It Was the Buff Guy's Fault

In my recent quest for fitness and health, I've taken up tennis and biking. After 4-5 weeks, I can proudly admit that I still totally stink at tennis--although I do enjoy playing. Surprisingly enough, I also enjoy meandering flying down the bike trail in our area. The particular trail I use has a 7-1/2 mile loop if I follow it through one time. The trail actually goes further than that, but it goes out of the woods and along a busy street. I'm uncoordinated enough that I worry about falling off my bike and into traffic. I'm also compassionate enough that I don't think all those people headed to work need to see me riding along beside them. It's not a pretty sight.

At any rate, I accidentally biked twenty miles today (that is not a typo). I'd only planned on doing thirteen, but then I ran into a problem. Each morning as I haul my bike out of the truck, I decide just how many miles I'm going to bike that day. My number depends on how much time I have, and whether I feel full of energy or if I feel every single one of my forty plus years. (Never mind how many plus.) The point is to make my decision, and then stick to it until I accomplish my goal. I freely admit that, in the past, I often would "try" to do a certain amount of exercise, but then wimp out long before reaching my goal. Hence the reason I need to lose so much weight. (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the amount of sweets I consume.)

This time around, I've determined that I can add miles after I start biking, but I can never do less than the amount I set in my head. This morning I set out with the number 13 in mind. I try to double up on certain sections of the trail (re: parts where it's fairly level) in order to get in my set number. Today I was going to do a loop between mile markers 11 and 12, so that I could add a total of two miles to that stretch of the trail.

I was biking along, looking for the mile marker when I happened to pass a Very Buff Guy jogging in my direction. Very Buff Guy was also very shirtless. I did not gawk. I took a moment to very briefly appreciate God's creation as I passed, and then went back to looking for the mile marker.

Unfortunately, the mile marker came up right after I passed Very Buff Guy. If I turned around here, would it look like I was trying to follow him? Worse yet, I'd eventually have to pass him again since even someone like me on a bike tends to go faster than someone jogging. I did NOT want Very Buff Guy to think I was angling for him to give me attention. It's not just that I wasn't interested, but as I mentioned, I'm not very coordinated. I enjoy riding, but it's not necessarily a pretty sight. Plus, I was sweating profusely and worried about anyone having to be downwind of me for very long.

So in the interest of not giving the wrong message, I continued in the same direction, determined to make up those two miles somewhere else. By the time I got back to the trailhead, I still had 1.5 miles to go in order to make my goal for the day. As I turned around and headed back to the next mile marker, I did some math in my head. Doing one more mile out and back would give me 13-1/2 miles. That was over my goal, but a mile and a half short of the fifteen miles I did on Tuesday. I quickly decided to ride two more miles and then turn around, so that I'd do a little better than I did on Tuesday.

I should have realized all that math would catch up with me. I was getting tired, and really hoping the next mile marker was around the corner when I looked up and realized Very Buff Guy had turned around and was once again jogging toward me.

Just beyond him was the mile marker I was looking for as my turning point. What were the odds?!? I reluctantly biked on past the marker. After all, I reasoned, I was only another mile from the point where I turned away from the busy street. Why not add another two miles to my total?

I was almost at my turning point when I realized I was coming up behind another Very Buff Shirtless Guy.

Are you kidding me?!?

The next mile marker was just beyond him, and I would have to turn around almost immediately after passing him. Once again I risked sending the wrong message (or just embarrassing myself by falling off my bike as I made the turn.) I slowed down, thinking I'd let him get past the mile marker, but after awhile it just looked like I was tailing him. Eventually, I turned a little short of my goal and headed back down the trail.

Cutting off that tenth of a mile bothered me, so I biked a little past the trailhead again, just to make sure I made up for it. Then I crossed the street to my truck, loaded the bike and headed home. As I congratulated myself on what I had accomplished that day--not embarrassing myself ranked almost as high as the amount of miles I'd done--I realized that once again my math had been faulty. I was trying to make up time, but since I can't add correctly, I'd actually gone 20.5 miles before I was done.

I'd be proud of myself, except for the fact that I can hardly move. Those extra miles really did me in.

Stupid Buff Guys!

The Curve Ball Hodgepodge

With baseball season in full swing, Joyce throws us the weekly Hodgepodge, which includes a few curve ball questions. So hey, batter, batter, batter, batter--swing!

1. April showers bring May flowers...what have you been showered with this month?
Mostly water. A little bit of soap. Shampoo and conditioner.


2. What is the nature of compassion?  Is it learned or innate?  Can compassion belearned?  If you're a parent is this something you've purposely sought to instill in your children, and if so how?
Hello! I warned you there were a few curve balls, didn't I? This is a deep one, so here goes. There are times for compassion and there are times when you have to tell your kids people to suck it up and don't call me unless you're bleeding so badly a bandaid won't fix it. The real talent lies in knowing which time calls for which response.


3. Do you prefer to watch romantic comedy or romantic drama...or are you rolling your eyes saying bring on the action flicks?
With all the testosterone in this house, it's not a movie unless someone gets shot in the first five minutes.


4.  It's April which means baseball season is officially upon us here in the US of A. Humphrey Bogart is quoted as saying "A hot dog at the ballgame beats roast beef at the Ritz." Agree or Disagree?
I can handle either one. What I don't agree with is a hot dog at the Ritz. That's just not appropriate.


5. What's something in your community or city that needs fixing or improving?
Well perhaps we should do something with the HOA nazis that feel the need to have our city police sit in unmarked cars, watching for residents who don't make complete stops at stop signs. Like there isn't any crime going on anywhere else in the city?

6. Share a song you enjoy that mentions flowers or a specific flower in its title.

I can't even keep flowers in my yard; how am I supposed to find them in a song?

7. April 22nd is Earth Day...do you believe there's life on other planets?  That wasn't the question you were expecting was it? 
And in case you weren't sure, this would be the other curve ball. The answer is no. No matter how much some might wish it were otherwise, we are the most intelligent created beings in the universe.


When I look at examples of our so-called intelligence, I find that kind of sad.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I tried to explain female mood swings to the boys this week. They weren't getting it until my nineteen year old interpreted: "It means keep the house clean this week, and don't tick Mom off." 

Not quite what I was getting at, but I'll take it.

Hodgepodge!

If you've ever thought about joining the Hodgepodge, or you've read other people's answers--other than mine--and said, "I could do better than that!", than this is your chance. Great questions, plus if you put it off for another week, you're actually putting it off for two weeks because there won't be a Hodgepodge next week, although there will be one the week after that.

Confused much?

Well you shouldn't be confused about what comes next. Read, comment and then go here and visit Joyce. She always has great answers, and a link up to see what everyone else in the world has to say. Or at least, everyone else in the world who is someone because that's who participates in the Hodgepodge! (Dontcha want to play now?)

1. What are your plans for Easter? Are you cooking a big lunch or dinner? Dyeing eggs? Attending a sun rise service? Eating too much chocolate?
We're all about being healthy this year (that sounds so boring, I yawned when I typed it). We're not doing ham since that's bad for Indiana, but I think I'm going to cook a turkey breast. And there will not be dyed eggs, but there will be deviled ones which will disappear much too quickly. My boys tend to eat like, well, like teenage boys.

 

Here's Luke with his first helping from dinner last night. And, yes, both plates are part of his first helping. (I find it annoying that he stays so slim.)

And here's the rest of the crew. They clean up nicely (new suits for the upcoming wedding), but they can definitely eat their weight in--well in anything.

2. What is something you feel too young to do?
Grow old.

3. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud...it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs..."  Of the characteristics mentioned in the biblical definition of love which do you find most difficult to live out and why?
Whether in the bounds of love or not, I've got a little trouble with that whole patience thing.

4. What's a springtime flower you associate with your childhood?
My black thumb is inherited, as no one in my family was ever any good at gardening. In spite of that, we had a lilac bush that bloomed every year. That's how I knew it was spring.

5. Ever sung karaoke? If so, what's your go-to song? If not and you're given the opportunity, would you?
I can't imagine doing that without plenty of alcohol first, and since I don't drink, I don't think it's happening.

6. What is something you keep in a basket?
A tisket and a tasket. You know, from "a tisket, a tasket, a green and yellow basket ..."? Okay, that's dumb, but at least I never picked up pawpaws and put them in my pocket.

7. When was the last time you felt foolish?
Probably when I wrote the answer to that last question.

8. Insert your own random thought here.
I love this Easter bonnet!

 

Well there's really nothing more than needs to be said after that, is there?

 

 



 

The Not-Ready-For-Primetime Hodgepodge

After a quick glance today, I really wish I would have taken time to look at the questions yesterday! I'm turning green from anxiety, but I'm betting this post turns out all right and will probably also contain every color of the rainbow. (Does this count as answers for 1, 2 and 6?)

At any rate, buckle up 'cause this ride might cause you to toss your corned beef and cabbage! Don't forget to go to Joyce's when you're done, so you can see link up and see what everyone else wrote.

1. Do you play games of luck/chance for money? Have you ever played bingo for money? Visited a casino? Placed a bet on a horse? Bought a lottery ticket?
I'm betting I'd be poorer than I already am if I ever started wagering money on anything!

2. Will you be preparing and/or dining on the traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage meal this St. Patrick's Day? Mashed-baked-hash browned-french fried...your favorite way to have potatoes?
We'll be having a fellowship at church that night, and I'm making mexican dip and beef muchomo (a Ugandan dish). We're having an international theme.

By the way, the dip and the muchomo aren't going together. I'm making items in two different categories. Look at me and my bad self, uh huh, uh huh, uh huh! (Name that movie.)

3. What's the last thing you felt 'green with envy' over?
I feel green every time I let my son drive. Or when Indiana tries to talk on the phone while driving.

I guess to really be fair, I should admit that my driving occasionally makes myself green too.

4. What's at the end of your rainbow?
Well if it's a pot of gold, I'm betting that I wouldn't use it for question #1!

I5. March 12th marks the anniversary of the death of Anne Frank (June 12, 1929-March, 1945). Anne's diary detailing her time spent hiding from the Nazi's during the war ranks as one of the best selling books of all time. Besides your blog, do you keep any sort of diary or journal? Was this a habit you developed as a child or is journaling something new for you?
I don't journal; I mark time with my children. Most stories begin with, "I was pregnant with ...". It just so happens that I marked March 12th with the birth of my oldest child. Happy birthday, Matt!

6. What's an item in your home or closet that contains every color of the rainbow?
My home and closet do contain every color in the rainbow.

7. Write alimerick with you as the subject. You can do it!! Just remember this is a family friendly blog...don't make me get out my wooden spoon.
Now I really wish I'd read these yesterday! Okay, here goes:

There once was a girl who said "drat!"
'Cause the Hodgepodge Queen was a rat.
She made us do rhymes
When we hadn't the time
And there's no way to quickly do that!

8. Insert your own random thought here.
My nineteen year old son has appointed himself my personal trainer. He's got me exercising and recording everything that I eat and reporting it all to him. I'm going to be beautiful and slim ... and one of us is going to be dead.

Deep Gut-Wrenching Contemplations

I know I've not been around lately. Lately is a relative term. I think in this case it means I haven't blogged in about a month. And I know this has been a huge source of disappointment to the many two of you who read this blog.

My bad.

I started out this year with a determination to blog more regularly. Clearly that resolution bit the dust before the end of January.  And then every time I thought of something to blog, I remembered that I hadn't changed my background or my header picture. I still had hollyberries and loads of snow. Not at all acceptable when I'm sitting here in 80 degree weather.

But I didn't know what to do with the background. Did I want to go back to what I had last year? Find something new? Go back to the basic blogger template? I couldn't decide. And I couldn't blog when I still looked so much like winter. I realize that it still is winter in many parts of the country and a lot both of you are digging out from snow, but still.

All this thinking about the look of my blog led me to thinking about other aspects. And I found myself with a bucketload of soul searching questions:  Is blogging right for me? Should I do something different to gain more followers? (I'm sure more commenting on other people's blogs would help.) Should I stop trying to be funny and start being more profound and thought-provoking? Should I even have a blog at all? Maybe I should quit.

After almost two months of introspection, broken occasionally by a foray into the weekly Hodgepodge, I've come to some rather drastic conclusions.

I need new mascara.

I know. Totally random. Turns out I'm not really profound even in my deep thinking. But one night while I was mulling over these thoughts, I looked in the mirror and realized I had dark circles under my eyes. Turns out my mascara tends to smear by the end of the day.

Other deep thoughts have involved Stephanie's upcoming wedding, and as I stood there at the mirror, these two thoughts collided:  I can't have smeary mascara at her wedding. I might cry. I probably will cry at her wedding. And then I could very well end up doing a good raccoon imitation in the pictures--without the scavenging through garbage, I hope.

So I need some new mascara. Any suggestions? I used to wear Mary Kay's. She was generous like that. And then I got some Ulta mascara for free. I like it, but I get this smear thing going on. I don't want to have to try dozens to find what I want. I just want something that will make my lashes look incredibly awesome without making my face look incredibly stupid. Why doesn't someone use that as their tagline for advertising?

I also need new lipstick, but I think I know what I need here thanks to Fringegirl's blog. She participates in a What I Wear meme every week, and she looks really good. But what I noticed even more than her clothes, was her lipstick. So I asked her what she wore. I guess I'm not the only one that liked it because Fringegirl did a vlog on lipstick not too long ago.

So, I have no deep and profound thoughts and decisions for my blog future, but I'm starting to get a handle on the makeup I need to wear to my daughter's wedding. Now if ya'll can just help me out with some mascara tips, I'll be all set. Except for the fact that I don't have a dress for the wedding yet.

Baby steps, I guess.

And by the way, in case you care (and even if you don't), this is the background I used last year. Turns out that most of the wonderful free backgrounds out there are either too pastel or cutesy for me.

Shocker.

Boots and Wedding Plans

I was away from home this week, visiting my daughter and helping with wedding plans. Or not helping. Maybe just participating in the fun. Whatever it was, I loved it. Rather than go on and on (do I do that?) I'm just giving you a list of highlights.

1. It was VERY cold there! And since I'm living in Florida, I wore flipflops. So I was "forced" to go buy something warmer or risk frostbite.

 

I happen to think my poor planning paid off!

 

2. We went to dinner at Logan's as soon as I got there, because they have--as Stephanie puts it--"buttery rolls of goodness".

 

3. We went to a national bridal shop (is there more than one?) to buy a bolero-type jacket to go with Stephanie's wedding dress. The salesclerk, who apparently was not interested in making a sale that night, was less than helpful and we did not leave with a jacket. Not quite the wedding-planning experience I was hoping for.

 

4. Stephanie's fiancee was with us a great deal of the time, and I got to know him better.

 

5. I like Zack. And he's perfect for Stephanie.

 

6. On my last night there, Stephanie and I ate at McDonald's. Don't judge. It's our favorite fast food place, and we always go at least once when we're together.

 

7. At McDonald's, Stephanie often orders cheeseburgers without the cheese. She's high-maintenance like that. (Love you, Steph!)

 

8. I saw lots of old friends at church while I was there.

 

9. Most of our friends said hi, and then immediately asked if Terry was with me. (That would be Indiana Jones for you blogging friends.)

 

10. I'm a teensy bit not the least jealous that Indiana is more popular than I am.

 

11. Logan's, McDonald's, Starbucks, Michaels, Charming Charlies, etc. We went to lots of fun places while I was there.

 

12. It's a little sad that most of our fun places have to do with food.

 

13. My last night there we went to Charming Charlie's (this was before McDonald's) and Stephanie found the jewelry she wants to wear on her wedding day. That was exactly the kind of wedding-planning experience I hoped for, and made up for the whole jacket non-incident.

 

14. We took lots of fun pictures of Stephanie in her wedding dress, shoes and jewelry. (But of course, not the jacket. Not that I'm bitter.) : )

 

15. We did not take all those pictures at Charming Charlies. We waited until we got home.

 

16. We may or may not have been way too giggly while we were taking those pictures.

 

17. The fact that it was the wee hours of the morning may or may not have been the reason we were so giggly.

 

18. I am not posting those pictures on the blog. Don't want Zack to accidentally see her in her wedding finery before the big day. (Sorry, Zack!)

 

19. The boys and Indiana did quite fine for themselves while I was gone. I laid in a supply of groceries before I left.

 

20. Those groceries may have had a lot of variety, but the guys still mostly ate frozen pizza.

 

21. The pizza was DiGorno's, so it's not like they were roughing it.

 

22. The house was not completely trashed when I got home.

 

23. I think there was a lot of last minute scrambling to get it cleaned up before I got home.

 

24. This little girl took her parents to see her other grandma a week before I left. They got back while I was gone, so I went almost two weeks without seeing her. That was way too long.

 

 

25. Stephanie planned on us putting together some of the bridal party bouquets while I was there.

 

26. I think she was including me in that just to be nice.

 

27. We both know I have no talent for that sort of thing, and she likes her bridesmaids too much to make them carry something I made.

 

28. We never got around to the bouquets.

 

29. I think that might have been on purpose.

 

30. I'm okay with that.

 

So how was your week?

 



The Chinese Hodgepodge

Oh come on. You don't just want to sit by the window and complain about how cold it is. Let's get those creatively warm juices flowing by participating in the Hodgepodge!

1.  Chinese New Year will be celebrated on February 10th, and 2013 is the year of the snake. When did you last see a snake?  Are you okay around snakes or do they give you the shivers? 

Okay, just like the color of the year, who makes the decision that this is the year of the snake? Why would anyone want to burden a year with that kind of notoriety? Why can't it be the year of the Ibex? (It's a mountain goat, people.) It's not a great animal, but it's a fun name and it's better than a snake.

2. The color red in Chinese culture usually means good luck.  Do you believe in luck? 

According to the Color Wheel Pro, red enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate, and raises blood pressure. It's also used as an accent color to stimulate people to make quick decisions.

Using that line of thinking, since my answers are always in red, you should quickly decide that reading my Hodgepodge answers actually counts as exercise.

3. sledding-ice skating-building a snowman...if given a choice, which activity would you choose?  Which of the three have you done most recently?  

If I could do any of those things today, you'd be hearing about it on the news 'cause we don't get snow and ice in central Florida.

4.  Ralph Waldo Emerson is credited as saying, "The years teach much which the days never knew."  Where have you seen this quote played out in your own life?  

Not sure I ever have, but I have had plenty of opportunities to apply the following saying in the Boyd house:  

Never do anything that you wouldn't want to explain to the paramedics. - Author unknown

5. When was the last time you ate a cupcake?  

I don't know, but now I want a cupcake. With sprinkles.

6. What's something you can't say no to?  

A cupcake with sprinkles.

7.  Are you a doodler?  

I've been known to doodle this and that.

8.  Insert your own random thought here. 

It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. - Author unknown

And with those words of wisdom from someone smart enough not to leave his name, I'll bid you adieu.