I'm Turning Into My Mother

My mother's first language was not English, so while I was a kid she was learning English as I was learning to talk. My mother was great at "Spanglish," but purely non-intentional. She also came up with some of her own versions of words or titles. One of my favorite titles for "The Beverly Hillbilly's" was her version: "The Beverly Hilly-billy's." I never really considered her version of the English language mangled, just very creative.

I'm not quite sure how the subject of video games came up, but Michael and I were talking about all of the different devices on the market to play video games. I meant to bring up "Game Boy" and "Play Station" separately, but it came up "Playboy Station." Gah! I am turning into my mother!

Thanksgiving Week

I've decided to have a self imposed vacation from serious working out until after Thanksgiving, which is just a few days away. That doesn't mean that I won't go for an easy run or be active, it just means that I won't throw myself into a serious, sweaty, all out effort work out. My body has been rebelling and, perhaps, I've been over-training. For starters I have tendenitis in my left arm, I'm dealing with all kinds of other unexplained aches and pains, and now I'm dealing with allergies due to the extremely dry and warm weather at the moment. My "vacation" from working out actually started last week. I did work out with my personal trainer friend one day, just so he could show me how to work out around my tendenitis. The only down side to not working out as I was is the extra weight that creeps on. I'm up a good 6 pounds now, and I'm sure a good part of it is water retention. I realize the weight will go back down once I get back on schedule.

My son had a guitar recital last night. As a parent, I've been to other recitals for school and various instruments my kids were trying to play at some point, and the hard part is sitting through EVERY haphazard rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." Last night's recital was quite different. There were young children as well as adults who participated. I was not prepared for the performances that I amazingly listened to. Some of the most unassuming kids and adults would rip out guitar rifts from Metallica, Korn, Led Zepplin, etc... Now it's my turn to gush. My son decided to play Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." I sat there in amazement. Other people were straining their necks to get a better look at what MY son was doing. That was so cool! The audience clapped and cheered loudly when he finished, and people didn't do that for everyone. He pulled it off! I had been listening to him practice sections of the song for weeks, but never the whole piece. I am very proud of my son. (GUSH, GUSH, GUSH!)

The house thing is still going on. We've signed papers, but the sale of the house is not final yet. No celebratory dancing in the streets and champagne yet... It seems there's always some bizarre obstacle to jump over. It shouldn't have to be THIS difficult to buy a home that's in the family.

Thanksgiving will be at the in-laws this year. I have my "eating clothes" ready to wear... Meaning, I'm wearing clothes that I don't have to unbutton to feel comfortable in. I plan on eating everything. Cheers!

Shelter Island 5K

I participated in the Shelter Island 5k this morning with 596 others. Here are my results:

156 IRENE M..... 285 46 6/40 F San Diego 26:39 8:35

It was a GORGEOUS morning for a run, especially by the bay with the incentive of a brunch right after the finish line. :)

Around the last mile I ran in with a woman who is exactly my age. She said she was trying to pace herself with me because I was just a little bit ahead of her at the start. We finished together! That was cool! There were some phenomenally fast women in my age group... They looked fast just standing still! This was not a PR for me but I was still happy with this run. THEN there was food... Lots of food. If any of you just so happen to be in San Diego this time next year, I do suggest participating in this event, even if you walk it. They provided a champagne brunch at Humphires by the Bay in their outdoor concert venue. It was great. We also met some wonderful people. We talked to a guy who reminded me of my brother, been running since high school, today was his birthday and he came in 4th in his age group. I'm gonna keep this event in mind for next year.


Happy Sunday!

"To Do" List

Angie had posted on her blog a list of things she would like to do and a list of places she would like to visit before she leaves this world. This really got me to thinking about my life and rethink MY list. I really hadn't thought about what I'd like to do next or where I would like to go in quiet some time.

Things I'd like to do, not in any particular order:
*Learn how to surf.
*Learn how to scuba dive.
*Learn how to kick box.
*Have a greenhouse or entire greenroom.
*Figure out how to grow an orchid and get new blooms.
*Finish my BA in Art.
*Use my art supplies I bought months ago.
*Take private guitar lessons from a real guitar teacher. (Group lessons from a friend was not a good idea.)
*Take computer classes. ( I am computer challenged.)
*Join a running group in town.
*Participate in at least one marathon a year for as long as I am able to, even if I have to walk it.
*Volunteer to do something like Habitat for Humanity.

Places I've never been to but would like to visit:
*China
*St Petersburg, Russia
*Japan
*Some of the South Pacific Islands
*Australia
*New Zealand
*Fiji
*Greece
*Spain

Places I've been to and would like to visit again:
*Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
*Belem, Brazil
*Cozumel,Mexico
*Cancun, Mexico
*Mayan Ruins, Yucatan, Mexico
*Mazatlan,Mexico
*New York, NY, USA
*Chicago, Il, USA
*Colorado, USA
*Arizona, USA
*New Mexico, USA
*The Iowa family farm, USA
*Boston, MA, USA
*San Francisco, CA, USA
*The beach,here, in my own town...

Weighty Matters

I did go to Costco and purchase the weights. The funny thing is that I ended up with "Nautilus" weights. They are EXACTLY the same as the Bowflex weights, except for the logo, and the weight stand is slightly different. These weights are so co cool!

Investing in my health...

I had been sidelined with the flu last week, so I'm just now getting back to working out and eating normally this week. My suspicions that I might have tendonitis in my left arm have been confirmed by my chiropractor. He did some adjustments on my arm, which did help, but he told me the usual recoup time is 6 weeks, which I already knew. I can still work out, I just have to be mindful of how I grip weights and keep the weights lower than I'm used to.


I'm also looking into purchasing a new set of weights. Costco is now carrying the Bowflex dumbell weights. The price looks good, plus they come with a stand. I mentioned something to Michael about these weights and he didn't say much but he had that look on his face that said "you don't need those." I'm torn. I do have some money set aside, which will not disrupt our household finances, but it is an expense. I feel like I've gotten my money's worth on the Bowflex I bought over a year ago, so I know I would definetly use these weights. Besides, there's nothing stopping Michael from using these weights... Hmmmm...