1. Walking K- to school and home after volunteering, then back to school and home again. That, my friends, is 4 miles.
2. In between all that, I managed to get the house 2/3 clean, laundry handled 2/3, beds stripped and remade, bathroom 100% clean and I'm on my way to putting the adult laundry away.
3. K- and I visited the dental unit to get the ALL CLEAR! Yes, when they announced that K- was yet again cavity free, I did the good Baptist thing, raised my hands and giggled while dancing and saying, "Praise Jesus!" When it comes to K- and her teeth, believe me, they feel the same way.
4. Speaking of, K- is just now getting her 6 year molars. One is coming in and 3 are sitting in wait. Once those are in and because of K-'s history of crubby teeth (thank you birth status), she will be getting the biting surfaces of her teeth sealed. The hygienist in charge of ordering supplies assured me that it is all BPA free, so that is a great thing. For K-, any extra help we can get is fantastic. And as for a looseness report? Nuthin. Dr. Rick laughed and said that absolutely nothing is loose in any way. I told him that was God's reward to us for taking such good care of her teeth with him. Renee, the hygienist, did tell me that the longer the teeth stay in, the better the permanent teeth will be.
5. I got a fantastic report, too! Dr. Rick told me that my teeth were beautiful and other than a spot of trouble early on, my teeth have been good to go. (I had a 10 year dental hiatus that gave me many fillings to tackle for several years as a result. We're past that now.)
6. I did the 30 Day Shred and did a much better job today than I did Tuesday. I was up and had been running around so much beforehand, that I think I was a lot better stretched out and warmed up than before. Rachael told me that and a friend confirmed it. I felt so much better afterwards. I had enough time to go, freshen up, throw on a coat and walk to get K-. I didn't sit and turn into a pile and I think that helped, too.
7. I found out that my sore throat could have been from my improperly breathing while exercising. Who knew?
8. The RAV is scheduled for the recall repair tomorrow. Will the lovely dealership be kind enough to run it through the wash before they give it back? It would be delightful if they did.
Smiles in my day:
- Listed above.
Have a great weekend!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Does it count if I say my kid did it? Well, and other fine things to blog about.
I was a wienie. Yup. There you have it. I had to skate out of the Shred yesterday. I felt like a truck had plowed me over, but I was pretty well convinced that it wasn't all Jillian's doing. My throat was sore and I was sore in a way that was other than getting a 22 minute butt kicking.
My child? So excited to exercise, decided to Shred on her own. I sat and watched. She did work up a sweat.
Does that count?
I've sucked down a few Oscillo over the last 24 and I'm happy to say that I'm back up and on track. Because I don't want to have my husband see me flopping all over the floor, I'll wait to Shred until he leaves for work, but I've already logged in 2 miles of walking today. I'll bust out 2 more miles here in a bit when I go to retrieve said child.
In the meantime, I'm back up and functioning at full speed. I admit that I'm still a little Jillian sore, but it's all good.
Other things on my mind:
1. The bumper sticker on the car in front of me yesterday that said, "God fearin', Gun packin', CONSERVATIVE." Okay, well, they have me on the God fearing part. I'm not a gun girl and I'm not conservative, much less in capital letters. Well, that's unless you count conservative in a few different areas such as environment, excess in home life and whatnot. Definitely not what they were speaking of. Still, I'm not a fan of the concealed carry law. It makes me extremely uneasy to know that people are walking around armed (law enforcement excluded) and in the same places that my child, husband, I and my family occupy/visit.
2. Why is there a man going around and protesting being gay at funerals of servicemen? Julia and I discussed this yesterday. (It was on NPR.) Is it within his rights of free speech? Yes. Is it socially acceptable? No. Has he considered how he would feel if someone did that to him? I'm sure that he's been asked and he probably fluffed it off. (I've not researched this, so feel free to call me on it. You know I'm always good to hear the other side that is constructively stated.) This is where my not being conservative in capital letters comes in. I'm an artist with many people I'm friends with that are gay. Does that bother me or my husband? No. I understand that there are people who feel uneasy about people and sexual orientation. It's a fact of life. Still, not so cool to do what he is doing. I feel it isn't right at all even though his rights dictate that he is lawfully demonstrating and doesn't that fall under "judge not, lest ye be judged?" Why funerals much less military funerals for people who died for our country? Wow.
3. I had the most thankful children in work yesterday that I've ever encountered ever. They were in with their grandmother and they definitely were the sort of folk to visit the touchable art. Financially, purchasing didn't seem to be a doable thing for them. (Okay, I hear you about the judging thing above. Just hear me out.) Grandma bought them two little things from the toy room. It was well under two dollars, but it made them so happy. Then, I gave them some chocolate coins that we had left over from the buyers market we just went to. Those two children thanked me time and time again and enjoyed those chocolates as if they were the best thing they were ever given. It made my heart so happy.
Smiles in my day:
- Seeing Mr. Jim (the crossing guard) in the mornings again while on foot. So happy to be back to walking again!
- Trying to get myself on the road to exercise. Not one of my favorite things at all. I'm trying.
- Crock-pot red beans and brown rice with turkey sausages for dinner. We have a 4 PM dental appointment about a half hour away and Hubs works late tonight. It'll be me and K- and our sausages.
I have a house to clean. Must move on. Have a great day!
My child? So excited to exercise, decided to Shred on her own. I sat and watched. She did work up a sweat.
Does that count?
I've sucked down a few Oscillo over the last 24 and I'm happy to say that I'm back up and on track. Because I don't want to have my husband see me flopping all over the floor, I'll wait to Shred until he leaves for work, but I've already logged in 2 miles of walking today. I'll bust out 2 more miles here in a bit when I go to retrieve said child.
In the meantime, I'm back up and functioning at full speed. I admit that I'm still a little Jillian sore, but it's all good.
Other things on my mind:
1. The bumper sticker on the car in front of me yesterday that said, "God fearin', Gun packin', CONSERVATIVE." Okay, well, they have me on the God fearing part. I'm not a gun girl and I'm not conservative, much less in capital letters. Well, that's unless you count conservative in a few different areas such as environment, excess in home life and whatnot. Definitely not what they were speaking of. Still, I'm not a fan of the concealed carry law. It makes me extremely uneasy to know that people are walking around armed (law enforcement excluded) and in the same places that my child, husband, I and my family occupy/visit.
2. Why is there a man going around and protesting being gay at funerals of servicemen? Julia and I discussed this yesterday. (It was on NPR.) Is it within his rights of free speech? Yes. Is it socially acceptable? No. Has he considered how he would feel if someone did that to him? I'm sure that he's been asked and he probably fluffed it off. (I've not researched this, so feel free to call me on it. You know I'm always good to hear the other side that is constructively stated.) This is where my not being conservative in capital letters comes in. I'm an artist with many people I'm friends with that are gay. Does that bother me or my husband? No. I understand that there are people who feel uneasy about people and sexual orientation. It's a fact of life. Still, not so cool to do what he is doing. I feel it isn't right at all even though his rights dictate that he is lawfully demonstrating and doesn't that fall under "judge not, lest ye be judged?" Why funerals much less military funerals for people who died for our country? Wow.
3. I had the most thankful children in work yesterday that I've ever encountered ever. They were in with their grandmother and they definitely were the sort of folk to visit the touchable art. Financially, purchasing didn't seem to be a doable thing for them. (Okay, I hear you about the judging thing above. Just hear me out.) Grandma bought them two little things from the toy room. It was well under two dollars, but it made them so happy. Then, I gave them some chocolate coins that we had left over from the buyers market we just went to. Those two children thanked me time and time again and enjoyed those chocolates as if they were the best thing they were ever given. It made my heart so happy.
Smiles in my day:
- Seeing Mr. Jim (the crossing guard) in the mornings again while on foot. So happy to be back to walking again!
- Trying to get myself on the road to exercise. Not one of my favorite things at all. I'm trying.
- Crock-pot red beans and brown rice with turkey sausages for dinner. We have a 4 PM dental appointment about a half hour away and Hubs works late tonight. It'll be me and K- and our sausages.
I have a house to clean. Must move on. Have a great day!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
The longest 22 minutes.
Now, they weren't the longest 22 minutes of my life. The MRI that my claustrophobic self had when I blew my knee out qualifies as the longest 45 minutes of my life. Uh, no. It would be the 30 Day Shred.
Now, I hold no hatred towards Jillian or my friend Rachael that got me into this. Rachael warned that I'll be feeling better about it on or near the 4th day.
The 4th day seems so far away.
The movements themselves seem fairly reasonable. All the work on the knees is going to kill me, but I'm going to be on the search for my knee braces (yes, plural) to use tomorrow. I have a spiffy ACL brace made to my then measurements (I assure you that I've expanded in the thigh area since 1999) and another neoprene support for the other knee.
The arthritic come to the feet of Jillian in my house.
I have drawn a lovely hot bath for myself. My side of the bed is already turned on and warming. I expect that steps will not be my happy place tomorrow, as they certainly are getting tougher as the day goes on today.
It will get better.
So, what is my goal for the 30 Day Shred? I'd really love to lose 15 pounds. I'd be more than thrilled if I could knock that down to 20. My goal weight is not the 97 pounds I was when we first married. That is unrealistic and not the healthiest look for me anyhow. (No, I wasn't dieting then. I had a much more active metabolism, I was still in college and walked everywhere.) I am not overweight, but I need a massive toning. I need to work out for that and to help the cholesterol level to continue to go down. Though I'm not overweight, I'm definitely carrying fluff that I wish to drop. I swore that I would remain in a single digit jeans size and the single digit is not as loose as she used to be. My grandmother was very bottom round (size 14 top, size 22 bottom), so I would like to avoid that shape if I can, please. Pear shaped isn't very healthy by what I read. The genes for the pear? Oh, they are there.
So, I will make it past day 1. I will make it to day 2. I will make it further. I just may be limping my way there.
Wow.
Smiles in my day:
- Crocus' are blooming in my front bed!
Have a great day!
Now, I hold no hatred towards Jillian or my friend Rachael that got me into this. Rachael warned that I'll be feeling better about it on or near the 4th day.
The 4th day seems so far away.
The movements themselves seem fairly reasonable. All the work on the knees is going to kill me, but I'm going to be on the search for my knee braces (yes, plural) to use tomorrow. I have a spiffy ACL brace made to my then measurements (I assure you that I've expanded in the thigh area since 1999) and another neoprene support for the other knee.
The arthritic come to the feet of Jillian in my house.
I have drawn a lovely hot bath for myself. My side of the bed is already turned on and warming. I expect that steps will not be my happy place tomorrow, as they certainly are getting tougher as the day goes on today.
It will get better.
So, what is my goal for the 30 Day Shred? I'd really love to lose 15 pounds. I'd be more than thrilled if I could knock that down to 20. My goal weight is not the 97 pounds I was when we first married. That is unrealistic and not the healthiest look for me anyhow. (No, I wasn't dieting then. I had a much more active metabolism, I was still in college and walked everywhere.) I am not overweight, but I need a massive toning. I need to work out for that and to help the cholesterol level to continue to go down. Though I'm not overweight, I'm definitely carrying fluff that I wish to drop. I swore that I would remain in a single digit jeans size and the single digit is not as loose as she used to be. My grandmother was very bottom round (size 14 top, size 22 bottom), so I would like to avoid that shape if I can, please. Pear shaped isn't very healthy by what I read. The genes for the pear? Oh, they are there.
So, I will make it past day 1. I will make it to day 2. I will make it further. I just may be limping my way there.
Wow.
Smiles in my day:
- Crocus' are blooming in my front bed!
Have a great day!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Tales from the Trenches: School uniforms make a difference
My child attends public school. She is one of the public school children that is required to wear the general American public school uniform. (Khaki or navy jumper or skorts, long or short sleeved polo shirts, tights when appropriate.) I've very good with this.
Last year, the Principal had built "spirit days" into the school calendar. (Spirit days are uniform-free days.) The school board requested that he not build them into the calendar, but to have them occasionally was fine. The other day, I was there when a parent approached him to ask why we haven't had the spirit days like we had in the previous years.
"When we have spirit days, there are a lot more behavioral problems."
"Can we reward the kids with a dress down certificate?"
"No. If we would have certain kids with dress down certificates for a particular day and a student dresses out of uniform anyhow, parents don't always come to rectify the uniform problem. Then, we have a student in street clothes that didn't deserve that perk and are rewarded for not following the rules."
I did find it very interesting that behavioral issues increase on non-uniform days. I know that K-'s school is 50% poverty level. Having all of the kids in uniforms has all of them looking alike, so there is no distinguishing the poor kids from the rich ones. I was a poor kid. Kids definitely see that and kids are picked on for a lack of. Sad, but true.
I have mentioned before that having uniforms cuts down on the clothes that we have for K-. They also cut down on laundry. Frankly, I don't have her change when she gets home because there is nothing she can do to that uniform that she doesn't/can't do at school. I wash them up, iron and match everything up so that all I need to do is to pull a hanger out of the closet.
I appreciate that we have cluster uniform swaps, too. (The city is divided into several school clusters within the district.) I love that we are helping each other out by trading out clothes that we no longer need for something that would benefit us. We flip things to a friend's daughter, too. K- is still wearing the uniform jumpers that she had from last year, which is a big money saver. No one knows and no one cares that she is still wearing last years stuff. If we weren't a uniform school, kids would notice.
Are you pro-uniform? How do you feel about uniforms in the public school?
Smiles in my day:
- My coworker insisting that I look just like Elinor Donahue. Now, other than the fact that the dear is a white woman with dark hair, I just don't see it. However, it tickled her to death and that is what counts.
- K- scored a 40/40 on her vocabulary quiz. She was thrilled!
- Scoring over 71,000 on Pacman on Hubs' game system tonight. He couldn't believe it and I stayed alive for the entire 5 minutes, which is quite a feat. The little things, I know.
- An awesome dinner that everyone (including Hubs!) could eat. (Chicken and noodles.)
- Remembering to file city taxes! They weren't available online when I put state and federal in and I almost forgot! Thankfully, Julia was talking about her taxes today!
Have a great day!
Last year, the Principal had built "spirit days" into the school calendar. (Spirit days are uniform-free days.) The school board requested that he not build them into the calendar, but to have them occasionally was fine. The other day, I was there when a parent approached him to ask why we haven't had the spirit days like we had in the previous years.
"When we have spirit days, there are a lot more behavioral problems."
"Can we reward the kids with a dress down certificate?"
"No. If we would have certain kids with dress down certificates for a particular day and a student dresses out of uniform anyhow, parents don't always come to rectify the uniform problem. Then, we have a student in street clothes that didn't deserve that perk and are rewarded for not following the rules."
I did find it very interesting that behavioral issues increase on non-uniform days. I know that K-'s school is 50% poverty level. Having all of the kids in uniforms has all of them looking alike, so there is no distinguishing the poor kids from the rich ones. I was a poor kid. Kids definitely see that and kids are picked on for a lack of. Sad, but true.
I have mentioned before that having uniforms cuts down on the clothes that we have for K-. They also cut down on laundry. Frankly, I don't have her change when she gets home because there is nothing she can do to that uniform that she doesn't/can't do at school. I wash them up, iron and match everything up so that all I need to do is to pull a hanger out of the closet.
I appreciate that we have cluster uniform swaps, too. (The city is divided into several school clusters within the district.) I love that we are helping each other out by trading out clothes that we no longer need for something that would benefit us. We flip things to a friend's daughter, too. K- is still wearing the uniform jumpers that she had from last year, which is a big money saver. No one knows and no one cares that she is still wearing last years stuff. If we weren't a uniform school, kids would notice.
Are you pro-uniform? How do you feel about uniforms in the public school?
Smiles in my day:
- My coworker insisting that I look just like Elinor Donahue. Now, other than the fact that the dear is a white woman with dark hair, I just don't see it. However, it tickled her to death and that is what counts.
- K- scored a 40/40 on her vocabulary quiz. She was thrilled!
- Scoring over 71,000 on Pacman on Hubs' game system tonight. He couldn't believe it and I stayed alive for the entire 5 minutes, which is quite a feat. The little things, I know.
- An awesome dinner that everyone (including Hubs!) could eat. (Chicken and noodles.)
- Remembering to file city taxes! They weren't available online when I put state and federal in and I almost forgot! Thankfully, Julia was talking about her taxes today!
Have a great day!
Monday, February 28, 2011
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| Snowperson. Crafted at 6:30 PM 2/27/11. |
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| Snowperson 13 1/2 hours later, after a night of thunderstorms and strong rain. Can anyone say, "Beetlejuice, beetlejuice, beetle . . . ?" |
- A very busy weekend with swimming, Dr. Seuss at Target, Lowe's workshop and my dad's birthday dinner. We had a lovely time!
Have a great day!
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