The new week begins....

Last week's goals were almost met. Several of life's little interruptions precluded me from accomplishing all that I wanted. And then there was that one day when all I wanted to do was lie on the sofa and watch TV. That didn't help but it did feel good.

I did my 1.5 mile walk 2 times instead of 4. Started this week with a walk this a.m. Felt good. Still have a goal of 4 times this week.

Busy week with misc. activities. Dentist appointment, school, physical therapy, meetings. The usual stuff. Expecting niece Debbie's baby anytime - she/he is overdue now by several days. The baptism is scheduled for next Sunday so baby better hurry up. Gender still to be a surprise to all. I think it will be a girl (she obviously know her own mind and won't be told what to do!).

Yesterday was indulgence day. Jim and I went out to do errands, stopped for ice-cream sundaes, shopped some and napped some. Very relaxing. Today I read textbooks, catch up on school assignments and perhaps we'll do something fun later.

Mid week I have a store audit to do which will be fun. Improv group is having a big Labor Day event this weekend, with players from all over. Will be a blast. Hoping for no huge events this week to crimp the schedule.

Turns out making balloon animals is good PT for my wrist. Our den is littered with balloon weirdness on any given day. Jim found a perfect wheelie thing to store the stock in (on a quite rare trip to a thrift store!) so everything is organized.

Life is good.

Monday Musings

Another beautiful day in sunny Southern California. As I putter about in the kitchen I watch snippets of Olympics on several different channels. I'm always curious about what events are televised. I had no idea there was a competition in trampolining! The athletes are amazing, in all the events.

Why do the women in beach volleyball wear tiny bikinis and the men in beach volleyball wear long board shorts? Now the guys in water polo - whoa - not only tiny speedos, but hats to match! Styling, to say the least.

Hats off to the athletes. Not being one myself, I can enjoy but not fully relate. My son and his wife are both athletes, owners of Hypercat Racing, Inc. (see www.hypercatrcing.com)
and keep in shape not only racing themselves but also coaching others. Fantastic. I will gladly lead the cheers for the races, provided I have a cold drink and a sun visor.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Junior college classes for me, just for fun. (I graduated in 1998, after plugging away for quite a loooong time, taking classes here and there) So here I am, getting my backpack together just like all the other students. Kinda cool. I love learning new things. And, truth be told, I actually enjoy taking tests too. It's a challenge and I thrive on challenges.

The hardest part will be the 8 a.m. start time. Over the last 5 months, recuperating from a broken wrist, I've had the luxury of sleeping in and moving slowly. Not so any more. Back to the grind.

Signing off for today. Keep a smile on.

Leisurely Sunday

This weekend has been extraordinarily wonderful. Why? Because there was little planned and lots of room for doing whatever we wanted.

Slept in Saturday, waking up to our 2 cats walking across my face, no doubt chastising me for not getting up earlier to do the important things like feed them. Read the paper, cup of coffee in hand, to prepare myself for the day ahead. Ah, this is the life.

After checking e-mails, playing a few games of Alchemy and trying rather unsuccessfully to do something meaninfgul, we pulled ourselves together to head out into the day. Up ahead - meeting up with some long-time friends for a casual soiree. How great to be invited! On the road mid afternoon, headed for Los Angeles.

Traffic was fairly gnarly through Camarillo due to an air show that had drivers slowing to gawk at the vintage planes flying low. We enjoy listening to audio books and although we each have one we're listening to in our respective cars, we didn't bring one to start anew. So, having a new paperback, I began to read aloud. My choice - Mr. Monk in Outer Space. We greatly enjoy watching the Monk series on TV so the characters are familiar and it's easy to get into the story. This worked well as time flew by for me as the reader, and hopefully, for the driver as well.

As we approached our destination, Highland Park, we side-stepped briefly to locate an address for our very talented niece, Leslie Spencer-Smith. She's off doing a show somewhere so we didn't stop, but at least now we know where she lives (if she's ever home!). Up the road a short piece to the home of old friend Steve (the Urban Lumberjack) Marshall, who was hosting this gig.

How delightful to see Rocky, John and Diane - dear friends there with whom I've shared many adventures. Ah, the memories.

Sunday was a day of relaxation and housey-stuff. Shopping at Costco, doing laundry, things like that.

Preparing for start of school this next week. I'm taking 2 classes (it's been a few years since I took any full semester classes) and continuing to teach 2 days a week. Jim is teaching 2 night classes, taking us right up until Christmas.

Before you know it, 2008 will be over. Hard to fathom the years flying by as they do. We Boomers remember when 1999 seemed a long ways away! Reading 1984 seemed like sci-fi then. Now it's hard to keep up with all the technology. My brain chips are bursting.

Goals for this week - do my 1.5 mile walk 4 times this week. (did today - one down). Eat less. Laugh more. Contact a friend to say hi.