Dessert Sushi

Ever had dessert sushi?  At the end of a recent sushi dinner I asked the waitress if they had dessert sushi, not expecting them to say yes!  What they offered was cheesecake in a pastry shell, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce.  How could I say no?

The waitress asked if there was a birthday or any particular occasion.  I said "No, just living this abundant life!"  She grinned as she went back into the kitchen to put in the order.  When she came back out I was so impressed with what she did!  Using extra chocolate sauce she wrote "Living my best life" and also garnished the plate with cherries.  I loved her personal touch!

While savoring the dessert, another customer walked by on her way out and wanted to read what was on the plate.  It felt great to brag on the waitress (and the dessert sushi which was amazing)!

No great lesson or point to make here - just sharing a fun (and delicious) occurrence.  You never know when you will make someone's day or when someone you don't know will make yours!

Mastering the Biscuits

I’m still here, folks!  Trust me, I haven’t run out of blog ideas – I just haven’t had much time to write or post them but I'll try to get more out soon.  In the meantime...

My son is now a tax payer!!  He just got his first job at a fast food chain specializing in fried chicken and biscuits.  These biscuits are made from scratch on-site, not at some central location then frozen and shipped.  And in order to be a Master Biscuit Maker, my son’s first job is to learn how to make them!

Making the biscuits at this restaurant isn’t an automated process of pushing buttons and letting machines do all the work.  My son needs to study and memorize the restaurant’s recipe and then perfect the technique to get the right consistency for these southern-style biscuits.  My understanding is that there’s even a test!

This weekend I’ll get the scoop on his first impressions – how it feels to have a job, what the job itself is like, etc.  Let the fun begin - retirement is a LONG way off!!

Honest Car Wash

In my dream last night I encountered a car wash where the motto was:

“We might not get it clean…

but it’ll be better.”

I’m not sure whether to be surprised that there was a long line for this car wash.  But I guess there’s something to be said for honesty!

Bizarre short dreams

A few bizarre dreams lately…

In one dream, I was required to pull my toes off and turn them in.  I don’t know why or to whom but it took some effort to pull them off.  It didn’t hurt and there was no mess – it was just difficult to get them off.  I mean, they had been attached my entire life!  I got the impression that I would get new ones (not sure if they would grow back or if I would get replacements, haha).  I woke up pretty tired the next morning...

Last night’s dream was crazy too.  I dreamt about going to eat at a really nice restaurant that was just a little different from others.  Patrons sat on the floor (maybe on cushions or pillows, I don’t remember).  But the strangest thing was that after dinner, someone used a special scanner over the fine linen tablecloth that detected crumbs or spills.  The volume identified per person determined the cost of the bill.  So if you were a messy eater, your bill would be outrageous.  But if you were very careful, you could have an amazing dinner at little or no cost!

PAID IN FULL

I feel like I’m so far behind on sharing all the big and little things going on in my world.

But today (actually yesterday) I achieved something I've been working on for far too many years.  All my school loans are finally, finally PAID IN FULL!

Let’s not discuss whether the education was worth everything I've paid (both time and money).  Let’s not talking about another (and much bigger) loan:  mortgage!

Instead, for now, let me just relish in the knowledge that I’m DONE with my school loans!!

Go, me!  Go, me!

No ID Required

I just prepared a tasty salad for myself from the salad bar at work.  I went to pay for it but accidentally handed my driver’s license to the cashier instead of my debit card.

She looked and it, laughed, and handed it back to me saying, “I’m not the police and we don’t ID for salads here.”

Spartan Sprint Part 4 - The Red Zone

Part 4 – The Red Zone

After some more running I came to the 4^th mile and the spear throw.  This was pretty exciting because I knew this was one of the last obstacles so the end was near.  I jokingly asked a volunteer if there was a trick to this obstacle, not expecting her to answer.  But she said the ones she had seen that were successful used one hand to support the spear like a pool stick and then launch it.  I tried it and my spear stuck!  Right into the ground, not the bale of straw, haha.  My aim was off – I should have remembered to aim higher than where I wanted it to go; who knows maybe it would have worked!  Anyway, my first and only set of 30 penalty burpees.

I was told it was a half mile to the end.  Past the chicken coop and around some trees into a stream.  I heard “RED!” and I looked behind me because it sounded like it came from that location.  But no.  It was my boyfriend on the other side of the stream on the spectator side (in FRONT of me, haha), cheering me on.  WOO HOO!!!  I was almost done!  And he ran alongside the rest of the way (what a guy!).

I came around the corner from the stream crossing and there was a wall over a mud pit.  Basically you had to completely submerge yourself in the mud to go under the wall and come up the other side.  No worries, I got this!!  :-)

Immediately upon exiting the mud pit was a wall with ropes.  I had my doubts about being able to do it, but once I grabbed the rope and actually tried, I found that it was no problem – especially for my amazing shoes!  It might have been different if the wall had been greased but it wasn’t.  As I climbed over someone called out that they liked my shoes.  I just grinned and kept going.

Right there was the fire obstacle.  I had to laugh because it was hardly anything at all.  My concerns about how far or high I would need to leap to clear the fire was completely unfounded.  A little hop and I was grinning like a fool by this point.

Last obstacle: facing the Gladiators.  I beckoned to the first one and said “Bring it!” as I laughed and charged through.  I didn’t get knocked very hard, certainly not enough to make me lose my balance.

And then I was done and volunteers were handing me a banana, protein bar, my medal, and taking off my timing chip.  I felt exhilarated!!!  What an awesome experience for my first mud run!!  OK, the running part could have been a lot better (and will definitely get some attention), but what a thrill to finish!

And not only did I finish, but not too bad either.  I placed 37% overall (out of 6700+ finishers), 22% for my age group, and 19% for my gender.  I am definitely ok with this for a start.  :-)  A year ago, I couldn’t run a mile or do a pull-up.  Regardless where I stand compared to anyone else, I’ve come a long way compared to MYSELF.

Welcome to my Red Zone. 

Spartan Sprint Part 3 - Picking and Carrying

Part 3 – Picking and Carrying

I’m guessing on the order of things now but I think the next part was where we had to choose a path without knowing what to expect.  To the left was a steep, muddy hill that people were slipping and sliding on.  To the right was a flat trail that went around a corner.  My guess was that one path was shorter with more challenging terrain.  That’s the one I chose because my shoes were AWESOME and I knew that any path involving extra distance was not my friend.  I’m pretty sure I made the right choice because I passed people easily while they were grabbing trees to avoid sliding back down.  It was also an odiferous path, thanks to cow waste somewhere nearby.  Praise God I don’t have a good sense of smell – it must have been TERRIBLE to others.

After a little bit, the paths connected and we came to mud pits either waist or chest deep.  We had to wade through and then climb the slippery mud on the other side.  And repeat through two or three more pits.  My shoes helped me cruise right past a lot of racers.

Me!!  Thumb's up!

Somewhere along the way was the sandbag carry.  Men took one weight while women took another.  We carried the sandbags down a hill and then back up.  Not a long distance.  I saw one of the photographers and gave her a grin and a thumbs-up.

Another obstacle somewhere involved pulling a rope attached to a tire until it touched the stake right in front of you.  Once it touched your stake, you had to drag the tire back to its original position leaving no slack in the rope.  I found it easier to lift one end of the tire and almost run with it instead of bending all the way over to drag it.  Done in no time.

More running of course.

At the top of a hill, there was a boulder challenge.  Again, men had one weight and women had another.  That one was heavier than I expected so I didn’t pick it up on the first try.  But I put in more effort with the second try and was able to carry it to the designated point where everyone had to do 5 burpees before picking it back up and returning to the starting point.  I was glad I wasn’t carrying THAT boulder up and down a hill!!

From this point I headed into the home stretch... 

Spartan Sprint Part 2 - Wall to Wall

Part 2 – Wall to Wall

Continuing from my previous post...

My next encounter was the traverse walls.  I heeded earlier advice from my wise boyfriend:  always keep at least three points of contact, and keep your body close to the wall.  I chose to take my time with this obstacle and it paid off!  About 2/3 down the wall I wasn’t sure how to continue.  I didn’t seem to have a good place to reach without losing my balance.  But I decided I wasn’t going to do burpees without putting in my best effort.  So I tried carefully… and made it!!  The last few steps weren’t so bad and I rung the bell at the end really hard!  I got a nod of approval and “Nice job!” from the monitoring volunteer.

Off I went to the next obstacle:  sandbag hoist.  Men went to one side (heavier) and women went to the other.  I chose to do hand over hand instead of walking away from the platform to pull the sandbag up (I didn’t see anyone doing that so I questioned if it was allowed).  Done and I moved on.

This time a stretch of running past the 2-mile marker and a water station.  I guzzled a cup of water, thanked the volunteer, and took off feeling slightly refreshed.

Here’s where my memory gets a little fuzzy.  I THINK the next obstacle was the mud and barbed wire.  I tried another valuable tip:  roll instead of pull.  SO much easier to just keep rolling (pausing if dizzy) than to pull/drag my body along.  This obstacle was probably my favorite and I just kept laughing!

Here a jog, there a jog.  There were some muddy, slippery sections that were no match for my special mud run shoes (but I’ll write about them in an upcoming post).  Then there was a very short obstacle where we had to pull a cinderblock attached to a chain.  We dragged it a short distance, around a marker, and then back to the beginning.  We had to make sure we didn’t drop it off too early or we’d pay the price with burpees.  Not a problem at all.

Immediately following that obstacle were some high walls.  I saw some guys vaulting it somehow (I guess like the first wall where they had to jump high and pull themselves over).  There was a guy helping people over by letting them step on his bent knee.  But I spied some rungs that made climbing over a cinch.  When I got to the ground on the other side I saw another wall of the same kind.  I started to head over but heard a woman at the top of the first wall saying she couldn’t come down – she was afraid.  So another woman and I went over to her and encouraged her saying, “You’re already halfway!  You’ve got this!”  We reached up to give her support so she could ease down.  At the bottom she saw the next wall and almost cried saying she couldn’t do it.  I said, “Yes, you can!!  You already did it once; you can do it again!”  We helped her over that wall too.

There was another section of running and I think that’s when we came to another water station.  I accepted the offering, thanked the volunteer and she said she thought it was close to the 3-mile marker.

At least half-way done! 

Spartan Sprint Part 1 - Ready, Set, GO!

Part 1 – Ready, Set, GO!

A few days ago, I completed a Spartan Sprint race – my first mud run!  What an experience!!  My write-up is a bit lengthy so I’m splitting it into four sections…  (Pictures from the actual event will follow when I get them.)

My boyfriend gave me a heads-up that I would pass people at the obstacles and they would pass me during the running.  A fair and accurate assessment.  I didn’t get discouraged when people passed me running but I have to admit it did feel pretty good to pass the same people at the obstacles.  Even better, it felt great to accomplish each obstacle (all except one) and not get slowed down by doing burpees!

I’m not sure that I remember each obstacle or their exact order but I’ll give a run-down of what I recall:

First we ran about a mile past a large chicken coop and along/through cow pastures and some wooded areas before coming to the first set of obstacles:  over and under.  Launch/hoist over the 4-5 foot wall and then crawl under the next one.  Repeat.  No problem.

A little more running and then over/under/through.  Over a wall, under a wall, and then through a window-sized opening.  Again, no problem.

Some more running and then the first real introduction to some mud.  Climb down into a mud pit roughly thigh-high and wade over to a hanging rope.  Climb up the rope using the strategically placed knots (or not if you’re capable – not me) and ring the bell at the top before climbing back down.  I was given a tip to take my time if needed, so I made a point not to rush it and wear myself out.  When I got to the top, I found that the bell was not accessible like the other ropes.  I was not about to climb down and climb up another rope to ring a bell so I made it clear that I could reach where a bell WOULD have been hanging.  I got the ok to proceed, made my way back down the rope, into the mud pit, and climbed out on the other side.  Oh so thankful not to be doing burpees after that effort.

The next obstacle was right next to the rope climb.  It was an inverted wall.  I saw some guys jumping high up to grab the top of the wall and pull themselves up and over.  My highest jump did not even reach the top of the wall.  But fortunately there were some guys at the top offering some assistance.  I jumped and they each grabbed an arm, and I used my feet and legs to help shimmy up and over.  They stayed to help others as well.  I found out later there were hand holds somewhere so I could have used those instead.  Either way, the obstacle was done and I could move on!

The next obstacle involved climbing some rungs, walking across a platform on some planks, and then climbing down some rungs on the other side.  Not really sure how to describe this one – one of the easiest and hard to believe that it was actually an obstacle.

Next post:  wall to wall!

Weird Winter

What a crazy winter.

Snow is rare in my part of North Carolina but this has been a very different season.  Not only have we seen snow on multiple occasions, but it keeps coming on Mondays or Tuesdays!  Sometimes this is right on the tail of 70° F (21° C) weekend temps.

So strange!

A logical surprise

This morning I found a surprise on my desk:  a “Logic Problems” magazine!  A co-worker remembered that she & I shared a love for solving logic problems so she brought in an entire magazine for me.  She left a note saying:

“I ordered a pack of these – you are the only person I know that likes them too!  Have fun!”

What an awesome surprise.  Big smile on my face!  This will surely keep me happily occupied someday if I find myself with nothing to do...  :-)

big j little j

Big J, little j, what begins with “J”?

I recently came across some old correspondence with my parents.  When my son was “little j”, I tried to include some news about what he was up to.  In this one email, “little j” was almost 4 years old.  Here are two of the funnies from that email.

• One day “little j” and I were at the grocery store.  He suddenly he went up to some woman and said, “Hi, Grandma!!”  The woman was startled at first and then just cracked up.
• At another time, some friends were visiting and asked my son what he learned in Sunday School.  All he said was, “To sit down.”  Now that was probably a good lesson for him at the time!!

Anyway, I thought they were funny and I’m glad I thought they were worth sharing with my parents.  Kids grow up fast.  Would I remember any of these “little” things if I hadn’t written some of them down?  I don’t know but hopefully I don’t stop paying attention just because he’s becoming a “bigger j”.

Going clipless

The moment arrived.  I needed to start learning how to ride clipless.  (This actually means being clipped IN to my mountain bike but that’s an explanation for another time.)

My first attempt was two weeks ago.  I was warned to expect a lot of falling and tipping over.  They were right.  There were times I just toppled over to the side because I unclipped one side and then pulled myself down while trying to unclip on the other side.  I learned that I need to unclip while rolling, not from a stationary position.

I felt particularly successful when I managed to unclip and jump off my bike before it headed into a narrow creek.  Note that I said successful not skilful because it surely wasn’t skill that unclipped me at that point.  (Although, to be honest, I should have been able to cross the bridge instead of unclipping anyway.)

Saturday was Day Two in clips.  My personal goal was not to fall off the side of the mountain.  I am happy to report that I achieved that goal.  Not that I would have gone far if I did slip a bit...

As expected, I fell some more while trying to get out of my clips at various points.  It felt more stressful this time around.  It wasn’t so much the pain of falling because it really doesn’t hurt that much to topple over.  But there’s a burst of fear or something when you’re going down and you can’t get your foot loose to brace yourself and it feels like you have no control.  Add a dose of frustration because you were trying to avoid what you did wrong the last time… only to do it again.  And of course the bruised ego, aka embarrassment.

I have one particularly memorable fall.  I heard a rider approaching behind me and I didn’t want to be in his way.  So I hurriedly found an opportunity to pull over so he could pass.  I kept telling myself that no matter what I needed to get out of his way, even if it meant tipping over in the opposite direction.  Well, you can guess what happened.  I unclipped one foot, struggled with the other, and started tipping… right into the rider as he was passing me.  So basically I knocked him over too.  [I clipped him!  HA!!]

He was a good sport about it and helped me up even though I kinda felt like staying on the ground.  I even had some involuntary tears.  Not from pain but just the entire experience.  In retrospect, I think I was being way too hard on myself.  I’m sure it looked hilarious.  The other rider even laughed – not at me, but because it was funny and he understood.

Since falling is going to keep happening while I continue to practice, my goal next time is to laugh as I brush myself off.  I might as well be laughing while I’m learning!

Back in 3 or 6...

Anyone else itching for a vacation?  I’ll be back in three – no, make it six – weeks.

Too bad it doesn’t quite work like that...  :-)

Getting phishy...

Yesterday I was introduced me to a new treat.  Phish Food.

I had never heard of it although apparently it has been around since 1997.  Only 17 years.  And I’ve been living in this country the entire time.

This is an AMAZING Ben & Jerry’s creation!  Now, I like most types of ice cream fairly well.  I don’t discriminate too much.  I especially enjoy chocolate/peanut-butter or chocolate/marshmallow (if it looks like there’s enough marshmallow mix-in to even taste) but I’m open to black cherry and plenty of other flavors.

But imagine my delight at my first bite of chocolate ice cream perfectly enhanced by swirls of marshmallow, caramel, and tiny fudge pieces in the shape of fish!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

I was very impressed!  It wasn’t too rich either.  Perfection.  And I didn’t have to share (although I would have)!

Ahhhh, the bliss of this new-to-me ice cream.  Good times, good times.  :-) 

Valentine Mom

I’m behind on several posts that I’ve wanted to write about.  Better get to it!

This past Friday was Valentine’s Day.  It was my weekend with my son and when I picked him up he said he wanted to take me to dinner for Valentine’s.  I wasn’t allowed to pay.  Knowing that he doesn’t get allowance and he doesn’t have a job (yet), I knew his funds were limited so I told him he didn’t have to do that.  It made me feel good that he wanted to pay.  But he insisted that it was completely on him.

I felt very proud of him.  There are a lot of 16-year old boys who wouldn’t even consider such a thing.

I’m a pretty lucky mom.

On The Run

OTR – On The Run.

I have a friend (ok, I guess I say that loosely since we haven’t really stayed close over the years) whose teenage son is OTR.  Been missing since Friday evening.  He’s only a few months older than my son.

They couldn’t file a missing person’s report because apparently a teen runaway falls under different laws in their state.  Maybe nationwide; I have no idea what the laws are in my own state pertaining to this.

My friend is worried and heartbroken.  She posted on facebook that even a text from an unknown number saying, “Mom, I’m ok” would make her feel better.  She does know that he took off with two other kids and that one has been in touch with a school friend – though not revealing any details about their whereabouts or activities.

I have so many thoughts.  How does a kid get to this point?  Are they chasing an adventure for the risky thrill of it or trying to escape something because they can’t/don’t want to handle it differently?  Could MY kid get to this point?  None of us think these things will happen to us.  I doubt my friend expected it either – I don’t really know.

Personalizing this and imagining how I would feel if my son ran away makes me feel devastated for my friend.  I might not be able to do anything for her personally, but I *can* pray for her.  And I can pray for my son and try to see his world through his eyes.

If you have a child (grown-up ones too), and if you pray, please pray for them today.  And I know my friend would appreciate some extra prayers too for her son and their whole family.

Blueberries

Today I’m thinking of blueberries.  Maybe because I heard this silly joke recently:

Q:  What is the difference between an elephant and a blueberry?

A:  They’re both blue, except for the elephant.

Ba-dum-bum-CHING!

What does the scale say?

This morning I got on my scale at home and it read “Lo”.

Yes, I know that means the battery needs to be changed but could it also mean that my weight is too low?

At least it didn’t say “LOL”!

Celebrate TODAY

Today is a day to celebrate!  Let me give you a few reasons:

My son turned 16 today.  I don’t know why “16” is supposed to be a special age but HE’S special and it’s his birthday so celebrate!

Today is also National Pie Day.  I suspect someone gave up on their New Year’s Resolutions and created this holiday as an excuse to eat some special baked goods, haha.  It turns out that my son isn’t much of a fan for birthday cakes and would rather have apple pie.  Very timely I'd say.

Today also happens to be National Handwriting Day.  Write a note or letter to someone.  Even if they can’t read it, they’ll appreciate the thought that went into it.  :-)  (Hmm, does signing a birthday card count as practicing my handwriting??)

It is ALSO Measure Your Feet Day.  I don’t know why but think about it.  When is the last time you measured your feet?  Yes, you know your shoe size but are both feet the same length?  Same width?  How well do you know your own feet?  OK, let’s leave that one alone.

There are many, many more reasons to celebrate without needing a birthday or holiday.  You woke up this morning.  You are able to read this post.  You fill in the blanks on everything else.  Whatever your reasons, a very happy day to you!

No thyme

An imaginary conversation:

“Do you have any thyme?”

“Time for what?”

“Thyme for cooking.”

“I thought you said you were going to make dinner tonight.”

“I am but I need some thyme.”

“Ummm, how much time do you need?”

“Just a little – not very much.”

“And why is it you need my time?”

“Because I’m completely out and I want to know if you have any.  Otherwise I need to go to the store.”

“Ohhhh, you need some thyme!  Why didn’t you say so?”

“Ummm….”

Beneath the iceberg

You’ve probably seen the poster featuring an iceberg.  You can only see the tip of the iceberg above water but there is SO much more under water that is invisible to the eye.

Today I passed an office with that poster on the wall.  But instead of thinking about business I just thought about people.

We see people every day.  Some are just in passing – traffic, grocery stores, restaurants, etc.  Some we know a little better – work, gym, and other “regular” environments.  Some we know more intimately – close friends, family, relationships.

But I wonder how often we see others and think that what WE see is everything there is?  Or to put it a little differently, that what we observe about someone else is sufficient to support our impression of them?

Plenty more to say on this topic but for now I just want to think on this for a bit.

Peculiar People

Heads up!  Tomorrow (January 10) is Peculiar People Day.

If you’re peculiar (and most of us are in some way) this is your day to celebrate!

If you’re under the delusion that you’re not peculiar then at least consider it a day to appreciate the uniqueness of others.

As for me, I intend to celebrate both myself and the many other peculiar people I know.  Enjoy!!

First times

“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”

I love that question.  There are always new things to try.  Some things don’t happen the first time you try.  In fact, sometimes it takes a lot of effort and time to get there.  But if you don’t start, you don’t get there at all.

In 2013 I did several things for the first time.  A pull-up was one of them, and trust me that didn’t happen without a lot of trying!  I also completed my first 5K.  That wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t willing to go for it and give it a try.

Tonight I resume kayak roll practice lessons after a few weeks off.  The last time I went I accomplished 6 rolls.  They were not consistent, they weren’t consecutive, and I couldn’t do them on demand.  But if I wasn’t up for the effort, they wouldn’t have happened at all.

So tonight I’m excited about getting more practice and getting better!  It won’t be my very first time but it’s still a new experience and pretty thrilling when I do get it.  Time to roll!

Picking Passwords

“Please change your password.”

Again??  Didn’t I just do this??

With at least five unique logins at work almost daily, plus another handful of logins weekly or monthly, it feels like I’m changing passwords all the time.  And this is just at work.

But even if I were tempted to use the same password for everything at work (trust me, I’ve been tempted), it can’t be done because they all require new passwords at different intervals.  And they all have their own rules.

• No repeating characters in the same password.
• No repeating characters in the same position as a previous password for up to 6 revisions.  (For example, if I used an A in the first position of the last 6 passwords, I can’t use an A in that position for the next password.)  This one is especially annoying because not only do I have to remember all of my current passwords, I have to remember what I used the last 6 times for this program.
• Must use upper and lower case as well as at least one number.

You get it.  You’ve been there.  But let me get back to you after I think of a new password…

Time to roll!

So.... I just started weekly lessons where I get to learn how to roll a kayak.  These lessons are available at an aquatic center not too far away – an awesome opportunity to practice during the colder months so I can be better prepared for the warmer months!

Now I am not the most accomplished swimmer and didn’t grow up spending a lot of time in the water.  So it cracks me up that I will pay money to get in a boat, purposely go upside down under water, and try to snap my hips enough to bring the kayak back up before I run out of air.  And to pay someone to watch me do that over and over, haha!

But it’s a lot of fun to work on my roll and to feel much more comfortable in the water.  I'm really enjoying it.  And TONIGHT will be the night I get the roll down (or up?) all by myself!

LET’S ROLL!

Sleeping through my dreams

If you dream about sleeping, shouldn’t that have the effect of gaining extra rest (if not double)?

Last night I dreamt that I was with a group of friends for dinner and they all decided they wanted to go see a new movie afterward.  I was tired and didn’t really care about the movie but I was a passenger and unwilling for anyone to change their plans on my account.

So we went to the theatre and everyone split up to sit in their favorite viewing locations.  I found a spot in the back of the theatre where I could lean against the wall and even stretch out my legs.  And slept through the entire movie.  I have no idea what it was about – I was content to sleep through all of it and didn't feel I was missing out on anything.

When I awoke this morning I still felt tired.  But a good workout later and I was sufficiently energized for the day!

Beating the bag

Tonight I had a personal training session that consisted primarily of TRX burpees and a lot of bag work.  There have been times during kickboxing classes or even one-on-one where they say to conjure up something that makes you mad and then use that to channel the aggression into the punches and kicks.  I find that difficult.  It’s like I know I’m trying to trick myself so it doesn’t work, haha.

I can only think of two times when it has worked so far.  Both happened naturally without prompts.  The first time was a while back.  I was fine when I started the workout but the harder I hit that bag, the more I started to get really worked up.  It got to the point that I was struggling to hold back tears at the end of the circuit.  Maybe it was partly hormones but man did that bag take a beating!

The other time was tonight.

I was hitting the bag as instructed (I wasn’t asked to summon any particular aggression) when I suddenly remembered a recent dream.

The other night I dreamt that someone I didn’t know hit my son.  Deliberately.  An adult.

Oh, it was ON!  I laid him out in no time!  But then I got concerned that I could go to jail for knocking his lights out (he didn't die but trust me, he wasn't getting up anytime soon)...

Anyway, that came to mind while I was punching the heavy bag tonight and I have to say that it gave me some focus and fueled my energy.  It was a fantastic workout!  Fortunately I wasn't close to tears this time though.  :-)

Which flavor of plain vanilla?

I was asked to bring brownies and ice cream to a Thanksgiving gathering.  I was given a specific brand of ice cream and told to get plain vanilla.  Easy enough.  And I like instructions like that because it’s clear what someone wants – I don’t have to guess and wonder if I’m making the best choice.

As it turns out there were multiple flavors of plain vanilla (and that’s not including “light” or fat-free)!

Natural vanilla.

Homemade vanilla.

French vanilla.

Extra creamy vanilla.

Who knew there were so many kinds of plain vanilla (and proably more)!  Days later it still makes me laugh!