Fine. If you insist

Apparently, my body is done arguing with me and is taking matters into its own hands by causing me pain. It has my attention now. Perhaps spending 3 hours at the Y every day is a little bit much. I was ignoring the general tiredness and sore muscles, but there are some things I cannot ignore.

I was doing my lovely gentle yoga class this morning. And now you are wondering how on earth someone could get hurt in GENTLE yoga. There is a pose, called child's pose, where you kneel down, sit on your legs and stretch out your hands along the floor, almost like bowing. My ankle doesn't really appreciate the weight in an awkward position. But today, we did hero pose, which is similar, only instead of laying forward and distributing your weight along your legs, you are sitting up, essentially on your ankles. Yeah. Really bad idea. Yes, I cried. Yes, I am a wimp. It was more of a tender/sore pain than the one I had last week at cardio. Needless to say, I am no longer doing hero pose, and am seriously considering modifying child pose.

As kettlebell doesn't require the rapid use of ankle movements, and since my ankle really was feeling tons better, I went ahead to kettlebell. Oh baby, is that a workout! Love it! My friend tried it out today. She said, "You warned me it would be tough, but wow." haha! I don't know if she'll be back. I hope so though. Afterwards, we sat and talked for a little while and she showed me her weight loss program. It looks great! But, I will be expounding on it on the weight loss blog. This is already a long post!

Then we decided to play some racquetball. If I ever have a chance to play, I will take it. That is when the more painful injury occurred. We had only been playing about 20 minutes when I went for a ball that was along the wall. I got it, but was going too fast and too close to the wall to stop myself. I used my shoulder to hit the wall and when I followed through with my swing, I hit the wall so the racquet had to come down and go across my side. When I did that, I hit myself in the elbow. Hurt so bad it took my breath away and I couldn't get to the next ball. Actually, I didn't even move after that. It's just a bruise and a blood blister. I'm brilliant, huh.

So, I'm forgoing yogalates and volleyball tonight. As of now, cardio is still on the calendar for tomorrow. We'll see...

I'm still here!

For those who feared I lost my mind without my kids around, fear not. I am alive and well. Though I have now moved. Apparently I live in the YMCA now. Monday I went to cardio and yoga, then hung out in the sauna and hot tub with my new racquetball friends. That evening I went back to try pilates. I'm glad I tried it, but I prefer yoga. If I want a workout, I'll do kettlebell or cardio. I love yoga because it relaxes me and gets me to talk to my body. When you are balancing on one leg and turned upside down, you have to be completely focused and have your mind completely cleared. I love that. So, I'm crossing pilates off my list of classes to do.

Yesterday I went to yoga and then played racqetball for almost 2 hours. Okay, we actually took breaks between games to catch our breath and even had a 30 minute gab session, so it was probably closer to 80 minutes of racquetball. But we were playing hard core! I was even using my hard serves part of the time! I'm soooo excited! That night I went back and tried real yoga as I had been doing gentle yoga. And yet again, I prefer gentle yoga. I need a class that relaxes me and helps me release my stresses. So now I just need to figure out how I'm going to work gentle yoga into my schedule since they are changing the times. Argh.

I woke up so sore this morning. Perhaps I'm over-doing it a bit, eh? Nah! Today I did cardio and then gentle yoga again. But I was really feeling it. Owie. I have my church meeting for the young women tonight, so I won't be hitting the Y, but my body is probably grateful for that. Get some rest before kettlebell tomorrow.

Brad found this on YouTube. It totally had me cracking up. "Don't make it too hot though, when serving it to gringos!" Give a little New Mexico shout out! haha! Actually, the first time Brad met my parents was at Gabriel's in Santa Fe. And we had guacamole. Too funny! Enjoy!

Wah!!!

Yeah, ya'll know I'm on the emotional side, don't deny it. I was at cardio this morning, and they started doing mountain climbers. (Going down to your hands and jumping backwards into a push up position). Those are hard enough on me since my left wrist is a mess and doesn't like supporting my weight. But, to add to the issue, after breaking my right ankle in April of '07, I've had a huge mental block about it. I got the cast off a few days before my sister's wedding. The next week was Brad's graduation. Then we fly to MI to house hunt. Shortly after getting the boot off, it was packing and moving to MI, then unpacking and acclimating to my new home. What I'm saying is that even though my ortho suggested I get into physical therapy to improve the range of motion, I never did. Didn't make the priority list. I'm able to do most anything. Anything except jumping and landing on it in awkward positions a la mountain climbers. But today, I thought, "Hey, Melisa, it has been almost 2 yrs since you broke your ankle. You can do this you wimp." So, I tried it. And I tweaked my ankle. And I started to cry. Right in the middle of cardio. Not heaving sobs, just a trickle. I wasn't crying because it hurt so bad, because it didn't hurt more than anything you can just shake out. But because, I just don't think I'm ready for it mentally, and that is kind of discouraging. I don't want to be wimpy.

Immediately after cardio, my new friend Monique and I played racquetball. She has some killer corner shots. Had me running all over the place. So then I had to hit the hot tub after because I was just plain sore.

And to answer the kettlebell questions, here is a video you can watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx7KOxcbqpc

And yes, it does get worse. There are some way crazy exercises, but this gives you the basics.

Spreading the joy

I had such a blast today. There was so much to do! I wish I could have spaced it out a little so I could spread the joy, but it was so much fun, I can't complain.

• yoga
• kettlebell
• sauna
• kidnapping my friend
• lunch at Applebee's
• watch Bride Wars
• laundry (how'd that get on this list?!)
• water aerobics
• game night with friends for 4 sweet hours

What a wonderful and fun filled day!

Shocking

I promise I'm not trying to turn this blog into a big debate station, but another thing happened today, and I'm curious what people think.

I was blow drying my hair at the Y and an elderly lady asked me to help her lift up the back of her swimsuit. I naturally helped and then she started to tell me why she was hurting. She was waiting at a red light to turn left. The light turned green, so she went through the intersection and can't believe she got hit. "The light was green! That means I can go! The cop gave me a ticket for $250 and told me that I had to wait for the intersection to clear." I think my jaw dropped slightly. She didn't think she'd have to wait for oncoming traffic to turn left without an arrow??? I know it is a serious thing to take away people's mobility, but at what point are they are danger to themselves and others?! Should someone who doesn't know to yield when turning left even have a driver's license?! Seriously scary.

Vaccines

I have an ER blog I love to check. He is pretty funny. But today's post was more in the interesting category. It was about vaccinations, or the lack thereof.

http://erstories.net/?p=893

What are your thoughts?

Update - I haven't had this problem, but some commenters on his blog have mentioned naughty sites popping up. Like I said, I haven't had this happen, but don't say I didn't warn ya.

Getting an early start

So, two weeks ago when I had a lovely little mental breakdown from being alone with 3 kids for nearly 4 months, we got tickets for my kids to visit my parents for 2 weeks. I've been feeling overwhelmed with everything lately and thought that I could really use the break. I knew I'd miss my kids, but I also thought that after all the stress I've had lately, I would need the break more than I would miss them. But now that their bags are all packed and they are ready to go, I'm already crying. Partially it is the guilt for sending my mom into an airport alone with my 3 little Monsters to take care of on planes. The thought makes me shudder. Partially it is guilt for even having wanted a 2 week break from my babies. I'm not doing anything exciting like touring Europe or packing up to move. I'm just going to re-clean my house, organize the basement and garage, get rid of some clutter, etc. Then I'm going to relax and go to more yoga classes, attend game nights with friends, go to the Detroit temple, and other such things. The kids are going to have a blast with my parents. The boys are laughing already at the thought of playing with Grumpus and belly-fighting Tylerr.

I know I need the break, so why can't I stop crying?!

Snowy Valentine

Oh, the joys of Michigan. We woke up to probably half a foot of snow for Valentine's Day. Oh man! But, Brad was here and really wanted to use the snow blower at least once this season. haha! The kids wanted to be where Brad is, so out went the kids. They were having so much fun that after they did our drive and sidewalks, they did a couple of neighbors. Just in case you are wondering why you don't recognize the houses or the cars...

There is a slide and video over on Cookie, so click here!

One more thing, guess who is getting more fruit and chocolate fondue for Valentine's.... that's right! Me!!! Eat your heart out! ;o)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

No craziness this week. The only thing of note is that we had 10 young women and 4 adults from the church over on Wednesday night to make chocolate. It all went quite smoothly. And then Stinker got into one girl's purse and into her make-up. My couch now has pink eye shadow on it. I have such a purdy couch. When I get money, I'm SOOOOO buying a microfiber couch. Cloth couches are not for people with small children.

My mom came to town last night. She is watching the kids so Brad and I can leave at noon and not come home until Saturday. WAHOO!!! Have a very happy Valentine's Day everyone!

It's me again, Margaret!

First off, Brad fell asleep in Stinker's room, so I'm going to do a quick post.

I have had an absolutely blissful few days with Brad home. Everything is sunnier with Brad around, but the weather has been gorgeous even without his help. It is like I get to be in heaven for a few days. Ahhhhh....

Okay, don't lie. You know my life is crazy. So, what craziness happened lately? Well, I got a phone call. It was a recording. It said, "You have a collect call from the County Jail." Uh, it has been years since I've gotten one of those calls. And I couldn't for the life of me think of anyone in town who would call me, so I just hung up. But, not much later, the call came back again and the caller said, "Melisa, please pick up the phone." Now my curiosity has the better of me, so I agreed to the charges...

"Who is this?"
"This is Tony. You sound sick. Are you sick?"
"Yes. Who are you trying to call?"
"Melissa (some name I don't remember)."
"That is not me."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Can I call you again anyway?"
"No."
"Please, it isn't that much money."
"No."
"I just want to talk. Can't I just call you again?"
"No. I really don't think my husband would approve."

At which point, he did indeed hang up.

I know this is totally random, but the whole situation just reminded me of Ray Stevens, "It's Me Again, Margaret." I love Ray Stevens! And I totally blame it on my Aunt VaLynn who lived with us while I was young and impressionable and got me hooked on a wide variety of music. If you are a normal person, and have no clue what I'm talking about, here is the video for your viewing pleasure.

How do you spell relief?

B.R.A.D. WAHOO!

I managed to get sick just in time for Brad's arrival. Boo hoo! But, at least I am under a doctor's care. :o)

Today, we had the missionaries from our church over for dinner. At my request, Brad made my favorite meal that he cooks, asparagus, steak au poivre, and cheddar fondue. Amazing. So delicious. It was met with many raves and seconds and thirds for the missionaries. I think I blew a weeks' worth of calories just on the cheese fondue and baguette. And ohhhh the asparagus.... mmmmm..... Then I cut up some fruit and made a fruit platter. We had banana, apples, blueberries, oranges, strawberries, and then Brad brought out the DARK CHOCOLATE FONDUE! I think I died and went to heaven right there. Best ever. Not even lying. SO GOOD! One of the missionaries didn't like dark chocolate, so that left more for me! hahaha! I know what I want on Valentine's day. MORE DARK CHOCOLATE FONDUE!!! I could eat that for dessert every day. Okay, I'm going to go get some more right now. :)

Oh, and the foreclosure across the street is getting so much interest because it is listed at $115K. Yeah. We can't compete with that. Sigh....

On the plus side, we actually hit 50 degrees on Saturday. We drove home from the airport with the windows and sun roof open. It felt amazing. I actually saw grass for the first time in months. I can see retaining wall bricks and plants in my yard. Don't tease me, Spring! Come soon!

No news

Slow news week is a good thing, right? Nothing insane or down right crazy has happened lately. YEAH!

Brad arrives for his week of vacation on Saturday. My mom comes out the following Thursday so Brad and I can get away for the weekend. Brad will leave early Sunday morning. Then on Tuesday, my so very brave mom will fly with the 3 kids to NM. They will hang out with Grandma & Grumpus, and Tylerr & Becca when they can, for 2 whole weeks! WAHOO!! Then Tylerr will fly back here with them and stay and do a Magic Johnson (his life-long idol) tour.

I probably should have saved such a big favor for packing and getting ready to move, but the kids have a vacation that week and I could use a break!

Meet Lille

How cute is this little doll?! Stinker is totally in love already. I had planned on giving Lille to Stinker with the birthday money grandma sends for siblings (Jamo's birthday is in 4 weeks). But Stinker caught me taking pictures and made a beeline for her. I don't know if I'll be able to sneak her back to give Stinker at Jamo's birthday now. So, happy early birthday for Jamo, Stinker!

Mellissa does custom orders at her site too. I got to pick out the clothes, shoes, hair color and style and even the name! FUN!!!

Check out the link to see the personality details Mellissa gave Lille. They were perfect if you know my Stinkerbell!

http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=13545589

On the Cookie Monster blog there are pictures of Stinker with Lille and some of her in a dress from China. There is also a video of Roo reading far more than any kid should be able to before starting kindergarten.