Well at least ONE definition.
Yesterday, TK the Wonder Fiance and I went for a run in the South Mountain Reservation. He is training for the Boston Marathon in April so he wanted to do between 13-15. Me, I am currently training to go home and take a nap, so I just did 8 and it was decided that I would wait for him in the reservation's new doggie park.
It was cold, but not windy, and the sun was trying to peek out at times. I grabbed a chair facing the sun in the dog park. No sooner than when I had sat down, I was surrounded, surrounded I say, by doggies of all shapes and sizes! I had died and gone to Heaven! I was the most popular girl at the dance.
A handsome big black Schnauzer was checking me out to see if I brought any food (I hadn't), so he soon lost interest. An Australian Shepherd mix just lay down beside me. A gorgeous chocolate Lab, just my type, would not stop barking at me. It wasn't an angry bark, more like a bark to announce, "Here I am." His owner said he does that with everyone. Well, doesn't THAT just make me feel special! Eventually, as he got used to me and realized that I wasn't going to bite his throat, he eased off. I really wanted to cuddle with him but he didn't seem like the cuddly type.
But the best one was this little English Bulldog, who brought me the most disgusting-looking tennis ball I had ever seen. Ripped, torn, slimy, gobby--but he thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world. I threw it for him, he fetched it, and now we're BFF. I must've thrown that gross thing about 50 times but he was loving it.
Soon, it got cold so I went back to the car to warm up. TK came back in about 10 minutes and I told him that I had males begging me, kissing me, slobbering on me, and I must've fallen in love about five times. Being that he's known me for about five years, he understood completely what I meant.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Wonderful World of Pilates and Other Stuff
Took my first Pilates class last week and I lurve it!
I describe Pilates as a cross between yoga and and ab buster classes but better. Yoga is just way too mellow for me. I always feel like I want to take a nap--during class! Ab busters are great but they tend to focus on abs only, ignoring the many support muscles in the core. Pilates combines the best of both.
Pilates, like yoga, emphasizes stretching, thereby elongating the muscles, which in my opinion, is a much nicer look than short, tight muscles, especially in the legs. Plus, like yoga, it doesn't just isolate the larger muscle groups, it works on the supporting muscles as well. After just one class, my core felt stronger and tight. Had a little soreness but nothing out of the ordinary.
I am definitely hooked and what's nice is that my gym offers the classes for free. You gotta get there early, though, because these women (it's all women, which is strange) will fight you tooth and nail for a spot.
******************************************************************************Had my 6-month dental check-up today. 36 years and no cavities! Woohoo! I have my mother's good teeth, thank God. Just one thing, though. My dentist is keeping on eye on my top, left wisdom tooth. It's not impacted or anything but there's some irritation in the surrounding gum area because it's so hard to keep clean. Plus, I got gypped: I only have top wisdom teeth, I never developed bottoms! Isn't that strange? But what that means is that as I age, the top teeth are going to "look for" their bottom mates to mesh with. Because the bottoms are non-existent, the top tooth may start moving, causing all kinds of problems, pain, etc. If that happens, I will need to have it removed. Bummer. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
I describe Pilates as a cross between yoga and and ab buster classes but better. Yoga is just way too mellow for me. I always feel like I want to take a nap--during class! Ab busters are great but they tend to focus on abs only, ignoring the many support muscles in the core. Pilates combines the best of both.
Pilates, like yoga, emphasizes stretching, thereby elongating the muscles, which in my opinion, is a much nicer look than short, tight muscles, especially in the legs. Plus, like yoga, it doesn't just isolate the larger muscle groups, it works on the supporting muscles as well. After just one class, my core felt stronger and tight. Had a little soreness but nothing out of the ordinary.
I am definitely hooked and what's nice is that my gym offers the classes for free. You gotta get there early, though, because these women (it's all women, which is strange) will fight you tooth and nail for a spot.
******************************************************************************Had my 6-month dental check-up today. 36 years and no cavities! Woohoo! I have my mother's good teeth, thank God. Just one thing, though. My dentist is keeping on eye on my top, left wisdom tooth. It's not impacted or anything but there's some irritation in the surrounding gum area because it's so hard to keep clean. Plus, I got gypped: I only have top wisdom teeth, I never developed bottoms! Isn't that strange? But what that means is that as I age, the top teeth are going to "look for" their bottom mates to mesh with. Because the bottoms are non-existent, the top tooth may start moving, causing all kinds of problems, pain, etc. If that happens, I will need to have it removed. Bummer. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to all my fans, all 2 of 'em! :-)
The best things about the holiday season, for me, were the days off, and sleep. Remember sleep? It was wondrous, except for the stomach bug I acquired on New Year's Eve. Didn't know how sick I was until I took my temp: it read 102! Yikes! I don't remember having a temp that high in years, possibly within the past decade. At any rate, by the afternoon of Jan. 1, it started to come down and I felt much better, better enough to go back to work on Jan. 2. Appetite still not back 100% but I've heard these things can take a few days. Could have been worse, right?
We also got some things done in the house which is good. And, we got our first oil bill, over $500. Yikes again! We keep our home at a conservative 65 to 70 degrees, so our only conclusion is that fuel oil is very expensive, which we knew already. But, as I keep telling T, there are only two-and-a-half more months of real winter. Hang in there!
I'm not big on making New Year's resolutions because if you're human and you break them, you acquire a sense of failure which benefits no one. I actually had a psychotherapist client a few years ago who suggested that one make a list of all the positive accomplishments in the past year. Much healthier, I think. I did make one resolution, though: To write more poetry and fiction in '08. Last year, someone gave me a book called "The Artist's Way" that includes exercises designed to help you unblock your creativity.
It's really been bugging me, my writer's block. One of the things that happened when I took up running seriously is that writing got pushed to back burner. This year, my 10th year of running for sport, I would like to strike a healthier balance.
On average, T & I run about 25 races a year, give or take. By our club standards, that's higher than average. In fact, most coaches recommend no more than 12 races a year. No wonder we're tired! Gonna be a hard habit to break, I will tell you that, because I also enjoy the camaraderie at these races.
Both of us DID secure 2007 USATF-NJ awards, though, in two categories, respectively. Our awards dinner is on Jan. 19.
The best things about the holiday season, for me, were the days off, and sleep. Remember sleep? It was wondrous, except for the stomach bug I acquired on New Year's Eve. Didn't know how sick I was until I took my temp: it read 102! Yikes! I don't remember having a temp that high in years, possibly within the past decade. At any rate, by the afternoon of Jan. 1, it started to come down and I felt much better, better enough to go back to work on Jan. 2. Appetite still not back 100% but I've heard these things can take a few days. Could have been worse, right?
We also got some things done in the house which is good. And, we got our first oil bill, over $500. Yikes again! We keep our home at a conservative 65 to 70 degrees, so our only conclusion is that fuel oil is very expensive, which we knew already. But, as I keep telling T, there are only two-and-a-half more months of real winter. Hang in there!
I'm not big on making New Year's resolutions because if you're human and you break them, you acquire a sense of failure which benefits no one. I actually had a psychotherapist client a few years ago who suggested that one make a list of all the positive accomplishments in the past year. Much healthier, I think. I did make one resolution, though: To write more poetry and fiction in '08. Last year, someone gave me a book called "The Artist's Way" that includes exercises designed to help you unblock your creativity.
It's really been bugging me, my writer's block. One of the things that happened when I took up running seriously is that writing got pushed to back burner. This year, my 10th year of running for sport, I would like to strike a healthier balance.
On average, T & I run about 25 races a year, give or take. By our club standards, that's higher than average. In fact, most coaches recommend no more than 12 races a year. No wonder we're tired! Gonna be a hard habit to break, I will tell you that, because I also enjoy the camaraderie at these races.
Both of us DID secure 2007 USATF-NJ awards, though, in two categories, respectively. Our awards dinner is on Jan. 19.
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