Hodge Podge ....

I sure do like having Christmas and New Year's Day on Tuesdays! It is like a great wonderful long weekend starting on Friday for me! It has been very restful and very nice. For people traveling and having holiday parties, it must also be nice. Next year, 2008, is a leap year ... so that means that Christmas and New Year's Day will be on Thursdays .... So will it be a 4-day weekend starting on Wednesday evening? That could also be cool!

I am hoping and planning to spend the holidays next year (2008) in Australia with Tom and Robbie ... staying with my sister and her family in Perth, Western Australia. That means saving apporoximately $6000 for airfare alone ... but I have several months to do that ... and once I set a goal in mind ... well ... I'll do my best. I haven't talked to Tom and Robbie about it yet ... and Tom doesn't seem to want to fly for 22 hours .... but we will deal with that as it comes.

I have been walking this week since the pool is closed ... today went a lot better than yesterday .... and I plan to try again tomorrow ... plus going to the gym to lift weights ... need to do legs tomorrow. Walking is actually kicking my butt ... but I plan to keep it up. What I really need to do is walk on the days I don't swim and lift weights. Every day needs to have some type of exercise in it. Tom wants to go back on Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet ..... BLAH! I really don't want to ... but might as well try something diet-wise since I am doing all of this exercise now. We certainly haven't been dieting over the holidays!! Oh My!! LOL .... but there is so much food left over from Christmas!

I do know that if we want to go to Australia, we will need to lose as much weight as we can ... as Derek and Lori do have issues with people who are overweight. Tom and I will always be overweight ... but we plan to be in kick-ass shape! Ha! Walking with the iPod does seem to help some ... can't wait to try it in the pool!

I need to do some educational blogging while I have this down-time .... topic reminders to me:

• Education and IQ
• The Success if my Tutoring Business
• What exactly would it take for me to go back into the classroom?
• Thoughts on how to expand my tutoring business

Marsha gave me a great book of Sudoku Puzzles .... edited by Will Shortz .... who is also the author of the New York Times crossword puzzles. I have recently started trying the NYT puzzles and I really like them. These Sudokus are also more fun than the ones in the paper ... but I am not sure why! Anyway ... I am enjoying doing them and working on getting better!

Today is Sunday .... still 2 more days of holiday this weekend ... very cool!

Post-Christmas ....

Yes .... it was chilly on Christmas .... and we had way too much food .... but then, we were expecting 16 people and 5 of them didn't show. So Tom and I have leftovers galore! The 5 who didn't show were all in one family ... and reports are that 4 of the 5 were sick so they decided not to infect us all ... which we appreciate!

Robbie is still in Hillsboro being spoiled rotten by his grandparents .... which I am sure he loves ... and they love even more. Christmas isn't quite the same without a kid around .... even though he is 18 .... he is still my baby.

Tom enjoyed opening his socks and underwear! Hey ... that is what he asked for ... and some new shoes .... all very boring! I think he was pleasantly surprised by the Nintendo DS and the BrainAge game I got for him. He has been missing his nightly games of Spider and whatever since his Dell Laptop started acting up on him. NOw he has something to play with ... and we had to go get a couple more games for it the next day!

I spent part of Tuesday and most of Wednesday trying to get my new iPod shuffle to work. It is a Waterproof iPod .... and the waterproofing makes the buttons very stiff, according to the paperwork ... so it took me awhile to figure it all out. I finally got music put on it and I think I have managed to get the waterproof headphones attached to my goggles .... now I just need to try it all out in the pool!! Sadly .... the pool is CLOSED!!! It is EMPTY! Yikes!! It is supposed to open on January 2nd or 3rd .... so we shall see how it goes then. I miss it!! I hope it opens on time.

I got my haircut yesterday .... really short .... a Pixie! I haven't had a pixie since the 60's .... but my Mom always claimed that it was the cutest haircut I ever had. My stylist wasn't too happy with my plan (she kept saying "It's Winter!!") ... but after she was done she was impressed! She thought it looked cute. Tom isn't too happy with it, I think .... but it will grow on him. I like the feel of it ... but need to wash it and mess with it myself .... we shall see. I'll do that later today.

I emailed Swillow and she claims no knowledge of my Blog or it's contents. Says she has never visited it. I emailed Lilaz and she was honest. We emailed back and forth and chatted a bit online. She does read my Blog and says that she never did ask me to stop contacting her. I could swear she did ... but if she is willing to communicate with me now, it's all good.

Chill in the Air!

Looks like it is going to feel like Christmas around here this year! Yay!! Low tonight is supposed to be 27 degrees with highs in the 50's and lows in the 20's for the next several days .... that sounds good! No rain ... so no worries about ice and such ... just cold.

Tomorrow Tom and I will take Robbie down to Hillsboro to see his Grandparents and his Dad. I am always glad when Tom is willing to go down there with me ... I don't like that drive very much .... and I wouldn't do it at all except for Robbie's Grandparents being totally wonderful people and they should see Robbie as often as they can.

I need to do some spot cleaning of the carpet and get ready to have guests for Christmas Day .... still deciding on the menu ... but we've got all the booze!! LOL ... the important stuff. We are having quite a combo of guests .... and the food will be served buffet style .... it will all be fine ...

The pool at the gym is going to be closed for one week ... Dec. 26 - Jan. 2 .... Grrrrrrr!!!! I think that means the spa will be closed, too .... and I LOVE sitting in the spa in the winter ... That's okay .... Brandon will be gone that whole week, too .... so maybe I'll do some more walking and try to work back into that, too .... I must say that I am sleeping a LOT better and dreaming a lot more which I think means I am getting more REM sleep. I haven't had dreams like these in a long time. I am pretty sure it is all because I am working out more and I am grateful for that.

I finally realized who is checking this BLOG from Owings Mills, MD and from Liverpool, NY. For some reason MsWillow and Lilaz want to keep tabs on me on a regular basis. Just click on my Site Meter at the bottom of the page and then click on Location in the left bar .... they seem to be a couple of my biggest fans!! I think the person from Manhasset, NY is the guy whose estate WF is in charge of. I think his name is David. I really don't understand why these people keep checking on me. Do they not have lives of their own to live? Whatever.

Looking forward to the long holiday weekend .... sleeping .... eating .... drinking .... laughing with friends .... I hope everyone has a Merry and safe Christmas!

Merry Christmas to ALL!!

No Big Title ....

Haven't had much to write lately ... obviously!

Hey Caterry .... whatever it is you want to know .... just ask .... I have never been anything but honest with you .... despite what others might have told you. I see you visited here quite a bit last week ..... just wondering what you want?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I am still going to training 3-4 days a week .... working mostly with Brandon .... haven't been measured again ... and haven't weighed ... still swimming .... and enjoying the spa and sauna! Otherwise, not much to report. The Body of Change staff has changed and I am not fond of the new managers. Tyler (Mr. Sunday Morning) left to go work for an oil/gas drilling company .... Oil is becoming big in Texas again!! And Daniel left to go back to school ... or that is what we were told. The new guys are no fun .... no sense of humor .... pffffft. What fun is life without a sense of humor?? But Jace and Brandon are still there and I am getting to know some of the sales guys ... you know, enough to say HI and Have a Great Day ... and really mean it.

I did go walking the other day and hoped it would be a breeze due to all the swimming I have been doing .... Ha!! Clearly I need to start walking some, too. Swimming is easy on the joints ... walking isn't and uses different muscles .... so Tom and I are also going to start walking again ... when we can .... the hardest part about that is getting out of a nice warm bed when it is still dark out and walking in the chill .... LOL ... It is soon to be Winter. Maybe I will try to walk when I have hours between or before tutees ... And I won't have any tutees the 2 weeks after Dec. 20 ... plenty of time to get back into walking ....

The weather around here has been entertaining ... 80 degrees to 30's ..... thunderstorms to bright and sunny .... windy to calm to windy again .... now they are predicting "wintery mix" for tomorrow. We have nowhere to go .... so bring it on!! I am tutoring Noon-3:00 .... but that depends on the weather, I guess. We need to put up the tree and get it decorated .... perfect weekend for that, too.

It seems my melancholy has passed. Several people contacted me about the post I wrote before I posted Robbie's pictures. It was nice to hear from all of these people. Trust me that I do understand that things can never be the same ... and trust me that I know the people who caused this are mean-spirited and small-minded. I know .... I know .... I know. But I can still miss what once was.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Robbie's Senior Pics

Robbie over the Years

Memories ....

'Tis the season for memories, I guess. I am dreaming at night about my Mom and family and Christmases past. With Mom and Dad now gone and my siblings and I scattered around the world, literally .... the memories remain.

During my waking hours I am finding that I achingly miss my old online group of friends and the wonderfully comfortable camaraderie we all used to share. That group is gone now .... split and shattered and dispersed ... gone to other boards or threads or just flat avoiding contact all the way around. Lies were told and distrust was nurtured .... to the point that things can never be as they once were.

Still .... I wish that RH and Belly and Do .... Looney and Swillow and Poople .... Cat and Caterry and WF ..... Gilly and Sailor and Sparkle .... Nunnie and Bree and Linda ..... T4 and Charley and Sweeney .... Sunshine and Bev and Deb .... La and Sizz and TiT .... and many others I have forgotten to mention, but not intentionally ..... could once again meet online in Fewl's Paradise and play like we once did. And not just play .... but share our lives .... the good and the bad .... in a safe a trusting environment. I wrote this post 7 months ago .... just re-read it and it made me cry .... http://fewlsparadise.blogspot.com/2007/05/what-i-miss.html

But this can never be again. So why do I waste my time and emotions longing for that which can never be again? I guess for the same reason I dream about my Mom and Dad and brother at night. Gone, but not forgotten. Yet I wake up sometimes from these dreams with such a physical longing .... the dreams seemed so REAL. The longing for my old online group is also physical and REAL. I am hoping that just writing about this longing will help get it out of my system somehow. I still get sick at the memory of the things that happened starting 11 months ago in FP. I still am totally clueless as to what initiated all of this and was it just against me .... or was it against others too? I know Bree was a target, too.

Sigh .... it is just a melancholy Saturday afternoon .... I miss Tom's Mom and our champagne Scrabble games .... I miss Christmas at Mom's .... I miss the old management crew at BJ's .... I miss .... I miss ..... I miss ....

But nothing stays the same .... everything changes .... don't wanna be a stick in the mud ....

I am so Blessed ....

It is Tuesday November 27th and at 1:44pm I am sitting at my dining room table (also known as my tutoring area.) Christmas music is playing on the stereo, and there are the scents of homemade chicken soup coming from the stove and cornbread hot from the oven in the air. The sun is shining, the windows are open, I can hear the fountains from the pool and the windchimes on the deck. Fat birds are enjoying the seeds in the birdfeeder, which I can watch from where I now sit. A dog is curled up at my feet and a kitten is curled up on my lap. My laptop is in front of me with many pages open to online shopping sites! I am able to sit here in the comfort of my home and run searches for the best deals on Christmas gifts .... click, order, and have them delivered to my door.

I am so blessed.

My business is going well. I had one person cancel their appointment this morning and three more call for help. The minute someone doesn't need me anymore, someone else does. I live in an age where all you have to do is put yourself "out there" and people will find you. Internet, word of mouth, and the LISD tutoring list have been good to me. My job enables me to work from home, yet still do what I love .... which is teaching Math ... without all the hassles of grading papers and writing lesson plans and dealing with administrators. There is much potential for my business to grow in so many directions ... it almost seems the world is mine, I just have to ask.

I am so blessed.

My son and my husband and I are healthy. We live in a beautiful home in a wonderful neighborhood. Our vehicles run and we can afford the gas and insurance for them. My son is a senior in High School, makes good grades, and is in the top 10% of his class. We have saved for college and have the Texas Tomorrow Fund to pay for his tuition and fees. My husband has a job he enjoys and the outlook for his field is good, just not sure about the company he is with right now .... one day at a time there. So far, so good.

I am so blessed.

I am able to go to a gym 3-4 days a week and work-out in pretty luxurious conditions .... pool, spa, sauna, and every kind of weight and cardio machine you can imagine. I actually like going and I am so grateful that my job enables me to be able to go in the mornings ... the only times I actually WANT to work-out!

I have wonderful friends .... wonderful family .... wonderful life.

I am so blessed.

Early Dark ...

I sure do like Standard Time .... I wish they would just leave the clocks alone and leave all time at Standard Time. It makes it seem more like FALL .... and I love Fall!!

Today I went down to Texas Instruments in Dallas for a session about their new calculator, the TI-Nspire. WOW .... what a tool!! Tom drove me down and went to visit Mike and Liz for awhile. I'll write more about the Calculator and the session elsewhere ... probably on my Education Opinions BLOG. The session ended at 4:30 and Tom and I decided to go to Matt's in Lakewood. This is a Mexican Restaurant we used to frequent when we were dating and they have the best Chile Relanos in Texas ... in my opinion. They use pecans and raisins in them .... yummy!! We sat outside and the weather and lighting and everything just said "Fall" and comfort. It felt nice to be in Dallas. I do miss it .... we don't go there often enough. We drove by Tom's old house .... it hasn't changed, but the neighborhood around it sure has .... lots of townhomes and condos springing up. Is that good?? Or bad?? I'm not sure. When we get rich, I wouldn't mind having a condo in Dallas somewhere.

We left Matt's as the sun was beginning to set and took 30 south of the City to I-35 North. The skyline is awesome .... and George Strait's "All My Ex's Live in Texas" was on the radio ... and traffic was thick but moving smoothly .... and it just felt good to be in Dallas, Texas. We got home at 6:30 pm and it was already dark. College football all over the TV. the only bad thing is that it is a little warm .... high 70's .... lows in the 60's .... and we need rain ... but all in all, Fall is good!

As for my workouts .... I am still going!! I'll tell you .... I am glad I have those young men waiting for me ..... it makes me show up when I otherwise might talk myself out of it!! Friday I didn't have a paid appointment, but Tyler said he would work with me for free ... ((He included 15 free sessions in my annual package)). I hadn't worked with Tyler for several weeks ... he usually hurts me or at least pushes me close to vomitting .... Brandon doesn't do that!! And I had never done legs with Tyler. The workout he put me through was very different from what Brandon and I usually do .... different machines, different exercises, slightly different muscles. He made me do calves which I haven't done before .... and he made me do them until I couldn't anymore. Today I am beginning to feel the calves ..... tomorrow will be even worse!!

Swimming is going really well. I am now to the point where I can just keep swimming. No need to stop unless my goggles fog up or begin to leak. I am actually pretty amazed by that ... in 8 weeks I have gone from being able to swim only 2 lengths at time to swimming as long as I want. I think doing the weight lifting had really helped with the swimming. My arms just do not get tired. That is pretty cool.

Oh .... and I haven't reported my measurement results .... after 6 weeks of training ....

• Weight -2 lbs
• Body Fat -1%
• Neck -1"
• Chest +1/4"
• Shoulders +2" (we question original measure on this one but Tyler measured me 3 times this time ...)
• Waist - No Change
• Hips -2"
• Right Bicep -1"
• Left Bicep -1"
• Right Thigh -1/2"
• Left Thigh -1.5"
• Right Calf -1/4"
• Left Calf -1/2"

All the trainers were standing around while Tyler measured me ... and they were all very encouraging about the results. They said I won't begin to lose weight until about 8 weeks in .... maybe more. Damn if they don't all know my weight and my body fat and all my weaknesses now ... sigh ....