Flip the page...

just like that another month begins.

How does it happen so fast?

~

Happy news ... I've been doctor-approved for "light" workouts!   YAY!

                  Sad news  ....  I'm S I C K    short lived joy   ~   

I tried going to work today, but came home at 9.   I've been sick a couple of days... well, a number of days (feels like a week).

Anyway... truth is, I'm not just 'under the weather'; I feel like the weather van ran me down and backed over me a couple of times, called the network and let the rest of the fleet finish me off.     

Ugghh.

So here's me hoping someone will flip the page so I can be well and actually begin this month, this new year, without being in pain or extremely uncomfortable with a sinus head cold.

p l e a s e !!!

                                           Honugirl          

Hmmm...

guess the lack of "April Fools" foolishness could be exactly that -- April Fools.

~


I'd type more tonight but King G was kind enough to not go lightly on my Friday morning workout.  Whoo hoo -- K.G. my biceps arms are screaming expletives {which I can't spell out} so I hope you are "happy."  


[ ps:  No worries my ummm, tattoo is fine.]

HonuGirl

be inspiring ...

No, really I mean "inspiring" not perspiring   -- hmmph!.

If a person calls to "inspire" another, they should know the definition of the word.


Not that I want to second guess whether that individual understands the premise of the word, but in my personal opinion, after a receiving a call to "inspire" – the person called should feel encouraged, enthused or perhaps uplifted and motivated to move forward… not afraid, threatened, worried, and visibly shaken.


Had I not been the person who opened the line of communication for such "inspiration" in the first place, perhaps I'd feel less responsible, angry and irritated by the outcome.



Uhhh, hmmm, nope… I'm quite sure I'd still be grinding down the enamel on my teeth.



Due to the extra emotional distress caused by my belief that 'inspire' has a commonly understood meaning, I suddenly felt the need know whether it means what I think it means; and to be sure I'm not crazy …



So, I checked with a well-studied, commonly accepted to be accurate and very knowledgeable friend to inquire what it means to 'inspire.'


– here's what Merriam-Webster, had to say:


in·spire 

1 a : to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration b : to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on <was particularly inspired by the Romanticists> c : to spur on : impel, motivate  


Ahh, oh thanks for that clarification.     Guess I'm not crazy after all.   (Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery.)

Aspire  to  I n s p i r e  before you expire!   

What? – I need a ‘benchmark’ …

Do I have to have my eyes open?

"Now is when you set your benchmark!" She called out during the first 5 minutes of class. I cringed at the idea that I wouldn't know if I've set the right benchmark – it's my first time. Arggh.

Wait – that's actually closer to the end of the story. Better fill in the beginning and middle first.

*-*

I have this new friend – to protect her identity (while I thrash on our after-work 'date') I fondly refer to her here as my Get-Fit Girlfriend (GFG), which reflects her desire/energy toward fitness, not throwing fits (she's so sweet).

In our brief acquaintance stage, we had fun discovering how much we have in common, yet remain quite different; she's taller, younger, and has not yet experienced motherhood (but she does have a boyfriend, so – uhh just kiddin' – I won't touch that.)

I think she very bright (intelligent & cheerful), driven, and goal-oriented. Today I learned she "LOVES" to play with babies – me, not so much anymore. Oh, I know, I've had them – I'm just not inclined towards reliving the fully-dependent, coo-ing and/or the uh-oh where'd he go now (crawling) stage. But I did give in today with the blue eyed cutie pie in his Osh-Kosh engineer duds, quite flirty too.

*-*

Back to my point ~ since our fitness goals align; we decided to join efforts to "create" the time to get fit. We both know what our personal fit figure feels like – when we wear it – which admittedly that particular body-suit is somewhat elusive and our options from our closets grow smaller as time passes! (yikes)

So we now bring our workout bags to work so we can grab the occasional lunch hour fitness opportunity or an after work gym date! So far so good; today was one of those successful plans – 5pm, meet at the gym for 5:30 class!

No problem. Uhh, yeah.

We had our first glitch in the parking lot, when she announced… ummm, my bag is not in the car (kind boyfriend put wrong bag in car; being helpful, of course) – I only have a tank and shoes. Hmmmph.

No worries – your new friend is an indecisive pack rat and has enough "extras" to complete outfit – good thing you brought shoes, because we are not the same size! Whew! Problem solved.

All dressed and set… now get to class.

I am a newbie to this one… timidly, I walk to the back of the room, checking out the equipment with severe anxiety. How did I allow GFG to talk me into this? I should've suggested a different class. Ughh – heavy, sinking feelings ensue as I walk up to the stationary spinning machine – commonly known as a bike – but a fancy marketing idea to call it a "spinning" machine is rather appealing, compared to rump-busting, leg burning, pain-inducing cycle.

Guess that's just me being honest about the whole aversion to cycling. Yes, my friends, you see I have sworn off the real bicycle sport as in the past it did not treat me well… at least that's the way I "spin" the myriad of bad memories (and puns) from riding with FSU (former spousal unit).

*-*

Oohh-kaay... fine. Back to class.

It's all cool – for the first couple of minutes, spinning is easy. Then that whole… benchmark thing – what, why must I set a benchmark, I've never done this before. I don't get it. Hmm, just follow along it may make sense later (some things do).

Fast forward 10 minutes. Putting the past behind me (as well as a painful feeling).

And, I AM following -- at my own pace-- all commands …

"Gear Up" "Outta the Saddle" "Push it" "Another Minute" "Back to Saddle"

"Race it" "Gear down" "Benchmark" "Last Set"

(She repeats this pattern over & over for about 1 hour - and 15 more minutes, just because she has the microphone.)

Ugghh – gives new meaning to and keen awareness of the muscle group, including but not limited, to gluteus-rumpus (can't call it a maximus, not gona happen)—oww, my legs!! Course I may never walk normally again either.

Here are a few things I learned:

#3 – the floor is wood, stained purple. Which is really nice, because I thought that was God's way of ensuring me that I would survive to tell V2T that the floor was my FAVORITE color. I desperately wished to be walking on that lovely purple colored flooring, but no – still on the evil dreaded torture machine. Grrr!

#2 – people who ride these devices, S-W-E-A-T… oh my word – then again, that is a HUGE understatement. Oh, me? I had a serious glow about my person – no outward sign of over-exertion. lol

#1 – my benchmark I found, is that delightful space in time when I close my eyes and the urge to vomit is controlled by my subconscious mind and no longer the sole effort of my conscious mind, which is still "pushing it / gearing up / racing for 1^st in/out of the saddle all for another "minute".

Yes, I'm sure I put the past behind me now – at least I can't fall onto asphalt from here.

Suffice it to say, this was not a stellar performance on my part – but I might actually get on a real "bike" and not feel so anxious.

*-*

However, I'm sure I will have to keep my eyes open during an outdoor ride!

HonuGirl

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

That's right.

I am on vacation. I took two days last week and two days next week and this is the middle of my vacation.

I was so excited to have time off I spent Wednesday night at the salon getting my nails done. =)

Then Thursday went to spend time with my Dad… visiting the doctor and guiding him through the many choices he will have to make regarding his choices to treat prostate cancer.

Part of what he needs help with is physical labor. Since he can no longer manage the efforts necessary at an old house he owns.

This house, the uninhabited black hole, not-so-fondly called: the house of doom … well that's what my siblings and I call it (however, some siblings use terms not appropriate for blog content). I can't honestly say that I believe in possession of an inanimate object or a house being haunted, but I have a theory and seriously believe from the evidence gathered that a house can be "cursed".

In my opinion this house has been cursed !!!

Yes, cursed with …

procrastination indecision chaos plumbing leaks void of squareness destructive attacks of ... hatred disgust frustration pain bruises confusion infestation of insects undesirable animal nests and feces

… ewwww…

AND So much more that I can barely contain the emotion regarding the place.

Yet, this doesn't stop me from showing up in work clothes and an attitude void of sarcasm, as my dad needs help and this is what needs to get done!!!

Day 1 – At the job site I am instructed that my job was to load truck for the dump, which includes: cleaning the rooms where the ceiling and insulation was pulled down; vacuuming/bagging such materal and re-loading the truck for the dump; and then continuing to the front porch which was previously covered with plumbing and demolition materials (that would challenge any strong male) still needed to be loaded on the seriously lifted Ford 250 which I can barely see over the back bed – which means, my materials contribution needs to be lifted overhead in order to drop them into the bed… uhhh, yes, I skipped my trip to the gym for a shoulder/bicept workout and my core workout was taken care of while shoveling roofing materials from the ground to the wheelbarrow and then loading such debris onto the truck.

I have never been quite so happy for the sunset on a day of "vacation"… the invitation to eat, shower and hot tub at my brother's house was more than welcome. After relaxing, I spent the evening talking to Dad about his "treatment options" – stayed up too late and was thrilled to find the pillow.

Day 2 – I awoke at 6am. Showed up at my brother's house excited that I would at least be "driving" the BIG truck!! Yeehaw!

Then… Dad wasn't well (went back to bed at 8am); my nephew was sick; and the helpful bro-in-law said he needed a day off. Dang – didn't need to take the big truck after all.

But blessings and a surprise visit from my Tony is a God-send!!!

Still – I had to be one of the "guys" who unloaded the materials I sent to the truck the day before. Ugggh!! Yes, gloves on again, I dutifully went to the dump and unloaded; to the house to re-load and then unload that darn truck (skipped the gym – workout #2). Back at the house I cleared the site of nails so the drywall could be installed; then cleaned the site so others could function reasonably well around the areas (somehow I'm certain that tools found in the dirt, between open studs in framing, on stairs around the corner, and overhead on the closet shelf would be better utilized on the tool table)… a long day of running tools from one end of the house to the other, cleaning the worksite, renting a lift - finding grace to deal with the frustration of a cursed house? In the midst of chaos/remodel for sale … and the hatred thereof (whether the tasks, the house, or the work)… it's draining nonetheless as I once again am grateful for the food/shower/hot-tub and invitation for conversation with my favorite sis-in-law. Arriving at my parents' home I stayed up way too late with Mom, sorting clothing and talking about life … dragging my butt to bed and head to the pillow at 1am.

Day 3 – the alarm went off at 6, my butt moved off the bed at 7am. We had extra hands to help so the morning starts off with a bang – Dad feels better and is able to make an appearance. Mom shows up to move the boxes from the attic. Brother-in-law stays home, but my Tony shows up for a second day of effort and big brother is the trouper – sporting his Vicodin bottle – he is faithful to the task.

Emotions are high and voices raise over the boards going down on the kitchen floor; but peace is found again, the day moves on (slowly) the work seems monotonous and unproductive; but Dad asks for help finding materials in storage – I volunteer to go; upon arrival he apologizes for lack of a ladder – yeah, "no problem, Dad, that's why I work out" and like an experienced climber, I scaled the two levels of shelving 5' and 10' up . . . hmmm, found the venting but no gutters and looking down it appears quite clear that "getting down" is far more of a challenge than "going up" … ugh! Not to worry, I closed my eyes as I hung from my manicured fingertips swung down to the next level and jumped to the floor (workout #3, skipped the gym again).

Later back at the house we all anxiously waited and watched as the water was turned on ... holding our breath, we watched for leaks in plumbing (ughh, too many to fix, better start over) ... did I mention the house was cursed? Plans were made to revisit the bathroom and plumbing on Monday -- I am so glad I don't own a home right now.

It was three long days … and while I know vacation isn't normally spelled "e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-o-n" I feel better to have participated in forward progression of work for selling the 'cursed' house. =|

Well, it's a theory -- and yet, my nails are still nicely manicured (thank God for gloves).

HonuGirl

Wait . . . ok now!

I expected the shock that I blogged to take a second to connect with reality ~ that pause was for you!

Yes, there is a valid reason for not posting anything for a while ...

There are no pictures to prove it, but the neck brace clashes with most everything I wear.   And I'm not allowed to even think about wearing workout clothes.  

It hurts.  

Laughing ... hurts.

Like the funny comment I heard at work the other day "so that must be a pain in the butt"  {not really, but it sure is a pain in the neck}.

So, to the point quickly I will arrive as I only have so many pain free moments to sit at the computer and I use most of them during my 8 hour work day.

Long story short -- my boy (5'2-ish,  115 lb) Jason is ticklish.  When below him do not attempt to tickle him anywhere near his knees, as he will lose control and fall limply on your head/neck hyper-flexing it beyond it's natural curve {much like a whip lash - only backwards} which will leave you teary-eyed and dizzy on the floor.  All the while you are trying to make it seem that you are "fine, just fine" so he is not feeling guilty for nearly ripping your head from your neck and continue encouraging him ~ "love you, Buddy"... ouch.  "Yes, I'm fine or going to be ... I think??"

Interesting things have happened since then.  One curious thing is that the Legos get picked up every single day.  Seriously folks - this has "never" (not an exaggeration) EVER happened before.   The first moment of amazing Lego feats was the first night I wore my neck brace.

After my visit to the chiropractor, my young son, Jeffrey (guilt-free as he only ran at full speed and leapt into my lap before his brother took me down)...  worked diligently to surprise me with the toy-free clean bedroom floor; he proudly walked me in holding my hand saying "see Mom, now you can tuck us in without looking down at the floor" {which could not be done before -- well, I could look for it, but actually seeing the floor...  ohh colorful bricks were so distracting I'd forget what I was looking for.}

Let's see next was the night they took care of their night time routine (without direction), including clean teeth, journal and reading time and they were in bed awaiting tuck-in "on time".  As if this is not enough to immediately sit down and blog ...  wait, there's more.

Tonight, not only did I face the normal homework/dinner/life routine, but I was put on task as the parent responsible for getting Jason to his (unscheduled) basketball practice and somehow still find time/energy to make a dessert promised by boys for the food drive bake sale at work tomorrow.  

Uggh!    My pain was significantly high today.  If there were a little grimacing face indicative of pain level (like at the hospital or doctor's office) -- I would be scowling and whining to be sure it was clear to what extent my pain had increased.  grrr.

Here's what I know... Moms do everything they can do make other people's lives easier.  Hoping that one day those around her will learn that there is joy in doing for others {without being asked, that is}.  

So upon my kind of whiny, but still consultant sounding voice indicating how little time we had to accomplish all that needed to get done, Jason stepped into the kitchen and immediately began to plan dinner.   I'm still amazed myself, but totally blessed and grateful.  He took hamburger from the fridge, taco seasoning, found taco shells, cheese, lettuce and other fixings -- he asked for help with the pan/stove part and the de-greasing -- he cooked and served (even presented his brother options) and offered a perfect sounding "order up" as he slid the plates to the table.  Wow!!!  

It made less sense than ever that after such a lovely act of self-lessness and cooking for us... that I could still be so frustrated and exhausted.  My long-suffering was short-fused.  Jason could tell ~ he leaned in with a pucker and said "It's okay, you can kiss me now, Mom.  We kissed, and hugged."  

Even with such joy in his loving acts; at some point I just gave up and my matter-of-fact, tired sounding voice rang out that boys didn't need to help with baking ~ they could simply get ready for bed and leave the dishes, and everything else {honestly a glass of wine and silence was my hope}... but instead they kicked into gear.  

My sweet, incredible boys insisted on baking the dessert - cleaning out and refilling the dishwasher; they cleaned off the table and at some point when I wasn't looking they returned the Lego's to the bins or shelves to be found later.  

So, although I may be delayed in writing my blog about these things, now you can be sure that I am well cared for during my recovery. 

Oh, and next time I will remember to move quickly before the big kid lands!!    Yikes.

HonuGirl