For Girls Only

My Friend Brandy emailed this story to me and it made me laugh. I thought you girls out there might enjoy it too. We can all use a laugh every now and then, can't we?


The Wash Cloth

Ladies this has to be read, laughed at and passed on. There's not a woman alive that won't crack up over this. I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week. Early one morning I received a call from the doctors office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30 a.m. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school and it was already around 8:45 a.m. The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have any time to spare. As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such a visit but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash in that area to make sure I was at least presentable. I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, raced to my appointment. I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctor said, 'My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven't we?' I didn't respond.
After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day was normal...Some shopping, cleaning and cooking. After school when my 6 year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, 'Mommy, where's my washcloth?' I told her to get another one from the cupboard. She replied, 'No, I need the one that was here by the sink. It had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it.'
Never going back to that doctor.............................Ever!!

The Running Continues

Today's post is an update on my adventure in running.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Meghan and Claire have inspired me to begin running as opposed to doing my usual power walk. Taking Meg's advise I began by running 4 minutes and walking for one. (I have been told this is called the Galloway Method.) The first day I tried it I could run for only two cycles of 4 to 1 (on the treadmill with a warm up and cool down). After that I was spent!

This week I was able to do 5 "cycles" of 5 to 1!!! It's amazing how quickly the body responds to exercise. As a yoga teacher I've always been amazed at how quickly we are able to gain flexibility but in the last couple of weeks I see that quick gains are not exclusive to yoga. Every time I have run whether on the treadmill or outside, it has become easier for me.

I encourage you to get some sort of exercise...whatever suits you. I will continue to keep you "posted" on my progress. Hopefully next time I will be able to report some sort of WEIGHT LOSS as a result of all this running!!! Is anybody out there working on losing the "Holiday" weight like I am????? I'd love to hear WHAT you are doing and how you are progressing.

Running

I virtually never post without a picture but I have to give a followup account of the information Meghan gave me about HOW to begin to run.

As I stated in the earlier post I took Meghan's advise about running for 4 minutes and walking for 1. The first day on the treadmill I was dieing (as I reported in the post). Since then I've been running everyday either on the treadmill or outside. NO MORE power walking...I'm either running or walking to rest.

Today, on the treadmill at the gym I bumped it up a notch. My ratio today was 5 to 1. Five minutes running and 1 walking. I was on the treadmill for over 30 minutes!

The moral of this story is that Meghan gave me some good advise (Thanks Meggie!!!) and it will work for all of us...if you are well enough to run. Give it a try, the sky is the limit!!!

Meet Finn!...P.S......

I choose the name Finn because first of all he had to have an IRISH name, like all of my children and because it suited him...but the MEANING suits him as well. In the Gaelic (Irish) language, Finn means: Small, Blond Warrior. Don't you agree???...It suits him!

Meet Finn!

Do you recall my previous post about "Violet O'Hara"? Well last week Violet and I boarded a Plane to Charlotte (I had to slip her a pill for the flight...she was great...THEN!) in order to take her HOME. It/she just was not working out and I knew she never would.

Her Breeder's name is Deborah and I enjoyed my visit with her so much-she is a lovely woman who adores Tonkinese cats. Violet proceeded to hiss at the other cats and did not EVER come out of her carrier. I finally had to pull her out when it was time for me to leave with Finn.

I must say that even though Violet O'Hara had very UN-Tonkinese behavior, at night she was a doll. She would sleep all curled up around my neck and purr. If I tuned to my right side, she'd walk around to be near my face. When I turned to the other side, she'd do the same thing. Of course once sleepy time was over she'd run from me the rest of the day. When it was time to tell her good-bye...I cried! I actually (in a way) hated to leave her. Deborah assured me she would work with her and take good care of her. I've since heard from Deborah that she now keeps

Violet

in her bedroom because the other Tonks don't like her! (Imagine THAT!!)

And this is my sweet Finn...aka the Finn-Man! Isn't he handsome?!!
Can you tell???-Lily says his nose looks like a pig. I think she's right. Sometimes I call him "Little Piggy".

Finn's eyes are the most gorgeous shade of turquoise blue.

So let me tell you about his personality...He's WONDERFUL!! I'm already in love with the boy! He sleeps snuggled up with me all night, usually under the covers, just as close as he can get to me. The rest of the night and first thing in the morning, he gets up next to my face. Usually resting his head on my pillow with his body under the covers. He follows me around the house just like a little puppy. When he wants to be held (which is most of the time) he stretches his legs up on mine and "cries" until I pick him up. When he gets picked up, he "hugs" me around the neck with both little paws! How cute is that!

Now for his ANNOYING SIDE...(You know we ALL have one of those!)...

As you can see, Oscar TOLERATES him. Look at their coloring...Lily noticed as soon as she saw them together how much they looked alike. By the way, Oscar continues to eat his meal plus anything that Finn doesn't finish...just like he has done with the previous Tonks.

Finn loves to play fetch with this little "mouse". He'll carry it around in his mouth, bring it to you and retrieve it when you throw it. Not unusual for a Tonk.

THE COMPUTER...This is his most annoying time! When Lily or I are on the computer, he will NOT leave us alone!! If he's not meowing to be held or have his head scratched, then he's between you and the screen. He loves watching what's going on and chases the mouse when you move it. As much as I love how snugly he is, when you just can't hold him, it is a bit irritating...but THAT...I CAN LIVE WITH!!

Finn is such a blessing and sooo worth waiting for.

At times I wonder why Violet came in to our lives for such a short time. I believe God when He says in His Word that He is the one that directs our paths AND that the things that come in to our lives come THROUGH Him. So I KNOW that the way Finn came to us was God's plan. Quite possibly, I needed to MEET Deborah. I know we will keep in touch...we had many things in common, number 1 being the Lord. Now I she is one of my "Fiends" on FACEBOOK"!!!...Yes, that's right, I'm now on Facebook...Beth talked me in to it!!!....and THAT will be a post for another day!

to be continued......

Meg Runs a 5K!

Let me start out by saying I have NO idea why my words are coming up BLUE and why everything is underlined! Once again the fact that I am "technology challenged" is showing!

ANYWAY...I am so proud of my daughter, Meghan. She has begun to run her little heart out. Meg's first race was in Jacksonville with her friend Claire. She and Claire ran in a 5K while pushing Addie in a jogging stroller. Meg is smaller now than when she got pregnant with Addie. Both of them are new mom's that look like they were never pregnant.

Beside the fact that Meghan is doing such a great job running she is also inspiring me to run a bit more. Normally I do a walk/run at different intervals.

Meghan told me that one way to train yourself to run a marathon is to run for 4 minutes and walk for one.

Well...yesterday I was on the treadmill at the gym and tried it. I was able to do it for 2 cycles! It's tough!!! But I'm determined to do better so tomorrow (or next time) I'll at least try to run for 3 cycles of 4 to 1.

A big thank you to Meghan and Claire for being such inspiring young women who happen to also be first time Mom's. (Did I mention Claire is a nursing Mom? How DO YOU DO IT???) Please enjoy the pictures of their race.

Meghan and Claire are on the far left.

Isn't Addie looking gorgeous for HER first marathon?

You girls look so beautiful...please tell me this picture was taken BEFORE the race!

P.S. Did you noticed the text is now in black??? I have NO IDEA WHAT I DID!!!

Celine Dion In Concert, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

This past weekend Melanie invited Maura, Julie and I to join her in Ft. Lauderdale to attend the Celine Dion concert. So we loaded the car with our overnight bags and made the three hour drive for 24 hours of "girl time". This picture was taken at dinner before the show. Don't let the lovely food presentation fool you. This restaurant was in our hotel and convenient. (Julie and Mel had been warned NOT to dine her but we thought "How bad can it be?") What it WASN'T was good. I ordered two different entrees and the waitress kept coming back..."We're out of that"! Julie and I ordered the same salad and were both still hungry when through. So, we finished off Melanie's leftovers. Then we stopped at Friday's around 1:00 for a bedtime snack. You know how it is with the Sister's...always an adventure and LOTS of laughter!!

These are some pictures from the concert. This was the last song and it was so beautifully staged. Can you guess which song she is singing in this photo?......................................................................

If your guess was the theme from "Titanic", you guessed correctly. Celine Dion has such an amazing voice!

And an unbelievably powerful voice for such a little person! Her show included dancers, costume changes and different staging. Her mother was there, sitting just in front of Melanie and Julie. Can you imagine how proud she must be of her little girl?

This is a close up of Celine. She's very beautiful, isn't she?

Michelle, I'm sorry you weren't able to be here. I know these tickets were bought for you all but We really did enjoy being there in your place.

And another big THANK YOU to Melanie for blessing we sister's!!!!!!