What have I done?

I totally stepped out of my comfort zone Thursday and did something I never thought I would do. I went to a Pilates class at the YMCA    b  y    m  y  s  e  l  f.  That is surprising on many fronts, not the first of which is that I've watched Pilates videos before and vowed never to actually, you know, partake. And here I was, partaking with a whole room full of people. Men, even! And I didn't know a soul!

When I first got there, I had to ask where the exercise classes meet because, although we've had a membership for over a year, the most I've ever done is lift a few weights and ride the stationary bike. I really do prefer to be outside for my exercise, but what with the monsoon we've been experiencing and winter coming on, I figured I'd better have an alternative. Then the YMCA catalog came in the mail, and I felt it was a nudge from God.

Oh, that God. He has such a sense of humor.

So I found the room, and someone had to tell me where to get all the equipment. The mat, the mat cover, the big ball and the square thingy to keep it from rolling all over the place, and the hand weights. I liked the idea of the mat and mat cover, because that meant I'd be on the floor, and that sounded pretty easy. I've seen people sit and sort of bounce on the big ball, so I didn't think that would be a big deal. And the hand weights? They all told me to get the light ones to start with—3 pounds. Pffft. With all the typing I do, I knew my arms were already in pretty good shape. And after all, this was called "Pilat-ease" in the catalog. How hard could it be?

We started out with some basic stretching, you know, yoga-style. Slow stretch, deep breathing, very relaxing and happy. Then the basic stretching turned into more creative stretching to "get those muscles that don't get stretched very often." Holy cow, I stretched muscles I didn't even know were in there! Somehow the stretching turned into a serious ab workout that had me out of breath and trembling, then bicep curls, and flies. And all the time we're doing flies, she's telling stories, presumably to keep my mind off the fact that it feels like I'm trying to pull my arms up and out to the sides with my earlobes. While balancing on one foot.

Finally she had mercy. We set down the weights and sat down on the balls. This was more like it. But my reprieve was not to be. We leaned forward and did more flies, swinging the now-leaden weights from the floor out to the sides, working our upper backs. Then more ab work. Then triceps. Then pseudo squats.

Finally she allowed us to get flat on our backs on the mats. We rolled the balls under our feet. Ahhhh. I could have slept a thousand hours. But no. Now we're doing reverse planks, then holding the reverse plank on one leg and lifting the other one straight up. Do you know how hard it is to balance your body between your shoulders on the floor and one leg on a 3-foot ball?

It didn't even end there. I kept looking at the clock wondering how long she could go on with the torture.

A solid hour. Without breaking a sweat or getting out of breath. Telling stories and laughing the entire time.

I've never been so thankful that a class only met twice a week. I have until Tuesday to convalesce.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Friday's Fave Five

I love these memes—they provide me with something to put here when real life doesn't. This idea provided by Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. Go thank her. And here are five great things about the past week, in no particular order (because that might hurt someone's feelings, and we know I couldn't stand having that guilt to deal with.):

1.A really great chemistry text for Man-boy. We use Jay Wile's Exploring Creation With Chemistry, first edition. This is the set I bought when Tall One was a wee (wee is used very loosely) lad of 16, and I've used it with three of the five kids. Dr. Wile has the ability to make complicated subjects very understandable without dumbing them down, and he routinely defends God's creation of the universe. I love his science books!

2. Being able to finish an entire editing project in one day. This is a monthly project that usually takes me anywhere from five to seven hours, and today I got it done in 4.75. That probably only happened because it's been raining non-stop since Tuesday evening so my distractions are quite limited, but I'm glad anyway. I sent my boss an email with all the parts of the project attached that said, "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Who da man?!" I'm sure she's thrilled to have such a professional working for her.

3. My Crock-Pot. It makes the best pot roast. And my bread machine. My family is spoiled by homemade bread. Too bad they don't make a mashed potato machine.

4. The 16-year-old man-boy. Without him, I would never have discovered the joys of Overhaulin', that show on TLC where they take somebody's old heap of a car and make an incredibly sweet hot rod out of it and then surprise them at the end. It is so unlike me to watch a show like that, but it happens to be on during our lunch break from school, so he watches it most days. Today I watched it with him and it's pretty cool. He flips back and forth between that and Cash Cab, which is also a pretty cool show—like Jeopardy on wheels in New York City. And Tom and Jerry, because what's a lunch break without a little childhood violence?

5. Election Day! Tuesday was a great day in Virginia. The Republican candidates won resounding victories across the state and gave us just a glimmer of hope for the future.

In the words of Walter Cronkite, "And that's the way it is, this Friday, November 13th." Have a great day!

Be thankful ~

Karen

But how will we TALK?

I got this photo of Sticky Bean from my daughter, The Mommy, yesterday with the caption, "I'm happy because I've been up half the night." ;)  Do you sense some bitterness?

Can't wait to get my hands on him at Thanksgiving!

News of the day—the company gave Ben a new blackberry to replace the antiquated one that was as big as his foot. The new one is sleek, it's shiny, it's full of cool features. 

Texting isn't one of them.

Can you imagine? No texting? Isn't that how the other zillion people on the planet communicate in 2009? I'm speechless (in a metaphorical kind of way. I'm obviously not speechless, as evidenced by the drivel that keeps pouring out of my mouth). You mean we have to make a phone call? Isn't that so old fashioned? Of course, if I send him an email, that goes to his blackberry. But I can't send a text.

I just can't comprehend this.

Be thankful ~

Karen

The weekly Random Dozen.

Hey, it's 11/11!

Finally, it's meme day—I was running out of thoughts. Thanks to Linda at 2nd Cup for the questions. Here they are:

1. What was the last song you listened to?

"Revelation" by Third Day.

2. Have you ever had “buyer’s remorse” over anything?

Oh my word, YES. Where do I start? Hair color, books (especially homeschool books that I thought were going to be great and turned out to be stupid), the sofa that's in my living room, a very expensive mattress (don't believe the Kingsdown salesman), a pepper mill (That's right, Dear. It's not tacky, but it doesn't grind pepper worth a flip. See? I admitted it publicly.), a dog (even though we didn't buy him), and a vacuum. I'm sure there are more things.


3. What is something in your life that you are thankful for now that you didn’t think you would be at the time of the event? (Something that seemed ill-timed, inconvenient or hurtful which turned out to be a good thing)

Moving to Northern Virginia from Tennessee. The kids and I fought it every step of the way, but now, five years later, we're all VERY thankful we did it. Hubby wanted to leave and the rest of us wanted to stay. (I'm on a public admission roll here.)

4. Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade every year? If so, do you have a favorite float or balloon?

No. I'm way too busy eating. I watched when I was a kid, but I don't think I've seen one in 25 years.

5. Share a quote, scripture, poem or lyric which has been an inspiration to you lately.

1 Samuel 30:6 "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God."


David was greatly distressed! People wanted to STONE him! Yet he was able to encourage himself in the Lord! How much more should we be able to!

6. This is meant to be a fun question, and this is a G-rated blog, but please share a “guilty pleasure,” something that you enjoy that’s probably not the most edifying, time-worthy or healthy thing you could be indulging in. Did I mention--G rating?

I love to be outside in the summer. In the bright sunshine. And I don't use sunscreen other than on my face. I know it's bad, and I'm honestly not trying to look like a St. Tropez native, but I just can't stand that pasty-white look. I want to look like I've been outside, being an active participant in life, not inside sitting at a desk under the fluorescent lights.

7. What Thanksgiving food are you looking forward to?

Definitely the stuffing. I'll be making my mother's stuffing with sausage and apples in it and it's incredible. I only make it once a year and for weeks beforehand, I think about it. Can't wait.  Ooo, and my brother will be deep-frying turkeys. They're amazing.

8. What is your favorite book to read to children, or what was your favorite childhood book?

I love The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter. The language is so beautiful, and the original watercolor illustrations are lovely. I still have my childhood copy of it. I'm very sure I appreciate it more now than when I was little.

9. Do you collect anything? (Feel free to post a photo.)

Dust. And dog hair. I'll spare you the photo.

10. Gift bags or wrapping paper?

Gift bags. I'm not an artsy-craftsy person, and never could make a wrapped package look great. Gift bags are so easy, you can't screw them up.

11. Share an after-school memory from when you were younger. What was your routine like on an average day?

I got home from school at the same time my mom did, and we would stand at the counter with a carton of ice cream and two spoons talking about the day. We never had that teenage-daughter-vs-mother angst thing.


12. True story: Once, in a job interview, I was asked this question and told there would be no clarifying; I simply had to answer the question: “When you’re fishing, do you feel for the fish?” So what about you? When you're fishing, do you feel for the fish??

Absolutely! It must hurt, don't you think? But when I was a kid, my dad took us fishing often. We learned to fly fish for trout in the rivers out west, and he had a commercial party boat for a while and took us out in the ocean for bluefish, tuna, mackerel, and I don't remember what else. When I was 11, he told me that if I caught a fish, I had to gut it too. I'm surprised I didn't quit fishing then and there, but I didn't. There's nothing better than fresh rainbow trout cooked over a campfire.

I had a hard time concentrating today, and apparently I wasn't the only one. I noticed in the middle of the day that my boss had posted a status update on facebook to the effect of being completely unmotivated and trying to find things to do other than the things that should be done. So I commented, "Me too! I just spent 2 1/2 hours raking leaves with Man-boy so I wouldn't have to be at my desk!" Other co-workers joined in with their commiserations (did I just make up a word?), so I felt better about only working two hours today. Tomorrow I'll be kicking myself (actually, I'll probably be too sore), but I enjoyed being outside today. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I won't be able to get away.

Have a great Wednesday!


Be thankful ~


Karen

edited to add: You have got to go to my cousin Catherine's blog and read her answers to these questions. Every week we both do this meme and EVERY WEEK we have some of the SAME ANSWERS (and we don't cheat, either)! I live in Virginia and she lives in Idaho. We've seen each other once in the last 25 years. Who says family ties aren't strong? We both collect dust! And can't wrap presents! Isn't that awesome?

A 16-year-old's love note.

Remember I told you Abbie is a student at Liberty University? Well apparently the food there is not worth eating. But it makes a great art medium:

In other news, I have a notebook on my desk on which I write notes while I'm working. When I came home yesterday from spending the day in Lynchburg with the girls, Elijah had written on it:

"Mom is greater then camp food and soccer."

Aside from the spelling mistake, I am incredibly flattered. Better than soccer?

Ah, the way to a mom's heart . . .

Be thankful ~

Karen

Saturday recap and Christmas card request.

I had a great day in Lynchburg with Leah and Abbie. Leah and I went down in two cars so we could leave one of them with Abbie. She lives off campus and has been depending on the undependable bus to get to campus and back. With cold weather coming, we thought it best not to have her standing around for 30 minutes several times a day waiting for the bus that might come. And the church she wants to go to is about 20 minutes away, so now she can go.

We spent the day fighting typical Saturday traffic, but had fun in spite of it. First we had lunch at Chick-fil-A. Leah used to work at a CFA, so she remembers the whole my pleasure routine. As we were leaving the parking lot, we saw this sign:

When you put quotes around something, it means sort of, but not really. So what this really says is "It's been kind of our pleasure to serve you, but not really ." I've submitted it to The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks.

Then we made stops at the mall (shoes for Abbie, a dress for me, a purse for Leah), Target, and the now-famous Jersey Mike's Subs (that's my idea of cooking dinner). Leah and I left in the fiddle-mobile and made it home by 6:40. Ate a sub and I am quickly running out of gas. I hear a hot bath calling . . .

One last thing: My cousin told me about some friends of his who have a 5-year-old boy in the end stages of cancer. He loves Christmas and Christmas cards. His family is celebrating Christmas next week because he likely won't be alive in December. If you'd like to send him a Christmas card, here's his address:

Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon, MI 48178

Be thankful ~

Karen

No post, just a list of excuses.

It's going to be a busy day. Leah and I are taking a car to Abbie at Liberty U after I work for an hour and iron 20 shirts, Ben and Mike are painting the trim on a house up the street, and man-boy is on his way home from the soccer tournament. We'll be like ships that pass in the night—not that I'm a fan of overused similes or anything. Hopefully we'll have pictures and stories to share tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Be thankful ~

Karen