5K Checked Off the List

3.1 miles in 30 minutes 21 seconds.  I am consistent, I'll say that.  My body likes to run a 10 minute mile. 

I spent the day with Nancy R yesterday, picking up race day packets, having lunch and shopping.  By the end of the day I was more stressed about the race than when the day started.  I KNEW I could run a 5K, I have run the distance on the treadmill and outside without dying, so what was wigging me out, I have no idea. 

I slept HORRIBLE...waking up every hour and looking at the clock.  I heard everything and got out of bed once to let out our new puppy, Dexter.  Isn't he sweet?  :)

I finally got out of bed at 5:30am and started getting the animals fed, Kimbre's breakfast, (she had an early water polo game) and things ready for the day.

I was really nervous while waiting for the race to start.  I couldn't imagine running with all those people touching me.  I can't imagine a lot of people touching me ever, let alone while I'm running.  Jenna and I pretty much stuck together the whole race, which was cool.

It was invigorating.  There was so much to see, so many people to swerve around, music blaring and spectators hootin and hollering.  I liked it. 

There is a 5K in Brenham in April sponsored by Blue Bell Ice Cream and I sent out an email to the same group that ran this 5K to see if they wanted to do it.  At the end there is ice cream.  :)  The other cool thing they have is a 10K relay, which looked fun. 

I don't think I'm hooked...

Pam

Pruning Pam

JR and I both look like the Passion of the Christ, him from fixing 2 barbed wire fences yesterday in Giddings and me from pruning the citrus trees today.  We're such a cute couple with our red stripes up and down our hands and arms.

JR used a comp day yesterday and we decided to go to Giddings, our 22 acres approximately 2 hours away.  It was nice, but I had a sleepless night the night before and woke up bright and early with Kimbre.  I worked out with Jackie Warner and then headed out the door with JR, a little tired.

Talk about a slug!  We stopped at Jack in the Box for lunch and I tried their new fish sandwich, which I'm not sure was actually fish, but it tasted good. We shared curly fries and egg rolls, too.  We arrived at Giddings and did our walk around and I was dragging ass.  I walked over to the camper and made myself some coffee and then we drove the FJ to the area where JR wanted to fix the fence.  We call it the Picture Spot. When we first bought the property, the owner had cleared all the brush out of that area and there were tons of HUGE trees which led to Nails Creek.  It was really pretty and I said, "This looks like a picture spot."  Hence, the name.  lol

JR started chain sawing the tree that had fallen on the fence, which was allowing cows to make their way over to our acreage, and I grabbed a book and started reading...for about 10 minutes until I fell asleep.  I woke up to him finishing up and it looked great!  We drove to the pond to another fence that needed repair and he started in on that one while I read my Gardening Solutions book.

Our neighbor, Tim, is a super nice guy.  He would do anything for you if you asked and has gotten us out of a bind more than once.  (Being stuck in the mud being our primary bind).  But Tim is a bit of a junk collector, especially old car, bus, RV and truck parts and his 5 acres is littered with more metal than I can count.  He collects most of it along our shared fence line with him and we have never ever cut any trees away from that area nor do we ever plan to.  Thank God for Cedars.

Tim and his son, Colton, had decided to park their canoe and boat on our side of the fence, which was very easy to do, since the barbed wire on the fence was broken from being in the water and from Tim running into it with the tractor.  I saw the boat and canoe the last time we were there and made a fuss, but JR didn't want to move them back to Tim's side.  They were still there this time and I just walked over to them and started moving them without asking JR.  He came over and helped and said he would fix the fence, so it didn't look like we were obnoxious.

I understand what JR is saying, but our neighbor is a junk collector and his stuff is staying on his side.  I don't care what it is.  If he had a place all cleaned up and taken care of, I wouldn't mind half as much if he wanted to launch from our side of the fence, but he doesn't.  Call me a B.

As JR was fixing the fence, Tim walked up and was nice as usual.  He made about 5 comments about his trespassing on our property and we just smiled.  That's right, Samson and Son,  the mortgage is in our name and the junk stays on YOUR property.  lol

We headed home, stopping in Brenham, a sweet old fashioned town, at The Coliseum, an Italian restaurant.  I guess I was feeling like throwing caution to the wind because I scarfed down my salad, 2 yeast rolls and a huge plate of angel hair pasta and meat sauce in record time.  If JR would have suggested dessert I would have so been there!  But I didn't want to push my luck.  I was already feeling bloated.

I head bobbed all the way home, put some stuff away and fell right to sleep at 10pm with no wake-ups.  Yay!

I woke up with Kimbre this morning at 6:30, did the morning thing and then went to the workout room to start running on the tread mill while watching The Waltons.  I love that show.  I had NO energy.  Maybe I over carbed on cruddy carbs yesterday because I didn't feel like running at all and had to force myself to finish.  I stayed on 30 minutes, walked the dogs with JR and then went back in to the workout room to try out a new workout DVD called "10 Days to a Better Body."

I played the 30 minute upper body version and HOLY CRAP!  I was sweating like crazy!  The whole 30 minutes was 1 minute cardio, 1 minute strength.  I LOVED it!  LOL  I will definitely be trying the lower body version after my next run.  I got this workout from swapadvd.com.

I filled another quart jar with cut up grapefruit we had gotten from the Schaefers and made some hummus, then went to the backyard to start my yard work.  I mixed up the grapefruit peels and other kitchen scraps into my compost bucket and added more rabbit droppings. I LOVE making compost!  It's weird, but I do.

After looking up how to prune a citrus tree this morning, I was pretty confident I knew what the heck I was about to do to the trees.  I say this, but last year I pruned back a grapefruit tree and totally killed the poor thing. I did prune all 4 trees/bushes and I must say, they look very nice.  I'm hoping I didn't kill them.

Walking around to the front of the house, I started pulling up dead ferns and spider plants from around a pond the previous owners had placed in front of the workout window.  I do NOT know what to do with this thing.  I'm going to have to do some research on plants and flowers or at least get some fish and stick them in, so it doesn't breed mosquitoes. We don't need any help in that department down here!

I cut down the banana trees, which were dead anyhow and do not belong in a front yard.  I am hoping JR will dig those out for me soon.  Moving along the front of the house, I cut back the dead Cannas, spider plants and asparagus fern and weeded out some of the bed.  I filled a huge trash can, which will be picked up tomorrow.

After showering, I debated bringing Simon, (Yorkshire Terrier, Schnauzer mix), to get groomed, but was thinking of school traffic and having to go to the grocery store and decided to make him an appt. for tomorrow instead.  Besides, I was tired.

Off to make dinner.  Tonight we are actually having the stuffed chicken I prepared 2 nights ago, a salad, broccoli and rice and whatever else I can dig up.

Pam

Teeth and Errands

I am pooped.  Yesterday I made an appt. for a teeth cleaning at a new dentist down the street.  It has been 3 years and yes, I used the store as an excuse. I have an aversion to dentists and the moment an appt. is scheduled, I start stressing.  Luckily they had an opening at 8am the following day, so I could get it over with.  Even more lucky was my friend, Audrey, came to visit me last night for a singles Valentine's dinner (tilapia tacos), and kept my mind completely off metal tools being scraped across my teeth. (shudder)

I woke up, took care of Kimbre's breakfast and lunch, fed the animals and got myself ready. 

This is one nice freakin dentist office.  They have a HUGE aquarium and a waterfall with the dentist's logo on it and everything was airy and bright.  Everyone that spoke to me was uber friendly, almost too syrupy.  Even if people weren't working on me, they came in to introduce themselves. 

The hygienist did a great job and my teeth look really white and shiny.  She talked soothingly the whole time and even though she deals with nasty mouths and all sorts of people with issues, she acted like she was genuinely concerned for my feelings.

Dr. Warwick, (reminds me of warlock which makes me think of witches), came in and took a look, asked if I ate a lot of candy as a kid and if I still do now.  I said yes, but no soda.  He said if I HAD to have sugar to try to have it all at one time during the day and then brush my teeth right after because the sugar forms an acid and starts eating away at my teeth within 20 minutes.  It can get beneath the crowns and cause all sorts of decay.  Noted.

He asked if I would schedule another appt. (free) in a week or so to hear what he thought my oral health plan should be.  I said OK, but wanted to know if I had any immediate problems that needed to be taken care of because I would like to mentally prepare myself.  He said the next appt. he wouldn't be doing the actual work, just talk with me about what he thought we should do.  I am sure this includes revamping the whole inside of my mouth because he is a cosmetic dentist.  He never did tell me if I had any cavities, but the hygienist said she thought there might be a small cavity on a bottom tooth I had.  Great.  Fun.

I left $250 poorer, but you know what?  My teeth are cleaned and I didn't have a nervous breakdown and sometimes going to a nicer place is worth it.

Once home, I got online and filled out my Passport paperwork and printed it off to bring to the post office. My application is now being processed and in about 4 weeks, I should have my passport.  YAY!  I did notice on my photo my teeth looked very clean.  lol  $181 out of pocket.

I headed towards the consignment shop to drop off a TON of clothes that were in season right now, but made a quick stop at Aaron Rents to see if one of their couches would be great for the office.  Nope.

Dropped off the zillion dresses, pants, shoes, shirts, etc. at Changes Resale and tried on 4 dresses, none of which dazzled me.  I would like some pretty dresses for the cruise next January, but am obviously in no rush.  Left without spending anything.  They owe me $85, which they will be sending me.  I made my way to Big Lots.

I looked again at their loveseats and liked a brown corduroy one, but Brenda has one like that and I'm also afraid it might go out of style.  I think maybe I should stick with leather.  I purchased 72 cans of indoor cat food which was selling for 20 cents less than Kroger's sale price.  Henri is so sensitive to foods that I need to make sure he gets the good stuff his stomach can handle.  The ingredients are better in the indoor canned cat foods, too, which equals less vet bills to me.

I also bought a bunch of Better Oats Oatmeal which was selling for $1.00 a box.  It has flax in it, but yes, it still has sugar.  I really like it and it is great for a snack.  They have all different flavors, but so far my favorite is peach.  I bought dark chocolate, peaches, maple brown sugar, cinnamon swirl and plain. I do like some oatmeal now.  :)  $71 charged, but that will feed the 4 cats over a month and feed me many bowls of oatmeal.  That sounds ridiculous.  $71 on oatmeal and cat food???  Oh yes, I bought 5 bags of Valentine peanut M & M's for $1.15 and some suckers, too.  That's better.  lol   

I drove to Tuesday Morning and returned a front door mat which looked silly in front of our door and returned a picture frame I bought last week that didn't match the picture I bought it for.  $30 back on the charge card.

Since I had only had a banana to eat, I looked longingly at Wendy's as I drove by, but there was a line and I will NOT wait in lines for fast food, so I drove home.  I ate left over queso de esteban and a small bowl of peanut M&M's, made some coffee and am now going to take a little snooze.  JR comes home tonight, so I am going to make stuffed chicken wrapped in ham for dinner...after my nap. 

What a day!  Much left on my To Do list, but it is getting smaller! 
Pam

        

     

Ruth Stout The Mulch Queen

First off, today is beautiful!  The sun is out, there is a nice breeze and\ the temps are in the 70's.  Gorgeous.  I even have sun tea outside with 2 black and 1 green tea bags steeping. 

I finished my book, How to have a Green thumb Without an Aching Back, one of 3 books I own by Ruth Stout.  Her concept is to never till, just keep on piling on the compost and mulch.  When you want to plant, you just pull away the mulch and plant the seed.  Seems simple enough. 

I had picked up 4 bags of leaves from a neighbor yesterday and I spread them around the garden today, especially where there were weeds, then walked down 2 houses and picked up 2 more bags and used those, too.  It might be too late to really do any good right now, because I'll be planting soon, but it will eventually break down and help make the soil rich.  We have been putting grass clippings out there for a few years, too.  I have 2 large bins of compost from kitchen scraps I have been layering with rabbit droppings and bedding that should be ready at about the time the asparagus want to peek through the soil as well.

The fruit trees were very happy to be uncovered today, I could tell.  The weather forecast for the next 10 days is very nice with most days around 70 and the evenings around 50.  Hopefully the trees made it and won't die off on me from the 20 degree temps they had to endure last week.

I think my next book to read will be fiction by Beverly Lewis.  I had 3 of her books that won't fit on my inspirational book case and they are pretty quick reads.  Amish stories which I LOVE.  See a trend here?  Self-sufficiency, gardening, Amish, etc.  I am wanting to read 1 fiction and 1 non-fiction (gardening, health, animal training, etc.) at a time to keep me learning and enjoying reading. I could easily plow through one fiction book after another, but there is so much I want to know!

I did learn a lot of interesting facts about gardenias today while I was finishing up Ruth Stout's book.  She lived in Connecticut and needed to pot her gardenias, but I don't really need to do that here in the south.  I might try them potted because what would be prettier than 2 pots of gardenias on either side of my front door?  Oh, the thought makes me smile.

Pam     

5K on the street

As I have said before, I run 5K's on the treadmill, but not on the street.  I used to run outside a lot, but then switched to interval running which is easier for me to keep track on the treadmill, so I got out of the habit.  I went out today, walked a length of the street, stretched and then ran approximately 3.4 miles in 30 minutes.  I started at 10:29 and ended at the top of the street at 10:59 exactly.  Now I am questioning the distance of my street, which I was assured was .75 miles per lap. 

The treadmill is so regulated.  When you set it to 6.0, you run 6.0, outside this isn't so.  I slowed down a little after 2 miles because I got a stitch in my side, but picked it up again after it felt better.  I did push my last lap faster, something I generally don't do on the treadmill.  Maybe I did run 3.4 miles in 30 minutes.

That makes me happy!  LOL

Hot tubs rule!

Yesterday I was talking to my friend, Nancy, about exercise and running and she mentioned every year on her birthday, Feb 26, she runs a 10K.  This year she had decided to do the 5K (3.1miles) and wanted to know if I wanted to run, too.  It isn't like I don't think I can do it, because I know that I can.  I run 5K's on the treadmill every so often as part of my running schedule.  It's that I am a total wiennie when it comes to new experiences.  I'm not talking going into a museum I have never been or eating a different type of food, but anything physical I balk at.

You should see me when I get a new exercise dvd.  I read the cover and put it off and after I finally commit to doing it, I wait the whole time for something awful or too hard.  Yep, wiennie. Of course, once I do it, I realize I didn't die and they didn't torture me.  It is just a work out DVD like all the others. 

I signed up for the 5K with trepidation and it is only 2 weeks away.  I don't think anything I do now will prepare me for a 5K in 2 weeks.  In a few minutes I am going to go outside and see if I can run a 5K on our street, (4.5 circles is approx. 3.40 miles), rather than the treadmill.  I'm waiting for it to warm up a little outside first because I hate the cold.  I'm a little concerned the run will turn me off because it won't be easy.  It never is for me.

After talking exercise, Nancy and I decided to grab a bite to eat at Estebans where we shared a fajita plate and then headed to her house to hop in her hot tub while Mike ran back and forth adjusting controls and whatever else people do behind the scenes of a hot tub.  Ahhhhh.  Bliss.  There is something about being outside in super cold weather and soaking in a hot tub while sipping wine.  We stayed in until we were prunes and then I returned home.

Nancy and Mike have a grapefruit tree along with our friends, Flo and Bill, and they are both more than generous with sharing the fruit.  Nancy told me they cut up a bunch of grapefruit and put them in a container with the juice to have when they are wanting some.  It saves the hassle of having to cut and squeeze the grapefruit every time you want one. I don't know why I never thought of this.  It is really smart! This morning I cut up 6 or so grapefruit and put the juice and fruit in a large canning jar to be ready when I want some.  I also chopped up the rinds for the compost pile, so no waste here!  I love self-sufficiency!

Off for torture...more later, perhaps.

Pam

Morgan Here and Gone

I still haven't figured out a new normal schedule, but I'm working on it.  I have this feeling of being hurried behind everything I do.  I haven't realized tomorrow is another day to do things and I don't have to go to the store.

 Morgan flew in from Hawaii yesterday and spent the night before leaving this morning to return to Austin.  She had a job interview at Starwood Hotels and Resort.  If she delayed, she would miss this month's training sessions and have to wait until next month for the next one.  Waiting = no money.

Lucky for her, I was busy working at the bookstore the last few months, because I still had quite a few of her pre-Hawaii discards.  Shoes, pillow, misc. stuff which she reclaimed.

I skipped working out this morning and spent it with Morgan instead.  After she left, I didn't feel like it, so hopped in the shower and headed to the thrift store with a big bag of clothes and house stuff I didn't want.  I talked with Carol, who works there, and asked if her husband wanted the metal from our trampoline to sell after JR took it apart. She said, "Absolutely!"  Another recycle, another junky thing out of here.  Well, not yet, but the plan is in motion.

After the thrift store, I headed to Big Lots and took a stroll down their furniture aisle to look at love seats for the office at home, but I didn't like anything.  I need something comfortable for reading, comfortable for a sleep over, durable for the cats and non-descript, so it doesn't go out of style within a year or two.  I did find 3 black 11 X 14 frames for Kimbre's butterfly pictures I ordered, tho. 

From there I drove to The Roomstore and had quite a time.  I didn't have to worry about not working out because I definitely used my leg muscles sitting then standing in over 50 love seats.  My favorite of all was leather, which concerns me a tad bit with the cats, but would look SOOOOO nice.  It was very comfortable and would be ideal for an overnight of sleeping.  I don't want to have to worry about the cats and the furniture, but it was so much nicer than the rest of the stuff in there.  Still deciding.

One more stop to Tuesday Morning to peruse a ton of stuff I didn't need and then back home to eat some beef stew I had in the crock pot before attending an aquatics booster club meeting where I took minutes.  Home again to watch 3 episodes of Deadwood and then off to sleep until I awoke at 4:00am. 

Kimbre opened an acceptance letter yesterday from UT Permian Basin in Odessa where she most likely can swim on the team.  They are division 2.  No decisions yet on where she's headed for college, but so far this school and Incarnate Word in San Antonio have said they will have her. 

JR leaves for England tomorrow, but it is a quick trip.

Pam

Freezes and Plants

I was sent an article written by Skip Richter, Travis County Extension Director from my TX homesteaders group about plants and freezes and what you can do about it. 

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/docs/FrostsandFreezes.pdf 

Here in TX our freezes are few, so if we do the right things, we might be able to save our plants that might otherwise die from the cold.

1.  Watering right before a freeze creates a source of warmth.
2.  A blanket wrapped around a bush or plant does almost nothing because the warmth comes from the ground. A plant/bush/tree draped with a blanket over the top to the ground and then weighted down will retain much more heat.  You can also use a cardboard box or large garbage can.
3.  Remove the covers the next day to allow the sun to warm the soil around the plant and recover in evening
4.  Plastic sheeting or materials that radiate heat out quickly will actually freeze the plant where it touches them
5.  Plastic IS good if it covers the plant and then is covered with a blanket to trap the warmth
6.  Another way to add heat is to add a container of water (5 gallon buckets work great), under the cover with the plant.  If the plant is small place 1 or 2 milk jugs right up next to the plant and cover.
7.  Add a heat source under the cover such as a mechanics light, but don't allow it to actually touch the plant
8.  Mulch with hay, bark, etc., around tender perennials, but be careful not to smother them
9.  Citrus growers can mound up a cone of soil (sand or sandy loam) around the base of the tree, being careful to pull back away after danger of frost is past to avoid rot.
10.  Put container plants in garage or cover with blankets.

Now, aren't we all just a little smarter?  :)  Pam

Book Club, Morgan's Return, Tressa, Regionals and More

Wow!  What a busy few days.  Actually, I haven't had many calm moments since I closed the store.  Maybe that is a good thing. 

Today book club met at our house to discuss The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.  It didn't get very good reviews and we all agreed we were trying to make it better than it was.  Yes, we should all follow our dreams.  Yes, you shouldn't let set backs deter you.  Yes, persistence will pay off because for every road block you come up against, there is a solution and it will make you stronger and wiser and possibly the set back is leading you in the direction you should have been going.  But...it was a little dull about 1/2 way through and a little repetitive.  It was inspirational, but not super motivating.  Out of the 6 of us present, only 3 read the book with one having read a different book with the same title.  lol  Next month we will be discussing Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. 

We received a call from Morgan, who is in Hawaii, saying she wanted to come home.  I did my typical number of trying to rearrange the whole house to make room for her while JR jumped through hoops trying to get her a ticket without losing an arm in the process.  I moved my stacks of books 4 times and if you think this is an easy feat, it isn't.  I have a LOT of books!  They are exactly where they started right now.  We got a couch from Brenda to discover it didn't fit in the hall/doorway to the office, so that idea was out.  I was thinking of getting a smaller size couch for the office to use for reading and occasional sleep overs anyway, but we haven't had time to go look yet.  It will be good to have her on the mainland again.

Kimbre swam gang busters at regionals and really did a terrific job.  She worked so hard all year and ended on a super note...now on to water polo!  (Don't ask specifics unless she happens to be standing here, because I don't know them off the top of my head.)

Last night after regionals, (we actually scooted out before the last relay), we met Wes and Tressa at The Melting Pot in Houston as part of her gift for working the store for me on Mondays.  It was interesting.  Every course, except salad, was a fondue course.  It tasted great and I'm glad we went, but I don't think I would probably do it again.  It was quite pricey.  It was unique enough the price was justified, but not enough for a second trip...I don't think so anyway.  We had good conversation and a fun time.  By the way, Tressa is looking for a job, if anyone is hiring.  Morgan, too, actually.  :)

Today I could use a nap, especially after eating cake, crackers, bread, etc.  I woke up running, taking Henri in to the vet for his neuter, vacuuming, feeding rabbits, walking dogs, wiping down counters and spots here and there, washing dog beds and animal throws all in preparation for book club.  The book we chose was available at Boomerang Books, which I let everyone know and low and behold, he now has a post asking if anyone would like to start a new book club at the store.  Imagine that...lol 

I have actually started reading Ruth Stout's book How to Have a Green Thumb Without an Aching Back.  It is about mulch gardening, instead of tilling.  It's very interesting.  She doesn't even keep a compost pile, she just tucks her kitchen and garden refuse around existing plants or layers it on the areas of the garden she isn't utilizing at the moment.  There are more current books called Lasagna Gardening and such, but this one is one of the first using this method, besides Plowman's Folly by Edward Faulkner. 

I have to admit, I have one of the magnetic bookmarks and because the book is old, it is ripping the stinkin pages.  I think I'll stick to a regular laminated bookmark or scrap of paper I have instead.

I do believe I'll rest a bit.  GO PACK GO!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Pam

And It's Booked!

I don't even want to admit how much time I took booking the cruise for the family today, but it is now done.  I have been looking at cruise prices, comparing cruise ships, checking all dates against college holidays and determining what fun things can be done while on a cruise for months and months.  And today I made my choices for the 5 of us.

We will be sailing from Galveston Jan 02 on Carnival for 5 days, stopping at Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico and then Cozumel, Mexico then back home on the Jan 07.  I know it is a long ways away, but I am very excited!!!  I have been wanting to go on a cruise for a long time and to be able to bring the whole family is beyond exciting for me!  The fact that we can bring 1 bottle of wine per adult passenger is also exciting.  :)  Thank you new book store owners for giving me this opportunity.

Speaking of new owners...seems they believe there was a little thievery at the store.  2 people in one day.  Two?!?  I find this incredibly hard to believe, but the way he handled it made me cringe.  He actually told his facebook followers he wasn't afraid to use the bat that hung on the wall if they stole from him.  Was that a threat to his customers??? 

He said if he finds the name of the person who took from him on his list of facebook friends, he was going to tell everyone.  All I can say is I hope the person didn't just relocate the book in the store instead of take it. (This happened ALL the time!)  To accuse someone of something like that, you better be pretty darn sure.  Maybe the new owner will rethink the fact of closing off the children's section, which blocks off the main fiction area from eye sight unless you are in there speaking to the customers.  Shaking my head here...good luck to him.

It is cold outside, but not as cold as yesterday.  Supposedly we are supposed to get a little precipitation this evening, which might mean snow, which means EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING is closed tonight and tomorrow.  This has been a weird first week off from the store.  JR has been home 2 days and most likely tomorrow and Kimbre will be home tomorrow because school has been cancelled.

Swimming regionals has been postponed until Saturday and Monday.  Monday we are going to The Melting Pot with Wes and Tressa to thank Tressa for working all those days at the store for me.  I guess we'll have to bring nice clothes to the swim meet and change before we leave because the restaurant is up in the same area.

Today was a run day and I have decided I am going to up the speed next time.  I am running 1 minute intervals at 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5 mph 4 times, speeding up to 7 mph the last set.  I was barely breathing hard, which is really good!  This means I'm getting stronger.  Every time I run I do different intervals, but I have been doing this one a long time.  I followed the run by 30 minutes of Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown, which I really like, but always forget that I like.  It's the yoga part, seems so dorky, but I actually like yoga.  I'm still sore for Jari's bootcamp, especially my calves.

Off to put my healthy version of chicken cordon bleu in the oven, pull out the broccoli salad and heat up some peas.  Did I mention I am going on a cruise with my family?  :)  Pam

Ow!

Jari Love and I danced the boot camp dance this morning for over an hour and every muscle is protesting in my body already.  It honestly hurts to lift my arms to the keyboard.  She had six sets and in those six sets were 3 min of abs, cardio and strength.  It was really kind of neat how it was done with the option to follow her cardio or do your own on a tread mill, bike, running in place, etc.  Definitely a keeper and if I did it on a regular basis, I would for sure see results.  The DVD was messed up in a few places, so I am having a replacement sent from collagevideo.com. 

I took the dogs for a walk in the dropping temperatures this morning and it was brisk!  We are supposed to have a low of 24 degrees tonight, so I got myself ready to go to the feed store to pick up a bale of hay for the rabbits.  We had been using the hay from the field behind our house and then dry leaves, but we ran out over the last cold spell and now everything is wet.

On the way to the feed store I swung into the book store.  I couldn't help myself.  I told JR I wasn't going in there after I sold the store which makes me a big fat liar!  I am on their facebook page and kept seeing posts about changes at the store and I knew I had to see or it would drive me crazy. I'm glad I did.

They had an Australian motif with paintings and pictures of Australian actresses and actors and movie posters, etc. Australian for the name Boomerang, which really had nothing to do with Australia, but I see where they are getting the idea.  They moved all the books from the dollar room out and made that the movie/extra stuff room.  They closed off the children's area, etc.  It looked...like I don't feel like I have been outdone.  Was that a nice way of saying that?

I ended up talking to them for about a half hour and checking on Chatty (foster store cat), who was doing terrific.  I could tell she liked them, which was heartening.  They told me they are going to adopt both cats at the store because it would be too hard to let them go now.  YAY for Chatty and Shuttles!

I left, got my hay and then went to the thrift store to drop off a box of junk we didn't need anymore.  I had to peruse, of course, but only found a gate that doesn't fit the area I wanted it to fit, a real nice pair of shorts and a pair of Levis.  You can never have too many Levis!  This was after I tried on 15-20 garments and didn't like how any of them fit.

I am trying REALLY HARD, not to accumulate stuff I don't need.  I want to simplify, not bury myself in junk.  It is so freeing to clean stuff out that is in the way and to know when you reach into a cupboard or a drawer what you grab is stuff you like and can use.  I have MUCH  to de-clutter in this house and I will as time moves on.

One last stop to the grocery store and bank, (same place), to pick up food and to deposit a store check. Then back home to unload groceries and hay and fill the rabbits crate with the hay to help them stay warm tonight.  Luckily I kept the girls (rabbits) all together from little on, so they like each other enough to snuggle close when it's chilly like tonight. 

I covered 2 of the smaller fruit trees, the strawberry plants and my rubber tree plant and my fingers are crossed that they survive the next few nights in the 20's. 

Back inside I went to make meatloaf and scalloped potatoes, talked to Kimbre a bit before she went for her massage (first one ever), did 2 loads of laundry and spoke with Tressa about the store changes and a student who is a mooch in her art class. 

No cleaning today, but very productive, all the same and all of my new Cathe Friedrich DVDs arrived!  YAY!  Too bad I won't be able to move tomorrow from today's work out.  :)

The major reason I started this blog was to motivate and encourage myself to study everyday for a minimum of one hour on gardening, health or something similar and I still haven't done this.  I think these first few days or weeks might be major catch up for me and I will get to the studying eventually.  At least I hope so.


All for now,
Pam

 

Insomnia

This waking up every night is driving me nuts. 

Pam