Simple Woman

Simple Woman's Day Book-

FOR TODAY 01/30/10...
Outside My Window... It is dark and ooooooooh so cold.
I am thinking... about how for the first time I can see why it might be a good idea NOT to have more children. Don and I have the house to ourselves. It is confusing the life out of the dogs. But I must admit a certain selfish pleasure in puttering about while Donnie putters about and no one to interrupt us. Hmmmm. Mind boggling to think I have friends who have this simple pleasure every day of their lives.
I am thankful for... my kids who I am almost starting to miss. Also my dogs who began to bark certain that something was wrong when no one was home but us! Also for my garden hobby which can captivate and amuse even in the coldest months.
From the kitchen... I ate some of my new favorite homemade squash soup. Never thought there would come a time when I would EVER say such a thing. Also I have a little greenhouse all lit up in the kitchen corner for my garden to start.
I am wearing... my over sized sweatshirt pajamas, one of the few I own as I am at heart a nudie girl at bedtime.
I am creating...new life. Since Donnie won't (at this time) let me bring home a Haitian baby (seriously I pray for them EVERY day) I am creating a little indoor veggie and herb garden.
I am going... to a lying in state of our beloved Deacon tomorrow who shockingly passed away. He has battled serious illness for a long time but it is stunning that he died.
I am reading...Donnie has created a room long bookshelf for me that fits half of my most favorite Regency Romance novels. He is working on a second shelf. So now I am rereading Jo Beverly's Rogue series. Also I am reading a history book about colonial criminals before the Revolutionary war. I know I know GEEK.
I am hoping...that I am good at my new job starting Monday. That everyone will love me (I get that that is childish) and that I can make a difference.
I am hearing...Lily pace, she can not believe no one else is home. Also I can hear Donnie working on a song list for his new band, downstairs.:)
Around the house... cats are relaxing, dogs are searching for children, Donnie is music-ing and I am preparing to plant seeds.
One of my favorite things... I cannot begin to describe the sensation of no one home but Don and I. It simply has never happened in the evening before since our children began arriving. I must say I never knew what I was missing!
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: New job. New plants.
Here is picture thought I am sharing. Poor Wendy the chicken passed away in all the cold.

High School PTO

In all our lives there are must -go -to -meetings, and events that we have to organize, attend, participate in, and or clean up after. Some we look forward to with great excitement others with some trepidation or even boredom and a few with downright dread.
One of my more fun obligations over the years has been the high school PTO. I started attending while Mary was there with some reservations as I really HATE fundraising and did not want to be talked into more have-tos. Imagine my surprise to discover a group of people( not just parents either, but teachers, AND administration) who were fun, articulate, caring and who were not out to MAKE me do more work. As a matter of fact, no one wanted to do fundraisers and no one was required to HAVE-TO do anything.
The group met monthly to discuss issues in the school, upcoming events, any problems brewing, etc. They had a couple of set projects, most notably helping out at Senior Lock in, doing the Promenade on prom night, giving out a couple of scholarships, hosting a teacher end of the year brunch, and most fun of all having a book club in early March where the entire group gathered to discuss a book that had been chosen back in November.
No one coerced you into phone chains, or selling candles, or pillows, or stupid wrapping paper. the meetings started and ended on time. You could for the most part feel comfortable expressing concerns or complaints, and best of all the Principal was always in attendance to help answer a question most kids never key into, what 'mood' was the school about any given subject.
For parents who had kids who never tell them anything, this mood check was a critical piece of information!
As the years have gone by there are some things I still never do, like the couple of fundraisers we have had, or working on the Promenade. Other events however like the brunch or lock-in I have become one of the star players. (By star players I mean one of the people who do all the work!) But because EVERYONE in the group is eager to do their part, it never feels like poor me stuck with all the work. As a matter of fact we sometimes have 'mock fights' over who gets to do what. For instance my friend Mary and I brought Bingo to the lock in casino, now one of the most popular games there. So popular infact that we have to fight to make sure WE get to be Bingo callers. We are Catholic after all, who better to teach the Bingo Lingo to future Kof C Hall gamblers?
We have been trying to get a PTO up in running similar at the middle school level but for whatever reason have not had the success enjoyed by the high school PTO. I am not sure why that is but I keep plugging away at it.
Meanwhile we just cleaned up after the lockin breakfast. I have been at the school close to 24 hours. From 2:30 Friday afternoon until 5 I helped decorate the library to look like a casino. 5 to 6:30 saw me at the jv basketball ggame. I then went home to prepare the hashbrowns for the next morning. But was back at the library at 9:30 pm until 1 am being a Bingo caller and all around cheerleader for this year's seniors. (No, none of my kids graduate this year!) 1 to close to 2 am was spent undecorating and driving the casino stuff over to store in the snack shak. This was the only awful part as it was GD cold with a gale wind!
Up at 5 to cook the eggs and reheat the hasbrowns and then at the school for 6-7:30 am to make and breakfast for and feed the exhausted children. I say none of this as a brag however. Lots of other parents helped, the kids are amazing, and it really is (except for the tired part) a wonderful time.
I wish other organizations that I volunteer for were this fun, this worthwhile, and had this many hard workers. Some of hardest working parents have their youngest children graduating this year. After that parents nevre come back ot our meetings as their lives move on to the next stage, which makes me a little sad. But you would be amazed to note how many parents still show up for casino night to help run the black jack tables, the slot machines or try to horn in on my Bingo set up.

The house garden

This winter I installed a small wooden planter on the window sill of the picture window. It has just enough room for 4 little pots and I installed some basil in one and then planted more basil in the second, parsley seeds in the third, and marigold seeds from last year's garden in the fourth.
I have never had much luck with indoor plants because square footage is full already, plus we do not get a lot of sunshine streaming anywhere in the house. Certainly the picture window offers the best hope of natural light, however we usually have furniture in front of the window and kids, pets, and debris.
But this winter I decided to make a concerted effort to have new life growing in real sun. I even purchased a cheerful spider plant and Donnie obligingly hung it by screw and chain so it too captures some sun. I have all sorts of facts and figures about how indoor plants purify the air. Although with our poor insulation and habit of keeping doors and windows cracked open you would think there was more than enough fresh air circulating! Never the less there is something quite wholesome about greenery in the house.
The problem is when I conceive of these things I have trouble envisioning the entire reality. For instance I was perfectly capable of picturing my little window box planter with its fresh herbs blooming. I forgot that it is freezing cold outside and nothing stands between the frigid air and delicate warm weather plants but two panes of glass. The window panes are often merrily painted by Jack Frost from the inside! I suppose I do not need to tell you that most of the seeds refuse to poke out of their soil!
I then decided to place a little planter in the room itself, close enough to the window to receive natural light, but not have the plants actually touching the glass. I placed my blooming Paperwhites ( a gift I got from Tupperware) on it as well as a small coleus looking plant called a Fittonia. I still have room for one more plant on the room stand.
The trick will be keeping impatient children from plowing the stand over when they leap off the wheeled computer chair. I have threatened them with dire consequences and as God is my witness the chair is gonna go!
But all this gardening thoughts have me eager to get the veggies started. Elsewhere on this blog I have told the story of Donnie's unfortunate late night run in with leggy plants growing amok. He is a quiet (and somewhat nervous) voice of reason not to start planting too soon.
The biggest problem I face in seed starting (besides over enthusiasm!) is finding warm space to grow things. It is freezing in our cellar for most of winter. So like the seeds on the picture window, it an be a challenge to get things started.
But I may have come up with a way to circumvent my troubles. Don got me a portable greenhouse. It is a shelving unit that stands about 5 feet tall and 2 feet by 18inches around, has 4 shelves, wheels, and a zippered plastic that gives a cold frame greenhouse effect. Brilliant. I think my poor husband envisioned the contraption safe and snug on the back porch so that say in March I could get some seeds started.
Well I think it fits perfectly in the kitchen. It does crowd Nikki and Jamie a bit when they sit down for dinner, but other than that...I am pretty sure I can rig a grow light in it too and I already have those from my old fish tanks.I harvested a bunch of seeds from last years garden plus I still have seed packets. Oh boy Oh boy...

ANGER

Interesting day yesterday. I spent most of it in a simmering rage about a few key issues, none of which I was able to solve by days end.The issues themselves were difficult to deal with and certainly real anger was not overly helpful. On the other hand the problems were the type that anger was a perfectly valid reaction.
Don too spent most of his day trying to control his anger. Since he rarely experiences any emotion too deeply he too was not pleased with the day. The strangest part was we were not even mad at one another!
Everyone handles anger differently and it can be a challenge when you have children underfoot. You do not want to take it out on them of course although when you are already aggravated they certainly know ways to push you just that much further over the edge! But you also need to show them how to appropriately handle justifiable anger. This can really make it a challenge, after all you feel out of control when you are good and mad, it can be strange to have to think about showing a good angry.
Then there are the questions they are compelled to ask, answers to which you cannot always share.
By days end the both of us were exhausted. Still on the same team though- and I think we both worked carefully to insure that our anger at other people and things did not descend into anger at one another. This too can be a delicate tight rope walk.
Today we were able to get the issues addressed and although not all solved to our satisfaction
at least we were able to set a few things in motion. This dissipated most of the anger and right now the issues have been reduced to a more annoyance than anything.
But it got me thinking. I know people who spend most of their time mad. Do you know people like this? They fly off the handle at the drop of a hat and totally blow things all out of proportion. How are they not exhausted all the time?

Living life in the new media age

It is interesting what catches the eye....or what catches the eye of the media, is then reported relentlessly, until it finally catches your eye. You can live your life totally engrossed in the everydayness of your existence and then something occurring somewhere else in the world becomes part of YOUR life as if it were happening to you, or at least to a very dear friend.
So it is with The Late Night Wars and the Haiti earthquake, two such dissimilar events that it is almost sacrilegious to have them appear in even the same sentence. I know absolutely no one in either circumstance and yet they are as much a part of my life as 4h, the JV basketball team, and whats for dinner.
I do not think there has ever been a day in my adult life when I did not catch the news whether from the newspaper (not that I have gotten one in years) or the TV news. Currently I get most of my news from flicking channels late night to scouring the Internet. I fool myself in thinking that by getting news online I am somehow freer to pick the news I want to know about. But lets face it all of us read Yahoo or MSN news stories because they appear on our homepage and change with enough frequency to keep it interesting. Someone else is really deciding what news I want to know about. It is my impression that that someone is becoming more and more opinionated about what I should consider news.
Of course it is easy to see Fox news is totally slanted and that most TV Hollywood news shows are nothing more than glossy National Enquire-like wastes of time. But the rest of the media is only slightly more subtle in its biases. Yet I still seek out the news, most of which affects me not at all until I become engrossed in it.
I am always amazed at how little recent news Donnie is aware of. He practically never watches the news shows and for the most part seeks out Internet news that is sports related. As a matter of fact some of the larger news events of the day he has first heard about from sports talk radio. (Those guys make me absolutely crazy....opinionated news from people who did NOT graduate tops in their class:>)
He goes about his life completely unconcerned as to the affect the Late Night Wars might have on his existence. Most amazing of all, he has not heart felt emotion tied into Conan or Dave or Jay. These things neither interest nor affect him and yet he is perfectly happy to let me rattle on about them. I discuss NBC and affiliate strategies, I worry about Late Night Staff members and how they had to move their families to the opposite coast. I need to watch the final shows of Conan although to be honest, before the wars started (those in the know remember the first Late Night Wars of the early 90s) I rarely watched Conan. Much as I liked him, I didn't think the show was all that funny, preferring the ever so wonderful Craig Ferguson.
If you didn't know any better you would swear there were 4 things going on in the world. Haiti, late night, and 2 so stupid so passe news items that no matter how much they yammer on about them I cannot figure out why they are STILL news. I refer of course to Mark McGuire and his steroids (hello why does this matter?) and Whats his name Edwards who is a baby daddy.(Why is he still relevant?)
Haiti of course matters and should affect us all. I pray for that country and soak up every bit of knowledge about their history, their hopes, their unrealized dreams. My heart breaks for the families who sent their young children off to help a poor nation only to have them buried under all that debris...
But the other 3 stories?
Are we still fighting a war? Do you know MA has an unemployment rate of over 9% now? Why are we still shoving MCAS down kids throats, teaching to the test, and forcing kids to hate school and although everyone agrees no one talks about solutions? Do you have any idea how cruelly hard first graders work and what is expected of their poor teachers?
Bullying is on the rise in schools and one theory is that they have so little unstructured time in their early years to learn key social skills... did you know that? If you did you did not get that from TV or Internet news that is for sure.
I still do not know how we fell into this terrible economic state or how we are to get out. I still think there were people who could have prevented it and who made off with millions. Why is higher eduction becoming such a burden on families? Why does almost all research in this country have to be driven by drug companies? Should not our government offer the bulk of financial support? Why is the foster care system still such an unholy mess?
There is lots of news I wish I knew about but apparently media types do not think these are interesting.
Meanwhile I miss Rosie and Howard Stern who abandoned me for pay radio. I wonder why Conan keeps his hair that way? I fret over the hopelessness of real permanent weightloss, look at Oprah who for all her millions is still fat.

Perimenopause?

"Insomnia is a common complaint during peri/menopause. This insomnia often takes the form of an inability to sleep through the night. Women often wake up in the wee hours of the morning and have great difficulty getting back to sleep.
Sometimes these awakenings immediately precede a night sweat or at least a warm period where one wants to throw off the covers. Some times a woman will wake up with heart pounding and in an anxiety state for no apparent reason. Very vivid dreams may wake up other women. Other times there doesn't seem to be any reason at all why one awakes at two and three and four a.m. unable to fall back to sleep for 20 or 40 minutes or even longer.
It is possible that these awakenings are due to the body's inability to maintain a consistent temperature due to hormone fluctuations. Even if a hot flush isn't apparent to the woman, it may be that the body temperature has risen to the point where continued sleep is impossible. It will then take a period of time before body temperature falls again making getting back to sleep difficult. "
This is the new me. Any suggestions? The hot flashes are very mild and I don't know 'polite' not at all like some ladies I know who have to change wet bed linens and soked pjs.. But if left to me I am awake from say 4-6 and then can peacefully sleep until 10. This does not fit in in the real world. Amy advice?

When is it appropriate to say "pain in the ass"

I am currently pecking this blog out on my computer while I am in a standing position. As you can imagine this does not help my propensity to hit the wrong letter key in the least! In addition this feat contributes to eye strain, ones neck aches and after a while ones back starts to issue its own complaints. All because of my first very real sports injury. (The out of shape among you are in no position to claim it is not a sports injury.)
On Sunday, January 3, 2010 I broke my tailbone while coasting with the kids in a snow covered sandpit. The crunch was unmistakable and the pain nearly unbearable for the first 24 hours. During the next 48hours however it appeared that I was mistaken as the pain seemed to lessen. Indeed if I am standing up or lying down there is no noticeable pain at all!
Sitting however or moving from a standing to sitting position and vice versa is a whole other matter. I am not certain if that pain is increasing or if my body and soul is being dragged down because of the unrelentingness of 15 straight days of pain but it takes agonizing will power sometimes just to heave myself up or settle myself down.
Pain is a fascinating subject to me probably because it has been my constant companion for almost 19 years, since the nerve damage in my mid back. Add to that the slowly degenerating discs in my lower back and as you can imagine I have developed both a healthy respect and high tolerance for physical pain.
One of the reasons I became so heavy I believe was because I learned to ignore my body's
signals. Please trust me when I tell you no one around you wants to listen to a constant barrage of the pain you are in. People in general can give you a max 24 hours of sympathy before what they hear is whining. Even I grew weary of the voice in my head complaining of pain. So I took to grinning and bearing it,offering it up, and paying it no attention.
But 2 years ago when I started my journey to good health I realized I had to pay attention to bodily signals. As a runner I need to know when to push past discomfort or pay closer attention to avoid a real injury.
Then a year ago when I started to seriously try and have a yoga practice I really had to focus on body awareness. Believe me I am not a big fan! If you focus on breathing and body awareness, if you listen to your body's signals you can not pick and choose which signals to feel. Yes it was amazing the day I could touch my toes, after 4 months of a yoga practice....but every day of those 4 months I was made to also really feel my back pain and come to a new level of acceptance of it.
When I began to log true mileage running and do some distance biking I became all the more aware of my body and how important it was to push without over doing it. The more I read about different athletes the more grateful I became that I did not have sports injuries. With care and some restraint I can attempt most any athletic feat and not have my back hold me back-as it were.
I knew it was inevitable that something would give out. I often wondered if it would be a twisted ankle while running, or a fall from a bike. I certainly never expected a part of my body so amply padded would betray me and break.
I had had so much fun during the last snow storm coasting with the kids. It renewed my determination to become more fit and lose the rest of the excess weight. If it weren't for all my physical exercise I never would have attempted coasting. But I was so happy to be flying down that hill, right until the damn piece of quart- stuck frozen in the sand- snagged my bottom and crunched.
Now rolling over in bed is an ordeal, certain positions and exercises are out of the question and oh ya, no sitting for any measurable length of time. The pain is an annoying aggravating sort of pain...except when moving to a standing position or climbing out of the car, then it is simply breath stealing agony.
I do not normally consider myself to be a 'poor me' sort of person. But I must admit to indulging in some boohooing. This broken tailbone has become a true pain in the ass.

Donations for Haiti

Catholic Relief Services is one of the agencies that truly spend all their donations on the people it promises to help. So, Don may be jobless and we may be battling to secure health insurance (yup now I have Sen Pacheco's office involved) but we as a family have made the decision to donate to help the children of Haiti.
My little bit combined with your little bit might be the difference between a child living or dying. As always during these horrific crises my mind and heart remain with the social workers, foster parents, adoptive parents, and orphanages. The agony those families are going thru!
Last year the US granted 300 visas for children to come from Haiti to our shores to be with their forever families. As you can imagine it can take years to expediate this process. Currently I think there are 900 cases pending.
One of the unique things Haiti does for its children is to allow them to meet their forever families early in the process. Pictures are exchanged, visits to Haiti are allowed and one assumes money is donated to help the orphanage and schools. (This I do not know as a fact, I only know the love a parent has for a child).
No one in our government is speaking to the issue of the 900 pending adoptions. Of course it is a given that much of the paperwork is lost.... 900 families in the US are worried sick over their children and believe me distance and legalities do not diminish a parent's concern for their kid. What will happen?
We have had the experience of knowing our child (Joe) was in a non ideal place (Quite frankly anyplace that is not home is less than ideal, right?) I spent months literally from Feb to we finally got him in Dec sick to my stomach worrying for him. His foster home was not the best place for him yet there was nothing we could do except follow every rule, fill out every paper, constantly call and write the authorities, and pray pray pray.
But my son had food, shelter, and a school that nurtured him. Until he could be legally ours I had to have faith that those around him would take care of him, not perhaps as scrupulously and dotingly as a mom but close enough.
The torture now that families in our country are going thru waiting for their children not even knowing if they are alive let alone who is caring for them or what will happen....
Certainly there are a million tragedies and problems that that cursed nation is facing. Hundreds of complex decisions have to be made for both the short and long term. But who is the voice for the voiceless? We take such piss poor care of our own foster children in this country allowing them to languish in care for an average of 5 years. They bounce from house to house, or they are returned home again and again to suffer some more until they are adoloscent and angry and then no one wants them. We live in a country, heck we live in a state where babies remain in the hospital because there is no place for them! How much worse for the kids in Haiti...
What to do? What to do? Stare at the television and online photos, send hwat little money we can, and pray pray pray.

My Dog Lily

As you know after much heartache we made the decision to put our beloved beagle Champ down. One of the myriad of emotions that coursed through me at that time was regret because in my inability to let go, I had added to Champ's suffering. Certainly I should've put him to sleep before his doggy dementia had him wandering the house at night lost and afraid.
So I was really anxious between Thanksgiving and Christmas when it became increasingly obvious that the tumor on Lily's neck was increasing in size.
In addition it was clear that her itchy skin was not due to a flea allergy but was probably related to the tumor. To top it off her fur was not growing back where Don had shaved it down months before in an effort to stay on top of the flea situation (I swear all it takes is one little flea bite for her to scratch like mad!) The end of November came and our beloved shaggy dog was clearly losing hair instead of gaining.
As soon as Christmas was over I began to call the local retired Veterinarian in town. (apparently he had a little vacation.) We have always taken our animals to him. He and his wife (who is also the nurse) operate a small clinic from their home. They are warm friendly people who care for our pets nearly as much as we do!
This morning after a careful bath and grooming Miss Lily and I headed out into a snow shower to the vets. I was so afraid that the news would not be good.
But after a thorough exam her tumor is deemed most likely a lipoma that may continue growing outward but is not as I feared heading inward. (Can you imagine the dog home alone or with my brother or one of the kids when suddenly the tumor cuts off her breathing?)
It may be that the tumor is setting off an itchy skin and hair loss situation but a little benedryl and acceptance of a scraggly look can take care of that.
I was so relieved that I started to get teary. The vet quickly suggested I go for a second opinion and offered to biopsy or remove the tumor. But he did not recommend it in an older dog especially one who is in his words 'such a sweet home girl." He felt the trauma of the surgery would be too stressful and I completely agree!
He spent about a half hour with us going over her health and habits and observing her and sharing stories of other dogs in her situaion. Then he would not let me pay but simply patted Lily's head and waved us on her way.
"Get that sweet girl home to her kids and rabbits just as she likes" he remarked. He gets a kick out of how much Lily likes the baby bunnies.
The ride home was a blur. Lily immediately lay down in the front seat relieved to be heading home. She really is a homebody and is devoted to her place and people.
Donnie was all smiles. Lily was certainly not his dream dog. He has had to help me trim her hair when it gets matted and many a time when she was young it was he who got stuck dragging her in the house when the thunderstorm or loud noise sent her into hiding. Because she is so afraid of men the only time she has ever willingly come to him is when he sits on the couch and ignores her, and even that took years.
But he has always admired her devotion to the bunnies and he really appreciates that she is no barker. As a matter of fact he is convinced that if it weren't for yippy Bambam Lily probably would never make a sound.
Most of all he knows how I adore her and so just before Christmas he assured me he had the money to pay for her vet bill and he would trust whatever financial decision I needed to make if it came to that.
Funny although I know he is thrilled she cost him nothing he never even asked about that. Anway as each kid came home from school today the first thing they asked about was our old girl. She has spent most of the day sleeping in her crate. The early morning bath, grooming session, car rdie, and vet visit wore her out. But she will get up tomorrow and cheerfully bounce out into the snow. My dog Lily.

Plans for the New Year

2008 Resolutions
1. Rejoin Weight Watchers –commit to the program including the weekly meetings.
2. Daily exercise.
3. Run the Carver Road Race in July. Run the entire 5 miles and do not come in last.
2009 Resolutions
1. Continue Weight Watchers
2. Make basic doctor’s appointments- physical (check cholesterol, blood pressure, sugar levels.) Mammogram, eye doctor, gyno.
3. Do a real backpacking hike.
4. Swim 1/2mile across Maquan pond- no stopping, no floaties.
5. Join the gym- lift weights, yoga, aerobics, etc.
6. Have a Race Season.
2010 Resolutions
1. Continue Weight Watchers-reach goal 100 pounds lost.
2. Figure out how not to feel hungry all the time. (Manipulate diet, check with doctor, research, etc.)
3. Continue with the gym- learn new machines. Lift the barbell with weights on it.
4. Have another race season.
5. DANCE.
6. Join a team sport or specific exercise class.
7. Make time to be with friends.

The 2008 year was the very first time my resolutions lasted longer than Mid February. I was so giddy at that first Weight Watcher meeting of 09 as I realized that I had indeed achieved my 3 goals that I added additional resolutions. If 08 could have me successful with 3 goals, 09 would see me tackle twice that many.
09 too saw many successes although I did fall slightly short. I did not do the gym during the warm months although I certainly continued exercising. BUT I think building muscle will be an important component of any permanent weight loss strategy so even after I move my yoga and aerobics outdoors, this year I need to continue my indoor weight lifting.
Also I made all my doctor’s appointments (and had terrific numbers I may boast!) but I never did get to the gynecologist. Her office was not pleasant to deal with and when they postponed the appointment (that was made 4 months from the initial phone call) I never did reschedule. I shall make that a commitment to myself even if I have to find a new gyno, ick!
But just looking at how I achieved all of the goals in 08 and nearly all of the goals in 09 is a heady feeling. It does empower a person!
2010 I think helps deal with issues of the 'foreverness' of healthy eating and moving. Since I often feel lonely exercising, even though I have diligently stuck with it I hate the solitaryness of the situation, I think a team sport or class will really give me a boost. Also I have a friend who has found great satiety in going low carb and certainly it is something I should look at. I have also set a goal of my 47th birthday in April. If I am still starving most of the time (we are not talking psychological hunger here, but rip roaring tummy growling hunger!) I am going to show my doctor my food journal and have him order some thyroid or other metabolic tests. This is assuming of course that unemployment has resolved my health insurance red tape by then!
Can I also mention the amazing thing that happened to me yesterday? I could hardly wait to share it with you. Yesterday after working at it for 2 straight weeks, I was able from a seated incline, to lift the barbell for 3 sets of 12. The bar is 45 pounds! Can you even imagine? My chest muscles are the weakest, in part due to the nerve damage of my midback, yet after 2 weeks of really hard work(and six weeks of prep work before it) I did it!
This required not only strength and coordination but also bravery because the incline bench is in the heart of He-Man territory at the gym. When I accomplished my goal I was even brave enough to ask the girl at the desk how much the bar weighed. When she cheerfully admitted to no idea I was extra bold and politely insisted she go look at it and find out! So there! Ha, it pays to be assertive:>)
Now I also must confess my first honest to goodness sports injury. I am not talking run of the mill muscle soreness, I am talking real pain here. I believe I broke my tail bone coasting with the kids today. That is correct in my competitive effort to coast the furthest I slammed over a rock and broke my heinie. Do you believe my first injury and it is a pain in the ASS?
Figures...

2010 is happening!

I have not yet fully articulated my 2010 New Year's Resolutions although as in previous years it will certainly contain a physical health component. I do believe I will make certain though to continue the year the way I brought it in, by making times for friendship.
New Years Eve found us in a quandary. We decided to find a closer to home way to ring in the New Year.
All of our dating and early marriage years were spent apart for New Years as Don played in one band or another. The one year I went with him during that time was when I was 3 weeks from my due date (Julie arrived on January 23rd.) He was playing down in Plymouth and I eagerly donned on an elegant outfit and happily danced the night away. It was perfect, until some woman in the ladies room drunkenly asked me when I was due and said her date was an EMT and he felt I was gonna 'drop' that baby any minute right out there on the dance floor. I went from feeling sexy and happy as the guitar player's wife to feeling fat and dowdy. I sat the rest of the night out and although it was nice getting my New Year's Eve kiss it was many years before we got to do that again.
For a couple of years we got together with a friends from here in Carver. They had 4 kids approximating our kids ages and they are a very fun couple. But I did not want to ring in the New Year with my children. Of course I adore them and love spending time with them but in my minds eye New Years Eve should be an adult holiday with elegant clothes, good food, and champagne and perhaps even dancing!
We partied together for a few years but when I asked that we do it without kids I was met with resistance. Along came our youth minister friends who decided to have a NYE gathering and I was eager to try their party. Don felt comfortable with that crowd (always a challenge when we go somewhere!) There was no dancing but plenty of food and drinks ( tried my first 'shots' ever at one of their NYE parties!)
But this year the party was moving all the way to Reading. I know the hostess had hurt feelings when we declined the invite and I really felt bad. But being on the road that far away? We would be driving for three hours! Don had to get up early for hockey games and Jamie was expecting an early dinner out for his 17Th birthday.
I did miss being with these friends however, some of whom we have not seen since the summer. But only having to drive 15 minutes from the house proved to great a lure to resist! We ended up at the Monponsett Inn for munchies, drinks and dancing. We went with my girlfriend Maureen and her husband Doug. Reenie and I have been friends since the second grade and although our lives spin faster and faster we both try to get together every month or so, not that we always succeed.
It was not a wild and crazy night, instead it was relaxed, friendly and oh so nice. We got to ring in the New Year with friends and still be home in bed by 12:30.
An added bonus was that the whole time I was dancing I did not feel at all out of breath. Yeah for healthy eating and exercise! I could not convince Reenie to wear something slinky and flashy, she wisely chose understated and warm! But I did mange to wear sparkly make up and brought the cleavage along for Don and Dougs' pleasure:>)
The very next day, Jan 1 found me spending some time with my other longtime girlfriend Eileen and her youngest. Again we did not do anything spectacular, just sat in the kitchen eating homemade rolls and beef stew while we chatted. As our children have gotten older it is harder to meet up with my dear friends, but there is nothing like being with people who know your history, who you can fully reveal yourself, warts and all.
Neither friend date was a ONCE IN A LIFETIME moment, instead just weaving the threads of our lives together...
So I have decided that 2010 is not going to be filled up with 'have tos' but instead with plenty of 'want to ' moments. I am going to make sure that Don and I get to spend lots of quality friend times with our dear friends.
Maybe we will have or go to big bash cookouts. Or perhaps I will just sneak out for dessert and quiet conversation. Life is picking up speed instead of slowing down as we age. I want to make sure I get to experience it with my old and new friends. Happy New Years.