plan. I have several different pieces of cardio equipment in my gym, and can work on those. I'm going to have to try and get a little cardio in every day. Strength training will have to be done on an increasing basis, 3 times per week. Yoga will continue to be done almost every day for balance and flexibility. So my tenative schedule looks like this:
Sunday - Saturday AM - Cardio
MWF - Strength training
Sunday - Saturday PM - Yoga
I have been used to getting my yoga done in the morning, because I feel that it is a good start to my day. I don't know how it's going to be, getting it in later in the day. Maybe it will help me to sleep better at night. If it gets to where I am unable to practice in the evenings, I will have to switch it back to the morning. Nope nope nope... already I am changing my mind. I can't do without yoga in the morning. So here's the revised plan.
Sunday through Saturday AM - Yoga
Sunday through Saturday PM - Cardio (I should have Steve and the dogs to walk with.)
MWF PM - Strength training
That should get me through. A bath after the workouts would be good, so I can wind down and get to sleep at a decent hour. Ugh... I hate to have to plan all this, but my progress will stop if I don't. I guess I'm going to have to go back to my weight training log as well. When is my deadline for starting all of this? There's no time like tomorrow (Friday) to start. With warm weather starting up, it should be easier for me to stay on track (literally).
The boys and I were just out in the gym, surveying what needs to be done so that we can use the gym again. A few things made their way into the attic, and my rebounder and 3 pound dumbbells came into the house, where I suspect, I will be doing most of my workouts until the weather turns warm enough for me to be outside. We have several space heaters for the cold, and an air conditioner for the hotter weather, but for now, I will start inside. Tomorrow we will make some strides in cleaning up the gym. On my list of to-do's includes oiling up the bikes and test riding them in the neighborhood before taking them on the greenway.
Ah yes... it's going to be a lovely spring.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
First was the calipers. If you've never had your calipers taken, let me tell you that it can be an eye-opening experience. You come face to face with exactly what is going on in your body... the good, the bad and the ugly. What I saw today was not exactly ugly, and it showed progress. In comparing the calipers of today with the measurements I had taken last October, it was shown that I had lost 4% bodyfat since then. It stunned me to see that the last time I had taken my calipers was on the day my father died. It must have been before I got the news. I remember not really caring what happened to my body from that point until just before the holidays. I was pleased to see that the concentrated effort I have been putting forth since that time has borne fruit.
Tape measurements came next. I was pleased to note that my measurements had gone down. And by looking the history of these measurements, I was able to see exactly where I had gone off track. Between 2005 and 2008 I had put on 43 pounds! I think it's safe to say that I wasn't putting on muscle during that time. I had started working a horrible shift at a new place, and it was obviously taking its toll. I had the PE's in 2002, but was still on that horrible rat poison in 2005, and then shattered my foot in 2007, which didn't help my health any. I believe that was when my weight skyrocketed. I was stuck in bed for 6 months. The foot still isn't right, but I deal with it.
Blood pressure was the next stop on my list. I could plainly see that my blood pressure had gone from being healthy to being borderline hypertensive.
In view of all this, I am re-developing my program to kick myself into gear. I have a project coming up that has to be done at the client site, so will have to work around that. So far, I have been doing hatha yoga and vinyasa yoga, to help my body to adjust to the changes I am making. If that muscle in my back unclenches for tomorrow, I will begin the program I am outlining here.
Since I have about 130 pounds of lean body weight, I will need approximately 1700 calories to keep my basal metabolic rate working properly. That's the easy part. The hard part will be forcing myself to do cardio. So... I'm bringing in some dumbbells from the gym in my garage and going to use that to help my upper body strength. I wish I loved cardio. It would make this so much easier. But my lungs won't tolerate much right now, so I will have to increase my cardio slowly. I used to go walking for hours. I don't have anyone to walk with now (and the streets aren't safe), so I have to come up with an alternate plan. I have several different pieces of cardio equipment in my gym, and can work on those. I'm going to have to try and get a little cardio in every day. Strength training will have to be done on an increasing basis, 3 times per week. Yoga will continue to be done almost every day for balance and flexibility. So my tenative schedule looks like this:
Sunday - Saturday AM - Cardio
MWF - Strength training
Sunday - Saturday PM - Yoga
I have been used to getting my yoga done in the morning, because I feel that it is a good start to my day. I don't know how it's going to be, getting it in later in the day. Maybe it will help me to sleep better at night. If it gets to where I am unable to practice in the evenings, I will have to switch it back to the morning. Nope nope nope... already I am changing my mind. I can't do without yoga in the morning. So here's the revised plan.
Sunday through Saturday AM - Yoga
Sunday through Saturday PM - Cardio (I should have Steve and the dogs to walk with.)
MWF PM - Strength training
That should get me through. A bath after the workouts would be good, so I can wind down and get to sleep at a decent hour. Ugh... I hate to have to plan all this, but my progress will stop if I don't. I guess I'm going to have to go back to my weight training log as well. When is my deadline for starting all of this? There's no time like tomorrow (Friday) to start. With warm weather starting up, it should be easier for me to stay on track (literally).
The boys and I were just out in the gym, surveying what needs to be done so that we can use the gym again. A few things made their way into the attic, and my rebounder and 3 pound dumbbells came into the house, where I suspect, I will be doing most of my workouts until the weather turns warm enough for me to be outside. We have several space heaters for the cold, and an air conditioner for the hotter weather, but for now, I will start inside. Tomorrow we will make some strides in cleaning up the gym. On my list of to-do's includes oiling up the bikes and test riding them in the neighborhood before taking them on the greenway.
Ah yes... it's going to be a lovely spring.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Judy, Getting Out, Books and Another Pound Gone!
I had the opportunity to go to lunch with my friend, Judy, today and had a wonderful time. I have not seen Judy for about a year, when I stopped working at the place where she and I met. It was really good to see her.
Judy had been a really good friend to me, a better one than I have been to her. Judy loves to talk on the phone, and I don't. Maybe it's because if I'm on the phone too long, it feels like I've been running a marathon. I used to love it when I was younger. I guess as I got older, I got away from the habit. I don't like to talk on my cell phone at ALL! I don't mind as much when someone calls the house number. But I digress. Judy loves to talk, and I love to listen to her. That makes for a very good relationship.
Judy has been working as a security guard for a really long time. But that wasn't always her profession. She was in 3 different branches of the armed forces, something of which I am very envious. I think it would be wonderful to have had that kind of experience. To be able to serve the country and travel all over the world. Yes, I am envious. But in a good way. I am glad she was able to do it. I think it made her the person she is today.
Judy is very outgoing and full of common sense. I love being around her. She lives 40 miles away from me, so it's very difficult for me to get there. She came to see me today (well, really she went to get her glasses replaced, but I was on the way). Jason dropped me off at the mall so I could meet her. I found her exactly where she said she would be, and was surprised to see that her hair is actually longer than mine, which has never been the case. As we always do, we picked right up where we left off, laughing and cutting up. We did a little (okay a LOT) of walking around the mall and window shopping. I never had the opportunity to do any window shopping with any of my birth family, and was surprised at how much fun it was. And okay, Judy was making me walk a bunch. And that's good. But it's very hard for me. My legs don't work like they used to, but I did my best, and she would slow down for me when she noticed I was doing all the huffing and puffing.
Bless her for making me walk. This was good for me, because I really do HAVE to be made to do it. A few days ago, I walked for the very first time (in the past year) all the way around the block, which is 4 blocks total. I am trying to up my exercise quotient, and Judy knew that, so we just started wandering around the mall. Before I knew it, we had gone almost completely around. We did a little stopping here and there, with our favorite place being the bookstore. I love books. I have hundreds of books in my home. They are like old friends to me. I love getting used books... the kind that show they have been used. My favorites are hardbound classical literature, and I have quite a collection. Unfortunately, the two used bookstores in Memphis are no longer in business. *sigh* I used to go in there and browse for hours and come out with my arms full. I feel like the old books have a life. I love to hold them and to run my hands over the worn covers. They have more than one story to tell. They are comfortable. I love them.
Back to Judy... she didn't know that I have been on a fat loss regimen, but when she found out, it made the mall walking all the more important to her. She would do anything for me, and this proved it. She wants to see me healthy and feeling well. I have stopped all medications and she is concerned about this, but since the medications were making me really ill, I decided to let nature take its course and fight it off naturally, if I can. If I fall, I fall. I would rather go out like this than to be on 20 different medications that don't work.
We went on to lunch, which was the $6.49 lunch special at On The Border. It had been SO long since I'd been out to lunch. I had the chicken quesadilla and salad, and loved every bit of it. I couldn't really afford to go to lunch, but I also can't afford to stay home when I haven't seen a friend in that long. Judy made comments about what I was eating, asking if I could "have that" on my "diet". Sure I can!
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
Judy had been a really good friend to me, a better one than I have been to her. Judy loves to talk on the phone, and I don't. Maybe it's because if I'm on the phone too long, it feels like I've been running a marathon. I used to love it when I was younger. I guess as I got older, I got away from the habit. I don't like to talk on my cell phone at ALL! I don't mind as much when someone calls the house number. But I digress. Judy loves to talk, and I love to listen to her. That makes for a very good relationship.
Judy has been working as a security guard for a really long time. But that wasn't always her profession. She was in 3 different branches of the armed forces, something of which I am very envious. I think it would be wonderful to have had that kind of experience. To be able to serve the country and travel all over the world. Yes, I am envious. But in a good way. I am glad she was able to do it. I think it made her the person she is today.
Judy is very outgoing and full of common sense. I love being around her. She lives 40 miles away from me, so it's very difficult for me to get there. She came to see me today (well, really she went to get her glasses replaced, but I was on the way). Jason dropped me off at the mall so I could meet her. I found her exactly where she said she would be, and was surprised to see that her hair is actually longer than mine, which has never been the case. As we always do, we picked right up where we left off, laughing and cutting up. We did a little (okay a LOT) of walking around the mall and window shopping. I never had the opportunity to do any window shopping with any of my birth family, and was surprised at how much fun it was. And okay, Judy was making me walk a bunch. And that's good. But it's very hard for me. My legs don't work like they used to, but I did my best, and she would slow down for me when she noticed I was doing all the huffing and puffing.
Bless her for making me walk. This was good for me, because I really do HAVE to be made to do it. A few days ago, I walked for the very first time (in the past year) all the way around the block, which is 4 blocks total. I am trying to up my exercise quotient, and Judy knew that, so we just started wandering around the mall. Before I knew it, we had gone almost completely around. We did a little stopping here and there, with our favorite place being the bookstore. I love books. I have hundreds of books in my home. They are like old friends to me. I love getting used books... the kind that show they have been used. My favorites are hardbound classical literature, and I have quite a collection. Unfortunately, the two used bookstores in Memphis are no longer in business. *sigh* I used to go in there and browse for hours and come out with my arms full. I feel like the old books have a life. I love to hold them and to run my hands over the worn covers. They have more than one story to tell. They are comfortable. I love them.
Back to Judy... she didn't know that I have been on a fat loss regimen, but when she found out, it made the mall walking all the more important to her. She would do anything for me, and this proved it. She wants to see me healthy and feeling well. I have stopped all medications and she is concerned about this, but since the medications were making me really ill, I decided to let nature take its course and fight it off naturally, if I can. If I fall, I fall. I would rather go out like this than to be on 20 different medications that don't work.
We went on to lunch, which was the $6.49 lunch special at On The Border. It had been SO long since I'd been out to lunch. I had the chicken quesadilla and salad, and loved every bit of it. I couldn't really afford to go to lunch, but I also can't afford to stay home when I haven't seen a friend in that long. Judy made comments about what I was eating, asking if I could "have that" on my "diet". Sure I can!
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
Monday, February 16, 2009
Knowing Where You Came From
In the course of my genealogy research, I have been waiting for pictures from a cousin of mine to help me get a firm picture of where I come from on my father's side. I already knew what my great-grandparents on my mother's side looked like, but never knew what my grandfather's parents looked like. Today I got what I was waiting for.
As I looked at my great-grandfather's face, I took note of what a nice face it was. Not necessarily handsome, but a strong face, and a good face. He was definitely the force that drove his family. He had to be strong. He had 8 children, and times were tough back then. He had two brothers, one of which died when he was 21 years old. I can't prove it just yet, but I think he took care of this brother. The other brother was a bartender, and they all lived within 3 houses of each other. Imagine being that close to your family... that you'd want to live that close. Maybe they didn't have a choice. Maybe times were SO tough that it was necessary. I feel that families took better care of each other back then. I feel they were closer.
I turned my attention to the face of the great-grandmother I had never known. It also was a good face. She looked a little care-worn, but I guess I would too if I had 8 kids and was marrying one of them off. She had been through a lot. Medical care wasn't good at the time, and I know that both of them were gone by 1940. I wish I had known them. I think I would have liked them, and I think they would have liked me.
I have always known what my mother's grandparents looked like, at least on her father's side. Funny that I never thought about the 4th pair of great-grandparents. My mother didn't talk about them much, except to say that she didn't know her grandmothers' names, and she wanted her own grandchildren to remember her name.
One of her sets of grandparents was an arranged marriage. I can't imagine having to marry someone that your parents chose for you, have his children, live and die, all without making a single choice for yourself. It must have been incredibly difficult. I suppose that women didn't have many choices back then. Without a dowry, a woman was lucky to have a husband at all. A husband meant security and protection. A wife meant someone to "take care of things", i.e., clean house, cook and take care of children. Not much more was expected, but that was enough.
As I go forward in my life, I will at least have the security of the faces of three pairs of my great-grandparents. That's more than most people get.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
As I looked at my great-grandfather's face, I took note of what a nice face it was. Not necessarily handsome, but a strong face, and a good face. He was definitely the force that drove his family. He had to be strong. He had 8 children, and times were tough back then. He had two brothers, one of which died when he was 21 years old. I can't prove it just yet, but I think he took care of this brother. The other brother was a bartender, and they all lived within 3 houses of each other. Imagine being that close to your family... that you'd want to live that close. Maybe they didn't have a choice. Maybe times were SO tough that it was necessary. I feel that families took better care of each other back then. I feel they were closer.
I turned my attention to the face of the great-grandmother I had never known. It also was a good face. She looked a little care-worn, but I guess I would too if I had 8 kids and was marrying one of them off. She had been through a lot. Medical care wasn't good at the time, and I know that both of them were gone by 1940. I wish I had known them. I think I would have liked them, and I think they would have liked me.
I have always known what my mother's grandparents looked like, at least on her father's side. Funny that I never thought about the 4th pair of great-grandparents. My mother didn't talk about them much, except to say that she didn't know her grandmothers' names, and she wanted her own grandchildren to remember her name.
One of her sets of grandparents was an arranged marriage. I can't imagine having to marry someone that your parents chose for you, have his children, live and die, all without making a single choice for yourself. It must have been incredibly difficult. I suppose that women didn't have many choices back then. Without a dowry, a woman was lucky to have a husband at all. A husband meant security and protection. A wife meant someone to "take care of things", i.e., clean house, cook and take care of children. Not much more was expected, but that was enough.
As I go forward in my life, I will at least have the security of the faces of three pairs of my great-grandparents. That's more than most people get.
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
My Aunt Marge
I got a call from my Aunt Marge the other day, telling me that she was having surgery this coming Friday. She is my mother's younger (and only surviving) sister, and has suffered from a hiatal hernia for a long time. They are operating on her to "take care of" this condition. I worried at little as I talked to her, because she could not stop coughing. She said that the coughing is caused by the hernia, but as a layperson, I don't know the slightest thing about that condition and hope that the doctors are right. However, they also told her that she has a mass on her right lung. She asked if it was cancerous, and they told her "If it was cancer, it would have killed you by now." The doctors' flippant answer did nothing to assuade my fears. Aunt Marge is 70 years old, and although she seems strong, she's had 2 strokes, and that's serious enough for anyone.
As is always the case, our conversations go on and on. She tells me about things that happened a long time ago, how it was when she grew up, and the early life of my family as she remembers it. It has been my pleasure and my honor to know her, even though we didn't grow close until after my mother died. I regret that I haven't had enough time to know her better, and haven't kept in touch with her children. Her oldest daughter, Daphne, and I used to write letters back and forth when we were teenagers. She's one of the sweetest people in the world. I reconnected with her at my Uncle Dick's funeral last year, and it was wonderful to see her. She looks exactly the same as she did when she was young. I wonder how it was, growing up without her extended family, and know that my own sons must know that better than I. Her paternal grandmother told Aunt Marge years ago that she didn't want anything to do with her granddaughters. What a horrible thing to say! Even in the worst of circumstances, I cannot imagine a grandmother saying such a thing.
Even though Aunt Marge told me about the things of her past, there is such a big gap there. She went through so much... and much of it I did not know about until the other day when she called. I didn't know, for example, that when she was being abused by her father and his new wife, she ran away to Ohio to be with Aunt Flo (another of her sisters). The police came, and both Aunt Flo and Uncle Walter told Marge that she had to go back. She did, but ran away again before she was 18, lived with a girlfriend, and then joined the Navy. I had no idea. I had heard snippets here and there from my mother, but nothing like this.
Aunt Marge got married and had two daughters from her first husband. When she found her husband had a girlfriend on the side, she left him. He never even touched his second child, Krystle. He never picked her up. Marge said "here's your daughter", but he just looked at the baby on the bed. I can't imagine how he could do that. I guess he got it from his mother. They divorced, and she met and married my Uncle Fred. They had two sons. Thank God she got out of that first marriage and into a good second one.
In the course of our conversation, I told Aunt Marge what I had written about and the reactions of my birth family and their "friends". She said unreservedly, "I believe you". She went on to tell me about how my father had tried the same thing with her when she was a teenager, and she told him that "You are married to my sister, and if you don't stop it, I will tell her!" God bless her for telling me.
She has been through so much in her life. I certainly hope that she makes it through her surgery all right. She has her doubts, but I will be praying for her, as I know the rest of her family will and hope for the best. I love you, Aunt Marge!
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
As is always the case, our conversations go on and on. She tells me about things that happened a long time ago, how it was when she grew up, and the early life of my family as she remembers it. It has been my pleasure and my honor to know her, even though we didn't grow close until after my mother died. I regret that I haven't had enough time to know her better, and haven't kept in touch with her children. Her oldest daughter, Daphne, and I used to write letters back and forth when we were teenagers. She's one of the sweetest people in the world. I reconnected with her at my Uncle Dick's funeral last year, and it was wonderful to see her. She looks exactly the same as she did when she was young. I wonder how it was, growing up without her extended family, and know that my own sons must know that better than I. Her paternal grandmother told Aunt Marge years ago that she didn't want anything to do with her granddaughters. What a horrible thing to say! Even in the worst of circumstances, I cannot imagine a grandmother saying such a thing.
Even though Aunt Marge told me about the things of her past, there is such a big gap there. She went through so much... and much of it I did not know about until the other day when she called. I didn't know, for example, that when she was being abused by her father and his new wife, she ran away to Ohio to be with Aunt Flo (another of her sisters). The police came, and both Aunt Flo and Uncle Walter told Marge that she had to go back. She did, but ran away again before she was 18, lived with a girlfriend, and then joined the Navy. I had no idea. I had heard snippets here and there from my mother, but nothing like this.
Aunt Marge got married and had two daughters from her first husband. When she found her husband had a girlfriend on the side, she left him. He never even touched his second child, Krystle. He never picked her up. Marge said "here's your daughter", but he just looked at the baby on the bed. I can't imagine how he could do that. I guess he got it from his mother. They divorced, and she met and married my Uncle Fred. They had two sons. Thank God she got out of that first marriage and into a good second one.
In the course of our conversation, I told Aunt Marge what I had written about and the reactions of my birth family and their "friends". She said unreservedly, "I believe you". She went on to tell me about how my father had tried the same thing with her when she was a teenager, and she told him that "You are married to my sister, and if you don't stop it, I will tell her!" God bless her for telling me.
She has been through so much in her life. I certainly hope that she makes it through her surgery all right. She has her doubts, but I will be praying for her, as I know the rest of her family will and hope for the best. I love you, Aunt Marge!
Nazdrovie'
Paczki Puta
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