Eating My Words

On my November 24th post, I said: "There are harder Denise Austin videos that I could purchase, but right now I can't see Denise Austin's Boot Camp anywhere in my future!"

Yeah, you guessed it. Just a few weeks after typing those words I got a Costco coupon for the Boot Camp DVD. I went to the store and stood in front of it for several minutes vacillating as to whether I should buy it or not. It was like the cartoons where the angel is on one shoulder and the little red devil is on the other.

Angel: you really should buy it, it's only $5 with the coupon, you'll be sorry if you decide to get it later and have to pay $14.95 at Borders. Devil: Who are you kidding?! You're never going to be able to do those workouts, you're too old, and too out of shape. Angel: I know you can do it, you want to be more flexible, if you keep working... Devil: Don't make me laugh...

Well you get the picture. So the angel won and I bought it. It sat on the shelf until this week. I got it out one day after my regular workout and just watched it so I could see what it would entail. I thought, "I think I can do most of this". So, the next morning I did the boot camp workout. I've done it now two mornings in a row. According to Denise Austin (and why would she lie?) if I just follow the plan I will see noticable results in three weeks! Whoopee! Do you think that means I'll weigh 103 like I did when I graduated high school?! Yeah, probably not. But maybe I will notice that my clothes feel looser, or that I can twist myself into one of the yoga moves easier.

Here I go, I'm committed to the boot camp workout for three weeks. If there are any harder Denise Austion workouts I don't want to know about them, and I certainly won't be commenting on them in this blog where my words will always come back to haunt me.

Quotes

I've been thinking about this for a few days now; what makes a quote a quote?

Each day I choose a quote to post on the right hand side of this blog. Some days the person quoted is very famous, a politician, a founding father, a poet, somebody big that we've all heard of. Other days, like today, it's an actor. Most days it's someone I've never heard of.

As I was typing today's quote from Drew Barrymore, I was thinking "what makes her words quotable?" I mean, I have friends that say profound things all the time. Rarely,something profound even comes out of my mouth. I certainly do not consider myself quotable.

Wouldn't it be interesting though, to start writing down the wise sayings that come from my friends? Can you imagine what they would think if they saw their words, attributed to them in my daily quote column?! That is, if they ever even look at my blog.

If I did decide to quote my friends, would I have to get permission? Should I have them sign a waiver so they can't sue me? Should I offer them a royalty?

We hardly pay attention to the words we use as they're leaving our mouths. Sometimes we're so intent on getting across a point or opinion that we don't even hear what we're saying. Have you ever had a conversation with someone only to wonder a few hours later "what did I say?" Or to stop and think "was I really that rude (or bold, or tactless, or insensitive)? "

Our words hold a power that we take lightly. If you don't think that's true, think about how powerful the words others say to you are.

Quotes. Who decides?

Cloudy Day

Today is going to be cloudy here in the Valley of the Sun. I love cloudy days. They are so rare that having one is a treat. On a cloudy day in Phoenix, I open the blinds wide in the house and get to turn on lights. The yellow (or white if its fluorescent) glow from the lamps is so homey, so comforting, so cozy, so different.

I grew up in Kansas. It rained every seven to ten days. Cloudy days were not unusual. You always had to have a Plan B when planning outdoor activities. The wind blew... constantly. Boy, was I in for a surprise when I moved to Phoenix.

The first weather shock when I moved here in 1978 was that wind speed could be calm or zero. I swear, I had NEVER in all my life seen a wind speed of zero.

My second shock was that people could live through days where the high temperature got to 117 degrees. Not only could they live, but they still walked around, drove their cars, acted like this blast furnace was normal.

The third shock was the first fall that I lived here. I worked the night shift, and I swear this is the truth... I got into my car one night at 3:00 am to drive home and was chilly so I turned on the heater. The weather came on the radio and the current temp was 70 degrees! I just had to laugh. I wondered what my Kansas friends would think if they knew I was running the car heater at 70 degrees.

As I got accustomed to life in Phoenix, the weather shocks were fewer and farther between. At first the novelty of over 300 days of sunshine was fascinating, but as time went on, I began to miss clouds. And rain. This led to the bizarre behavior a lot of us have here in town, every time there was a cloud in the sky or a rain drop I ran outside. I still do.

After I'd been here a few years and thought I was acclimated, we had a bad monsoon season. This is the rainy season in the summer when we get about 2-3 inches of rain in 3-5 months. Yeah, I know, doesn't sound like a big deal to most of you. However, when your car is floating down the flooded street, it's a big deal. I was shocked to learn that we could have storms that powerful. The summer of 1991 brought two days in a row of temps 120 and above. I remember thinking, "it's 120 degrees and I'm still breathing!" Another shock occurred in the summer of 1996. It's a legend by now. It was a huge storm that took off roofs, knocked down power lines, and created havoc.

I've come from living in Kansas where you run outside when the tornado sirens go off, to living in Phoenix where you run outside if a cloud passes in front of the sun... what a journey.

Easily Entertained

I am one of those people who thinks they're very simple and easy to know, but in reality, I'm probably more complicated than I give myself credit for. Anyway, I am very easily entertained. I added this feature to the blog several weeks ago that shows me where people are logging in from. I find it to be endlessly entertaining. One morning last week while Jessica was here, I signed in and immediately went to that gadget to see who had looked at my blog overnight. (Who is a relative term, it just tells me the geographic locations, I really don't know who it is except for my out of state friends & family). Anyway, it said "Europe logged in...". I shrieked for Dan & Jessica, "all of Europe logged in to my blog last night!" Ha ha ha - I don't know why it said "Europe", I've had it say Paris, France & some other city/country that I can't recall right now.

Poor Dan. Each morning it's the same... ooh, look St Louis, MO! We don't know anyone there. Oh, wow! Beverly Hills, CA - who could that be?

Of course, being a world-class worrier, my first reaction when strangers started finding me, was "oh my gosh, I have it set so I can't be found in a search, how did they find me?" I tried searching for myself and was unable to, so I settled down to realize that the only way they could find me was through friends. It restored my peace of mind a little.

I don't know how long the novelty will last, but for now this is one of the most enjoyable activities of my day. Oops, I shouldn't have said that, I guess you now know how boring my days can be!

She's Walking! (kinda)

We got this toy for our granddaughter for Christmas. When the family was all over on Saturday, we got it out and stood her at it. She'd stand there, but wasn't sure what it was for. I got it out this afternoon, stood her at it, and lo and behold, she took off! Once she realized she could make it move, she walked back and forth between the living and the kitchen for about an hour. It wore her out, and me too!

Here's a couple of short videos we took... I know, we're just ridiculous as grandparents!

Family Fun

Since Jessica was in town, I decided to have the family over for dinner. WHY I decided to do that on the same day I went to the book sale is beyond me, but, it worked out ok. I will say though, that we were all exhausted by the time everyone went home. I realize every picture features my granddaughter. You're probably getting tired of seeing her so much... but, I'm not!

The whole bunch

"Why does Grammy keep kissing me so much?!"

"Walking toys are fun..."

Great-Uncle Mark & Great-Aunt Kelly

Great-Grandpa & Great-Grandma

Katie & Gabe

Gramps & Grammy

The girls

Oh, the Fun We Had!

The VNSA Book Sale yesterday was terrific! We all came away with items that were on our list and a few that weren't. Of course, as every year, there were disappointments too. But, we always look on the bright side, whatever we didn't find this year, we might find next year.

South Line above, North Line below

We found an arrival strategy that really worked and we're going to try to implement it each year from here out. We got there at 7:45, 15 minutes before the doors opened. The lines were tremendous. There are two lines on each side of the building filtering in to a single entrance door. We were worried that we would be in line for hours. But, when the doors opened at 8:00, they let so many people in at once, that we knew we'd get in on the second wave. I figured we had 30 minutes to go until the next opening, but, again we were surprised. We only waited 10 minutes before they let us in. So, we were in the doors by 8:10 am. Wow! We waited less than when we get there after they've opened.

I am somewhere in this line.

Once inside we separated, agreeing to meet up in one hour to regroup. As expected, the children's area was a madhouse. I'm so short that it's almost impossible for me to see over and under the people crowding the tables and floor. That's where Dan & Jessica came in, they attacked the kid's books and found lots of great buys! Dan found the cutest opposites book for our granddaughter, illustrated by pictures of NFL players. Gabe's a huge football fan, so Katie bought that one off of me. I found one of the "Little House" hardbacks that I needed, but I think next year I'll have to hit the kids books first to find any others. I found Lemony Snicket books, which Kyler reads, and was able to buy him 4 volumes for the same amount that I spent on one volume at Christmas w/a coupon. Yippee!

The thing about this sale is that it's different every year. Usually there are 4-6 boxes of xstitch magazines & patterns. This year there was 1 1/2 boxes and only 1 magazine. Bummer. The Christmas book selection was small too, but I was able to score three new books, including a book of Christmas classics illustrated by Mary Engelbreit, brand-new, for $4.

Finally, 3 1/2 hours later, we staggered to the car under the load of 2 rolling suitcases, and 4 bags of books. We all went over budget, but it was (and will be) worth it.

Here we are with our stash.

Next year's sale is 2/12-13, mark your calendars and I'll see you there!

Tomorrow's the Big Day

Tomorrow we're off to the VNSA Book Sale. I am so excited. I have my list made, I looked at the map of the building and planned my shopping strategy. I have my purse emptied of everything; ready to hold my sunglasses, water bottle, baggy of grapes, cell phone, debit card, and list. My rolling suitcase is ready and I have 10 cloth bags laid out. I am so excited!

Jessica brought a small pocket size camera with her, so she's going to bring it so we can take pictures to post tomorrow afternoon. People come from all over the country to go to this sale. For book lovers, Phoenix Arizona is the place to be the second weekend of February!

A Taste of Arizona Weather

It rained overnight Saturday into Sunday. On Sunday morning there was some lingering fog when we got up. As we went out to do Dan's appraisals, we could see the clouds lower than the White Tank Mountains. Being a total weather wonk, I persuaded Dan to take these pictures for me with his "appraisal camera". It's not the best camera in the world, but you get the picture. Beautiful!

Facing Reality, No, Accepting Reality... Bites!

When I was in my 40s, I used to joke (kinda) about how cool it would be when we were finally old enough to get senior discounts. I mean, old people have all the luck. Everything is discounted for them, either all the time or on certain days of the week.

Fast forward to last year. We were moving into our rental, it had poured down rain all day, my book boxes and photo boxes got wet and my mom and I were busy unpacking and drying them before they got ruined. Everyone else was frantically trying to move all of our belongings into the garage and house. I lost track of time and realized my blood sugar was plummeting and I needed to eat - NOW.

Katie drove me to Golden Corral, where the others would meet us as soon as they finished the last load. By the time we got to the restaurant I was in the state of confusion that results from really low blood sugar. We got our meal, I ate some carbs and started to regain my sanity. That's when Katie showed me, while laughing, that they had charged me the senior discount price. Well, I was a little offended, but given my state of mind, I could understand their mistake. After all, you have to be 60 to get the discount there. I was only 52 at the time.

However, they continued to make that mistake. Almost every time Dan & I would go there, they gave us the senior discount. I would point out to them that we're not 60, but they just said "oh, well". Occasionally, they would ask if we deserved it, but 90% of the time they just assumed.

Then, we went to a new restaurant in town this summer and that waiter gave us the discount too. I said, "how old do you have to be to get the discount?". "55", he replied. Me: "just who at this table looks 55 to you? Him, right?" He hemmed and hawed and then apologized. Oh my goodness! Poor Dan, I didn't realize he looked that old to other people, right?!

Oh yeah, reality struck me this past Thursday. I stopped at Wendy's before picking Dan up from work. As the cashier rang up my order, I saw a 10% discount flash by. I said, "why did you give me a 10% discount?" He said, "Oh, I just do it automatically because I get tired of the complaints if I don't." I said, "Complaints from who? Who would expect a 10% discount at Wendy's?" He said, starting to look uncomfortable: "Seniors". I said, "how old do you have to be to get the discount?" Him: "55". Me: "Do I look 55 to you?" He stood his ground and explained that he got so tired of people chewing him out that he just tried to guess. I replied, "oh, you mean like how they card everyone 45 and under for alcohol?" He brightened and said, "yeah, that's what I do". I said "Oh, then you must give the senior discount to everyone that looks 30 or older!" We both laughed, and off I went with my 10% discount on my $5.00 meal.

The fact of the matter is that I am 53 years old, soon to be 54 in August. I have never been ashamed of my age. As a matter of fact, I love my birthdays because I've worked hard to gain each year. But, there's something about people assuming that I deserve the senior discount that really bothers me. Dan, on the other hand, just likes the savings.

The hard truth is that even though I feel like I'm about 35, I must look like I'm about 53. So, I'm going to accept it. I'm going to be proud of it. I'm going to celebrate it. But, I'm still going to cringe every time I see that %10 come off of my purchase!

Still in Need

I have a new address for the God's Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti. They have received so many donation that they've had to go out and rent warehouse space. The office/warehouse has been in a private home in Colorado.

Don't get complacent and think, "gee, they're getting so much stuff that they don't need mine". Nothing could be further from the truth. The needs of the orphanage and the surrounding community will be ongoing for years.

We have been steadily collecting stuff here and our goal is to ship to Colorado on 2/19. If you live in the Phoenix area and want to participate there is still time. Below is the information from their website about their needs. Thanks to all of you who have already contributed!

If you would like to help, here are some suggestions:
We are collecting donations now and will be sending a shipping container to Haiti as soon as we can. For the orphanage, we always need powdered formula, diapers, baby wipes, baby cereal, infant tylenol, infant and childrens vitamins, and baby care items such as lotion, powder, baby shampoo. We also hope to be able to assist the surrounding community with clothing, medical supplies, household items, hygiene items such as soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, blankets and towels. We have also set up a fund for earthquake relief for our staff and surrounding community. Many of our staff will need assistance with home repair and funeral expenses. Donations should be sent to:
God's Littlest Angels
2275 D Waynoka Rd
Colorado Springs, CO 80915

Financial donations for earthquake relief can be sent to God's Littlest Angels, 2275 D Waynoka Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80915, or via Paypal on our web site http://www.glahaiti.org/, (Canadian donors should use the Canadian Paypal button at www.glacanada.ca) or through the following link: http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/ and click the "Chip in" button.
The orphanage desperately needs high chairs. Please help us provide for the new babies coming into the orphanage after the earthquake.We need 24 chairs

So Thankful...

My friend, Francesca, lives in Springfield, VA. She emailed this photo to me this morning. Her car is the silver one in front of the black one. I am so thankful that I live where I do. A 117 degree day lasts for one day. A 24 inch snowfall lasts for days or weeks. I'll take the one day...

8 Months Old/Another Concert

Here is my official Eight Month Photo with my granddaughter.

We took it at a concert that Kyler had last night.

We sat close enough this time that we could

actually hear Kyler's instrument, it was so cool!

I wanted a back-to-back shot with Kyler
to show that he's almost as tall as me.

A very proud Grammy with the kids.

We took Kyler to a concert at this very school when

he was still a baby. Katie was babysitting him that night

& Jessica or JD had a band concert. Talk about the circle

of life! Where did the years go?

Hobby Lobby Opens!

I had never heard of Hobby Lobby until my friend Melanie moved to Nebraska and told me about it. Then, several years ago, one opened up down in Avondale, AZ. I drove down there and loved the store, but it was quite a distance from where I lived. Slowly, they started opening more stores in the Phoenix area, but none close to me. Finally, on Monday they opened a store about 30 minutes from my house! Yippee!

Dan & I drove over there yesterday. The store is very large and very clean. I talked to the manager and asked how business had been. They were so busy on Monday for their Grand Opening that they sold out of many products. He explained that their trucks come in from Oklahoma, and the weather had been bad in OK this week, so no truck was expected until Friday. He was worried that the skimpy supply on shelves would be a deterrent. It wasn't. The store was packed with people, and most of them were carrying multiple items to purchase. Isn't that great?!

I told Dan that we need to add "Hobby Lobby" as a category on our budget now that there's one close by. He didn't say anything, but I got the impression that he didn't agree. If you live in the Northwest Phoenix area, check out Hobby Lobby on Bell Rd between 75th/83rd Avenues. If you've never been in one, you'll find yourself humming along to the Muzak - they play Christian music.

Updates

1. God's Littlest Angels: We're still collecting items for the orphanage. I have two boxes packed and ready to go. My hope is to have everything mailed by 2/19. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. My plan is to hold a flip-flop drive this summer for the orphanage, that's the shoes they all wear, and then in the fall I'm going to hold a specific donation event also. If you want advance notice, email me and I'll put you on my orphanage mailing list.

2. $5 savings plan: I am so excited about the $5 savings plan. We saved $65 in January, yippee! I've decided to take the money at the end of each month and put it in our savings account. I'm not comfortable keeping it here at home. I know every month will be different, but I think $65 was a good start! In case you think I'm going to bore you with a total each month, don't worry! I won't update this again until the end of the year.

3. The Christmas Jar: The Christmas Jar was about 2/3 full and getting heavy, so I rolled what I could and returned the rest of the coins to it. I will turn in the rolls and then put the bills in the jar. I never thought about how heavy a quart jar filled with coins would be! I plan to roll at the end of each month. Other than counting the coins out for the rolls, I'm not counting the rest of it. I figure God knows how much money needs to be in the jar, and I don't need to know.

Groundhog Day

When I was a kid I loved Groundhog Day. I was always so excited to see if the groundhog saw his shadow or not! I was always hoping for an immediate start to Spring, not six more weeks of winter. I grew up in Kansas, and unfortunately, whether he saw his shadow or not, it seemed as if we always had six more weeks of winter.

Now I live in Arizona. The groundhog prediction does not work here. We have a snake, Agua Fria Freddie. His prognostication is exactly opposite of the groundhog. If he sees his shadow, Spring is immediate! I love that snake... in the 31 years I've lived here, winter is rarely extended. Of course, winter is a relative term. It means much milder conditions here than in the rest of country. We still find reason to complain though, you have no idea how cold a 65 degree high can feel!

So... Happy Groundhog Day, and I hope Spring is imminent for us all.

A Visit With the "Greats"

Yesterday, my folks asked Dan to come over to do some home repair work for them. We decided to go and pick up our granddaughter and take her along to visit the "greats". They were thrilled to see her and enjoyed seeing her crawl and pull herself up on the furniture and their legs. We stayed for an hour til she got fussy. A good time was had by all!

(great) Grandma & Grandpa

Sharing a laugh with Grandpa

Grandma loved her "pigtails"!