Workout Fillers

What I should be doing right now:  laundry, cleaning bathrooms, and getting more Christmas decorations out of storage.

What I AM doing right now: trying to peel off acrylic fingernails and reading blogs.  Oh come on, don’t pretend you don’t do that too.   I’ll get to the other stuff, eventually.

What I am NOT doing right now: RUNNING.  It’s officially been 14 days, 2 hours, and 12 13 minutes since I’ve last ran a step.  I’m hanging in there pretty good, but I’ll admit that I have wanted to throw all doctor’s orders out the window on more than one occasion (Sorry, Tim).  But I have managed to hold off for two whole weeks.  Every time I start to whine about it I just say to myself, “But it’s not cancer!!”  And that makes me smile…and go back to my other workouts of choice.

Which, by the way, have been pretty good fillers!  I read about Extreme Burn on Clare’s blog the other day, and since I was looking for another DVD-type workout to add to my rotation, I bought it and downloaded it.

The verdict?

I really like it!  Well, I like it less as I’m getting my rear handed to me after a little while, but it’s a really great workout!  I’m really glad I bought it. 

So between the new Extreme Burn DVD, my Jeanette Jenkins’ Cardio Kickboxing DVD, JJ Cardio Sculpt, and another 30 minute cardio-blast download, I have a pretty good rotation going on right now.  It’s not running but it’ll do.   I’m sweating my butt off during every one of these workouts so they are doing the trick I’d say.  That, and the fact that my family hasn’t disowned me (yet) are good signs of a good workout for me.

Success.

I’m going to go figure out what’s for dinner on this game day – GO BULLDOGS! – and maybe tackle some of that laundry.  Maybe.

Later, guys.

xoxo 

Kickin’ It Off Right

What a fabulous time we had last night kicking off the regular season for

High School BULLDOG BASKETBALL!

Basketball season in Van Buren has always been a pretty big deal.  And that’s putting it mildly.  We are a little Ozark town, nestled in the hills, that LOVE our Bulldogs.  Especially basketball.  Being a summertime tourist town, we have always said that “there’s nothing else to do here in the winter except play basketball.”  And there’s a lot of truth to that.  And this has led to a legacy of Bulldog pride, fun rivalries, and passionate fans.

And boy did we have all three present last night!

This year’s regular season kicked off with the annual Yellow Sucker Game, a game rich in tradition here in Carter County between the two schools in the county, Van Buren and Ellsinore.  The “county basketball championship” so to speak, features a traveling plaque adorned with the aforementioned fish and representing all the glory of the county title.

It is always one of the biggest and most fun games of the year, with packed gymnasiums full of passionate fans.  [And yes, I’m a little scared to know that there is a camera on me at a basketball game.  Yikes!]

Umm, yeah.  I don’t know really what to say…so I’ll just incriminate myself further…

And yes, I about died when I saw these pictures this morning.  I thought, “OMGosh.  We are THOSE parents.”  Luckily our kids laughed right along with us and didn’t slink away in total humiliation. 

But when your KID is on the floor, and especially LAST night when he’s having such a bang-out game, it’s SO HARD to sit still!!!  My right leg was actually sore last night from jumping up and down on it all evening!

Have I ever mentioned that #40 is my favorite number? 

For good reason  [circa 1994]

And have I mentioned that my kid has skills?!

He dribbles…

He shoots…

He scores… [ahem, 32 points last night]

And whether or not we win, he makes us very proud.  

Yes, even with a Nike symbol and his number shaved into the sides of his head (and colored with black eyeliner so you could see it in his white-blond hair). BTW- can we be compensated for using his head as a billboard??

 

AND with the Varsity victory, the FiSH stays with Van Buren for the 8th straight year!

Way to go, Bulldogs!

 

Cheer loudly, smile big, and enjoy every moment, friends.

xoxo

What A Month! Welcome December!

Wow.  What a month November was!  And it’s one I don’t care to repeat again, thankyouverymuch.

There were high points in the month like Thanksgiving, Katie’s 8th birthday, and the start of the high school Bulldog basketball season, but the “c” word lingered over everything.  At least it did to me.

It was filled with stress and anxiety as I have been going for many scans, my sister had a scare which turned out to be fine, and my brother-in-law (her husband) also had an issue that had to be checked out, which was also fine.

But, Praise The Lord, OUR fears were finally put to rest this Wednesday when the MRI of my right femur showed only a stress injury from running, and NO CANCER.  That’s right, NO CANCER.  Those two words together are so, so sweet.

And a running injury??  Imagine that.  I don’t even care.  I hugged my dr as he was telling me that I would have to take 4-6 weeks off from running, telling him “I wouldn’t care if I never ran another step if I never had to worry about cancer ever again.”

Of course we all know that’s not how it works unfortunately.  Cancer, and the anxiety it causes, will be with me the rest of my life.  Hopefully a long, long, long life; and hopefully less and less anxiety as it goes on.  Hopefully long enough to see all my children graduate high school, college, and get married.  Long enough to see them give me grandchildren and to play with those grandchildren and spoil them to pieces.  Long enough to celebrate dozens of years of marriage to my still-high-school-sweetheart and the love of my life. 

Whatever God has planned for me, I know that it’s “to prosper me, not to harm me; plans to give me hope and a future” (Jer. 29:11).  And I won’t fear the unknown because I know that He’s already there.  All I can do is to try and live a life that is pleasing to Him and to live each day to it’s fullest…cherishing every second and not taking anything for granted.  <-----And that’s not a bad lesson for ALL of us!

So, as we start a new month, let’s all try to focus on the things that really matter and to take the time to savor every moment.  I know we will.

 

Smile LOTS today, cherish every second, and check your breasts, ladies!!

xoxo