Whining instead of Wine-ing

This exercise program really hurts. I'd forgotten how much soreness it causes.  Today was cardio "recovery". Sure we didn't do crazy running in place or jumping but my muscles are soo sore and fatigued that I didn't do the "easy" stuff very well at all this morning.  It's quite challenging to stand on one leg and balance when your leg muscles are shaking. Taking this one day at a time.   I think I've got 53 days left. I'm giving up wine until I finish my exercise program.
(Which will be right on time because my Mommy Retreat begins on the last day of Insanity. )

I got great news yesterday. There's a 51% chance of me hitting my super secret goal (ssg). I'll share more when there is more info to share. It'll be 2 weeks before I'll have additional information.

On March 23rd, the Hunger Games movie comes out and my daughter and I care already planning a girls night to celebrate. We read the book series together months ago and this movie opening is exciting. We haven't had a day to ourselves in a while so we're overdue for this mommy daughter time. The girl is taller than me. My baby is growing up and I've got to make the most times like these.

What I've been reading this past year

I've been reading while I'll I was away (from blogging). Here's the list since June 2012:

• The Kitchen House  by Kathleen Grissom (Jan 2012)
• Hunger Games Series by Suzanne Collins
1. Hunger Games (Nov 2011)
2. Catching Fire (Nov 2011)
3. Mockingjay (Dec 2011)
• Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (Oct 2011)
• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Sept 2011)
• Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (Sept 2011)
  I don't recommend it.
• Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Aug 2011)
• My Sister's Keeper by Jody Picoult (July 2011)
• Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin (Jul 2011)
• Buried Secrets by Joseph Finder (Jun 2011)
• Envy by Sandra Brown (Jun 2011)

I'm working on something big so I haven't done much leisure reading this year.  More on this later.

Here's a list of books I purchased and started last year but never finished:

• Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals by Heidi Halvorson
  I actually did listen to this all the way once, but I tried to do it again and didn't finish. I really enjoyed listening to this book, I wish I'd bought a hard copy though. This is a self-help sort of book that, for me, requires a highlighter and place to take notes. It's not the type of book to sit back and just listen. I couldn't and still can't find the time this book needs but I'll have it handy when I am ready. Still a favorite
• Dead until Dark by Charlaine Harris
  I admit it. I watch True Blood. It's one of those shows I didn't expect to like but did. It's my guilty pleasure. Right up there with Glee.
• In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith
  Just didn't do it for me.
• Sh*t My Dad Says byJustin Halpern
  This one came off as a garblely-goop of semi-funny random memories told by someone who likes to hear themselves curse. This one got such great reviews, I might try it again some day, when my credits run out and I need to listen to something.

Im back...again

I'm an on-again-off-again blogger. I blog when I'm in a period in my life where I've got a lot on my mind and need a place to put it all. Well not ALL.

While I don't mind blogging publicly, I am concerned that my words may be used against me in the future.

I just experienced an EPIC FAIL. All I had to do was read the scripture at church. I can read, this should be easy right? It was more of a misunderstanding but quite embarrassing. I speak in front of crowds all the time. I'm sure there is a lesson I'm supposed to learn in this experience somewhere.

So I finished Insanity last year. I lost inches and pounds, dropped two dress sizes then lost just about all my success in 4 months! I'm back in my old (bigger) jeans.

So I've started again. Today is 1 of 60. I will do this one more time. After this, I will do whatever is necessary to keep up my results, short of doing another round of Insanity!

I miss my muscles so I'm motivated to see improvements. Oh! Another thing, I have a warm weather vacation in early May and I must get back into that little swim suit I bought after my first round of Insanity. Not to mention our 20 year high school reunions upcoming, in August. Who doesn't want to look better than usual for reunion time? Don't judge me!
Lol.

Finished Lords of Discipline Book

more like 3.5

I really enjoyed Pat Conroy's Book, The Lords of Discipline. He's a good writer. I also really liked the Prince of Tides.

Thus far I've found that I am quite amused by personalities of his characters.

I 'll have to look up additional books by this author. Suggestions.

On to the next book!

Theme from Twilight Zone

I wish I new some word for the sound of the Twilight Zone theme. (Not to be confused with anything remotely related to Vampires or Werewolves.)

Anyway I had that eerie feeling again while hanging out with my husband last night. I was busy trying to set up our new Xbox while he was perusing the internet on his laptop.

I was completely engrossed in signing up for Xbox Live when suddenly, I remembered there was something on Facebook that I'd meant to share with my husband. A few days ago, a friend from high school announced to our (20th year) reunion group that one of our classmates was featured in a national magazine.

As I begin telling my husband, he interrupted me, shook his head and asked me to look at what was reading this very moment. He was reading that exact post on Facebook.
(music from Twilight Zone)

I think he somehow gave me that thought. I just don't know how. This is not the first time either. I just decided today to write it down. We discover that this happens to us every few months. Not very often. I wonder if it happens more often we just don't catch it. I wonder if we can figure out how to do this sort of thing on purpose. That was be really cool!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Birthday favorite from way back when

This entry was a prompt on the Mama's losin' it website.

5.) Comfort food at it’s finest. Share a family favorite recipe you loved as a child.

We called it Rainbow cake, but apparently the official name is Jello/Gelatin/Holiday Poke Cake. When I started looking for the recipe and pictures online, I also discovered that people consider it a christmas cake because of how it looks. Ha! I don't recall ever considering it for Christmas. It was our special birthday treat. It was the birthday cake to end all other birthday cakes! So special. Now that I think of it, I think I'll make my sister one for her August birthday as a surprise blast from the past.  (She doesn't read my blog so this publication of my secret is incredibly safe from her.)


So here's a picture of the cake. I'll post my own picture in August but for now I'm borrowing from a fellow blogger, ThinGuy (ThinGuy reported that he didn't eat even a crumb of this cake, which must be why he can title himself as such.) In case you were wondering, one slice of this baby is 220 calories. Maybe 10 calories less if you use light cool whip.

Picture courtesy of blogger, ThinGuy. 

Here's the Recipe from Kraft's website. Kraft provides suggestions on the jello favor depending on what cake you choose (white, yellow, chocolate, spice). Growing up we occasionally requested different flavors but red and green was our favorite.

Text Version Below
 'cause I'd hate for Kraft to remove the recipe from the web


Ingredients:
2 baked 9-inch round white cake layers, cooled
2 cups  boiling water, divided
1 pkg. (3 oz.) JELL-O Gelatin, any red flavor
1 pkg.  (3 oz.) JELL-O Lime Flavor Gelatin
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed


Instructions:

PLACE cakes, top-sides up, in clean 9-inch round pans; pierce with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.

ADD 1 cup boiling water to each flavor dry gelatin mix in separate small bowls; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved. Pour red gelatin over 1 cake and lime gelatin over remaining cake. Refrigerate 3 hours.

DIP bottoms of cake pans in warm water 10 sec.; unmold. Fill and frost cake layers with COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 1 hour. 

30 Days of Truth: Day 5

Something I want to do in my life
I was going to make this post serious concerning my life purpose but at this moment I don't feel like it. At this time, I'd prefer to tell you of my desire to participate in a dance flash mob.

I think I missed an opportunity to participate in one that happened on the campus where I work. Back then though, I didn't realize "flash mob participant" would find its way to my bucket list.

I can see it now, downtown in my city during the new years or fourth of July celebration. People are milling around chatting and looking at items from venders and suddenly the music blasts. Everyone from the old man with a cane joins the giggling teenage girls, 200 other strangers and me dancing in sync to "I'm too sexy"!

Oh yeah. I can see it.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Meet Aretha!

{blogger lost this entry originally posted on Thursday May 12, 2011. Here's my effort to give you the gist of that entry}


Aretha is my high maintenance diva of a house plant. Actually she's my new officemate. An unlikely pairing to be honest. I manage to kill the easiest-to-keep plants. This is a persnickety orchid. Get a good look now while she's still happy and beautiful. If this little project doesn't work out she'll be replaced by a lovely silk variety.

I sort of got swindled into this venture by a well-meaning, green-thumbed coworker. He said he'd figured out how to grow orchids, it would be simple and he'd help us the whole way.

I happily gifted Aretha a new pot and plant stand. Then I learned about all her demands needs. She needs more light than the sun (from a north-facing window) can provide (greedy plant) thus I need to provide her a lamp (with one of those cool, energy efficient bulbs) and a timer so she doesn't get sunburn too much light.

Proper watering requires a draining technique where she sits on a mesh net thingy atop of a bucket. Excess water drains into said bucket which is carried down stairs, out the building and dumped outside by the hired help me.

And if that wasn't enough, she need bi-weekly fertilizer that should be mixed and stored in my tiny work refrigerator where my food used to be stored.

Now if she requests buckets full of green m&m's (don't miss the Glee reference here), I'm kicking her to the curb.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Loss and Recovery: Blogger's Hiccup

When Blogger went down last week I lost 2 posts. Blogger reports that they've restored posts and are working on restoring comments now. My entries were posted on Thursday and they haven't been restored.
One about my new officemate, a high maintenance indoor plant. The other was a mama kat writing prompt entry to share a love letter.
Recovery
I'll probably recreate these but boy this is discouraging. Blogger's a free service so I'm thinking of going back to Wordpress. I pay for webhosting and I've run my own Wordpress blog before. I wanted to get out of some of the background work but I don't like losing entries.  I'm not strong on forgiveness. Sort of a theme in my blog I've discovered.
Anyway, I'll post my next steps here. Perhaps I'll give blogger another day to see if they restore my stuff.

I Hate to lose something!

No Loser, No Weeper By Maya Angelou

‘I hate to lose something,’then she bent her head
‘even a dime, I wish I was dead.
I can’t explain it. No more to be said.
Cept I hate to lose something.’

‘I lost a doll once and cried for a week.
She could open her eyes, and do all but speak.
I believe she was took, by some doll-snatching-sneak
I tell you, I hate to lose something.’

‘A watch of mine once, got up and walked alway.
It had twelve numbers on it and for the time of day.
I’ll never forget it and all I can say
Is I really hate to lose something.’

‘Now if I felt that way bout a watch and a toy,
What you think I feel bout my lover-boy?
I ain’t threatening you madam, but he is my evening’s joy.
And I mean I really hate to lose something.’

Share a love letter

{This blog entry recreated on May 17th after blogger lost it after May 12 hiccup in system}

This entry was a prompt on the Mama's losin' it website.

Write a Love Letter to someone

I decided to share a love letter rather than write another one. This is not my best work. It was written in  a hurry just a few minutes before we gave my husbands his gifts. It is however, quite sincere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I pray that in this next year you blend* your skills, interests, connections, faith and focus such that you find your personal rhythm** of success. I, of course, will be there to cheer you on. I want to be there for you, but I don't think I can help it. I feel linked you in ways beyond my control. (And that's a good thing.) From way back when we first became a couple, I discovered that I feel like I grow a year older at the same time, on the same day that you do. I understand that today is not my birthday but somehow it feels like it ( just a bit) and a wise man once told me that you can't argue with how I feel :)

I know we scowl at each newly discovered grey hair and we wince as we realize we've acquired another crack or creak in a joint, but these things remind me that we are living our vow to grow older together. On this day, I celebrate the birth of you -my customized gift from God. The day my soulmate entered this world and secured my destiny. Today I celebrate you and us.

Happy Birthday David. I love you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For this birthday the kids and I bought him:

* a blender to replace the pitiful old one he was using for his new interest in healthy smoothies.

** an authentic African drum from One Thousand Villages.

Back in our pre-dating stage my husband wrote me love letter that made my heart pound. I blogged about it before. Check it out here.