Thursday, March 31, 2011

Words of wisdom from the 19-year-old.

I've learned that the "PT" on the trainer's shirt doesn't stand for personal trainer, it stands for personal torture. Remember my stupidity in mouthing off to the trainer? Well he remembered it too and has taken it upon himself to make my abs hurt in the most creative ways possible. He's been trying for a while, and he finally had success this week.

Yesterday he started class by telling me "A failure to plan is a plan to fail, and I don't plan to fail." I tried to distract him by talking about right-brained and left-brained people and how some are not planners and some are, but he persevered with his torture and my abs woke up screaming in the end. I would say this has taught me to keep my mouth shut, but I highly doubt that. He brings out the rebellion in me.

Anyway, I have the next few days off so I'll be recovered and ready to mouth off once more on Monday.

Have a great Thursday!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

I'm such a know-it-all.

And that would be great if it worked, but today I failed.

Remember the ankle Man-boy sprained? And remember the ER doctor told us to have it X-rayed again this week just to make sure it wasn't fractured? And remember how I just knew it was only sprained?

Yeah.

Today we had an appointment with a pediatric orthopedist in Richmond. Man-boy was going to wear shorts but I said, "Don't do that. You'll freeze. It's only in the 50s." So he put on his jeans. Bad, bad mama.

When we got there, the first thing the nurse asked was, "Do you have a pair of shorts?" and Man-boy looked daggers at me. But not to worry, they have shorts. Disposable ones. They're blue paper and they go really well with one green Chuck and one bare foot.

The nurse twisted and prodded for a while, and then sent him for an X-ray. Then the doctor came in, poked and wrenched a little bit more and found the spot that hurt. It's actually above his ankle by about 4 inches. Doc went back to look at the X-ray again, then came back in and pushed really hard on that spot. Man-boy caught his breath and said, "YES. THAT HURTS."

The doctor said the fracture is actually higher than we thought which is why the swelling has gone down considerably and Man-boy's ankle and foot don't hurt at all. So here's how it all turned out:


Man-boy bravely walked out of the place in his fancy blue shorts and one green Chuck, but for some reason would not let me take a picture the outfit. Sorry, I tried.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Random sillies.

My kids keep me laughing. Here are a few things they've said in the past 24 hours that have made me giggle:

From Mike on facebook: I like rice. It's great for those times when you're hungry and you want two thousand of something.

And then I had this conversation (also on facebook. We really do communicate in standard ways, but facebook is just so handy.) with my daughter Deb this morning after I mentioned that I was taking Man-boy to the oral surgeon today:


    • Deb: He's not getting his wisdom teeth out today is he? That's one day of my life that I try to completely forget.
    • Me: No, this is just the consult. But we hope it will be soon. He has a lot of headaches.
       
    • Deb: Bummer. I hope it's soon too. Then he can start forgetting:)
       
    • Me: Yeah, I'm hoping he doesn't pass out in the bathroom like ALL THREE OF YOU GIRLS did. Who will pick him up? I'm actually a little nervous about this. That boy is 5'11", 160 pounds of solid muscle.
       
    • Deb: Ahahahahaha! I just remember being suffocated by the gauze they covered my throat with, and crying and being all hysterical because I was so hopped up on morphine. Fun times.
       
    • Me: Ah yes, the morphine. And the vicodin. I think Mike carried you back to your bed. And maybe Leah too. When we brought Abbie home, we opened her car door in the driveway and she slid off the seat and onto the ground like a cartoon character. Elijah and I could hardly stop laughing long enough to get her inside.
       
      And now I will end this post since I can't seem to get the cursor all the way over to the left side of the page again.

      Be thankful ~

      Karen

Sunday, March 27, 2011

This just in.

My kids know me well.

Mike just sent me a link to this, uh, sentence. Read it if you want, but keep the Advil handy.

Deb sent me this photo of a website she was looking at the other day:


And Leah sent this one of something like an exit, but not really:


I love how they look out for the blog.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Man-boy's bad day.

He finally let me take a picture last night after he had struggled through a shower and re-wrapping his ankle. Is this the saddest 17-year-old you've ever seen?


Dutifully icing the offending limb in hopes of getting off the crutches sooner.



I told the doctor in the ER we didn't need a new pair of crutches; we had a set at home. After we got here and he hobbled around for a while, I just couldn't understand why he was having so much trouble with them. He kept saying they were too short. It took me until tonight to figure out why they don't fit him, when I just knew he used them last fall for his first sprain of the soccer season.

He was two inches shorter then. Bad mom award.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Friday, March 25, 2011

What I did today.

Well this day didn't end up like I thought it would, but that probably has something to do with finding my son on the ground in the middle of the cul-de-sac and the subsequent visit to the ER. And my lack of a shower until 4 pm.

I went to the gym as usual, thinking I'd have all afternoon to work. When I got home at 11:45, I ate a quick bite of lunch and was reading a few Facebook and Twitter posts when the neighbor's son came to the door. He's such a polite young man—he started to walk in, stopped and knocked, waited for me to wave him in, then stayed on the tile so he wouldn't get mud on my wood floors. I love this boy. When I started walking toward him he said very conversationally, "Um, I think Elijah broke his ankle."

I found him in the cul-de-sac where the boys had been playing basketball, in 2-point range, with another neighbor examining his ankle, and off we went to the ER. The neighbor tried to talk us into calling the rescue squad because we don't get enough excitement around here, but I declined.

(Long story mercifully shortened here . . .) It may be broken, or it may not. It may be just a bad sprain, and if it is broken, it's broken at the growth plate and can't be seen right now because of all the swelling. So he's in a hard splint and will be X-rayed again next week—the day before he's supposed to go to CFAW at Liberty. Is there ever a good time for this?

As we were driving to the hospital I said, "Aw, man, I should have grabbed my camera."

Man-boy was not amused. And when I tried to take a picture with my cell phone I was firmly rebuked. Some people have no sense of blog responsibility.

So we came home, I finally got my post-gym shower at 4 pm, and we ate guacamole for dinner. Because that makes everything better. It's the adult band-aid.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Spring tour.

I was challenged yesterday by Darcy at life with my 3 boybarians to blow the dust off my camera and take some pictures, woman!

So I did. I don't have many subjects these days since all but one of my children have left home either permanently or semi-permanently. Man-boy is the only one left here full-time, and he's not a willing model. So here's a glimpse of typical springtime sights around the ole' homestead.

The gardens full of manure. We look at this and think tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash . . .


The daffodils I forget about every year until I see them poking their heads up. I love the little spider in this one.


The cherry tree I also forget about until it blooms and you walk underneath and hear the bees buzzing.


The projects Man-boy decides to do on his own. This hill hasn't been mulched in at least five years.


Happy spring!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Monday, March 21, 2011

How not to endear yourself to the trainer.

I may have gotten myself in big trouble today.

At a certain point in the circuit of machines in my Strive class, there is an elliptical. It's the third one, and by the time I get there I am sick to death of ellipticalling. So I skip it and do whatever ab exercises I can think of, one for each 45-second cam: planks, crunches, twisting crunches, 6-inches, whatever. Sometimes Tony (the trainer who runs the class) gives me suggestions. More often, he barks orders (he has a mean streak when it comes to abs).

So today he started barking and had me doing all manner of gut-wrenching exercises designed to flatten my abs. Unfortunately, my abs are well-insulated and nothing short of a 400-calorie-per-day diet is going to get rid of what's on top of the rippling muscles I feel sure are hidden well beneath the surface. But I digress.

When it was time to move on to the next machine, I jumped up and Tony asked hopefully, "Well?" meaning, are you in agony? And this is where I made my fateful mistake. I said, "It wasn't the hardest thing I've ever done," and he looked offended. He said, "If you're not whimpering or throwing up, you haven't worked hard enough."

So I replied in my best snark, "Well, you'll have to do better than that on Wednesday."

I live in fear.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Supermoon.


Be thankful ~

Karen

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Trip to SC: part 2.

I just got around to loading the rest of the photos from our weekend trip to see Leah.

We spent the afternoon Sunday with about 100 other females on the roof of one of the dorms on what they call the "sundeck," discussing things like whether God can provide a husband or not. By Sunday night, my computer still wouldn't connect to the BJU network, so my personal tech support (aka Joy) came to help. Even with two Macs and an iPhone, we still couldn't make it work.


Joy doubles as a headrest. Abbie's trying to find that hour she lost to Daylight Saving Time Saturday night.


On Monday, Leah had to go to work and classes, so Abbie and I went to Falls Park to take pictures.


We found this brace of ducks (yes, I looked that up) sleeping in the sun. I crept closer and closer trying to get a really good picture,


and this is the reaction I got:


They went back to sleep, but kept one eye open. I'm pretty sure they were sick of us.


When we started to get hungry, we headed for downtown Greenville, which is a really cool place, with tree-lined street and lots of neat little shops and restaurants. I should have stood at the top of the hill and taken a picture looking down Main Street, but I didn't. Sorry. You'll have to trust me.

When we were walking past the fountain, Abbie spotted this little mouse reading the book Goodnight, Moon. There are eight mice on Main Street, and you're supposed to find them all.


Taking a picture of our reflection in a glass building. When did I become shorter than everyone in my family?


And finally, Abbie has inherited her daddy's radar for Jersey Mike's Subs. Best lunch ever.


So here I am back to life as usual. Abbie is already in upstate New York for a wedding on Saturday—she'll need a vacation from her spring break!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Trip to SC: part 1.

Here's a whirlwind look at our weekend trip to South Carolina to see Leah, because I only have 20 minutes until the pork tenderloin is done and we need to be eating dinner.

First we stopped at Leah's room to meet Commodore. See him waving?


Then we drove out to visit my brother-in-law the chiropractor and got an adjustment. If you're ever in Greenville, give him a call.


Stopped by to say hi to his family. This is H showing her cute pose.


And G, helping Mom and Dad get the hotwheels car out from under the refrigerator.


This tree grows right outside Leah's window and fills her room with the lovely scent of fresh blossoms. And pollen.


I walked past this sign on a closet door in Leah's dorm several times every day and never changed it. Aren't you proud of me? I've cropped out the writer's name to protect the ignorant.


Spring has already come to Greenville. Every time you walk outside you can smell the flowers. It was so refreshing!



Abbie's teaching me how to take cloud pictures.


Abbie and I spent Monday walking around downtown Greenville, but I haven't uploaded those photos yet. Lucky you! This will be a two-parter!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Monday, March 14, 2011

Checking in.

I really am still alive. I've been visiting daughter #2 in South Carolina for a few days along with daughter #3, enjoying the warm sunny weather. We spent our first day on the sundeck at BJU—the roof of one of the dorms. Who knew this was possible at a conservative Christian college? Today #3 and I spent the day walking around downtown Greenville taking pictures, being chased by mad ducks and talking to statues. And trying not to run red lights.

Anyway, my computer has so far refused to connect to the Internet here, and since we're coming home tomorrow, I'm crying uncle and typing this quick post on #2's computer. Tomorrow I'll be back with photos of the trip.

Happy Monday!

Be thankful ~

Karen

Friday, March 11, 2011

Conjunction junction doesn't belong here.

Have you ever been reading happily along and come to the phrase, "try and . . ." followed by another verb (as in try and cook it thoroughly or try and climb to the top)? Or maybe you find "be sure and . . ." (as in be sure and wash thoroughly before cooking)?

Those are just plain wrong. As soon as you throw that and in there, you've got a compound verb, meaning the subject is doing TWO THINGS. In the first example, the subject is going to try and he/she is also going to cook. In the last example, the subject is going to be sure and is also going to wash.

What you mean is try to cook it thoroughly or try to climb to the top. Or be sure to wash thoroughly before cooking.

So go forth and use to instead of and in sentences like this today.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

A few tips for feeding your inner athlete.

Since I started running a month or so ago, I've been more prone to leg cramps, specifically in my calves and feet. (I realize I just referred to leg cramps in my feet. I'm having them in my brain too.) So tonight I went searching the interwebs for information about preventing them, (my cramps, not my feet or legs. Or brain. Wow, is it bedtime yet?) and here's what one article had to say:

(Paraphrased) The most notorious cause of cramps is dehydration. Most athletes (is that what I am?) don't drink nearly enough water. Also, when you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of minerals, and that also contributes to cramps. Here are the most important ones to replace, along with my recommendations for what foods to get them in:

Sodium. That's easy. Everybody knows the best source of sodium is potato chips.

Potassium. Did you know bananas are not the best source of potassium? Sweet potatoes and regular potatoes are. So we need to eat more french fries and sweet potato pie.

Magnesium. The best natural source of magnesium is pumpkin—the kind you put in The Pumpkin Bread. I'm sold on this as the cure-all.

Calcium. Fortified dairy products are fine, but what you really need here is spinach and kale. Dark green leafy stuff. No joke. Get a bag of baby spinach and start munching. Your muscles will thank you.

Vitamin D. In order to help your body absorb the calcium, you need plenty of vitamin D, which just happens to be called "the sunshine vitamin" because you get it when you're out in the sunshine, which you find at the beach. So it only makes sense that in order to get enough vitamin D you must go to the beach regularly. I'm sold on this too.


I'm going to get a bag of chips and book a flight to Maui.

Be thankful ~

Karen

Sunday, March 6, 2011

The sum total of my day.

So far today I have fought with TweetDeck,


discovered the manual focus switch on my camera,


and gotten the dog to pose in the natural light next to my French doors.




I also finished the FAFSA for Abbie (knowing we won't get any financial aid), and drank a cup of coffee with my favorite International Delight French vanilla creamer.

What are you up to on this rainy day?

Friday, March 4, 2011

Question of the day.

Last night, Man-boy went into an auto parts store to buy a set of jumper cables. He found what he needed and put them on the counter to pay.

As he was ringing up the cables, the employee asked, "So, whatcha gonna do with these?"

Ummmmm . . .

The guy behind Man-boy said, "Well, he ain't gonna do brakes."


Be thankful ~

Karen

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Where have I been?

I'm not sure exactly, but I'm having a hard time getting back. How is it that I'm working half the hours I used to work but I'm more busy than ever?

Anyway, the great car hunt continues, and I've narrowed my search to two vehicles (maybe three, depending on my mood and the price of gas, which is currently climbing at the rate of ten cents per day. PER DAY.) Between Car & Driver, Consumer Reports, and Edmunds reviews, I'm down to the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4. I haven't driven a Toyota yet, but that will happen next week one day. I had mixed feelings about the CR-V, but I'm willing to give it another shot since I think my opinion was skewed because all I ever drive are 6- and 8-cylinder vehicles. I'm thinking the 4-cylinder might be fine after I get used to it. And it would be nice now that gas prices are going up TEN CENTS PER DAY.

So today I was scanning the ads on Craigslist (I'm pretty sure I wouldn't actually buy a car on Craigslist, but a lot of local dealers post ads there so you can get an idea of what's available in your area), I saw an ad for a set of fancy rims, and here's what it said: 24' rims. Am I the only one who gets a visual of that?

Be thankful ~

Karen