pitfalls of old age

I've been excited the last few months in that I've been able to increase the intensity level in aerobics class.  This past week I've had to drop down a notch or two (when I'm really tired my body doesn't always cooperate well) and have had the old pain in my feet and knees in the morning.  Disappointing, but I felt like I needed to keep pressing with exercise and weight loss in hopes of postponing Arthir the moocher.
So today, instead of using the exercise equipment upstairs (my usual Tues/Thurs routine), I went to a 20/20 class.  The description says by the time class is over you will have spent 20 minutes on each of the following: cardio, flexibility training, and weight bearing exercises. That sounds like something I need, so I head to the gym with a little fear, nervousness and excitement.  The first ten minutes in (while marching in place, the simplest of exercises) I felt a searing pain in my calf.  It's not uncommon for me to have short bouts of pain flare through my ankles and if I hold still for a few minutes, it goes away.  The pain eased up, but it never totally went away.  I have a nicely knotted muscle.
Given my past history with "athletic" injuries (I broke my foot in college tripping up 2 steps), I am more than a little humbled to admit that I strained a muscle while marching in place.  Why couldn't it have been a lunge, or a squat with weights or while using the blasted bouncy ball?  So since I'm prone to succumb to the "Fear of Man", I'll sheepishly admit how I aggravated the tension level in my muscle by saying "My body just has a mind of its own and it just wants to rest." :)

a little fruity

I'm not a big fruit person.  But there are days, like today, when I feel a little fruity.  You know, when it seems as if your life is divided into segments that seldom, if ever, overlap. Similar to the subdivisions in a grapefruit, you have to cut the parts to make them want to move.  Except I hate grapefruits, so then it made me think of oranges and lemons which are also like a wheel and segmented, but I'm not overly crazy about those, either.  I will drink orange juice and somewhat enjoy the taste of an orange (when I can convince myself it's worth the sticky juice), but lemons have never really been my friend.  My sisters will eat lemons in the same manner I eat chocolate, but the mere taste will conjure my mouth into the weirdest of expressions.
It's strange how the fruit I enjoy (watermelon, cantaloupe, apples), is never the fruit that comes to mind when I think of my life.

erotic body parts

When I was in middle school it was deemed improper to pad your bra.  Everyone had heard the stories of the girls who tried it and the horror of the tissue or newspaper wads falling totally or partially out and the embarrassment (or lopsidedness) that ensued.  Now they just sell padded bras so young girls don't have to worry about it.  Forget all the discussions about modesty and honesty.  Want to look like you have more than "swollen mosquito bites" (as one friend used to complain about)?  Just buy a padded bra.

Imagine my shock when in college as we learned about adapting to other cultures, I found that not everyone values breast size the westerners do.  In Africa, you want to catch a man's eyes... pad your hips.  Not joking.

In China, you really want a man to lust after you?  Have small feet, wear sandals without socks, and paint your toenails.  Of course, you'll also be dubbed a scarlet letter woman, but every Asian knows that beauty is in the feet.

So imagine the laughter at our breakfast table this morning over the following article:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/26/648118/is-that-fanny-for-real.html#storylink=misearch
Barry Saunders may be irreverent, but he is quite funny.  This is just a little funnier than most. And it leaves me laughing, shaking my head like my Grandma and saying, "What is this world coming to?"

today

4 MORE MONTHS 'TIL CHRISTMAS!!!

rainy Tuesday

It is raining here in the Triangle area of NC, and boy do I mean RAINING!
The pier is flooded.
The duck house is flooded.
The goose's nesting pen is flooded.
Our yard has multiple "ponds" in it.
And I am nice and dry at home.
It sounds like a good day to finish canning some grape jelly, do some ironing, and tackle those two bedrooms a little more.

And I had a little motivation in the room renovations from an unusual place: a magazine. I don't usually buy magazines, but this one caught my eye in the bookstore the other day.  It's titled cloth paper scissors studios and the entire edition highlights different studios and their artists.  Almost all of them do something with fabric, and at least four of them mainly quilt. It's taken me almost a week to look and read through it, and I have absolutely enjoyed it!  It's only put out four times a year, but there is an ad on their website where you can buy all four issues from 2 years ago on a CD (for the price of one magazine!).  I'm not sure that would be quite as enjoyable though. While I didn't get any ideas for my room now, it did make me want to hurry up and get my room in working order so I can start tackling projects on an organized and regular basis.

So happy rainy Tuesday and may you find time to accomplish at least one indoor activity today! :)

my feelings penned 2000+ years ago

Last Wednesday night our Bible Study was on Haggai.  Yeah, that's right.  One of those little books at the end of the Old Testament that you have to thumb through the pages several times to find.  And the passage read could easily have been an autobiographical description of my feelings. Here's the Monica paraphrase:

You work hard, but it's not enough.
You get new clothes, but they're either not warm enough or too hot (or don't fit right).
You eat (and cook and clean up afterward) but it doesn't really satisfy (or else is unhealthy).
You finally earn money, only to find it's already spent.
Your big expectations?  They turned out nothing like you had hoped.


Think about what you're doing.  What are you doing to build up God's kingdom?
Only after you've quit worrying about yourself, your own house,  your own needs and focus on God's temple and kingdom will there be peace.

Do you hear me uttering OUCH! ?  Did you hear me almost gasp Sunday morning when the visiting Haitian pastor made this statement: "It's time for us to get serious."

There are times in my life when I think I'm doing okay.  Not great, but not bad. Then circumstances and situations arise, and I realize how woefully not okay my situation truly is.  "When God asks us questions, He's not seeking information. He's looking for our reaction." (also from yesterday) I so badly want to be in control of my life. And yet when I am, I find that's when I'm the most discontent.

He must increase, but I must decrease.  And that's about as easy as dieting.

the quilting contest

It is finished. The quilt for the contest that is.  It is 2:10pm on Thursday afternoon.  The post office closes at 4:30pm, so I made it with 2 hours and 20 minutes to spare.  I come to the computer to upload some pics, and find:  two swatches of fabric that were supposed to be submitted with my quilt.  Hmph.  They will just have to go into an envelope and be mailed by their own selves.  Who knows?  They might even get there by Monday so my whole quilt package can be reunited.
It's not perfect, but it's the first sewing contest I've ever entered and I'm excited.  I know I won't win.  There's too many imperfections, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished.  So here it is:

The finished project

This little chicken needs some help. For such a tiny object, it's an okay job of applique.

The Chicken Pen...does it look like they've scratched up sand?

Where the wall, the house, and the chimney do NOT properly align.

 

And the back of the quilt, with the entry label affixed and the pole pocket on top. It wouldn't qualify as "pretty quilting" in my mother-in-law's book, but the whole quilt was completed in a week, and I'm satisfied. Can you find the trees?

So it's done, and sadly housework is now beckoning.  Screaming, actually.  Playtime is currently over. :(