Style, or lack thereof!

First of all, let me state that I have indeed been keeping up with my jogging slogging (slow jogging!) Monday, Wednesday and Friday I'm at it. I just haven't posted my stats.

I made a discovery, though. The first few times I killed myself trying to finish within a decent time. And then crawled off the treadmill and was pretty miserable. Then I noticed the scale wasn't moving - in fact, I gained two pounds! Talk about discouraging! Then I realized that all my huffing and puffing was actually making my exercise anaerobic instead of aerobic, and I was out of any fat burning zone - I was just in survival mode!

So, then I tried not pushing myself quite so hard, discovered I could actually breathe while I was slogging, and guess what - the scale actually is moving downward now. I figured the first couple of weeks of pushing myself too hard, my fat stores said, "This chick is crazy. Better hold on to EVERYTHING!"

Now I can actually function after a run, and the scale is moving too. Good stuff. I didn't post my stats but I will if Mike someone needs proof - it seems Mike certain people might not believe I'm actually keeping up if I don't post!

Secondly, I found this great blog. This man photographs men and women (mostly of New York) of advanced years who show style and individuality. The ladies are gorgeous and inspire me. Yes, it's New York, where people don't look at you sideways for wearing different things, but who says you can't rock your individuality in the boonies if you want to?

I look at the photos on this blog and can't help but wonder what happened to me. Both of my grandmothers were fashionable in their own way. One always had nails painted, wore costume jewelry all the time, never left the house without lipstick, and I have pictures of her back in the 50's looking glamorous in evening wear. The other had more classic style; never wore pants, always believed a lady should wear a dress and stockings and heeled shoes, and did this right up until the time she died, in her 90's. Both of these ladies were always looking fashionable for the most part.

So, my question is how did I end up looking like this?! Part hillbilly, part throw-on-whatever's-close-and-fairly-clean? By genes alone, I should have more fashion sense. I need to work on that. In the meantime I'll enjoy the people on this blog and envy their freedom in being themselves fashion-wise.

Monday Stats

It was a tough walk/jog today. I didn't get in a hurry; my legs weren't cooperating.

Distance: 4 miles
Time for 3.1 miles: 1:02
Total time: 88 minutes
Maximum heart rate: 173 beats per minute
Average heart rate: 140

Happy Monday!

Very Cool

I had to share this with y'all. There is a very cool site, Jogfm.com, where you can enter in the time you want to go a mile and it will find music accordingly. I set up my iPod with music I found there and I have loved it. You can buy the songs from that site, or what I did was use their song suggestions and then bought them from this site, which is where we have been getting our music for a long time now. Much cheaper. Disclaimer #1: I get nothing from these companies by recommending them. They have no idea I even exist. I'm just passing along things I like to my readers (all 3 of you!) Disclaimer #2: If by chance you are not happy with either of these companies, don't blame me. Refer to Disclaimer #1. Happy Sunday, and Happy May!

Accountability and Happy Birthday

Okay - here goes. I've been running for a few weeks now and plan to run a 5K in the fall. There. I said it. I am posting it here so it can keep me accountable, and keep me going. I'm going all out and posting my times and my stats from my heart rate monitor. Right now my pace is S-L-O-W (think snail), but that's okay. Rome wasn't built in a day, and these hips didn't get this way in a day, either.

I go 4 miles. The first 3.1 miles (5K) I time myself, then after that I just walk and enjoy the music. So, here for your amusement, and to keep me on track, are today's stats:

Distance: 4 miles
Time for 3.1 miles: 58:51 (my best time yet)
Total time: 87 minutes
Maximum heart rate: 175 beats per minute
Average heart rate: 140

I had kind of a hard time today. My legs felt like lead. It's been a week since I was able to get on the treadmill, so that didn't help. Oh, and this didn't either -




Yesterday was Jerry's birthday and this was his cake. And a half. We went to Jerry's mom's house on Wednesday to celebrate, and then had a birthday dinner here last night, so he got two birthdays. That's a good thing. He's a good man. And who wouldn't want two birthdays?!

Easter Recap

Writing about this year's Easter reminded me of other years, so I figured I'd put links to past Easter posts so you could read them all from one place.

Easter 2005

Easter 2008

Easter 2008 (second post)

Evidently I didn't write about years 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010. Or I just couldn't find the posts. I know I took pictures each year of our dysfunctional Easter baskets, but I guess I didn't get them off my camera yet. One of these days I'll get my act together. Happy Friday to ya! And yes, I'm aware that my post date at the top says Thursday, 04/28. I started the post then and finished it this morning. So again, Happy Friday to ya!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, y'all! Here are pictures of this year's irreverent Easter basket ritual. We are irreverent about this part of it because we know what Easter is (it's all about Jesus!) and what it isn't (Easter bunny!). For the last few years I have been amused by the boys' creativity in that department. I go to bed and leave them to their devices to find Easter candy vessels. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is a picture of this year's.


A shoe box and my bread pan.



Oh, and look what they left for the Easter bunny........


Body building supplement powder and potatoes.


There is no rhyme or reason to the things we do here. We just amuse ourselves! Also, did you notice the books in their baskets?! Tom got a Dora book and Andy got a Thomas the Tank Engine book. Seems the Easter bunny had a joke up his her sleeve as well!

Happy Easter to everyone. Whether you go to church or not, please don't forget to give praise to the Lord who gives us hope and a future, because He died for us and rose on this wonderful day. And try not to eat too much candy!

Happy Anniversary!

Have you ever?! Have you EVER seen someone as rude as I, to take such a long break from blogging? Well, I did. But I have a good reason. Which I'll tell you another time.

Right now I just want to say happy anniversary to Jerry and I. It is our 29th anniversary today. I am SO blessed to have that man as a husband. I love him so much it isn't funny. When you've been married 29 years and still hold hands and snuggle while watching old westerns on TV together, well, that's love! And I'm not ashamed of admitting that we hold hands, snuggle, OR watch old westerns on TV!

Okay. I've written a blog post. I'm sure my brother was beginning to feel pretty smug because he had several blog posts up on me. Not anymore, brother o'mine. Ball's in your court!

Have a lovely Sunday!

Welcome, 2011!

I wish everyone a happy, healthy, prosperous, worry-free, wonderful new year. May this year be filled with blessings for all of us. And more blog posts!

Happy New Year from our family to yours.

Something To Think About

I read this today and just loved it, and wanted to share it with you.

Fulfillment is a reward the Lord grants his sons and daughters for their unselfish service, not a prize to be grabbed from God's hands by force.

That's something to think about in this day of "me, me, me."

Wanna Do Something Nice?

There is a wonderful blog that I follow, A Joyful Chaos. I love to read about this lady's former Amish life. Here is a link to a recent post. In it she has asked for cards for her Aunt Vernie. I sent one from our family to her on Saturday. If you want to do something nice for someone, email Mary Ann (her email address is on the right side of her blog under the picture of the fretwork clock) and get Aunt Vernie's address to help make her birthday special.

Some 'Splainin

I Didn't Die

How's that for a blog title?! Well, I didn't. Die, that is. I've just been horrendously busy and blogging took a back seat again. I'm not even going to try to apologize this time - life happens! There are lots of posts started (in my head, that is) that will hopefully be written soon, about what's been going on around here. Here's the Reader's Digest version:


1. Jerry is home from Delaware.
2. In 2005 Jerry and I bought a trailer in Rehoboth Beach.
3. We had trees taken down.
4. I love C. Booth dry oil.
5. I'm bellydancing again.
6. Jerry is home from Delaware.


Elaborations to follow. One day. Soon. I promise. No, really.

Romance

Back again! Hopefully I can carve out more time for blogging, because I really do miss writing. I'm still working on the whole Delaware saga for you, but in the meantime I wanted to share this.


Last week Shopper's Food Warehouse had triple coupons. In my world, that's a big deal. Anyway, Jerry and I needed a new showerhead (don't ask) from Lowe's, so we figured while we were in the area we'd stop at Shopper's and scout out prices for couponing that week.


It was late when we got to Shopper's, about 10:00 at night, so we pretty much had the store to ourselves. We went our separate ways in the store looking at different things, but happened to meet up again in the cleaning aisle - Jerry at one end and me at the other.


As we were perusing items in our respective ends of the aisle, our wedding song came on over the store's speakers. I put my arms out and walked toward Jerry and told him that we should dance - it was, after all, our wedding song. And what were the chances of hearing your wedding song, 28 years later, in a grocery store at approximately 10:30 at night, with no one else around?


So, we danced. Right there in the cleaning aisle. I had my eyes closed, just enjoying the moment, when my husband of 28 years, my high school sweetheart, the love of my life, whispered in my ear.............




........"We need toilet cleaner."




Ah, romance.

Don't Give Up On Me!

I didn't disappear - things have been insanely busy and blogging has had to be put on the back burner for a little bit. Don't give up on me, though! I'll fill you in with the happenings here and in Delaware, complete with pictures, very shortly. It may have to be in installments, but that will keep the suspense up, won't it?!

Back for a moment....

The zucchini has released me, but now work is keeping me hopping - but that's a good thing, so I don't mind. Summer is typically when the doctors all seem to go on vacation at once and work is slow, but the last couple of weeks have kept me very busy, and I'm grateful. So, briefly, just had to share a couponing fete for today! (I've still been couponing - just not as much; not as much time!)

Today's haul at Food Lion - and Tom and Andy went for me because I was stuck working - yes, my boys can coupon with the best of them!

20 boxes of Eggo waffles
10 tubs of Best Life butter.
3 loaves of bread.

Total: $1.27


Here's the math in case anyone out there wants to do this too - or not, if you aren't as deranged as me!

Transaction #1:
10 boxes of Eggo waffles @1.67 each, 16.70
10 tubs of Best Life butter @.99 each, 9.90

Total 26.60

Used 5.00 Kraft catalina from last week
Used (5) 1.00/2 coupons from Sunday paper on Eggos
Used (10) 1.00/1 coupons from Sunday paper on butter

New total: 6.60 out of pocket, received 10.00 catalina from Kellogg's.

Transaction #2:
10 boxes of Eggo waffles @1.67 each, 16.70
3 loaves of bread @.99 each, 2.97

Total 19.67

Used 10.00 Kellogg's catalina from Transaction #1
Used (5) 1.00/2 coupons from Sunday paper on Eggos

New total: 4.67 out of pocket, received 10.00 catalina from Kellogg's.

If you subtract the 10.00 catalina I received from Transaction #2 that I still have to use on my next trip there, my total was 1.27 today for 20 boxes of waffles, 10 tubs of butter, and 3 loaves of bread. It's a sickness hobby!

Zucchini Gang here.........

So, yeah, Karen asked us to write and let you know that we, the Zucchini Gang, have taken her hostage. We didn't wanna write, but she said 'people' might come looking for her, and then the jig would be up. We're taking care of her - sort of. We're making her cook zucchini 101 ways - only the zucchini we say to cook - not us, of course. We'll let her go when she finishes, or passes out from exhaustion, at which point we'll find another sap to hold hostage. Don't try to find her - we won't be responsible for our actions if you do.


- Zucchini Gang

A Question

Have you ever wondered what 90 cups of shredded zucchini looks like?



You haven't?



Oh.

Favorite Commercials

We don't really watch TV. People are actually horrified and act like we're freaks surprised to discover that neither I or any of my clan have ever seen even one episode of American Idol. Well, we seem to be doing okay, in spite of ourselves! Here are some of my favorite commercials, though. The one at the end is one I found on YouTube.

Father's Day, Take 2

The weekend before last we celebrated the rest of Father's Day. Andy's gift to Jerry had been delayed in shipping, so we didn't have it for the actual Father's Day. He got him a pellet gun. A very heavy, potentially very painful, pellet gun. Tom got him CO2 cartridges to power said gun. Now all of the boys have one.





The morphology of pellet guns around here is interesting. Tom got one for himself last year which he thoroughly enjoyed; so much in fact that he got Andy one for Christmas last year. Andy enjoyed his so much, that he wanted Jerry to have one, presumably so the three of them could have battles.

I felt like Ralphie's mother in A Christmas Story, "You'll put your eye out."

They spent Sunday afternoon shooting various objects around our yard. Bees on my lavender plant didn't stand a chance. If there is a honey shortage this year, you know who to blame.

We made badly-drawn targets and hung them from the clothesline. We initialed each person's shot so we knew who shot where. Note the "M" on the shot below. Yep, that was mine. Pure luck, I tell ya.





My contribution was a cake. I got this decorating idea from this blog post. I know it's a little late to do the flag cake, but I might still try it. My circles didn't come out as neatly as hers!

Air Conditioning - A Pictorial

I am cheap. I did not want to turn on our air conditioning. Recently our thermostat looked like this







Then it looked like this







Then this







And this







Then my family started acting like this




I surrendered.