Finding Time To Do It All

Braces Suck as Much as Crutches

Yesterday I got braces on my teeth.  My bite has been messed up for years, and I'm finally doing something about it (and yeah, my teeth were a little crooked too - but I'm really not doing this to fix them; it's just a pleasant side effect).  I planned a meal as if I would be able to eat it...

Unfortunately the pain didn't wait a day (I expected my teeth to be sore but not quite so quickly).  You know how it takes you a day or two to get sore after a big workout?  That's what I was expecting.  Not two hours after getting the damn things on my teeth!

So I cooked a roast in the crock pot.  By the time I cooked the rest of dinner, I just opted for potatoes because I knew by then I wasn't going to be eating much anyway.  And I cooked the shit out of the potatoes, until they were nearly creamy.  It turned out to be a smart choice because I couldn't chew those bitches, either.

Then I got a wise idea to fix toast, because that's soft, right?  WRONG!  When you eat gluten-free bread, the crust is really hard (like French bread).  I couldn't bite through the crust.  So then I tore the toast in half, thinking I could chew the soft middle.  WRONG AGAIN!  I couldn't chew a thing - because every time I did, I shredded some tender part of my mouth.  Turns out that metal is really sharp!

Utltimately I survived the night, but I'm not sure I can survive the weight loss regimen (i.e. not eating).  I love food, people, especially Reese's peanut butter cups, and if I can't eat them, I'll die.  I mean that literally; I will wither away and die.  I have a hard time keeping weight on, and I can't live on milkshakes (I might try though). 

I know, I know, the pain won't last forever.  Just about long enough for me to get over it and then go have the damn wires adjusted...but in eight weeks I'm pretty sure I'll lose more than a few pounds, and I'll look emaciated.

Yes, I admit it, tooth pain is the worst for me.  I've broken lots of bones (98 of them, actually - some were repeats), and yes, they hurt when the break.  They even keep me awake at night with pain.  However, they don't often make me want to CRY when they ache.  Teeth, on the other hand, make me want to bawl my eyes out when they hurt.  I don't know why that is, but it is.  Call me a crybaby if you want to, I don't care.  Just please make my teeth stop hurting!

Hopefully next week will be better - or maybe a run will help me forget about my teeth.  What I'm afraid of though is that all the bouncing will make my teeth hurt.  I can't win, right?

OK, enough ranting.  I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  And in case you're wondering, I went with all metal (instead of clear) because you can see the stupid things anyway, and I wanted to rock the school-girl smile as long as I could. :)

 

Checking In (Happy New Year!)

Hello people!  Yes, it's been awhile and I apologise.  The Holidays were hectic as always plus the death of my friend had me in a funk for a bit.  But, as the saying goes, I'm feeling much better now!

As you might have guessed though, I managed to keep running through that time and I've even been doing some more exercising.  I took my gigantic ball to work at my new-ish job and I've been sitting on that.  Since I have my own cube now (instead of sharing like at my old job), I can actually do sit-ups on the ball when I feel like taking a break.  It's the greatest thing to be able to do that.  Plus, I'm in a corner so nobody will walk by and see me - unless, of course, they are coming to see me.  I'm sure I already have the "eccentric" label so I don't care so much about that - unless it's one of those rare days that I decide to wear a dress!

My barefoot mileage is still coming along nicely.  I decided to up the ante a bit, and I've been trying to do six miles consistently barefoot on Sundays, then I add at least two miles with VFFs.  This distance works really well for me as long runs, but the last month has had me overdoing it as far as speed goes so I end up taking more time off in between.  Yes, it's true, you shouldn't add speed and distance at the same time - it makes for sore legs!  But the weather has been so pleasant that it's hard not to go a tad faster (under nine-minute miles is ridiculously fast for me though, and that's what I've been doing) because I feel so great.  That is, until the next day when my calves are sore.

I still have a love-hate relationship with push-ups, but I suspect that will always change.  I love what they do for my arms, but oh how I despise doing them.  Ugh.

One great thing though is living in Florida.  The weather this winter has been fairly mild so I've been able to keep up the barefoot miles and have only had to wear shoes a few times due to rain.  Of course, I say that on a day when the low was 23, but I waited until it was about 40 to run.  Yes, my feet were cold!  But it was fun and the day was gorgeous.  I was hoping to get out into the woods but I chose to do some writing instead and so it didn't happen; perhaps tomorrow (I'm writing this on the weekend, although you won't read it until Tuesday - sorry!).

Obviously I don't have anything interesting to say today, but when do I?  Honestly, I'm surprised that you people keep coming back - but I'm glad you do!  

Remembering Mike Cantey

It's been a really tough week for me.  I get all wishy-washy this time of year for a lot of reasons, and this year is no different.  Unfortunately, my usual funk was thrown into a serious twist when one of the best people I've ever met, Mike Cantey, was taken from us.

Mike was the kind of guy who always had something funny to say.  He loved a great cup of coffee and good music.  One of his favourite past-times was playing video games. 

I met Mike in the early '90s when he was a reserve officer and I was on patrol.  He was riding with a K-9 officer who worked the same zone as me, and we ended up on several calls together one night.  I immediately liked Mike - he was cute, funny, intelligent...what's not to like?  Over the next few years I got to know him just by bumping into him on occasion and hanging out on calls and stuff.

Several years passed and I got married, got pregnant, and ended up in childbirthing class.  My husband and I walked into the first class and there sat Mike and his wonderful wife, Mary (turns out Mary and I went to high school together - what a small world!).  We spent the next several weeks hanging out in class and before you know it we both had boys, less than a month apart.

We hung out a lot those first couple of years.  Mary and I got to know each other pretty well, and the boys, A and E, played quite well together.  It was great.

But as things go, we drifted apart a little, mostly due to living on opposite ends of the county and having a little different interests.  I eventually had a second child, P, and ultimately went back to work, which limited my "hanging out" time.  Mary and I lost touch, but I often wondered what the Canteys were up to.

Enter Facebook.  I stumbled across both Mike and Mary within the last several months, only to hear that Mike was battling brain cancer.  In true form, Mike was keeping a sense of humour about it all and doing all he could to enjoy his next cup of coffee.  Mike was unique in that he could make anything seem funny, no matter how awful the subject.

I wasn't able to make time to go and visit Mike, and for that I am truly sad.  However, I was able to keep in touch with him and Mary through Facebook - and they were both great about updating their friends about their situation on a regular basis.  We knew what was going on and could send notes of encouragement or even just "like" a post one of them put up about their lives.

Sadly, Mike's condition took a complete turn on December 11, and he suffered a massive stroke.  He died, peacefully, on Monday, December 12.  He and Mary were married for 15 years, and their son, A, is only nine years old.

I buried a friend today - the first real friend I've had to bury in about 20 years.  Although it saddens me terribly, I am happy to know that he is no longer suffering and no longer battling for his life.  As much as we'll all miss him, Mike is truly in a better place (and I'm not even talking religion here).

The world was a better place with you in it, Mike.  We'll all miss you, brother!

 

Embracing the Unorthodox

I am a pretty "different" person.  I have lots of different ideas about so-called "normal" things.  Here is a quick example:

• God, whether S/He exists or not, is a man-made concept.
• Either all religions are completely wrong, or they're all just a little bit correct.
• Just because everyone says so, doesn't make it true.
• History and reality are based on perception.
• If you don't think for yourself most of the time, you're a complete moron.
• You don't have to do pushups/situps/running/weight training to exercise.

Now, I'm not going to get into a philosophical religious discussion with you here - mostly because I don't really care about your religious beliefs (I respect them, but it's such a personal thing that I just don't care what anyone else thinks, any more than I expect them to care what I think).  Don't take it personally.

The one thing I really want to discuss today is the exercise thing.  Although I often do "regular" exercises to stay fit, I also do a whole lot of things that aren't considered mainstream.  Instead of lifting weights, I might move a chair a few feet to vacuum (you have to move it, then move it back).  I've been known to vacuum the same spot twice.  If you have an indoor pet, just vacuuming is a decent cardio workout (because we all know what a bitch it is to get all the black dog hair sucked up off your beige carpet, right?) - that's why you sweat when you're doing it.  Playing with your kids on the swing set?  Oh yeah, that's the best exercise there is - and it's FUN, admit it!

Just the other day Lil P had me hanging upside-down from the bars on our swingset.  Yes, hanging by my knees, no less.  This, in and of itself, is not a great workout.  But, to get into that position, I had to lift my entire body weight using my shoulders and my core (that's stomach and back, folks).  I had to rotate that weight into a position to get my legs over the bar.  After hanging there, I had to use my core to come back up and hold onto the rings to get off again, and then I flipped, so I was stretching out my shoulder joints (and it felt great!).

Now, is that the equivalent of an hour-long workout?  Hardly.  But if you play like that for 30 minutes a day, I think you're doing OK - as long as you're not eating yourself into oblivion.  You don't have to sweat a lot, or have big muscles to show off, or do the boring stuff that all those fitness freaks do.  Just play.  If your children are small enough, pick them up a few times.  They love being up high, and their weight works just like a dumbbell.  Hell, if you've ever carried a baby around for awhile, you know your biceps hate you for it the next day (even if you're resting them on your hip - or if you're like me, you don't have hips, so you have to pretty much hold them anyway).

I'm not saying that gyms and free weights and pushups and situps aren't a good way to work out (I do all kinds of "normal" exercises too).  I'm just saying that you don't have to buy into the drudgery to stay fit - or even start a fitness routine.

How do you do it?  Do you belong to a gym?  Do you have a home gym?  Or do you just play with your kids to stay fit?  Sound off in the comments!

Today's Poem

Believe it or not, occasionally I'm struck with the need to write.  Today is one of those days.  Unfortunately, I'm at work, so writing like I want to is a bit difficult.  But, I managed to whip up this little ditty in a few minutes.  It was inspired by the fact that I left my iPod in my husband's vehicle ("Oh shit, I left my iPod in the van!").  I've cleaned it up a bit, because it was pretty raunchy before.  I mean, bad enough I didn't want to post it.

And, don't get any ideas; I haven't done anything I shouldn't have.  It's fiction!  Without further ado...

Oh dear
I left my shit in your car.
I'd come meet you
But I don't know who you are.
Friday night
Was great at the bar
Oh dear
I left my shit in your car.

Oh my
I can't find my portable.
It's probably
In your fancy convertible
That night
It isn't revertible...
Oh my
I can't find my portable.

Oh where
Oh where is my lipstick?
I drank way
Too much and then got sick.
Yeah
I really am a dipstick.
Oh where
Oh where is my lipstick?

Oh crap
I seem to have lost my stash!
I think it's in
The tray of your dash.
Too bad,
That was some really good hash.
Oh crap
I seem to have lost my stash!

Oh dear
I left my shit in your car.
I'd come meet you
But I don't know who you are.
Friday night
Was great at the bar
Oh dear
I left my shit in your car.

OK, yeah, it sucks rocks.  But I got a good chuckle when I wrote it.  And as for what I removed, one line rhymed with "lipstick".   And, it was big. :-)

Have a happy Monday!

I Love My Husband!

I don't know if he ever reads my blog anymore, and it doesn't matter.  I just don't ever do this - or at least, I don't feel like I do it often enough.

I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

I wouldn't trade him for the world.  He's not perfect (and I'm nowhere near perfect, so I should know all about that, right???), but he's close enough for me.  He does those dumb little things that make me happy, and he treats me with strawberries.  Here's an example:

David: Would you like some strawberries?

Me: Yes.  Yes I would.

David walks over with strawberries, blueberries, and coconut, ready to eat.

How fantastic is that?  He does stuff like that all the time - and that's just one very small example.  He also lets me buy ugly shoes and doesn't harass me too much about them when I do!

So, I wanted to officially write a blog post telling you all how great my husband is.  I wish I was as good to him, as he is to me (or maybe I'm really lucky and I've got him fooled into believing I treat him so well?).  I love you David, and I wouldn't trade you for the world! XOXO

Thanksgiving Is Over

Thanksgiving is over, and so is football (for some of us).  Thank God!

I love having time off to be with my family.  The problem is that everybody has expectations about where my time should be spent.  There are parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides of the family who only get to see us on special occasions (mostly because we live in different cities and it's just hard to get together).  I love them all, and we actually manage to see a lot of them, but it sure is exhausting.

We did manage to spend an evening with good friends and that was quite pleasant.  I drank way too much and kept the children out late, and I'm sure I embarrassed myself in more than one way.  Fortunately the friends are close enough emotionally that they let me slide on the embarrassing stuff (dancing to the Bee Gees Stayin' Alive and admitting that I loved Barry Manilow - and I believe I belted a few bars of Mandy...) and close enough physically that it was a walk home afterward.  The hangover was hell though, so I paid for at least one of my transgressions.  One or two of those a year is all I can take; I'm too old for that kind of behaviour anymore.

Couple that with the biggest football weekend of the season (well, for in-state rivalries, anyway; this year there wasn't much competition in Florida for anything other than to see who sucked the worst), and you've got one of the busiest weekends of the year - and I don't even do the shopping thing because I just don't see the point in fighting over stuff.

Speaking of football, like I said last week, I love my Gators, but we sure do suck at football this year.  I say "we" because I say "we" when the team is good; therefore I say "we" when the team is bad (and in the South, fans are "the twelfth man").  So yeah, we sucked and we proved it.  I had no idea that FSU was as awful as they were; in the middle of the fourth quarter, they had less than 100 total yards.  I realise that yards is not synonymous with winning the game, based on the four completed passes interceptions that Brantley made to the other team.  It truly was a game of suckage.  But at least the weather was nice!

The Duey men before the game started...

For the first time, I took both boys and my husband to the football game.  I've taken E to a game before and he did well, and we were able to take P this time, and then managed to get David a ticket as well and lo and behold there we all were, even sitting more or less together.  It was really fun and the kids did great.  I'm sure David enjoyed the game more than I did since he's a Seminole fan, but he sure was quiet while watching (he was afraid because he was surrounded by Gators).  But it was fun and the boys were well-behaved and I'll do it again sometime.

But for this year, I'm glad football is over.  I'm always happy when it starts, and I'm always happy when it's finished - but I usually have more fun than I did this year.  I'm hoping next year the dynamic will be a little better (and so will the team), and maybe we can win one more game than this year.  Because a 6-6 record just sucks (but I also admit, it's not 0-10-1).

Yes, I will watch the Tidy Bowl game and cheer for the Gators - but I'm pretty sure I won't be there.

My Team Sucks

Don't get me wrong; I still love my Gators.  But this year has left much to be desired as far as good play goes.

I'm glad we are bowl-eligible.  I'm sure the Gators will go to a bowl because they're a good draw, and considering the fact that they'll be playing more or less at home means lots of people will go (maybe even me).  That's a good thing.

But when you play Furman and you're not sure you're going to win - a win that will make you bowl-eligible - it's a very scary thing.

I hope the team dynamic is better next year, because the team doesn't look like a team at all this year.  I don't know whether it's lack of leadership or the "pro-style" playing (WTF is that, anyway?  Is it just suckage, or what?).  I'm not impressed with anything I've seen this year: not the playing, not the coaching, not even the heart.  For the first time in over 30 years, I've considered giving up my season tickets.

The good news is that my oldest son, E, has taken an interest in football and has been to a few games now.  He managed to sit through an entire game this year, and he's going to get his first taste of a "real" game next weekend against FSU.  Unfortunately, it will probably be the first loss he witnesses first-hand (yes people, I love my team, but I'm also a realist).  Better to get those out of the way early I guess.  The first year I was interested in football, the Gators went 0-10-1.  The first game I ever listened to on the radio was the tie - but I was hooked.

So yeah, my team sucks this year, but I love them anyway.   I can't wait to see which bowl we'll be invited to.  Hopefully it won't be before Christmas!

 

How Stupid is Stupid?

Last Thursday evening I went for a nice, easy run.  The first mile and a half or so was spectacular.

Then, something unusual happened: from the other direction came a friend of mine from high school, who happens to live in the neighborhood.  We don't hang out, but when we bump into each other it's always pleasant (at least for me - and she's nice to me so I assume it's OK for her too).  So I'm running along, enjoying a decent pace because the weather is lovely.  I see her coming and I say "Hi Chrisy!"  Then there was a really, really loud cracking sound.  I thought, "Oh shit, that's really going to hurt in about 30 seconds!" and I started just waiting for the pain.

Yep, there happened to be a break in the sidewalk that I missed because I took my eyes off the sidewalk.  I hit my second toe, which not only broke, but lost half its skin around its toenail.  Not the most pleasant experience in any situation, much less when you are halfway through a run and don't have your phone with you.

So after pausing for a moment to exchange hellos (and Chrisy's apology for "making me break my toe" which I thought was very sweet but certainly unnecessary), I got back to my run.  Let me tell you, a reasonably paced jog at 1.5 miles does not produce enough endorphins to overcome the excruciating pain of running on a broken and bleeding toe.  By the time I got home blood was all over my foot and I was hobbling (but yes, I managed to finish my run because walking would have made it last that much longer).  

People, I do not recommend finishing your run if you break your toe!

I've been relegated to wearing "real" shoes the last four days because of it and it's driving me crazy.  At least I have my Merrells, which are minimal, but I can't even wear my VFFs because of the toe situation (try putting a broken toe in toe pockets and see what happens.  You have to be tougher than me to not cry.  OK, not really, but it hurts like hell.

I'm hoping to be able to run by the weekend, but we'll see.  Even if I can, I'll have to wear shoes more than likely, which bums me out...shoes as tools, right?

By the way, the weekend was pretty good despite the sore toe. :)

A New Game: Mayheming

Disclaimer: If you actually do anything I mention below, you are a complete idiot and I take zero responsibility for it.  Read further and laugh, but play the game at your own risk.

So I was watching football the other day and an Allstate commercial came on.  You know, with that good-looking guy (Dean Winters) who plays Mayhem?  Yeah, where he does all kinds of crazy shit like "I'm your blind spot".  I think that's my favourite so far, although I really like the GPS one as well.  If my kids saw the renter's insurance ad, I'd be in big trouble (at least I don't live in an apartment though).

So I was thinking...and that gets dangerous, especially when I'm watching football because I've usually been drinking (although this time I wasn't, so that shows how twisted I really am)...Anyway, I was thinking I should start a new game and call it "Mayhem" or "Mayheming".  You can probably guess what it's all about too.

The idea of the game is much like planking: you do a plank and take a picture of it.  The more dangerous the location, the more awesomer the photo.  Mayhem would be much the same: you perform a stunt that the character, Mayhem, has done in a commercial, and take a video or picture of it.

Yes, that's stupid and dangerous, but that's the point.  And besides, they are basing the commercials on the really stupid things people do when they're driving anyway ("I'm your teenage daughter...")(since I was once a teenage daughter, I can pick on that one in particular - although cell phones weren't available to most people back then and I was much more interested in seeing if I could get four wheels off the ground going over the railroad tracks near my high school (surprise Mom and Dad!)).  

I would absolutely love to see people doing this, and maybe they already are - because people are stupid and I'm sure I'm not the first one to think about actually doing this stuff (intentionally).  But I'd love to do some of it and take pictures.  Some of it is just beyond stupid though, so you won't see me strapped to the outside of an SUV saying "You're good!" (I'm your blind spot...).

What about you?  Would you participate in the game of Mayhem?  Believe it or not, you already are; it's called the game of LIFE baby!

Note: while searching for video links I found a bunch of original spots I hadn't seen before, like this one.  If you love Mayhem (or Dean Winters!) check out Youtube for the older ones.