My best friend and I have decided we need to get our butts in the pool and workout. I can't begin to even explain how exciting and great this feels for me. Granted, I can't do everything I'd like to do, but I am definitely getting a workout. So far, we have agreed to go swimming on Wed. and Fri. mornings before work (6am-ish). Eventually, I'd like to go on Mondays too. Today was our fourth time (?)....we are really getting into it. I actually notice each time we go, that my endurance is getting better! Love it! We start out by doing my physical therapy for my shoulder. We figured it wouldn't hurt either of us to do my physical therapy because it helps stabilize our shoulders, back, neck area. It also really helps manage my shoulder pain, amazingly enough. After the shoulder exercises (we use the weights when we do this), we kick and swim laps. This morning, we even did some running in the baby pool (whoa...that was hard stuff!) I love swimming in the morning because it gets me out of the house, away from my child, and a gets me a chance to hang with my bestie more often. What more could you ask for? We didn't think anything, until some Navy men (I believe it's guys that are trying to get into the Navy) were coming as we were going. Dang. There was one guy that was really hot. I thought for sure I'd have to pick my girl's jaw up off the ground! Hahahaha! If that isn't motivation to get moving, I don't know what is! Hahaha! ;)
Not that I didn't notice that this guy was really easy on the eyes, but I was more intrigued with his swimming style. The lifeguard on duty was telling us that they have a certain stroke just for the Navy. Already, I was interested. Apparently, it is some sort of side stroke called "combat side stroke". The lifeguard said it was really hard and they had to do 16 laps in 8 minutes. Naturally, I had to do some poking into this "combat side stroke" business. I dig it. I like the side stroke, I've used it many times...mostly with regards to life guarding (I took the lifeguard training course THREE times...long story!) Basically, all you do is swim a side stroke with rhythmic breathing. Like a cross between side stroke, breast stroke and freestyle. Now we all know I have a bum right shoulder. I've been doing some pretty funny strokes myself just to get a workout in. Mostly, I've been doing a lot of left arm only freestyle and backstroke. I tried freestyle one-armed first, but it makes me a bit dizzy since typically I don't breath on my left side. I've found much better success with one-armed backstroke (big shock since that was my favorite and best stroke in swim team). Anyway, I digress, this "combat side stroke" actually looks like something I might be able to do with my bum shoulder. If I breathed on my left side, my right arm would only need to do a breast stroke pull, which doesn't bother me too badly. Alright...bottom line...challenge accepted, I got this! Bring it Navy Boys!
http://www.sealswcc.com/navy-seals-swim-training.aspx
Here's the website that describes and shows video of the combat side stroke.
I like having a challenge to work towards....I'm definitely jazzed.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Friday, September 21, 2012
BUSY WEEK!! Gotye, Preschool, Anniversary....
This week has been so crazy! Sunday night, I almost had a panic attack, I was just so stressed out, but thankfully, everything has gone smoothly. Monday night, I had tickets to see Gotye in concert. I went with my friend, Jen, her BF and two other friends. I was really nervous because I was driving and it was in Columbus. I am not really familiar with Columbus and have a tendency to get nervous driving in cities I am not familiar with. Thankfully, the venue was super easy to find and the concert was really small, so parking and getting out when the concert was over wasn't too terrible. Two different bands opened for Gotye....Zammuto and Chairlift. I had heard of Chairlift before, but not Zammuto. I liked both bands. Up until last year, I hadn't gone to a concert in a long time and I'd never had general admission seats (this whole concert was general admission), but now that I know what it's like to be on the floor, I don't think I'll ever buy seats. I am that person who pushes and works her way to the front of the stage. I am not overly pushy about it...it's more a game of strategy for me. Seriously, it's nuts, but finding my way to the front is part of the fun for me. It's kind of funny. I warned my group that I would be up front no matter what. They were all wishy washy about it and not completely feeling it. I figured "no biggie...I drove, so they can't leave without me!" Hahahaha! They all ended up keeping up with me, so that's cool! Gotye was really great in concert. He is so freaking adorable. I love the flopping hair, big nose, quirky look and add to that a great Australian accent and he really is cute. However, the man is WAY TOO skinny! Part of the reason he is so skinny is because he doesn't EVER stop moving during his show. There were maybe 4 drum sets and he played every one practically every song. It was really fun too, because my brother's two sister in laws were at the concert as well, but they came a little later than us and ran into a group of rude people behind us, so they weren't able to join us. Really, being rude at a concert is NOT cool! They tried to just come say "hi", and one of the ladies said "you can text her after the concert, GET BACK!" Good grief. Anyway, overall, the concert was great!
Tuesday was L's first day of preschool! As it turned out, A took an escort, so I had to take the day off work and took L to school. I have to admit, I was sweating bullets nervous. I wasn't really nervous about L going to school...I was more concerned with my part. When we took a tour of the classroom and went to the orientation, I basically closed my ears when it came to the whole pick up and drop off info because I knew that it would never be me doing it. Sure enough, as luck would have it, I was the one who got stuck doing it on the very first day! Normally, when L goes to school, I will be at work and A will be home. I have been harboring resentful feelings for weeks now knowing that A will have 2 1/2 hours/ twice a week of alone time. Let me tell you....after actually experiencing that blissful 2 1/2 hours for myself, my jealousy just tripled. I spent 1 1/2 hours laying on my fat butt watching TV with no one bothering me. God, was it ever heavenly! Anyway, I was excited to see how L's first day went (I was also hoping I didn't get pulled aside by the teacher to discuss L's swearing! Dear God! Thankfully, that didn't happen!) All the parents were patiently waiting for their kids to be released and every single kid ran into their parents arms all excited....except one....mine. Hahahaha....he walked out like he didn't have a care in the world...who cares if someone picks me up, etc. All the other kids were telling their parents all about their day....I asked L what he did and his response was "nuffin..." In the car, he told me he "learned". This was the most I got out of him until later at dinner....randomly he said "be quiet and go sit on your mat!!!" He explained that his teach told him that. I seriously almost peed myself laughing. Now THAT sounds more like my kid!!!
Tomorrow is our 10th wedding anniversary. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. I can just barely believe we have been married that long. Are we even old enough to have been married for ten years? OK, don't answer that! ;) It's funny how ten years sound so long and so short all at the same time. It's amazing how things have changed since that day ten years ago. Every now and again, I think it's fun to think back and try to remember the feelings I had the night before or during our wedding. It was such an amazingly wonderful wedding. We've had a pretty decent marriage so far too! ;) Here's hoping for 10, 20, 50+ more years of a happy marriage!!
This is the card I got for Aaron for our anniversary....It couldn't be more perfect because he is so afraid of spiders!
Tuesday was L's first day of preschool! As it turned out, A took an escort, so I had to take the day off work and took L to school. I have to admit, I was sweating bullets nervous. I wasn't really nervous about L going to school...I was more concerned with my part. When we took a tour of the classroom and went to the orientation, I basically closed my ears when it came to the whole pick up and drop off info because I knew that it would never be me doing it. Sure enough, as luck would have it, I was the one who got stuck doing it on the very first day! Normally, when L goes to school, I will be at work and A will be home. I have been harboring resentful feelings for weeks now knowing that A will have 2 1/2 hours/ twice a week of alone time. Let me tell you....after actually experiencing that blissful 2 1/2 hours for myself, my jealousy just tripled. I spent 1 1/2 hours laying on my fat butt watching TV with no one bothering me. God, was it ever heavenly! Anyway, I was excited to see how L's first day went (I was also hoping I didn't get pulled aside by the teacher to discuss L's swearing! Dear God! Thankfully, that didn't happen!) All the parents were patiently waiting for their kids to be released and every single kid ran into their parents arms all excited....except one....mine. Hahahaha....he walked out like he didn't have a care in the world...who cares if someone picks me up, etc. All the other kids were telling their parents all about their day....I asked L what he did and his response was "nuffin..." In the car, he told me he "learned". This was the most I got out of him until later at dinner....randomly he said "be quiet and go sit on your mat!!!" He explained that his teach told him that. I seriously almost peed myself laughing. Now THAT sounds more like my kid!!!
Tomorrow is our 10th wedding anniversary. We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate. I can just barely believe we have been married that long. Are we even old enough to have been married for ten years? OK, don't answer that! ;) It's funny how ten years sound so long and so short all at the same time. It's amazing how things have changed since that day ten years ago. Every now and again, I think it's fun to think back and try to remember the feelings I had the night before or during our wedding. It was such an amazingly wonderful wedding. We've had a pretty decent marriage so far too! ;) Here's hoping for 10, 20, 50+ more years of a happy marriage!!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Dancing in the Car
I dare you to tell me you don't start shaking your head every single time your hear Haddaway's "What is Love" in your car...ala A Night at the Roxbury!!! Sometimes, you just HAVE to dance in your car. It's like you don't have a choice. I love car dancing personally. I can promise you that if you ever pass me, you will most likely catch me mid-move. The worst (well, I think it's kind of the best) part is that you know someone is seeing you and peeing themselves laughing at what an idiot you look like. Crap, as I sit here typing this post, Party Anthem is on the radio and I am ready to get up and dance. Yes, I desk dance too. I am just THAT person!
I love it when people randomly dance and sing. It's awesome. To me, it means you are willing to laugh at yourself and you're feeling great! There is nothing better than seeing some guy (yes, I am going with male here) totally belting out a song in their car. If they throw some moves with that, just awesome! We just have a tendency to take ourselves so seriously. Who cares?!? Why can't you enjoy yourself?
When I was in high school, I drove a granny smith apple green VW Beetle. I seriously LOVED this car. You always have a soft spot for your first car, even if it's a beater. But this VW was SOOOO me! I leaned how to drive stick in it (when I got my license, my parents told me I could only drive my car even though I didn't know how to drive stick....they knew what they were doing....I literally drove to and from school, I couldn't handle anywhere else for a long time!) It broke down left and right, but was still the best car ever. When I first got it, I didn't have a radio in it. For the longest time, I took my tape player and used it in the car. It was kind of ghetto and super hilarious, but my BFF and I partied like rock stars cruising around town (whatever...hahahha....we thought we were cool!) Eventually, I got a radio put in, but the tape player was still the best. We even made mix tapes just to play in the Bug. That vehicle was the ultimate car dancing car!
Next time you hear a great song, open the windows, belt it out off the top of your lungs and get your car boogie on!!! Life is short....have fun!
Update: Yeah, just heard "What is Love" on radio in my office...totally head bobbed without even realizing it. I am just THAT cool! ;)
I love it when people randomly dance and sing. It's awesome. To me, it means you are willing to laugh at yourself and you're feeling great! There is nothing better than seeing some guy (yes, I am going with male here) totally belting out a song in their car. If they throw some moves with that, just awesome! We just have a tendency to take ourselves so seriously. Who cares?!? Why can't you enjoy yourself?
When I was in high school, I drove a granny smith apple green VW Beetle. I seriously LOVED this car. You always have a soft spot for your first car, even if it's a beater. But this VW was SOOOO me! I leaned how to drive stick in it (when I got my license, my parents told me I could only drive my car even though I didn't know how to drive stick....they knew what they were doing....I literally drove to and from school, I couldn't handle anywhere else for a long time!) It broke down left and right, but was still the best car ever. When I first got it, I didn't have a radio in it. For the longest time, I took my tape player and used it in the car. It was kind of ghetto and super hilarious, but my BFF and I partied like rock stars cruising around town (whatever...hahahha....we thought we were cool!) Eventually, I got a radio put in, but the tape player was still the best. We even made mix tapes just to play in the Bug. That vehicle was the ultimate car dancing car!
Next time you hear a great song, open the windows, belt it out off the top of your lungs and get your car boogie on!!! Life is short....have fun!
Update: Yeah, just heard "What is Love" on radio in my office...totally head bobbed without even realizing it. I am just THAT cool! ;)
Monday, September 10, 2012
Change in Schedule
The other day, I took L to a sleep specialist. We have been struggling with sleep issues from basically day one with him. I didn't really think that he has a sleep problem in the medical sense. He doesn't snore, stop breathing, have restless legs, etc..., he just doesn't sleep. Anyway, the Dr was really nice and sat and talked to me for over an hour (my poor mom had to entertain L the whole time in the waiting room). He gave me a few options of things to do and the one that we agreed might work best with our lifestyle is instead of working on putting L to bed early, put him to bed late. Like 10:30-11pm late. He said it will take awhile for this to work, but once he's comfortable falling asleep immediately when he's tired, gradually move his bedtime up 15 minutes. We are to wake L up at his normal wake-up time (around 7am-ish) and cut his naps down to an hour or so. This all sounds great in theory, but in practice it is freaking ridiculous! Let me explain....
A and I have always worked alternating schedules...basically our whole marriage. He works 2pm-10pm. He doesn't come home till around 10:30pm-11pm normally. I work 9-1pm on all the weekdays that A works and his two days off I work all day. A works the weekends as well, essentially, I have L 5 afternoons alone. Since A comes home late and stays up late, he usually sleeps in till I leave at 8:40am. So here's how this is all playing out.....I get L early because A is sleeping, I get L late because A is working late, and I get 5 days of shorter naps. Seriously? I don't want to sound whiny about this, but really....I am feeling like I am getting the shaft end of this deal. It's exhausting to have everything sitting on my shoulders. Because of our weird schedules, I've been carrying a lot of the weight on my shoulder as it is. I have done the new schedule for three days now and I have to say, mom is totally on the brink of exhaustion. L, not so much. Hahahaha. Seriously, the child stayed up till almost midnight fighting me last night. AND he was up at 1:30am screaming. Hmmm...I know the Dr said this is something that is going to take some time to get it working, but I am hoping it happens sooner rather than later!
We are also implementing a new system to try and reduce some of the weird little quirky behaviors that he does at night. We haven't started it yet because our weekend was ridiculously busy, but this week we are on it. It's also going to help us promote good behaviors rather than bad. An example of the quirky things he does are having 7 plus blankets every night. If we can reduce a blanket, he will get a marble put into a jar. When he collects a set number of marbles (starting off with a low amount and moving higher), he gets a treat, or fun activity. We can use marbles for picking up toys, eating dinner, really any good behavior we want to promote.
Finally, the Dr recommended that he see a psychiatrist to make sure there are no underlying problems (such as OCD or ADHD) that could be causing the issues. I just called to set up and appt today....we shall see where this all takes us! Here's hoping for some peaceful sleep soon!!!
A and I have always worked alternating schedules...basically our whole marriage. He works 2pm-10pm. He doesn't come home till around 10:30pm-11pm normally. I work 9-1pm on all the weekdays that A works and his two days off I work all day. A works the weekends as well, essentially, I have L 5 afternoons alone. Since A comes home late and stays up late, he usually sleeps in till I leave at 8:40am. So here's how this is all playing out.....I get L early because A is sleeping, I get L late because A is working late, and I get 5 days of shorter naps. Seriously? I don't want to sound whiny about this, but really....I am feeling like I am getting the shaft end of this deal. It's exhausting to have everything sitting on my shoulders. Because of our weird schedules, I've been carrying a lot of the weight on my shoulder as it is. I have done the new schedule for three days now and I have to say, mom is totally on the brink of exhaustion. L, not so much. Hahahaha. Seriously, the child stayed up till almost midnight fighting me last night. AND he was up at 1:30am screaming. Hmmm...I know the Dr said this is something that is going to take some time to get it working, but I am hoping it happens sooner rather than later!
We are also implementing a new system to try and reduce some of the weird little quirky behaviors that he does at night. We haven't started it yet because our weekend was ridiculously busy, but this week we are on it. It's also going to help us promote good behaviors rather than bad. An example of the quirky things he does are having 7 plus blankets every night. If we can reduce a blanket, he will get a marble put into a jar. When he collects a set number of marbles (starting off with a low amount and moving higher), he gets a treat, or fun activity. We can use marbles for picking up toys, eating dinner, really any good behavior we want to promote.
Finally, the Dr recommended that he see a psychiatrist to make sure there are no underlying problems (such as OCD or ADHD) that could be causing the issues. I just called to set up and appt today....we shall see where this all takes us! Here's hoping for some peaceful sleep soon!!!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Jewelry
Anybody that knows me, knows that I am jewelry addict. This unhealthy obsession started back when I was a junior or so in high school. My mom opened an amazing art gallery right on the square of my town. I worked for my mom on the weekends, breaks, and summers for about 7 years. While working at the gallery, I developed a love for all things jewelry. I used to love displaying all the jewelry, cleaning it, and the best part...ordering it from the various artists. I am not exaggerating...I had a "jewelry budget", which was basically a majority of my paycheck! When I got married and moved away, my mom gave me the best gift ever....the beginnings of making my own jewelry. I think it wasn't a week later that I started searching the Internet for places to buy more beads and supplies. Looking back, my first pieces were hilariously primitive. My style and technique has come a LONG way in the last ten years. I have dabbled in a bunch of different things....but the basics of my jewelry have pretty much stayed the same.
Previously, I posted that I was tearing a bunch of necklaces apart to re-make them....I have finally decided it's time to get moving and make some new things. Honestly, I just love doing this kind of stuff. It's so fun to see what new and exciting combinations you can come up with and even better, finding out what styles sell. Possibly the BEST part of making new jewelry, is seeing people around town wearing it! What an amazing feeling! Anyway, figured I'd add a few pictures of some of my new pieces!!
Previously, I posted that I was tearing a bunch of necklaces apart to re-make them....I have finally decided it's time to get moving and make some new things. Honestly, I just love doing this kind of stuff. It's so fun to see what new and exciting combinations you can come up with and even better, finding out what styles sell. Possibly the BEST part of making new jewelry, is seeing people around town wearing it! What an amazing feeling! Anyway, figured I'd add a few pictures of some of my new pieces!!
I have decided to see if I can broaden my horizons by finding new ways to sell my jewelry. I am considering having jewelry parties (I did one a long time ago and it turned out pretty good) and possibly finding a new store or two that would be interested in selling it. I have even designed jewelry for a wedding a few years ago. The jewelry turned out amazing and everyone LOVED it. I know that the bridesmaids still wear their jewelry all the time. If anyone out there knows of any cool stores that I might contact or if you would like to host a jewelry party....let me know! I am hoping to get some decent pictures of some of my jewelry and start a facebook page.
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